Seven and Deadly

Pride

Kiku stopped, starry eyed. The voice felt soft, possibly wiser. "Yes, YES! Could you tell me, please?"

I can't tell you... everything. However, I'll probably explain it better than the rest, the voice gloated. My name is Pride.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief. Someone was finally telling him something, anything! It was a dream come true, literally. "Pride? Is... Is that really a name?" A 'tch' came from the other end of the conversation.

Of course it is! And it's a good name, dammit! Yeesh. No need to flip out over it. Actually, my name is Zìháo, but none of the dumbasses here can say it properly. Stick to Pride. Kiku would have stared at him if he had been corporeal.

"But... doesn't zihao mean pride in Chinese?" Kiku recalled fucking around on Google Translate. Not that it was always correct, but he trusted it more than he should've.

YOU'RE SAYING IT WRONG, STUPID CHILD! He flinched. Even though volume couldn't change in one's head, it still startled him. Just speak English, shithead.

"Okay, excuse me? That was uncalled for." Kiku had figured out that this guy could have a snappy side. However, that was taking it a little far. "I don't appreciate that." Though he rarely stood up for himself, surely he could talk down the voice in his head?

Kiku swore the voice rolled its eyes at him. Did it even have eyes? He barely got a word with it the night he woke. The comment made him uncomfortable. He didn't recall ever being insulted out of the blue for making a mistake... it was strange.

"So. What are you?" He finally said. It was his biggest question. Hopefully, Pride wouldn't be so mean this time around.

A demon of sorts, I guess. Oh, that had to be a lie. There was no such thing!

"I don't believe you," he said flatly. Pride made a sound of offense (probably... it was a strange sound, to be fair). "Monsters and magic don't exist." Kiku fiddled with his thumbs, trying to think of any other possibilities other than schizophrenia... none to his knowledge.

You better, young man, otherwise you're going to wind up confused as all hell. Kiku shook his head. No, no, no, NO.

His apartment curtains we closed, he was half dressed, and his desk lamp's glow was beginning to piss him off. Kiku stood, pulling a nicer shirt from his dresser. He had hours of night to burn. No way he was staying with this asshole for that long. What are you doing? It's late!

"Exactly," he says, walking towards his door. Kiku grabbed a good jacket and a scarf. His nicer shoes were sitting there. Kiku slipped them on and nabbed his phone and wallet. "I'm going out for a drink."

What? I didn't think you're the kind of person who does that...

"Well, you don't know anything, apparently." Kiku left his home. Finally, the voices were gone for now! They never spoke outside of his apartment.

The elevator climbed down slowly. He stepped out into the bright city, watching his breath appear in the cool air. He was going to have fun, dammit, alone or not.

Alone, as it turns out. Maybe that was for the better.