Sunday - Yusei

Yusei sat on his bed, clutching his grumbling stomach. There was nothing in the fridge, so he didn't know what his stomach wanted him to do. He looked out the window. Another overcast day, and the clouds were heavy with the threat of rain. Yusei sighed. He supposed he didn't have a choice.

Just as he took his phone out of his pocket, it rang. It was Akiza.

He smiled.

"Hey, Aki. How's it going?" said Yusei.

"Oh, not too bad," replied Aki, but her voice was shaky. Yusei would have to ask about that. "How about you? Have you figured out how to make rent?"

Yusei pinched the bridge of his nose. "The only thing I can think of is asking Hunter for a job."

"That thug? Yusei, you can't do that!"

"Well, what else can I do, Aki?"

"Wait. I'll transfer some money! How much do you need?"

"I can't take your money."

"You're not taking it, dummy. I'm giving it to y- …oh."

"What is it?"

"The bank won't transfer the money until Monday's mostly gone. How much do you need?"

"$400. I don't know how my landlord is even my landlord. He's broke himself. I don't know how he pays his bills."

"I think I saw him once. He had track marks back then."

"Yeah, and it's gotten worse. Now he's diversifying."

"Weed?"

"Meth."

"Oh."

The line was silent for a moment. Despite his situation, everything felt a little lighter. Easier to bear. Aki had that effect.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Yusei smiled wryly. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" A beat of silence. "I worry about you, you know."

"I worry about you too. Speaking of, are you doing alright? I know you had to see Elly yesterday."

"I did. Turns out everyone had already assigned roles, and I stupidly turned up without anything done. They kicked me out and wrote my part for me."

"That's…not nice."

"And then afterwards Elly texted me with my part telling me not to freeze like last time. Which is silly, of course. The whole reason I had that panic attack was it felt like everyone was being hostile. Now it's probably going to be even worse."

"Aki, we don't know that for sure. Just go in there and remember to breathe. You can do this. I know you can."

Yusei heard her chuckle. "You're like my personal cheerleader. You should be at the back of the theatre with pompoms and a skirt."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have the legs to pull that off."

This time Aki burst out laughing. "That I have to see!"

"In your dreams, Aki."

"Such pleasant dreams. Anyway, do you want me to bring you some snacks?"

"I should be okay, but thanks anyway. I appreciate it. I'll figure this out."

"If anyone can, it's you. Everything's going to work out."

"Yeah, it will. Good luck for tomorrow. Tell me how it goes."

"I will. Talk tomorrow."

Then she hung up. Yusei stared at his phone blankly, the spell of her presence slowly fading away. The real world began to bleed in through the edges. It darkened his vision. Suffocated him. What was he going to do?

Ask Hunter Pace for a job. It was his only option. Yusei scrolled to Hunter's contact number and hit 'call'. He hoped he wouldn't regret this.

Sunday - Akiza

It was raining when Akiza woke. She could hear it pelting her window as if demanding her attention. Her heart was racing. Everything that had been happening was getting to her and she couldn't control it. There was nothing she could do. She felt tight in her chest. She couldn't breathe. She threw off the blankets and rolled out of bed, tumbling onto the floor, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.

She shivered. She hadn't turned on her heater. Her sheets had been the only source of warmth, and now the cold of the approaching winter infected her. The rain battered the windows, carried as it was by winds that howled at her: do something. Anything.

Then she heard a voice, whispering. It sent a cold shiver down her spine. What was it saying? She could save Yusei, it said. Make things right. Just get up. Get up. Get up and make it right. All of a sudden, she felt high, and cold, and clear. She knew the way forward. It started here, now, and ended tonight. At Yusei's.

Akiza got dressed in her Sunday best. Dark jeans and a jacket. She felt the whispers. They urged her on, out of her dorm and into the rain. Coupled with the push and shove of the wind it felt like a thousand paintballs slamming into her. But she walked on.

She strode through the university. Everything was shrouded in darkness. The night, the torrent; they obscured everything, blanketing a shadow. Almost like they didn't want the world to see what would happen tonight. And Akiza moved through it like a knife through velvet. Sharp and hungry, but high and cold and clear.

She reached the streets, and they were empty too. The path was clear for her. Nothing stood in her way. Street lights tried to pierce the gloom but they were nothing next to the dark. Some shops were still open. Convenience stores and fast food chains that never slept. A few people dwelt in those, huddling away in fear of the rain. How quaint. How weak. They were nothing next to the dark.

She entered the train station. It was vacant and empty, but still somehow alive. Screens were still on. Trains came and went. She supposed it was easy for this building to smile. It was sheltered and protected from the howling night. Before long a train came, and she boarded.

And even sooner, she arrived in the Satellite sector. Sweat. Stink. Drench. Foul. Rotten. Hopeless. Desolate. Ruined. She had to get Yusei out of here. Someday soon. Somehow.

Her heart thudded in her ears. Sweat beaded on her brow. Where was she going? What was she going to do? She didn't know. A cold voice whispered, sending shivers down her spine. Here lay the path to helping Yusei. She took one step. Then another.

She blinked. Now she stood before Yusei's place. He lived in the room and garage on the ground floor. The landlord lived above. What was she going to do? Get into a fight with a drug addict? She panicked. She had to get out of here. She could be mugged, murdered, or worse.

A voice whispered again from the depths of her mind. A shiver. Then a feeling of shattered glass as her mind finally gave way. It was back. She was full of life, high on the feeling. Moonlight in her blood, cold and pulsating. Her footsteps ahead, clear as water.

Akiza watched herself as if a stranger in her own body. Her hand tried the door. It was locked. Something cold surged through her, and she tried it again. The door opened to her touch, eager to please. She entered.

Yusei's room was at the back of the garage. The stairs were on the side. At the sight of it her heart leapt. Something warm in her chest. She walked to his room's door. Another surge, this time golden, like warm sunlight. The door creaked open.

And there he was, snuggled into his sheets. The purpling bruise around his left eye was still there. She willed it to be gone, but a sharp sensation stabbed her gut. She gasped, sweating. The sunlight dimmed.

Maybe something else. She approached his bedside. The sheets rose and fell with his breathing. His face was tranquil. It was usually calm when he was awake, but the coiled up tension he had was gone. Resting. She saw his brow briefly furrow, and she reached out. Her fingers brushed a strand of hair from his face. Looking at him she could almost forget the things that he had been through. The hardships of his life. One day, he would find peace in more than just dreams. She swore it. By the moon in her blood and the sun in her heart. She swore it. Her heart beat faster. A rush of power. A single, blood-red rose materialised in her hand. She placed it on Yusei's pillow next to his head.

She looked at his bruises, his starving thinness. Then the light was gone. Cold fury replaced it. The surreal detachment was back. She was high, and cold, and clear. She knew what she had to do. Akiza left Yusei's room. Walked up the stairs. She faced the door and heard its silent voice. It cowed, begged for mercy. Akiza glared. It opened.

It revealed a large room with a man sprawled on the floor, leaning against the bed. The room had large windows that rattled with the force of the rain. Akiza was almost sure they would shatter. But they didn't. They just kept on screaming. Those windows protected a room that was all half-shadow and quiet air. No one should've been able to see. Still, the man looked up. His face was sallow, eyes sunken. His open mouth revealed rotting yellow teeth. Some were missing. His hair was stringy and greasy, and his clothes were worn. All in all, he was pathetic. A whisper, a shiver. No one should've been able to see, but Akiza made sure he saw her. It was all still dark - just different shades of darkness now. Every shape was plain to see.

Akiza stood in the doorway with a serene smile. The man stared back, agape. A few moments passed. Akiza felt his mounting confusion. He wasn't scared, oh no. Not yet. All he saw was a girl in black. A young girl, no more than nineteen. What threat was she to him? Oh no, he could deal with this simply. His gun was in his bedside drawer, but he didn't need it. A knife would do for this precious little thing. The man grunted as he got to his feet, using the bed behind to help. He didn't understand why she was smiling. And what was she waiting for?

"Unless you're here for some fun, get out," he growled.

A mock pout formed on the girl's face. "Aww, are you scared?"

"No." The man strode to his bedside table and picked up his knife. "But you will be. Get out."

"Don't worry. It's like you said. I'm just here for some fun." The girl smiled brightly.

"Don't play games with me." The man lifted his knife and pointed it at the girl.

"That's so sweet of you, but my heart belongs to someone else. Someone you've been treating unfairly."

"Huh? What d'you- " The man gawked at the rose in his hand. Where had that come from? Where was his knife? He dropped the rose.

"Now I know you said 'no games', but I can't resist." She drew a revolver from her jeans. Her skinny jeans. With tiny pockets. That could not have fit in there. What the hell was going on? She pointed it at him. "Let's play Russian Roulette. A game of judgement. Let's see if you deserve to live. Hell, let's see if I deserve to live."

Sweat beaded on the man's forehead. "Do I have a choice?"

"No. Feeling scared yet?"

"Like hell."

"Pity. I might've just slapped your wrist if you were."

Who the hell was this girl? Still, it was no problem. "Ladies first. I insist." Either the first shot would kill her, or she'd have to hand him the revolver. Then he could just shoot her, and the rain would mask the sound of the gunshot.

"What a gentleman." She raised the revolver to her temple, looked the man in the eye, and smirked.

A chill went down his spine and his heart began to race. Something was off. This girl wasn't…human. Couldn't be.

She pulled the trigger. A click. And then the gun was in his hand.

How did it get there? He forced his dry mouth to swallow. It didn't matter. This game was over. The man raised the revolver. He squeezed the trigger. Click. A puff of rose petals erupted from the barrel.

The man's eyes became wide and wild. "What. Is. Happening?"

Akiza giggled. She couldn't help it. This man was scared now. Terrified. He was rank with sweat, heart pounding desperately. She drank it all in.

Then lucidity washed over her mind, and she panicked. What was she doing? Playing with a man's life? This was too far. It was twisted and cruel. But why couldn't she stop? It just…felt so right. This man was a danger to Yusei. She had the power to change that, and deliver a bit of karmic justice in the process. What was so wrong with that? A lopsided grin spread on her face. What was so wrong with that?

"I think you have to aim it at yourself before you fire," said Akiza.

"You'd want that, wouldn't you, you blasted witch!" the man spat.

Akiza stroked her chin speculatively, the way Yusei always did. "Witch…witch?" Her face brightened. "You know what? I like that. I really like that." She giggled uncontrollably. "And yes, I want that. Those are the rules of the game. No one can break them. Not even me."

"Fine." The man raised the revolver to his temple at a snail's pace, sweat trickling down the side of his face.

"Hurry up already!" Akiza's voice was like a whip-crack.

The man flinched and placed the gun at his temple. He took a breath, scrunched his eyes, and squeezed the trigger. Click. A heaving sigh. Panting.

"My turn." The gun appeared in Akiza's hand. "Let's see if I get lucky twice." She winked, aimed, then pulled the trigger. Click. "Your turn."

Akiza could see the cogs whirring behind the man's dullard eyes. He was still trying to find a loophole out of this. But she knew the truth, deep down. There was no escape for either of them. She felt the sweat trickle down her back. Her hands were clammy. She wanted to cry. She had no idea what she was doing. But she felt that voice whispering. It sent shivers down her spine. And she remembered that she was - what was it he said? Yes, that's it. A witch. A wicked witch of the night, and she held all the power.

A wild laughter escaped her. "I know what you're thinking, and I hate to burst your bubble, but the only escape is victory or death. Are you scared now?"

"No," the man growled. He lunged at Akiza with a wild haymaker.

Her eyes saw it before her mind could even register what was happening. But he also moved like he was punching through a thick, sticky muck. An outsider in her own body, she watched as her hand knocked his fist aside. Casually, as if brushing away a fly. Then a surge of cold moonlight flushed through her. Thorned vines burst through the floor and knocked him to his back. It left him breathless and bloodied, his shirt torn. They were gone just as suddenly. The floor was unblemished.

"Why are you even here? What are you punishing me for? I haven't hurt anyone!" the man yelled, voice cracking.

"You're Yusei's landlord, yes?"

"Yes, and?"

"You've overcharged him for rent here, yes?"

"Well, I mean a little extra money don't hurt in the Satellite, but was just the once. I have ends to meet."

"So does he, and it's been more than once, hasn't it?'

"No, it- "

"Don't lie to me!" Akiza thundered. "Tell the truth." Her voice was suddenly soft, but it still rang in the man's ears.

"Y-yes. I done it a lot." He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "But I didn't mean to hurt him. I just got ends to meet. Please!"

"Get up," she said coldly.

Trembling like a leaf, the man obeyed. He saw the girl's eyes. They were hard, and cold. Something in her glinted, soft and silver. It was like moonlight, and was wholly unnatural. This wasn't a girl, but a witch of roses. He would die here tonight, becoming nothing at all.

He would die here tonight. The knowledge sat in the pit of his stomach. It soured his life's memories. Everything he had ever been shrivelled in the face of her fury. He gazed vacantly at the revolver in his hand. It was almost time. He knew. And she knew.

"Do you have any last words?"

"I can't," the man sobbed. "Please don't make me."

But the girl's eyes were hard and cold. She gripped his wrist like a vice and forced the revolver to his temple.

The man pushed back with both arms and all his strength. Every shot this game had been aimed at the temple. He couldn't be sure if it was part of her rules or not, but if it wasn't aimed at the temple, maybe he could stop the shot entirely.

He grunted as he struggled against a girl who was small and slight. He strained and huffed as he fought for his very life.

But the rules were absolute. It was his turn. The girl's hand squeezed his own. A gunshot, silent against the rain.

The shadows fled. He dropped to his knees. Blood trickled from the wound in his belly. The revolver was gone. The rose and flower petals remained. Then the girl was gone too, like a dream on waking.