Chapter 10: Oni Tomodachi

That night, it struck me weird when Karma seemed to be more quiet than usual at the dinner table, since he was always talking about something; whether it be school, homework, friends, etc. But it seemed he wasn't in the mood to do that night. Everytime my parents or I would start a conversation, he would either smile and nod, or he would just continue eating.

After that, we decided to watch "Real Steel"-it was the only thing on the TV- but Karma didn't seem interested. He walked upstairs and closed his door. Two minutes later, we heard a thud outside. My father went to see what it was, and never came back. My mother and I went outside to find my father holding Karma in his arms, crying.

His arms and legs at weird angles, a small smile plastered on his face. It looked like he fell from the window, as if he was pushed or he jumped from the window, because it was wide open. I stood there, tears rolling down my eyes. How could this happen? Why would he do this? He was progressing very well in school, so why this?

People came outside to see what the commotion was. My friends noticed what happened and said nothing.

~~~

The next day, we buried his body while people came to our house and gave us their condolences. I could remember how peaceful he looked. It was as if he was asleep. The thought of it seemed to make me feel worse. I sat on my bed while my friends tried to comfort me. "It's all my fault. I'm the one who put too much pressure on him-"

"You know it's not your fault, Oni. You know how it was for him at school, always getting into fights. Maybe that might've been what caused Karma to do that." Nico interrupted me.

"What if he didn't commit suicide?" Jay said. "What if it's connected to all that's been happening to us?"

I stared at the window. What if it was true? What if it was connected to us? "But if it was, then why aren't we dead like him?" Mune asked us. There was silence between us for a while then.

"I don't think it has to," Nico said. "The night we snuck out, Karma nearly died-"

"If you didn't shoot it." I said, staring at the desk Karma would draw on. Nico nodded.

"Exactly. And the girl we came across that day was the same girl that threw Mune across the room." Jay said.

I thought about the moment when I saw Karma, the other girl and the woman in the room. My memory of that place seemed vivid, but I could still recall the main parts there.

Karma tried to walk despite having one of his feet bandaged. I watched as he pulled on a string, which was connected to something behind a dead carcass. He gave a hard thug and a knife popped out from the body. He dragged it to him and started to cut free the girl's hands.

"Once I cut your ropes, you have to run. I don't care where, as long as you get back to your family."

"But Karma-" The girl said.

"Mia, she is after you, not me. You need to get back home safely, not me. If I die, it wouldn't matter, because I don't have a family.�� He interrupted her.

The ropes around Mia's hands snapped. She grabbed Karma's arm. "You do have a family. My family."

"Mia you have to run. NOW-" He was interrupted by the sound of a door opening, the woman now furious with a knife in her hand. She ran towards them. She almost reached them, if Jay didn't grab me and we all ran from there.

Sholto came inside and climbed onto my bed. He laid his head on my lap and began to pur. "That girl…I saw her in a room with Karma," I blurted out.

They all looked at me. "How? When?" Jay asked.

"Yesterday, when we were looking in the basement, I saw him."

"But how is that possible?" Mune asked. "We saw him leave with Vanitas before we went inside."

"I'm not talking about fourteen-year-old Karma. I'm talking about ten-year-old Karma." I argued.

Sholto lifted his head and stared at Karma's bag. He growled as he did. "What is it Sholto?" I asked him. He continued to growl. Nico picked up the bag and began to inspect it. He took out a bottle containing a purple-greyish liquid.

"What is it?" Mune asked.

"I'm not sure," Nico said, opening the bottle. Sholto growled even more, but none of us noticed. When Nico took the lid off, that was when he started acting out. He jumped off the bed and ran to Nico, causing him to drop the bottle. The liquid inside fell out and into one of the nearby plastic plants my mom bought-she said they would make the room more "cheery", though it seemed to make Karma gag with disgust.

The plant began to sizzle, then turned to ashes. We all stared in shock. Finally, Jay spoke up. "How the hell did that happen?!" He said. We were speechless.

"What kind of acid is that?" Mune said. "And how did it come to Karma's possession?"

"I...I don't know." I said. My father opened the door. His eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"Is everything okay here?" He asked. His voice sounded sore from sobbing. We all nodded uneasily while Nico hid the ashes that were once flowers. He nodded, and left, leaving open. Jay closed the door and stared at all of us.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" He said. We all shook our heads.

"No one can think what you're thinking because we're not all idiots, last time I remember." Nico replied. A smile crept to my face. Even after knowing Karma died, these two would never stop bickering. "But please, do tell us what it is."

Jay frowned. "That's rude." He said. Then he turned his attention to Mune and I. "Does anyone remember who Karma went with last?" He asked us. We thought about it. Mune frowned at Jay.

"You think Vanitas killed him." Jay nodded. "That is the most ridiculous conclusion you have ever come to." Mune said.

"But what if it is true? What if he did kill him? Then what?" Jay argued.

Just then someone came into the room. Lina, Mune's twin sister, stared at all of us. She looked at me. "You okay, Oni?" She asked. I shook my head. ���I don't mean to be rude, but I heard you guys talking about Vanitas."

"Yes," Mune said. "Do you know him?" He asked her. She nodded.

"He used to be friends with Karma." She told us. "You would always see them together, having a conversation about something. He's downstairs right now." She left, leaving the door open. I thought about what Jay said. I didn't think twice and left the room.

As soon as I saw Vanitas, my hands formed into fists. He was the one who did it. Who else could it have been? I walked up to him and pointed my finger to the door. "Get out." I said, gritting my teeth.

He frowned, and stood his ground. "Why is it you hate me? I haven't done anything wrong."

"Get out," I said, my voice slowly rising. "Or I'll make you."

He glared at me, and left, slamming the door behind him.