Chapter 6
Sasuke sat in front of his computer which began loading Call of Duty. It was Thursday night, and his aunt had left for her 12-hour shift. He opened a can of Coors as he sat patiently before the loading screen. He knew he shouldn’t steal his aunt’s beer, but he had nothing better to do.
Might as well try to forget everything, he thought coldly to himself, anticipating finishing the rack by the morning. He pulled a strand of hair out of his face, the wet filth that covered his hair was unsightly, but he ignored it- just like he ignored the patches of thick red acne that surrounded his cheeks and chin. He chugged the beer before crumpling the can and tossing it behind him on the floor. The can clattered against a dirty oven tray he had left there the day before – half eaten chicken nuggets still caked onto it.
“Life is pointless,” Sasuke said quietly to himself as the game screen came to its title, inviting him to join the ranks of the thousands of other online players. He felt a rock hit his stomach, the angst and anger he felt towards everything. Suffering through his emotional turmoil, Sasuke reached for his gaming headphones which acted as a crutch. Just as he put his hand over the head frame, he felt a strong prick on his palm.
“Ahh” he exclaimed and winced, pulling his hand back to inspect. He felt the warm blood trickle in his palm before seeing it and realized his hand had been cut deep.
“What the fuck?” Sasuke cursed and saw the culprit. The fox statue he had moved from his nightstand to his computer desk two weeks before. It was sitting patiently before him. He could see his red blood dribbling down the fox’s upright ears to over its nose.
“How are you that sharp?” Sasuke asked the statue rhetorically while compressing the cut on his hand. Gingerly standing and leaving his room, Sasuke made for the bathroom and their first aid kit, grumbling the whole while about how inconvenient this was.
After ten minutes of cleaning the wound and messing with bandages, Sasuke returned to his bedroom, exhaling as he plopped back into his chair. He groaned as he placed his injured hand on the mouse and cursed once more from his pain, “You have got to be kidding me tonight.”
Suddenly, a low-voiced chuckle erupted from behind him.
Sasuke jumped immediately, turning to see who was there. His eyes found a young adult man looking back at him.
Sasuke froze, for this man was not entirely like a human. His pale-yellow hair was thick and wavy, tied back in a messy bun. Wearing a bright white kimono, the intruder sat crossed-legged on Sasuke’s bed with a red sword laid horizontally on his lap. He tilted his head, and what terrified Sasuke the most was the color of the iris of his eyes -pupilless and bright orange - almost illuminating the room by themselves.
Under the man’s orange eyes were two thick, orange-colored tattoos that lined his eyelids and extended one inch from his bottom lid to the middle of his cheek. Overall, his body emanated a strange glowing yellow color. Sasuke noted the man had pointed ears too, not long but ears that definitely came to a sharp point.
The intruder’s lips curled open with a smile, revealing a black tattooed line that curled around his inner mouth. As his smile widened Sasuke could see fang-like teeth where his canines were. A deep chested voice came from him, almost uncanny with the size and stature of the man.
“Young one. You summoned, so what task do you wish of me?”
Sasuke almost shit his pants.
Falling backwards until his desk stopped him, Sasuke replied with a shaky voice, “I don’t know who you are, but you can’t be here.”
The glowing man’s brow furrowed, and with his pupilless stare he surveyed the room and the teenage boy before him. After having a long look, the man turned back to Sasuke. Tilting his head, he asked again, “What do you wish of me, young master?”
Sasuke’s breath seized in his chest as his heart thudded wildly. “Look, I don’t know who the fuck you are, but I didn’t summon you.”
“Oh?” The strange man questioned and paused. “So be it.” The man then stood up from Sasuke’s bed, his height around 5’6” or 7”, an inch or so shorter than Sasuke. He sheathed his sword and left the room.