The Innocent Liar
A Kagerou Project fanfiction
"It's quite amazing, isn't it?"
When he feels the cat looking at him, he elaborates, "The things that people can live with. Or...I should say 'live' with." His fingers make air quotations as he says the word. The cat blinks, as if seriously pondering that question for a few moments before shrugging a little and bending his head, continuing to lap up some tea from the little teacup.
"Depends on the thing you're talking about." The cat says finally.
"But it also depends on the person, doesn't it?"
"True." The cat pulls back and looks up, eyes trained on something on the ceiling. When he looks up, he sees nothing.
"Hey. Don't eat him. It's thanks to this little guy that I can progress, you know." He holds up a hand, pointer finger a little crooked and his smile widens when he feels something soft and warm land on it. Though he looks up and nothing's there.
"Aw." The cat says and its head droops a little, as if it was actually pouting, "...Thought I might relieve it of its misery."
"Misery?" He inquires as he pets the invisible bird carefully, hearing a soft chirp in response.
The cat doesn't say anything more, instead opting to sip some more tea. Leaving another question unanswered, it seems.
He stretches a little, leans back on the bench.
And the lovely, blinding, warm green of leaves from the towering tree is the last thing he sees before he shuts them.
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Ever since he can remember, he's surrounded by green.
It's comforted him, strengthened him, protected him.
Much like a mother's warmth, a father's love.
A brother's touch.
A hand that guides him through.
And even in the days that followed, even in the hell of a past that he was trying to put behind him, he starts to think that maybe everything would be ok.
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Ever since he can remember, he's surrounded by darkness.
It's robbed him. Of his sight, of his strength, of his protection.
Much like his mother's warmth. His father's love.
A brother's touch.
A hand that's clawed at his skin, that makes it bleed.
And even in the days that followed, even in the warm heaven of a past that he lived every waking moment in, he starts to think that maybe everything would never, ever be ok.
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It's still dark in here.
The only difference is that it stinks.
Of blood, of rotting flesh. It was everywhere. So was the blood. It was spread across the white of the sheets, dragged to the floor, the floor itself...
"And even on my diary. Ugh."
He starts to flip through the pages, eyes flicking back and forth, between the pages and the room.
...
He hates being in here.
"Is this why you called me in here?"
He looks up and grins at the thing in the corner that starts to move towards him slowly.
His eyes meet holes where its eyes should be.
And what were supposed to be words were nothing but letters on air, mixed in with coughs that were wet with blood and fraught with pain.
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'Witch's' Diary
I...met a demon today.
He said he was a demon, but he seemed pretty friendly.
I told him about my sickness and he said that he had a cure for it.
And I asked him what the cure was.
Because if my sickness goes away, then Mother and Father will love me again.
Just like brother did.
Right?
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Demons and humans were never meant to meet.
For their meetings were known as pacts of blood, leaving ashes behind them and sparking fires around them, destroying the threads of normality that clung to human existence.
That based their existence.
And once those threads were gone...
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'Witch's' Diary
My demon friend said that he could cure my sickness.
But for that, he needed time. So, he gave me his powers and went far away, to try to find a spell to help me.
His powers...I like them. They made me stronger, healthier.
Mother cried the first time I got out of bed. She wouldn't stop.
So I thought that they would finally, finally love me too.
But those powers...I had to keep most of them a secret. I wanted to be like my brother.
My brother, who loved me even when I was sick. Who I love so very, very much.
My brother, whose blood I drink to keep me alive, every night, in secret, while he slept.
He would understand...right?
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You did try to warn him.
But of course, he never listened to you, did he?
He wouldn't.
I know he wouldn't.
Far too desperate was he to rid himself of this sickness. That plagued his body, that wore on his family, to the point where they simply started wishing for him to just die already.
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'Witch's' Diary
Why?
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Save for his saint of a brother, he wasn't truly living for anyone else anymore.
His brother who knew the warmth of love. Who loved and was loved.
His brother, sweet and kind.
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'Witch's' Diary
Why?
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And with all that love, so foolish.
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'Witch's' Diary
Why?
Why?
Why can't you love me too?
Why...do you love only him? Only brother...I'm your child too, aren't I?
Why can't you love me like brother does?
Why?
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Witch's Diary
My sickness made me weak.
I couldn't play outside.
Father and Mother...they hated seeing me. Seeing me sick.
They couldn't love me.
They didn't love me.
So I X them.
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XX/XX: XX Residence Burns Down
XX and his wife, XX were found dead in the wreckage. Their bodies were riddled with multiple stab wounds, so it is suspected that they were murdered and then the building set aflame. Their oldest son, XX Haruka was staying at the house of his childhood friend at the time and escaped the tragedy, but the youngest son, Konoha is still unaccounted for.
The police-
The newspaper clipping is torn off here.
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"Shouldn't you be going now?"
"Eh? Tired of my company already, cat?" He asks, cracking an eye to see the cat stare back at him. If it had an expression, it would be deathly serious now. How funny. It looks almost comedic on him.
"There's a reason you came back here, right?"
"Yes. Sadly, there is." He sighs, "Quite a stupid one too, in all honesty."
"But you can't leave here without doing whatever it is you have to do?"
He nods, then frowns, "Why are you asking me all this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You of all people...no, you of all things should know why I'm back here, cat."
"...I suppose I should."
"Yeah."
"Don't you think this place is creepy? I mean, this room is fine...even if there's a literal, giant tree in the middle of it, and there are invisible birds and talking flowers and the like, it's actually calmer than most of the rooms in the house. Not to mention the amount of roaches here." The cat shivers a little, "Gross."
"What, you're scared of them?"
"I just don't like the way they move is all. Stop laughing!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Actually. I think that even I would be scared of them under normal circumstances."
"Under normal circumstances?"
"...I'd grown up with them all around me. My room wasn't the best one in the house, after all." He closes his eyes and chuckles a little, "It was dark...and musty. There weren't any windows so I didn't know if it was day or night."
"You could've gone outside, couldn't you?"
"No, I couldn't have. Kind of hard to do that when you're so sick that you can barely leave the bed."
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Witch's Diary
More friends came over to play today.
But to do that, they had to visit my new house.
And the house...ate them all up.
Because this house was 'special'. Just like me.
...
I wonder when my next friend will come?
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Anyone who makes a deal with the devil ceases to become 'human'.
They give up their humanity for powers dangerous and unknown.
They cease to be human and instead become 'witches'.
And to attain more of these powers, they need to sacrifice something of equivalent value.
Blood, bones, ash...their own would not suffice.
Because they are no longer truly human.
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Witch's Diary
No...
No...no!
No!
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOONNONOOONO
WHY IS HE HERE
WHY IS HE IN THIS HOUSE
HE SHOULD HAVE DIED
HE LIVED BUT HE SHOULD HAVE DIED
WHY ARE YOU HERE
...WHY
WHY...why...why...
Brother...why?
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Why did you come back to him?
You could have lived...he loved you too much to let you die with them.
Corrupted by power or not, he loved you.
He loved you enough to spare your life.
So why did you come back to him?
Why did you forget your own brother?
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Witch's Diary
Brother came over again today.
The house didn't eat him. He made his way up to my room with no problems at all.
When he saw me for the first time, he cried. Like mother.
But he didn't know why he was crying. He said that it was probably because I looked sad.
Why? Why did I look sad?
Didn't I have everything I ever wanted?
Even if my body was slowly rotting away?
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"You shouldn't go up there."
"Well, this is sudden." He looked surprised, "Why not?"
"You know damn well why not." The cat...appeared to be glaring at him now, "If you know this house well, you should know what awaits you."
"True. But like I said, I can't go. I have a reason for coming back, after all?"
"A reason strong enough to come back here?"
He doesn't answer.
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Witch's Diary
Brother doesn't remember me. That I know.
He said that he lost his memories the night of the fire.
He still smiles at me though.
Don't.
Brother...don't.
It's because of me that you're so sad.
It's because of me that our parents are dead.
Don't you recognize me? Have I really changed that much?
Or did you just pretend to care like mother and father did?
Please...
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"Is there a reason you take a cat's form?"
"Not particularly."
"Liar." His smile is still present, but it's somewhat strained. The 'cat' doesn't rise to that challenge, instead he licks his paw and grooms himself.
"He's waiting for you, you know. In that room. He's waiting."
"I know."
"Should you really waste time here talking to me?"
"No, I shouldn't." He admits as he gets to his feet, stretching a little, "Takane's waiting for me too, after all."
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"Haruka...where are you?"
She sighs for the umpteenth time but fails to look away from the clock. It's late. It's really, really late.
He's still out there. All alone in those woods...
Where the witch is supposed to live.
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Witch's Diary
I didn't X him.
He was my beloved brother, after all.
He loved me...he never hurt me. He hurt me only once, long before, when he told father about the kitten I was hiding. But he didn't mean it.
He was my brother...and my only friend. So I wouldn't X him.
He's coming over today.
So I'll play with him some more.
Because he's my friend.
He'll listen to what I have to say, right?
He'll listen...to my wish right?
Just for today...
I'll break my promise and cast another spell.
Alright? Haruka?
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"You really believed me didn't you."
The lump of mass...it couldn't even be called a person. Hands covered in dirt and soot, in cuts and blood, drag the rest of the torso along. The lack of legs doesn't seem to have slowed him much though.
Neither has the lack of eyes.
"It was such a shame to rip them out. I really did have the prettiest eyes. But I wanted to ensure that you never managed to escape, never managed to catch me. I'm surprised you'd even survived for so long. But then, I wasn't expecting my own house to attack me!" He smiles, sweet, innocent, radiant, "As expected of my big brother."
The witch's lips move a little, a horrible, guttural rasping manages to escape.
"'Swap bodies for only a day'?" He hums, "Yes. I do believe that I said that. And I can't believe you actually listened to me! I know you didn't have even an ounce of self-preservation but this...to swap bodies with the most feared witch in the forest..."
"You're every bit as gullible as I remember."
And he could almost delude himself into thinking that he saw recognition, his jaw already slack, gaping black holes for his eyes, "Kh...kho...dh...o..."
He grimaces for a split second before he fixes his expression again and his tone is neutral when he replies, "Konoha is dead. You killed him. You and your mother and father...you wished for him to be dead. So he died. That guy was always so obedient of you all. So he left you."
And you didn't even have the decency to remember m-...remember him.
"Kho...dho...ha..."
"My name is not Konoha!"
He's yelling now, "He died and you killed him. He's dead and...I'm..." He takes a deep breath, "Have you even forgotten your own name, brother?"
"D...ghgh..."
"You remember this much, don't you? I'm you now. And that means your life, your happiness, your friends...all of that is now mine."
"Dh...dho..."
"Ah...I see! That's why you haven't died yet!" He smacks the side of his fist against his palm, looking for all the world like he'd figured out the answer to life itself, "It's because of her, isn't it? Your precious childhood friend? That hunter girl..."
"Haruka!"
Ah...she's here.
Good. Perfect timing.
"Haruka! What are you doing out here so late?!"
When he turns to her, his face is white, his eyes full of tears, on the verge of spilling. "T-Takane!"
"Eh? Haruka, what are you...?" Then silence as she sees the bloody mass of flesh moving slowly towards her childhood friend.
'Haruka' runs behind her and from the hand on her shoulder, she could feel the shudders running through his body. "What...what is that..."
"dha...gah...ne..."
"M-monster..."
"i...l...o...v..."
"Stay away, monster!"
And gunshots break the silence of the witch's forest.
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"Another poor unfortunate soul."
It carefully places the cat's corpse on the ground and touches the body of the beloved human.
"He's so vengeful...isn't he? He honestly should be the demon here, not me."
It closes his eyes. Like this, the human seemed almost...peaceful.
"I'm sorry for this. I'll be taking your soul now, ok? Kokonose Haruka?"
They never did reply.
And with the human soul tucked in a bottle in one pocket and blood dripping out of an invisible body in the other, the demon leaves the shadows and walks along the moonlight.
For a lack of choice...following his master's trail once more.
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italics: Konoha's thoughts and entries
bold+italics: Kuroha's thoughts and entries
normal: Mostly 'Haruka's', save for the final where the demon talks
And yes, I chose Kano for the role of demon. Seemed the best option considering what we know of his backstory from the novels, songs and anime. That and I like making the poor kid suffer.
Also, this thing practically wrote itself. Especially after what the anime hinted in regards to Kuroha's origins.
Songs Used:
Chaos(Ablaze): Fire Emblem: Awakening OST
Undermine: The Witch's House OST
Id(Dilemma): Fire Emblem: Awakening OST
Don't Speak Her Name!((Ironic I know)): Fire Emblem: Awakening OST