Thank you all for reading my fanfic I didn't expect to get so many people reading it. I hope you like it and I apologize for the short chapter.
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In a hospital, the smell of disinfectant filled the air. In a hall, a doctor was talking to me with a serious face.
"Noroi-san, this is a situation we have never seen before," the doctor said, looking at me with worry. "The cause of this coma is unknown. It's not a disease nor cancer. We just can't find the real cause for this. I'm sorry."
I looked at the doctor with a serious face without saying a single word.
His gaze changed to one of fear. "Noroi-san? Are you okay?"
I nodded slowly while looking at him. "Could I see her?" I asked, my voice trembling.
His fearful gaze changed to one of sadness. "Yeah, no problem. We had to intubate her, but you can visit."
"Thanks, doctor," I said, my voice still trembling.
As the doctor signaled me to the room where Tsumiki was, I thanked him one final time and entered the room.
There she was, lying in a hospital bed, multiple machines gathered around her, beeping and making noise. Tsumiki wore hospital clothes, a tube inside her mouth connected to a machine to help her breathe.
I approached the bed slowly and looked at her.
An inexplicable sense of guilt gathered in my body.
"Is this my fault?" I muttered without expecting any response.
I grabbed a chair that was close and put it beside the bed.
I sat and grabbed one of her hands. "Tsumiki…."
'Is this my fault? Did I do something to her? Is it because I'm a monster? Haruto was right….' My mind started filling with negative thoughts.
"I'm so sorry…." I said, gripping Tsumiki's hand with two of my hands and resting my head on it.
"If only I wasn't a monster…." I muttered, a tear leaking from my eye.
"If only I was like you…." I started trembling at the thought of me being the cause of her coma.
"It's all my fault," I let out a whisper that felt like stabbing myself with a dagger.
"I'm cursed," I said, wiping the tear from my eye and looking at her.
As I was about to continue, the door clicked and steps sounded behind me.
"Noroi…." Gojo said softly, looking at my back.
"..." I didn't move. I didn't say anything. My mind was filled with negative thoughts I couldn't control.
"Noroi, your cursed energy is spiking," Gojo said softly, approaching me and resting a hand on my shoulder. "This is not your fault," he said, trying to soothe me.
But I couldn't hear him. My mind was only focused on Tsumiki's state.
"Gojo….." I said, looking at the ground in shame. "Am I a monster?" I muttered softly.
"Noroi….." Gojo's voice trembled a bit. "You are just as human as everyone else."
"Then why? Why?! Why did she fall into a coma that even the doctors can't explain?!" Still looking at the ground, my emotions got out of control. "It's because I'm a monster! It's because I've been cursed since I was born!"
Gojo gripped my shoulder tightly, his hand trembling slightly.
"If only I hadn't been born, none of this would have happened," I muttered sadly.
"Noroi," Gojo said with a sad tone.
"I'm just a burden for all the people I know," I muttered softly.
"Noroi!" Gojo yelled, and I turned to look at him. "You were never a burden nor a monster…." Gojo said, looking into my eyes through the bandages. "I always considered you a little brother. So please stop saying that about yourself."
I looked at him for a while before a nurse opened the door of the room.
"I need you two to leave," she said seriously. "You are making a ruckus in a hospital and disturbing the patients."
We looked at her and, without saying a word, left the room.
As we left, we entered the elevator, and without saying a word or looking at each other, we left the hospital.
As we exited the hospital, Gojo received a call.
"It has to be right now?" Gojo asked on the phone. After a minute, he sighed and hung up.
"Noroi, remember you are not a burden. You are not a monster. You are not a curse," Gojo said, looking at me. "I have to go to a mission," he said, walking towards a car that was waiting in front of us. "Noroi, go home and take a shower," he said, getting in the car.
I nodded to him and followed the car with my gaze until I couldn't see it anymore.
I just stood there for a while before grabbing the box of cigarettes I had in my pocket and lighting one.
I took a drag and started walking through the streets of Shinjuku without a destination.
As I walked, people avoided me and looked at me with fear.
'How do I tell Megumi?' I thought, looking at the sky.
I had been waiting for so long for the tests to be done on Tsumiki that I stayed in the hospital until morning.
"Yare yare," I muttered as I stopped in front of a public smoking zone.
I sat on a bench and watched as a few birds landed in front of me.
I calmed down for a while after smoking two more cigarettes.
My throat felt dry, and the taste of the cigarettes lingered in my mouth.
I stood and walked towards home. While walking, I thought of multiple ways to tell Megumi about this.
"Sigh," I sighed as I arrived in front of the building.
After a while standing there, I entered and took the elevator to my apartment.
As I stood in front of the door, I called Kenji so he could come for Megumi, just in case he wanted to see his sister.
I entered the apartment and saw Megumi preparing for school.
"Hey," I said, looking at him seriously.
"Hey, I read your note," he said with a serious face, then frowned. "You are still fourteen and fifteen, you know. Doing those things so early is strange," he said, frowning.
I looked at him. I didn't react to his insinuation, nor did I say a word.
He frowned a little and looked to my side. "Where's Tsumiki?" he asked, looking at me.
I looked at him for a while. His frown deepened. "Noroi," he said seriously.
"Megumi….. she….." I said, looking down, guilt overwhelming me. "She fell unconscious last night. I went to the hospital, and they said she was in a coma," I said seriously.
Megumi's eyes widened, and he looked at me with a serious face.
"What?!" Megumi yelled, looking at me. "What happened?!"
"I...." I said, looking down. "I don't know. And the doctors don't know either what is causing the coma."
He looked at me seriously for a while before running towards the door.
"Kenji is waiting for you outside," I said, watching him approach the door.
He stopped for a moment and, without looking at me, nodded and left.
"Sigh…" I sighed and sat on the couch, supporting my arms on my legs and covering my face with my hands.
I didn't say a word. I couldn't. I was so tired.
'Tsumiki…..' I thought with sadness. After a while, I stood up and decided to take a cold shower.
When I entered the bathroom, I looked in the mirror. My face, with four eyes, made a grimace when I saw my reflection.
Without saying a word, I undressed and entered the shower.
The cold water hitting my skin made me shiver. It was winter, and it was freezing outside. But it didn't matter. The cold water made me forget a little about what happened yesterday.
After a while, I took a towel and dried off.
I didn't even bother to get dressed and went directly to my room. After entering, I just dropped onto the bed and fell asleep instantly. The exhaustion of not sleeping for an entire night affected me.
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"Noroi!" In a flower field, I stood there admiring the flowers when a sweet voice called me.
"Noroi!" I turned to see Tsumiki there, waving at me. "Come here!" she said with a sweet smile and a loving gaze.
I approached her with slow steps. The aroma of the field was incredible; it looked like paradise.
After a few steps, I reached Tsumiki, and she signaled me to come closer.
She embraced me, and I returned the embrace.
Before I could say anything, she whispered in my ear, "You know…." she whispered softly. "You know where you are with…." Her words didn't make sense, and her embrace tightened.
"What?" I mumbled, looking at her with worry. "Tsumiki?" I asked, confused.
"Noroi….." she whispered in my ear, her breath making me shiver. "Noroi…."
I looked at her with worry and pulled back. Tsumiki started bleeding from her eyes, mouth, and ears.
"Noroi!" she shouted with an agonizing voice.
"Tsumiki?!" I shouted. The flowers and the sky turned red, and Tsumiki started shouting and crying in pain.
"Monster!!!" she shouted as she scratched her face with her nails.
As I was about to stop her, the floor under me collapsed, and I started falling into a black void.
I fell for what felt like an eternity, and after a while, I hit something.
When I looked down, there was nothingness—just black.
I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I couldn't scream.
Then I saw it—a dark figure approaching me.
It started speaking with a strange, distorted voice that didn't feel like it was from this world.
"You've always been a curse. A monster. Since your birth," the dark figure said with hate in its voice.
I looked at him. My heart tightened, and my breath became heavy.
"When you were born, you killed your mother. Monster….. Monster!!!!" the dark figure shouted.
After a while, the figure disappeared, and a new dark figure appeared in front of me.
"So…. Interesting…" the figure said. This time it had a woman's voice.
The figure had a white line of stitches on her head.
"I didn't expect this…." the woman said, impressed. "Biology is truly a fascinating science." As soon as she said that, she vanished, and I was there…. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, I was just there looking at nothing.
After a while, the same figure from the beginning appeared with a knife in his hand.
"Today is the day I don't hold this curse anymore!" the figure said with a crazed voice.
"Die! Monster!" The figure lunged towards me with the intention to stab me in the heart.
I couldn't do anything and just stared as he stabbed me in the heart.
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I woke up sweating profusely, my body trembling and my lips dry.
"What was that?" I muttered, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
I just sat in my bed, thinking about the dream I just had.
I sighed, and after a while, I lay back in bed.
"Tomorrow will be another day," I muttered, trying to reassure myself.