Work Text:
My eyes are soft.
My brain feels soft.
Nothing exists.
The ground exists.
The texture of concrete is biting into my legs.
I exist.
My brief respite of peace ends as I open my eyes to see the night sky over Tokyo. wind is gently blowing down the streets, only audible for the concrete dust it picks up.
I thought I was just resting my eyes while sitting on the curb. My rib hurts.
“My brother. You’re awake.”
I turn to look at Choso, who is just kinda standing there. I guess he watches me sleep.
I see that he is holding a large box in his hands. A boardgame?
I know he stole it from one of the empty apartments. He’s been stealing things from… the people I killed…
I don't like taking things from them. I only take things they wouldn't have missed.
A boardgame.
I can't summon up the energy to object
“It is Ticket To Ride. I haven’t played it, but I once read in a review that it was a good game to play with family,” he says.
…
“lets find a table to play on” he suggests as he begins to walk away.
I hang my head and take a deep breath to speak. “no. We should get back to killing curses”
“I refuse”
“Alright, i go back to killing curses”
“I refuse”
I look up again. He’s turned around and is looking at me.
He continues “you have taken too many injuries and need time to heal”.
The inside of my torso crumbles like paper. The feeling lifts when I begin to speak.
“I don't care. If I'm awake, then I should be killing curses.”
“It is chief among my responsibilities as your older brother to ensure your survival. So far that meant joining you with killing curses. Right now it means forcing you to rest and heal. I suggest we engage in recreation while you heal”
I stare deeply at “my brother”. He does speak very stiffly, but I can tell he does care a lot about me…
The thought enters my mind like gravity.
He’s going to die…
Choso starts again: “there is no point in objecting. Right now I am more than capable of knocking you out. I don't wish to however. I’d prefer to play Ticket To Ride with you, seeing as I've yet to do so.”
What if I just ran..?
I move my hands to my knees to stand up.
He wouldn’t expect me to fight him…
I gather myself.
and I follow him.
“Yuuji”
"Hm?"
"Thank you.”