4: Power
A dark shadow crosses Chrollo's face as he strides over to the dazed boy.
"I didn't... do that... I was about to... but then... that happened..." Atsushi turns to him to explain. "I... don't know! Promise!"
Unable to find a lie in his eyes, Chrollo's temper cools down. Looking down on the corpse, he doesn't even want to touch it, and he has seen the worst things.
"Your meals, gentlemen." The oblivious server walks out of the kitchen with a tray in hand. Seeing the empty table, he clicks his tongue. "Oh, seems like he left. What a pity. Oh well." He sets the tray down on their table with blissful ignorance and walks back to the kitchen. "Enjoy your meal!"
With that short break gone, Atsushi grimaces.
"Eat." Chrollo orders without a look in the boy's direction and sits back down.
Atsushi reluctant obeys. The delicious noodles taste sour to him as he digs in with his chopsticks. An occasional glance in Chrollo's does nothing to break the ice between them.
He doesn't understand. He really doesn't. How the man suddenly squished together from both sides without anyone doing anything. He honestly doesn't understand.
But the moment he looks into Chrollo's eyes, he can tell something's even wronger than just that. Is he upset because I didn't kill him and some unknown power did? It isn't exactly my fault that it got to him first!
The other two already cold people follow his lead and get even colder. Atsushi can also almost swear that the temperature has actually dropped-- whether that's the night approaching or something else entirely, maybe it's nice to have some ignorance?
As if his companions aren't bad enough, the other man-- or at least what weird grey shape remains of him-- is in a complete class of its own. Just thinking about it gives Atsushi goosebumps. It's impossible for him to do something like that. The others were too far away. The man himself didn't seem that eager to die. What happened then!
No idea... but the others seem to blame him anyway... it's not my fault... I didn't even do anything... it is impossible for me to do that...
Tired of trying to make eye-contact with him and desperate to change the subject, Atsushi speaks up. "Everyone has a name, you said earlier. So... what's yours?"
"Chrollo." He replies, still not looking at him.
Atsushi frowns. "I didn't do it. I can never do something like that. Even if I wanted to do it, I still couldn't have pulled it off."
Silence. Silence, save for Atsushi's heavy breathing and their sounds of eating.
"What are you punishing me for?" His voice starts shaking, his hands balling into tight fists.
The suffocating silence continues.
"Chrollo--" His voice turns into a desperate plea.
A bad feeling... a really really really bad feeling. It's even worse than the one he had while facing that man. It's... so much worse... make it stop!
"I didn't... do it!" His voice breaks into a sob.
This feeling... it's like it's crushing me... make it stop... please!
"Feitan." Chrollo's stern voice dissipates the bad feeling.
Another look in his eyes, and Atsushi can tell the wall still hasn't broken down.
"Little brat--" Feitan spits words out of his mouth like venom, his rasp making his voice even more sinister.
"Feitan." Chrollo reiterates and most of the rest of the tension clears away too.
Somehow, the remaining noodles manage to taste even worse.
After they're finished, they head back to the car, taking the suffocating silence with them. The scenery outside loses its appeal with the grim atmosphere and the swift darkness of the approaching night.
Lulled by the dull sounds of the car's engine, Atsushi manages to fall into an uneasy sleep.