"I like it when it rains," Fuyuki said.
"Yeah? Until when your shoe gets wet? Ehhehh.. I don't think so..T-T" I sighed to myself.
"Well, at least I've got a spare one. =) Hehe.."
"Yeah, yeah.. and I don't. >3>.."
"Wha~? How can you NOT have a spare shoe, donkey?" she screamed with her high pitched voice till I had to cover my ears or my eardrums will just burst.
"Ummmm...let's just say I'm trying to save up some cash to get something else." I looked away and tried to think of a topic to talk about.
"Uhuh? Like what? To buy another pile of books? Yeah, call that 'saving money'. Oh jee," she said and hit her forehead.
I laughed and she smiled. Oh, actually we weren't walking back HOME, but were actually walking to the train station just a few metres away from school. As we were walking, we saw a box in the middle of the path where we were walking on. Curiosity kills the cat. And so, we took a peek at what was inside the box. Boy, were we surprised! There were 5 little cute snakes. The were brown and had spots on them. All so defenceless. But there was one that looked a little agitated. It was slithering around when it suddenly stood up and starred at us. I felt a slight tingle in my senses and backed away. While I backed off, it bit Fuyuki.
"Oh holy shnitz!" I exclaimed.
"Damn you!!" Fuyuki shouted in pain as she held on the the wound and started squeezing out the blood and venom out.
I tended to her and took out my alcohol swabs and wipe the wound. It was really painful as I could hear her whispering those "@$%#" words. I knew I had to bring her to the hospital or not she'll die. When we continued to walk to the train station, I looked back and saw the hatchling that was inside the box. It was standing up and it was looking at me with those bright, red, crimson eyes. I looke away and brought my friend to the nearest hospital.
After a few days, even after the anti-venom shot, Fuyuki didn't exactly heal completely (though she was suppose to heal after a day or two after the jab). She was having a really bad fever throughout the whole week. Everyone in school kept asking about her and I just told them she was sick. I couldn't stand answering all this questions EVERY SINGLE day. After school, I went to visit her at home. Her mum was getting really worried.
"Rin! Thank God you came by. Something's really wrong with her but I just don't know what's wrong."
Shocked with her exclamation, I ran to Fuyuki's room and saw her even paler than before. At that moment, I knew this was not any simple venom from any simple snake bite. At first, magic may not sound realistic, but for now it IS real (at least that was what I thought). I told her mum to close the door and not to come in until I give the signal. Then I could see her little siblings right beside their mother also looking as worried.
"Hey! If you still have the strength to hear me, I hope you can listen to me. This is gonna hurt but you HAVE to bear with it, alright?"
I told her and took out my pendant that was around my neck. It was a gift I got from my dad. It was a pendant where I can store my excess flow of energy into it. In this case, those energies were flames. I took out a little bit of the crimson flames from the brightest core I had in my pendant and put it onto her arm where the wound was. Yes, it was painful when I did that. Even I could feel the sting when I did that. She gave out a small wail and later remained silent. It was forbidden to use my flames on another MORTAL being (hey! I am MORTAL too. But not in the sense of a NATURAL mortal person.). I was actually taking the risk of killing her. But I BELIEVED. I believed that Fuyuki had the strength strong enough to overcome this overwhelming pain that she's suffering from.
After a while, she finally calmed down and I could see a little bit of changes in her condition. Not as pale as before but still sick. However, there was something that made me so baffled after looking at it. I couldn't even believe what I saw. Half way turning into something I didn't know, my best friend was half SOMETHING else. Then I remembered. It was the same scales I saw on those 5 baby anacondas and there was a bright 'star' like shaped on her other arm.
"Oh god! No way... This is not happening!"
I told myself and rubbed my eyes. I thought I was seeing things. But I was damned when I looked at her again and she was still having those scales. I didn't know what to tell her family. But I had to say something. So, I did. I opened the door and told them that the remedy I gave her managed to reduce the fever and relief the pain but what's beyond that is something not my expertise. Shocked till they thought it was unreal, her mother and sibling went to her and cried beside her bed.
"She's not gonna die." I told them before heading out the door.
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Months have passed and Fuyuki was back on her feet again. She was the usual hyperactive friend (rather I'd say 'kid') I used to hang out with. After school, we walked to the canteen, put our bags down and head to the toilet.
"So, how's everything? Could you control it?" I asked her.
"Yeah. Kind of. Only the changing part feels really weird and I don't like it," she said while walking with her head high up.
"Yeah. Who does anyway?"
I kept it a secret of what I did to heal her. I didn't want my identity to be known to anyone, not even my BEST FRIEND. Some people might think it's against God's will to have this bizarre ability to control flames. Some might even call it "The Devil's Child" or "The Devil's Descendant". So, I kept it to myself. Hmmmm... Instead of going to the toilet, we diverged into another direction where an empty and old room was and no one seems to go in there since the late 1990's. Somehow Fuyuki calls it her 'secret base'. That was when she showed me the TRUE form of our last nightmare. Half of me was afraid while the other half reminded me that she was my friend. This huge serpent in front of me, is NOT to be seen by ANYONE else. I know it they did find out, the death of my best buddy will be the result of it. I shaked my head in disappointment.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Freaked you out eh? Sorry.. Even I myself couldn't believe that a small snake bite could do so much damage," she said.
" No..that's not what I meant. I'm not afraid. It's just that, I... wasn't able to stop it from happening. If only I had dragged you out of its range, you wouldn't be like THIS. I could've stopped it from happening.." I told her and looked away. Then she suddenly jumped up to me and gave me a hug.
"Hey~ It's ok to be afraid once in a while, y'know? You don't have to keep denying those fears in you. I'm used to it already. Let it out already, ok? I don't want my best friend to be in fear when she sees me, ne?" she said.
Well, yeah. I gave up holding back. That was when I broke down and cried on her shoulders. I cried so hard and could even hear my heart pumping really HARD. It was pumping so hard after what I just saw. I couldn't save my own friend's life and now her life has changed. MY life has changed as well. FOREVER. That form was irreversible..... unless we can find the source of this 'curse'. That ws when I promised her that I will find the cure for her.
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It was a find day at school. Everyone was happy. The Carnival is finally here. I smiled to myself. I was waiting for Kahoko and Fuyuki to materialise but they didnt....=3=''
"Where are they? *sighs*" I exclaimed.
It wasn't long until I saw them walking up the stairs.
"Hey, Yukari! Surprised to see you today! XD Thought you'd be at home studying? Hmm..What's your reason hmm? Heeheehhee~" Kahoko asked with the sneaky voice she always had.
"Dunno..My mum told me to have fun for a while with my friends and since this is my last year in High School, so why not eh? ;)" I answered her.
"Yeahuh..as if. XP You should've stayed home and studied. Hahaha!" Fuyuki said and stuck out her tongue. And I replied her likewise.
"You guys seem to be getting along pretty well with each other huh?" Kahoko said.
"Her fault!" Fuyuki and I answered spontaneously. We paused for awhile and laughed. After all that, we walked to the hall.
A few hours passed and I suddenly felt hungry. So, I went out to the canteen to check what was on sale, when I saw my brother walking around. I caught him and asked whether he wants anything to eat. His typical reply was, "Anything edible and drinkable will do..=w=" I answered and said ok. So, we went to the canteen and looked around to get some food, until I saw something moving in the fish pond. I went over there and got the shock of my life when I saw 3 little 'overgrown' (more like mutated) baby snakes. Memorise of the past still haunted me. Then, the worst was about to come. Those bright, red, crimson eyes. I recognized those eyes. It was starring right into mine. I breathed in deeply as its HUGE and OVERSIZED body slithered out of the shadows of the pond. I backed away and tugged onto my brother's shirt and dragged him slowly AWAY from the pond. That was when it lunged OUT of the water.
"CRAP!" I yelled.
Everyone that saw the figure ran in all directions. My brother and I backed away slowly so that it won't diverged it's attention TO us. Then something just hit me and said, "Get him out of here! He might be the key to save us all." It took me quite a while to decipher the meaning of that until I remembered that somehow, my brother has this unusual ability to interact with reptiles like snakes. It all happened when were in the zoo. Whenever we passed the reptiles' cages, they would just come up to him as if like he was like their 'master' or owner. So, maybe that was what the 'voice' I heard in my head was trying to tell me.
I continued to move back, trying to avoid the male snake's gaze, when Kahoko came in. She was SHOCKED to see this mutant in our school. I looke back and called out for Fuyuki and without having the chance to tell her what was going on, her instinct got into her head and she already changed into her 'cursed' form. That was when I looked back at the snake again when it suddenly lunged at me with it's mouth wide opened.
"NO!!!!" I screamed.
......... I looked around. Everything was dark. I looked on my right and saw my clock. It showed 3.49 am. I panted hard. It was a dream. But a dream that was SO real. It almost felt like it was happening in reality. I checked my pendant and starred at my crimson flames. It was still swirling around like a dragon and shining brightly with its brilliant flames. By just looking at it, it calmed me down. Then I went back to sleep.
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And that was what is happening right now. At this moment...
(to be continued.. Scene Three : The Dragon has awaken.)
