Last Girl

Chapter 10

It was dark and cold. That's how I knew it was a nightmare. Only in this place of torment, would I ever feel so scared.

I tried calling out with my own voice, but I was met with silence. I held no power here. Only that voice had all of the control.

"YOU ARE MINE."

Please. Someone get rid of the smoke. I can feel it in my throat. It's inside of me. Burning me with its nasty blight.

"YOUR BODY IS MINE."

I could feel the smoke seeping its way inside the pores of my skin. It was trying to completely dominate me. Down to my very core.

"YOUR SOUL IS MINE."

If it's possible, I felt like my vision was being tainted by its essence. My sight was obscured. The one thing that could always see the truth was being taken away from me.

I'm not my own person. Not with that smoke here. I AM HIS.

Trying to escape the torment, I lunged forward. The barrier keeping me here was thick. It felt like black plastic. I couldn't pierce it; the barrier was perceptual. It pulled me back in.

No matter how much I clawed at it, I was no match. The futility of it made me hysterical. I started clawing at myself. I wanted to scratch my arms. I need to get his infection out of me.

As I tried to scratch, my arms were pulled away. Looking up in despair, I saw Haruto.

"What are you doing?" He asked desperately.

Looking around my surroundings, I realized I was no longer stuck in that nightmare. Instead, there I sat on Haruto's lap on the roof. Both my hands were being held up by him. There were scratches, but luckily, they weren't deep enough to draw blood.

"Why are you on the roof?" Haruto asked.

I wasn't quite sure of the answer myself. Why was I up here? Sleepwalking perhaps? But if that were the case, why here of all places? Everyone knows I fear heights.

"I... I took a nap... and I... I can't remember the rest." I answered confusedly.

For whatever reason, Haruto didn't press me any further. Even if he trusts me enough to tell the truth, he should still question the validity of the situation. Rather, he simply took off his leather jacket and draped it around my shaky shoulders. Sitting down beside me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and huddled closer towards me. I didn't have to ask why he would do such a thing; I knew in the back of my mind that he was shouldering me from the height. And for that, I'm eternally grateful.

"You haven't been yourself for a while."

So, he's noticed. I guess it wouldn't take a genius to tell the difference between myself and the previous host.

"In what way?" I asked. As far as I can tell, I've acted as closely as I could to the other Aiko. Surely there are no drastic differences between us?

"How should I put this? As of lately, you're more of your own person."

More of myself? Huh... I can't say I was expecting that.

"Up until that argument with your father, you were always compliant. You never seemed like you were fully there. You always acted according to the expectations of others."

So, Aiko was never her own person, to begin with? That's kind of sad to hear. I guess that's why I've noticed inconsistent behavioural patterns in her memories. I was always puzzled by how someone so delicate could also be wild and playful around Kaoru. I assume now that the reason for doing so was so she could match that lively and overly emotional personality of his.