Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

Eya decided she was going to stay with Reon. Kakashi would sleep on the futon arranged for him in the hall and Hitori would be upstairs.

Then she set a ground rule– no one fights with themselves. Kakashi said that he was not fighting in the first place, if he were, Hitori would have been dead by now.

"If anyone hears even a mouse squeak, wake up. Don't let your laziness take over you," Eya said.

Kakashi glanced at Hitori. He just rolled his eyes and went upstairs.

He went to his parent's room, cleaned the bed, and set the bed for the night. He found the spot on the side of the bed, under the lamp over his head empty.

He got off bed to get his book from the hall. He saw Kakashi sleeping in the middle with the sofa table arranged on the sides to cover him from any attack– long enough to wake him up.

He walked past him, he heard water splashing in the kitchen. Hitori turned and went for his– he felt nothing around his waist. He looked down with wide eyes.

Then he remembered seeing his wand on the side of the bed. God damn it. He raised his hand and formed fire in it. I need to cultivate.

He climbed the stair to the dining hall and the floorboard creaked. He thought speaking was not a good idea, so he glanced at his room.

The door was closed, so no telling whether it was Eya or someone from Onogi. Then came a voice. "Relax, it is me, Hitori-san."

It was Eya. he sighed and dropped his shoulders along with his hands. "Why are you up?" he asked with a sigh.

"I can't sleep," she said, appearing from the kitchen. "So I decided to look out of the window, into the woods, and guess what?"

He did not even try to guess what.

So she broke the suspense. "The woods… I felt like someone was watching me from the woods. I could not see its eyes, nor its face, I didn't see anyone, but I felt it. Do you know how it feels?"

"Yeah. I get it," Hitori said, nodding. He remembered the time when he was walking in the woods and felt like someone was keeping an eye on him. He believed he got used to it though.

"So I kept staring at the invisible person. I believe I won the staring contest, after a few minutes, the creepy vibe disappeared. IT left."

"Do you think it was a monster? Or Onogi's men?"

"If it were Onogi's men, Kakashi would know– it hurts his forearm when someone outside the circle enters the woods."

"What if someone has already been staying in the woods before he formed the bond?"

"That is impossible. The woods would have thrown, crushed, and killed the intruder the moment it sensed them. It is like the woods have a life of their own. Living Woods."

"Was the woods staring at you? I felt the same when I was heading—"

"You must have," she said, "but did you hear someone in the woods? Like a man's voice."

Hitori shuddered, then frowned– trying to deny the assumption. "Hear someone? Of course not. It is the woods we are talking about. Even if they have a life of their own and can stare at us, they can not speak."

"I thought so… before I heard it myself," she said. It was creeping him, he wanted to get to his bed and have a good night's sleep, he didn't need to hear creepy stories. "After the stare disappeared, I heard a voice from the woods saying, 'Bring him here, bring him here.' like a whisper, but far afar."

Damn it. I want to leave here. Hitori bit his lip and clenched his fits. He was holding with it somehow, and when Eya started the creepy talk, he just wanted to grab his novel and leave– maybe cast the unconscious spell on him– at least he will sleep peacefully.

"I shook my head. I thought I was tired and was probably hearing things. But then I heard it again. 'Bring Tengoku Kagaku to me. Give him to me!' I ran to the sink and splashed water on my face."

Hitor gulped. Eya glanced at him, and his eyes told he was not creeped out anymore– he was frightened.

"A-Alright. I think you heard things. Let us just go to sleep. We need it."

"Of course we do. Why are you down though?"

"To take my book," Hitori said, turning to the hall. Kakashi was still out good.

"I suggest you don't read now. The sun will rise in around four hours, you need to sleep."

"Ah, shit." He realized one important thing. "Tomorrow is my that volunteering thing. Argh."

Eya followed him out of the kitchen. "You should take the day off."

"Oh no, I made a deal with Atama-sensei, and I am not breaking it."

She hummed and walked to the room. "Ah, I forgot to tell you that your game is still on. Switch it off before you go."

Hitori sighed. "Yeah, I forgot about it." He remembered the messages and feared he would have to see them again, it would ruin this mood for the night.

He came up with a solution and decided he will not look at the screen. He will take out his card, keep it on the table, and run upstairs without taking a look.

He entered the room behind Eya. she had spread a futon right beside the bed Reon was sleeping, and he saw his console glowing in the dark.

Hitori closed his eyes and leaned to the other end of the table, he lowered his hand, and it was about to touch the slot when he heard a click.

His eyes opened on instincts without him wanting to open them and he saw a flash message on the screen. A message from Onogi. He should have been expecting it.

Now he wanted to read the message even if it meant no sleep for the day. He touched the message and it spread open.

'You and me. Alone. The place where your territory used to stand. And come alone. You decide the timing.'

Hitori shook his head. You wish, he thought and tapped the slot. His card jumped out, he placed it on the table, greeted Eya good night, grabbed his book from the table, and raced upstairs.

Then he slept like a log for six hours.