Money is important (Take 2)

A heavy pall hung over the apartment as Kazekabe stared despondently at the past due notice. Rent was just a week away, and his bank account was practically tumbleweed.

"This is just great," he muttered, sinking deeper into the couch. "I finally start making some progress, and now we're about to lose the place."

The Sins had been uncharacteristically subdued the past few days as Kazekabe's depression resurfaced with a vengeance. Even their usual bickering lacked its manic energy.

Sloth drifted over, her lavender haze blending into the gloom. "Well...this was inevitable, wasn't it? We temp—"

She broke off into a massively wide yawn. "—orarily deferred the consequences of your inertia..."

Envy shot her an acidic look. "As usual, utterly useless input from Lazybones here."

"Hey, I'm just saying the harsh truth you all avoid!" Sloth snapped, a rare flare of irritation in her voice. "Face it, at some point reality was bound to —"

"Oh, can it with your relentless negativity!" Pride suddenly boomed, billowing out to her full luxurious span. "Our esteemed colleague merely faces a minor inconvenience. One easily surmounted by—"

"Yeah, yeah, your impeccable ability to talk ourselves into delusions of grandeur," Greed cut her off with a disdainful snort. "How about this time we pursue a practical solution? Like helping Kaze land a sweet job to cover the bills."

At the word "job," a haunted look crossed Kazekabe's face. He shrank back into the sofa, pulling his hood down.

Wrath noticed his reaction and scowled. "What, you getting scared at the prospect of doing an honest day's work for once?"

"It's not that..." Kazekabe said in a small voice. "I want to get there, really. But every time I even think about applying somewhere, I seize up. My brain goes into total panic mode..."

He trailed off, wrapping his arms around himself as his body started tensing up. Just discussing job prospects seemed to trigger his anxiety in full force.

Lust watched Kazekabe's distressed state with a concerned look. For once, her voice was devoid of its usual sultriness. "It's the depression, isn't it? Relapsing again..."

She glided over and laid a tendril of lavender mist over Kazekabe's shoulder. "That's why seeing your professional still is so important, darling. They can help get you through this dip."

Greed harrumphed dismissively. "With their exorbitant hourly fees, you mean. There's no cash to keep burning through therapy."

"Well we have to try something!" Gluttony blustered, waddling up with one of her towering plates of stress-baking. "Here Kaze, have a cupcake. The temporarily synthetic sugar high might—"

She faltered as the platter wobbled precariously. A dribble of frosting plopped onto the floor, forcing Envy to quickly pull back her mist with a disgusted look.

"Ugh, there you go again with your revolting indulgences! Why am I always the one being showered in your repulsive—"

"Enough!"

The shout came from an unexpected source: Sloth. She'd roused herself from her languor, tendrils whipping around to silence the rising cacophony.

"All of you, be quiet. Can't you see Kaze is struggling enough without your petty squabbles making it worse?"

Shame-faced, the other Sins averted their eyes. Even the normally unflappable ones like Pride and Greed looked slightly abashed.

Sloth turned back to Kazekabe, her voice softening just a fraction. "Listen...I know we annoy you. Believe me, I often annoy myself just by existing. But...you don't have to retreat into your head alone this time."

She extended a tendril to Kazekabe's hunched form. "We're here. To listen, not push our own agendas. If you need to open up, to vent, to just...be with whatever you're feeling right now, we can try."

Kazekabe felt something loosen inside him at Sloth's words. Even from the Sin whose whole existence was dedicated to inertia, it meant something to have the affirmation of being allowed to simply...be. Not fighting, striving, or drowning in shame and negativity.

Just being heard and accepted, free of judgment or pressure. For once.

He took a deep, steadying breath. Then another. Gradually, his body's panicked tension began to unwind as he let the Sins' presence wash over him.

In the silence, he found his voice again — a faint, wavering thing at first.

"I'm scared," he whispered. "Of failing again..."

The words began spilling out more readily as his roommates listened without interruption.

"Every time I even think about putting myself out there, I seize up. Applying for jobs, going on dates, making any kind of effort...my brain just shuts down. All I hear is that voice telling me it's pointless. That I'll just screw it up..."

He paused, breath hitching. Admitting his deepest fears aloud felt like reopening old wounds. But continuing to let his murky thoughts stay bottled up inside only risked them growing even more toxic.

With an encouraging look from Sloth, Kazekabe kept going.

"It's like...as long as I stay cocooned in here, in this safe little bubble, I can't get hurt or fail again. But the second I try to move forward, all my doubts and past failures come rushing back to suffocate me..."

Sloth nodded slowly, letting his words hang in the air for a long moment. Then she responded in that signature languid drawl:

"That's...understandable, Kaze. Your psyche is scared of being harmed again. It's protecting you...by keeping you small and stifled."

She let that sink in before continuing.

"But this chrysalis you've built...as cozy as it feels, it's unsustainable. You're becoming...atrophied. Sick, in mind and spirit."

Wrapping a tendril around him, Sloth pulled Kazekabe into a loose, comforting embrace.

"I know it's terribly...tedious. Confronting those toxic inner voices. Challenging them, rather than letting them trap you. But you have help this time."

She gestured to the other Sins quietly watching.

"We're here...to buoy your spirits when you falter. You don't have to swim against that soul-crushing tide alone."

For the first time in a while, Kazekabe felt his eyes well up...but not with sadness. A cautious, fragile sense of hope flickered to life in his chest.

His demon roommates were a mess, as always. But maybe, just maybe, their chaotic existence didn't have to be a source of constant strife and angst. Perhaps they could be...uplifting presences.

Not by bullying him with their selfish vices, but by creating a safe space where he could confront his inner demons head on. A nonjudgmental atmosphere where he was free to feel, without becoming overwhelmed.

They'd certainly try, at least. It's what roommates — what friends — were for.

And if their motley crew couldn't figure out how to cover next month's rent in the meantime? Well...Kazekabe would cross that bridge when he came to it.

For now, simply being able to take each day as it came without crushing despair felt like a milestone in itself.