Chapter Text
| ACT 1: Entwined In Our Cursed Existence |
| CHAPTER 1: A Monster Just The Same |
A strangled, deaf cry wheezes past his lips as his eyes shot open.
It has become somewhat of a common occurrence in these last few months; it doesn’t happen every single morning anymore, not after-
not after he started to acclimate to his new standard of normal.
Yoshiki sits up on the bed with customary drowsiness, still reeling from a bad dream of which he thankfully has no recollection. His subconscious was already shredding through his dream-self and whatever dark thoughts made him company during the night.
Unfortunately for Yoshiki, these dark thoughts always found a way to follow him into the waking world.
It is his prerogative after all.
Finding his way to the bathroom is only mildly inconvenient; getting his bangs in order is more so. He has already grown used to the heavy black bags under his eyes; it is such a contrast to his pale complexion that he can only imagine what others might think once they take a look at him- certainly nothing flattering.
He has taken to hiding behind his bangs more often than not, as long as his gaze doesn’t meet his mother’s, she shouldn’t question the reason behind his sudden, ill-looking countenance.
Although sudden might be a stretch- it has been months since Yoshiki found Hikaru’s corpse in the middle of the woods.
Months since he has been able to take more than measly 5 hours of sleep, and it feels like even more time since he has been able to lie his head on the pillow without dreading what his mind has in store for him for that night.
He brings water to his face, and once he washes off the grime and sweat still lingering in his skin, his gaze inadvertently shifts to his right arm; the skin there looks worse than the one under his eyes- a never-fading reminder of Hikaru and all of the implications his very existence brought to his life.
In the end, it all circles back to the same thing - Hikaru.
Hikaru when he was alive, bursting at the seams with energy, light-hearted, and just a damn idiot; and the Hikaru from now, with his oppressive presence, weird idiosyncrasies, and a constant threat to Yoshiki’s life.
The scar on his wrist grows warmer, almost as if Hikaru is aware of his inner turmoil, almost as if a part of him has inserted itself under Yoshiki’s skin and is living there now, mixed with his own body and soul.
For all that Yoshiki knows, that might as well be the truth.
The weirdest thing of it all? Yoshiki wasn’t nearly as scared by the prospect as he should have been; he wasn’t nearly as bothered or disgusted as he oughta have been in a situation like this, because sure enough, Hikaru had inserted himself into his very being, whether metaphorically or not.
It had been two days since Hikaru arrived at his doorstep like a savior from a tale to rescue Yoshiki from his unbearable relatives and their incessant questioning and prying.
It had been two days since their visit to the beach, two days since he had convinced Hikaru to stay, to abandon his righteous plans to go back to that cursed mountain and return to his own original self.
It was so extremely selfish of Yoshiki.
He knew that better than anyone.
He supposed it was in his sickening nature to be selfish, a sinner, a freak.
He should be washed clean in holy water until the sin bled out of him, scraped red until there was nothing left of his sickness; he should be beaten to a pulp until they got rid of his freakiness.
But baptised he was, and when Hikaru pushed him into that salty beach water, it was as if Yoshiki had been born anew as he rose above the water once more. He remembers it clear as day, getting up from the waves and rushing forth with the determination of a madman as he clung to Hikaru like a lifeline.
It was so unbecoming, groveling at a monster’s feet to not be left alone, begging said monster to stay by his side, disregarding all the consequences such an action could entail for others or even himself.
If Hikaru is a monster by the letter, then Yoshiki is a monster by nature.
This selfishness, this repulsiveness that he shamefully hides under a veneer of aloofness, is nothing but what he truly is at his core. For the longest time, he has made his absolute best effort to pretend otherwise, to turn his face from the truth, to portray himself as anything but what he truly is.
But by the same metric that Hikaru isn’t the same friend he spent his whole childhood with, Yoshiki is nothing but the culmination of everything he tries to conceal, and regardless of how much he tries to deny it, he knows himself better than anyone.
So no, it does not come as a surprise as he clings to a soaked Hikaru and begs.
It does not come as a surprise, as he finally makes peace with the fact that he does not care whether this creature kills again, that even if it is to destroy his daily life, Yoshiki shall embrace it and be glad to not be left alone once again.
Because ultimately, Yoshiki is so very selfish.
And if he can believe that there’s salvation for a monster like Hikaru, then surely there must be salvation, too, for a monster like Yoshiki.
With a final look in the mirror, Yoshiki sighs and closes his eyes for a few seconds.
Today is a school day, and Yoshiki couldn’t be more glad for it.
After all, although he may need to act the same as always to maintain pretenses around others, there is one individual who knows him for what he is, a monster just the same.
Yoshiki descends the stairs towards his bike and, for once in a really long time, he doesn’t dread Hikaru’s presence, but yearns for it.
Today is going to be different, and of that he is certain.
Little did he know how true that statement would ring.
Nobara was fuming at the seams.
Her mood had been all over the place as of late, the reason being a multitude of factors, which could be all summed up with the tragic death of one Itadori Yuji. This fact only worsened her already foul mood further, for she was not the kind of girl to simply lose her cool over a simpleton who had just been introduced to her world and died by the hands of scummy elders and the weight of his inexperience.
Even so, it still left a bad taste in her mouth to think that, due to her weakness, Itadori had to lose his life, and protecting her and Fushiguro at that.
It sucks.
But beating herself up would help in nothing, not to mention that the mission had been way above their rank; under no normal circumstances should they have received such flawed information and then promptly been assigned to deal with the issue. It had been a given that the two of them had even left the building breathing.
Courtesy of Itadori’s sacrifice.
And as if the last week hadn’t been bad enough, now, she and Fushiguro had been assigned to investigate and exorcise a possible curse in Kubitachi-Middle-Of-Nowhere Village; it’s as if she can leave the countryside, but the countryside will always find a way to insert its insufferable presence into her life.
Foolish of her to think that leaving for Tokyo would mean never setting foot in a place like this again.
Fushiguro looks just as forlorn as she feels with the situation; at least she has someone to share her utter disdain with.
“I’m serious, they must be trying to pull our legs.” She taps her feet on the floor of their train compartment, currently taking them to their undesired destination. “First that shit with the prison and now this? And here I thought I could spare some time for finally exploring Tokyo…”
Fushiguro, as the jerk that he is, doesn’t even deign her with an answer, opting to keep fiddling with his cellphone, doing who knows what. For a moment, she considers shortening the distance just to kick him in the chin out of spite, but before she can give it further thought-
They have reached their station.
She sighs heavily, making her displeasure clear for everyone to see, not keen on maintaining any semblance of a good mood or civility; oh no, she is far beyond that level of self-restraint at the moment.
“Let’s just get this over with, I wanna be back in Tokyo by night! You hear me, Fushiguro?!”
“You know you’ll be just setting yourself up to failure, right?” At last, Mr.Holier Than Thou decides to speak up. “With how little information they provided, I doubt this will be a one-day mission.”
“Not with that attitude, it won’t!”
Not willing to spend a single second further cramped into the same space as the other boy, Kugisaki Nobara stamps out of the train to be met with the scorching heat of summer, the incessant buzzing of cicadas, and the smell of dry grass that seems to permeate the entire village.
God, she hates the countryside so much!
To Be Continued...