Their Selfish Fight

"In the darkest of nights, may his sleep be protected by light."

*****

Tanaka Sezaru

For how proud they were acting, my brothers really weren't all that smart not strong. That's why, as the loving younger sibling I am, I took in their curses. I took them in, ready to face whatever had twisted their minds over so many decades.

"And is this it?" I kept asking myself every day since consuming Mizaru. The way he flinched every time because of evils he kept seeing, the way Kikazaru seemed always exhausted from hearing too much, and the way Iwazaru couldn't help but have the most foul of words run through his head. I thought that taking all of this would make my mind crack at least a tiny bit.

"Please put them in a bag! Thank you!"

I left the store feeling lighter than ever. Sure, my ears were ringing, my eyes were burning, and my tongue was hurting, but it was nothing I couldn't control.

Exactly, it was nothing compared to what was boiling within me. It was nothing compared to the spasms. It was nothing compared to having my whole body ache, and it was nothing compared to this burning desire to destroy—this desire that I've had since birth.

Why the king had created us, I had no idea, nor did I care. More than that, I cared about doing what I liked.

"Mama, I'm coming! Ah—"

"Woah! Careful! If you hurt yourself while running after her, your mama will be sad..."

If my fate was to do evil, then I chose to do the exact opposite. I chose to defy fate, and thus, I chose to protect.

"Thank you so much! Oh, your screen! I'm so sorry! Here, I'll pay for it!"

The woman was apologizing to me. She was apologizing because I'd cracked my phone while catching her daughter from falling. As usual, I refused any form of payment.

"A phone is nothing compared to the safety of your child," I said with a bright smile that showed my perfect teeth, and waved at the two.

Humans are fragile beings, and my king was no different. He needed somebody to protect him, so he'd created us.

"Yet I can't help but wonder..."

Now that my brothers were part of me, wasn't I the one better suited to be the king?

"Pfft, haha! No way!"

That thought ran through my mind for a second, but I was quick to remember: however strong I would get, I was still nothing more than a spoiled child before Him, playing around in Tokyo while Dad was doing important business.

"To kill Him... what an insane demand..." I said while laughing out loud, thinking about the poor assassin who had no idea what he had gotten himself into. No, what he had been dragged into.

Where were we? Oh, yeah! My wish to protect burned bright.

"I don't need to join any club now! I've made a friend—"

And when I heard a familiar voice coming from further down the street, my heart started burning as bright as that wish.

I saw her green hair, and I felt my chest grow tight. Did I feel for her as a lover? Or maybe a mother?

Whatever those feelings were, they were not mine, just like the face I was wearing. They were all things passed on to me, and because they weren't mine, I thought I should get rid of them.

"And if she's a danger for my king, then that's two birds with one stone!" I said happily, and followed the girl who was being dragged on an empty alley, lit up by a tower carrying the curse.

*****

Shino

Before any of us could react, I felt someone grab me by my coat and pull me. By "any of us," I meant me or Chigira, but now there was somebody else with us going by the name of Tyrant, or should I call him Tanaka?

Fortunately, Chigira was quick to bounce back from the initial shock, but it was too late for both of us to dodge him. She pulled me back and stepped in front of the attacker. At the same time, Tanaka shouted.

"Sideways!"

Before my eyes, Chigira turned horizontal in an instant. Tanaka took a step back and kicked her several tens of meters in the air. I saw her body bending over his foot, and the girl flew without making a sound.

Still, that man wasn't done. He squatted deep enough to reach the ground with his hands and jumped after her.

Witnessing all of this, I did the exact same thing and jumped. Somehow, I was able to match his speed. Whether that happened because he was holding back or not, I didn't want to find out.

As we both rushed towards the sky, I noticed that Chigira had already found her balance. She was back in the game, with not even a bruise to show what she'd been subjected to.

Her hair spread in every direction, and from her back, countless vines grew—vines that attacked Tanaka the next second. The man didn't seem to care too much, but he still had to defend himself.

He was only a second ahead of me on his way to her, but what I cared for was that we would both end up in the same place, and while he was busy fighting Chigira off, my path towards him would be open.

As I pulled out my dagger, I saw it. No, I heard it.

Chigira lacked control over the power of the curses, so she had no idea what was going on, but a soundwave left behind by his jump was rising our way—one strong enough to shatter our eardrums.

I looked below me and then above. I had no time to take care of both Tanaka and Chigira. I had to pick one, and the most obvious choice was, of course, to take out my target.

I gritted my teeth and continued my ascent. When I had almost reached them, I turned my face towards the ground and shouted loudly.

With a soundwave of my own, I broke Tyrant's attack. Or at least most of it, but I still took the brunt of a strong wave.

I felt my teeth tremble, and my ears ring loudly. Luckily, the damage only amounted to this much.

My head kept spinning for the next two seconds, and by the time I was back to my senses, I found myself being held mid-air by Chigira's hair, while she was busy keeping the king of curses away.

"Shino! Never do that again!" she ordered—no, she kindly asked me.

Truly, my choice had been mistaken, but I didn't feel bad for it. If anything, I smiled in relief and answered the girl.

"I told you. Flower or girl, I will keep you safe!" I doubled down on my newfound goal.

*****

Have you ever carved your name in a tree? 

I have. It's beautiful to see how your name grows with it.

But what if that name really is just a scar?