Kyoto PV: Kabi

It was the end.

I stood up, picked up my backpack and looked through the window. The full moon was already there. I walked out of headquarters and after I looked inside for the last time, a memory appeared in my mind.

“This is the former sushi club’s room, isn’t it?”

“It says that right here on the door, Jake… I wonder why we had such thing as a sushi club, but it does not surprise me it is a former club now…”

“Nevermind that, I was speaking historically…”

“You mean ‘rhetorically’ for sure… However, I am unsure where are you going with this.”

“You’re really annoying, you know? It means this is an empty room now, right?”

“Are you going to get to the point before the Ragnarok?”

“Geez, you’re slow. Check this out, I just need a marker… we cross out this kanji and… there you go!”

Returning to reality, I closed the door and looked at the scribble Jake had made, it now read “headquarters.”

When I reached the hallway I saw the replaced window panel. Again, my mind went to the past.

“Even when the whole world is your enemy, you will be okay if you have some allies. Sadly, you seem to have none.”

“Excuse me, do I know you?”

“I know your intentions, and even though I just came here, I won’t let you do what you want, you… err… what’s your name?”

“Iwaki.”

“That’s right, Iwaki-senpai, you better leave right now. Or else I, Minamoto Hikari, will crush you, understood?”

“I have no idea what is this about, but I have no time to spend here with you, so if you could move—what are you doing? You cannot use that shinai here…”

“I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it…”

“Be careful! You will hit the win—Ahhhh! Look at what you did!”

“It seems I underestimated you. Your powers made me miss completely.”

“We are going to get killed, just look at this mess… hey, are you even listening?… Running away!?”

It was impossible to be sure if that was the same window, though, a lot of time had passed since then, and that meant a lot of broken windows.

I walked out of the building and felt like turning around and just getting back inside. But I had already done that in a way when I cited everyone just to come back one more time.

A cloud blocked the moonlight and darkness covered it all. Everything looks different when it is dark. You can only see outlines and, because of it, things are simpler. I walked past the gate, while remembering.

“Will you help me?”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to take revenge… you’re a vampire, aren’t you?”

“I am sorry, you must be mistaking me for somebody else.”

“Oh, I get it, it’s your secret identity, I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Which one?… I mean, my name is Phoenix, Karmin Phoenix.”

“I’m Amaya Mari, you can call me Mari… So, Karmin, will you help me?”

How did she find out? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t find another explanation than a supernatural ability. She would never tell me though.

I got to the station and sat down to wait for the train. I tilted my head up, and a gentle breeze hit me. I closed my eyes, and she was there, sitting next to me, like when we met.

“Still having trouble with that puzzle, Suzuki-san?”

“Yes! It seems to be impossible… Wait wait, what do you mean, still?”

“Oh, nothing, I saw you were stuck with it, it is a very difficult—”

“W-what do you mean you saw me? When? How do you know my name?”

“I have been following you around for a couple of days now.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Indeed, it is. Anyway, I did not mean to interrupt you. Keep doing what you were doing, act like if I never—”

The memory made me squeeze my eyes. I could still feel the pain.

The train came and by the time I got off at Sanjo station I did not even care about the dog. Jake was there, as he said he would, but he seemed to read the atmosphere correctly, or was busy thinking about something himself, so he just walked by my side.

We passed by Heian Shrine and I noticed we had been walking more, from Sanjo, instead of getting off at Jingumarutamachi starting from the day we found her there.

“It took you so long, I started to think you would never come.”

“On the other side, I think you knew exactly when I was going to get there.”

“I guess here’s when I say ‘I couldn’t expect less from the leader of team stupid,’ or something like that.”

“It seems that team stupid found you, then.”

“Yes, yes, of course… Or maybe I got bored of waiting. Do you even know who I am?”

“Onitsuka Rei.”

“No, mister president, I’m Death itself.”

A shiver went up my spine when I could hear her voice saying that, and I came back to the present.

When we got home Jake went to his room without saying a thing, so I followed his example. I felt so tired and for a moment I thought of just going to sleep, but I am a creature of the night, so I turned on my computer instead.

It was really over. Everything. I wished one of my abilities were time travel, I would have even given up immortality for it.

After letting out a sigh of defeat, I opened the browser. The Elysium logo appeared on the screen.

I stared at it for a moment, then I took out the pack of cardboard cards I wrote, and looked at the one card that was not used through the day. I smiled:

“Is the end not just a new beginning?”