Just Let Me Go, We’ll Meet Again Soon|| Chapter 5 || Motive Reaction
The music was pleasant enough at first.
She was stupid to assume it’d stay that way.
She let her guard down, allowing the soothing music to lull her into a sense of security, not even noticing as the world slowly became blurrier before her. Well, not until it was too late.
She saw her dad, first, waving a cruel hand in front of her eyes.
“I didn’t leave because of your mother. I left because of you. What use are you to me if you can’t even make money?”
She didn’t understand it, at first. Her money wasn’t his to take, and she could still see. At least she could then. However, as the day drove on, and he wouldn’t stop hounding her about how worthless a talent she has without her sight, her mother and brother joined in on the festivities.
“What use do you have to this family if you can’t help us live?”
“Nee-chan is pathetic. She stole my ideas, leaves for Hope’s Peak, and now she can’t even make any money?! I really hate her!”
She couldn’t take it anymore. She ran, unsure of what running could even do for her in a situation like this. Her eyesight was waning with every passing second, the world getting darker and darker and she knew that if she didn’t get to her room soon she’d be lost and unable to see anything at all.
She ran into what she assumed was a wall, although after feeling skin on skin contact she realized it definitely was not a wall. She would have retreated had the gruff, apathetic voice that she knew as Takeshi’s not already made its way to her ears.
“You again? Yeesh. Stop followin’ me around, will ya? Don’t you get it already- We ain’t friends, and we never will be.” Hotaru took a step back.
“Takeshi, d-don’t say that… I thought you said--” She cut herself off with a soft grunt as she ran into someone with an equally familiar, yet far softer voice that began speaking to her, or, rather, the other boy about her.
“Look, Takeshi-kun… She’s trying to run away! Miyamoto-san is so pathetic it’s almost laughable… I can’t believe she thought that we were friends! What use does she even have, without her eyesight? It’s not like she can design games anymore...” Hearing the words spoken in Kaede’s voice.. It was too much for her. Tears bit at her eyes, blurring her vision somehow even further than it already was at the moment as she pushed past Takeshi and kept running.
She hadn’t seen him, but she’s sure she heard Haruto’s voice call after her too. “Take-kun, Kae-kun, look! She’s crying! Like she’d ever be a part of our group in the first place..!” It said, and a chorus of laughter resounded from the voices behind her. She just had to make it to her room, make it there and it would all be over.
Hotaru grasped absently at the air for any metal that felt like her doorknob, ignoring the flash of purple that she noticed in the space next to her. If she just ignores her, she won’t say anything. She knew even then that that was a stupid thought.
“Did you really think I’d still like you, after everything? You lied to me. You lied to everyone. This, all of this… It’s your fault.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” The split haired girl hissed, finally pushing her way through the door just in time for her vision to go completely black, and she pushed the door back with the force of her weight, sliding down it almost immediately afterward. The tears kept streaming down her face, and she went to rub at it with her gloves before she felt her hand get caught in mid air.
“Hotaru-chan~ Miss me?” No. She knew the voice, although it was certainly far too cheery to truly be the original.
“No… this isn’t happening. It’s fake. You’re dead! Yuki-kun died!”
“Huh, Hotaru-chan… You’re acting weird… I’m right here…” She felt herself get pulled into a hug, and everything- every word, every touch, every emotion- came flooding back to her. She can’t even tell if her eyes are closed or not, everything is black, but she lets her hands clutch at what she assumes was the fabric of his shirt anyway. A hand made its way to her hair as he continued speaking. “There there… It’s okay to feel this way, you know? After all… you did let me die.” The sudden coldness of the tone caught her off guard, and she attempted to push out of his grasp, but she was stuck.
“N-no! I didn’t! Mikka-chan killed you! I risked everything, everything to find the killer! I didn’t mean to let you die!”
“Haha! Didn’t mean to, but you did!” A singsong tone laced the statement, and she’s almost sure if she could see him he’d have an uncharacteristically shit eating grin at the moment. “But what was worse, I think… Do you want to hear this, Hotaru-chan? Hey, listen!” She felt her face get grabbed and turned toward something- maybe another face? It’s not like she could see it anyway. All she knew was that it hurt. “The worse part was that you forgot about me, Hotaru-chan.”
“I didn’t! I could never-” She began to protest, but she was cut off again.
“I thought you liked me, Hotaru-chan. Isn’t that what you told me? P.S. Confessing to a dead body.. How pathetic! But... now I’m dead and you seem so happy… You forgot about me… What kind of awful person forgets about someone she supposedly cared so much for?” Hotaru attempted to push away once more.
“I’m sorry! I never meant to forget about you! I promise, I’ll try harder… So let go! All I want is to be able to see you again…”
“Do you really?”
“Yes! Of course! I liked you more than anything!”
“Well…” The voice paused for a chuckle, pulling her back into another hug. “You could just die then… Then we’d be together… That’s all you want, right? For us to be together? Well, we could be… You’re pathetic. No one needs or wants you here, anyway, so you could just leave… This was never meant to be your story anyway. Life isn’t a video game, and you definitely aren’t a hero. So, let’s be together, Hotaru-chan… I hope I’ll see you soon.” She dropped to the floor, the voice immediately gone.
“Wait! Don’t go! Don’t leave me again!” But the call fell on deaf ears… It’s not like she can kill what she can’t see anyway… She felt around the floor, finally managing to crawl into her bed. She’s pathetic, she thought, as she clutched her pillow and cried… But at least the voices stopped. They would prove to come and go, but somehow the silence was far more agonizing than the berating. It left her time to reflect on their words. What is her use, if she can’t make games?
Perhaps, more importantly… Does anyone truly care for her? For what reason is she still living? She doesn’t even know anymore...
