Chapter Text
Beep, beep, beep.
The sound of an alarm to wake her up was silenced almost as quickly as it had started. Marking 6 AM, Belle took a quick look at the tiny rays of light slipping through her curtain, confirming the arrival of the morning.
Sighing in irritation as she had already grown used to doing, she promptly got up and made her bed before putting on her sandals and going to do her morning routine, the one she had been repeating for almost a year now.
After going to the bathroom and washing up quickly, she made herself a black coffee without a pinch of sugar along with a couple of scrambled eggs with toast. A classic breakfast, quick and simple to make.
As always, she ate in the sepulchral silence of the morning, and she made no effort to change that fact. Where before she used to check her social media and other little things on the proxy network along with long chats with her brother, now she simply chewed and swallowed her bites without uttering a single word.
Her gaze was fixed on a random point in the kitchen, not really seeing anything, she just... looked.
When she finished her breakfast, she did not waste any time. She washed her dishes in less than a minute and left them to dry beside the sink.
Finally, with barely 35 minutes having passed since she got up, she moved on to her next task of the day, as she had already forced herself to follow it to the letter...
Belle changed into sportier clothes and left Random Play as fast as she could. She did a bit of stretching and then started to jog.
Controlled, precise breathing, calculated and well-marked movements. Belle kept those points in mind at all times so her workout would not be ruined. Unsurprisingly to her, it was not.
Having reached the Lumina Square and already being on her way back, her mind began to wander.
It was always the same, every day was the same. But today... today was different. Belle had a feeling that this particular day was going to be one of those that would just feel as bad as possible for as long as possible.
Without her expecting it, a wave of frustration slipped into her body, irritating her against her will and making her quicken her pace to the fastest she could run, afraid of what was coming. It did not help much, since she was only a couple of blocks from home, but she definitely got there in a few seconds.
Opening the front door, Belle almost ended up slamming it when she closed it behind it afterwards. She was breathing heavily and erratically. It was no longer a hunch; she already knew what was happening to her.
Her chest began to tighten with force and her throat felt as if it would close up in a matter of seconds.
She ran upstairs as she pulled off all the clothes she was wearing, distressed by the disgusting sensation swirling in her heart and on every inch of skin that was in contact with the soft fabric.
She got into the bathroom, turning the hot water tap all the way on together with the cold before getting into the shower.
Once inside those tiny three walls and a shower door, Belle placed her hands on the front wall, letting the warm water hit her as gently as a maple leaf falling to the ground on the eve of autumn.
After long minutes had passed, Belle finally began to breathe a little more calmly and the nausea also started to subside. She closed her eyes, doing her best to keep the tears behind her eyelids from escaping.
“I’m not going to deal with this nonsense this early.” She spoke under her breath in annoyance, with a hint of palpable sadness in her voice. “God... I think... I think this isn’t working.”
She tried to breathe deeply, trying to calm her mind. The more she did, the more uneasy she felt... until she could not take it anymore.
As the first sob escaped her throat, which she tried to stifle, she gave in to what her body was asking... no, begging her.
She slid down the smooth ceramic wall her hands had been resting on until she ended up on her knees against the floor.
And just like that, she burst into silent tears... as was already, sadly, nothing unfamiliar to her.
It had been at least more than a week since she last cried... Belle thought she could finally start to deal with it, she truly believed it with hope.
But when she curled up into a fetal position to cry harder, she knew she was not accepting it or dealing with it, she was running away from all of it.
“What else... can I do?”
Between sobs and sniffling to stifle her crying, Belle muttered through clenched teeth what afflicted her so much. Nothing was working for her.
She thought that by keeping her mind busy improving her body and physical condition, she would feel better.
She did not.
She thought that by copying her brother’s orderly and disciplined habits she might feel less alone.
She did not.
She thought that... she thought that time could give her some peace, some way to cope with the endless pain and loneliness that filled her tiny heart.
...It did not.
............///............
Drying her body completely, she then moved on to her hair with the blow dryer. She stood in front of the mirror, and upon seeing that it was completely fogged up, she grew annoyed at not being able to see herself properly. With a slight hand gesture, an almost invisible purple wave of ether wiped the entire surface clean until the glass looked almost new, even with the humidity from the bathroom steam.
Starting to dry her hair, she froze completely when she saw who was in the mirror... Belle could not help but think about the last time she had seen her own reflection... In fact, she could not remember.
Her dark blue hair was now only at the tips of a long silver mane that reached below her shoulders, almost the same color as her brother’s... She had not dyed her hair since that day.
And her eyes... despite sleeping exactly 8 hours a day, she had huge bags under her now dull aquamarine eyes.
Belle thought about how pathetic she looked. And only one question circled in her mind after the fiasco of her ruined morning.
I am not going to be happy again, am I?
............///............
Belle was crouched down checking the stock of her movies in the storeroom behind the counter, both new ones and some less popular titles. Mentally ticking off her list of the available numbers, she sighed at how tired she would be at the end of the day. Not because she would get worn out, but because she was already sick of the monotony she had enslaved herself to without realizing it.
She stood up with a heavy sigh, sitting on the stool by the register to look at Wise’s jacket spread out on the counter. Gently stroking it with one hand, Belle said nothing more before putting it on herself. It was already a far too familiar routine for her.
At the end of every day she always left her brother’s jacket on the counter at the entrance of Random Play, her home... with the hope that one night while she was asleep, Wise would simply arrive, take his jacket, and wake his sister up to tell her how much he had missed her.
It was her most longed-for dream... her most powerful disappointment.
She knew it was completely impossible, but every night she still hoped for a nonexistent miracle.
Just like his jacket, her whole outfit was exactly the same as her brother’s, but one size smaller to be her own.
She had no idea whether doing that was healthy or not, but she did not care in the slightest. Folding her hands in her lap, Belle straightened her back and lifted her head, looking at the ceiling for no particular reason.
“I should not have left Yunkui Pinnacle...” she said to herself as she had already said so many times. It was more of a mantra to her than anything else, a sort of self-indulgence to try to fool herself into thinking that things were not that bad, that there was something good waiting for her at the end of the day.
Of course, it was all a lie, and she knew that better than anyone.
She had left only a few months ago, right after helping Alice and Yuzuha with the whole issue around TOPS and the Exaltists alongside with the whole thing on OBOLOS squad, even the incident with Ye Shenguang was a little blurry in her head. She had no idea why that had been her breaking point...
“Stop lying to yourself, you know perfectly well what it was.” She scolded herself before squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath, trying hard to forget the images of the past.
It was impossible, as she relived in great detail that summer night at the resort...
Everyone was so happy and cheerful, laughing and playing on what should have been a night of pure joy and friendly conversation.
Belle wanted with all her heart for it to be that way, for all that positive energy to rub off on her and stick to her body like industrial glue, and in fact, a part of her did have fun and laugh like never before... but the other part was stronger and more persistent inside her.
The last straw was seeing Yuzuha and Alice so... happy, holding hands, smiling together, blushing together... growing closer.
Belle was truly happy for them, she really was. However, there was something stronger than that, and it was the pure, total envy she felt toward them for having been able to move on and find a way to be happy together.
What is more, the interaction was so strangely nauseating that when she looked at all the friends she had made over these years, she saw all of them the same way as the youngest pair.
A strange and foreign rage slipped into Belle’s mind, one so unfamiliar that it took her several minutes to identify what she was feeling.
She hated them all for having gotten over Wise’s death and moved on with their lives, while she, in her own words, the most useless of the Phaeton siblings, had completely stalled without moving even a single step forward in life.
“You are an idiot...”
She grumbled through her teeth, feeling again that indescribable fury in her chest, one that told her to hit something, anything, and as hard and as quickly as possible.
She stopped, knowing there was nothing she could hit that would not be completely ruined and cost a fortune to repair afterwards.
God, there is something really wrong with me. Belle thought as she inhaled and exhaled slowly in an effort to calm herself.
When it finally seemed that the inexplicable bloodlust was fading, someone knocked on Random Play’s door, irrationally irritating the silver-haired girl. Today she was just going to be mad at the world, she decided.
“Who the hell comes to rent movies at almost 7 in the morni—!?”
Opening the door roughly, she froze completely when she saw who was waiting behind it.
Tsukishiro Yanagi was a bit startled and took a step back on instinct, not expecting Belle to act that way toward her at all... But she had to try her best to talk to her.
“Good morning, Belle,” Yanagi greeted cordially, as she usually did. “Is it too early, perhaps? I can come later if that suits you better...”
Reacting slowly, Belle blinked a couple of times before stepping aside and inviting her in. Once she stepped through the door, Belle closed it right away, not wanting anyone else to enter the store for the rest of the day.
“Sorry about that, Yanagi,” Belle apologized in a neutral tone. “What do you need?”
Now this was strange, Yanagi thought. Belle, even when she was feeling down emotionally, tried to keep a smile or lighten the mood and cheer others up... Although she already had an idea of what was going on, she was worried about her friend’s state... she looked awful.
“Are you okay, Belle?”
“No.”
Blinking a couple of times at such a direct answer, Yanagi grew more worried than ever.
“Belle, i —”
“Are you going to tell me why you came, or not?”
Interrupting her as irritated as could be, Belle kept her neutral expression, making Yanagi even more unsettled by the girl’s behavior... For now, it was best to be honest with her.
“Belle, Asaba’s condition has gotten worse...”
For the first time, Yanagi saw more in Belle’s expression than just annoyance or indifference; there was a genuine, aching concern.
“I need you to take me to him, Yanagi. I need... I need to see if I can do something.”
“Do something? I do not understand you. You know that his condition ins´t curable.”
“You will see when we get there... Did you come by car? If not, we´ll take mine.”
She shook her head, then proceeded to follow the silver-haired girl when she turned toward the parking lot door.
“Let´s go, then... You guide me.”
(......)
Already turning the key to enter Harumasa’s apartment, Belle practically ran to the bedroom, startling Yanagi, who had not expected it before hurrying after her.
“Harumasa!”
The girl exclaimed when she saw the always-smiling archer from Section 6 now with a pained, frowning expression, lying in bed with labored breathing. He opened his eyes and saw the proxy kneeling beside him with a clearly worried expression.
“Hey, shop clerk,” Harumasa spoke in a low voice, barely audible to the two women in front of him. “How are you doing?”
Snorting in anger yet with a hint of amusement at his attitude, Belle gave his arm a very light smack, earning a pained grunt from him.
“I am fine... Can you tell me what is going on?”
Harumasa’s teasing smile faded, and he glanced at Yanagi, who gave him a slight nod, granting permission for him to speak.
“Belle, my EARS has gotten worse... Truth is, I do not think I have much time left... Not even to say goodbye to Miyabi or Soukaku that are busy in the hollows right now... Do you remember the promise you made me that day?”
“You cannot be serious, Harumasa,” Belle said in a scornful tone, trying to hide the disgusting knot in her throat. “N-no... I am not going to kill you...”
Harumasa’s expression saddened, and Yanagi raised a brow in confusion at the peculiar statement. Before she could say anything about what was happening, the young man stopped her with a wave of his hand.
“Belle, you promi—”
“I am not going to kill you...” Belle let out a shaky sigh, then stood up, took off the jacket she set aside and pulled some small black cards out of her pants pocket. She stared hard at Harumasa, who shivered at the strange determination behind those aquamarine eyes. “Because you are not going to die, Harumasa... I am going to save you.”
Before any member of Section 6 could say anything, the cards Belle held in her hand burst into a purple fire clearly of ethereal origin.
“Belle?”
Harumasa and Yanagi said at the same time, worried because they did not know what was happening.
“I still cannot create talismans from nothing like my master,” Belle said more to herself than anything, closing her eyes as she charged the metal cards with ethereal energy. “But I can do the same as her with a physical link.”
“Belle, slow down, what are you doing?”
Yanagi moved to Harumasa’s side, and he barely managed to sit up in bed to watch in stunned amazement what was happening.
“Yanagi, Harumasa. I am going to cleanse as many of the ethereal knots that have formed inside him as I can. I know it sounds crazy, but I am asking you to trust me. I will explain everything when I am finished, but first...”
Opening her eyes, the whole apartment suddenly felt heavier and the air grew denser. Her eyes had changed completely. Instead of the soft aquamarine, they now looked like a sort of black hole with edges glowing like a lamp in incandescent blue.
Leaving those present speechless, Belle proceeded to place the ether-imbued cards on the four corners of the bed with Harumasa in the center.
“Harumasa, I would really appreciate it if you did not move from there; I need to focus as much as possible, and right where you are is the spot with the highest concentration of my tacit techniques thanks to the position of the black cards you saw earlier. Do you understand?”
He was dumbfounded, truly not understanding anything that was going on, but he simply smiled and lay back down on the bed.
“It is not like I could move much anyway... Do what you have to do, manager.”
Smiling at the old nickname, Belle focused and clasped her hands in a peculiar gesture. Immediately, the four cards belched a torrent of ethereal energy upward, gathering above Harumasa as if forming a small glass dome.
“Belle... Since when can you do these things?”
Yanagi asked, amazed by the hidden abilities she had never imagined that the proxy—who always stayed away from operations due to her clear physical inefficiency—would have... But now that she looked closely, Belle had changed her body into a more fit, and tight one; there was no doubt about it.
Seconds went by until they turned into long, silent minutes. Belle kept staring intently at Harumasa while all the ether fluctuated between her and the archer.
When at least ten minutes had passed, Yanagi spoke in a low voice, not wanting to distract the girl who might save her precious friend.
“Belle... Is everything okay?”
Giving the pink-haired girl a quick glance, Belle offered a tiny smile before speaking.
“Yes, but it is much more complicated than I thought. The ethereal knots formed by his regression are quite delicate. I am trying to extract each one without affecting Harumasa... I am almost done, give me a moment, Yanagi.”
Confirming with a small sound closer to a nod than anything, Yanagi once again limited herself to watching from a few steps away, still worried.
After a few more minutes of the same, Belle began to breathe more heavily and furrow her brow more intensely than before; she was reaching her limit.
Knowing there could be serious consequences if she pushed herself too far, she decided to finish with the last nodes as quickly as she could; otherwise, all her work would be useless and Harumasa would end up as before or even worse.
She separated her hands for a moment before bringing them together in a small clap and interlacing her fingers.
All of a sudden, the entire flow of ethereal energy intensified, starting to slightly push away the surrounding objects.
“Belle!?”
Yanagi cried out, shielding herself with one arm, while Harumasa watched in fear everything that was happening. Anyone would have thought a disaster was about to occur and get out of control, but as quickly as it started, it ended.
In an instant, Belle collapsed to the floor along with the ethereal current, almost like a rag doll, alarming the others, who hurried to help her. Yanagi knelt and took her in her arms, while Harumasa, now good as new, got out of bed and moved to stand beside the pair, distraught over his dear friend.
Swiftly, Yanagi checked her pulse and placed her ear near Belle’s face to feel her breathing.
Sighing in relief when she sensed both, though weak, Yanagi rested Belle’s head on her lap and glanced at the archer.
“Asaba, change the sheets, we are going to lay her down.”
Obeying, he moved quickly. In no time, the bed was like a new one from the shop.
Lifting the girl in her arms without much effort, Yanagi laid Belle along the bed, taking off her shoes and leaving them at the end of the bed.
Sitting in the chair beside her, Yanagi put her hands to her head, resting her elbows on her legs and letting out a heavy sigh.
“This should´nt have happened.”
Feeling guilty about the situation, Harumasa grabbed a small stool lying around the room and sat next to his sub-captain.
“Well, sorry for getting worse all of a sudden, hahaha.”
Trying unsuccessfully to lighten the mood, Harumasa fell silent when Yanagi shot him a serious look.
“You know this is not your fault... I just hope she is okay.”
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Harumasa smiled at the pink-haired woman.
“She will be fine, Yanagi... She is stronger than all of us, she will wake up and we will be able to explain everything to her.”
Placing a hand over that of her subordinate, Yanagi smiled faintly.
“I hope you are right, Harumasa.”
(......)
Feeling as if she had just fallen into a lake or even the ocean, Belle tried to open her eyes carefully, wondering about the warm sensation spreading through her body... It was like a velvet veil wrapping around every part of her, it was strangenly comforting.
Before she could even register anything in her sight, she suddenly dropped into the void of that supposed water body and, in just a moment, landed on a soft bed in a bright, modern room.
She felt light and free of pain, but above all... small?
Interrupting her thoughts, the door to that room opened, and a figure far too familiar to her walked in... She was frozen, with so many questions flooding her mind. What was going on?
“Wise?”