Keychain

Evi grabbed the sword and cleaved the beast in two. The creature’s body sagging as its halves fell to the earth. Wow. It’s blurry, but I can get the picture. It really does help that this sword gives off a bunch of light, huh? Oh. I hope it doesn’t give off UV rays. I mean, it’s a golden yellow, and I wouldn’t not describe it as looking kind of sun-esque, but, uh, it is magic right? Yeah. How can I check?

Maybe I should check.

Evi stabs it a couple more times to see if it’s really dead.

That does seem to be the case, so…

Ayano, Akira, and I head over to take a look at things. Ayano keeps the vines on us just in case we need to be moved out of the way quickly.

Akira even makes sure to drain the last of its life force.

It seems to be dead. Yeah.

So the question becomes…

What do we do now?

Ayano takes me to go grab my backpack from where she’d placed it in the vines behind us. Apparently after the eye-beast threw it at us to bait Evi, and after Akira successfully healed her, Ayano had decided to take my backpack and move it out of the way for safekeeping. Evi went off to go retrieve my glasses, and when she came back she’d also gotten her phone and Ayano’s saddlebag.

It was nice to not have everything be so blurry anymore, even if it was cracked. A deep line went down the left side of my left lens. The darkness still wasn’t great either, but better vision is better vision even when it’s not perfect vision.

We all check on the body one more time, and…

“Oh no! Wait, what about the train’s conductor?” I ask everyone.

“What?” Evi responds.

“Like, the drivers and stuff... Any, possible employees really. I know we were the only passengers on board at the time, but what about the staff?” It starts to hit me. “We’re okay, but other people could have died!”

“Rin-san...” Ayano says it sadly.

“No, I mean this is important right? We should at least check. Akira can heal people!”

Akira stares at the ground, “I could take a look. If there’s anyone to heal I’ll do it. But I don’t think I can raise the dead. If people are dead… I think they’re just dead. Like with you and Yaya-chan, you were still alive. If I was just a little bit later… I…”

Evi replies, “…I’ll check around.”

“Thanks. Although… wait. Wait. Has anyone seen the train at all? I feel like one of us should have run into it by now. It should be one of the biggest things around, and it’s mostly metal and plastic. There should be shine on it.

After all, it may be dark but the moon—“

There’s a halo around the moon. Two bright spots on either side of it.

“Rin…?”

“Yeah Evi.”

“You have a halo.”

The body of the eyeball creature dissolves, crumbling into dust.

I bring out the sword.

By its light I can see that the dust. The ashes. They spell out words.

“It may not be around your neck, but know you wear a collar.”

There is laughter on the wind

.…

...

...

...

Suddenly we’re back on the train.

“What was that!?” I ask them.

“I have no idea!” Akira shouts.

“Somebody check the time!” Ayano says frantically.

“12:12 AM,” Evi read off her phone. She blinked. “12:22 AM.”

“A halo around the moon is called a 22 degree halo… The spots were mock moons... light refracted off ice in the sky? Or something…?” offered Akira, weakly.

I pestered her for more information, “Is there anything associated with them like, in folklore or myth, or, uh?”

“Rain? I think. Just like, not great weather…? I could be wrong but from what I know... nothing too exciting?”

“A collar,” Evi said blankly. “Why you?”

“…My gifts are not free…” I recited it from memory. The voice.

The one who gave me the sword. Maybe it was them?

“...What are you talking about Rin-san?” Ayano asked.

Akira and Ayano had innate magic. Evi’s description was almost purely physical; they never mentioned the origin of her power.

It said that I had no affinity for magic.

That I was “not one of the chosen.”

What.

What?

“Rin. What are you thinking?”

“The sword.”

“You’re sword,” Evi said warily.

“Not my sword,” I corrected her. “The sword. It was a gift.”

“A gift?” Ayano echoed.

“Akira, remember when I told you about magic?”

“Yes…?”

“I said that a voice saved me. I saw a light, and I heard a voice, and it saved me. It said I had no magic, but that you guys did. Or at least the two of you,” I pointed to Akira and Ayano, “I don’t really know what to make of how it described Evi, but either way it said I had no affinity for magic and that I was weak, and that I wasn’t ‘chosen.’ Then it offered me a ‘gift’ of power. It gave me the sword.”

“…And then it told you that the sword wasn’t free,” Evi finished for me.

“Yeah.”

We sat in the silence.

“Gifts are supposed to be free,” muttered Akira, “That’s part of the definition.”

“That’s your takeaway?” Evi exhaled in exasperation.

I tried to lighten the mood, “It is technically true. If it’s not free it’s not a gift. Then it’s like, a purchase. Or maybe a rental?” 

“Or a trade,” Ayano suggested.

"..."

“I did think it was kind of weird that your powers were all yellow Ri-chan. I would’ve assumed you’d be blue.”

Ayano agreed, “It is a little odd seeing you with glowing yellow eyes,” 

“My eyes glowed?”

“Yeah Ri-chan, did we never mention that?”

“I mean, I guess that makes sense, but why’s yellow strange? You two have green and purple.”

“It’s not bad,” Ayano reassured.

“Just unexpected,” Akira explained.

Evi joined in, “Did my eyes ever glow?”

“…Yeah. When uh,” I tried to phrase it delicately, “When you had seven arms.”

“Ah.” She looked down. “Sorry about that. I. I don’t really remember most of it but… I do have some... vague understanding.”

“It’s alright Evi. Everyone’s fine.”

“Yeah E-chan! No hard feelings.”

“Evi-san, this was all crazy. You are in no way to blame for it.”

“…Right.”

She didn’t seem convinced.

…

…

…

…

As the train ride continued, we realized that we looked like a mess.

Our clothes and belongings had returned, but physically, we were all exhausted. And now the high energy levels of the night had been brought low by the transition back to just sitting here, on a normal train. What had happened seemed insane. It was insane. But it was clearly real. We all knew it.

We all felt it.

Evi seemed sullen.

Time passed.

I rotated my backpack’s rabbit keychain in my hand. 

I brushed it.

It was soft.

I held it up in front of my face.

And I spoke.

“Y’know? Tonight was insane. It was dangerous and awful and horrible in so many ways. We almost died so many times… But today was incredible. We went out to the city. We went to an arcade, and my favorite teashop, and karaoke, and it was just so nice to be with you…"

"Even just walking around and talking."

"And yesterday was great. And so was the day before. And so was every other day since we became friends. Even now. Even tonight. This horrible, awful night, where so many things went wrong. Going through it made me realize how important you are to me. All of you. And I know. I know— that if I had to go through it by myself… I wouldn’t be alive.”

“Akira Kusumoto. Ayano Fujiwara.”

I put down the keychain.

“Evi.”

I looked at each of them in succession.

“You didn’t just help me live through this. You made me want to live through it.”

I held Evi’s gaze in mine. Her beautiful red eyes.

Tired. And guilty. And sad.

“I know you might not believe me. I have trouble with compliments too. But you have to know that this week is the happiest I have ever been. And I will never regret meeting you.”

...

I smiled through my tears.

Evi smiled back.