Seraphim Princess

Chapter 51 - Devil Contract

Tosca once again found herself standing in front of the gate to Hakobune Middle School however this time rather than foolishly attempt to climb the gate she simply waited and she was rewarded with a wild Kaori Murayama appearing.

"Kaori!" Tosca greeted the girl with a wave of her. She was still a bit nervous about helping someone stalk a couple since in one of the books she read that she got from Cebrail's room the story was about a girl that was so obsessed with a boy that she kidnapped and killed multiple love rivals in her school one at a time, week by week!

If Kaori went down such a dark path with Tosca's very own help, what could the poor rookie Angel girl do?

"Oh hey Tosca... why do you always meet me here of all places?" Kaori asked, she seemed... a bit more muted than before. As though her colors were duller and more faded. Her normally high held chin was even lowered as her head was tilted slightly lower making her look a bit smaller than usual.

"The prayer phone usually sends me here... ummm... A-Are you doing alright?" Tosca tentatively asked after she answered the girl's question.

"Ah yeah... sorry I tend to get like this every Sunday morning, I'll be alright after I pray." Kaori reassured Tosca and clutched the small bouquet of flowers in her hand a bit more tightly. She walked past Tosca without another word prompting the little girl to follow like a baby duckling.

Just as she had yesterday, Kaori stopped in front of a small picture frame nearby with the picture of a young girl on it. And just as she had yesterday she set the flowers down, the other ones were gone, likely swept up or stolen or simply thrown away like trash and yet Kaori didn't pay that fact any mind.

Unlike the day before she didn't get back up immediately and instead kept kneeling there with her hands clenched tightly together. "Oh heavenly lord, almighty God above. Please let Nene be resting in Heaven where she belongs. She's a good girl, a very, very good girl...Amen"

Kaori ended her prayer there and stood with a far lighter expression than the grave one she had before the prayer. Her colors seemed to be back a bit as well.

"Do you come here every day?" Tosca asked, looking at the picture of the young girl and the flowers on the ground.

"Yes, of course I do... Nene is my most precious friend..."

"..." Tosca looked at Kaori with a somewhat pitying expression.

"You know, you're a lot like her... Nene I mean..." The brown haired girl stared at the photo, reminiscing and longing to back to whatever memory had lodged itself in the forefront of her thoughts. "You... you haven't had a very good life so far have you?"

Tosca flinched, proving Kaori's words to be correct. Of course they were. From the moment of her creation she was nothing but a failed copy of the legendary king Arthur. She had never had any say in her own actions or life nor had she ever truly had the opportunity to live until she met Cebrail. Indeed it wasn't until she met Cebrail that she began seeing the world in colors besides grey, going to new places enjoying more food, living as though she truly had the right to do so all along, as though she wasn't just a failure among failures.

It was a liberating feeling which she could never thank Cebrail enough for, nor do anything that could possibly repay her.

"Nene was like that too. She was so unlucky I struggled not to laugh in the past. All the time she would somehow end up in pretty unlucky situations. Like a bucket of water falling on top of her head while walking to school or tripping on thin air." Kaori gave a small smile. "Though in truth rather than unlucky I think she was just naive and lacking in spatial awareness, hehehe..."