The New Ajin

Chapter Eighteen

"What are you doing now?" I sighed as I watched him trying to climb the truck.

"Getting out of here," he said through gritted teeth. He was almost to the top before his grip slipped and he fell hard on his back.

He groaned and rolled over.

"I told you not to," I leaned my head on the metal truck wall.

"Why can't you just use your ajin to get us out of here?" Kou asked as he rubbed his back.

"Shirūdo," I called out for the millionth time. Like all the other times, nothing happened.

"He's not coming out," I sighed.

"He?" Kou leaned on the other side of the truck. He were sitting across from each other.

I shrugged, "I don't know. Shirūdo seems like a he to me."

A smile formed on Kou's lips. He then looked away saddened.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was not sure how long I had been in here but for our time together, I had come to care for Kou. Not in a Noaki kind of way. No one could fill that hole in my heart but him.

He was like a brother.

And in a way, we were family. We were both Ajins. We were both in this war.

"I have never been able to call out my ajin," he looked embarrassed.

"How is that possible?" I asked confused. My Shirūdo was there since I died. He had always protected me. Shielded me.

"I don't know," he mumbled, "can we drop it?"

I was never one to pry. If a person did not want to talk, I did not force them.

Thinking about that forced my mind to think about Naoki. He always made me talk even when I did not want to.

Every time I went to work out with a neutral face, he would know something was wrong because I always enjoyed practice.

Naoki always made sure I was fine. And when I replied "fine" he would force the truth out of me until I truly was fine.

Light flooded the truck and a shrieking sound filled my ears. When I looked up I saw Kei opening the top. He raised a brown paper bag.

"You," Kou gritted his teeth as he stood. I stayed on my spot on the floor.

Kei dropped the bag and it landed on Kou's face. I shook my head.

Of course I was sick with a dimwit like him.

"It's food. Even though you could just starve to death," Kei said.

"It better not be poisoned again," Kou shouted.

"There would be no point to poison us again, Kou," I said.

"She's right," Kei said, "I know a lot about plants now. I could do worse if I wanted to."

"What about books? Did you bring some?" Kou asked.

"They're in the bag," he replied.

I looked at the bag that had fallen to the floor. Boring looking magazines had spilled out.

Kou looked at them and in a disgusted face asked, "isn't there anything else? Like manga?"

Manga was the comic version of those cartoons that Naoki watched. An image of Naoki telling me that anime was not cartoons popped into my head.