Flashbacks Don’t Let You Sleep at Night

“Look, it’s just over there!” Tatsuya points up at the building, running side to side with his brother.

“Yeah, I see it. The Marine Tower!” Tatsuma replies, squinting.

    As soon as they noticed Megumi is in difficulty, the twins abandoned their patrol to hurry to her and Edward’s position. Luckily, the docks aren’t that far, and they can already see the glowing tower growing closer.

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    Key leant against the glass, I hold Edward close to me, securely sat between my legs. He’s already that unstable… knowing his usual behaviour, I’m surprised – positively surprised – he doesn’t try something crazy like using his magic to break free. The hell I’m not telling him a Jikininki just thought it’s a funny idea to sneak among the cables up there.

“Is it going to cut all of them?”

We barely got down… If I had to guess, I’d say we’re still at a good 80 metres above the ground.

“The twins will soon be there, it’s okay, everything’s okay.” I say aloud, hearing Edward mutter in a feverish voice.

“I have to go out… I have to go out… No more needles… No, no more, it stings…”

    I hesitate. Should I keep talking to him? With Edward, I’m not even sure what is worrying or not, but still. His state is definitely far from normal.

    At the same moment, my phone rings. My fingers numb, I miraculously manage to catch it in its fall and to pick it up.

“Yeah?”

“Megumi?” Tatsuma voice begins. “Do you want good or bad news first?”

    Oh, I have a bad feeling about it.

“Good.” I reply.

“Well, we’ve reached the Marine Tower.”

“But?”

“But… Errrr it’s gonna be difficult for us to join you. I’d even say it’s gonna take quite some time…”

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“…Since we have company.”

    As Tatsuma finishes, he and his brother stay cautiously back to back, key to key. None of them makes the slightest move, eyes on the dozen of Jikininkis surrounding them.

    They formed a large circle around them before the twins even had the opportunity to approach too close to the entrance.

“Tatsuya, how many Jikininkis do you see?”

“Far too many.”

    Silent until now, several monsters let out a feral grunt. Like a pack of animals giving chase, most suddenly hurl themselves at the twins.

    This is when Tatsuma turns around, extending his arms towards his brother. The latter simply smiles and takes the outstretched hands in his. The moment he does, bluish wisps of light leave his hands, beginning to swirl around Tatsuma’s arms, torso, and soon his whole body.

    Tatsuya begins to spin on himself, again and again, while his brother’s feet leave the ground to let him rotate vertically.

    A close growl is replaced by a muffled moan, a Jikininki’s jaw having just shamelessly met Tatsuma’s sneakers. And, as outrageous as it is, this Jikininki isn’t the only lucky one, many in turn getting struck by the sneakers bathed in mana.

    Seemingly unprepared for that sweet encounter, they are expelled over several metres before Tatsuya releases his brother’s hands. Not bothered in the slightest, Tatsuma lands balanced on the railing edging the way to the entrance.

    With a look back, Tatsuma raises his hands, letting balls of condensed mana leave his body and fall back, beyond the grass, at a small terrace. The balls ricochet against the ground until reaching the folded tables and umbrellas kept under chains. Sinking into them like mere raindrops, the tables and umbrellas begin to glow and levitate. Breaking the chains with no effort.

“Waah! You should brush your teeth, they stink!” Tatsuya exclaims, barely avoiding a bite.

    Indecency-filled, the monster opens wide her jaws, only for an umbrella to take the space. Its pointy end resurfaces all bloody on the other side of the monster’s head, the umbrella opening then wide.

    Other Jikininkis get attacked by savage tables, though the abnormal resistance of their body makes it difficult to pin them permanently to the ground. It is to say the ardour with which they break into thousands of pieces part of the tables, tear to shreds the umbrellas’ fabric, stripping them to the eye.

    With a chuckle, Tatsuma hops off the railing, opening his umbrella to protect himself from a blood projection.

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    I don’t know if the most worrying are the long minutes during which the lift makes no sound, no move… Or the brief metallic grinding letting me each time wonder if it it’s the last thing I’m gonna hear.

“Megumi… We have to leave or they’ll inject us… they’ll inject it…”

    As Edward fumbles with his words, I clumsily rub my hand against his back. God I’m not made for this, I’ve never had to comfort anyone before.

    What should I do? Keep doing this in silence? Speak?

“What, Edward?” I try. “What are they going to inject? Hey, look at me.”

“Lots of things… Until it works…”

    I frown.

“Until it works..?”

“Yeah… My father said he’ll buy me an ice cream when I succeed. That’s great, right?” Edward’s mood makes an abrupt u-turn as he smiles at me joyfully.

“…”

    Speechless, I let him continue. Just what has this boy endured in the past?

    It doesn’t take long for the light over Edward’s expression to vanish, as quickly as it appeared.

“But Mr. Director said we have to leave.” The boy pauses. “His hand… He reached it out to me. He said the laboratory wasn’t safe any more.”

“The laboratory?” I widen my eyes, turning to face Edward, putting my hands over his shoulders.

    This is important. This is, right? Who wouldn’t be alarmed at the mention of a lab and experiments?

    His words make me even forget we’re trapped in an unsteady glass lift.

“Were there other people with you in that laboratory, Edward?”I question.

    His eyes wide open, he looks at me surprised, as if he doesn’t know any more what I’m talking about.

“Try to focus. What were these people attempting to do? Does the director know?”

    But a sudden jerk makes the lift sway, part of the cables having just given way. I barely have the time to glance up at the Jikininki roaming up there before I get violently pushed away, hitting the glass behind me with a thud.

    A muffled cry escapes my lips, the air having been abruptly expelled from my lungs.

    Edward straightens up, his hand trembling yet holding a dagger.

“Edward…” I cautiously begin. “What about we put this down?”

“Shut up. I won’t let them catch me again…” He steadies his hold on the dagger with his other hand before suddenly hurling himself at me.

“Shit.”

    Forcing some air back in, I dodge the blow at my face. The blade hits the wall behind, making me wince as Edward runs its edge against the glass. I barely manage to block in time his wrist with the back of my hand, the noise having grown awfully close to my ear.

“I’ve learnt to keep this face intact over the years. Sorry my boy.”

    ‘Have to say, with my belly and hair, it’s always been her favourite target at home. I’d almost let out a bitter chuckle to see that all of that became useful somehow.

    Feeling my hand already trembling against the pressure of his wrist, the moment I see it glow blue from the corner of my eyes, I clench my teeth.

    Not letting Edward the time to use his magic, I lean my head forward in a jerk. Our foreheads meet in a sharp pain and a concerning noise. Definitely not in the way I imagined getting this close to a boy.

    In a messy dance, we trip from one side to the other of the lift, a small crack appearing in the glass as Edward’s back briefly hits the wall.

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    It is endless. The moment a Jikininki hits the ground, another who seemed defeated stands up, back on its feet.

    How many of them are left? Some didn’t even move yet, either waiting for the first to fall, or not having enough braincells left to act.

    When Tatsuma scans their surroundings, he’s met with a sudden headache, and the world seems to spin around him.

“Ghhh…”

    Not now… He has to protect his brother, and to save Megumi! Why does his sight becomes blurry? Were the Jikininkis this numerous before? Did they get reinforcements?

    A snort, warm breathing behind him.

    Before Tatsuma has the opportunity to react, hands clutch his shoulders, sharp teeth sink into the side of his neck. Tearing the flesh.

    The umbrella he’s been holding hits the ground, his mouth filling with a rotten flavour.

“Tatsuma!!”

    With a yell, Tatsuya rushes forward. He catches the umbrella in his run and, closing it, he infuses it with his magic. He dashes with its tip pointed at the Jikininki, screaming to give himself more courage.

    The Jikininki, too busy nibbling its prey, doesn’t move in time to dodge. The umbrella’s sharp edge sinks into the monster’s heart, its blood mixing with Tatsuma’s as he vomits, releasing his hold on his dinner. He’s pushed back almost at once, Tatsuya hitting him at full speed.

    Turning around in no time, the young boy lets go of the umbrella to rush over to his brother, catching him in his arms as he falls to the ground.

“Tatsuma! Tatsuma!!”

    Growling, the remaining Jikininkis approach the twins step by step…

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    A concerning metallic noise over our heads makes us pause our lone wolves’ fight, and we both raise our heads. The lift, motionless for suspiciously long minutes, suddenly begins its final fall.

    It’s enough to make Edward once more switch behaviour as he sticks to the wall, his eyes glued to the translucent floor.

    At full speed, the walls around us blur in a mix of lilac and pastel green lights. I can feel my feet losing ground and reach out to grab Edward’s hand. He must be terrified.

“We’re gonna die.”

    Just as I phrased the thought, the lift abruptly stops. If we didn’t catch the handles on the sides, we’d have finished as crimson pancakes at the top of the lift.

    Nausea fills every cell of this useless body, but I can’t even abandon myself to the joys of vomiting before a muffled bang shakes the lift. That’s not like the previous times… Raising my head, I spot in horror a Jikininki on top of the lift, reaching out to seize whatever remains of the cables.

“Fuck. I have to do something… Edward is in no condition to act.”

    With my heart beating wild, I can’t even focus on my thoughts.

“Fuck.”

    It breaks.

    The cables cut clean by the Jikininki’s teeth.

    The glass as we hit the upper part of the lift, Edward held tight in my arms. I caught him the previous instant, throwing ourselves upwards as I let my magic flow. The sudden mana release helps us shatter the glass, the monster blown in the process.

    As the remnants of the lift continue their way to crash on the ground, I tighten my hold on Edward, the wind beating wildly the folds of our clothes.

    Around us, the mana reshapes. From destructive outburst of energy to protective bubble wrapping us completely. While we begin to fall, glass shards bypass us, glistening with lilac and bluish reflections.

“We’re slowing down.”

    Dense enough, the bluish sparkles guide us to the ground, in front of the Marine Tower’s entrance. Several shapes are standing there, all staring at us after the ruckus we caused… Jikininkis. But not only.

    Two shapes huddled up one against the other.

    We made it… It costs me to recognise it, but it’s all because I’ve been able to give my mana another shape, to thicken it like I already saw Rubeus doing it. When he rescued me on the rooftop.

    I’ll commit harakiri later.

    When we hit the ground, I release my hold on Edward, the latter falling to his knees as I step forward. As I get closer to the twins, I realise that Tatsuya’s knees are bathed in crimson, bluish filaments twisting in the air, flowing from his hands he keeps pressed against his brother’s neck.

    He doesn’t even glance at us.

“Is he…?”

    A knot forms in my already tortured stomach, the mana reshaping once more around me in bluish sparkles.

“Goddamn monsters…” I mutter. “Why do you always have to screw everything up? Are you so hungry?”

    A bold one hurls itself at me.

    With a glance at it, I turn to greet him with a passionate punch, wrapped in mana. The blow sends the monster flying straight to the round facade of the Marine Tower.

“Then eat it.” I dryly conclude.

    The remaining Jikininkis throw themselves at me. Some blindly, some almost reluctantly. But I treat them all in an equal way. I feed them with mana-filled blows, crushing their heads to the ground, using the first ones to crush the others’ vertebrae.

    I don’t realise I’m breathless before Edward joins my side, his hands gripping my forearm as he tries to hold it back. I’m about to give one more blow to a lifeless Jikininki at my feet.

    Only then do I notice the blood dripping from my fist. Mine? The monster’s? I can’t care less.

    Around me, the last clusters of mana dissipate, and we join the twins when two more silhouettes run to our position.

    Longwei and Evren.

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    His face lit by the glow of his phone, Rubeus’ expression remains unreadable. He seems to scan the messages on the screen before pulling the device back into his pocket.

    In his other hand, Poltergeist is holding a mana spear. The corpse of a smaller Jikininki hanging from it, its twin tails conceal its features.

“It’s even worse than we thought.” Poltergeist utters as the spear fades away, letting the Jikininki’s body fall with a thud to the ground.