Finding ways to die

Daichi opened his eyes, being greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. This detail made him extremely uncomfortable. While in normal situations he would go back to sleep for another half an hour, this time his mind got completely awake.

'Hm... I am really getting old, huh? The type of old man who cannot sleep outside of his own house without getting all flustered and disturbed.'

He yawned as he stretched his entire body like a cat. Several joints snapped while he did so.

'Yeah, yeah. Old.'

He looked to the side, seeing that someone was lying on the bed adjacent to his. It was a young scrawny boy with smooth brown hair.

'So, that was not just a dream, huh? I actually found him after so many years... Seems like things will get very interesting in this district from now on. I just need to polish him to the point of perfection.'

He had just woken up and yet so many things went through his mind.

Just by realizing that everything he lived in the previous day was real, he jumped out of his bed like an excited teenager on the morning of their first day of high school.

He looked around, thinking about what he would do next.

'We should all eat before doing what I want to do today... Ah, but I need to check on the girl first. She is in a different room, after all.'

Daichi left the room, yawning once again with closed eyes. He closed the door behind him and, once he let go of the knob, he felt his body getting pushed against the door. His back slammed against it, making him lose his breath for a moment. This someone put their knee on his stomach to keep him pressed, and one of their hands kept his eyes closed while strongly pushing his head on the door. Soon, Daichi felt a cold sensation on his neck.

"Good thing I have nothing in my stomach, otherwise I would throw everything on you. This knee thing is effective but dangerous, you know? I could have soiled your clothes."

"As funny as always, Daichi", a voice muffed by some kind of fabric sounded near Daichi's ear.

"You gotta be when there is a knife pressed against your throat. You could have done it in a friendlier way, my boy."

"You sound too cocky for someone who is in such a tight spot."

Daichi shrugged as if he couldn't help it.

"I mean, I am THAT good, you know? Even now, I can beat the shit out of you in two different ways if I want to."

The other person clicked their tongue, pressing the knife with more strength. Daichi felt a drop of his own blood running down his throat.

"Three ways now. As long as I keep thinking, more and more ways will appear. So, how can we settle it without resorting to violence?"

The person kept quiet for a moment. It was hard to tell whether they got cornered by Daichi's arguments or not, though.

"Must be very frustrating being the threatened one even though you apparently have the upper hand. That's how things work when I am the opponent, though."

"HE already knows. He figured out that you have been searching for them all this time and is suspicious of you. You better be careful, Daichi. You can't put all people in this world in a stalemate like you always do."

Daichi snorted, then smiled at his assailant.

"You sure about it, my boy? I can be very unpredictable sometimes."

Ignoring his cocky words, the assailant just continued.

"They are always watching you, just keep that in mind and don't do anything unnecessary. Give up on this unconceivable dream before you get killed. As an exiled traitor, the Empire has you on its blacklist. There is no corner in this district that you can go and hide."

"Righto. I will make sure to keep that in mind."

The person slowly took the knife out of Daichi's throat, then opened the door behind him, all the while keeping his eyes closed.

"Why are you still keeping my eyes closed? In fact, I already know your fa-"

He used his knee to push him inside the room, then closed it. Daichi heard low, but audible steps coming from the corridor, but he didn't bother to hurry outside and see who it was.

'Idiot. The second between throwing me inside here and closing the door is plenty enough to see your face. Who do you think I am?

'But, seriously, these guys are so troublesome... I barely am able to live my life properly because of their surveillance. I guess I got too used to being observed and forgot that this is actually a problem when I am trying to do things against the empire.'

Daichi cleaned his throat with his shirt, then looked over his shoulder. Hayato was still asleep.

'First, we will need to work in this heavy sleep of his, I guess. It seems like he is not a person with a lot of disposition, unfortunately.'

Daichi left the room again, then looked to both sides of the corridor.

'Ok. All clean now.'

He walked to the door right next to his, knocking before opening it.

'As I expected, nobody here. But the bed is kinda messy. The bathroom light is turned on. I think she did sleep here through the night. Besides, if she was to sneak out of the room, I would have heard. I am not like the sleeping bag I shared my room with.'

Daichi closed the door, sighing.

'Why are youngsters so complicated like this? I am just starting to babysit them and I am already tired of it.

'Anyway, she did not cross my door, which means that she went in the only other available direction.'

Daichi walked to the right side of the corridor, taking many turns and staircases along the way. Meanwhile, he tested all the doors he could find, but most of them were locked as it was common sense to do it at inns.

The end of Daichi's brief search was on the roof of the building, where Hina stood near the edge. She looked at the horizon with a sad and lonely expression.

"You shouldn't just go away like this and don't tell anyone. What if you had escaped?" Daichi's sarcasm didn't seem to function on her as she didn't laugh or react. The only thing she did was to look over her shoulder, recognizing his presence, but that was all. No words, at all.

Her gaze returned to the horizon, then she slowly lowered it, until staring at the streets several meters below her.

"You know I won't let you do it, right? Before you realize it, I will be holding you."

She closed her hands into fists.

"Besides, you are an intelligent person. You soon will realize that killing yourself won't solve anything. It's just a waste."

For some reason, Daichi's voice was... hollow. His tone of voice changed completely.

"I get how you must be feeling right now, but that's how the world works. There is nothing you can do to change the fact that you were born.. Unfortunately, you are too useful to have any control over your own life. As soon as you accept this fact, the quicker these suicidal thoughts will leave you."

Hina bit her lips and denied with her head as strongly as she could. Tears threatened to leave her eyes, but she wiped them before they could.

"Come on, listen to this old man here. I thought of killing myself many times, believe me. However, I never consummated the act. Do you know why?"

Silence. She answered him with silence and the aura of frustration and anger hovering around her.

"If I had killed myself, I could stop living for the sake of others' wishes and needs, but I would lose the chance to return the favor to them.

"So, it's fine if you don't want to live as a tool for everyone else. However, you must keep living to deliver your payback for all those who once controlled you. Got it?"

Hina gave that advice some thought. After a few seconds, she nodded her head, then stepped away from the edge of the roof.

She turned to look at Daichi. She had sharp eyes and a not-so-friendly expression.

Daichi didn't ask her (though she probably wouldn't respond even if he did), but he knew from the bottom of his heart, he felt it hit him like a train in movement... her murder intent.

If she was to deliver a payback someday, to get vengeance on someone, Daichi would surely be one of the first.

'I don't blame her, though. Of all others that tried to use her, I am probably the worst. A scumbag of a guy who played with her trust. I am lucky that she didn't try to kill me while I was asleep, not that she would get me by surprise anyway.'

Hina walked past him, but Daichi didn't follow her. He looked up at the bright blue sky and sighed.

"Finding new ways to die is far easier than finding ways to beat the shit out of people, it seems. What a tragic story it will be, huh?"