Shinichi Shindo, the coward

It was a cold winter day, likely the coldest of the year. Shinichi Shindo stood at the far back of a graveyard, umbrella in hand, in an attempt to hide his face.

He watched as a family dressed in all black surrounded a closed casket, an older woman in a wheelchair laying her face atop the casket, wailing so loud that her voice stretched for miles.
“My son!” She shouted. A man approached from behind, hugging her and trying to reassure her.

Shinichi turned away, beginning to leave the graveyard with his head hung low.

“E-excuse me!” A man rushed over to him, panting. “I couldn’t help but notice you standing all the way over here. Were you a friend of his?”

Shinichi stood with his back faced to the man, thinking of what to say, his grip tightening around his umbrella.

“No, I am undeserving of that title.” He slowly turned, lowering his umbrella and staring the man in his face. The man's jaw dropped, his eyes widening.

“It’s you… You’re him!” His exclamation brought attention to them both, the entire family turning to see the commotion.

The man, once embracing the older woman, wheeled her over, as the rest of the family wearily followed.

“It is him.” The mother repeated, brows furrowed.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” The man holding the wheelchair rapidly approached, grabbing him by the collar. “How can you stand here? You were supposed to protect our boy!”

Shinichi allowed his head to fall, muttering. “The Takeba group will ensure that you all receive reparations for your loss.”

The man grew even more furious, cocking back his arm and slamming his fist into his face. He tumbled to the ground, a powerful stinging sensation welling on his cheek.

The family pulled him back.

“Don’t ever show your face around here again!” They managed to tug him back.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke so silently that only he could hear it.

While most of his family was preoccupied with holding back Shinichi's attacker, the boy who first spotted him crouched beside him.

“You should listen to him. Emotions are high right now, and seeing your face won’t help us any.” He stood and walked away.

Not too much later, Shinichi was standing in the office of Sasha Linda, multiple files in her hand.
“You’re late.” She calmly spoke.

“I know. There was something I needed to do before coming here.”
She took notice of his sad tone, setting down the files and giving a half-smile.

“Does this have something to do with your previous partner?” She cocked her head.

“It does.” He reluctantly answered.

Sasha sighed, “I don’t understand your attachment to that man. Yes, it was an unfortunate and unforeseen event, but these things happen when you become a dungeon keeper. He and his family were well aware of the risk, and they should take pride in knowing he died for a much greater cause.” She clasped her hands together atop her desk.

“Which one?” He grumbled.

“Could you repeat that?” Sasha asked. 

“I said: Which one? Which cause do they believe he died for?”

Sasha was taken aback. “My apologies, I wasn’t aware that you were so personally affected by the matter. You’ve never reacted like this before. Forgive my lack of sympathy.” She slowly stood, plucking one of the files from her desk. “But I don’t have much time to discuss.” She sauntered toward him, handing him the file.

“This is your next partner, her name is Himeno Takeba, and she’s sixteen years of age. Her physical capabilities are impressive, as you’ll see in her file. Though she could be a bit of a problem, which is why I need you to keep her on a strict leash.”

“Sixteen?”

“Is that a problem?”

“That’s young.”

“I’m aware.”

Shinichi paused, gritting his teeth. “I can’t, I can’t keep lying, letting people die for the sake of a cause they aren’t even aware of.”

“Shindo.” She spoke sternly, “I’m sorry about the loss of your previous partner, but coming into this, you were aware of the consequences that may come with your position. These deaths are bound to happen, and thousands more may die in similar ways. We must not allow that to deter us from our true goal; their deaths, each one, are like another stepping stone on our path toward ascension. Don’t you understand that?”
He remained silent, loosely holding onto Himeno's file.

“If not for your loyalty to the cause, do it for the money. After all, isn’t that what you’re loyal to most?”

Shinichi tensed up a bit before speaking. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good boy.” She turned away from him and returned to his desk. “You’ll meet your new partner soon, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting to attend to pretty soon.”

“Right.”

Outside, Shinichi stood beneath the cold blue sky, head tilted upward and eyes staring into the clouds. Passers-by walked around him as if he weren’t there.

She’s right. He thought, thousands have died before him, and thousands will die after him. His mind flashed back to that funeral. Thousands. He repeated. Thousands of families just like that, thousands of wailing mothers, brothers, sisters. He clenched his fist around the file. But it is for a greater cause, in the end, we’ll have changed the world… Right?