Divina Commedia.

14. no lives left behind

Despite everything that happened, Hayate didn't cry.

Yura wasn't really an important person to him.

But Daichi was.

Despite everything that happened, Hayate didn't cry, but he was crushed on the inside. He'd lost his sister, and now he lost someone who was like a loving uncle to him. It was hard for him to crash down to reality after the shooting. Daichi was dead and there was nothing Hayate could do about it.

He watched Daichi bleed out on the floor with eyes wide open, completely lifeless. Yura's tears were still fresh on her cheeks.

After shooting the men that broke into the parlor, Hayate looked down at his shaking hands, his breathing grew heavy.

He wasn't scared for some reason. . .

After the shooting, the police rushed into the parlor to take some control of the situation. They collected all the bodies. Despite being dead at the scene, they were still taken to the hospital where Hayate was handcuffed and seated outside of Daichi's room. He wanted to see the man just one last time. Hayate didn't think he'd have the courage to enter the room, but he did.

When he had enough of looking at Daichi, the police dragged him out of the room to question him.

Hayate's eyes were void of any glimmer. He looked just as deathly pale and soulless as Daichi and Yura.

"What is your name, young man?" The police officer in charge of interrogating Hayate was named Officer Kenzo. He was a rather old man, but still had a head full of brown hair. His voice and smile were both kind.

". . . Park Hayate."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"Can you tell me everything that you remember from the incident?"

It felt wrong to prod at a young person right after such a traumatic event, but Hayate wasn't just any person. It was as if he was made of stone sometimes. Hayate stared at Kenzo, his crimson eyes were so tired.

". . . I just dropped by for a drink. Daichi was with some women. When I sat down, my old classmate came over to me." Hayate paused for a second, "we talked a little bit. Then three men burst into the parlor. One of them had a gun. He shot Daichi, and he shot my classmate when his two other friends were holding me back." Hayate explained everything crystal clearly.

"The shooter was pronounced dead at the scene. Can you tell me about that?" Officer Kenzo peered a little closer.

"I killed him."

"How did you kill him?"

"I shot him. . . Five times." The white-haired boy was dead serious.

"Why five times?" Officer Kenzo spoke in a gentle voice. He just seemed to want to understand.

Hayate shook his head, "I don't know."

"Well. . ." The police officer scribbled something down on his notepad before speaking again. "We will let you go for now, but we will contact you for further investigation. I understand that Daichi and your classmate were important to you. If you ever need counseling, please contact me. You must be so shaken up by all of this." At that, Kenzo gave his phone number to Hayate after unlocking the handcuffs. The young man took the card, but he knew he was never going to use it.

When all of this was over, Hayate called Jin and Matsuda to meet up. They normally met up at the soccer field around the evening time when the sun was setting. Instead of kicking around a ball, the three boys just sat in the grass and stared at the sky while chatting.

"She's really dead?" Jin couldn't believe the whole story, but Hayate was no liar.

"Yeah," Hayate responded, shuffling through his pocket for a cigarette and lighter. "Fucked up, I know."

"Shit, man. . . I know I haven't seen her in years, but this hurts." Jin muttered. "And she just started model work."

"How are you holding up?" Matsuda asked, more concerned for Hayate than anything. "Daichi was really important to you."

"I'm fine." The white-haired boy lit his cig and took a long drag.

"Are you sure? You. . . You had to kill someone." Jin trailed off, "that must have felt horrible."

". . . It wasn't horrible." Hayate responded. "I actually kind of liked it." The faint smirk on his face was twisted.

Sick.

"The thrill. The adrenaline. Everything about it felt. . . Good." Hayate exhaled some smoke. "I wish I could relive that moment."