Bath

Shohei sat shivering in the large bed. His whole body was on fire. This wasn’t just an allergic reaction. Something was wrong. Incredibly wrong. His thoughts automatically went to the man in the basement and he looked at the wardrobe that concealed the hidden door.

What was happening? Did Kyourin…

And suddenly he realised with newfound clarity that he needed to leave. Now. He needed to… leave the only place he had ever felt truly at home in. Leave his life’s work behind. Leave all the friends and colleagues, who were concerned for him. Leave the only relationship he ever had.

Tears dropped down his face unbidden, the salty water burning when it fell on his hands, where his skin was raw. This couldn’t be happening. Not to him. What had he ever done? Why had he come to this place? Why—

“Shohei?”

Shohei jolted. Kyourin was suddenly there, standing in the doorway. From the light in the room, he could tell it was morning, maybe almost noon. Shohei moved and winced when the bedding rubbed against his skin. He could barely hold himself back from scratching.

“Shohei, what happened? I was just reviewing—never mind. Show me.”

Hoping his condition would camouflage his fear, he held out his arms. There were patches of angry looking skin all over his body, much like the one that had appeared on his arm a few weeks ago, only bigger. More aggressive.

“I don’t know. I woke up like this.”

“There must be something in here that doesn’t agree with you. Where did you go yesterday?”

Shohei shook his head. “Nowhere out of the ordinary.”

Kyourin made the face he always did when he was thinking hard. Shohei already knew him so well, it hurt. He examined Shohei’s body in detail, then hummed thoughtfully.

“This is too much to treat one by one. We have so many medical plants here. I’m going to make you something that’ll help. Do you trust me?”

Shohei swallowed. He was hurt, helpless, almost naked.

“Yes, of course,” he said.

Kyourin smiled and stood up. “Be patient for an hour or so. Don’t scratch. I’m coming to fetch you.”

Shohei was left alone again. His first thought was to run, but where could he even go? He would have to find medical help, but getting there with his bike was a bad idea. He didn’t want to crash again. Wait… the crash. The allergic reaction. The blackout. Shohei stared at his hands. No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t. That would be…

Shit. He was breathing faster. His heart beat up to his throat. He couldn’t lose it now. Not now. What was the plan? He didn’t need to pack a bag. Most of his stuff was at his apartment. But Kyourin knew his address. Ugh.

He looked at the puncture wound in his left arm again. It was now completely hidden, but when he pressed on it, he could still feel the unique pain, different from the itchy area around it. He wasn’t crazy. There was something in his body that shouldn’t be there. Again.

And it had been Kyourin, who put it there. There was no doubt about it.

But why? And what was it?

His thoughts circled back to Ran Saikawa. The documents in the room had spoken of the long history of different plants and supplements being added to the tank. Experiments, done with meticulous care. But Saikawa had been Kyourin’s lover. He wouldn’t have…

Shohei looked at his body. No, he would.

—--

When Kyourin returned, about two hours later, Shohei had calmed himself enough to deal with the situation. Any discomfort on his face could easily be attributed to the state of his skin. He let Kyourin help him up and lead him to the bathroom. The air inside was warm and smelled like herbal tea. And it was, in a way. The water in the bathtub was filled with plants, which coloured the water in a dark green. It looked like a bed of sea grass.

But to Shohei, it looked so much like the very same liquid that Saikawa was suspended in, he recoiled automatically. Kyourin held his arm, and his grip agitated the sores, so Shohei hissed.

“Ah, sorry. Does it hurt? These herbs should soothe your skin. You just need to take a bath in them. I’ll bring you something to drink. Come on, I’ll help you get in.”

Shohei was frozen. He couldn’t. Not like… had Kyourin done this to Saikawa? Had he lured him like this, with sweet words and gentle actions, and now he was floating in the tank? Did Kyourin need another body to experiment on?

“Shohei?”

“Sorry, I’m just afraid it’ll hurt.”

“There might be a bit of a burn at first, but it should subside quickly. The herbs have the same active ingredients as the cream I used last time, and that worked fine, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, it did.”

Shohei had no other excuse. None that wouldn’t make Kyourin suspicious. He let himself be helped into the tub. His legs burned as they were submerged, but true to Kyourin’s words, the sensation faded soon. So he sat down, submerged up to his neck. He waited for Kyourin to push him under, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead he took a sponge and carefully applied some of the water on Shohei’s face and neck. It was so loving, Shohei started crying out of confusion.

“Still hurts?”

Shohei nodded.

“If it doesn’t get better by tomorrow, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Kyourin promised.

“Okay…”

“What is it?”

“Why is this happening to me?” Shohei asked.

“I don’t know.”

Shohei pressed his lips together and didn’t ask anymore. He accepted Kyourin’s attention and drank what he brought him. It wasn’t a good idea to be so passive, but he had neither the physical nor the emotional strength to do anything about it. At least the bath did actually calm his skin. He leaned back and accepted his fate.