Chapter Text
Ken groaned as he picked all of himself up from the concrete floor in front of the grand library of the campus. ‘Even in college, I attract bullying like it's my superpower or something…’ He grumbled as he picked up his sprawled out books and writing utensils, thankful nothing seemed too badly battered. ‘I swear, all my luck goes into my glasses never breaking.’
He never could understand it. He didn't exactly stand out, even without uniforms being enforced. He wore simple clothes, his hair was a dark shade of brown, almost black, his eyes were brown, he was just slightly below average height and he never bothered anyone. He didn't even broadcast his love for aliens and the occult!! He read his magazines (the newest issues he could afford tucked safely in his backpack) in the furthest corners of the library or quiet classrooms not currently in use.
There was nothing special about him.
‘It’s the indestructible glasses. That's gotta be it… that, or me being a slouching loner attracts them. Eh, probably both.’ He halfheartedly joked with himself. He had long given up trying to understand his fellow species at this point, having been tormented his whole life just for existing it seemed. Not even his parents cared, only sending him enough money for the bare essentials throughout highschool as they worked overseas.
“I really just have the worst karma, don't I?” he said to no one in particular, hoisting himself and his gathered belongings up. “At least that jerk had the mercy to not shove me over on the stairs.” He sighed with an eyeroll, ‘Though, I have no doubt these glasses would come out unscathed regardless.’ He hated how true that most likely was, but he still counted it as a blessing.
He trudged up the deceivingly long staircase (an optical illusion caused by the grand width of them, he loved noticing it every time. ‘The mind sure does like playing tricks on us.’ ) despite how sore he was already feeling from the rough fall. He could manage himself just fine, regardless of how average his fitness was. Hell, technically that was below average too, and it was still a breeze climbing it; normally, when he didn't have a sneaking suspicion he bruised a hip, rib and shoulder-!!
He straightened up out of his hunch when he opened the doors to an alarming, but not all too surprising sight.
“Hey, ya jack-off. I asked you why you shoved Okarun out there.”
‘Oh no, not this again…’ Ken just about dropped his books again in exasperation. There was no chance in this life or the next that he could get past her.
The offender who had the inkling to shove Ken over was currently being held up against the wall as the latest Feral Gyaru’s victim. She effortlessly pinned him in place, despite being not much taller than Ken himself ( again, he wasn't short, just a bit below average, is all!!). Her cherrywood eyes glinted a bit pinker than usual now that she got all fired up, her level sounding voice a flimsy facade for how pissed off she really was. In spite of everything, she could never ignore the call of her sense of justice, her conviction even scaring off all possible disciplinary action from the school executives. Even now, the librarian at the front desk couldn't bring himself to ask her to be polite to the other guests by quieting down.
There was no stopping Ayase Momo when she had her vengeance revving at full throttle.
“I'll ask again, dickweed… why did you shove him over? That kind of shit could kill someone if they land funny, especially that close to a staircase. A stone one at that. What, did you want to be a murderer?”
He squeaked for the jerk when he saw her grip tighten, looking about ready to tear him to shreds. He cried out against his better judgement, “Ayase-san!!” He wasn't about to let her beat up another bully on his behalf… he already told her numerous times it just made things worse!
Especially since…
Her rage seemed to billow out in waves more palpable than before as she snapped her attention to him, dropping the jerk with no care whatsoever. “You…”
… she only ever seemed to hate him more each time she stood up for him.
‘Ha… guess that's my cue.’ He promptly swiveled on his heels and started to open the door-
Even though he saw it coming, he still let out a startled yelp when she leapt over and snagged him by the collar, not bothering to grab his backpack. She stopped doing that from the moment he escaped her by abandoning his belongings to run free from her wrath (which, in hindsight, was a horrible decision, because she somehow learned where his apartment was. She personally delivered his stuff to him by shoving it into his arms the morning after, gloating at his shocked reaction that she found him so easily. Now nowhere was a safezone from her).
She knew he was thinking about it, too. “Like Hell you're getting away from me that easily, Okarun!!” With no effort at all, she yanked him away from the exit, his shoes’ soles squeaking against the waxed tiles as he gave up all hope of escaping her coming tirade about him being so freaking pathetic.
Mīko and Kei, Momo’s two gyaru best friends, both watched on in casual amusement, both with their teas and snacks with no respect for the no food policy of the library.
“Girl, it's literally our first day back from Summer break.”
“She's already obsessin’ over the favorite…”
They both looked on, sighing in unison as Momo continued to drag Ken further into the depths of the library, “Yeeeaaah…”
Ken didn't even bother to look at them, knowing well by now that they'd never help him no matter how sorry they felt. ‘Favorite? Do they not see how much Ayase-san clearly hates me?’ He then wondered if by favorite, they meant he was her favorite person to vent on and yell at, drawn to the amount of negativity that loomed constantly around him. At the very least, she didn't seem to feed off of it like the other bullies; no, it just seemed to simultaneously annoy the Hell outta her and give her fodder to beat up whenever she needed to haul off and hit somebody.
He didn't even bother to wonder why she was so dead set on stalking him. Surely there were other jerks on the other side of the campus who needed to be put in their place. ‘I guess it doesn't matter, because she's here right now and I can expect more people hating me for it.’
Like a sack of potatoes, she swept her arm out and flung him over with scary ease to his usual spot next to a window overlooking the courtyard where many students sat covering the stone pathways and manicured grass. She had the decency to wait for him to collect his bearings, although she impatiently tapped her foot as he shambled upright and pulled his backpack off his shoulders.
He subconsciously signaled that he was ready for whatever she had to say this time by adjusting his glasses, looking shyly up at her from the side.
“When are you gonna grow a backbone, Okarun!?”
He grimaced, “That's not my name, Ayase-san.”
She growled, “I don't give a damn. You're not allowed to use that other name, so why bother complainin’?”
“You mean my real name?” He really hated how this was still an ongoing issue. ‘Why the Hell does she hate my name so much?’
“Too bad. I gave you a new one. You can't change it.”
He turned more to face her, “You do know that this has only caused more people to be cruel to me, right? They even say I'm like your pet or something.”
She only shrugged, “Yeah, because I do all the fighting and you don't fend for yourself whatsoever. You wouldn't need my help so much if you'd stick up for yourself for once.” She grinned maliciously, “Besides… you like it, Okarun~”
He really hated how she held that over his head. ‘Is it a crime to like my first ever nickname that isn't an outright insult?’ He turned away, knowing that there was no getting through to her, not after having to deal with this all of their first semester together. “I never asked for your help. I would've preferred to be left alone.”
“And that's why you're bullied so much. You make yourself an easy target.” She came over, leaning over the table as he pulled out his magazines and class notebooks.
Right as he was about to call her out for saying such a bitchy statement, he furrowed his brow, ‘Wait… her voice is not nearly as heated as it normally is.’ He looked up at her, scrutinizing her appearance. Something was different, and he didn't like it. Unpredictability when it came to Ayase Momo was dangerous. “What's wrong?”
She squinted her eyes, cocking her head to the side, “Huh?”
‘Crap!! I said that out loud!!’ He cleared his throat as he continued to pull stuff out of his backpack, organizing as he went, “N-not like ‘what's wrong with you’ kind of ‘what’s wrong’!! Just that… usually you go yelling at me for ten to twenty minutes after making a scene. Sometimes up to forty if you're super mad.”
She deadpanned, “Did you want me to yell at you?”
He rolled his eyes at her, “No, obviously not. You just… you can't blame me for expecting it after all this time.” He paused his organizing, but he still kept his gaze low, “We're not exactly friendly with each other. You not yelling is pretty weird. It's making me nervous.”
She pushed off of the table, crossing her arms behind her head as she rested against them, “Maybe I just didn't feel like it today. I haven't seen you in a while. I was surprised you were still alive and wanted to go easy on ya.”
‘Okay, I know that is bullshit. She isn't putting any heart into it.’ He groaned, completely exhausted with her. “Well, you did what you came to do; you scared the life out of the guy who shoved me over and brought the likelihood of me getting even more bullied up through the roof; so thank you and goodbye.” He waved her off in more of a shooing motion as he sat down. “You'll find plenty more to beat up later, just be patient-”
He did not expect her to sit down next to him, sharing the booth as if it were no big deal.
“Ayase-san… wh-what are you doing?”
“Sitting, obviously. You should check your prescription if you seriously can't tell.”
“My glasses are just fine, thank you. It's you that's not right!!” He bristled at the casual proximity, somehow this version of Momo making him more on edge than when she practically manhandled him!! ‘Wait, she's really close!! Why is she so close!?!?’
She completely ignored his comeback, leaning into the back of the cushions as she lazily hooked her arms across the top as she let her head rest against it fully. “Maaan… the Sun feels so good. No wonder you love this spot so much, Okarun. Perfect sunbeams year ‘round…”
“… uh, yeah. The lighting’s great.” He just couldn't get over how close she was, her hand nearest to him almost touching his head. It was close enough that even without his glasses he would've been able to tell how perfectly the nail lacquer was painted onto her nails, almost as if they naturally grew that vibrant teal that matched her favorite oval earrings (a different choice than usual, she normally sported more pink and coral colored polishes). He couldn't help but ask her, finally, “Um, why are you sitting here?”
She groaned, annoyed that he had the audacity to speak still, “Because I can? Got a problem with that?”
“Uh, yeah. I kinda do.” Especially since he couldn't focus for the life of him. ‘This is really dangerous!! I have no idea what she's thinking!! She's never acted like this before!!’ Combatting his fluster the best he could, he shot back, “If that's not obvious, maybe you should get your eyes checked!”
She rotated her head just enough to glower at him for a brief moment, before correcting her head back up, relaxing yet again as she explained herself, “Alright, alright. I'm tired of you getting bullied. If I stay, it'll make other people stay away. You'll be able to read your nerd stuff in peace.”
‘Like Hell I c-!!’ His incredulous anger fizzled out. ‘… why the Hell does she sound so… sincere??' His nerves flared up, along with his cheeks. He rapidly picked up one of his newer issues, one of the releases from a few months ago, just so that he had something to look at other than her and hide his blushing face. “I-I would've been fine!!”
With a single, smug harrumph, she didn't even open up her eyes. “Liar. I know people have harassed you even here.” She hummed as she grew more comfortable in her spot, as much as she could without being able to recline, “This semester’s gonna be different for you. Just watch.”
He lowered his magazine a little, a bead of sweat forming at his brow, “You're gonna send a bunch of people to the hospital, or something?”
She breathlessly snorted at that, “No, but I'm Hella tempted to. That guy out there especially. That could've seriously hurt you, or worse-”
He heard her knuckles pop from her fists clenching hard. He felt the need to calm her down and immediately told her, “Ayase-san, I'm fine,” just to remind her that nothing bad happened to him- barring the bruising, not that she needed to know. He set down his magazine entirely, new concern bubbling up inside of him, “Are you sure you're feeling alright? You're not acting like your usual self at all and it's really starting to freak me out, here.”
“Ugh, just shut up already ‘bout that. You said so yourself, we're not friendly with each other. You don't know anything about me.” She glanced at him with those burning eyes of hers, “I'm not all anger and aggression, Okarun. I kept thinking about you throughout ‘break. Like, ‘oh no, I hope those jerks don't corner him and beat him up,’ or, ‘what if someone else figures out his neighborhood and pulls a sick prank on him?’ I was stressin’ out…” She reached and poked his shoulder, her nail surprisingly sharp that it made him squeak (although he probably would've anyway just from the contact alone), “I'm too relieved to see you alive and well to give you a proper scolding for being a pathetic noodle boi.”
He was too busy reeling from the fact that Momo was worrying about him to process what she just called him. “A pathetic… what? ”
She only shrugged, “You heard me.”
“Uh- I- buh- wh-” He indignantly made a few more choked sounds, before he finally got out, “What does that even mean!? ”
She kicked him lightly, “Chill out, dude. Just read already. ‘m not gonna let anyone mess with you anymore.” She again glanced at him, her eyes shining pinker than normal again in the early afternoon Sun, “I’ll leave you alone after you learn how to fight for yourself. I'll even stop calling you Okarun. Deal?”
He quietly stared back at her for what felt like a lifetime, the atmosphere between them feeling insanely heavy and still all of the sudden. This girl… she was definitely something more than her human appearance. There was an intent that was palpable between them, and he knew she was hiding so much from him. She really had no idea how much he truly knew about her, did she?
He finally broke their eye contact, muttering, “Shut up… you'd never actually leave me alone. Don't go making promises you can't keep.”
She smirked with a devilish glint in her eyes that shone like bloody rubies, “Or, you just don't like the idea of me not calling you Okarun anymore…”
He slapped the magazine down, the light from the library catching in his lenses. Oh, he hated how the thought of her no longer calling him that sent actual panic through his mind. He hated how the potential of losing that little bit of familiarity had its claws sunken deep into his being. And he hated how she knew how down bad he was for that little glimpse of what friendship was like, that he wanted her to never stop calling him that damned nickname that he coveted so much.
He plainly responded, “I hate you.”
For making him feel this way, for making him feel so pathetic, for making him feel so warm despite how cruel she was…
“Hmph. Liar.” She turned her nose up with a triumphant huff, gloating again over his failed attempt to make her want to leave, and his own unwanted desire for her to stay.
“You're such a pain in the ass, Ayase-san.” He gave up trying to relax, deciding to instead go over his notes for his next class. He always struggled with Social Studies (gee, he wondered why), so it wasn't just an attempt to get rid of her. Maybe if his personal, stalker she-devil noticed him actually trying to be studious rather than reading his beloved occult magazines, she might just leave him alone-
“Whatcha studying for?” She perked up as he took out his notebook, having completely ignored his cold remark. She even moved her arms off from the top of the cushions and leaned forward to see his notes.
‘She’s even more invested!?’ He shirked away, “J-just boring Social Studies stuff… nothing interesting-”
“What? Soc? Boring??” Had her tone been any less genuine, he would've thought she was being sarcastic with him. Instead, she looked genuinely stricken by such a statement.
“Er… yeah? I didn't expect you to have any interest in it… or anything one hundred percent academic, really.”
Her eyebrow twitched, finally showing a sign of annoyance with him, “Dumbass… I actually do love learning stuff, especially about different cultures. Why the Hell do you think I'm spending money on getting a civil services degree?”
This was… the first time he heard anything spoken about her major. He knew roughly what she was studying, since she had many classes in the same part of campus as himself, but he guessed he never really took the time to deduce the actual field she was going for.
He had no idea when she managed to snatch his notebook away from him, especially since she didn't make a big show of it- when did she get closer to him!?!? She methodically scanned the tidy notes, humming in affirmation as she went over each and every one. “These notes are super detailed! I don't see anything missed… I'm guessing this is, like, your best subject, huh?”
“N-no… it's actually my weakest one; not that I'm failing or anything, just not top of class-”
She looked at him with pure incredulity, “Okarun, are you serious?? I'd've thought you’d be into this stuff!! That occult junk you love so much is heavily connected to it, after all!!”
She didn't give him a chance to snap at her for insulting the occult, invading his personal bubble as she growled, “Ghosts, gods, demons, even aliens… it's all the same when you consider why people make folklore and fables! They're heavily intertwined with culture! Why do people believe in what they do? Why have faith in the unknown and unseen? Agriculture, literature, war… all of it affects folklore! You can't just be fixated on the goofy stuff; you gotta get to the root in order to fully appreciate the why !”
He was close to falling over on his back with how much he was leaning away from her intensity. This sort of chastising from Ayase Momo… was nothing like her usual tirades. This was passionate. “U-um!! Uh… w-wow, you really are into this stuff, aren't you Ayase-san?”
She let up, just a little. “Y… yeah. My grandma drilled culture into me from a young age. It's important in her line of work, since she has colleagues all over the globe…”
She didn't need to say it, he was already internally questioning the validity of a spirit medium needing world-wide associates-
So she snarkily snapped back to his quiet inclination, “- and it is a globe, by the way.”
He gave her his nastiest glare possible as he narrowed his eyes and tried his best not to grit his teeth, “I've already told you, I'm not a Flat-Earther. I believe in aliens, not impossible physics- I literally have pictures taken from the Space Station right here in my magazines!!” He grabbed the one right next to him to emphasize his stance.
“Chill out, just teasing ya.” She chuckled deviously, enjoying his reaction to that jab that always drove him nuts. “But seriously, you really should get more into the history of stuff. I know people are, like, totally not your thing, but unfortunately, the occult is directly tied to the people who tell the tales.” She looked away, sighing, “Not everyone is an asshole in this world. There are good people out there.”
He scoffed at that, “I'll believe it when I see it.”
She squinted her eyes at him, “And yet you believe in aliens without having seen one in person?”
“ Ah, but see: the difference is that everyone says that about people, when really, have you ever actually met a good person?” He snatched his notes away from her, “Everyone wants something from you, and if you don't have it, you're cast aside as useless and unwanted. Even hated just for the crime of existing.” He started packing everything back up, unable to stop his mouth, “And anyone who says they care is either paid to say it or they just want someone to be able to look down on so they can bolster themselves. Or, they just let you linger around because they pity you and can't own up to not wanting to be around you. It's all pretend! It's suffocating; and I'm sick of it. It's always the same thing.”
He paused before zipping up his now hastily and haphazardly filled up bag, “Sorry, Ayase-san, but I guess I do agree with you on one thing: everyone makes up stories about there being good people in the world, because they too do not exist and we just like imagining there being something like that. It's all fake! Good people are as much of a cryptid as Nessie, Bigfoot, or Mothman. Hell, I'd even believe in ghosts existing before I believed in good people being out there-”
Her eyes flashed pink again, but… there was something else. He blinked a few times, his frustration fizzling out in exchange for confusion. He could've sworn he saw… blue- no, teal… teal strands of hair when she tilted her head and the Sun caught just right for a second…
“You… little turd.” She stood up, her eyes burning holes into his body as she said with icy flames, “I believe good people exist, Okarun, just like how yokai and ghosts are real. Even those damned aliens you just love so much.”
Her aura was so irradiated with rage, he almost couldn't process that she just said she believed in the occult-!!
Without warning, she slammed her hand down in front of him on the table, making him squeak. Her teal, manicured nails looked viciously sharper than he originally thought, glinting in the light. Her chilling voice broke his attention away from her hand, “But listen to me very carefully… you better not go and try searching for them; cryptids, aliens… or any of that occult shit. You should focus on the people around you and stop assuming the worst of everyone before they even get a chance to prove you wrong. Because I know good people. Don't you dare ever insult my loved ones again, especially when you don't even try to be a better person yourself.”
When she hissed the last line, he definitely swore her teeth looked sharper than before…
She leaned away and quickly turned around as she held up the same hand she smacked against the table, huffing when she muttered, “Don't be such a shallow-ass. If you stopped pushing everyone away, maybe you'd get bullied less.”
“A-Ayase-san-”
“No. Shut it. I'm pissed the fuck off right now, and you spoutin’ more bullshit is just gonna make me wanna break something.” She glared him down one final time, “I'm serious, though: drop the occult shit. Nothing good comes from searching for aliens, not even yokai. Stay the fuck away from it.”
He glared right back at her, not allowing her to intimidate him, no matter how inhuman she appeared right now in front of him. “… bitch.”
She didn't even turn to look at him, but she did pause.
He rose to his feet as well, finding the courage to stand up to her without hunching over in his usual manner. “You have no say in what I want to be interested in, nor what I believe in. You can't tell me what I have and haven't experienced first-hand my whole, freakin’ life! No one has ever been kind to me, not even my own family! So don't be so gauche as to assume stuff about m-”
It almost escaped his notice, but she left little scratches and visible divots in the table, roughly where each of her nails had been… as if they were hooked and not painstakingly manicured… actually, she even retracted her hand away from him pretty quickly, hadn't she?
“Argh!! You're seriously the worst!!” She tugged her bangs, another flash of teal snatching his attention again. “Why the Hell do I care about your stubborn ass!? It's like you want to stay bullied and miserable for the rest of your fucking life!!” She didn't look at him at all as she stomped away from him, not seeing the shock splattered all over his face from the weird things he couldn't believe he was maybe actually seeing, “Have fun being a hated hermit, asshole!! I'm never gonna save your dumb-fuck self ever again!!”
Had he not been rubbing his eyes and internally calling himself crazy for thinking her cherrywood hair looked fucking teal and glowing in the sunlight, something that no one else was reacting to (but also maybe because they've grown used to ignoring him and Momo making a scene), he would've called her out for making another promise she has already broken in the past numerous times.
Ken could barely pay attention to the one class he struggled the most with. Granted, it seemed more of a recap day after their break, so there wasn't any need to take down a ton of notes like normal, but damn did he really not get anything out of the lesson. Was there even a lesson? He couldn't tell.
Not when the colors of everyone distracted him entirely, everything seemingly overly saturated, the lines bleeding out and over in his naked peripheral vision outside of his corrective lenses.
He felt like he should've had a headache, or a migraine… maybe a delayed concussion? No, there was no nausea, or even pain, really. Some dizziness, or lightheadedness (was there even a difference?), but otherwise, physically he was fine. There was no logical explanation, that he could think of at least, as to why the world started getting soaked in these blurring, vibrant watercolors all around him. Admittedly, it was kinda beautiful, but it was a bit much.
‘Maybe I'm just exhausted?’
The thought, although most likely true, made him feel utterly pathetic. He didn't exactly do anything to exert himself at all; he only had three recap classes that day, it was just now sunset, so it wasn't even that late, he was only hurt once today…
But he did have that stressful encounter with Ayase Momo… and started seeing weird shit directly after that.
‘Did she… trigger some sort of anxiety response, or something??’ Well, she did regularly stress him the fuck out, and it had been awhile since he last had to deal with her shit. ‘Yeah, maybe this is all just my body going into shock, like jumping straight into an icy lake after being in a relaxing sauna.’
He’d admit, he'd been very isolated during the break, having only left the apartment for groceries a few times. Yes, he kept up basic exercises and was productive with his time, but other than that… he had remained in a single box, alone and in relative silence…
Maybe he just needed a totally quiet spot? Away from people for a bit… and not… in that damned apartment. As much as he stayed there, he absolutely loathed the place, a constant reminder that he had nobody to turn to.
The next town over did have an interesting spot that he wanted to check out, after all. A common factoid that appeared in the Mystery Magazine MU issues was that people who see psychic phenomena also frequently see UAPs and cryptids, so checking out a supposedly super haunted tunnel may lead to some interesting results. At the very least, this tunnel in Shono City also had very mild light pollution, so he could always decide to stargaze in the quiet night if he grew bored of ghost hunting…
“Nothing good comes from searching for aliens, not even yokai.”
Momo’s words replayed in his mind, threatening to give him an actual headache. Ken slapped his cheeks to wake himself up, not caring that it startled some of his peers who happened to still be around at that hour. ‘Stupid jerk!! She can't tell me what to do!!’
Now, there was more of a drive to spite her rather than clear his head, and he knew it was petty as fuck, but at this point? To Hell with caring about stuff like that! He had to prove to that controlling she-devil that she had no power over him! Even if she stopped calling him Okarun, he'd stand up for himself by doing something he wanted to!
He pointedly ignored his nerves screaming at him that this was a bad idea, heading off to the train station while more colors continued to swirl and mix in a lovely cacophony at the corners of his vision.
Even in the dim light of sunset, the colors around him, teasing their presence just out of direct view, stayed bright and shimmering. Living things were easier to notice as he walked, and it weirded him out greatly. It made no sense at all as to how he could still see things in the shadows, without really being able to actually see them! There was a cat that should've been obscured by the small car it laid under, a dog hidden behind a fence that he saw before it barked, he could make out the outlines of people when they weren't directly under the street lamps… all of it, only in the outer edges of his eyes, almost in his head rather than the physical stimulus.
He only began to wonder if it really was just in his head when shadows started to form with nothing there to make them…
The train ride was uneventful, although the fluorescent lights made the color swirling actually headache inducing. He had never felt motion sickness until that night, the visual swishing and dizziness nearly driving him to want to go home instead. But then, the thought of being alone in that dark apartment with the colors seemed like Hell just waiting to happen.
‘You know what? I'm not even going to go into the tunnel! Yeah, I'm just going to go up there and stargaze. I've got no classes in the morning, so if I konk out, there's no rush getting home during daylight to freshen up! And by then, I bet this stupid hallucinating will be over and done with!’
He repeatedly reassured himself as he walked the lonely, winding road leading up to the abandoned tunnel of Shono City, the crisp evening air providing no comfort as it blew past. It was still refreshing, though, and the quiet seemingly helped his mind rest at ease. Yes, the colors still danced, but with no one else around, they seemed to waltz slowly rather than tango around dizzily. So, at least he felt that he was, in fact, calming down…
The only problem was that now, with no other human being around, he had no way to justify the feeling that he was absolutely being watched.
‘Great, Ken. Swapping anxiety for full blown paranoia. Not a bad idea. Totally don't feel like I need to be admitted to a psyche ward right about now, nope!’ He groaned to no one in particular (he hoped) as he rubbed his eyes yet again, “I feel completely fine. My heart rate is normal. I eat healthily. I sleep… somewhat decently. There is no reason as to why now, of all times, that I should be going crazy-”
He involuntarily shuddered all over, stopping in place on reflex.
The dark tunnel was meters away. He wouldn't have been able to hear anything quieter than a shout from the distance, wouldn't have been able to see anything shifting in the almost tangible shadows behind the blockade, nor would he have been able to smell anything had there been something dead or worse left inside. There was no logical, normal explanation as to what he reacted to.
It was the colors that began to vibrate like TV static at the edges of his vision that made him freeze up, feeling loose tendrils of something simultaneously bristled and slimy in the air. It left him feeling gross, almost sickened as the invisible waves rubbed against him. He turned his head away instinctively-
It was a mistake. A gasp slipped out when he could see what the colors were trying to warn him about. The gaping tunnel was vomiting out red and black ooze that angrily undulated. It rose to the sky and reached greedily for the surrounding area, like a distorted octopus made from its own, glowing ink. Every time he closed his eyes, the image was more clear, even without the aid of his glasses, burning into his brain with its lethargic lashing about.
The message was read loud and clear: he shouldn't be here.
‘This was a bad idea. This was a really, really bad idea!’ He turned around, laughing shakily, “I-I'll just have to find another, less haunted place to snoop around for things that don't exist! Yeah! Find something smaller and less… icky! Ha-ha…?”
The colors… something shone within the red and black behind him. A few things did. They flickered and cowered, but their bright, little lights were still holding strong in a tight bundle…
It made his heart ache and his feet stopped in place in response. Someone… a few people… he didn't know why or how, but he knew he could pick up on their fear and sorrow, even from where he stood. Maybe it was because… it felt like their lights mirrored his own, meek colors. Either way, Ken's feet carried him close to the gaping maw of the tunnel, even when those viscous tendrils phased through him and left him gagging from the disgusting feeling and resulting onslaught of static in his mind. He just focused on the sad lights behind the dark body in front of it, ignoring to the best of his ability the creeping dread crawling along his spine when he entered past the threshold into the inky void.
He only paused his descent into the madness of it all to pull out his flashlight he used when stargazing and searching for UAPs. ‘What is wrong with you, Ken!? Ugh, on one hand, ghosts aren't real, so the only danger posed is if some wild animal or something is here. On the other hand, though, if there is something bad in there and I left and ignored those people… I could never stand to look her in the eyes again-’
He grappled onto his head over his hair, plunging himself into darkness as he wagged the flashlight around overhead instead of in front of him, “Gah!! What am I thinking!? Who cares what that feral woman thinks, anyway!? So what if I turned back, now!? I'd just be practicing self preservation! No shame in running away!”
But the words left a sour taste in his mouth as soon as he said it. He looked down at the dirty floor of the tunnel, filled with debris and weeds from years of neglect. ‘… it's not about what Ayase-san thinks. If I turned back now, I couldn't stand to look myself in the eye, because I wouldn't be any better than the people who've tormented me my whole life, especially since there's people like me within this tunnel. I can't turn back. I need to know they're okay, or if there's something I can do to help! It's not about proving Ayase-san wrong or right anymore, this is about me making sure no one else has to deal with what I had to-’
The colors blared in silent alarms.
As he lifted his head with a jolt and looked in front of him, an old woman with wild, stark white hair appeared right in front of him in the direct beam of his light. Her smooth, stone eyes lit up in yellow, the circles that mimicked irises staying unfocused to the sides as she scowled at him. She croaked at him, “What the Hell is some rookie medium like you doing in ‘ere?”
At her words, the world around him flashed awash in red, the rich color drowning out everything else. Ken gawked all around as he could see the detail of everything surrounding him, the woman, despite her short, hunched stature, demanding respect in a way that even reality had to bend to her will.
“Well? Gonna say somethin’? Or should I just kill ya and be done with ya? Ya damned rookie.”
He jolted again, tightening his grip on the now pointless flashlight, “Wha- hey! I'm not a rookie, so stop calling me-” He paused… she had called him a medium! He pointed to himself, “Wait a- I-I’m not a… a medium! I don't even believe in that kind of stuff!”
She narrowed her glowing, stone eyes at him, the irises still unfocused, “Don't believe in that kind of thing? Then what the Hell are ya goin’ around followin’ after auras for!? Ya shitheel, I could feel yer pryin’ eyes from the road!! Don't mess with me, sayin’ you don't believe in it when you were goin’ lookin' for it!! I'll kill ya for tryna make a fool outta me!!”
He squeaked, recoiling away from the crazy old lady- that had the same colors as the raging colors that hid the scared ones. “W-wait!! You!? You're the red and black thing!?”
She snarled, “What the Hell didja call me!?”
He didn't cower away this time, “You're the dark energy that's hiding those sad ones!! The sad colors- the… the auras!!” He pointed past her with the flashlight, just barely able to see the tiny blues, whites, greens and yellows shivering and flickering down in the tunnel, “They're here, aren't they? You know they're here!”
The old lady’s ire stilled. He couldn't get a positive read on what she was possibly thinking, but at least she didn't outright try to kill him like she claimed she'd do. “… why the fuck do you want to know? Damn brat.”
He stared at her in confusion, ‘What is with these insults? I'm literally just standing here, not doing anything- wait, am I being disrespectful?’ He gave up trying to understand the weird jab at him, instead answering the crone, “It's just… they're kinda like me, I think. I was worried… that they were feeling the same things I feel constantly, and I just… wanted to see if they were okay.”
She scoffed at him, “Idiot; these girls are far from okay. They went through a Hell of a lot worse things than you, you sniveling whelp… but I can see where the idea came from. You've got one pitiful looking aura, regardless of that there blessing you've got latched onto ya.”
“Huh? Blessing…” He furrowed his brows at first, but he deflated, sighing, “Ma’am, I can assure you, I am anything but blessed…” He looked out to the auras, their colors appearing more calm than before. ‘Were they… afraid of me?’ If that were the case, he was glad they stopped seeing him as something scary. It honestly was really worrisome, considering that he was not an intimidating person whatsoever-
“Well now~ if you really don't care for that ridiculously generous gift that you definitely don't deserve,” her stone eyes focused on him, glowing brighter as she grinned wickedly at him, “I'll gladly take it off your hands… that kind of pure energy is hard to come by, ya know?”
He recoiled away from her gnarly hands as she approached him, eyes blown wide as her form started to change from that of an old hag to that of a… a… a large, floating head. Her hair flowed like flames, her yellow eyes became webbed, her teeth curled with her impossible, demonic smile…
“A… a-a…”
She grinned even more, sneering at him as she spoke without moving her mouth, “A what, ya little punk?”
The frenzied colors flooding his mind stripped him of his ability to run, everything telling him that he should not run, no matter what. “A…” The colors, with all their warning, started to make him really dizzy… ‘Wait, is this… just her way of making it easier for her to kill me?’
However, she quickly grew disappointed, much to his dizzy surprise, “Why aren't you running? I like chasing my food, kid. Don't make this bor-”
GARAAOOOOOOOOOOW…
They both startled when a roar ripped down the tunnel, the red aura staining the sides vanishing with the thundering sound that traveled down it.
Ken turned away from the ghost lady that wanted to kill him, only to be met with the sight of a white snout and blazing teal flying in after him and the crone, the maw opening to reveal sharp fangs and a wicked, hissing snarl.
‘… I'm going to die.’
The realization, the new flurry of colors and now the tingling burning throughout his body was too much to handle. Ken’s vision blacked out as ringing drowned out the creature’s cries and the ghost’s swearing.
The last thing he could think of before hitting the ground for the second time that day was just how unlucky could he be?
Cold.
Everything was cold.
Really cold…?
‘Huh…? My arms aren't… or my sides.’ No, something super warm was wrapped tightly around his arms and torso, while cold air whipped past his face and legs… that were dangling. His head was dangling, too! ‘What the…?’
He fought through the delirium, his head aching so much that it was a miracle he could manage to open his eyes even a bit. He felt his glasses barely hanging onto his face, but they were still close enough to their normal placement that he could still look through them, despite having no hopes of tilting his head up super high-
White scales.
Glowing, glittering, pearly white scales with hints of teal and pink swirled into the shape of each one of them met his eyes, wrapped snugly around his body, wind whipping past him as whatever it was that effortlessly carried him… flew… above the city…
Could one really blame him for fainting a second time when seeing he was hundreds of meters off the ground?