“Crazy old women.” Eikichi sneered.
“Watch your tongue,” Asako warned.
“Whatevs, sis.” He turned to Nagisa. “Anyways, glad you found someone to shag in the bushes.”
Hideto nudged Eikichi and winked. “It was in a room, dude, not the bushes.”
Losing his patience, Nagisa glared at them. “Get out!”
Eikichi shrugged, unimpressed, and stalked out of the room. Hideo didn’t seem done though, and placed an arm around Nagisa’s shoulders. “I’ll go too, but not before you tell me if the guy who saved you was hot.” He wiggled his brows, giving Nagisa a shit-eating grin.
“Out!” Nagisa waved a hand to slap Hideto’s head, but he dodged and ran in a fit of laughter.
Asako blew a breath. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” He pressed his hands over his stiff neck. “You don’t believe me either, do you?”
She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it and pursed her lips. “I’m not sure what to say. It’s not that I don’t trust your words, it’s just that…” She trailed off, her hands flailing.
“It sounds ludicrous. Yeah, got it.”
“Have theitakodone some sort of ritual on you?”
He sat back down on the bed, Asako settling by his side. “No. I haven’t spoken much with them. One of the younger women in training told me not to go, but I brushed her off. Then one of the blinditakowanted to talk to me when I came back from the castle. But I freaked out ran away. I was too overwhelmed.”
He trailed a finger on his palm, the one with which he’d held onto Seiho. Now Seiho’s touch truly seemed like a dream.
“Look, Asako, I need to sleep. We’ll talk more at lunch. But, please, tell Eikichi to knock it off.”
She nodded. “He’s not entirely over you, that’s probably why he’s teasing.”
“Teasing? Far from it and you know it. I politely rejected him four months ago. He needs to move on, not make fun of me.”
“Yeah,” she agreed and squeezed Nagisa’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to him.”
Once Asako left, Nagisa stripped off his clothes, and stuck them in two layers of plastic bags to cover the smell, undecided whether to throw them away or not. They reeked of rot, but it was nothing his washing machine couldn’t take care of, so he shoved the bags at the back of his luggage. He brought out a fresh pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, then took a shower to get rid of the smell clinging to his skin.
He lied down on the bed, scrolling through the pictures. Of all the photos he’d taken, none showed the inside of the castle. He couldn’t understand why. After accidentally pressing info on one of the pics, his eyes narrowed.
The time was 2 a.m.
Not possible. Tapping back on the screen, he checked another. And another. All were taken at 2 a.m.
His finger trembled above the screen, debating whether to keep the pictures or delete them. They were of no use, but he couldn’t bring himself to delete them yet. He almost regretted not asking Seiho to take a photo. Would he have accepted? There was something strange about Seiho. Something he couldn’t quite figure out yet.
Setting an alarm for 1 p.m., Nagisa placed the phone on the nightstand next to the bed and fell into a restless sleep.
The jikininki plagued his mind. The sounds of snorts and cracks as the creature gnawed on that leg echoed over and over like a broken record. And the horrible image of its sharp teeth and bulging white eyes gave him cold sweats. He woke up panting, his body drenched.
Fuck.I need another shower.
Half an hour later, Nagisa found himself reluctantly joining his friends for lunch. Despite Hideto’s overly-enthusiastic insistence and Asako’s careful curiosity, he refused to speak another word about Hone-jo, the jikininki or Seiho. His friends must’ve thought him a lunatic. Especially Eikichi. What was supposed to have been a simple dare ended up with him almost becoming food for a ghost—unless it had all been a nightmare and nothing more.
Though his mind was far away, bits of conversation made their way through the unsettling thoughts swirling in his mind. Asako spoke of a club or something, while Hideto complained of still being underage and not able to drink. It seemed they wanted to leave Mutsu city and return to Aomori this evening and hit the clubs again. He wasn’t feeling well enough for alcohol and noise, but perhaps going would help clear up his mind.
Realizing his food had gotten cold and was mostly untouched, Nagisa placed the chopsticks back on the holder, deciding to eat in Aomori. His eyes locked with Eikichi’s, who stared at him like some sort of challenge.
What’s your problem?He tolerated Eikichi because Asako was a good friend and he was her brother. But Nagisa simply couldn’t see the two of them having a good relationship. Not with all the snarky remarks Eikichi always made, which worsened after Nagisa had rejected him.