Chapter 30: Not The Same

Hiyori was laying on her own bed, watching the bare ceiling above her bed. It was after almost a month when she left to seek out Everlong and now she was back in her own apartment. Alone. Her mailbox was filled with flyers, unopened bills and notices from the post office of undelivered mails. She had no mind to even empty it, the moment Everlong dropped her off, her good mood turned depressingly sour.

 

“You need to readjust to your new life a little, take a few days off, get back to regularity before you come working with me! If you can’t relax, you won’t last long in my line of work. I’ll come pick you up after a few days! Try to relax until then!” said, leaving her before her apartment complex, driving away.

 

“But I just can’t…” whispered, covering her eyes with her forearm, wearing nothing but a white undershirt and a loose short at home. 

 

She really couldn’t. She was laying there for hours now, unable to sleep. Outside the sun already went down and the cold wintery air was bitingly cold outside. It was a different situation now but just as bad. Her mind was wandering from scenario to scenario, imagining Yukari returning or a completely different demon popping out from the shadows, restarting her torment once again. Even though she could move now, toss and turn between the sheets, she just couldn’t fall asleep! She even considered taking some pills but when she was holding the bottle in her hands she questioned everything that happened until now… what would be the point of going back to medication? Wouldn’t it be the same then? Just like before?

 

“Fuck…” sat up, tussling her hair, feeling awful. In the end she put on a hoodie and joggers, going down to the nearby street, standing before multiple vending machines. The lights coming from them were bright, colorful and cheerful, completely opposite of the dark night she was standing in. Alongside with the happy lightshow came cute voices speaking to her from the little voice boxes inside, prompting her to buy something. In the end she ended up choosing a can of extra strong coffee before eyeing the cigarette machine next to her. “I should get a Taspo card…” murmured to herself before walking into the nearby convenience store. Just stepping through the door she was already frustrated, pulling the hoodie closer around her face, putting her ID card on the counter before saying anything. The clerk just jolted awake from the greeting bell, ringing as she walked inside, rubbing his eyes as he only looked at it, then at the young face yet very old eyes of Hiyori, trying to focus with his own. “Just give me a pack of Mevius. And a lighter.” said quietly, trying to cut the whole interaction short.

 

“Aren’t you-” blinked the middle-aged man behind the counter and Hiyori already knew what would come next, answering him with an irritated, angry voice.

 

“I put my ID before you for a reason! Check it first then serve me already…” spoke, only maintaining a short eye contact, knowing this would happen… as always. 

 

It took minutes until the clerk finally served her, checking it multiple times and watching her leave with a suspicious look. Stepping outside she was more annoyed than ever before. Even if previously she found herself in a position like this she was irritated, yes, but those feelings quickly evaporated, only sighing, shrugging once then forgetting it. Now? She felt her face turning red, getting almost overwhelmed by anger!

 

“Damn…” opened the pack of tobacco up, picking one out and lighting it up with her shaking fingers. After she finally exhaled out the thick, white smoke and opened the can of coffee she brought, her boiling blood slowly started to settle down while her legs moved once again, leading her back home.

 

Walking a small distance she realized what just happened inside of her head, knowing, now that Yukari was gone, her feelings had nothing to slurp them up, like a sponge, so they were running rampant. She already forgot how to control them and every little stimulus sent her nerves into overdrive. 

 

“Like a damned teenage girl before her first period…” chuckled, shaking her head and taki a sip of coffee “Thank God I don’t have to deal with that, huh?” murmured to herself with a confused smile on her face. All this was new to her. New in a sense that she once had already completely forgotten how to feel at all! Besides fear, hopelessness and being tired. Now every other emotion came back to her and in a stampede, every time something stimulating happened! “I really should sign up for that shitty card, using vending machines is much more convenient than dealing with humans!” clicked her tongue, walking past the previous row of vending machines.

 

“I agree with that.” answered her a foreign voice, making Hiyori flinch, almost dropping the can of coffee from her hands. 

 

Looking towards the source she saw a thin but tall, very tall figure, pushing coins into one of them, buying himself a can of beer. Just watching him quickly rang warning bells in her head. Even though he had a long coat around his body, his legs, stretching out from below, they were naked and bony and the skin stuck to them resembled more of the color of copper than anything else. And not because the shiny lights coming from the machines before them! Same with his fingers that pushed on the touch screen, selecting what type of beer he wanted. As the wind blew past Hiyori, she could smell the faint sulfur-like stench coming from his direction, extinguishing her cigarette between her trembling lips.

 

“Hm?” turned the figure towards her, sensing that she was frozen in place. His face was human yet not at the same time. It had every feature that a normal man should… but his skin was cracked, his eyes shining in a sick, yellow hue and his teeth were as sharp as nails. “Ah, sorry!” smiled, making it even worse, as he leaned forward, stretching one, crooked finger out that lit up at the end, relighting Hiyori’s cigarette. “There!” pulled back, opening his beer can, looking at the stunned Hiyori with eyes, blinking vertically and doing it with different timings per eye! 

 

“T-t-thanks?” shook Hiyori, recovering a little, fighting back the urge to scream or run away. She remembered that Everlong said that she would start seeing things but she never expected it would be this… literal! And soon! 

 

“No problem! Seems to me you were freed, huh?” nodded, looking up and down at her. 

 

“Freed?” raised an eyebrow… does she know him? Or something?

 

“I live in the same building as you! I saw you being consumed for years by now! But it is gone, no longer attached to you, so I assume you dealt with it!”

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“Oh…” nodded, raising the can of coffee to her mouth. “Yes… that… happened.” murmured, trying to find her words. 

 

“Good for you.” smiled again, which still, looked like snarling.

 

“I did not know demons… were just… living here.” spoke up, trying to say something and not just stand there silently but as soon as she did, she wanted to slap herself, afraid she just angered him! 

 

“Amongst humans? Ahaha…” laughed in a bone chilling way “Some of us do. Not everyone of course! Not all of us can reign in their desires and instincts so well! Even if we are granted Asylum here, getting busted with feeding on humans would revoke our privileges and we would be sent back to, well, Hell! Whichever layer we are from!” shook his head, sipping on his beer, also picking out a cigarette and lighting it up with his fingers “That would be a death sentence! For us to be granted Asylum we had to pay a price… if we ever end back up there… well… let’s just say, even demons have their own version of hell!” 

 

“You would be… killed?” gulped as her fear slowly subsided, replaced by great curiosity, finding it surreal yet hilarious that she was talking with a literal demon!

 

“Worse. So I don’t really want to talk about it!” shook his head, scrunching up the can, throwing it into the trash, a hundred meters away, perfectly nailing it. “Was it a demon who helped you? Or a priest? But you are free of the stink of anything holy. I hope you weren't ripped off, I know people, if you need help, I can give you a fair price for it!”

 

“No.” shook her head, looking away from the far away trash can, back at him “By Detective Everlong. Do yo-” tried to ask but the demon flinched, stepping backwards in panic as his copper colored face turned into white marble. He almost knocked over the vending machines as he bumped into them!

 

“Fuck… is he here? Is he coming here?” asked, sounding like crying, turning his head left and right.

 

“Huh? No, I think not yet… why?” blinked rapidly, almost laughing out, watching him switch from a somewhat mysterious persona into that of a crook hearing sirens from the distance. 

 

“Yet? FUCK… Look, girl, if he comes or whatever, I am a good citizen, okay? I have a damn job, I did not touch any people, at all! I’m clean! Sometimes I sip on some nightmares at night but that is all! That is not against the rules! I did not hurt anybody! NOBODY! Okay? Got it? Please?!”

 

“Woah, woah… okay! Relax! I… I don’t even know what you are talking about! And I think he wouldn’t either!” laughed, unable to hold it back anymore as all of her fears evaporated in an instant. “If he asks I’ll tell him you are an upstanding citizen, okay?”

 

“Good… good! I owe you one, okay? I’m living below you, if you need something smuggled in, horns, demon salt, hell embers, anything, I’ll get a good price for you!” nodded rapidly, rubbing his bony hands together, still feeling extremely nervous. 

 

Hiyori had no idea what the literal hell he was talking about but found it greatly amusing and she just nodded with a friendly smile. 

 

“Thanks! By the way, my name is Hiyori!” stretched her hand out.

 

“Troduc!” reached out with his own as he shook it. Hiyori could feel how fiery hot it was to the touch instantly, like reaching into fire! “Anyway… I’ll go, I have work to do and all! Good meeting with you, pleasant talk and all that jazz! Just… remember, okay? If he asks, Troduc is clean! Super clean! Clean as God’s toilet!” said, spewing out words like a machine gun while literally running away.

 

“Sure!” grinned Hiyori, watching him disappear in the streets. Smelling her own hand, now it was soaked in the odor of sulfur, making her retch a little “Damn, I hope this comes off!” moaned, going back home now feeling completely different when she left for the shop. “A different world… huh?” looked back at the streets as she arrived back at the front of her apartment, thinking about Everlong’s words, that it would never be the same… which was a good thing… in her books. 

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