ONE SIDE

Why isn't he dead? Why, even after that fit he had earlier today? He should be coughing up blood and preparing himself to die. A life without Miharu, Yoite concluded, meant nothing.

TWO SIDE

Tick. Tick. Tick. Haruki stared at the clock on her bedside table as she lay on her bed. She could faintly hear the crying coming from below. She wanted to comfort the young man, to make him stop crying. "Yoite…" Her voice wafted through the attic loft; her bedroom. She shook her head to dissipate the despair and pity in her mind, and walked over to her desk to work on her Tokyo University application.

When stumped on a final set of questions, she growled and turned on the radio but what was on surprised her. It was the six o'clock news and they were reporting a list of the dead and missing. Haruki listened enthusiastically.

"Of the Kohaku family, Rumi, Yori, Umeko, and Takeshi. Of the Komai family, Ayumu, Aiko, and Haruki. Of the Manami family, Ren, Noriko, and Satomi. Of the Masami family--" She turned it off immediately and stared out into nothing.

"I'm dead?" Her body was not found at the site of the incident, but that didn't mean she was dead… she was missing.

Creaking came up the stairs. "Haruki-san…" She jumped and looked to the stairs.

"Oh, hi, Yoite-kun. What's up? Are you hungry?" Haruki stood.

Yoite shook his head. "What do you plan on doing? And why haven't I died yet?"

Haruki frowned. "You want to die, Yoite-kun?" He didn't respond, but instead looked down. Haruki walked next to Yoite and sat down on the stairs next to him. "Sit. Let's talk some things out, okay?"

He was hesitant at first, but he sat down. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Hmm. Well, since it seems to be really bothering you, why not Miharu-kun?" Yoite winced and his body shuddered. "Or, not…"

There was a pause. "It's fine. Go ahead." Despite his words, Haruki could feel the sadness and despair radiating off of Yoite's body. This made her sad.

"No. You don't want to talk about it, it's alright. We can talk about something else… hm, how about kira? Why did you choose to take on the forbidden technique that chisels away your life?"

FOUR SIDE -OMNIPRESENT-

Yoite stared at Haruki with wide eyes. How did she know? Was she a ninja? If she was, of what village? Was she Banten? She addressed Miharu casually… He hadn't seen her ever before…

Haruki started laughing. "Your face! Hahaha! It's so confused! It looks cute! Hahaha!" And she continued laughing, much to Yoite's annoyance. After a few minutes, she calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Yoite-kun. That won't happen again. You just looked so funny! Like a little kid."

"Haruki-san, are you a ninja?" Yoite looked at Haruki as if she were someone completely unknown to him. But then, she truthfully was still a stranger to him.

She shook her head. "No, not really. My Sofu borrowed me for five years and enforced me to learn nindo. From age five to age ten, I lived with him and the ways of the ninja. But five years isn't really enough to be a full fledged ninja, right? And I was only five, so I don't remember much of what he taught me… At that time, I really wanted to be a part of Nabari."

"You're a part of Nabari, now."

"What? How?"

"I'm a Kairoushuu kira user from Iga Village, and I killed so many from the Front world, as well as many leaders from Nabari."

"So, what you're saying is that you're a wanted man in both worlds?" Yoite nodded. "You sure don't seem at all phased."

"I don't care. Now that Miharu is gone, nothing at all matters."

"Not even your life?" He nodded. "Well that's stupid," she said and laughed. Haruki stood and Yoite looked up at her, surprised and confused. "Just because someone close to you dies doesn't mean you should stop caring about things. My parents died, my grandparents died… Hell, now that I really think about it, I'm an orphan now, aren't I? I have no living relatives, all I had was my family and a friend. Never needed more, really. But, you see, just because your world is falling apart, doesn't mean you should, too. Why not try to piece it back together? It might work."

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not? You have kira. There isn't anything you can't get."

"There are things that not even a kira user can obtain."

"Like life. Am I correct? Maybe love, too? Oh, but you'd kill the person who didn't love you back, wouldn't you? I understand your sadness and despair, Yoite-kun. The things you want can't be granted, those are the things only the Shinrabansho can give. Let's see, when was the last time the Shinrabansho was revived… um, ten years…?"

"A few months ago."

"Oh, really? That was about the time I was rejected by Oxford University… Who was it?"

"Rokujo Miharu." Haruki sat back down and grabbed Yoite's shoulder.

"Are you serious? I have the dead Shinrabansho in my house?" she shouted and then fell backwards onto the floor. Yoite moved himself toward the wall, away from Haruki. "How could he have died? He was the Shinrabansho! How!" She seemed to be in a fit of confusion until Yoite said something irrelevant.

"Why are you named Haruki? Isn't that a boy's name?" Haruki shot up and stared at Yoite.

"Shut it, Yoite-kun. Or else I won't give you anymore ki." Haruki bit her tongue and began to back away from Yoite. "I mean… um…"

"You're giving me ki? Why?" Yoite stood and began to walk towards Haruki. "Why are you giving life to someone who doesn't even think anything of you? Why someone you hardly know? Why a person who wants to die? Why me? Why, Haruki! Why me! Is it because I saved you from a beating? It's just a beating! You face it! Ninjas face their enemies to fight! I fought! I've lived to see my fair share of deaths, Haruki! Why did you choose me!" Yoite crumbled in a heap on the floor. "I want to die… without Miharu, I want to die… Haruki-san…" Haruki didn't know what to do. Yoite was acting as if a child would and she didn't think it was right to treat a young man as a child.

"Yoite… kun?" Her voice stuttered.

"Haruki-san, why? Why would you do such a thing?" He wanted to cry, now.

"Yoite-kun, calm down." Haruki got on all four's and crawled next to the trembling Yoite.

"Haruki-san… Miharu is…" He began to cry. Haruki rubbed his back and said to him:

"Shh… It's okay, Yoite-kun. Everything's going to go up from here, okay? I promise. You won't ever have to use kira again. I'll protect you. You won't have to worry about your life, I'll give you mine, Yoite-kun."

"Why did you give me your ki?"

Haruki giggled nervously. "Because I felt like I should. It's true that the main reason may be because you saved me from that beating and the beatings that were to come, but also because it just felt like something I should do." There was a pause where Yoite calmed down and Haruki crossed her legs. "Is there something wrong with keeping you alive--"

"Kira--" Haruki pressed her finger on Yoite's lips to silence him.

"Let me finish, Yoite-kun. Is there something wrong with keeping you alive if you're not going to use kira?" He looked at her strangely.

"Not use kira?" Haruki nodded.

"Yep. Never use kira ever again, Yoite-kun."

"But, I… Give up kira?"

"Are you afraid of life without it? Don't you have enough trust in your own skill to fight without kira?" Yoite looked away and Haruki frowned. "Yoite-kun, listen to me!" She grabs his face and makes him look at her. "You must never use kira again. I don't want you to waste what was given to you! I give you my ki to live, not to kill. Got it?" There was silence. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you, Yoite-kun!" She begins to shake him when he breaks free and stands.

"I understand, but I don't think I can do that."

"Well, can you at least try?" Haruki looked hopeful as Yoite looked down at her. He sighed.

"I'll try."

"Hooray! Now why don't we celebrate the new Yoite-kun by having something to eat? What would you like?" She began descending the stairs, a wide smile on her lips. Yoite sighed and followed her.

"What was that soup that you made earlier?"

"Hm? That stew you made me knock over? It was motsunabe. But I can make all sorts of other stuff! Except, I don't have a stove, so it'll have to be made in a pot or pan over the fire, and I can't necessarily fry well without a stove."

"I'll have whatever you can make."

"How about nikujaga! With some rice and miso soup? Would you like that?"

"Why not the motsunabe? Don't you have any more?"

"No, I specifically made enough for one person. I'm skilled at one serving dishes since I live alone." Haruki gestured to the seating area. "Please take a seat while I prepare the food."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Hm? You're sorry? For what?"

"For wasting food."

"Oh, that's alright! Food is always being wasted. It's being eaten by a dying person, human food being given to a cat, or being spilt on the floor. I guess the motsunabe was just added into what's being collected around the world." There was an odd silence.

"That wasn't a very nice thought."

"It wasn't?" Haruki seemed surprised. "I guess I better delete that thought then, eh?" she quickly said with a smile and slipped into the kitchen.

ONE SIDE

Yoite sat on the loveseat and looked at the fireplace across from him. It had no fire but there were plenty of ashes, meaning it hadn't been cleaned for a while.

"Yoite-kun!" Haruki opened the kitchen door and smiled. "What would you like in your miso?"

He was stumped for a moment. He wasn't very good with open ended choices like this. "What do you have?" he managed to say.

Haruki thought for a moment. "Um, konbu seaweed, scallion, daikon, potatoes, eggplants, and mushrooms."

"I'll have scallion and konbu seaweed."

"Okay, I'll only be a moment." She went back in the kitchen. Only a moment? Doesn't it take a while to cook? Haruki suddenly came out of the kitchen with two trays of ingredients and a few dishes. Yoite stood in a rush.

"Would you like some help?" He was surprised with himself at his own offer and brought his fingers to his lips. That was something he'd normally say to casual people he knew. He's known Haruki for only about a few hours. Maybe it was the fact that she gave him her ki that he's acting like this. After all, it was her own ki that was given to him.

"No, it's alright, Yoite-kun. You can just rest. You need it so that my ki can fully settle with yours. If it doesn't, you may end up like your kira targets." Haruki looked at Yoite with a warning smile before returning to the kitchen. He sat down. How does she know that? Now that Yoite thinks about it, how does an armature ninja know so much about kira and the way ki works?

Haruki came back with another two trays, this time with pots and spoons and chopsticks. "Haruki-san?"

"What's up, Yoite-kun?" She began with lighting the fire and started making the white rice.

"Are you telling me the truth?" She began laughing.

"What are you talking about, Yoite-kun? What truth?" Was she hiding something?

"You knew about the effects of kira, despite only being taught nindo for five years. And you know how ki works, and how to give someone else your own ki. How do you know?"

FOUR SIDE -OMNIPRESENT-

Haruki set the small plate of miso paste and chopsticks down on the table. She crawled across the floor to kneel in front of Yoite, keeping her eyes hidden. Slowly and carefully, she reached for his hands. He pulled them away quickly, saying, "Don't touch me."

"Don't worry, don't be afraid. I know what's under there," she whispered and tried for his hands again. This time, he did not pull them away. Haruki took off Yoite's gloves, which he had put back on, to reveal his decaying, cold hands. She held them and occasionally glanced up at him. "Your hands. They're decaying, Yoite-kun. They're so cold, even when you wear gloves." Her mouth was a firm line when she stopped speaking. She looked up at Yoite's sad and surprised eyes, and raised her hand to rest on his cheek. "Yoite-kun, you're a sad young man. A dear friend of yours has passed. You've killed so many lives, seen so much death. Your life was chiseled away as punishment for your crimes. Your senses are leaving you slowly. You're at the brink of breakdown and you want to die. Yoite-kun, it is now time for a new start; you're too young to die. Tomorrow, we'll bury Miharu-kun outside and I'll chisel him a gravestone the day after. I gave you new life, Yoite-kun. Please put it to good use." She let go and got back to cooking, leaving a shocked Yoite sitting on the sofa, staring at her.

After Haruki had cooked, and she and Yoite ate, she started to feel tired. Yoite had not spoken once since the talk Haruki gave him, and was often seen staring out into space or head down in thought. Even when he was eating he seemed to be thinking hard. About what, Haruki didn't know.

She stood and stretched. "I'm starting to get tired." She yawned. "I'll clean up and then get upstairs to finish my application…" She stopped everything as she was reaching for a tray. "Actually, legally, I'm dead now, so I don't really have to submit a form." Yoite peeked up at her but didn't say anything. She laughed lightly and continued with the cleaning. She managed to take all the trays back inside and wipe the table with a cloth and mop the floor around the seating area within an hour. "I'll be upstairs if you need me. You can see Miharu-kun again, if you'd like. It's not like there's anything stopping you. I'm sorry, but because Miharu-kun has taken the only guest bed, you'll have to sleep here tonight. You can use this quilt here and I'll bring down a pillow from upstairs." She lifted the quilt that was folded and laid on the backrest of the longer couch.

Haruki left and returned with the pillow she had talked about, and placed it next to an armrest of the longer couch. "Here." She looked at her watch and clicked her tongue. "It's 21:23. You'd best get some rest soon. I'm probably not going to bed for a little while, so if there's anything you need, feel free to come up and talk to me, okay?" Yoite nodded. Haruki smiled and left.

ONE SIDE

Yoite sat there by himself, his gloves back on, the fire burning no more than ten feet away from him. He was thinking about what Haruki had said. He wondered how much ki did she give him. A few years? Ten years? Only a few more months?

He shook his head and went to see Miharu. After a while, he began to feel tired so he walked to the longer couch and lied down. He pulled the quilt over himself and laid there for a while, looking around the room and occasionally glancing at the fire until it burnt out about an hour later.

Finally, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.