Atsuko / Zepar & Furfur
"Oh my, Zepar, did you hear that?" "Yes I did, Furfur! I cannot quite believe that she is still considering suicide after accepting our contract. "That is most certainly rude, is it not?" "Why I do believe so, yes." Atsuko rapidly turned around. Sitting next to the pool on a pair of sun chairs were Zepar and Furfur, the strange girls from her dreams. Zepar had her arms behind her head, lounging about, and Furfur sucked on a straw from a brightly orange colored drink. Both were adorned with a pair of heart shaped sunglasses.
"But then again, Furfur, even if she did try to take her own life again, we wouldn't let her, now would we?" "No, you're right, Zepar, we wouldn't. After all her soul belongs to us, so if she tried to remove it prematurely we'd just shove it back in!" The two demon's shared a hearty laugh. Suddenly they vanished, and reappeared next to Atsuko.
"You know, we're entwined by a bond that goes beyond human reasoning. We can hear the very whispers of your heart, and we understand that this may all seem quite extraordinary, unbelievable even, to you." Said Furfur in a slightly apologetic tone.
"But don't you think you should enjoy your end of the deal while you can?"
Atsuko jumped after hearing the sudden voices, looking around quickly and feeling her heart start to pound. Had someone seen her trying to kill herself? When she turned around she saw the pair that looked exactly the same as the ones she visioned. Slowly she backed away, though the pair seemed so nonchalant as they spoke to each other even laughing when they mentioned messing with her soul.
"Ok, now I really need to go back." Suddenly the two vanished then reappeared right beside her making her jump once more. Hearing them speak to her was calming yet frightening and she once again moved back.
"D-don't come near me, I don't know who you are....i-if you try to do anything I'll scream..." Atsuko threatened while trying her best to get away as soon as possible.
"I....I didn't make any deal with anyone....you're just toying with me..."
The eyes of the two narrowed, becoming almost snake like.
"Zepar, it's as if she doesn't even remember us..." "Perhaps, Furfur, she doesn't want to." The two spoke in such a cold voice that it almost froze Atsuko's heart over. Then they grinned widely, wickedly, sneering at her.
"Then we'll have to make her remember!" With a snap of their fingers, they once again disappeared out of sight. When they reappeared, they were standing on the top of the tall diving tower on the other side of the pool. They were holding something between them, a familiar figure, but she couldn't quite make out what it was.
"Hiro...I want....Hiro back..." Furfur's voice echoed throughout the empty space.
"I want him to live....even if it has to be without me...since I only cause misfortune to the people I love..." Zepar filled in. They were obviously trying to mimic Atsuko's voice, but they sounded almost sickeningly frail.
"Those were your exact words, were they not?" "Well, we've done exactly what you asked us for. Whether you want to enjoy our agreement or not is up to you." The two shoved the body they were holding, making it fall down into the water below.
"Will she finally get the heart to chase her dream or not!?" Furfur's voice was now over-zealous, like a commentator's.
"Well time is ticking out, so what's it going to be?"
Atsuko shivered more as she watched the two, once again they disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. This time there was someone or something between them, but Atsuko couldn't exactly make it out even when she squinted. Then they seemed to mock her, repeating things that she slowly remembered saying. Things that were almost embarrassing to hear aloud with the added effect of frailty in their voices. Suddenly the pushed whatever they were holding in to the water, surprised she looked at the two of them then in the water. Did they really just push a person in there?! Why?! Taking a deep breath, Atsuko slipped out of her clothes as quickly as she could before jumping in to the water. Whoever was pushed in, didn't seem to know how to swim and she couldn't just let them die. Faster she swam, grabbing on to whoever it was and pulling them up in the water so that they could breath.
"Are you alright?!"
Coughing, the person she was holding gasped for air. His eyes darted across the room, almost as if he couldn't even believe he was alive. When he looked at Atsuko, his hysterical breathing stopped for a moment. The eyes gazing at her were far too familiar. She knew who they belonged to, as she had stared into them so many times before, but she couldn't believe it. Then, he started screaming, splashing around. Furfur sighed while looking down at the two pathetic creatures in the water, taking pity on them. "
Hey Atsuko, you should probably take him out of the water and try to calm him down a bit. After all, it's the first time in a while that he's able to breathe!"
Finally Atsuko began to recognize who it was, slowly she teared up and her lips quivered.
"Hiro...." Heart was beating fast and nonstop, she felt like bawling but suddenly he screamed and started moving around to the point where she had to struggle to keep a grip on him. From above she heard to Furfur's advice and tried her best to help Hiro out of the pool. Once they were out, Atsuko immediately began to cry, holding on to him tightly and wanting to stay like that forever if she could.