A. N. : Here's the first part of a series of 4 I started drafting about a year ago. I'm posting them as the chapters of one fic here, and as a series of one-shots on AO3, because FFn doesn't really make it easy to link works together otherwise. In any case, if you prefer the layout of one site over the other, you can go ahead and read this story where you want !

I've actually done a lot of research for this whole series, so I thought I'd put some background information on my writing choices and on historical details (mostly the latter) in a post, as a sort of uh, annotated edition ? It will be on my tumblr (crescentmoonrider) under the tag "manifesto commentary". I'll make one post for each chapter, which should be up shortly after publication here.

As a last point, this chapter comes with warnings for pretty graphic depictions of violence including minor character death, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, and attempted sexual assault (which doesn't go far, but just in case). Stay safe !


Ghosts and fights are the flowers of ?


Toji wakes from his nap to the sound of footsteps.

That, in itself, isn't exactly remarkable. The spot he chose, on the riverside, is neither too busy (impossible to sleep near the main bridge, for example), nor too quiet (better not to tempt wannabe muggers, even if Toji could easily break their faces). Some people are bound to come by.

But the steps are close, and trying to be quiet.

He opens his eyes. Looks to his left.

Yup, the bundle holding his few belongings, as well as the day's food, is gone.

Rising to a sitting position, Toji hears the footsteps slow to the point of almost stopping, and then pick up again, at running speed. Too slow, though. Catching up won't be a problem.

Toji gets up and gives chase.

The thief is a bony brat with a too-small kimono. Looks like a typical street rat, except Toji has never seen this one in town, and most of them know to steer clear from his stuff anyway.

It doesn't take long for the brat to be at arm's length, and Toji reaches forward.

Kid ducks. Got some reflexes, this one – or so Toji thinks until the very next second, when the brat stumbles and falls head first into the grass.

Well. That's one way to stop a thief.

As Toji goes to pick up his fallen things (nothing fragile in there, thankfully), he gets his first look at the thief's face.

That's a brat alright, although between his chronic underfeeding and the dark circles under his eyes, Toji can't really place his age. Could be fifteen, could be twenty-five. Either way, he's old enough to know the consequences of stealing and getting caught, and definitely old enough to not burst into tears out of fear – which is why it pisses off Toji so much when the brat does, in fact, cry and beg at the sight of his face.

"P-please don't, you can have it back so please don't come near…"

Pathetic.

Toji just wanted to pick up his stuff, but now he thinks he's going to first scare the brat a little. Give him something to cry about.

He grabs the brat by the collar, lifts him up just enough for his feet to leave the ground.

"No, no no no I'm sorry so please don't, please go away –"

Toji opens his mouth.

"Please, you'll die !"

Toji closes his mouth.

The brat is terrified, yes, but he isn't looking at him, Toji realizes. Rather, he's looking at a spot above Toji's right shoulder.

"Rika-chan –"

The sound of rushing wind. Toji drops the brat and dips to the left.

The cut on his sleeve is all he needs to know he made the right choice. Fuck, does some random street rat seriously have a shikigami ?! Or, no, the brat did call a name, but it was less of an invitation and more of a resigned whimper. Toji has heard of disobedient shikigami, but that's after they've been called. These things don't manifest without their master's consent.

… A vengeful ghost.

And that's really typical, isn't it ? Just Toji's luck. Like the skies are taunting him by sending some haunted brat to steal from him.

Toji ducks under another invisible hit, following the brat's terrified gaze, the sound of something slicing through the air, and his own instincts.

At the risk of disappointing whichever gods want his death, Toji really doesn't feel like giving up today.

Plus, dying to a ghost like the clan kept on insisting he would ? Never. Can't give them this pleasure.

Still, the hits don't stop coming and Toji can't keep on avoiding forever. He needs some way to get rid of that thing – the jeering voices of his cousins echo in his ears still because he can't exorcise it.

Toji grits his teeth.

The bright side of being the family failure is that you learn to be resourceful. If he can't get rid of the ghost, he'll keep it away for long enough to flee. And the way to do that…

The brat knows the ghost's name. Knows that it will come – when it will come, even if he can't control it. One way or another, the two are bound together.

If that's the case, the solution is easy. Toji darts closer to the brat, grabs the back of his collar with one hand and the obi with the other and –

Throws.

A beautiful parabola and a high-pitched screech later, and the brat lands in the river with all the elegance of a wet towel. Toji keeps an eye on him still, and an ear out for any angry outburst from the ghost, but he starts to bend down to (finally) grab his things and hopefully bolt the second that's done.

The brat emerges, panic in his eyes. His movements are uncoordinated, pure instinct, about as useless as Megumi making grabby hands at passing butterflies, but he might be able to last long enough for a boat to pass by and get him out.

Or he would, if he didn't stop fighting all of a sudden.

Toji is watching closely, so he sees – it's not that the brat is tired, rather…

He closes his eyes in relief, and lets himself sink.

Toji jumps in.

If anyone asks, he'll tell them he doesn't want to be accused of murder because of some suicidal brat. That's all. No one needs to know about his anger, about his frustration at witnessing someone who sees throw it all away.

About how at one point, before Okiku told him he was human too, he thought…

Toji dives deeper, grabs whichever part of the brat he can reach, and swims back with that load. He thinks the soaked fabric of the brat's kimono might actually be heavier than its owner.

Once he reaches the shore and drags the brat's unconscious body out of the river, he takes a second to think about his next actions. He considers, idly, the possibility of just grabbing the brat by the ankles and shaking him until he spits out all the water he ingested and then some.

As funny as it would be, he doubts it would be effective.

Instead, Toji punches the brat's chest, right at the bottom end of the sternum, where the stomach lies. And sure, he might be hitting a little harder than strictly necessary, but he is angry and also saving a life, so the brat better not come and complain about a few bruises or broken ribs.

A cough. Toji stops beating, lets the newly conscious brat turn to his side to cough and spit and maybe throw up a little, but it's lost in all the water so who knows.

Ugh, speaking of water.

Toji eyes up the riverside, looks for a dry-ish, sunny spot. He gets up, not paying any mind to the brat still coughing up his entire lungs in the grass – he lives, and Toji doesn't care what happens to him after that. Unties his obi (the fabric soaked up a lot of water, making it harder than it should be, which is a pain in the ass) and takes off his kimono. Wrings it out at least somewhat, before walking to the spot he eyed out and laying it down.

There. No longer drenched. Kind of.

He unties his zori, places them next to the drying kimono and obi. Walks back down to grab his things (for good this time, hopefully), then back up to lie in the grass somewhere that isn't even more soaked than he is.

And there better not be anyone interrupting his na-

"You… you're alive ?"

Fuck.

The brat has no business looking as surprised as he is at Toji surviving. If he'd asked why Toji saved him that would be one thing, but no, somehow that part seems to be the last of his concerns. Toji thinks he hates him a little.

"That a problem ?" he answers with as much bite as he can muster when feeling like a wet old dog.

"No ! No, I, I'm glad, I'm it's just –" If he starts crying again, Toji might just scream. "No one ever, you know, survived…"

What.

"What."

"It's, when Rika-chan fights people… No, actually, no ever managed to even avoid her before, at all, and you…" The brat is sounding more animated all of a sudden. "You were incredible ! You – can you see her ? You didn't look at her and yet you didn't get hit at all and you didn't die ! You didn't die. You're alive."

Ah, here come the tears. The brat sobs over Toji's miraculous survival, and… honestly, Toji doesn't know how to feel about it. Sure, it's annoying and that brat is probably the biggest crybaby Toji's ever met and it's getting on his nerves, but he's also praising Toji's abilities and seems genuinely happy to see him live, so…

Eh, whatever. Tsumiki cried a lot more than that as a baby. Toji can bear it.

"If, if it's you, you could…"

"… I could… ?"

Somehow, Toji doesn't think he will like whatever the brat is going to say next.

"You could kill me."

Toji sits up.

"Absolutely not."

Or rather, Toji could kill him, probably wouldn't even be that hard, overprotective vengeful ghost aside, but he also thinks the fuck not.

"Please, I, no one else could –"

"If you want to die that bad, you do it yourself."

Setting aside the fact that the brat tried to kill himself a second ago and Toji saved his life, of course. Then again, it was Toji who threw him in the river, so it would've been him the machikata would've blamed.

"I tried !"

Yeah, Toji knows that.

"I, I tried using a knife, but Rika-chan broke it. When I tried hanging myself, she cut the rope, and when I wanted to throw myself off a cliff, she caught me in midair. I set myself on fire and she used someone's blood to put it down. I even starved myself once, and she, she killed a deer and made me eat it even though I didn't want it and it was raw and, and…" He sobs louder with each word. "I, you're the one who got me out of the water, right ? Your hair is wet. Even if you hadn't, Rika-chan would have. She always, always stops me. I can't… You're the only one who can. Please. Please kill me."

Well that's fucking depressing. Anyway –

"I'm not getting arrested for murder for your sake. So drop it before I throw you in the river again."

And with that, Toji lies back down.

Hopefully he'll be dry soon, his fundoshi is sticking to his dick and it's uncomfortable. He doesn't have much hope for his kimono (if it dries before night it will be a miracle honestly), but if he has to spend the rest of the day in wet underwear, he won't be happy about it.

"… I'm sorry."

Why is the brat still here.

"I was only thinking of myself. I won't ask that again, I promise, so could I – could I stay with you ? Please ?"

Toji doesn't even know what to say.

"Come again ?"

"It's too dangerous if I stay around people, so… I, ever since Rika-chan died, I've been alone with just her. It's… it gets lonely."

Ah. Toji get it.

"And since I managed to not get murdered by your girlfriend, you think it would be fine to stay with me. Is that it ?"

"Yes. Is… is it fine ?"

It isn't, of course. Toji already has his own shit to worry about, without needing to add a haunted brat and his murderous ghost companion to the mix. He can't afford trouble, not when his cousins are just waiting for any excuse to make his life worse.

Then again, his continued existence is enough of an excuse for them, most of the time.

Honestly, the brat is fucking pathetic. Who admits to being lonely like that ? That's just begging for trouble. If Toji was slightly more of a bastard, he could easily take advantage of that. Take advantage of the brat.

And even as Toji is, it's tempting to just bully the brat, see just how much more pitiful he can get, see how much it would take for him to give up on the small hope Toji's survival gave him.

Toji doesn't need to do that to feel powerful, but he can see the appeal.

And yet… did Toji's voice sound like that too, so shaky and full of broken hope when Okiku held him for the first time ?

"… Do what you want. Just don't get in my way."

"Y-yes !"

Pathetic.

The rustling of clothes, water hitting the ground, and footsteps nearby. Seems like the brat finally realized he was soaked too and decided to lay his kimono to dry.

He sits next to Toji once that's done.

Undoes his ponytail and combs his fingers through the hair, probably in an effort to get some water out of it.

Toji's stomach rumbles.

He grabs his things, undoes the cloth holding the bundle together. It's still weird for him to think that everything he owns fits either in there or on his person, even after two years of this. The metal-care box takes up the most space out of everything (it only ever serves for Toji's knife anymore, unfortunately), followed by the food Toji stole earlier this morning (plus some mochi the cute girl working at Kumiya's gave him for his nicest smile and a few compliments).

Okiku's comb looks so small in comparison.

He's thought about her a lot today. It had been a while – two years ago he couldn't go a week without something reminding him of her, and now it's rare he even thinks of her when her comb isn't directly in front of him. He'd considered throwing it away a few times, or maybe gifting it to a girl willing to open her house to him, but in the end he doesn't quite want to forget yet.

He'll stay human for a little longer, just to spite the clan.

The brat is staring, Toji realizes. His fingers are still strung through his hair, and his eyes go from Toji's face to the bundle, eyebrows raised questioningly. He opens his mouth.

"Don't touch that," Toji tells him.

For good measure, he takes the food out and covers the rest with the cloth. No way he's letting some weird brat use Okiku's comb.

Taking a bite of dried fish, Toji sees the brat deflate, eyes falling to the ground in disappointment, although he tries to hide it. He passes his hands through his hair one last time, before tying it back up – his hair tie is still wet though, so he struggles with that.

Toji doesn't help, only keeps on eating.

He didn't really notice earlier, but the brat is wearing some sort of thin red cord around his neck, the kind Toji would expect to be holding a good-luck charm – except it doesn't. It just loops around a few times, ending with a simple bow knot. That knot might be why it reminds Toji of Tsumiki's favourite hair tie, actually, the one that's long enough that, once the hair has been securely attached, it'll still have some length left to look pretty or something.

In any case, it's a weird fashion choice. Not Tsumiki's hair tie, Toji is sure his wife wouldn't have allowed her to wear anything odd, even though he himself didn't really get the appeal of that thing. A hairpin or a comb, sure, but a hair tie ?

… Maybe that's why Tsumiki never asked him for help with that stuff.

The brat is done fighting with his hair. He makes himself smaller, keeps his eyes firmly on the ground, pinches his lips. Toji keeps chewing. Reaches for a carrot. The brat's stomach rumbles.

"Sorry."

Why is he apologizing ? He's hungry, big deal. Toji kinda figured the brat didn't try to steal his stuff just for fun.

"I won't… I won't touch your food, I promise."

Ah.

So, obviously there's been a misunderstanding here, Toji telling the brat to keep his hands off Okiku's comb, and the brat thinking he meant the food.

Acknowledging it out loud would require Toji to apologize for not making himself clear enough though, so he is not doing that.

He sighs.

"Just fucking eat. I don't want your girlfriend to try finding you food herself."

The brat lightens up immediately.

"Thank you !" he says like Toji just did him the most incredible favour.

It's just food. Sure, the brat looks like he hasn't been eating his fill for the past few years, but he still shouldn't be that happy at someone telling him they're not into the idea of being murdered by a vengeful ghost, even if it does get him something to eat.

Honestly, it's so fucking pathetic, it's almost sad. It's like the brat has no standards for how people should treat him. Which, now that Toji thinks about it, is probably the case.

That's just how it is for people like him.

They eat in silence (thankfully, the brat seems to have at least some sense of how much Toji doesn't want to talk with him more than strictly necessary), and once the last mochi has been gulped down, Toji lies back down for a nap.

"I'm going to sleep for a while. Don't wake me up."

He doesn't look to see if the brat is listening. It's easy to picture him nodding, though, with the same pathetic eagerness to please that he's shown so far. No spine at all. It's infuriating.

It's awfully convenient, too, since it means Toji gets a long, uninterrupted rest, for once in this forsaken day.

But well, can't just sleep all day. The food he'd planned would last him through a few meals is already gone, thanks to the hunger brought about by his little swim, and the unexpected company he picked up. So that will have to be taken care of.

He rises. Grabs his kimono – still a bit wet, but bearable. Good.

"We're going into town," Toji tells the brat, who startles. "You're helping me get food."

He puts his clothes back on quickly, makes sure his knife is settled against his stomach, hidden but easily accessible. The obi holding it is still completely soaked, but Toji will just have to live with that.

The straw of his zori shares the same unfortunate condition. Toji is honestly considering walking barefoot for the rest of the day. Wet straw chafes.

Even with all the time Toji spent battling his obi and glaring at his zori in the vague hope that he could scare them into drying faster, the brat still hasn't finished getting dressed. He hasn't even started, actually. He's just sitting, frozen in place.

"There a problem ?"

The brat bites his lip, twists his hands.

"I-" he starts. Stops. "No."

Toji doesn't bother pointing out the obvious lie.

"Good, then stop daydreaming and get up."

He crosses his arms, doesn't hide his impatience as the brat dresses himself. The fabric of his kimono seems to have already dried, probably because it's already incredibly flimsy, and Toji can't decide if it's because the thing seems to be older than the brat himself, or if it actually is supposed to be a juban and the brat just somehow lost his kimono in the time he's lived on his own.

Something tells Toji he doesn't want to know what "Rika-chan" did to keep the brat from freezing to death in winter.

Once the brat is ready, Toji starts walking up the riverside towards the road, belongings tied to his shoulders. The brat follows closely – almost too close, in all honesty, and Toji nearly tells him off, but… He looks anxious. Eyes darting from side to side, tensing every time someone crosses their path. If Toji accidentally scares him too much when telling him to back off, how will the brat react ?

How will the ghost react ?

It's one thing to fight off an invisible opponent, but with people around ? Things could get ugly, and fast.

They're slowly making their way to more busy streets, and that's obviously something the brat is scared of. And with what he knows, Toji can't say he disagrees.

"Just don't walk on my feet," he ends up saying when he sees the brat's hand clenching near his sleeve, like he wants to grab it.

The brat doesn't look up.

"I'm sorry." He clings to Toji's sleeve like a lost child. "I don't want to bump into someone. Rika-chan…"

"Yeah."

Right what Toji thought. Between the brat's infuriating tendency to apologize for every little thing and the overprotective vengeful ghost haunting him, no doubt even the smallest of incidents could turn deadly. Especially if the other party is a samurai like the two morons a little farther down the road. Swords and arrogance, the worst combination of all.

Toji keeps his head low when they pass the samurai, and the brat does the same, sticking even closer to him. Looks like he does have some sense, at least.

Some more walking, and Toji finally finds a food stall that looks passable. The seller is old, the stall is at the corner of a small back alley, and while some people do stop there from time to time, it's never for long.

"Go and distract the old man," Toji whispers. "I'll be right there, just keep him busy."

The brat looks at him, looks at the target, and nods. Now to hope he isn't completely awful at improvising.

They walk up to the stall, greet the owner. Toji acts like he's looking at the goods and considering what to buy, and swiftly hides a few vegetables in his sleeves while the brat is asking the owner about something or other – seasons ? Fuck if Toji knows. Anyway –

"Seen anything you want ?"

"Ah," the brat thankfully takes the cue, "no, not really."

"Then we're going. Sorry uncle, maybe some other day," Toji adds with a smile, and the old man laughs, says it's all good, he and his little brother take care.

Ugh. Toji only lets his face fall once his back is turned. Little brother ? He eyes the brat, who thankfully doesn't look like he cares about the mistaken family ties, instead focusing on sticking as close to Toji as possible without stepping on his feet. Literally the only good thing to happen to Toji, family-wise, is that he never had any brothers. He can't imagine how shitty that would have been – or rather, he can, because his cousins are the worst, and Naoya's brothers are the lowest of them all.

If the brat ever calls him oniisan, Toji might just snap.

After Toji has taken the items out of his sleeves and stored them in the bundle on his back (hence the strategic back alley), they repeat the same process at a few different chosen stalls. The hardest part of this is probably the fact that Toji has to aim for food that doesn't need cooking, and that he can stick in his sleeves without getting caught immediately. That means no daikon or tofu, among many, many others.

… If someone had told him two years ago that tofu would become a luxury food for him, he'd have laughed in their face.

The "shopping" finished, Toji decides to find a place for the night. No use in spending more time than necessary in town when the brat grows more anxious by the second, along with the risk of ghost murder. Getting in trouble with the machikata now would be the worst.

He heads for the bridge east town, brat following in his steps closer than his own shadow. The place is quiet once the city's doors have closed, settling under the bridge means having a semblance of rain-proof shelter, and it's far away enough from rich houses that the machikata usually don't care about who stays there. It's a prized place among vagabonds, but if Toji says he doesn't want anyone near, no one will dare go against him.

And if someone does, well, that's too bad for them.

A trio of small-time thieves are playing dice when they arrive. Toji has seen them around, and they're on speaking terms, even if he can't for the life of him remember their names.

"Yo."

The thieves look up. Toji feels the brat cling tighter against his back.

"Oh, hey," the leader of the band greets. "Fancy a game ?"

"Fuck no," Toji laughs, "I know you guys cheat !"

Also he doesn't have any coin right now, but that's no one's business.

"Anyway, I'm gonna ask you all to pack up and piss off."

They look at each other, then at Toji – and they only seem to notice the brat now, one of them elbowing his neighbour and whispering something.

"… sure, whatever," the leader finally says, rising to his feet. "Shun owes me a bottle of sake anyway."

Said "Shun" protests, but follows in turn, quickly grabbing the dice and cup, and kicking the third guy into getting up as well. When they leave, Shun turns around for a second to shout "Have fun !", getting his head slapped by the leader while the third guy snickers.

Well. Someone's got the wrong idea. Not that Toji minds.

He turns to the brat.

"You planning on letting go at some point, or… ?"

"Sorry !"

The brat immediately steps back, like he just burned himself. He then just stands awkwardly until Toji sits with his back to the wall, at which point he does the same, careful not to steer too close.

So fucking pathetic.

It's honestly a bit early to be eating, but Toji doesn't feel like sitting there in silence, doing nothing but pretend there isn't a suicidal brat and a murderous ghost right next to him, so he pulls the food out from the rest of his belongings, and starts digging in. A few moments later, the brat follows suit, at first hesitantly, and then, once he sees Toji isn't pushing him away, with a lot more determination.

Right. He probably rarely has the opportunity to eat twice in a day, if his skin and bones look is anything to go by.

Toji isn't all that hungry (seriously, it's way too early), so he pretty quickly decides to lie back and let the brat get his fill. He'll put the rest away for tomorrow once that's done.

It's still boring as fuck though, sitting in silence and watching the brat eat his way through their (wait, their ? Not Toji's ? … Alright, he is not thinking about that today, or any day if he can help it) food, so Toji, in-between using his nail to dislodge some bit of – is it carrot ? – something from his gums, decides to try his hand at some conversation.

He points at the brat's weird necklace… rope… thing.

"Why do you wear that ?"

The brat jolts. Looks confused for a moment, big eyes widening comically, and then his hand goes to his throat, gently touching the cord as a sad smile takes residence on his face.

"It was Rika-chan's. She, she used to tie her hair with it, and she gave it to me a few days before… before she died. As a good-luck charm. We wanted to keep each other safe, so…" He pauses, eyes unfocused, then adds "I gave her an amulet my mom had made. It… it didn't work. It didn't work."

… one point to Toji for guessing what the cord originally was ? Fuck, this brat is depressing.

With the mood having plummeted from "neutral boring" to "death sounds like an interesting option actually", the brat understandably doesn't seem to be hungry anymore, and Toji jumps on the occasion to change the subject.

"You done eating ?"

"Hm ?" It takes a moment for the brat to come out of his own head, but he does end up answering. "Oh, yeah, yes I'm. Done. Thank you."

"Aye."

Toji opens the bundle once more. The brat catches on to what he wants to do and helps him put the leftovers back in the cloth, with the box and Okiku's comb.

"Can I ask…"

No. No he can't, but Toji lets him finish still.

"Can I ask what's in this box ?"

Oh. Huh. Wasn't expecting that one.

"Yeah it's uh, oil. A whetstone. That kinda thing." Toji shrugs. "Sword-care stuff."

The brat is silent for just long enough for Toji to realize his mistake.

"… you don't. Have a sword. Do you… ?"

"Course I don't." Toji clicks his tongue. "Where the fuck would I put it, huh ?"

And Toji doesn't mean for his tone to be that harsh, but it is, and the brat recoils.

"Sorry…"

"Will you stop apologizing all the fucking time ? It's annoying."

The brat opens his mouth, but before he can manage to dig himself deeper into the trenches of Toji's nerves, loud, drunken laughter echoes nearby.

For a second, Toji thinks the idiot thieves came back after drinking their way through Shun's savings, but…

He raises his head. The sun hasn't quite set yet, so he can see the silhouettes walking unsteadily towards the bridge, and counts only two.

A shiver runs down his spine. Toji might not have any sense of the supernatural, but his instincts for literally everything else are honed to the extreme, and he has a really, really awful feeling about these two.

He rises up.

"We're leaving."

"Wh-"

Toji doesn't wait and turns round, walking away.

"Wai-"

"Hey ! You're not planning on leaving like that, are you ? Didn't your mom teach you to say hello to people, you piece of trash !?"

Fuck.

Of course it couldn't be anyone but these two assholes. Toji's luck wouldn't have it any other way.

Gritting his teeth, he turns to face them.

"Ah, hadn't noticed you there, sorry."

He fucking hates them.

Tadayoshi, as always, takes the lead of the moron duo, swaggering up to Toji until his face is close enough that the smell of booze is almost unbearable.

"Now that I think about it, your mom couldn't have taught you shit, could she ?"

The taunt is obvious, and Toji counts to ten in his mind.

"Or did she only kill herself after you'd already proven to be lower than a dog ?"

No reaction, not even a breath, Toji refuses to give him that satisfaction.

"That's what happened, right ? She couldn't take it so she slit her throat, the way you should've slit your stomach open if you were a man and not a fucking monkey, huh?!"

Alright, that one's just too easy not to take.

"I don't want to hear some half-man tell me about what's proper for one to do," Toji jeers. "Or did your nut grow back since that time ? I'm sure physicians would love to study you, then !"

Tadayoshi's face falls.

In the back, Sunao draws his sword in anger, ready as always to defend his dearest older brother – and probably lacking the intelligence to do anything else on his own.

Toji grabs his knife.

"What do you think you're doing, you fucking monkey !?", Tadayoshi shouts.

His hand comes down hard on Toji's face before Toji can draw his blade. Motherfucker – Toji can feel blood in his mouth, probably split his lip there.

"So you don't care what happens to your little bastard in the end, huh ?"

Toji freezes. Tadayoshi punches him again, this time hitting the cheekbone and making Toji's head ring.

He lets go of the knife. Stands still as the blows and insults keep raining – Sunao kicks the back of his legs, forcing Toji to kneel, and allowing Tadayoshi to easily jab his foot into Toji's stomach.

He hates this. Hates them. Hates this feeling of hopelessness.

But he can't do anything.

He can't let Megumi suffer from his mistakes.

Tadayoshi's foot comes down on Toji's nose with a sickening crunch, filling Toji's mouth with blood and his face with cold. He falls backwards, the pain seeping around his eyes like melting snow, and he grits his teeth to avoid letting out any sound that could let them know he is hurting. It's what they want, he knows, and he refuses to give them that. It's the only way he has of rebelling.

"You piece of shit !"

Tadayoshi punctuates his words with more kicks.

"How dare you think you're on our level ?!"

Toji says nothing as he feels his ribs break.

"Just because you share our blood doesn't mean shit when you're nothing but a monkey !"

He raises his leg once more.

"Stop this !"

… who… ?

"Please, please stop hurting him !"

Ah, right, the brat. Toji forgot about him. Why didn't he run while the two morons were busy ?

"I beg you !"

Through the blood dripping in his eyes and the fog gripping his brain, Toji manages to get a glimpse of the scene unfolding in front of him. The brat, weak and shaking and terrified, has grabbed Tadayoshi from behind and refuses to let go, even though he is built like a twig and weighs just as much, and Tadayoshi easily outmatches him in every way.

"Let go of me, you fucking peasant !", Tadayoshi shouts, trying to shake off the brat.

In the corner of his half-open eye, Toji sees Sunao step closer to the brat, probably preparing to knock him out, or to punch him into submission.

Toji doesn't get it. If it was him, he would have bailed the second he saw the situation get out of hands, without looking back. Fuck, he almost did do that, before Tadayoshi called out to him. And yet, that brat, that brat who he's barely treated like a person all day, who he basically ignored every time he couldn't get something out of him – that brat is risking it all for his sake.

And because of what ? Toji not dying to a stupid ghost ? It's absurd.

Nonsensical.

"Stay out of this, brat."

… Pathetic.

"But- !"

"It's got nothing to do with you," Toji manages to spit out. "Stay out of this."

He tries to rise up, to maybe rile up the moron duo again and make them forget all about the brat, make them focus their anger on him.

He's the one who deserves this. See ?

He opens his mouth.

Tadayoshi laughs.

"Oh, did the monkey make a friend ?" No. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." No. "He's got a cute face, too, it would be a shame to hurt it." No.

Toji struggles to his feet, ears ringing, bile rising inside his throat.

"Hey, Sunao, hold the monkey down ! I want him to see."

Of course Sunao, mindless goon that he is, does exactly what he's told. Toji tries to push him off, but by this point his body is only barely just able to remain conscious through the pain and the nausea. He is pushed to his knees, head held up by the hand pulling at his hair.

And he can do nothing but watch.

Watch as the brat stays frozen in place.

Watch as Tadayoshi grabs his face, other hand slipping under the collar of the brat's kimono.

Watch as the brat closes his eyes in fear.

Watch as everything turns to blood.

The brat falls to his knees, Sunao lets go of Toji in an instant and screams, then gurgles, then nothing. Something warm is splattered across Toji's back.

Ah.

Toji looks behind him, and sees nothing but a mishmash of blood and bones, flesh and cloth, unrecognizable. The smell of iron is overbearing, and nearly manages to drown out the smell of shit. He throws up, unable to hold back anymore.

His head hurts. His ribs hurt. His, well, everything hurts, really. And he can't stay here any longer.

He can't stay here.

He slowly slides his hand towards one of the swords lying on the ground, somehow spared from sharing its owner's fate. He's going to need it more than what used to be Sunao.

Using the sword as a cane, Toji gets up slowly. The brat is still on his knees, shaking. Is that how things usually go for him ? Blood and death and remains that don't even look like they ever belonged to a human ?

Well. Not that these two were ever truly human, even when alive. Sacks of shit, nothing more.

Toji limps towards the brat and the dismembered heap on the floor.

"Hey."

The brat looks up. He's crying, Toji realizes.

"We've got to go. If the machikata sees us here, we're dead." When the brat only looks at the floor without answering, Toji adds, "Look –" He sighs. "They deserved it. If I could've, I'd have killed them myself long ago. Don't go feeling sad for this kind of garbage."

"… thank you."

Toji shrugs. Ow, fuck, that hurt, shit

"Oniisan, are you alright ?"

"Don't you oniisan me. My name's Toji."

It occurs to him then that he doesn't know the brat's name. He didn't care before, but with everything that happened…

"You ?"

"Hm ? Oh, uh, I'm Yuuta."

"Yuuta. We're getting out of here. My things are still near that wall over there, you go get them. Alright ?"

Yuuta nods, then scrambles to his feet and makes his way to the place they ate, what feels like an eternity ago.

Toji can't believe he's going to leave this city now. But with Tadayoshi gone, maybe he can afford it. Maybe Megumi will be –

He shakes his head. Urgh, that was a terrible idea.

Breathing deeply to shake off the nausea, he can't help but look at the mangled flesh at his feet. Here too, the swords have outlasted their owner. Toji thinks for a second, then bends down to grab one of those as well. He slides Sunao's sword into his obi – his sword now, the weight at his side familiar and reassuring.

When Yuuta makes his way back, Toji hands the other sword over to him.

"You'll need that."

Yuuta's eyes go wide. He grabs the sheath hesitantly, looks at the sword like it's the first time he's ever seen one.

"I, uh, I don't know. How to use it."

Not that Toji had any illusions on that matter. He looks Yuuta up and down, making sure nothing is missing, and then starts walking along the river.

"I'll teach you," he says.