The Cursed Eye

by T L Brevis

  “Oh, so you have a gut feeling about it do you? Well, I suppose I have no choice but to give it a chance,” said Kaito, this time turning his gaze back to the person his speech was intended to.

  “I just want to know if the claims against my uncle are real. If they are, then I will do everything in my power to aid you in your endeavors,” said Makoto, in the sort of tone you would expect from a superhero giving a speech.

  “He is your uncle though, is he not?”

  “Family means very little to me. The substance of one’s character is all that matters,” responded Makoto sharply, almost before Kaito had finished speaking himself.

  Kaito seemed taken aback at Makoto’s straightforward attitude, but responded without hesitation either way.

  “So be it. You may be valuable to us if you would wish to help with your uncles case and perhaps more if you would be up to it in the future. Hiroshi, show him the evidence, use him to complete the mission if you would like and do tell me if you want to keep him on as a partner afterwards. I will see for myself if he would be a good candidate to aid you if that time comes,” Kaito took advantage of the straightforward behavior taking over the speech in the corridor and used it to quickly and clearly deliver his message.

  Hiroshi nodded in response, to which Kaito took his cue to leave the corridor and return to his room once more, locking the door behind him.

  “Alright, follow me to my room. I will show you the proof on my laptop,” said Hiroshi bluntly, while stepping out of the corridor and beginning to turn towards the direction of the mentioned room.

  “Alright,” responded Makoto in a hesitant, yet willing tone all at once.

  Hiroshi turned back and simply said, “You can leave if you feel unsafe, but if you want the proof, follow me.”

  Hiroshi was testing Makoto. He was seeing if he was truly dedicated enough to discover the truth, even if it meant making a strategically unsound move that Hiroshi himself would not have made. That would prove his true resolve.

  “Alright, I want to know. Also, you are probably only testing me right now and in reality have no traps set anyway,” responded Makoto more confidently now.

  Hiroshi turned and began to walk towards his room, with Makoto beginning his own walk directly behind him. Hiroshi waited until his face was completely out of view to let out a smile. Makoto truly was a genius. It was no trick.

  Hiroshi was hoping to test him for his dedication to justice by him willingly risking his life to know the truth about a possible villainous figure, but it turned out that Makoto had shifted the nature of his own test.

  Hiroshi now knew that he was extremely intelligent, possibly as much as himself. However, that did not necessarily have to be a problem but rather a strength if Makoto did end up joining him.

  They stepped into the room without losing their momentum, as the door was already ajar and like Makoto theorized, there were no traps set for him, simply a laptop on a desk located in the right side of the room.

  They did not waste a second before edging towards the table. Hiroshi grabbed for his laptop and opened it, then turned around to face Makoto, laptop in his hands and began ferociously typing for about a second, followed by more, less ferocious typing after that, accompanied with him dragging his index finger along his laptop’s trackpad in between typing. After about a minute of this, Hiroshi smiled and turned his laptop to face Makoto, while he faced him along with it, not bothering to look at his own screen in the process, instead looking straight at Makoto.

  Chapter 12

  Makoto’s expression was shock, pure, unbridled shock. Hiroshi was observing his every move, down to even a single millimeter of a posture shift. Ten Seconds. Twenty Seconds. Thirty Seconds. Makoto had barely moved, just shivering in place, with the same look of shock and terror glued permanently to his face.

  Then, as quickly as Hiroshi had turned his laptop around to face Makoto, the shaken boy turned and barely made out “Excuse me!” before rushing out of Hiroshi’s room and forcing open the bathroom door, forcing his way inside, slamming the low-quality piece of wood behind him.

  Hiroshi darted over to the bathroom door behind Makoto as quickly as he could and began to knock forcefully. Hiroshi would give Makoto five seconds to open the bathroom door, or else he would burst in. It was a high possibility that he was contacting his family to inform them of the proof he had seen and Hiroshi would not risk that.

  “Makoto, open the door now!” Hiroshi exclaimed, not bothering to keep up his calm and composed demeanor.

  “W-Wait Hiroshi,” replied Makoto, sounding weak.

  Hiroshi knew this was all a ploy. An act to make him think Makoto was somehow grieving or sickened over this. Ordinarily, Hiroshi would be compassionate towards behavior like this, but the stakes were simply too high.

  Hiroshi turned the doorknob and flung open the attached wooden rectangle in one swift movement, and what he saw shocked him.

  Makoto’s head was hovering above the toilet bowl, with only the right side of it visible. Hiroshi observed the section of Makoto’s head that was visible from the doorway. It was a pale, ghostly white color. His eyes were opened wide and sweat was dripping down his face as if it were raining above his head.

  Not even three seconds after Hiroshi had entered, Makoto closed his wide eyes and submerged half of his head into the toilet bowl where it was not visible from Hiroshi’s view and began to violently vomit.

  He kept going and going, for what felt like an eternity, while Hiroshi stood at the doorway, eyes equally as wide as Makoto’s were, looking on in disbelief. Finally, Makoto was finished. His head emerged from the bowl, and somehow looked more pale and sickly than previously, eyes now half opened with bags forming under them. He shifted his head away from the bowl to be parallel to his torso, and not even a second after doing this, fell backwards while closing his eyes in the process.

  ∞

  Hiroshi was not thrilled to be dragging Makoto’s unconscious body to Kaito. He did not realize just how much humans weighed, even skinny boys like Makoto and himself until that moment. Alas, he persevered and within a few painstaking minutes, arrived at Kaito’s door. He knocked once and opened immediately after.

  Kaito was seated on an armchair, one leg crossed above the other, laptop on his elevated thigh. He glanced up and set his eyes on Hiroshi, then Makoto, then back to Hiroshi.

  “Can you help with him? He’s unconscious,” said Hiroshi, frustrated and out of breath.

  “Hiroshi, I am not a doctor. Just take him back to your room and put him on your bed, then simply wait until he decides to wake up. He is alive, isn’t he?” said Kaito, returning his gaze to his laptop.

  “Yes he is, but I can’t do that. He left this address with his father. If he is not back by whatever specified time they agreed upon, I would not put it past him to send a small army to surround us,” responded Hiroshi.

  “You careless fool. Alright, even though it is not healthy in the least, throw cold water on his head to wake him up,” said Kaito sounding disappointed.

  Hiroshi was annoyed at that response, but nonetheless listened to Kaito and trudged over to the motel kitchen to fill a bowl with ice and water. Hiroshi returned to the collapsed Makoto outside the now closed door leading into Kaito’s room and did as Kaito suggested. In one quick movement, he overturned the bowl directly over Makoto’s head.

  Needless to say, Makoto was startled and it took a few seconds of jittering and violently turning his head in all directions to realize what the situation was before he calmed himself. His eyes turned from wide and surprised to saddened and hopeless.

  “You were right. My uncle is a criminal. There were detailed police files and documents right there to prove it. I will keep my word. I will help you in my uncle’s case, and I would also like to help you in the future as well… So how do you punish criminals, and how will you punish my uncle?” said Makoto in a hopeless tone, looking down at the ground where he sat cross-legged.


  “Death. It’s what all of the disgusting criminals we bother to base missions around deserve. Your uncle is no exception,” said Hiroshi coldly.

  “Understandable. It’s the way I punish criminals and it would be highly hypocritical to judge you for doing it simply because of a bias.”

  “Alright. Well when can you help me with this case, when are you free?”

  “Well, school is no issue. I could take as much time off as I need with my parent’s consent. I barely even go as is and still get passable grades, by choice of course, more than enough for my parents. My father also has no qualms with letting me stay with friends, he jumps at the mention of it in fact, even egging me on to do it a lot of the time. I can start immediately and can stay with you about four days a week, I would estimate, and in the upcoming summer period, I can easily persuade my parents to allow me to stay with you for its entire duration.”

  “Understood. Well, make sure to confirm those things. I will let you go back home now. I trust you, even though we have only recently met. I have this feeling about you, and those reactions you had, they were real. They simply cannot be faked. I will fill you in on everything going on when we next meet. You already know my phone number. Send me a message with only a date and time and I will send you the address of the motel we will be staying at during whichever period you suggest to meet in. It is good to have a partner and not just a teacher. I look forward to working with you,” Hiroshi said, making sure to give Makoto a bright smile during the last sentence. Hiroshi thought the poor boy had been through enough that day as it was.

  “Alright, I’ll be off then, Hiroshi,” said Makoto with a faint smile, the best he could muster, and with that, he got up and slowly walked out of the motel room, leaving Hiroshi’s sight.

  “I can trust him. I know I can,” Hiroshi muttered to himself as he stared at the motel door.

  Chapter 13

  “So Makoto, tell me about yourself. Anything I would need to know. Then, after that, anything useful about your uncle for this mission,” said Hiroshi bluntly.

  The two were seated in opposite armchairs in a different motel room across the city, and as planned, Makoto’s father had no qualms with allowing his son to stay with Hiroshi for extended periods of time.

  “Well, I will tell you all about my childhood and what has led me to pursue justice, as well as how deeply my uncle has been involved in my life,” said Makoto before taking a deep breath.

  “It all began when I was young. Since I was a year old, maybe two, my parents began to notice that I was reaching the big milestones that children commonly achieve rather quickly. Walking, talking, reading, spelling, counting. I had done all of it early, sometimes years in advance to the average. My parents began to get very excited and praised me to high heaven.

  “I turned five years old and had finally begun to notice that this extra attention would hinder me. So slowly but surely, I began to act more average, plus more introverted, never talking in class even if spoken to, purposely barely passing tests and anything else that would give me the persona of an average, socially inept boy. I had been completely successful by the time I turned seven.

  “My parents were understanding, though. They thought that my intelligence was a fluke, and only ever hoped, and still hope for me to come into my own and be at least moderately intelligent enough to take over my father’s company in however many years it would take,” Makoto paused to reach for a glass of water on the table in front of him and took a long sip, then continued.

  “Then, something happened. I had gotten an abnormally high fever one night and was rushed to the hospital and put under intensive care. My parents were alerted that I did not have long to live, and that was when my uncle stepped in. He hired the best doctors in the country to come and see me. I was completely cured a few weeks later. After that, he supposedly decided to donate much of his fortune to sickly children, inspired by me, or so I was told.

  “I suppose that was all a hoax to make me the scapegoat to explain his actions of suddenly donating large amounts. It was probably all a part of his scheme,” Makoto paused again, this time, looking down at his lap, teary-eyed. He composed himself and returned his gaze to Hiroshi after about a minute and continued his story.

  “After that, my parents also felt like they had to fulfill a debt to other children in need. Rather than writing a large cheque a few times a year, and stealing from those children afterward, they actually went out to impoverished nations with me by their side. I witnessed some horrible things there. Multiple times, large fights broke out mere cities, even kilometers from where we were in these war-torn countries.

  “On two occasions, I heard loud weapon fire and noticed smoke coming from villages we had just donated to and helped. The sick criminals were paying attention to when we would come and donate, then steal the money and medicine from the dying children. Sickening, and to find out the man who saved my life, a part of my family, is no better, possibly worse? I will do anything to end him!” Makoto exclaimed the last part of his speech so loudly and ballistically, his face turned a bright red.

  “I-I do not know how to respond to that,” said Hiroshi, eyes widened. To say he had not expected a response like that would be a major understatement. Saisho Waru used his own nephew’s life as a tool to take other children’s lives away.

  What a horrid and truly vile individual. He was more enraged with Waru than frankly anyone he had ever gone after previously. Hiroshi did not want this man to be able to carry on with his despicable schemes. He tried his absolute best to restrain his anger, but it still threatened to rise to the surface at any time. He could not let it control him again, he simply could not betray Kaito’s trust like that again.

  Hiroshi needed to take his time with this mission still, but with Makoto’s close intel on Saisho Waru, causing a believable death would be simple. He would make use of the killing ability as well as he possibly could.

  “What a disgusting man?” said Hiroshi finally, after a few moments of silence.

  “We cannot waste any time. We must eradicate him. Let us begin forming our plan immediately,” said Hiroshi while clenching both of his fists.

  One Month Later:

  “Welcome young men! Oh, young Mr. Makoto Waru, is that you? And who is your friend over here?” asked the cheerful organizer of the party at the doorway as soon as Hiroshi and Makoto had made their way to the front of the lengthy line.

  “Yes, nice to see you again sir, and this is my good friend Hiroshi,” responded Makoto quietly and politely.

  “Oh, very nice sir. This is the first time I have seen you with a friend at one of these parties, you’re starting to really come out of your shell! Well, a bit at a time after all, but promise you’ll keep working at it, and please enjoy the party!” said the man, parting a rope blocking off the entrance, just wide enough for the two boys to enter.

  Hiroshi could practically breathe in the extravagance of the event the moment he stepped in. Chandeliers, banners, carpets, all of the finest variety and all in a massive ballroom. It was unlike anything Hiroshi had ever seen previously. However, this would not dissuade or distract him from his goals at all, he had come too far for it to even be a possibility.

  The two were greeted quite frequently by other guests, each one curious about Hiroshi. He responded courteously each and every time, mentioning his name and that he met Makoto because Saisho Waru had arranged for it after they had met at the hospital, much like how it had actually occurred. There was no reason to lie about it after all. Each time, the response was similar; wishes of wellbeing and relief that Makoto had come out of his shell more.

  The same sentiment expressed repeatedly, Hiroshi grew more and more impressed at how flawlessly Makoto could keep up his shy and timid facade. He felt proud to have made him a partner, yet another piece of motivation for perfecting this mission, Hiroshi thought.

  Makoto and Hiroshi covered almost the entire area of the party, making
sure to greet almost everyone in the exact same way. In about an hour, Hiroshi had at the very least a baseline connection with almost every single person there. Everything was going swimmingly.

  Directly after Hiroshi finished talking with a friendly elderly couple, as if on cue, Saisho Waru finally decided to make his appearance at his own party, an hour late. He took no shortcuts in ensuring his appearance would be extravagant. He slowly made his way down a long spiral staircase leading into the ballroom, confetti raining down from the upper levels, being thrown by countless servants.

  The music grew louder and shifted from an elegant tune to an intense and fast-paced one. All the while, Saisho Waru was dressed in a magnificent suit, diamond rings on every other finger, and a diamond-encrusted watch that held so many gems that not a single bit of the gold beneath could be seen unless thoroughly searched for.

  This was the man Hiroshi would kill soon. Hiroshi let out an ever so slight smile at the thought. This man must have felt untouchable and Hiroshi could not wait to watch his eyes as that feeling of security would drain from them, and pure fear would set in.