Watamote: Strangeness in the Proportion

Chapter 2: A New Friend?

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Another chapter in Watamote: Strangeness in the Proportion. Our girl Tomoko seems to have made a very unusual friend. But what is he?

I don't own Watamote, of course.

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Chapter 2: A New Friend?

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Lunch was perhaps the best thing that had happened to Tomoko in a day and a half. She'd ordered the best thing on the buffet: curry over rice, and was prepared to enjoy it to the max.

Still, she was acutely aware that she was sitting at a table in the far corner of the lunch room, completely alone. How much better would it be, she wondered, with some friends? Maybe even some boy friends?

In her old otome games, she'd fantasized about having tons of boyfriends. Boyfriends. But so far, the only guy she'd actually seemed to hit it off with was—*

"Tomoko?" said a familiar voice to her left. Of course, it had to be Daniel. Then she thought: why did she think it had to be Daniel? He was a friend, nothing more. And considering how successful she'd been at making friends—especially among the XY chromosome set—she really didn't feel like turning one down. "Yes?"

"Is this seat taken?" That was a rather ridiculous question, she thought to herself. The entire table was empty, except for her. But she understood what he was asking: do you mind if I sit here?

With you?

One of the most popular boys in school? And he wanted to sit with her? Why? Was he trying to be her boyfriend? She didn't know, having no real experience in the real world. The virtual world was sooo much easier.

Why is he wanting to sit with me? He could have his pick...she'd seen the way some of the girls had fawned all over him, in what, to her, was an almost disgusting manner. Especially after the incident in the hallway, with the bullies. Didn't they have any self-pride? Or was that just the way high school girls acted?

He took a seat across the table from her, and, like her, eyed his lunch, but with puzzlement, rather than anticipation. "What is this anyway? Everybody was getting it. I figured it must be good."

"Well, that," she replied, pointing with her chopstick, "is miso soup. Try it; it's good. And that," again a point, "is curry over rice. Better eat it while it's hot. It won't be good cold."

He used the supplied spork. "What," she asked, "Haven't you ever used chopsticks?"

"Well, no. Not a huge demand for 'em in the States." But he picked up his set and, clumsily, tried to imitate her. The meat slipped off his 'stick.

"Oh, no, no, no. Not like that. Here. Watch me." and she expertly picked up a bit of meat and popped it into her mouth. "See? Simple."

He tried again. The food just slipped off. Three more times...same result.

"No, here. Just watch me." I bet you want to anyway, you lech, you. "Here. Like this," she said, picking up a bit of meat, and holding it out for him to eat.

"Uh, Tomoko, don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, an' all, but I don't wanna contaminate your, uh, chopsticks."

"You're not rabid, are you?" And I know you've had all the vaccines, just to get here. "So I'm not worried. And if you had The Bug, it'd be all over the school. So here. Open wide." He complied, and she placed the chicken in his mouth. "See? It's really very simple."

He returned to his own food. "I suppose I'll learn, in time."

"Chopsticks won't do you much good with the rice, though, not without considerable practice. Hence the spork."

"Uh, yeah…"

Tomoko was about to let things go at that when she heard something out of the corner of her ear that put a different spin on things. Across the lunchroom, she heard some girls snicker. "Get a load of the loser girl. He must really feel sorry for her."

Loser? Her? Not hardly. She felt her blood beginning to boil.

Without even thinking about it, she got up from where she was sitting and plopped herself down in an extremely surprised Daniel's lap. She could almost hear jaws drop across the cafeteria. She substituted her chopsticks for his and picked up some more of his food, and held it out for him. "Uh….T-Tomoko?" Unspoken: What the bleep are you doing?

"You gotta eat," she said, mentally telling the other girls, eat this.

Bitches.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, but Tomoko didn't hear any more remarks about being a "loser." But that didn't mean none were made, she cautioned herself. High school was turning out to be guerilla warfare.

After school: She was making her way to the front when she heard Daniel's voice. "Hey, Tomoko, wait up!"

She turned, her face a question mark. "Uh," he said, shamefacedly, "I, uh, would like to repay you for your coming to my rescue today."

"You don't have to." Just those bitches' reaction was more than enough.

"But I'd like to. I mean, if you wouldn't mind, that is. I understand if you have to get home…"

Actually, she usually went straight home, but… "Well, okay. Er, what did you have in mind?" Funny how easy it was to talk to him. Any other boy, she doubted she could have got out a complete word.

"Well, there's a McDonald's right across the street. My treat?"

I really need to get home, she thought. But getting home won't get me boyfriends.

Maybe best to start off with a friend. "Sure. I'd love to." Is...is he trying to date me? Why? I've got bags under my eyes, and no boobs, fa' god's sake. I'm repulsive. Even my own brother said so. But she didn't seem to be able to resist. After all, she was trying to be popular. Baby steps, Tomoko. Baby steps.

Once they'd placed their order—and Tomoko noticed the place was pretty popular with her classmates—they got seated in. "Okay," he said, "now tell me. What's wrong?"

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Am I that obvious?"

"In a word, yeah."

She sighed, putting her burger down. "Actually, what's right would be a much shorter list." And she told him about last night...and, without any warning, surprising herself, suddenly blurted out about how she so wanted to be popular. This was supposed to be a golden time in her life, and it all seemed to be turning into shit. "I wanted to be popular. I mean, I had so much…practice. I was sure I would be. And, and it's not happening." She rested her hands on her elbows. "I can't even bring myself to talk to a boy. Or a girl." She waited for him to start laughing at her.

No laughter. "You're talkin' to one now." Sort of.

"Yeah, but...you're different." I don't see you in the running. She knew Daniel, although himself popular due primarily to being American, and therefore seen as exotic, just didn't seem interested in exploiting that. Maybe he just had a different support structure. Her own was...somewhat problematic. Like a brother that hates my guts.

"You bet I'm different." Though not in the ways you'd suppose. A brief pause. "My friend, Claire, back in the States, always says the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Her eyes widened. "You've got a girlfriend?" Why does that distress me so?

Now he laughed, but not at her. "Well, she's a girl, and she's a friend, but girlfriend? No. She's older than I am—she'll be starting college in the fall—but…we're just friends. Maybe my best friend. Nothing more." He took some more bites out of his burger. He'd ordered extra jalapenos; she didn't see how he ate the things without breathing fire. "She….helped me through some rough times." And, without his even saying it, she knew: the murder of his parents.

"I can only imagine how hard that must've been for you."

"I sincerely hope you can't."

She'd laid her arms on the table. Now he reached over and placed a finger on her wrist...and all the pain, the emotional angst just seemed to drain out of her. Like...like magic, almost. "Tomoko...do you want my honest evaluation?"

Sigh. "You think I'm crazy."

"Of course I don't. But I do think you might be trying to rush things a bit. High school is a time when young people find out about themselves. You're in a new environment, a new social structure. Lots of people have to take time to adjust to that. And it varies from person to person."

"You...you don't think I'm…gay or something?" Somehow, his opinion of her mattered. And how do you know all that? You can't be that experienced.

"What I think doesn't matter. What do you think?"

"I...don't know." She wilted, visibly. "Maybe...maybe I'm bisexual or, or something." She remembered all the cruel jokes and jibs...

"Well, you know what? Regardless of all that, I know one thing you most definitely are." She looked up at him. "You're my friend."

…..

It was strange really. She knew, from the time on her cell phone, that a good two hours had passed, but when she finally was able to work down her burger, and he walked her back across the street, there were still students milling about in the hallways, getting ready for afternoon class. How had that happened? It was like…

…magic?

….

That night, Tomoko had a most unusual dream.

In it, she was chained to a brick wall. Except they weren't chains, as such, more like strands of light. But they served the same purpose: she couldn't move. And they were hurting her, more so than any physical chains ought to. Not only that, but she could sense something bad was coming. Something really bad.

And suddenly Daniel was there. "Don't worry, Tomoko, I'll get you free." But try as he might, he couldn't budge the light-chains. "Well," he said, "More than one way." And he produced a sledgehammer and began hammering at the wall she was tied to.

It took a lot of effort on his part, the wall being abnormally thick, but he didn't give up, finally succeeding in breaking her free from the wall. The light-chains were still tied to her, as were bits of the wall, but at least she was free. "Now," he said, "Let's see about getting those things off you.

But before he even began, Tomoko heard a crumbling sound. The wall she'd been tied to was beginning to collapse—and they were both right beneath it. "Daniel, run!"

"Not without you." She was still too enshackled to make good time. The wall broke into massive pieces. One of the largest pieces was coming right for them.

But right before it hit, Daniel flung himself over her, a human shield. The piece of wall broke over him, and he collapsed on top of her.

She rolled him off of her, noting his wounds. His back was obviously broken in more than one place, and his face was all bloody, blood oozing from his eyes, nose, and mouth. But weirdly enough, it didn't seem to be actual blood, as a kind of fiery substance more like lava or something. "Daniel! Why did you do that?" She could tell, even with her inexperience, that he was dying.

"'Cause you're my...friend." And with that, his head lolled back and the life left his eyes.

She awoke gasping with fear, and clutching the bedsheets to her. She'd had nightmares before, but nothing like this.

Her phone was on the charger, and she quickly pulled it free, hastily punching in his number. The dream had just seemed so real...she had to make sure he was okay.

After about the fourth ring, she heard his sleepy voice. "Tomoko? What's up?" Unspoken question: why are you calling me this late?

"I, I had this dream, a weird nightmare, and, and I dreamed you…died." It sounded pretty lame, even to her. "I just...I just wanted to make sure you...were okay."

"I'm fine. A dream, you say? What was it about?"

"It…" the details were fading, but she could remember the main points. "I dreamed you tried to rescue me from something, and, and you died doing so. I'm sorry for bothering you. I mean, it was…just a nightmare." The worst nightmare I've ever had.

"You're not bothering me. I can tell it upset you. I died, you said? Trying to save you?"

"Yeah." She didn't know quite what to say next. "I'm not sure from what. Something big and bad. Something evil."

"Huh. So…I was your knight in shining armor?"

That made her smile. "Well, you weren't wearing armor, but yeah, I guess the rest of it kinda fits." Actually, I wish you'd been naked.

She was glad he couldn't see her face turn red.

There was a pause. "Well, it was only a bad dream. Dreams can't hurt you. It'll fade. You'll forget all about it soon."

"Yeah, but this dream...it seemed so real."

Another pause. Then, "Tomoko, are you alone right now?"

"My brother's here, in the other room, but my parents stepped out."

"Would it be okay if I came over? I mean, just to see about you?"

"Uhm, I, I guess so." Why would he care?

"Okay. I'll be there in five minutes. There's an all-night burger place right down the road. It sounds like you could use some comfort food right now."

"Five minutes?" She would barely have time to get dressed. "How…?"

"I know a shortcut, remember? And don't worry about your makeup or anything. I'm not coming over to see your makeup, I'm coming over to see you. Just throw something on. It'll be fine."

It was such a relief when he came to the door that she couldn't resist throwing her arms around him and hugging him, if for no other reason, to just make sure this was real, and not one of those dreams-within-a-dream you see on TV. "Hey, it's alright. See?" He'd turned around, arms outstretched. "I'm alive. More importantly, so are you."

?

The Burger Barn: "I don't think I could eat a bite."

"C'mon. You don't have to eat it all, just some. Just put something on your stomach." He'd ordered them some chocolate milkshakes, telling her it'd be easier on her stomach. And truth to tell, she wanted to slurp down the shake, but couldn't seem to get up much enthusiasm for it.

Lately, she'd found she just didn't have much appetite.

"Tell me about your dream."

She told him the parts she could remember, about being chained to a wall with chains-that-weren't-chains, and how he'd knocked the wall down, to get her free. Then…

"And, and that's when you died, shielding me from some falling bricks."

He was thoughtful. "Huh. Chains made of light? That's new."

"But what do you suppose it means?" She took an experimental sip of her chocolate shake. It did taste delicious.

He shook his head. "Dreams don't have to have any real meaning, except what you make of 'em. Maybe you...see yourself as confined, somehow? You say these chains were hurting you?"

She nodded. "I don't know how to describe it, but yeah. It was like, like the chains themselves were hurting me. Burning me. But that wasn't the worst. The worst part—aside from when you died, I mean—was this sense that something was coming for me, that I was chained up for a reason.

"But it was weird. When you died, you didn't bleed blood, more like lava than blood. I mean, that's weird, but that's what I dreamed."

He slurped on his shake. "Maybe...maybe the chains meant that you feel...constrained. You want to be popular, you've told me that. But it's not working out for you the way you planned, the way you hoped. So you feel tied up—but by somebody else. You didn't chain yourself to that wall. Someone else did. And the big bad you sensed...maybe that indicated your fears that you wouldn't be popular, that you could never break those chains." Oh, Tomoko, if only I could tell you about those K-sub one lines, and what they mean.

Your dream was your only way of perceiving a much worse threat that hasn't happened yet.

"Still," she said, shyly, "you came to my rescue. Just like that other day, with those boys. I...guess I was seeing you as my protector." She leaned back, arms on the table, and scowled. "I shouldn't need a protector. I'm practically a grown woman. I ought to be able to look out for myself."

As he had before, he reached over and placed a finger on her wrist, and all the negative feelings she'd been having seemed to recede; just with that simple touch. How did he do that? "Hey, we all need some protection sometime. Humans are social creatures." She didn't look convinced. "Tell me something: if you thought I was in trouble, would you try to save me?"

"Well, of course I would!"

"Then there you go. Consider us even."

…

He saw her home. At her door, he turned to her. "Tomoko, I'll be absent from school for a few days. I'm, uh, in a kind of a paramilitary outfit—sorta like ROTC—and we're having maneuvers coming up."

"Do you want me to save you my notes?"

"Would you?" He gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I'd appreciate it."

If he noticed her blush, he didn't say anything about it.

…

Timeline 1332-B: World: Sol 3, known to the locals as "Earth." Place: Central North American Continent.

The city was on fire, but the invaders didn't care. Fire was their natural element.

They appeared to be humanoid creatures dressed in crimson tunics / pants uniforms, with black leather gloves and boots. Each of them wore a wide black leather belt cinched in the front, with what looked like a night-black cloak streaming from their shoulders, and each of them carried a trident of varying colors.

They ran nimbly over the rubble of the destroyed city, the rockets and projectiles from the defenders hindering them not at all. Their own return fire—actual fire, shot from the tridents they were carrying—incinerated stronghold after stronghold of their foes.

"This way, warriors!" shouted Darian BenDarian, his black shadowcloak blowing in the breeze around his red uniform. There was no need for secrecy here; he'd let drop the concealing illusion that hid his horns, and they were fully visible. "The capitol building! I sense the monster's foul presence there!"

Just inside the huge domed building: the attendants had just barely managed to close and bolt the doors. They breathed a sigh of relief; now they'd escape punishment by the Mast—*

BOOOOOM! Darian's force-blast smashed through the door with the force of a comet strike. "Upwards, warriors of Hell! The monster is at the top!" Outside, they could hear staccato explosions as the demons stationed there took out pockets of resistance.

Up the spiral staircase they ran. Daniel struggled to keep up…

"Come on, kinsman," said Dante's voice behind him. He felt Dante's hand on his elbow. "We must hurry. The beast must not escape justice."

Get your hands off me. Yet, he recognized that Dante was seriously trying to help. To take out the monster, they'd need all their firepower. Without replying, he straightened up and followed Darian up the winding staircase.

They burst into the throne room just in time to see a huge, misshapen figure leap through a stained-glass window on the other side of the room, straight into the air outside the window. But just as it did, the outside was lit up with a light brighter than a star. In their minds, they could hear a despairing, agonized shriek, as the monster evaporated in the twin fireblasts. Their trap had worked perfectly: overconfident in its own strength, the beast had afforded itself no other outlet from the throne room. And so it had, in desperation, leaped through the window, straight into the sights of the troops stationed outside.

"May it fall into the pits of the Uncollected," muttered Darian BenDarian, unsympathetically. Then, to the troops stationed on the ground, Morax? Luan? You are needed up here. He'd scarcely finished his telepathic communication when they shadowcloaked in, seeming to appear in whorls of what looked like black smoke.

"We must see to these victims. Morax? You have studied this manner of thing. Do you know how to help them?" On the floor, bound by chains, were several young women in various stages of undress. All of them seemed comatose or even dead, but to the demons' heightened senses, they were anything but. Life, unnatural life, was spreading throughout their bodies, turning them into….horrible things.

"Yes, Exalted One, I have." The demon known as Morax, the demon of learning, knowledge, and wisdom, moved over to one of the captives. "Here," he spoke to the others, "Use these spells. We can clear the infection from them in time to save their lives." He showed them the spell, patterns of light of great complexity appearing over the women's violated bodies. His mate, Luan, did likewise, and the others followed suit.

Daniel was fascinated. In all his relatively short time in Hell, he was coming to realize that there was so much more to the world—the multiverse in general—than he'd ever imagined. He could see Morax's spell, and knew instantly, instinctively, how to duplicate it.

He moved over to the chained figure nearest to him, kneeling down, and sweeping a cushion away from her—and gasped, recoiling backward. He recognized the sightless, staring face on the ground before him. "Tomoko!"

Instantly, Morax was at his side, as was Luan. They'd summoned some devils to see to the care of the captives they'd already purged. "No, Daniel. This is not your Tomoko. She may be this world's counterpart to her, or she may simply be some girl who reminds you of your friend. But she is not your Tomoko.

"Your friend is safe on another Earth."

"I...I…" Daniel was shocked into a state of speechlessness. Rather than risk talking, he moved to apply the spell to the girl's body… "It's, it's not working. Why isn't it working?"

Morax's expression was grim. By this time, Darian had joined them as well, looking on with concern. "Her body-mass index was too low. The infection has spread too far, too rapidly. Already, it has taken over the function of many of her major internal organs, and has made massive inroads into her brain." He looked up at Daniel. "I'm afraid we can't save her."

"No!"

"Young one," admonished Darian, "You must accept reality. I do not like it either, but it is nonetheless true. We saved many; you must learn to see the positive in that. Now. There is only one thing we can do for her. Demon Dante? Would you take young Daniel outside?"

Daniel gathered himself, seeking calmness within, as he'd been taught. He stood up, his trident planted hilt-first on the floor, his shadowcloak falling around him. "No, uncle. I...I will do what needs to be done."

Darian examined him intently, narrowing his eyes. As with the captives, he was seeing far more than just the surface. "Are you sure? This is not your friend, simply a lookalike who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You've no obligation to her."

Daniel looked up, meeting Darian's gaze steadily. "I must do this, uncle. I will be a proper shadonai."

Darian nodded, and the others stood up. "Very well. Do then what needs to be done." He nodded at the rest of them, and they filed out of the throne room, following the devils who were caring for the recently-freed captives.

Daniel's heart felt like a blackened cinder. He looked down at the floor, at his feet, looking at the chained figure lying there. Chains? In the back of his mind, he wondered about Tomoko's dream. But then he shook himself. Like the others, he could see below the surface, and he knew that soon, this anything-but-lifeless corpse would sit up, and begin looking around mindlessly for nourishment. That would be an abomination, a travesty of the girl he knew.

He closed his eyes in quiet, private pain. Then he composed himself. There was yet work to be done, to eradicate the monster's legacy completely from this world, and it was his duty to see to it. Eyes still closed—he felt something unnamable brush his booted foot—he tilted his head back, put his thumb and middle finger together and whispered one single word: "Burn."

The resulting fireball produced a crater visible from Earth's moon.

To be continued…