Reaper's Purgatory-Chapter 46: New Path

Megumi got up from her seat, her eyes squarely focused on Kailey. Just before she could continue. Liang abruptly stopped her.

"Now, where do you think you're going?"

"G- Get out of my way." Megumi blurted. She glanced over Liang's shoulder to find she had lost track of Kailey. She glanced around the auditorium fiercely. "Where'd she go?"

"What are you so worked up about?"

"Kailey... I want to talk to her, but... I..."

Dino spoke up. "Calm down. You'll get another chance soon. I mean, they are throwing a small celebration in the courtyard. She'll probably be there."

Megumi gazed back at Dino, confused. "What do you mean? What party?"

"Didn't your first examiner tell you about it?"

'There's a party?" Liang questioned, just as confused.

"How do you not know?"

Liang chuckled. "Well, it's been a while. Besides, I just took my position as grimm back just yesterday, so I'm still not caught up."

"A little relaxed, much?" Dino sighed and turned to Megumi. "I guess you should consider yourself lucky then. The party was the only thing my examiner would talk about the entire time. Even for those ridiculous questions. For a moment, I didn't think I'd make it."

"Ohoho. I think I might know who you're talking about." Liang said excitedly. "So that old crone is still a party animal." He laughed.

Dino glared at Liang. "Old?"

"I'll explain later. Why don't we get out of here? We've got some special guests that should be waiting outside for you two."

Megumi watched on, and Dino followed behind reluctantly.

"I wonder what a party is like...hmmm." Thoughts of a simple cake and meal popped up in Megumi's head. Thinking of the times Eric would treat her out on her birthdays. "Probably like that...?" 

"You coming?" Dino asked.

"Y-yeah." Megumi hurried by Dino and Liang's side. Looking to the exit, Sayko seemed to be waiting for them. She waved at them fiercely.

"New friend?' Liang asked ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

A cold sweat ran down Megumi's and Dino's faces as they confirmed her as a new friend.

Not long after, Megumi caught a glimpse of Axen, who seemed to be hanging out with some familiar friend. He caught sight of Megumi and winked.

A shiver ran down her spine as she cringed.

"Is he a new friend too?" Liang taunted.

"N- NOO!!"

"Oh, I think we got a winner." Liang chuckled.

Megumi punched Liang's arm out of frustration. "Ow. Careful now."

Dino raised a brow at this, but didn't question it.

As soon as they left the auditorium with Sayko by their side. They were greeted to the sight of K and Cider.

"K? Cider? What are you guys doing here?" Megumi exclaimed.

Cider ran up to Megumi excitedly. "Megumi!" Cider jumped into a hug, surprising Megumi. "I Wanna join you too!" Cider cried.

Megumi was taken aback by Cider's sudden display of emotions.

Not long after, Cider was pulled off Megumi by the leg and was hung upside down by K's bone tentacle. "We went over this a thousand times already. You can't join the Reapers Corp."

Cider sniffed. His black eyes brightened like a cute dog wanting to return to its owner.

"Are you a mom or something?" Sayko asked, smiling, amused by the event.

"N- No!" Megumi quickly calmed herself. "He's my friend. The first one I made here in purgatory."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sayko approached Cider, rubbing his nose with her fingers teasingly. "You're a cute little guy, aren't you?

"I'm not cute!" He retorted, sticking his tongue out.

To Cider's shock, Sayko used Cider's saliva against him, rubbing it on his nose.

"Argh!" Cider jerked back, rubbing his nose clean.

Sayko giggled, watching Cider's reaction.

"This lady's evil!" Cider complained.

Dino simply laughed at Cider's expense as Megumi was left unsure how to even react. She turned back to K. "S-so why are you guys here?" Megumi asked again.

"Isn't it obvious, Megumi?" K said. "To congratulate you on your first steps. The road ahead will be long. But if you remain persistent and determined. "I'm sure you'll be able to meet that man again."

Megumi gazed somberly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet, C'mon, I hear that there's a party starting outside."

"There's a party!? Oh yeah!!" Sayko jumped up in excitement.

"There's a party?" Cider questioned. He was released a second later, falling to her face. He got back to his feet in time to see Sayko taking off.

"Lastly, there is a rotten egg!"

Taken over by his Childish desires, Cider chased after. "Hey, get back here!"

Cider continued to spout off childish insults and names targeted at Sayko. Liang chased after them, with Dino following behind, as he was complaining about something Liang just said, leaving Megumi and K behind..

Now left in the dust, Megumi and K watched as their group pushed past people. To her surprise. K laughed, seeing this event unfold.

"Well, you heard her right?" Megumi took off after the other with a smile on her face.

K spoke to himself much more quietly. "Strange. It feels like it was only just yesterday we met. You were lost and alone. No confidence whatsoever. Cherish these memories, Megumi. You'll need them for the road ahead..."

********

Megumi erupted out of the academy, finding the courtyard packed with people on a warm afternoon. Her eyes widened seeing the sights now around her.

People danced, ate, and drank amongst each other. The music in the air popped off with laughter and chatter, practically canceling each other out.

"This... Is a party?"

Megumi watched as Sayko joined the festivities with Cider, causing mayhem as he jumped on people's heads to get to her. She continued to look around for Dino and Liang but couldn't spot them. Probably deeper in the crowd.

Suddenly, a woman with blonde hair swung over Megumi, hanging upside down in a drunken state. "WWOOOOOO!! Thish partysh is awshome!!" she laughed to herself as she caused even more mayhem.

"It's so chaotic

"Don't mind her." Megumi glanced to the side, hearing a familiar voice. It turned out to be Sar who was simply drinking. "She's always like this. She likes to throw these kinds of parties often."

"So you knew about this party?"

"Nope," Sar said with a blank face. "In fact, no one else knew she was planning this. So this is a surprise to me, too." He took a sip from his drink nonchalantly.

"R- Really...?"

"Yup."

"W-will she get in trouble?"

"Yup."

"O...Oh..."

"There are so many eccentric people..." Megumi thought.

"You should enjoy yourself, though. Don't worry about whether this is allowed or not. It's not your problem anyway. Go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Megumi smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Just as she was taking off, she stopped. She turned back to Sar. 'Hey, you haven't seen a woman with long black hair with curls. She's black with blue eyes."

"I can't say I've seen anyone like that around here. Sorry."

"That's okay. Thanks!" Mgumi waved as she went off in search of Kailey.

Megumi pushed through the people still enjoying themselves. She searched keenly for any sign of Kailey within the crowd. But the more she thought of it, the more it didn't make sense for her to be anywhere near the crowd.

She then looked into any areas where it would look deserted or more empty with no luck to show for it.. By some miracle, she caught a glimpse of Kailey in the hall balcony above. She was looking at her pendant.

"Where are you, Kailey..."

Megumi gazed back into the sky, as if searching for answers. "Kailey!" Megumi raced back into the academy and past K, who glanced at her more curiously.

She made her way through the vaguely familiar halls, heading forth to a single destination. Eventually, she navigated her way to Kailey, whose gaze was fixed to a pendant.

She approached from behind Kailey. As she got closer, Megumi could see a picture in the pendant. It was of a woman in a black and white photo smiling cheerfully.

"Kailey?"

Kailey immediately closed her pendant. Stuffing it back into her shirt to remain hidden. She slowly turned around, with the same bored expression she always carried. "Hey Girly. What are you doin here?"

"Uh? Well, I wanted to talk. When I saw you back when I first came here, I thought... Well, I was curious if..."

Kailey could see that Megumi could find the words. She sighed. "Yes. In case it's not obvious enough, I wanted to become a reaper too. To be honest, I was just as surprised as you to see you were here. I didn't see you as the type to want to do something like this, being meek and all..."

"But why did you... Why did you avoid me?"

"Do you want the truth or do you want a lie? Or would you prefer both?"

Megumi was taken aback by Kailey's statement. Her heart sank. Something told her that no matter what she chose, she wouldn't like the response.

"I... I want you to be honest."

Slowly, Kailey drifted her gaze away. "Because. I don't care about you."

Megumi Froze.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't hate you. If you expected us to be friends just because we met a few times, I'm afraid you're mistaken. Frankly, I'm surprised you're even getting along with that blonde-haired guy after what he tried doing."

Megumi caught a glimpse of Dino from outside the hall balcony window. She approached closer and saw that Dino was getting pestered by Cider, as Liang watched and laughed at his expense. "B...But he already explained what happened, he was being cont-"

"How does that matter in the slightest?" Kailey interrupted, "He attacked you and that demon kid without remorse."

Kailey sighed, seeing Megumi's reaction. "Look, girly, if you ask me, you're way too trusting of people. If you don't look after yourself, you're going to get burned. And I didn't become a reaper to get distracted."

Despite Megumi's broken spirit, she could tell that Kailey was resolute.

"If that incident with that Maze demon taught me anything, it's that I can't afford to get distracted now. I have to get more powerful if I'm going to survive as a Reaper and climb up to the rank of Grimm."

Megumi gazed upon Kailey more somberly. "So that means... we can't be friends?"

"I don't mind being acquaintances... But that's as far as I'll ever go with you or anyone else."

Memories flooded back to Megumi. She remembered saying this at one point to Eric, too.

********

I don't mind being acquaintances. But that's as far as I'll go." Megumi said.

A much younger Megumi stared away from Eric, who looked upon her, standing in surprise. They were in their favorite spot in the park where the pond glistened yellow from the setting sun. The ducks quaked happily, and the birds sang their songs.

"But why? Why!?" Eric yelled. "It's Angelica again, isn't it!? I've had enough of-"

"SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Eric stopped and stared back at Megumi. He saw as her frown deepened.

"My... mother...she saw my grades just the other day... she...I just have to focus on school, okay. I-I'm sorry! I... I just...." Megumi's voice broke little by little as she searched for the words.

"It... It's alright Megumi... understand... But I refuse to be just an acquaintance or whatever you said."

To Megumi's shock, Eric suddenly got in her face, making her jump. She flailed, falling onto the bench.

Eric laughed. Leaving Megumi to pout at him in frustration. Soon after laughing hardily, Eric spoke back up.

********

"Fine," Megumi said.

Kailey brought her head down in relief. "Goo-"

"But I don't want to be just an acquaintance to you at all." Megumi interrupted. "If we can't be friends, let's be rivals instead." Megumi pointed to herself. At just the flip of a switch, she turned from being meek to being confident.

Kailey blurted out a laugh, surprised by this newfound bravado Megumi seemed to be sporting. "That's fine by me."

"Then it's a deal." Megumi held her hand out. Kailey looked on, once again surprised, seeing the hand in front of her.

"Tah. You're a weird one." Kailey then turned back to the spectacle outside. "An' just so you know. Rivals don't shake hands."

"O- Oh..."

"Well... If we're going to be rivals. I suppose I shouldn't go easy on you. How about this? The first to become a reaper gets treated out to lunch."

"No. The first to become a Grimm." Megumi said.

Kailey rolled her eyes. "Fine by me. But don't come crying to me later if I hold you to it, girly."

Kailey got up from the window. "Well, Congratulations on becoming a recruit. I'll be seeing ya, I guess..."

Megumi could only watch on as Kailey took her leave.

"I'll see you later!" Megumi called out.

Kailey simply waved her hand. Leaving Megumi by herself.

She clutched her chest. A new wave of emotions sprouting out. It was a new beginning. It wasn't perfect. But she also wasn't alone.

Megumi looked back at the party, watching as it got busted by Fallock, who was now yelling at the grimm responsible. Her gaze then shifted to K, who was watching to event unfold too.

"I know it's gonna be a while, but with their help, I'm sure I'll get to you in no time, Eric...Just you wait."

********

Elsewhere, within a fancy dining room, several people were eating across a long table filled with an assortment of different meats and some vegetables. Three men ate silently until the large door creaked open..

The person entering bowed.

Everyone stopped at once. They set their forks and knives down.

"Annabelle... Where's Dragerd?" a short red-haired man asked. His black eyes with square pupils were aimed directly at her as she shook.

"He is dead."

A silence filled the air.

"So a grimm had shattered his core." a sigh escaped the mans mouth.

"Not exactly." Annabelled corrected. "It was a newborn woman. She sliced his core in half.

"A newborn woman, you say?' A black-haired man questioned. His interest was piqued. "Hmmm... And did you retrieve that child?"

"N...No... he's in Arc now as we speak, along with that newborn." Annabelle clenched her fist. Sutration boiling over.

"How disappointing... No matter. We'll have this small matter squared away in due time, then. I'll just have to use some of my inside men to help," the black-haired man at the end of the table gazed at both the short red-haired man and the long silver-haired man. Both of them seemed to frown, disappointed by the news.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Rage... Envy. I'll have everything fixed before the end of the year, like I always do."

"See that you do," the silver-haired man said. "The last thing we need is for Lilith to catch on to our plans. If they find out what that kid really is, we can expect a big retaliation." He then turned to the red-haired man. "What say you, Envy?"

"I agree. Make sure this is resolved fast Dirk."

The black-haired man, Dirk, smiled. His red eyes gleamed. "When have I ever let you two down?"

Dirk turned his gaze back to Annabelle, who still bowed. "Annabelle. Be a dear and put my favorite on, on your way out."

"As you wish." Annabelle stepped back up, and just before leaving the room, she set the record player, leaving it to play some classical music."

Dirk closed his eyes, enjoying his favorite soundtrack. "Now let's continue our feast. It'd be a shame we let this delectable meal get cold." he said with a smile.