章節 20: Was Good While It Lasted

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[KIYOMI]

To say Elif was pissed was an understatement. She had been ranting, cussing out, cursing, and readying herself to kill Sakura Watanabe for the past thirty minutes. You would think she was a Lycan high guard or even someone with the power to do so.

Kiyomi had expected the outrage, but she hadn't expected that it would be so intense that for a moment, a part of her almost felt bad for the Lycan queen. She was silently hoping that her best friend and the woman wouldn't ever meet.

They couldn't… Otherwise, Odanera City would be up in flames and Kiyomi Kimura would be right in the middle of it. She couldn't let that happen however tempting it was for her to see Sakura meet a crazier woman than her.

"But I'm free, Elif, that is what matters, yeah?" Kiyomi said and Elif turned to her, before she began assessing Kiyomi for the hundredth time. She was checking her out, trying to see if the woman had any bruises or new scars.

Kiyomi thought that her best friend could easily pass for her mom with the intensity of these checkups, which was sort of comforting. Granted, Kiyomi hadn't expected that Elif would be home when she had come here, but seeing Elif like this made her feel a little better.

Sure, the human was no match for Sakura, but she appreciated the fact that Elif was angry on her behalf, and wanted to fight her wars. Maybe in another life, Elif would be a Lycan born like her, and they would still be sisters, right?

"I need to drink water," Elif huffed as she walked out of the room, stumbling against the water bottles that KiKi had brought her. She had drunk them all but then she had grown thirsty with the thousands of words coming off her lips for the past half hour.

"I swear, I'm okay," Kiyomi said as she followed a frustrated Elif into the kitchen. She wasn't sure what the human would do, but knowing Elif she was crazy enough to go after Sakura Watanabe at this point.

"Are you sure she is the only one that the moon goddess pairs you with? Is this not a side effect of the contract or whatever the fuck that bitch on steroids keeps feeding her race is more insane than she is?" Elif asked after a long silence.

Hearing Kiyomi's side of the story had messed up her mind. Hell, Elif wasn't even, and that there were a few dead Odanera specialists, no. She was pissed that her friend had to endure all of that without saying shit. It wasn't fair.

"Perhaps I can meet that goddess and explain to her that the whacko she paired you with needs to be ground into sandpaper given her attitude and mindset? Or maybe we can kidnap her and run her over a thousand times?

"I offer to drive, even if it means driving that crazy bitch into the madhouse. It's not like anyone would ever miss her. I bet the entire kingdom would go in a year-long celebration just for that," Elif said with all the spite she could muster.

She had never met Sakura Watanabe, but she was certain the woman was her enemy at this point. It was all so unbelievable that if Elif hadn't seen firsthand what Kiyomi transformed into earlier, she would have assumed that shit was just some fantasy.

Sadly, it wasn't and her best friend was to be stuck with the woman who knew nothing of humanity for the longest of times. Or maybe Elif had a better idea? Well, even if she had one, the dice had been cast and Sakura was that for Kiyomi.

"How about this… I head to the hospital and see for myself if anything she said was true and then you can do whatever you're at with her?" Kiyomi said and Elif chuckled at how hopeless her best friend was. All of this was hurting as hell.

"I'm sorry I'm just human, Kiki. In my next life, I hope to meet you again," Elif said and Kiyomi pulled her into a hug. She knew how Elif was always protective of her and she hated that this was really happening.

"It's alright Elif. I will always wait for you in every lifeline," Kiyomi said as she walked hand in hand with Elif back to the living room. She had to be ready to leave because if night reached before she got to the hospital, then maybe there was no hope for her.

"Hold on, what is that?" Elif asked as she looked at the TV and there were newer headlines that seemed like a dream, headlines that proved that perhaps Sakura was crazy but not completely inhumane, yeah?

"No way she told the truth," Kiyomi said as she turned up the volume on the TV.

"Owed apologies as hospital director declared doctor Kiyomi Kimura innocent."

"Mob boss's son, Bazbylika Ivankov swears to find the person responsible for his father's murder."

"More mysteries as investigators conclude and Kiyomi Kimura is proven innocent."

"We're here with one Zafer Otaru, who claims to have seen Doctor Kiyomi sleep in her office at the time of the incident. He says he has CCTV footage to support his claims," a reporter said and Elif choked on air.

"Impossible," Kiyomi said as she looked at the TV.

"What is it?" Elif asked, concerned by the look on Kiyomi's face. This was supposed to be good news for her, but what did the good doctor look like when she saw the world come apart ring in front of her for the hundredth time?

"You know him?" Elif questioned when Kiyomi's attention didn't shift.

"He is the Lycan queen's enforcer. He really stepped forward to help?" Kiyomi asked as she sat and watched as the CCTV footage played on live television. The good doctor could be seen in her office asleep in the timestamp.

Kiyomi wasn't sure when that was, but one thing she knew was that it wasn't for the day of the incident. The footage was doctored and modified in endless ways that even the best forensic expert would never be able to question.

That in itself got Kiyomi wondering what Sakura had done to Bazyli to make the man take back his statement. It was supposed to be freeing that she was not a target anymore, but Kiyomi knew better.

This was probably just to get everyone off her back in public. She had murdered so many people in the Ivankov mob and the mob always believed in blood for blood, which also meant that just because she was 'free,' never really meant she was free.

But then she couldn't tell that to Elif. Her best friend was a good person and if Kiyomi involved her even more in this, she would end up dead, which was part of a bargain that Kiyomi wasn't going to make possible.

It was too risky.

"You're finally free, KiKi. No one will come to haunt you again," Elif said excitedly as she hugged her friend who was still thinking. Freedom always came at a price and Kiyomi knew that deep down. She could only hope that there were wetter days.

Well, that all ended the moment Elif's door was brought down in a blast and Bazyli Ivankov walked into the room with his men, the rage in his eyes a reminder of what Kiyomi had feared the most.

Karma had come knocking a little too soon.

Fuck.

"We meet again, princess," Bazyli spat furiously.