"Do No Evil" Would Sound Weird

Tanaka

The future is a god—A god I don't like, for he has forsaken me.

For a second, I was also a god. Or at least I thought I was one. Turns out I was nothing more than a kid throwing a tantrum because his father was ignoring him.

It's bright... I thought

I stretched out my hand, trying to grab onto something—anything—but there was nothing around.

Then, I yawned. Out of nowhere, sleepiness overwhelmed me. It was unusual for me to get sleepy. To sleep is to relax, and I can't remember the last time I felt relaxed.

Until mere seconds ago, I was fighting her—I was fighting a god.

"And that petty assassin..."

I said that, but I didn't truly feel any animosity towards him. No, I stopped feeling animosity towards anything.

I felt hate leave me. I felt pain vanish. I felt my ambitions fade. I felt...

"Empty..."

I felt like nothing was going on. All of the power I had gained seeped away through my skin.

"Mizaru... Kikazaru... Iwazaru..."

Suddenly, I remembered my brothers...

"Father..."

And I also remembered him.

"It's weird. It's not like I've forgiven you..."

Every time I thought about them, I used to feel myself being filled with conviction. I felt like I could do anything as long as that something would affect them in any way.

But not anymore... I felt no hate towards them now.

I waved my hand through the white nothingness, trying to find myself once more.

"The fight isn't over! There's no way it can end like this..." I proclaimed, but I didn't feel any wish to continue fighting.

"Chigira! What have you done?" I shouted, but there was no will in my words.

That wasn't good. Without pain I was nothing. Without hate I couldn't move forward. Without anger I couldn't grow. Without evil, this world wouldn't need me.

Lost for words, I crouched down and hid my face with my forearms.

In the blink of an eye, I lost the fight. It was unfair. There was nothing for me to do. She just went and did something that I didn't even get the chance to stop.

"If I'm not around, who is there to protect everyone?" I asked the void, but there was nobody there to answer.

"Tsk, of course nobody's there..."

I clicked my tongue, but I wasn't annoyed. Every bad thing was taken away from me. For somebody made solely of evil, that meant I had lost my very soul. What was left was an empty vessel, soon to dissolve alone into nothingness.

"What an anticlimactic way to lose your guardian..."

"How about you let people choose for themselves? How about you let them protect one another?"

A voice resounded from behind me, and before I knew it I felt a warm embrace sincere unlike any other.

My heart shrank, and all of my senses fired, trying to identify the attacker.

"It's over... Sezaru. You can let go now."

The voice that came with the hug was kind. So kind, in fact, that my guard crumbled.

"What did you call me...?"

"Oh? Did I do wrong? Sorry... I didn't mean to—"

"No... you didn't. It's just... doesn't it sound weird?"

"Weird? I don't think so... why?"

Hearing her words, my heart skipped a beat. It was the first time somebody didn't laugh at my name. No, Father didn't laugh either. He didn't care enough to laugh.

I felt out her hands with my fingers. Her hug felt warm—warm enough that I could get used to it.

"Everyone is safe now. You've done great. You can rest easy..."

That's the last thing you want to hear from your adversary, but hearing her voice mellowed me down. Maybe because I already knew that's what she was after.

"Haha! Chigira... has anyone told you you're a bad actor?"

I felt her body tense up, but she didn't let go. On the contrary, she hugged me even tighter.

"At least you could have come to me with your real body... Not a cheap clone, or whatever this is. Ah, but I guess you have someone more important to keep company..."

"... Sezaru..."

"Tell me, Chigira, for a being like you, have I ever meant anything?"

"That's..."

"It's fine. You don't need to answer. Those aren't even my own feelings, are they... Nothing I own is truly mine. Everything was given to me, even this wish to protect, or maybe to dictate others' lives."

"That's not true, Sezaru."

The moment she said that, my eyes opened wide. I tried to turn around and face her, but she held me too tight.

"Even if that person gave you everything, it was you who chose what to do with it. It was you who walked down this path, and it is you who brought all of this about. Good or evil, it was you who made it happen."

As expected, she sucked at comforting people.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Aren't you just blaming all of the destruction on me?"

"That depends. If you were to come back, without this curse and with a clear mind, would you feel guilty for what you've done?"

I found Chigira's question rather silly, for we both knew the answer. Still, for extra dramatic effect, I looked up and took a deep breath.

"No... If anything, I would do it again. Protecting people aside, it was really fun."

"Is that so..."

I couldn't help but hear a hint of disappointment in Chigira's voice. Was she giving me a chance to start again as a human? Did I blow it all away?

I shrugged my shoulders. Even if that were the case, I wasn't going to let somebody else bring me to life with their power. Once was enough for me. 

For now, and until it's over, I'm fine like this—embraced by the clone of a woman I was forced to love.

A couple of minutes had passed in silence, and I felt myself drift away. Without a doubt, that was my last chance to speak.

"Hey... Chigira..." 

I had to confirm something, but I was afraid that her answer might make my last moments sour, so I waited until it was over.

"Did this attack do anything to you? Are you at least hurt?"

"I am..." she said as her soft, fake hand caressed my head. "Actually, I'll also disappear after this."

"I see..." I continued, feeling my heart get a tiny bit lighter.

"Then I guess it's my win."

"Hihi... Yeah. We can call it your win if you want to~"

"That's good..."

That was enough. That was all I wanted to know. In the end, I was the one to come out on top. I needed nothing more.

With this... I can finally—

*****

The One Who Rules The World

When the light faded, three things remained on that battlefield.

The one I noticed first was a man with a scar on his forehead. He got up and looked around confused, as if he had just woken up from a long dream.

The second thing I noticed was a flower. The fact I didn't notice it first startled me for a mere second, for that flower was the reason I had to come here in the first place.

"I guess that's enough proof. She won't be a threat for a while," I said to the woman next to me—a cunning woman without whom I wouldn't be here now.

"Dear... what are you doing looking for another woman? Rekindling old bonds while I'm next to you? That's harsh~"

The assassin—no, the man dusted himself down and looked at the gentle flower. He crouched down, stuck his hands in the dirt, and gently picked it up.

"Hey, Dear~... Are you going to let him leave like that? He's off to kill you, isn't he?"

Her question made my gaze turn to the third object. Stuck in the ground, a dull sword that wouldn't stop vibrating attracted the man's attention. He side-eyed it and walked right past what was once his weapon.

"No," I answered the question posed to me.

"That's no assassin anymore."

Thus, the man who had been hunting me down went on to live his life with no recollection of her or even my curse.

Once a top-tier assassin, he went on to fight, love, and hate gods. Better said, a man out of his league did his best while being dragged around by beings he couldn't understand. Yet when it all came crashing, he was spared and made to forget. That's the kind of kindness nature gives. The sweet death and rebirth.

The world went on as if Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru, and Sezaru had never existed, for nobody even remembered their evil. The plate had been wiped clean. A new page had been turned, and for the unseen fight between me and that green-haired girl, this only meant one thing.

"You've won this round."