Chapter Text
When Takumi was young, maybe six or seven years old, he could remember a playground a few blocks from his home. It had bright green slides and a red and teal swing set.
Takumi had a faint blurry memory of playing hide and seek with a few other kids and running beneath the structure to hide. Behind the slide, he remembered running into a black haired boy–𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰, He hadn’t been paying attention and tripped over the boy who sat on the ground.
“Are you okay?” The boy squeaked, looking at Takumi with big blue eyes. Takumi happily nodded, brushing dirt off his scraped knees.
“You should clean that so it doesn’t get infected”
“Infected?” Takumi could admit now he wasn’t the smartest child “Like when a zombie bites you and you turn into a zombie? You can’t become a zombie from falling in dirt!”
The boy gave him a puzzled look.
“You know, like from the tv. The gross green things that come back to life after someone dies”
“..Like a ghost?” The other asked, to which Takumi shook his head.
“No! Ghosts don’t come back to life!”
“Well nobody can come back to life”
“Yes they can! The zombies do!”
The boy just shook his head in disagreement.
“There's a movie about it! It’s called– uh..” Takumi looked away as he thought “I dunno, I can ask my mom”
“My mom and my dad don’t let me watch movies” said the blue eyed boy
“What? Why not?”
“I dunno”
“Thats stupid, my mom and my dad let me”
Takumi couldn’t remember what had happened after that, he couldn’t even really remember what the boy looked like, other than having big pale blue eyes, and he was pretty sure the boy had black hair.
A few days after their first meeting, Takumi remembered returning to the park, and once again spotting the boy sitting behind the slide, digging in the gravel.
“Why do you always sit down here? The swings are more fun” Takumi said to him
“I’m looking for bugs” He said, sifting through the rocks with his fingers.
“Ew! Why?!”
“Because they’re cute, I wanna bring one home as a pet”
“Yuck. Why don’t you get a normal pet, like a cat or a dog? I really want a dog but we can’t have one cause my dad will get really sick and die”
“So he’s allergic?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s when something makes you really sick and you can’t breathe, and you get really itchy. Your throat gets itchy too, like scratchy paper”
Before Takumi could respond, he remembered the other suddenly held up his palm, a small bug running around it.
“Ew! Kill it!” Takumi swatted his hand at it, to which the boy moved his hand away.
“No! I’m gonna keep it!”
The boy made a bowl with his hands for the insect, letting it run around and try to climb off.
Takumi had sort of forgotten about the blue eyed boy as he got older, though Takumi knew himself well enough to know he wasn’t the best at remembering things.
The third time he saw the boy at the park, he wasn’t hidden behind the slide, instead sitting on the swing.
“I told you the swings are way funner than playing with bugs” Takumi said to him, he could remember having a lisp around that time, due to missing both his front teeth.
“They’re kinda boring” The other said
“Well cause you gotta go higher– here, I’ll push you! Hold on!”
Before the other could respond, Takumi pushed him on the swing. He saw the other boy hold on tightly, seeming afraid at first, before it faded into a joyful smile, then to laughter.
“Higher!” He giggled
“I’m trying!” Takumi giggled back.
It was after that when Takumi would officially call the two friends. He couldn’t remember any clear pattern of when the blue eyed boy would be at the park, sometimes three times a week- sometimes once every two weeks. He remembered he began asking his parents more and more if he could go to the park, not wanting to miss when the boy would be there.
He racked his brain over and over again, but Takumi could never remember what the boy’s name was, if he’d ever even asked in the first place.
Takumi was around seven back then, now he was in his early twenties. He finished high school a few years back and dropped out of college during his first semester. Luckily for him he’d been able to get a job at a convenience store that paid well enough. His parents helped him pay for an apartment in downtown Tokyo, it wasn’t massive but it was a good enough size for him, big enough to breathe but not too big to clean.
He stood in his kitchen one morning, toothbrush in mouth while he scanned his fridge for something to eat. Despite working at a convenience store full of groceries, he was terrible at actually going grocery shopping for himself.
He shut the fridge door, deciding he’d just skip breakfast this morning- not the healthiest of choices but Takumi was too tired to really care. He spit the toothpaste out into his kitchen sink and left the toothbrush on the counter. He put his coat over his hoodie and slipped his phone and his keys into his pocket.
He had a car, but he worked close enough to work that it was easier just to walk a few blocks instead of dealing with the traffic.
Most of the workday went by like any other, a couple teenagers tried to steal some soda but panicked and put it all back when they noticed Takumi had seen them, and Takumi had wasted a half hour of the day trying to explain to a customer that they no longer sold a drink that was discontinued over a decade ago, but otherwise the day went by as normal.
An hour and a half before closing for the day, there were only a few people in the store, the sky now dark outside.
A customer with blue hair and pale skin came up to the counter, putting down a few rolls of gauze and an over the counter pain medication.
The customer handed him the money, Takumi met his gaze as he took it, noticing big pale blue eyes– Or one more accurately, the other hidden by an eyepatch with an eye printed on it. Takumi hesitated, earning a confused look from the customer. After a few long seconds he took the money, shaking his head.
“Sorry, you just look–..” He paused “𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 familiar”
He looked almost nothing like the blue eyed boy from the park. He had blue hair instead of black, thick eyeliner around his eyes, multiple facial and ear piercings, and at first glance he looked absolutely nothing like the boy.
But when Takumi looked closer, he could see black roots beneath the blue, the same soft features that didn’t really fit the way he dressed, when Takumi looked closer he was positive he saw the blue eyed boy.
“I don’t think I know you from anywhere” The other said dismissively.
“Are you, are you from Kamakura by chance? Or somewhere around?”
“No, I’m from up north- sorry” He took the items from the counter “I don’t need a bag”
“Yeah- uh” Takumi rubbed the back of his neck “Have a nice day”
The man left and Takumi tried to brush it off as a lookalike. Up North was broad, but the city Takumi was from was most definitely in the south.
At 10 PM Takumi locked the cash register and the front doors. He left through the back entrance, opening into a dimly lit quiet alleyway. He pulled his phone out of his pocket but it slipped out of his hand, clattering against the cement.
“Fuck..” Takumi mutters under his breath, silently praying the screen didn’t break. He feels around in the dark for his phone. He feels his fingers suddenly touch something cold and wet, he quickly recoils his hand in shock. In a panic, he feels with his other hand in the other direction, finally finding his phone.
He gets back on his feet, hurriedly turning on his flashlight to get a better look.
He feels a chill run down his spine as he looks at the dark red liquid coating his fingers. He points the light at the ground to see a path of blood splatters on the concrete. He feels his breath hitch, his heart pounding inside his chest.
𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦?
𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥?
𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦?
His thoughts raced a million miles a minute, backing up against the store wall, trying to catch his breath.
𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘪, he told himself, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥, 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?
But then what was it? He was no expert but it seemed like a lot of blood. Way too much for a minor injury.
He started to weigh his options, rationally he should call the police. But what if it was a killer- or an attempted killer? What if they got away before the police could get there? He patted his pockets for anything sharp, if there was a killer out, he should have something to defend himself. The best he could find was his keys, holding them tightly in one hand.
Against his better judgement, Takumi kept the flashlight on and walked deeper into the alley. The blood trail continued into the alleyway, a disgustingly heavy smell of iron filling the air.
He took a deep breath, he didn’t see anyone in the alley so he continued to follow the trail. He felt his footsteps go from hesitant to quick, though his fingers still shook as he tightly gripped his keys.
𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦? He felt the question echo in his mind, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵- 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯.
He shook his head, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘪? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴. You’ve been watching too many slasher movies.
Takumi’s blood ran cold as he suddenly noticed a figure, laid back against a wall. It was too dark to make out any details. He raised the keys to his chest as he approached. As he stepped closer he noticed the person seemed unconscious, but the slow rise and fall of their chest indicated they were still alive.
He hurried over to the figure, he felt all the air leave his lungs as he got closer. It was unmistakably the man from before.
He quickly knelt in front of him, shaking the man's shoulder with one hand to try and wake him while the other fumbled for his phone to call an ambulance, but the blood made his fingers slippery.
“Mm?” The other hummed as he stirred awake, slowly opening his eyes to look at Takumi.
“Shit- are- what happened?! Are you okay?”
The other didn’t respond, waving Takumi’s hand away. Takumi noticed blood soaking the other's hands.
“Should I call the police? An ambulance?”
The other quickly shook his head “No- Don’t!”
The man shakily stood up and Takumi followed, offering a hand out in case the other needed help.
“What happened? W- were you attacked?”
“No, No. It’s nothing”
“It’s clearly not nothing! There's a trail of blood down the alley! What happened?!”
The man rubbed his forehead, the blood loss probably making him confused.
“Okay, okay. So you can’t go to the hospital?”
The man shook his head
“Okay-.. Alright. Will you come to my apartment? I’ve got first aid stuff there. It’s not far.”
The other seemed a tad hesitant before nodding. Takumi moved beside him, hooking an arm under the man's to steady him.