Three Years Earlier
Ethan sighed as he stepped out of the cafe. The sky was dark and the clouds were heavy with rain. He took a sip of his coffee and adjusted his beanie, before turning to wave at the girl behind the counter and leaving.
He trudged down the sidewalk as he made his way back home. He paused at the alleyway by his apartment. He could cut his travel time in half by headed down, or he could continue on his way in the light where he could see everything that was around him. He looked up at the sky with a frown.
"Might as well, it's gonna start raining either way I go at this point," he mumbled to himself, making the turn and pulling his jacket up around his neck. He couldn't help his eyes darting from left to right as he hummed quietly to himself in the dark.
He had frozen a few times in his walk as he tripped over things and his paranoia and anxiety would make him freeze in fear. But he refused to stop once the rain started, instead, he hurried his pace and pulled his jacket tighter.
He did freeze once more, though, just as he was about to turn on his street, a block away from his complex.
A string of wet, pain filled hacks had come from behind him. He half had just wanted to say he imagined the coughing too. That is until he turned around. There was a man there, faded green hair that was splattered with red blood, a bruised and bloodied face. The man's left arm looked like it had been cut in a line from the shoulder to the wrist. His hooded shirt was bloody and torn, as well as his pants.
Ethan swallowed harshly. The sight was enough to raise bile to his mouth, but he knew he couldn't just leave the guy.
"U-uh, oh gosh, s-sir?" he asked, inching closer to the bloody man resting on the wall. How had I not seen him earlier? He questioned himself as he got down, lifting his hand to his face to keep the rain out of his eyes.
"Oh gosh, that... you l-look real bad. Should I- should I call the hospital?" he didn't wait for an answer before he was fumbling for his phone, pulling it out and trying to use it with his cold fingers.
"No!" the guy coughed, causing Ethan to look up at him in concern, "No, I... I just need to get cleaned up. Don't need the hospital," he said in a softer tone, his eyes opening a little through their puffy and bruised state. Ethan swore he stopped breathing for a moment. His eyes...
The man's eyes were a startling, practically inhuman, blue.
Ethan just nodded his head slowly, staring at the man's eyes. Then he stood and leaned down to help the man up. "I, uh, you can come to my place to clean up. Don't worry, no one'll ask questions about it," he said at the man's confused glance.
He shifted the guy, once they were both standing, so that Mister Bloody could lean on him as Ethan led the way. They stumbled towards Ethan's apartment, the little run-down building that was on the corner.
They entered with no problem, no one being down by the doors to question why Ethan was coming home with some bloody guy hanging off his arm. The elevator up was fine too, though Ethan did wince a little as the guy's hand tightened around his arm painfully when they started moving up.
"You sure you're alright?" Ethan asked as they stepped out of the elevator and slowly made their way down the hall to his apartment. Ethan let the blue eyes stranger lean against the wall as he unlocked the door, glancing at him occasionally as he fumbled with his keys and half frozen fingers.
"Yeh, jus' need to clean up..." the guy trailed off a moment before opening his mouth like he was going to say more, then he snapped it shut. Ethan shrugged to himself about it and finally got his door open.
"Yeah, you said that. Come on in, you can use the bathroom to, uh, clean up?" he said, letting the guy rest on him again as he led him towards his bathroom. He noticed the guy had a very prominent limp on his right side as he watched blue eyes push himself off Ethan and hobble towards the bathroom door.
Ethan was about to ask if he wanted anything else when the door was slammed shut in his face. He instantly heard mumbling's and muffled curse words leave from the other side of the door. Deciding not to be rude he turned away and headed to his room. He left the door open so he could hear if the guy needed help or came out, whichever came first.
...
Anti panted as he teleported himself to a random point somewhere on the opposite side of the globe of where he'd been. He winced as he stumbled back into a wall, his leg practically screaming in pain and his arm was burning.
"Fockin' Astaroth and- and th'at focking Dark bastard t'at fockin' leaves at trouble and focking fock!" he mumbled to himself, taking a quick look at his surroundings. He seemed to have landed in a decent spot. The sky was dark, the roads were empty, he was at the entrance of an alley...
He grimaced when he turned his focus from his surroundings to his injuries. He carefully slid down the wall, favoring his injured leg. He wouldn't be able to walk for the next few hours, at least not on his own, without help.
He whimpered quietly when a sharp pain went through his chest and arm. He could feel his head starting to get heavy and his body started to thrum with pain as the adrenaline began to wear off. He leaned his head back against the wall behind him and silently groaned in pain.
He started feeling light headed, probably blood loss. Why on earth did I do that again? Oh yeah. Dark bet lunch that something good would come out of that. And I told him no good would come of it, teasing of course.
He chuckled dryly to himself but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching from down the alley. He stayed silent, not wanting to be found. But just in case he pulled up a 'mirage' of sorts. It turned his features more... human. His eyes one color, his teeth straight, skin more colorful and less dead looking.
He froze when a human stepped out from the alley, blue hair soaked and clinging to their head. How far from home did I get? He wondered, a slight fear rising in his chest. Sure at night, in the dark, when he had a weapon and a partner humans were fine. But in broad daylight when the humans were at their 'strongest'?
No way was he dealing with one. He closed his eyes and hoped he wasn't seen or heard. And then, the dreadful, horrifying realization came. He had to cough. Badly.
He tried to swallow it down, but it didn't work very well. He opened his mouth to breath and try to quell it and let loose a very wet and painful string of coughs. His whole body hurt afterward. But he didn't take notice to it as all of a sudden grey-blue eyes were on his.
"U-uh, oh gosh, s-sir? ...Oh gosh, that... you l-look real bad. Should I- should I call the hospital?"
"No!" he said, looking up with eyes as wide as he could get them, then he swallowed and repeated himself, calmer, "No, I... I just need to get cleaned up. Don't need the hospital,"
"...I, uh, you can come to my place to clean up. Don't worry, no one'll ask questions about it," He looked up, confused. Was he willingly inviting him into his home? After acting so strange already, and looking like shit?
He didn't deny the offer though. For some reason, he felt he could. Maybe I can have some fun with this one..? he wondered as he leaned heavily on the other. He wasn't sure if it was because his legs actually needed the support or if it was something else that kept him glued to the human's side.
When they arrived at a small building, furnished, though a little smelly, he blinked. The human lived here? It wasn't as... flamboyant as he'd been told human buildings were inside. But it wasn't the abandoned barn he slept in either.
He froze a little when they arrived at a small box with sliding doors. He swallowed nervously as they entered it. He watched as the human pressed some buttons on the wall and clutched his arm when the box they were in lurched.
He refused to show any other signs of weakness though.
"You sure you're alright?" the guy said as they exited the box, now in a completely different place. It looked similar though, same wall color and floor. But the walls were covered in doors. Lined up like cells down a long hallway.
Anti was suddenly leaned up against a door, and he watched the human fumble with a set of keys, sticking one in the door. He gulped a little. Had he made a mistake, trusting a human?
"Yeh, jus' need to clean up..." he said quietly as the door opened.
"Yeah, you said that. Come on in, you can use the bathroom too, uh, clean up?" the blue eyed human said, leading the way into the room, but still managing to somehow support Anti through the door.
He was led through the small, yet fairly nicely furnished, house-room-place to a bathroom, where he was then left alone. He limped himself further into the room before stopping and listening. He could hear a pair of retreating footsteps and he let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding.
He turned himself to the mirror and smiled, the image fading away. He hated mirages, either on himself or something else. They hurt to keep up for long, and being injured wasn't helping at all. He sighed as his shoulders relaxed and looked down at the sink.
He carefully turned it on and watched in fascination as clear, clean water came pouring out. He stood there staring for a few moments. It was clear, translucent. It wasn't muddy or clouded or full of nasty things...
He soon found his hands in it, cupping it and bringing it to his mouth. It tasted almost sweet to his parched mouth. He let out a little moan as he drank the small bit he captured in his hands. It was refreshing compared to the shit he was forced to drink at home.
And it was right there. Wait until Dark here's about this... he'd never believe it! He chuckled to himself and took another cupped mouthful of water. It doesn't seem to run out... I should be able to use it to clean up. But first...
Anti turned himself around slowly and inspected the room. The mirror opened up like a cupboard and was filled with bottles of white... tiny things. He closed the mirror and looked at the white... giant bowl next to the toilet. There was a shower head above it, so he figured it was some fancy shower thing.
Then he got curious and reached over to turn the shower on. The water where he, Dark and a couple others lived was nasty. It was always a little brown, and nearly always had some sort of bugs in it. If they weren't the way they were they all would have died from it, in his opinion.
He smiled wide when the water coming from the shower was as clear as the water in the sink. He froze when he heard a knock on the door.
"Hey, you alright in there? I heard something in here?" He sighed, his shoulders relaxing. He'd almost forgotten about the blue haired kid who'd brought him here and, presumably, owned the place. He went to the door and opened it a crack, after double checking his mirage had come back up.
"'M fine, kid... hey, can I use the shower?" he asked as an afterthought. His eyes widened a little though. He hadn't planned on asking, it wasn't the way he did things. Why on earth would he ask this human? It wasn't like the guy was intimidating or something.
He watched as blue hair just shrugged and nodded before turning away back down the hall. He couldn't help but continue watching cautiously as the kid made his way to a door at the end of the hall and stepped through. He quickly closed the door to the room he was in when blue haired turned towards him at the last moment.
He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He winced as he trailed over his cheek. Must've broken the jaw, 'else it wouldn't hurt that much still. He thought before he started to undress. He grimaced when he saw the state of his stomach. Hidden before by his jacket, the damage done could definitely be seen now.
His stomach was practically gaping. He swore he could see ribs in there too. He decided not to focus too much on it though, knowing he would heal. Though that one might leave a nasty scar in its place. Oh well, more battle wounds.
He sighed as he climbed into the shower after setting it up. He jumped a little at how warm it was though, before sighing delightedly and relaxing right into it as his body stitched itself back together.
He closed his eyes as the water washed away the layers of blood and grime from his body. It felt... good. To actually get clean, fully clean. Not just half-assed in crummy water. He looked around him after a few moments, looking for soap. He scrubbed himself as clean as he could.
Afterward, climbing out of the shower, he felt more than refreshed. He grabbed a towel and dried himself quickly. Wrapping the towel around his waist he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. His eyes trailed down to his stomach again, and he grimaced. Again.
It looked better, now more of a large slash across his midsection than a giant extra mouth attached to his stomach. But it still worried him that it hadn't fully healed yet... At least it's not bleeding anymore...
He rolled his eyes at his actions and grabbed his clothes, changing back into them. He frowned as he realized how itchy and dirty they were. Maybe I can get this guy to do the laundry before I kill him. He thought with a small frown.
Then he checked himself over in the mirror, scowling as he pulled his human guise back up. Then, he turned to the door and pulled it open. Stepping into the hallway, he slowly moved down the hall to the room the blue haired guy had ducked into.
He swallowed, suddenly nervous. He nearly slapped himself. He never got like this! Why did one human who helped him make him get like this! One human! ...then again... the guy did help. He let out a frustrated breath and opened the door quietly.
Then he leaned on the wall and watched the guy sitting on his computer. He went unnoticed for a while before smirking and clearing his throat.
"I'm done."