Decimator of Light: Book of Darkness
Chapter Two: The Circle in the Mirror

It took three hours for Cin and Kazuko to finally leave the pancake house. Kazuko had spent half an hour disinfecting his wound over and over before bandaging it, and then Cin had to spend an hour ensuring the owner that he wasn't going to press charges for an accident. The waitress then spent another hour begging for forgiveness, and the last half an hour was spent trying to get to the car while pushing away a few news reporters. Apparently, one of the people inside had called a television station to explain what had happened, and it had been a particularly slow news day. He had told them that he had tripped and landed on the knife himself, which the reporters hadn’t believed. But after the reporters had tried demanding that Cin tell the truth, Kazuko had told them a fun place they could have shoved their cameras, which had insulted them enough to allow the teens to escape.

Cin let out a low groan when he was finally in his car and two blocks away from the diner, his shoulder still throbbing a bit, and Kazuko looking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed.

"That...was so weird," she finally said, turning around and shaking her head in disbelief. "That...to fall and have it land in you like that..."

"Yeah," Cin murmured, hoping to leave the matter. He didn't want to think about it. His stomach was twisting and causing him to feel a bit nauseous, as though warning him that something terrible was going to happen. As though he didn't know that already.

"You've never...I don't think I've ever even seen you get a bruise," Kazuko continued, speaking mostly to herself. "And for it to fly like that...I mean, if you were turned just a tiny bit more the other way-"

"Shut up."

"...What?" She looked up at him, utterly shocked. She had never heard Cin use those two words together before.

"Just...don't talk about it anymore," he said, his dark eyes locked onto the road ahead of him, expression strained. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with her, but he honestly couldn't handle it at the moment. "I know this stuff never happens to me, I know I was a step away from having the lamest death ever, I know I'm suddenly going from being the luckiest guy in the universe to Mr. Bad Luck. I know all this, okay? And it does bug me. But...for the love of God, I just want to get home right now, okay? We can talk about this all tomorrow. Me, you, and Mark."

Kazuko studied him. His usually calm, friendly face was pulled tight with stress, some sweat dripping from his forehead. His hands shook slightly as they gripped the wheel while his left leg tapped the floor of his car impatiently. The blood on his shirt had dried, but explaining what had happened to his family was bound to be more trouble than it was worth. She decided not to press any further, no matter how worried she was.

"...Yeah. That's a good idea," she said quietly, seeing her home come into view. The car came to a gentle stop in front of the brown two-story house that was usually devoid of life. Kazuko was an only child, and her parents were constantly away on business trips either to Japan, Korea, or Taiwan. Growing up, she had always had nannies to take care of her, but now that she was older, her parents trusted her to live alone, granted that she called them every night. She usually spent her nights at either Cin's or Mark's house, since neither family ever minded much. But she and Cin both felt that it was best if she stayed at her own home that night.

"Thanks for the ride, Superstes," she said as she climbed out of the car. "Be careful on your way home, okay?" she added with a small smile that Cin returned with a small nod. She walked through her frozen lawn towards her door, and Cin was driving once again, finally alone with his thoughts.

He drove down the quiet streets, passing frozen trees, quiet lawns, the occasional person walking down the block. Everything seemed the same as it usually was. The same as it always had been.

So why...Why was today different for him? Some things were so small -- getting caught sleeping, stepping on a mirror...But even being stabbed wouldn't have bothered him as much if only those little things hadn't occurred first. He had always gone through life as though behind a magical shield. He could leap off of cliffs and always end up landing on an old, discarded mattress at the bottom. He could bike in the fog and just miss being hit by any car. He could accidentally cause an oil fire and then fall back, hitting a shelf, spilling salt all over the fire and putting it out. He had always been untouchable. And now, suddenly, a year's worth of misfortune was falling onto his shoulders...What could have caused it? It just wasn't normal.

Cin exhaled slowly, stopping and then parking beside his home. It wasn't as small as Max's or as large as Kazuko's; just a nice, cozy house with a large kitchen and a small porch. He looked over at it, pulling his sunglasses down, able to see due to the sun having finally set. He frowned.

Why weren't the lights on? His father was usually in the kitchen by now, cooking something while his mother sat next to his little brother, trying to help him with his math homework. But there were no signs of life inside.

"The hell...?" He murmured to himself, slowly climbing out of his car with his eyes fixed on his home. His hand automatically fit the key into its slot to lock the door. His parents had to be home. It was at least seven, and both were usually back by five. His brother was always home around three, too.

There was no way they could have already been asleep. Had there been a power outage? No. No, there was no way; one of the homes beside him was emanating a faint glow. Maybe Gabriel had gotten in trouble again? Despite his angelic look, Cin's little brother got into trouble all the time. But...until seven?

And why wasn't his key coming out of his lock!?

Had that key not gotten trapped, Cin would have never looked down and seen the truck reflected in his side-view mirror.

In the split second he had, Cin threw himself over the hood of his car, hearing the deafening sound of a horn, followed by one of the most frightening rushes of wind he had ever felt. There was a sickeningly loud crack. His side-view mirror had been snapped off and gave a loud tinkling sound as it connected violently with the road. Cin rolled off of his car, falling roughly onto the snow in his yard, heart pounding, breath nothing more than quick gasps, breaks shrieking somewhere behind him. His body ached with his new bruises, and his panic was at a level he had never experienced before.

"Oh my God, kid, are you alright!?" a large, burly man yelped as he stepped out of his truck. "I was so sleepy, kid, I forgot to put the headlights on, and you're as dark as the road-"

"I'm fine!" Cin called, scrambling to stand, heading towards his house immediately.

"Kid! Kid, I'm sorry, it's just-"

"I said I'm fine!" he barked, unlocking his front door. He yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind him, locking it again, and then pressing his back against it, panting, sweating, entire body shaking. He could hear the truck driver still attempting to yell things at him through the door, trying to ensure that he was fine, justifying his unsafe driving. But Cin didn't care.

He had almost died. He had really almost died. The knife had been one thing; that had been a wound. He may have ended up in the hospital, but it would have only been one cut, deep though it may have been.

But that had been a truck. A giant metal monster going at least forty miles an hour right at him. Had he not noticed the shine of metal as he looked down, his bones would have suffered the same fate as his side-view mirror. It had been a mere accident that he had gotten out of the way in time, being so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't even heard the wheels on the icy black road.

Eventually, Cin's breathing slowed, and his heart began to beat closer to a normal rate. His knees gave, and he slid slowly down until he felt himself reach the floor. The house was black around him, and yet, for some reason, this helped him feel safer. The quiet darkness had always been calming to him, ever since a young age, and now, while his mind was racing, he realized how thankful he was for it.

But as the minutes ticked past, Cin realized that he couldn't simply sit back and wish for everything to go away. Life was still going on around him, and his family still hadn't returned. With a small groan, feeling the bruises on his arms and legs, Cin stood up and walked towards his kitchen. He instantly caught sight of a small piece of paper on the fridge and felt a rush of relief, knowing his family had left an explanation. But as he read it, able to make out the letters easily in the faint moonlight from his window, his relief turned to surprise.

Cinny --

Your father got a catering job for a giant wedding! It's over four hours away by car, and he's been very nervous about it, so Gabe and I are going with him to make sure he doesn't do anything too silly like forget his keys. We're so sorry to leave all of a sudden, but we know you'll be fine. There's gas money for you on the shelf and there's food for you in the fridge, as well as some chips for when Kazuko comes to visit. We'll be back in a week, so take care of yourself! Have fun on your last day of school and call us if you need anything! Much love!

-- Mom

A phone number was written neatly underneath his mother's words, and Cin shook his head, unable to hold back a small smile. His father had been rejected no more than a week ago for the job, but apparently, the groom had changed his mind. Gabe was already on his winter break, anyway, and would always have rather been around his father, helping cook, than sitting back and playing video games with his older brother. Cin only had a day left of school himself, before his two weeks of freedom, and he had told his parents how much he wanted to simply sit at home with his friends. This was his mother's subtle way of letting him have his fun while also allowing her husband to have an all-family Christmas, since they would have been back in time for the holidays.

Cin gently ran his fingers over the phone number his mother had left for him. If he needed anything, huh?

The longer Cin stood there, looking at his mother's swirly handwriting, the sillier he felt for assuming anything had been wrong that day. Yes, he had a few bruises and a cut now, but there were people who had wild bears suddenly attack them every day. He had simply had some bad luck, probably because he had been so sleepy and out of it the entire day.

He left the note on his fridge and headed towards the other door, which lead him into a narrow hallway. At the end of that corridor was a small door with a Yin-and-Yang symbol on it. As soon as he pushed the door open, he felt back at home, the familiar smell of dried paint and snack foods filling his senses. He dropped his backpack carelessly onto the ground and turned on the one, very dim light in his room, squinting for a second to get used to it.

When he could open his eyes without strain, the familiar small, messy room surrounded him. A large bed with the covers in disarray, three white bean-bag chairs in front of a small television with a few game systems attached to it, a desk with a working computer sitting on it, books discarded randomly all over the floor, a body-long mirror next to a few shelves both for clothes and books, and a wooden chair in the corner with a half-painted canvas on a stand in front of it.

Cin walked over to his mirror, pulling his bloodstained shirt over his head and tossing it carelessly into a corner. He wasn't as tall or skinny as Mark, but he had a strong chest and strong arms despite being as lazy as he usually was.

He glanced at his mirror. His dark eyes stared back at him, almost completely black, as though nothing but a giant pupil. Dark, chocolate-colored skin and messy black hair with blue and purple bangs that fell freely into his face surrounded those eyes. His chin had a small goatee on it, as well as a lot of stubble, and three silvery earrings reflected some light from his left ear. He checked his face, expression bored and placid, smiling a bit at himself as he usually did. He wore sunglasses not only because he hated the light, after all. If he didn't, people constantly assumed he wasn't paying attention. Granted, he usually wasn't, but it wasn't pleasant getting caught.

"Aw, damn..." He sighed, looking at his arms. There were blots where his skin was black-ish or red, where he had bruises from his most recent encounter. He then traced up his arm to his left shoulder, admiring Kazuko's bandage work. The cut wasn't deep, from what he had seen as she had covered his wound up, but his family would have definitely noticed if he had walked around with that on his shoulder. How was he going to cover it up...?

One white orb stared back at him from his mirror, just behind his right ear.

"Holy-!" He yelped, stumbling back, falling to the ground and scrambling to turn around, expecting to see someone, something, with that frightening white shade. But he found nothing. His room was quiet, silent, though for a second, he could have sworn the lights had flickered.

He looked back at his mirror, hearing nothing but his own gasps for breath and the blood pounding in his ears. It was him. Just him in the room, just him in the mirror staring back. Slowly, he propped his arm up, ready to stand, but heard a small jingle.

He looked behind him and saw his dumbbells laying inches from where his head had hit the floor a second ago. They were shaped oddly, with the weights slightly sharpened, giving them an interesting, almost Gothic design. They were supposed to give him an incentive not to drop them while he trained, since if he dropped them, the thin edges would leave deep imprints in the ground. So if his head had hit the ground only and inch higher...

He leaned to the left, fishing his phone out from under a pile of books. Hands shaking violently, he dialed one number, and without bothering to speak, began dialing the second one on his other line. He pressed the receiver against his ear, swallowing but failing to remove the dry feeling from his throat.

"-Superstes! Dammit, talk when you call me, I was watching something, and I had to get to my room to get the stupid phone-!"

"Kazuko? Cin?" Mark's voice said, a little confused. The two never called him after giving him a ride home unless something was terribly wrong.

"Mark?" the anger in Kazuko's voice faded instantly to worry. "Oh, shit, what's wrong, Cin?"

"I...I..." Cin tried swallowing again, eyes darting around him room, untrusting, paranoid, and unaware why. "Y...You guys think I can stay at one of your places tonight...?"

"Of course!" they both answered as one, causing Cin to smile a bit despite his current state.

"My house," Kazuko said after a second. "Mark, get your butt over here if your family'll let you go."

"Yeah, it's fine," Mark said instantly. "I already made food, all of them've finished their homework, and the little ones are asleep. My dad's home, too, so they shouldn't need me tonight."

"Th-Thanks," Cin said, voice still shaky. "I'll be there in...in a few minutes, I have to find my keys-"

"NO," both their voices blared at him from the receiver. In that instant, he realized the two had spoken of the day's events as soon as he'd driven Kazuko home. He usually would have been angry, but he was too terrified with the idea of driving anywhere or even walking anywhere alone at the moment.

"I'll pick you up," Mark said. "I can borrow my dad's car. I'll just walk from my house after I drop it off, it's only a few blocks, and I could use the running. I'm leaving now."

Before either could argue, he had hung up.

"...You okay?" Kazuko asked gently.

"I...I...I don't know..." Cin admitted slowly, feeling less frightened than he had before, but his stomach was still twisting and turning uncomfortably, causing him to be unsure of his feelings. "I'll tell you guys everything once we get there, I just...I can't stay alone tonight."

"Alone?"

"My mom and dad left with Gabe for that job a few cities over. Gabe probably started whining when they tried to leave him with me. Not a big deal, don't worry."

"Okay," she said, though her tone was hesitant. "I'm gonna go get beds for you guys ready, then. You two get here safe, okay? Mark drives like an old granny anyway."

"Mm," Cin nodded. "See you." He hung up the phone reluctantly, eyes looking around the room one more time. He stood slowly and headed towards his closet, pulling a baggy white shirt over his head and picking up a sketchbook on his desk as well as a small bag with clothes and other necessities. He, Kazuko and Mark all had such bags in their rooms because of how often they visited each other. He picked up his backpack as well and sat on his bed, turning the one light off.

He waited alone in the darkness, every ticking of the clock causing him to jump slightly and swear that he had never noticed seconds to last so long before.