Author's Note:
Longest chapter so far, just shy of 6K words.
I experimented with combining two baby chapters together.
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11th of August, 1994
"Tell me." Demanded the priest when wide, lidless eyes with dark circles that mirrored his own focused on him. "How many times have we met like this?"
Tohru's mind ground to a halt as he focused completely on the old man clutching at him. "What did you just say?"
"Would you care to join me for some tea, young man?" He asked loudly for everyone to hear before adding quietly, "I'm sure you have many questions."
"I'd like that very much, Head Monk."
Making their excuses to Tohru's family, Miwako escorted the two deeper into the temple into an ornate garden where she left them by a small koi pond to fetch their tea.
"So, how many times have we had this conversation, young man?" Shinmei asked casually, staring at the fish swimming in lazy circles just beneath the water surface, leaving ripples in their wake.
Tohru watched the man for some time before answering. "To be honest this has never happened before, normally you just apologise over and over again."
"I see…" He said simply before turning his attention back to the fish.
They sat there in comfortable silence for some time, simply enjoying a quiet moment in the place of peace before Miwako came back balancing a platter baring a teapot and biscuits. "Here you go, Dear." She kneeled beside her husband's wheelchair to pour each of them a cup and handed it to them before pouring one for herself. "Has it finally happened, my love?"
For the first time he had ever seen, Tohru saw the priest blink before angling his head ever so slightly to his wife. "Yes, it appears it has."
"I see…" She stated before lowering her cup to the platter with sadness. She shuffled to face Tohru directly before bowing deeply, her head touching the floor. "I am so sorry, young man. But, I must also thank you." When she rose from the ground there were tears running down her face, yet her expression never changed. She truly was a remarkable woman.
"I'm sorry, both of you." The blonde responded shaking his head. "I don't understand, do you know about-"
"The cycles." Shinmei interrupted with a sigh. "Yes, we do."
"How though?"
"You are not the first to be tested by the Gods." The monk stated before slowly taking a sip from his tea. "There has always been a Guardian in Sotoba for as long as people have lived here."
He wasn't the only one to go through this?
"What do you mean? I'm not a monk, I'm just a guy. Why was I chosen?" He demanded to know, why did this have to happen to him?
Miwako offered him a smile filled with pity. "I know it is hard for you, I've had to watch my husband deal with the consequences for the past forty years." She offered him another cup of tea to keep her hands busy. "The Gods choose the man with the strongest will, no matter their station, to defend the village from all threats."
"There are no legends of the Guardians." Stated Shimei gravely. "Save for those that are passed from one to another."
"Are there many of us in the village?" The boy asked with hope. "Who can I work with to stop them?"
"I'm sorry, young man. There is only ever one Guardian." Shinmei dashed his hopes ruthlessly. "When a Guardian touches his replacement that the Gods have chosen, the duty is passed on…. The old one can finally rest." He explained with the faintest trace of a relieved smile on his lips.
"How many loops did you survive, Head Monk?"
"I have long since lost count, I have lived many thousands of life times." He said, watching the koi pluck an insect from the waters surface. "The Gods saw fit to trial me twice. Once when I was young and a second time as an old man, before you were even a spark in your father's eye."
Tohru sipped quietly at his tea as the man gathered his thoughts.
"The second great war began in the year 1939, and young men were pouring out of the village to join the cause." He began. "The Ozaki at the time, Kenichi Ozaki, was conducting pre-enlistment medical checks when he touched me for the first time. Little did either of us know that I became the Guardian of Sotoba from then on."
"You had to survive the second world war?" Tohru asked.
"No… A few weeks after my medical I was on my way to the city on a troop carrier when I blinked, and Kenichi was conducting my medical again." He sighed. "The Guardian can never leave the district that he must protect. I have travelled deep into the forest in every direction, only to be greeted by Ozaki's lifeless eyes each time. I have travelled exactly two hundred and thirty-six metres past Mizobe's town limits before meeting him again."
"You could never leave? How did you get out of enlistment?"
"It took many cycles before I discovered Ozaki had passed this duty onto me. He was the one who suggested I become a monk to escape enlistment." He declared listlessly.
The Head Monk never joined the temple out of faith? He had only joined to escape enlistment, so he didn't have to leave home. The thought left Tohru floundering. How could such an unyielding, never changing aspect of the community be built on a lie this whole time?
"During the following decades, Ozaki taught me everything about the Guardians and our sacred duty. Before long, I had fully dedicated myself to the temple. How could I not when given such plain proof of the divine?"
He supposed the old man had a point.
"My joining of the temple marked the success of my first trial. My second trial came much later, only twenty years ago when a local legend came to life and began to reap its toll." He explained before elaborating, "Okiagari."
"You have battled them as well?" Tohru asked with excitement, eyes shining. He could feel hope building within him again for the first time in so long. When had he last felt hope for the future? Perhaps when he had first convinced Toshio to tell Tomio Ookawa about the demons.
"Yes, but it was different then." He said quietly. "There were only two of them."
"Oh…"
Miwako covered her mouth with understanding, "Young man, how many are you facing?"
"A whole family of them…" He sighed defeated, how could this man help him when he only had to face two of these creatures? "Two jinrou, a human and so many shiki."
"Jinrou? Shiki? What are they?" Questioned Miwako.
"Shiki are your normal okiagari. The jinrou, they are something worse. Only one in every few hundred rises as a jinrou, but those that do are more powerful than anything you can imagine." He explained, staring into his empty cup.
"Do not fear, young man." Reassured the head monk from his wheel chair, now staring directly at him. "Never, not even once has a Guardian failed his duty. The Gods choose their champion wisely. You will not fail; the Gods will not allow it."
That made him feel better, even if only a little bit.
"If you would accept my advice, young man, it will serve you well in the future." Shinmei offered.
"Yes, please. Anything will do at this point." He replied earnestly.
"Take a cycle for yourself from time to time. Be selfish, do whatever you want. Do whatever you have to to stay sane for it is not your body that will fail in the long run, but your mind."
The advice felt strange to him. Do nothing, ignore the problem for a loop and have a holiday? It felt selfish, but the old man had a point. Who would it hurt to relax, just once every few loops. Would it be so bad to have a rest? After so many failures, he was already feeling drained of his will to fight. How much longer could he go on like this?
"I understand, Head Monk. I think, I might just do that."
"Good." He said simply. "The villagers all owe you a lot more than they could ever hope to offer you, so take what time you can for yourself." He started to cough violently.
"Husband, this conversation is taking too much out of you. Please, young man. Can you not ask more questions in another day or on another cycle?" She pleaded, looking up at Tohru with her large doe eyes.
"Of course, I'm sorry for taking your time."
"No, thank you so much for your sacrifice, young man."
Pushing himself up from his seat, he bowed quickly before making his way from the garden. He could feel the couple's eyes burning into his back the whole way.
The sun shined brightly in the morning sky as wind blew through the trees around him as he made his way down the crumbled temple steps toward the village. With a small smile he made a decision that brought a pep to his step.
He was going to have a holiday.
Let's see how long I can get away with doing nothing…
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15th of August, 1994
Knuckles wrapped on his bedroom door, the wooden sound echoing in his bedroom muffled by the clash of blades emitting from his television. Samurai clashed with bandit in an epic struggle before a gunshot rung out, bringing the samurai tumbling into the dirt before his allies gathered around him. The last of his strength was exhausted to point off camera where the shot had come from.
"Tohru, open the door." Demanded his father just as he had a few days prior when Megumi had first disappeared. "Son, please. I have some bad news."
Tohru reluctantly paused his movie and rolled his eyes at Natsuno before opening the door. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked knowing fully well what the issue was.
"Your classmate, Megumi Shimizu has died." Takeshi said softly with great regret.
"Yeah? That's a shame." The blonde said dismissively. "Anyway…." He trailed off, turning from his father and closing the door as Natsuno looked on.
"You okay, man?" The purple haired teen asked with a raised eyebrow. "You've been off all week."
"Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged. "Not like you're exactly beat up about it either."
"Yeah, I guess…"
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28th of August, 1994
Natsuno had passed out on the futon he set up for him. It seemed that Megumi had started stalking him again.
Oh well….
With a shrug of his shoulders he paused his movie just as the European with a terrible accent was screaming for his friends to get to a chopper, picked up some change and wandered out to grab a soda. Aoi was the only other person awake, diligently studying for some test or another. Taking her order for soda as he walked by Tohru went outside into the warm summer night.
The stars were bright out, offering plenty of light for him to walk the street without fear. He had no worries as he took his night time stroll to the bright vending machine just a few metres from his home. Slipping his coins into the machine, she rewarded him with a few metallic clunking thumps below him.
"Heya, feeling thirsty, aye?" A bright voice bubbled up beside him. Without a care in the world, Tohru bent down and picked up his armful of refreshments before facing the blue haired man smiling at him.
"You know it, this heat is killing me." He replied with a grin as he extended a hand to the blue haired man. "I'm Tohru Mutou, nice to meet you."
"Tatsumi, I just moved here." He gripped the blonde's hand with his own significantly larger one.
"So, you are the one who moved into Kanemasa."
"Yeah, that's what the locals call the area, right?"
"Yep, anyways my friends are expecting me. I'm sure I'll see you again later." Tohru tried to wave goodbye, passing by Tatsumi to get to his home.
Taking hold of his elbow, Tatsumi nervously kicked at a pebble on the ground. "Hey, do you mind if I join you sometime? I haven't really met anyone around here yet."
Nice try…
"Of course, you can, the more the merrier!" He said with a bright smile. "We'll be doing another gathering over at Café Creole next Sunday for lunch if you'd like to come?"
"I'll visit you, for sure." He said with a creepy grin.
Subtle, Tatsumi… Real subtle…
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12th of September, 1994
"What is with all of these western movies lately? Can you even understand them?" Natsuno whined with his usual bored tone, heedless of the fact that he was just as glued to the screen as he was.
"I can understand bits and pieces." The benefit of covering the same lessons over and over at school was that it opened up those hours to other study, such as English. "Although, I don't need to be linguist to understand incoherent screaming."
"I suppose you have a point, by why would they let those people back on the ship with an obviously dangerous alien stuck to a guys face? It's almost like they want to get killed." He grumbled as the creature on the screen cornered a screaming woman and a big African man.
"You'd be surprised how many people would open their window if you just tapped on it."
"What?"
"Nothing… Want some popcorn?"
"Nah, I'm tired. I'm gonna sleep so turn it down."
This is my house… He thought grouchily, turning the volume down on the TV before kicking back and enjoying the rest of his film.
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He was well into the sequel film when the tapping on his window began.
He plopped another kernel of popcorn into his mouth, perfectly salted.
The tapping continued, the silent thudding being drown out by the hissing of dozens of pitch-black insectoid creatures crawling through the ceiling, surrounding the soldiers on the screen.
The sweet cherry flavoured soda helped wash the popcorn down.
The tapping kept thudding against the glass in a constant beat, getting harder and harder the more he ignored it.
Sighing, Tohru paused his video tape and got up with a groan. He hadn't moved very much the last few weeks, the only time he went out was for snacks or to drive with Ritsuko. He was a decent driver now, proof that he could use his time to learn new skills.
Stepping over Natsuno's unconscious form he quietly unlatched the window shutters and opened them, careful to stay wholly within his home. "Hush, the baby is sleeping." He shushed with a finger to his lips, nodding his head at his friend.
Megumi stood gracefully on the small lip of his window, just her toes gripping onto the wood keeping her from falling to the street below. Her face was dumb founded at his complete lack of care to her presence there. She didn't he even get a word out before he shook his head as if the neighbours had their music too loud at night and closed the window shutters again.
He settled back down in front of the TV and pressed play once again, content to ignore any and all problems.
Another set of tapping echoed out, this time from his bedroom door. This tap was more courteous than the last though before his sister poked her head through.
"Hey Bro." Aoi whispered with a pleading look on her face. "Can you help me with my homework?"
He could always make time for his sister though.
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13th of September, 1994
He slept all day most of the week during his holiday loop. Hirosawa left him be at school since he could demonstrate an understanding of all material presented to him, so he spent those hours either sleeping or studying English, if only so he could watch more movies and understand them. He could understand simple sentences now, though, complex words still confused him, and he would have to re-watch a scene a few times.
He decided his favourite English word was fuck. It rolled off the tongue and had so many uses. It could be a verb, an adjective, and even a noun! Such a fantastic and versatile world that the westerners had created.
Thinking of things that are fucked…
The blue haired jinrou was waving to him from across the school courtyard by the road where he perched on a great black behemoth of a motorbike. The thing looked like something the European actor rode in the movie he played a robot from the future that had to protect a boy. He somehow doubted Tatsumi was here to protect him.
With a reluctant sigh, he parted ways with Natsuno to greet the jovial serial killer. "Hey, Tatsumi. How's it going?"
With a cheerful laugh he stopped waving and rested his hands in his lap, sitting back in the huge leather seat of his bike. "Pretty good, lovely day out." He replied before the mask fell away and stared directly into Tohru's eyes. "You are a very brave man, Tohru."
"Really? Please, do enlighten me." The blonde crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow and smirked.
"The fact you can be so blasé in your position, after what you saw you know we can't let you live." Still not a single aggressive movement out of the toned man despite what he was saying.
"Oh? I figured that was just a bad dream, darn." He drawled as he clicked his fingers in exaggeration.
At this, the man laughed. "Wow, you are funny, Kid." The man's shoulders shook with mirth as his happy façade came back on. "I'm surprised to find you here though, you could have taken your family and run. Why stay?"
"No one would believe me, so why bother?" He shrugged. "I was actually expecting one of you to come after me after I saw Shimizu, hoping for it actually."
This surprised Tatsumi, his eyebrows shooting up. "Oh ho? Why is that, want to join us?"
With a laugh of his own the blonde shook his head from side to side. "Nothing like that, I wanted to make a deal."
"I'm listening." The jinrou leaned forward with interest. "This should be good."
"My request is simple, really. You don't even have to do anything." He said, pointing at the man. "Just leave me be. I don't want to be bothered at all. I just want to watch my movies in peace. Can you do that?"
The man sat that perplexed, his mouth hanging open slightly. "Seriously? You don't care about the deaths, the fact that your classmate came back from the dead?"
"Couldn't care less." Tohru shrugged again, he'd been shrugging a lot this conversation. "I can offer you a good piece of info, if you're willing to leave me be."
"Really now? So, you'll give me this info and we leave you be, that's the deal?"
"That sums it up."
"How do you know we'll keep our word?"
"I don't." He admitted. "I'm kind of hoping you are samurai era vampires with a sense of honour."
Tatsumi began to chuckle again at that. "I'm not that old I'm afraid. The guys from that era don't do much these days, they just sit in their castles and scare newcomers off their turf."
Huh, didn't know the samurai were still around…
"Still, my master wouldn't be against such a deal. She may even want to meet you with how accepting of the situation you seem to be." Tatsumi continued as he turned the key in his bike, the engine cough to life loudly. "I accept your deal, Tohru."
"Let's shake on it then." The blonde extended his hand, before Tatsumi gripped it firmly, but not painfully with a grin. "You might want to deal with Shimizu, she is being too obvious, especially around Natsuno." Releasing his grip and taking a step back he said before turning, "Rumours are spreading about her walking around at night, she's not difficult to spot with her fashion sense."
That should keep Natsuno around a little longer… I wonder if he's ever tried a beer?
A carefree smile crossed his face as he settled into the shade of a nearby tree as the roar of the motorbike faded into the distance.
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20th of September, 1994
Megumi hadn't knocked on his window since that first night and Natsuno ceased to sleep over. It appeared that Tatsumi actioned his advice, though he had yet to see if he took the more permanent solution or not.
School came and went uneventfully as fewer and fewer students showed up. So many having moved away that the school was forced to pool all the students into one class. Mr Hirosawa had that haggard look upon his face he always got lately before he had to announce another death to the class.
"Students, may I have your attention, please?" He coughed. "It is with great regret that your classmate Masao Murasako died in his sleep last night." He turned and added his name to a growing list on the right side of the blackboard titled, In Loving Memory. "If you need to talk to someone, the school councillor is always available."
Normally there were gasps and crying from the young girls in class, but there was no fan fare for Masao's passing. Not a single sniffle or wayward tear. Everyone simply shrugged and continued with their conversations as if the teacher had told them it would be windy outside today.
Tohru himself never even woke up from his nap.
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Natsuno caught the cold can with a start, jumping out of his skin after his focus on the television was broken. Who knew he would be so invested in a Shakespearean tale reimagined with gangsters? Tohru suspected he had a thing for the cute main actress.
"What the hell, man? Wait- Is this beer?"
"Yep!" Tohru nodded. "Atsushi didn't mind selling on the sly for double the price."
"My dad will kill me if he finds out about this." The purple haired teen sighed, even as he eagerly cracked the can open, froth spilling over his hand. He took a long drag from the can and cringed. "Gleh, it's kind of bitter."
Cracking his own can, Tohru tool a great mouth full of the cloudy brew. It went down like slightly flat soda; the hint of bitterness was balanced out by the almost freezing cold. "Hey hey, this is pretty good!" He cheered as he took another sip.
They continued to sip at their hidden beers as the young couple on screen went through their ordeals before finally the young woman awoke beside her dead lover and made the decision to join him in death. Tohru jumped as the gunshot rung out and tears ran down his face. Looking over at his friend he saw him mirroring the exact same reaction. For once in their friendship, the grumpy teen didn't fight the blond as he dove into a hug. The two cried for an hour before passing out on the floor.
They only had three beers each…
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1st of October, 1994
Tapping began to rattle his window in the dead of night, once again interrupting an awesome movie! Tohru thought he had dealt with this never-ending issue with his discussion with Tatsumi. Can't a guy watch a movie where immortals are trying to tear each other's heads off for the lofty goal of being the only one? He didn't understand the desire to be alone in the world, but hey, to each their own.
The damn tapping continued.
Groaning, he went to the window and opened the shutters before taking a long sip of his beer. "You better have a good reason for making me pause my movie." He growled at the demon perched on his window sill.
"Tohru, it's me. It's Masao, aren't you glad I am alive?" His voice grated on the blondes' ears. "Hey, why don't you let me in? I could watch those movies with you."
"Masao, if I let you in you will try to kill me. Now I can't allow that." He took another sip of beer. "I can't rent more movies at night, they close at six."
"Tohru, I wouldn't do that. I Promise!" Pleaded the slim boy before the shutters closed on him again. He continued to beg and rattle his window for another hour before he accepted that Tohru wouldn't open the shutters again.
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4th of October
Natsuno died…
His father had just left the room after telling him that his best friends had died.
He was gone, just like that…
Natsuno had been a constant companion this loop, drinking beer and watching movies. The only other person in Sotoba who would show just as much of a care as him as the village fell apart around them.
He felt… Lonely…
He hadn't expected this, he knew this would happen eventually. He thought he was prepared for everyone to die around him and to start again fresh next time. He supposed this meant he was still human, that he could still grieve for those he cared for.
The beer tasted of ash and the movies couldn't captivate him as they had before.
He needed something new, something he hadn't tried before.
It was time to do something stupid, he decided.
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Ritsuko screamed shrilly as she clutched the oh shit bar above her door for her life. "SLOW DOWN, TOHRU!"
He simply laughed as he put the pedal to the metal down the centre street in her little sedan, the steel beast groaning its discomfort as he took a corner too sharply and rubbed against the sidewalk. The entire vehicle shuddered as the tires bounced sideways as he took another corner, sliding sideways.
"TOHRU, PLEASE!"
Planting his foot again, he yanked the handbrake and spun the steering wheel as fast as he could. Smoke poured all around him as he was forced deeper into his seat by the force of his drift as the car spun out and the engine died. "Ha, that was fun."
Like a whip, her hand flashed out and a burning pain lanced through his face before she started to send out a flurry of slaps on his head. "YOU STUPID, RISKY, DANGEROUS, IRRESPONSIBLE-" The adjectives continued to rain down on him in time with each of her slaps as he covered his head. "INSENSITIVE, UNCARING, CRIMINAL MORON!"
He managed to open the driver door and roll out of the car backwards out of arms reach laughing the whole time. His heart was racing, and he could hear the blood pumping through his ears. He felt like he was vibrating, his head was spinning as a grin split his face from ear to ear. He felt alive!
"DON'T YOU RUN FROM ME, YOUNG MAN!" She continued to scream at the top of her lungs as she clambered out the car on wobbly legs. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT COULD HAVE GONE?" She walked around the car, resting her hand on it for balance. "YOU COULD OF KILLED US, OR SOMEONE CROSSING THE ROAD!" Her eyes with bloodshot with rage as she finally got to him a poke him hard in the chest.
Fuck it…
He gripped her wrist as she poked him again and firmly gave it a tug that threw her balance off causing her to crash in him. His other hand slid behind her waist and pulled her closer to him as the hand gripping her wrist loosened and held her hand. Her rant was cut off as her eyes widened before closing as he pressed is lips against hers. She tasted of cherries and smelled of summer, like dried flowers. Her free hand gripped his collar as she opened her mouth to breath. He took the opportunity to taste her more and slid his tongue into the warm expanse of her mouth.
There were rumblings as the villagers watched on from all around them. With a jolt, the angel in his arms stiffened before pushing him away with hand and punched him in the jaw with the other. His ass connected with asphalt as he fell from the unexpected blow as the blushing angel dove into her car and peel off just as fast as he had driven. He lay onto his back in the middle of the road and laughed.
Now that was a first kiss I'll never forget
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6th of November,1994
He never saw Ritsuko after that incident, she had cut him off completely. She disappeared a couple of weeks later, quitting her job at the clinic and leaving Sotoba. Of course, she was more likely starving herself in Yamairi at that very moment.
The villagers looked at him differently from then on, as if he were a wild animal. He had a great time over the month causing all sorts of havoc and they couldn't do a thing about it.
Afterall, his family was gone. It seemed that Masao had been busy as well. First his brother died a few days after Natsuno, followed by Aoi. After that, his window and door rattled each night as his siblings begged to let him in. It didn't take long for his mother and father to follow them to the grave. All the death that had surrounded him made the villagers both fear and pity him.
He could do anything he wanted, and they never did a thing against him, for he was a poor boy lashing out against the world in their eyes. He made the most of that. He drove the family car like a mad man, knocking down scare crows in the fields and even tested his luck buying beer from old man Ookawa after Atsushi passed away. He didn't get to buy any beer, but he got a good fight out of the old man. Ookawa hit like a truck and was faster than he looked but Tohru still got a few decent hits in before he was knocked out. When he woke up, Ookawa had carried him home and left a slab of beer in the fridge with a note never to come back again.
Now he found himself bruised to hell, sipping at a beer and watching a movie where humanity was at war with a race of alien insects. The main character had just graduated boot camp but had been left terribly wounded after a failed invasion attempt on the bug home world.
It was easy to ignore the real world when he was invested in these western movies. It was easy to forget about the fire rampaging its way through the forest toward the village when he had a beer in his hand. It was easy to ignore the screams of terror outside as the shiki revealed themselves to take out the last of the humans in the area who weren't fighting the fire in the mountains when his face throbbed with every heartbeat.
It was not easy to ignore the knocking on his door when that heavenly voice poured through it like liquid gold. "Tohru, can you hear me?"
Hearing her voice through that door was like having his ears kissed by Aphrodite herself.
"Tohru, can you open the door, please?" The stunning creature on the other side of the doors asked.
The Gods' had given him a choice, how did he wish to die? Did he want to burn with the village, or pass peacefully with the woman he loved?
He unlatched the dead bolt that protected his bedroom from the rest of the house and slid it open slowly and was rewarded by the most beautiful vision he had ever seen. She stood there, surrounded by sparkling dust thrown up and illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the open window beside her. Her green hair blew softly in the breeze behind her knees which were shyly poking out from her floral summer dress.
Her full, pink lips moved revealing long fangs and her voiced flowed from them like the tinkling of bells. "May I come in?" Her dark eyes stared longingly into his own. "Please?"
He was powerless against her, he could only nod his head as he stepped aside to allow her in before she sat demurely before the TV with her legs folded beside her.
"Come, Tohru." She patted beside her with a sad smile. "Finish your movie."
He did as she asked quietly pressing play before sitting beside her, cracking open a beer and offering her one that she refused politely. By the time he finished the movie he noticed the presence of Aoi and Tomatsu sitting on his bed smiling sadly at him.
"Hey bro." Aoi said with watery eyes as Tomatsu patted his shoulder once before slinging an arm around their sister.
Looking at each of them, committing them to memory he asked, "Can I watch one more before the end?"
Ristuko placed her freezing hand on his. "Of course, anything you want."
They all sat together for the next couple of hours as the flames got closer and the clamour outside got more violent, watching the sequel together. When the credits rolled, he felt Ritsuko shift from her seat and a cold kiss spread from his neck. Soon after, two more cold spots spread from his arms and the world grew dim.
"Sleep well, brother." He heard Tomatsu whisper as he felt himself being lifted from the ground by three pairs of hands. There were no stars in the sky, only red smoke choking the moon with its haze. It was getting hotter with each moment they walked before he finally lost consciousness as the world grew blinding bright.
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Author's Notes:
This chapter was a bitch to write, I couldn't find a way to end it!
I wrote another ending where Tohru and Tatsumi sit on his roof drinking Jack Daniels and talk about Tatsumi's life before they drive out of town, resetting the loop.
I decided to go with this ending, just a bit more heart-warming as the last Mutou's and Ritsuko watch one final movie together before committing group suicide by fire.
So anyway, how many of the movies did you pick out?
7 Samurai
Predator
Alien
Aliens
Terminator 2
Romeo and Juliet (1996 I know but close enough)
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers 2
And a cut live long and prosper in the alternate ending from Star Trek lol
Future holiday loops will only be mentioned in a paragraph and won't have a full chapter dedicated to it.
See you next time!