Scintillating - SemiShira ✔︎

Chapter 2

"Carne asada, habichuelas guisadas, tortas, tostadas, sopita de res, huevos rancheros, horchata, y hay más."

(“Roasted meat, stew beans, sandwiches, tostadas, beef soup, huevos rancheros, horchata, and there’s more.”)

Kenjirou blinked sleepily, aware that several people in the tiny roadside restaurant were judging his bloody khaki pants, stained Doctors coat, and bed-ruffled hair. He had not a single piece of equipment except his wallet and phone which were miraculously found in his pocket but his bag with medical supplies and loose change were gone.

"Huevos rancheros," Kenjirou responded tiredly, ready to pass out on the table. He had gotten a total of two hours of sleep due to the unforgiving heat and paranoia of the early morning. He had been peacefully avoiding the stares and waiting for his food when the news on the surprisingly large television caught his attention.

"¡Hoy en noticias! A las seis y cuatro, la policía encontró cinco muertos en la zona de Durango. Dicen que es culpa del Cartel y aconsejamos que se queden en casa."

("Today in news! At four past six, the police found five dead in the Durango area. They say it's the Cartel's fault and we advise that you stay at home.")

Kenjirou was done with life. He really couldn’t deal with it anymore. Who the fuck told him to move from the comforts of his home back in Japan to a country that spoke a terribly hard language and took him nearly half his studying time to learn the Spanish before being able to ace his studies? Oh, that’s fucking right, his hot-headed being made the decision himself and packed his bags, bade his family farewell, and hopped on the plane right after graduating high school.

But hearing the news made his stomach fall and suddenly wish he were religious. He would pray and ask the Lord to help him out of his sticky situation and hope that whoever he ran into the day prior was not some form of threat to his life. But as he ate his eggs and pitifully got out of his chair in his dishevelled look, Kenjirou wanted nothing more than to scream due to the feeling of constantly being watched.

He felt like pulling his hair out and as he figured his way home with the aid of his phone that was about to die, he still didn’t shake off the feeling yet at every turn and stop, there wasn’t a single person that looked vaguely interested in him besides the elderly abuelas that frowned at his clothing. He could’ve sworn he was hallucinating but the words of the man from early morning rang in his head.

"I'd have to keep an eye on you."

Kenjirou felt his shoulders tense and the second his eyes spotted the front of his door, he made a beeline, rattling the door open as quickly as he could and slamming it closed with his back. He couldn’t move, much too scared as everything closed in around him and the reality of Earth clouded his vision. Who the fuck was that man and why the hell did he have to ruin his life?

He couldn’t even be sure if the man was the reason behind the five deaths, hell what if the man himself was one of the dead? Even worse, what if there were witnesses who linked him to some crime that he had no part in? 

HELL, WHY DID HE HAVE TO HELP A RANDOM MAN BLEEDING ON THE STREET THAT REFUSED HOSPITAL AID?! He couldn’t take it and if his license were suddenly revoked, he swore to fucking god he’d find the man himself and kill him with his bare hands. He swore.

And even when he convinced himself to take a shower and pace his room, he couldn’t relax because the second he stepped foot outside, his life felt invaded. They should’ve made fucking Tsutomu do the emergency surgery. Who cared if he was on vacation? Stupid coconut cut looking bitch. He was pissed and he wished it was Tsutomu getting his life threatened instead of him. The little shit who had tormented him back in his homeland Japan and then proceeded to follow him to Mexico for some cursed reason.