Coming back to why Akihiko was called a cursed child… At the age of eight, people other than his family considered Akihiko. He attended his classmate’s birthday party at their home. He was in middle school back then and studying was the least of his worries since he always stood first in everything.
“Akki~!” says a small Mitsuru.
“Oh! Mitsuru! I’ve come!”
“Welcome. So, you’re the Akki boy that Mitsuru keeps talking about the whole day.”
“Mom~!”
“I’m just joking. Come on in.” says Mitsuru’s mother inviting Akihiko in their house.
Yes, you all are thinking the right thing. It was Mitsuru’s 8th birthday. Ayame was there on that day too. Only thing was that she had not awakened yet. Akihiko was way more popular than he was now. He would always find some way to entertain everyone, which was why everyone adored him.
However, all that ended this very day. That day a ‘Yokai’ strong enough to affect the objects ended up at their house. Akihiko and the others were playing before the party. Akihiko accidently knocked down someone’s glass of juice. The classmate who was drinking the juice was pissed off and started to beat up Akihiko. Akihiko could not back down so he pushes the classmate away. That was when he sees the Yokai on the ceiling with its head having a creepy smile.
The Yokai on the ceiling grabs onto his arm and points it in the direction of the classmate. The ‘Yokai’ like a doll uses Akihiko who was scared to even move. With its other hand, the ‘Yokai’ grabs the neck of the classmate he was made to point at and makes him float. Since no one could see it, it looked like Akihiko was doing it.
Suddenly, Akihiko’s mother comes into the room and screams. The ‘Yokai’ on seeing the mother flees after dropping the classmate. Akihiko, who was scared to even talk, looks at his mother in horror, his mother grabs his hands, and they leave immediately.
After getting out of their apartment, Akihiko stammers-
“I-I-I-I… D-D-Didn’t…”
“I know. I saw it too.”
“R-r-really? Y-you… be-be-believe me?’ ask Akihiko unable to cry because of the horror he faced.
Ayame who was in the same room as them also saw it. That was her first sign of awakening as a Cast. The ‘Yokai’ hadn’t realised that Ayame could see it too.
Ayame did not tell about it to anyone. And they all left home one by one, and Mitsuru cried himself to sleep that night.
The rest of the week, Akihiko did not attend school and stayed at home. After the week was over, he went to school acting normally but everyone maintained their distance from him. Nobody came near him. Even the teacher after hearing about what had happened started to treat him differently. Everyone started to fear him since many of them had experienced what happened in that incident at Mitsuru’s house that day.
After being ostracized by all of them, the first one to open up to him was Ayame. Then, came in Mitsuru. Nevertheless, the others who approached him after that did not have peaceful thoughts like ‘becoming friends’ with him. They bullied him. Since Ayame knew what Akihiko had been going through for all that time she could reason with him like a friend. Mitsuru on the other hand saw this as an opportunity to become popular and stuck close to Akihiko as an act to make people feel that he cares for a ‘cursed’ child. Well, our protagonist Akihiko did not ever know of that.
“Where… is this?” says Akihiko while opening his eyes slowly to find himself under a pink ceiling. He gets up immediately and looks around.
“A… girl’s room?!” says Akihiko with shock.
“Well, technically.” Says Ayame who was playing the RPG that they usually played. She was wearing casual clothes that one would wear at home.
“Is this y-your room?” asks Akihiko while being embarrassed.
“Of course not! We’re at my friend’s house. She’s like an older sister so she let me stay here.”
“Then, where is she?”
“She’s apparently working late at her office so she stays there sometimes. I on the other hand…”
“Hm?”
“Oh, nothing. Well, how does it feel to be back from the dead.”
Akihiko then says with his thumbs up-
“It feels pretty refreshing!” and Ayame gets up and smacks him on his head.
“Ow! I still feel weak just so you know! Where’s Mitsuru?”
“I was worried…”
“Stop saying pointless things. If I really thought that I was going to die don’t you think I would’ve panicked at least?”
“That’s your problem… Because you were alone for so many years, you don’t care anymore. You don’t realise it, do you?”
“I do care about my health, education, uh… games… and, uh…” says Akihiko while trying to think of things he could say.
Ayame hugs him tightly and he says-
“Thank you, though. Although you may be just a friend, I’m glad people like you exist.”
“Um… I know.”
“No. I wasn’t complementing you or anything.”
“I know.”
“I got to sleep well too, see?!” says Akihiko while showing his scrawny muscles to Ayame.”
“I… know. So just rest.”
“Also… about Pei… He decided to save me and I couldn’t say anything to him and I couldn’t even meet him and…”
“I think its okay for you to let out the emotions you’ve bottled up for so many years now.” She says while patting his head while hugging him.
Akihiko starts to cry and laugh at the same time. He says while laughing-
“I… can trust you to still be my friend, right?!”
“Of course. You can count on it.”
“Then can I count on you to do a little something as a friend?”
“Sure. Name it.”
“Let me sleep next to you to…” and Ayame punches him in the gut real hard, knocking him out unconscious.
“You really don’t care what happens to you, do you?” she says while looking at Akihiko’s sleeping face (unconscious face).
After 2 days,
Akihiko wakes up from bed and finds himself in bed next to a very pretty woman wearing her pyjamas and snoring.
“Wha… wha… How?” whispers Akihiko very softly.
The lady grabs onto him and says in her sleep-
“Just give me one more chance Raphael-Chan! I’ll spend more crystals for you.”
“What is this woman whispering in her sleep…? Most of all, if someone sees me like this, all kinds of misunderstandings will be created, I’m sure.” And when he decides to devise a plan, she uses him like a body pillow.
Akihiko then calmly looks to his left where she was sleeping. Her chest was on his arm and he was enjoying himself after some time. He brings himself back to reality and says-
“Only one way to get up from this mess…” he says and turns over to the girl and says with a fake voice, “Darling… It’s morning. I’ll be late for work. Mind letting go of me?”
“Hm… Sure. We won’t be able to eat then, will we?”
‘What is this woman saying?’ thinks Akihiko and she lets go of him. He stealthily gets off the bed and walks to the door.
He opens the door and finds Ayame there eavesdropping on what was happening inside the room.
“Ah.”
“Ah. You heard that?”
“Of course not… If I was saying that it would count as lying right?”
Akihiko gets red and embarrassed and while covering his face says-
“J-just leave me… I tried my best to e-escape.”
“Oh, that’s cute.” Says Ayame with a straight face and then with an evil grin starts to mimic Akihiko, “Darling… It’s morning… HAHAHAHAH! I really wanted to see your face!” and she continues to laugh while Akihiko was feeling oppressed.
The lady gets up from all the ruckus they were causing and she walks to the door in anger.
“A-YA-ME! I’ve told you many times… TO-STOP-BICKERING!” and she punches both of them on their heads really hard.
They scream in pain while the lady closes and locks her door to go back to sleep again.
“She’s… a d-demon.”
“I k-know, just put up with it.” Says Ayame with a happy yet sad face.
“Just what kind of hell do you go through every day?”
“This isn’t even the start of it.” She says and gives him his breakfast which she had kept aside to hear what was going on inside.
“Oh, thanks.” Says Akihiko and gulps down everything in one go.
“No manners…”
“Hm? You say something?”
“No. Nothing at all. If you need anymore, I’ve kept the refill downstairs.”
“Sure. I’ll grab em!” says Akihiko and when he tries to run, his legs give away and he falls down.
“Eh? Why aren’t my legs?”
“It’s ‘cause you were in a state of rigor mortis. You’re still recovering, you know.”
“Oh, is that so.”
“How does it feel to have food made by a maiden?”“It’s the best.” Says Akihiko with a proud smile while Ayame helped him get downstairs. Then he asks her, “Also, did anyone call me or something… Well, there aren’t many like those though.”
“There was an unknown number who called you and asked for you right away. They said something like ‘we would like to recruit you for a program. Don’t worry you can get back at him for taking away your lucky-go life.”
“Lucky-go? Lucky… go? No, of course not. Give me my phone right away please.” Says Akihiko with determined eyes.
“Now then!” says Akihiko and dials the number that called on his phone when he was asleep.The phone rings.The number connects and then he hears a voice which he hadn’t heard before but was really familiar.“Hello. This is Ito.”“Ah, yes. I’m well-informed. You wouldn’t call back without knowing the details of the call… Or would you?”“Details? I just heard something interesting about what you told me.”“Hahaha. That’s the only reason. Are you sure…?” says the unknown voice and he feels a chill down his spine. Meanwhile, Ayame was getting ready for classes so she picks up her bag and says-“I’ll be leaving then. If anything just text me.”“Yeah, sure. See ya.” Says Akihiko anxiously. The front door closes and t
After a few hours, he opens his eyes and jerks up realising that he had slept off while thinking about something which he couldn’t remember since he just woke up. He looks around and then sees Ayame studying on her table. He then asks in a daze- “W-who are you?! Have you finally come for me… demon!?” “What the hell is wrong with you? First, you sleep in my room and then you wake up to say stuff like that… What is wrong with you?” and she continues to study. Thinking about the phone call he got, he gets out of bed and says in a hurry- “I’m gonna go see a doctor. I completely forgot about my nose. I need to check it.” “In the middle of the night?” “Middle of the night? How long was I sleeping?” “When I returned and entered my room thinking nobody was there… I took off a layer of my clothes then realised you were there so I changed back…” “Haha. Alright I get that I slept for a fair amount of time. Thank you and sorry for making you worry… God!” Says Akihiko while leaving the
Seirei looked like an innocent yet mature child with casual clothes on. He didn’t have anything different from other kids and looked completely normal. Yasuhiro looked mature and he wore a suit when he was in the office. He had normal features too which didn’t make him stand out from the rest of the people out there. Getting up from his seat immediately Akihiko asks Ayame while gripping on her shoulders- “Why did you follow me?!”“Why? I’ll do whatever I want to and you can’t judge me for that.” “No. You don’t understand.” “I do. Which is exactly why I followed you.” The other two just stare at them while they argued with each other and Seirei claps his hands directing both of their attention towards him. “Now, now. No lover’s quarrels in here since we never came here for a soap opera.” The both of them stare at him with disgust on hearing him say that and then they say- “There is definitely no way I’m in a relationship with her.” “There is definitely no way I’m
“Do you know how to use a kitchen knife for battle?” “I know how to cook… So using the same principles…” “How are we even on the same page here?” Says Yasuhiro and sighs. Seirei was looking at a magazine with a lollipop in his mouth. Ayame confronts him and asks- “What is so interesting about the magazine?” “This magazine is from 10 years in the past. I treasure it.” “But what is it about?” “My dead parents are in here so I treasure it.” “Um… Were they models?” “No. My dad was an outstanding employee in a famous company and my mom was a normal person.” “And would you know how they met up?” “I thought girls were all sensitive about all this…” “Well, I’m a girl too and my curiosity gets the better of me.” “That’s probably the reason as to why you have idiots hang around you.” Ayame grabs on his cheeks and extends them sideways. “AHHHH! IT HURTS! I’M SORRY!” he shrieks in pain and Ayame lets go of him. “So are you up for it?” “Up for what?” he asks acting innoce
4 Hours in, “So how long am I supposed to hold this position for?” says Akihiko while doing a head stand while leaning on a wooden block. “Maybe an hour?” “My morale just dropped from 100 to 50 from that…” “Let’s just see how this goes for 15 minutes and then I’ll decide if you have to do more.” Says Yasuhiro and walks over to Ayame and Seirei. While Akihiko was desperately holding his head stand, he curses Yasuhiro to keep his motivation from not dying. “That’s kid’s tenacity is nothing like I’ve seen before.” “I know. Idiots have that in them.” “I agree too.” Says Seirei joining in on the conversation. “Now, it’s time for your training.” “T-Training? I don’t think I need…” “You’re going to fight against it as well. Prepare yourself.” “U-um. I want Seirei to teach…” “HUH?! Sorry I’m not up to it right now…” and as soon as he says it, she reaches out for his cheeks while facing Yasuhiro and laughing. “ALRIGHT! I’LL DO IT!” says Seirei while tears were about to flow f
On returning back they look outside the window. The Sun hadn’t risen yet and the clock had only moved by 6 hours. Ritsu takes his seat and says while leaning back on his chair- “If you have to either call someone like your loved ones or something like that… Go ahead. There’s little time before sunrise so make it quick.” “Why? Do they disappear in the day?” “No. They just become weaker during the day. Also, it’s a pain finding them since their size gets reduced to a ball too.” Akihiko takes out his phone and looks through his contacts and dials his mom’s phone. After a few rings- [Hello?! Akihiko! Are you alright?! You haven’t even messaged me all this time! I was worried sick! Where are you right—] “I’m fine mom… I’m fine. So please calm down.” [I’m calm… I’m calm. As long as you are fine…] “Listen mom. You remember that day… on that night?” [Of co
Few hours later, all three of them open their eyes to find themselves in front of an abandoned hospital. “Oh… Why are we back at the building?” asks Akihiko while rubbing his eyes and slowly waking up. “Just cause it looks like that doesn’t make it the same. God. You’re going to be a headache for people in the future.” Says Yasuhiro. After that, Akihiko pushes around the sleeping Ayame even when her eyes were wide open. “Once again…” “What? Are you dead…?” “If you do that once more… I’ll put a bullet through your head.” She says in a low voice while groaning in pain. “What’s wrong though? It’s not like you’ve broken a leg, right?” he says while lifting her leg and dropping it. Ayame passes out completely and then Yasuhiro comes up from behind and asks him- “Do you have any idea what we’ve been going through while you passed out midway on the ride?” “No. The last thing I remember was that there was this creature on the road and then it’s a blank.” “You don’t even re
“Alright… Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?! Why are there two high schoolers who look like they came back from a war?!” “Doctor this is an emergency! Please hurry up…” says one of the nurses to the doctors who was heading for the operating theatre with the nurses pushing the stretchers towards the room. The doors close and Yasuhiro and Seirei look at the door in the hopes of their complete recovery. Few hours pass by with them lying in wait. One of the doors open and a doctor exits. Removing his mask, he says- “I’m getting off my shift now…” “Doctor! So, will they be fine?” “Huh…? Ah, you might be the ones who brought them here. Yes, so the girl will be fine with a recovery and in a few months, she’ll have all her bones healed. The boy… Well, let’s just pray for the best.” Says the doctor and walks away. “He’s gonna be fine… He’s gonna be alright…” repeats Yasuhiro to himself. Seirei then gets up from the seat and says- “Ritsu.” “He’s gonna be all