Cleaning up, Kusanagi realises, is the hardest part. He remembers a time when he'd told them to keep only the film reels and throw away everything else but between the tracking, the chasing and cleaning of each and every precious wine glass sitting on the shelf of his bar — well, there just hadn't been enough hours in the day.
But now that everything's tied up and there's nothing else to do, he finally sits down in front of an old closet in the back that's stuffed to full with items he'd forbid Totsuka from putting out in the open. Past a long red woollen scarf and a notebook only half filled with sketches of wild birds, it's photos of an ice sculpture he momentarily pauses at, marvelling at how Fushimi is looking to the side with half a scowl while Totsuka and Anna look straight, the former smiling and the latter's eyes sparkling without a smile.
There are other photos — he casually crumples and lights to burn one of himself taken in a night he never wants to remember and afterwards turns to look at the many different faces of one Suoh Mikoto captured on film before something else entirely catches his eye. Picking up the bound-up scroll, he unties the ribbon and lays out a world map. Dusty and old, there are markings all over with comments scribbled on top.
He remembers this map, remembers the day:
Sprawled over the map on the ground, Totsuka is smiling brilliantly as he marks out places after places, spots after spots. He enjoys mountains, so he picks out Everest; he likes exploration, so he picks out Kenya.
Mikoto sits to the side, half-listening and half-not, answering every second question and ignoring the others until Totsuka looks at him without a single shred of fear in those bright eyes and the former is forced to at least acknowledge, aaah, he's heard it already.
Kusanagi-san, Totsuka asks, if you could go anywhere in this world, anywhere — where would you want to go?
A long holiday is his instant reply. Totsuka laughs, demanding to know where.
Hawaii, he says without thinking. Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, he lists, one by one.
Ah, Totsuka breathes in wonder and says, I want to go too! Right, King? Mikoto cracks open an eye, but doesn't answer.
Totsuka continues making markings on the map, stopping every so often to ask about different countries and different cultures; Mikoto interjects, just barely, only to remind them that he is there.
Years later, when Suoh Mikoto feels the slate and becomes the Red King, the map is tucked away by somebody's hands at the bottom of a closet in the back, never to see the light of day again.
He holds the map now, eyes tracing over the comments and drawings doodled all over — hiking in Hawaii, skiing in Switzerland, abseiling in Australia, sightseeing in Singapore...
Totsuka really was a fool. There was so much that he looked forward to, so much he wanted to do. The idiot had left behind so much, left so much undone.
Kusanagi-san, Totsuka had asked, if you could go anywhere in this world, anywhere — where would you want to go?
What a question. Really, that guy... He lifts a cigarette to his mouth, lights it with his fingertip.
If he can go anywhere in the world, anywhere, he wants to go to a place where his two best friends are.
Kusanagi puts everything back; only the map he keeps out and then tucks under his arm. So many places to go, so many things to do. He's got a lot of free time now.
Well, Kusanagi thinks as the red earring in his left ear glows, time to get started then.