Chapter
Forty-One: Boost:
Haruka suddenly
remembered that she had an advantage. This came when a soft whisper buzzed in
her ear. The old woman smiled.
“Of course!” she
said. “How could I forget?” Haruka burst into laughter.
-One Month Ago-
Aki appeared in
Tsuzuki’s apartment. She stood in the living room. No scents of people here.
They had to have been gone for them. Still, she had to be quick.
Aki slowly
walked across the living room. Where would she hide them? The kitsune walked to
the back bedroom. Her footsteps didn’t make a sound across the floor. In fact,
her feet didn’t touch the ground. Aki didn’t need to turn on a light. She only
chose her first place to look.
That box had to
be at the bottom of the closet. Stashed so far in the back. Aki began her dig.
Further. Further. Further. She started to sniff. Cotton. Mothballs. Air fresher.
Leather. Baby powder. Perfume.
Aki paused.
There!
She darted all
the way to the back. Aki grabbed the cardboard box. Fifty cassette tapes total.
All of them weren’t here. She just needed one.
Aki closed her
eyes and perked up her ears. Static and chatter filled the air. She pushed
through the noise. Her brain fast forwarded through some parts. The chatter
increased. Every sound grew higher and higher.
Suddenly, the
kitsune ripped open her eyes. Her hand dove into the box. She held up the tape
and disappeared.
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Haruka leaned
against the window in the dark. Soft whispers touched her ear. The old lady
turned her head.
“Hm?” she asked.
A tape fell into her hand.
“What is this?”
Haruka asked walked to hall closet. She looked around inside at the top. She
found her tape played towards the back. Haruka took it out and plugged it up.
She put in the tape and hit play. Daisuke’s voice filled the dark hallway. Hints
of rage flared up in her soul. Because of him, the clan was dying. Aki put her
hand on hers.
“Shhh,” she
said. “Keep listening.” Haruka frowned and took a listen. They came to the final
entry on Halloween. The opening was enough to make her smile. Haruka slowly rose
to her feet. Her cheering could be heard throughout the house.
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-Present Day-
Haruka rose to
her feet.
“I can win
this,” she said. The old lady looked around her crumbling fortress. Only about
three hours left. She could make it. Haruka breathed heavily as she held up her
right hand. This was going to hurt. But this gamble would be worth it. Haruka
started to chant. Her eyes slipped closed. Her head felt light as she could hear
a soft hum.
Stop! Don’t do
this! You’ll die!
Haruka opened
her eyes and smirked.
“Sorry. It has
to be like this. I choose to win,” she said in between breaths. The whole room
started to shake. Haruka smiled as red lights swallowed up everything. The old
lady coughed up blood. This was it. This was her big gamble. She smiled before
she lost consciousness.
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Outside, Tsuzuki
looked up as the sky began to shake. His stomach dropped as he pulled out his
fuda.
“Not good,” he said. “This is not good!” The shinigami picked up the pace and started to fly away.