The Red Haired Enigma

The midday sun danced its way through the nearby four paneled windows. Though the school seemed empty, there in a back corner of a disheveled hallway I had a sense of familiarity wash over me. Despite the supposed emptiness of the school the hallway buzzed with the voices of unseen students. The unseen footsteps filled the hallways accompanying the distant voices to create a vivid midday soundscape. Despite the ever looming cacophony in the area there wasn't a single soul to be found.

Looking out through a glossy window I saw the sunset, a vibrant painting of oil pastels that melted beyond the horizon with Cinnabar rays. I smiled and reached out my hand to pry open the club room door. I took a quick glance at the wall of the club, the school rules were noticeably absent: perhaps just misplaced? Our mural was different, instead of a messy patchwork juggernaut piece of paper, it was drawn onto the wall. What was most shocking about this discovery was the eyes of the creatures we had drawn, all of them seemed to follow me, maybe a possible side effect of my ill-advised ingestion of berries but I was still unnerved as they followed me. Sheesh, maybe I really was stressed about graduation. It's not like I wanna become a ronin or anything. I sighed and stepped towards the sliding door, the boundary between the real world and that of occultic knowledge right before me. The moment I lifted the hand the door swung open as if someone knew I was standing on the outside; I was suddenly pulled inside and thrown roughly into a chair. The faces of my friends swirled around me, their dialogue played out with an amusing playful tune. Hibari stepped forward, she smiled a wide grin tapping her chest with her palm admittedly despite her endowment in vulgarity she didn't seem to be too gifted with her chest similar to her height. She broke away from the other two and walked towards me with a sultry rhythm. Before I knew it she snaked an arm around my neck and spoke softly

"Why did you leave us Ando!" her statement sent chills down my spine, when I met her gaze her head was missing, her neck wounds flapped open with her laughter. Black blood thick like tar flowed out of her wounds. Her laughter distorted into muffled cries, gagging and harsh coughing. Itoi was the next, kneeling down and flashing a smile he too became overwhelmed with the black blood. His smile fading, as pain filled his eyes. He outstretched his hand but I wasn't fast enough to catch it. He slipped from my fingers and melted into the floor. I tried to scream but I choked, only thick globs of black goop seeped from my mouth, Kagome stepped forward last, the pain in her face manifesting as a desecrated smile and viscous black tears. She held my hands and pleaded softly for me to let go and join her. Her body made several unsettling gurgling noises, the black blood took her too. She sobbed fading away into the floorboards. Screaming and gagging, I was thrown from my thoughts. I had been dreaming.

I sat up throwing off the covers. In the corner of the room a person stirred. A lanky shady figure lumbered towards the bed I lay. A flash of red hair and I gripped the side of my bed with terror in my eyes. The figure looked noticeably confused, he looked behind himself but only saw an empty corner.

"Uh..you seeing ghosts or something?"

"It's….you're the red-haired enigma!"

"I Have a name ya know. Izaya Hamsa. But… How do you know that? talked to any weird people recently?" Izaya traipsed a simple path around the room. His footsteps appeared more like snake slithering. Zig zagging footsteps, without me noticing he suddenly appeared in a seat next to the bed I lay. Even without turning my head I could feel his eyes staring at me, it felt almost like they were boring holes into my skull.

"W…What are y..you doing here?" the words came out in a near scream. Izaya let out a small sigh, it was clear he really didn't wanna have a conversation.

"I saved your life" the red-haired enigma spoke but the words sounded more like a congealed yawn. "I was sent to go look for survivors. Something something death dismay and here you are"

"T…Thank you" I had just been told about this mysterious man, yet here I was conversing with him. I turned my head, meeting his tired gaze. "I..Is it true?"

"Huh? What the Loch Ness monster? Bigfoot? The Flatwoods Monster you're gonna have to be specific"

"You know killing someone by looking at them?"

"OH! That…no that's not true. I mean he died. Not by me looking at him though"

"Y..you killed him?"

"...Jesus no! No, I didn't kill him. He had a heart attack"

"Uh…where are we even?" I asked, looking around at the drab interior of the room I occupied. A large led panel sat above my bed, in the center of the ceiling was a panel with three small cyan lights that pulsed. As any reasonable person would, my thought was a camera, keeping an eye on the patients for the safety and security for the staff. Granted I've never heard of a hospital with cameras in each room. "Uh..so Hamsa-San..how long have you worked in hospitals?"

"Hospital? No no this…" he motioned to the room around him. "This isn't a hospital room."

"Then what's the panel right there?"

"Oh that?" He pointed to the "camera" I noticed. "Oh! That's an Anti-Magic generator, it's for our safety. In case a demon, or wild magi, or anything crazy like that winds up in our care. If they decide to go postal this bad boy prevents them from using any sort of magic"

"Magic? This has to be a joke? No way that Magic is real?"

"Pfft you're not the first to have that reaction" Izaya stood up and chuckled to himself. "See you round Ando"

"W--What? H..How do you know my name?" I asked but Izaya simply pulled his chair closer.

"Ando, I know you don't take well to being told things. that much is obvious." He laughed hideously. "But, this is important and you won't get another chance to hear about it. So listen up. You see, the reason everyone died last night was because of some sort of supernatural event. Now don't freak out, I'm not suggesting we're all going to turn into demons or something equally ridiculous but there are strange forces at play." he said looking around the room with unease in his eyes. The man sitting next to me wasn't anything like the Red-Haired-Enigma I was told about: he was just a nerd. "Look! So we all know Gods right? Deities like Zeus, Dagda, Odin and more. Old lore and shit well! As it turns out there was a reason Zeus tried to keep the light of fire from man. Gods only exist because we let them. Humans give these beings power through worship. what happened last night and the guy who attacked you was just another god. brought forth through our own dark desires for our destruction" He placed his palms together and shrugged. "but that's just my take on things though" I shook my head as if trying to clear it from all the conflicting thoughts filling my mind.

"But, you know, that still doesn't explain why someone could do this." He took a deep breath and continued on. "I mean for fuck's sake he even bothered to leave you with a piece of him. if my dark god hunch is true. shit we're all a little bit fucked" Izaya chuckled but it was clear from the way he drew breath he was worried. I grabbed the bedsheet, tears welled in my eyes. the vivid images of that night playing in my head.

"A little fucked!?" I asked. "So my friends' deaths was just bad luck, is that it?" I somberly nodded "Bullshit!"

"No, no. I mean that's a good point but it's not all bad, I mean this is great news, right?! The real question is what do we do now?" It was clear Izaya would rather change the subject than continue pressing on with the previous topic. "I mean look at it this way. Y-You have free room and board" his voice was shaky and he was anxiously wanting nothing more than for me to drop whatever negativity was about to come out of my mouth. So I obliged.

"How do you know my name?"

"Christ kid! sheesh really are one for the questions ain't ya?" Izaya chuckled. "Patient logs, well that and a friend of mine dropped some info on ya"

"Who?"

"You'd be surprised how much this kind of info can be traced back to you. See, the guy who dropped it? He was a friend of a friend and he got himself in trouble over this stuff once before, not that I ever knew him personally but we exchanged occult photos all the damn time, Burnsworth I think his name was."

"You know of the site? Occult hunting?"

"Card carrying member baby!" Izaya proudly exclaimed. "Yeah now that I think about it, Burnsworth sold me your info for quite a pretty penny, 80 thousand yen. goddamn when the motherfucker could've just given it to me for free"

"80 thousand yen? Are you sure you weren't dreaming or hallucinating?"

"Don't need to make shit up, kid. I know exactly how much lighter my wallet got" Izaya limply shook his hand in the air while giving me a half-eyed stare. "Burnsworth also said he knows you. well I know you know him." Izaya removed his cap, crossing his legs and taking his sweet ass time reclining. "That name you called me. that's an inside joke between Burnie and I" Izaya cackled. "Burnie is one of my oldest pals and he's always been more than willing to share his knowledge with me. He even gave me a little bit of his own occult experience to pass along to our mutual friend." Izaya said and for a second I could swear there was a forked tongue that slithered its way out of his mouth.

"Are you here to just fucking toy with me? or do you have a job to do?"

"Oh that!! yeah I'm mostly here to fuck with you!"

"Then get the fuck out!!!" the words at first were nothing but a whisper. Izaya perked up, he turned his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, all the while maintaining that shit eating grin.

"What was that?"

"Get the fuck out!"

"A little louder kiddo!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!!!!!" I felt the words escape me and everything went numb, the next thing I felt was Izaya's fist against my abdomen. He didn't punch me, he simply pressed it against my body.

"Watch your tone boy! If Gods exist in this world, so do demons! remember this" His voice was calm, and his demeanor completely changed. He didn't yell at me. He didn't threaten me. Instead, my new acquaintance seemed like the cool uncle that had returned from overseas. I was confused. Izaya withdrew his fist, moving quicker than I could perceive he grabbed clothing and lazily tossed them on the bed. "get dressed. I'll be waiting in the gym"

"What? for some anime training montage or something!!? You threatened me and toyed with me. I don't wanna be anywhere near you!"

"I'm not gonna be the one training you. I don't run the gym" he replied matter-of-factly as he walked past me towards the exit. Before leaving he paused. Turning around he looked down upon me with pitying eyes. "Now hurry up and get yourself cleaned up, then meet me downstairs. We're gonna talk about the Midnight Parade"

There was a faint sound coming from outside the door. My ears strained to pick up every tiny noise, straining to find any hint of danger. all I could hear was muffled jargon and the occasional reference to worship or gods. Most of it was stale noise too muffled to even make out. the midnight parade, the painful memories on repeat made the event so fresh in my mind I could see it when I closed my eyes. My hands trembled as I fumbled with the buttons on my shirt. With shaking fingers I managed to close it. There was no mirror in sight so I couldn't check my appearance properly. Just like my dreams I found myself staring at a blank wall, trying desperately to recall the events that happened not long ago. the images of their pained faces filled my mind. My best friends dead and I still living what kind of fucked up fate and I living?

As soon as my feet hit the floor I started walking, heading straight toward the stairs leading down to the lobby. When I reached the bottom level, I saw Izaya sitting on top of the vending machine, drinking coffee and reading manga magazines. his knees pulled into his chest it was like watching a bat nest in broad daylight. He didn't even notice me or turn his attention towards me. All he was concerned with was the issue of Jump in his hands.

"Hey…where's the gym?" A simple enough question; yet Izaya made zero response. He ignored me and kept flipping pages. I tried again. "You know what? Forget it." I flipped the crouched man, the bird and walked off. the Red-Haired-Enigma: more like the red-haired dick! I strolled down the hallway intent on finding the way on my own. it soon became obvious that I had bitten off more than I could chew. The corridors of this place were like winding labyrinths and it didn't help that almost everything looked the same. turning a corner you had to make a split second decision if what you were walking towards was another hallway or just a dead end. I wasn't one without mistakes and walked headlong into a wall more times than I wish to admit.

Eventually, after making several wrong turns I found myself standing before the gym doors. They looked sturdy, strong. Like they would protect me should any harm come knocking. Inside I heard voices, loud and cheerful laughter. Peering through the door was what appeared to be a wolf standing on its hind legs wearing human clothing, holding a basketball close to its chest and smiling. Could this be the guy who runs the gym? I swallowed hard and pulled the gym doors open.

"Ahoy!" Called the wolf. "You're the survivor Izaya told me about! Ando right?"

"Y...Yeah that's me?"

"Awesome! Awesome! I'm Colby! Colby Bartolv it is amazing to meet you"

"Izaya said we were gonna talk about the midnight parade?"

"Pfft you got strung along. no this is just a general aptitude test. need to see how well your body works after the trauma"

I thought back to Izaya's words from earlier, wondering if maybe he did lie. Or perhaps the truth is somewhere in between. I remembered the words of the Red-Haired Enigma, how he claimed I was chosen by the Midnight Parade. Maybe the wound on my chest was indicative of some favor a dark god granted me. Was I destined to become one of them? No, that sounded absurd. I am already one of them.

"Well I guess I passed" I muttered quietly to myself. "What happens now?"

The Wolf laughed, throwing both arms wide, "!!"

Colby was grinning ear to ear as I stood dumbfounded before him. I glanced around at the gym. It resembled a boxing ring complete with padded walls and a raised platform where the punching bag hung from chains. In the center of the room sat a large wooden desk covered in various objects and equipment. Behind the table lay two chairs, which I assumed belonged to Colby and me.

"What's this all about?" I asked, pointing to the desk between us.

Colby motioned for me to sit down. "This is just an aptitude test to make sure that your body still functions. boss's orders"

"So, how do we start?" I asked.

"Well," Colby began, "Shoji here will be doing most of the work" He pushed a paper to the opposite side of the desk. "Write your name. English and Japanese"

"Why?"

"It's some brain shit, I'm not a psychologist but apparently this is important" Colby admitted. His earnest admittance was striking in contrast to Izaya's reserved snake-like qualities. The two were polar opposites in every way, though they shared the same goal. I assumed as much considering they worked at the same compound: Izaya was still an enigma so who knows what his goals actually are.

I signed the page with lazy reluctance, passing it back to the wolf he took it. his eyes scanned over it and he nodded, folding it into a square and placing it in his pocket. As Colby stared at me I couldn't exactly explain why but I...I felt compelled to stare at him in return. his auburn eyes, animalistic it was like staring deeply into a wolf's own pupils. He got up from his seat and trailed a path and before I knew it he had arrived behind my seat. He placed a hand on my back, rubbing in a set circular pattern.

"Hold your breath" It was like every fiber of my being told me to. I did as Instructed holding my breath, he again trailed his hand on my back.

"Now take a deep breath" it's not like when a doctor tells you to cough and you do so, I physically felt as though I couldn't disobey its as though any command he ushered my body felt compelled to follow. My lungs expanded to their maximum capacity and then expelled air violently out of my mouth. After a few seconds of breathing normally again he released my shoulders. he may have released my shoulder he soon hoisted me to my feet from my chair, he sized me up clicking his tongue and it seemed to be in a rhythm that made sense only to him. He lifted up my stump and examined the wound, he nodded clicking his tongue all the while. I have no idea if I was passing his inspection but he seemed most intrigued by my cursed wounds. He gave me a series of commands and I followed, jogging in place, throwing punches or doing push-ups.

"One final test" he cheered. looking around the room I finally found him standing behind an army's worth of training dummies. He picked one up by the head and aimed. "Think fast" He threw a supersonic pitch. The dummy flew and crashed beside me. its impact devastating the boxing ring, knocking down its ropes and coming to rest on the other side of the gym burying itself deep into the wall. Colby with all the might of a vice took a grip on a second dummy, he wrenched his arm back as if he was nothing more than a human? er, wolf? sized pitching machine. his aim was focused solely on me, his finger twitched and I knew his second pitch wasn't gonna miss. leading with his front leg he let the pitch fly, a certain snap broke through the stagnant air of the gym, similar to the crack of a bullwhip. the dummy tumbled after me, punching through the air like a human sized bullet. getting hit by this thing most certainly would spell my doom. rousing all the common sense I had in my body, grabbing my head I ducked to the ground letting out a guttural yelp as I did.

The last blow landed right next to me sending shockwaves throughout my entire body, leaving me paralyzed yet somehow conscious. Colby turned and looked at the damage done. Looking over to me, he snickered with a heinous amusement; as before he grabbed a third dummy. Had he no concern for the damage he was incurring? I lifted my head at the wrong moment, it happened in a single second within a second. the whole world seemed to stop. senses rushed back into me, As if a knight's spirit took hold of me, raising my arm felt natural like lifting a shield. the moment I had there was a feeling, a deep burning inside of myself . I didn't have much time to really rationalize this feeling or discover its origin but its burning spread to my extremities. my legs, then my arms? to my shock a new arm had emerged. This new arm was nothing that can even be considered human. constructed from purple flames, each indigo digit ended with a large dagger like nail. I hadn't realized my own movement but in the span of a single blink. The dummy had been knocked away, its body sliced in half leaving only a burning black base behind. taking a look at my new appendage proved fruitless as the moment it came it had gone as well. Colby had seemed rather pleased with these results, rising to his feet he saluted me with a volley of applause.

"Well it's safe to say you passed" He chuckled. "You're good to go now. sorry for almost killing you, but first" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I hate to be a bother but do you mind helping me clean up. definitely don't want management seeing this."

"I don't mind"

"Awesome Awesome!" Colby cheered and He and I set out cleaning up the aftermath of his rampage granted as much as I wanted. I couldn't force that ogre arm to appear as much as I tried. would've come in handy trying to pry the dummies from the walls. I looked down at my stump, this cursed wound...why me why did I have to survive? Why did I have to survive the Midnight Parade to become this? The negative thoughts bubble up like poison, the faces of my friends covered in black blood. their pain, tears, our dreams. I carry them with me but what's brave about that if I didn't want to survive? Wasn't dying supposed to be easier than living? At least death meant peace and release, the sound of the gym doors being thrown open sent me careening back to reality. A well dressed man clad in a tuxedo he wore a half faced mask and had a mangy unkempt head of graying black hair. He scanned the room almost looking for something to be pissed off about. He trained his eyes on the wolf on the far side and in a blurry set of movements wrestled the wolf to the ground. He held the wolf to the ground, locking Colby's arm behind his back. A slurry of insults followed, the masked man bemoaning Colby's childishness and behavioral issues. He then turned his attention to me, his eyesight a restrained glared filled to burst with bloodthirst hidden under the surface. He examined me, taking a look at my arm and he shook his head.

"Oh! A cursed brat!!" He grabbed me by the collar. how he managed to close the distance was a secondary thought as He hoisted me off the ground. He had grabbed me by the lapels with only his index finger and his thumb. "Name! Now!" He commanded. However unlike how when Colby spoke I felt compelled to follow his commands like a fateful soldier to a captain. My body reacted out of fear, my mouth moved and it took a few tries for my brain to kick in amidst the panic. His voice on a fundamental level felt like death, listening to his voice put me on edge and I couldn't exactly explain why without simply saying that he was scary.

"S-Shoji Ando sir!"

"You're the survivor Izaya brought in ain't ya?"

"Yes sir"

"Judeau stop! You're scaring him!" Colby called.

"Oh, like throwing training dummies isn't horrifying?" He snapped. "So Shoji you want revenge don't you! wanna kill the motherfucker who took your friends?" He shifted his grip and took hold of my throat and began to squeeze. Judeau suddenly broke into a sprint before I knew It; I had been slammed into the ground. Judeau's hand still clutched around my throat. "So tell me Shoji! Have you ever killed someone?" He asked, peering into my eyes with a pitying glance.

"N....No..- No sir" I mewed.

"NO?" He was offended at my answer. He recoiled, taking a half step back but it didn't matter a second after he let go his hand was later wrapped around my neck even tighter.

"Jesus Christ Judeau, leave him alone!!!" Colby Shouted

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS BARTOLV!!"

"You wanna kill a kid to prove a point?"

"Shoji, Shoji, Shoji! if you haven't ever killed anyone how do ya know revenge is what you really want?"

I tried to fight against Judeau's grip, kicking and thrashing proved ineffective as it caused the masked man to just tighten his grip. a black border began to fill my vision; everything began to hurt as all of my body tried to struggle. it was to no avail. only by Judeau's own will did he finally let me free. Coughing and gagging I sat up. Judeau shook his head and clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"He isn't ready, Bartolv! that's all the boss needed to know"

"You could've killed him"

"But I didn't! That's the difference between you and I, Colby! The reason I still have a brother is because I have restraint! you don't!!" Judeau stormed out. I heard the door slam shut.

"He gets better." Colby assured me. it was plain to see from his diverted eyesight that he wasn't confident in his statement. "Look, Judeau seems pretty damn crazy but maybe he'll.....he'll surprise you."

As Colby walked away I decided to take advantage of the silence. The racing emotions that played in my mind proved to be more than I could handle. I broke down, laying on the gym floor. Cursed breed? Magi? Demons? Midnight Parade? Everything in my mind conflicted and raced. I tried to connect the dots and put the pieces together but I had no frame of reference for all of this new information. The only action I could muster was to lay on the floor and sob.