The Loser | by Isaac7525

In Oboro's comfortable yet small apartment, Shinso leaned back in his chair and glanced at Aaron and Oboro, who sat in chairs opposite of him. In his hand, Shinso held a mug of coffee Oboro had previously brewed for him, while the duo didn't possess any beverages. 

In his pocket was the bronze pocket watch that had manifested in Isaiah's office, and the boy had refrained from mentioning its existence until the time was appropriate. 

Shinso had taken the initiative and went to Oboro's apartment to escape the heavy snowfall since the mileage to the Parterre de Fleurs from Isaiah and Aaron's shared establishment was quite the distance. 

Shinso smiled faintly at Oboro and nodded. "Thank you for allowing me in here."

Oboro shook his head and smiled. "No problem."

Seeing that everyone was now silent, Shinso shifted the topic to the events that occurred earlier that night.

"He's very peculiar, that friend of yours." Shinso cocked one of his bushy eyebrows, sipping the coffee quietly as he gazed at Aaron. 

The older man chortled, leaning back in his chair, causing it to creak under his weight. "He's not weird, he just has weird hobbies." 

"Isn't knowing a lot about the brain weird, though?" Shinso lowered his mug of coffee, placing it on the table beside the window. 

"Isaiah's always wanted to pursue an occupation as a surgeon, that's why he studies and knows so much." Aaron explained.

"Why hasn't he applied though?" 

Just then, Oboro chuckled. "He said he would soon, but he's rather distasteful of the snow outside." 

The kettle on the stove behind them suddenly flared, letting out a high-pitched whistle as an indicator that their meal was finished.

"Dinner's a lil' later tonight." Aaron grumbled, standing up and approaching the stove. He put on some mittens as he gripped the handle of the kettle from the stove and approached the sink. Using a collider, he sifted the ingredients of the stew from the boiling water. 

"Have any of you seen Isaac as of recently?" Shinso asked, a small pressure forming in his chest. 

Aaron shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I'm sure he's safe though. He's a good kid …much like one I knew beforehand."

The man then fell silent, finishing the preparation of the meal without any additional words. Oboro raised his head slightly, his light-blue eyes fixated on the man. 

"Aaron, are you alright?" He asked.

The older man removed the mittens and poured the soup into three bowls situated on the counter, sighing softly. "I am, thank you for asking." 

Aaron's face heavily betrayed his statement. He sat down at the table whilst carrying the three bowls of stew. Without a word, he slowly distributed them among the men sitting at the table. 

Shinso's gaze remained fixated on the window, the heavy snowfall gathering atop the windowsill as the wind outside howled like a pack of ferocious wolves. The older man parted his lips as if wanting to speak, but he hesitated and brought the stew to his lips, sipping quietly. 

He felt an instinct to probe into what Aaron had mentioned, but his rational thinking and intuition made him drop the subject. 

"The stomach pain has almost disappeared." Shinso mentioned, sipping the potato and meat stew. 

"Maybe if Ayumi's condition is better, we can stop by and harness your abilities." Oboro said with a smile. 

Aaron extended his wrinkled right hand, inscrutably signaling Oboro to stop speaking. "I don't think we should do that." 

His gaze then shifted to Shinso, his brows rising. "Didn't Carter offer Isaiah to tutor you?" 

Shinso recalled what he had said to Isaac and him the previous night. He had taken the opportunity to visit Isaiah, but the man's odd, almost inhuman behavior, hobbies, and tendency put him on edge. 

"Y-yes, but…I don't exactly like him." Shinso stated bluntly, his grip around his spoon tightening, anticipating Aaron to shout or lash out at him for saying something like that about his friend. Unexpectedly, Aaron smiled. 

"That's fine. You don't have to like everybody I do. Opinions are what makes us humans, humans." 

Shinso fell silent, his gaze drifting to Aaron, who had a little stew dripping from his lower lip. The older man looked back at Shinso, his smile widening. 

"Don't get your clanker in a twist, your brain might spark out like a bulb."

The atmosphere around Shinso seemed to cool at an inhuman rate, causing him to shiver. Before it got any worse, Oboro lightened the mood, pointing down at the stew. 

"This grinds all the right gears, where'd you get the recipe?"

Aaron grinned, adjusting his shirt collar. "A family recipe, passed down from my great grandmother!" 

"Well, tell her I fancy it." Oboro smiled, sipping again. He then opened his mouth, which was still half-filled with the stew. 

"You're probably gonna see her very soon." 

Aaron scoffed, his brows knitting tightly above his eyes. "Y'callin' me old, sir?" 

Oboro laughed a little louder, swallowing his food and setting his spoon in the bowl. "Perhaps I am, Ancient Aaron."

Shinso grimaced at the cringe-inducing nickname. 

After they had all finished dinner, Oboro finished washing the dishes when he turned back to the duo, smiling. "Y'think you could teach Shinso a lil' something?" 

The older man placed his hands on his hips and turned to Shinso, smiling softly. "Y'think we could pull a lil' something off tonight?" 

The indigo-haired boy felt a cold rush on his forehead gazing into Aaron's eyes, causing him to swallow his spit and nod. 

"I believe we can…" 

Just then, Shinso remembered what had occurred in Isaia's office. He pulled out the bronze pocket watch, showing it to Aaron. "This appeared when my stomach began to hurt earlier." 

"Heh, I thought you said the pain disappeared for the most part." Aaron took the object, admiring it closely in his hands. The object was neatly polished with a bronze finish, and had a gold trim along the edges of the analog clock frame within the watch. 

He looked back at Shinso, raising an eyebrow. "You said this manifested durin' one of your stomachaches?" 

Shinso nodded. "Yes, sir." 

"Well…" He placed the watch on the table, stepping back. The older man reached out both of his hands, cracking them. 

At that moment, all the candles nearby ignited with dark purple flames, flying off the shelves and gravitating towards Aaron, Shinso, and Oboro. Shinso stepped back, his eyes widening in astonishment as Aaron looked back at him—his lips curling into a Cheshire smile resembling Carter's.

"Y'ready?"

Shinso took a step forward, nodding. "I guess I am."

"You guess?" Aaron cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not risking divinity on indecision."

The indigo-haired boy swallowed his saliva, raising his head as he adjusted his posture. After taking another deep breath he said with some finality.

"I'm ready."

Aaron smiled softly and turned around to face him. He then took a step aside and gestured towards the table, his left hand pointing at the bronze pocket watch. 

"Approach the watch." Aaron instructed, stepping aside a little more to allow Shinso entry. Shinso surveyed his surroundings for a brief moment and sighed softly.

The floor boards creaked beneath him as he stepped forward. At that moment, a scent of coal, dust, metal, and an unfamiliar smell gushed into his nose.

His pupils dilated as the candles in the room began to glow brighter. The markings on his left arm suddenly ignited in purple, radiant energy that coursed through his body.

At that moment, the pocket watch conjured out of midair lifted up, slowly spinning as it opened on its own. 

Aaron, who was watching from the sidelines with Oboro, spoke up again, his voice calm and collected. "Close your eyes."

Shinso followed the man's instructions, closing his eyes slowly as he took another deep breath, this inhale lined with a slight tremble.

"Ok, what now?" He asked softly.

Aaron stepped forward and placed a hand on Shinso's shoulder. "Your Scale-Shifter potion is digesting as we speak, we just need to awaken the abilities you have inside you."

Hearing this, Shinso felt his heart inexplicably speed up. "Scale-Shifter, why that name?"

"You were with Ayumi and Catherine the other day, yeah?" Aaron asked.

Shinso nodded once more. "Yeah, but the knowledge they exchanged is…blurry."

The older man's lips curled up as he chuckled softly. The man's grip on Shinso's shoulder tightened. "Scale-Shifter is the Order 9 potion name for the Justice Pathway. Sure, it doesn't need digestion requirements, but the name was listed in the reports from the Mother Nature Church."

"So…it's a guess?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Aaron said with a smile.

Shinso felt his heart sink slightly in his chest as a cold sweat drowned his senses. "You're saying you don't know completely?"

"Hey, I have other occupations." The older man shrugged, his grip loosening as he stepped back.

Shinso fell silent for a few moments before asking. "Do you know what I'm doing, cause I dunno what I'm doing myself." 

"Cogitation." Aaron replied casually, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Before we dabble with your true abilities, we'll need to practice numerous techniques to keep that lil' brain of yours in check."

"Cogitation?" He seemed taken aback by the unfamiliar term.

"It's the process of grounding one's mind and allowing a clear view into your abilities. The louder one's mind, the more chaos; it's the essence of failure."

"Sounds like something Isaiah would say." Shinso scoffed.

Aaron chuckled at that comment, shrugging his shoulders once more. "Me and that useful cog are closer than you imagine, after all, he taught me everything he knows, and I taught him almost all I know—"

"Everything that you can remember?" Oboro interjected, offering the middle-aged man a sly smile.

Aaron scoffed, turning back to Shinso. 

…

"A what?" I whispered, holding back the strange rush of bitter cold that coursed through my veins. When The Umbridge initially mentioned such an existence, it bore effects similar to learning about hidden dangers and losing control. 

"A Tremebrus." The Umbridge repeated, their voice carrying some solemnity as they spoke. 

Hearing this, I felt a strange pool form in my gut. Why would this powerful entity make a guess? Shouldn't they have known everything regarding Florence's identity and warned me in the beginning? 

After a few moments of silence, I continued. "What makes you so sure?" 

"Rememer a few moments ago when I bore the toll of your arousal?" The Umbridge asked. 

I nodded my head. "Yeah, the last thing I wanted was to make her seem like I liked her."

"Well, to be frank, I've been sealing it away the moment she laid eyes on you."

"My…emotions?" I asked, feeling a rush of puzzlement. 

"In a way, yes." The Umbridge replied.

"Tremberus are demonic creatures who feast off of arousal and lusts. She most likely targeted you because she sensed you had abilities."

My gaze drifted to the bedroom door for a few moments. "So she most likely didn't target the rest of the family?" 

"That's a likely guess. A Tremebrus wouldn't benefit from absorbing the essence of a regular human." The Umbridge replied.

They let out a sigh and continued speaking. "You'll be snowed in tomorrow, so I have a mission for you." 

"Go on…" I fell silent, listening carefully for the creatures instructions.

"Try to learn as much as you can from Florence, use deductive skills, and…"

I suddenly felt a buzzing in my pocket. Feeling my heart leap out of my chest, I grabbed the Blood-Moon Charm out of my pocket, the object swinging as if an invisible wind was blowing away at it. 

"Then, sneak into Raymond's room and extract the necessary ingredients for the exorcism ritual."

Hearing this, I felt a rush of confusion stir in my gut. "But…what if Florence is normal? I would have no reason to go into his room."

"If Florence is normal, then ignore it. Though, I'd recommend trusting my instincts." 

After an unknown period of time, I closed my eyes and leaned back in bed, tucking the blanket up to my shoulders and rolling over towards the wall.

The throbbing pain of the injury continued to resound behind the thick bandages, and the thought of the inability to treat the wounds due to the snow was a constant thought.

"The pain in my head will be a pain, I guess. Any way you can get rid of it temporarily?"

"Maybe, but I'd resound later. Possibly when you least expect it. It can also accumulate while you're asleep."

Hearing that, I scoffed and closed my eyes once more. "I'll just get some rest."

…

When I woke up, my eyes didn't adjust to the morning light, because there was no light filtering through the windows. When my gaze caught sight of the room, the kerosene-powered lamp above the bed was on, and the door suddenly swung open.

I caught sight of Florence, standing in her nightgown. I tried to lean up to greet her, but I couldn't move. Suddenly, I felt a stinging pain in my wrists and ankles.

The woman approached the bed, opening her mouth. A large, inhuman forked tongue slithered out of her mouth, tracing along the edges of her lips in a seductive trail of saliva.

Her hands, which had turned a sickly gray color, trailed down her neck and shoulders, wrapping around the hem of her nightgown.