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“Jōuno, I’ve shared my past, now how about you do?”
The white-haired boy looked up at his companion, then back down.
“Don’t worry about it, Tetchō-san! Either way, I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway!”
Jōuno looked up at Tetchō, giving a sly grin.
Tetchō, a boy with dark brown hair, simply rolled his eyes.
Tetchō: “What is it that you’re hiding?”
Jōuno: “I’m not hiding anything, Tetchō-san~~. My! Are you that curious of me, you weirdo.”
Tetchō got up, lightly slamming hia hands on the small wooden table the two were sat at,
Tetchō: “As a Hunting Dog,”
He narrowed his eyes.
“I will figure out.”
Jōuno grinned a bit more,
“Very well then, goodluck, my dearest ally. Even though, heh, I must say. You aren’t the best at figuring things out…”
Tetchō sat back down, and began mixing the strawberries he had with some Shicimi spice, Jōuno just silently judged him. Before finally finishing his food, and leaving. Leaving Tetchō there, all alone.
Tetchō, who finally noticed Jōuno was gone after a solid five minutes, scoffed to himself.
“Left without saying goodbye huh…”
“Classic Jōuno.”
———————————————————
Jōuno slipped away from the small café him and Tetchō were at. He didn’t enjoy talking about his past, or even thinking about it.
“I’LL MAKE YOU ATONE FOR YOUR SINS, YOU MONSTER!”
Jōuno shivered a bit as those words came slamming into his mind once more. However, he quickly recovered, so many people had told him that by now.
Jōuno walked the streets of Yokohoma, avoiding eye contact with anyone, his cape dragging behind him in the wind.
Suddenly— a man bumps into him spilling coffee on Jōuno’s freshly washed uniform.
“WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING, YOU WHITE-HAIRED TWINK!”
Jōuno’s eye twitched a bit. Even though he couldn’t see the man, he could feel his large presence, and somehow, he knew where his collar was. Afterall, he managed to grab it and drag it to the nearest alleyway.
The man struggled and once him and Jōuno arrived at the alleyway. Jōuno roughly threw him to the wall.
Jōuno pulled out his gun, that had a silencer, and he shot the man right in his leg.
The man began wailing in pain, and Jōuno ripped a peice of that man’s shirt, and Jōuno tied it around the man’s mouth so he couldn’t yell.
The white-haired boy stood, and bleeding out man right infront of him, his expression nonetheless. Still.
He suddenly pulled out a pocket knife from his coat. And began to cut the man’s eyeballs out of his eye sockets. Jōuno then went to slowly cut through the man’s thick layers of skin, cutting off almost all his limbs. The man, who was already dead by now. Layed still. And Jōuno looked down again, and spoke.
“Don’t ruin my coat next time, sir.”
He then used his ability to disappear, and he made his way back to his small living area. The moment he re appeared, he was back in his home. Which to him— wasn’t even a home. Just a place he slept and did the rest of his basic living needs.
He took off his uniform that was saturated by that man’s blood. After he took his uniform off, Jōuno went to go take a shower, then he put on a simple white t-shirt along with some gray sweatpants. Jōuno walked over to his sink after he changed back, and began to scrub the blood stains out of his uniform. After removing about two stains, Jōuno grew bored. And he threw the uniform into his washer, hoping that the stains would come out on their own.
Just as he was about to sit down, he heard a faint knock on his door. Jōuno walked over, and asked the person at the door who they were and why they had came.
“Jōuno-san, it’s me. Tachihara. I have come to discuss something with you.”
Jōuno opened his door, then welcomed Tachihara in. And the two of them went to sit down on Jōuno’s worn down couch.
“Jōuno-san, there was sight of a gruesome murder, that smartass, Ranpo, fron the Detective Agency went to solve it. But, somehow, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. So I’m just wondering, was it you?”
Jōuno nodded, then scoffed.
“Hah, that Ranpo doesn’t seem too much of a genius, if you, a total goon could figure it out before him. But yes, Tachihara-kun. It was me.”
Tachihara gave a concerned look to Jōuno. Even Tachihara was shocked by something that gruesome. And then, Tachihara saw it, his eyes going slightly wide.
Jōuno bobbed his head a bit.
Jōuno: “Something the matter?”
Tachihara gave a bitter laugh,
“No, nothing is wrong, Jōuno-san.”
Tachihara got up, thanked Jōuno for letting him in, and left.
Jōuno, who had been acting quite cheerful, finally groaned. He didn’t want to admit it. But, he felt alone. He didn’t have any particularly close friends, any that were alive atleast.
Jōuno walked over to his bed, not even bothering to eat. And he laid curled up into a ball on top of his bed, small tears streaming down his eyes that could no longer see.
After a while, he started choking on his own tears.
He didn’t want to be alone, he hated it. Whatever he did, he’d be judged. That small reminder came from Tachihara that day.
Jōuno heard his washer start to beep, indicating that his uniform had been washed. He got up, his eyes red. He walked over to his washer, and felt no blood stains, he’d need confirmation from someone later though. He turned his washer onto the drying mode, and threw the clothes back inside.
He sluggishly walked back to his bed, and threw himself on it once more.
———————————————————
Before Jōuno knew it, the sun was shining down on him and his alarm was screaming in his ears.
He silenced his alarm, not normally. He grabbed a small gun he had under his pillow and shot at the alarm. The sound of the bullet echoed through the building, and he could hear footsteps running towards his door.
“JŌUNO!”
He could hear his friend’s familiar voice, and him banging hard on the door.
Jōuno got up out of bed, then went to open his door.
His friend almost fell on Jōuno, and he grabbed Jōuno’s shoulders, catching the white-haired boy off guard.
Jōuno: “Uhm, Tetchō-san? What’s wrong.”
Tetchō pulled back a bit, then immediately grabbed Jōuno’s arms.
Jōuno tried to pull away a bit, but overall. He didn’t assume Tetchō would care all that much.
Tetchō let go of Jōuno’s shoulders, then immediately struck him across the face.
“YOU MORON! I THOUGHT YOU SHOT YOURSELF.”
Jōuno began to laugh.
“Pfft- you idiot, why would I kill myself?”
Tetchō let himself in, then shut the door behind him.
“Tachihara said he saw scars on your arm, and when I heard the shot this morning, I-I just assumed.”
Jōuno began to laugh even more, but, there was another emotion behind it. Almost relief.
Tetchō grabbed Jōuno, and pulled him in for a tight hug.
Jōuno waited a bit, before hugging Tetchō back.
Jōuno: “Wow, you really are a weirdo, so clingy today.”
Tetchō: “Why. Why’d you cut yourself?”
Jōuno laughed.
Jōuno: “Hehe, that all comes from my past.”
Tetchō: “…Then tell me about it…”
Jōuno paused.
Jōuno: “You would hate me though.”
Tetchō: “I don’t think so…”
Tetchō pulled out of the hug.
And Jōuno brought him to his familar couch.
The white-haired boy took a deep breath, then broke down.
He didn’t even see it coming, he just broke down.
Tetchō immediately began to comfot his friend, his usual serious attitude completely gone, it being replaced with some sort of soft energy.
Jōuno managed to choke out more words
“Y-you’d hate me Tetchō, I don’t want more people to hate me.”
Tetchō: “You said it was your past, right? What’s in the past is in the past.”
Jōuno looked down, then began to speak.
“When I was thirteen years old, I killed everyone I knew. I-I don’t know what snapped in me. I first killed my parents, ripping their limbs apart. Then, I went to school, light blood stains on my hands. I remember a teacher calling me into their office, asking about the stains. Then me killing them aswell. I grabbed a pencil and I-I gourged their eyeballs out, and stabbed their throat. And before I knew it, my two bestfriends were in the room, I began to attempt to explain what I did. But they started screaming, and the only thing I could think was ‘Shut up right now,’.”
Tetchō pulled back a bit, his face clearly trying to hide his horror.
Jōuno sighed then continued.
“I grabbed some scissors, and I slit both their throats so they couldn’t move, I was like a killing machine, I stabbed and stabbed at them untill they couldn’t move. Then, cops came, I was about to attack them, but they held a knife up while i was running to attack, and my eyes got scratched, making me blind and the officer yelled ‘YOU WILL ATONE FOR YOUR SINS, YOU MONSTER!” I then got sent to jail, and I eventually escaped and came to Yokohama, leaving my old life behind. But, that feeling of killing. I whole heartedly believed that they deserved it, so. I killed more, that recent grueling case? I killed that man. I did all that…”
Jōuno laughed.
“I don’t feel any sorrow for them, I ignore that feeling. Because I know that when I acknowledge it. It will be to much. These days, I feel lonely. I assume everyone hates me for the things I did… They do, don’t they Tetchō-san?”
Tetchō stood still, his face unreadable. He despised people who tortured others with all his heart. But he couldn’t bring himself to hate Jōuno, he just couldn’t.
Tetchō: “I-…”
He didn’t know what to do or what to say.
Jōuno: “You can leave if you hate me now, I don’t mind.”
Tetchō stayed sat on the couch. He took a deep breath, then spoke hurriedly.
“I-that is extremely wrong. If it were anyone else I would despise them by now, but I can’t bring myself to, I just can’t. You need help, like actual help. But I-I don’t know who could help you. I…”
Jōuno smiled a genuine smile,
“I’ll try to get better, I can’t be forgiven for the past, but I can try to become better.”
Tetchō gave a look of relief.
Jōuno: “I will still bully you and everyone else though. I don’t have a reason to stop tourturing people though..”
Tetchō: “Do it for me, don’t tourture people for me.”
Jōuno gave a side eye to Tetchō.
Jōuno: “This whole interaction has felt very gay.”
Tetchō facepalmed himself.
Jōuno grinned, his eyes slightly red. But, he avoided agreeing that he’d stop tourturing people.
Tetchō paused for a moment.
“Wait a minute, what the hell were you shooting!?”
Jōuno: “My alarm clock.”
Tetchō gave a deadpanned look to Jōuno, then got up.
Tetchō: “I should go now, because this does feel very gay.”
Jōuno: “Woww, getting smarter huh?”
Tetchō rolled his eyes, and Jōuno smiled.
Jōuno: “Normal Tetchō is back!”
The two friends waved goodbye. Tetchō, hopeful for a change.
———————————————————
Tetchō met up with the rest of the remaining Hunting Dogs, explaining the situation.
Tetchō: “Even though he did horrible things, I think he will get better.”
Everyone smiled kindly, but deep down, they knew Jōuno wasn’t going to stop. He was to far in.
And, they were right. Jōuno tourtured one person to death that night. And, he still. Felt nothing.
——————-