❀Sakura Melody❀ .::Original Anime::.

Chapter 5 ❀A Song Plays❀

Opening Theme:

Brightdown by Nami Tamaki

The world blurred, Momoka felt her body go numb. The sound of the sword’s slash still echoed in her ears. She didn’t seem to hear anything else; not even the storm that had originally been deafening. Her eyes glazed slightly, losing the life that was within.

Am I really... dying? This feeling, my body numbing, is death? More peaceful then I thought.  Her thoughts drifted as the world became more dreamlike. Wait... what’s that sound?

She felt senses return as a sound hit her ears. It was like rustling leaves or papers, scattering everywhere. Opening her eyes more and coming back to reality, she gaped at what it was. Papers were everywhere, strewn about by the storm’s powerful winds. She tried to move and figure out what was happening, but she couldn’t feel her legs. Looking down, her eyes widened at what she saw.

P-paper?!

The exact location that she had been slashed at did not reveal a single drop of blood, but instead, she saw herself coming apart in sheets of paper. Her eyes fell upon the man who called himself Kazu to see that he was just as surprised as she was. However, he quickly gained composure.

“That happened faster than we anticipated.” He stated.

“What are you talking about?!” She yelled at him, confused and frustrated. “What the hell is happening to me?!”

“I’ll explain it after I capture you.” Kazu responded calmly, bringing his sword parallel to his body. Taking a deep breath, he placed a hand on the largest bell. He rasped it with his knuckles once, and Momoka felt her body freeze. Her legs, which were coming apart into more papers suddenly stopped, as did every paper surrounding her. Everything came to a complete standstill. “You can’t move a muscle right now, can you?”

She tried to shake her head, wiggle a finger, something, but found herself unable. Her eyes stayed glued in front of her, beginning to irritate her as she could not blink. Kazu moved his sword down slightly.

“You’re under the trace of my bells. You’re in a world that can I create. Nothing is as it seems here.” Kazu’s voice echoed as everything around her began to distort and change. Her home morphed into a field with tall green grass. Then it melted away to reveal an ocean. Next a city, and after that, an endless white abyss of nothingness. “They say that pain is only an illusion of the mind, but I do not believe so. You see, we have nerves on every inch of our bodies. They react if you were to say... burn yourself. The nerves would send an electric message to your brain saying that you were in ‘pain’. Nerves exist, so does ‘pain’.” He tapped the medium bell.

“Why are you telling me this?!” She blurted out before shock set in as she realized she could speak. Kazu stared at her across from the nothingness, uncaring eyes set on her. She felt like he didn’t need the anything else, just his stare could stop someone cold.

“You clearly don’t understand much, do you?” Kazu frowned. “How childish. You’re almost pitiful.” Kazu walked toward her sluggishly, his face void of emotions. She watched as a weapon materialized in one of his hands-- his bell-filled sword. “It doesn’t really matter. I was told to see if you would prove to be useful, and if you were not deemed so, I could just simply kill you.”

He reached out and grabbed a handful of hair, yanking her head up. He placed the blade of his sword at her neck, watching as her eyes stared at it in terror.

“This is your real end.” Kazu stated. “Sayonara.”

As he was about to swipe the blade across her neck and terminate her existence, a sound played in his ears. It was fast, rich, and powerful. It never swayed or bowed, yet instead it was strong and confident. Momoka watched as the nothingness that surrounded her shattered like glass to once again show her the small home she owned, being torn to shreds by the strongest storm she ever experienced. She immediately tried to escape Kazu’s grasp, every instinct screaming at her to get away. She froze as she heard the sounds of fluttering paper, feeling her body slowly turn into the sheets.

“Kiyoshi Habiki,” Kazu turned around to see him standing there with an instrument in his hands, yet it was different like Kazu’s. It was oddly shaped. It looked like a normal violin at first glance, but then she began to notice the differences. At the end of the neck, there was an opening. The middle boat had a piece hanging off of it; it looked almost like a gun’s trigger. “The Violin Gunslinger... That’s your nickname, isn’t it? You’re also a wanted criminal for murder.”

“M-murder?!” Momoka choked out, gaping at the traveler she had come to like. “Y-you’re a murderer?!”

“Momoka...” Habiki looked over at her with a soft, apologizing smile on his lips. “I am a murderer.”

Ending Theme:

Sakura Biyori by Hoshimura Mai