"Kayate?" I stop walking, half from fatigue.
It's a long distance from the city limits, we've been walking the rest of the way since left that old house. But thoughts were lingering in my mind and I'm not letting Kayate dismiss me.
"I think it's time you tell me a little about yourself..."
"You really want to know? It's not all sunshine..." He stops as well, but doesn't face me.
"Why would suicide cross your mind?"
"... I lost everything dear to me, that I swore to protect. My brothers, my wives... and so, I decided to give up everything, for nothing meant anything to me. I felt that my own existance meant nothing. Nothing was left for me to live for. I lost my own values."
"I can't believe it... I mean, to think... I would've never met you... So what happened?"
"I got into the business of people who weren't to be messed with. They killed my only family and left me for my own despair to consume me. They knew there was nothing I could do. I knew that. And it was then I made that choice. I ghosted myself from the world, to wander nowhere, sitting silently, in my meaningless bus."
"So, that's why you were in the bus?"
"Now you remember?"
"I first met you there, we were trapped together there."
"We weren't trapped, I trapped you there. It's my bus..."
"But, why?"
"I wanted to make sure it was you."
He doesn't wait for me to ask. "I used to work for the Victoria Express, but I was my own gear, I used my bus and solved people's turmoils. When I chose solitude, suicide was a following thought, but I was interrupted by some new clients, a pair of Border Collies. Your parents..."
"M-my real parents? So you know them?"
"I did, they came to me with fear, devestated. They told me that their daughter mysteriously disappeared one night. They've organized searches, called authorities, but none succeeded. Desperately, they went to find me, hoping to reunite them to you. I told them I'd consider it, but they weren't going to take 'maybe' for an answer. They told me that all they wanted was for you to be safe, in the right hands. It seemed like they were in quite a hurry, they promised that if I found you, in return, we could get married."
"Married?" I don't know how to feel right now.
"Of course, I was too unstable to even try again, especially even to try again at protection. They also say, if I don't accept, I have to find someone who will. It's because they won't be able to take care of you anymore. I didn't know why, they just left me, in a rush, with a note, a note with terms and conditions." He retrieves a small piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. "Terms and conditions involving your care and safety."
I read the note, it has a list of three:
'#1. She has to have a form of protection until marriage
#2. Her first kiss enforces forever marriage
#3. She's not able to see us again.'
"My parents are so protective... just like you, Kayate. I don't know if I would've been able to make it this far without you."
"Protecting is the only thing I can do for you. I'm still not sure if I can commit to you fulltime. But, if you think otherwise just say it."
"You're still so pessimistic... I worry that without me, what would become of you?"
"It's true that your optimism has made me view the world differently. I'm sure I'll be fine. Once I take you back to Northward, my debt will be paid off and you won't need me anymore... as for me..." He hesitates. "I guess I'll have to find a new path."
I feel bad for him. If I choose to go back with Nigel, I won't need Kayate to be my bodyguard. Have I created a purpose for him? Without me, what is his purpose?
He decides to change the subject. "Come on, let's get you back." He lifts a hand and a bus comes driving up to us.
"There's no driver..." I watch as the doors slide open. "But, then... how..." I'm baffled on how the bus can drive on its own.
"You're not familiar with talents?" He asks, but he seems understanding. There are lots of things I don't know about this outside world.
"Well, even before the Rabbit Hole came to be, dogs with these special abilities roamed, hopefully searching for something to do with them. Some say Dr. Rabbit unleashed something to make us have such powers, but one thing's for certain, it's not safe for us."
"Powers? Do I have some?!"
"Considering how yours went unnoticed all these years, it's possible that being a pet locked it."
"That sucks... So you can control this bus?"
"I can summon it. But as you may know, this bus may not be as it seems. You can say it's an illusion." He leads the way onto the bus. "Just don't get lost."