"This has to be a joke...It has to be..." I said in disbelief.
I stopped. I stared at my phone in shock for a few minutes. All kinds of thoughts were racing through my head. I couldn't make sense of anything.
After a little, I managed to collect myself. My plans drastically changed that night. I texted Akuma letting him know what happened to Hanayo. I added, that I wouldn't be home till later tonight.
As I sent the message, I started making my way to my new destination.
"HANAYO IS DEAD!?" Akuma yelled in shock.
"Who is that?" Taketa asked.
"One of our best friends." Akuma replied in a frantic voice.
"Oh shit, that's harsh." Taketa said, with seemingly no concern for the situation.
Akuma ignored his nonchalant tone of voice.
"NO SHIT MAN!" Akuma yelled back. "I don't know if he is gonna be okay, he said he won't be back till later tonight" He said concerned.
Taketa looked up at Akuma. Akuma was almost on the verge of tears, he had just lost his best friend, and didn't know where his other best friend were. He was holding on to his phone, whilst staring at the message that Hiruka sent him. Taketa suddenly had a change of heart, when he realized that this was very serious.
"What's going on?" Taketa said while looking up at Akuma. "What is Hiruka gonna do?..."
"Hiruka has..." Akuma hesitated. "...A bad habit of violence when he gets hurt, or one of his close friends does..." He looked up from his phone, and made eye contact with Taketa. "Once, his best friend in elementary got his arm broken because of another boy. Hiruka showed up at the boy's house, and broke his arm as a form of revenge...I can't even imagine what he is gonna do now..." Akuma explained to Taketa.
I had been walking for 20 minutes. I noticed a gas station in the distance, it was the only store open at this hour. I walked in, I didn't really know what I wanted in there. It was hard to want anything, I felt distant from reality.
I picked up a bottle of water, I put it on the counter and paid without saying a word. I went outside again, the cold night air made me shiver a little, though the breeze felt nice on my skin. The parking lot outside the store was completely empty, only a single streetlight lit up the deserted parking lot. I sat down on the sidewalk and opened the bottle of water, I took a sip and stared into the endless darkness behind the streetlight. Everything in my body felt foreign. I felt emotionless, yet I could feel every emotion in my body more strongly than ever. I felt hesitant in all of my actions and thoughts, though I had already decided what I was going to do.
I took out my phone, and sent a message to the handyman; "Hey man, sorry to disturb you so late. Just wanted to let you know, that I got all the money I owe you. Idk if you're up rn, but lmk when you want them, thx."
I sent the message and waited for a reply. "I don't think he knows I'm friends with Hanayo, this should work out." I thought to myself, as I took another sip from the bottle. "I'll get revenge for you Hanayo, I promise."
Taketa was silent for a few minutes, he didn't know what to say. "Hiruka doesn't seem like the type to do that." He finally muttered. "He stopped the fight between us, Y'know" He said with a little more confidence in this words.
Akuma looked at Taketa. "Yeah well, you don't know him, do you!?" Akuma sneered. "YOU LITERALLY JUST FUCKING MET HIM?! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIRUKA!?" Akuma snapped at him.
Everything went silent. The only thing interrupting the silence, was Akuma's heavy breathing. The silence felt ever lasting. The two held the eye contact, as Akuma's breathing slowly went back to normal, the anger in Taketa's face became more apparent. As the weight of Akuma's words set in for himself, it was taking every muscle in Taketa, to keep him from snapping back at Akuma. Taketa let out a big sigh.
"I'm sorr-"
"Don't bother, I'm going out for a bit" Taketa interrupted Akuma.
He quickly got up, and left the room. Akuma didn't move an inch. He heard the front door open and close. And just like that, Akuma was alone again.
Akuma lowered his head and shoulders in defeat, now he was really on the verge of tears. He let a few minutes pass like this, as he was collecting his thoughts.
"You know what, I'm gonna find my own thing to do, since nobody here wants to take me FUCKING SERIOUSLY." Akuma yelled into the, now empty, house. He quickly put some shoes on, and left the house, with no clue where the night would lead him.
"What's taking him so damn long to respond.." I thought to myself, after checking my phone for the 10th time. "I guess it is in the middle of the night.." And just like that, I got a notification from the Handyman; "Don't play tricks with me boy, I know you ain't got the fucking money. Don't bother me with some bullshit again."
I groaned as I looked at the message. "Alright, I guess I'll have to call him" I thought to myself. The handyman answered the call right away.
"Did I not just fucking tell you not to bother me wit-"
"I actually have all of it. I Had to steal it, but I have it sir." I cut him off. He went silent for a few seconds, probably contemplating if I was telling the truth.
"...Alright, meet me at the Crimson Cave on Mai street, As soon as possible. You better not be wasting my time, you got that?" He replied, and hung up.
"Great, it worked." I thought to myself, as I got up and started heading to the Crimson Cave.
The Crimson Cave is a dangerous neighborhood with all the houses painted red. The place is mostly abandoned by any real residents, besides criminals who use the houses, and a few homeless people. Because of its abandoned state, nature has overcome the neighborhood, and many plants and trees have started to grow on, and around the streets, making it easy to get lost and many great hiding spots.
It's not hard to find the Crimson Cave, simply walk down Mai Street, until you see a poorly lit red neighborhood, with plants and trees everywhere. As I made my way down Mai Street, I noticed the eye sore of the street, and right in the middle of the Crimson Cave, stood a chubby middle aged man. He was on his phone, waiting for me.
Seeing him act so nonchalant about the murder he had just committed, just pissed me off even more than I already was. I hid behind one of the houses, I took out my mask, which is usually only carried around as a clan symbol, but in situations like these, it's very useful. I took out a knife from my pocket, I usually have 4 for safety, but also as a good luck charm.
I went around the house, so that I was behind the man. I slowly walked up to him, as I did, I took out my phone and texted the man right in front of me; "I'm here now, behind you."
Before he could even react and turn around, I had a knife to his throat. I pinned his hands to his back, making sure he couldn't move.
"...I knew it." He hissed.
"If you did, you wouldn't be in this situation right now, would you?" I replied.
"Why are you even doing this to me, I've never done anything?!" The handyman said.
"Never done anything? You're fucking hilarious sir, I'll give you that!" I snapped back at him. "Let's see...You murdered my best friend, not only that...SHE WAS 13. YOU MURDERED A FUCKING CHILD!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF A PATHETIC PIECE OF SHIT YOU HAVE TO BE, TO GET SATISFACTION FROM MURDERING SOMEONE, WHO HAS BARELY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO START LIFE YET?!?! WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO YOU?! WHAT DID SHE DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" I yelled at his face.
"Get the fuck off of me right NOW!" The handyman demanded, as he was trying to throw me off of him, though it was to no avail.
"ANSWER ME." I shouted in his face.
"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME BITCH, YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY." He yelled back.
"I SAID FUCKING ANSWER ME." I demanded.
"I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU ANYTHING, IT'S NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS." He shouted back at me.
"OH YEAH?! IT'S NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS?" I started putting pressure on the knife, until it slightly started cutting the man's throat. He cried out in pain, and stopped trying to escape. "Yeah that's what I fucking thought. Now ANSWER ME, WHAT DID SHE EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" I snapped.
"You want the truth? YOU WANT THE DAMN TRUTH?! WELL HERE YOU FUCKING HAVE IT, SHE WAS AN ANNOYING PIECE OF SHIT, WHO NEVER PAID ME FOR ANY OF THE HARD WORK I DID FOR HER. ALL OF YOU SHIT HEADS NEVER APPRECIATE MY WORK, OR PAY ME FOR MY WORK, DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS?!?" He yelled. "And guess what boy, you and your little gang of friends were next on my list. You should feel lucky that she was the weakest link out of all of you, all she was ever good for was to be at home and to cook food anyways, she had no opportunity for life, I just did her a favor." He sneered at the end.
There was dead silence. The silence almost felt deafening. It was like the world around me stopped. Suddenly all the thoughts that were once scattered in my head, became one.
"An eye for an eye."
Without a second thought, I slit his throat. The cut was so deep, that it almost completely decapitated him. I said nothing, I felt nothing. I was covered in blood, but I didn't care.
"He took her life, as a consequence of his own selfishness..."
That was the only thought I could comprehend.
I stared at his pathetic lifeless corpse. I had never been more disgusted by another human being, as I was in that moment. I stood there for a few minutes, just staring at the corpse.
I turned around, and slowly made my way down Mai Street, passing all the red houses and overgrown nature. His bloody corpse fit right in with the crimson houses.
And so did I. Because now, I was not much better than the man that had murdered my best friend.