Brian’s plan to intimidate Carmen off his back really ought to have worked, and yet, Carmen came flying at him, crashing into his side and sending them both tumbling to the floor. “Stop telling me to leave!” she squealed. It did not take too much effort, though, to shove her back off of him. “You’re the one who wanted to leave!” Brian said, pulling himself up. Not that that deterred the already delirious Carmen any. “You’re the one who didn’t even want to enter the fucking- oof!” Carmen leapt onto him again, wrapping her arms around his torso and doing what could only be described as “her best” at lifting and slamming his back against the hard basement floor. There was a crunch, and even with all the adrenaline, Brian felt a sharp pain in his side, and he cried out. The sensation quickly turned to warm and wet, but with that also came a sense of clarity. Brian suddenly understood everything that was happening to him and why. Carmen, despite all the noise, was inconsolable. She managed a good three more beatings with closed fists before Brian said, “Enough- Enough!” and only with another shove did Brian finally manage to get Carmen off of him for long enough to fully evaluate things. Brian looked down at his shirt and saw plenty of blood already staining his shirt and pants, right where he’d tucked that cursed mirror. He looked at Carmen, who was still tense, but she seemed at least willing to see what he was going to do next. Both of them were panting heavily. “Fuck,” Brian said, almost out of habit. He took off his shirt, and his suspicions turned out to be correct. The mirror was broken, and shards of it were now cutting into his skin. The good news was that he probably wasn’t going to die, but unless Shiki was secretly a miracle surgeon on top of everything else secret about them, it was definitely going to leave some gnarly scars. Brian spent a moment wrapping his hand with his shirt, and gingerly pulled the mirror out of his pants. “Seal this,” he said, wrapping the mirror too and tossing the mirror/shirt combination Carmen’s way. “Careful, though, don’t touch.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “And thanks.” Carmen hesitated. “The real Brian wouldn’t thank me for anything,” she said. Brian rolled his eyes. “Oh my god. You’re already a pervert for watching me take my shirt off -- and now you ask more from me? Do I have to recite your Taco Bell order from memory to prove myself or something?”

6/10, ngl this one was a bit boring, there were some nice bits in it though