Aki nearly collapsed onto the highway as the duel ended, her legs too weak to carry her after the adrenaline faded. Bloody Rose and Black Rose Moonlight Dragon faded from the field, but Black Rose Dragon remained. It turned and looked at her, and she nodded.
"Carry me over there," she instructed. The dragon nodded and gently lowered it's neck, allowing her to slid over it. The dragon hopped the gap in the highway and landed on the other side, next to Divine's motionless body. Ignoring the sounds of sirens and a helicopter following them, Aki slid down next to Divine and raised a shaky hand, her power flaring to life. She assessed his wounds quickly, seeing that the slashes from her dragons had nearly ripped him in two. He was bleeding out as they spoke, which meant his life was now up to her.
"Will you Kill him?"
"Would you think less of me if I did?"
Yusei's question flooded back to her, making her wince. Divine's life was in her hands, and it was up to her to choose. Was she going to save him, or was she going to let him die?
Aki really had to weigh the options. Was it bad to let him die from her attacks? Would she be able to live with that? Surely killing an evil predator wasn't inherently evil, right? There was no way to justify saying she was like him for killing him. Killing one psycho who's killed others wasn't the same as killing some random innocent person. Aki knew the saying that killing a killer didn't reduce the amount of them, but if you killed a serial killer you did reduce the amount of psychos. Yes, she decided, it was justified to kill Divine. Letting him perish from the wounds inflicted by her dragons was justified. And she wanted it, too. She wanted him to hurt, to die for what he'd done. No one would argue for him. and Aki knew the legal system wouldn't come after her. There was zero ramifications for letting him die. Hell, she'd be called a hero.
But could she live with that? Could she live, knowing that Divine's agenda of revenge had won out?
Aki recalled how he'd praised her for her ruthlessness during the Duel. How disgusted she'd felt. He'd surely praise her for killing him if it was possible. And even he knew he deserved it. Revenge was not something Aki had needed to be taught. It was present in all people to want justice done for the wrongs done to you. No one would say Aki was unjustified in letting him die.
"You're prepared to do that?"
Was she? Was she ready to sit here and watch him bleed out? Aki was no stranger to watching people die. She'd worked in a hospital after all. She was accustomed to it, even. So it wasn't like seeing all this blood and viscera was unnerving her.
But then she thought of Divine. No, not him. Divine wasn't who she thought of. She thought of Sayer. Aki almost laughed when she realised. Divine had been a mask, just as the Black Rose Witch had been one. One that Sayer put on to protect himself from the pain. He constantly sought revenge because it was all he could do to stop the pain. He hurt all those people because he had no one to lean on. No one to catch him as he fell deeper into the monster he became. And eventually, 'Divine' was no longer a mask. It was all he was familiar with.
Every single person in his life had turned their backs on him. It was why he was who he was. It didn't justify, even for a second, what he'd done, but it was the truth all the same. Was Aki going to leave him too? Let him fall one final time? Let his legacy be nothing but what the mask 'Divine' had done? Not only that, but what of the other people he had hurt? What of the people still missing because of the Arcadia Movement? Would she allow their story to die as well, here with him?
No. She couldn't do that.
Maybe she was a bleeding heart, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't let Sayer down again. She had to catch him, to save him for the first time. No one had ever reached out to him, and even if it went against everything she knew, she still reached her hand out. She let out a weak laugh.
"First do no harm, right?" She asked. And so, against her own better judgement, and anyone's for that matter, Aki let her powers envelop Divine. She searched out the lacerations caused by the Dragons and mended them, placing anything that was out of place back into it. She ignored her body's pleas for her to stop. She wasn't done. She needed to make sure he was going to survive, if for no other reason that to remind him she wasn't like him. The sound of sirens grew closer and closer, but she ignored them and focused entirely on healing Sayer.
After what felt like an eternity, the work was done. Sealing his midsection, Aki's shoulders slumped and her body nearly fell over. Black Rose Dragon had long since faded now, giving her what little power she used to keep in manifested. She watched Sayer's face for a few seconds, waiting for a reaction.
She got it when his eyes opened.
At first he looked confused, probably because he would be groggy after she induced his healing factor. Still, he looked around and seemed to realise what had happened. Security officers were running towards them, but he kept his eyes on her.
"Aki," he said, "...you healed me?"
"...Yeah," she answered. "I did." He looked completely lost.
"...Why?" He asked after a moment. "Why would you save me?"Aki's vision began to blur, and she could feel herself swaying in the wind. She somehow had the capacity to diagnose herself with exhaustion while she sat there swaying.
"I'm..." she started, "...not you, Sayer." She ignored any reaction he had to his real name being used. "I...I'm a Doctor. I save people."
"But I deserve it!" Divine roared as Security officers forced him back to the ground, one driving their knee into his back. "I deserve to die for what I did to you! To Yusei! Why did you spare my life?!" Aki felt someone grab her and help her stay steady, seeing Ushio out of the corner of her eyes. It was good he was here. She kept her unsteady gaze on Sayer, gulping hard.
"Revenge," she said, "and closure...Aren't the same."
With this, she fell unconscious.
The news spread like wildfire that a psychic battle had taken place at the docks that day. It didn't take long for the news to be inundated with stories of survivors from the building collapse, saying that Izayoi Aki, the Black Rose Witch, had been fighting Divine, the escaped convict from The Facility.
These survivors told a harrowing story of Izayoi Aki flying on her rose petal dragon, flying after the man and his own demonic monster. They relayed their relief that she had won and the man had been arrested.
But the story that stayed with the people of Neo Domino City the most was the one of Izayoi Aki allowing a building to collapse on top of herself, in order to catch it and prevent anyone inside from dying. The survivors made sure everyone heard of how the lone woman had allowed the entire top half of a building to hit her, so she could catch it with her psychic powers and everyone inside. They spoke of how the rose dragon's vines snaked through the building and got everyone to the ground underneath it's wings for protection. And of course, they spoke of how this one woman raised her arms above her head and hurled an entire building into the bay with her willpower alone.
It was only dinner time when Izayoi Aki's name was being sang as a hero through Neo Domino. The sighting of the Crimson Dragon in the sky only convinced people further that Team 5D's were legendary heroes. Aki's name quickly joined Yusei's as the most mentioned, as it was unlikely her name had ever been mentioned more prior to that day.
Of course, this meant people were concerned for their hero. Where was she? Was she resting after her battle? Was she searching for Divine's allies and annihilating them?
No, none of those things.
She was in Neo Domino Hospital, being strangled by her own mother.
"M-Mom!" Aki shouted against her mothers hug. "I'm fine! Really!"
"Who let you do something so reckless?!" Her mother demanded as she squeezed harder. "Which one of your friends allowed this?! I'll need to talk to them!"
"It was my idea!" Aki replied weakly, pushing against her mother. After freeing herself, Aki took a deep breath. "I'm okay Mom, really. I just exhausted my psychic powers in the duel. I'l' be fine by tomorrow."
"Make sure you're certain about that," her father said from behind her Mom. "I don't want you acting tough for our sake." Aki smiled.
"Believe me," she said. "I'm fine."
"That's a relief," her mother said as she collapsed into her seat. Ushio had rushed her to the hospital after her duel with Divine, who had ascertained she was just exhausted. Aki knew s much, and when she was feeling less tired she planned on healing herself anyway. All in all, she'd escaped relatively unscathed. The same could not be said for the city, who know had to pay for a destroyed highway and high rise. She hoped she wasn't paying the bill for that one.
"Aki?" her mother asked. When she looked at her, Aki saw her Mom looked confused. "Can I ask why you saved that man's life?"
She'd figured this was coming sooner or later. She was still half figuring it out herself. Still, she looked down at her bed sheets and squeezed them between her fingers.
"I'm not like him," she said. "I won't kill the people who wrong me."
"Still," her father said, "After what he did to you, to Yusei...No one would cry for him, Aki."
"I know," she said. "I thought about it, and I know. But...During the duel, when I thought about it, I realised that I was the only person left who really understands what he's gone through. I'm not saying he's justified, but...He wasn't born a monster. He made that monster to protect himself. The Black Rose Witch was my mask, Divine was his. He had no one, and I didn't either." Aki frowned as she thought back to her Fortune Cup duel with Yusei. "I was saved, but he never was."
"A sad story doesn't excuse all of this," her father said.
"I know," she agreed. "But, I think, even if it's just this once, I...I wanted to catch him. To save him from falling even further."
There was a silence between them at this, Aki still thinking about what she had done. Finally, her father sighed.
"You're an angel at heart, my little rose," he said. "No one else in their right mind would have given the bastard his life. You've given him more than he ever deserved." Aki smiled quietly at this.
"Maybe it all amounts to nothing," she said. "Maybe the courts sentence him to death. Maybe it would've been easier to kill him, but...I couldn't bring myself to do it. To be like him, even if it was just a little."
There was a knock at the door, but before anyone could say anything the door was busted down. Aki watched as Leo, Luna ran into the room, followed quickly by Crow.
Crow!" Aki greeted, "it's good to see you."
"Don't give me that!" Crow shouted as he ran to her bedside, "My flight comes in amid two monsters fighting in the city?! I nearly jumped out my window to run over there! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" Aki reassured, "just strained, I promise." Crow didn't looked satisfied with this, but he nodded and backed up for the twins to rush her.
"That was so awesome, Aki!" Leo shouted, "you lifted that entire building and tossed it into the water!"
"They're saying you saved everyone!" Luna added, "nothing but bad scraps on everyone!"
"That's a relief," she said, glad to know no one had died. "Where's Jack?"
"Right here," the blonde's voice said. Everyone turned to see Jack walking into the room, wheeling Yusei in on a wheelchair. Aki frowned at this.
"Should you be up, Yusei?" She asked, "You're still in bad shape."
"You're in no position to talk, Doctor," Yusei replied with a gentle smile. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," she replied, knowing it wouldn't be the last time she had to say it. "What about you?"
"Numb," he answered. "I hear you didn't kill him."
"No, I didn't."
"I knew you wouldn't." Aki smiled softly.
"You did," she agreed.
"Ushio wanted to see you, but he's got a mountain of paperwork to fill out," Jack said. "Says that Divine's been asking about you since they took him in. Won't shut up, I guess. Wants to talk to you." Aki frowned at this, her mind beginning to run wild.
"What is there to say?" Leo demanded, "it's over, Aki kicked his ass!"
"Throw him into the ocean as far as I'm concerned," Crow said. "I'll do it myself if I have too."
"Throw him in a sensory deprivation chamber while we're at it," Jack said, "after I kick his ass of course. You're under no obligation, Aki. His requests holds no-"
"Okay," she said. Everyone was staring at her, but she held firm and looked at Jack. "Can you tell him I will, if we can get clearance? I have things I want to tell him."
"Are you sure, Aki?" Her mother asked, "you don't have too."
"I want too," she said. "Last time I left him to languish in there, we ended up in this situation. I want to talk to him, without duelling or fighting. I think we've both got things we want to say."
"Do you want company?" Yusei asked. Aki shook her head.
"No," she replied. "I need to do this on my own, one on one with him. To get the closure I've avoided for ten years." Yusei gave her a reassuring smile, nodding.
"I understand," he said. "Don't forget, we're all here if you want us there." Aki nodded.
"I know," she said. "Thank you." As she looked around at her friends faces, a thought occurred to her. She laughed.
"What is it?" Luna asked her.
"I just had this thought," she said. "This is the first time in ten years, excluding our get together once a year, we've all been in the city." The group exchanged a look at this, and Leo laughed.
"She's right," he said, "it is the first time."
"All it took was a criminal escaping the Facility and threatening two of our lives for it to happen," Crow added.
"Yeah if it takes that, I hope we stick to our once a year party's," Luna said.
"Well, you said you wanted to move in with me for school, didn't you?" Aki asked the girl. She realised too late that had been a secret.
"What did you decide that?" Yusei asked her curiously, Luna's face heating up.
"W-Well, when I heard Aki was moving back, I realised I'm not a kid bound by my parents, so I wanted to move back and study here..."
"And you kept that a secret?" Crow asked, "why?"
"W-Well, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it..."
"Nonsense!" Jack said. "We'll throw a party. I've got my things to announce, but it can wait for later." Aki saw Yusei give the blonde a knowing loo, but she didn't press him. "For now, we focus on Aki and Yusei getting better. Then we celebrate!" As the others talked, Aki felt her mother take her hand.
"Are you sure you're okay with meeting with him, Aki?" she asked, eyes full of worry.
"I am," she replied with a weak smile. "Besides, I have an idea."
Two weeks had passed since the incident at the docks, and Aki was back on her feet and moving. The exhaustion hadn't left any lasting damage on her, which was good considering she had been worried about that. She didn't say that to anyone, of course. But she'd never overexerted her power so much, so she had no idea what would happen. But after a week or so of being unable to summon her power at all, it had returned to her and things were progressing.
As for Yusei, his recovery was slow. Aki's healing was only so helpful on permanent damage, as the nerves needed time to heal. Not only that, but she refused to help any more unless absolutely necessary. She still wasn't sure about what would happen to him thanks to her powers being used on his brain. She didn't tell him that, obviously, as it would just cause unnecessary stress. But she was watching him carefully as he recovered, searching for any signs of Neuronic Impression. It amused her slightly that she was technically searching for signs of something that she might not be able to identify, but only a little.
Regardless of all of this, Ushio had contacted her and said she'd gotten clearance from the higher ups for her to talk to Divine, and that was where she currently found herself. She wheeled Yusei through the front door of the Facility, and he whistled.
"Been a while since I was here," he said. "Are you sure you don't want me coming down with you?"
"I'm sure," she replied as she stopped in the lobby to wait for Ushio. "I need to face him on my own."
"I'm here if you need me."
"I know, because you refused to stay at home."
"Well, what if you needed me?"
"How could I need a man in a wheelchair? If that's my backup, I screwed."
"You may need a ride," he answered. The two exchanged a smile at this. Aki knew they were joking. He was just here for any emotional support she needed. She appreciated that he'd fought to be here.
"Aki, Yusei!" the pair looked up, watching as Ushio trudged over to them. "It's good to see you. How do you feel, Yusei?"
"Useless," he answered as he shook the officers hand. "But glad this is over."
"I'll say," he said as he turned to Aki. "he's all set for you, Aki, if you're ready." She nodded and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly.
"I'm ready," she said. Yusei squeezed her hand, which she appreciated.
"Good luck," he said. Smiling, Aki leaned down and kissed him. She didn't have time to fully appreciate it, as she ended it quickly and moved to follow Ushio. They were silent as they walked towards and elevator and entered, the door shutting on Yusei giving a small wave.
The ride down was quiet initially, Aki stuck with her thoughts. She knew what she'd come here for, but how would she say it?
"I've prepared everything you asked for," Ushio said to break the silence. "The files are in the meeting room."
"That's good," Aki said.
"Also, I have to tell you that he's under maximum security. He's got human and robot guns trained on him at all times. We've got a psychic on the team who senses if he's using any powers and, if he is, gives the order to fill him with lead. He's not getting out this time."
"That's good," she replied. There was another silence between them.
"Are you ready to do this?" Ushio asked suddenly. Aki exhaled.
"If you'd asked me at any point prior to now, I'd have said no," she answered earnestly. "Before this, I never wanted to see him again. But after our duel, it's changed. I feel like I've gotten a better understanding of him. I want to help, anyway I can."
"No one thinks he deserves that help." He pointed out.
"I don't either," Aki said. "But if I don't give him this chance, who will?" Ushio nodded along before chuckling.
"You're a good woman, Aki," he told her. She smiled warmly at the compliment as he clapped her on the shoulder.
"Thank you," she said. The elevator came to a stop, and Ushio led her down a clandestine white hallway and stopped her at a door up ahead.
"This is it," he told her, "He's in there, along with a table and the files you requested. You'll be alone, but guns are still trained on him through the wall, okay."
"Okay," she said.
"Good luck." Nodding, Aki took another deep breath and cast aside any doubt, entering the room.
Just as Ushio described, the small white room had nothing inside but a table with some files on it, and two chairs. One was empty, but the other had Divine sitting in it.
He's been forced back into prisoner clothes since his re-incarceration, and his legs were shackled together while his arms were shackled to the table. His hair had also been shaved off, leaving his gruesome scar for the world to see. He looked up as she shut the door, and Aki noted the silent confusion in his eyes.
"Aki," he said.
"Divine," she greeted, "or am I meeting Sayer?" He visibly flinched at this.
"I don't know," he answered. Intrigued by his answer, Aki walked closer and sat opposite him, examining him. His energy that made him so fearsome seemed to be dimmed. Like he didn't know what to do.
"You wanted to talk," she said, "So I assume that means you have something to say. Speak, and I'll listen." He was quiet for a time, moving around in his chair. Finally, he looked up at her.
"Why?" He demanded, "why did you save me?"
"I'm a Doctor," she answered coolly.
"Don't give me that," he replied. "You know damn well that psychic duel was to the death. You had me killed, but saved me. Why?"
"Do I need a reason to save a life?" She asked.
"Normally? No. Mine? Yes." He looked lost. "Why did you save me, Aki?" She watched him carefully for a good few seconds, searching for any deceptions. She found none.
"I promised myself I would never be like you," she said. "Someone who exacts revenge with murder. Someone who removes people who wrong her."
"I deserved it," he argued.
"You did," she agreed. "You still do."
"So why?" He demanded. Aki sighed and looked down at her fingers, playing with them silently.
She had been thinking, these past few weeks, on her justification for saving him. Sure, not wanting to be like him was more than enough, as she hated everything he was. But, given the duel and the weeks to think, Aki had come to an inconvenient truth. One she'd refused to see until now.
"I've wanted," she started, "for so long, to reject you. Reject what you did to me, tried to make me, what you wanted of me. I spent the last ten years denying giving you any credit. But, after all of this, I've realised I do owe you something."
"What's that?" He asked. Aki scoffed quietly.
"My life as I know it," she said. He looked confused, so she continued, "if you hadn't found me that day, at the docks, I'd have fled to another country. I'd still be running. Running from who I am. You accepted me, gave me a home. The first person to truly accept me as I was. No matter how much I hate you, you did me this favour. I've realised no one ever gave you that, did they? You founded the Arcadia Movement to accept psychics, because society would not. You gave us homes because you never had one. You protected us because no one did that for you. Am I right?"
He was silent. Aki continued,
"I wanted to reject that we were the same, but we are. Same rejection, same helplessness. There's only one thing that truly separates us, like I said. I was saved. Yusei, the other Signers, they saved me from what you wanted me to become. Saved me from becoming The Black Rose Witch as you saw her. The only thing that separates us, Sayer, is that I was saved and you weren't. I guess, the reason I saved your life was because I refused to let you down again. To let you go without a single person ever reaching their hand out to you. And so I did."
He still didn't say a word. Aki had said her piece, and waited for him quietly. After what felt like forever, he opened his mouth.
"People who allow others to suffer deserve to die," he said. "That was the conclusion my life led me to. If you allow others to suffer when you have the power to change things, you're the worst type of scum. My parents, the people who didn't help me, they all were inhuman trash. I promised I would never be like those people. I would never reject psychics, or treat them like freaks. Because we aren't. We're people deserving of respect!"
"So how did it end up like this?" Aki asked, "how did we go from that to selling us as mercenaries to armies and abusing us if we failed?" His shoulders slumped.
"I wanted to get back at them," he said, "to get back at those in power. Those who'd allowed what happened to me, to you, to proliferate. And that desire was...twisted. Grew perverse and greedy. I became what I hated because I wanted to destroy what I hated. You can't destroy evil with good intentions. You need to throw away your own reservations to destroy what needs destroying. So I did just that. I tossed away my conscious and did what I thought needed to be done. I became a monster to protect what I loved."
He sighed loudly.
"Since you saved me, I've had all this time to think. To reflect on what and who I am. I, too, have made realisations. Although there are many things I would do differently, I've become certain; I do not regret my actions with the Arcadia Movement."
Aki's face hardened.
"I did bad things, and I made mistakes...But I would not change most of what I did. What I did, I did to secure a future for psychics, and a future for myself. I would not have had to resort to such measures had this world we live in not made simply surviving a challenge."
"So do you regret the lives you took?" Aki demanded, "the ones you stole? Ruined?"
"I went too far, I'll admit," he said, "but I will not apologise for it. Did you expect me to repent? To break down and sob like a child? That one good deed done for me would wash clean what others did? No. You've done me one solid. It does not change a thing other than my time of death." Aki watched him quietly, assessing what best to say. After a few seconds, she turned and grabbed the binder on the table, pulling it closer to her. She said nothing as she opened it and looked at it, regarding the first page.
"What even is this?" He asked after a moment, "why was it left here for you?" Aki said nothing at first, flipping through a few pages. After this, she closed it and twirled the binder towards Sayer, pushing it forward.
"Open it," she told him. He frowned at her but did as she asked, opening and looking at the first page.
"What am I looking at?" He asked as he reached to flip the page over.
"A collection of missing person reports that can be connected to the Arcadia Movement," she answered.
She saw him freeze. His eye's widened a bit, and she could almost sense him gauging the size of the binder. He was quiet as he stared down at the current page, the room deafeningly still.
"Why am I looking at this?" He demanded, "is this to taunt me? To guilt me?"
"No," Aki said, "it's to ask for answers, and to offer a deal."
"A deal?" He asked. Aki nodded, swallowing hard and sitting up.
"There are still 230 missing persons connected to Arcadia," she told him. She could see something in his eyes, but she couldn't say confidently it was guilt. " Fifty of those were children when they disappeared. They're are probably more, but these are the ones we can confidently link. I want you to tell us of their fates. What happened to them, where they are...If they're dead."
"And why the hell would I do that?" He asked, leaning back in his seat and watching her smugly. "So that I can postpone my execution date? Perhaps stop having guns pointed at me all day, ever day?"
"No," she said, "I told you this was a deal. In return for giving us any information you have...I'm prepared to offer you my time." His face scrunched up in confusion.
"Your time?" He asked. Aki nodded.
"If you help us with these cases," she said, "I'm willing to come and visit you. Once for every case solved, for a few hours. During which time, we can do whatever it is you wish. Talk, play Duel Monsters, discuss cases, whatever you want. One visit for every solved case."
"And you think that's a fair bargain?" He asked.
"I do," she replied.
"How so?"
"Because I'm refusing to abandon you," she said. He went quiet at this, watching her warily. "I'm prepared to stick around if you are prepared to help out, Sayer. I'm prepared to be the first person to not abandon you completely if you solve these cases and bring peace to suffering families."
"And why would you do that?" He demanded, leaning forward. There was hurt in his eyes. "I betrayed you, Aki. I hurt you, more so than anyone still living, I'd wager. And yet you're willing to cast all of that aside and visit me, all for some information? I don't believe you. Why would you do that?" Her face hardened.
"If you don't take this deal," she said, "you will spend the rest of your days in a dark cell, alone, until you lose your mind and unleash your power. At which point the guns currently trained on you will fill you with lead. I'm offering you the chance to have someone in your life, someone to talk to, something to look forward too. It is more than you deserve, and quite frankly part of me still can't believe I'm offering it. But I am. not only for the families we tore apart, but because no matter how small, no matter how unbelievable, there is a part of me that pities you. A part of me that regrets you could not be saved from the path you walked to get here, as I was saved. So, for the last time ever, in your life, I'm offering you a hand, Sayer. Are you taking it, or not?"
Silence came over the room. Sayer stared at her for a good long while, and she returned his gaze easily. She would not back down from this. If he refused her offer, she was completely at peace with walking out and never returning. She would let him die alone and forgotten. This was his last chance, his only chance to be stopped from falling any further. His only chance to atone, even if only a little, for the horrors he was responsible for. She was his only chance, just as he had been hers all those years ago.
"And what happens when all the cases are closed?" He demanded, "am I then to rot alone anyway? Sorry Aki, but if that's the case I'd rather get a head start." She sensed breaks in his voice. He was emotional. He'd always been good at hiding it, but she could tell her words had cut deep into him. He looked pained, sad.
"If you somehow manage to close all those cases," she said, "and anymore that should come up, then our deal changes. I'll either call or visit, once a month, for as long as you'll have me." She had never seen the man look as stunned as he did at that moment.
"How?" Divine demanded, "how can you offer me something like this? After all that I've done?"
"Is that regret I sense?" She asked, "regret you just said you did not feel?"
"OF COURSE I feel regret!" Aki was surprised he wasn't shot full of holes when he jumped to his feet in a rage. "OF COURSE I feel guilt! I KNOW what I did! Who I hurt! Do you think I'll flip through these pages and feel nothing?! Not know their faces?! That would imply I do not see them whenever I CLOSE MY EYES! I KILLED THEM!"
He slammed his hands on the table, a boom resounding through the room.
"I know my sins!" He roared, tears gathering in his eyes. "I KNOW I have wronged you! So how?! How can you be prepared to stomach my voice, my presence, for such a meager return like closed cases?! ANSWER ME! HOW CAN YOU BE SO FULL OF FORGIVENESS?!"
The mask of Divine had slid off his face. Sayer was left bare, all his sins laying between them.
The silence was deafeningly after his episode. Aki could feel her hands shaking, but she kept her stare steely. She'd forgotten how horrifying he was when he raised his voice. And in a small, contained voice, she answered him:
"Because I saw, firsthand, what happens when you are consumed by hate and a need for revenge. I said so already, Divine. I will not become like you."
The silence returned. He stared at her incredulously for the longest time, his face and eyes going through a million different emotions. Finally, after minutes of staring, he slumped back in his seat and put his head down on the table, exhaling loudly. After this, he raised his head and pulled the binder closer to himself, opening it. He shoved it back in her direction, the book open to the first page.
"Ayase Hanako," he said in a low whisper, referring to the girl on the page. He took another shaky breath and put his head in his hands.
"She died during shock treatment to enhance her powers. We dumped her in the bay, a mile or so out from shore. Wrapped her body in blue tarp. Take a psychic, you will find her."
Aki stared at the teenage girls photo for a few seconds, nodding slowly. She looked back at Sayer, who was still running his hands over his head.
"Thank you," she said.
"For what?" He snapped. She let out a small chuckle.
"For being willingly to take my hand," she answered.
After telling Ushio and the others what Sayer had said, Aki went back up the elevator to meet up with Yusei. She was so excited to report her success to him, and was looking forward to any praise he may give her. The elevator door opened and she lifted her head to greet him.
"Yusei," she said, "I did it-"
She froze in place.
Yusei was still in his wheelchair, but he wasn't focused on her. He was focused on something in front of him.
Something floating in front of him.
Aki watched in surprise as Yusei swirled his finger in a circle, the pen circling as he did so. Aki's mind began to race as she realised what was happening.
"Oh my God," she said, Getting Yusei's attention. He smiled at her weakly.
"I don't know what to say," he said.
"I do," she replied. "It's my fault."
And here we view the end of the penultimate chapter! I won't be posting it right away, instead letting it sit for a few days. I hope to see you all then!
