A welcome respite in an unwelcoming place, part 2

"Did you hear? Someone heard strange voices coming from the abandoned train station…"

"There was a photo in a newspaper. His face was cut into a terrible smile! What kind of psycho does that?"

"I'm afraid to be outside in the evenings… There's always a feeling like I'm being watched, even when there's no one nearby."

"Huh? Hamada-kun, you are acting so weird! And you missed all the classes. Were you sick?"

Shin hurriedly excused himself from this conversation and left the hallway before any more questions could be raised. He didn't expect to be actually recognized… Which, in hindsight, was stupid.

The time spent gathering gossip wasn't very helpful. He heard rumors about things that definitely belonged to his stories, but not a hint about the Fourth or any other summoned people. In other words—no new information.

A loud ringing announced the end of classes. Having no desire to take part in any school clubs, Shin left the building and went to 'his' home.

There were no police cars near it, which was hopeful. After carefully peeking inside, Shin found that everything inside stayed exactly like he left it.

'I suppose I can live there for a while. If anyone else comes, I will just kill them like the skin-snatcher.'

There was only a slight problem—the remains of the skin-snatcher. Its black blood has already seeped deep in the floorboards, and the leftover human skin was not appetizing in any way.

'Tetsu,' Shin called. 'Do you know how to hold a mop?'

'A mop… it's a stick with a cloth on one side, right? I remember those… it feels like a long time ago.'

Shin sighed.

'Alright, you will be digging. Let's bury this somewhere out of sight.'

An hour later, there was a pile of upturned ground on the lawn, and a dark but dry stain on the kitchen floor. By then, Shin wanted nothing more than to just rest.

For him, this meant writing. Back at home, he only needed a phone for this, but here things were more problematic.

Shin scowled at the home phone in the living room. Tetsu liked the thing and all the machinery she felt inside, but for him this meant only inconvenience.

This world was several decades in the past from Shin's own. Personal phones were a rarity and couldn't do much besides calling.

Shin had to get a pen and paper and write by hand.

Unlike usual, instead of a horror story, he wrote a memoir of sorts.

First, he wrote about everything that happened to him today. When he reached the present point, Shin began imagining things.

Very simple things.

Like returning home to his own body, this instant. This was the ending of this brief story—Shin went home and lived happily ever after, and everything he experienced was just a dream.

Shin put the last dot on the paper, and nothing happened.

He huffed and stretched his tired fingers. This was so useless—he knew it would be. And now that he knew his writings became real once, Shin didn't even feel like writing any more of his horror stories.

It was like all his inspiration was sucked out, leaving only gloom. Although, a bit of that gloom wasn't his own.

'The thing you wrote…' Tetsu spoke. 'You don't want me here with you, don't you? If you really had a choice, you would've stayed on your own.'

Shin tensed, unsure how to respond. She wasn't lying. This arrangement was necessary for his survival. Who in their right mind would want to share a body with a murder-happy demon? The Contract made it hard and inadvisable for them to hurt each other, but it didn't make it impossible.

Tetsu continued talking.

'It was always this way. People summon us, Contract us, but when they get to know us they flee in fear. You fear me, too. Just a little… But I can tell. We are one, after all.'

'But I didn't flee,' Shin had to say. 'My emotions are… They don't matter. They never matter.'

Now Tetsu felt only sadder. 'This isn't true! It's just not, partner! But you know what? I will prove myself to you. I will kill your fear and bring love there instead. No matter what it takes.'

The ominous promise was said with a bright cheer that made Shin shiver. He pushed the feeling away and thought about what to say to placate the demoness.

Tetsu was less unpredictable and volatile when she felt appreciated. It was something Shin had to keep in mind.

'Then follow my commands like you did so far, Tetsu. That was good.'

She beamed at him. 'You can rely on me, boss! I'm great at following commands!'

Tetsu was, strangely. Shin had no idea why—he didn't write about her this way. He didn't write a lot about her at all. She fit the general image of a demon, but her attachment to him was plain bizarre.

Shin didn't have the brainpower to think about this today.

He found a TV in the living room and just switched channels from one bland thing to another. The couch was comfortable, and Shin didn't notice how he turned sideways and dozed off to the murmur of voices on the TV screen.