"If I.... didn't acted like Raven..... those people wouldn't have died."
Feeling Ella's arm on my shoulder, I hear her say. "Calm down, you're sensitive now. I know you would never say that. Raven and you were friends, so... don't say that."
Nodding my head, I ask. "Do you think I act like Raven?" Getting a puzzled look from Ella, I smile. "Yeah, that was a stupid question."
We were discharged the following morning. Will's escape caused quite a commotion at the hospital, but no one in reality cared. We were welcomed to the sweet smell of syrup and fresh waffles when we arrived at the waffle shop.
"Ah, you're back." Placing two full servings on a table, he smiled. "So, did you all have enough time to think things out?" Asking him what he meant, Will replied.
"I'm talking about the future. Do you plan to settle down? Or are you gonna try and avenge Raven?" Putting down the fork, I could see Ella and Will both expecting something, but instead, I told them the truth.
"No, I don't have any plans. If anything, I feel like my current world is built on lies." Raising his eyebrow, Will asks me to explain. "I mean...."
Scratching my head, I yell. "I don't know okay?! I don't know anything! Everything that my master told me, what you told me, what Raven told me! Everything contradicts one another!"
Stopping my rant by placing his hand on my shoulder, he tells me something I should have realized by now. "Ken, no one is telling you how to live your life. We're just giving you advice on how to live. You're supposed to make your own opinion. So tell me, what do you believe in, Ken?"
"What do I believe?"
....
It was back then before the auction. Raven and I were waiting for clothes to finish back at his apartment. Seeing him write something in his book, I asked what it was about.
"My memento, it's everything I have these days." Looking over his shoulder, I see pictures of some places and a lot of text. "Why would you write something like this?"
Smiling, he closed the book shut. "Simple, in our way of life, one may never know when they die. Well, no one knows when they die. It's something Alice and I started. My ideals, my hopes and my dreams lie within this book." Putting it away on a shelf, he looks at me and asks.
"How about you? Where are your dreams?" Back then I told him that they're in my heart, but now..... I'm not sure. I wish I could look at my old thoughts to see what changed, but... I can't.
"Your heart? I'm jealous. I wish my ideals and beliefs were as simple and steady as your heart." Brought from my thoughts, I see him take a seat on the couch.
"My heart has burned out. When I won over a group of crime bosses who tried to kill me and Alice, I thought we would live forever. But now..... I know I'll not see my 18th birthday."
The very strong and hot-headed Raven suddenly looked.... small. Tired... done with everything Like he just awaited his death.
"I hope your ideals will not crumble like mine, Ken......."
.......
"Oy! Ken! You okay?" Having my fingers snapped in front of my eyes, I'm brought back from reminiscing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just remembering something Raven said..."
Sighing deeply, Will tells me that there's still a lot of time for me to think things out, but I tell him that my heart is steady. "I'm gonna get the bastard who killed Raven."
I didn't know how deep this rabbit hole went yet, but I was sure I would see the end of it.
Getting up, I make a note in my head. "There's a person I need to meet." Saying that I try to leave, but Ella jumps after me. "Ella, I don't... I don't know if it's going to be saved."
Slapping my hand away, I see a smile spread across her cheeks. "Ken, I'm not afraid. I'm going with you, or behind you. I'm not staying back here." Hearing Will chuckle at that, I sigh and Ella follows me.
Leaving the shop, Will finishes his cup of tea. Pulling out the pendant, he looks at the picture of a woman in a wheelchair. "She really takes after you."
........
Hearing Ella walk after me, I tell her to just walk with me at this point. Seeing her cheer in victory. She asks me who we're meeting. "Lilith, she's a..... Human."
Getting stuck on that as I have no idea if she's truly nice or not. I hear Ella laugh. "I sure hope so! Imagine we're meeting a snake." Snapping my fingers, I point at her. "Yes! That's the perfect analogy. She's a snake..... I think....."
But as we walk for a little longer, Ella points out that we're heading in the direction of Raven's apartment. "Yes, there's something I want to check before meeting Lilith.
Pushing open the complex door, we walk to the top floor.
Ella runs past me and tries to push on the door, only to say. "Wow, that's one sturdy door for the slums." Telling her that Raven made it that way. I push my leg to the bottom only for the door to open effortlessly.
Still amazed at the war-yellow colors of the apartment, I flinch at the pictures where Raven and Alice are smiling at the camera. "Maybe they're happy together," I say to myself.
Walking to the bookshelf, I spot what I'm after. It's Raven's memento. Opening it, I list through the countless texts which note on all the things he's done, to his regrets to things he wishes he could change. Reaching the last entry, I spot my name on it.
[Ken, if my guess is correct, I died. It is of no surprise with the number of people I have offended in the very short life I had, but I still wish I could have spent more time understanding your way of living."
"Most people don't have such simple yet strong ideals as to follow their heart. I still remember how you vowed to spread your master's art throughout the world, but you understood him wrong."
"You wanted to spread the way you fight your martial arts, but what he wanted is for the world to understand how simple it is to be happy]
Dropping the book, everything suddenly clicked into place.