Chapter Eighteen: Questioning the Future:

 Valentine’s Day.

7:00 p.m.

“What will you do after you kill Haruka?” Tsuzuki asked on the couch. Anna looked up at him from her laptop.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Tsuzuki shrugged.

“I just want to know if we’ll be together as a family when this is all over,” he said. Anna closed her laptop.

“Where is this coming from?” she asked.

“I have seen how you’ve been lately. You’re happy. Do you want to keep this happiness?”

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” Anna leaned back in the armchair.

“Is something bothering you?”

“I just want you to be happy,” Tsuzuki said.

“And I am!”

“Will you be after you get your revenge?”

“Yes.”

“Anna- chan…”

“I want to have peace in my life. I want to give Papa and my aunts peace to move on.” She pushed her bangs from her eyes.

“Please allow me this one thing, Asato-kun. I died once before and couldn’t avenge my family. I got a second chance and I can’t waste it.”

“I just hope you won’t forget your current family.”

“I won’t.”

Tsuzuki stood up and walked over to his wife. He pressed his forehead against hers. Anna gave him a strange look.

“Asato-kun?” she asked.

“I know I can’t stop you,” the shinigami said. “Heck, you probably won’t listen if I tried. But you have to promise me one thing, okay?”

“What are you--?”

“Okay?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay…”

Tsuzuki drew in a deep breath. “Promise me that, you won’t forget about Kirika-chan or me. Don’t get so caught up in your revenge that you forget about us. At least promise me that.” His words made her heart sting. The look in his eyes made it worse.

“I promise I won’t forget you guys,” Anna said in a trembling voice. Tsuzuki kissed her on the lips. Like Airi, she let him do so at first. Anna inched her hands forward and pulled the shinigami closer. Tsuzuki broke away and kissed her again. He held her cheeks. Anna pulled away, eyes lowered.

“You won’t let me go that easily, will you?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “You are just stuck with me.”

Tsuzuki led her back to their room. Anna lay on their futon. Her husband took off his tie. She reached up and unbuttoned his shirt.

“We’re stuck with each other,” I said. “I can be happy with this.” Tsuzuki’s shirt wound up on the floor. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. His hands moved to her breasts. He slipped his fingers down into her dark navy jeans.

“Yes,” Tsuzuki whispered. “We are stuck together. Just the way I like it.” Her red shirt went out her head. The shinigami’s lips moved down to her neck. Soft moans escaped from Anna’s lips. Her husband glanced upwards. His mouth moved to her right ear lobe.

“Oh!” Anna whimpered. Her cheeks flushed bright red. Tsuzuki didn’t let up with his teeth. In a way, he laughed at her reaction. Anna was so level and reserved outside of their apartment. Seeing her flustered and aroused like this was so entertaining. Tsuzuki sat up over her.

“What do you want from me tonight?” he asked. Anna gulped as she drew in a slow breath.

“Pleasure me,” she said in a low voice.

“Hm?” the shinigami asked. His wife arched her spine upwards.

“Please pleasure me!” Anna pleaded louder. “You’re teasing me! Why do you have to be so mean?” Tsuzuki chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

“Me? Mean?” he asked. The shinigami sat up and unzipped his trousers.

“I can be really nice.”

Anna’s eyes grew wide. “You can?”

Tsuzuki had a serious look on his face. “Oh yes.” His trousers slid down with ease. All ten inches stood up proud in his boxers.

“Let me show you,” he said. Once the boxers hit the floor, need and desire took control. His mouth moved to her neck. Anna moaned as she felt his teeth to her skin. Tsuzuki moved his hands to her jeans. He smirked as he took his time with the small zipper. The shinigami rolled down the dark navy cotton inch by inch. A small amount of blood escaped from his nose when he saw her lacy satin lime green panties. Usually, his wife would say something cheeky about his reaction. But, his touch made it so hard for her to think.

Tsuzuki moved down to her collarbone. The more he tasted her, the more his demon itched to hurry the process along.

No. He had to tease this out. His lust compelled him to tease her mercilessly. He didn’t need much to make her stay. Maybe she already to do so. What if it was him that needed convincing that his wife will stay?

Tsuzuki shook those thoughts from his head and moved his hands to Anna’s light pink bra. He kissed her to distract her from his fingers on the hooks. The bra ended up half way across the room. Once Tsuzuki slide down her lime green panties, Anna spread her legs to let him in.

---------

A young man awoke in the dim morning sky. When he opened his eyes, he could feel the sun at the bottoms of his feet.

A certain scent attracted his attention.

What is it?

His brain tried to guess the scent floating through his nose. The young man thought of red jasmines and white gardenias. Warm feelings bloomed in his chest. His mind disappeared to rosier places.

“It smells… so familiar…” he said. A pair of hands came over his eyes.

“Who’s there?” the young man asked. Giggling filled his ears.

“You don’t know me yet,” she said. “But you will soon, my beloved.”

“What are you talking about?” the young man asked. “Who are you?” The hands moved from his eyes. The young man turned around. A woman about his age gloated inches away from him. Her cool skin reminded the young man of the clouds. The woman’s plump breasts popped out of the top of her white lace corset. Her fluffy black skirt bounced when she moved her hips. Her curves and long auburn hair completed her looks. She seemed to light up the dim morning sky. The young man’s deep purple eyes widened. He couldn’t stop staring at her breasts. Even the blue and yellow flowers in her hair looked appealing.

“What is your name?” he asked. The curvaceous, floating woman shook her head.

“I have no name,” she said. He plump lips begged to be kissed.

“What did you mean when you said I would know who you were soon?” the young man asked. The woman giggled.

“Follow me and you will see,” she told him. This alluring woman held out her arms. Words slipped out of her plump lips. The young man looked around as gentle waves floated through the air. His heart jumped when a flash swallowed them whole.

When he opened his eyes, the whole sky looked like a giant pool. The young man stood on the surface. He looked around wide-eyed.

“What just happened?” he asked. “Where did she go?” The sound of splashing caught his ear. The young man slowly turned and looked behind him. The young woman popped up from the sky-pool.

“Miss me?” she asked. He stood with an odd look on his face.

“How did you get in the--?” the young man asked. The woman grinned and grabbed him by the ankle.

“Whoa!” he shouted as he fell into the water. The pair stared each other in the eye.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“Look around you.”

The young man took a look around. The sky-pool went as far as the eye could see. Fluffy white clouds floated beneath their feet. The blue felt so calm.

“Okay,” the young man said. “Why am I here, though?” Her lips curved into a smile.

“My answer will depend on your answer,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

The young woman took him by the cheeks.

“Tell me how you feel about me,” she said.

“But I don’t even know you,” he said.

“Don’t rely on thought. Look at me and use your instinct to find the answer.”

The young man stared deep into her olive-colored eyes. A soft pounding filled his ears. That same scent he smelled before stirred something in his chest.

Seek me! Seek me! Seek me!

Something within him jumped as he began to see the answer for himself.

“I could love you if I got to know you better,” the young man said. She quickly kissed him on the lips.

“You made the right decision,” the woman said in a low voice. The sky-pool bubbled around them. The young man looked to see red swans popping up from the water. The graceful birds circled the pair.

“Who are they?” the young man asked. His potential bride smiled.

“They will help us go to our paradise,” she said.

“Huh?” he asked. She took hold of his hands. The golden crowns on the swans’ heads began to glow. The woman pulled her possible lover into her arms. A light blue light surrounded them and they disappeared into the water.

The young man found them flying downwards. He could barely keep up with what was going on around them. The woman wouldn’t let go. She pressed her lips against his. In that kiss, he saw everything. Maybe they could have a future together. She could be his wife. She could bear his children. They could grow old together. She could even be his soulmate.

It would appear that they would now be stuck together.

When the woman pulled away, the young man looked around. The pair stood in the middle of a bright green garden. They stood under a giant willow tree surrounded by wildflowers. The woman kissed the young man on the lips and led him to a smooth mahogany bench.

--------

Anna ran her fingers through Tsuzuki’s hair. He glanced up at her.

“We’re stuck with each other no matter what happens, right?” the shinigami asked.

“Yeah,” Anna said, looking at the ceiling. Tsuzuki rested his head on her breasts.

“I can live with that,” he said, drawing his eyes closed. Anna had already drifted off to sleep.