Ink Stained

52: onigiri*

"I'll be back in a minute." He opened the door and stepped out, then looked in at her with his arms braced on the window frame of the car. She was – momentarily – very distracted by the sight of his shoulders tapering down to his waist, his profile thrown in relief by the sunlight behind him. "I'm just going to get something from the convenience store. Don't go anywhere, okay? It's going to be dark soon."

"Okay," she replied.

He nodded and she watched him walk behind the car. She twisted around in her seat and saw him walk into a Seicomart, one of the many konbini lining the street they had stopped at. There were a few Yori Chiisai already out. Most were just Yosei, traipsing about as they played on the street. The yellow, blue, and bright pink baubles of light scattered as soon as Shin neared them, before converging together to stare after him when he disappeared into the convenience store.

She sat back in her seat and looked down at her fingers. Her right hand was still bandaged from when she smashed the mirror that didn't break, but there wasn't any pain from the wound as there had been on the first day. She smiled as she thought back on the light, almost playful conversation between her and Shin.

You're cosy.

Her narrowed her eyes. Why do you sound confused about it?

You're too uptight all the time, so formal and proper. Kuniumi replied. She was almost defensive of having to explain herself. He helps you forget your nightmares. If only for a little bit.

She tried to hang on to the good mood. She really tried. She wanted to remain with the buoyancy in her heart that made her feel like she wasn't a stone forged by the burden of her guilt. But even as she clung to it, she could feel it sliding through her fingers like a slippery eel flowing back into its watery haven.

And what happens after?

You remember.

If you want make to remember so bad, she snapped, a flash of hot temper igniting her shortening fuse. Why don't you just make me remember? You can, can't you? You play around with my mind all the time like it's a fucking toy, and make me see things. You can just make me remember, can't you?

We can.

So why don't you?!

You will break. You are still human, for now, Kuniumi said, unfazed by Pai's anger.

A trilling sound, like metal striking the delicate side of a glass, filled her mind. Kuniumi wasn't only able to make her see things; she could make her hear things as well. Unease that had been growing stronger and stronger everyday she didn't come up with a way to get rid of Kuniumi swelled in her stomach, souring her mood even further.

Humans...you are so fragile. You could break like glass at the slightest touch.

Fuck you. She shot back defensively. I'm not fragile.

Look at you. Who do you think you're trying to lie to? She laughed cynically. You can't eat properly because every time you do, you think of the girl. You see her blood on your hands, in your food. Her voice changed. It lowered, becoming heavier, carrying a dark tone that shocked Pai with how much it seemed to suit her, to be her. If you are going to do that, then see what blood deserves to be there. Not what you paint there yourself.