Crystal Spark

Chapter 11: The Soul

Keomi could feel her heart stop as she read the name on her phone. She felt the world freeze and at that moment nothing could touch her spirit. She couldn't feel the wind blowing against her nor could she hear the few people left on the dock. Kumika Yukimi. The name of the girl she had saved from Akutagawa.

Evidently the Boss no longer thought that the young girl was a worthy enough asset to keep alive. Which meant if she did not kill the young girl now, soon those who do not care about children's lives will come after her.

A lesson Mori had said.

"A lesson and a test in one day."  Keomi spoke out into the ocean her eyes growing colder, "Perfect."

But Keomi knew there was only one decision that she could make on this path that could save her soul. On the other side of the coin there was a path that she could never come back from. Staining her soul with blood forever. To kill the child or to save her.

But there was never really any choice. She could not kill the child. But she could not allow herself to die either as payment for that child's blood.

She waited there at the dock for awhile wondering if he would show up. He was always around when she did not want him to be. Just one time she needed him to be there when she needed him to be. Thirty minutes passed and the summer air was growing colder by the second. The moon was a symbol of an unforgiving chill in their city.

"Come on Dazai. For once can you just show up when I actually want you to." Keomi spoke with a huff and in disappointment she allowed her shoulders to sag ever so slightly. The Boss would be expecting her to complete her mission before the sun rose. Using the night sky as cover.

"I wasn't aware there was a time when you ever wanted me to show up, Keomi-Chan." Dazai replied as he leaned against the railing his front facing the people while his back faced the ocean. The opposite of Keomi. He spoke her name in relaxed tone his lips lifting up into a barely noticeable smirk.

"Trust me, I never thought the day would come either Traitor." Keomi responded using the nickname so many of the port mafia used, namely Akutagawa, when referencing Dazai Osamu. Still, she had to hold back a sigh of relief that the man had actually appeared when she needed him to.

"What are you doing out here on the docks wishing for the traitor of your comrades to come around?" Dazai responded turning his head to look at the side profile of Keomi's face. His hair falling as his head tilted as Keomi watched him from her peripherals.

"I received my next target directly from the Boss." Keomi held up her mobile phone in the air shaking it slightly as she spoke the words. She didn't even glance at the man as she handed the phone to him so that he could read the name.

"Kumika Yukimi." Dazai spoke aloud as he read the name off of the phone and only then did his eyes met hers. She looked towards him and all he could see in those eyes were steel cold determination. Eyes were the windows to the soul after all.

"I refuse to allow her to die. But I also refuse to die for disobeying the Boss." Keomi looked away from him and then she spoke again as she felt the cold air float through her messy bun once more knocking more hairs out of place, "You probably won't be seeing me for awhile."

"I'm your fail-safe, aren't I?" Dazai let a sloppy grin make its way onto his face as if they weren't discussing death.

"If I'm not back out on the streets in a month I need you to come looking for me. While I still refuse to abandon Akutagawa..." Keomi trailed off not wanting to speak the next words no matter how true they were. Dazai knew what she was going to say. Everyone at the agency now understood her driving force.