Dread coiled tight like a spring in Nyb’s stomach. Unsettled by such a large disturbance, his stomach roiled and churned, creating waves of nausea, and he had to bite back the bile rising in the back of his throat.
“I like this one…” he whispered, fingers brushing over the glass of the display case. The striking green in the emerald that made up the centerstone of the ring displayed there resonated with him, and his heart longed for it. Well, not like he was getting married or anything… and it was definitely outside of his price range. Still, he knew that if he could afford it, he’d drop the money on it in an instant, and wear it just as a keepsake.
But he wasn’t even here for that, as the clawing dread in his stomach was so eager to remind him.
Still, though his mouth bent upwards in a sad but awkward smile, his overall complexion and demeanor remained unfazed and unreadable. He was, after all, a great poker player. And though these skills availed him little with his typical comrades who also were skilled at the game, it did mean that he had the exceptional ability to hide anything upsetting him.
He didn’t want to be here. Everything in his body longed to put as much distance as possible between himself and this place. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, wanted never to even think of it again.
But in front of the shop’s owner, the only thing he let show was the gleam in his eyes as he gazed at the ring.
And, though he felt like puking, he turned a cool look onto the woman running the shop and allowed his curiosity some expression. “How much is this?”
Any of Maruki’s patients could tell you that the doctor had a spread of snacks that he kept well-stocked during any of their visits, and it was one of the points Maruki touted about his counseling. Some people felt more at ease when they were snacking on something, or some people were just nervous eaters, so he liked to keep options open for anyone who came in with an assortment of sweet and salty choices.
So here he was, at the store. In line. Or to be more concise, he was holding up a small line.
Well, this was awkward. At least the cashier wasn’t angry at him, but they did seem rather tired, so they must’ve had a long shift.
“Ah...” He wasn’t short by that much, only about 250 yen, but after digging in all of the pockets on his person, he couldn’t seem to procure the money.
Number 13: Does your muse believe any superstitions?
Not in particular. When he was a kid, he probably tried not to step on cracks for the sake of his mom’s back, but...
Tight Space: Does your muse ever feel that they’re not living up to their own potential?
Sometimes those kinds of feeling well up inside him due to comments from the many relatives who at some point had taken him in, but in the end it doesn’t get to him all that much. He finds it difficult to even get out bed most mornings so...he’s just doing his best and drifting along.
An habitual shut-in, it wasn’t too often that Subaru was out at all, let alone late enough for the moon to shine down from high in the sky. He’d been sent on a late-night convenience store run to pick up a few ingredients that his mother had noticed were running dangerously low, and she had something very particular in mind for breakfast the following morning.
However, after he stepped out of the store, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as an incredible sense of foreboding overcame him. He stopped and stood completely still, trying to calm his racing heart and pick out what was off about the scenery. Immediately nothing stood out to him. Aside from the colorful lights of the store he’d just exited, the main source of light was the streetlamps scattered about the city. One was flickering nearby, and several a few paces away were burnt out completely, leaving an area shrouded completely in darkness. A soft wind whistled by, rustling the plastic bag dangling from his arm. Nothing seemed different from when he’d been out here just a few minutes earlier. Was he just being paranoid? Probably. It was just all the manga he’d read getting in his head, making his imagination spin out of control. In truth, there was nothing to fear out here.
Subaru took a deep breath. Then, with the conviction of someone who just wanted to be home, started heading back the way he’d come, towards his house. The path brought him dangerously close to the burnt-out streetlamps, something he hadn’t noticed before. Had they been lit when he’d gone down here earlier, or had he just not noticed? The closer he got to the darkness, the worse his sensation grew. Something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right. His skin prickled with unease, and a cold sweat formed on his brow. But he couldn’t place what was off.
Somewhere nearby, a bush rustled.
Subaru noticed it too late. What was strange… was the darkness over this area. Even without the lights from the lamps, the moon’s natural light still should have been shining down. But it was completely black. He couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. It wasn’t too late to turn around, though. He could still make it back to the well-lit convenience store and wait out his anxiety, or phone his parents to pick him up. But no matter which way he looked, everything was blanketed in the preternatural darkness. He could see nothing anywhere, not even the slightest hint of light to guide him back.
“Whoooo goes there?” an unknown voice hissed from somewhere in the darkness.
Someone else was here. He was not alone.
A sharp crack resounded, and Subaru felt many sharp teeth bite into his right leg as something long coiled around his calf. In the next instant, there was a sharp tug on his leg and he lost his footing. There was a sickening tearing sound as the barbed tips secured into his leg were yanked back, peeling strips of flesh away.
“Gurk!” he gasped, fumbling around on the mossy ground. When he put his hand to his leg, it came back warm and wet. He couldn’t see anything, but there was no doubt that it was blood. His blood. He wanted to scream, but a gloved hand wrapped around his mouth in the next instant and clamped his jaw shut. His teeth were forced down hard on his tongue, and the warm taste of copper filled his mouth. All he could manage was a pained and terrified whimper as he struggled against the stranger’s grasp.
“Whew, close one.” It was that voice again. “You must be woefully lost to have wandered here right when I am… at work. Tsk tsk. What to do, what to do?”
Slowly, the unnatural darkness began to recede, and the moon’s pure light filtered down once more. As Subaru’s eyes adjusted, he was able to recognize that this was a park. The person in front of him… he did not recognize. They wore a long, black robe with a hood that obscured their face completely. All he could see in the hood was the gleam of excitement in their vivid yellow eyes.
“I guess it can’t be helped. You shall be next.”
Subaru’s eyes followed the robed figure’s gesture and saw, to his horror, another hapless victim. They were lying on the ground a few feet away, completely still, on the bloodsoaked grass. Large chunks of skin were torn out of the victim. The sight nauseated Subaru, and reminded him of his leg. He dared to venture a glance down to his right leg. Blood poured freely from several large openings in his thigh that snaked down to his calf. The ground beneath him already looked almost as bloodied as the other victim’s. Bile rose to his throat and spilled into his mouth, mixing with the blood pooled in there and making him cough.
The robed figure withdrew their hand from Subaru’s mouth finally, leaving him to cough and sputter and spit the blood and bile from his mouth, and reached to a pouch on their waist. From that pouch out came a long, barbed whip, splattered with blood both old and fresh. A flick of the wrist from the robed figure, and those barbs were tearing through Subaru’s tracksuit and biting down into the flesh of his stomach. His head was buzzing and he almost didn’t even hear the loud, tell-tale crack of the weapon once it moved. Another flick of that wrist, and Subaru’s whole body lurched forward as the whip once again tore free of his body.
“AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!” He screamed violently, and then immediately collapsed forward on the ground vomiting everything that remained in his stomach onto the ground in front of him.
“I’ll leave you there to reflect on your actions,” the robed figure said, and gave Subaru’s body a kick as they shuffled past. “Not that you won’t have long.” Once again, shadows closed in on the figure to conceal them as they made their escape.
The words didn’t even register in Subaru’s brain. Everything was fuzzy, fading. He was cold, so cold, but even just shivering took more strength than he had left. Was he dying? He didn’t want to die. He opened his mouth, he needed to call for help. But instead all that came out was a weak gurgle as bloody foam spilled from his mouth. The last thing he thought he saw in his blurring vision was an approaching figure. Different from the robed one, he thought, but hard to tell.
Narihisago wasn’t exactly what you would call a clansman or even an employee of Scepter 4; regardless, he had access to information that only they had. Such information pointed him in the direction of one of the parks in the city, since there were reports that there was a strain that would frequent the area. Narihisago was tasked with trying to find the strain, much to his annoyance. He hated being used for this, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t exactly in a position to argue.
So here he was, sitting on a bench and watching the people pass by. Some scrolled idly on their phones, others were talking with friends, and some families were out enjoying the nice day and smiling, laughing, just enjoying the time together.
The sight of the latter made Narihisago’s heart ache for times long past.
He knew he shouldn’t dwell on it, since it only hindered his job to get so sentimental. Still, maybe just sitting and thinking a bit longer wouldn’t hurt... It wasn’t like the hunt for the strain had a time limit.
