CHAPTER 5- A CHAT WITH OKAMI-SAN

"Okami-san?"

"Eh? What's the matter deary?"

Hotaru entered the kitchen and began putting away the plates. "Himura-san and Tokaji-san.why do they have to be of the Hitokiri?"

Okami-san stopped in her cleaning. "Well, young Tokaji's involved with it because of Kogoro-sama. I think that, more than anything, he wants to prove himself to him."

"But why?" Hotaru asked. "Kogoro seems to care for him just fine already!"

"Yes well, Tokaji's only 18-years-old." The old woman told her. "He's at the point in his life where he goes strictly by what HE believes."

"Oh," Hotaru responded.

"And as for Himura, all I know is how badly this whole killing agenda's been for him. You know, he used to be the sweetest boy I've ever known."

"He was?"

"When he first came here, his eyes were bright and kind. He helped me with all the chores without ever being asked to. He even cooked sometimes." Okami-san smiled. "Yes, if I had a daughter his age, I would have set them up just like that."

"Wow," Hotaru had never really pictured what Himura was like as a child. How could such a cold, melancholy person have once been so humble and gentle? Or maybe he was humble and gentle still, but just not in a friendly way. Hotaru didn't know what to think.

"But then, after that first kill." Okami-san's smile faded. "After that first kill, he never smiled again. His eyes became that deathly amber that they are now, with every kill he made. He's only 15, a boy still, but with all of this destruction that he himself has done, he'll be miserable for the rest of his life."

"Oh no, Okami-san." The child covered her mouth with her hands. Poor Himura. Poor, poor Himura.

She looked up at the old woman. "Okami-san? Will that happen to Tokaji-san too?"

Okami-san was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head. "I don't know, Hotaru-chan. I just don't know."