With each mission, Nishi became more affected by Gantz's world; he enjoyed the other players' misfortunes and lack of knowledge and felt extreme excitement when the aliens attacked them. Even though he had embraced his newly found enjoyment long ago, Nishi was definitely not the same boy that first appeared in the room. When each new mission began, Nishi would assess the fresh players and decide if he could use them to his advantage. He'd give them an explanation that was always false and wait for the right opportunity to take the points at the end. Sometimes, Nishi wondered if losing his last teammate affected him more than he realized. Yoko kept him grounded and understood his sadistic side, and never let him stray further than that.
Despite such drastic changes, his goal from the beginning remained. He just wanted to be free. He wanted to go home.
Five months have passed since Yoko's death, and Nishi's points had finally surpassed the number he originally had when he lost them, and it occurred to him that exactly one year has passed since his first mission, he'd be in high school soon.
It would feel strange, in a way, almost disturbing were it not for his confidence. Nishi appeared in the Gantz room, looking around the room for a moment, unable to quite believe he'd survived five months on his own. The dog soon appeared and wagged his tail before wandering around the room, causing Nishi to roll his eyes. "I can't believe you're still around mutt, I would say I'm impressed if you actually bothered to do something." The dog obviously ignored him, as though the canine had accepted the fact that Nishi wouldn't interact with him like the others had done, as though he knew how Nishi felt toward him.
Nishi tilted against the wall and simply waited patiently for the normal occurrences to happen. While Nishi still hated their reactions, there was nothing he could do to change it, not that they would listen anyway, so he merely tried to ignore them the best he could, unless he wanted to use them.
Once Gantz had started to gather new participants, Nishi watched them skeptically. The first to appear were two muscle-bound guys, one dressed in a white suit and another dressed in light brown pants and a baggy purple sweater. Nishi kept quiet when they turned their attention to him, eyeing him suspiciously with a glare. As if they think they're intimidating just because of their size. The two mean looking men tried to question him about what happened, but Nishi merely shrugged. Like I'd tell you. Nishi smirked when they turned away to inspect the rest of the room.
Another male appeared; he was blond with long hair pinned back into a low ponytail, dressed in a blue hoodie and black pants. He looked up at the ceiling with an almost dazed look on his face, and when he realized there were others in the room with him, he asked, "What's going on?"
The shorter male with the white suit looked at him and said, "We don't know."
The young blond turned to Nishi. "How about you kid?"
Nishi raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Maybe we're all dead."
The blond clicked his tongue and leaned against the window. "Bullshit."
A man dressed in a black and white suit appeared next, wearing glasses. He was shivering slightly and appeared on his side. The man sat up startled and looked around the room for a moment before getting to his feet. "I'm alive."
"Looks that way," replied the blond male.
Eventually, the four of them began to try the windows and doors, and soon, panic set in once again when they failed. One of the two large men even tried smashing the window with his elbow. "This is crazy, what are we even doing here?" the one with the glasses asked.
Nishi sighed and sat down on the floor in the corner behind Gantz. These morons aren't even worth wasting a breath for. Nishi glanced at the man in the black suit. He'll most likely die first.
Just then, another male appeared; he was elderly and dressed in what looked to be hospital scrubs. Nishi almost laughed when he realized who it was, he had heard about the decline of health from the old man recently, but he hadn't expected him to appear in the room. Yoko would have gotten a kick out of this. His small smirk went unseen as he watched the exchange between the old man and the rest of the group.
"Well, the afterlife sure isn't what I expected," the old man said softly. He looked at the others and gave a smile. "There seems to be a few here, I feel like I'm waiting to be called into a doctor's room."
The blond rolled his eyes and snorted. "This isn't some afterlife limbo you old coot, man."
The glasses man laughed nervously and looked at the Gantz ball. "I think it's safe to say that this black ball here is the reason for us coming to the room."
Nishi remained quiet, folding his arms in his lap as a few of the others began to sit down. Their theories never seem to go further than mere speculation; I was right; they're all idiots.
A few minutes later, two more appeared. Both young males, dressed in a school uniform, appeared as though they were jumping from thin air, out of breath like they'd been running.
Nishi watched them both carefully along with the rest of the group.
"Wow, there are two this time," said the one with glasses. "So, did you two, almost die too?"
Nishi kept his eyes pinned to the two teenagers. It had been some time since someone close to his age appeared. That doesn't make them any less incompetent.
"What the hell is going on here?" the shorter of the two asked. He had medium-length brown hair and narrowed eyes. It was him Nishi observed the closest.
"I don't know," the taller one replied; he had long slick backed black hair with longer facial features, much less angry than the other. "But somehow we made it back alive, look."
Nishi watched their exchange carefully, the same way he did with all the new players, but for some reason, something about the shorter boy intrigued him.
"None of us made it," the old man replied when the brown-haired boy questioned their location.
"Oh, just shut up," said the blond in annoyance.
The old man continued, "This place is heaven, and we're all here because we're dead."
Nishi rolled his eyes; while the old man wasn't far off the mark, they did, in fact, die, but they certainly weren't in some kind of heaven. God damn politician, perhaps he'll be the first to die instead.
"Speak for yourself, we're not all senile gramps."
The man with glasses replied, "Well, I suppose that is one possible theory, but…"
Nishi looked at the old man for a second and then back to the teenagers. A rather pathetic theory, especially from a politician.
"All I know, is that I was lying in the hospital bed dying of cancer, and then I was here, and the pains completely gone, how else would you explain that?"
Nishi glanced at the taller boy when he spoke, "Hold on, if we're dead, why is the Tokyo tower out that window?" The two teens began to panic when they realized they couldn't touch the latch.
"It's pointless," the man told them. "We've all tried, and we can't touch the doors or even the walls. If we could, we wouldn't still be sitting here in this room."
Nishi chuckled inwardly. Oh, four eyes has a little backbone, how comical.
The man held his phone out. "Even our cell phones are blocked."
There was a conversation between the man and the teens before the taller one left in an attempt to open the front door.
Every mission is the same. It's like a broken record. Most of the time, it reminded Nishi of his first arrival, he and his team reacted the same way, but it didn't make it any less annoying. The difference is that we got over it quicker.
The teens had finally given up trying to open anything and sat on the floor, making the only one still standing, the man in glasses, who suddenly raised his hand. "Excuse me everyone, may I suggest that we all introduce ourselves, names and what you do first, and-"
The man was interrupted by the blond, "Oh get stuffed, you sound like your teaching kindergarten here." The blond sighed.
Nishi looked at the man expressionless, but inwardly, he was frowning. He reminds me of Tadashi; they even look alike. I wonder if they're related.
"I'll go first." The man cleared his throat. "I'm Masashi Yamada, I teach at Nerima Higashi elementary school, and I had an accident while riding my scooter." Yamada turned to the brown-haired boy next to him, gesturing his hand. "So, how about you."
Nishi's attention turned back to the teens.
"Kei, high school student, and I'm dead." Kei looked at the taller boy next to him. "Because of this jerk."
Nishi became amused. Kei huh, well he's certainly aggressive.
There were a few words exchanged between the boys, one aggressive, the other passive. The look on Kei's face told Nishi he wasn't happy with the other boy's reply. It was clear the other was at fault for their deaths.
"And you are?" Yamada asked the taller boy.
"Oh, Masaru Kato, hit by a train."
Haha, I didn't expect that blunt reply, but something about him pisses me off; I just don't know what it is yet.
Nishi almost smirked when it was the old man's turn. "Goro Suzuki, you've probably heard of me."
And now you're nothing more than carnage, or at least, you will be.
Yamada gestured to the blond next to Suzuki. "And you…"
The blond sighed, barely looking at him, and said, "Dude, told you, not playing, pass." He then looked up with a bored expression. "Hey, anyone have any smokes?"
Nishi snorted quietly. He's no better than those hippies from before, useless. Just as I thought, none of these idiots will survive longer than a few minutes. Nishi locked eyes with Kei. Then again… It had been quite a while since Nishi had to introduce himself and found himself flashing back to one year ago as he kept his eyes on Kei. "I'm Joichiro Nishi, eighth grade, and I fell." Nishi almost smirked. He knew his intense stare was probably freaking Kei out a little.
The two men next to Nishi were introduced as Yakuza by the one in the white suit. No names were given.
So what if you're Yakuza, you're still going to die.
"Okay," Yamada began, "Is that everyone?" He looked at the dog in front of him. "I guess so."
Gantz is taking longer than usual. There must be another coming.
Nishi listened to the conversation between Kei and Kato, it sounded as though they knew each other well, but judging by the past tense words, it had been some time since the two had seen each other. So lame.
Just then, Gantz began to transfer another individual, causing the group to gasp in shock.
"I don't believe it," Yamada shouted. "Here comes another one!"
The person appeared directly in front of Kei; it was a girl with large breasts and short red hair. The men around the room stared with eagerness, including Kei, because the girl had appeared completely naked.
At the corner of his eye, Nishi saw the taller Yakuza stand up and head toward the teens. It was obvious from the look in his eye what he had planned. This should be interesting; I wonder if any of them will try and play the hero, I doubt she'll be able to fend for herself; of course, I've been wrong before.
Kato pointed out the blood coming from one of her wrists.
"A suicide, in the bathtub I guess," Yamada said.
Yamada and the blond crowded round as Kei and Kato assessed her. When the girl looked up through half-lidded eyes, it was clear she was disorientated.
Nishi observed the group with slight amusement, ignoring the fact that she had been the only other suicidal player apart from himself to appear, that he knew of. There were blushes on the men's faces, and that of Kei's, and it was obvious why. Pathetic really, always thinking with their dicks. Nishi watched the blond take snapshots of her and rolled his eyes. Moron.
The Yakuza reached the teens, and they looked at him when he grabbed the girl by the wrist. "You stay here, all of you." He proceeded to drag the girl into the corridor, and it wasn't long before they heard screams of protest.
No one moved an inch, but Nishi could tell they wanted to. Nishi glanced at Kei and gave him a small, knowing smile. He knew what the boy was thinking.
After a few seconds, it was Kato to stand up and claim the hero's response.
"It's hard to find such a brave young man these days," Suzuki said as he looked at Kei.
Kei became defensive. "Hey, I don't see you helping her."
"Because that Yakuza would kick my cancer-filled ass."
Nishi was slightly disappointed when Kei agreed to help and disappeared into the corridor. Nishi had no intention of following them all and remained sitting; he could make a good guess what would happen next. The other remaining was the other Yakuza, who looked at Nishi as if to question his bravery or thoughts. Nishi watched him blow smoke into the room and narrowed his eyes slightly, he wanted to question what his problem was, but he also wanted to stay quiet just a little while longer. There were sounds of a scuffle, probably between Kato and the Yakuza, before the Gantz ball began to sing.
Nishi stood up, his eyes on the ball, and he smirked. Let the games begin again.
There were red marks on the Yakuza's neck, which only made Nishi guess that Kato had strangled him to get him off the girl. Better keep my eye on that one, but I suppose he won't last long anyway.
When the Gantz ball began to display its information, Nishi bent down in front of it, knowing what would happen next.
"So, what is it?" Kei asked as he and the others came back.
"It's like some kind of message, but it can't spell or shit," replied the blond. "It says, your lives are now over, and what you do with your new lives is for me to decide. So there you have it?" The blond snorted. "What the – hey! Is this thing trying to screw with us?"
Nishi pursed his lips, annoyed by the blond's loud aggression. "It may sound screwy, but if you stop to think about everything that's happened to us so far, it's not all that funny, is it." Damn, so much for keeping quiet. Now they know I know something. Oh well.
The blond began to read out the instructions for their target. "Please go and eliminate this target now, you bastards. The green onion alien. Traits: strong, smelly. Likes: Green onions, friendship. Catch phrase: Green onions are enough for me." He snorted a laugh. "What the hell is this?"
"I think this is some kind of game," replied Yamada.
Nishi chuckled inwardly. Almost. One point to four eyes.
"Does this mean it's going to let us out?" asked Suzuki.
And another point goes to the corrupted politician.
The ball opened abruptly, causing everyone to jump, and squashed Kei against the wall. It didn't take long until they started observing the weapons with excitement, picking out the large and the small. They also noticed the man inside it and stared in shock. Kei claimed it was a fake, which caused Nishi to roll his eyes.
Nishi noticed Kei was the first to grab a case, and his interest in the slightly older teen piqued.
….
Nishi slanted against the bathroom door as he completed his suit by pulling on his gloves. "They're all idiots, but that high schooler shows a little promise. Still, I doubt it's enough to survive."
Nishi walked back into the room to everyone protesting against wearing the suit, no surprise there. Nishi grabbed the trap gun from the ball and slid it inside his brown jacket while the blond was fooling around with the small gun with Yamada. Nishi smirked to himself at the thought of their reactions if the blond had actually managed to shoot.
Eventually, the first player began to disappear, the taller Yakuza. The group began to freak out all over again as more of them began disappearing, but Nishi ignored them as he reached for the large gun, cocking it as he looked directly at Kei and smirked before Gantz transferred him.
…
By the time everyone gathered outside, Nishi had taken the lead in front as they all headed down a long set of steps. He noticed immediately that Kei was wearing the suit, and there was also a gun in its holdall. Perhaps I can have some fun with this bunch after all. It'll be like a test. And should the high schooler survive, I might just clue him in on what's really going on.
Nishi stopped abruptly once the two Yakuzas, Yamada, the blond, and Suzuki, passed him on the steps. "Hold on, before we go any further, it is my duty to tell you that unbeknownst to most humans, there are alien criminals secretly living here on earth." The group stopped to listen, looking up at Nishi suspiciously. Nishi smiled as he looked down at them. "We have all been recruited by a secret government organization, and now it's our job to get rid of these aliens."
The taller Yakuza was the first to question Nishi's explanation, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
Followed by the blond, "Ah dude, you're so full of it."
Nishi waited for them to finish their protests, but he knew he'd convince them eventually.
"You mean, like the grays and stuff?" Yamada suggested.
"Sonny, the current government doesn't have that kind of money, and I should know."
Is that so, Mr. 'I take bribes to stay in the cabinet.' "Then go ahead and doubt me grandpa, but for each one we kill, we get ten million Yen."
Nishi smirked when they gasped; he knew they were folding.
"Whoa, no kidding?" Kei said from behind.
"You believe him Kei?" Kato replied.
"Oh, well I-"
"You've got to be pulling our leg," Yamada interrupted.
Nishi almost retched when he played his next card, but it was just too fortunate for his last name to be the same. They'll believe me for sure now. "Nope, I got it straight from my dad at the cabinet's information bureau."
Suzuki gasped, "Then, your father is vice Minister Nishi?"
He's not worth the dirt on my shoe, let alone a Minister, but you don't need to know that.
"Nishi is one of the top dogs in the information bureau, they say he's as sharp as a knife, and, that he never tells a lie."
I am just that good. "And that's how come I know so much about this stuff four eyes."
The Yakuza began to believe and kept mumbling about the money.
Nishi chuckled and said, "Well if you're interested," Nishi uncovered the device from his sleeve and showed them the map. "It's all in here."
They gasp, and the blond said, "Hey, if that's us, it's right down the street!"
"Ten million huh?"
Suzuki stepped forward, Nishi knew he couldn't convince him, but he didn't care. "Now just hold on, how can this be?"
Nishi looked at him with a grin, knowing he'd hit a sore spot with his next reply. "Because old man, the bureaus never told you politicians the truth about anything." Nishi closed his eyes. "You're just for show," he eyed the man darkly. "A pawn. And whether you like it or not, you have all been recruited by-"
"Recruited by who," Kei interrupted him, and Nishi pursed his lips as he glanced behind him. "It's funny how I don't remember any of that."
It was a bit of a long shot, but Nishi knew it would work. Nishi grinned. "Have you forgotten? That stranger who asked you for something?" Nishi took the silence that he made the right call and almost laughed. I'm too good; I should win a fucking medal for that.
"And all we've got, is one hour," Yamada exclaimed.
"Let's go!" the Yakuza in the white suit shouted as he, the taller one, Yamada, and the blond raced down the steps, followed eventually by Nishi.
"I'm going home," Suzuki exclaimed and left them.
Hope you enjoy your head being blown off. Nishi smirked.
….
The group, who were swayed by Nishi's explanation, spread out nearby as they started to look for the alien. Nishi concentrated on the map, assessing the best way to continue the mission. Nishi sensed someone approaching and knew it was probably one of the Yakuzas. "You know, if you're fucking with us, I'm gonna kill ya."
Nishi barely flinched at the threat. God, I really wanna kill this guy. "Oh I'm scared, except I'm already dead asshole." The Yakuza huffed and passed Nishi, who smirked. But it'll be much more fun to watch him die by the alien.
…..
Nishi walked down the path below a hillside, invisible to anyone else. "I haven't seen that much excitement in a long time. The way the alien tore that blond idiot in half, or when that tall Yakuza got his skull crushed before the teacher accidentally blew him up! Hahahaha, sure didn't see that coming. They died so invigoratingly, limbs everywhere, not a sole survivor among them, just like I thought. Nishi stopped when he spotted none other than Kei, and his eyes widened in excitement. "Well now, what do we have here? Looks like he survived after all." Nishi watched as Kei beat the crap out of the boss onion alien with nothing but his bare hands. "I knew it." Nishi noticed Kato bleeding on the floor and clicked his tongue when Kei stopped to talk to him out of concern. Nishi raised the trap gun and fired the anchors at the alien, entangling it and pinning it to the floor. It was then that Nishi decided to reveal himself to Kei.
"Nishi? Where the fuck have you been?"
Nishi looked at him with a slight smile. "Oh, I've been around, hanging." It was unlike Nishi to allow anyone to take points, but he was still giddy over the excitement, and for some reason, he wanted to acknowledge Kei's survival; he turned to face the trapped alien. "Since the clock's still running, I'll let you score the points this time." Nishi turned to Kei. "But that's all you'll get." He pointed to the gun on Kei's pant leg. "Now take that gun of yours and finish it."
Kei stared in shock and reached down to hold up his gun. "You want me to shoot him, with this?"
Nishi sighed inwardly. No, with your fucking mind. "That's right, with that."
Kei looked at Nishi, and the boy smirked. "And if I do, what then?"
He'll blow up like a balloon and burst. "You'll see." Nishi shuddered with excitement when Kei raised the gun to the alien. "Just do it, pull both triggers!" Nishi knew Kei would hesitate; it was only natural; he had hesitated too.
"But, if I shoot him with this, won't he…"
Nishi chuckled. "Well that's the idea, to kill him. Come on, after everything that's happened, I bet you'd love to see him die, wouldn't you, wouldn't you? wouldn't you love to kill him?" Kei looked at Nishi with eyes wide. Nishi grinned despite his concern about the time, but he had confidence that Kei would shoot, and even if he didn't, Nishi would kill the alien in time anyway. "Come on, hurry it up." Nishi was getting agitated by Kei's hesitation now. "He had no problem killing the others, right? Including your boyfriend over there. Just look."
There was a scream from the half-naked girl who had appeared from the steps.
"Come on, what are you waiting for, are you some kind of pin-head? He's not human, he's more like – a dangerous animal and you're doing a public service." Nishi looked at Kei with a knowing smirk. "And the suit makes it feel all the better, right? Don't deny it, you can do all those amazing moves, it feels good."
"You saw that? You were there?"
Nishi could tell Kei was disturbed by his words, but at the same time, he knew he understood. "I told you I was hanging out, and I saw you going at it." Nishi gave a sadistic smirk. "It feels good destroying things doesn't it, the suit makes you feel stronger!"
Kei shook his head. "What the hell are you implying?"
Do I have to spell it out for you? "Oh come on, just admit it, beating the crap out of this guy felt awesome. It was better than sex wasn't it!" of course, they can both go hand in hand, but I'm guessing by his reaction to the naked girl, he wouldn't know that. Nishi's smirk darkened slightly. "It turned you on, didn't it? How about corpses, pictures?"
Kei became defensive, and Nishi knew his answer, his real answer. "I'm not like that you freak, I may buy girly mags and watch porn, but that's it, all that crap you're talking about is way too sick and twisted for me. God what the hell am I saying."
Nishi chuckled. "Yep. Knew it. I could see it, in your eyes, from the moment I first saw you across the room. You're just like me, deep down, you really wanna see it." They looked toward the alien. "So here's your chance, the real thing, death." Nishi became shocked when Kei lowered his weapon and denied his theories. "You lie."
"Don't compare me to you."
Nishi frowned. "All that's different is that you're in denial, just another hypocrite." When Kei asked him the meaning behind that statement and told him not to compare them both. Nishi sighed. "I guess you're not as smart as I thought you were, what a disappointment." Perhaps I was wrong about him. Kei then stated that he was living in a fantasy world, and Nishi snorted at that. He can't be fucking serious, what a moron. "You just don't get it, do you, if I were like that, then I wouldn't have survived in this world for as long as I have." You have no idea what I've done to survive, and that world awaits you. It'll be the most thrilling ride of your life. Too bad I won't be around much longer to see it change you. Nishi brushed him off when Kei questioned him about what he meant and was accused of playing dumb. "Okay, to prove I'm not caught up in that stupid fantasy crap, let's talk about something that's real." Nishi looked at the alien for a moment.
"Just what do you mean by real?"
Nishi looked back at Kei and grinned. "Let's say that there's someone about to die right before your eyes. Someone there's no point in even trying to rescue because they're going to die at any moment. That's something we could all witness in our everyday lives, right? Perhaps in something like a horrible traffic or train accident. Now, in that situation, what's the first thing you think of, that you got to find a way to rescue them? Yeah right, your first thought is I might be able to see someone die today, and it's not just freaks who think that way, it's everybody. It doesn't matter whether it's a plane crash or a war, when you see that stuff on the news, your heart is pounding isn't it?" Nishi knew his words were sinking in, whether Kei denied them or not. "Why is it I wonder, that the news programs ratings always go up when they run stories like that? It's because it's just human nature, they're all secretly hope they'll get a chance to see a dead body, it's an excitement that defies all logic."
Kei turned away. "You're sick, a sick little freak."
Nishi snorted. "Like I care." Kei looked up, clearly not expecting him to agree. "You see when I jumped, I realized that it's all the same in the end." Why the hell did I say that? Damn it, oh well, maybe he won't read too much into that. "You know I'm right, don't you? In the end, even death is no big deal, and I'm perfectly fine with that." Nishi's heart clenched tightly in his chest like it denied the words.
Kei gritted his teeth. "Sure you are, but you're only able to talk so tough because you're still alive."
Nishi grinned and stepped close to Kei's ear and whispered, "And what makes you think we're alive?" Nishi stepped away and back from the alien. "It just doesn't make a difference." He raised the trap gun toward the alien. "I really was going to let you score the points for shooting him you know, but, oh well…." Nishi pulled the triggers. "Whatever." The alien let out a short scream before slowly starting to disappear.
Once the alien was gone and sent into the sky, Nishi turned to Kei and the girl. "Strangely beautiful, don't you think? This is what death is like." Nishi showed Kei the trap gun. "The gun that transports them, is the gun that kills them."
"Transports them? But - where?"
Nishi tilted his head. "Where?" He looked up into the sky. "Somewhere there."
"So, you know all about this?"
Nishi smiled. "Well, not everything. But I know more than you." I suppose that was a little juvenile, oh well.
"Oh, do you, so what's next?"
Nishi's eyes cast down to the floor, his eyes hidden now by his bangs. "First we return to the room."
"And then what?"
"Then you're free to go." Nishi curled his hand into a fist unseen and closed his eyes. "You can even go home if you like."
…
Nishi left the apartment with an agitated look on his face. Three survivors! All three of those teenagers had survived, and what was worse, he only gained three points for the alien. "I thought I'd be closer, ninety points, that fucking sucks. I should-" Nishi stilled in the middle of the street.
"I didn't make the required score, I was ten off, sorry."
Emiko shook her head with a frown. "I don't ever want to hear you apologize, this is still amazing, and honestly, ten marks is not a big deal, they should just give you that pass."
Nishi chuckled lightly. "It's just how it is."
Nishi's eyes widened slightly when he realized, and a cold shiver shot down his spine. "Unbelievable, ten points? The fuck." Nishi looked up into the sky, he never believed there was a God, but it was screwing with him big time if there was. "Is this some kind of joke?" Nishi began to get a bad feeling, but he shook it off. No way was he going to let anything get to him now. Perhaps it was the survivors that caused him to question his ability to survive. "I shouldn't dwell on the irony too much, it'll only distract me. Besides, those idiots will probably die in the next mission anyway, providing they keep their big mouths shut and don't ruin everything. I told them way too much, I should have just kept quiet. Never mind, even if they don't die, I'll be free by then, and I can't wait to see the look on their faces."
…
Nishi stepped up to a familiar house; he hadn't been home since his dream five months ago, but something told him to go, something told him he needed to see her. That bad feeling was back, and when Nishi looked inside the window of the living room, his chest tightened.
The living room was dark, save for the candles glowing by the lower mantle. His mother was sat on her heels, hunched over, and Nishi could hear her sobs. There was a picture of him, set in the middle surrounded by the candles. The damn area looked like a shrine! No way, this isn't happening, she… she thinks I'm dead? Nishi tried his best to remain calm.
Ten points left. She thinks you're dead. You're not going to make it; you're going to die.
Thoughts began to swell inside his head, and Nishi grabbed at his hair and shouted, "Shut up!" He was about to run when he saw his dad walk into the room.
"Christ Emiko, when are you taking that shit down? He's not fucking dead, gimme a break."
Emiko looked up at her husband, and Nishi could see the tears clearly in the candlelight. "You don't know that! It's been a year! I don't know if – if I'll ever see him again, I won't ever know… if he's gone, if my only son is gone – how will I know. I'll never hold him or talk to him again." Emiko covered her face with her hands.
Nishi placed his hands in his pockets and gasped when his fingers brushed against something. Nishi pulled out the envelope he always carried with him, addressed to his mother only, and his eyes glistened. Something told him that tonight was the right time to leave it for her, somewhere only she would read it. Nishi ignored the feeling in his chest and made his way to the front of the house. He stepped in front of the mailbox, it was a strange thing to post, but he couldn't risk going into the house. Nishi took one last look at the letter and slipped it through the gap before he could reconsider. He curled his hand into a fist and rested his head on the mailbox. "I'll make it home. I promise, I swear I'll come home."
Nishi ran off, wiping away his tears angrily; his mother wouldn't read that letter until the morning. If Nishi did gain the last of his points, he knew she could stop him before he did anything stupid, if he still tried.
Nishi narrowed his eyes, the tears had stopped, but his lashes were still damp. Nishi was determined, now more than ever, he was going to survive.
Nishi heard a meow from behind and looked toward the cat. "I was always accused of killing a cat, so what difference does it make now." A flash of his mother's smile formed in his mind, and he pulled the triggers of his gun angrily. "I will make it."
Nishi breathed heavily as he left the scene, hearing protests from passers-by. Nishi grinned with newfound hope as the adrenaline consumed his fears. "This isn't enough, I've gotta go after something bigger…" Nishi felt the back of his hair raise and tensed. "Here it comes…" He looked toward the sky and shouted, "It's about time Gantz!"