Author's Note

(So, where to begin. This was actually an idea I had for Nico Stone Rupan's story of Taking the Bitter with the Sweet. Unfortunately the idea is just that. I never fully submitted the idea to Nico Stone Rupan, and I regret that. Hopefully it's seen and maybe becomes part of the story.)

Visit from a Friend

Visit from a Friend

Everything was off, it was wrong, and it more than bothered her. She felt them around her. The strange things that crawled from the walls, the creatures that formed from shadows, and all of it seemed to focus in on her. She shivered as she sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest. The soft sobs were so quiet that none could possibly hear them, but all of the creatures crawling from her mind took delight in them.

"Weak," a raspy voice said, "So weak, so frail, how could anyone love you?"

She shook her head, trying to keep from seeing the thing anymore. It was like something was trying to crawl into her head. She wanted to scream out in absolute insane terror, but she didn't want to make things worse. Her mama, her own mom, had began looking at her in a way that made her heart hurt. It was something that she didn't want her mama to do. She cried when she saw it. Was she not loved anymore?

"No one could love you, how could they, you're weak and useless."

The raspy voice laughed, the sound of it was like a thousand spiders speaking at once. But then she heard another sound. It was loud, impossibly so, and she saw the shadow explode into a million pieces. She watched as another figure stepped closer.

"Takagi san?"

She knew the voice. She knew it because she'd heard it on an app before. Moshi-Bun, the anime streaming app. She'd heard it, and then one of the girls she was friends with let her borrow the manga it was based on. Highschool of the Dead, the story of highschool students caught in the zombie apocalypse.

"Kohta san?" she asked her voice small and frightened, "Is that you?"

The figure moved near her, and she saw him. He looked exactly like he had in the last issue she'd read. He was wearing the vest with the ammo around it, carrying his rifle, and he had a haunted look in his eye.

"Where am I?" he asked before he studied her, "Wait, Bitter san?"

She smiled, "You know me?"

He grinned, "I do, you read about me. You read about all of my friends, and you were there with us the entire time, right?"

She nodded, and he stepped near her bed, "What's wrong?"

She looked toward the walls, "Things are here, and they're saying things, things like I'm weak."

He shook his head, "You were with us when we battled them. You didn't leave, you never put the book down, that's not weak."

He took his rifle and checked it, "I'll stay here, and I sit guard, rest Bitter san, I'll not leave you."

She looked at him, glad to have someone that wanted to be with her and be her friend, "Kohta san, arigato."

Her eyes closed, and when she opened them again she saw her mother. She watched as her mother looked at her, and then looked at the door, "Bitter, honey, we're going to go to the doctor, okay?"

She nodded, and she started to get up. When she did she heard them again, the raspy voices, but then she heard the sound of Kohta and they were all quiet. She smiled, her friend was there to protect her. He was standing guard for her. She followed her mother, and together they moved toward the car. Things felt weird, but when the sounds of the others appeared she heard Kohta. Somehow he quieted them.

"It's because he's awesome," she said, her voice low, "He keeps them away because he's awesome."

The phrase would mean nothing to anyone that didn't understand, but to Sour Sweet it meant everything. She knew that her daughter was currently suffering from hallucinations, and she hated herself for it. If there was one of them that was protecting her, keeping her from slipping completely, then she was glad for it.

They arrived at the doctor's office, and she walked her daughter inside. Once there things progressed the way that Sour had been afraid of. It was something she feared, and it was something she hated. She could never hate Bitter, but she hated that she passed this on to her.

Slowly the doctor explained that if she was not dangerous to herself, or other others, that they could begin chemical therapy and it would slowly help relieve the symptoms. For Bitter, she listened and she worried. She didn't like the others, but she liked Kohta san. He'd helped her, protected her, and she didn't want him to go away.

Traveling home her mother told her that it would be okay, that she would be okay. She looked at the pill she was supposed to take, and she took it. She swallowed it, and she walked upstairs. Getting up there she moved toward her bed and sat on it.

Sitting alone she listened to the sound of nothing. Everything was wrong. She couldn't understand the things happening to her, and a look up she saw him again. It wasn't the first time, and she assumed it wouldn't be the last time.

"Ah, Bitter San," he said with a cheery smile, "It is nice to see you."

The chubby otaku removed his glasses and cleaned them, "I was with the others, and suddenly I am here," he said as he neared her bed, "That must mean that my friend needs me."

She shivered and pulled her knees up to her chest, "Kohta San," she said, "Something is wrong. It feels wrong, it isn't... I don't know how to explain. I see things. You are the most normal."

He grinned, "Normal, well normal for a character from a Manga you weren't supposed to read, right Bitter San?"

She nodded, "How is Takagi san?"

He rubbed his shoulder, "Good, we're together, like you imagined," he said with a grin, "But it isn't Takagi you want to talk about eh?"

She looked at her legs, "I'm scared," she said, "It feels like I'm losing myself. You lost yourself, right?"

He nodded, "Yes, I did," he said, "And my friends helped pull me back."

He touched her cheek, "Bitter San, I will always be here when you call. I am you," he said, "But, like how my friends pulled me back, you need your friends. Trust them, know that they have your best interest at heart."

She shivered, "If I take the medicine, then you won't be here, will you?"

He smiled, "I'll always be here," he said, "Like I said, I am you, but I may not be here like this. Trust me, talk to your friends, to your parents. Life is too short. And be thankful you're not dealing with Them."

She wanted to cry, she wanted to tell him not to leave, and he took a seat beside her. The Chubby Otaku put an arm around her, and she hugged him for all she was worth. She held onto the one normal thing she saw. Normal, the fact that he was a gun otaku, one that killed zombies, and came to talk her was more normal than everything else. She hated her brain, and she hated how it made her feel. She sometimes almost wished that she had the courage to go to the top of the house, jump, and let it all end.

"No," he said, his voice soft, "No Bitter san, do not do that. You are special to those around you, you know that."

She looked at him, "I can't trust myself, How do I know that I won't lash out at daddy or mama?"

She looked at him, "Because Bitter san, you know that they want to help you, and you know that they will do all they can. They and your friends. Let your friends bring you back."

She nodded, "Will you stay with me until after?"

He ginned, "Hai, I will keep the other heluations away. I promise."