Episode 6: What Defines Personality
Kai finally makes it back to the dojo later that afternoon, followed closely by Saito and Suzuki, throwing the door open and stepping into the hallway.
All three kick off their boots before going their separate ways; Saito and Suzuki heading to the kitchen to snag what they can find in the cupboard of ice that's supposed to be the fridge, while Kai turns his focus to the corridors to make sure Yin isn't around to see him wearing something that does not represent the squad. The last thing he needs is the distraught elder finding out there is another squad that all but rivals the ancient squad and march over there to put its flag through whoever designates himself as leader.
Then again, he wonders if Yin even cares that there is another squad muscling its way into the limelight and stealing those who once relied on them for encouragement and hope. Ever since his disastrous return from Vermillion Village, he hasn't exactly been as devoted to following the original goal of the squad as he was when the former leader was still alive. In fact, he somehow was led to think that all cheering squad are God Slayers and have locked himself in the study most his life, vowing to "spread the Wings of Suzuaku" around his shoulders and use them to bring the world back into believing the one true way of the Gods; a feat that, while almost on the same lines as what the former leader expected in peace, only seeks to bring about a one-sided future as opposed to the harmonious future that was the true center point of the squad's existence.
Kai reaches behind him without looking and shove the door shut only to hear it slam into flesh and bone, squeezing a yelp from the obstacle blocking their connection. His eyes snap towards the sound to see Hajime caught between the door and the frame, bent in a running position which only succeeded in getting him shoulder deep into the dojo before the unfortunate crunch.
Saito and Suzuki poked their heads out of the kitchen as Kai yanks the sliding door back open, letting him fall flat onto his face in the entranceway.
"Ow.... That hurt...." he mumbles as he staggers to his feet and dusts himself off.
"Well, what part of the city did you snatch him from?" Suzuki asked as he and his one-eyed partner move closer to the entrance to get a closer look at the surprise newcomer.
"I didn't snatch him from anywhere," Kai said, more befuddled than irritated.
"Don't be ridiculous, Doumeki-sama, you had to have snatched him from the city!" Suzuki points to the bag of groceries in Hajime's arm, "Why else would he be following after you with the bag of groceries you bought earlier today?"
"Bag of groceries?" Kai shoots another glance at Hajime, then the grocery bag still in his left arm, immediately recognizing him as the bumbling schoolboy who bumped into him back in the city.
Hajime blinks as he looks down to the bag, almost forgetting he was still holding it, "Oh, this?" he holds it towards Kai, "You ran off before I could give this back. I tried to follow you, but it was starting to get dark and your clothes make it hard for me to keep up, so I followed your footprints seeing as they were larger and more human than most of the other trails I found."
Kai's frown tightens at the kid's apparent excuse for...well an excuse. There was no way he could've known he was heading to the dojo with so many of his footprints heading off in different directions. He must have gotten a good enough whiff of his spirit to figure out where he was going, so he doesn't end up taking a wrong turn and become lost in the forest.
Saito and Suzuki, on the other hand, didn't even think Hajime could be lying, and just dumbly assumed he was telling the truth.
"Wow!" Suzuki whistles in astonishment, "That's a pretty smart kid you picked up."
"I told you I didn't bring him here!" Kai growls irritably, sharply turning towards his two blockheaded followers, "I don't even know why this brat decided to follow after me! It's not just to return a bunch of mundane groceries!"
Hajime seemed a bit irritated by Kai's remark, "First off, I'm not a kid; I'll be twenty in a couple of years and I'm capable of taking care of myself." He then throws his free hand behind his back and sporting a soldier-like expression, "And second, I want to help you bring peace and harmony to those who call for you!"
Kai's frown tightens even more as Hajime continues, "I saw you cheering to Iijima-san shortly after bumping into you, and witnessed how you were able to encourage him to fight for the position of mayor; I want to help you keep the effort going for anyone else who calls for your assistance."
Saito and Suzuki glance to each other before crowding around him, poking and pinching his muscles while rubbing their chins in thought.
"With these muscles, are you kidding!?" Suzuki quips, "He wouldn't last a second in the training we'd be setting up for him!"
Kai shook with frustration as he grabs the two and shoves them towards the door, "Shouldn't you two be heading home now!? Beat it before I make enough of a ruckus to wake the Taijitu brothers up and have them chase you out!"
The two cohorts leer at him before stomping their boots on and heading out of the dojo. Hajime looks at them before turning his attention to Kai.
"Does...this mean I can join?" he mutters in confusion. Kai glares at him again before snatching the bag from his arm and heading into the kitchen. Hajime furrows his eyebrows in confusion, sensing a bit of irritation broiling from his fierce spirit, leaving the impression that he was doing something to piss him off. He quickly rushes into the kitchen, finding him slamming the bag on top of a drenched cupboard while pulling its door open and stuffing the meat and vegetables in a mountain of ice cubes.
"At least give me a chance," Hajime pleads, moving closer to Kai, "I know my brother and sister can be a pain sometimes, and I worry more about getting into college than focus on other activities. But I can easily multitask between them and still have enough time to help you save those who need a good push in the right direction!"
Kai slams the cabinet door shut and glares at Hajime again. His eyes speak the truth, but his entire focus is latched squarely onto him. In no way did he think to consider that Saito and Suzuki's insult towards his physique was a hint that they didn't want some scrawny city boy mucking up their reputation as "proud, strong cheerleaders". He only wants Kai's opinion and Kai's alone.
The other members of the squad weren't blind or deaf to the commoners of Japan avoiding Kai when he isn't in the midst of his Fierce Cheering, and how it affected his interest in activities he considers a big waste of time preventing him from keeping his promise of lifting the weight off those who call for him. To him, enrichment is nothing but an excuse to avoid following a strict, mundane regime of keeping up with their performances by playing games that only tailor to certain aspects of their recommended daily practice, while ignoring the most important parts of their squad structure; mainly the art of actually caring about everyone and not just those up to the tip of their hair in danger.
To cheer means to care; and in order to prove it, one must be willing to spend some of their energy helping those who need as much comfort as they do encouragement to fight their problems. Since day one of joining Ryuta's squad, not a single person followed such an example, only showing up when they sense someone in trouble, find that the problem is too pointless and time wasting to put effort into, and leave without even bothering to figure out why they were called in the first place. Kai only knows this because of their reaction after their first, and only, encounter with the Taijitu brothers.
He expected them to pour all of their hatred and downcast to Dancho as he will kill anyone who so much as brushes past him while proclaiming himself the one true ruler of the universe. But no, they only see him as a caged animal waiting to be released upon the world; where as Yin is the most dangerous solely because he destroyed an entire village by merely knocking over a torch standing in his way, and took control of the squad before the rest of the members were aware of what had just happened. Ryuta, the most obviously intimidated of the younger squad, even had the galls to tell him that he should stop wasting his time nurturing Yin and worry more about what's best for the world.
Even though Ryuta is considered a guru at Spirit Reading and knows exactly what set Yin off when he burnt the village down, it didn't excuse the fact that he would brazenly insist that Yin didn't deserve anyone's love or affection, claiming he will only misinterpret them as pleads for forgiveness and force them to pledge their loyalty to the Gods haunting his nightmares.
Kai was aware that Yin was mentally troubled and confused long before he even dabbled in the art of Spirit Reading. But after spending years living with them and seeing how the former leader puts up with their stubborn antics, he knew the only reason Yin continued to act this way is because of the trauma he suffered as a child; knowing nothing but loyalty and obedience, and being too scared of the torturous consequences to even think about wanting to understand the goodness of love and care. And unless he can break him out of that terrified shell and show him that there is more to bringing peace to the world than forcing it to follow nothing but what he considers to be the one true way of the Gods, Yin will soon die a pitiful failure, leaving the fate of the squad to be fought out between him and Dancho; a feat he wants to avoid at all costs.
Kai's frown tightens as he marches over to Hajime, grabs him by the back of his collar and hauls him off the ground, seeing him choke slightly while struggling to relieve some pressure from his throat as he carries him out into a partially open field three feet from the back porch of the dojo.
"You want to know what it's like to reinforce the good of Hope in the hearts of those who call for us?" he asked rather irritably before shoving Hajime out into the center of the field and crossing his arms, "Perform to the music playing around you!"
Hajime stumbles around to stare at Kai in bewilderment as some strange marching band music played around him; this wasn't the introduction he was expecting when he first showed up. Normally, the person in charge of the squad was supposed to introduce him to the other members first before throwing him out into the field to see how much he learned. He must have scared off so many newcomers showing up with brazen eagerness to become heroes that he eventually chose to disregard the acquaintance and jus throw them out there to see if they're even worth letting into the squad.
Frowning a bit in more confusion, he slowly starts to perform as per Kai's orders, his movement slow and less thrusting than even Ryuta's Bold Cheering. It was unknown whether it was because he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing, or because he hasn't performed for so long. Neither presumption mattered to Kai as his only desire is to drill the reality of the squad's business into his skull so he would have enough of a shocking realization of what the future has in store for him to send him crying back to the city never to dabble in such occupations again.
He walks over to one of the vines and tears it off the tree it was tied around, releasing it as a board drops towards Hajime, with the confidence that the wallop alone will knock the brash confidence out of him and scare him out of the forest for good. However, the kid not only sensed Kai's anticipating spirit and turned to see the board coming at him, he barely dodged it; standing a couple feet away while staring at it in horrified shock. No high-tailing it, or expressing fear towards him; Hajime just stared at the board, wondering why he all of a sudden decided to throw it at him.
"Are you planning to stare at that board all night!?" Kai shouts in irritation, "If you expect to fight for the sake of the world, you must be able to dance through whatever obstacles get in your way, even if they break every bone in your body!"
Hajime stares at him like he was crazy. He expected he would be shouted at and worked to near exhaustion, not get wailed on by flying boards every minute. It was no wonder he hasn't gotten a lot of help aside from the two that followed his every move. If he was going to be of any use to the squad at all, he would have to prove he can deal with the hardship and dangers. Frowning in determination, he goes back to performing; keeping his mind focused on Kai in case he decides to throw another board at him.
Kai's frown tightens in frustration as he watched Hajime immediately go back to performing, his determination and confidence stronger than before. Obviously he hasn't gotten the message and thinks he can deal with just one board flying at him every time he sensed his anticipating spirit. Intent on shoving that smugness out of his soul, he goes to another vine and yanks at it, causing another board to slide off the branch it laid on and swing towards the newcomer, expecting this wallop to be enough to scare the reality into his mind and convince him to stop trying to muscle his way into something he shouldn't be getting involved in. Unfortunately, Hajime caught the oncoming board in time to bend backwards, throwing his arms out as it sailed over him, barely scrapping the surface of button on his Ouendan coat. Once the danger had passed, he goes right back to performing, still anticipating the next surprise with even more confidence that he can overcome these obstacles.
With each elapsing minute Kai releases more boards at Hajime only to have him dodge them either with an Ouendan maneuver or just stumbling out of the way when he can't think fast enough. This began to annoy him in that despite the kid knowing the dangers he could be facing just by dodging the boards, he still continues to show him up, brimming with confidence that he has what it takes to be at his side at all times.
"So am I in...?" Hajime pants as he hunches over and places his hands on his knees for support while letting the mid-spring breeze dry the sweat on his face, "The music's over and you haven't pelted me with a board for nearly three minutes...does this mean I can join...?"
Kai's irritation boils to anger upon hearing him talking like he had just achieved some major milestone in his life. Everything he did to scare the reality and severity of the squad's mechanics into his brain and he thinks they were all challenges to overcome? If the rest of the squad found out about him and why he was here in the first place, they would see this as an opportunity to embarrass him in front of the entire world and gouge the kid to continue pursuing him with false claims that everything he does to get rid of him is a challenge to gain his sole attention.
However, being jabbed with the "loser" stick isn't nearly as horrendous as what could happen should Yin find out he failed to get rid of Hajime with all the strength and stamina he gained from training with the old leader.
Though he's aware that Dancho is the most dangerous of the two brothers and would drive his foot into the world without a second thought, deep inside, he still cares for Yin, and fears that going against his decision, further threatened by his position as leader of the squad, would sever the brotherly bond they had shared over the years. Contrastingly, however, that bond could also work against Kai's favor if Dancho tramples Hajime to death while Yin is in the midst of his godforsaken hysteria. So grateful for the untimely "rescue", the eldest brother would not only deem him a hero to the world and the true Gods he worships, he will also relinquish the flag to his control, breaking the invisible leash that held him back so many years and allowing him to drive it into the first land he sets his eyes on, creating cracks so devastating, they will swallow anyone too weak to climb back out; forever condemning the world to an era of peace fraught with extermination and control.
Hajime saw a burst of rage explode around Kai as he goes into a savage rampage, tearing off and jerking every vine he grabbed, sending a hail of boards raining down on him. Terrified and confused as to what he did to piss him off, he tries to escape the open field only to catch one of the boards on his back, crushing him hard onto his chest. By the time he regained enough of his senses to look towards the sky, the rest of the boards came raining down on him, leaving him with little option but to curl up into a fetal position and wait for the delivering downpour of pain.
Kai seethes in frustration as he watches the dust kicked up from the crash slowly clear up, revealing a 3ft blanket of wood covering all but Hajime's head, right arm and left hand. He appeared to be unconscious from the downpour, but after a couple minutes a faint groan catches the chief's ear, digging his left fingers into the ground while clutching a patch of grass with his right in a futile attempt to pull himself out.
His tenacity remains strong, if not cluttered by the wave of confusion burning in his heart, wondering why he was so angry with him after everything he did to prove his worth to the squad. This only boiled Kai's anger further; even in this state, he continues yearning for his attention, not once taking the hint that he was has now become a big pain in the ass just giving off the sense.
Kai sharply turns and heads back to the dojo, leaving the boy alone in the forest as a last resort to crush the confidence he gathered earlier after running into him back in the city. For once he can be thankful for the absentmindedness of the squad's so-called "Bold Leader" coming across him the next morning, take one look at the true colors of the city boy, and drive him back home to hug his family and vow never to get himself into trouble again.
Unbeknownst to the leaving chief, the one-eyed spirit appears from behind one of the trees, thoroughly shaken by what he had just seen, and the sense of desperation he felt that transformed him into a savage madman with nothing but pride and honor on the brain.
Kai.... he mutters distraughtly, Wh...what've they done to you...? What happened to everything I taught you; the promise you made to the old leader of using his talents to bring peace and harmony to the world...? You can't possibly think you're accomplishing it by abandoning those who admire you most....
He looks back over to Hajime, who begins to lose consciousness from the exhaustion he suffered during Kai's expedition earlier. Worried he'll succumb to the cold mid-spring night he prepares to run over to him when he sensed someone approaching the area, and looks past the sandwiching pile to see Ryuta emerge from the shadows, stopping in front of the ailing newcomer.
The Bold Ouendan stares at Hajime a while as his curious spirit slithers out his heart and mind and pierces into his consciousness; a peculiar sign that he has also been involved with the ways of Vermillion Village.
The one-eyed spirit watches as Ryuta begins kicking off the boards before reaching in and pulling Hajime over his shoulder, turning and heading into the forest further from the city than what Kai had expected earlier. His reason for doing so had nothing to do with spiting his presumption that he was going to brazenly ship Hajime home over a simple sense of fear and loneliness.
Weary of what he was planning to do with Hajime, the spirit trails off after him, wanting to make sure he wasn't going to do anything that would shatter what little confidence he had in making the squad.
Today seemed like just another day for an ordinary student going to school and learning more about basic life than their naïve minds can comprehend. But then again, Hajime isn't one of those sit-at-home-and-study students.
A prodigal honor student, and eldest of the Tanaka family, Hajime wants to do more than just sit in his house and study after class. He wants to explore the psyche of the world, and learn as much as he can while having some fun in the process.
His first foray into understanding the life of the world, once he reached a reasonable age to leave the house at his own leisure, was to enroll into a Japanese Cheer Squad at his school; a prime way to help others pull through the sweat and pain while observing how well they work against an opposing team.
A month into his training, rumors began to spread around the school that the science class who had mysteriously disappeared prior to his enrollment into the squad have slowly begun to reappear in scattered numbers. Most of the students appear to be a bit unstable from their disappearance, taking a severe disliking to the very sight of an unharmed egg, one being so terrified of its presence he was send to the psychiatric ward for destroying the eggs in the kitchen fridge; while the rest don't appear to be fazed by the notion that they've been gone for over a month.
Hajime wonders if this had anything to do with the urban legend he's been hearing lately concerning a forest of mist trapping people in human-size eggs and dragging them into some twisted dimension full of monsters and Shinto shrines inhabited by monks wearing vermillion hued cloaks. His parents had been very strict about believing things brought about by mass hype over a misunderstanding and would've been urged to brush off the legend as just a bunch of bullies playing pranks on weary travelers. But after witnessing the strange phenomenon going on at his school he felt tempted to head over there and at see if it really is a trap set to cause mass hysteria among the unsuspecting crowd.
Later that afternoon, Hajime ventures into the southern forest of Tokyo in search of the mysterious mist; which didn't take long as about halfway into the heart of the forest, the terrain below him suddenly crumbles under pressure, sending him tumbling down a slanted cliff before eventually hitting solid ground.
After taking a moment to regain his senses, Hajime drags himself to his knees, looking around to find himself in a near blinding scene of white with no sign of visibility in sight. Just as he was about to get up and wander further into the area, he heard footsteps approaching him before silhouettes materialized behind the veil of mist surrounding him.
Hajime compresses his lips nervously as he staggers to his feet, trying to get away from the mysterious shadows only to bump into someone who shoves something against his rump and turns it upright, yanking him clear off his feet. Looking down, he finds himself sitting atop a large egg with a quarter of its top removed.
The two silhouettes waste no time approaching him and shoving him further into the object, forcing him into a fetal position with his arms crossed over his chest, leaving his head the only part sticking out. A third silhouette, the one responsible for ramming an egg underneath him, reaches into his cloak and pulls out a sake barrel with the symbol of Suzaku painted on the sides, turning it over and pouring raw egg white into the near crammed eggshell.
Hajime watches in bewilderment as the egg white began to swallow up his body, realizing these were the people responsible for scaring away the innocent travelers that wandered into their mist. He couldn't see their faces due to the obscurity of the mist, but he was sure they were waiting for him to freak out and try to escape their torment; something he planned to shove back into their face like the few people who managed to survive this ordeal.
The barrel empties once the egg white reached the very rim of the shell, leaving him up to his neck in the substance. At this point, he would've expected them to congratulate him for not freaking out like every other person they've tormented so far. Instead, two of the silhouettes picked up the other half of the shell and began lowering it over his head, intent on sealing him inside.
This is probably the turning point in which the victim's nerves were shot, causing them to scream and fight their way out of the mist. As Hajime was waiting for the shell to drop down on top of him, a fourth silhouette stood in the distance; except, unlike the three that confronted him, he was glowing a ghostly blue, making him as visible as day.
He looked like a poor boy's version of Hajime, his hair shaven to gray bristles with a large, cross-shaped scar plastered on his ghostly skin that was the cause of him having to wear an eyepatch over his left eye, tears along the cuffs of his pant legs and coat tail, and wearing black tape around his calf and ankles. He appears to be in distress, but doesn't do anything to stop them, seeming to suggest he's been put through this before.
Hajime frowns a bit in more bewilderment, about to speak out when the shell clamps shut over his head, obscuring him in darkness. Before he could figure out what's going to happen next, a strange, calming sensation washes through his body, lulling him into easing his tension as his eyes sagged from the comforting effects despite the cramped position he was forced into.
This was the most comfortable he felt in his entire life. His family could be worried sick about him not coming back for days and he wouldn't care as long as he can stay like this forever. He couldn't help but fall asleep despite not knowing what was going to happen to him at this point in his life; whether they were going to manipulate him into becoming one of them or feed him to a giant condor.
Early the next morning, Kai is already up, wearing his ancient masculine cheerleader outfit, and busy in the kitchen chopping up vegetables and meat, scooping them into a wooden bento. He doesn't pay any physical heed to the approaching bold spirit outside the kitchen window, knowing it belonged to Ryuta arriving to smuggle food from the brothers before they woke up for their daily meal.
By the time Ryuta got to the window, he instinctively catches a flying bento wrapped in a red cloth to indicate this belonged to him. He stares at the box a minute before looking back to where it came from while taking one hand off and planting it on his side.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked rhetorically. A half hour passes before another bento in a violet-red cloth flies through the glassless window and lands on top of the one wrapped in red.
The Japanese word for "dinner" was hand-painted on the top of the newly made bento; this wasn't the message Ryuta was trying to send, but considering what he found last night and Kai's one-track minded focus zeroed in solely on the wellbeing of the Taijitu brothers, it didn't seem surprising that he would purposely misinterpret his hint as pestering him to toss out dinner instead of extra servings for the very person he wanted to get rid of.
"Itadakimasu...." Ryuta growls in sarcasm before heading back into the thickets of the forest.
The rays of morning light seeped through the cracks in the trees, leaving a warm glow on Hajime's face as he groans and opens his eyes to find himself staring at the gray ceiling of a small bus somewhere deep in the forest.
He lays on a white sleeping futon with a red, black bordered blanket covering him from the neck down, and his bandana and glasses dangling halfway off the couch taking up the back of the bus where he laid. Despite being in immense pain from the downpour of boards he endured last night, the only thing on his mind is getting back to Kai before he presumed last night's ordeal had sent him running home scared.
Just as Hajime had struggled to prop himself on his elbows, nearly three times his own weight crashes down on top of him, squashing him back onto the futon.
"Where do you think you're going 'Yuge'?" snorts a voice from where the near bone-crushing weight came from. Hajime snaps his eyes open to see a blurred vision of Ryuta sitting on top of him, Indian-style, pulling off the cloth to his breakfast.
"Yuge...!?" the pinned cheerleader grunts, trembling from the sandwiching pressure.
Ryuta smushes the violet-red bento in Hajime's face where he can barely see the kanji for "dinner"; a form of insult to the notion of his near-sightedness, "That is your name, isn't it?" He pulls the lid off his bento and takes out a pair of old, wooden chopsticks, clacking them together as he eyes the irate newcomer, "I understand that most parents would use generic, yet unique sounding words to name their children. But I find it hilarious that you were named after the third meal of the day." Hajime growls in anger as he reaches in and picks up a cherry tomato, "Your parents must be too lazy to give you a proper name."
"I don't have time to put up with your petty insults...!" Hajime seethed as he lifts his arms in a vain attempt to knock Ryuta off, "I have to get back to him before he heads into the city to continue his business...!"
Ryuta tries to eat the cherry tomato only to be knocked around by Hajime's weakened attempts to push him off. Annoyed, he twirls around and slams his boot-covered feet on his elbow joints, the blanket thankfully cushioning most of the impact.
"Just because I dragged you out of that training zone Kai built and sacrificed a good night's rest giving you my sleeping bag doesn't mean you get special treatment, kid," he said before tossing the cherry tomato in his mouth, chewing a few seconds, then swallowing, "Newbies like you need to learn to understand the brotherhood of the squad if you want everyone else to respect you as a reliable member."
Hajime's growling grows louder as he struggles to pull his arms free from Ryuta's boots, "And since you just so happened to show up unannounced, profusely begging to be accepted, you've just been promoted to the runt of the 'hood; guaranteeing you mountains of physical roughhousing until you either figure out how to fit into the squad, or curl up and die."
"If that's what it takes to prove that I'm not some thrill seeking high school student burdened by college and younger siblings, I'll gladly crawl back to him with whatever joints are still connected to my body!" Hajime snaps, causing Ryuta's frown to tighten slightly, "I did what he wanted; I performed to the music he played and dodged what he threw at me, but all it's done is piss him off to the point where he just buried me under those boards and walked off like he didn't want me around!"
Ryuta snorts and turns back to the side, purposely kicking Hajime in the face as he reassembles his Indian-style position, "You're right. He doesn't want you around." He then picks up a small squid between his chopsticks and examines it, "In fact, he completely disemboweled all knowledge that you existed, thinking you were already dumped back on your parents' doorstep, too traumatized by the ordeal to even think of going anywhere near him. But it has nothing to do with your position in school or family bloodline."
Hajime immediately stops struggling and stares dumfoundedly at Ryuta as he slurps the squid into his mouth and swallows it whole, "Kai grow up in a very rough environment most of his life. His mother died giving birth to him and his father committed seppuku out of devastation, leaving him in the care of his older brother, Yatto, who was soon killed by Dancho, dropping him in the care of the only two elders he would grow to call his family."
Ryuta picked up a whole hardboiled egg between his chopsticks, "Yatto struggled to raise Kai for the first five years of his life, struggling through bills and making sure there was enough food and clothing to keep them safe and protected. But their time spent together was short-lived when an accident provoked Dancho to kill Yatto, landing Kai in the care of the other two elders, one who raised him like the grandfather he never had; while the other will later try to 'contain his vengeance' by erasing his memory of everything he knew about his brother and forcing him to accept him as the only adult in existence that will help him cope with the reality of the world around him."
"So why's he continuing to hang around that squad after the brothers started mucking it up to their own demented rendition of what brings peace?" Hajime grunts, still feeling the pressure of Ryuta's weight on top of him, "If he can't stand being around them, why not just leave and-!" he was interrupted by the hardboiled egg being shoved halfway into his mouth.
"Kai owes a lot to the former leader for sacrificing his love to take him in and raising him shortly after his brother was killed," Ryuta said before releasing the chopsticks' hold of the egg, "The brothers grew up in the late Meiji Period during the midst of the Restoration where religion is barely finding an audience within the heart of those still living in the feudal era of Japan. Their parents used metaphors to scare them into obeying their elders, not realizing the horrors that await them when they leave the house to attend school everyday."
Hajime stares at the egg before sucking it into his mouth and chewing on it, "Elderly priests relentlessly bombarded them in the streets, sticking bibles in their faces and demanding they read and understand the heroic acts of those who follow the will of God in order for Japan to be recognized by His holy divinity. The torture was so overwhelming to the brothers it took a single nightmare involving their versions of the Gods to drill in the spiraling personalities they harbor today."
Ryuta begins digging through his bento for something else to eat, "Kai sees Yin as the most helpless of the two brothers because he thinks his obsession with the Gods is due to a lack of love he endured during his childhood; and is so determined to maintain that belief he will tell off anyone that so much as possess a flicker of hot-bloodedness when talking back to him in a hostile manner. He has no clue just how far he's fallen into Yin's manipulating hands; and what could happen if he doesn't wake up and realize that no amount of affection or love is going to bring him out of the traumatized state he's locked himself in following the death of the former leader."
Hajime furrows his eyebrows in worry as he takes in the information Ryuta was giving to him, wondering what might happen to Kai if he continues to stick up to the two brothers before realizing he was about to be twisted into their own swirling path of destruction. He eyes towards the couch at the back of the bus, knowing the one-eyed spirit is sitting near the right corner, overhearing everything with an even more worried furrow of his eyebrows and the same sense of helplessness over what he can do to resolve the situation without making it worse.
Hajime muffles a content moan as his senses returned from what could've been the most comfortable sleep he had in years. He could probably sleep like this all day if not for one problem.
The cramping sensation he felt earlier was starting to creep up to him, and the warmness of the shell became unbearably suffocating. What tranquility he had earlier suddenly turns to panic as he struggles to get out of the egg only to tip it over to his right side, hearing the sound of straw being squashed.
Desperate to get out, he muscles his hands out from their crossed position and plants them on the closest space he could find near his throat, using his back as a battering ram to press against the shell, eventually causing a streak of cracks to form around him before the entire shell split open, spilling him onto his back as he sprawls out and gasps thirstily for sweet, cold air.
Seconds after breaking out of his predicament, he felt a splash of water fall into his mouth, nearly causing him to drown as he swallowed what he could before staggering to his side, coughing where the rest of the water travelled down. He then tries to get up only to feel his body buckle from exhaustion, dropping him back onto his side.
A shadow blankets him as he felt a dry cloth dab against his sweat-drenched face, prompting him to look up to see the one-eyed Ouendan standing beside him, staring at him with the same, nervous look as before.
But something was different about him; he wasn't glowing like before, revealing his human colors, altered slightly by the sheer paleness of his skin almost giving off a zombie-like feeling.
"Wh...what're you doing to me now...?" he pants as he pushes himself into a propped position on his elbows.
Upon gazing ahead of him, Hajime sees rows of eggs, as large as the one he was incased in, standing on queen-size boxes full of fresh straw, with the vermillion-cloaked monks, all of whom wore phoenix-wing-like capes around their shoulders, drifting through aisles, cleaning and candling them, the light produced from their large flashlights exposing other humans sitting in the same whites, some seeming to recede into their bodies, forming some kind of clothing.
Hajime shook at the bewildering sight as he scoots away from it, "Wh...what's going on...!?"
"I'm sorry...." the one-eyed Ouendan muttered, gaining a still bewildering glance from Hajime, "Please don't be scared and take this the wrong way...."
"What're you...?" Hajime's question gets cut off by the muffled sound of a scream two rows from the nest he laid on, looking towards it to see one of the monk's candling the target egg in which a feminine shadow thrashes about within it before toppling off and shattering on the wooden floor, spilling egg white against the side of the nest it once stood on.
The woman staggers to her feet, whipping her head around at the disturbing rows of large eggs and the monks stopping their work to stare shockingly at her inadvertent escape before dropping what they were doing and making a patient move towards her.
Her eyes widen in sheer horror as she screams and scrambles for the doors of the humanoid chicken coop, knocking over eggs and shattering them in her wake, revealing other people covered in the same substance, some wearing soggy, unstable robes fluctuating in different shades of vermillion.
Seconds after being released from their confinements, they began to come to their senses, witnessing the same thing as the escaping woman, many freaking out and making a break for the door while others began smashing eggs in a brazenly heroic attempt to free others trapped in their eggs, blindly assuming they were being held hostage by cruel madmen.
Hajime grits his teeth in confusion and fright as he scoots further away from the fiasco only to lose his footing and topple onto his back at the edge of the nest. He lets out a pained grunt before pushing himself onto his elbows, opening his eyes to find himself wearing the same vermillion cloak and phoenix-winged cape over his Ouendan uniform.
Shocked, he scrambles to his feet, about to say something when he heard exasperated mutters from the nest he fell off of.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...."
Looking to the voice, he sees the one-eyed Ouendan huddled near the floor, covering his ears as he trembles in distraught over the mass hysteria occurring around him. His eyebrows furrow in more confusion, wondering what could have happened to make these monks want to fill these people with so much trauma and sorrow.
End Notes:
"Itadakimasu" is common, yet formal, Japanese thanks to the provider of the food and the spirits of the natural ingredients in which the food was prepared from.