Nazun
Can't believe it. The kid really beat me. He had some help, sure, but he did it. I'm glad. He's got the potential to become very powerful. I wonder, Kozuna. I wonder if you'll grow strong enough to defeat the rest of the Hanakai.
I slowed my breathing, staring at the sky with a blank expression on my face. Blood trickled out of my body continuously, and my vision only grew more blurry with every passing second. My body was cold; death pursued me.
Sweet release was upon me.
No longer having to serve the Hanakai? It was a dream come true.
More helicopters approached in the distance. I turned my gaze to the side as best I could. The chopper blades' whirring weren't the only sound I could hear; the wails of Kozuna's anguish as he fell into the sand were far more prominent.
Guess his curse finally disengaged. He won't be up for a while. Won't be able to put an end to me. Oh well, I'm okay with dying by myself. Anything's better than what'll happen if I survive.
A voice echoed through my headset, the words of another Hanakai member. A woman with the ability to create portals from one place to another. A woman whose name I was never told. She was a high-ranking member of the organization, and I was merely a pawn.
"You're gonna make me waste energy on a portal, just to keep the Ozukashi from capturing you? Even for a whelp, you're pathetic, Nazun."
I could feel the lack of ground beneath my body- the Hanakai woman had begun opening a portal below, one that I'd fall right into without any work on my end. Right then, the helicopters landed nearby. A man in a silver, shoulder-length cloak stepped out: a member of the Ozukashi High Council.
I raised my feeble arm to the one person who I hoped could save me, though I knew he couldn't care less about my life.
"K-Kozuna!"
He glared back at me, struggling to keep one eye open as he was huffing for air. That one eye only widened when he saw the portal.
If only I could explain. Maybe then Kozuna could understand.
"Nazun! Don't run away from this! You did all of this!" Kozuna yelled, limping toward me. "You need to face justice! How many have you killed!? And you're not man enough to face the justice you deserve!?"
I wish I could be as idealistic as you, Kozuna. You and I are of a kind, but also different. Soul Reaping made people view me as a monster. There was no other way to be seen. You still have a chance to do right, though. Don't go and seek out your desires through darker means, Kozuna. That'll only lead you to the path of slavery. That's what having the power of a curse does to you. That's what it's done to me.
As the portal grew wide enough for me to pass through, my last sight was Kozuna falling into the sand, unconscious and twitching. His curse finally wore him out. And just as Yvira had landed too.
Maybe one day, I'll be able to apologize to those kids properly. Until then, I just hope Yvira does a good job of watching over Kozuna.