Chapter 10 Seven Days Later
Seven days later...
Adam opened his eyes slowly.
The ceiling he saw was not that of his room.
Not from the mansion.
Nowhere I remembered.
White.
Cold.
Unknown.
He suddenly sat up, but acute pain crossed his chest.
He gritted his teeth, where am I?
I was in a hospital bed.
He was wearing a loose robe.
His whole body was burning.
He looked at her arms.
First degree burns.
Vengeances.
Hematomas.
And when he felt his side, he knew instantly:
I still have three broken ribs.
But that was not the important thing.
Where was Tessa?
Adam took off his robe, trembling with pain, and stood up.
His legs barely supported him, but he had to move.
He opened the door.
He went out into the hallway.
The air smelled of disinfectant, and the place was quiet, barely lit.
Is there anyone!? he shouted.
A nurse? Can someone tell me what happened?!
He walked with difficulty, leaning against the wall.
His thoughts were a whirlwind.
Adam walked down the hall, leaning against the wall.
Finally, he saw a nurse turning a corner.
Miss! he called her, hoarsely voiced. Could you tell me if there is anyone here named Tessa?
The nurse looked at him with a mixture of surprise and compassion.
Oh, sorry, he replied gently, we have no patients registered under that name.
But if you want, I can call your parents.
Adam looked down.
Okay.
The nurse nodded and walked away, leaving a slight echo of steps.
Adam dropped into a chair. The world seemed to be spinning slower.
Silence weighed more on his chest than broken ribs.
Tessa... cannot be dead, she whispered.
But then, something crossed his mind.
A memory... not of his world.
One word: Muzan.
If Muzan exists here, he said with clenched teeth,
...then Tanjiro as well.
He looked up, his Sharingan eye still dormant.
Well, that never matters.
I am going to kill Muzan.
I will destroy it.
His fists clenched in anger.
The veins in her arms marked, throbbing.
His cursed energy vibrated just under the skin, visible.
A nurse appeared at the back of the hallway.
Mr Adam, your parents are on their way.
Thank you, he replied without looking at her.
There is nothing about, she replied, walking away.
Adam was still sitting, his gaze lost on the ground.
Everything in his body hurt.
His muscles, his ribs... his soul.
But his mind did not stop.
> I have to get stronger.
I have to beat Muzan...
And get Tessa back anyway.
Then, an idea hit him.
A memory.
A theory he had read - or absorbed - while exploring the flow of his cursed energy.
Damn weapons.
Cursed weapons are formed in two ways, Adam muttered, his eyes narrowed.
One is impossible...
But the other one...
He remembered the cursed texts floating in his mind.
> "When a sorcerer dies with his weapon and it has been used repeatedly as an extension of his technique... the soul, the curse and the weapon can merge.".
-A binding vote.
A cursed weapon born of death.
The body is leaving...
But his cursed energy remains.
And if it is sufficiently charged, that energy can get trapped in the blade, in the metal, in the symbols...
Technically, it should also work with a curse.
Curses are made of cursed energy.
And I... have a lot.
Adam remained silent.
His hands were shaking slightly.
But his eyes shone with a new fire.
As Adam continued to be immersed in his darkest thoughts, his fists clenched and his mind drawing future cursed weapons...
He felt something.
A warm contact.
A hug.
His body instantly tightened, until he heard a trembling breath next to his ear.
He raised his head, slowly.
And he saw her.
Tessa.
She was there, crying, her eyes red, her lips trembling... but alive.
As alive as ever.
Before he could say a single word, she hugged him tightly.
So strong that it almost broke his ribs again.
Tessa, my ribs, Adam moaned, smiling in spite of the pain.
Shhhh, she whispered, squeezing it tighter.
Never mind.
You are breathing.
I am breathing.
That is enough.
There was a meaningful silence.
Then, Tessa started laughing.
First it was a sigh.
Then a sincere laugh, as if all the tension that had broken it inside now came out in the form of laughter.
Hell, everything! You're alive, idiot!
Adam laughed with her, lowering his head and resting his forehead against that of his sister.
And so are you, Tessa.
I thought that...
Do not say so, she interrupted, in a hoarse voice.
Don't say that. We're just here. And that's what matters.
Adam, can we talk alone? asked Tessa, in a low but firm voice.
She looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded without saying a word.
They left the hospital without anyone stopping them.
For them, getting to the roof was easy.
A chakra-driven jump, a cursed energy booster, and they were there.
Far from the noise, from the smell of disinfectant. From the looks they didn't understand anything.
Only the sky, the concrete... and the silence.
Tell me, Adam said, crossing his arms.
What do you want to talk to me about?
Tessa took a moment. Her gaze was on the horizon, but her voice was direct.
We have to tell our parents.
Adam looked at her.
Not with surprise, but with resignation.
Tell him what, exactly?
That we use cursed energy in secret?
That I was about to kill you with an expansion of dominance?
Or did you... almost cease to be human?
Tessa lowered her head, her fingers tightening the edges of the cornice.
Everything.
The wind was blowing strong.
We can no longer hide it, Adam.
Not even ourselves.
The air was charged.
Not even the wind from the roof could dispel the pressure that was growing between the two of them.
Tessa broke the silence, her voice broken but firm:
Adam, you do not know how many died.
119 people.
In that room...
119.
We need help if we want to improve. Quickly.
Adam lowered his gaze, closing his fists.
No, Tessa.
We cannot tell you.
Our parents are normal people.
We cannot drag them into this.
Tessa stepped forward, her eyes moist.
But they are already inside, Adam!
J was destroyed in his face!
They saw us disappear amidst explosions and curses!
How much more are we going to hide?!
Silence enveloped them.
Only the distant hum of the city broke the tension.
Adam sighed, not letting go of the weight of his shoulders.
I don't do it for them...
I do it for us.
Once we open that door... there is no turning back.
Tessa looked at him, her anger trembling in her chest.
And what do you propose, then?
Let us keep improvising? Until one of them dies?
Adam did not respond.
But in his eyes, for the first time, there was doubt.
Tessa was still looking at him, waiting for an answer.
And Adam, with the calm that only he could have in the midst of chaos, finally spoke:
But what does it help, Tessa?
What could our parents really help us do?
Tessa frowned, hurt... but did not answer.
What you need to make yourself stronger, you already have it.
You just have to increase your total chakra capacity, train your body, strengthen your mind.
Things you already do.
Adam took a step towards her, without raising his voice, but with the firmness of those who have absolute conviction.
And most importantly:
Our eye.
The Sharingan.
He can teach us better than any teacher.
We can study all the combat styles that exist... and overcome them.
And do you know what else? he added, looking down.
We are five years old.
Five.
Can you imagine what we will be like when we are fifteen?
Silence returned.
But this time... it was different.
It was not tension.
It was understanding.