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Perhaps leaving the dorm early in the morning for a walk, without alerting the others, was a stupid decision on Yuma's part. In his defence, though, he couldn't sleep and he figured a walk would clear his head. They moved to a new dorm recently, due to a sudden increase in the number of stalkers following them home and trying to break in while they were out. So, while he hasn't really gotten to know their neighbourhood that well yet, he figures that now's a good time to start exploring while the streets are mostly empty.
He steps out of the gate and makes sure it's locked behind him. He needs somewhere quiet where he can focus on his writing without wearing his headphones. However, it also needs to have just enough people milling about so he can people watch as well. Turning his head in each direction, he thinks about which way would be best suited for his needs in this particular moment.
There's a little market to the left. The old ladies, with stalls there, are loud but nice. Last week, he'd gone looking for mochi with Harua and they'd practically been forced to take back enough packs for everyone else for free. However, the places with seats are limited and he'd rather not sit on the floor while ignoring the glances from the stall owners that are setting up for the day.
The playground is another place he could try. Located about five minutes from their dorm if you walk forward in a straight line, it's surrounded by big trees and a lot of shrubbery so it's perfect for nature-inspired lyrics. However, the lights there are laughable at best and downright useless at worst. Plus, the swings creak if you go above knee height and he would rather turn into a worm than make a racket and potentially disturb someone else's sleep.
On the right, there's a convenience store. It's a really small one with only two tables at the front. But the cashier that works the nights is nice and doesn't sneak pictures when they go there, even though he definitely knows who they are. At this time, there're some stragglers from all-nighters at bars who are just heading home so he has an almost infinite source of people to watch.
Mind made up, he turns and heads towards the little pond he'd discovered on their first week. While he's not sure if they'd be awake by now, the ducks he saw that time were pretty. And although there are no benches, he'll be fine just sitting on the grass for a while.
At seven am, a solid three hours after he left, the sun has come out fully and he can hear voices floating down the street only to settle in around him. He's shivering a little bit because he forgot to take a sweater and instead left the dorm in just his pj's. On the walk back home, he decides, impromptu, to stop by the bakery and get something sweet for everyone.
Setting down the box of pastel de nata, he ignores the filling of wrongness that's settling at the base of his spine.
He regrets ignoring that feeling.
“Yuma-chan” Taki says as he walks into their shared living room, eyes glued to the screen of his switch. “Why is there a worm just chilling on your bed?”
Getting no response, Taki looks up to find that the living room is completely empty, save for Maki whose phone is dangling from his hand as he looks at Taki.
“Huh. He's not here either.”
“You don't say.” Maki quips from the couch.
Taki lunges at him, phone and all, and tackles him to the ground. He tickles Maki until he's giggling out pitchy apologies, his cheeks pink and streaked with tears.
As Maki peels himself off the rug, he's muttering to himself, and Taki wonders if it's too soon to attack him with tickles again. Forgetting what he came into the living room for in the first place, he takes a seat on the couch, beside Maki, and turns on the television.
It's like this that Kei finds them. Cuddling, watching Crayon Shin-Chan, and giggling into each other's shoulders.
“Did Yuma tell either of you where he was going?” he asks.
“Oh yeah, that's true. I came in here looking for Yuma.” Taki muses out loud.
“Yeah”, Maki says, shit eating grin on his face. “Before you attacked me like a rabid animal.”
“Guys, focus please.” Kei interjects before they can start another round.
“Uh…no. He didn't say anything to me.”
“The last time I saw him was at breakfast”, Taki says, eyes trained on the television.
“Have you asked the others?”
“Yeah. Nobody knows where he is.”
“Did you try calling him?”
“Yes, but there was no response. I already asked the others to try as well, no response either.”
“Okay, that's definitely weird. He never ignores calls. Do you think he forgot his phone at home?” Taki asks, concern lacing his tone.
“I didn't hear anything ring out when I was in his room. Can both of you check in here for it while I take a look in the kitchen?”
Underneath the beanbag, Taki finds a bracelet he thought he lost months ago. No phone. The entertainment system is pulled out of the console. No phone. Maki holds up one end of the loveseat while Taki searches underneath. Still no phone.
Kei walks back into the living room just as they're lowering the loveseat back into its place.
“Found anything?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed tightly. Taki takes this to mean that his search was futile as well.
“No, his phone isn't here.”
Maki's hand shoots up into the air. “I can go search his bedroom again. And Taki can check the bathrooms. Kei, maybe the others can check their rooms as well.” He's off before either of them can even respond.
Although Taki's search of all three bathrooms is a bust, he does discover that each bathtub has a slightly different shower head than the others. Why is this important? He doesn't know. It's just another fun fact, about their dorm, for him to add to the growing list that contains, but is not limited to;
i. The living room slopes ever so slightly towards the entryway.
ii. The paint in the laundry room is a subtly darker shade of white — off-white? — than the rest of the dorm.
iii. They somehow have more restaurant coupons than they do cutlery...they probably need to do something about that.
iv. Subconsciously or intentionally, the rest of the group tends to gravitate towards his and Nico's room to hang out — probably because they're so cool and trendy.
Nodding to himself as he bodies open the door to his bedroom, he comes to a stop at the feeling of tension hanging, suffocatingly, in the air.
“Woah! What's going on? Did someone die or something?”
“Oh my god — what if he's dead? What if a stalker got to him ad he's bleeding in a ditch with no one around to help him.” Harua is in near hysterics at this point, voice rising several octaves in his verbalized distress.
“Nobody is dead” Fuma says, seated at Taki's desk. “Yuma is alright, we just need to find him and bring him home.”
“Do you think we should call the managers?” Euijoo asks.
“I say we give it a couple of hours. If he isn't back or we can't find him before it starts getting dark, then we'll call them.” Fuma responds.
“Taki did you find anything in the bathrooms?” Kei asks.
“Nothing at all. What about you Maki? Find anything?”
“Same, there was nothing in his room.”
“We have to try looking for him outside as well” Jo states.
“Okay, so we'll split into three groups. Kei, you go with Harua. Euijoo, you take Jo and Maki. And I'll go with -”
“Actually, I found something in Yuma's room”, Maki cuts in. His voice trails off as he rifles through his pockets, He pulls out his left hand from his breast pocket and just kind of brandishes it in the air, drawing their attention. His hand pops open to reveal a worm. It's long, almost covering the entirety of Maki's palm while curled up, and it's dusty pink in colour except for the little band close to one end that's a bit brighter and looks almost like peach jelly.
“Maki, what the fuck? Why do you have a worm in your pocket?” Nico asks, eyebrows scrunched in disgust and three feet away from the rest of them.
“I found it on Yuma's pillow, just kinda chilling there. It looks so cool, I wonder what specie it is.” Maki says, bringing his hand up to his face to get a better look.
“Oh yeah, I saw it when I went to his room earlier.”
“That's true, you were saying something about a worm when you walked into the living room earlier.”
“Guys, focus. We have more pressing issues than a worm at hand right now. Don't forget your phones and wallets as you're leaving. Taki and Nico, both of you will search with me.”
“Kei, you search around the playground with Harua. I'll go to the market with Jo and Maki. Fuma, you take Nico and Taki and look around the convenience store.” Looking up from his watch, Euijoo continues, “It's almost six pm, so let's search for an hour and reconvene at the bakery by seven. Sounds good everyone?”
A chorus of “Yeah's” and “You got it's” echoes around the room.
“We'll go through the back so Maki can put the worm outside.” Euijoo says to Maki and Jo before the eight of them split up.
As they're heading out, Fuma calls out, “Don't forget to call if you find anything or if you have any updates. See you guys in an hour.” And leaves with Taki and Nico in tow.
“Good luck everyone.” Harua says as he tugs Kei out the front door.
“Guess it's just us left” Jo says.
“Come on”, comes Euijoo's voice. He has the back door held open in his hand. “We should head out as well.”
As Maki sets the worm down, he feels a little sad, like he's gotten quite used to holding it over the past five minutes. He waves goodbye to it, and turns to join the others, only to see Jo laughing at him.
“Really? The worm?” He asks, voice cracked from laughing.
“I know, I know. I don't know how to explain it, but it just felt right.” Maki shrugs as he makes his way to the two of them.
Searching is a bust.
As agreed upon earlier, they reconvene in front of the bakery with sullen looks on all their faces. The walk home is quiet, tense, and even the cicadas remain silent, as though sensing and responding to their mood.
Back home, Maki stands in the kitchen making tea for all of them while the rest of them are gathered around the table, looking at Euijoo's phone as they contemplate whether to wait a bit longer before calling their managers.
“But that worm…how did it even get inside in the first place?” Harua asks.
“I'll be right back. I need to check if there are any holes in our nets.”
"I wonder if it's doing okay outside", Maki says.
"We have lots of birds in this area, so it's probably already been picked up." Nico responds.
Five minutes later, Fuma returns with a small frown on his face.
“The nets are all good.” He says, sounding oddly disappointed. “I even checked the windows — there are no holes or cracks anywhere.”
"Maki, where did you say you found it again?" Kei asks.
"It was on Yuma's pillow."
"Aside from not knowing how the worm got inside in the first place, we absolutely cannot tell Yuma that there was a worm on his bed. He'll probably freak out and attempt to set the entire dorm on fire." Euijoo says.
The maknaes are sitting on the beanbag, their bodies all but fused into one while they have a seemingly heated discussion. Taki and Harua are exchanging words, with the former's face getting redder the more the latter talks. The other two seem content to listen to their heated discussion without offering their input. At least until Jo bursts into laughter at something Taki says.
"Taki, this isn't a sci-fi. People don't just transform into animals out of thin air" Maki says, shaking his head as he plays with Jo's palms.
"It makes so much sense though. All the signs literally point to it." Taki says.
"What signs?" Harua asks exasperatedly.
"Where was the worm found?"
"On Yuma's bed." Maki responds, deciding to play along.
"Exactly." Taki exclaims. Continues, "And Fuma checked. There was no way the worm could have gotten inside the dorm."
"Okay, so maybe it crawled in while someone left the door open." Harua refutes.
"And nobody noticed it? The worm's quite big." Taki responds.
"Another thing, Maki had that worm in his pocket for who knows how long and it didn't bite him."
"That makes no sense- Yuma would've tried to take a pound of flesh as soon as he was brought out of Maki's pocket." Harua says, shit eating grin on his face.
"Thinking about it now, yeah if the worm was actually Yuma it would've probably tried to bite Maki."
"Do worms even bite?" Euijoo's voice comes from the loveseat, where he's sat watching their argument, immediately reaching for his phone to check.
"Okay, so you agree that Yuma can't be the worm right?" Maki asks.
"No. I have a final thing to add. When I went looking for Yuma in his room, the worm was facing the door. And when I said Yuma-chan, I swear the worm instantly stood...sat...straightened up. Like it was responding to me."
"Yeah, that is odd." Jo concedes. "But all it proves is that it was a very smart worm, not that its actually Yuma under a curse."
It's then that Fuma interrupts them, barely keeping his amusement from showing in his face. "How about I go bring the worm inside and we can ask it directly?"
As he leaves, Nico says "It's been outside for almost two hours...it's probably gone back into the ground by now. That is if it wasn't snatched up by a bird first."
On the beanbag, Taki is getting aggressive pats on the head, as though the other three are trying to apologize for making fun of his theory.
It's then that Fuma walks back into the living room.
"I think Taki might be right about this" he says.
"SEE I TOLD YOU GUYS I WASN'T GOING CRAZY- wait why do you think I might be right?" he asks, turning to Fuma.
"As soon as I opened the door, I saw it. It was waiting on the top step, away from the carpet like it accounted for me stepping outside without looking down first."
"So the worm is really smart, that doesn't mean its Yuma...right?"
As soon as the name Yuma leaves his lips, the worm turns towards Jo. Eight pairs of eyes lock in on the movement and the room goes quiet.
"You guys don't really think —" K starts, eyes trailing from the worm to the seven of them.
"Surely it can't be." Nico says, voice weak with disgust.
"Yuma-chan?" Harua calls, voice tiny and full of hesitation.
The worm turns around so fast in Fuma's outstretched palms that K chokes on a strangled scream and takes three full steps backwards only to bump into Nicholas. Which startles him enough, again, that he jerks to the side, into Harua whose screams probably break the sound barrier.
It's all downhill from there, and by the time they've calmed down sufficiently, Fuma is letting the worm crawl on his forearm, gently nudging it back towards the centre when it gets too close to the edge.
"So…how do we turn him back?" Euijoo asks.
"What do you mean, "turn him back". You guys can't seriously believe that the worm is Yuma… Right?" Nico asks, incredulousness lacing his tone.
"I believe it." Taki says with a shrug.
"Yeah. Didn't you see how fast it responded when Harua called his name? That's Yuma, for sure." Maki says.
"Okay…say Yuma's actually the worm… How do we change him back?" Jo asks.
"We could try water?" Harua asks.
"Water?"
"Yeah. Like, maybe, he touched something weird today and that's what changed him. So we can give him a bath and see what happens."
"I'm not giving the worm a bath." K says immediately.
"Ditto." Nico's hand shoots up into the air.
A hand reaches out towards Fuma, presumably to take the worm, and Yuma swings at it with his tail.
"He has free rein to crawl all over Fuma" Taki starts. "He's not coming down anytime soon."
"I guess I'll go give him that bath and see if he changes back."
Turns out he didn't need to say anything because the rest of them follow him to the bathroom.
From their vantage point in the doorway, the seven of them tumble over each other to get a better view of the sink without actually stepping into the bathroom. Fuma, to his credit, is ignoring their racket and is instead focused on filling the sink with warm water. While the tap runs, he looks over their body wash collection and asks, seemingly to himself, "I wonder which would be best for worm skin."
"Try Juju's new Naturium one. It moisturizes really deeply and the smell is really nice as well, so maybe Yuma won't be mad at us when he changes back."
"Harua...how do you know that my body wash is super moisturizing?"
"Uh...lucky guess?"
Yuma-worm is surprisingly docile during his bath. Maybe its because worms naturally like water, but it spends a few minutes just rolling around the sink in apparent bliss.
The bath, however, doesn't work and so the nine of them, plus the worm, are back in the living room considering their next steps. They're sat in a circle, Jo at the head, the rest of them watching as he crosses off another thing they've tried to no avail. So far, they've:
i. gone to the backyard and held worm-Yuma up to the sky...and howled- Fuma's suggestion.
ii. formed a ritual circle around worm-Yuma and just kinda stared at him for fifteen seconds- Jo.
iii. bathed him again but with Maki's needlessly expensive Nécessaire body wash- Maki.
iv. ignored Nico's suggestion to smother worm-Yuma in a toothpaste and salt mixture.
After the last suggestion, Yuma took refuge in Maki's sweater and refused to resurface. Maki, unbothered by the squirming mass in his sweater looks up from his phone and announces that Yuma "is an Asian Jumping Worm. How cute."
Yuma does eventually come out and he crawls back into Fuma's palms . However, not before shaking his tail threateningly at Nico in warning. Nico, to his credit, only sticks out his tongue and tucks himself deeper into Euijoo.
"We can try calling out his name together? That might work…right?" Taki suggests.
"If this was a cartoon, yeah." Nico says, sceptical.
"He's literally a worm right now. I don't think it can get more cartoon-like than this." Harua retorts.
"Okay, we don't have any other options so we might as well give it a try." Fuma agrees.
"Alright. On the count of three, we'll say it together." Maki says.
"One, two, three."
Loud cries of Yuma bounce around the room.
The worm in question keeps staring at them from where it was placed on a towel on the floor, after Jo pointed out the danger in Fuma holding it while it transformed back.
"I knew it wouldn't work. He's gonna stay stuck as a worm and he won't ever get to sing again." Maki says, eyes wide and panicky.
"No spiralling. We'll try again but we have to really believe that he's the worm otherwise he won't change back." Fuma states matter-of-factly.
"One more time, on the count of three." Eujioo says.
A synchronized call of Yuma echoes around the living room. It's still for a moment, the worm remaining unchanging in the centre of the circle. Before sighs of disappointment can rise up, a glow erupts around the worm as it starts rising into the air. A popping sound starts as well and they back away as though fearing an explosion. This goes on for almost a minute, the swirling mass that surrounds the worm gets bigger and rises higher until it abruptly pops and a body slams into the floor.
Yuma looks at the eight of them as they peer at him from behind the couch, naked body perched on a tiny towel and nothing else.
"I can't believe you guys actually changed me back."
"Dude, did you know that your nipples are the same shade of pink as your clitellum?"
THE END.
There is a mess of splintered wood, from what previously used to be Euijoo's bed, on the floor. The other occupant of the room stirs awake from the noise.
Staring, sheepishly, at Harua, is a horse. He picks up his phone and checks the time, notes that it's barely 4am, turns around to face the wall and goes back to sleep.