Chapter 9 Arc 1 — "When I'm Kicking The Bucket"

“Do you remember this place, Sakoiya? ”

Sasaki turned up to see that it was night again. The streets were empty; there was no traffic. No people are going home from work. It was a ghost town.

“I'm not Sakoiya, I'm Sasaki! ”

“Sure.”

The child's skin was melting like wax, turning into a skeleton-like figure. The figure smelled like burnt ash, and its bones were blacker than the night. It held his hand, and suddenly, he was inside the cafe.

“Do you remember? Sakoiya—”

Its voice was static and distorted as it looked at the counter in a daze.

“Stop calling me that! If you're going to pull me down to hell, at least show some sympathy! ”

“Huh? Sakoiya? ”

A woman's voice spoke from the counter. He turned to her, seeing Hanae holding some empty cups in her hand. She had probably finished washing them, as now she's reordering them for tomorrow.

"Hanae-san?"

“What's wrong? Why are you crying? ”

Sakoiya sniffled, yet he was puzzled. He thought this was just a result of staying in the middle of the rain for hours.

No… it wasn't moments ago. It was two years ago. He still remembered the time like it was yesterday. The day Hanae nicked them.

“I'm sorry~ I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! ”

Sakoiya rushed to Hanae in tears, hugging her as he rubbed his face on her pink apron. Even though confused as to why he was apologizing, she rubbed his hair with a gentle smile on her face.

“I forgive you, Sasaki.”

“No, no! I'm not Sasaki, I'm Sakoiya! It's pronounced Zhakya! ”

She walked toward the stool carrying Sakoiya's small body; he sat on her lap while she hugged him tightly.

“Remember this? I found you like this in the park 2 years ago.”

“I remember… Miyuki was cold. I was hugging her so we both would feel warm in my jacket.”

Hanae held him tighter, but her slim arms were gentle. Her face rested on Sasaki's long, soft hair. She smiled.

“Hanae-san, who am I? Am I Sasaki or Sakoiya? ”

“When did you want to become Sasaki? I thought you hated me for calling you that.”

“Not anymore… I love you, Hanae-san.”

“Why is this so sudden? Oh… you finally realized you have a thing for me? ”

She smirked, teasing the little boy.

“Argh! Shut up, hag! This is the only time I'm being open, so embrace this! ”

She laughed uncontrollably. In her part, she never did experience Sasaki telling her about these kinds of problems, about his past, or anything about himself.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I love you too. It's the truth. I named you Sasaki because I couldn't understand what you were saying that night, so I just guessed your name! ”

He smiled. It was so much like her to make a stupid decision like that.

“Hanae, what if I want to be both? ”

She rubbed her cheeks gently on his hair. Her tender care was like resting in a field of flowers. He wanted to be hugged for longer. He wanted to fully die if it meant he would be with her.

“Then I'll call you by your last name. Do you remember? ”

“I'm—”

“That's okay.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and caressed his soft cheeks, wiping his tears.

"Promise me, when the time comes, I'm kicking the bucket. Sakoiya or Sasaki, whatever your name is, promise me, whenever you feel like you don't know who you are, remember your last name."

The truth is. He didn't want to remember his last name, since people thought it was a bad omen. His last name was a curse to others and himself.

The word meant “to kill yourself,” Which is why Sasaki never bothered to be called by his last name, nor did he tell anyone about his last name.

—Hanae. Why did you give me such a bad last name?

“Hanae—”

His hair felt drenched. His vision was like staring through a red-tinted glass. Blood splattered from Hanae's mouth as she continued to hold Sasaki despite her eyes showing no signs of life.

Even without looking at her. He knew. He'd already pictured it in his mind. When he

turns around, it would all be in front of him.

Now he remembers. The red anomaly. It was the same creature that killed Hanae on that tragic night.

—Her upper body was sliced into two parts because she pushed me away. She saved me. Hanae-san. Why? Why did you take care of us? Why do you keep saving us? We were just nobodies…

“Why indeed.”

The black skeleton suddenly appeared in front of him. It kneeled, walking toward him as it delicately wiped the tears on his face.

“It's because I love you. It was you who saved me that night, wasn't it? ”

“Hanae? Is that you? ”

All of a sudden, the terrain changed into a barren wasteland. The air was blurry, and the blizzard was getting stronger.

He looked at his palms, seeing that he'd returned to normal. Remembering Hanae, he wrapped his arms around him to feel if she was still hugging him. But she was gone.

“Boy, follow me.”

The dark, bony creature stood in front of him, glaring at him from its shoulder. He walked forward as figures made of snow had begun appearing left and right as they continued walking on a paved pathway.

Their faces weren't detailed, but they were somewhat recognizable to his eyes due to how familiar he was with them.

That one time, Hanae tried to enroll him in a school, yet he was rejected due to beating up one of the tenth graders. It was fun. Hanae sulked for a week after that one and gave up giving him a proper education.

The one time he forgot to tell Miyuki he was leaving, she tried to cook and almost burned the apartment. Luckily, Hanae came home from work early and saved her from being toast.

The one time he, Momo, and Kouji were playing tag at the abandoned school. Kouji was too good at pulling off tricks, often slithering through the railing just to escape me. For Momo… she would be the first one caught, since she has no athletic ability.

All of these sands engraved core memories of his past. Although he was confused as to why he was being shown these things right now.

The skeleton stopped at a point. He followed the thing to get a better look at its view. They were standing on the edge of a cliff.

Under the cliff were gray, shallow waters, rippling. He assumed there had to be something causing a ripple in the middle of the snowy valley.

—How could the water not have frozen in such a cold place?

The skeleton held his hand, and suddenly they were in the middle. He hadn't even blinked. Looking up, he saw a distorted crystal emitting an unknown presence.

"What's that?"

"It's your soul."

The skeleton took the crystal. Vanishing the crystal into thin air. It turned to Sasaki with its hollow eyes. Although hollow, its stare emitted a cold presence.

A loud thump was felt and heard, coming from his chest. He felt the pain jolting through his entire body as he placed his hand on his chest.

“M—my heart stopped…”

The skeleton wryly tilted his head.

“Seriously. You've just noticed? ”

He reached his hand out at a torn rift, pulling out two blackened swords. It tossed one of the swords to him.

Instinctively, he caught it. He appraised the blade, and it was clear both edges were sharp. The tip was pointy, and its handle was sturdy.

He firmly gripped the blade. All of a sudden, the blade tore his jacket, revealing a mark slowly starting to engrave in his left arm.

“Well then, I'll get to the point. When that mark covers your entire body, you'll lose your soul. When that happens, you'll freeze to death in this icy wasteland.”

“If I do get my soul, what would happen to me? ”

“You'll be able to choose between two choices.”

“That is? ”

“Coming back to life, or continuing your journey to the afterlife.”

To Be Continued...