Jay coughed as he struggled to get to his feet, and his legs could barely hold him up. This was the first time she had hit him when she was serious, and he wanted it to be the last time.
’This is bad. She has completely lost it. I knew this was a bad idea.’
He thought this as he enhanced his body with mana so he could move freely. He crouched down and then leaped toward her. His only intention was to subdue her, but she easily noticed him, and with a spinning kick, he was sent flying through the air again.
’Shit, she is too strong. If this continues, I will actually die. There has to be another way. Think, why is she so angry? ...could it be?’
Kana was slowly getting closer to Jolly, so whatever he was going to say, he had to say it fast, or it would be too late.
"Kana! It is not your fault!"
She stopped suddenly and slowly turned to face him. "What?"
"I know you blame yourself for what happened with Vell, and I know you care for him a lot. That is why you are so angry, but this is not the right way to do things. Vell would not want this, would he? You need to stop blaming yourself. Let us go and find him, and we can apologize to him together, properly." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝
She looked at him, and her anger seemed to calm down. Her eyes went back to their normal color, and she just looked at him as he tried to catch his breath.
"You are a good guy. No matter how bad someone is, you always try to find the good in them. I was once like that. Vell taught me how to forgive and how to overcome my bullies. Of course, it never really worked, but I always smiled and told him it did, just to make him feel good. And you are right, I do blame myself. It was my mouth that spread the accusation, after all."
She ran a hand through her hair, and her eyes were still fixed on him. "I am angry, very angry, that I hurt a person who is so special to me. It eats at me all night, and images of his rugged appearance play in my mind non-stop. So tell me, why should I stop these emotions from raging? Should I just hold them back, and effectively kill myself?"
Jay hesitated. He had to choose his words carefully, or things would go wrong very fast.
Jay swallowed hard, and sweat dripped down his face as he thought about her words. His legs were shaking, both from the beating he had taken and from the immense pressure of the moment. Her piercing gaze did not help either.
He took a deep breath and tried to find the right words to calm her down.
"You are not wrong to feel angry. You are not wrong to feel guilt. But..."
He paused for a second, trying to find the right words, but his nerves got the better of him, and the words came out all wrong.
"But bottling it up is not the answer. You need to embrace it. Let it all out. Hit someone, no, hit me! That will surely help!"
She blinked at him, and for a moment, her expression was unreadable. Then her brow furrowed, and her aura flared up dangerously.
He froze, and he realized immediately that he had said the wrong thing. He raised his hands in a panic. "Wait, no, I did not mean—! I mean, not me, but... uh, maybe like... meditate! Or scream into a pillow! Or—"
"You want me to hit you?!" She cut him off, and her tone was a mix of fury and disbelief.
He stammered incoherently, and he waved his arms in front of him like a broken windmill. "N-no! I did not mean that literally! What I meant was, uh, you know, channel your anger! Like, constructively! Not destructively, like, um, painting or something? Do you like painting?"
Kana’s face was blank for a moment, and then her lips curled into a sharp smile that made his stomach drop.
"Sure, Jay," she said, and her voice was dripping with a deceptive sweetness. "Let us paint."
Before he could even process what was happening, she lunged at him with her fist raised. He only had enough time to think, ’I’m dead,’ before the impact sent him flying once again, and he crashed into a wall with a sickening thud. Stars exploded in his vision, and for a moment, he was sure he had lost consciousness.
But no, he was still alive, just barely. He could feel the blood trickling from his nose and taste it on his lips, and he knew he was in big trouble. Kana was too strong, too angry, and he was running out of options.
He tried to gather some strength, but he ended up back on the ground. His body was in terrible shape. It was sad for him to see Kana walking back toward Jolly, because if she went through with this, there would be no coming back for her.
’Please Kana, do not. You are throwing away your lif-’ He passed out, and the last thing he saw was her picking up Jolly like a ragdoll.
"Now then, where did we leave off? How about you tell me one more time how you felt about Vell."
Jolly struggled, and she tried to break free from Kana’s grip, but it was too strong. Her instincts told her that something bad was about to happen.
"I-I am sorry. I cannot justify the things I did. Even I sometimes wonder what is wrong with me, but I cannot help it. The urge is just too strong. Please, believe me." This time, her voice was gentle and honest, and it touched Kana for a brief moment.
"...Tch, do not go around changing so fast just because you are afraid!" She punched her in the gut, and she was still holding her tightly with her other hand. Jolly screamed out in pain, and blood flew from her mouth. Tears and snot covered her face.
"Please, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry. I will do anything, please."
Kana was torn. Was she really sorry? She let her go and watched her as she sobbed, holding her body in pain.
’Is this for real? Do not fuck with me. People do not just change that fast... but her voice, it sounded genuine, maybe-’
Her thoughts were cut off when she sensed multiple mana signatures heading in their direction. ’Huh, players?’
"Kukuku, you are done for now, bitch!"
She looked at Jolly. In her hand was a phone, and on her face was a cocky expression.
’Fuck, she sent a distress signal. This is bad, I have to run.’
She started running but then stopped, and she looked back at Jay. She did not want to leave him behind, but she had no choice. She could only carry one person, and she chose Jolly.
"H-Hey, put me down, bitch. HELP! OVER HERE!!"
Kana smacked her on the neck, knocking her out, and she quickly found a place to hide.
’Jay will be alright, but you,’ she looked at Jolly with a bloodthirsty expression, "you are going to pay for this, more than you think."