Chapter Text
Little Furuya Eirini felt like she'd been offered the sun.
"You wanna play with me?" she asked quietly, raising one hand to point a finger at herself while the other still held the bag full of groceries. Her face was drowned in disbelief.
The six-year-old's wonderstruck eyes stared up at Ida - a girl twice her age who lived in her neighborhood and was very popular with the other children. A girl who had never spoken to Eirini before. "Of course!" she chirped, beaming down at her and tilting her head slightly. “Why wouldn't I?"
Eirini didn't have many friends. In truth, not a single one. But that didn't really matter to her - after all she had her mother.
And yet the thought of playing with another kid made her heart beat a little faster.
"I dunno," Eirini murmured, shifting shyly on her feet. Heat rose to her cheeks as Ida snorted at her nervous antics. "What do you wanna play?" She gasped and her eyes lit up. "Board games?! I have a lot at home - maybe my mother will join us-"
"No, no," Ida cut her off with a smile and took a step closer. Eirini stood rooted on the spot, a little uncertain. "I was thinking more about…" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "you have an ability, right?"
An uneasiness spread through Eirini's chest, heavy as a stone that threatened to break her bones. Once again she shuffled awkwardly on her feet. "Yes..." she answered hesitantly, her eyes widening as Ida's grin grew sharper. "But my mother says I shouldn't use it with strangers-"
"Strangers? We live in the same neighborhood, silly!" Ida exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, causing Eirini to back away a little. "And besides, we’re friends, right?"
I don't know you. Eirini could already taste the words on her tongue, her mother's voice urging her to speak them, but she pushed them back down. Friends. The sound of it left Eirini breathless. She thought she didn't need it, but now that it was just a finger's width away, her heart raced to grab it and never let go.
And so the idea of bliss won over her mother's voice of reason.
(If only she'd listened.)
"Right," she finally replied, to Ida's delight, whose grin grew even wider, to a level Eirini didn't even know was possible. She returned it with a timid smile of her own, only to grimace seconds later. "But I'm not allowed to use it outside of my bedroom, so come on, we should go-"
Once again Ida interrupted her. A frown etched to cross Eirini's features, but she fought it back and ignored her growing irritation. "Come on, no one's here anyway," Ida stated, gesturing around. She was right, there was complete silence on the streets, which were usually full of children playing and cars and their complaining drivers. It even seemed isolated, as quiet as the gentle breeze blowing through Eirini's pitch black hair.
(This was the first warning Eirini ignored.)
Eirini remained silent, causing Ida to let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay..." she drawled, before she suddenly grabbed Eirini's wrist - the grocery bag almost falling out of her hand due to the sudden force - and dragged the younger girl with her into a dead-end alley where the sun barely reached. "Good, now even if someone is walking down the street, the chances of them seeing us are low!" She let go of Eirini, crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "What are you waiting for?"
Eirini stared at her, big dark eyes shining like the moon and bleeding like the stars. This felt wrong…
"I don't think…"
The wind, which seconds ago had been a gentle breeze, suddenly whipped against her skin.
"What?" Ida scowled, irritation lacing her words. "I'm your friend, Eirini. Don’t you want to make me happy?"
The air grew colder and colder.
"But I…"
Something grazed against her ear, seemingly lost words trying to reach her.
"Eirini!" Ida exclaimed in frustration, stamping her foot in a matter that seemed far too childish for a girl her age. "I want to see your ability!"
Eirini wondered why the other children liked having friends. This didn't seem quite nice.
"Right now, you freak!"
Her fingertips began to burn, the feeling racing through her palm and up her arm as she unconsciously lifted it, her free hand hanging inches from her pale lips. "Call me away," she whispered, blowing out a breath of air, gently caressing her skin and causing tiny little things to fall from her trembling hand.
Snow fell to the ground.
Petals died and grew anew.
Drops of water swirled around in the air.
And stardust turned the alley into something new.
"There's nothing here, that wins my soul to stay."
Blood ran through her fingers like sand in an hourglass. And then all there was was snow.
Ida gasped and her eyes widened as she felt the snow melting on her skin. She turned and turned, the old dark alley now resembled something akin to a winter wonderland and went far beyond where the dead end was supposed to be.
Eirini just stood there as the wind continued to whisper to her, the buzzing in her ear furious as if she had done something wrong.
"This is…"
Suddenly thunder rang through the air.
"Magnificent."
(This was the second warning.)
Both girls jumped when they heard the new, unfamiliar voice and quickly turned towards the entrance of the alley. As soon as Ida's eyes fell on the figure, a man in a white coat that none of them had ever seen in the neighborhood, she ran.
The man didn't even spare her a glance as she passed him.
No, his violet gaze was entirely fixed on Eirini.
It made her skin crawl, maggots crept through her veins, and bugs burrowed under her nails. It felt like the sins her mother always talked about.
It reminded her of the way the pastor of the church they used to visit looked at her. She wasn't sure why it made her so uneasy, but when her mother slapped the man and left without ever looking back, she believed her instincts were right.
And in that moment, everything inside her told her to run just like Ida did.
Yet she found herself frozen in place.
She still couldn't bring herself to move when the man looked away and walked past her. The snow crunched beneath his shoes as he walked further down the mystical land.
Eirini stirred, the wind growing louder.
"You shouldn't wander too far, sir," she called softly, cradling the hand that had created this close to her chest. "You may never return."
The man turned to her with curious eyes. "Oh?" He tilted his head and an amused smile raised to his lips. "What makes you say that, dear?"
Eirini frowned. "Don't you hear it?" she whispered, as if she were speaking a secret. As her voice grew quieter, the ringing in her ears grew louder. "The wind's song."
After a brief moment of silence, the man approached her and dropped down on one knee. Eirini staggered away a little as he took her hand. He ran a finger down the back of it, touching a snowflake that fell onto her skin, watching it melt away. "Your ability is remarkable," he murmured, looking at her, a slight smile playing at his thin lips. "You as well. A true beauty."
And everything in her screamed run.
Still, she could not find it within herself to move as those violet eyes flashed red.
Her mind went blank with a single thought - the devil.
The cross of her necklace felt heavy against her skin.
Was this her punishment for skipping her prayers this morning?
The man hummed again, and despite his sharpened gaze, his touch felt so so gentle.
It made her sick, the maggots in her veins breaking through and feeding upon her flesh.
"Can you only create snow?"
Little Furuya Eirini was a foolish girl. A six-year-old who should have taken her mother's words more to heart. She felt God's judgment resting on her shoulders and shook her head in response.
The man blinked in wonder and raised a hand to stroke her hair - his next words being her verdict. "What else can you create?"
Eirini's fingers twitched around the soft fabric of her bag, urging her to drop everything and -
"Whatever I want."
The man's lips parted.
"Whatever I feel comes to life."
Laughter filled the air and her breath hitched.
The man laughed and laughed and laughed, his lanky shoulders shaking and his black hair falling over his face. Eirini could have sworn he looked the way she had felt moments before. Like the sun had been offered to him.
Eventually his laughter died down and was replaced by an fond twitch of his lips. "What's your name, dear?"
Swallowing hard, Eirini stepped back a little and bowed slightly, remembering her manners. The action felt mocking because why could she do this but not run? "Furuya Eirini."
The man chuckled. "My my, aren’t you adorable?" Then he took her hand again and pressed a kiss to the back of it. It was as light as a butterfly, but she didn't feel the same giddiness she had when one first landed on her skin. "My name is Mori Ougai." He squeezed her fingers and his eyes sharpened. "Now please make this all disappear, Eirini-chan."
(This was the third warning.)
Eirini flinched at the sudden pressure, his grip practically burning her flesh, but obeyed nonetheless. From one moment to the next everything disappeared, the wind called its song away and yet a hushed whisper remained.
It shut off completely as Mori stood up from his kneeling position and grabbed Eirini with one hand and the shopping bag she was holding with the other. "This must be awfully heavy!" he exclaimed cheerfully with a smile as he dragged her out of the alley. "Don’t worry, I’ll carry it for you!"
Eirini stumbled along, her legs still refusing to walk, but with his iron grip she had no choice. She considered trying to break away, but it seemed almost impossible, and fearing that her attempt would upset him, she decided against it. "Mori-san-"
"Call me Rintaro."
She blinked in bewilderment. Didn't he say his name was Mori Ougai? "Rintaro-san?"
Another amused chuckle. "Just Rintaro, my dear."
"Rintaro..." The name tasted like poison on her tongue. "I'm sorry, but I have to go home to my mother."
They said little Furuya Eirini was an odd girl. A sickly looking child with skin as pale as the winter sky and large dark eyes that compete with the never ending emptiness of the night. They said she always looked like she was on the verge of crying, and many thought that was appropriate since she was merely the product of sinners. Growing up in a religious household did her mother no good. And getting pregnant at seventeen without being married and the father having left, only made things worse. She stopped attending the church where she grew up in when Eirini was old enough to notice all the stares of judgment.
They wandered from church to church and never found a place to belong. One day her mother stopped searching and, with tears in her eyes, claimed that God lived in her own heart and in her prayers and that that was enough.
After many nights of hearing her mother cry, Eirini knew that wasn't true.
Both mother and daughter longed for the same thing - to be wanted, to be with people, even if they tried to deny it. That's how naive little Furuya Eirini was, who never had a friend and grew up isolated and could only talk to her mother. So she was confused by the man's gentle touch and amused smile, by the way he carried her bag for her - despite the unsettled feeling left in the pit of her stomach, she didn't feel repulsed enough by him to pay more attention to the words she was speaking.
She was a foolish child.
"Your mother…" Mori mused, his lips thinning before quickly turning into that smile again. "Don’t worry, my dear, I’ll just come with you!" he exclaimed, beaming in a way that seemed unnatural.
(This was the last warning.)
Eirini bit her lip, eyebrows drawn together. "But why?"
Mori practically cooed at the sight of her tiny frown. "You're so adorable..." He trailed off in thought as he paused to focus his gaze on her mouth. It only caused Eirini to bite down even harder. "Well, you see, I'm in need of some friends and I think the mother of such a cute girl like you would be the perfect candidate!"
Eirini's gaze widened. "Friends..." Her eyes sparkled with stars as she replayed that word over and over in her head. Friends made people happy. Her mother deserved happiness more than anyone else in the world. "That's nice."
A foolish girl.
A thumb stroked the back of her hand, rough skin against utter softness. "Yes, it is." Mori smiled. "Will you show me the way?"
Eirini nodded eagerly, any doubts she had about Mori gone, the image of her mother smiling brightly with happiness written all over her face was far more important than the unease that had settled in her chest.
Her mother deserved to be happy.
(Did she take it all away…)
When they reached her home and Eirini put the key in the lock, the buzzing in her ears started again and a cold shiver ran down her spine. But it was too late now.
Mori immediately went inside, the bag falling out of his hand and hitting the floor as he pulled something out of his coat's pocket.
Something sharp glistened in the dim light of the hallway.
"Eirini?" her mother’s voice rang from the kitchen, followed by the sound of footsteps. "Thank God you’re back. I was getting a bit worried! Again, I'm so sorry that I had to send you to the store alone, but all the paperwork and I think I'm about to get promoted-"
The moment she stepped into the hallway, everything went quiet. The woman froze, her eyes darting between Mori and Eirini, and hastily reached for her daughter-
The girl never felt her mother's familiar touch, the reassuring weight of her hand never got to rest on her skin.
(She couldn't even remember the last time she.
Was it a kiss on her forehead when she woke up that day or a hug as she left the house?
Little Furuya Eirini just couldn't remember.)
Within a few seconds, Mori took a long stride forward and brought the shiny, sharp thing to the woman's throat, and all Eirini could see was red.
Red pouring down her mother's neck.
Red tainting the floor.
Red staining her fingertips when she brought them up to the liquid that landed onto her cheek.
Blood.
Blood blood blood.
She watched as her mother let out a gurgling cry and her body hit the ground.
Eirini's bloodstained hand reached for the cross of her necklace.
"I know people all over the world have so many opinions about the Gifted, but listen to me, had God considered this a sin, he wouldn't have created you." Her hand fixed the cross attached to the necklace so that it sat right in the middle of her daughter's collarbone, right next to her heart. “You’re here because he wants you to be. And he will always protect you."
"He didn't protect you," Eirini whispered, her lips trembling, her eyelashes growing damp from the crushing tide of what she was no longer strong enough to hold at bay Her gaze moved from her mother's bleeding form to Mori, who was cleaning the blood from a scalpel with the inside of his coat.
He turned to her.
God's judgment.
His violet gaze was stained with blood and flashed red.
His verdict.
Mori smiled at her.
The devil.
The maggots crept into her chest and replaced her lungs, and bugs clawed at her heart, and all she could feel was rot.
──────────────
The devil had carried her to his home. She didn't remember passing out. But it was probably a normal reaction... right?
Eirini didn't know what was right and what was wrong. There was a hole in her chest and she wanted to cry but she couldn't and everything just hurt-
Mori snapped his fingers in front of her face causing her to look up at him. She had been staring at the terribly clean floor for a while now... It was a more pleasant sight than Mori's smile.
He titled his head. "How old was your mother?"
Eirini searched and searched for remorse in his violet eyes, but all she saw was a sea of graves.
"Twenty-four," she replied blankly.
Mori hummed. "What about your father?"
"Don't have one."
"I see..." he drawled, raising his hand to lightly caress her cheek. "Well, that’s good. I’m a busy man – it would have been a bit inconvenient to have to find him and kill him."
Eirini forced herself not to recoil from his touch. He held the very same cheek that was adorned with her mother's blood earlier. Perhaps it had stained his hand as well. "Why would you do that?"
His fingers found their way into her hair and wrapped around the dark strands. "Because I mean to keep you, Eirini-chan!"
His cheerful tone wrapped around her neck and as it dug into her skin, she realized he wanted to hold her life with a thorny leash. "That’s nice, I guess," she murmured, lifting her own hand to pry his away from her hair. He watched her movement closely, his eyebrow twitching in interest when she didn't let go and instead brought their joined hands at her side. "Rintaro, do you have a Bible? I want to pray for my mother."
"Ah, you are Christian?" he mused.
"Catholic," she specified with a nod.
Mori hummed. "Well, I don't, but don't worry, I'll get you one." He smiled, ashes to the fire burning in his eyes. Rotten. "Isn’t that so kind of me, Eirini-chan?"
Eirini's ability buzzed beneath her skin and she heard the wind singing. Appease him, fighting would only make things worse. She squeezed his hand to ground herself to dim her urge to run. "Yes…"
His eyes darkened and the fire spread. She felt flames dancing across her skin. "Don’t you think I deserve a special thanks for that?"
She nodded. "You do." She bit her lip and noticed his eyes following the movement. A confused frown crossed her face. "I can... I can clean or-"
A laugh interrupted her. "No, no, you don't have to clean." The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. "Do you want me to show you how to thank me properly?"
Eirini nodded.
His hand traveled down her arm, his touch rough like dark winters. "You're such a good girl," he breathed, then leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Soft. Gentle. A flower losing its first petal.
A crestfallen feeling in the pit of her stomach told her it was time to wilt.
"Come along, my dear." His voice remained low and breathy as he took her hand and forced her to follow.
Once Eirini entered his bedroom, her ribs froze, only a single blow needed to shatter them and tear her whole apart.
And Mori delivered it – somewhat delicately, but still her bones broke.
That night she lay in his bed, his figure looming over her tear-stained face like her collapsed rib cage over her heart, and with every push and pull of his, splinters of her skeleton pierced into it, scaring her forever.
Later, as he ran Eirini a bath and gently washed her hair, she simply sat there with her knees drawn to her chest, numb and wondering if she was a bad person for considering the moments she spent with him worse than witnessing her own mother's death.
Eirini wondered what the water would look like, tainted with her mother's blood.
She wondered if she'd cut her veins open right now…
She wondered if they both bled the same way.
She wondered if her mother might finally find happiness now that she was reunited with God.
(Maybe this was worth it then…)
There was this twitching of her fingers, lips feeling numb and eyes losing focus. The urge to just say those words and leave reality behind. But what would that really do - her ability could take her into a fantasy, but Mori would still be with her. His touch would not be erased - it would remain with her like that cross around her neck, forevermore.
Instead, she shifted her gaze slightly to him. "You are the devil.”
Mori tilted his head. Amused. "Am I?"
"Yes…" She smiled. It was soft, yet so unsettling and out of this world. "God took my mother and I got you in return." A glint appeared in his violet eyes - curiosity. "But that's okay. I think she'll finally find peace in heaven." A whisper followed hesitantly as she tried her best not to wince again at the pain between her legs. "I don’t mind being yours if it means she’s finally free."
It was true. True true true. Over time, she'd tell herself this lie so often that she'd finally believe it and live freely in her captivity.
(That was a lie as well.
There would be no freedom in ignorance.
No freedom in being split apart - body and limbs drifting away.
Dismembered by him so gently with such tender hands and sweet words, yet robbed of her own mind and body.)
Mori chuckled and it felt so wrong. A funeral was being held for her, but she wasn't dead yet. "I enjoy the way you talk, Eirini-chan." His fingers ranked through her hair again as he leaned closer and she felt his breath caress her skin. She was buried alive and didn't even scream. "You're just so adorable." He pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Dirt filled her lungs, as filthy as the feel of his lips. "Maybe I’ll just keep you forever."
The sharp nails of the devil crawling up Eirini's neck were practically nothing in exchange for her mother's happiness. Even if it meant death for Furuya Kyou to finally find it.
Even if it meant for her Furuya Eirini's wounds to fester with flies.
(The mother would have abandoned the promise of peace in a heartbeat if it had freed her daughter from the devil's clutch.)
──────────────
As promised, he got her a Bible.
Every time she turned the pages she told herself it was worth the price.
But when she first felt spiders crawling over her ribs, doubt started to spread.
She prayed it away.