(A/n: Ajin AU Halloween chapter, I got this idea from a chapter in my fic 'Random Park'. It's not going to happen exactly like it did in the anime nor manga, if you've checked out either or both.
Warning: Graphic descriptions of gore and character death.
Summary: After the discovery of demi-humans called Ajin seventeen years ago, more began to show themselves all around the world. Kenny was living a relatively normal life until it all changed in the blink of an eye. He knew something wasn't right when he came to from surviving an accident that he was certain killed him. Now he can no longer return to comfort of his home nor see his family and friends again, but just when he was at a lost on how to go about his new hellish life, a certain noirette comes to his need.
Any errors will be fixed later. Please enjoy)
Chapter 19: I Was A Monster All Along...
"Alright ma, we're leavin'," Kenny announces slinging his bookbag over his shoulder as he heads for the front door, his little sister right behind him.
"Okay, you two be careful and have a good day at school!" Carol says over the sound of rushing water. She's in the kitchen getting ready to wash the dishes they'd used for breakfast. Kenny opens the door while they both wave their mother goodbye, she returns the gesture with a smile and gets started on her task once the door closes.
Stepping out into the warm morning breeze, Kenny and Karen start walking to their high school. They live in a small nice and peaceful neighborhood, it's so quiet here that even dogs dare not ruin the solace.
As the two are leaving the area, they spot a few other teenagers wearing similar Summer uniforms heading to school also. Recognizing one of them on the opposite sidewalk, Karen calls out the girl's name, startling the brunette. Once she turns around, she stops and eagerly waves Karen over. Karen appears hesitant, not wanting to leave her older brother to walk to school by himself. Even though they've done this plenty of times, it just wouldn't feel right. But the elated look on the girl's face would make Karen feel just as bad if she were to decline her invitation and cause it to shift into a disappointed frown, they no longer share a single class together anymore. This is like a rare opportunity to pass up.
Nipping her bottom lip lightly, Karen looks at Kenny. "Um, I'm gonna walk the rest of the way to school with my friend okay?" Kenny just grunts absentmindedly, looking to be lost in thought. She frowns slightly, then jogs over to her friend.
All of a sudden, the sound of what appears to be a vehicle catches the brunette's attention, widening her green eyes as she turns her head to the left to see a white box truck coming. Pointing at the oncoming truck, she shouts,
"K-Karen watch out!"
Hearing the alarmed exclaim as well as a loud car horn jolts Kenny out of his musing. He witnesses just in time to see a truck a meter away from hitting his sister. His mind instantly going blank, Kenny hurries to push Karen out of the way. Time feels like it's slowing down as he stretches out an arm as far as he possibly can to reach the girl, pushing his legs to further lessen to the gap. His palm makes contact with her bookbag, smiling in relief when he pushes her. The instant she's out of harms way, time moves back to normal and he ends up taking the blow instead.
After the violent impact, the driver stomps down on the brakes, causing the truck to skid to a sloppy stop; a part of it's rear ending up in the other lane. Which is empty of any cars.
A ephemeral silence passes, a female screams while someone yells for an ambulance to be called. Amid the panicked commotion from those around her, their voices gradually start to sound muffled in her ears as Karen gapes at the disfigured body laid sprawled out on the street. One arm is bent in a very painful looking position as well as both his legs, blood slowly pooled around the body and stained bits of his clothing. Contents that was inside his bookbag were spilled haphazardly in the red liquid, the bag no longer on his shoulders and is ripped open. The longer Karen stares, the more she feels disinclined to believe that the body belongs to her brother. Her vision begins to blur and dim.
Her friend swallows the rising bile in her throat, then approaches and crouches down beside her. "K-Karen, are you-oh my God!" She catches the girl's slumping body before she fell to the ground, looking to see that she fainted, tears slipping past her closed eyelids. The brunette frowns regretfully at her, feeling that this is her fault. She then notices some blood on Karen's kneecaps, one of her ankles appear to be broken. Her own eyes start to tear up, and she hugs Karen close. "I'm so sorry! So so sorry!"
The male driver exits his vehicle with haste, swearing nervously when he sees the damage done to Kenny's body. He pales and is on the verge of passing out at the thought of being sued by the teen's parents when-
"O-oi look!" A man says pointing at Kenny's body, his blue eyes wide in disbelief.
With great reluctance, the several people, excluding Karen, look at the blonde's corpse again. They gasp when they notice his limbs twitching, over a dozen of tiny black particles is emitting from his body, making the faintest crackling noises as if something is roasting in a fire. Murmurs of confusion and fear flood the vicinity, some teenagers take out their smartphones to record what's happening, shocked although they can't wait to show this to everybody at school.
Soon, sirens resonate in the distance, and is steadily nearing the scene.
Kenny blinks his eyes groggily, letting out a pained groan. Everything hurts like hell. "W-wait," he blinks again, this time confounded. "I'm..alive?!" Slowly, he pushes himself up on his hands and feet, blanching at the amount of blood underneath him. "H-how?!"
"H-he's one of them! An Ajin!" Shouts the driver, recalling another one being exposed on the news a few days ago.
By this point, more people start showing up to see what the fuss was all about, even those that were driving stopped by.
Kenny quickly stands up, glancing around frantically. His hazel eyes land on Karen, and immediately a mixture of emotions overwhelm him. Sadly, he can't question her wellbeing for the sirens sound like they're getting closer, red lights can be seen a mile away.
Gritting his teeth, Kenny flees the area, not caring where he's going as long as it's away from all the curious eyes.
The teens that were filming the incident attempt to chase after him, but eventually end up losing him when he enters the woods.
/
"We're here this evening with some troubling news," says a black haired female news reporter. She along with a man with light brown hair are standing at the scene outside of the yellow tape, two police cars parked behind it also on the other side. "Just this morning a high school student was hit by a truck while trying to save his younger sister. The girl was admitted to the hospital with no serious injuries." She steps to the side a little, turning halfway to look behind her. The person in charge of the camera follows her gaze, zooming in on the accident that transpired earlier. "Here you can see a stain of dried blood. Prior to our arrival, a bookbag as well as the materials inside were all confiscated, so unfortunately we cannot disclose who the victim is. The witnesses at the scene thankfully knew his name, but before that let us get a detailed explanation as to what happened this morning."
The camera zooms out and focuses on the man and woman again, the light brunette scratches the back of his head nervously as the lady hovers the microphone towards him. "U-um as I was turning the corner," he jabs a thumb over his shoulder. "I saw a girl running across the street. I tried to stop and even blew the horn to get her to do the same or as least take some steps back, but the next thing I know some blonde haired kid pushes her outta the way and well..you know the rest." He finishes grimly.
"I see," the newswoman nods placing the microphone back towards her, frowning. "But something occurred afterwards so please tell those watching what followed next." She places the mic near the driver's lips again.
He grimaces, just remembering the boy's arms and legs jerking back to life makes his skin crawl. "W-when we all thought he was dead, his body suddenly started twitching. It was very faint, but I saw some black stuff coming from him as he was getting up. Before the ambulance could get here, he took off into the woods."
The woman nods again, returning the microphone not too close below her mouth. "Thank you for your time." She faces the camera, the man walks away sighing heavily. "The victim, Kenny McCormick, is now revealed to be an Ajin. Making this the sixth one so far-"
"What?!"
Stan cannot fathom what he'd just heard. Kenny, a friend he's known since childhood, is an Ajin?! But now he knows why he wasn't in school today.
"Now that we know of his whereabouts, the police are preparing to look for him and bring him in for custody to further understand his ability."
Dread and anger engulfs Stan at the thought of Kenny getting treated as some lab rat, of course they wouldn't say that outright on television. He gets up from the couch and rushes to the front door, slipping on his shoes first. Without informing his family on what he's about to do, he opens the door and dashes out of the house, going to search for his friend with the only lead he acquired from the news and hoping he finds him before the cops does.
/
Kenny slumps against a tree, panting and wheezing from running away from the damned police and their hounds for hours. At least that's what it felt like to him. But at long last he can rest, even if just for a little while. He slides down to his bottom, half-lidded eyes gazing up at the dark sky past the web of dead tree branches. If the situation wasn't so bizarre, he'd find the many stars and the big bright moon very soothing to look at. He closes his eyes, his breathing regulated though still exhausted. And very hungry. He could be at home right now eating his mother's delicious cooking, watching some t.v afterwards with Kare-...
An image of Karen lying unconscious in someone's arms flashes in his mind, her knees bloody and one of her ankles bent in an awkward angle.
Guilt and sadness washes over him, he blames himself for what happened to Karen. He's thankful that she's alive, but he can't forgive himself for allowing her to get hurt in the first place. If only he wasn't so distracted in his thoughts...
"So all this time I was a..."
He wants to go home so badly. His mother is definitely worried sick about both him and Karen. Just..how long is this going to last? Until he's captured? Like hell he'll let that happen. He'd rather continue running like a wanted criminal than be experimented on.
A twig snapping in half causes his eyes to fly open and for him to scurry onto his feet. Fearing that a police officer had snuck up on him, he's about run away when a voice calls out to him.
"Kenny wait!"
He pauses mid-step, recognizing the person's voice. He whirls around to see a pair of familiar sapphire eyes and a mop of black hair blending in with the shadows.
"S-Stan?!" The noirette approaches him. "H-how'd you-" He's cut off by Stan suddenly tackling him into a hug. Kenny is left stunned and confused, why is Stan here and how he did he find him? Regardless of the questions, he's happy to see him and he wraps his arms around his friend's torso. They stay like that for another minute longer, Stan pulling back and frowning at Kenny's bloodied and dirtied attire.
"My God dude..." He looks like he's been out here for days.
Kenny copies his expression, feeling a little embarrassed to be seen like this. "What are you doin' out here?"
Stan looks him in the eyes, his own glistening under the moonlight. "I came out here to look for you duh!"
"Yeah, but how'd you know I'd be here exactly?" He scans around anxiously. "You weren't followed were you?"
Stan tightens his lips into a line as he shakes his head. "I was just lucky. The news said you ran off into the woods so from there I looked for you myself."
"Ugh, of course I'd be on the news," Kenny thinks scowling at the ground.
"C'mon." Stan grabs his hand and goes into a brisk walk, making their way out of the woods. "You can't stay here forever or the cops'll eventually find you."
Kenny furrows his eyebrows. Stan is right, but since practically the whole town knows about him he's scared to even set foot back there, afraid they'd report him on the spot. "Where we goin'?"
Stan glances back with a vague grin on his face. "You'll see."
A week has passed since the recent Ajin discovery, and the police have yet to relent on their hunt for finding Kenny. Even some citizens have taken part in the search, now that there's a reward for whomever that finds him. It's also been doubled if he's caught and brought to the police station. The fact that the Government is so desperate to have him is pitiful, as if the other five weren't enough for their 'scientific purposes'.
All this while Kenny's been laying low inside of Stan's tree house. Who knew it would come in handy at a time like this. Kenny was surprised it hadn't been taken down after so many years, the last they'd played in this was when they were in Elementary.
Stan did everything he could to make the small house comfortable for his friend to reside in, while also keeping it clandestine from his family. He'd always have to come up with excuses as to why he was constantly going out to the backyard whenever he was seen, especially with their household items as well as some of his clothes in hand on some occasions. It was going smoothly for the next few days, until Shelly became eager to know what her little brother was hiding.
Her initial assumption was that he was taking care of a pet, but that thought was erased once she saw him taking his clothes out back. Which led her to believe that he was probably - as strange as this may sound - was taking care of a hobo around his age. He's known for having a kind heart, he's helped many animals in the past before, but to think he'd also come to a homeless person's aid to this extent is very odd. Thus is the reason she wants to uncover his secret for herself. She usually doesn't care for his business, but for some reason she feels compelled to find out. Tonight.
It's around midnight when she decides to act. Stan had just came back inside the house, making sure to be extra quiet as he hurries back to his room. Once his door closes with an almost inaudible click, Shelly slowly opens her door, first peeking out to see if Stan is actually in his room. Seeing that he is, she pulls the door back some more then creeps out into the hallway, shutting the door not all the way so when she returns it'll be easier and quicker for her to get back into her room.
Without producing a single sound, Shelly manages to make it outside to the backyard. From the porch, her cobalt blue eyes look up at the tree house, squinting when she detects some light from within.
"No way..."
She approaches the tree, ignoring the cool grass tickling her bare feet. Stopping, she scans around for a way to get up to the tree house, pulling out her smartphone to use it's flashlight. Sticking out from behind the storage house is a metallic ladder. Turning off the device then pocketing it, she goes to grab the ladder, once again trying not make any noise as she settles it by the tree. After unlocking and opening the ladder, she slowly begins to climb it. She stops before a wide black towel. She nearly laughs at such a poor representation of a door, discreetly pushing one side to look in the cramped compartment.
The first to catch her attention is Kenny, who's sitting crisscross on top of a layer of bed sheets with a pillow behind him. He's also wearing a pair of Stan's pajamas. In his hands is a flashlight and a comic book. There's more comic books stacked beside him, some empty potato chip bags, bottles of water, and cans of soda lay scattered across the wooden floorboards.
"Noooo waaay!"
Shelly quickly takes her phone back out, and turns it on again. She tries to find a good position until Kenny is shown clearly on the screen, then takes a picture. The sound of the shutter going off startles both her and Kenny, and she almost falls when he snaps his head up in her direction. Instead she drops her phone. "S-shit!" Closing the towel, she stabilizes her balance then climbs down. She finds her phone easily since it fell right next to the ladder. Hastily, she closes and puts the ladder back where it was originally, then rushes back to her room. Smiling and clutching her phone close to her chest along the way.
/
The next morning, Shelly sparks up a conversation as they head to school together, much to Stan's bewilderment. She never spoke to him at such an 'ungodly' hour since she's always so grouchy, and Stan doesn't want to deal with her bitching even if he so much as looks at her.
"Alright squirt, tell me what you've been keeping in that tree house," she says- no rather demands.
She still calls him that despite the fact that he's taller than her by three inches, must because she's older. By two years. "Nothing's in there." Why does she want to know anyway?
"Tch, playin' dumb huh?" Shelly stops while digging into her trousers pocket, she's the only girl in school that wears the guys' uniform. She refuses to wear a skirt. Stan stops also and turns to face her, before he can question her, she suddenly holds her smartphone up to his face. He pales at what he sees.
"S-Shelly why-"
"I'm not stupid like our parents to fall for the dumb shit you've been spewing lately," Shelly scoffs, shutting her phone off and lowering her arm. "Also, you do know that it's illegal to harbor a wanted monster right?"
"Kenny is not a monster," Stan says sternly. A cold, blank look develops on Shelly's face, unnerving him. "J-just don't tell anyone, please?"
"...You've gotta be kidding," Shelly deadpans. "Of course I'm not gonna tell anyone." Stan feels a little at ease by that. "Cuz I'm gonna turn him in and keep all the cash to myself." The feeling disappears just as fast as it had appeared.
Stan shoots her a sharp yet tense glare. "Don't Shelly."
His sister raises an eyebrow. "Oh?" She takes one step closer to him, staring him dead in his nervous filled eyes. "You gonna try an' stop me?" She narrows her eyes provokingly. "Huh twerp?"
Stan clenches his hands into shaky fists, feeling the last bit of determination he had draining. She never fails to strike fear into him, everything about her is intimidating. But..he can't back down now, not when Kenny's life is at stake. He needs someone more than anything in this situation, and that someone is him. The nervousness in Stan's body begins to recede, replacing it is courage. His sapphire orbs glare sharply into Shelly's cobalt ones. "Yeah, I will stop you, and anyone else who tries to make him a test subject for their personal gain. Kenny's my friend, and I'll do everything I can to keep him out of the Government's hands."
They hold eye contact for another few moments until Shelly steps back making a disgusted face. "Ugh you're so cringey." Shaking her head, she walks past him shoving her hands into her pockets. "Let's just go or we'll be chewed out by the teacher for being late."
Stan stares at her back, then breathes out a long sigh. He didn't expect this outcome, but he's very glad that it didn't escalate any further than that. However now he has to be twice as alert, there's no telling when Shelly will reveal Kenny's location to the police or to anyone for that matter. Tightening his jaw, he jogs to catch up with his sister.
*Afternoon*
All throughout school, Stan couldn't shake the uneasy apprehension that something terrible was going to happen today.
Once the bell rung ending school for the day, Stan wasted no time running home, leaving his friends perplexed and somewhat worried for he looked on edge all day. He didn't stop until he made it home, going straight to the backyard.
He freezes in his tracks the moment his eyes spot blood splattered along the tree and grass, the tree house appeared to be fine except the towel was gone.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Stan takes cautious steps closer to the tree. "K-Kenny?" No response. He stops, frowning at the tree. The expression deepens in bemusement when he sees claw marks embedded into the bark. "What the fuck happened here?" This surely wasn't made by a bear, they don't even live anywhere close to the woods plus why would one come here out of the blue? Something glinting from the sunlight appears from off the ground. Before he can check to see what it is, an abrupt shriek of a siren sounds from close by. Stan spins around to see a police car speeding down the street, three more soon follow suit, their sirens piercing through the air. Dread hits him hard. "Oh no..."
Stan tails after them, ignoring the startled eyes on his fast moving figure. Did Shelly tell them where Kenny had been hiding? It's possible she could've done it during lunch break, sneaky bi..- Stan suspected she would do something like this, but not this soon. That was foolish thinking on his part. Although it doesn't explain the mess in the backyard, there weren't any bodies around (thankfully) and the deep gash in the tree has him even more puzzled. He clears his mind by shaking it, right now he needs to focus on finding Kenny first.
After some minutes, the police cars pull to a stop in a familiar spot and start getting out. Panting, Stan stops also and notices with increasing dread where they are. "The woods again?" This isn't good, it's still day out so it won't be difficult at all to find-
"There he is!" An officer shouts. As if that was the signal, the six men take out their guns and aim them into the woods. "Look, you may be immortal but you're still a kid and we don't wanna hurt you. Just come with us quietly-"
"I did nothing wrong..."
The officer suddenly ends his words there, then blood gushes into the air. The man falls backwards, dropping his weapon in the process. The remaining five officers stare down in absolute horror at three gashes across his face, very close to shredding his head into pieces. His brain and the inside of his mouth visible to see. The few people that were watching scream and abscond the area. Composing themselves, the officers open fire at their attacker, only to instantly suffer the same grueling fate as their comrade. One gets his head cut clean off, two gets split in half from their midsection, one gets sliced straight down the middle, and the last guy gets a large stab wound in his abdomen.
Then, everything is utterly silent.
With his breath lodged in his throat, Stan gapes at the severed corpses, slowly trying to process what just happened. As both blood and guts pool around the bodies, he begins to realize that what he witnessed wasn't done by a human being. He covers his mouth placing a hand over his stomach, hunching over just in case he can't keep the surfacing bile down. Soon, the air around him becomes pungent, making it even harder not to barf.
"I did nothing wrong...I just want to live normally again..."
Stan blinks. That voice just now..sounded like Kenny's, except different. It was as if he was talking into a glass cup, though his voice was a bit distorted. Swallowing deeply once more, Stan drops his arm from his mouth and hesitantly ambles toward the spot where the policemen are. He groans uncomfortably when he has no choice but to step in the large puddle of blood, though he avoids the intestines and other organs.
Once he's past the disturbing carnage, he stops and looks into the thicket, eyes widening when he sees a blood covered blonde standing on an elevated incline a few meters away, still in his pajamas. His hazel eyes seem dull in color. Mustering up a small smile, Stan begins to approach him. "K-Kenny what-"
"STOP!"
Assuming Kenny was talking to him, Stan pauses, frowning anxiously at the look of terror on Kenny's face. The second Stan blinks, he finds himself standing before a lanky, dark figure, it's long claws just a centimeter away from slashing his face. It has a humanoid head, although it lacks eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears.
"Don't hurt him," Kenny says weakly. "He's..someone really dear to me."
The strange creature observes Stan's trembling form some other way without any eyes, then retracts it's claws. As it materializes by Kenny's side, a bunch of questions start flooding Stan's mind. "K-Kenny w-what's going on? What is that thing?"
Kenny looks to the ghost with a just as confused frown on his face, then back at Stan. "I have no idea..it just suddenly popped up outta nowhere when..." He averts his gaze off to the side.
"I did nothing wrong...She shouldn't have attempted to report me." Kenny flinches.
"What?" Is this monster voicing out Kenny's thoughts or something? Stan doesn't like the heavy weight settling in his stomach, he already feels sick enough. "Kenny, what's that thing talking about?"
An immense wave of guilt overcomes Kenny, his balls his hands into fists. "I-I'm sorry Stan, I didn't mean to I swear!"
Stan slowly walks toward his friend, looking at the ghost to see if it will try and stop him. It remains unmoving, much to his relief. He stands in front of Kenny, seeing the blonde shaking. The close proximity of the metallic stench on his clothes agitates Stan's insides even more. "What happened?" He asks calmly despite the intense worry and nausea.
Kenny bites down on his bottom lip, hard enough to draw a thin string of blood. "I.." He raises his head to meet Stan's concerned filled eyes, his hazel ones about to shed some tears. "I killed Shelly..."
"It's not my fault-"
"Shut up! Yes it is..." Kenny drops down onto his knees, hanging his head low. "I'm so sorry Stan."
The noirette can only gape further into the woods. "Shelly's..dead?" So, the blood he saw back at home belonged to his sister? "Y-you're lying," Stan mutters, feeling water building up within his own orbs. "I didn't see her body-'
"The monster hid her somewhere around here," Kenny admits softly, his voice mournful. "She found me in the tree house earlier, and forced me out. She was talkin' on the phone, and I knew that was she takin' me to the police station. I tried to pull free and run away, but she was dead set on not lettin' me escape. I didn't wanna hurt her, and I also didn't wanna end up as some guinea pig, so I fought her to keep that from happenin'. And that's," he looks up at the tall entity. "When this thing showed up. I dunno how, but the next thing I know..Shelly's gut was sliced open." Grimacing at the perturbing mental image, he stares back down at his lap."Even though she was already dead, it still wasn't finished with her. It just started...cuttin' off her arms and legs." He curls his hands into weak fists. "I tried to stop it, but then it tried to kill me. In the end I somehow got it under control, and I ran here."
A stiff silence falls over them.
Stan lets Kenny's story sink in, unable to keep the bile down this time. He creates some distance, and vomits. Kenny was telling the truth, if he hadn't seen the creature himself he wouldn't have believed him at all. Once he's done, he coughs a few times then wipes his mouth and eyes. He turns around, noticing that the ghost is gone. Sighing, he places a palm over his forehead, feeling a headache coming as he nears Kenny. "Fuuck, what am I gonna tell mom and dad?"
"You can turn me in, I deserve it. I'm a freak and a murderer now."
Stan frowns. "I'm not gonna do that, and you're not a freak nor a murderer. You didn't kill her..that monster did."
After a brief silence, Kenny looks up at the noirette, his cheeks stained with tears. "Stan-" He's interrupted by multiple sirens in the distance. "Shit, you need to get outta here." He rises to his feet drying off his face, not caring that he's getting more blood on his face.
Stan shakes his head, his lips curling into a faint smile. "I'm just as guilty as you are, I have been hiding an Ajin from the Government after all."
Kenny stares at him in shock. "But-" Hearing the sirens getting closer, Kenny seizes Stan's hand, his lips forming into a strained small grin. "Guess we're gonna be partners in crime for the rest of our lives then." They both frown at the thought, then take off deeper into the woods.
(A/n: I wanted to make this a two-shot at first, but I felt it would eventually take more than just two chapters to finish so I shortened it the best I can in this single chapter. I have another anime AU in mind that I can't wait to write out. I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up on Valentines Day)