The Aves of Maria

Cessante Ratione Legis Cessat Ipsa Les or "When The Reason For The Law Ceases, The Law Itself Ceases."
***

On the nights when Light watched Maria, she was not always alone. Most of the time she was, but not always, especially after Takagi Akito's death. Her most frequent visitor proved to be her sister, Toda Erika. Other than when Maria had come running to Sachiko in hysterics, her sister was the only person Maria seemed willing to cry in front of.

And cry she did. She cried for hours and at times the sight of her wet, waterlogged eyes was too much for Light to bear and he would stroke the scepter of his passion right there under her window, hidden in her yellow Camellia bushes.

She wasn't weeping tonight, though, and as she always was when her sister was present, she was completely open with her expressions. She looked tired, and somewhat sad. Light couldn't hear what Maria and Erika were talking about as he watched them through the panes of glass, but when Erika stood up abruptly, shoving her chair topping to the floor with the backs of her knees, seemingly shouting something, Light knew that it would be a good night.

Maria allowed her sister to drag her around the house by the elbow, gathering towels and soaps and girly things into a shoulder bag before leaping out the front door.

"…honestly, Ma-chan, when was the last time you just went to one to sit and relax?" The older, darker-haired woman said loudly.

Maria looked nervous. "Um… years? This kind of thing isn't necessary, Eri-nee, really, the tub in the master bedroom is big enough. I…"

"It's also at home, and home is always full of memories that you sometimes just have to get away from. Especially you; especially now. I won't take no for an answer! We are going to a sento and we are going to have a good time!"

Light felt his heart quicken until he thought it would burst from his chest. A bathhouse. The two women were going to a bathhouse. That meant that Maria would be….

Oh, the blush he must have been sporting! His cheeks felt as if they wanted to combust, and the tips of his ears burned. Maria would be…

Naked.

Bare.

Exposed for him to see.

Her stomach.

Her breasts.

Her thighs.

Her…

A violent tremor shook him from crown to toe. In all the times he'd dreamed of her, imagined her, brought himself to the peak of desire while thinking of her, he had not once thought to imagine her unclothed. Now his mind ran rampant with the idea. What would she look like? Would she be an expanse of even, creamy whiteness, or were there hidden imperfections? Would there be a birthmark marring the side of her spine, or maybe a small, pink scar on her hip from childhood tumbles? How would the crinkle of her feet and fingers look when saturated with water, pruned? He hid his mouth behind his hands and giggled like a schoolboy.

Erika and Maria were nearing the end of the street by the time he managed to suffocate his thoughts. Deeming it safe to follow them, he pulled his sweatshirt hood over his head and jumped the fence. Outwardly, he was the picture of calmness. His hands trembled in his pockets.

He had been somewhat apprehensive about Erika taking Maria to a sento in a different district, but was suitably relieved to find that the place they went to was only a ten-minute walk. He watched them walk into the establishment and waited another ten minutes before going in after them.

He purchased a towel, soap, and locker, and waded into the men's bath after rinsing his body off. It was late, past 23:00 and though the sento would be open into the wee hours of the morning, it would soon close itself to new customers. Light was the only male in the vicinity at present. As it was early summer, the outdoor baths were open and Light found Maria and her sister frequenting that area of the bathhouse. While the indoor baths separated the male and female sides with a wall of tile, the summer area split the two areas with a simple, traditional bamboo fence. He could hear the siblings talking and occasionally giggling to themselves.

'Maria is just on the other side of this fence,' he thought in awe, 'Wearing nothing but… nothing but her towel on her head.' The hot water felt only lukewarm against his scalding stomach.

He searched for a voyeur's spy-hole that the bathhouse employees might have overlooked and not yet fixed. He took his time, thrilled but wanting to remain as unnoticed as possible. He listened acutely to the women's conversation.

"…was so mad! And you know how she gets when she's upset like that, she makes that really cute, funny face where her cheeks puff out and her nose crinkles and her eyes squint? Too adorable, and of course that did nothing but make her pout more."

He heard Maria sigh. "Really, you spoil her too much. Shiori needs a little brother or sister to be jealous of."

Erika laughed. "It's not as if Tatsuya and I haven't tried! I was lucky enough not to miscarry Shiori! But, no, we just haven't been able to get pregnant a second time."

"Oh, Eri-nee, I'm sorry. If only I had never…"

"Hush, Ma-chan. We were young, and who could have known what would happen? What's to say that I wouldn't have been infertile naturally? It wasn't just that; it's due in part to genetics too. I've never blamed you for anything other than stealing my nail polish; you forgive others so willingly, yet are so hard on yourself.

"Besides, we came here to relax, not to dreg up unpleasant times from long ago! Shiori is very excited about the Hello Kitty movie coming out next month. You should come with us; she's been getting onto me about seeing her 'Auntie Maria.' We're also considering having a little sleepover that night with her female classmates."

"You really do spoil her, you know."

"Says the woman who gives my baby chocolates and lollies every time she visits!"

"I am but a doting aunt; you are supposed to be the responsible, cavity-paranoid parent."

Erika laughed and made a splashing sound as she moved.

Light trailed his fingers along the bamboo, at last finding an eyehole hidden behind a cluster of false leaves. Erika was standing, her hip-heavy body exposed boldly to the night air. He barely spared her a glimpse.

Maria sat armpit-deep in the steaming water, her back to him. And such a lovely back it was! Her shoulders were smooth and white like eggshells, and loose strands of sunshine hair stuck to the nape of her neck, dripping beads of glistening water between her graceful shoulder blades.

There was a noise from the other end of the baths, and though it came from the women's side, Light tore his eyes away abruptly. An employee's voice drifted over the water.

"I have a call for Toda-san! Is she here?"

Erika spoke. "I am here. I'll be back in a moment Maria; it must be Tatsuya."

"Take your time," Maria replied.

Light listened to the water splish and sploosh as Erika left the pool. He waited for several breaths before pressing himself against the fence once again. His blood was rushing through his veins as he watched Maria move through the water and, reaching up to adjust the hair piled and pinned to the top of her head, stand up.

Water trickled down her back, caressing the swell of her buttocks. Steam curled in the air, granting only hazy glimpses of the dimples of her lower back.

Light found himself… disgusted. He sank into the water, eyes narrowing as he sorted himself out. Seeing her standing in the bathhouse pool, body bare, hair trailing water, Maria seemed so much more… human. She was still beautiful, no doubts about that, but no longer did she appear as some sort of divine, untouchable angel. The golden nest of curls at the apex of her thighs hid the bay of sin and the rosy buds of her breasts were spots of filth despite the golden crucifix dangling between them.

He recoiled at the thought. No, Maria was no angel, nor had she ever been. She was human despite what illusions Light had led himself to believe, the illusions he allowed himself to believe. Maria was not flawless, was not perfectly virtuous, was not—she had been married! Married!—even virgin! She was just as imperfect and selfish as the rest of them, no matter what she did to try and cover it. No, she was no angel, rather, she was a siren sent to seduce him, to lead him astray from his divine path of justice.

Light clenched his teeth, jaw aching; a flame blossomed in his gut, a scorching hate directed at the female he had, only moments ago, eyed so passionately.

Why? How his image of her shattered so abruptly, so thoroughly? He had adored her so much, hadn't he? Or had he been deceived? What had the two women been referring to earlier? What sort of things lurked in Maria's past that he didn't know about?

Light felt sick.

"Ma-chan?" Erika called out, reentering the bath.

"Yes?"

"I have to go home. Shiori, it seems, had a bad nightmare and Tatsuya can't get her to calm down."

"Oh dear. I understand; you go on home. I think I'll linger and relax a while longer."

"Goodnight, Ma-chan; I'll call you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Eri-nee."

Light's mind and body were immediately on the alert. Erika was leaving. The sento was past the hour where it accepted new customers for the night. It was just he and Maria. Angry as he was, his body still coursed with desire. His eyes darkened as he thought about getting revenge on Maria for fooling him, for tricking him, for making him feel things for her that he had never felt for any other person. Those feelings were founded on nothing but lies!

On the other side of the wall, he could hear Maria humming, waster swishing around her. It was too much for Light. He was seething, boiling mad, and in his chest felt as if were being penetrated by tiny, heart-tearing shards of glass.

He moved slowly, quietly, his shoulders taut, his entire demeanor parallel to a feline on the hunt. The fringe of his hair shadowed his eyes as he crept into the women's side of the bath. Maria had her arms on the edge of the pool, chin resting on her wrists, eyes closed, humming. She didn't seem aware of him at all.

His body ached as he approached her. She would pay; oh, how she would regret making him love her.

In one swift movement, he swooped down upon her, wrapping one arm around her slender waist and clamping his other hand firmly over her humming mouth, yanking her head close to his collarbone. She inhaled sharply; jaw struggling to open in horrified shock. His lips caressed the backside of her earlobe.

"Don't scream, or I'll kill you."