16 The End Of A god

“This way,” came an overly gruff voice from under the helmet, as Ichiro was pushed through the door. His guide hesitated, looking back and forth, the dark material of his visor not letting the face be seen. He didn’t delay too long before turning right, leading Ichiro down the hall.

Ichiro shuffled, pulling back against the hold. “You can’t do this,” he muttered.

“Yes, I can. And frankly, I think you want me to,” came the quiet reply, in a far less gruff voice than a second earlier; it was softer, more youthful. Familiar.

Ichiro stiffened, recognizing the voice. “Wait—”

The helmet was flipped up by the boy’s other hand, and from behind it, Kobayashi winked at him. “Quiet, or we’ll be caught.”

“Hiroto? You came to save me?” Ichiro said instead of being quiet.

“That’s Kobayashi to you,” the other boy quietly grumbled as he led a less resistant Ichiro through the halls. The front of the helmet

passing a couple agents. He waited until they were clear of spectators before continuing. “I found a powerbox outside and disabled it. Then when I came to find you guys, you were just gone. I ran in but ended up in the armoury. When someone came in I threw on a helmet to hide my face and kind of got dragged along. I was going to try and escape with you guys, but I was the second to the room, and you got caught.”

Ichiro’s eyes widened as he recalled how the one agent bumped into the first one who grabbed him, and then caused the pile up that allowed the others to go free. “That was you?”

“You think any of these guys would be so clumsy?” Kobayashi laughed. “But you just had to get yourself caught still.”

“Oh please, as if you could have done better with two people tackling you,” Ichiro grumbled back as Kobayashi took a turn, a hand on Ichiro’s elbow to guide them. “I got Hikari out along with Shizuko; they seem to be their main targets.” He didn’t elaborate further.

“That… makes sense?” Kobayashi questioned, not sounding fully certain. “Here’s this way, I think,” he said as he brought them around a corner. And right ahead of them, the glass front doors. They mocked the pair, now so transparent and appearing open and accessible. They approached, each looking over their shoulders. No one stood down the foyer, nor sat in the receptionist’s seat. The door was locked from the outside but they simply pushed the bar to open it.

Ichiro caught himself beginning to slow as Kobayashi picked up the pace. “Come on,” Kobayashi prodded him, “we need to keep moving. Liam’s waiting for us.”

Outside, the sun was lowering, dusk coming earlier than Ichiro had realized. Kobayashi was quick to unlock the cuffs as soon as they were out of the building, tossing them aside. “This way,” he directed as they jogged down the street.

The vehicle, the same one as stolen earlier, was parked a couple blocks away from the bureau, barely poking its front out of the concealed side street. “Hey,” Liam quietly greeted, rolling down the window. “Get in.”

“Liam?” Ichiro asked, surprised. “What are you doing here? Is Hikari safe?”

“Uh, yeah,” he affirmed, nodding. “Just get in.” He waited until both boys did before putting the car in drive. “I swung back around here to look for, uh…”

“Kobayashi,” the other boy said from the back seat, having tossed aside the helmet, sweat now sticking disheveled hair to his face.

“Right, Kobayeshi, and we planned to meet up around now if he was able to get you out,” Liam explained. “The girls are safe, just waiting out the night, hiding. We’re leaving in the morning, but… they wanted to say goodbye.”

They drove, spending the minutes in silence. Ichiro didn’t know what to say. He knew now, and so obviously did Liam. But neither of them said anything as they pulled up to the bridge where he and Hikari had spent just the night before. The sun tucked itself away for the night, the only light coming from the glow of the moon and the assistance of street lights. Liam slowed the car to a stop on the side of the small embankment, where the bridge met the road.

Ichiro took a deep breath before he got out, not sure how he would face her. He slid slowly down the first few paces, stepping under the bridge.

Hikari turned as his footstep on the concrete underside made a noise. Her eyes widened and she jumped up as soon as she saw him. “Ichi, you’re here, safe!” she exclaimed, running up to her. Her arms widened slightly but she stopped right before meeting him. “I-I’m sorry,” she said. “We didn’t mean to leave you. It was just that they were starting to chase us and—”

“No, it’s ok,” he said. “I wanted you to get out first.”

Hikari blushed, just for a second, the slight red in her cheeks emphasized by the soft hue of her skin. Ichiro didn’t realize before that it wasn’t just the light that made her nearly glow with an ethereal shimmer to her appearance. “I… am leaving tomorrow,” she told him. “Shizuko and I are going to Canada for a while; Liam has a place we can hide out. I’ll be ok though; you know I like the snow,” she chuckled. “And I’ll message you, as soon as I get a new phone, and we can—”

“So… you’re a god?” Ichiro interrupted her again.

Hikari stopped her explanation of what may or may not happen. “Well… yeah. I’m sorry.”

“No, no,” Ichiro quickly replied. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that you kept it a secret. You’re a terrible liar,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, you never asked,” she retorted, trying to be equally glib. But it felt forced, artificial, as they grasped for that familiar atmosphere that escaped them in the evening air.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me,” Ichiro finally said.

She grimaced, looking down. “I didn’t want to hide it. But it’s a bit much, and it’s not safe to know. I always wanted to tell you the truth. I mean, my parents didn’t die in a car accident,” she confessed. “We staged that after they ascended.”

Ichiro nodded. “And will you… ascend as well?”

“…Eventually. We don’t really know when it happens. But it won’t be for a while,” she lied, and he knew it. Her pale skin seemed unaffected by the shadow of the bridge. “You’ll see me again.” Another lie. “I’ll just be overseas.” Another lie. “I just… wanted to say goodbye.” Not a lie, though she couldn’t look him in the eye as she said it.

She seemed taller, just an inch, until Ichiro saw she was hovering just above the ground. Her skin slowly turned beyond pale, looking more and more like a soft moon as she grew brighter, glowing. She hovered until they were perfectly eye level and he held her hands as she gently pulled up, lifting them.

“I—I’ll miss you,” he said, not having the words he wished for the moment.

She smiled. “Then sing to me.” She sounded far away, drifting away in spirit as her body shimmered.

Then she was there no longer.

“…So she’s gone,” Shizuko said, appearing before Ichiro, her sister no longer blocking her from his view.

“Yeah.” It was all he could say. His hands hovered in the air where he had held hers just seconds ago. Now they were empty, drifting numbly to his sides. “Will we see her again?”

“I might,” Shizuko answered, her voice soft, cushioning the weight of her implication. “We don’t really know what happens when we ascend. I guess we’re just like you humans in that way.”

Ichiro nodded. He hoped that she could see her parents again.

“She had a beautiful song though. You’re the only human she taught it to. So sing to her, every once in a while. A gentle song to us lonely gods.”