𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕨𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝔻𝕠𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕤 [𝐻𝒶𝓃𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓃𝑒] {𝘛𝘉/𝘑𝘚𝘏𝘒}
ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 19; ᴀɴ ᴀᴘᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ
Nene POV:
The thing was not huge, just a few feet taller than me, but it looked like it meant business as it grinned while I sunk lower.
The apparition was a shadow. A dark mass of something as it loomed over me, it's face composing of bright-white slits for eyes and a laughing mouth that curved up in a sinister smirk.
It opened it's mouth; for a single, paralzingly terrifying second, I thought it was going to swallow me, but then it said the words: "Hello."
Just a single word, yet it made the hairs on my arm stand up. The moment it spoke, the air suddenly seemed to crackle with electricity. I could not speak any more than I could move.
"Don't worry. I am not going to hurt you. At least, not yet." The apparition grinned again, and suddenly the sand stopped taking me under, pausing at my waist. I sighed in relief, but my eyes were still locked with the thing's. I could not pull my eyes away. It was, quite literally, like his eyes were a magnet for mine.
"I am here to make a deal." The apparition smiled. "For I am an apparition who does deals. Trades. Fair trades. And you, Yashiro Nene, the juiciest catch of the year, will grant me what I want."
I swallowed. How did it know my name?
"I can make this Number Seven apparition forget Renee for life." The apparition smirked. "I can make this Renee girl disappear from the face of earth, never to meet you or Number Seven again."
I held my breath. Could it really? How could it find the deepest desire of my heart, and tell it to me in such a calm manner?
"I can do all that," The apparition leaned in closer. "In exchange for your hair."
"My-my hair?" I finally croaked, my hand shooting up to my short, dyed bob. It was so short I could barely afford to cut any more.
"Oh, no, not that disguisting human-stained hair," the apparion said disdainfully. "I mean this hair."
Suddenly, I felt my head feel heavy. I felt my locks of hair. They were lush and long again. And, amazingly, they were blonde and aqua. Just like before I had dyed and cut them. I stared at the apparition. How had it made my hair become what it once was again?
Of course, time with Hanako had made me stop doubting apparition's abilities, so the shock quickly wore off.
"If you can just magick up hair, you really don't need mine," I said, confused. "I mean, you just conjured up my hair out of nowhere."
"Not out of nowhere." The apparition grinned it's horrible grin. "I'm a shapeshifter. Well, I can't shift; I can make things shift."
"Couldn't you just shapeshift, I don't know, a cat or something into my hair anyway?" I said nervously, backing away. I was starting to wish I hadn't spoken to this apparition.
"If I shifted a cat into hair, it would still be a cat by definition." The apparition clarified. "But your black hair, shapeshifted into your old hair, is still hair by defintion. Therefore, I am happy to accept your newly-shifted blonde hair."
"Why do you want... hair?" I asked.
"Because I feed on it." The apparition cackled. "Hair is food to me. Without it, I starve. But the hair I consume must be given by free will. Yes, yes, therefore I make trades. And here is my trade; your hair for Number Seven's memories of Renee to be wiped, and for Renee to never come across you or Number Seven again."
"Ever?" I whispered.
"Ever. You will never catch another glimpse of Renee in your life again." The apparitin grinned. "Now, isn't that a good trade?"
"But..." I gulped, pulling at a lock of my hair. "Will I be... bald?" I grimanced. How could I be so vain right now? When all I wanted, all I needed, was being handed to me on a silver platter?
"No, no, I wouldn't leave pretty little girls like you without any hair at all, no, that wouldn't do," the apparition smiled. "No, I would leave you a considerable amount of hair. Enough to make you look normal. But of course, your hair won't grow long again; no, the hair I have taken, will be mine forever, your precious hairstyle will be short for life. But I hardly think that's an issue when you care about this Number Seven so much, do you?"
I took a deep breath. I had no other choice but to say yes. No doubt this apparition would murder me if I didn't agree to his deal. And besides, was it such a big price to pay? Everything with Hanako and Kai and Renee would blow over in an instant, I could forget it had ever happened, and all this apparition wanted in exchange was some of my hair. I would still have enough to look normal.
I might never get this chance again.
"I'll... I'll do it." I cleared my throat and gulped as the apparition hissed in delight.
"Yes, yes... that's right. You won't regret this." The apparition slithered closer to me. "Now, just let me take that hair..."
I almost cried out loud as a sudden, cold feeling washed over me. Flashes of pain followed it, and I bit my tongue to stop my crying out. But just as quickly as it had began, it stopped, and when my hand shot up to my hair, the comforting weight had vanished; I tried to tug on a lock of hair, but realised it was short now.
Still blonde and aqua, but so, so short. My heart dropped as I maybe, maybe regretted my desicion a little.
"Just... just to make things clear, how will you be wiping Hanako's memories? And, um... getting rid of Renee?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
The apparition simply smiled. "Renee is a mere human. Some termination to her brain allowed her to see apparitions. But she is still a human. A little passageway into her mind and body will be enough to make her move far, far away.
As for this Number Seven... he is a powerful apparition, but not as powerful as me, I believe. My superior brainwashing abilities should be able to conquer his mind."
Suddenly I didn't like the sound of this as much. I wanted Hanako to forget, but I didn't want to brainwash him. "Wait, wait... can I... I don't know..."
"No refunds." The apparition cackled, and then snapped it's fingers, if it had any. Suddenly, the quicksand holding me in place disappeared, and I stumbled to my feet again, concrete beneath me. "Please enjoy your half of the exchange. I hope we may cross again."
And just as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared, a mere trace of smoke the only proof that it had ever been there.
A/N: Exchanges with apparitions are never good ideas. Will luck work in Nene's favour? Or will things backfire...? :)
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