Aqua sat in his dimly lit room, his face buried deep inside the book. He had made a lot of progress since he read the story about the twins, but there was still no trace of any ritual to bring a human back from the dead. Furthermore, he hadn't eaten in days, and his stomach was cramping so badly that he couldn't even think about focusing on reading. His knees burned from the sudden pressure as he reluctantly stood up from his chair. He slowly made his way out of his room, stepping into the dark hallway. Apparently, it was the dead of night, which benefited Aqua greatly.
"Argh," Aqua yelped out and quickly shut the door of the fridge as its bright metallic light almost burnt a hole into his bloodshot pupils. He waited a few seconds before he tried it again, this time with more success.
"Could I have worse luck?" Aqua groaned after his eyes had adjusted enough to examine the items inside the fridge; not a single food that he could just snack away was in sight. "Why can't you just be a sandwich?" Aqua murmured to the various ingredients.
"So 24h cafe it is," Aqua said to himself as he shut the fridge again.
He grabbed his warmest jacket off the rack as he effortlessly slipped his shoes on; not more than 30 seconds had passed, and he had already left the house.
…
15 minutes later, he arrived at the nearest 24h cafe. Why does this place even exist? He thought as he walked into the deserted place and sat down at the counter. Aqua was in the midst of taking his jacket off as a warm voice called out, "Hello, sir, can I take your order?" the waiter asked as he emerged from the backroom of the place.
"Just bring me anything that will keep me full for a while," Aqua murmured, giving the waiter nothing more than a short look.
The waiter smiled, "We actually don't serve 'anything that will keep me full for a while' at this establishment." His bright smile faltered as Aqua looked up once more; his corpse-like expression would've probably knocked the wind out of anyone.
"Then just bring me like 3 bowls of ramen." Aqua's voice was monotone enough to make the hair on the waiter's neck stand up.
"O-Of course," the waiter murmured as he scurried back into the kitchen, unsure whether Aqua tried to intimidate him or not.
…
A few minutes later, he came back out with 3 steaming hot bowls. He placed them right in front of Aqua, yet he didn't walk away, but continued to stand there as Aqua began to dig in. Aqua's face distorted slightly as the hot food made contact with his empty stomach. The sensation of eating had almost become alien to him after he hadn't eaten anything in days.
"A rough night, huh?" the waiter asked as he looked at Aqua's demeanor.
"I just have not eaten anything in a while, that is all there is to it…" Aqua said as he placed his chopsticks down.
"Why's that… If you don't mind me asking?" The waiter asked, quite bewildered by seeing a customer wear various fashion brands while claiming they hadn't eaten in a while.
"Have not found the time to." Aqua gasped out. He never took spicy food too well, but with an empty stomach and in such a quantity, it's an entirely new experience.
"Yeah, that sucks," the waiter said as he reached behind the counter and handed him a can of soda from behind the counter. "Here, it's on the house.
Aqua hesitated for a moment before he grabbed it. "Thanks… Look, why are you talking to me like that? You work a night shift because you don't really like customers. Am I right?
The waiter didn't respond at first; instead, he just looked up at the ceiling. Aqua was about to drop it and continue eating as the waiter spoke, "I don't really know, I sense something inside of you. And something inside of me tells me to talk to you because of it… Sounds probably foolish, am I right?"
Aqua used his chopsticks to half-heartedly fidget around in his brew. "To me nothing sounds crazy anymore."
Aqua finished the last bowl of ramen and gulped down the soda.
"Where is the restroom? I want to wash my hands," Aqua asked as he stood up from the counter and looked around the cafe.
"Sure, just back there, the second door on the left." The waiter pointed over to the other end of the cafe.
…
Light, cold, and unwelcoming, Aqua stepped into the bathroom; a quiet static sound in the air. Aqua strolled over to a sink and began to splash his hands with cold water, a moment later repeating the same thing with his face. Then he looked up. Aqua almost fell as he saw his reflection.
Right before him, a mirror, in it was his own reflection, yet he didn't look like he once did. His teeth were yellow-ish, his eyes looked like he just smoked 10 joints, and his hair was greasy. But the worst part wasn't any of that; it's how thin he had gotten. He looked like he had lost at the very least 35 pounds over the past few days, which he knew was not physically possible for him. He grabbed the ceramic of the sink with all the fading strength he had left in his arms as a wave of rage came over him. "Useless! This is the body you want to give to Ai?" In the last second before Aqua's fist hit the reflection, he caught himself.
"What are you doing? Pathetic, as if making problems for the waiter would solve yours." Aqua let go of the sink as he tried to fight the raging urge within his heart. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.
"It will be sufficient, Ai would get this body back to its former glory in no time anyways." He said to himself as he stepped back from the sink, his voice still wavering a bit.
Aqua stormed out of the bathroom and grabbed his jacket from the rack in one swift motion. He was already halfway out the door when, "Sir, you still have to pay for your food." He paused and turned back.
"I don't have any money on me right now…" Aqua said as he stepped back into the cafe.
The waiter frowned and, for the first time, stepped out from behind the counter. He was a few centimeters shorter than Aqua, but apart from that, he seemed to have about the same build as Aqua once had. "You knew that and still bought the food?"
The waiter stepped a bit closer again and looked Aqua up and down. "I must call-" He began, but something in his eyes shifted, and instead he cleared his throat. "It's okay, just make sure to pay next time."
Aqua, a bit taken aback by the sudden generosity, looked out the window of the cafe and then back at the waiter. "No," he said as he shook his head.
"Here," Aqua said as he swiftly pulled off his expensive jacket and handed it over to the now baffled worker. "Just take this instead. It should be more than sufficient, and soon I won't need it anymore anyway."
*Ding*, *Thump*, and Aqua was gone before the waiter could even say anything. He was back on the cold streets, this time, he actually felt it, though.
For a few minutes, Aqua had his peace of mind as he walked down the deserted sidewalk; the only person who listened to him was the wind itself. Then he heard it, unmistakably, steps to his right, slightly behind him. Aqua snapped around, mid-turn, he already became unsure if the steps had been there the entire time or if they just appeared; however, he only got his confirmation once he had fully turned around,
"I'm sorry for scaring you…" Tera, who stood right behind him, said." I just didn't know how to approach you without scaring you."
A sigh of relief escaped Aqua's lips as it felt like some huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. What is it you want?" Aqua asked as he turned back around and continued his way home.
"That waiter…" Tera said as he, too, began to walk again, "He wasn't just saying anything when he said he's feeling something inside you… I think he was feeling me. Thus, I believe that he is also like me, a human with ties to the supernatural."
Tera's demeanor fell slightly as Aqua's didn't change. He had hoped for at least some kind of reaction since something like this definitely doesn't happen every day.
"Tera… Why do I look like that?" Aqua asked.
"I don't know that, you've probably just not eaten enough lately," Tera replied.
Yeah, as if…
35 pounds in just a week.
I get the feeling he is hiding something right now.
But what could it be?
Why is all of this taking such a toll on my body?
"Tera… Stop lying to me." Aqua said in his monotone voice again. Usually, this voice was all it took to cut right through the person opposing him.
"Excuse me? I am not a liar. The sheer audacity it takes to call me one is beyond disrespectful. Aquamarine, did nobody ever tell you not to bite the hand that feeds you? I could just stop helping you, I don't gain anything from it anywa-" Tera took a short break to catch his breath. "Apart from ruining Tsukuyomi's plan, that is."
Why is he so emotional all of a sudden?
Something isn't right here, but what is it?
He only added the fact that this is for him about ruining Tsukuyomi's plan afterwards…
Could it be that ruining Tsukuyomi's plan isn't his true intent?
And if not, what is it then?
"Mind sharing your thoughts?" Tera's sharp voice made Aqua snap out of his thoughts again.
"It's nothing…" he murmured quickly.
Aqua continued to walk in silence. Eventually, he noticed that Tera's steps beside him were gone again, but he didn't mind it one bit; on the contrary, even today, Tera really annoyed Aqua with his prideful attitude.
…
He is flying too close to the sun.
I will have to pull some strings to change his thoughts.
I wouldn't want for his wings to melt away now.
Not after waiting for such a long time.
Not after putting so much work into this.
"Tsukuyomi… This time it will be me who is triumphant, it will not be like it was all those years ago…"