They Know

"Aaaahhh" Akane screamed in his bathroom, standing up. "It's not a dream."

"Of course, it's not a dream," Raijin replied. "I never mortals could be this foolish. Why sleep in a bathroom then?"

Akane frowned. "Alright, that's enough."

Raijin didn't say a word.

"So, uhhh, you see what I see?" Akane asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Can you close your own eyes?"

"What? No. We share the same vision now."

"What about, like… I don't know, leaving for a bit?"

"No. What is with the stupid questions?!" Raijin snapped.

"Because I'm trying to bathe!" Akane snapped back.

Raijin remained quiet for a while. "Why do mortals have these weird parts?"

"What tha...?" Akane raised his hands exasperatedly.

He had no other choice. Though it did feel like he was bathing in front of someone, he couldn't go to bed with the stench and blood stains he had on.

He finished bathing and went to bed. Unluckily, it was already 11 am.

"Argh, just how long did you make me sleep in the bathroom?" Akane muttered as he walked to the kitchen.

"Uh, it last for a few minutes. The two hour long sleep was all you," said Raijin.

Akane took some water from the mini fridge and walked back to his room. "Yeah, maybe I've needed this sleep for a while."

"You need a day long sleep."

Akane almost choked on the water he was sipping. "What? No. The boss would kill me if I don't go to work for a day."

"I thought slavery ended?" Raijin said in a mocking tone.

"Dude, I'm not a slave," Akane replied as he closed the water bottle, dropping it on the bedside table and flopping onto the bed. The wooden frame creaked in protest. "But now that you say it, I think jobs are just like these are a modern means of chaining people to the system."

"Hmm," Raijin hummed. "You can sit back, y'know… and not get paid, then get kicked out of your house, sleep in the subway and also get kicked out, then turn to a beggar who leeches off leftovers and—"

"Okay, okay," Akane cut him off. "Sheesh, exactly what I feared. How much of my mind did you read?"

"All of it. I even know that time you got embarrassed in middle school for kissing a fish."

"Ayy, ayyyy! Enough!" Akane yelled. "Just let me sleep. In peace."

"Understood. I don't want a wobbly body after all. Even a foolish mortal needs rest."

"Shut up," Akane replied weakly, his voice muffled by the pillow as his eyes closed. "Your tone's better now, by the way."

"Do you want me to wake you up when the sun rises?" Raijin asked.

"If you can, sure." Akane replied.

A silence followed and in no time, he dozed off.

Hours passed like seconds and it was already 7 am in the morning.

"Wake up," Raijin's voice came in low.

Akane didn't budge. He was too far in dream land to hear what Raijin was saying.

"Wake up!" Raijin yelled.

Akane managed to stir awake. "Just… just… a little more time."

"Hmm, I know what'll wake you."

ZAP!

Akane's eyes snapped open. He was feeling a sensation of being electrocuted,but from the inside.

ZAP!

"Ayy!" He sprung up. "I'm up, I'm up, I'm—"

ZAP!

"Yooooo," Akane stumbled to the ground. "I swear I'm awake. Look, we can see clearly now, right?"

The zapping stopped and he lay on the ground with a deep sigh.

"Go bath and get ready for work," Raijin said.

"Yessir," Akane got up to his feet and ran to the bathroom.

The morning went on with Akane wearing a frown, like a kid who got woken too early to get ready for school.

But to his advantage, he got to the subway station early and even had to wait for a while before it moved.

He arrived at work thirty minutes earlier than his usual time, surprising everyone, including Yuki. "Now now, did you buy an alarm the size of a fridge?" Rin mocked. "This is new."

Akane shrugged and sat down on his chair.

The door swung open. "I heard he came early to work," Yuki said as she ran into the the office, stopping just in front of Akane's row.

He raised his head to look at her. "Oh hey, Yuki. Morning."

Yuki's jaw dropped and she went round, dragging him by the arm, out of the office. They went to the storage room and Yuki closed the door.

"Oww, your grip's something," Akane complained as she let go of his arm.

"HOW?" Yuki raised her hands, utterly shocked to see the man shot in the chest last night, standing in front of her like nothing happened.

"Mm?" Akane raised a brow.

"You… I was… when we… J-j-just how are you still alive?" Yuki stammered.

"Ooohh," Akane palmed his face, remembering he 'died' just last night.

"You're not planning to tell her, are you?" Raijin's voice echoed in his mind.

"No," Akane said.

"Huh?" Yuki raised a brow.

"Oh, I mean yes. Yes I did die. I mean no. Like… I got shot, yes, but I didn't die," Akane explained.

"Y-you fell to the ground, and…and I saw blood and… I'm so sorry I ran away. I was scared, but when I got the ambulance there you were missing and there was a pool of blood." Yuki explained.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I'm fine now," Akane smiled.

Yuki nodded. "But still, how are you fine?"

"Oh, it didn't get, uh, inside much. I had a… pendant, yes. It blocked the bullet, so it didn't go deep." Akane said, nervously rubbing his scalp.

"Well, then who's got the blood?"

"Uhhh, I don't know. Maybe someone got shot there too."

Yuki hesitated, trying to understand, but she just shrugged it off. "Doesn't it hurt badly? Let me see the wound," she went closer to him.

"Whoa," Akane stopped her. "It hurts real bad when I think of it. I think time's going. Boss is gonna be here soon. Let's get back to work. See you in the office." With that, Akane quickly left the room.

Yuki clenched her fists. "I knew he wouldn't let me check. Something's fishy. Also, why did he dye his hair?" she muttered with narrowed eyes before leaving the room too.

… …

God Realm...

Five figures stood in a circle, on stone carved pillars. The place was foggy, with mountain peaks surrounding them. Below were thick clouds.

The five False Kami (traitor gods) were having a meeting: Tetsu, the God of Forge; Hono, the Goddess of Flames; Chitsujo, the God of Law and Order; Fūjin, the God of Storms; and Sasayaki, Goddess of Whispers.

"He has returned, Sasayaki. Your curse has been broken," Hono said.

"It has been quite a while. I believe the time made it wear off?" Tetsu asked.

"Time is one thing," Sasayaki answered. "But, I had been ignorant to the fact that the land would become a place where mortals dwell. One of them must have completely broken the seal."

"Damn mortals never keep their hands in one place, do they?" Chitsujo spoke.

"Then we just have to kill him again," Fūjin concluded.