Chapter 25: When Giving You My Life Is No Longer Just an Empty Promise

During that period, Tomie’s state of mind was deeply twisted.

Many of Takagi’s actions were, to the average person, utterly unacceptable—even an affront to heaven and earth. But to the Tomie of that time, the things Takagi did using her cells provided a perverse sense of gratification that helped soothe her shattered, numbed soul following the loss of her parents, allowing her to further bury those memories.

The turning point that led Tomie to end her collaboration with Takagi and eventually kill him was the incident at the waterfall pool.

One day, Takagi approached Tomie, brimming with excitement, and requested a significant amount of her flesh and blood for an experiment. At that time, Tomie’s humanity had already begun to wane, so she didn't think twice. She simply told him to document the experimental process for her to admire, then lay down on the operating table and allowed Takagi to amputate her forearm.

However, what Tomie had not anticipated was that, after having experimented with infecting others using her cells, Takagi was no longer satisfied with merely bringing fear and torment to a single individual or family. He now sought to use Tomie’s abilities to destroy an entire village.

Although Tomie’s psyche was already distorted by then, her reason remained intact. She immediately realized that such an act would draw the attention of the state’s violent apparatus. To avoid fatal complications, Tomie spoke up to stop Takagi’s actions.

Takagi not only refused but used his methods to dismember Tomie, submerging her in a specially prepared container filled with sulfuric acid to suppress her regeneration. Furthermore, he had somehow acquired a drug that induced madness, which he injected into Tomie’s cells. He then dumped the infected Tomie cells into the waterfall pool.

The newly formed Tomies all became abnormally violent. They unleashed their abilities without restraint, at one point luring almost every young man in that beautiful village into the lake, only to slaughter them all. Subsequently, under the influence of Takagi’s special drug, these frenzied clones began to grow at a frantic pace.

Takagi, the mastermind behind it all, stood on the cliffside, watching his beautiful masterpieces emerge one by one from the depths of the pool. With an expression of twisted excitement, he pulled out pen and paper to record the series of transformations. According to his plan, once the clones had finished destroying the village, they would begin to kill one another. Once everything was over, nothing would be left behind, and no one would be able to trace it back to him.

The plan was perfect, but Takagi had forgotten one thing: while Tomie and her clones would indeed want to kill each other to ensure their own uniqueness, they were also acutely aware that if their true nature were exposed to an unstoppable state agency, it would spell the end for the name "Tomie" and everything it represented.

Realizing that this madman, Takagi, would eventually threaten their existence, the clones acted with a singular purpose. For the first time, they shared the same murderous intent toward a single target.

Amidst Takagi’s panicked and bewildered screams, the clones swept through the village and tracked down Takagi, who had discovered that things were spiraling out of control and had already driven away in an attempt to hide.

Takagi was every bit the madman; he was as ruthless toward himself as he was toward Tomie and her clones. Even when cornered at the entrance of his forest safe house, he utilized his knowledge of Tomie to lure the clones into a trap he had meticulously prepared.

The trap encompassed a range of nearly a hundred meters, a perimeter saturated with massive amounts of white phosphorus. The ignited phosphorus caused the clones to let out agonizing screams, and Takagi, hiding deep underground, was also left covered in wounds from the intense heat.

When the dust finally settled, Takagi—his skin scorched and his appearance mottled and horrific—looked upon his handiwork and let out a manic, triumphant laugh. He believed he had finally succeeded in killing the monster known as Tomie, the creature that could never be destroyed.

Yet, he had forgotten that one Tomie, whom he had imprisoned early on, had not died; she had even controlled a "nightingale" he had once patronized to rescue her. With a single gunshot, the smug and arrogant Takagi collapsed backward in the center of the scorched forest.

"Wait, you killed him with a gun, not by using your ability to make him commit suicide?!"

As the story neared its end, Tomie rolled her eyes at the astonished Udagawa Kaede and gave him a pinch.

"I’m confident in my abilities, but I’m not an idiot. Knowing there’s a more scientific and efficient method, why would I risk controlling a psychopath?"

...

After finishing her story, Tomie lazily stretched. There was a secret she had considered sharing but ultimately decided against: in order to leave no witnesses behind, Tomie had carried out a very thorough cleanup afterward...

"Come to think of it, I should thank him. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know how long I'd have had to keep hiding from my own clones."

Udagawa Kaede blinked in a daze, never having expected that the true story of Tomie in the real world would be like this. Just as he was lost in thought, Tomie leaned against his shoulder.

"Hey, if you don't believe me, why don't we go to a love hotel and verify it?"

"..."

Udagawa Kaede hurriedly pushed her away. Tomie, having been pushed, wore a very displeased expression and slapped his shoulder several times.

"What a buzzkill! Let's go home!"

A furious Tomie rose and left without another word, not caring in the slightest whether Udagawa Kaede was following her. Along the way, anyone could see that Tomie was incredibly angry; several people even spoke up, telling Udagawa Kaede that he should learn to cherish such a beautiful girl.

To this, Udagawa Kaede could only respond with a bitter smile.

"Ara, are you two back?"

"Yes."

Matsushima Yuko, sitting at the entrance soaking in the sun, looked at Tomie, who was returning home expressionless, and then at the troubled Udagawa Kaede, and smiled kindly.

"It’s alright, she’ll be fine after a while."

"I won't! Not this time, absolutely not!"

Watching Tomie, who had turned her head to shout her rebuttal, Matsushima Yuko chuckled and waved at Udagawa Kaede, telling him to head home first.

After exchanging a few words with Tomie’s grandmother, Matsushima Yuko, Udagawa Kaede could only return home with a resigned heart.

"Oh my, how wonderful it is to be young..."

With a sigh, Matsushima Yuko shakily picked up her chair and returned inside.

At the door of Tomie’s bedroom, Matsushima Yuko saw Tomie, who was sulking with her face buried in her pillow, and gently sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"Yeah..."

"What about?"

"..."

Facing Tomie’s silence, Matsushima Yuko used a paper fan to cool both herself and her granddaughter.

"He... just won't officially be with me..."

Matsushima Yuko was stunned, then made a show of standing up, looking unhappy.

"That brat—ever since Hanako passed away, he’s been getting more and more unserious. Just you wait, Grandma will go give him a piece of her mind!"

"Grandma, don't!"

Tomie hurriedly grabbed her grandmother. Seeing this, Matsushima Yuko smiled and stroked her hair.

"Are there concerns?"

"Yes..."

"Do you know the reason?"

"Yes..."

Matsushima Yuko nodded, and after a moment, spoke softly.

"Can’t it be resolved now?"

"Yes..."

"Is it very troublesome?"

"Yes..."

Looking at the dejected Tomie, Matsushima Yuko sat down beside her.

"Then, does he like you?"

Recalling the scene where Udagawa Kaede couldn't help but kiss her, Tomie pursed her lips and smiled.

"He likes me."

"Hehe, and does my beautiful granddaughter like him?"

"....I like him, too."

Seeing the shy expression on Tomie’s face, which did not deny her feelings, Matsushima Yuko smiled and said in a gentle tone.

"Then leave the problem to time. As long as you keep each other in your hearts, there will eventually come a day when it’s resolved. You can be together then."

"....But what if there's no way to resolve it? What if he doesn't choose me in the end?"

Matsushima Yuko looked at the anxious Tomie and gently pulled her into an embrace, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Grandma doesn't know how much you love each other, but..."

"The scars on little Kaede’s body are enough to prove how much he loves you, aren't they?"

Hearing this, Tomie sat up, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked at her grandmother.

"Grandma, how did you know..."

Matsushima Yuko looked at the surprised Tomie and patted her hand with a kind smile.

"I’m old, and I can't help you with much. I don't know exactly what happened that day during the storm, but how could I forget that tattered, bloody, and torn piece of clothing you secretly threw away?"

Listening to her grandmother’s soft whisper, Tomie’s eyes trembled.

"Grandma..."

As Tomie called out softly, Matsushima Yuko chuckled.

"When 'I can give my life to you' is no longer just an empty phrase, then be firm. Don't doubt it—cling to him, hold him tight, and march unwaveringly toward the end of your lives."