Teeth

The attack came straight from above. Distracted as they were, most of the ghosts stood no chance. Naoya watched in relief and horror as they dissipated into thin air. Human souls snuffed out just like that. The thought ran like ice down his back. But he was grateful to be protected like this, if only because they feared the curse being set free.

Aki sat down next to him, and the next thing that happened was Naoya’s hand around her throat.

“Nao… ya?” Aki managed.

She clawed at the hand, the arm, but somehow Naoya was stronger. Sturdier.

“Let go!”

A knock from behind made Naoya lose balance. Kazu. He threw Naoya down into the snow, away from Aki, who was coughing, holding her throat, which had finger marks blooming on it. Naoya wanted to scream, to shout that it wasn’t him acting, but he couldn’t. One purple eye stared unblinkingly at Aki. As he felt his muscles ready themselves for another attack, Naoya knew that whatever was in his eye had taken control of his body.

“Don’t hurt him!” Aki shouted as Kazu jumped to knock him down.

His gloves glowed as he hit Naoya's head, but the punch never connected. Naoya caught Kazu’s fist with his own, stopping his whole movement with one hand. He felt his eye burn up and just like that he threw Kazu to the side. He tumbled over a few rocks, disappearing in the snow. Naoya fixed his gaze on Aki once more. He could see her talk into some sort of device—no doubt getting reinforcements.

“I know it’s not you doing this, Naoya. But I have to stop you. I’m sorry,” Aki said.

Naoya wanted to tell her it’s okay, but he couldn’t even move his mouth on his own. Like in a martial arts film, he jumped up into the night sky, to where the rift had been. Several people met him halfway. He had not been prepared for a fight in the air, so they managed to capture him and pull him down to the ground. Even with this strange power and the curse in him, Naoya was still a workout-fearing student, and his body was easily held down if there were so many people doing it.

Aki appeared above him, cracking her knuckles. Naoya felt the energy inside him well up in response. But then she just drew out another blindfold.

“Hold him down,” she said.

As she leaned over him, Naoya managed to free one of his arms and put his hand on Aki’s chest as she came closer. His mouth opened, but what emerged wasn’t his voice. It was the voice of an old woman.

“Acchan,” the voice whispered.

Aki froze. The hand wandered from her chest to gently cradle her cheek.

“I didn’t recognise you at first, but it’s you, isn’t it, Acchan?” the voice continued.

The people around Naoya looked at Aki in question. Aki swallowed.

“No… are you my—”

“It is you!” the voice replied and Naoya felt his face morph into a large smile.

Then Aki put the blindfold over both of his eyes and his body fell uselessly to the ground, all muscle tension released. And with the lack of tension came the pain. He whined as it rushed through him.

“Back with us?” Kazu asked.

“Think… so…” Naoya managed.

“You can let go of him.”

Naoya rolled over onto his back, panting, feeling like his head was being rung like a large bell over and over again. His throat was scratchy, his eyes burning despite the blindfold keeping them close.

“I’m sorry about this,” Aki said and the next thing Naoya felt was a painful knock to his head.

—

Naoya woke up inside a narrow space, which wasn’t even wide enough to turn around in. It was dark, but not too dark to see anything. Wait. See. Both of his eyes were uncovered. He closed his right eye immediately, trying to reach it with his hand, but the space wasn’t even wide enough to raise his hands up.

Something brushed against his finger, smooth and… false. Naoya shuddered. It was almost like… No…

Light bloomed somewhere above him and Naoya’s surroundings came into view. There were faces all over the walls. No, not faces. A single face, repeated over and over. No matter how he moved, he was touching them, the cold flesh pressing into him. They were moving, breathing, living.

Naoya screamed—and the faces screamed back at him. A cacophony of voices rang out though the narrow tunnel, at once discordant, but also a strange harmony, since it was the same woman’s voice all over. Naoya forced himself to shut up, and the screams slowly died down. With them, the wiggles also grew less, and the sensation of hanging inside a tube crawling with bugs… well, it didn’t exactly cease, but got more bearable.

“What the fuck. Where am I?”

All of a sudden the face right in front of Naoya’s nose opened its eyes.

“Acchan… Akito…”

Naoya frowned. “Akito?”

“He was… they were there…”

“Who was?”

“Akito. Akie.”

“You… you mean Aki?”

All eyes around him opened at once.

“Where are they?”

Naoya shifted, shivering as he brushed against the unnatural flesh on the wall. “I don’t even know where I am.”

“See… Akito… Akie… Help…”

“You want help?”

All eyes stared at his face.

Naoya swallowed. “Alright, alright I’ll help you.”

“Good. Need more power.”

A sharp pain lanced through Naoya’s leg. One of the faces… had bitten him! Then… another. Dread rose up Naoya’s throat. Another face bit him, teeth stuck in the meat of his arm.

“No… no! I said I’ll help you!”

Red, hot blood ran down his arm as the face tore out a piece of his flesh. The burning pain made him scream, and the faces screamed in false empathy, the sound vibrating through his body.

And then he was falling, hitting the cold, hard ground with a loud bang, arms and legs twisted.

“Naoya!”

He looked up and from the darkness, a face appeared above him. It wasn’t the woman. It was Aki. His male face was here, so close. Naoya lurched despite the pain, wrapping his arms around Aki’s neck. He buried himself in Aki’s chest, shivering in fear. Aki’s arms wrapped around him and held him steady, safe.

Safe.

Except for the blood that was running down Naoya’s body, the burning marks of teeth all over his limbs.