Eyes Wide Shut

“Mhmm…” Eiji’s eyelids fluttered open, as he gazed upon the all too familiar ceiling of his cramped apartment.

What time was it? He couldn’t help but wonder.

“Eiji-dono! Classes will be commencing soon!” An even more familiar sight, a floating eyeball emerged from his peripheral vision.

“Then why the hell didn’t you wake me?” Eiji muttered, as he took a closer look at the time through his phone.

With a sigh, the young man swiftly got up in order to get dressed.

It had been a while since he was THIS late to attending class, and that was very clearly due to Naomi’s visible absence at his doorstep, or his room.

<*><><><*><><><*>

As it turned out, Naomi was nowhere to be found, even at school grounds and since for a start, nobody came to pry him off his classroom and drag him somewhere, or at a clubroom, for lunch, Eiji took it upon himself to go have his lunch somewhere quiet.

“Phew…”

A cloud of smoke billowed from between his lips, before he rested his arm atop his bent knee and looked up at the school fence. It had been a while since he had had lunch alone, at the back of the main school building, the place where it was least likely someone would be seen. It was mostly a place for delinquents to smoke or engage in other hooligan activities, such as dragging bullied schoolmates and giving them a run for their money. The place certainly reeked of fake bravado and despair. Or was it perhaps the school’s collective trashcans a little ways to the side?

As it stood though, Eiji was the only one currently in the vicinity.

“Meh.”

“Yes, Eiji-dono?” The Shikigami immediately popped up at the sound of it being called.

“So you’re sure that guy yesterday was…”

“An exorcist, indeed!”

Eiji stayed silent, pondering that for a few seconds. It had been a while since he met an exorcist in Shina, other than himself.

Brushing the matter of the mysterious man aside, another pressing issue emerged amidst his thoughts.

“…Should we hold off on approaching that upperclassman surrounded by malevolence?”

Eiji’s task for yesterday was to devise a plan of action on coping with the peculiar, and invisible malevolence around the emerald-eyed girl from before. Yet, the young man fell asleep before he could set on anything concrete.

“The malevolence around the young lady keeps disappearing before Meh and Eiji-dono can even see it, let alone interacting with it…”

“So if we approach, it’s even less likely that it will show itself…”

Master and Shikigami both, fell into deep thought at once.

“Indeed, there might even be a chance it will try to escape, and change its target altogether if Eiji-dono reveals himself too quickly.”

“So we wait for it to show itself first, huh?” Eiji said, as he took the last drag of his cigarette.

“That is what Meh would advise, indeed!”

Right as the ragtag team of two came to a concrete conclusion at last, Eiji’s phone pinged with a message on VatsApp.

Already knowing who that must be due to his low number of contacts, and constant messages from a single one, Eiji opened the messaging app promptly.

Hey senpai! I’m sorry but I won’t be making it to school today… Turns out I have a slight fever. The doctor said it’s due to exhaustion, so I’ll rest for today, and hopefully we’ll see each other tomorrow!

“That idiot…” Eiji sighed at the message. Naomi really was reaching her limit in terms of stamina with all their numerous all-night excursions. Even the exorcist himself couldn’t help but be fatigued even, so what made her think she could handle it?

She was too diligent for her own good.

After making a mental note of stopping her the next time she’s about to reach her limit, Eiji opted to put away his phone.

Ping

But not before two more messages popped up.

Oh and don’t do any exorcist stuff without me, ‘kay? Sidekick and Boss go together no matter what!

Yours, Naomi

A very Naomi-like message, accompanied by a sticker of a chibi, winking black cat.

“Can’t make no promises…” Eiji muttered once more, but opted not to type so, due to the storm such a message was bound to stir up.

Instead he replied with a simple “Got it”

“Oh, who do we have here, then?” Another familiar voice ensued, causing Eiji to reluctantly turn and address it.

“Ishida?”

“Kanzaki.” The scrawny young man sporting a pompadour grinned, while a couple of his cronies at his back tried to look tougher than was strictly necessary. “It seems fate is bound to bring rivals together, eh?”

With a dismissive shake of his head, Eiji decided it was time he headed back to class.

“Oye!”

Mitsuaki cried out, as his blonde adversary walked right past him.

“Isn’t…. that… girl… with you?” In a clear struggle, the delinquent leader stuttered as he asked.

“Hm?” Eiji raised a brow at him, stopping in his tracks. “Why? What is it to you?”

“I— Ah…” Not tolerating another stutter, Mitsuaki cleared his throat almost too dramatically before he continued. “I just want to know how she’s doing!”

“The hell…?” Eiji muttered back, completely baffled.

“Shut up! I’m just trynna make sure you’re not forcing her to hang with you!” Mitsuaki hissed, puffing out his chest like a knight on a mission.

“Sure.” Eiji replied, before he was back on his way to class once more.

Talk about weird, was all the young man thought of that exchange, despite not missing the fact he and Mitsuaki didn’t exchange blows as soon as they met for the first time in forever.

Nevertheless, classes were about to start soon.

<*><><><*><><><*>

“Okay everyone, why don’t you all settle into the room and we’ll begin explaining shortly?”

A short, round-faced woman with curly chestnut hair spoke up softly as the students moved about the specialized classroom.

As it was evident, Eiji’s next class was none other than a practical of Home Economics, and the teacher was none other than Ms. Suzuki herself.

With a soft exhale through his nose, and a narrow side eye, Eiji looked around in annoyance. Maybe he should have just skipped school today?

“Okay, as you all already know, we’re gonna be trying a simple recipe today: the omelet. Some of you may already be familiar with it, but for those that aren’t, learning how to cook one can be very essential in your future cooking endeavors.” Ms. Suzuki explained, as she jotted down the recipe on the whiteboard with a dark blue marker.

“Considering the amount of people, and the amount of cooking tables we have on hand, you’ll be in divided in groups of three, so you can go ahead and pick your partners.”

At once, the slight chatter of the students commenced, as they moved about the room, and group after group started forming steadily.

Soon, everyone had found themselves in a satisfactory party. Everyone except the one who stood still through it all.

Kanzaki Eiji.

“You can at least make some sort of effort, you know?” Hatsue hissed at him from the side, as Ms. Suzuki furrowed her brows.

“Ah-ra… It seems Kanzaki-kun doesn’t have a group. Does anyone care to take him in theirs?”

What am I, a primary schooler? Eiji almost asked, as everyone turned to look at him anxiously.

The only one who was probably even more concerned than the teacher herself was Hatsue though.

“Geez, for crying out loud man!” She grumbled as she raised her hand. “We can! Over here! We were short one, anyway…”

“Ah, Shiratori-san!” Ms. Suzuki smiled at her gesture, before turning back to the class. “Then Kanzaki-kun will join Shiratori-san.”

“Eh…?” The short, black haired girl beside Hatsue though, looked on in silent contemplation.

“He’s fine, he’s fine, don’t worry.” Hatsue patted her on the back lightly, before beckoning over the hottest topic of the class.

With a wordless sigh, Eiji joined Hatsue and her friend at their table.

“I swear you’re a real pain, sometimes.” Hatsue whispered lowly, nudging him with her elbow.

“Shut it.”

“Oye! You—“

“NOW, I think we’re all set to get started everyone!” With a gentle, yet lethal smile that beckoned a silence amidst the class, Ms. Suzuki announced.

The Home Economics teacher was speaking the truth however. Everything was set. From the ingredients atop their tables, their cooking utensils, and the recipe on the board.

“Okay, everyone let’s start by adding some olive oil…”

Hatsue promptly picked up the oil bottle beside the frying pan, and handed it to over to Eiji.

“Here.”

“What?” Eiji asked, probably thinking that all he would do was observe the girls at work.

“What, my ass. Pour it. We’re cooking aren’t we?”

“Oye…”

“No, don’t you oye oye oye me, Mr. delinquent. We’re COOKING.” Hatsue’s unwavering gaze pierced through Eiji’s apathetic nature, causing him to nod almost dismissively.

“Gimme that.”

With a quick motion, Eiji caught ahold of the bottle and turned it around so it would pour in the pan and over the fire.

“Kanzaki-kun…” Hatsue’s friend looked on in pure agony at the sight.

“Hey, don’t pour ALL of it!”

“You didn’t say how much.”

“Just a spoonful will do, Kanzaki-kun…” The black-haired girl beside him winced at the pure amount of oil swimming around the pan.

“You tell him Marika!” Hatsue sighed, as she took over. “You’re hopeless, man.”

Switching out for a new pan, the cooking continued.

“Now, we crack the eggs, by hitting their shell against a hard surface. Your bowls will do.”

“You do it.” Hatsue declared as she passed over the eggs to the man caught between a rock and a hard place.

“The hell am I, your servant?”

“Eggs. Chop, chop.” Hatsue smirked sadistically.

“Hatsue-chan, I think it’s crack, crack, instead.” Marika chimed in from the side.

“Wow, Marika that was— Oye!” Just as Hatsue was about to point out a really bad joke, Eiji’s egg crashing form caught her off guard.

“The hell are these eggs doing?” Eiji muttered, looking at his palm covered in egg juice and shattered shells.

“The hell are YOU doing?!” Hatsue hissed at the catastrophe before her. “Suzuki-sensei said to crack them, not squeeze the damn life out of them!”

Evidently that’s exactly what Eiji had done. He had squished the egg in his palm so hard the egg’s shell couldn’t help but shatter in a thousand pieces.

“How am I supposed to do that? Didn’t you see what happened?” Eiji threw back, pointing at his gooey hand.

“I saw! I saw it with my own eyes! You went all Detroit smash on those eggs!”

“Heh…” Marika chuckled at the two of them bickering for a moment. “You’re funny Kanzaki-kun.”

“Oye, he’s not funny, he’s just stu—“

“What’s going on over here?” Suzuki-sensei asked, as she came over their table, her usual relaxed smile on her face.

At the sound of her soothing, and almost spine-chilling, voice the three of them froze.

“Shiratori.”

“Oye, don’t blame it on me!”

“Oh my, that’s not how you treat an egg now is it, Kanzaki-kun?”

<*><><><*><><><*>

After cleaning up their initial mess, their group got to actually cracking the eggs, and beating them afterwards.

Soon, it was time to get cooking.

As the shrilling sound of oil sizzling against pan filled the Home Ec room, the two friends could finally relax.

“This thing here will ping when it’s ready. Holler when it’s time. We’ll go ask Suzuki-sensei for some pointers on—“

At that point, Eiji had already stopped listening, as Hatsue left a cooking timer on the table, and trotted off to her teacher, Marika in tow.

Just as Eiji looked at the sizzling omelet, a memory surfaced within him.

Was that why Hifumi always cooked Omurice? It sure was a lot easier than it seemed at first. Maybe he could try making some omurice too, someday. Although it probably wouldn’t even hold a candle to Hifumi’s specialty.

“Eiji-dono!” With a whispering hish, Meh appeared before his master. Before Eiji could follow up his glare with words however, Meh flew close to the window at his back.

“The malevolence! Look!” Pointing out the window from the home Ec class, the Shikigami flew about in circles.

“Hm?” Despite being annoyed by his sudden public appearance, Eiji silently obliged.

Glancing over his shoulder, his eyes fell atop a group of female upperclassmen running laps around the school pitch, in typical P.E. fashion. Among them was someone familiar.

*Beep*

Nothing was amiss.

Eiji quickly redirected an accusing glare at Meh.

“Eiji-dono, wait—“

“Oye!” As the sounds of the pan, the smell, and Hatsue’s voice snapped Eiji out of his trance, the pan was seized from his hand at once.

“Didn’t you hear the damn timer?! You’re gonna burn it to a crisp!”

Just as Eiji was getting scolded by Hatsue for almost disintegrating their delicacy, Eiji heard an audible gasp coming in through the opened window.

Quickly redirecting his eyes back on the field, he noticed a single girl had fallen to the ground, and was clutching her ankle. It was Takenaka.

“Tch.” With a click of his tongue. Eiji came to a realization.

He had missed the moment the specter struck.

“Don’t you click your tongue at me, pal.” Hatsue however, unaware of the root cause of Eiji’s annoyance, crossed her arms disapprovingly.

“Haah…”

“Oye, why are you sighing like you’re paying the electricity bills around here?!”

"..."

A/N:

Hello everyone! I'd like to apologise for the delay of this chapter, LM&B as well as studying for exams made me completely forget about my upload schedule for Soul Nemesis... I'll try to keep up, but exams will soom be over so fret not! Thank you for your continuous support! 

- Katsu