Still, he wished he could see his sister one last time, give her just one last hug before he died. It scared him so badly to know that with every hour that passed, he was one hour closer to his inevitable death. A shudder ran through his body and he said a silent prayer. If he had to die, he at least wanted to die with honor.
'Hopefully it'll be painless too,' he thought as a chill ran up his spine.
T-chan nuzzled his friend's hand then quickly climbed up on his shoulder. The little raccoon could sense something wrong. He wanted to comfort his human companion and did so in the only way he knew how. Once again, he poked his nose into Souzou's ear. Once again, Souzou yelped and swore out loud.
"What was that for?" he snapped, swiping a hand at his face to brush away his tears.
The raccoon tilted its head quizzically at him and blinked its sad brown eyes. It reached out and placed a tiny paw on his cheek. Souzou closed his eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Reika would have loved T-chan. A tear ran down his cheek, only he couldn't tell if it was happy or sad.
It was already past noon and Souzou was exhausted. A horrible night's sleep, the discovery of his ruined home town and the news of his father's death had really played havoc with his systems. There was no way he could travel in his current condition. He would be murdered on the road before he even got to Tokyo, much less Kyoto. Anyway, he was so tired from all that had gone on that he leaned back against a tree near his sister's grave and fell asleep. T-chan curled up in his lap and was soon asleep as well.
'I can get started again after dark,' was Souzou's last coherent thought before deep sleep claimed him.
