1 •EndofTheLine

"Life is a line. It has it's start and it's end , the line maybe straight , curved , intertwined with another line , etc."

'Why is father telling me this now?'

"Unlike what those humans believe no such thing as reincarnation or rebirth exists. Heh , I can't believe they think getting hit by a truck would send them to another world."

After 250 years of training it was finally time for me to take over the father's duty , it was time for him to rest now.

"Well father we can't disagree with their beliefs , they do get sent to hell or heaven. Hahahaha"

The important duty of managing life was now going to be mine.

'Oh come on old man , that one was a funny one.'

"Anyways... it's today , huh?"

'Tick Tock Tick Tock'

The sound of the long grandfather clock on my right never felt so loud in my whole life as it did today , my hands were sweating. Noticing my loud heartbeats I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"How many can keep track of?"

I closed my eyes and focused on the white dot I could see in the darkness.

'Waaa Waaa'

After the cry of that dot another one popped right above it.

'Yeah , I know her.'

Another one popped.

'Honey come here fast. She's taking her first steps.'

Like that I saw and heard the voices of about 6,383,929,293 more white dots. After the last dot I couldn't hear anything further and atlast I opened my eyes.

"So , how many?"

"6,383,929,296"

"That's good enough."

Saying that my father picked the pen up and wrote something on the fragile brown paper infront of him.

"How was it? Did I do better than our ancestors father?"

His gaze shifted to me and then returned back towards the paper.

"I'm not supposed to tell you that. But I'll tell you this what matters aren't the first record but the last record."

"..."

'I give up.'

The awkward silence lasted for another 10 minutes until my father finally placed his pen on the desk and opened his mouth.

"What do you intend to do once you're granted my duty?"

This question right here. This was the reason I spent 50 more years learning more about those humans.

"I want to completely erase-"

"Hah , not that again"

Before I could even complete my sentence my father interrupted with my words.

"You're not a kid anymore."

"What's wrong with killing them all?"

'The existence of humans was unnecessary in the first place , stealing from the poor , beating the weak. What's so good about them in the first place.'

"Father you-"

His eyes were closed.

"Father , I'm not going to change my decision."

"..."

Shinigami. I'm a death god. Today was supposed to be the day I take over my father's duty. For over 500 years my father has been managing the hell section and now it was time for him to rest.

Not just him but for the whole heaven and hell to rest as I planned to put an end to human's existence.

'Maybe we will just move to another world.'

"Come here."

Following his orders I got up from my seat and started walking towards him.

'Is he going to add 50 more years?'

"Father I can wait another 50 years if you want to but I'm gonna kill those filthy humans anyways."

The moment I reached near his chair my father summoned another chair similar to his for me. The chair was something only the CEO of Shinigami Association could sit on , which was why I waited for my father's own words and stayed standing.

"Sit down."

Saying that he closed all the curtains of the room and blew away any candles that were lit. Pressing a button on present on the table a screen appeared before us.

"We still have time left before I pass this duty to you. Let's just enjoy watching someone at the end of the line."

"Huh?"

×-×-×

"F*ck , why am I thinking about his words when I'm at about die?"

'Weak-willed. You give up too easily. Hah , I didn't steal anything from you.'

His words rang in my ears.

"Those were school days huh."

At the age of 34 I was standing at the edge of the roof , it was the roof of the apartment I live in- I used to live in as I just got kicked out today. Unemployed , unmarried and unimportant. This is my life.

"That guy works at a law firm now , maybe I should've taken his advice."

I was one step away from getting away from everything , be it loans , stress , loneliness. This was the easiest way out for me.

"Should I leave a note?"

'Then again who would even care about that note.'

"Guess it's all over then."

With that I took my first and the last step towards freedom , falling down slowly in the mid-air I truly felt free. Their were no chains to hold me back , luckily while I was falling down I was looking at the night sky instead of the hard concrete road.

I felt the most alive in these moments , every second felt... more. A smile appeared on my face when I inhaled the air around.

'I can breathe so freely...'

"I'm sorry Ms. Remi , but you're not qualified enough for the job."

"You're fired."

"Get out of the room!"

"Atleast show me the better part of my life in the last moments."

'Hah , I'm finally am free from everything. Atlast that sh*tty life is over. I don't regret a single thing...'

It was a lie , if anything ny life was full of bad decisions and regrets.

'I'm sorry... In these last moments , can I be true to myself?'

Under the moonlight the tears sliding down my cheeks shone.

'I don't want to die'

'Thump'

×-×-×

"She's truly at the end of the line , but what if I was to give her a second chance?"

I was confused , I never heard my teacher , division heads or anyone else talk about it.

"What are you talking about father?"

"From now on all you've to do , is watch."

"?"

×-×-×

"Did you watch the new episode of Kami-san last night? The animation was so good."

"Of course , I did. That last fight of the tournament arc was adapted really well."

It was just a normal day.

'Caw Caw Caw'

The crows flying above us were loud as ever.

"Yo Atsu , you alright? Why are you quite today?"

"Yeah man , didn't you score high on this term?"

"Ken , he didn't just score high. He dethroned Remi today and took the first place. Did you even check your marks?"

Like any other day I was on my way to home with my friends Ken and Akio.

"Heh , I didn't even bother to go and see my result. These scores don't mean sh*t to me , as long as I can speak English fluently and pass my high school and college I'm good."

"You're really serious about the Barista thing , eh?"

"Yup , I'm gonna be the best f*cking barista of Japan. What do you say Atsu , would you drink made by me?"

Joining in their conversation I replied in a funny tone ,

"Sure , as long as it's not poisoned."

'Hahahaha'

As I expected to my joke both of them laughed.

"You should be one of those comedian Atsu , your jokes sure crack me up."

Keeping up with their pace I was behind both of them , discussing about the test results and Akio as Barista I was almost near my house.

"Just two more years-"

"Hey , what is that girl doing?"

Few meters away from us a girl was standing in the middle of road.

"Why is she standing in the middle of the road? Looking at her uniform she's definitely someone from our school."

Her eyes were wide open , she stood still like a statue with a handbag hanging off her left hand.

"Wait! Isn't that Remi?¹

'Remi? Right , the topper girl.'

The name didn't click anything at first but then I remembered where I saw that name.

"Is she waiting for someone?"

"Yeah right , she's waiting in the middle of the road for someone."

In the evening , the alley was very quite with only four of us on the street. She didn't move a inch and stayed standing there , we continued walking and walked past her giving her no attention.

"Maybe the rankings got to her? She has always been on the top while our Atsu was slowly climbing his way up there."

Just out of curiosity I turned around to get a look at her.

'So she's the one who I've been competing against.'

During the first half of my first year there was always a name that caught my eyes on the result board , Remi. Her name was always at the top while I was wandering in the mid ranks. I didn't even remember when I started getting irritated by her rank.

Today was the result day for the second-last test of first year and also the day I got above her.

'Well , she's no good now.'

'Bweep'

The sound wasn't that loud , even the crow's cawing was louder than the horn. But for some reason it made me run towards her , I turned around and started running the car was way ahead of me but I still believed I could save her.

'Screech'

"Oi get out of my way , I'm not in mood to run over someone. Die somewhere else."

'Hah Hah Hah. Looks like there was no need for me interfere.'

Before I could turn back to my normal route I saw Ken and Akio catching up to me.

"Hah Hah... Atsu you're... Hah... really fast. What were you running for?"

"Yeah... Hah Hah... Why the f*ck did you suddenly started running? Oh right ! Remi was behind us."

"No. That's not why I was running. I'll tell you the reason some other day."

Knowing how Akio and Ken were I couldn't let them know the real reason I was running which was why I tried to stall them.

'Bweep'

The driver kept pressing horn which caught my attention yet again.

"Hey brat , get out of my way or I'll seriously run over you."

"Argh , this driver is really annoying. Why is using that horn so much?"

I slowly started walking towards the car , the driver continued complaining while Remi stood still looking at the car with her eyes wide open.

Usually I wouldn't care if there was accident happening before me , but today was different. For some reason I felt responsible for what was happening.

'Will it be my fault if she dies today? Did I do this to her?'

Numerous thought popped in my mind as I closed the distance between us.

"Hey Kid , get this girl out of my way."

Not responding to drivers words I walked up to her and shook her shoulder.

'Thump'

In the next moment I found myself down on the road with her arms wrapped around me.

"Huh?"