Chapter Thirty-Four: Poems:

-Kato-

I will carry out Daisuke’s will. All we wanted was for Malchik to live a normal life. So far, we all have a few obstacles in the way.

One- Their family.

Shichiro, Amara, and Sharon were dead. Haruka and two more sons remained. Plus, there were other relatives in the picture.

I rubbed my forehead.

Oh, where do I start? They won’t stop until Malchik’s dead. They need the Mother to live. Malchik can handle herself now, but they are persistent. Both sides can’t keep this up any longer. I must end it now.

Lucky for me, I had help.

Hitomi said she would air me in this quest. She’s loyal to Haruka, but can’t stand the bloodshed anymore.

I just hope she pulls through.

Two- Those Damn Bounty Hunters

You see, I am dead. I was supposed to have been judged a long time ago. But, I tricked the shinigami into letting me go. For a year now, I have been free.

Now, I’m being hunted. By shinigami bounty hunters, no less.

Damn.

I have been dodging them so far. Yet, money is their motivation. Yes, it’s that bad.

Hm…

How do I deal with this?

Hm… They won’t listen to reason. So… Dodging will stop working soon too. So… Plus, I have Daisuke’s mission too. So… yes, yes. Such a pain indeed. However, I’ve got a plan to carry out. So…

Yes.

Three- Time Itself

You know how this goes. Believe it or not, I don’t have enough of it. I realized it this morning.

My left hand has black spots on it and it twitches. I don’t know why this is happening. I have no real grudges. (Okay, there’s Haruka, but she doesn’t count. That’s a given and not strong enough. A little… But that’s not the point.)

I don’t know how long it will be until it gets worse. This could slow me down. Oh damn, it’s like a cancer. I don’t want to know how much time I have left.

I just keep working.

-Hitomi-

I won’t see my students again after this. Somehow, I am prepared for this. It hurts my heart even still. The dream of a quiet life was just that—a dream. I knew that, but I believed in it. Now, I have to wake up from this pleasant delusion. I don’t know what will happen to me when this is all over. I realized that I might die.

I rested my hand to my chest.

I’m not ready to die. But I don’t what to live for anymore. I won’t get to see my students ever again. I have no living family. I’m about to betray my only true friend.

I looked around my tiny apartment. I’ve never had many possessions to begin with. I’ve lived a sad existence, haven’t I? Eighty-five years led to this? I don’t know why I am crying like this. This was coming; I felt it. I’ll just disappear like I’ve always had. I’ve done it before. It shouldn’t be any different.

But why do I keep crying like this?

-Outside-

Kato froze on the bench in the park. His eyes moved to his left.

“Oh. How long have you been sitting there?”

A young man in a black coat and fancy hat faced forward. “Long enough.”

“Are you here to take in?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t you wait?”

“I cannot and neither can you.” He eyed Kato’s black spotted hand. The old man drew back his hand.

“So you noticed? I guess you won’t take no for an answer then?”

“You are coming with me.”

Kato shrugged. “Fine. But I have something to do first.” He glanced over at the young man with the covered face.

“And that is?”

“Revenge.”

“I’m afraid you can’t do that.”

“May I ask why not?”

“It’ll eat up your soul and your price will be lowered.”

Kato chuckled and shook his head. “It’s always about money with you hunters, isn’t it? Money, money, money. Your greed will be your downfall.”

“Get up and come with me!”

“Now that I think about, no.”

“Excuse me?”

Kato rose to his feet. “Well, nice knowing you.”

“Hey! Get back here!” the bounty hunter yelled. Kato waved him off as he walked away. The whole time, he smirked to himself.