As soon as the door was shut behind them, Ryouma lost all of his strength and collapsed. The parts of his skin that hadn't been overtaken by the curse were deathly pale. He was sweating profusely, but cold to the touch and shivering. While Akira helped move him onto his back in the center of the room, Midoriko shouted into the hallway for Xiǎomíng.
The boy came running with some acupuncture tools. Itoko trailed behind him. Though he looked to be in perfect health, Xiǎomíng went pale at the sight of his mentor and guardian on the verge of death right before him.
"I… I don't know if we can stop this…" he murmured, kneeling next to Ryouma.
"What do you mean?!" Midoriko pressed her hands to Ryouma's chest. Surely they could at least hit the brakes on it just to give him a little more time.
"Midoriko… It's fine…" Ryouma wheezed. "This was…ngh…bound to happen anyway…" He placed a hand over her's. "It's just…happening sooner…than expected…"
"N-no! How can you say that?!" Tears filled her eyes, blurring Midoriko's vision. "What about the curse?! We might still have a chance–"
"Shh…Don't cry…" Ryouma brushed his fingers against her wet cheek as tears began to pour like a waterfall. As beautiful as she looked in that moment, and as much as he loved it, he didn't want her to cry for him. It would only make things more painful. "I've made my…peace with it…"
Midoriko clasped his hand, pressing her face into it as she cried. "But I haven't!"
"Papa…" Itoko stood in the doorway, sniffling.
"Oh… Itoko…" Ryouma beckoned her over. "Come here…" He smiled sweetly as she approached and sat next to him. "Do you remember…our promise?"
Promise…? What promise? Midoriko looked between Itoko and Ryouma, beginning to understand what sort of secret agreement they might have had as the child wiped tears from her eyes while nodding.
Xiǎomíng perked up. "Ah…! Um… Master–"
"Why don't you…give papa a big, big hug…" Ryouma cooed, holding his arms out to Itoko.
"W-wait…" Midoriko froze up in shock. She could only helplessly watch as the girl with the deadly power reached out to Ryouma.
Before Midoriko could break free from her trance, it was Akira who stepped in to pull Itoko away.
"H-hey, dumbass! What the hell even was the point of savin' your sorry ass if you're just gonna give up?!"
"Ah… I forgot… You're here, too…" Ryouma muttered. The moment was almost perfect. He weakly gestured to shoo Akira away. "Let me…die in peace…"
"S-stop it! Akira is right!" Midoriko scolded, finding her voice again. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I planned for this." Ryouma smiled sheepishly. "Midoriko… Think of this as…a kindness…" Ryouma's breath rattled with every word. "Like putting…an animal down…"
Akira clicked his tongue in disapproval, releasing Itoko from his grasp. He stomped over to the doorway, leaning against it with his back turned to the room.
Xiǎomíng cleared his throat. "Um… Actually–"
"But I want you to live!" She put a hand to Ryouma's cheek, forcing him to look only at her. "Because I… I…" Midoriko's words caught in her throat. When she was looking into his eyes, it felt as if they were the only two people on the planet. So why was it so hard to say those three simple words?
She clenched her jaw. If she didn't say it now, she'd never get the chance again.
"Ryouma, I…" Midoriko's voice cracked as she forced the words out. "I love you!"
Ryouma nuzzled his cheek into her palm, grinning from ear to ear. "Ahh… That makes me…so happy…"
Midoriko let out a long, low wail as Ryouma closed his eyes and pulled Itoko into his arms. He held her close while the child who'd been like a daughter to him sobbed into his chest.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then a minute.
"...Um…"
"Huh?"
"What…?"
"P-Papa…?" Itoko slowly lifted her head, no longer crying.
Ryouma was still alive.
Xiǎomíng let out an exasperated sigh, holding his head in his hands. "Nobody fucking listens to me," he grumbled. Xiǎomíng pointed to Ryouma and Midoriko. "Th-this is what I was trying to tell you both!"
Itoko buried her face in Ryouma's chest again as all eyes were now on her.
"I think…" Xiǎomíng continued. "Her curse is broken. Somehow…"
"...!!" Midoriko buried her nose into Itoko's hair, taking a deep breath. She didn't smell like peaches anymore. Midoriko continued to sniff, unable to believe it.
"M-Midoriko-nee…?!" Itoko tried to cover her head with her hands, but Ryouma squeezed her tightly. "P-Papa… Let go!"
"Wh-what do I do now?!" groaned Ryouma as he released Itoko from his grip. He tried to laugh but could only grimace from the pain. Ah…I guess this is what I deserve…
"D-Does this mean that I don't hurt people anymore?" Itoko asked, wiping her wet cheeks.
"That's right," Xiǎomíng said, patting her on the head while she wept tears of joy. "Looks like you're cured."
"But how…?" Akira scratched his head as he rejoined the group.
"...Love," Midoriko said breathlessly. "She wasn't supposed to be loved, but we loved her…" She grabbed Ryouma's hands, cheering. "Ryouma! Love was the answer!"
Ryouma sighed, remembering the time he'd teased her over such a simple idea. "Looks like…you were right…"
"Th-then what about you?!" Midoriko squeezed his hands. "There has to be a way to break your curse! You said there's probably a catalyst—isn't there anything you can think of?!"
Ryouma had spent the past decade trying to find exactly that to no avail. It wasn't until he had that dream that he remembered René's final note.
"...ification…" muttered Ryouma.
"What was that…?" Midoriko leaned closer to listen.
He'd always brushed it off as a simple provocation, but if that truly was the key to breaking his curse, then here was his weakness sitting right in front of him. A weakness he'd embraced time and time again until it destroyed him.
"I forgot…ngh…about it until…recently…" Ryouma took a deep breath before continuing. It almost felt too ridiculous to even say it out loud. "I have to…seek purification…"
"Purification…?" Midoriko repeated back slowly. Weren't her abilities a form of purification? They seemed to help soothe the curse and slow its spread, but they never fully erased it. There was something else missing.
"I'm not sure if I even have anything for that…" Xiǎomíng murmured, looking over the acupuncture tools he brought with him.
"Y'mean these needles won't do the trick?" Akira said, holding up one of the acupuncture needles.
"If stabbing him with a bunch of needles did the trick, we wouldn't be in this situation right now," snapped Xiǎomíng, snatching the needle back.
"Then why not try one big needle, dummy!" taunted Akira.
"Y-you!" Xiǎomíng grabbed Akira by the collar. "What's this guy even doing here anyway?!"
"That's it!" Midoriko announced.
"What is?" asked Akira, struggling while Itoko held his arms as she and Xiǎomíng ganged up on him together.
"B-big needle!" Midoriko said, springing to her feet.
Ryouma reached for her, desperate to hold onto Midoriko for a little longer, as she slipped away from him.
"...Big needle…?" repeated Xiǎomíng as she rushed across the room. "H-Hey! Where are you going?!"
"I'll be right back!" Midoriko paused in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder at Ryouma. "I'm going to be the one to break your curse!" She took off down the hallway as she shouted, "I promise!"
Ryouma exhaled a shaky breath and smiled. If anyone could do it, it was definitely her. She was the expert after all.
"You're…ouch…awfully smug for someone who's dyin'," Akira sneered, as Xiǎomíng inserted a needle into his face. "Better hang in there or I'll snatch her up before you're cold."
"I'm going to…kick your ass…when I'm better," retorted Ryouma with a devilish smirk.
***
Midoriko rushed towards Ryouma's bedroom, skipping every other step as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. The key was in his room. It had been under their noses the whole time.
While it technically wasn't a big needle, the kila was certainly needle-like. She'd been so fixated on its intended ritual use of driving it into the earth that she hadn't even considered aiming it at the curse. It was an object used for purification, and more importantly, it was blessed. It had to work.
She quickly scanned the room and found it almost right away from its unmistakable glow. Midoriko grabbed it and ran back down the stairs, jumping down the last few.
As she sprinted back to Ryouma, Midoriko held it close to her chest protectively. She was terrified of dropping it. If it broke, would that dispel the blessing?
Midoriko's ankle rolled as she rounded a corner. She let out a small gasp as she fell, slamming her shoulder into the wall. But the kila was still in one piece, so she pressed on.
By the time she made it back to the room, she was completely out of breath.
"I…have…it," she panted, dropping to her knees next to Ryouma. He tried to sit up at the sight of the kila, but Midoriko gently pushed him back down by the shoulder. "I'll…use this…to purify you."
Xiǎomíng gasped. "That's what you meant?"
"A dagger…?" Akira scooted in closer, looking at the kila with curiosity. "What's that for?"
"I have to stab him." Midoriko raised the kila above her head with both hands.
"M-Midoriko! W-Wait!" stammered Ryouma, shielding himself with his arms. "Isn't there another way?!"
"I don't know, but we have to try!" Midoriko began rolling the kila between her hands, remembering how she learned in her research that it was a way to begin the ritual with a prayer. The aura that only she could see looked breathtaking as it shifted and twinkled with the movement.
Midoriko didn't know the exact mantra, so she said her own prayer. Please let this work. Please, please, please, let this work. Let him live!
"Hold down his arms!" she ordered. Xiǎomíng and Akira both pinned Ryouma's arms down on the floor.
"Y-You're really…gonna stab me…with a weapon?!" wheezed Ryouma.
"It's a spiritual weapon! It's not sharp!" Midoriko retorted. She stilled the kila in her hands, ready to drive it downward. "Ryouma! I swear, if you make it out of this, I'll definitely marry you!"
He smiled. "Then…I'll hold you to that…"
Midoriko took a deep breath and closed her eyes, offering one last desperate prayer. At least let my ability work through this object. Let me cleanse his curse!
Then, she brought it down into the center of his chest.