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Entry tags:	[a]isu, akame, au, meet death, multi-chaptered

Meet Death - Chapter 9
Title: Meet Death
Author: Aisu
Rating: R (for now)
Pairing: Akame
Genre: AU, comedy, romance
Disclaimer: I don't own Akame.
Summary: While Kazuya fights a losing battle for his life, a strange figure appears just as his heart beats for what should have been the last time. Introducing himself as Death, Kazuya is bound to the figure that brought him back from the dead.

[ 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 ]


CHAPTER 9

Kazuya never knew just how quiet his apartment could get. It was like every step he took, every move he made, resulted in an exaggerated echo that wouldn't let him rest.

What was that? How could Jin just disappear like that with no explanation whatsoever? And that kiss... What was that for?

Jin wasn't completely ignorant of things having spent quite some time as a human, but was it possible that he could experience such feelings for another so soon? Kazuya didn't know. He didn't know how that mind of Jin's worked, and it scared him.

How did he live his life before Death came into it? The mysterious figure that he wanted so desperately to disappear when he first laid eyes on him was now the one he wanted most to keep him company. He wanted the man to whine his name whenever he had a question, he wanted Death to annoyingly smirk at him, he wanted to pretend that it annoyed the hell out of him whenever the man ruffled his hair or tried to hold him out of ignorance. Heck, he just wanted him to be there.

"Jin..." Kazuya voiced the name silently to himself as he sat on his bed looking out the window. "...Where are you?"

x♠x
Standing before his front door, Kazuya ran his hand through his hair a few times before turning the knob. As he pulled the door open, he raised his head to see what stood before him.

The same street ran past the front of his apartment, the same view was there to greet him as always. Everything was the way it should be, yet it all felt wrong. The young man half-expected Death to be on the other side of the door, waiting to surprise him with a stupid smirk upon his handsome face.

It didn't happen however, and with each day Kazuya had begun to think Jin really was gone. Death, the man who was once like himself, was trapped as a keeper of lost souls forced to show the way for the dead. Jin had returned to his former way of ‘living', and that was all there was to it. The man had walked the earth with the intention of altering his fate, Kazuya being the one to aid him in this task. Whether or not Kazuya had fulfilled his purpose, or helped the other, he hadn't the slightest clue.

The kiss must have been the most fitting way he thought to say goodbye, that's all. That's what the boy reasoned to himself as the days passed by and there was no sign of Jin. That's how he coped with the loss; by pretending the action meant nothing more than a simple farewell. It was time's fault for letting him forget the look that was exchanged before their lips met, Jin's stare so full of affection as he looked straight into the boy's eyes; Death's penetrating glare looking straight through the one that stood before him.

x♠x
Thoughts of Jin flooded Kazuya's head as he mindlessly went about with his standard day by day routine. Pi tried questioning the unusually quiet boy, but never got anything useful concerning the situation. He assumed it was one of those things that a person encounters at one point in life where outside help doesn't do much. Assuring Kazuya that he would always be there if he ever needed anyone to confide in, Pi left the boy to deal with it on his own, only offering up his usual jokes to lighten the mood every once in a while.

University was just an inconvenience, Kazuya zoned out during every lecture given and had to get notes from another student because he couldn't focus. The only class he could even remotely stay alert in was photography since it required him to do more than just slouch in a chair.

"Take a photograph of something that inspires you," the professor had said.

Something that inspires you, Kazuya thought as he sat in his living room chair. What a stupid assignment. I could take a photo of anything in that case and say that it inspires me.

Kazuya walked over to the spot Jin had stood in the day he left. It was raining again, a faint drizzle could be heard splashing down upon the roof. It would soon stop.

Leaning against the glass of the window, the boy reluctantly lifted a camera he held in his left hand and snapped a picture of the several droplets of water falling down at a slight angle. While doing so, he couldn't help but feel as if he were fulfilling the assignment for someone else, that rain wasn't the thing that inspired him, but another.

Kazuya sighed as his body slid down the wall and met the floor. It wouldn't do. He'd have to go out later when it stopped raining to see if he could find anything that would meet the requirements of his photography project. He had high doubts that he would find any success, but he figured it got him out of the apartment, which was definitely an upside right now. The longer he remained within the confines of his residence, the more he'd drown himself in past memories.

x♠x
When Kazuya left the apartment, his feet wandered down random roads and side streets. He didn't know where he'd end up, and when he found himself near the entrance of a park, he just shrugged as he strolled on in. Sure, a park, why not, he thought. He had been brought here as a kid by his parents, though his memory of the place was vague. As he walked further into the small park, he found it to be a relaxing environment.

The grass was a lush shade of green, lovingly cared for by Mother Nature's regular spring showers. Birds sung their sonorous tunes as they glided through the wide blue sky; drops of water fell from high branches occasionally coming to rest upon Kazuya's head. In the distance there were young children running around, their parents keeping a watchful eye as they interacted with one another.

The children? Should he take a picture of them? Kazuya had always found the innocence of children to be a thing of beauty. He decided that that would be a last resort, though.

Continuing his journey, Kazuya found a rather steep hill in sight; one he thought would provide him with a sufficient view of the park. He laboriously climbed up it, his shoes slightly dampened by the wet grass. When he reached the top, he spun around in circles surveying the area around him.

"Trees, more trees, grass, other green stuff..." Kazuya resignedly sighed as he sat on the hill, not caring if his pants would be soaked when he got back up again. Eventually he let his body fall back so he could lie upon the grass to gaze up at the sky while a breeze started to pick up. It was a beautiful park, but there was nothing there for him.

"Ow~!" Kazuya shouted when an object suddenly bounced off of his chest.

Sitting back up, he discovered a bright yellow ball to his left, a young boy expectantly looking up at him.

"...Why does this scene feel so familiar...?" Kazuya muttered to himself with a raised brow.

Tossing the ball back to its supposed owner, Kazuya rested his elbows upon his knees as he lifted his camera to his eyes. "Might as well just take the picture and get it over with," he said while staring through the camera's viewfinder.

A strong wind brushed across the park. The countless blades of grass bent in the constant airstream as Kazuya attempted to keep the camera steady, not wanting a blurred photograph. Laying his index finger over the shutter button, he centered his desired shot. The laughing children were still dancing around in circles, though something off to the side ruined the picture. It would easily steal away the observer's attention, drawing any gaze off to the edge of the shot instead of focusing on the main subject. Not able to distinguish the object, Kazuya stood up and slowly made his way back down the hill.

A suspicious feeling aroused within the young man while he froze in place as if knowing he had a new shot in mind. Lifting the camera for yet another time, Kazuya held it against the side of his head. He was having an internal debate as to whether or not he should take the shot.

Staring at the figure, he could tell it was another person apparently watching the children. Kazuya was looking at their profile, a side-shot. The outline wasn't too distinct due to the forest-like surrounding that shadowed the individual.

Kazuya's hand moved on its own; he found himself gazing through the viewfinder again. The stranger's hair flew in the wind hiding their features from the boy's sight, and then, as if feeling the weight of his stare, the unknown character quickly whipped their head around to gaze straight through the viewfinder back at Kazuya.

"Shit!" Kazuya quietly shouted to himself as the camera fell from his hand and crashed into the ground below him. "It can't... it's not..." Bending over, Kazuya snatched up his camera that, visibly, sustained no damage.

A shiver ran up the boy's spine as his eyes relocated to the spot the figure had stood seconds before; there was no one. On some sort of impulse Kazuya wanted to turn around, but instead he found that he couldn't move; his body had tensed.

"Kazuya~"

He stood directly behind Kazuya, his lips barely touching the boy's ear. Kazuya could feel the man's warm intermittent breath as he exhaled. The boy didn't know if he wanted to believe it, if he really was just behind him, that it wasn't his mind just playing tricks, creating an illusion so realistic that he could feel the other's heated breath upon his skin.

"J..." Kazuya tried to bring himself to call the other's name, to do something that would confirm the other's existence.

"It's okay, say my name, Kazuya."

"...J...JERK!" the boy shouted.

"Ehhhhh?" came Jin's dumbfounded response. That's not my name, he thought.

"You heard me," Kazuya stated as he took a step in front of him only to find that an arm had circled around his waist.

"Don't be like that..." the man insisted, drawing Kazuya into his embrace. "Don't leave."

How funny that you're the one saying that, Kazuya thought to himself. "Why shouldn't I?"

Jin frowned, an irresistible pout Kazuya couldn't see formed on his lips. "Did you miss me?" he asked somewhat hesitantly, the hold he had on the boy loosening.

He had changed his tone of voice, and though Kazuya had found the one that Jin used during their first meeting to be annoying, he discovered that he was beginning to grow rather fond of that one as well. It was deeper, intimidating, seductive even.

Kazuya didn't respond; he only stood in the other's weakened embrace.

"I missed you," Jin confessed, leaning his head against the back of Kazuya's. "Did you want to forget me, Kazuya? Should I go away?" he asked, even though he knew the latter wasn't an option.

Isn't that what you already did, Kazuya said to himself as he noticed that a woman was staring.

"Oh shit," the boy said before quickly breaking away from Jin and walking toward the exit of the park. He could've cared less what the woman thought, but he certainly didn't want to have to explain anything to a crowd of kids staring at him with widened eyes.

"Kazuya?!" Jin called in a cracked voice, almost as if he couldn't believe the other's response.

"No Jin, no, I don't want you to leave," Kazuya gave his answer. And it was true; he was overcome with happiness that the other had finally returned. He didn't exactly intend on showing it just yet, however. "Now will you hurry up and get moving?"

Looking back at the others in the park, Jin surprisingly enough thought he understood, and with a smile on his face chased after Kazuya.

x♠x
"What?" the boy asked from his spot on the couch, irritated.

Jin had been smirking the whole walk back, and the expression hadn't altered for a second even after entering the apartment.

"You said you didn't want me to leave," he simply replied.

"And I'm already starting to regret it," the boy mumbled, though after processing his actual words he knew they were false. "What were you doing there anyways?"

"At the park? Waiting for you," Jin answered.

"How did you know...?"

"I came back just as you were leaving your apartment; I've been watching you since you left." Jin stood from the chair and walked over to the windows, apparently a favorite spot of his.

Jin wasn't sure how he should appear in front of the boy once he returned. He had stood on the porch, thinking about whether or not waltzing right in as if he hadn't been gone would be a good idea. Before he could actually come to a conclusion, the doorknob turned and he materialized onto the rooftop, watching as Kazuya walked down the street.

Kazuya blinked, not really caring to know why Jin didn't just show himself then and there if he had come back. There was something else he wanted to know.

"Where did you go?" the young man asked.

Jin's stare darkened, and Kazuya was sure he had wandered onto forbidden grounds. In the seconds that followed however, the man just sighed in defeat.

"I went back," he began. "Back to my world."

"Why?" Kazuya asked; his body turned on the couch so he was facing the other.

Knowing this would most likely lead to another set of questions, Jin decided to take a seat beside Kazuya, the latter still wearing an intent expression.

"The Underworld is kind of like your world, in the sense that it isn't an anarchy. People can't just do whatever they want; we have a type of system. So... the Underworld has a Council."

"But you're Death..." Kazuya gave voice to his thoughts, wondering how a powerful figure such as the man sitting before him could be beneath anyone.

"Well, yes, but... The Council is kind of like... They're my advisors," Jin tried to explain. "Remember when I told you about Reapers?"

Kazuya nodded. He recalled the time Jin told him that Reapers helped him collect souls, and then with further questioning the man had refused to answer anything else.

"The Reapers that were there when everything first started, the original Reapers, they're part of The Council. You see, that cycle that involves the role of Death..."

Kazuya sat holding onto every word that escaped Jin's lips, like a child listening to a storybook being read to him before bedtime. "What?" Kazuya asked, seeing that Jin was silent. "Were you... a Reaper?"

Jin shook his head. "No, I wasn't," he answered. "But... I might be, later..." The last few words were barely a whisper as Jin looked into Kazuya's eyes, a sullen expression adorning his beautiful features. "Anyway," he continued, looking away. "There are always new Reapers coming in, but it's only the ones that were there originally that are able to be a part of The Council."

Kazuya nodded once more.

"They've been summoning me. The Council, they've been trying to get me to go back because I'm nearing an end to my time here. I told you the time I spend here determines what happens to me once my time as Death is over; they were reminding me of that. I had to go back so they could tell me where my task is to be fulfilled."

"...Your... task?" Kazuya hesitantly questioned.

"I can't tell you anything concerning that matter," Jin immediately replied in a firm voice.

This time it was Kazuya's turn to sigh. There was still one more question he wanted answered, however.

"Jin, why were you crying?"

Furrowing his brows, Jin shot the boy a questioning look. "What?"

"Around the time you first came here. You had a bad dream," Kazuya reminded the other. "You were crying that day while you slept. What was it that made you cry like that?"

"Bad dream...?" Jin repeated the boy's words, bringing a finger to his lips as he tried to remember the lifelike experience.

x♠x
Jin stood in his usual attire, a tee with a long-sleeved shirt tied about his waist, jeans sagging near his ankles, and a baseball cap worn askew upon his head.

He stood a few meters ahead, a smile brighter than the sun adorning his soft features. That smile was the only thing Jin thought he ever taught the other. The way he wore it made it seem so genuine that even if it was only an act, no one could possibly tell otherwise.

He never did look right whenever he wore that black suit that defined Death. Whenever Jin looked at him, he would create an image of the man when he was still alive. Jin pictured him as outgoing and optimistic. The type that would always look on the brighter side of life regardless of how desperate a situation became, the type that would always be there for another. To listen, to hold, and to encourage when all hope seemed lost.

The bullet train was approaching; Jin could hear it in the distance. As he redirected his gaze to find the man he exchanged a glance with seconds before, his eyes widened.

"What's he doing? He's gonna get himself killed! DON'T!"

x♠x
"The past," Jin said, knowing it wasn't the answer Kazuya had been looking for.

"Ah..."

"There was something I was supposed to do; something I was meant to do, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If you ask me, I don't think there's someone that could. Sure, someone can seem good enough a person that they'd do it, but when it comes right down to the actual moment, I can't think of anyone that's capable. If there were though..."

Kazuya raised a brow; nothing the man said was making any sense to him. Jin was talking his way around the question, trying to tell Kazuya as much as he could without actually telling him anything. The boy figured he may as well try to continue the conversation, however. Who knows, it could lead to something useful.

"If there were...?" Kazuya repeated the man's last words.

"If there were, then I'd like to meet them," Jin smiled. "My actions led to a terrible result..." he said with closed eyes as he rested his head on the back of the couch. He could feel the tears begin to form behind the closed lids, the weight of Kazuya's stare upon his face.

Looking away, Kazuya was left to ponder on his own once again. It would seem that someone didn't want him to be left with his own thoughts however, and his cell phone vibrated, causing him to jump in surprise. Retrieving the object from his pocket, Kazuya flipped open the cell and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

x♠x
"Shit... I never did get a photo," Kazuya realized as he stood in the darkroom provided for his photography class. Oh well... I can at least develop the other pictures I took, he thought. It was better than just standing there doing nothing.

Removing the film from the cassette, Kazuya then loaded it onto a metal film reel. He could hear students from the beginner's class cursing themselves for having ruined their pictures while trying to load them onto a reel. It wasn't an easy task; he knew. After putting the loaded reel into a film tank, Kazuya opted to help out a few of the students.

It was about an hour or so before Kazuya finally extracted his developed photos, clipping them to a wire hung above the work area. They always turned out nicer than he expected.

Kazuya liked scenery and would often take beautiful shots of various landscapes. This time however, there was a shot he hadn't recognized immediately; one he couldn't remember taking. It was familiar, yet at the same time not recognizable. Moreover, it was a person. Someone he had never seen before.

"When did I...?"

Then it hit him; the trees in the background, the position of the subject's face... Kazuya's finger had hit the shutter button before the camera crashed into the ground.

But that meant the man in the picture should have been Jin, and it wasn't.

A/N (Aisu): FIRST OFF, THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO amazinglygay for being the "MOST SPAZZMIC READER" as she puts it. xD She came up with a lot of theories concerning where the story will go~ And I enjoy hearing all the ideas you guys come up with, so keep guessing! ;D

So... I didn't make you wait too long with that cliffhanger, did I? XD I tried to get it done asap, but uh... well things didn't turn out that way. AND MY ENGLISH PAPER WAS LATE AGAIN OMG I SUCK WITH DEADLINES!

Anyways, enjoy this chapter. You guys'll probably have to wait longer since I'm gonna have to start getting more in-depth with all this Death crap and there's so much to cover... I have to make sure I don't miss anything important. @_@ IT'S SO COMPLICATED, YOU ALL JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND YET. MY HEAD HURTS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. XDD But enough ranting. xD

zomg double digits next chapter D: I never thought I'd write so much in my life... of my own free will no less. o_o