Violet

Setsuna awoke in stillness, his legs and toes on a carpet of sand overlooking a pool of shattered glass. He could not feel the pain of being stabbed, or the familiar snoring of his mother. It was just him, the stars in a clear black sky, and a pair of legs squatting behind his head.

Tilting his head up he could see the face of a smiling woman he could not recognize. She had striking, wavy violet hair hiding pointy ears, with a long tuft of it draped over a teardrop-shaped crystal suspended from a circlet. That circlet crowned a feminine figure with ribbons of snake skin wielded against human form, perhaps ten or twenty years his elder.

As her mouth opened, a voice he could not comfortably place echoed through the landscape. “That’s one way to break a curse.”

“Excuse me, lady?” Setsuna was not in the mood to be on his best behavior, in the circumstances.

“Michael’s first born, Nagahisa.” The woman smiled. “You’re supposed to have killed him.”

“Why the crap would I do that?” Setsuna quickly got up with an intense gaze, still unsure of his whereabouts.

“To gain his birthright, and to assume your rightful place. To rewrite the rules of this world once more.” She paused, perhaps to give Setsuna a chance to catch up, or perhaps to menace him. “This time is different.”

“Who do you think you are?” Setsuna didn’t like people who couldn’t get to the point so much. “And where am I?”

“While your body is lying safe, still, and silent on a bed in Harajuku, attended to by your mother and sister, your soul has journeyed elsewhere.” The lady raised her arms to the sky, making a swaying motion to their shared surroundings. “Your arrival has been expected, Prince Setsuna Kai.”

“Charmed. How do I get home?”

The woman laughed, uncomfortably. “Any time you’d like. Though I hoped you didn’t have such a simple mind. Do you have any desire to seek knowledge and wisdom?”

Setsuna sat up, realizing right then that he was unclothed and without any possessions. There wasn’t much that he could do besides entertain her notion. If this was a dream, well, no harm done besides a passing effort at fighting off boredom.

“So you know about the curse of Kai?” The woman nodded slowly, still smiling. “And Nagahisa. Can you see the future?”

“I can see things that may be.” Her arms coiled behind her head.

“If the curse ran its course, what would happen?”

She closed her eyes while biting her bottom lip. “In the simplest of terms, Nagahisa would die by your hand, you would acquire the power of angels, and you would marry your sister.”

A toad caught Setsuna’s throat, causing him to cough out in disagreement. “That’s awful. And really gross. Never going to happen.”

“Certainly.” The woman opened her eyes. “Now, your body will be overcome by the blood of demons, the right to rule this world will fall to another mortal, and Elegy will be your greatest champion, should she have the courage to renounce her pain.”

“Elegy… Not Mirai?”

“Mirai has another destiny. She loves you in her own way.”

“And Takajou?”

“As always, as ever. He’ll never leave your side.”

“Who are you, again?”

The woman hugged Setsuna gently. “I am your godmother, Yuriko.”

“Never heard of you.” Setsuna grumbled.

“Ask Tsubomi. You’ll find out.” Yuriko withdrew from her embrace, gazing deep into Setsuna’s red pupils, clutching at his sides.

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” Setsuna mumbled, not one for mystical mumbo jumbo.

“As expected of the great Prince.”

Setsuna stirred, the sky falling upon them both, fading into darkness, as his eyes closed gently against the warm slience.

“Arise, traînard.”

Setsuna’s eyes lifted to see Elegy right over his face, arched over the head of the bed.

“I got your Halloween costume finished. If you don’t get up in five minutes, I’m selling it while there’s still demand.”

Arms functional, Setsuna touched the center of his chest, checking for pain. Nothing. Exhaling with relief, without a word, Setsuna motioned to Elegy approvingly. He was ready for a new day.

Traces of sunlight ripped through the cast off shadows of cables overhead. It was midday at Omoide Nukemichi, its residents rummaging through prepared routines readying themselves for the night to come.

As a tradition, “Trick or Treating” was roughly a decade old in urban Japan, more popular with bar crawls among adults and college kids than with children and families. For those who could handle — and wrestle with — the lot of overconfident college kids, it made for very good business.

Setsuna had returned donning a garish red coat and one sword, expecting to meet the one in white with two of their own. It was not to be.

“You should close your mouth before you start drooling, nasty one.” condesended a womanly figure with long white hair, dressed in a gothic lolita black dress with pink eyes, a black headdress and wings to match.

“Hey, I know that voice.” bellowed Setsuna. “You’re supposed to be Tao?”

“I’m supposed to be Suigintou.” Tao stated matter-of-factly. “Popular character these days. Do you follow Rozen Maiden?”

“Nope. Not into girl stuff. Or weird anime loser stuff.”

Tao raised their hand to their forehead, shook their head and groaned, just loudly enough that Setsuna could hear.

“What’s up with your hand?” inquired Setsuna.

“What about my hand?” glowered Tao.

“It’s got these… markings, like a toy. How’d you even DO that?”

“That is what my hand has always looked like, urchin.” Tao pulled down one of the puff sleeves on their dress to expose their shoulder, a ball and socket joint connecting the arm and chest, much to the awe of Setsuna. “Do you have any other questions?”

Setsuna had the sense that perhaps he should not engage in more dumb questions at this time. “Um, not about you, thanks. Is Davi working, today?”

“Davi’s getting ready for tonight. Though she’ll likely take pause for the right guest.”

“Can I see her now?” Setsuna badgered on.

“If you could tell us what you are supposed to be dressed as…?”

“Oh, yeah! I’m Dante from the Devil May Cry™ Series.” Setsuna grinned while twirling two guns, western gunslinger style.

“Is that why you’ve spray painted your King Riser black?” observed Tao.

“Yeah, gold’s overrated. Looks cheap. Black goes with everything, y’know?”

“If you say so, prince.” Tao waved Setsuna through the door, either satisfied by his answers or sending him away to go bother someone more tolerant.

Most bars aren’t terribly interesting during the daylight hours, the concrete flooring and walls bearing markings of brawls gone by. Heaven’s Ward would generally be no exception, but for the occasion.

Shimmering Christmas lights draped the walls, blinking orange, white, and purple. Rows of Jack O’ Lantern heads and fake webbing lined the windows and countertops, as goofy, plush spiders and sheet ghosts added a little extra personality to the scene.

Behind the bar were two familiar faces, at least, Setsuna was pretty sure he knew the faces.

“Hey, Davi!“ he waved towards the woman about his age with wavy blonde hair dyed purple near the roots. She was wearing a frilly full body dress and cape with knee high boots. “And… Mecchi?” he glanced at the shorter girl, wearing a familiar white and blue schoolgirl uniform with a waist-long green wig.

“Setsuna!” said the ladies in unison. Mecchiyama thrust both arms into the air and waved as Davi calmly lifted a hand to convey the same.

“You’ve come back to the land of the living?” clucked Mecchi. “Have ya got any tales worth sharing before circumstances unknown whisk you back?”

“I’m fine, Mecchi.” Setsuna methodically responded, turning towards Davi. “Um, is now a good time to visit?”

“You’re just in time!” Mecchiyama continued. “For a new episode of Mecchi Mecchi Matchmaker!”

Setsuna looked slightly dismayed. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You really like Davi, right? And she really likes you.”

“I… I am…” Setsuna sputtered, struggling to think of the possibilities. He turned to Davi grasping for some morsel of help. However…

Davi stared back at Setsuna with the biggest pair of doe eyes he had seen since Nagahisa accidentally broke the chain on his bike. A disarming power known to very few. She fell silent, eagerly waiting for Setsuna’s reply.

Mecchiyama had to know about Takajou, he thought. This wasn’t a mistake. Yet, chances like these don’t come often, and he did just save Davi’s life through nobile if self-immolating means. Setsuna hissed wind through his teeth, breathed in, and replied.

“…Davi, would you do me the honor of being my date tonight?”

“OF COURSE!” Davi jumped in the air, brimming with excitement. “I’ll go tell Tao to cover for me, just hold on a moment!”

Setsuna sat down on a stool next to where Mecchiyama was, behind the counter as loud footsteps hastily made their way to the entrance. Quietly he simmered to Mecchi, “Why have you got to keep starting shit?”

“It’s good for Mecchi business!” Mecchiyama raised a finger to the sky. “Besides, you gotta get to know more girls. Boys gotta make the first move, you know?”

“I would happily spend my nights with Takajou if you weren’t dead set on screwing up our relationship.”

“And what’s Takajou got to offer? He eats all your food, scams your friends, messes up your plans…” Setsuna now recalled with unsettling clarity why he stopped spending time with Mecchiyama.

As they bickered, he punched in a tiny text message to Takajou to explain himself and the circumstances, lest Takajou appear out of nowhere to cause unforeseen issues.

Tao and Davi returned, the latter beaming in a manner that put Tao at ease. Davi sincerely proclaimed, “It’s settled. We’ll go out once I’ve cleared up tonight’s menu with Tao.”

“Great.” Setsuna gave a very tiny smile. Deep down inside, he knew there would be consequences to disappointing the Setos.

Thinking on his feet, Setsuna knew the place to be, based on a tip from his neighbor. “Would you like it if we went as a couple to the Kawasaki Halloween Parade?”

“I’d love to!” Davi had a very wide smile.

“Hey,” Setsuna cleared his mind to think instead about planning his route on short notice. “Since I need to know what group we’ll be marching with, you are dressed as… a Touhou girl, right?”

“Byakuren Hijiri! The sealed great magician!” Davi unfurled a glowing scroll that stretched out the height of three people her size. “Would you like to ride on my motorcycle?”

“Would I?” Setsuna was now smiling much wider than before. “I wouldn’t have it any other way!” He crouched down on one knee to give Davi’s hand a kiss, eliciting a chuckle from her and Mecchiyama’s direction.

“Seems that he can be a nobleman when he tries.” Tao simpered.

“Shush.” Davi gave Tao a side eye and an elbow to Tao's hollow midsection. “I’ll change clothes, pack my bags, and we’ll be off in 30.” Davi gave Setsuna a kiss on the cheek before heading behind the counter, leaving Setsuna alone to spend the remaining time sipping apple juice in silence with his self-proclaimed rival Tao and rekindled frenemy Mecchiyama.

Sitting two-up behind Davi in a Dante costume meant Setsuna needed to make a few last minute modifications. The jacket had to be folded up and pulled into a backpack, sharing space with Davi’s Byakuren dress and boots. This left Setsuna’s toned arms free to cling onto Davi’s midsection, much like the unnecessary belts around his own.

Meanwhile, Davi had an entire latex biker bodysuit with purple highlights and a green kercheif around her neck. Though she insisted it was part of being the character, neither Setsuna nor Mecchiyama’s web searching skills could place where it came from.

Both agreed that this was a nicer experience than taking the train. Bumpy as it could be, the wind was at their side, there were no foul businessmen, and Setsuna could reflect on his hot blooded days in Makai. Almost as though it was yesterday.

“This backpack you have,” observed Setsuna at a traffic light. “It’s practically the size of a gym duffel bag… do you work out that much?”

“Three times a week!” chirped Davi. “Though I don’t usually bring that bag with me. That’s for Tao.”

“Tao works out?” inquired Setsuna, imagining how a living doll could build muscle. Perhaps by chugging a few gallons of milk and playing rugby on the regular, it could be possible… but how would doll joints react to protein?

“Not usually.” Davi contemplated how to answer the question, “Only for appearances… no, Tao is very easy to disassemble.”

“What?”

Davi giggled. “Tao can be dismantled and slotted into luggage pretty easily. That’s how we’ve gone on vacations, short breaks, cross country rides in the past!”

“Tao doesn’t mind?”

“Well, it’s a little tricky to have Tao riding two up with all of their knives.” mused Tao. “All that metal makes flying tricky. Nobody’s seems to know what to expect even when we call ahead.”

“So, you leave Tao in a suitcase and reassemble him when you land?”

“Precisely!” Setsuna couldn’t see it, but he could imagine Davi grinning widely at that boast. It was probably a good time to change the subject.

“How did you learn to ride a motorcycle so well?”

“Oh, casual interest! We’ve had a few regulars who were happy to talk up how much better Hondas were over Harleys.”

“I had one, once… sieging a crowd of Nightmares in Makai.” recalled Setsuna of his adventures, so long ago. “It kinda got lost in all the bodies.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Yeah...” As accommodating of a parent as Tsubomi could be, a motorcycle was a bit of a bridge too far. Setsuna’s past experience at ten years old was not reassuring. Though he did have wings, the argument posed that flying like a bat required more skill than riding a two wheeled, gas powered, high risk motorbike did not go over well.

“You can ride with me whenever you’d like.” Davi offered.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” mumbled Setsuna.

“Just good friends!” Davi offered with a sing-song inflection. Setsuna unconsciously replied with a monosyllabic sound.

“You have a friend coming to the parade?” questioned Davi, coming at another traffic stop.

“Yup, Mirai’s going to be in the magical girl group.” Setsuna searched his memory for details, coming up short.

“Oh, we should go join her, first thing! I want to meet her.” proclaimed Davi.

“It has been awhile…” reflected Setsuna on the last time he’d spoken with her. “I hope she recognizes me.”

“Well, Tao certainly didn’t have any trouble seeing through your disguise!”

“Fair. I just don’t know if I’d be able to see through one of hers.”

To be continued…