Paradisus - Paradoxum

ii. save what has been lost

'Finally... I can be at ease...'

Dark and cold.

That's what Shinichiro felt as he fell into the water. Everything was dark around him as the coldness of the water was making him feel numb, as if he was frozen. All he knew was that... he was falling. Falling deep.

Too deep.

Shinichiro opens his eyes as a realization comes to hit. But he knew that he fell into the river. Why did it feel like he was drowning an ocean? Was it a dream? No, it couldn't be. He fell straight down, and he felt the water slap his skin.

There was something wrong.

"Looks like you didn't listen to Reaper, didn't you?"

Shinichiro manages to turn around, seeing a  tall, slender woman with pale skin and black hair down to the back of her knees. Her turquoise eyes were staring into his own dull ones, and she was smirking. "Well, that's what people are, if not desperate." She leans back, and Shinichiro notices her kimono: It was a black-colored one, with rose patterns and lace. "You can breathe, rest assured."

Shinichiro must've had a skeptical (or more appropriately, shocked) look on his face as she said that, but there was no other option here aside from taking a short breath. He inhaled, and there was no water that followed. He exhales a sigh of relief, but he was still skeptical. "...who are you?" Was his first question.

This makes the woman laugh. "Oh, oh how you humans make me laugh!" She wipes a tear coming out of her eye as she was still laughing. "You managed to talk to Reaper and recognize him but me?! Oh, I can't even get offended!"

Shinichiro felt uncomfortable by her laughter, but he was concerned of who the hell was standing in front of him. "...this still doesn't answer my question." He manages to say to her. Once the woman was done laughing, she smirks. "I'm the Witch of Dimensions, Ichihara Yuuko."

What happens next is that all of a sudden they weren't in the middle of the dark sea, but rather in a small room and was somehow seated in front of Yuuko. A black table was there as well, and there were glasses and a bottle of sake. "So, Reaper has said that you want to go back to when your brother was alive, yes?"

Shinichiro watches her pour a bottle of sake into her glass, still feeling uncomfortable. With a sigh, he just nods at her question.

"Reaper really was too direct with his words, and humans don't tend to take him seriously." Yuuko places the glass of sake in front of Shinichiro. "I'm sure he also told you about the consequences if you try to interfere with time, did he not?" She asks, placing her elbows on the table with an amused grin.

Shinichiro stayed silent for a few seconds before nodding again.

"What happened to your brother was fate." Yuuko says to him, the grin still not leaving his face. Shinichiro notices smoke surrounding the both of them. "Changing it would mean that you won't care what happens to anyone else as long as you get what you want." Yuuko pulls out her kiseru, giving it a small twirl and the smoke surrounding them follows suit. "Let me ask you this then, why do you want your brother back?"

"He didn't deserve that." Shinichiro clenches his fists. "Manjiro... he didn't deserve to die like this... There was so much more ahead of him yet..."

Yuuko's amused grin was still here, and she leans back. "There is one way to change back your brother's fate."

The glimmer of hope returns to Shinichiro's eyes as she says that, and this makes Yuuko flash a look of surprise for a brief moment. "How can I get him back?! I'll do anything!"

"You'll have to pay a price." The smoke forms into an object, which was... a necklace. A diamond-shaped necklace that looked like a locket. Yuuko opens the locket and it revealed a white-colored heart... and it was transparent. "You're going to have to give up your second soul to me."

Shinichiro clutches his chest. "My second soul...?"

Yuuko's grin turns serious. "Your second soul is your chance to reincarnate when you die. Everyone has a second soul that give them the chance to live another life, or in some cases they'll give you something... unexpected. And if that second soul is taken away..." She smirks, closing the locket and with the flick of her wrist, it turns back into smoke. "They'll be sent to the Blank Void."

Shinichiro wanted to ask what this 'Blank Void' was, but judging the smirk on Yuuko's face, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now. "...is there any other sort of payment I can give?" He asks now, ignoring Yuuko's smirk.

However, Yuuko's smirk disappears as soon as the question went out of his mouth. She leans back in her chair, looking lost in thought. The silence was uncomfortable, especially since just a few moments ago she was laughing like a madwoman when Shinichiro didn't know who she was. "...was this a bad question?" He asks again, trying to break the silence. 

Yuuko sighs. "For someone who's desperate to possibly break time as we know it, you're a pretty demanding man."

Shinichiro didn't know if he should take any offense in that statement.

"But... maybe I can let this slide." Yuuko's smirk etches back onto her face. "Maybe you can give me something that you value the most. Like that lighter in your pocket."

"Happy birthday," Takeomi hands Shinichiro a small box. "You said you wanted this."

Shinichiro looks at the box suspiciously before eyeing Takeomi with a teasing grin. "If this is that fake engagement ring you keep telling me when we were kids---"

"Shin, don't even go there." Takeomi had a look of embarrassment when he brought that up.

Shinichiro laughs. "Alright, alright! I'll keep that to myself!" He takes the box and opens it, revealing a black-colored lighter. "Eh? Eh?! You bought me this?!" Shinichiro looks at his childhood friend in disbelief. "How the hell did you get a lighter from Cricket Lighters?!"

Takeomi grins, shrugging. "You said you wanted to go to the Philippines to try their cigars. While it's difficult to get actual cigars, a lighter would be a better replacement."

Shinichiro takes out the lighter, but he was hesitant in giving it to her. This was the first and last gift he had ever received from Takeomi. Giving it away would mean that he would be breaking their friendship.

"Hesitation." Yuuko holds her hand out, waiting for the lighter.

With a sigh, Shinichiro hands the lighter to Yuuko.

"That's more like it. See you in the past~!"

"Wait, what---?!"

The room suddenly disappears and water surrounds Shinichiro. Yuuko was no longer in sight and because he couldn't breathe, he loses consciousness as he lets his body go cold in the freezing water.