Kibishi's POV

  Everything felt cold. It was kind of like a coat of snow covered my naked body.

  The only thing was, I knew for sure that I was fully clothed.

  It also didn't help that my body felt a bit weaker than before. My stupidity even surprised me sometimes. I couldn't believe that I hit my head on the table like that.

  But...

  I didn't regret doing it.

  That was because....

  Because...

  A fsh of the past appeared in the darkness.

  Ah.

  I could remember the time when I was sitting there with Tao when she was living in her box. Every day, I fed her my original meals.

  I could remember sneaking out to feed her. I always found Tao interesting when I was very little.

  Although interesting might not have been the right word.

  At any rate, the memories of spending time with her were unforgettable. I even sometimes created her favorite meals that the old dy provided to me to make. They were so good that I decided to share them with Tao.

  I even handed her a letter for the dy.

  ..............

  .... Now that I thought about it, who was that old dy?

  She was simir to Tao for sure. But I didn't want to jump to conclusions, so I chose not to speak about it.

  Although I felt like Tao might know the dy, and for that reason, I chose not to speak to her about that dy ever again. I only spoke about her once, and that was all.

  The expression Tao made hurt my very soul.

  It was almost as if she were reliving something unsettling.

  Days went by, and we were getting closer. However, Tao wouldn't admit that we were getting close. She even cimed that we weren't friends back then.

  And even if that stung a little bit, I didn't give up.

  As long as Tao was eating and drinking, then I didn't care.

  Just watching Tao enjoying her meal meant the world to me. That was when I knew... I had to protect that smile... no matter what.

  The day before the attack, Tao asked if we could have meals daily. I mean, we were doing that already, but only for lunchtime since that was when I could have escaped.

  I simply nodded and pinky promised her that I would.

  It was the most exciting thing ever.

  But then—

  Spt!

  The following night, the city was attacked. It was blurry, but I protected Tao with my very life. And it left my back and chest with heavy scars that would remain for the rest of my life.

  As my blood was leaking out of me and into her clothes back then, I could see the horror written all over her face.

  Those memories suddenly faded, repced by the times when Tao and I slept together in the same bed back in prison. As the years went by, our bond strengthened.

  Not to mention, we met David and Riley a week after that. And surprisingly, they were one year older than us.

  But that didn't matter in the end.

  We all had each other. And it hasn't changed up to this day either. As long as we were together, then there was nothing we couldn't do.

  One st image appeared as the previous one faded out. An image of the current Tao smiling brightly with her eyes closed. In a beautiful white long dress, with her hair tied in a ponytail style.

  What would I do to have that side of Tao?

  I had to admit, her beauty really took my breath away.

  I wasn't saying that she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen... but I would lie if I said she wasn't.

  I didn't know...

  Something about Tao made me feel... warm. I wanted to keep this warmth for the rest of my life.

  Yet...

  Was there something else I wanted with Tao as well?

  .... No. Of course not. Besides... I didn't think I deserved such thoughts either.

  I mean, I doubted it was that way either. Tao was Tao, after all.

  Her smile... her body... her soul...

  I...

  I wanted to know all of it. And if possible... maybe to keep it for myself...

  ... Yeah, that would never happen. Besides....

  What kind of girl... would like an insane person such as myself?

  Tao...

  The way you do things really inspires me. I want to... I want to know you better than ever. I want to... I want to...!

  I want...!

  Everything started to brighten up as that st image faded away.

  ...........................

  ...... My eyes slowly opened up.

  I blinked out of instinct. The area around me was so blurry that it was unsettling. I shifted my head a little and saw my super code being hung on a clothes hanger right next to my dressing table.

  Soon, my vision became clearer. With the world around me returning as my consciousness was returning at st, I slowly groaned and held my head.

  "... How long was I out?" I whispered softly.

  Ba-bump!

  My heart beat went a bit faster than usual, but it soon calmed down.

  "Phew.." I exhaled in relief.

  Good. It seemed to be calming down now. I adjusted myself and tried to focus properly.

  Soon, I could see people standing in front of my bed.

  "Huh?" I worded out without thinking.

  I saw David, Riley, Emily, Yosei, Kuma, Kujira, and Tao with big smiles.

  "Welcome back, sleepy head!" they all said in unison.

  "Huh?!" I tilted my head out of confusion.

  "See? I told you it sucked." Kujira grumbled, but the warmth of her smile never left her face. I could see a hint of a blush there as well.

  "What?! Come on, you gotta admit, it was a pretty cool line!" David folded his arms while grinning in a cocky way.

  "I can't believe that you made me do this..." Riley sweated intensely.

  "It's a good pn, okay?!" David shouted at Riley, who covered her eyes before David started to yell at her.

  "Now now! I'm sure that we're all gd that Kibishi is awake now!" Yosei cpped her hands together while blushing. It seemed like the smile didn't leave her either.

  "Welcome back, Mr. Prince! You kept your princess waiting for you!" Kuma teased with a cheeky grin and her hands cpped together, snting a bit sideways.

  "You need to read the room..." Kujira deeply sighed at Kuma's reaction.

  This made me smile.

  It was good to see them again after bcking out for some time. Emily handed me some medicine and some water.

  "Here you are. This should calm your nerves down." Emily smiled at me.

  "Thank you," I nodded to her.

  "No worries! I'm gd that you're safe and sound!" Emily giggled.

  I ughed as well.

  But then my attention went to someone that I was really looking forward to the most. The others, too, of course, but this one was a bit more personal.

  And there she was. The person I wanted to see first if I was being honest. I saw Tao tearing up a bit. She was doing her best to keep it all in. Only for it to burst at the sight of me waking up.

  The room went silent when I slowly stood up and removed the sheet from over me.

  Tao and I looked at each other in awe. From here, I could tell that she had been waiting for me for ages. She had been very patient.

  Tao must have been working her butt off to remain calm and to get along with the others. Otherwise, she would have tried to wake me up sooner.

  I felt my body warming up and took a step—

  Jolt!

  I felt my body reacting strongly. It felt like I had been sleeping on the cold, hard ground. I almost fell headfirst, but Tao caught me. I backed up a bit, and our eyes met once more. Our faces were so close. But personally, I didn't mind it since I could see her ruby-like eyes.

  The fmes within her eyes never left. They were full of hope for my returning to her. And here I was in her very fragile but gentle arms.

  "...I'm..." I scoffed at myself then gently pushed a piece of Tao's orange hair behind her left ear. "I'm sorry for the wait, Tao," I whispered with my chest burning up.

  "It was worth it in my opinion," Tao whispers back at me.

  Then, Tao embraced me tightly and let her body heat mix with mine. I was so surprised by the sneak attack that I didn't know what to do.

  I could then hear Tao ughing.

  "Yes. This... this is worth the wait!" Tao says proudly as her arms wrap tighter and pull me closer. I can hear Tao starting to cry out of pure joy.

  I felt my arms wrapping around her waist. Her warmth was making me a bit dizzy, but in a good way.

  "I know. I wanted to see you badly, too, Tao." I whispered back at her.

  The world around us stopped.

  As if the world itself didn't exist, the only thing that Tao and I were concerned about was ourselves.

  I really missed this.

  Yeah, my main reason hadn't changed. The reason for survival. The reason to change. The reason to save the whole human race in the first pce.

  I wouldn't let this girl in front of me cry.

  The old me would have preferred to do both, but right now, Tao came first.

  We slowly broke off the hug and looked at each other once more. We both then giggled with our eyes closed. However, we ended up holding each other's hands.

  Ah. This took me back.

  I opened my eyes and felt Tao's hand resting gently on my cheeks.

  "Don't scare me like that again... okay?"

  I nodded.

  "Right. I'm sorry for scaring you, Tao."

  "You're forgiven, Kishi!"

  "Hehe!" I ughed out loud in relief.

  We both then stared at each other once more.

  Ba-bump!

  What was this?

  Ba-bump!

  Our bodies.... felt so warm—

  "Ahem!" Tao and I jolted in shock when we heard a cough. We both looked and saw Yosei folding her arms, her brows lowered.

  But she seemed more flustered than angry.

  "B-break it up, already! We got a j-job to do, damn it!" Yosei tried to be the cool-headed leader like she always did, but her shaky voice was ruining it.

  "T-true! As the veterans of this pce, we must bring peace! Isn't that right, Kuma?" Kujira looked at Kuma with red cheeks. But Kujira raised her brows. "Um, Kuma?"

  "Eeeeeeeeeeeeiiiii!!!" Kuma was just grinning away, squealing like a mouse. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I can die happy now!" Kuma pced both hands on each of her cheeks.

  "Uh..." Kujira deeply sighed to show defeat.

  Tao and I looked at each other and then ughed together.

  It seemed like nothing had changed over the few hours.

  Of course, that made perfect sense since it had been only a few hours. But I couldn't help but smile about this.

  But then I saw Yosei's expression shift from a smile to a bit of seriousness.

  "Everyone. While I like the idea of all of us having fun, there's work to be done tonight, so I'll get right to it."

  Yosei took a step forward, staring at me almost as if daggers were stabbing my stomach. The way Yosei could shift from pyfulness to leadership was honestly amazing... and scary.

  "Kibishi, there are some things I must tell you before we have to leave for the night."

  "You do?" I let go of Tao as she did to me.

  Yosei nodded.

  "It's a long story, but bear with me for a moment," Yosei announced in a slightly deeper voice than usual.

  A few moments ter....

  "... And that's the event so far." Yosei let out a deep sigh after telling me everything so far.

  "I see." I nodded.

  So basically, after I got knocked out, the meeting continued as usual. There were some agreements and disagreements about me and my death powers.

  Tao ended up being a bit undecided about what to do, but ended up behaving in order to keep me safe.

  Of course, The Founder, being The Founder, ended up making things slightly worse, but not too much, which means that he did what he had to do as a leader.

  With that in mind, his decision-making sounded very logical, and some points he made were kinda sound.

  It wasn't out of spite or anything like that.

  It was calcuted.

  For example, if he were to only use the humans for the first part of the yer, then it wouldn't have been logical, even though I could see him doing that regardless.

  But no.

  The Founder was a smart guy. He wouldn't do this without a reason. The reason for this was that he wanted the progress to go smoothly.

  Half of the supernaturals would be guiding the soldiers for the first part of the yer, while Yosei soloed the second part and waited for the team to arrive once they checked the yer thoroughly.

  And once that was done, the soldiers could return home safe and sound, and the rest of the supernaturals could join Yosei for the second half.

  If you thought about it that way, it made perfect sense.

  But still, that didn't mean I liked the pn.

  It was putting David and Riley in danger. That, I could not forgive. However, it wasn't in my pce to say anything.

  That and....

  "So... I'm out of the mission for the night..." I whispered as I could feel my body rexing, but my heart sank a little bit.

  "I'm sorry. But it was Mato's suggestion. The Founder was alright with you joining, surprisingly." Yosei looked away as if she were ashamed and folded her arms once again.

  "To be honest, though, I'm sort of gd it came to that conclusion. After all, you're nowhere near ready to explore after you just awakened, Kibi." Kuma added. She didn't mean any harm by what she was saying. It made sense all in all.

  Kuma was even pushing her thumbs together. It was "awful" to say to someone who had just woken up, but it had to be said.

  "Right," I nodded slowly.

  Yeah... I accepted this.

  Anyone with a brain would come to this conclusion. There was no fw to any of this.

  I knew this well.

  I knew this yet... I hated it.

  I wouldn't be able to protect Tao and everyone else if I were cooped up in my room. I wanted to be out there helping.

  I didn't care about my own safety. I just wanted to be out there, protecting those who were now in this mission due to the "logic" of the situation.

  I hated it, but... I couldn't.... reject it...

  Not this time at least.

  I deeply sighed. I closed my eyes in defeat.

  Normally, I would protest and try my best to wiggle my way in. After all, my best friends were now part of the mission.

  But if I did that, then the three of them would worry about me nonstop.

  So having a burden such as myself out of the picture made a lot of sense.

  With that in mind, I simply smiled. I smiled because... I wanted them to be able to do this without worrying.

  "Yeah, I get it. You want me to rest and not be a burden to you all, right?" I said honestly.

  I opened my eyes and saw everyone looking sorry for me.

  "Don't be like that. It makes sense in the long run. The sooner you guys do this, the sooner you all can return safely."

  I slowly took out the knife from my pocket. I heard that it was supposed to transform back to a cube if your mind wasn't satisfied with the results. I suppose I had accepted this as my mindset.

  "This knife wouldn't be much help anyway. Those monsters would kill me before I got the chance to use it. With or without being the concept of death."

  Right.

  I supposed as long as I wasn't mentally prepared for the task at hand, no matter how "powerful" I was now, it was useless if I couldn't even get close enough to use the knife.

  In that case, I would sit this out. However...

  "But let me be clear on one thing. I WILL take action if something goes wrong. It can be slightly for all I care. It all remains the same for me." I firmly stated.

  "There you go again. Saying what you want despite it not happening." David shrugged his shoulders.

  "I don't want to hear it. My mind is made up. I will always be this way, and you know it."

  "That's what terrifies me the most, dumb ass. I'm telling you to stop making us worry." David pced his hands on his waist.

  "Alright! Break it up, break it up! There's a mission to finish!" Yosei said pyfully. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. I was gd that she could be flexible.

  "But seriously, we have to go everyone. The Founder's patience is running thin, I believe." Yosei pced her arms behind her back.

  "He can be mad for all I care. Checking for someone's well-being comes first." Riley puffed her cheeks.

  "Now, now. Let's get to it!" Kuma raised both of her hands.

  "Alright then! Looks like we're off! Try not to warm up the bench too much for me, bro!" David joked and then started to walk towards the door.

  "See you ter, Kibishi!" Riley waved goodbye and started to follow David.

  The rest of the girls started to head towards the door, following David's lead.

  Well, I say all, but there was one who stayed behind.

  I looked and saw Tao staring at me with concern. Her fingers wrapped around mine.

  "Hmm? What is it?" I spoke softly.

  "..." Tao remained silent.

  "...Ah, geez. You're making me feel embarrassed." I scratched the back of my neck.

  But all I got was Tao tightening her finger lock. She leaned in closer with her brows lowering.

  "... Hmm?" I raised my brows.

  "... Promise me that you won't go out there if things get dicey?"

  "..."

  I stared into Tao's ruby eyes.

  Could I really promise that? I mean, I didn't want to hurt her in any way but...

  ... Yeah, I would be honest with her.

  "I'm sorry. Not even I can promise you that, Tao." I gave a warm smile.

  I didn't say that to hurt her. I was saying this because I knew myself better than anyone.

  "..." Tao continued to stare at me.

  "I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't make this promise. Your life is precious to me, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect it. Besides, our past promise overcomes this newest one you're giving me." I said firmly.

  I didn't like to be serious when it came to Tao, but I had to put my foot down. I wouldn't say that I wouldn't do anything when I clearly knew that I would if she were in danger. Telling her that I wouldn't would only hurt Tao more than anything.

  And so, I decided to be truthful.

  Tao slowly closed her eyes and then let out a deep sigh. She then opened her eyelids halfway.

  "... Ouch. You could've worded it better. But I know where you're coming from. I won't force you to make this promise..."

  "I'm sorry, Tao..."

  Tao shook her head.

  "Don't be. I would have said the same thing if you asked me for this promise. You're only saying it because you know deep in your heart that you would rather protect me than make a pointless promise. That's what I like about you, Kishi..."

  Tao slowly unwrapped her fingers and then pulled away.

  "But still, hearing you say that still kind of hurts..." Tao admitted.

  "And it hurt me to say that to you, too."

  "Hehe! Well then, I suppose I shall accept this hurt if it stung for you!"

  With a twirl, Tao started to run towards the door. When she reached it, Tao put her hands on the knob. But Tao paused for a moment and slowly looked at me.

  "Kishi..."

  "What is it?"

  "Do you think... you'll kill me if I turn into a bad person?" Tao asks such a strange question.

  I wanted to answer right away, but I didn't want to half-ass it.

  I took a brief moment to think about it.

  Would I really be able to kill Tao?

  ........................

  ........ Yup, as I thought. My answer would always be the same.

  "Of course not. Even if I'm the Grim Reaper himself, there's nothing for me to kill. Tao will always remain special to me. For now and forever. Also..."

  You're the one person I will never kill...

  I don't care how you'll turn evil, but I would have figured out a way to bring you back to the sweet and good Tao that I always know and—

  .........

  ...... And I thought of all the time.

  "At any rate, Tao will always be someone who I will always hold dear." I scratched my red hair in embarrassment.

  "... I see. Hehe, so you and I DO think alike! That makes me happy!" Tao's smile brightened the room. As her cheeks turned reddish and her body moved elegantly, I could feel myself trying to keep it together.

  "Well, you should get going. The others are probably wondering where you are now!" I raised my hand at Tao and waved at her.

  "True! Bye-bye, Kishi!" Tao waves back at me.

  Tao finally took her leave and closed the door behind her.

  Once she was nowhere in sight, I lowered my hand. I sat down on my bed and looked up at the ceiling.

  "... Yeah. Tao does look beautiful..." I whispered.

  I had been denying it for some time, but having to look at her again it made me admire Tao's beauty. Some people might not see it, but I surely did.

  Tao... was a beautiful girl.

  Any guy would find her attractive.

  "What am I thinking?" I scolded myself and y down. With my arms behind my head, I continued to stare at the ceiling.

  ...Yeah.

  I could not deny that Tao was gorgeous.