The streetlights illuminated the light drizzle coming down on the city sidewalk, making everything shine slick as cars passed by. Tatsuya pulled his coat jacket snug and continued walking at an even pace up the street towards an apartment building in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. He punched the keypad next to the door, and after a few rings someone picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"That was fast. Come on up."
The other end of the line hung up and Tatsuya heard the latch on the door click open. The building wasn't much to look at on the outside, and the inside wasn't exactly pristine either. The wallpaper was peeling and the carpet was dirty from years of being trod on by everything from tenants to pizza boys. Tatsuya noticed he'd left his own track of wet footprints, but figured it wouldn't make a difference anyways. He got to the elevator and pushed the button to go up. After a few seconds, he pushed it again with no effect.
"Figures."
The light at the end of the hall started flickering on and off. He sighed and made his way in that direction towards the stairwell. Five flights later he was staring at unit 505.
Tatsuya knocked at the door.
He heard some heavy footsteps from the other side, and briefly felt a little bad for whoever the sorry people in 405 were. Someone started fiddling with the locks and the door opened. He was greeted with a wide smile and arms set for a hug.
"Hey!"
Tatsuya shot his distantly related cousin a look of disgust and stood still. Kaidan dropped his arms and chuckled. "Well, I guess that's pretty much what I expected. Come on in, come on in. Mi casa es su casa, as they say."
Tatsuya entered the small one bedroom apartment and took a seat on the couch. Although Kaidan was living in a pretty crappy apartment building, the apartment itself was furnished rather nicely. It was a one bedroom, but there was a study off of the main living area and the kitchen was spotless. Tatsuya had a sneaking suspicion it was because it never got used.
"Why the hell do you live in this shitty building? I know you can afford better."
"There is nothing wrong with living below your means. I just like being able to spend my money on other things! Is that so wrong?"
"Hmph. Whatever."
Kaidan went into the study and brought out an ashtray for his cousin. Tatsuya waved it off.
"Thanks, but I quit."
"Oh? Well, I certainly am glad to hear it. You know I only kept these around for you. Glad I can be rid of them, they've just been collecting dust lately. So, what brings you to my home? It's been awhile hasn't it? Here I thought we'd sit down, have a chat and catch up... but I'm guessing you're not here just for conversation."
"You know why I'm here." Tatsuya was not in the mood for games.
"I have no idea what you're talking about", Kaidan offered, with that all too knowing grin on his face. Kaidan was always in the mood for games.
"The pull. I know you feel it. It's starting to keep me up at night. Something is happening to the curse."
"Ah, that fuckin' thing. Do we really want to talk about that? I like to just pretend it's nothing to do with us."
"We can't ignore it forever."
"We've done a damn good job of ignoring it so far."
"It's getting stronger."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
There was a long silence. Neither man wanted to look at the other. They were each lost in their own thoughts, worries, and fears.
"We should find the others before this all goes to hell" Tatsuya finally said.
"I guess. Where should we start?"
"Well, everyone is pretty spread out. I guess it would be easiest to find the ones who are aware, and work our way to the younger members. Having the other adults with us might make the whole thing a little more... believable."
Kaidan knew this meant he'd have to make some phone calls. Phone calls he was not looking forward to making at all.
"Alright. I'll start talking to family. Though it pains me to even think about asking them for anything, even something as simple as where a relative lives."
Tatsuya didn't envy him in the slightest. He was familiar with Kaidan's family, as he spent a lot of time at his cousin's house growing up.
"Ok. I'll look up what I can on the nature of what we're feelling. Maybe shed some light on what we can expect. Or at least, some idea of why we're feeling it."
"You do that."
Tatsuya got up and started heading towards the door. Kaidan expected this, as his cousin was always the kind of guy who gets straight to the point.
"Do you really think we'll be summoned?" Kaidan asked.
"I honestly have no idea." Tatsuya replied.
Neither would get very much sleep tonight.