Chapter 51
Luck
At the plaza in front of Iwatodai Station, SEES were preparing to fight the Arcana Shadows. The creaking of metal on the concrete floor was clearly audible in the Dark Hour.
"Looks like they've been waiting for us..." Fuuka said. "Their Arcana are Fortune and Strength."
"Where's Amada?" Mitsuru asked.
"Can't find him. He wasn't in his room, so who knows," Junpei said. "That lil' shit is more trouble than he's worth."
"Did you just call him that?" Yukari asked. "Because that's kinda unexpected."
Shinjiro wasn't there either.
"He told me he needed a break," Fuuka said. "I didn't question him."
The Fortune looked like a metallic carousel horse, while the Strength looked like a woman in a wedding dress, though that dress was decorated with flowers and arrow fences.
'I'll try to push him back,' Pharos said. 'Enjoy your fight, leader.'
"Thanks," Minato whispered. He raised his Evoker.
"Of course you came," Ken said as Shinjiro stepped into the back alley. "I've been waiting."
Shinjiro walked inside and stopped in front of him. Ken was already holding his spear. It touched the ground.
"Do you know what today is?" Ken asked. Shinjiro didn't answer. "Do you remember this date?"
Shinjiro shrugged.
"You… Do you want to forget that much that you can't say it?" Ken growled. "Is my mom's life that insignificant to you!? I'll make you remember!" Ken shouted. He took a deep breath. "... Don't you have anything to say?"
"Just end it already," Shinjiro said.
"... You're not very patient," Ken said. "Let's fight."
"Huh?"
"I said let's fight." Ken raised his Evoker. "This is my last request for you, Shinjiro."
Shinjiro took his Evoker out. If Ken wanted to kill him the right way then he's fine with it. "Fine, if that's what you want."
Pharos seemed to be doing his job. Minato didn't feel it in him this night. Aigis hadn't pointed her finger guns at him either.
The Arcana Strength was pretty much like any Shadows, though the Arcana Fortune gave them some headache. The fortune wheel kept spinning. Yukari asked when it would stop, and then it did. SEES tried to be more careful next time.
The fortune wheel. This was the game of luck. Strength was not in the equation.
They backed away from each other and panted. Both of them were still standing. For some reason, Ken hadn't killed him yet. Shinjiro was catching his breath. Though he had more experience, he felt like he had no chance of winning in his current state.
"Can't keep fighting anymore, huh?"
Ken stepped closer to him. Shinjiro sighed. This is it…
"We won," Ken said. "Finally."
Shinjiro looked at him. "What?"
"What?" Ken asked. "I said we won. Mother and I."
Shinjiro thought he would be killed then and there.
"Two years ago, the police closed the case. They're liars. They didn't want me involved." Ken nodded to himself. "I decided I couldn't trust any adults. I… I know it's you. I saw. I've thought about it. I really saw you there."
Shinjiro kept quiet.
"And then I realized… that it didn't prove anything except that you were there," Ken said. "You aren't black. I can't just label you as… evil. All this time, I've never heard your side of the story. If you will?"
So Shinjiro talked, just like how Ken had talked. Shinjiro said everything that was never heard from anyone. How they killed his mother that day. After that. Behind that. Everything he knew.
"If there's one thing I regret, it's not talking to you sooner," Shinjiro said. "I didn't know it was so bad for you. I could've found a better way."
Ken looked at him.
"Now you know," Shinjiro said. "Kill me. That's what you plan to do this whole time isn't it?"
"No. I've changed my mind."
Ken had his plan. It was a perfect plan, and everything changed. His mind changed. Shinjiro didn't tell Ken about the suppressant. Aigis, however, told him that. And Ken thought and thought...
"You've got your punishment. You... have suffered enough…" Ken looked at the moon. "I did it, Mother. Thanks for watching over me."
"But…" Shinjiro was confused. "Then why did we fight?"
"I want to fight for her. She wasn't given the chance to fight." Ken looked at the area in the back alley. There was no car accident, only a horse monster. "The law, I mean."
The case was closed by Shinjiro's teammates, but for what cause? What had he already caused? "I'm sorry."
"That part's not your fault. Though I'm still angry, I think I understand…"
Shinjiro raised his eyebrows. He had never expected it to come out like this. It was better than he had imagined for sure. It wasn't so bad.
"So, let's go back." Ken smiled. "Let's go home."
Suddenly, Shinjiro pushed ken.
"Go," Shinjiro said.
"Huh?"
"Go back, hurry!"
Ken widened his eyes and looked behind Shinjiro.
Click.
The fight had ended. All SEES members treated their wounds and returned to the dorm, but not before Akihiko running somewhere. Mitsuru was cautious and told Fuuka to scan the area.
Takaya aimed a gun at Shinjiro's heart. Shinjiro didn't have to look back to know. That man wanted him dead. Shinjiro knew. He had known too much. He had lived too long.
"Bastard," Ken snapped. "You're the one using Shinjiro!"
Takaya raised his eyebrows.
"You… You give him the drugs."
Shinjiro winced.
"You're killing him this whole time!"
Takaya laughed for a while. "You're all acting as if you care, but you still blame him, don't you?"
"I don't."
"You do," Takaya said. "You have carried the hatred in your heart for solid two years. Your hatred must be directed somewhere. It cannot be gone, only redirected. Revenge is a vicious cycle, and you directed it here… What do you say?"
Ken froze as the gun was pointed at him. Then he realized that he wasn't ready. He was never ready for death. Both taking it or accepting it, he was not ready at all.
How could Shinjiro be so calm?
"Are you having doubts? Regrets?" Takaya smirked. "There shouldn't be. You hate him. You want to kill him. All this time. You want him in front of the gun."
"...No."
"Pardon?"
Ken shook his head and glared at Takaya. "No, I don't hate Shinjiro." He felt relieved saying that. "I don't hate him. Not anymore."
"You have to blame someone!" Takaya shouted. "Who is it that made your mother dead? Aren't you seeking for salvation?"
"Don't listen to him, Ken," Shinjiro said. He glanced at Takaya's hand which was holding the gun. It was still pointed at Ken.
"Yeah, I know," Ken said. "I… I know who is the victim here. I know who's the real petty murderer." Ken looked at Takaya. "It ends here. The case is closed. By me."
"... You're both supposed to die. Here." Takaya was growling at this point. "What makes it change, young boy...? Though it doesn't matter."
"My mother couldn't say it, but I can," Ken said. "I know what she wants, and I will grant her that. She wants me to get over it and grow up, not being manipulated by a madman like you!"
"Fool!" Takaya pulled the trigger.
If it's possible, Minato would trade all the luck he had used earlier to Shinjiro. If it's possible, that is.
"No… it's… It's a member of Strega!"
Minato ran.
"Arisato! Wait!"
"I'm sorry, Mitsuru," Minato said. "You might be the leader in the command room, but I am the leader in the battlefield."
He didn't look back.
Minato hoped there was still something he could do, something he could change. At least he knew he was not going to sit and wait.
Time never waits.
Minato keeps running until he saw a glimpse of Akihiko's red vest. They must be near here. Somewhere in this area. A gunshot. A gunshot? He ran forward to see Akihiko stood still. He walked in farther and just around the corner...
It delivers all equally to the same end.
The first thing Minato noticed was the massive blood stain on the maroon peacoat. Blood trickled down from the corners of Shinjiro's mouth.
Ken tried to support him by slipping his arm under Shinjiro. His hand felt something wet and sickly warm. He glanced at his hand and dread overwhelmed him. Red blood had stained his hand as well as the floor.
"Shinji!" Akihiko dashed forward and laid Shinjiro down on his lap. Blood stained his clothes but he gave it no attention. "Stay calm, okay? I'm here now. Everyone will be here soon."
"I'm fine, Aki. I am…"
"Stay with us, Shinji! Hang in there!"
Minato stood there. He could only watch.
"I've feared the worst..." Shinjiro coughed as blood threatened to replace air in his lungs. "But no need thinking about the past now. It came out fine after all. It's alright…"
"It's not!" Ken said.
"I, sure as hell... am a lucky guy," Shinjiro said with half lidded eyes. "Your... life. You're alive, so don't waste it. Live."
Ken nodded.
"Aki, take care of him…" Shinjiro raised his right hand. It was shaking.
Akihiko grabbed his brother's hand and squeezed it. "Right. I will."
A faint grin crept on Shinjiro's face as he closed his eyes. "... This is how it should be..."
His hand slipped through Akihiko's and fell to the ground.
Ken staggered forward and grabbed Shinjiro's shoulder. He refused to believe it even though all the details were hinting him. The absence of breaths. The stillness of his chest. The blood on his clothes.
He couldn't accept that it had ended. He was not ready.
"Shinjiro?" Ken shook his body. "Shinjiro!" No matter how long he waited or how hard he shook, Shinjiro was unresponsive.
Ken touched his chest again, over the gun hole. There were no heartbeats. Tears ran down Ken's cheeks. He had never felt so useless.
Everything remained silent as Ken's desperate cry rang toward the sky. The yellow moon changed back to the normal white, but it was too late.
An hour later at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, Aragaki Shinjiro was declared dead. And back at the dorm, in each room, there was at least a person weeping.
