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Everyone is a liar.
That’s what Aoi tells herself like a motto she clings on to for dear life. Everyone is a liar, and everyone will turn to be a disappointment. Aoi learned that the hard way from her father. He spins lies to her and her mother by cocooning himself in golden silk. However, Aoi notices the toxins dripping through that fake, foul smile of his. After all, she is raised by liars. Her mother took bait, desperately tangling herself in his web, leaving her own child to fend for herself. She should have known better than to hold on to an image that doesn’t exist. What’s even worse than a liar, is one who believes in the images they fabricate. Aoi hates them both.
Everyone is a liar.
It didn’t stop at them. Other people were spinning webs of lies too and snaring them on to her. More and more of their threads connecting around her coated with whatever image they so perceive of her. Further lengthening the webs, further de-centring her from herself, further mystifying her being. And when they dare to get close to her, when they finally see the real her, they get disappointed in her and leave her alone to rot. She wasn’t Akane Aoi, their fellow classmate, rather Akane Aoi, another School Mystery they get to gossip about. Aoi hates lies but gave in to them to survive. Otherwise, she’d be left forgotten by everyone else.
Everyone is a liar.
Even her childhood friend, Akane is a liar. It started off with his glasses, then his disappearances, and then his words all together. He threaded more and more lies around himself, pretending the vile webs weren’t there right to her face. He broke their most valued promise. She grew up with him, she thought she knew him, she trusted him. Aoi encased her true self in a cocoon after that. Hiding behind a sickly saccharine smile. Just as fake as her father’s. But, contrariwise, Aoi only lies to protect herself from further infliction. There is no one to trust in this world. If you give others your trust you’d be met with disappointment.
Everyone is a liar.
Nene was different. She wore her heart on her sleeve and met everything with an honest smile. Aoi never thought a person could smile so warmly without venom laced within it. Aoi was drawn to her. Willing to hand her heart to Nene. She didn’t notice the fall before it was too late. The telson that lurked behind Nene pierced through her heart. The lies lengthening and binding into each other revealed themselves to Aoi, leaving her alone in the dark. She thought Nene was different. She wanted Nene to be the One to break the webs. Aoi should have known better than to fall for a liar. She won’t make the same mistake as her mother.
Everyone is a liar.
There is no place for Aoi here. She wants to go far away from them. Long gone and never look back to the others ever again. No. 6-sama can fulfil her wish. Take her to the Far Shore where she won’t be hurt by others. Where she can just be Akane Aoi she so pleases. No more monsters spinning perfect images of themselves, no more monsters coming to embroider her with false threads of herself, and no more monsters hiding behind that warm smile. With the giant centipede at her disposal that No. 6-sama so graciously gifted her, hidden near the garbage dump, all she has to do is get rid of everything that stands in her way.
Tucked hidden behind an alleyway, she spots the two liars and a stranger right now.
“We’ve searched everywhere, but Aoi is still nowhere to be seen!!”
“It’s creepy how empty this place is.”
“But it seems pretty safe…”
Time to for her to play Akane Aoi, the School Mystery, one last time. Liars should be thrown in the trash where they belong. She puts on her saccharine smile and tiptoes to them.
“Huh? What is… Why is this glowing?”
“For real!”
“Why so suddenly?”
“Maybe it reacted to something?”
“React? Wait… don’t tell me…! Maybe a very strong ghost… is close by…?! What a terrible thing… that could happen…”
After all, it’s only fair that she lies back to them too.
“Guess who <3”