Dis·cord
The strife and tension that arise upon disagreement.
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I stumbled onto uneven ground with a grunt. I looked around and noticed we were in the middle of nowhere. There were high, looming trees surrounding us with no indication of civilization in sight. Are we in a forest or the mountains? I thought to myself.
I gently placed Takeshi on the ground. My hands hovered over his body, seeing how limp he was.
Mita-senpai hobbled over and placed his hand under Takeshi's chin. He frowned. “His pulse is faint.”
“Can we save Ikehara-senpai?” Kouji whimpered, joining the two of us.
“Use your putty to make a tourniquet.”
Kouji nodded at the eldest and did as he was told. The eldest placed the tourniquet on the boy's leg and tightened it around his thigh. Removing the metal in Takeshi’s leg would lead him to bleed to death, so we had no choice but to leave it there.
“He'll be fine, right?” I asked quietly.
“This is all we can do.” Mita-senpai exhaled, wiping off the blood onto his shirt. “But he won't survive for long.”
My vision became blurred with tears. I stared at his awfully pale face. Junya joined my side and held my hand. He silently cried beside me. I placed my head onto his shoulder, continuing to weep. Junya placed his hand on my injured arm, causing me to wince. Suddenly, a glowing light from the palm of his hand drew all of our attention. I watched as the skin of my arm renewed itself. Junya gasped, letting go of my arm.
I stared in amazement at Junya. I turned to see Mita-senpai glance at me, having the same idea as I did.
“What did I just do?” Junya stammered.
I held onto Junya’s hand. “I know nothing makes sense, but,” I wept, “this is a selfish request… Please… Try to save him.”
“What if I hurt him?” He cautioned.
“I trust you,” I pleaded, clenching his hand. “You're his only hope.”
Junya was silent. His wavering eyes darted back and forth to me and Takeshi. He pushed up his glasses and finally gave a hesitant nod. “If you remove the metal, I can try to heal his wound.”
Without hesitation, I reached out and placed my hand on the metal to turn it invisible. I cringed as it passed through his leg, revealing the open wound. Junya quickly put his hand on Takeshi's leg while shutting his eyes. The same emerald green aura surrounding his hand radiated onto the wound. We watched in awe as the flesh and skin gradually healed themselves.
“He needs water,” Natsuki stated. He looked at Kouji, who was surprisingly already one step ahead. Kouji hastily made a bucket with the last of his putty and ran to find a water source.
I hugged Junya tightly, continuing to shed tears. “Thank you, Jun.” Junya leaned his feeble body against my shoulder and shut his eyes. I held him in my arms as I let the distressed, drained boy rest.
Kouji quickly arrived with the bucket of water. Mita-senpai placed his cupped hand inside to give water to Takeshi’s pale face. Takeshi sipped on the water, slowly gaining consciousness. Kouji got enough water for the rest of us to drink as well. We got our fill once Takeshi was recuperated.
“What will we do now?” I asked.
“There doesn’t seem to be any signs of the shadow, so I think it’s safe for us to keep camp,” Mita-senpai concluded.
Abruptly, there was a growling sound. Kouji hugged his stomach, groaning. “Sorry, I wish I had eaten something before my match…”
Natsuki got up from the ground, “I’ll go fish,” he announced, and walked away. Mita-senpai stood up and joined him.
Kouji plopped himself onto a rock with a deep sigh. “Life can’t get any crazier, can it?” He closed his eyes as he leaned his hands on the rock.
I nodded in agreement. The shadows were evolving too quickly with stronger, lethal characteristics. Peering down at the unconscious boys made my body tremble, fearing how much more powerful these beings could become.
Izuki tilted his head while pointing at Kouji. “Hey Kouji, where did that chair come from?”
“Chair?” Kouji looked down and gasped. Kouji’s rejoicing alerted the couple. The two of them walked back to the five of us to see what all the commotion was about. Mita-senpai clapped at the discovery of Kouji’s new ability.
“What if Kouji transforms food for us?” Izuki smirked at the younger boy.
The idea of a hearty meal made Kouji’s eyes light up. He touched the chair, but nothing changed. He touched it with his left hand, then his right. Even when touching it with both hands, it was the same.
“Ya know what… I think fish sounds like a better meal.” Izuki droned, starting to walk away.
“Give me a second!” Kouji clenched his eyes shut. He gently placed his palm on the chair.
After several seconds of silence and grunts, miraculously, the chair transformed into a pack of instant ramen. Kouji became ecstatic, jumping up and down. I couldn’t help but smile.
“You turned it into instant ramen?” Natsuki complained.
“I'm sorry, I'm craving them right now…”
I chuckled. I guess he really likes ramen.
“Ya could've made curry or fried chicken…” Izuki said dejectedly.
“Hey! At least it's a pack of twelve!”
“Ooo, beef and shrimp flavor.” Mita-senpai said while picking up two of the cups. He patted the younger’s head which made a large grin form on Kouji's face.
“If Kouji can make a pot, we can get water from the stream to boil the noodles.” I suggested.
Mita-senpai nodded. “Kouji, make a pot and seven sets of chopsticks. While you're at it, transform these rocks and logs into tents and sleeping bags.”
Kouji nodded eagerly, going straight to work. Mita-senpai and Izuki assembled the tents while Natsuki and I went to fetch water. We let the new members rest.
I've never been alone with Natsuki since our first encounter, except for the times he would constantly yell at me during training, so I felt distant and strange. If I don’t count the time in the bathroom, my first encounter with Natsuki was when he fought the werewolf monsters. At that time, he wore a red bomber jacket over his white school shirt. I distinctly remember his clothing because of how baggy his outfits were. Today, he wore a red windbreaker jacket over his white school collared shirt, accompanied by black pants. Being this close to Natsuki gave me the chance to look at his facial features. Natsuki’s expression remained stoic and emotionless despite the chaos we encountered earlier. His dark chocolate, long, choppy bangs partially covered his glaring obsidian orbs. His facial features were soft for a guy, yet they were sharp when he turned or tilted his head at certain angles.
Now that I thought about it, I knew nothing about Natsuki. He isn’t talkative, or maybe it’s because he doesn’t like talking to me. I wondered if I were to strike up a conversation, if he were to humor me.
“So, um, Natsuki,” I started, shoving my hands in my pants pockets, “is this your first time having to take shelter outdoors?”
“I wish it were.” He responded without looking at me.
I sucked my lips in at his curt reply. My fear for him made me want to shut up, but I was determined to break through this barrier of awkwardness between us. “Hopefully, no more shadows follow us here.”
Natsuki nodded in response. His lack of effort in our conversations seemed as if I were talking to a wall.
“W-well… Do you have any interests?” He glanced at me with his menacing eyes, making my heart drop. The boy unexpectedly stopped in his tracks. “Is something wrong?” I stuttered, shakily smiling.
He inched closer to me and grabbed onto my shirt. I opened my mouth to scream, but Natsuki shut my mouth with his hand.
I guess if I die here, no one will hear me scream. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself to feel pain. After a few moments of silence, I peeped one eye open.
“You need to crouch down. Now.”Natsuki demanded in a whisper. He was staring at something behind me.
I went down on the ground and slowly turned my head. I held my breath as I saw a black bear trudging in our direction. Natsuki kept his sight on the bear as he lowered himself.
“What do we do?” I feverishly whispered.
“Wait for it to pass.”
I nodded while grabbing onto Natsuki’s jacket. “I’ll make us invisible.” I attempted to make the two of us invisible, but it failed. My eyes widened as I couldn’t use my powers. Did I overexert myself?
“Yokono-senpai, what’s wrong?”
“It’s not working! I can’t use my powers!” I feverishly whispered back. “I’ll try again.”
Natsuki furrowed his brows and pushed me to the side. The black bear suddenly lunged at the crouching Natsuki. Natsuki dragged me in his arms as we rolled out of its field of attack. The bear growled and threw its claws down at the youngest. I clenched my teeth to make both of us invisible, but it was in vain. My eyes widened in horror as I saw Natsuki fail to dodge the bear’s attack. He grunted in pain, the bear’s claws digging into his chest. He effortlessly pulled me and hid behind a tree. I grabbed onto his arm, praying that I could turn the two of us invisible. The bear continued in its pursuit, sniffing the floor we stepped on. The predator came into our view, inching closer to our hiding spot. I could feel my heart ramming against my ribcage, struggling to breathe. My prayers weren’t answered, but the bear lost interest in us and plodded away to find its next meal.
“If it’s not shadows, it’s hungry animals trying to kill us.” I wearily said, putting my head in my hands. My eyes landed upon the younger boy who was brushing off the dirt and debris from his clothing.
I gasped. “Natsuki, you’re bleeding!” The boy calmly looked down as if he had forgotten he was injured. “Quick, let's get Junya to heal your wounds!”
“It's alright, it's not that deep.”
I frantically approached with my arms reaching for his shirt. “Not that deep? There's a large stain of blood on your shirt! Here, take off your shirt!”
Natsuki's eyes widened. “No, really, I'm alright.”
“Natsuki, you're too stubborn. Listen to your upperclassman for once!” I growled, grabbing onto his shirt.
He hastily clenched onto my wrist. “Fine! Let go! I’ll wash it in the stream.”
“Then take off the shirt!” I yanked on his shirt, which caused the top two buttons to become undone. Natsuki's hand dropped to his side as I backed away.
“Natsuki? You're–”
“Yes,” he muttered, “I am.”
My face shifted to a fiery red. “I'm sorry, I didn't know you were…”
“The only person who knows is Asuka. I wasn't planning to tell anyone else… At least, not yet.” Natsuki started to take off his top.
I yelped, turning away. I put my hands over my eyes. “I shouldn't look!”
Natsuki furrowed his brow. “We're both guys, it's normal.”
“Even with a topless guy I–” My eyes shot wide open. “U-um, I mean, I'm not used to seeing anyone naked, so..!”
Suddenly Natsuki erupted into laughter. Natsuki bent over the stream with his sturdy back partially facing me as he washed his tainted clothes. My jaw dropped seeing Natsuki smile, an expression I would've never thought to imagine.
“Well, Yokono-senpai,” his shoulders still shaking with amusement, “when did you find out you liked men?”
I sighed. Natsuki is quick-witted after all. “I guess since junior high?” I accidentally glanced up and saw Natsuki smirking at me. “What?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Do you like Matsu—”
The sound of rustling behind us alerted the two of us. Instinctively, I took off my shirt and threw it over Natsuki's back. I stood in front of Natsuki to block the crouching boy, preparing for the bear to ambush us. Unexpectedly, Takeshi and Izuki stepped out from the bushes.
A gasp escaped my lips. “Takeshi! You’re feeling better?”
He smiled, brushing his fingers through his luscious locks of hair. “Thanks to Junya, I’m feeling a lot better.” I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t help from smile like a fool. “Are you two good?” Takeshi asked.
“Yes! Here's the pot of water.” I handed Izuki the pot I feverishly filled which he then thanked me for.
“Rito, why are ya shirtless?” Izuki mumbled close to my face.
My cheeks started heating up again. I quickly peered down at Natsuki whose back was still covered by my shirt.
I chuckled nervously. “I got my shirt dirty, so Natsuki is washing it for me.”
Takeshi pursed his lips, fully convinced. “Well, when you two are done, we'll start dinner.”
I nodded and folded my lips in. I looked at Izuki to see him giving me a glare that he saw through my bullshit. The two boys walked back to where they came from, leaving Natsuki and me alone again.
“You really are something.”
“I was saving you!” I chastised.
“Seeing you all flustered was worth it.” Natsuki, now fully clothed, patted my back.
I smiled to myself as the awkward heaviness I felt on my chest disappeared. Staring at his chest reminded me that he was still injured. “Natsuki, you should still get healed.”
“I’m fine,” he muttered, “the bleeding stopped.”
“If you don’t heal yourself, I’m telling everyone your secret.”
Natsuki's face was back to being stone cold. “If you do, I'll kill you.” The boy threatened, walking away.
I laughed to myself, knowing Natsuki was serious, and yet, I felt no ounce of fear.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0hYtxCXkG
