Je suis complètement normal, complètement banal.
I am completely normal, completely banal.
Burn. Burn it all. Burn. Feed.
What is this?
Burn. Burn. Burn it all. Burn.
This feels . . . strange.
Burn them. Feed. Burn.
What's going on? What is this? What's happening?
Burn.
I can't see. Why can't I see anything?
Burn. Don't need to see it. Only Burn. Feed.
Pastor Frankum fell to the ground, scrambling backward away from the monster. Something had hit it square in the chest, sending it flying away with a screech.
Lucy swung her head to the source of the orange light. The rainbow-headed girl stood holding the blonde one, staring at . . . something. The thing that was about to kill her father was burning to death a few feet back. The sounds of screeching and smell of burning flesh filled the alley-way as the three people gazed at something . . . horrifying.
It looked like a person, but it was made completely out of flames. Like the flames were mimicking the shape of somebody. The smells of burning flesh wafted of it, and the crackling sounds of something burning were terrifyingly audible.
Pastor Frankum stood up and stepped in front of the other two girls, putting himself between them and the being of fire ahead of them. It tilted its head at them as if it was curious. Lucy gripped Jasmine's arm hard, staring at the thing as fear clouded her thoughts. Jasmine was shaking but trying to stand a strong ground. None of them dare moved as they stood against this . . . how could they even explain it?
It took a step towards them. Just as it did that, Jasmine and Lucy flinched back away from it. It stopped its movement and took a step back away from them. It stared at them for a second.
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
. . . loud. You're too loud. My head hurts.
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
What? what do you want to burn?
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
You're not making sense. My skin . . . it hurts. Why does it hurt?
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
Stop it.
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
Stop it.
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
Stop it!
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
STOP IT! STOP YELLING! STOP!
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
. . . It feels cold . . . how does it feel cold?
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
Is this me? Is this what I feel like?
BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!
I feel . . .
". . . j'me sens vide." (I feel empty.) The warped voice spoke out, although no one could see its mouth move.
Lucy blinked in surprise as it spoke, her fear slowly dissipating as she heard it speak. Of course, she couldn't understand it, but she started to put pieces together in her head. Fire, french, and the fact that it appeared just now.
". . . Hachiman?"
It tilted it- . . . his head, looking down at her. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light.
BOOM!
The three people flinched at the loud noise, Jasmine yelping in surprise. The pastor swiveled his head around, trying to identify the threat. Lucy looked up to the sky, that had suddenly gone dark with clouds.
"It's just lightning!" She yelled out, looking back down at the two others around her. "It's just lightning."
On cue, the rain started to pour down on them, covering them completely. Lucy flinched at the sudden rainfall but kept her eyes on Hachiman. As the rain washed over him, the fire hissed, slowly retreating in on itself. Slowly, his features started to come back into view, starting with his eyes. The fire was gone in a matter of seconds, leaving the Japanese teen standing there, burn marks all over his skin. She could see the places where they were already healing, disappearing at a rapid pace.
"Hachiman, you okay?!" Lucy yelled out to him. Jasmine looked completely confused, staring back and forth between Hachiman and Lucy. Hachiman just stared at them, a just as confused look on his face.
". . . Uh, I'm fine," He said, turning around and studying his surroundings. ". . . How'd I get outside?"
"Thank goodness." Lucy sighed in relief, letting go of Jasmine. "Was that all of them?"
"Uh . . . maybe?" He said, not too sure about himself. He turned back to her. "Do you have our stuff?" Lucy's eyes widened in fear.
"You left our stuff!"
". . . I was sort of preoccupied."
"Right, right, sorry . . . All right, we should go back for it."
"Duh," Hachiman said, walking over to them. "You'll have to lead the way because I'm pretty sure I was blacked out for most of that." Lucy nodded once, and turned and walked back in the direction they came, Hachiman following close behind.
Behind them, Jasmine stared at the duo for a second, before following as well for a lack of better options. Pastor Frankum looked between all the teens with confusion and slight irritation, before following as well.
Hachiman, Lucy, Jasmine, and the Pastor stood in front of the church, becoming soaked from the rainfall. They were placed a couple of feet away, seeing as the building was currently burning down.
". . . Okay, that's probably my fault. Sorry." Hachiman said. The Pastor did not respond, he just continued looking at his burning church. Hachiman shifted nervously on his feet. "I guess I should go, uh, get the stuff, then."
He walked up to the church and through the currently burning doors, not minding the heat that was coming off from the flames. Lucy and Jasmine stood there and watched him walk in, the fire roaring slightly harder when he got into the vicinity. Lucy glanced over at Jasmine, although she couldn't tell what the looks crossing her face meant. She looked back at the burning church.
So, this is what he can do. It's kind of scary, honestly, but not the worst option. But what now? No doubt there's going to a trail leading right to us if he keeps burning things down. I think he's smarter than that, but if we ever need him to use his abilities again we're going to be in trouble. But he controlled it the first time, with those things on the road. I guess these things just needed a little more force to take care of.
She looked to the ground, pushing a little of the gravel around with her toe.
I wonder how he's dealing with this. He had no idea, right? Or did he? Honestly, I don't know what to make of this situation. But at least he's kept me safe so far.
"What the?" Jasmine's voice broke the blonde girl out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw what the cause was.
The fire had completely gone out. There were still some slight burn marks on the wood and stone, but otherwise, it seemed completely fine. Lucy blinked, staring at the building in confusion. On cue, Hachiman stepped out of the building, their stuff in one hand (wrapped in a couple of pieces of plastic) and a couple of the garbage bags of clothing in the other. He walked up to the trio and set the bags down in front of the pastor.
"Sorry, these were the only ones still usable," he said, avoiding eye contact and stepping away. He stepped up to Lucy and held out her bible to her. She took it from him, the familiar weight of the book comforting. As the teen retracted his hand, she saw something. Quickly, she grabbed his hand and turned it so that his palm was facing upwards.
All over his palm, leading down into his shirt, was blotchy skin. It was red and orange, warped and twisted into some blisters, and you could tell there would be scarring. She stared at it for a second, before looking up at the boy. Of all things, he looked slightly embarrassed.
"Guess absorbing the stuff is more dangerous than making it," he shrugged slightly. Lucy looked at him incredulously, ready to say something.
It was at that point that she realized she was looking at his eyes. She had never really seen them before. She had always been quick to avoid eye contact with him, out of fear that . . .
Looking at his eyes now, they didn't look like how you would expect them to. They were slightly duller, smaller. There were bags underneath them, she guessed from how exhausted he probably was. There was no glint in them that most of the people she had met, inside or out of the Foundation, had. The glint that was there until . . . something happened. They looked . . . sad. She wondered if they were a result of his abilities. If not, what could have happened to him to make him look like that?
She let out a sigh, letting go of his hand and looking away.
"I'm glad you're okay," She said.
"Yeah . . . me, too," He said awkwardly. "Anyways, we should probably get moving."
"Right, but where?"
"Hmmm . . . that's a good question." Hachiman looked up, racking his brain for the next possible move. "Probably out of this rain before we get sick."
Of course, they needed to think about a lot of things when considering where to go. Safety was one thing, but . . . he had no freaking clue. He had only a very little grasp on the outside world, and he doubted Lucy knew it any better than he did. So what should they do?
"Oi, just hold on a second!" Jasmine called out suddenly. Hachiman looked over to the rainbow-headed girl. "I wanna know how the heck you did all that stuff?"
"You and me both, bud," he said, causing Jasmine to look at him incredulously.
"Hachiman," Lucy said in a warning tone.
"Fine, fine," he sighed. "Look, for your safety, the less you know the better. That good enough for you?"
"No."
"Of course not. Well, that's all I'm telling you. See ya around," he turned away and started to walk in a random direction. "Damn it, I didn't even get any shoes." Lucy looked over at the retreating figure of Hachiman, before turning back to Jasmine.
"Sorry about him," She said apologetically. "Thank you for all your help." She turned and hurried to follow him, her feet feeling slightly better about walking now that they had protection.
"Wait, you-"
"Harry," The Pastor spoke out. The rainbow-headed teen stopped and flinched, turning around to look at her father.
"H-hi, dad," she said timidly.
Hachiman and Lucy kept walking. She figured that this was something that they needed to figure out on their own, and Hachiman was pre-occupied with other thoughts.
Fucking feet hurt, can't even get any freaking shoes. Fucking arm hurts, just had to save that church from burning down, didn't I? Granted, I was the one who set it on fire, but still.
.
Switch to Hachiman's POV
.
Hachiman and Lucy had walked for quite some time before coming to rest in a public library, standing in the front hall as they were dripping water. Lucy's clothes were fairly soaked as she squeezed the water out of part of them, while Hachiman's 'clothes' seemed to be completely dry. Apparently, they were both fireproof and waterproof. The blonde girl shivered in the hallway as Hachiman stood unbothered by everything except his hair sticking to his face.
They both stood in silence as they waited for the rain to stop before continuing their journey. Hachiman did his best to ignore the dirty looks he was getting from the people inside. He guessed they really didn't like getting their floors wet or something.
"So . . . you're religious, huh?" Hachiman said, attempting to make small talk.
"Yeah," Lucy said, sounding just as awkward as Hachiman was feeling.
". . . What's . . . that like?"
"Nice, I guess." Hachiman glanced at the girl.
"You don't sound too convinced."
"Well, it's kind of a weird question to ask out of nowhere, you know?"
"Is it? Sorry."
"No, you're fine. I guess I can't really blame you. It's just . . . a bunch of personal stuff, you know?"
Hachiman looked outside, watching the rain violently pour down. Once again, he had come to a sort of dilemma here. He wanted to . . . do something, maybe, but what could he even do? He was nothing but clueless about this stuff. Hell, he was sure he was half-insane, so how could he expect to make logical and rational decisions with someone's feelings? Plus, he had much bigger things to worry about. Like living.
Even so, he wanted to try and be . . . normal-ish. That's what normal people did, right? Help the people they were close to. And as far as he knew, he was closer to this girl than anything else. He looked back at her.
"It's not like we have anything better to do. Is there . . . something you want to talk about?" Lucy looked at him blankly.
"You're really bad at this, you know."
"Yeah, I know . . . Still, is there?"
". . . I mean, what is there to even talk about?" She turned away from him, looking outside with a downcast mask. "You know as much about me as there is to know."
"I don't think that's true," he said, looking away as well. "Besides, I wasn't asking to know you better. I was asking if there was anything you wanted to talk about."
". . . Those are pretty much the same things, you know," She said, her voice shrinking to barely above a whisper. "I guess . . . I don't know . . . my entire life is just . . . one big tragedy after another."
". . . well, I'm here to talk to now, seeing as we're going to be 'traveling' together." Lucy let out a soft chuckle at that before the downcast look came back to her face.
"I . . . I guess I do have some things I want to talk about. Honestly, it's nothing I haven't gone over before. Back when I was still in foundation custody, all these psychologists talked to me, but none of them ever felt like they actually viewed me as a person . . . After being surrounded by that for so long, it feels like all your problems are just assignments, just things for them to get on paper and go home at the end of the day. I've never really ever felt that anyone truly cared about how I felt." She looked down at her hand, at the bible she held covered in plastic. Hachiman followed her gaze from the corner of his eye, before looking up at her.
"Sounds stifling," Hachiman said. "Is that why you're religious?"
"Why're you so curious about the reason behind my faith?" Hachiman shrugged.
"I suppose that's one of the reasons I stayed religious, but as to finding faith . . . I can draw it down to two reasons. The simplest one is, it's simply how I was raised. I spent years of my life in a convent, surrounded by nuns. My father had put me there because it was the safest place for me outside the reach of places like the Foundation or the G.O.C. I was raised to follow His teachings. The second . . . well, I guess the second reason is that I hated my parents. My mother more than anything.
She was something of a nature deity. She wanted to return the human race to what she described as 'Eden.' I never figured out what that meant, other than it was a 'state of being' or something along those lines, and frankly, I never cared. She . . . used me in a lot of her 'rituals' with her followers. Every time, she wore this content smile, as if she was proud of sitting there and . . . watching what they did to me. It made me sick, but I couldn't run, and at the time . . . there was nowhere I could run where she couldn't have found me. Near the end of her life, I think she almost completed what she was after, but my father stopped her. I regret the way we met, my father and I. Before my mother died, I didn't even know I had a father.
And my first memory of him is the sight of a shotgun on the back of my mother's head.
After all her followers were killed, he took me away from that place. I had thought he would stay with me, but he left me at the convent and I would never see him in person again. The only time I would even hear from him after that was in a letter while the Foundation had me, and another after . . . well, you know. I had this idea in my head that I would live a happy life with my true parent, right until I was standing on the steps of the church watching him walk away.
I guess the idea of someone who did nothing but love people, love me. Someone who wouldn't abandon, who wouldn't hurt me . . . I suppose that's what set me on the path . . . I just needed . . . someone. Someone who wouldn't leave me, who would always watch out for me. Even throughout my worst nights, the thought of God, or something like him at least . . ."
She trailed off, and Hachiman stared her down. It turns out her problems were a lot more complicated than he thought. Or maybe they weren't as complicated as he thought? He didn't know. But she did open up to him, and that was something he couldn't ignore.
". . . I have to be honest here, I don't really know what God is. I don't know what anything is really. All I remember is those couple of days inside that laptop . . . but if you need someone to rely on, well-"
"Don't," she cut him off. "You're not immortal, Hachiman. You can still die. I can't let someone in like that, not again. This world . . . it kills everything."
Hachiman didn't respond. This obviously wasn't something she could get over within a couple of days, and it would be unfair to try and force her past that barrier she had put up, especially after learning everything she had gone through. But the very fact that she was willing to share something so personal with him . . . that meant she was reaching out, but she's still afraid of being hurt, of losing someone again.
"Tell me . . . what's the point of making friends if you know they'll all die?"
Hachiman blinked in surprise. That was a loaded question, why was she throwing that curveball at him? Oh, right. She was probably just as bad as him at handling feelings and emotions. It wasn't something he could blame her for, but still . . . anyway, if she was asking seriously, then what would be the point? Why should we do anything if you know the outcome is going to be bad? Well . . . he couldn't think of anything. He was a cynical loner, after all. Or at least, he was supposed to be. So, if he was an optimist, what would his answer be?
"I gotta be honest, I don't know the answer to that," He settled, leaning his back against the wall. "But it might be nice to try out, you know."
". . . try what out?"
"Having a friend."
She was silent after that. She did not turn away from the wall or make a noise, but he could see she was contemplating his words in her head. He figured it was a selfish thing to say at that moment, but he couldn't help being honest. She opened up to him about some pretty horrid stuff, she at least deserved him being transparent with her.
They stood in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of pouring rain from the outside. After a while, the awkward atmosphere disappeared, and they stood in something close to a content air. Hachiman simply watched the rain fall outside, seeing how the droplets affected the puddles. It stirred something up inside him. He felt fascinated . . . and afraid. By water.
It might have something to do with the voice in my head that wants to burn everything. He thought to himself humorously.
"When do you reckon the rain'll let up?"
"Eh? I don't know."
"It's been going for longer than usual," Lucy shivered slightly. "Then again that's what the weather's always like here."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah . . ."
". . ."
". . ."
". . . Oh, it's a car," Hachiman said, noticing a black car pulling up in front of the library. Lucy stood up, looking out at the vehicle warily until a head of rainbow hair popped out of the passenger seat. "Oh, it's a Jasmine."
The girl walked into the door, stopping to look the two other teens up and down.
". . . you guys really look like garbage." She said. Hachiman saw that, underneath the slight dampness of being in the rain for a second, her eyes were slightly red.
"You don't look too hot yourself, either."
"How'd you find us?" Lucy asked, stepping closer to the girl.
"Well, it's not like we were hiding or anything." Hachiman pointed out. "Just kind popped in somewhere."
"Yeah, we just drove around until I saw you guys. Figured you couldn't have gotten far."
"We?"
Jasmine gestured at the car behind her. Peering over her shoulder, he saw that there was an older girl in the driver seat of the car, meticulously doing her makeup in the mirror. Her tan was much too fake-looking as if she had serial hit the salon three times before heading out. Gyaru, he thought for some reason.
"Where's the pastor? He's still not mad I torched his place, is he?" Jasmine's eyes flinched only so slightly that Hachiman was able to pick it up, but sure enough, it was there.
"No, he, uh . . . well, after you guys split he was just demanding to know how I knew you guys. When I said I didn't, he started saying some other stuff that I didn't really care for, so I just left, you know." She said nonchalantly, glancing away as she said the last part. "Anyways, I need to thank you guys for . . . not letting me die, I guess."
"Well, you were kinda in that situation because of us, so I'd say it's expected that we'd get you out," Hachiman said. Jasmine hesitated for a second.
"Well . . . yeah, I guess . . . even so, you guys don't have a place to stay, right? My friends are willing to let you guys stay with us until you guys find somewhere permanent."
". . . Look, I appreciate it, but I'm not sure that's the safest thing for you to do. We're involved with some pretty scary stuff. I think it's best if we were to just leave."
"And go where? I'm guessing you guys don't have anywhere else to stay."
". . . well . . ."
"Or even any place to go?"
". . . We have some ideas," Hachiman lied.
"Look, unless you want to continue living on the streets for the near future, I'm the best option you got," She crossed her arms in defiance. Hachiman stared at her for a while, not breaking eye contact. To her credit, she didn't back down, although she did appear increasingly uncomfortable underneath his gaze. Even he found it hard to keep his cool, seeing as she was just fairly attractive. Only fairly. After a second, he glanced at Lucy, who was looking at him unsurely. He let out a sigh.
"Well, I guess we're in your care now," he surrendered. She let off a toothy grin, pearl white teeth almost glowing. Fuckin' great.
"Sweet. Let's go get you guys dry," she said, nodding over to the car.
Hachiman followed her outside, the trio rushing to the car through the rain. He let Lucy go in first, she was already wet enough, before sitting inside and closing the back door, separating themselves from the rain.
"Fucking Lemony Snicket, what series of unfortunate events have you lot been through, you look fucking awful." The stranger said.
"Thank you, it's nice when someone notices the effort," Hachiman replied sarcastically, earning an elbow from Lucy.
"Play nice, D," Jasmine said to the driver girl, who shrugged and took off.
As they drove along the roads, Hachiman looked out the window, watching the water run down the sides. He wondered what they would do from that point on. It was anyone's call, really. He guessed he would just let Lucy choose. She had been through a lot, she deserved to choose her own fate. Besides, she probably knew what she wanted more than he did.
What did he want? Honestly, he couldn't say. He wanted to stay free, sure, and he definitely wanted to live, but beyond that, he had no idea.
You know what, I have other things to worry about right now. He thought, shifting his gaze to the front of the car. I gotta focus on surviving for now. I can have feelings later.
Yeah, that was definitely the right way to go about it. He shifted his gaze to the rainbow headed stranger in the passenger seat, chatting away excitedly with her friend. It occurred to him that maybe getting in the car with a couple of strangers to a place you knew nothing about wasn't really a good idea. Eh, if it came to it he could always fight their way out. Besides, she seemed trustworthy enough, he doubted that she was going to try anything with them.
And hey, maybe, she'll be helpful or something. He thought. As if on cue, she glanced at him, creating eye contact between the two. She stared at him for a second, before giving a smirk and slyly winking at him. He back out of the window out of irritation, and most definitely not blushing.
"Welcome to the HQ," Jasmine said, as they entered the house. It wasn't a big place, but it sure was full. Mostly females, although there were some guys walking around. They all dressed very suggestively, and a thick stench immediately hit his face, blocking out all other thoughts as he covered his nose.
"What's that smell?" He asked nasally. Lucy had copied his action as soon as she had set foot in the building herself.
"It smells like a skunk," she agreed, holding her nostrils closed. Jasmine looked at them incredulously, before letting out a laugh.
"That's just the smell of people having a fucking blast," she shrugged them off, retreating deeper into the building. "Come on, I'll show you where you guys can stay."
They walked through a long hallway, Hachiman getting all kinds of stares and comments as he walked along, mostly about how "mysterious" and "dangerous" he looked. If he was gonna have to deal with that for a while then that was gonna be an issue.
"You all live here?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, and no. This place is owned by Mama Trudy, and she does let people live here, but for the most part, this is a . . . drift center, you know? People who're moving around, no real place to stay, homeless or abandoned, end up here. Some of us have become long-term residents, but mostly its just the temporaries. Those of us who choose to stay help out when we can, working towards the costs and looking out for anyone who might need a place to stay."
"Seems crowded," Hachiman said, stepping past a couple of teens making out in the middle of the hallway.
"It can be, but it's better than living on the streets," she shrugged. She opened a door near the end of the hallway, leading into a small two-bedroom. There was nothing else in the room to save the beds and one bedside cabinet and lamp that separated them. "Here you go."
". . . Hm," Hachiman said, looking at the status of the room. It was liveable, sure, but . . . "Is it possible for us to have two rooms?" She blinked, looking at him incredulously. Lucy glanced at him, not saying anything.
"Sorry, man, there's someone in every room." Hachiman thought for a second.
"Then is there an extra spot in another room?" Jasmine blinked, looking between Lucy and Hachiman.
"Uh, I'm sure I can figure something out, but . . . nevermind, be right back."
She closed the door behind her, leaving Hachiman and Lucy standing alone in the room. Lucy glanced at Hachiman, and then the room around them, before back at him.
"Uh . . ." She started, and Hachiman looked over at her. She cast her eyes at his chin, again avoiding eye contact. "I mean, it's a small room, but why do we need two?"
". . . I just figured you would be more comfortable that way."
She gazed at him for a second, before giving him a small smile.
"Thank you."
"It's not that big a deal," he waved it off, turning around. ". . . Where's the outlet in here?"
"Huh? I would think next to that lamp over there." Lucy said. Hachiman walked over and sat down, pulling his belongings out of the plastic bag he had wrapped them in. Plugging in the laptop, he opened it up to see that it was charging, and on 2 percent batter.
Well, after a car crash, a storm, multiple monster attacks, and a burning building, I'm surprised this thing got out in one piece. Still, a real close call.
Enter Chat:
Totsuka:
Hachiman!
User:
Yo.
Totsuka:
. . . You kept your promise.
User:
That I did.
Totsuka:
How's life on the outside?
User:
Stressful, almost died twice in the last two days
Totsuka:
Are you okay?
User:
Eh, I'll be fine. How are you feeling?
Totsuka:
That's a good question . . . I guess I'm relieved more than anything I'm not dead.
User:
That's good. I got a couple of questions.
Totsuka:
Well, pitter-patter.
User:
. . . What?
Tostuska:
That's something I found in your memories.
User:
Okay, so I'm really from a place called Chiba, then?
Totsuka:
Yep. I don't know the current state of it, you were brought into custody quite some time ago.
User:
.So, what about my family then?
Totsuka:
I don't know too much about them, but everyone you saw in here, or at least each individual, is a real person you knew. I think we got the relationships right, too, or pretty close at least. Couldn't grasp the personalities, tho, the human condition is a bit too complicated.
User:
.
Totsuka:
Hachiman?
User:
Talk to you later
Chat Ended
Hachiman looked up from the laptop, his thoughts racing as he closed it. So all those people he saw inside were real? He really had a family, friends? So what now? Would he just pop back into their lives like that, try and find himself? Would they even still be there? What if they were already dead? What if Totsuka was lying?
"Hachiman?" Lucy asked. The Japanese teen looked up, seeing her giving him a concerned look. "Are you sure that's okay?"
". . . Oh, yeah, this thing's totally safe, trust me," he said, closing it and setting on the bed to charge. "You feeling okay?" She sat down on the opposite bed from him and sighed.
"As fine as expected, I guess."
"Yeah . . . sorry about the clothes," he said.
"It's not your fault."
"Well, honestly it was pretty stupid to just up and start walking in the middle of the rain." Lucy chuckled at that.
"Yeah, it was. But at least we're fine now."
"As fine as expected, I guess," he agreed. ". . . Say, what do you think about heading to Chiba?"
"Chiba?"
"Japan. That's . . . where I'm from," he said. "I mean, it's not like we have anywhere else to go. I figured we'd find something there, you know?"
Lucy looked at Hachiman for a second, before averting her gaze out the window. She was deep in thought, a sad look contorted on her face. She wanted to say something, but she probably couldn't find the correct way to phrase it.
". . . I . . . think that's too risky," she said. "I'm sorry, but the Foundation knows everything about you. The moment we set foot in that place, they'll already be there to catch us."
"Yea, that makes sense . . . sorry." He said. She turned to him with an apologetic look.
"No, no, it's fine Hachiman. I know that you probably want to know who you are, and find the people who knew you, but . . . it's just too dangerous. I'm sorry."
"It's cool, Lucy. I kinda figured that already. Don't worry." He waved it off, giving her a small smile. This seemed to have the opposite effect, as Lucy looked sadder. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Heyo," Jasmine said as she walked in. An effeminate looking boy walked in behind her (any more feminine he would be forced to call this guy a trap), followed by the driver (D, if he remembered correctly). The boy noticed him immediately and sat down on the bed next to him. Hachiman raised an eyebrow at him, before turning his attention back to Jasmine. "So, I got two options for you. One, you can bunk with my friend Jay, or she can bunk with D here. Although I gotta warn you, Jay is extremely . . . eccentric."
"I'm a slut." The boy said a bit too enthusiastically while attempting to be seductive, staring Hachiman down.
". . . Okay, Jay. Jay, okay. Okay, jay. Jay, okay." Hachiman looked over at Lucy. She realized she was being put on the spot and shrunk in on herself.
"Uh, I, uh . . . would rather be alone." She said nervously. Hachiman gave her nod and turned back to the boy who had sat down next to him.
"Thanks for letting me stay with you."
"Oh, for a cute guy like you, anything." He said, winking. Hachiman had no reaction.
"So it's settled," Jasmine said. She turned to Jay. "Behave yourself."
"Awe, but I'm sure we both need to let off some steam, hm?" He turned to Hachiman, looking at him slyly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, you looked stressed," the boy said, rubbing his arm against Hachiman's. "I could help you relieve some of that, yeah?"
"Okay, Jay. Jay, okay. Okay, Jay. Jay, okay." Hachiman said to himself, before turning his head to look at the shorter boy. "And what exactly are you implying?"
"I'm talking about going warcraft on your man-shaft." Jasmine let out an exasperated sigh at that.
"Jay-"
"You talking about rubbing slick on the disco stick?" Hachiman countered.
"Fresh route to your flesh flute."
"Lower fiver to the deep V diver?"
"Can't go V divin', but you can explore my dark cove."
"You talking about going through the backdoor?"
"Talking about the dirt road home."
"Talking about a little stank on the hang-down?"
"Nothing wrong with a little building the blanket monster."
"Hell, I know there's nothing wrong with a little goin' to the boneyard, I know that."
"I take it back, this guy is awesome," D said from the doorframe, trying to hold in her laughter.
"Why don't we hit the kitchen, mix a batch?"
"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood to distribute some free literature."
"You saying I'm not attractive?" The boy smirked.
"Don't be puttin' words in my mouth." Hachiman's expression remained unchanged.
"H-Hey, how about we go do that thing we were gonna do, yeah?" Jasmine said, looking between the two nervously. Hachiman looked over to her.
"Well, pitter-patter." He stood up, walking away from the bed. "I'll be back." He said to Lucy before following Jasmine down the hallway. Behind him, he could hear Jay and D talking below their breath.
"I wasn't even serious but this guy is freakin awesome," Jay whispered excitedly
Maybe I had too much fun with that. Hachiman thought.
"So, how'd you end up in this part of town?" D asked. Hachiman glanced back at her, before looking ahead of him.
"Car crash, burnt some stuff, found a church, burnt more stuff, and that landed me here," He said.
"Is that why you guys look so much like crap?" D asked.
"This conversation's about to turn into a confrontation," Hachiman replied.
"Now that I think about it, you look a lot better than when I found you this morning," Jasmine mused, studying his face as they turned a corner. "Yeah, you were cut up to kingdom come but now there's not a scratch on you."
"Well, I guess I'm just special like that," he glanced at her, making eye contact. They held it for another second before Jasmine grunted and looked forward.
"Okay, if you're gonna hang around here, you gotta follow a couple of rules. One, don't steal from anyone in here. Two, don't break anything in here. Three, don't risk the safety or freedom of anyone here. And that's pretty much it."
"Simple enough," he said. They entered the kitchen, were Jasmine walked around the counter and opened the fridge. She bent over to rummage through it, and Hachiman averted his gaze to the other side of the kitchen. ". . . Is there anything else?"
"Pretty much."
"Question."
"Shoot."
"Why did we have to come here for you to say all that? We could've had this conversation in the room."
"Well," she backed out of the fridge, holding an apple in her hand. "One, I was hungry. And two . . .
. . . I want you to show them."
Hachiman blinked, studying the girl's face to see if she was serious. Unfortunately, it appeared she was.
"And may I ask why?"
"'Cause I think it'd be cool," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "It's a safety precaution."
". . . How?"
"I don't have to explain the precautions."
"Well, if you're not explainin', I'm not doin'," He crossed his arms. Jasmine let out a sigh full of irritation.
"Look, you're gonna be staying in our home, in this dude's room. Complete transparency is required. Don't worry, no one's gonna come at you with torches and pitchforks, although I doubt you would care much if they did. We're all freaks and outcasts here."
Hachiman rolled his eyes but was extremely conflicted on the inside he was conflicted. He could see where she was coming from, but it felt smarter to just up and leave right now rather than deal with the headache of so many people knowing his secret. After all, if someone of something (specifically an organization hell-bent on hiding things like him) were to come looking for him, the easier it would be to find him. But on the other hand . . . they had nowhere to go. This was the closest thing to a sanctuary available to them.
He made eye contact with Jay, who was looking at him like . . . actually, he didn't want to relay how he was being looked at by the feminine boy. D was just looking at her phone, not really interested. He scanned the area around him and saw that there was no one else in the room.
With a sigh, he held out his arm limply in front of him. He looked at it, trying to find the rush of adrenaline from before. His heart slowly quickened just a bit, as a single thought entered his mind.
BURN
His hand ignited.
"Holy shit!" Jay said, jumping back a little. He couldn't see D's reaction, and Jasmine looked somewhat in awe and pleased at the same time.
"Told you," She said.
"Yeah, yeah," D said somewhere behind him. Hachiman let the fire go out, raising an eyebrow at Lucy.
"Satisfied?"
"Definitely," Jasmine said, stepping closer to him. In this close proximity, he could smell a faint lily-perfume and tried hard not to think about that. "Hachiman, welcome to the Serpents' Hand."