The New Ajin

Chapter Six

The door opens and the large man from before is standing there.

"Naoki is asking for cha," he says.

I run past him and see Naoki laying on top of a white blanket that will be forever stained with his blood.

His skin is sickly pale white and his body is coated with sweat.

"Naoki!" I rush to his side and it takes everything from me to not grab him into a hug.

He smiles weakly at me, "hello, beautiful."

I feel tears rolling off my cheeks and I brush them away. 

He inhales deeply and exhales slowly. His breath catches and he tries to recover.

He them smiles at me, "can I sleep on the bed now?"

"Naoki! Why are thinking about that at a time like this?" I half laugh, half shout at him. 

He gives me a goofy grin, "it's the only thing that's making the pain worth it."

"Naoki," I lower my head and cover my eyes with my hands. I feel a sweaty palm touch the top of my head.

"Eri. I love you," I hear him say.

I look at him through my fingers, "I love you, Naoki."

He smiles at me and I see his eye lids start to close. 

"Naoki?" I shout and grab onto his hand.

"I'm fine. Just tired. Don't worry," he manages to say before he falls asleep.

I look around for Tony. He is leaning against the wall with a cigarette in between his index and middle fingers. 

"What's going to happen?" I walk over to him. He offers me a cigarette but I decline.

"When he wakes up, you and him are getting the f#$^ out of my house," he says.

"Fair enough," I cross my arms, "tell me, Tony, how is America?"

He raises an eyebrow but says, "over rated."

"Have you been to Dallas?" I ask next.

"No," he raises the cigarette to his lips. He inhales, holds it, and looks away to exhale. Gray smoke escapes his mouth and swirl around in the air. 

"Why you asking?" he asks.

"Because," I simply say.

"Fair enough," he mimics me from earlier.

"Change the bandage around his torso two times a day. Give him a sh*t ton of painkillers. And there you have it. You can sleep on the couch. When I wake up, which will be around noon to two in the afternoon, I better not see you," Tony then drops his cigarette on the tiled floor and snuffs it out with his shoe. With out another word, he walks off to his bedroom.

***

"Eri?" the voice is soft. And familiar. My eyes open and Naoki's face is right above mine. Before I can get a word out, Naoki kisses me. His lips are chapped and rough. The kiss stopped as fast as it had came. 

"Let's go," he says. I stand up and offer him a hand. He takes my hand. I pull him to his feet. His face twist with pain before he recovers. He breathes heavy.

"Naoki? Is it okay if you move?" I worriedly ask him. 

"Don't worry about me, baby. I'll be fine," he gives me a goofy smile.

He then laughs, "but lets find a taxi to get us home."

I roll my eyes and take his hand. We intertwine our fingers and walk out of the house together.

We walk deeper and deeper into the city. I had to wave down a taxi who did not ask any questions. He dropped us in front of Naoki's apartments.

"Feels good to be home," Naoki smiles, "let's pack."

"Wait, Naoki, are we not even going to talk about what happened last night?" I stop walking. 

"What is there to talk about?" he asks.

"Naoki, you know exactly what I am talking about," I reply.

"You have not changed," he says.

"How can you say that!" I shout at him.

He grips my hand tightly, "because I say what I believe. And I believe that you have not changed. Now can you please drop it. I just want to go to my room, sleep on my bed with you, and forget that any of this happened."

"Naoki, you can not forget what happened last night. You have a hole in your stomach," I say bluntly.

He chuckles, "I know I do."

"Naoki, you don't understand. I was shot in the head, and I'm still here," I say.

"I know, I know. I saw you get shot. Do you know how I felt when I saw you die right in front of me! I died along with you! But then- but then I saw this black dust thing around you. Then you sat up. I didn't know if I was happy or relieved, but I was never sad. I love you. I will always love you," he pulls me into a hug.

I want to hug him tightly, but I am afraid that I might hurt him. I was so worried about the bullet in him, that I forgot that he saw me die, saw me fall to the ground with a bullet hole in my head.

"Naoki," I grab onto his shirt. 

"Let's go take a nap, babe," Naoki goes to the elevator.

When the elevator doors open, Naoki and I walk down the hallway with our fingers intertwined. He stops in his tracks.

"Naoki?" I ask.

A look of horror is on his face, "we need to go."

He starts running down the hallway with me in tow. When I look behind me, I see two men in all black walk over a broken down door that is supposed to be to Naoki's room.