災伴 (Saiban)

Chapter Eight (Yoshida Orou)

"I'm telling you, Mahito will always be my favorite villain in Shounen Jump," I say, crossing my arms.

"You're choosing a stitched-together man-child over Meruem?" Hana asks, her voice filled with exasperation. The two of us are on the floor taking inventory of candles, matches, and lighters. I had been kind of down when Enkai first left since it was feeling like I couldn't do anything to help out — everyone's been walking on eggshells around me and I've hated it. So, Tameko assigned me and Hana to the task, and we soon devolved into a discussion on Shounen Jump. Neither of us are huge otaku or anything, but, like a lot of people, we would pick up the weekly issue with our allowance back before the Saiban appeared.

"Sure, his arc is interesting, but he's not screaming villain to me as much as Mahito. I love the types of villains that are horrible," I reply, counting the number of matches in an open pack. "Tameko, back me up here, c'mon..."

"Huh?" She looks up from her cooking. Clearly, she had zoned out a long time ago from our debate.

"Best Shounen Jump villain. Go."

"I don't really read manga," she begins.

"Bullshit, I heard you educating Yohei on proper My Hero Academia lore one time." I grin. "Stop trying to get out of it and give us your favorite villain."

She sighs and puts a lid on the pot she has in front of her — cooking rice, by the smell. "Lady Nagant."

"So we're at a three-way tie... where's Yohei?" I glance over my shoulder, careful of the candle behind me.

"We should just wait for Enkai-chan to come home," Hana replies, making stacks of scented and unscented candles. "They know a lot more about that sorta thing than Yo-chan."

"Yeah, but that's gonna take a wh—"

Skkkkrrrrtttrrrr...

We all freeze. What the hell is that? The story I had been told of the Saiban that had come by while I was breaking down in the bathroom days before pops into my mind. Is it back?

...rrrrrsssssrrrrrkkkkksssttttt...

I cover my ears, grimacing. My hands start to clench, however, causing them to pull at my ears almost painfully. The sound is worse than nails on a chalkboard. Hana is covering her ears next to me. I glance at her to see that she's biting her lip, probably to keep herself from making noise. Tameko, meanwhile, is turning off the heat of the cooking quietly.

...ttttttkkkkkksssssssrrrrrrttttsssss...

My hands tighten further, causing my nails to draw blood at the back part of the ear connecting to my head. I squeeze my eyes shut. Stay quiet... My fingers become slick with both warm blood and cold sweat, the scent stinging my nose. I hold my breath as the last of the stovetop fires go out.

...sssssssskkkkkkrrrrkkkkk...

Please just go away, I silently beg, curling up in a ball. If there's anyone out there listening, please, just let it go away, please, I'll do anything, please... My eyes are burning even as they remain shut.

...kkkkkkrrrrrssssssttttt...

I take in a deep breath — too deep. The scratching sound halts. Shit, no, shit, shit, shit! It feels like my heart will leap out of my throat as Haru's face flashes in my mind, before being replaced with the face of that damn kid who took him away. If we hadn't let that child lead us through a damn "shortcut", Haru wouldn't have died. Sure, the boy was under orders from his mother, but I couldn't care less. He was still the one who caused my reason to live to die. Why am I even trying anymore to stay alive? My arms fall to my sides and I just let myself breathe. What's the point of trying if Haru isn't here?

The glass and wood of the window is smashed in with one swift blow of a spider leg. Afternoon light filters into the room as the candles are blown out by the force. I can see the other two grabbing things to try to fight with, but I just stay still. Slowly, my eyes go to the eyes of the giant spider Saiban, causing my mind to flash backwards.

"Seriously, Haru-kun?" I teased, laughing a bit. "It's only a spider, quit freaking out. It's not even venomous."

He flushed and pushed my hand containing the arachnid away. "Quit it!" he protested, his face pale at the sight of the creature. "The things really freak me out...."

"This little guy?" I asked with a grin, leaning in for a kiss.

"Yes, that little terror." Haru shuddered, scooting away further. "And you're not getting any kisses until you get that thing away!"

I laughed a bit and released the spider out the window. "Fine, fine. I won't let any big, bad spiders get near you. Promise."

My eyes widen as I made eye contact with the spider. I recognize those eyes — they're the same ones I had spent hours looking into, the ones I'd brush my fingers over sometimes, the ones that made me fall so hard... sure, they're a bit different in their shape and quantity, but I could still recognize them anywhere.

My voice breaks as a single name comes out:

"Haru-kun?"