His body laid there, bloody, tired, fighting for a grasp of air with his lungs filled with the vital liquid. His black hair was stained with the fluidā¦ it didnāt matter it was as black as ebony. The blood was too thick; thicker than usual. Fortunately, his enemy had died, too. Masamune had properly sliced his neck, and Muramasa, his heart.Ā
At leastā¦ he had done something good. He had done something in his life wor- noā¦ he had done two gorgeous things before. Of course, Kou had many regrets. His children grew up alone, hating their father, hating each otherā¦ he was a terrible father, and that was a fact. His heart still beatā¦ but his blood couldnāt properly reach his brain.Ā
She canāt hear me. Of course she canāt. That asshole almost kills my baby girl. My daughter, the light of my eyesā¦Ā
He jumped up front and protected her. His abdomen is piercedā¦ god, pleaseā¦ donāt take him away from me. Please, let him live, for her, for him. They need to survive thisā¦Ā I know, I know Iāve been a terrible father, but I need to make up for it however I can.Ā
Vaalaās hands grasp my shouldersā¦Ā
She expands her shadow towards Kenji: itās his time, tooā¦ he will die, tooā¦
The shadow stops. It doesnāt reap him; it stops moving. I use the chains to cover up my wounds; I squeeze it all together, well pressed. I can feel my ribcage clacketing against the rest of the bone structure I still have. My breathing is rushed; but I take short breathes, since I can feel how my lungs are almost exposed. I bleed again. Itās terrible. Itās burningā¦
Her cold voice, her embrace is there. Vaala tells me to let go, to stop fighting. That itās enoughā¦ but I canāt stop fighting now. My eyes reach Masamune and Muramasa as they begin to disappear; to disintegrate. My life is burning tooā¦Ā
My black scarf take the form of two hands, they grab Kenji and surround the wound so it stops bleeding. The other hand grabs Yukio. I must reachā¦ I mustā¦ reach the headquarters.Ā
āā- Seventh style: Trinity.āĀ
The last remnant of energy rushes from within. The power that I inherited and honed, the power that made me the powerful warrior I was. My hair becomes completely white; I flex my legs as my feet almost penetrate the ground andā¦ a jump. A powerful jump as I vomit and cry blood. Itās too much, but itās the least and last I can do; I canāt die, I canāt die now. She insistsā¦ she tells me to die calmly, to rest and sleep. That this will only prolong my sufferingā¦ but Vaala, canāt you understand?
My suffering means nothing. All I care now isā¦ them. My son, my daughterā¦Ā
I lost Kentaro, and you were forced to kill Elizabeth on my behalf. I couldnāt be able to allow you two to die.
A long way ahead, I can still feel Kenjiās aliveā¦ Vaala stopped speaking. In factā¦ itās the chains that are moving my body. I already am dead. I can feel it. I can see my energyās faded. Thank you, Vaalaā¦ thank you. Thank you for letting me save two lives, only once, thank you for letting me saveā¦ everyone I loveā¦Ā
When I finally arrive, they try to focus on me. My wounds are terrible, they say. I can hear them. Butā¦Ā
āKouā¦ ! Heāsā¦ heās deadā¦ he brought them, but heās deadā¦āĀ
________________________________________________________
Here I come. I face the final courtain. The chains that surround my body disappear in black, and my body does the same. Ahā¦ itās overā¦
āI can see all the people that died on my behalf. My father and mother. My brother. My teammatesā¦Ā
And her. Her red mane and those beautiful golden eyesā¦ Did you know, darling? Kenji has your temper and your hair and eyes. Of course, his smile cannot compare to yoursā¦ I ruined it. I ruined his smile.Ā
Yukio looks like me, however. Sheās beautiful. Iām sure sheāll grow up to be as gorgeous as you are, my love.
Now Iām in our secret placeā¦
Where all my wrongs have been erasedā¦ā
As I lay down, everything begins to slowly disappear. I rest my head on her lap. That face, that smileā¦ my face softensā¦ and she speaks the last words Iāll ever hear.
āāā And you are forgivenā
