He didn’t know how to react to this new person he was facing. Should he just approach and say hi? He didn’t feel like it, so he ended up staring at the stranger with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Yes, of course…” he mumbled. He had to admit he was tired and he wasn’t in the mood to make deductions. But if he had been at his fullest, he would have already guessed what happened between them and making witty remarks. “Here we are. You can drop him now. I’ll be back in a second.” he let out a sigh as he stepped on the front door and called to his apartment. A female voice came through the speaker “Yes?” “I’m Gnash. Making a delivery of a very tired boy, may I pass?” “Oh, thank god, I was starting to worry. Come up.” the door opened. Gnash gave a light smile to the girl before entering dragging Koichi behind him.
Daken gave a light smile in reply to Gnash’s that disappeared as soon as the boy entered the building. She let out a tired sigh and sat on the ground leaning her back onto a wall, hugging her knees and resting her head on her arms. The night was starting to get really cold and her light jacket wasn’t helping her at all; and besides there were all those thoughts floating in her mind that kept confusing her, above all thoughts about what had just happened between her and Koichi. She had no idea on how to react to it.
Gnash came out from the building a few minutes later and he was surprised to see the girl had been waiting. Something worried her, sure, but he couldn’t lay the finger on it exactly. He was too tired to figure it out anyway. “Well… Now he is sleeping in his bed and so should I. You should head home now too, it is very late.” he wrapped himself on his cape “It has been nice to meet you, Daken. Farewell.”
Why was she apologizing? She wasn’t responsible of what she said, he should have driven the topic away or… or… he couldn’t think anything else. His mind went numb and faded away. In a few second, his eyes tinted to a vivid red and his pupils sharpened. It took Heikichi a little more time to get used to the sudden takeover. Once he was aware of his surroundings, he looked at Daken. Oh, not her again. He let out a tired growl “Evening.” he greeted her, without even bothering to ask what they were talking about. He felt shaky. Koichi was probably anxious a second before.
Similar red eyes gazed at the new colour of the Infernal’s orbs, and it took a few seconds to Daken to understand what was going on: she was about to meet Heikichi for the second time, it seemed, and he didn’t look very happy to see her. How to blame him after all? “Ah… H-hello”, she replied in an unsure voice without knowing what to say. She didn’t expect him to appear so suddenly, it was just… too confusing for her, and it had to be confusing also for Heikichi. “Sorry I… I was talking with your—-“. She was about to say ‘your brother’, but it wasn’t the exact definition. “—with Koichi”.
He understood she was put off by the sudden change. Everyone reacted the same way and he couldn’t blame them. Instead of making a rude remark, Heikichi took a deep breath and tried to calm down his shaking body, that was matching Koichi’s previous emotion rather than his. “I guess you were. Sorry to pop in unannounced but none of us can control this thing.” he said, forcing his voice to sound deeper and huskier than it would normally be. “I guess I shouldn’t ask what you were talkin’ about.” he said as he stretched his back on the bench.
“I don’t believe in random kindness either.” he mumbled. He acted that way towards good actions because he was aware most people saw him as ‘the thing that took over Koichi’ so he didn’t get kindness or attention. He just found it weird that people actually cared now. This made him soften a little and lashed his tongue. “Mumbling… I hadn’t noticed.” he bit the piece of bread “In any case, I’ve been feeling like shit for the last few months so it’s possible I was remembering myself that I’m a fucking idiot.”
Charlie looked up at the sky without looking over at Heikichi when he heard those words from him “I don’t either while most random kindness might be fake but not all of them are you just have to differentiate which are the hypocrite, that something that I learn lately.” The blonde hair demon turned towards Heikichi upon hearing his words “Was it some matter relating to the other infernals?” he question if it wasn’t he don’t intend to budge too much into Heikichi’s personal affair.
He listened with interest, sine he was beginning to think that about the demon. “I still have to learn that.” he stated. He didn’t want to be hurt by opening up and the few times he did that… he got hurt. It wasn’t a very successful thing. He thought about what Charlie could have guessed from the words he said earlier “No. It’s a bit more… personal, if you could say it that way.” he wasn’t lying. It would be something stupid to admit that it was actually a matter of a heartbreak he didn’t understand. He tried to drive those thoughts away by munching on the bread.
His expression saddened, both by hearing what she said and how she said it. That expression meant she didn’t care… now. But before it had to. It always did. He also felt bad for having talked so quickly. He didn’t say anything, mainly because he didn’t know what to say and he didn’t want to screw up the conversation again.
She suddenly realized how rude she had been by talking to him in that way: he didn’t know anything, why was she talking as if it was his fault? Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to apologize, but no sound could be heard. It was just too difficult to find the right words, and she had never been very good at talking. “…sorry”, this was what she finally muttered. She gave a light squeeze to Koichi’s hand just to let go of it immediately after.
Why was she apologizing? She wasn’t responsible of what she said, he should have driven the topic away or… or… he couldn’t think anything else. His mind went numb and faded away. In a few second, his eyes tinted to a vivid red and his pupils sharpened. It took Heikichi a little more time to get used to the sudden takeover. Once he was aware of his surroundings, he looked at Daken. Oh, not her again. He let out a tired growl “Evening.” he greeted her, without even bothering to ask what they were talking about. He felt shaky. Koichi was probably anxious a second before.
“Do not worry about that, I will handle his parents. They are probably worried about him.” what father, even if it was just an adoptive one, wouldn’t feel anxious if his son was in danger to be attacked by others all the time? They weren’t having a good time since Koichi began to take his role of closing portals “You do not have to come with me upstairs anyway, so you will only know his address. Good enough?” he chuckled weakly as he kept on walking.
She had almost forgotten Koichi was living with his parents, but this made things much more complicated for her. She couldn’t just go back to his house the following day and ask him if he remembered anything, it would be really hard to explain that to his parents… and she didn’t even want it to happen, so she guessed she would wait and see how things went. “Ah—- F-fine then, I will just… Wait outside. I just want to be sure he’s okay”, she replied. She was starting to feel really tired and carrying Koichi’s body wasn’t making the situation easier.
“Yes, of course…” he mumbled. He had to admit he was tired and he wasn’t in the mood to make deductions. But if he had been at his fullest, he would have already guessed what happened between them and making witty remarks. “Here we are. You can drop him now. I’ll be back in a second.” he let out a sigh as he stepped on the front door and called to his apartment. A female voice came through the speaker “Yes?” “I’m Gnash. Making a delivery of a very tired boy, may I pass?” “Oh, thank god, I was starting to worry. Come up.” the door opened. Gnash gave a light smile to the girl before entering dragging Koichi behind him.
That was a twist he didn’t expect. Not even her name? There definitely was something fishy in the whole story, and not because he didn’t believe her. “…I don’t know. That word doesn’t sound familiar to me at all. But sometimes name meanings can be put aside a little… in any case, you are Daken. That’s how you call yourself… I’d help you figure out anything about your parents but I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
Her face was blank now, almost emotionless just like her voice when she continued with what she was saying as if he hadn’t said anything. “It means ‘bastard’, because the other children said that my parents shouldn’t have been together. And also the demons hunting me… They say that I shouldn’t be born. But I don’t know why”. She wasn’t sad nor angry, like if she was used to those things and they didn’t hurt anymore… But they hurt, a lot. “I don’t need help, thank you. If I want to know anything i can look for information by myself”.
His expression saddened, both by hearing what she said and how she said it. That expression meant she didn’t care… now. But before it had to. It always did. He also felt bad for having talked so quickly. He didn’t say anything, mainly because he didn’t know what to say and he didn’t want to screw up the conversation again.
He found that question strange. He had no idea and wasn’t used to the grades of alcohol humans had either, mostly because he didn’t drink at all. It took him a few second to make up an answer. “I have no idea. I do not know how much he has drunk or how well he can take it. You will find out tomorrow.” with a shrug, he began to walk carrying the boy, who protested in a mumble as he didn’t feel himself on the ground anymore. “His house is not too far from here… three minutes at much.”
She seemed to be disappointed by that answer but she didn’t insist, it would look too strange - or at least she thought so - and she wouldn’t obtain anything else from Koichi’s friend. She wondered if that man was an Infernal too, probably yes, but she hadn’t the ability of sensing souls so it was difficult for her to undertsand it. “I’ve never been to his house before”, she said after a while just to break the silence. “But I would have liked to go there in another occasion, a better one maybe”.
“Do not worry about that, I will handle his parents. They are probably worried about him.” what father, even if it was just an adoptive one, wouldn’t feel anxious if his son was in danger to be attacked by others all the time? They weren’t having a good time since Koichi began to take his role of closing portals “You do not have to come with me upstairs anyway, so you will only know his address. Good enough?” he chuckled weakly as he kept on walking.
“…I’m sorry to hear that.” he had no other response. What else could he say anyways? He had no idea. “My memories are so blurry that I can only remember clear things starting from when I was… seven or eight… and I had already spent many years here.” he sighed. He remembered less and less each year that passed. He knew it was a side effect of his mental problem, but he still hated it. “In any case, past is past. The only thing that matters is the present.”
“But I don’t know anything about my parents!”. Her voice was a bit too loud if compared to what she was saying, so she hurried to look away and lower her voice. “Uh… Sorry… But I would really like to remember. I don’t knw anything about myself, it’s horrible. I don’t know who I am. I don’t even know my real name”. She looked down at her hand, gazing at how her fingers were playing with a lock of her black hair. “The boys in the orphanage called me Daken. Do you know what it means?”.
That was a twist he didn’t expect. Not even her name? There definitely was something fishy in the whole story, and not because he didn’t believe her. “…I don’t know. That word doesn’t sound familiar to me at all. But sometimes name meanings can be put aside a little… in any case, you are Daken. That’s how you call yourself… I’d help you figure out anything about your parents but I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Hold on, let’s see if he’ll move his lazy bum.” he muttered while giving light slaps to the boy’s face. He only reacted by grumbling and moving his head away. He didn’t want to move at all. “…ah, no luck. We will have to carry him.” the black haired man held him up by passing his arms under his armpits and pulling up. “Try to lift up the rest of him, I cannot let his legs be dragging the dirt all the way there.”
A nod of her head was her only reply. She walked closer and obeyed by delicately taking Koichi’s ankles in her hands and lifting his legs, a work she could do quite easily since most of his body’s weight was carried by Gnash. “He drank a lot”, she finally spoke, “I don’t think he will wake up soon. Do you… Do you think he will forget anything?”. She couldn’t help but ask it, she wanted to know. She wanted to know how stupid she was to let Koichi do that without stopping him.
He found that question strange. He had no idea and wasn’t used to the grades of alcohol humans had either, mostly because he didn’t drink at all. It took him a few second to make up an answer. “I have no idea. I do not know how much he has drunk or how well he can take it. You will find out tomorrow.” with a shrug, he began to walk carrying the boy, who protested in a mumble as he didn’t feel himself on the ground anymore. “His house is not too far from here… three minutes at much.”
