Chapter 19: Everything is Fine

Discord: https://discord.gg/wRU9S2CnAQ

***

Koda stood in the bathroom at his high school, the flickering fluorescent lights casting a cold, eerie glow over the grimy, tiled walls. The mushed face of Rio flashed in his mind, making him close his eyes and take a deep breath.

He splashed cold water on his face, hoping it would help clear his mind. The water dripped down from his face to the sink below, like the blood that had dripped from his hands that fateful night. Down the counter onto the floor, the odor of skin, organs, and blood wafting throughout the apartment.

"Blegh!" Koda threw up in the sink, coughing and breathing heavily.

'I... I really killed him? I... Fuck.'

Koda could hear his classmates chatting and laughing in the hallway, but they had no idea what he had done. The item had worked. He had muttered the phrase just as was written on the scroll, and the next day Rio Tanagawa ceased to exist.

Koda had expected to wake up to cops at his door, or even the lackeys of Rio, but nothing. His parents didn't even call him, just sent a text that they would come back to the house after work due to the gas leak.

He looked at himself in the cracked bathroom mirror, his reflection distorted and broken, much like his own sense of self. Anxiety gnawed at him, and the fear of being discovered was a constant companion. What if someone found out? What if the truth came out?

"But they can't find out... Because you erased him from existence..." Koda said aloud.

His hands shook as he gripped the sides of the sink. The memory of that night flashed before him - Rio's lifeless eyes, the eerie silence, the overwhelming guilt. He couldn't forget, no matter how hard he tried.

A sudden knock on the bathroom door jolted him from his thoughts. "Koda, you okay in there?" It was Ryuuga.

Koda quickly wiped away any trace of vulnerability from his face, his heart racing. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, his voice more steady than he felt. He stepped away from the sink, gesturing for Ryuuga and the guys to come in. 

At this point, everyone in school knew this was his bathroom, no one used it except him, unless he gave them a pass. 

"Hey before we let the customers use her, think I can get first today? We still have 20 minutes before the first session anyway," Ryuuga said, smiling as he unbuttoned Hana's shirt, her usual blank look on her face.

Koda looked at those blank eyes, his hands subconsciously shaking as he gulped. "Hey stop," He muttered.

Ryuuga continued, not hearing Koda as he ripped the rest of Hana's shirt away, undoing his pants fast as he grinned at her, pushing her to her knees.

"I said stop Ryuuga," Koda said, his voice chilly as he placed a hand on Ryuuga's shoulder.

Ryuuga halted his actions, turning to face Koda. His eyes had a glazed, faraway look, as if he were in a trance. "What's wrong, Koda? Can't you see how much she wants this? She loves this dick," he murmured, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Hana... If you don't want to do this anymore you don't have too, one of the other girls can take your place," Koda said, looking away and letting Ryuuga go.

Ryuuga wanted to speak up, but decided against it as Hana looked at Koda with a worried look.

"D-Did I do something wrong Koda?" She asked, crawling over to him and grabbing his pants. "I'm sorry! I'll do better, we can do gangbangs, golden showers, anal, creampie whatever! I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean to do anything wrong!"

Koda looked down at the pathetic girl he had created. Without him she was nothing, at least that's how it was in her mind. He hadn't only broken her, he had completely destroyed her. Her mindset, her body, her will, it all belonged to him.

"Ha... Haha..." Koda smiled, putting a hand on her head and gently pushing her off of him. "Nevermind Hana, I forgot... I'm evil," He said with a sad smile, leaving the bathroom and telling Ryuuga to handle the days business.

"Did the boss... Seem off to you Satoshi?"

Satoshi didn't answer before a strange smile rose on his face. "What do you mean Ryuuga? Everything is fine."

Ryuuga smiled too, grabbed Hana, and forced his dick into her mouth. "Yup! Everything is fine."

...

"Have a great day Ms. Aruma!" A black-haired girl said cheerily, wearing her McDonald's work uniform and waving goodbye to a customer.

Setting her sights on the next customer though, her cheeriness disappeared. "How the fuck did you know I worked her Ihono?" Sakura Amaterasu asked, glaring at him as he smiled, looking at the menu. 

"Can I get a big mac? And a bowl of ramen, add in some fries and rice please," He said, dropping the money on the counter as Sakura groaned.

Koda simply grinned at Sakura's annoyance. "Even the devil's gotta eat, right? Plus, I like the fries here."

Sakura sighed and entered his order, swiping the money from the counter. "Fine, but don't let it get to your head that I'm serving you, Koda."

Koda leaned in closer, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Don't worry, Sakura. Your secret is safe with me."

She rolled her eyes and moved on to the next customer, leaving Koda to wait for his order.

As he got called he saw Sakura walking toward him, grabbing his food off the counter, and placing it at his table.

"Why are you here?" She asked, glaring at him as he smirked. 

"And if I told you it was just for the food?" Koda asked.

"Bullshit, I'd say that's bullshit," She replied, setting her hat down and letting her hair fall. 

"Well... I guess I needed to talk," He said thoughtfully, pulling out the burger, ignoring the hot ramen in the bag. 

'Burgers and ramen, that's strange they serve both here.'

"Talk? What could you have to talk about with me? Before you even think for a second, I'm seeing someone and you aren't even close to my ty-"

"I killed someone the other day," Koda interrupted, taking a bite of his burger and shutting Sakura up.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she stopped mid-sentence. She had been about to reject Koda's advances, but this revelation took her by surprise.

"You... killed someone?" she asked, her voice filled with both shock and disbelief.

Koda nodded solemnly, taking another bite of his burger before elaborating. "Yeah, it was a guy named Rio. We had a history, and it got ugly. I had no choice. I never thought I'd cross that line, but... things change."

"Everything is fine."

Koda blinked, looking up at Sakura as she smiled widely, her eyes glazed over as if she wasn't really there.

"H-Huh? Wait, I just told you I killed someone, I murdered someone Sakura," He said, gulping as her smile deepened.

"Everything is fine..."

After a few moments of silence, she returned to normal. "I see... Who did you kill?" She asked, as if she hadn't heard the name he had given her, the explanation he had given.

'Hah... Everything is fine yeah?'

"I can't say... But... I think I regret going that far," Koda said.

Sakura was quiet for a bit. 

"A year ago I killed someone on accident too... We were fighting at the overpass, it was the former Kakoyama number 1... My brother."

Koda blinked. 'Didn't expect character depth, what the fuck is this?' 

"We... Didn't have the best childhood, born into a gang, raised after our fathers death by said gang, then... Kicked out by them. He ruled Kakoyama with complete strength... He became a tyrant... I don't know why I'm telling you this, sorry-"

"No," Koda said, smiling as he took another bite of his food. "Continue."

Sakura hesitated for a moment but decided to continue her story. "So, my brother, Hiroshi, he was ruthless. He ruled with an iron fist, and we'd grown apart over the years. One night, we had a fight at the overpass. I was tired of his cruelty, told him to cut it out after he beat up Hiroko... but he didn't care. Things escalated, and in the heat of the moment, I pushed him. I never meant for it to happen, but he fell, and... he didn't get back up."

Koda listened intently, his earlier brash demeanor replaced by genuine interest. "I see... It's strange, isn't it? How we can be pushed to do things we never thought we would. But it doesn't mean we're entirely lost. We're still human."

Sakura nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. "I've never told anyone about this... Hiroko and Emily think he just fell by himself. They don't even know. You're the first person I've shared this with."

Koda smiled, something more genuine in his expression. "I see, thanks for sharing Sakura. And... I won't tell anyone if that helps."

Sakura wiped her tears and gave him a small, grateful smile. "You're... not as bad as you want people to believe, are you?" She asked suspiciously as if he was trying to deceive her.

Koda chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe we're all a mix of good and bad. I don't know... Not that long ago I was so full of hate, I wanted to be evil, more evil than all those that fucked with me. I got the opportunity to release it... But now... I'm just not sure,"

Koda sighed, throwing the rest of his food in the bag, throwing it away quickly.

"Hey," Sakura caught him before he left. "I don't forgive you for the Hiroko thing... But if you need to talk again..." Sakura groaned, pushing him away. "You know what I mean, fuck off!" She yelled.

As he left the shop, koda chuckled a bit. 

"Huh... Maybe Everything is fine..."