"Tkkkk....Tkkkkk...Tkkkkkkk"
Ever closer, but from such a distance. With neither reason or energy to elucidate him, Keiyaku walked, glimpsing galloping spots at the corners of his eyes. There was an exit somewhere, an escape from his family home. Windows and doors, all of them were genuine, and material at first glance, but approaching them... were they ever there? Then, he would wake up in bed again, as if he'd never set foot towards the wretched things. Each time a little closer, and always audible, the scraping, and the breathing. Always visible, the writhing and the grinning. Its smile was deafening. Its cries were blinding. It knew something... something was coming. Its face was.... where... where was its face...?
Keiyaku awoke in his own bed with a sudden, stifled gasp. He looked around, checking he really was awake and that everything was back to normal. Moru was still asleep in his bed. It was still dark out. The house of quiet. He looked over at his clock, which showed it was still early evening, maybe about 7; Corvus-sensei had been insisting on rest, but each time he put his head down, he'd awake after perhaps two hours. Naturally, he felt awful most of the time these days, frightened to even attempt to drift off in bed, but he couldn't let his bother him. Whatever this sickness was, it wasn't about to beat him... surely it was just all in his head, right? Ever since his encounter with Mitsuha in Coffee City, the way he was able to sort of... hold her without touching her.... For a while now he'd begun to suspect something more was going on, ever since that mission. A big chunk of several hours was missing from his memory as to the events of that day; a great, vast something appeared during their mission, composed of a strange mist... that was it. Then, he woke up in the hospital some time later; Aria having been horrendously amputated, the others in various states of injury... And no one would tell him a thing, not even Keni... Keni...
"Right," he whispered, swinging himself out of bed to get showered and clothed, quiet enough to not wake up Moru; he at least was able to get rest, so Keiyaku wasn't about to interrupt that. Still shaken from what he'd just seen, he took a few deep breaths and calmed his mind, just as his sensei had instructed him. But, as he thought about what he was about to do next, not only did he breathe a little more uneasily, but his conscience squirmed uncomfortably.
The Inuzuka was crouched closed to the ground, traipsing ape-like on all fours, following a scent. Both comforting and familiar, today, somehow, that scent made his stomach lurch unpleasantly... They hadn't properly spoken since either of them had been discharged from the hospital, and there was also the other thing he needed to do...
The trail lead him into the forest surrounding the village where, with a stolen bottle of his father's Soju in hand, he hailed down a dark-skinned Kyoujouran boy.
"H-Hey, Keni," he said, sounding sheepish and nervous. If anything Keiyaku looked a lot worse than he had when they'd last met; his eyes seemed much more baggy and his skin seemed grey-ish and washed out. Even his hair looked like it had wilted. His pallor seemed to go a little beyond just a lack of sleep.
"I was hoping I'd find ya out here. I... well.... I know this sounds totally stupid, but like... can we... maybe... talk, and stuff?" He didn't know why he was coming over all nervous, like this; even his cheeks seemed to regain a little bit of their colour as he spoke
"I just figured.... you and I, we've all gone through some serious shit. Heh, I figured we should do what any shinobi would do and take the edge off a little, maybe kick back and chill out," he continued, regaining a little bit more of his confidence, a little more of his old rough but kindly manner. He raised the bottle of Soju and offered it to the Kyoujouran.
Ever closer, but from such a distance. With neither reason or energy to elucidate him, Keiyaku walked, glimpsing galloping spots at the corners of his eyes. There was an exit somewhere, an escape from his family home. Windows and doors, all of them were genuine, and material at first glance, but approaching them... were they ever there? Then, he would wake up in bed again, as if he'd never set foot towards the wretched things. Each time a little closer, and always audible, the scraping, and the breathing. Always visible, the writhing and the grinning. Its smile was deafening. Its cries were blinding. It knew something... something was coming. Its face was.... where... where was its face...?
⁂
"GRH!"Keiyaku awoke in his own bed with a sudden, stifled gasp. He looked around, checking he really was awake and that everything was back to normal. Moru was still asleep in his bed. It was still dark out. The house of quiet. He looked over at his clock, which showed it was still early evening, maybe about 7; Corvus-sensei had been insisting on rest, but each time he put his head down, he'd awake after perhaps two hours. Naturally, he felt awful most of the time these days, frightened to even attempt to drift off in bed, but he couldn't let his bother him. Whatever this sickness was, it wasn't about to beat him... surely it was just all in his head, right? Ever since his encounter with Mitsuha in Coffee City, the way he was able to sort of... hold her without touching her.... For a while now he'd begun to suspect something more was going on, ever since that mission. A big chunk of several hours was missing from his memory as to the events of that day; a great, vast something appeared during their mission, composed of a strange mist... that was it. Then, he woke up in the hospital some time later; Aria having been horrendously amputated, the others in various states of injury... And no one would tell him a thing, not even Keni... Keni...
"Right," he whispered, swinging himself out of bed to get showered and clothed, quiet enough to not wake up Moru; he at least was able to get rest, so Keiyaku wasn't about to interrupt that. Still shaken from what he'd just seen, he took a few deep breaths and calmed his mind, just as his sensei had instructed him. But, as he thought about what he was about to do next, not only did he breathe a little more uneasily, but his conscience squirmed uncomfortably.
⁂
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.The Inuzuka was crouched closed to the ground, traipsing ape-like on all fours, following a scent. Both comforting and familiar, today, somehow, that scent made his stomach lurch unpleasantly... They hadn't properly spoken since either of them had been discharged from the hospital, and there was also the other thing he needed to do...
The trail lead him into the forest surrounding the village where, with a stolen bottle of his father's Soju in hand, he hailed down a dark-skinned Kyoujouran boy.
"H-Hey, Keni," he said, sounding sheepish and nervous. If anything Keiyaku looked a lot worse than he had when they'd last met; his eyes seemed much more baggy and his skin seemed grey-ish and washed out. Even his hair looked like it had wilted. His pallor seemed to go a little beyond just a lack of sleep.
"I was hoping I'd find ya out here. I... well.... I know this sounds totally stupid, but like... can we... maybe... talk, and stuff?" He didn't know why he was coming over all nervous, like this; even his cheeks seemed to regain a little bit of their colour as he spoke
"I just figured.... you and I, we've all gone through some serious shit. Heh, I figured we should do what any shinobi would do and take the edge off a little, maybe kick back and chill out," he continued, regaining a little bit more of his confidence, a little more of his old rough but kindly manner. He raised the bottle of Soju and offered it to the Kyoujouran.