Soul For A Girlfriend?

I was a bit stoked that day since our classes were suspended for a public holiday. But that wasn't the reason behind my pleasure. It was also the day when the new volume of my favourite light novel was released.

So as usual, I was at the bookstore which was quite crowded. I didn't imagine that the light novel had such a huge fanbase. I was quite excited about it and after quite a while; I wasn't as stressed as I was before.

In the past few days, a lot of things happened that changed my predicament.

Things were constantly changing between me and Shiraishi, but relationships have always been something that is affected by even the slightest changes. But it was up to the people dating each other to adapt to those changes and move on with their relationship usually.

At least that's what my perspective of a relationship was.

I was also wondering about the call I got from my sister last Sunday. It wasn't unusual for her to call me out of the blue, but the way she was talking seemed like she had more to say than what she did.

It was almost like she was covering up her words to mislead me from her main objective. Though my sister sucked at doing those kinds of things so it was relatively easier for me to expose her intentions.

Why was she doing it?

Of course, she wasn't acting on her own will. Nee-chan would never do something cynical like this. Not because she sucks at this, but because she can't imagine doing something like that to me.

Was my mother trying to pull her strings from behind?

She has always been like that.

Manipulating me and my sister for nothing but her self-centred needs. Ever since we were little, she has been manipulating my sister in the name of 'disciplining' her.

She used to look at her as not her child but a puppet that should always abide by all her orders. According to my mother, her words were the final law for me and my sister.

She wasn't a mother, but a dictator.

There were quite a few incidents where my sister rebelled against her, but my mother was a completely different breed. The way she answered back against her rebellion was something that scarred me at a young age.

My sister came home later than usual once and my mother didn't like it. Nee-chan rebelled against her illogical expectations of her and that woman ended up burning the clothes she was wearing with a lighter.

Nee-chan got scared and cried a lot that day. It was the day I realised that my mother had a lot of sociopathic symptoms. 

The method she used to silence her own daughter was absolutely terrifying. She was well aware of the fact that if Nee-chan saw the consequences of going against her would be so horrible, then she wouldn't try to do it again.

It is just that one instance that got engraved in my mind so deep that I could never forget what I felt at that moment. The sheer terror and the screams of Nee-chan and the flames rising from my mother's clothes.

I remember walking towards them with my trembling leg, which seemed to have frozen from fear.

Later, when I grew up, my mother's attention went from my sister to me. Being a mother, she never gave me one good memory. The only thing I remember when I recall her face are the scars she left on me.

She was my own mother, but I despised her more than anything.

Though, the fact that women despise me so much was because she wasn't able to manipulate me as she did with my sister. I wasn't naïve and blindly obedient like my sister, after all.

Thanks to her, I got tainted with her toxic traits, which I ended up using against her.

If she was my mother, then I was her son, too.

I was returning from the bookstore with the book in a carry bag and an unreadable smile on my face. I was being very careful about it since that book was more precious than anything at that moment.

I valued new manga and light novels more than my school textbooks.

As usual, my mind was already occupied with a ton of things. I didn't overthink as much as I did after getting this contract. It was almost like saying, 'I haven't got a single breath of relief.'

Even in all these turmoils, I was trying to keep my sanity.

As I was walking, I lifted my arm and glanced at the mark, which wasn't visible anymore. It was weird since the first day I acquired it. It has never worked, according to what Lilith told me.

This mark was something that only Lilith could activate, but this thing used to activate on its own and give me major shocks of pain through my arm. Even though it hasn't glowed as bright as it did back then.

But after noticing a few patterns of this mark, I was sure about that thing.

Though only because of what happened last week, I was even more certain about my claims regarding this mark's abilities. It did grant me some abilities, though it came at the cost of excruciating pain.

Definitely a deal people from hell would think of.

As I went down the street and turned around the corner, a familiar figure came across my vision. She was standing in the distance talking over mobile while looking around as if she was waiting for someone.

It was Adachi Moriko.

I still remembered how she helped me last week when I passed out. Though she didn't accept my thanks, as she considered it more than getting on equal terms with me for helping her at the mixer.

That was a weird way of viewing things.

Though I wasn't expecting this unexpected encounter with my girlfriend's best friend.