Providence: Book One

Chapter 17: A Visitor

Chapter Seventeen

A Visitor

Naoki's fingers twitched as the bruises drained from his skin like ink from a bottle. He was pleasantly warm, and there was an odd pressure on his mouth. He opened his eyes to see Rio, her lips pressed against his, her eyes closed. His own eyes widened and his body tensed. This was wrong, Rio was the Megami no Shimo Be, he had to push her away, but the reasons for doing that were slowly fading from his foggy mind.

Unconsciously he deepened the kiss, his mind working only on instinct. He felt Rio stir and he reached up to brush the hair out of her face, only then noticing the bruises now fading from his arm. Rio pulled away and opened her eyes. Bright green, clear as glass, but cold and calculating, there was none of Rio's warmth in those eyes. He knew as if by instinct that he was face to face with Ekirei, and what was worse, he had kissed her.

"There you are," The Goddess purred, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. Naoki noticed Kotone and Suzu behind her. Both paralysed with shock. Naoki's mouth suddenly felt dry.

"Where is..." his voice came out scratchy and he cleared his throat. "Where is Rio?" he scanned the room a second time, taking note of the unfamiliar room he had found himself in. The profusion of herbs pinned and drying on the wall told him that he was in some sort of Apothecary. The last thing he remembered was fighting that monster, Rio had done something to it and he had caught her and then...pain, her bracelet was broken, he had poisoned himself. He flinched at his own stupidity, had he somehow chased Rio away? had he turned her into Ekirei? Why wasn't he dead? He shook his head, trying to clear it.

"Rio is here." The Goddess pointed to her forehead, right between her eyes. "You can spare a few moments, can you not? I visit so rarely."

"My apologies, Byoki no Kami." Naoki made to sit up, but the Goddess raised a hand.

"There is no need to tax yourself, the poison is fading, but your nerves will be sensitive for a while."

"How did you...?" Naoki faltered, not wanting to be perceived as insolent.

"What I give, I can take away." Said The Goddess through a tight lipped smile. "Probably."

Now that he was really looking at her, he couldn't fathom why he had ever mistaken her for Rio. Her skin was greenish, almost sickly, and she was far more cruel in her manner. Her clothes and hair formed billowing halos around her body. She looked like a siren, submerged in water, mysterious and deadly and achingly beautiful. Naoki shuddered under her pervasive gaze. She saw too much, her eyes peeled off every protective layer and penetrated his deepest darkest soul. He would have given anything to have Rio back, and she knew it.

The Goddess reached a hand into the sleeve of Rio's Kimono and pulled out her bracelet, now fully restored. "My plans have changed," she said, as if responding to an unheard query. She placed the bracelet in Naoki's open palm. "Give these to Rio when she returns to her body." She said, closing his fingers around the beads. "I want you to make me a promise, human." Naoki nodded his head, still dumbstruck. Behind Ekirei Suzu grabbed Kotone's hand, he could she her slender shoulders trembling. And the healer was as white as parchment.

"This child is weak, more fragile than glass and utterly useless, she has no idea how to tap into her own potential." the Goddess paused and her face softened, making her look more human and, to Naoki, more beautiful. "However, she does have potential, and she is...important to me." she touched her fingers to her shoulder, where Rio's jagged scar was hidden under her kimono. "I want you to take care of her for me."

"Naoki bowed his head, "I promise." his heart was racing. He regretted ever having doubted Rio's divinity status. The Goddess approached him and tilted his head up.

"Rio is peculiar, strange things will happen around her, can you accept this task?"

Naoki nodded, cold sweat beading up on his forehead and the back of his neck. "I can." he said. The Goddess smiled and her aura flared out, enveloping the entire room.

"You have my blessing Nakano Naoki, your journey is only just beginning." a flash of blinding light overtook him and when he opened his eyes the Goddess was gone. Rio swayed on her feet and Naoki caught her in his arms. He held her tightly against him, grateful to have her back.