Chapter 1: A Safe Space
Concealed in the shade of thin tatami walls to find respite from the humid summer afternoon, a dark-haired teen sipped from an earthen cup. The jasmine blossoms were bitter. No, it was not the tea that left an unfavorable taste in his mouth. Garnet eyes remained glued to a screen flickering with low reception. Yet the key characteristics of the national terrorist could easily be discerned between the static.
Before his piercing gaze spoke a robust older gentleman sporting a cocked hat. The newscaster described the identity of the man issuing the public threat to be Sato, the fanatic ringleader who presently demanded immediate protections and ensured rights for Ajin from the Japanese federal government. Setting the jade-toned mug down with a clink, Kei Nagai remained the image of calm though a flurry of movement transpired behind unblinking orbs.
Miles away, a lithe and jovial boy stepped outside a teal convenience store, the sole one belonging to the remote village. Inhaling, he took in the natural beauty of the remote location; the only sign of advanced civilization being telephone wires connecting far-flung family homesteads together. He turned about slowly, surveying the countryside for signs of the abnormal amount of Invisible Black Matter (IBM) he had spotted from the train a night prior. Assuming the Ajin in hiding would not be caught out in the open, he decided to advance through the sparse woodlands.
Dipping through deciduous trees and low-laying grasses that tapered out to form a series of boulders, Kou Nakano, an Ajin who had recently escaped capture from Dr. Tosaki and the elite research committee hot on his trail, blinked in the sunlight dancing across a mighty stretch of water. He had reached the sea.
The brine caught in the breeze, filling his lungs with a sense of relief. He had found the location where a familiar mass of dark particles appeared to have been gathering. An inhalation occurred, first in appreciation of the fresh ocean air and secondly, because of the impressions found in the foliage surrounding the embankment. Tracks were scattered and had ruggedly damaged the forest pathway. The haphazard footfalls subsequently seemed to have upturned trunks in the process. Kou could not have asked for a better sign.
Nakano panted as he stole though the underbrush. In addition to tramping through foreign territory deep in the hinterlands, his flight from the hospital had exhausted him more than he realized. The white shirt he had newly bought from the convenience store clung closely to his pale skin as trickles of sweat fell along his nape and spread onto the rise of the landscape.
Briefly pausing to collect his bearing on the incline, he wiped his forehead and chin with the back of a hand before straightening up. Startled by the commotion besides him, he backed away as a giant IBM stalked by, its black coils disturbing the earth.
A tremor of fear coursed through the teen as he was dwarfed by the magnitude of the unknown. Despite being an Ajin himself, he had not been able to produce any dark matter from his core - a source of constant irritation that could not be helped. Crouching behind a portion of flowering abelia, he dared to cautiously tip-toe after the behemoth.
Without warning, the ghost halted. Attempting to remain undetected, Nakano stumbled onto an outcropping of stone and ducked down. Realizing that the beast had not been alerted to his presence, he decided to peer over the ledge. Much to his surprise, he found a boy of similar age resting beneath an aspen.
"I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble," The apparition apologized; sarcastically, Kou could not tell. Straining to catch more of their conversation, the russet head dared rising beyond the defilade covering in time to overhear a complaint,
"Be quiet." The IBM did not heed his master. Instead, it stated that it needed to relieve itself, much to the annoyance of the boy who turned from the journal he formerly was sketching from to yell,
"Just shut up!"
Unable to restrain himself upon recognizing the face of the wanted Ajin whose visage had been plastered across every major news network for months, Nakano breathed the figure's name. Though it had been hardly a whisper, his voice carried in the hollow clearing. Kei Nagai whirled as his IBM immediately dashed for the newcomer.
"Wait, stop!" Nagai attempted to call back his charging manifestation yet it refused to obey his command. Nakano flew up his hands for protection just as the black creature barreled into him.
Claws viciously protruded through his diaphragm and threw the limp body across the glade. Clattering onto the ground as though a broken doll, Kou curled into a ball as blood poured from his punctured side.
"Serves you right," Taunted the ghost whose sharpened talons still dripped with crimson fluid. Gazing at the fallen individual for but a moment, Kei slipped his notepad into the pocket of his tan jeans before calmly addressing his mysterious semi-solid companion who was difficult to control,
"Why did you do that?" The question lacked any real sorrow for the poor boy whose mangled frame remained unmoving. The silence of his IBM frustrated him more. "Damn it! You ignore my orders, you won't shut up, and you're bloodthirsty."
"Be quiet," The creature retorted, using a line his owner had issued towards him before. Childishly, Kei jeered back,
"You be quiet." Speaking to himself, he voiced aloud, "It would be so useful if I could control him like Mr. Sato does." Wordlessly, as if on cue, his IBM dissipated as Nagai's attention refocused on the lifeless corpse at his feet.
"Now this is a real problem. Who even is this guy?" Black particles began to emerge around the clouded eyes and pile of distorted limbs until consciousness seeped back into the being. Nakano revived to Kei's shock. Realizing immediately their shared bond as immortal yet hunted Ajin, the calculating hermit watched perplexedly as the stranger gripped his torso in pain as his flesh sewed itself whole beneath the tarnished white cloth.
Raising his upper weight onto an arm, the red-featured newcomer eyed the one studying him,
"My name's...Nakano." Breathing heavily as he had not yet recovered, he rephrased his introduction, "Kou Nakano. And you're Kei Nagai, aren't you?"
Met by a refusal to acknowledge the verdict, Nakano smiled knowingly,
"The news made it sound like you pushed the researcher off the roof. But you were saving him. You stood up to Sato too, right?" Lifting himself with some effort, Nakano hastened to his feet and was pleasantly rewarded with a discussion.
"You've seen what Sato's really like?"
"Yeah. I managed to escape from Sato and his goons, as well as some government guys. I need your help. You have to. I'm gonna stop him." Seeing that the other turned away at this, a sense of urgency prompted Kou to stress the direness of the situation, "Come on! We can't let him do this!"
Bright auburn eyes flashed upwards in joy as the other, whose eyes mimicked his own in hue, agreed,
"Yeah, I know. But this isn't a good place. Let's go farther in. I'll show you."
Relieved to see that his message got through to its intended recipient, Kou breathed a sigh of relief and obediently followed his guide through the dense mountain terrain, calling out behind him hopefully,
"I'm starving. Hey, have anything to eat?"
Irritation showed on Nagai's otherwise composed features, features that were not visible to the one trailing behind him so trustingly,
"I'll bring you something later."
Kei instructed Kou to wait for him while he prepared their lunch at his adoptive grandmother's simplistic farmhouse. In the tiny kitchen space he carefully molded plumb rice balls adorned with mushrooms into a pair of yellow containers before trekking out to meet his new acquaintance.
Reclining on mossy turf, Nakano gazed up at the sky dappled with clouds as thick as cotton. Was life always this peaceful and calm away from the city? He had known only the bustle and commotion of Japan's inner streets, never having had a chance to visit the more scenic locations. The sweet reverie of imagining what his life might be like as a retired and contented man ended with a grumbling from his parched stomach.
"He's late." Embarrassment flared as he heard a response from the outskirt of the trees.
"Sorry! It took longer than I thought." Kou rose to greet the one who carried with him an inviting package that he knew to contain refreshments. They strolled a few paces away from the trees to sit upon a pair of rocks which served nicely as a table. Breaking out the food, Kei handed his guest a portion of the rice and an accompanying beverage. The boy dug in ravenously as though he were indeed starving.
Chuckling as the other scarfed down large mouthfuls, Kei preoccupied himself with scratching figures in the dirt with a twig.
"Nice and quiet here, huh?" Gulping down a bite, Kou flicked a stray grain from his cheek and popped it into his mouth before poking some fun,
"Guess you didn't get swept away after all. On tv they said you may have fled to a foreign country." Kei grinned, inwardly smug at the ridiculous propositions media figures tended to spout.
"In reality, I never even left Tokyo Bay." Seeing the boy smile for the first time made Kou appreciative too that neither of them had been run out of their native country.
"Where are you living out here? Must be nice." Turning with a smile, Nagai admitted,
"Right now, a woman named Mrs. Yamanaka's letting me stay with her. Finally, I've found a place that is safe." Staring out at the ocean and pastoral acres billowing below their vantage point, Kei's countenance returned to a more reflective state.
"Wow, what a kind lady." Taking another mouthful, Kou enjoyed hearing Kei tell of his situation,
"She seems to believe that I'm her grandson. Well, we both know that I'm not, but all the same, she seems to like to keep up the charade. Even still, though we're all this way out in the country, I'm amazed no one seems to recognize my face although it's been so widely reported."
The noise of the boy simultaneously scarfing down two more balls of rice made Nagai pause his story to ask,
"Are you even listening?" Caught, Kou's ears reddened as he proceeded to eat,
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening."
"Nakano, do you really intend to fight Mr. Sato?" The change to more serious discourse caused him to pause mid-bite and grin,
"Mmm-hmm. Why not?" The brazen confidence pouring from the teen caused Nagai to willfully prevent himself from rolling his eyes. He needed this unthinking buffoon to understand what he was up against.
"I know you got away from the officials who were chasing you. But you haven't been all over the news like I have. Running for your life. It should be a lot easier for you to live a peaceful life than me. Even so, you still going to fight?"
"Yes, of course. Somehow." Determination shown earnestly in the crisp eyes that sought a parallel response to his. Breaking their gaze, Nagai lowered his chin and clicked his tongue in disappointment,
"I see," Staring at the stick he had set on the ground, words tumbled unbidden from his lips, "It doesn't make any sense to me."
"Huh?" Kou asked. As swiftly as the sun was setting, a deep torrent of nausea flooded Nakano's senses. The remaining half-eaten ball of rice fell from shaking fingers as a severe ache gripped and churned his insides. His face scrunched up as the world blurred around him. Unable to remain upright, Kou felt himself lean to the side, and before he knew it, he was prone on the grass, near to vomiting.
As bile and froth foamed at the corners of his mouth, his eyes roved wildly to find assistance. A cool voice offered an explanation overhead,
"They're ibotengu mushrooms. They grow all over the place here." Eyeing the boy's pathetic attempt to struggle upwards, Nagai continued from where he perched, "They're poisonous, but they taste good. I'm sure you're aware of that. How many did you eat, five? That's what you get for being greedy."
Gagging, Kou felt his vocal chords tightening and restraining the flow of oxygen to his brain. Faintly he heard Nagai continue listing the symptoms he was to endure,
"The poison starts to take effect after about twenty minutes. It causes stomachache, vomiting, hallucinations, convulsions, and confusion. Then, finally, unconsciousness."
At that, Nagai rose as Kou crumpled in a fit of dry heaving. His icy tone conflicted with the otherwise warm evening,
"Even if you can't die, there are ways of disabling you." Not entirely incapacitated by the effects of the fungi, Kou managed to flip over and face the perpetrator who had betrayed his trust and extended friendship, yet he was unable to lift his legs.
"You see, I've finally found a safe zone of my own. Now that you've learned where I am, Nakano, you're the one I can't leave unchecked. Understand?"
Alerted to the threat, Kou kept his face straight ahead as his right palm darted for purchase. Rather than a solid place hold, he found a nearby stone. Summoning the last remnants of his strength, he rotated and brought his skull harshly down on the rock only to careen away gripping a bruised head.
Confused by the brutally self-imposed action, Kei stood gaping after the disoriented individual currently stumbling into the woods.
"Why would he do that?" Then logic struck. "Of course, I get it. He's going to reset!"
Gritting his teeth at the realization, Nagai struck out after the other battering through thickets that tore at his clothing and bare skin. Looking back to check if he had lost the unforeseen opponent, Kou doggedly pressed on at seeing Nagai steadily gaining speed.
Fortunately, his path took him downhill which made his pace quicken without much needed exertion. There, he spotted the coast sparkling ahead! However, his innate fear of heights compelled Kou to pause at the edge. The motion of his abrupt halt sprayed a shower of shell and sand over the precipice much to his chagrin; foreshadowing that his one deliverance would be to follow after the plummeting debris.
Turning to locate alternative escape routes, Nakano cried aloud in alarm at how his pursuer was almost upon him. Steeling his nerve, he disregarded the excruciating impact awaiting his leap as he pushed off the cliff with a shout.
A sickening crunch resounded as his body connected with the shore below. Having closed the gap between hunter and prey, Nagai huffed, disgruntled that his manipulative ploy had been foiled. Sharp eyes studied the pool of blood mixing in with the swelling tide. Black dots were convening along the snapped spinal column. A condescending air overtook Kei's shrewd grimace at the one in the process of reviving.
Coming to, Nakano grunted before raising an arm in the air,
"Nagai, wait! Let's talk it over one more time. Seriously, just hear me out!" However, the plea of renegotiation was refuted by the one whose mental schemes were in full effect in how to best handle the complication that the red-haired Ajin represented.
"Plan B, concussion. A light one may knock him out for just seconds, while a serious one can leave someone unconscious for hours." Without hesitation, he dropped from the bluff, extended his legs, and struck Nakano directly in the face with a frontal attack.
Nakano, for his part, had seen the impressive jump, predicted that Nagai was not willing to talk, and had raised his forearms just in time for his hands to bare the main brunt. However, down he still went.
"I-I said wait!" Sprawled on his back, he tried again to reason but drew back as Nagai secured a piece of driftwood and wielded it like a spear at his chin. Missing his mark, Nagai pulled back to strike again.
"I'm warning you!" Nakano called out as the duo circled each other in the hopes of analyzing and countering the other's next move. Spying an opening, Nakano lurched forward and slung his arm about Kei's unsuspecting neck, successfully trapping him in a firm headlock.
"How do you do that thing again?" Securing a fist in Nagai's raven hair, Kou taunted through labored breathing, "I remember, we did it back in junior high."
"Oh, the fainting game," Nagai inwardly recalled as blood pressure mounted. Gurgling, Kei sympathized briefly with what Kou must have experienced only minutes ago when the unsuspecting diner almost choked to death on the toxic mushrooms he had hidden within the rice. However, any possible concern or guilt for what he had done vanished. With his air supply cut off, Nagai knew he only had seconds to spare before he would black out. Feeling the piece of hard driftwood still in his grasp, he rose it over his knee and broke the branch into.
Unperturbed with violence, he viciously dug the fragmented points deeply into the bicep occupied with crushing his windpipe. Though bleating out, Kou stood resolute, refusing to budge from his position. Nagai on the other hand, upon seeing that the tactic did not work, resorted to a more barbaric approach. Seemingly fine with self-inflicted agony, he yanked the wooden spokes from Nakano's bleeding forearms and pierced his own larynx. Sensitive skin below the jowls burst in a spurt of blood as cerise gore trailed from the head that instantaneously drooped as life ebbed away.
His concentration shattered at the sudden turnaround, Kou's hold weakened just as a thick storm of murky atoms enveloped Nagai. Eyes flashed open. White knuckles tugged the stakes from his own neckline and directly pinioned them into the uncovered thighs behind him like skewered meat.
Anguish rushed through Nakano who dropped to his knees. Slipping on the algae-covered stones, his distorted physique fell into a shallow tidepool.
"Plan C." Eyeing the beneficial accommodation that the seascape provided, Kei discarded the grisly make-shift weapons and decided it best to move onto his third strategy, "Suffocation."
Sputtering salt water away from his eyes and mouth, Nakano found a palm suppressing his face, submerging his airways once more in the cold marine layer. Thrashing wildly to no avail, the boy kicked and upturned water desperately as firm hands engulfed his throat.
Counting the seconds aloud, Nagai meanwhile internally thought through this method,
"Suffocation works in stages. A few seconds mostly has no effect. At 30 to 60 seconds, there's acute respiratory distress. At one to three minutes, convulsions, unconsciousness, and coma."
The pleasant ocean lapped up against the vicinity, the waves playfully flowing through the inlet to observe the unusual human activity. Signs of death abounded across the once pristine cove. Spatters of blood covered the crags, crimson fluid darkened the foam, and frigid waters quivered with the motion of life until it transpired.
Once the gestures stopped, Nakano sat back on his haunches and exhaled while contemplating the downward-faced body floundering in the surf,
"Yeah, the point is that it takes time before it actually kills you."