Color

Well, the temple... How would one describe it? Especially so late at night, as it was at that moment. It was located in a remote neighborhood, way out in the sticks... The cityscape and its skyscrapers had long since faded into the background. With the previous night's rain, the temple grounds were practically a mud pit, surrounded by cherry blossoms that had been planted generations ago. It was a temple of worship, with some memorials dedicated to the founders and members of the families who had cared for that place over the ages. Typical Japanese architecture.

The memorial tombs, lacking any color or lighting, formed only distant square shapes on all sides.

The entrance gate, on the other hand, was sinister, brownish in color, and seemed to separate the temple from the rest of the world. A few hanging paper lanterns illuminated specific points in the large area covered by the property. A small cobblestone road led the way to the main building.

“What an ominous silence...", Akashi commented.

“What do you mean? Usually, in memorial grounds like this, silence is to be expected...”, I replied, curious.

“That's not the problem. The caretakers should have sensed me approaching and come out to greet me", he explained. “I've known the family for generations. Something feels off here", and he rubbed his beard, intrigued.

“You know, it feels like you're exaggerating... Just because they didn’t come to greet you, Akashi…”, I commented. “Maybe they’re just asleep”.

He shrugged and remained silent. Surrounding us, there were beautifully blooming cherry trees, but the night's gloom prevented me from admiring all its details. The gentle wind carried a subtle melody over the hill, and the paper lanterns softly chimed.

Suddenly, the paper door of the temple slid open, extremely fast. The sound of wood striking wood startled both Akashi and me, and we both turned our gaze toward the central building.

A boy about my age, if not a little younger, was the one who opened it.

He had terrible posture. His eyes were tired and empty. The light from within the temple, shining on him from behind, transformed his silhouette into something fuzzy, a vague shape devoid of detail. His dark clothes seemed to swallow up any kind of feature, just as his dark hair absorbed everything around him.

“Huh...? It's not Master Cubas?”, the figure whispered, almost inaudibly.

“Toshiki... You're alive! I'm so glad!”, Akashi smiled.

That boy — the one named Toshiki — picked up a shovel, the handle over a meter long, which had been leaning against the temple door, as if it were a broom on the porch of any ordinary house.

“It's Cubas' orders... Cubas' orders... Cubas' orders...”, he repeated incessantly, very softly.

“Hey, Toshiki. You’re acting weird. Did something happen? Where are your parents?”, Akashi asked, walking worriedly over to the boy.

They moved toward each other, and I sensed that something was off. Akashi treated him like an old friend, a child he had watched grow up. I, however, upon seeing Toshiki for the first time, was absolutely certain that something was amiss with the boy.

The vampire opened his arms as if to embrace Toshiki, who in turn walked crookedly, trembling.

The next thing I saw, however, was Akashi's severed arms being pushed away from his body. The once large and menacing vampire roared from the depths of his throat, in excruciating pain. A burning smell rose into the air, but not just any burning smell. An odor that few have the misfortune to experience in life — the smell of burnt blood. A stench so unique and exclusive to death that I felt like I was going to vomit.

“These are Cubas' orders! Ha-ha-ha-ha…", the boy shouted.

Akashi tried to take a step back, but was brought to his knees by the pain.

“Why…?”, the vampire muttered, struggling to get back up. 

Toshiki then thrust his shovel right into the middle of Akashi's torso, using his own foot to gain leverage in the thrust. Blood spurted from both Akashi's chest and his back. The vampire gripped the shovel handle, steam emanating from his hands as if he were still being burned, and tried to force it out of his body, but to no avail.

What had I been doing all that time? I froze. Akashi turned his face toward me, and I could see the pain in his eyes and a single drop of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. At that moment, I was freed from my trance and started running. I ran toward the enemy without a second thought.

I jumped over Akashi, attempting to strike Toshiki with my right leg. The bastard dodged, leaving Akashi stuck in the ground with the shovel still through him. At least now Toshiki was no longer wielding his weapon, giving me the advantage. Was he human, or was he also an apparition?

At that moment, it didn't matter. I went after him as he circled around, but I lost sight of him when he blended into the night. He laughed, and the sound seemed to come from all directions.

I ran to Akashi, grabbed the shovel that was impaling him, and pulled it out in one go. I tossed it aside and helped Akashi up.

“What was that, Akashi!?” I yelled at him, waiting for answers.

“I... I don't know", he replied.

“How can you not know!?” I yelled. “This is the guy who should have warned you when Cubas broke free!?”

“...Yes", he said solemnly. “Him... And his parents", he whispered, along with the breath of the cold night breeze.

“And where are they now!?” I asked.

“I... I can't sense them. It doesn't make sense that Toshiki survived Braz Cubas' awakening, I... I don't understand", Akashi confessed.

“Damn it! Now what?!” I pressed him for answers.

“We need to incapacitate him, Akito. At least that", he decided, having finally finished healing the wounds caused by the shovel.

“That shovel... It hurts you more than usual, doesn't it?” I asked.

“It's made of silver, a pure metal, and it's a sacred item", he explained. “Most vampires couldn't withstand such a direct blow".

“I see. So we just keep it out of his reach now, and—” I was about to say, but I stopped myself when I saw that the shovel was no longer where I had left it.

Akashi got up with my help, and we positioned ourselves to guard each other's backs, even though we didn't say anything verbally.

"It's two-on-one. It can't be that hard", I said.

“Don't say that, it's bad luck", Akashi replied.

“Good to see your sense of humor is back", I chuckled softly.

We waited for an attack that never came. Toshiki remained hidden in the shadows of the night, as if studying us.

“Is that so? ... Is that so? ... Is that so. Akashi... The one next to you... Is that so?” Toshiki's voice echoed, and my eyes darted around, searching for him. “He's the one Cubas is looking for, isn't he?” he shouted, and his voice approached dangerously fast.

I raised my arms, but it wasn't enough to block him.

I heard only the thunderous crash of the shovel hitting my skull at unbelievable speed. My head was thrown dozens of meters away and rolled across the ground while my body regenerated, also rolling across the ground until I managed to stop myself.

“Where is it!? Where is the photograph!? I need to destroy it, I need to...” the boy exclaimed, now turning to face the vampire.

My eyes immediately searched for Akashi, who was fighting defensively, just blocking Toshiki's blows, and each touch of the shovel seemed to burn him more and more. Toshiki jumped and struck him from top to bottom like a madman, and Akashi just backed away.

“This guy's strength is enormous! Akashi, what kind of apparition is he!?” I shouted at the vampire, who dodged one of the boy's blows and ran towards me, still looking back.

“Toshiki, stop! Stop it! What's wrong with you?” Akashi shouted, trying to touch the boy's heart.

The boy, in turn, just laughed and shouted.

“Akashi! Akashi! Akashi! Akashi! You abandoned us! You abandoned your work, your position, your destiny!” the boy yelled, swinging the shovel in all directions, and impressively landing a hit on Akashi with each one of the blows.

“Abandoned...?” Akashi whispered to himself as he tried to defend using his arms, taking rhythmic steps backward.

“Cubas is more powerful than you! More beautiful than you! More alive than you!” Toshiki exclaimed, trying to hit Akashi from behind as he in turn blocked the blows, hoping I could get up to help him.

I jumped and raised both legs, delivering a flying kick to Toshiki's chest, which sent him flying. I got up quickly, ran towards him, and grasped his shovel with both hands. However, despite the force of the blow, Toshiki had not yet let go of it.

"Let it go! Let it go!" he yelled, shaking his body back and forth, trying to pull the shovel from my hands.

“Stop it, kid!” I yelled back.

“Akito... No!” Akashi joined the shouting match, still frozen in place.

“Are you crazy, Akashi!?” I interjected.

Toshiki then headbutted me. I could hear my nose breaking the moment his forehead hit the center of my face.

As would any other good samaritan, I headbutted him back, right on the top of his forehead, and knocked him backwards, still clutching the shovel.

“Ouch...” Toshiki fell, his hands on his head.

“Stop, Akito!” Akashi shouted. “He's mortal! He's human!”

“... What?” I was speechless.

It shouldn't be possible for humans to have so much power over apparitions. Or should it? Had I let power go to my head, believing that humans were weak by nature?

"You abandoned us, Akashi Asami. You abandoned the Kuroda Family, the protectors of this temple. Cubas took us in... He told my mother and father that he would take them to Paradise..." Toshiki stammered.

“That's not possible...” Akashi seemed in disbelief.

“And he said he could take me too... But I had to wait for you, here... He knew you would come back. He knows everything. He is as big as God and the Devil, and as big as the Earth", the insane boy continued to ramble.

“Akashi, what is this?!” I wanted answers, and I wanted them fast.

“Toshiki... What happened to your parents...?” the vampire asked.

“I buried them!” the boy yelled. “With these hands!” he yelled again. “With this shovel!” and once more. “Their mortal bodies meant nothing anymore! They went to Heaven!”

“Shit!” Akashi yelled even louder and grabbed the boy by the collar.

Toshiki pushed the vampire so hard that his clothes tore where Akashi was holding him, and he managed to break free, disappearing once again into the night.

“Akashi... Spit it out", I said as he and I returned to guarding each other's backs. “What's his deal?”

“Akito... I didn't know...” he muttered.

“Explain it already!” I yelled at him, apparently bringing him back to reality.

“His family had guarded Braz Cubas' tomb for generations... And I missed the moment he awakened. It's clear that he did something to the boy, and... That his parents are no longer with us", he explained.

“I see. Well... Just knock him out, and then we'll see, right?” I asked hopefully.

“No", Akashi replied curtly.

“Ah, I found it! I found it! Ha-ha-ha!” Toshiki's voice shouted in the distance. "Now they'll see! Now I can kill Akashi and take down the Photographed One! And I'll have all the answers... For when Master Cubas returns... I'm going to Paradise! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" he laughed.

“Get ready!”, Akashi shouted at me, raising his fists, and I did the same.

“Gotcha", I heard Toshiki's voice say softly. I felt something stick to my back.

Suddenly, there was an explosion, and I was at its center. I felt my body falling apart, and after a momentary burst of intense light, everything went black for an instant, and an intense buzzing invaded my ears.

It had been some kind of explosive. A weapon made specifically to deal with apparitions, just like the silver shovel that was capable of subduing Akashi. It wasn't natural; I could feel the magic emanating from it. However, it was only natural that humanity had developed ways to deal with apparitions over the ages. Certainly, this was one of those ways.

My eye, even though it had been completely dislodged from its socket, was still somehow able to see. I could see Akashi fighting back, now responding to attacks with his own fists. The vampire, however, still seemed to be going easy on the boy.

Still, he tried to knock him down. Akashi swept him, jumped on him, and pushed Toshiki away, sending him crashing through the temple's wooden wall. Toshiki returned the blow, disappearing into the shadows before hitting Akashi in the face with the shovel, completely shattering the vampire's sunglasses and making his face bleed, sending him flying away.

Their fight resembled a karate match, but it was as if Toshiki was using the shovel as one of those Bongsul sticks. It seemed to me that they had fought this way many times before, but there would be no opportunity to confirm my suspicions.

One explosion followed another, and Akashi was beginning to have trouble regenerating. I still couldn't figure out how in the world he could blow things up out of thin air. All the colors began to blend together, as if each blast were a new firework lighting up the sky.

My body was still regenerating. I could do nothing but watch. Akashi's figure was already covered with burn marks from his opponent's constant blows, but that didn't stop him from continuing to fight. Mysteriously, it seemed to be more difficult for him to fight without the intention to kill. I wondered what would end first: Akashi's benevolence or his stamina.

“Stop, Toshiki! Your parents wouldn't want you serving Cubas!”, the vampire still tried to argue, in vain.

“Why!? Because it was better to serve you, Akashi!? Don't make me laugh!” Toshiki shouted. “Where were you!? Where were you when Cubas killed my parents!? When he whispered those words in my ear!? The words... The words... The words don't stop!”

“Stop, Toshiki!” Akashi shouted, still far, far away from the boy's heart.

The moment I felt myself regain control of my body, an idea came to my mind. I took my trusty slingshot out of my pocket, and it was somehow intact. I picked up a fragment of cobblestone from the ground, as it had been partially destroyed by the explosions.

I pulled the band as much as possible... And aimed carefully.

For a moment, I felt that I could see Braz Cubas reflected in Toshiki Kuroda's eyes. I let go of the band, and the pellet flew through the air.

100 points, a perfect shot, right between the eyes. An instant knockout. Akashi stopped his attack immediately, and gravity itself gently carried Toshiki to the ground, as the insane explosions ceased immediately. Everything went dark again, as the night commanded.

The world fell silent, leaving only the subtle night's breeze. I got up to talk to Akashi, who remained standing still, in silence.

“Would you like to explain yourself now?” I gave him the opportunity to speak.

“Toshiki is the last of his family, the family that took care of this temple...” he said. “I didn't want it to end like this...”

"Has he always been... like this? Unstable? Crazy?" I asked.

“What!? Of course not!” Akashi replied indignantly, clicking his tongue in frustration. “I wish you had met him under... normal circumstances", he revealed.

“It's okay. When he wakes up...” I said, but the vampire interrupted me.

“No. You don't understand, Akito", he said, looking at the boy's unconscious body. “Cubas killed both his parents and split his mind in two, making him practically his slave", he explained.

“Well, but... You can't...” I began to think.

“There's no way to reverse this. Cubas is a master of manipulation. It's similar to turning a human into a ghoul, the servants of vampires. There's no turning back", he explained. “But to think that Cubas would be able to enter the mind of someone who was accustomed to witchcraft...”

“...What now?” I asked, fearful.

“You defeated him, Akito. The honor is yours", he proclaimed.

“Honor!? What are you on about?!” I shouted at him.

Of course, I had already figured it out from the way he said it. Furthermore, it was no surprise that the insurmountable barrier between life and death was just a minor inconvenience for the vampire. However, I do admit that, at that moment, I hadn't yet considered how Akashi's homicidal tendencies applied not only to me, but also to the truly mortal humans.

“It's an act of mercy, my protégé", Akashi argued. “He lost his parents, and he lost his mind. Do you really want to force him to continue like this?!” the vampire shouted. “You are more cruel than I am...”

“It's a human life, Akashi! There's nothing merciful about it!” I continued to shout.

“Would you rather imprison him, keeping him insane, in captivity, for the rest of his life?! Because that's what will happen!” the vampire waved his arms, desperate to make me understand. “It's not the first time I've seen this happen!”

My heart stopped for a single moment, and my mind was divided among conflicting thoughts about life and death, and about humans and apparitions. Was it really so different to eliminate Braz Cubas and eliminate a human being? Regardless of his cruelty, Cubas had also been human once. That being the case, wouldn't it be fair and right to judge him by human laws? I wondered at what point, exactly, I had stopped considering life the precious gift that it is. Specifically, Cubas' life. It is extraordinarily easy to dehumanize what you find unpleasant. Would it be just as easy to do so with Toshiki Kuroda?

“Come on, Akito. There's no time. If he wakes up, I don't think I'll have the strength to hold him back", Akashi urged me, and my heart raced.

I stammered, trying to say something to him as I looked at Toshiki's unconscious body.

“It will be much harder for me to do it, Akito Itabashi! You didn't know him, you didn't take care of him, you didn't know his family!” Akashi argued, exclaiming. “It will be an act of mercy for me, too!”

I turned to Akashi Asami. His eyes, filled with suffering, seemed to reflect the light a little more than usual. Without his sunglasses, his eyes looked delicate, as if made of glass, and he seemed more fragile. I thought that perhaps this appearance was the nature of vampires. Pale, thin, with tired, deep, fragile eyes. Romantic creatures by nature, and suffering by nature. Cold-blooded creatures, but warm-blooded, just like humans. Ultimately, they were also human. So was I, or at least I should be.

I felt disconnected from reality, absent, absorbed. I kept thinking, while my heart seemed to burst repeatedly in my chest, screaming for me to come to a decision. Akashi looked at me with expectant eyes, whose hopes were fading with each passing moment.

“I... I...”, I tried to speak, but the words stuck in my throat.

Suddenly, Akashi's eyes changed expression. His face became solemn, gentle.

“I'm sorry, Akito...” he said, turning now to Toshiki, who was still unconscious. "I had forgotten. You too... You're just a boy. You became so powerful, so quickly, that... I forgot. You are immortal, but you are still a mere fledgling, still learning to fly. You are still human, Akito... Unlike me", he said, forming a spear shape with his hand. ”I was... immature. How pathetic, for a century-old vampire to act like this..."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as I analyzed Akashi's face. Deep suffering, mixed with pain, but forcing himself to align with the side of cruelty.

In a single movement, in a single instant... Akashi pierced Toshiki Kuroda's chest, and the boy's heart stopped beating.

A tear ran down Akashi's face, a single tear. In his mind, I believe he swore, this time for personal reasons, to enact revenge on Braz Cubas. With the same hand that had pierced Toshiki, still covered in blood, he caressed the boy's head.

I was only able to see the color red, as if a black-and-white filter had been applied to all other colors. 

"I just wish you'd met him...", Akashi cried tears of his own blood.