Serpentine

三

Ume couldn't feel anything other than what was a numbness that curled in her stomach, a soft-belly ache to her fingers, her arms, and legs just dancing down her spine. A soreness that tingled in a way she couldn't get rid of.

She couldn't feel the air expand her lungs or when that air's leaving either. Her eyes couldn't see what rainy clouds had sunk into the sky from the coast, but there's some pattering she hears. She can't adjust her hairpins deeper, or brush at the dust on her kimono. Can't smell.

All her senses were blocked with an exception. The only thing she heard now was what shouts burst. And then came a burning brew in her chest, really picking her heart apart like some type of crow, and swallowing down what split from it. Even if she couldn't see, she knew exactly who did this to her.

That stupid samurai and ugly woman did this.

And she knew right away what happened, her beauty, her charm, her voice, eyes, were striped away from her. Her entire figure so scarred, too scarred, that whatever's still holding her together's slackening.

She wanted to claw out their faces, dig out their eyes, tear out their hairs till there's nothing left but some skin under her nails. She wanted them to suffer horribly as they did to her. The anger in her chest sputtered and enflamed, ravaging like a pack of wolves that's barking and biting.

Ume memorized their faces, swearing like some ghost to haunt them and fester with their lives, disregarding all types of heaven or nirvana, or that she would wander the world, there wasn't a stronger feeling than revenge.

They needed to croak.

Now she sat in darkness with closed eyes because there's nothing to see, and listening instead. There's a strain in the lungs trying to support her, she knew they were failing, and she figured a last whine would do her good to release what air's trapped in her chest, but her physical body was too in pain.

So she focused more on a heartbeat, counting and anticipating each second that passed.

"Ume!"

She opened her eyes, again, to darkness. "Gyuutaro...?" "Gyuutaro! Gyuutaro! I'm here! Please help me!" But her voice drowned out into what nothingness came around her like tsunami waves.

He didn't answer her.

She speaks louder, more desperate like, and steals a breath and yells. "Please! I'm sorry! I was just protecting your name! I don't want to die!" But there's no answer coming back to her, but she's still yelling until her throat scratches, and she keeps at it, keeping it strong.

And her brother comes yelling back, not to her, he couldn't hear her, "STOP, STOP, STOP! DON'T COLLECT FROM ME! YOU'RE COLLECTING FROM ME AFTER NEVER GIVING ME A DAMN THING?" Ume started to cry.

The ache in her heart was already weakening into slower beats, and that numbness starts stiffening her movements, and it's freezing up her chest and her lungs. It's a frost that keeps spreading quick, too.

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! TURN MY SISTER BACK THE WAY SHE WAS!" Ume's not too eased on dying though and the pounding against her chest, trying to reanimate her heartbeat, working just a little.

"I'LL KILL THE GODS, BUDDHA, ALL OF YOU-" He was silent after that, letting out a soft choke. "Brother?" Ume called out, stretching a hand. "Brother?" She repeated. "Brother!" The tone she has rises when the panic's stronger. And she continues calling him.

A constricting comes all suddenly, squeezing her throat all firm until she can't even squeak. It's a heaviness what was clawing at her throat, a heaviness weighing down her shoulders, too. Pain suddenly hits her, hard, and it winds her up, doubling down on her.

It wasn't a bad thing to start praying, especially when something's bad happening to you, so she started to beg, praying hard to the gods, Buddha, anyone that her brother was safe.

She put her hands together, clasping real tight, even bowing her head low between her elbows, bending her body so that her head touched the ground and prayed like it would do something. Ume hoped it would, and she would use what dying heartbeat was left to carry a final prayer.

Every heart beat came so slowly, stealing every little bit of energy in her body to support every single breath, and causes a great pain to strain at her. And as if every breath— because it was every single breath— made her tired, extremely tired, the heaviness just kept rocking on her shoulders.

Ume's life was short-lived and she definitely could've made more, but what earnings she did make, or what attention she received made life sweeter. Her brothers worshipped her, and of course, she adored them, too, and she would owe it to them for what joy she's had in her life. They taught her to walk, to device correctly, and she remembered them cheering when she stole from
men wandering too close to her, always sticking their hands too close to her hips or her hair because she knew she was just too gorgeous.

Even while this life was too short, she was glorious, she knew that, and understood that life just couldn't handle her stealing anymore of good wishes and happiness, and made her own up to the joy she'd been experiencing.

But she still bowed deeper and held her hands together and prayed for her unfortunate brother for what mercy could be given to him.

Then sounds like footsteps, "Stay away my from my family, you monster freak!" Ume snapped her head up, breaking from prayer to listen and laughed, "[M/N]?"

Her older brother? Ume was so focused on her oldest brother that she forgot what other brother was still with her. She waits a little more to hear his voice again, eyes only glittering when glee when he's barked again. "Step back!" Her brother had came for her! For Gyutaro, too!

And she breaks out of her prayer, pushing off the ground to her knees. She tucked away what hair fell from her ear when she stood, gritting her teeth to lessen the pain a little. "[M/N]! Brother, come get me please! I'm scared!" A poor scream was lost to what darkness is still spreading.

There's a conversation happening, she knows because there's some muttering going on, but her body's too weak to operate correctly and function, and she starts wobbling to her knees.

But her brothers are still there waiting for her.

Then something pierced into her real sharp, then some current, some bright currents burst into the darkness like little rivulets coming through what were cracks. It ran through her body, fizzling and souring the blood so it stabs into her bones.

A writhing pain she never dreamed of and the suddenness happened fast, too. She slumped to the ground, clutching her sore throat while some tears brimming her eyes came down.

Her body starts twitching, the hands she's holding her neck with trembles, trembles and shakes like some wet dog. It's a surge, a surge that's sliding off that heaviness down her spine, letting her shoulders shake off that tightness.

And she never felt better.

Her ears are sharp, she can hear what little snow falls to the ground, it's accurate, more pristine, too. Every stiffness in her bones loosen because there's nothing that holds her now, it's all some feathers and silk.

A flash of light burrowed into the darkness, and it cut through, opening what was an exit.

She used this as a chance, a chance to escape her fate. And when she stood up, she found her physical body what was weak and burnt became so strong and healthy, so she ran for the light, leaving death who clamped their hands in fury.

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(its probably bad at the ending because it's like 5 am. grammar sucks yeah.)