Tainted Soul
from Dark-Saron
Chapter 1: Payback
„You did what!" Satoshi Fujino thundered, the director of the Fujino Corp was furious. His hands slammed hard on the desk. Some of the neat ordered documents slipped away, flying and eventually landing on the brown carpeted floor. The photo frame falling face down on the desk, hiding the smiling face of his family from the view.
The man on the other side jerked at the sudden outburst, not having expected such a reaction, his eyes darted nervously around in hopes no one would have heard the outburst. A sickening feeling made itself present in his stomach.
He was of similar stature, his hair as black as Satoshi's, only a few centimeters longer, the features of their faces almost identical. Just like Satoshi, he wore a business suit in a dark shade of grey. The main difference between the director and him was that, Takeshi Fujino unlike his brother didn't like to let his face be covered by a mustache.
Both brothers were currently in the main office of the company which was at the same time Satoshi's office. It was filled with a big wooden desk and some shelves stuffed with business documents on the wall. Satoshi's back was facing a huge panorama window behind him. Usually he was looking out at the city letting his mind rest.
"Its not that bad… I mean you…You can do something right Satoshi? I am sure you already have an idea!" Takeshi tried to sound more confident than he really felt. His brother had to help him. It was in both for their interest that the deal with the client succeeded. He knew Satoshi wouldn't turn him down, he just couldn't. Sweat drops formed at his forehead. His sweaty hands started fudging with the edge of his jacket.
"That's not how it works Takeshi! Do you have the slightest idea what you have done? You dragged us into a deep hole…" Satoshi's brows were furrowed together, his mind already working out the possibilities. Besides he already felt a headache making his way to mock him. Satoshi kept his tone cold, leaving no space for arguments. He towered a whole 2,1 meters over him, casting a dark shadow on his scared younger brother.
Since they were brothers Satoshi always pretended that he didn't see Takeshi's actions. But this time he couldn't do the same. As the older one, Satoshi had inherited the business from their father. He was the hard worker and deep thinker. He didn't take just any of his clients' requests. His brother on the other hand had the habit of taking jobs without a second thought if the request would get him a good catch. It had been one of the reasons why Satoshi instead of Takeshi had earned the position after their father retired.
"At that time it seemed to be the perfect deal! Who could have thought that…" Takeshi tried to justify his actions, tried to avoid his brother stern and scornful stare. He couldn't stand those eyes, dark brown and so unlike his own. They reminded him too much of their father.
"And why is it that you not even once consulted me about this so called perfect deal of yours? You're too greedy and selfish Takeshi to not even consider the consequences of your agreement." Satoshi said finally, and muted his brother. Minutes of silence followed as he sat back down. He shook his head, his gaze on his brother thinking of what to do. This time he wouldn't be able to look away, his brother had to take responsibility for his actions.
"Brother…" Takeshi started but was silenced by Satoshi who simply raised his hand up. Again Silence fell, Takeshi squirmed in his chair. He hated the fact that he always stood in his brother's shadow... that it was his brother who sat behind the desk of the director and not him.
"What is done is done and we need to apologize and try to minimize the damage caused..." Satoshi saw the relief washing over Takeshis features.
"Thank you…" Takeshi said.
"Don't thank me Takashi, this isn't over yet."
Takeshi finally dared to look back up, his eyes showing clearly his confusion as he worked through his brother's words. His mouth opened and closed like a fish's but no words came out. After a moment, he nodded. A small part of him still believed that the deal was the perfect one... he just didn't calculate it well. His eyes turned to his brother as he heard him dial someone.
"Satoshi Fujino here, from Fujino Corp. May I speak with Professor Cortas, I am calling concerning the delivery the Professor ordered at our company... Yes, of course I will wait." Satoshi looked past Takeshi at the wall of the room while his hand held the phone firmly on his right ear. The other end was quiet for several seconds until a raspy voice answered.
"Hello Professor Cortas, I am calling regarding our deal with you. " Satoshi started in his business tone, his brother was peeking his own ears to listen if he could make out what the Professor on the other end of the line was saying. His elder brother's face didn't change; it kept its calm expression.
"I am sorry to inform you that we will have to cancel the deal. Of course we will take full responsibility for the caused damage, Professor." Satoshi answered. One of his brows slightly lifted, a sign of mild surprise crossed his features. Takeshi gave him a puzzled look, but his brother only shook his head.
On the other end Mister Cortas seemed to be amused, telling the Director of Fujino Corp. that he should think carefully about such a matter.
"Professor, I am sure you know that of course our company wants to fulfill the requested deal but at these circumstances I would like to make a compromise." Satoshi said. "As it stands now, we aren't able to deliver the full amount of tools but we will of course send the missing ones as soon as possible without you having to pay the ones we couldn't deliver on time. If I get it right you are in need of these tools and I am sure it would be a great loss for you to sign another deal with a different company in order to have the tools delivered to you in their full number."
A moment of silence followed from Satoshi, but Takeshi could clearly hear the raspy voice from the other end, even if he couldn't make out any words from this sound. Takeshi's hands were balled into fists. Minutes later the call had ended.
"Takeshi take care of the shipping so that it will be at the Professor's place by Wednesday." Satoshi ordered, already burying his head into some paperwork to get everything done by Wednesday, again he would have to stay late at work. "I want an exact list of missing tools and a calculation of the damage that we have suffered from this deal."
"Of course brother…" With that Takeshi turned around and made his way down the floor to his own office to take care of the work.
As his brother left the room, Satoshi put the Photo frame back up, sighing at the picture of his family. Perhaps he should call his wife so she wouldn't worry.
-days later-
The Fujino Corp. managed to get the deal done by the new deadline. Everyone breathed in relief as everything went well and they finally got Professor Cortas off their back. At that day, in the late evening, Satoshi called his brother into his office.
Takeshi didn't know why his brother would call him now, but he had a bad feeling. Since the call with Mister Cortas, Satoshi seemed to avoid him, keeping their talk into a minimum 's fist hit several times lightly against the door as he waited for the familiar voice to speak, he felt like a boy again.
"Come in" Satoshi replied to the knocking on his door, not once looking up as the door creaked open and footsteps approached his desk, where he was buried once again into mass of work.
"You wanted to speak with me brother." Takeshi sat down without waiting for a reply.
"Indeed Mister Fujino." Takeshi held in for a second, looking surprised at the business-like tone his brother addressed him. It was unusual for them to address each other on a last-name basis, unless it was about a serious situation.
Takashi shook himself out of his surprise and allowed himself a smile. "What do you want Satoshi? Is it about the deal? We got the deal done. Everything is back to business. "
"Yes of course everything is back to business." Satoshi put the pen down and leaned back into his chair fixing his brother with a stern look. "You are probably wondering why I called you..."
"Indeed I do…" His brother replied easy going.
"To make it short mister Fujino concerning your last action I am forced to take measurements..." Shoving the written document in front of his younger brother, Satoshi could see each emotion like in a children's book, page by page in his expression. Confused Takeshi took the document. Slowly as he read every new line, his expression dropped to disbelief. As the younger brother finished reading the document, his expression revealed his rage.
"You are firing me?" Takeshi said, his voice just a whisper.
"I am not, you will resign from your post on your own, Mister Fujino. We can't afford mistakes like your last one. What if we hadn't managed to fulfill the deal you made in your rush? Did you think about it for one moment?" His eyes softened as he looked at his brother. "I won't always be there Takeshi to fix your mistakes and I can't risk the well-being of the company, there are to many people depending on the success of the company."
"Don't speak to me as if I am still a kid!" Takeshi hissed, glaring in front of him. "I won't sign this!"
Satoshi's features hardened. "Either you sign it Mister Fujino or I fire you." Satoshi declared.
~~ A few months later... ~~
"Satoshi dear..." Keiko Fujino called, binding her long chestnut hair into a ponytail. In the reflection of the mirror she could see her husband in his armchair, his brows lightly furrowed. Something was bothering the head of the Fujino household and Keiko could already guess what it was.
"Are you worried?" She asked, knowing well the answer. She turned around and walked back into the living room to him. Her hand rested on his left broad shoulder.
Satoshi smiled as he took her hand and kissed it, his mustache tickling her skin and making her giggle. It was always a calming melody to his ears, which he could never get tired of. "You are a scary woman my dear. When did you learn to read my mind?" Age treated this woman kindly, who he could proudly call his. She was his reasoning mind whenever he felt stuck or lost.
Keiko chuckled sitting in her husband's lap. "Ara, observing and knowing you, my dear."
They both shared the moment of silence looking into each other's eyes and smiling.
A small noise brought them out of their world and they looked to the door where the youngest member of the Fujinos was looking up with her big brown eyes.
Shizuru was her mothers replication, besides her dark brown eyes which she got from her father. The child of the Fujino household had just reached her third year and was now walking to her parents having gotten tired from the show on TV in the next room. The young girl was wearing her purple pyjamas with a small S on her left breast pocket.
"Shizuru." Satoshi held his free hand towards his daughter who squealed in delight and rushed to her parents. Smiling she looked up.
"Such a strong girl." His eyes sparkled with pride as he looked at his only child.
As Shizuru started yawning and rubbing sleepily her eyes, Keiko gather her up into her arms. "Time for bed Shizuru." Carrying her the stairs up, Shizuru's protest went under in another yawn. "You're coming dear?" She asked, looking at her husband.
"In a moment." It was times like these that Satoshi felt as if he didn't have anything to worry about; with these two around everything else seemed so trivial. In their own little world. The middle aged man shook his head and decided to leave his thoughts for the next day - tonight he simply wanted to enjoy the peaceful evening.
As Satoshi entered his child's room he noticed that Shizuru had a violet-black cape wrapped around her shoulders, the material shimmered lightly in the lamp's light. "Let me guess: a new present from her?" He chuckled by the thought of the Keiko's friend.
"Don't make fun of her dear." Keiko scolded her husband, turning around and giving him a stern look. Her eyes were giving the grin away, though she didn't let it reach her lips, her hands positioned on her hips.
"You think it's a good idea to let Shizuru sleep with it? The things she carries around kind of creep me out sometimes…" Satoshi admitted.
"The big Director is scared? Maybe you should take your daughter's example; she seems not to be effected in the slightest. It's just a cape." Keiko told him stepping closer and leaning her head on his shoulder while watching their child peacefully sleep.
"Your right. " Satoshi chuckled, sneaking his arm around his wife and holding her close. He gestured with his head to the door and they both moved out of the room turning the light off to let their small child sleep. Shizuru had fallen asleep as soon as her mother laid her down.
The phone rang in the living room, Keiko and Satoshi shared a confused look with each other, wondering who would call at such an hour. Satoshi walked away, receiving the call and a few minutes passed in which Keiko was waiting in the kitchen for her husband.
With a sigh the older Fujino put the phone back into its place. There went the nice planned night.
"Keiko. I.." He started as he walked into the kitchen, but a slender finger on his lips silenced him.
"Shh, its ok. Just come back home safely." Keiko gave him a small peck on the lips before walking back up the stairs with a hot tea in her hands.
"I don't know how long it will take so..." he looked up at her as she reached the top of the stairs. "don't stay up and wait for me."
A mischievous glint shimmered in Keiko's eyes as she turned her head around and looked back down. "Ara, I didn't plan to."
As Satoshi sat in his car on his way to the company hoping that he would be soon back home to enjoy the rest of the night.
~~ somewhere in the town ~~
"CURSE YOU SATOOOSHI!" Takeshi slurred, his clothes were stained with dirt and alcohol. It had been a few months since he lost his position in his brother's company. He refused to beg in order to get his old job back. The younger brother of the Fujino's had tried his own luck in business starting a company... He wanted to prove to his brother and everyone else that he could do just fine on his own.
It all came rushing down like a river on him. The company went bankrupt, his money was taken faster from him than he could look. And with his money gone his girlfriend, his home his belongings...all went away. With nothing left to him, he turned to the bottle which helped him night by night to forget his misery. His pride had kept him from crawling back begging to his brother to get him back inside.
His blame always fell on only one person, who he saw looking down on him in his mind. Satoshi, it was all his fault if ... if he wouldn't have made him leave the company he still would have been on his feet! Yes everything was Satoshi's fault, Satoshi who had never lost anything, who was standing always on the bright side.
Even in the fogginess of his drunken mind, the dark thoughts didn't leave him alone. "He is my brother. He meant only well. He's only trying to look out for me" he sometimes muttered in his sober moments. But another voice in his mind said differently...
Oh yes Takeshi tried to fight the ugly voice in himself not blaming his own brother for all his misfortune. But how do you fight them if you have nothing left, if everything seems to be lost? How easy it was to just blame all on someone else.
Make him lose something. His dark mind whispered to him. "I can't do that." Why not? He doesn't know your pain, he has everything. He doesn't care about you! He doesn't look after you!
His hands grabbed his head, his fingers burying deep into his oily unwashed hair and balling to fists. "He doesn't care…" He never cared did he? He planned everything from the beginning to get rid of his useless brother.
Takeshi's eyes looked dully up to the night sky, lost was the glimmer of pride in them, now they only reflected the light of the street lamp which blinked from the side. With shaky movements, Takeshi made his way, a bottle of tequila in his left hand. His head rolled from one side to the other while he kept mumbling "all his fault.". on his way he carelessly kicked an empty tin away which was the only sound in the empty alley, besides his mumbling.
It must have taken more than 30 minutes for him to reach his brother's house. Nothing had changed there. All the lights in the house were off and Takeshi couldn't see his brother's car anywhere, which would have been usually parked right in front of the house. How often he had been here, when everything was still okay...
"Dear brother must be out with them." He slurred walking up the garage entrance, on his way he had gotten himself a canister with fuel, he started to spread the fuel around. The house was far from the city on the outskirt. There were no neighbours close by to watch a single drunken man stumbling around the big house. "I will make him lose his home just like I lost mine. That's just fair isn't it?"
Takeshi chuckled to himself, humming an old lullaby as he made one circle around the house spreading extra amount of fuel on the windows and doors.
An old memory came in front of his eyes: himself with his brother and their father, back when they were still kids. They had been out in the woods making a campfire; it would be just like that time, only a bit bigger. He fetched the lighter out of his pocket and looked at it, it had his initial letters engraved, a present from his brother. A dark shadow lifted over his face and he turned the lighter on, the small flame dancing in the wind. For some seconds he let the flame dance, seeming to regain his sober self, but only for that moment.
Takeshi threw the lighter towards the fuel soaked ground. He stumbled back as the fire spread itself fast, his head still clouded from the alcohol in his mind.
Unknown to Takeshi, Keiko and Shizuru were still in the house but none of them noticed the fire which was spreading fast higher and higher, creeping inside, ready to clasp everything with their claws of heated flames.
Satoshi was on his way back as he noticed the strange light in the distance which came out of the direction where his house was. Black smoke gathered across the sky. Moments later the loud screeching of wheels was heard by the sudden burst of the gas pedal.
As Satoshi reached the street where his house was, he couldn't believe his eyes. Bright flames danced around and on his house. He brought his wine red car to an abrupt halt and jumped out. In front of his house in the grass sat his brother humming happily.
"What have you done!" Satoshi grabbed Takeshi from the collar, roughly lifting him up, concern and rage filled his gaze.
"Look brother it's just like the campfire, just bigger." Takeshi whispered, his gaze seemed deluded and far away. Satoshi wrinkled his nose in disgust at the alcohol breath hit him.
"Keiko and Shizuru are still inside there!" Satoshi shouted at his drunken brother shoving him hard away from him.
Takeshi stumbled back, not being able to regain his balance he fell, he barely registered what his brother had just said. "Didn't they go with you?" He mumbled as if he didn't understand why his brother wasn't enjoying the fire. He looked up into the sky. "They are still inside?" Tears streamed down his face. This was just a bad dream, right? When he would wake up the next morning it will all
be over.
"Keiko! Shizuru!" Satoshi screamed as loud as he could. He tried to grab the handle of the door but it was already too hot.
With his shoulder he hit against the door ignoring the heating flames which hissed at him, or the searing pain as his shoulder as he rammed against the wood. His family was inside there. His heart was racing as he finally broke through the door. The air was filled with smoke and smelled like burnt wood, plastic and food.
Holding a tissue in front of his mouth and nose, Satoshi rushed inside trying to make his way towards the stairs up to the bedrooms. The fire already seemed to be everywhere. "Keiko! Shizuru!" he shouted for them once more, smoke hurting his lungs and making him cough. He moved the stairs up, rushing to Shizuru's room by instinct. His vision was already blurry by the tears of his eyes caused from the smoke, the heat was making him sweating. His heart hammering in his chest, in a way that it started to hurt.
When he reached Shizuru's door, he noticed that it was open and rushed inside. At that moment he froze, his world breaking into pieces. A single image which broke his mere soul and heart, one that forever would be burned into his mind. Keiko's body was leaned over Shizuru's bed not moving.
"Keiko." Satoshi whispered,his hand with the tissue being lump on his side. Something cracked on the ceiling and Satoshi rushed in front towering over Shizurus and his wife.
As Keiko regained consciousness, she had trouble telling where she was. The heat was almost unbearable, her throat felt as if she had a tight knot inside. She was half laying on the bed of her daughter. A weight on her back made it impossible for her to turn around. The shock set so deep that Keiko didn't notice the damage on her right leg which was buried under some parts of the ceiling which had fallen down.
"Keiko." She heard her name whispered and turned her head to the side to see more. Her eyes widened in an instance as she saw Satoshi towering in a nearly crouched position there, with his back bent over her and the bed. Blood was streaming down his face from a wound on his head. One of the pillars which was usually supporting the ceiling had broken and made the ceiling half fallen down. Satoshi had taken most of the impact to keep her and their child safe.
"You idiot. Did you believe you could hold it?" Keiko whispered, tears running down her cheeks. She knew better as to have hope in their situation as only a wonder could rescue them out of their misery.
"I had to try." Satoshi replied with a tired raspy voice, which cause a sudden swell of coughing and blood spreading out of his mouth.
"Mama, dad, it hurts" A voice sounded scared from under them.
Shizurus face was covered by red dripped down blood of her fathers, her hand held tight around her mothers while she looked up at her fathers. The cape was wrapped around her. It was as though the family was being mocked as they were surrounded by the taunting and laughter of the crisp flames..
Breathing became unbearable and the coughs attack of Keiko became worse as she was trying to breathe. With pain Satoshi watched his wife struggling for oxygen and with every passing second her condition worsened. "I love you." His tears streaming down his cheeks. His body became an endless agony of pain as his skin was burned alive, the air took the scent of burned flesh. He tried to stay strong for their sake, not to scare his daughter more who had stood up and was now trying to hold onto her parents, but he knew he couldn't hold on that long. Shizuru was crying. With her last strength Keiko smiled.
"Everything will be ok, Shizuru. I love you two." Keiko whispered before she lost consciousness after another asthma attack. Satoshi didn't know if he should thank the gods for letting their child pass out before witnessing her mother choke for air, or curse them for letting this happen.
For the first time in his life, Satoshi felt powerless not being able to do anything as he could do nothing more than hold his dead wife and his daughter and be burned alive. He let the tears of sorrow and pain free as he buried his blood smeared face into the back of his wife. Seconds later the sobs stopped and another crash echoed in its place as another pillar of the ceiling broke.
Takeshi was lost. What had he done? "Where are you Satoshi? Come out, this isn't funny" The shock had seemed to lose the effect of the alcohol right after his brother had rushed inside. When the second crash echoed in Takeshi's ear, he saw how half of the ceiling disappeared as it sunk down. The flames blazing into the sky.
There were some thoughts of his that he would have never thought of before. His mind was getting back just a hour ago, if he wouldn't have gone and had stayed…with blank eyes Satoshi stared at his daughter who laid a bit away from her parents motionless, the final crash of the ceiling had buried him and his wife under.
He knew that he was dead; he didn't feel any pain anymore. Nothing was there: no sound, no scent... just nothing. He wanted to reach out and draw his child to him, but something started to pull him away and eat his vision turning everything to white. And then there was nothing anymore, no pain, no guilt a endless nothing.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Takeshi screamed his knees on the ground. His fists hitting the grass under him. "I didn't want this! What have I done!" Nothing would ever make up to what had happened this night.
In the distance the sound of sirens sounded but Takeshi never saw them come closer as he rushed away his gaze blank, he wanted to go away back to his apartment. His shoulders heavy with guilt, his hands drawn in blood and his mind screaming murder to him.
A snicker caught his attention and Takeshi looked to the side as he was getting away, seeing a boy with white hair dressed in a simple blue jeans and red shirt with the white letters 'Born to be bad', who grinned from one ear to the other. "They burn alive and it's all your fault." The boy said, a sadistic happiness shimmering in his eyes as Takeshi took a step back his eyes in horror wide opened.
"Tell me mister how does it feel to know that you killed them?"
"I didn't…" Takeshi whispered before he started running just past the boy who laughed at this retreating figure.
"Run, run like the wind." The boy said with a click of his tongue, how wonderful the fear and disappear tasted in the midnight air. Hm, tonight seemed to be a good day for the grim reaper he guessed. Looking back towards the burning house. He was hungry and what was better as finished food roasted in fire, he chuckled at his own thoughts.
Even if the fire was already starting to go out it still was hot enough to hurt everything which came close to it. "Hmm feels almost like home" The boy whistled, he stretched his arms above his head walking around and ignoring the flames who seemed to be unable to touch him.
He followed his nose as it was picking up the delicious smell of food. Burned flesh such a sweet smell it had, he mused. With ease he jumped up the stairs, the wood under his feet moaning. In a few steps he reached the last room on the right side of the floor kicking the half burned door away.
His eyes scanned the room, the fire was still eating away here and there, his gaze fell on the ceiling where a big hole showed the sky. His gaze followed the fallen ceiling, a crimson carpet covered the floor. His tongue slipped out of his mouth wetting his lips, his eyes getting a hungry look into them as he made his way over to the crimson carpet.
The young boy's hand came to a rest on the fallen down pillar. His shoes stepped into the pool of blood, which started to heat up and hiss, bubbles formed and popped open as the blood seemed to boil. In front of him were half crouched, slumbered over a bed two burnt bodies. The fire had made all the work in turning them into dead coal. A small plump on the bed near the two caught the boy's grey eyes.
"What do we have here?" The poked the small mass which seemed to be covered in a cape. Unlike the other two, this small body seemed to be spared from the fire strangely. Some of the ceiling had crashed down on the small body, easily he freed it from there. "Tsk." Grabbing the bundle he lifted it up and studied the lifeless body of a child. There was no way the big bodies would be worth the effort of getting them out from under the pillar. His eyes were fixed back on the small thing which he was still holding up.
Some of the hair was burned as well as part of the right face and he could see the burned flesh, the hands of the child were blistered with burn bubbles, one of the legs hung in a strange angle loosely down. But strangely the child seemed to be less damaged than the other two.
"Ah well, you will fill me at least enough for the next few days." The boy mused, heaving up and down the bundle of body to guess the weight.
The sound of sirens drew closer and light from outside pierced through the window letting the shadow of the boy manifest on the wall. "Looks like I better go~" With his hand he was rubbing the back of his head.
His shadow however didn't follow the lead of the fleshed body. It seemed to be not from him - it was shaped different in form with horns, one on each side of the head and a pointed tail swinging back and forth. The shadow legs formed like a goat's, with strong thighs. Like the owner, the shadow held a bundle in its grasp lifting it higher and opening his mouth wide, showing his sharp piercing teeth, ready to devour what it longed for.
"Tz tz tz, not so hasty." The boy scolded, peering over his right shoulder at his shadow. His pupils were formed into slits. The shadow shrugged and shook its head, following his owner just like shadows do, away towards their hideout.
Takeshi slammed the door behind himself close locking the door double. His eyes were roaming fanatical around. The words of the boy were following him, echoing again. Again AND AGAIN into his mind. Torturing him.
You killed them. It's your fault that they are dead. Now you got what you wanted. " NOOOOO" Shaking his head Takeshi stumbled towards his bed, his own thoughts seemed to kill him. Guilt stricken, he was tortured with pain in his chest. His hand went under the mattress searching for something. Tears streamed down his face as he looked with an empty gaze into his hand where he was holding a revolver in its grip up under the mattress. He didn't have to check, he knew the revolver was loaded. Had he himself not long ago loaded it, in his depression but was too much of a coward to do anything. Yes a coward, that's what he had always been.
"I am sorry... I am sorry, I am sorry" He sobbed. Takeshi lifted the revolver under his chin, the cold metal sending goosebumps up his arm. His hand was shaking and sweating, he had to grab the revolver with both hands to stop the shaking. Soon he would follow his brother and his family.
Takeshi chuckled. Following them? Who was he fooling there was no way he would end up in the same place after what he had done… but it was ok. Yes it was ok he would be where he would pay for his sins. His eyes closed and a small smile lifted on his lips. "Forgive me."
The room was filled with his whisper before the loud bang of the revolver sounded, blood splashed on the wall and the revolver dropped together with the hand down. All life had left the body of Takeshi. For once he had not been a coward and did not turn away, for once he stood there. But what makes a coward a coward? And who is the real one? The one who stands for the things he had done in life or the one who ends his life for the done? No one would answer these questions as Takeshi had chosen his own resolve to get away from the guilt and pain.
As the bang echoed in the apartment a worried neighbour called the cops. Later that night, they found the dead body of Takeshi Fujino, who had committed suicide.
TBC...
