A/N: Ajin is manga series that I come to fall in love with, and since I am also in love with ShinKido as well; I decided to write this AU which is a mix of both. I hope you'll enjoy it! You don't have to read the manga to know what's going on in the fic— I already wrote all what you needed to know— which is taken from the manga's original plot! So ye~! But it's honestly it's worthy if u may ask hehe/
Warning: death and traffic accidents (because that's what kagepro is actually about)-/
I don't own Ajin's plot nor the characters mentioned in this work. I only own my plot and events/ all credits go to the original owners of both Ajin and KagePro series.
...
It was a dark and foggy night. Despite that, it was quiet, deadly quiet to be exact. But the peaceful atmosphere that overwhelmed the lonely station didn't last long until an ear-piercing cry cut through the silence. Loud crashing noises followed after—it was a car accident.
…
Earlier that day, an alluring young woman was having a conversation with her friend. The woman turned 22 recently and her friend thought about celebrating that day, but sadly her agenda had no free days to handle something such as a birthday party. Her friend surely was upset but she understood—she was two years younger than her and she was still a collegian after all, she didn't need a job unlike the other one—not yet.
They talked about various topics: fashion, food, gossips and even weather. Lately, it've been raining a lot during evening and sometimes in the dead of the night. It was dangerous to drive carelessly around those times of the day, but the accident rates kept on growing each day to the point it became less shocking to hear about a new car accident on the news.
She hated it.
She hated those careless drivers—those whom put their lives and other's in danger. It could end up killing a family or a bunch of kids sometimes and the only responsible for that is a drunk driver.
Just how selfish can some people be, causing others to die because of their foolishness and ending up with several wounds and acting like nothing ever happened. She knew deep inside that they couldn't control their fate, for sure. But the anguish and disgusting feeling that willed up within her was unbearable.
She gestured to her friend to walk out of the café and head somewhere else, the thoughts inside her head were racing and she couldn't take it anymore. Just a walk outside shall sooth me a little. She sighed.
But it didn't. To her surprise, not even her favorite ice cream could work the magic as usual. That's it; my mood is ruined for the day. How am I supposed to make it up to my interview with a clear mind now?
She massaged the bridge of her nose lightly; she was starting to develop a headache.
She apologized to her friend, she really needed to rest a little bit, maybe not bother with the interview for today as well…
But of course she wasn't simply left like that. Her friend, Momo, didn't let her go until she made her spit out everything that bothered her. To her surprise, that worked on soothing her better than anything else she tried previously. How heartwarming it was to think that such a person like Momo was her friend… she definitely was lucky to have her around for support and pleasant time.
…
That evening, fog started forming by an abrupt rate. The weather newsletter mentioned earlier that day that the chances of rainfall were high, and thus they warned citizens to take care while driving during night—not as if their warnings changed anything anyway.
She walked outside her house, where she lived with her non-blood-related siblings, fully dressed in formal clothes. Your eyes are shining! You must be exited!Is what her friend breathed when she met with her around the train station.
But they weren't alone; Momo had brought her older brother alongside—Shintaro. it was her idea, it's not like she really wanted him around that much. He seemed like a useless guy—and the fact that he was 2 years older than her didn't change the way she looked at him.
She disliked him, maybe even hated him.
He was supposed to be the elder, he had to take care of his sister—his family. But no, Momo was the one that ended up taking care of everything; she even had several part-time jobs to manage to help their sick mother.
Recently he tried to take few jobs to help—he was feeling guilty for making her do everything for them—, but his useless nature never was to be defeated and he ended up being fired from each job he tried taking.
How pathetic. She thought.
Despite all that, she respected how much he tried so far—his insistence was surely admirable. At times when she thought that there's nothing she can do anymore, she always thinks of him. For some reason, remembering how hard he tries everyday to help his family boosts her confidence and motivation.
That was her true nature—conflicted. She disliked him but at the same time admired his hard work. It bothered her sometimes; she never managed to learn her true feelings towards anything. It was always a mix of hate and love, affection and revulsion. She was always hung in the middle not knowing which to pick.
But it was for the best, she thought. Not thinking high or low about anything will always help recovering when it comes to the worst case scenario.
Probably he didn't know—he even may never know, but without him, she might have never reached where she is standing right now—on the verge of finally getting a proper job!
With this, she will be able to afford a better and larger place to live with her siblings. For the past few years, her college funds were a great burden for her brothers to handle—she wouldn't let their blood and sweat be wasted for nothing.
…
Momo's plan was to let him drive her to Tokyo instead of using public transportation—which would take few hours in normal cases. While using a car on the highway would decrease the needed amount of time to almost half an hour.
She got into the car after saying farewell to Momo, she exchanged greetings with the guy sitting behind the driving wheel and nothing much was added to their conversation afterward.
The drive was smooth, and the music which the radio offered from time to time soothed her soul. It was comforting, for some reason. She glanced at Shintaro, a thought had crossed her mind then; this is the third time I meet him—actually, it's the second time. The first time they "met" they hardly ever talked.
When she rested her cheek on her palm, gazing outside the window, flashbacks rushed to her mind about that day, the first time she saw him…
…
It was a sunny summer day. She was invited by Momo to hangout a little before her next studying session. They entered a newly-opened café shop and seated themselves near the entrance. Momo seemed a little uncomfortable. She was questioned why but brushed the question by waving her hand lazily and saying that everything was ok.
But it wasn't. Kido could sniff something off.
And she made sure of it when the waiter came to take their orders. He was a fair young man, with dark circles under his eyes. He seemed exhausted— downcast, as well.
She was busy giving her order of desirable coffee and dessert preference. And at the same time, checking on the waiter himself, she couldn't stop staring until he was off.
When she looked back at Momo she seemed a little irritated, but again she said nothing about it.
After enjoying their orders she headed to the toilet. On her way there she heard yelling, a thick old guy was scolding the same waiter. She didn't notice that she was overhearing their conversation until the voice of another female waiter disturbed, asking if he needed such as hand soap or tissues. She told her that she was fine and then left the place with Momo.
After that, Momo was still irritated. Kido insisted on knowing what's wrong and so she was told, that guy, the one who took our orders back then… he's my brother. And the rest of the tale was told.
She remembers it well, as if it was yesterday, the confliction that grew inside of her. That's when her mind said that he's worthless of the time she spent thinking of him after that incident, but her heart insisted on believing that he's not like that.
A week later she was told by Momo that he was fired. She never heard of him again from her. She never saw him again.
Until that day…
The second time they met was when he got a new job; he got it after failing few others since the café one. He's working as a driver now. And Kido, just like now, had an interview to go to. Shintaro had offered to drive her there as thanks for taking care of his little sister all the time—surprisingly mature of him, huh?She chuckled when she remembered how elated he was back then. No more gloomy expression and dark circles.
He was happy, and she fund it cute.
He was given a car for his job—or was it his own? She doubted the second considering his family's financial situation—or was she missing something there?
Nevertheless, the drive to the interview place went smoothly. The city was few minutes away by car, but somehow the trip was pleasant. Until the car suddenly stopped moving— it was out of gasoline! Typical, she groaned.
Unfortunately, they stopped in the middle of a country road. That road was rarely used, but the big idiot said it was a shortcut and used it anyways. She felt like killing someone back then.
She couldn't make it to the interview, all thanks Mr. I can't do anything right.
But that prompted the current situation; he wanted to make it up for her. How noble of him.
…
Unlike the last time, he made sure of everything; the gasoline, engine, and even the road supplies. The drive was smooth and this time there was no more shortcuts.
They finally arrived to the desired place. And Kido passed her interview successfully! At least that what she felt, she never doubted her feelings. She was thrilled, she felt like having a party this time—but she preferred to wait until she gets the actual job.
She applied to work at a company. It had a new branch in Fujisawa—where she originally came from, but to make the interview she had to go all the way to the main one resident in Tokyo. How tiring.
They stopped by a station nearby to get some supplies and use the toilet. It was already getting dark and foggier when Kido finished with her interview. And honestly, Shintaro was a little nervous about driving in such atmosphere; hearing about the recent accident which happened last week, under similar circumstances, where a family and a couple were victims of it. How horrible, he thought. Please let us be safe—, his thoughts froze when he almost saw something in the fog.
It almost seemed like a shadow, a person's shadow. The first thing Shintaro thought of was to call for them—they might be injured, what if an accident happened around here too? I must help them. And so he attempted to do. He approached the shadow, but for some reason, no matter how close he got from it, he couldn't make any futures out of the person standing on the other side of the road.
He gulped and decided to cross the road and get to them. As he slowly approached, he couldn't make any hint of blood as well—he started to doubt something or two. Is that… a human? He shook his head lightly and laughed at himself, of coursethey're! He breathed.
The shadow was unnaturally tall—but not to the point to doubt its humanity. When he was halfway through, the shadowy person proceeded towards him. It was limping. Shintaro stopped at his tracks, I knew something was up! What the HELL is that?
The shadow didn't belong to a person after all—actually, he couldn't decide what kind of thing was standing before him. Dark, dirty bandages were covering the whole of its body, some parts were loose and underneath of it what seemed to resemble human bones.
And its face… its face had no features at all—it was pitch-black!
Shintaro watched in terror as it moved its hand towards his face. Thunder hit somewhere nearby, but Shintaro hardly reacted. He knew this was it. This is when he's about to die horribly. Why so soon? He still had a ton of things to make in his life!
He didn't have much time to think until a flashing light overwhelmed his sight, the monster faded into thin air and Shintaro was sent flying by a forceful hit—it was a truck.
The last thing he heard was Kido's scream.
At least… I am glad that I managed to make it up for you...
…
Meanwhile, Kido was taking a little while inside the public bathroom. Why now? Why? She cursed under her breath and quickly walked outside the stall. She washed her hands and looked into the mirror. She wasn't a huge fan of makeup, but she considered applying it—not for a certain reason of course. She thought, her face grew a little warmer. She checked her bag, few makeup materials were there.
She grabbed a pinkish lipstick and attempted to apply it. To her luck, a strong thunder hit somewhere nearby and caused her to yelp and lose the hold of the lipstick. She quickly gathered her stuff, grabbed the said item and rushed outside. She hated thunders, she hated storms. She hated everything that caused loud disturbing noises. She hated it all.
She walked to the car and Shintaro was nowhere to be found. Shintaro! She called. Where did he go?She stumbled upon something and almost fell down. Why now? Why?She was trembling. She was scared. She couldn't find him—she couldn't see anything at all. It felt like one of her nightmares—those nightmares that kept haunting her after her family's death. It was a foggy night, just like this.
She inhaled slowly and tried to look around a little more. He can't be far away. She comforted herself, yes, he's probably trying to sneak in and steal some supplies from the shop. She chuckled. The shop was closed when they arrived and so they had no chance of getting something to eat on the way back.
But then she saw him, standing in the middle of the road. That idiot! It's dangerous!
She wanted to yell, to call him to come back away from danger, but it was way too later. A truck's flashlights were focused on him, she yelled and he was hit. A piercing crashing noises overwhelmed and then the truck was on fire. She fell to her knees for protection from any flying objects that may harm her.
Just then it started raining, just like in her nightmares—just like the night she's lost her entire family.
It didn't take long for it to start pouring heavily. What a terrible sight that she just witnessed.
She tried to breath, but it was hard, so hard. Her hands were clutched to her mouth, covering it. She couldn't breathe, and she was soaked to bones. Her eyes were wide open and they formed tears a while ago—but she didn't' notice any of them streaming down her face at all.
The fire didn't last long due to the rain. Gathering as much strength as possible, she tried to get back on her feet. She approached the scene slowly. Her pulse was troubled. She found what she thought to be a body nearby the front of the truck—or what remained of it. She gulped and looked closely at it.
Burned flesh, blood splattered all around it, and even broken limbs. She averted her eyes, it's not him… the body must belong to the driver—male driver. Before moving ahead she noticed something in his hand. She leaned and inspected the item that his burned fingers were clutched to—,
A device.
Jolts of pain stroke her chest, not again, not again—why is this happening to me? Why now? Why?
A life—no, two lives were taken just now, and for what? A stupid call that could wait until the truck stopped somewhere! Just how many times did they warn you? Why people are so stubborn? What could've happened if you waited a little until you—, she was forced to stop talking, sobs were crammed at her throat.
That was too much for her to handle; she wanted to scream, cry, and lie down there. She didn't care if another truck passed by—heck it didn't even matter anymore how freezing it was.
No. it can't end here… I-I have to find him—his body, maybe he's not dead—who am I kidding? She laughed, of coursehe's dead! She managed to get up, her legs moved before she realized.But what if…?
Desperately, she searched for him. She was conflicted—it happened right in front of her own eyes but she couldn't believe it. She still had hope, for some reason.
She heard rustling noises nearby. At first she ignored it; it could be some sort of an animal. But the rustling was… different. It wasn't coming from the roadside, it was coming somewhere in the middle of the road.
She approached it.
Oh my god! She ran as fast as what her feet could offer. Shintaro! She yelled.
He was laying there, clothes torn and that's it. That's all what was ruined about him. No cuts, no burns, no bruises, no broken bones, nothing. A small, dark smoke cloud was coming from the top of his head before it vanished completely, alongside the rustling noise.
Ajin.
She only heard this word on TV few years ago. She was still a child, her family was still alive. She didn't understand why they made such a huge fuss back then about finding out the second Ajin in Japan. But as she grew up she heard something or two about what-so-called Ajins.
They're eternal. No matter what you do to them, they never die. They always revive seconds after being "killed".
When an Ajin receive a fetal injuty—black cloud of smoke start forming, alongside what people refer to as "rustling noises". All the wounds heal urgently and lost limbs grow back. Not even broken bones are a problem to an Ajin.
And lastly, an Ajin is born not knowing anything about their eternal nature.
This is all what she knew about it. The government captured two of them already, locking them somewhere. Who knows what kind of horrible things they had done to them already? They don't treat Ajins as human beings—no one does.
But, what about him?
He was lying flat on his back. She pressed her palm against his nape bone. Warm, and alive. A smile tugged her lips, I don't care, Ajin or not, I am happy that he's alive!
Her hand trailed all the way to the crook of his neck and down his chest, right above his heart. His pulse was regular, and so was his breathing. She admired his peaceful, sleeping face, but a sneeze of her ruined the admiring atmosphere. Oh right! I should get us both away from here! Immediately!
It was dangerous. If anyone knew about Shintaro's true nature… only God knows what will happen to him! They'll take him away. The chances of him getting back home are 0%. How'd his family react? He might be a useless kid but… the pain of losing a child and a sibling is unbearable. She knew that very well.
…
Slowly, the lids of his eyes moved up slightly. He had to blink few times to be able to see properly. He was inside a car—his car. Someone was driving it. He lifted his head slightly to look outside the window, it was way too bright outside he had no luck in guessing where it's heading.
He touched his face, his arms, and his torso. He was fine! No cuts, no burns… nothing. He sighed in relief. Maybe it was a dream, he thought. But as soon as he inspected a little more he panicked. The hell…? His clothes were ripped—edges and some parts burned. And some parts were covered in blood—his blood, for sure. Hey, Kido! Hey! What the hell happened?
The car suddenly stopped, causing Shintaro to hit the back of the driver's seat with his face. Oww, he muttered and rubbed his nose. He moved to the middle and looked at Kido who was driving.
"What happened?"
"Shintaro, promise me that no matter what you hear right now you won't panic."
"E-eh…?"
He moved to the seat next to her and then he was told everything. Starting from being hit by a truck, to where he was revived from that deadly hit.
He pressed a hand against his face, while the other formed a fist resting on his thigh. It can't be, he breathed.
A hand reached to his clenched fist, massaging his knuckles lightly with its thumb—it was Kido's. He didn't need to look to know whose hand it was. It was the same slender hand he admired before. Maybe he didn't spend much time with the woman sitting next to him to have the right to say that but…
"I'll support you." She muttered.
"Eh?"
"It's what you heard, idiot! I said I was going to help you! This is going to be our tiny little secret." She smiled kindly. It was the first time he ever saw her smiling that way.
"Thank you. I owe you one…" he muttered and smiled as well. His clenched hand now relaxed and took hold of Kido's. Slowly, their fingers tangled together.
They stayed like that for seconds until Shintaro decided to look at her and say something. "Hey, Kido."
"Hmm?" Those dark irises of hers were focused on him. He now realized how beautiful she was from a closer look.
She was a stunning young woman and he was in love with her.
"Uhm, well—, I thought that we might—," he coughed. "Where are we anyway?" he said as he looked outside the window, it didn't seem like a place he's familiar of.
"I don't know. I was panicked and I drove along the road." She said and attempted to withdraw her hand, but instead she was pulled closer to Shintaro whom grabbed it.
"Idiot. How are we going to go back now?"
He gazed at her with cold eyes, and found them charming.
She averted her eyes; she was embarrassed. He did the same afterward. Their faces now painted with a deep shade of red.
"I think," Kido was the first to talk, after clearing her throat. "I think we should find our way back."
"Y-yeah…" he rubbed the back of his head, a grin tugged his lips.
"What's with that expression? Cut it out!" she said sharply, pouting and blushing a little deeper. "You should drive, though. I don't think I want to hold this wheel anymore."
"Sure. But we have to get some new clothes for me…"
"It's okay. I passed by a clothes shop not so long ago. We can go there and find something for you."
"… Okay."
…
On their way back they heard about the accident on the news. Gladly, no one has mentioned anything about any second victim, it was just the driver. They assumed that the tires slipping because of the heavy rain last night, and being distracted by a phone call.
Shintaro felt a little guilty for this, it was partly his fault too. But what was that shadowy monster he saw back then anyway? Why didn't Kido mention it when she told him about what happened back then? Is she hiding anything from him? Or did she simply not see it? Could it be his imagination?
He pressed his palm against his forehead; he was getting a sharp headache already.
…
The next day, Kido fell ill for three days. And a week later, she started working at that company she applied to.
...
A/N: ayyy I am finally finished with this! I really hope you guys enjoyed it! And please do ignore the small mistakes I made here and there; English isn't my native language after all/ but if you felt like pointing them out then please do PM me~ thank you!
Also, by Kido's family I mean her original parents and older sister. While her siblings are, obviously, Kano, Seto, and Mary.
The information I added about the Ajin is all from the manga! All credits goes to the mangaka! And honestly you guys should check it out! u q u
Like/Reviews are appreciated greatly! Pls leave something if u enjoyed my work~