Change of Plans

I did it… But at what cost? I took my seat at the dinner table, but the food didn’t seem that appealing. Despite working hard to be able to eat here, I couldn’t muster up the will to eat. I could only look down at my shaking hands. I could’ve killed him. I could’ve killed Takeda back there. I nearly became—

“But you didn’t, right? So we’re not evil.” I snapped my head, looking around wildly. I could hear the Kishin’s voice even though I wasn’t trying to talk to it.

How are you speaking to me?

“I thought you wanted to speak to me in exchange for your essence.”

Are you eating my essence right now?

“Mhm, and it’s delicious.”

Please… stop.

“Why? I’m not full, yet.”

You can’t eat it all, though.

“Why not? You said I could eat it?”

Because I can feel myself losing control… and… that’s—

“But isn’t this what you wanted? I get to eat, and you get power. We both win, so we should both be happy. Right?”

No. I’m not happy with this Kishin. That power… I can’t control it.

“But I still want to—”

“NO!” I meant to think that word, but I felt eyes staring at me after I said it. The pair of eyes belonged to Yukimura.

“Shin, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just need to use the bathroom for a minute. I think the food is going down a lot faster than I thought.”

“But you—”

“Bye.” I got up, leaving Yukimura the only one at the table. I didn’t look back to see what expression she had on her face. She could’ve been worried or concerned, but I wouldn’t have known. I only kept my eyes glued to the ground until I bumped into someone. It was Rentarou.

I immediately noticed some burn marks surrounding his face and arms. I wanted to ask how he was feeling, but I didn’t have the time for that. All I could say was, “Sorry,” as I attempted to brush past him. However, he grabbed my arm before I could walk past Hinako, who was behind him.

“Where do you think you’re going with that apology?”

“Rentarou, let go.”

“Sorry, what did you say?” He asked this while tightening his grip on my arm.

“I said, let go!” I felt strength swell inside of me as I used the arm Rentarou had a hold of to slam him into the ground. I then walked past Hinako, as she went up to her brother, calling his name to make sure he was okay. But I knew he was okay because I could hear Rentarou muttering, “Get back here.”

However, I didn’t turn back. I only continued to march forward until I bumped into Takeda and Satori. As I bumped into Satori, my head began to hurt, and I started to hear it speak again.

“Shin, do you mind if I take another sip?”

“No, stop. You can’t.”

“I can’t what?” Satori asked this with a grin on their face as if they were waiting for this.

“No, not you. I was talking to—”

“The Kishin.” Takeda finished my sentence as if he could already tell what was happening. “Where are you trying to go, Shin?”

“My room.”

“No, come back to the dining room.” When he said this, my head began to hurt. A throbbing pain arose as the Kishin spoke.

“Shin, can he hear me too?”

“No, he can’t, so just shut up!” My voice was louder than I expected. The bulbs of the lights around us broke, and when they did, I could only do one thing: look up helplessly at Takeda.

“Wow, with that voice, you can be in an opera.”

“Not the time, Satori.”

“My bad, Taku.”

“Now, Shin, follow me. I know how to help you, just come with us to the dining room.”

“Okay,” I said, with a mix of fear and uneasiness in my voice. Can he really help, or is he just saying that he will? But, despite my doubts, I still followed him to the dining table.

When I sat down, I could feel everyone staring at me. I used my hand as a crutch for my aching head as I looked around the table. I saw Rentarou glaring at me from across the table, and Hinako was looking worried beside him. Next to me, I could see Yukimura. Her eyes were the same as usual, but her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. Is she also worried about me?

“Worried? What would anyone be worried about?” The Kishin talked to me once more, but this time I ignored it. I only looked beyond Yukimura to see Satori and Takeda sitting beside one another. Satori waved when they noticed me staring at them. Takeda looked slightly uncomfortable being next to Satori, but when he saw me staring and Satori waving, he cleared his throat.

“So, I’d like to start tonight by saying there’s been a change in plans.”

“Hm? What do you mean, Taku?”

“I mean that Yukimura and Shin will not be fighting each other after dinner.” At this news, Yukimura stood up from her seat.

“Why not? I’m not scared to fight him, Takeda.” Despite her words, I could see Yukimura’s hands slightly trembling.

“That is because Shin isn’t in a condition to fight tonight. The Kishin started talking to him…” Takeda only glanced at Satori for a brief second before continuing, “... unexpectedly. So, we’ll have Shin fight tomorrow after we put a limiter on him.”

As Yukimura sat down, Rentarou jumped from his seat. “Why wait until then? We can just beat the hell out of him to limit the Kishin from killing anything. Plus, I gotta deliver some payback now.”

I gripped my head even more as sweat dripped down my forehead. The pain was getting worse, and all I could do was grab my head harder, which only felt like it was getting lighter. That’s all I could do as Takeda continued.

“If you want to fight Shin, then you can wait for tomorrow. Also, a limiter is more complicated than just fighting it. A limiter is another way to say seal, and there is only one person who’s proficient in sealing magic to do it.”

My eyes, like everyone else’s, shifted to Hinako, who sheepishly slumped into her chair; Rentarou was the only exception. He glanced around at everyone before meeting my eyes with bewilderment.

“Hell no! Hinako is not going to risk herself to put a limiter on that damn yokai. I’ll do it instead.”

“But you can’t. The only other sealer who I know is proficient enough to do it is dead. You know this, Rentarou…”

He must be talking about my grandmother… I still can’t believe she died that night.

“That night? Are you talking about last night?”

Shut it, Kishin!

“Your sister is the only one who can, and if she doesn’t, then it can put all of our lives at risk in the near future. Or do you want that? Are you trying to put your sister in harm’s way?”

“N-No…” Rentarou’s eyes fixated on the floor before bouncing back up at me. “But if she’s harmed in any way, then I’m going to kill you tomorrow.”

However, Takeda didn’t care for Rentarou’s threat to me, and neither did I. I was more concerned about the pain as it seeped lower into my body, now spreading throughout my chest. I wanted to ask if we could hurry, but it started to get hard to breathe. The noises around me started to blur and mesh together. My vision started to distort. My eyes started to get heavy. The last words I could hear before my vision went black were Takeda saying, “Shin?... Hinako… now!”