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It had been several months since their marriage. 5 months to be exact. And if you knew Shizuku personally (not that it’s a possibility, every acquaintance of hers have ended up as ghostly servants), you’d find it odd how the marriage has lasted that long. The oh-so-beautiful Shizuku has a ravishing and not-so-lucrative murderous intent- to bring carnage to all her precious ‘lovers’. It was all so simple really. Just flaunt her beauty to prospective loners, get them so hooked up that they marry and move in, and her favourite step, get rid of them and make them servants for life.
It was a foolproof plan. She’s been doing it for a few centuries now but why… why does her new lover just… not die???
Airi was odd. Very odd.
Shizuku had a feeling Airi knew of her intentions from the get go but no sane mortal would stick around if they did.
Shizuku let the honeymoon-phase wear off before enacting her first few ideas…. but all of them failed.
Maybe Shizuku was just an old-timer spirit but she’s so sure that humans haven’t evolved to the extent of surviving a hacksaw straight through the heart.
Worst part? Airi brushed it off as if her newly-wedded wife didn’t just try killing her.
But Shizuku was no quitter. So what if Airi survived a few attempts! Shizuku’s kill count was in the double digits, she has many tricks up her sleeves. It was no biggie. She was going to ace this!
Hopefully.
1.
Shizuku liked playing the piano. Her beautiful and quaint out-of-tune grand piano let out just the right sounds to create a melodious, ominous and spine-chilling song. Shizuku found it to be the best harbinger of the unsightly future her lover(s) await(s).
But Airi?
Airi revelled in the tunes. Frequently improvising her own…disturbing lyrics to fit the song. If it weren’t for Shizuku’s carnal desire for murder, and the fact that a few of her spirit servants had mysteriously disappeared; Shizuku would’ve rejoiced at finally finding a lover as insane as her.
If Airi could improv, so could she.
Silently saying her gratitude to her piano for its centuries of service, she set her plan into action.
“Airi-chan, dear! Could you please help me move my piano down the stairs to the living room?”
At Shizuku’s call, Airi appears by the entryway, dressed up in her prim red dress, befitting of the only surviving heir of the notorious Momoi family.
“But why? You’ve seemed content with having this stay here for a good hundred years.” Airi says with genuine concern.
Putting on her softest smile, Shizuku replies, “Well you see… I’ve always wanted to play by the garden. You know all those fairy tales where birds come flying at the sound of music, I want to experience that too! Plus! Change is necessary for progress, no?”
Airi lets out an exasperated sigh, “I doubt any bird will come flying to you with the type of songs you play. Plus, why can’t your gazillion servants help out instead? What, you want me to be your servant too? Heh.”
‘Of course I do!’ but Shizuku let that thought stay undisclosed. Putting on her best puppy eyes, she says “You’re right but… I wanted to spend some time with you..”
“By…making me do physical labour..?”
“Yes…?”
Airi sighs. She might have an idea of where this would be heading. Well, since she’s here to make her life less boring, might as well entertain Shizuku’s stupid ideas. (Shizuku’s super cute doing those puppy eyes but Airi wasn’t the one who said that).
“Alright, fine.”
“Yay!!”
Airi smiles, “So. What do you want me to do?”
“Ah yes! How about you hold one end of the piano while I hold the other, and walk backwards towards the stairs? When we’re on it, I promise to communicate all instructions to avoid any mishaps!”
Shizuku accidentally let her excitement affect the inflection of her words but she hoped Airi didn’t notice it.
“Alright, let’s do it.”
Airi didn’t notice it!
Airi, did in fact, notice it.
‘She’s willing to break her grand piano in the grand scheme of killing me? That’s kind of noble of her. She’s really determined to kill me hm?’
Shizuku’s unsure why Airi is smiling so fondly at her. She tried to stop a blush from spreading on her extremely pale cheeks but being dead for centuries doesn’t exactly help her in that department.
“Hehe, why is your face all red?”
“Um! It’s getting hot in here, yeah!”
“It’s the middle of winter and we haven’t even started moving this thing around. Can ghosts even feel temperature?”
They can’t but Shizuku isn’t going to admit that. “That’s irrelevant! Let’s get this done with as soon as we can! I’ll play a few songs for you as a reward!”
“Anything for you, love.” Airi says with a tinge of fondness as she bends to lift up the piano from its rear. She watched Shizuku do the same before saying, “Alright, guide me.”
And guide Airi she did. They got to the gallery right before the staircase when the real fun began.
“Be careful Airi-chan! I don’t want you to get hurt!” Yes, how else will she become the perfect ghost servant?
“Of course, let me take it slowly.” Yes, why would she give Shizuku the satisfaction of succeeding so easily?
Airi takes a step downwards, then another, and another.
Airi was down far enough for Shizuku to take her first step too.
But she obviously didn’t do that.
Looking right into Airi’s eyes, Shizuku lets go.
The piano slides down, causing Airi to lose her balance and fall backwards. Her fall loses its momentum from the multiple bumps her path takes but the piano is right there to guide her to her demise.
“AIRI-CHAN NO!!!” Shizuku smiles at the sight but Airi wouldn’t be able to see it. A grand piano dragging her beloved wife down several flights of stairs. She can already imagine the scene. A broken piano, splinters of wood everywhere, and right in the middle? Airi, in a pool of blood, the same colour as her prim red dress.
Crash!
Shizuku snaps out of her induced delirium to look down the stairs in anticipation.
The piano was as good as gone and she could faintly make out some red.
She runs down the stairs, excitement worry evident in her steps.
“Airi-chan no!”
She quickly removed the pieces of wood…only to see a pancake shaped Airi.
“Wh-wh-what?”
The Airi Pancake’s limbs (?) twitched a little but stopped.
Shizuku, in her confusion, pushed away the last piece of polished mahogany on top of the Airi pancake.
Airi Pancake twitched again before it flew up a few inches off the ground and metamorphosed into Airi’s tiny body.
Airi unceremoniously plops onto the floor.
“Hey, you dummy! What was that for?!” Airi says calmly, dusting her shoulders. “You got my dress all dirty!”
Shizuku looks down to inspect Airi’s dress. She hoped it would’ve been covered in blood. Instead, all it showed was specks of sawdust.
Sawdust huh?
She looked at what used to be her beloved piano. She thought it would’ve been enough to get rid of Airi.. but it seems like it’s sacrifice was for nought because Airi was still in front of her.
Her piano was gone and her wife sat angrily in front of her with her eyebrows furrowed. ‘Maybe I’m just reaping what I sowed.’
Airi would’ve loved to tease an excuse out of Shizuku but she wasn’t blind. She could very well see how crestfallen Shizuku looked. She didn’t have it in her heart to replete that sorrow further.
Easing her face into a soft smile, “Hey.” Airi brushes a strand of Shizuku’s hair behind her ear, lifting her chin gently. “My family’s old manor has a pretty old unused grand piano. I know it’s not the same, you don’t share the same memories with it after all but —“
Unbeknownst to Airi, some of Shizuku’s melancholy had turned into surprise.
‘I literally tried to crush her to death even after she so graciously agreed to help me out and yet, she’s more worried about what I’d feel with my piano gone?’ Shizuku’s dead heart skipped a beat. (do not ask for the logistics behind that)
Airi’s ramble prevented her from noticing Shizuku’s change in demeanour. “Also… I think the piano still underwent regular maintenance till my father’s death. It’s been a while since I’ve personally had it checked out but still, I doubt it’ll be so naturally off-tuned like you preferred yours to be—“
Airi was cut off by Shizuku capturing her lips for a kiss.
When they broke apart, all that Airi could do was splutter like a fool. “W-what was t-that for?!”
“I think I’ll take you up on your offer.” Shizuku said with a smile so bright, so full of love, that it took Airi’s breath away (not literally).
“Oo-oh. Yeah.. I’ll..get the arrangements done.”
‘I might’ve failed at killing Airi-chan but… doesn’t this mean she trusts me to not try any more stunts again? Maybe..maybe next time I’ll get it right!’
This marks the end of an era of ominous piano music.
2.
“Airi-chan, dear! Dinner’s ready!”
Shizuku softly giggled to herself. Her body was bound to the manor…but her servants’ weren’t. With the help of her ghostly helpers, she had managed to concoct a ‘dish’ with enough...supplements to kill four adult elephants.
There was no way Airi’s surviving this!
Hopefully.
Airi entered the dining room and the little servants instantly got to work putting out the dishes and cutlery. They pulled Airi’s chair out for her and helped her put on her bib.
“Thank you…Arisa, was it?”
“Fufu. You got its name right!”
“I’m surprised that I did… All your helpers look way too similar…” The ghosts stop to silently glare at her. “Not that I’m insulting them! I correctly deduced Arisa, there are tad differences that can be made out! Haha….” Airi tried her best to revert the awkward atmosphere, “Well, how did you meet Arisa anyway?”
Shizuku lit up at that, “Oh! She was my first ever girlfriend, back when I was still human, fufu. We were sooooo close to each other! It was almost like we were fated to be but things turned sour between us and she tried to kill me! You can see who ended up victorious though!” Shizuku says, sipping on her cup of tea towards the end.
“Oh..” Airi wearily looks at Arisa, expecting some sort of revolt from her, considering how Shizuku casually just dropped the most out of context piece of lore about her life, but she found none.
Sensing Airi’s weary confusion, Shizuku clarified. “Oh Airi-chan you silly goober.” Airi felt oddly uneasy at hearing a few-something centuries old woman say ‘silly goober’- “if my helpers retained their memories, what good would they be? They lose their memories when they transform and I treat them such that they never sense anything is off and proceed to stay with me forever!”
“So…you admit to all of the servants being your past lovers…?” Airi knew this already but she wanted to see how Shizuku would react- she seemed pretty calm.
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Shizuku was not calm. How could she let such a thing be discovered? Airi will exit her life alive!
Her panic didn’t show up on her face though. Being a ghost has its perks.
“Oh no no! You got it all wrong. Yes Arisa did die, but I had to do it out of self-defence. I didn’t expect her to stick around for this long... The others came around when they saw someone of their kind residing here. I’m just grateful that they’re always ready to serve me.”
“But you just said—“
“You heard it wrong.”
“But—“
“Oh! The food is here! I’m starving, let’s dig in!”
Airi let it slide and chose to look down at her plate instead.
She expected something ridiculous but…her plate looked… relatively normal?
Seasoned chicken, rice, porridge, vegetables, a drink and…wagashi???
Shizuku saw Airi’s eyes light up, “Fufu, I specifically made your favourite sweets for today. But! You can’t have it until you’ve finished every grain of your food! So—“
Shizuku was cut off by Airi stuffing her mouth with rice.
That was easy.
Shizuku was so confident that her food would have Airi knocking the door of death, that she baked a few sweets for an… appropriate send-off.
Airi choked on some of the food and started coughing. She took a huge gulp of her drink.
Any second now…
Airi kept stuffing her mouth.
Just a bit more…
Airi held up the plate and stuffed the rest of the food down her mouth, finishing off her drink to end it all.
Shizuku stared blankly.
“Thank you so much for the meal. That was really good.”
What.
Airi continued, “What did you season the chicken with? It was surprisingly tart, it caught me SO off-guard, in a good way!”
Shizuku internally debated whether she should reveal the truth. She was no botanist, so she assumed the toxins would take some time to act up- that got her hopes up again. Eh, might as well make Airi aware of her cause of death.
“The castor plants growing in the greenhouse yielded seeds with a ‘surprisingly’ high content of ricin. Figuring I’d make use of it, I marinated the chicken with a paste of crushed castor seeds and hemlock and boiled it in a pot of cyanide for a few minutes. To alleviate the bitterness, I made a nightshade berry jam that’s to be eaten alongside it.”
“That sounds appetising! What did you put on the veggies?”
Shizuku seriously questioned Airi’s definition of appetising but she went on, “Not much. Just coated it with some lead salt and let it sit in dimethylmercury. It sounds scary, but don’t worry too much about it!”
Airi let out a chuckle, “What about this drink?”
“Fluoroantimonic acid base with a few alkaline salts to balance the acidity.”
“Why is the drink so… orange-y though?”
“Red lead.”
“I see!” Airi eagerly looks at the wagashi, “Can I have these now?” She looks up at Shizuku with childlike wonder.
Shizuku couldn’t help but chuckle at Airi. She just heard the most horrifying list of ingredients but she still seemed so happy about dessert. This was probably the last day of her life. Who is Shizuku to deny a last meal?
“Of course!”
It had been over a month.
Shizuku slowly made her way across the garden, towards the graveyard she had personally constructed in the forest to keep the bodies of her dead lovers.
She walked towards Airi’s.
She was so young, very pretty too. A cute smile and a personality so fiery, it was larger than her stature.
Airi was just…
“Oi! I didn’t know you had a past lover with the same name as me!”
…so ANNOYING to kill.
Shizuku placed a spider lily on top of Airi’s empty grave.
3.
The past rendezvouses have upset Shizuku greatly.
She greatly doubted if Airi was actually human. But from her experience of being Airi’s wife for seven months, Airi was more human than most humans. She never hid her true feelings. She didn’t hide behind a mask for the sake of others, as opposed to the perfect and elegant xxxxxxxx Shizuku- but human Shizuku died centuries ago and ghost Shizuku didn’t want to open that can of worms.
But…humans died from things poisonous to humans, humans didn’t have the ability to become human pancakes. Why was her human wife so un-human??
Maybe it’s time to test Airi’s ‘human’ limits.
“OIII GIVE IT BACK!”
Airi had to attend some court hearing she didn’t disclose the details of. So as a loving wife would, she stole Airi’s hair bows.
“Make me!” Shizuku blew a raspberry at Airi which only agitated her more.
“You! I’ll make you pay!!!”
Shizuku came close to the wall and phased out of it, not before popping her head out and giving Airi a shit-eating grin.
ARGHHHHHHHH.
Shizuku burst out laughing at that, loud enough to make sure Airi heard it.
Her laugh slowly subsided, ending with a content sigh. She slowly levitated towards the ground. Her foot was a few centimetres off the ground when—
“HA! CAUGHT YOU!”
Shizuku was tackled to the ground by a very eager Airi.
Shizuku was genuinely baffled. Maybe her wife TRULY wasn't human. “W-what! How did you get here so quickly?!”
“Just because I’m the heiress of some posh, vindictive family doesn’t mean I’m not athletic! You clearly haven’t seen these BICEPS!”
Airi sat on Shizuku’s stomach, proudly flexing her toned arms.
Shizuku couldn’t help herself. She shamelessly lifted a hand and started feeling Airi’s arm.
Her hand was quickly swatted away.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Airi’s rapidly reddening face betrayed the harsh tonality of her voice.
“We’re married.”
“AND? That doesn’t mean you can do that without my consent!”
“Can I feel your muscles?”
Airi spluttered at that, “When did you become so confident??”
“I didn’t hear a no.”
Airi was way too kind to deny such an innocuous request (and totally not because a drop-dead gorgeous woman wanted to feel her muscles), so she conceded with a faux sigh.
A few minutes had passed and Shizuku was still feeling her up with a look of concentration.
Airi had to stop this before she exploded. She clears her throat, “Ahem. Well?”
Shizuku looked straight into her eyes, “My biceps are larger than yours.”
“HAH?”
“My biceps are larger than y—“
“I heard that the first time!” Airi says out with a puff, “I’m not believing you till I see it for myself!” Airi definitely didn’t have any selfish intentions behind that request.
Shizuku pushes Airi onto her lap and then the ground, the purpose of their run-chase completely forgotten.
At least one of them had.
Airi looked at Shizuku with barely concealed excitement, a drastic contrast to the feigned anger her face had scrunched up to portray. If Shizuku wasn’t on such a vital mission, she would have melted right then and there.
Shizuku pulled up her right sleeve, showing off her ghostly-white skin, befitting of… well, a ghost.
Airi expectantly looked on.
Shizuku suddenly let out a loud gasp.
“gasp Airi-chan! Look, behind you!!” She said, pointing at something above Airi’s shoulders.
“Hah?” Airi quickly turned behind to look at the probable perpetrator, in a battle stance in case of the worst.
Confusion overtook her features when she saw nothing unsightly.
“Hey Shizuku,” Airi said whilst turning back, “What did—“
She was met with a patch of dirt. Remnants of their prior position stayed inscripted but a certain someone was missing.
Airi got duped, didn’t she?
That’s when she also realised why they were outside in the first place.
Bunching up her hair in frustration, “SHIZUUUUUUUUUUUUKUUUUUU ARGHHHHHHH!!!”
“Oh? Do you need something to keep your hair bunched up?” A melodious voice says somewhere in front of Airi.
There she is. Shizuku. A few feet in front, rotating the yellow hair bows between her fingers.
“You know…you could’ve always just become translucent or whatever. Could’ve made it much easier to bully me.”
“It’s obvious how much power I hold over you considering I’m a superior ghost. But…I didn’t want to exploit it too much. It would’ve been unfair to you.” Shizuku says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, looking oddly shy.
“So…” Airi fiddles with her fingers, “Can I get my hair tie back?”
“Catch me if you can.”
The run-chase is on
Through the courtyard and the verandah, Shizuku runs inside the house, seemingly understanding that stubbing your toe on furniture is something humans are definitely more conscious about.
Airi knocked into the flower vase (she held it up before it fell), fell face flat onto the floor, ran up the stairs at a record-breaking speed and was on Shizuku’s tail the entire time.
Shizuku was impressed. She would be even more if Airi survived her next antic.
Right ahead was the balustrade and beyond it? A 50 feet drop.
It definitely wasn’t enough to kill but it certainly guaranteed a broken bone or two. It was just a way to decipher if Airi’s bones were capable of breaking.
With a final bout of strength, Shizuku stood on the bannister, Airi only a few feet behind.
“AHA!” Airi yells out, stretching her arms out to hold onto Shizuku, “I’ve caught you now!”
Airi’s weight caused Shizuku to fall backwards. She holds onto Airi’s elbows, whose hands were gripping her collar.
Airi looked up at her with a cunning smile, her canine showing. Shizuku smiles back.
“Ha! Smiling because you know you’ve lost?”
“Smiling because,” Shizuku pointedly looks downwards, “of this.”
Airi follows Shizuku’s eyes.
She’s midair.
Huh.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—“
Airi’s scream was cut off by the sound of the wooden floor cracking beneath her weight.
A cloud of dust launched out of the Airi-shaped hole in the ground.
Shizuku flew downwards and peeped inside the hole.
“Oi, cough when was cough cough the last time this place was cleaned? It’s so coooooough DUSTY!”
“Are you hurt, Airi-chan?” Shizuku cut straight to the point.
“Nope.”
“Oh…”
“What’s in here anyw—“
Shizuku swiftly pulled Airi out from the Airi-shaped hole, lifting her up to a bridal-style carry.
Airi turned pink.
“Look at how dusty your dress is, you still have that hearing to attend! Allow me to dress you as an apology.”
“O-o-okay.”
Airi had sustained a whopping zero injuries.
4.
Shizuku prided in her ability to stay cool and calm. In the several centuries she’s been alive for, there’s only been a rare two or three cases where she let anger overcome her.
In short, it took a lot to make Shizuku annoyed.
Shizuku was annoyed. Very annoyed.
No partner of hers survived long enough to enquire about the basement. But Airi has certainly extended her stay with her ability to survive anything that comes her way.
Which meant she knew of the basement. Her falling into it didn’t help Shizuku’s situation either.
For a good month, Airi constantly bothered Shizuku about that darn basement.
‘Can I check it out?’
‘Why aren’t you letting me check it out?’
‘Please?’
‘Please! I promise to clean up the entire thing!’
‘You made me fall off the ledge, consider this an apology!
I dressed you up as an apology.
That was of your own volition! This is the only apology I’ll accept!’
‘I own this manor, it’s only right I get to check it out!’
Airi’s right, she did own the manor. Yet, she never ventured further under the guise of being the owner. She valued Shizuku’s approval for a purpose Shizuku herself couldn’t decipher.
Currently, Shizuku sat on an armchair on the verandah facing the garden. She sipped on a cup of green tea, basking in the moment of solitude.
“Shizuku!”
Shizuku almost cracked the cup handle.
She masked her annoyance with an overly sweet smile, “Yes, dear?”
Airi won’t lie, that smile gave her the creeps, but she’s as stubborn as a mule. “Can I see the basement?”
She expected a quick refusal… but she heard nothing.
She opened her eyes (when did she close them?) and saw Shizuku looking at her with an indecipherable look.
Airi looked on expectantly.
‘If Airi-chan’s immune to physical torture,” Shizuku took another sip. ‘What about…mental agony?’
Airi’s eyes widened at Shizuku’s sinister smile.
‘The basement hasn’t been cleaned in centuries. God knows how many mites are down there. There’s no way Airi can live through that, right?’
Hopefully.
“Um, darling?” Airi lets out meekly, very unfitting of someone so proud.
“I’ll take you there.”
“Expected. I’ll make sure to— wait what??”
“You don’t want to go there anymore?”
“N-no! I just…didn’t expect that.”
Shizuku wordlessly got up and walked towards the locked door leading to the basement’s entryway.
Airi silently followed.
They were right outside the basement door.
Airi watched as Shizuku unlocked the first, second, third and fourth bolt.
“Tight security eh?” Airi laughed out.
Shizuku opened the door.
Behind it was a second door.
Airi watched as Shizuku unlocked the five mortise locks, the six cylindrical locks, the three latches and finally, the epitome of prime security- the chain.
Shizuku opened the door.
Behind it was a third door.
“What the hell…”
“Mind your language.” Shizuku blankly said as she inserted the key.
“Fuck y—“
Shizuku phased through the door. Airi heard the door click from the inside.
Shizuku opened the door.
Behind it was Shizuku herself.
“Only three doors? I say you need a few more.”
Shizuku closed the door.
“NO! I’m kidding!”
Shizuku opened the door and pulled Airi in, shutting it behind her.
“Welcome.”
“Woah,” Airi looks around, “I see absolutely nothing.” The room was pitch black.
Before Airi could ask about the lighting options, her back hit the wall. She felt her hands be pinned above her head.
“Hey!”
Airi couldn’t see but she could definitely feel Shizuku’s breath near her own face. Airi hoped Shizuku couldn’t see the blush on her face.
Shizuku felt bad for Airi’s impending doom. She could see how red Airi was but didn’t have the heart to remind her that ghosts have night vision. She slowly reached into her pocket.
“Y-you know, there are much more romantic places to do these things.”
Shizuku didn’t feel so bad anymore.
She locked the handcuffs around Airi’s wrists.
“Woah woah woah! I didn’t know you were into that!” Airi was slowly led and pushed onto a chair. Shizuku began tying her legs to it.
“I… I see why you didn’t want me to check this place out alone…”
That intrigued Shizuku a bit, so she enquired further. “Hmm? Why so?”
“I see why it would be embarrassing to admit the reason as to why your sex dungeon is so dusty. You get no bitches!”
.
.
.
.
Shizuku began to walk away.
“Heeeeeey! Where are you going! I’m still clothed you know! You better be returning here—“
Shizuku locked the door from the inside.
“Hehe, you’re so beautiful darling. I’m all yo—“
Shizuku phased through the door.
“H-hey!”
Shizuku ensured Airi heard the click of every lock.
“SHIZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKUUUUUU.”
Hearing thuds coming from the basement became a daily routine. Shizuku couldn’t suppress the concern that crept into her mind after a particularly loud crash for the first few days but habitually, they became mere background noises.
Whenever boredom struck, she and her servants often played a game of ‘what-was-the-cause-of-the-crash’ where, as the name suggests, they tried guessing what Airi would be up to to cause such loud noises. Though surprisingly, not every servant was up for a few rounds. Some of them were seemingly fond of Airi, concerningly so. A few of them regularly visited the captive too, which Shizuku would’ve been wary of if it weren't for the fact that the servants were utterly useless when it came to moving things around that weren’t under the effect of ‘ghost-magic’. Their tiny hands went right through them. Airi wouldn’t have been able to see them either. The servants would become restless if denied their routine checkup so Shizuku let them. What’s the worst that could happen?
xxx
Shizuku was relaxing on her armchair, the manor suspiciously quiet. It’d been a while since she discerned a loud crash, something might’ve possibly happened to Airi.
She closed her eyes, figuring that she’d go check up on her later.
“Oi.”
Shizuku wasn’t very proud of the loud yelp she let out.
There Airi was, right in front of her. Her clothes seemed perfectly clean. In fact, they looked like…Shizuku’s own old clothes?
“Heh, surprised much?”
“H-h-how did you get out of there?”
“That’s irrelevant. Anyways, I would’ve chastised you for being a cockblocker but,” Airi reveals a folder she’d been holding behind her back. “I think…this is something you should look at.”
In all her shock, Shizuku completely missed that Airi had something behind her. She looked down at what seemed to be…a photo album.
A photo album she hadn’t opened since her human days.
A tear ran down her cheek.
“Hey,” Airi says, wiping away the tear with the pad of her thumb. “I know your life as a human is a pretty sensitive topic. There’s a lot you’ve yet to tell me and when I accidentally came across this album, I refused to let myself make any assumptions knowing how uncomfortable you’d probably be with it.”
She cusped Shizuku’s free hand. “You…don’t have to tell me anything. Hell, I’ll even leave you be if you want me to.” She lets go of her hand, preparing to walk away. “There’s only one thing I’d like to say…I think…I think it’s okay to let go of the past.”
Shizuku held Airi’s hand, refusing to let her walk away.
“You--“ She was cut off by her own sniffles that she tried so hard to suppress.
Airi sported the softest smile Shizuku had ever seen on her, “It’s okay to cry, love.”
And so she did.
You’d think an archaic ghost would have little to no emotions but Airi was correct, she’s yet to let go of her past, yet to let go of the mistakes her human-self made.
“Why, why, WHY are you so nice to me!” Shizuku yelled out. “I’ve- I’ve only ever hurt you. You married me knowing very well I’d try to kill you and yet; and yet you stayed. Cared so much about me when I’m so unworthy of it all! Why—“
“Because I’m in love with you, Shizuku.”
“Why-“ Shizuku sniffles. “Why me, you’re so perfect. So much more perfect than I could—“
“Why do you think you have to be perfect to be loved?”
Bullseye.
Silence blanketed over them, only irregularly broken by Shizuku’s loud sniffles.
A minute passed. Then another. And another.
6 minutes of silence. Yet, Airi kept holding her hand. Airi didn’t leave.
Airi never left her.
“When I was still a human, I was made to wear a mask of perfection.” She glanced up at Airi to see her disgust, but there wasn’t any.
She continued, “It broke me, completely destroyed me. There were so many emotions bottled up inside me, but they had to be visceral. I couldn’t reveal it to anyone lest they should think any less of me.
“I thought it would be alright. Thought it would be alright as long as I was the only one suffering but I was too shallow to see how it wasn’t. I…didn’t have any genuine friends. They were all friends of the Shizuku, the epitome of perfection but not…me. I feared what they’d think of me if I were to ever let go of my veil. Well…Arisa and…Sh- sniff Shii-chan… they were the only ones who truly knew me. But…I just had to mess it all up.
“Me and Arisa were so close, so close, that I didn’t want to let go even when things changed. Shii-chan was always so protective of me…she wanted me to leave, desperately wanted me to leave, but I didn’t listen. Arisa had got jealous of me for reasons I now understand to be very rational, just that, the younger me couldn’t understand why, couldn’t understand why things ended up the way they did. And well… she was gone. I went to Shii-chan, she was the only one I had left after all, but she looked so…disappointed. So heartbroken. That I never bothered to listen to her concerns and only confided in her when things went south.
“She never said she hated me, never said anything at all, but I assumed she hated me. I…ran away and…that was the last time I ever saw her.
“When I became a ghost, I worked my hardest to become as strong as possible. So that Shii-chan, wherever she was, could finally see that her stupid older sister wasn’t just a wimp who’d run away when things got bad. All these years, I’ve been- have been collecting all these souls to assert my prowess…hoping that one day Shii-chan… Shii-chan—“
Airi enveloped Shizuku into a hug, resting Shizuku’s head against her shoulder. “I…I don’t know a lot about ‘Shii-chan’ but I can see she cares about you. If she desperately wanted you out of your now-toxic relationship, what makes you think she’d want you mulling over a century old scenario that your past self envisioned out of self-hatred?”
“But I don’t have anyone to support me—“
“What am I here for?? If I didn’t care, if I only cared about your looks, why would I still be here with you? Why would I entrust myself as your emotional support? Shizuku, you- you don't know how much I’ve ended up caring about you. The reason why all your murder attempts have failed is because…I sold my soul for immortality and yet.. I- j-just words can’t explain much but will you- will you let me show you just how much you’re worth it, show how much I truly care about you?”
And for the first time in the last half an hour, Shizuku smiled, in fact, she let out a small giggle. “Hehehe, this sounds like a marriage proposal.”
Airi smiles too. “It can be whatever you want.”
You, if it’s with you, I’ll dive in without hesitation.
It’s a start that will illuminate even the wrong path I took.
Things like turning the world around, it makes me laugh when I look back at it;
That one and only magic that will change this world.
+1.
After the revelation of Airi’s immortality, Shizuku’s attempts at murder had decreased significantly.
But that doesn’t mean it has completely stopped.
Granted, it is now done out of humour. A small reminder of their status quo during the first year of their relationship.
True to her words, Airi showed how much she cared through actions. Be it simple gestures like cooking breakfast or grandiose ones like making an entire flock of shima enaga sing together like an orchestra- Shizuku appreciated it all. Her progress wasn’t left undetected based on how often Airi complemented and encouraged her for it.
Overall, it was great.
And you know what made it better? A stray cat entering their backyard.
Shizuku would’ve waited till Airi was done dressing up before approaching the feline but her line of thought was interrupted by a shout:
“Shiiiiizuuuuuuuuku, did you mix arsenic in my hair gel again?”
“Noooooo, what makes you think I’d do that!”
“I hate you!” Airi yelled back, with no malice in her tone.
Considering Airi was now occupied with… detoxifying her hair, Shizuku took it upon herself to approach the cat.
Shizuku approached the cat.
The cat approached Shizuku.
Shizuku squatted on the ground to look at the cat better.
She squealed in excitement.
“Hey little guy! Who might you be?”
The cat answered by licking her hand.
AHHHHHHHHHH
Shizuku rubbed its chin. It purred contentedly.
AHHHHHHHHHH
“Do you want some snacks?”
“Meow!”
AHHHHHHHHHH
Shizuku carefully picked up the cat, not wanting to already push boundaries. She looked at the cat for confirmation.
“Meow!”
“Meow meow!!” Shizuku responded excitedly.
She ran to the ground floor kitchen, decidedly showing the cat how to make cat food! (She doesn’t know how to. The two of them will experiment together. What a wonderful bonding exercise between the smartest species on the planet and a cat!) At least her servants can help.
It only took the shattering of two bowls, a burnt chicken thigh and a broken knife for Airi to finally cleanse her hair of arsenic.
“What’s all the ruckus for? What are you… IS THAT CAT?”
Shizuku brightened up even further (which shouldn’t have been humanly possible considering how excited she already was.) “Look who visited us!” She held up the cat, beginning to jog towards Airi, knowing how much her wife loved them.
“Wait! Shizuku no! I’m aller—“
It was too late. Shizuku stood right beside her.
“Hmm? What was that, dear?”
COUGH
“Airi-chan?!!”
COUGH COUGH COUGH WEEEEEEEEZE COUGH COUGH
“Wh-wh-what’s wrong?! What should I do?!”
“I’M COUGH COUGH A— COUGH COUUUUGH”
“A what???”
“Al— COUGH COUGH”
“A GAY??? WHY CAN’T I THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE UM UM UM.”
“ALLERGIC acHOOO”
“OH.”
Shizuku ran as fast as she could, she would’ve thrown the cat outside the window but the poor thing did no wrong. She kept it right outside the fence and instructed her servants to keep it away.
Once inside, she had to de-catify the house. She reached out for the cup—
aCHOOO COUGH COUGH ACHOOO ACK COUGH COUGH COUGH
SCREW THE CUP. SHE’LL MAKE HER SERVANTS DO IT.
She got rid of her outer shirt and pants, and scrubbed her hands hard enough to get rid of an entire layer of skin.
She ran to her dying wife and carried her off to their bedroom.
She knew attempting to murder Airi was a routine but she didn’t expect it to actually happen! Did her immunity not apply to cats??
Her skin was full of hives, her breathing very shallow.
They’d come so far together. There’s no way Airi-chan would die to a cat!
Shizuku worked tirelessly to reverse Airi’s allergic reaction. There was a benefit to killing so many lovers, she had an endless number of servants to assist her.
After a good two hours, Airi, so tired from her coughing spree, lulled into sleep. Shizuku was beside her the entire time.
Shizuku was still next to her when she woke up a few hours later.
Airi was very disoriented, barely remembering what happened before she fell asleep. Still, she sat up and caught sight of her reflection on the wall mirror.
Why does my neck have weird looking bruises?
“Airi-chan!! My dear, you’re awake! Thank goodness.”
Airi turned to the source of the voice.
Only to see Shizuku in her undergarments.
Poor ol’ Airi. Waking up all confused only to see… unexplained bruises and her wife naked.
Her face turned pink.
“Ara, Airi-chan? Do you still feel sick? Tell me, how are you feeling?”
“Wh-what,” Airi took in a large breath. “What happened? I don’t remember a lot.”
Shizuku frowned, “I…brought a stray cat in, unknown to the fact you’re allergic… you had a very extreme allergic reaction that took hours to settle down. You were so tired by the end of it that you were knocked out for even longer.”
“Oh…so why are you partially naked?”
“Oh! I had cat fur all over me. I was so worried about losing you that I decided to get rid of my clothes instead of spending time de-furring myself.”
“Huh. You don’t want me as your servant?”
“I’d rather have you die a painless death!”
“When was the last time you tried having me die that way??”
“No comment.”
“Anyways, what’s up with the marks on my neck?”
“Oh! Your hives were severe enough to leave some marks!”
“Oh…”
“Why do you look so down? Are you still feeling sick? Let me check your—“ Shizuku extends her hands towards Airi’s forehead.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Eh?”
+BONUS
“What are you burning, Airi-chan?”
“These damned letters that keep coming in everyday! There’s this priest who keeps warning me about how this manor is potentially haunted. What makes her think that?” Airi says, as a horde of ghosts dance above her head.
“Well—“
TIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG
“What the fuck was that.”
“Oh. I think that was the doorbell…”
“This place has a doorbell????”
“Yeah… I think the last time it was used was in…1657?”
“Tokyo has burnt down a million times since your last visitor.”
“Maybe you’ll be the last visitor of this place once I burn—“
TIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG
“ARGH! I’ll go check it out.” Airi says as she stomps towards the door.
Behind the door was…
A brown-haired girl gripping onto a crucifix.
“LADY MOMOI!”
“Um…yes?”
“I’m here to save you!”
“Ack, you’re the annoying priest who keeps sending me letters.”
“H-h-huh, I’m annoying? WAIT, THAT’S NOT MY POINT! I-I’m a priest on a pilgrimage and this manor gives me heebie-jeebies! You need to listen to me!”
Listen to someone who says ‘heebie-jeebies? Yeah no. “I’ve been living here with my wife for a while now and haven’t suspected anything.”
“WIFE?”
“Yes, anything wrong with that?”
Said wife walks up beside Airi.
“Ara, who is this cutie? Are you the priest Airi-chan was talking about?”
Minori’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t seen anyone so beautiful before. And the fact she’s into women too?? Maybe Minori’s not a weirdo at all!
But that’s not the point. Why is she getting heebie-jeebies from the goddess incarnate herself??
“Are you sick? You’re very red.” Said Shizuku as she touched Minori’s forehead.
Minori would’ve exploded further if it weren’t for how cold Shizuku’s hands were.
“Miss? If I may ask…why are your hands so cold..?”
“Ara, what can I say? My Airi-chan doesn’t take good care of me.”
“Hah?? After all I’ve done? You can’t blame the winter cold on me!”
“But Lady Momoi…it’s summer…”
“Oh.”
Shizuku was going to speak up but Minori suddenly let out a squeak.
“ACK!”
“What’s up now..” Airi says irritatedly.
Minori’s knuckles turn white from how harshly she was holding her cross, “I can sense a demon aura nearby!”
“Are you sure that isn’t coming from me considering how pissed off you’ve made me?” Airi replies sarcastically.
“I KNEW YOU WERE CURSED! Don’t worry Lady Momoi!!! I’ll do everything I can to protect you!”
Airi’s anger was almost completely placated by the determination in Minori’s eyes but it all came rushing back when she sighted the literal demon incarnate right behind Minori.
Airi was going to speak up but Minori beat her to it.
“AHA! I KNEW THERE WAS A DEMON NEARBY. DEMON BEGONE!”
Nothing happened.
“H-h-huh? DEMON BEGONE!”
Nothing happened.
“DEMON B—“
“Haruka, what are you doing here? Aren’t you bored of bothering me yet?”
‘Haruka’ replied smoothly, “Oh? What makes you think I’m here for you? I caught sight of,” Haruka runs a finger down Minori’s jawline. “This hyperactive priest here—“
Minori slaps her hand away.
“Do not bother Lady Momoi! Or else…”
“Oh? Or else what?” Haruka says with a smirk.
“I’ll! I will… um… exorcise you…?”
“That didn’t seem very confident.”
Airi jumps in, “Yeah, definitely wasn’t. Are you sure I can entrust you with my safety?”
“YES YOU CAN! I have exorcised multitudes of demons over my pilgrimages! It’s just that…right now… um… it’s a bit of a visual overload..”
“Are you implying I’m hard to look at?” Haruka frowns.
“I DIDN’T SAY THAT! You’re stunning!”
.
.
.
Haruka smirks.
“I MEAN. THAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU ANY LESS OF A DEMON! I do not know what connection you have with Lady Momoi, but I swear an oath to expel her curse!”
Airi looks at Haruka’s expression, suddenly a bit uneasy. Though, her uneasiness didn’t last for very long when she had a revelation.
“Minori-san, I fear-“ Airi pointedly looks at Haruka’s expression, “I may not be her victim anymore.”
“H-huh?”
Minori looks over to Shizuku for clarification.
Shizuku could merely give her a sympathetic look.
“HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?”