Demon of nightmares

7. Weakness

Who would have thought that I'd end up eating out at a bar with everyone, talking about our weaknesses? Certainly not me. And how did I end up in this messed-up situation? The obvious answer: Haruka. Of course, I wasn't blackmailed into it-no, I came of my own free will after my brother kindly asked me to.

Now we're all here at the bar where Kotoha works. Anzai, the guy who had the nerve to call my brother a jackass, suggested we all go out for food together. I don't even know this guy, so why am I here? Obviously, it's because Haruka insisted I get to know them better. As if he even knows them that well himself. I'm pretty sure he barely remembers their names, yet he lectures me? Yeah, right, little brother.

Some dude named Takanashi was the first to open up about his fears. Who would've thought someone that big could be afraid of bugs? I mean, sure, I'm not a fan of them either, but I'm not scared of them. "I hate seeing the underside of those insects! Just thinking about it gives me chills!" he said, trembling like a leaf.

I glanced over at the blond guy, Nirei, who was busy jotting something down in a notebook. Must be something important, I thought, but I didn't really care. Why was I even trying to make sense of these people?

"It's my turn..." said another guy with bright orange hair-Tsugeura, I think his name was-crossing his arms. "I... I'm terrified of ghosts!"

Ghosts? Really? Okay, they're getting dumber by the minute.

"I have to turn on all the lights at night, or I get too scared. And when I wash my hair, I keep my eyes open the whole time!" I cringed at the thought of shampoo getting in his eyes. This guy's definitely not right in the head.

"Doesn't that hurt your eyes?" Kiryu asked, curious.

"Yeah! But it's better than closing them!" No, it's not.

"Don't you have the same fear, Sakura-kun?" Tsugeura asked, glancing over. Haruka? Afraid of ghosts? Not a chance.

"No matter how much you train... you can't hit them!!" he added. Okay, that part might be true-if ghosts even existed.

"Alright, alright, we get it," Haruka replied, raising his hands to stop Tsugeura from getting any closer.

"I'm glad you understand that we're all the same now," Suo suddenly chimed in, which made us all turn toward him. He was smiling. "Everyone here has weaknesses, but there's nothing to fear."

Yeah, because ghosts and bugs are totally on the same level as, you know, actual problems, I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes. Seriously, where do Haru find these people?

"And what about you, Suo-chan? What are you afraid of?" Kiryu asked, beaming at him. I looked at the guy with the eyepatch. I was curious too-what could his weakness be? He seemed like one of the strongest in the group, besides Haruka, of course.

"Hm... I think I'm scared of... Manju!" Manju? Seriously? There's no way he's being honest.

"Manju? The food?" Haruka asked, frowning. No, Haru... don't fall for it.

"Look, he's starting to believe you!" Kiryu laughed, and Suo chuckled along. "Awh, I didn't think you'd fall for that~" Suo continued, still laughing.

"But Suo-san, you don't like Natto, do you?" Nirei suddenly asked, looking at Suo. He didn't reply right away, looking caught off guard. Oh? Did he guess right? Natto, though? Seriously, Mr. Eyepatch?

The rest of the group started searching for Natto, but Kotoha said the bar didn't have any. They all suggested going out to buy some, but Suo stopped them.