Chapter 6: Sorrowful Memories

Shun Akemi was working in a café in the Shopping District of Misaki. There were many people who liked to take a break from their daily routine in that warm and cozy place which conveyed a sense of peace to everyone who entered. Shun wanted some of that peace for himself, and so he decided to work there as a member of the staff.

The former policeman was polishing one of the tables, after a customer used it, when one of his colleagues reached him and spoke to him

"Hey, Shun! There's some guy who's asking of you at that table over there." he said as he pointed his finger to a table placed not too far from the two of them. There was another young man sit at it, most likely a junior agent, waiting for the young black-haired man.

Shun went to the man and sit at his table.

"Good morning, Akemi Shun. I apologize for taking your time." he said, apologetically. Then, he showed to the black-haired man the first page of a newspaper.

"After the string of murders which happened 6 months ago, the police is working hard to restore security in Misaki Town. Sadly, it is very difficult to guarantee the restoration of peace and safety after such a brutal accident, that deeply scarred the town. Ryoki Goro, president of the powerful Ryoki Corporation, with its biggest office located in Misaki, is suspected for being related to the murders, but his alibi seems to be as strong as iron. Moreover, it is impossible to ascertain the whereabouts of the material executor of the murders, known as Berserker, which had mysteriously disappeared at the end of the weeks of terror. It is also impossible to ascertain the circumstances of the death of Ryoki Hideki, son of Goro, whose corpse had been found in the scene of the last crime."

Shun read the news coldly, as if he didn't care. After he had read it all, he rose his head back up, facing the junior agent, and said:

"What does all of this have to do with me?"

"Don't play dumb, captain Akemi!" the young man said, his tone of voice rising slightly "I'm asking you to come back to us! With your help, I know that we can get out of this impasse!" There was a moment of silence, but Shun's expression didn't change. Finally, he coldly said:

"If you don't wish to eat anything, please go away and leave the table for someone who might need it.". He stood up and moved away from the table. But the junior agent was far from done.

"And what about Torikawa Akane?" he continued. He was pleading him, and that sentence showed how serious he was about his words. In fact, it was so serious to make the black-haired man stop in his tracks.

"What do you think she would do?" he continued his plea "True, we've lost her back then, but it's also true that we would have never stopped the rage of that behemoth without you, or without that boy who managed to fend him off… And yet, this story is not over yet. We must end it once and for all, and give back hope to the people of this town! Isn't that why you joined us in the first place?" Shun stood still as the junior agent was speaking.

"We need you! The police needs you! Misaki needs you!"

The agent's plea did get through to Shun, even if it couldn't be seen, but still, he was unconvinced. He didn't think that it would have been a good idea to come back. After thinking about it, he finally shook his head and walked away.

"We're not giving up on you, captain Akemi! You're wasted here!" the junior agent said. He could understand the reasons why he didn't want to come back, but he also knew that he was needed. "Contact us when you're ready. We'll be waiting for you." he said as he placed the calling card of the police on the table. He eventually picked it up and put it in his jacket pocket after the agent left.

After work, Shun went to the hospital to pick up Chouko, as he promised her the previous evening. She was overjoyed when she saw him enter her room.

"Onii-chan! You're here!" she shouted happily as she hugged him. "I was worried that you wouldn't come!". The black-haired man put her on her wheelchair and went out of the hospital with her. They eventually arrived at Misaki Park.

"Hey, Onii-chan, why do you look so sad?" she asked, noticing the grim look Shun had on his face.

"Oh." he said, trying to crack a smile for her "It's nothing, really."

"Did something happen?" she insisted.

"Yes." Shun said, not willing to explain "It's not anything worth losing your smile for, ok?"

"Ok." she finally said, giving up her attempt to get to know what happened to him. "Being with you makes me smile, Onii-chan...". That last statement made Shun blush a bit. "But if Kazuki-kun was here, too, I''d be smiling even more!"

"What, do you want to play a prank on him?" he asked, giving his known faint smile. "I don't know how you can actually do that in your conditions..."

"Hey, I'm not in such a bad shape!" she replied, with a frown, puffing her cheeks. Then, with a smile, she added: "Besides, the doctor said that my disease seems to be almost gone! I might be discharged from the hospital soon, you know?" A light lit Shun's eyes at those words, even though it couldn't be noticed at a first glance.

"And so, the tarot cards were right again!". The black-haired man was visibly annoyed by the path the conversation was taking.

"You're talking about those again, Chouko?" he said, bitterly "You know I don't believe in such ridiculous stuff!"

"Oh come on, Onii-chan!" the girl protested "I can do little else in the hospital room!". Suddenly, an idea flashed in her head "I'll draw some for you!". She picked a stack of tarot cards from her pocket and, after shuffling them, drew the one she got. It was the tarot card of the Hanged Man. She stared at it intently, then she gave bad news "You won't be lucky tonight..." Shun sighed of annoyance at her words.

"You will never admit it, but I've never been wrong, Onii-chan!" she explained sensibly, trying to convince the former policeman "You have all the rights not to believe me, but still, please be careful! If not for anything else, just do it for me!"

"Okay, okay, fine." he said, not wanting to continue. However, his hopes of ending the conversation were dashed when he noticed her plucking another card from the stack.

"As for tomorrow..."

She had drawn the Wheel of Fortune.

"You will meet your Fate… I can't say for sure if it will be good or bad, though...".

Chouko's insistence was making Shun scowl harder.

Eventually, the two arrived over the small pond in the park. The light of the sunset was reflected on the water, which was tinged with gold.

"It's beautiful..." Chouko murmured, mesmerized by the wonder in front of her and Shun. Suddenly, she remembered something.

"Oh, I have something for you, Onii-chan!" she said as she picked something else from her pocket. It was a folded white scarf. "I made this for you." she said as she gave it to the black-haired man, who took a look at it.

"Nice. Thank you, Chouko." he commented.

"It took me some nights to sew it..." she mused. Those words angered Shun.

"What?" he scolded her "I've told you a thousand times you mustn't stay up late!" At that, the girl bowed her head. She was greatly saddened by the black-haired young man's reaction.

"I'm sorry..." she sadly murmured. "Why do I always get scolded..."

"I scold you because I'm worried about you!" Shun continued, even though he adjusted his voice tone a bit. "Staying up late is bad for your health, don't you know?" Chouko stayed silent, listening. "Promise me you'll get more rest from now on, ok?".

"I will..." she replied, her cheeks puffed "But only if you'll take care of that scarf! You got it?"

"All right, your Majesty!" the black-haired man finally said. "It's a deal, then.".

"Done!" she said, happily "Hey, can you wear it?"

"Now?" Shun was taken by surprise by the sudden request.

"Yes! I'm curious to see how you look with it!". He let out a sigh of annoyance, and then he put the scarf around his neck, one end of it hanging from his shoulder.

"So, is it okay, Your Majesty?" he asked as he put himself in front of Chouko's face, ready to inspect him. The girl adjusted the scarf's placement on his neck a little, then, with a beaming smile, she said "Yes! You look so cool!". Shun took the end of the scarf falling from his neck in his hand and looked at it.

"It's beautiful..." he commented "How did you learn to make a scarf like this?"

"Onee-chan taught me how to sew a long time ago..." Those words sparked sad thoughts in the girl that pronounced them, as well as in the young man that was hearing them. Shun's mind went backwards, reminiscing past times, beginning from his talk with Kazuki the day before, which touched the same subject.

"Onii-chan… As long as we'll remember her, she will always be with us, won't she?" she asked, with melancholy in her voice. Shun's thoughtful silence was the only answer she received.

"What do you think she would say if she could see how we're doing?" she kept asking, and once again, the black-haired young man beside her answered her with nothing but silence. To that, Chouko decided to add her own answer.

"I think she would be happy..." she said. After all, the three of them were all trying to move on from her loss, trying to rebuild their life, despite the scars that will never heal…

Shun and Chouko gazed at the golden pond with thoughtful eyes, their minds filled with sorrowful memories…

A gray-haired young man with a white hooded jacket was lying on the ground, heavily wounded. He was crawling towards the wall standing some metres far from him. His sight was clouded, obstructed by the blood falling on his eyes, but still, he knew that there was someone up ahead, even though he couldn't see her…

He heard a sound of footsteps. Three agents of the police had come. The one leading the squad, a young, black-haired man, instantly recognized the wounded boy.

"Kazuki!" he shouted as he approached his friend "What happened?"

"Shun..." he weakly replied, he was focusing all his energies on crawling towards the wall.

"Stop it!" the policeman said "You'll make it worse!". Right as he said those words, Kazuki had lost strength in his limbs and could do nothing but lie down on the floor and move his hand in front of him, pointing the finger towards the wall.

"Shun, it's Torikawa-san..."

At those words, Shun rose his head and the scene he witnessed left him speechless. There was someone, indeed. A policewoman was sit, her back against the wall. She was death-pale and her wounds were even worse than Kazuki's.

"Akane!" Shun screamed as he ran towards the woman. Kazuki tried again to crawl to the two of them, but he was stopped by the other members of the police squad.

"Don't strain yourself, boy!" one of them told him as he took him away, shouldering him along with one of his colleagues.

"We need an ambulance ASAP!" another policeman called on the phone "Here are two people in need of medical assistance!".

But the policemen were not the only ones witnessing the scene. There was a young girl who had seen the behemoth in golden armor before and had hidden herself from him until he appeared to have gone away. Then, she got out of her hiding spot and saw the policemen. She was left horrified as well seeing the wounded policewoman on the wall.

"Onee-chan!" she screamed, running towards her sister, but she was prevented from approaching by another policeman near her. He was in Akane's squad.

"Akane!" Shun was near her, though. He crouched beside her and held her hand, which was lying on her lap. "Stay with me!"

"Shun..." she answered weakly.

"Save your energy!" the policeman said "The ambulance is coming!"

"It's too late..." Akane uttered "This is the end for me..."

"No!" Shun pleaded. Akane took his hand in hers and made him touch her wounds. "Akane! Please!"

"We had to expect this, Shun..." Akane continued. She was trying her best to keep herself conscious, so that she could talk to her loved one "No, we did fear this would happen..."

Shun lowered his head in desperation. Chouko, who was witnessing the scene, was about to cry. Tears were warping her vision.

"I… I can't see your face..." she said. Shun rose his head back up, took her hand and put it on the side of his face.

"Could you do something for me?" the dying policewoman asked her boyfriend. He listened carefully.

"I ended up like this to protect those I love… Will you be by their side for me?"

"Those you love?" Shun couldn't help but ask.

"Chouko-chan… Aokage-kun..." she said. "Cherish them… With all you've got...". Shun nodded in response to her girlfriend's request.

She was beginning to lose her strength. Chouko fell on her knees in despair.

"I'm glad I've met you..." Finally, Akane said her last words.

"I… I love you, Shun..."

Her eyes closed and her head bent down, like a weight. Chouko, understanding that she had just lost her big sister, burst in tears.

Her pain added to Shun's. He couldn't accept it.

"No..."

He held her hand with both his hands. He finally cried out in despair.

"Don't leave me! Please!".

He couldn't deny what he was seeing, hearing, feeling, despite wishing with all his heart that he could. He beat his fist on the ground in pain and sorrow, as he began to tear up as well…

The woman he loved the most had died before his eyes.