Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Capricious Infection ❯ Act 3: Demon ( Chapter 3 )

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Capricious Infection
Act 3: Demon
By: Melissa Norvell
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“Great…Where did you come from anyway?” Dante dead panned as his face contorted into one of disgust. Ringo was probably his least favorite person. The two were so far apart and had so little common interests that it was laughable. He only really put up with Ringo because of Mae. She really liked him, and it was the least he could do as a friend.

“You’re in front of my house. I was washing my car,” the blue-haired man gestured his hand to his black, classic Corvette Stingray with a pool of water beneath it and a bucket of water with suds pouring out and onto the ground sitting there in his driveway. It was his once a week chore that he immersed himself in. After all, a good looking guy had to have an even greater looking ride.

“Well, since you’re here…do you want to go shopping with us?” Ayumi inquired with a quaint smile.

“Sure,” Ringo quirked an eye brow, then glanced to the still fuming Dante. “I didn’t know that you ever felt like shopping, Dante. It doesn’t seem like your thing.”

“Stop flapping your lips, pretty boy. I’m on a mission.” It was bad enough everyone else had teased him. Now this idiot wanted to add his two cents. It only added to his already bad mood.

“Oh? What mission is that?” Ringo folded his arms over his chest and asked smoothly. What mission of Dante’s would involve taking a nice mall trip with most of his female friends?

“We’re going to meet Rezzi’s new friend,” like he was going for any other reason than that. Hell, if he wasn’t so curious about this bastard then he would not have even been included in their mundane and irritating activities.

“That’s why we’re going shopping,” Lannad added.

“Your group is already big. You sure that you want me tagging along?” Literally, it looked like a small crowd was going to the mall with as many people that they had accumulated on their venture. Ringo almost felt a little intimidated by how large their group was.

“Duh! Your sense of fashion is the best. The guy’s got to have the best clothes!” Mae placed her hands on her hips, her long, shoulder length bangs that were parted to the side and held with pink clips moved with her body posture.

“Well, I guess I can’t say no to that,” Ringo scratched his temple lightly with his index finger. “What does this guy look like?” That would be the important inquiry. It would at least give him an idea of what styles would best fit him, whoever he was. The model was a little confused as to what exactly was going on but he decided not to ask much.

“He’s tall and thin, with curly, hair. He has a deep, raspy, easy going voice. I’m not sure on what else.” Since she was the only one who had been in contact with him, it was the only description that could be given, as vague as it was.

The model snapped his fingers as a look of sudden cognitive inspiration crossed his features. “I think I know just the thing.”




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After picking out what they had believed to be suitable clothes for Tarvos, and picking up a few odds and ends that each of them sought personal interest in, the group of teens headed back to Rezzi’s house. Mae hugged Ringo and thanked him for buying her a barrage of outfits to add to her already large collection. He was such a sweet guy to bestow the latest, high end fashion on her as well as give her the love she so rightfully deserved. Ringo was literally the perfect boyfriend and when she was with him, she felt as if she were dancing on clouds.

The model blushed slightly and smiled at his girlfriend, “glad I could help. So, are we off to see this friend of yours? What’s his name?”

“You’ll find out when you meet him. Besides, I’d rather him introduce himself to you all. It might be a better way that you could get a feel for him.” Rezzi wanted them to make their own opinions on her newest addition, especially since they were all making such a big deal out of him before.

“It’ll be fun to meet Rezzi’s new friend. Maybe we can even hang out sometime. I wonder if he plays Twisted Land.” Ayumi’s mind was full of inquiries on this man. She spoke so fondly of him. Maybe everyone else really had been just jumping the gun and assuming way too much about him.

“If he has, I wonder what kind of character he is,” David pondered aloud.

“You guys are really laying on the assumptions about this bastard, aren’t you?” Dante chimed in. The guy was homeless, well supposedly anyway. Why and how would he be able to play Twisted Land?

“Come on, man. Aren’t you curious?” David asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his red, baggy athletic pants with white stripes down the sides.

“Not a fuck is given,” Dante turned his nose up at this conversation. In all reality, he really wished the peanut gallery would quiet down so he could think about anything other than Rezzi’s new friend. That guy already pissed him off and he hadn’t even met him yet.

Now he would be forced to deal with him, because as soon as he ended that commentary, they were at the blind girl’s door and she was running her fingers over the intricate brail on her name plate as she routinely did. She stuck the key in the door and opened it, slowly turning around to face her friends.

“You guys wait out here. I’ll dress him and bring him out for you to see,” Rezzi stuck her head inside of the door way and shouted. “I’m home! I have new clothes for you, too!”

“What is he? Naked or something?” Dante arched an eye brow.

“He is only in a robe,” Rezzi replied. It was rude to just bring them in and have them look at him like he was some sort of spectacle. Besides, the robe didn’t fit right and it was indecent.

“Yeah…We don’t give a fuck about seeing that. I don’t want to have to use one of your canes to get back home.” The black-haired boy shot sardonically. No thanks to unwanted images of some homeless guy’s gross junk hanging out of a robe. Warning well administered.

“That’s harsh, dude,” Tony commented. What if the homeless guy was alright looking? Not that he was gay or anything.

“Who knows? He could be really good looking,” Ayumi added as Rezzi headed inside. It was quiet for a few moments before she returned a short while later with Tarvos, who was clad in black slacks, a button up, white shirt and black suspenders to keep his pants up. They were a little big for him around the waist but the length was perfect.

“Here he is. This is the man I found the other day,” the blind girl beamed and gestured as she stood beside of the demon, who simply stared at the group before him.

They all had their poker faces on and didn’t seem to think much of him…except Dante, who looked as if he had a heart attack. He could clearly see those blood red horns, white skin with black accents on his elbows, knuckles, around his eyes, around his mouth and the points of his ears. Those appendages sticking out of his back were frightening enough, minus those teeth and claws.

“Is there something wrong, Dante?” The blind girl questioned upon hearing nothing from him for a while. She actually felt a bit of an odd presence from him. Not to mention, he was the person to usually say something about situations like this.

“Are you serious?” It was the only question she got, and in the oddest of voices. He sounded unsure, freaked out and even a little nervous. Dante tried to cover it with sarcasm but he could not hide it from her.

“About what? Is there something wrong with me?” Tarvos spoke up.

The black-haired boy glanced from his friends, who held normal expressions then back to Tarvos and flung his hands out angrily at him. “Do you dumbasses not see that?” He nearly screamed so much he had an aneurism.

“No, I can’t see. I’m blind,” Rezzi stated her fact; even though she had a feeling she knew what she was talking about. She thought Tarvos put up his human disguise. If that was so, then how could Dante see him?

David tipped his shades down, peering at the man with piercing blue eyes. “See what? He just looks like some curly-haired guy.”

“What’s so odd about him?” Lannad was confused as to why he was making a big deal out of it as well. It was weird and he was flipping out about nothing to her. Maybe it bothered him that this guy was older than all of them. He appeared to be around Ringo’s age.

‘They must not be able to see him. Then, why can’t I? I mean, it’s there plain as day. He has mother fucking horns, wings, claws and his skin is so white it puts snow to shame. I’m not just seeing this, right? He really does exist, right?’ The questions assaulted his mind as he continued to stare blankly at the demon, his face frozen in disbelief. Surely they were blinded to his real appearance. How could he see him if that was the case? Maybe he was appearing to be human in front of everyone but in reality, Dante could see through his façade somehow. It often took a special person to even do that, and in this world, demons didn’t exist…or at least he thought they didn’t.

Okay, he was freaking out pretty bad now. His heart pounded in his chest and he felt like running. No matter how much he hated some random homeless guy staying with Rezzi, he knew that getting rid of this guy would be no easy task. Not to mention who knows what he would do to her in the future. The very thought of being with this type of entity far out shown his fears of it being some scraggly old man off of the street.

“Dante, stop! You’re being a raging douche. I mean, what if he’s self-conscious?” Tony tried to reason with his friend, who was locked in to what seemed to be a staring war with Tarvos. It was creating an incredibly awkward situation between the two and raising the tension of the atmosphere.

“It was bad enough that he was homeless, and now you’re going to point at him like he’s some sort of circus freak?” Mae crossed her arms, glaring at the boy with an upturned lip. “How rude can you be?”

“It’s not like Dante was ever polite,” Ringo sighed, resting his weight to one side as he placed his hand on his hip.

“What did you say, pretty boy?” The angry boy balled his fists and jerked his head towards the taller man, grinding his teeth in irritation.

“Cool your jets. We’re all being rude here. No one’s even introduced themselves yet.” David tried to quiet the situation by darting between the two and holding his hands out to his angry friend. If this persisted, Dante was going to smear the ground with remnants of Ringo’s perfect face and that was something he didn’t want to see from the male snapdragon he called a friend.

“You’re right,” Ayumi closed her eyes, laying her hands on Dante’s shoulders in a further effort to calm him. “He deserves a proper greeting.” The girl left her boyfriend’s side and walked up to Tarvos and bowed quaintly. “I’m so sorry that we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Ayumi, it’s very nice to meet you.”

Soon after, everyone gave their names.

“Dante Ikemoura.”

“I’m Lannad Eclaire.”

“David Ryzek.”

“Tony Strongheim.”

“Ringo Davis, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Mae Minimoto.”

“You must be Rezzi’s friends. Yes…She’s told me a lot about you,” Tarvos spoke slowly as his eyes scanned the group of teens from left to right stopping on Dante, who glared at him. The two had an unspoken moment in eye contact for a few minutes before the scruffy boy spoke up.

“What are you looking at?” He spat hatefully.

“You seem…familiar somehow,” the demon was thoughtful in his notation.

“I’m sure we don’t know each other,” he’s never seen this freak before. That was something he was more than sure on. The last thing he ever wanted to be was associated with this creepy as fuck looking guy and whatever acquaintance he had that bore even the slightest resemblance to him.

“Maybe not…I don’t recall anyone named Dante in my life.” Maybe it was just an odd coincidence that he resembled him. Surely that was the case. All the same, they looked too closely similar for words. It was amazing, in fact. The person he was thinking of could be twins with this boy.

‘I’ve got to tell everyone about this guy. The only question is, how do I do that without seeming like I’m crazy. I can’t just say ‘hey, did you know this guy’s a demon?’ Yeah, right. Fuck that. Rezzi’s letting that guy stay with her and she’s blind. I bet she doesn’t even know it.’ Dante was so busy pondering the current situation that he didn’t notice David, waving his hand in front of his face in an attempt to get his attention.

“Hey, Dante.”

‘There’s got to be a way to let her know.’

“Dante!”

“Huh? What?” He stirred from his thoughts, blinking at everyone who was staring at him. Everyone including Rezzi and Tarvos.

“We’re going inside, come on,” David looked a little annoyed as he turned to go inside.

“Yeah…” His friend’s voice was still only half way in the conscious world as he wandered aimlessly inside of the house.

After everyone took their shoes off at the door, they took a seat at the kitchen table, which was rarely used unless she felt like sitting there. Usually, since the girl lived alone she simply brought her food to the kotatsu. Now that friends were over, she could utilize the large, long table. Everyone fit at it perfectly, much to her surprise. It was like it was meant for them.

Rezzi took her seat next to Tarvos, and Dante took was on the other side with a look of horror on his face.

‘Fucking why?’ Anyone else but him. Why couldn’t someone who didn’t realize he was a monster sit by him? This must have been some sort of form of punishment. That’s what he would level with himself anyway. Yes, this was definitely punishment. For whatever reason, the higher powers above hated him.

This was torture.

“That’s it, really,” the demon’s voice came into his hearing as Tarvos finished the story of why and how he came to be, as well as his life on the street.

Tony seemed engaged into his story. “You mean, you didn’t remember anything? You just woke up in the middle of the street and you’ve been homeless ever since?” That was a tragic situation. The fact that he was even talking about something that bad was miraculous on its own. Tony felt pretty sorry for this guy. Talk about some bad luck.

“Until Rezzi helped me, anyway. I owe a lot to her.”

“How do you know that your name is Tarvos?” Dante asked. If he had amnesia, and no one was around to give him his memories back then his story was bullshit. There was no way it even made sense and he would expose him as a fraud. After all, he couldn’t tell anyone that he was a demon, so why not expose him through other means?

“It’s one of the only things that I do know. I know my name and my age. Well, my gender and things like that.” Oh-ho, so this kid wanted to challenge his story? This would be an interesting round of inquisitions. Too bad he had backup stories for it in abundance.

“That’s pretty wild. Do you even know where you live and where you’re from? That seems pretty basic.” So, shades wanted in on this, too? He supposed he would entertain them both with his answers.

“No.”

“How long have you been homeless?” David asked.

“Wouldn’t he not remember that?” Tony replied. What a perfect defense. Now things were getting interesting.

“For a year as long as I know, I just wander from place to place, really,” Tarvos said nonchalantly. An answer from him was better than nothing at this point. That Dante kid would make him seem more incriminating if he didn’t say something anyway.

“Not anymore. You have a home with me now.” Rezzi finalized his stay as a permanent member of her household, much to Dante’s disgust. He made a face of absolute horror upon finding this out. A thousand horrible thoughts filled his head with all the fury of a raging maelstrom of the possibilities of this outcome. His imagination ran to places that he was sure only existed in the depths of hell.

“Are you okay, Dante?” Rezzi sensed that strange aura again.

“You can’t be fucking serious,” he tried to talk her out of her decision. No. No, no, no, no fucking no! This could not be happening. The boy prayed that he could sway her from having this monster in the same house that she was in. Nothing but bad would come out of it.

“He has no place to stay, and he’s a nice guy. I’ve proven my case,” the blind girl justified her decision. They all met him. Granted it was for a short time, but they were all getting along. There was nothing wrong with her friend.

“No you didn’t. It’s not that I don’t think he’s nice or anything-“ He was cut off.

“You shouldn’t be so cruel,” Rezzi’s voice held slight agitation. Her friend truly was being impossible. It was beginning to get on her nerves.

“You really just don’t understand,” Dante tried to reason with her.

“We understand that you’re being an asshole,” Mae shot.

“You’re being fooled!” He tried to defend his case.

“How so? Tarvos is nice,” Rezzi continued to defend him.

“Tarvos isn’t even a human name.” Couldn’t she at least see that?

“Dante is pretty unusual too. Besides, I’m not exactly from this country,” Tarvos’ comment was casual as ever. Of course it didn’t bother him. He had a barrage of warriors defending him. Conniving bastard.

“That’s obvious,” The black-haired man spat.

“What do you mean?” The demon prodded.

“I know about you. I can see you,” the boy gave him an all-knowing look.

Tarvos just smiled, “ this gift of sight is nice.”

Dante’s head hit the table. That bastard was playing with him. “That’s not what I mean you brain dead asshole.”

Tony sat across the table, holding his cup of green tea and looking very bewildered. He turned to Lannad, who was sitting next to him. “Anyone know what they’re talking about? I’m kind of confused.” He whispered.

“Me too,” Lannad looked equally confused.

“I’m telling you, he’s not normal,” the boy continued to defend himself. He wasn’t crazy, damn it! This guy was a freak.

“I think Dante’s kinda left field if you know what I mean,” David leaned in and swirled his finger around near the side of the top of his head.

“I’m telling you guys, he’s not normal,” Dante continued to defend his sanity.

“He seems normal to me,” Rezzi lied.

“I think you’re just being weird,” Mae added.

The boy sighed. ‘I can’t convince anyone that this guy’s a demon. What the fuck do I do?’

“You really should just drop the subject, Dante,” Mae advised. If he didn’t, then people were just going to continue to make fun of him. Everyone knew that Tarvos wasn’t a demon. Dante obviously just had some sort of grudge against him. Honestly, he needed to stop being so rude, and his accusations were more ridiculous than they had ever been. What a total drama queen.

‘That’s strange. A human with perfectly good sight can see through my spell. It’s supposed to block human eyes from seeing my abnormalities. It’s never failed me before, so why can this boy see me? He’s not blind like Rezzi…There’s something about him.’ His smile widened in a display of all of his long, jagged teeth. ‘I’ll keep my eye on you, my dear.’

After everyone said their good byes and left, Rezzi walked back inside and shut the front door. Taking off her shoes as she normally did, Tarvos walked up to her. She rose up and tipped her head up to him, noting how close he was.

“Your friend is on to me. He knows I’m not human.” There was no specific tone to his voice, but Tarvos always talked as if he didn’t care one way or another. The girl quirked an eyebrow and wondered if it truly even bothered him at all.

“I wonder why he can see you.”

“I can’t have people finding out my secret,” his voice took on more of a dark edge.

“No one will believe him right now. They don’t see what Dante sees.” If it was any sort of comfort, he was somehow a rare case. As long as people remained blind to his visions then what he said would remain an unpopular opinion unless Tarvos did something to justify it.

“My only question is how he can see me. A human has never seen my true form unless I chose to reveal it to them.” That in itself was more than a rarity, and those who have seen his true form did not live to tell the tale. If they did, they wisely kept his secret.

“Maybe you need to find a different spell to use.” It was a suggestion at least.

Tarvos frowned, “that’s my strongest one.”

“I can only play blind for so long to cover you. However, I think I can do it long enough to let you think of something,” the girl wanted to help him. She knew that if Dante could prove it, then the situation would be escalated into a cataclysm of events that none of them wanted.

Tarvos smiled impishly. “You’re a pretty good scapegoat. Then again, you’re a pretty good weakness as well. Because you’re blind, your friend will think I’m endangering you. He’ll be more inclined to try and help you escape me.”

“I can handle him. As long as I’m here, I’ll make sure no one finds out. For now, I think I’m going to enjoy a little game of Twisted Land.” Reaching up, she ran a hand through his hair affectionately and walked over to a large monitor on a special type of computer used for the blind with a special audio system in case she could not see all of the graphics.

“Twisted Land?” Tarvos questioned.

“Yeah, you can watch me play. It’s interesting,” Rezzi smiled as she took a seat at her computer chair and turned on her computer. The faint hum of the fans filled the air as the demon slowly walked over to her and bent down, peering over her shoulder.

“It came out not too long ago, and from what I’ve been playing on it we’re supposed to be fighting this guy and stopping him from killing everyone in our world. Players from online teams can connect with each other through message boards. I think that’s where everyone might be anyway. Sometimes, we just get on and talk to other players. We kind of need help getting past something.” She commented as a message board window popped up.

Tarvos blinked with a look of utter confusion. “Fruity Muffin Fuck Wagon? That’s the name of your message board?”

“The person who makes them is quite…interesting,” Rezzi replied, putting her headphones on. “Since I can’t see, everything is read to me. While I have partial vision, I don’t want it to get any worse by trying to read. I use the vision I have left to type and play with. Let’s see who’s in the room and what they’re talking about.”

Enlarging the chat window and signing herself in, she jumped into the conversation.

Fruity Muffin Fuck Wagon

Undyingprophecy has joined the chat

TranscendingTimex – Oh, hey.

BladeRunner- Took you long enough.

Undyingprophecy- I had to have a talk with Tarvos. So, who is all here tonight?

BerefHex- Not a lot of people. I don’t understand where the fuck everyone is unless they’re still trying…I mean failing at the game.

SinisterSpades- There are only 5 people here. Not counting you.

BladeRunner- Yeah, who you see typing is who’s pretty much on here.

TranscendingTimex- Uh, there’s one more person in here. He’s been kind of quiet, though. I have no idea what the hell he’s doing.

BerefHex- Hey, fucktard! Stop being a rude ass and join the mother fucking rumpus assfuck of fun.

NexusJuncture- I forgot I had chat on.

BerefHex- Pay attention and stop stroking off to porn.

NexusJuncture- That’s not what I’m doing.

TranscendingTimex- You hacking something, bro?

NexusJuncture- I was trying to figure out an advanced code. After I put it into play, it should be easier for you to advance. Remember, you can’t rely on my constantly. The other players know of my modifications.

BladeRunner- Aren’t we supposed to win in any way we can? That’s the object of the game…unless I’m missing something.

BerefHex- That’s not the only way of beating the game, you axe wielding dumbass. This game is more complex than your feeble little mind could ever hope to understand.

NexusJuncture- BerefHex is right. This game has a significant impact on you in the physical world as well as the gaming world.


SinisterSpades- I don’t get it…how?

TranscendingTimex- I’ve always heard that, but in all honesty I don’t get it either.

NexusJuncture- There are a great many things about this game that are applicable to real life. Why do you think this game is set up like it is? Think about it. That’s how Oz designed the game.

BladeRunner- Is every game different? I mean do the landscapes change according to your surroundings?

TranscendingTimex- You know a lot about this game, bro.

NexusJuncture- You could say that I’m…close friends with Oz.



…To Be Continued