❝ PARALUMAN ❞

45

It was a chilly breeze with the howling of owls, and crickets chirping, with just the moon beaming above and candles providing the only source of light in the tranquil cemetery.

The cold crept like ice into your skin, but you shook it off by rubbing your arms repeatedly. It's the middle of the night, and despite the fact that hours have passed, you're still sitting alone in front of a gravestone.

Even though it had been at least a day since you returned to Bonten's mansion, you insisted on paying someone a visit. Luckily, here you are.

You took one of the candles and lighted it, but it was soon blown off by the wind. Before dropping your words and chatting to the gravestone, you gave a bitter smile.

"I hope you're still listening to my stories, Draken."

You spoke while looking at the tombstone, his tombstone.

"I'll be the one telling you stories now since you didn't get to continue telling your stories to me."

It's been hours... hours of talking to the gravestone as if he's there.

"It's been a year now?" You murmured. "What a time."

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♰

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ † Ryuguji Ken † Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

May 10, 1990 – January 6, 2022

R.I.P

🕯⛼🕯

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Your eyes trailed at the letters scraped on the gravestone with sorrowful eyes, yet no tears dared to escape. Your hands reached for the candles as you lit one up again.

"It's my first time visiting your grave after a year again." You said as you reached for the tombstone to brush off some dirt covering his name. "The caretakers here don't clean your tombstone, don't they?"

"You really need to leave me here, huh?" You sighed as you laughed. "Damn, if only I can go here every day, I'll be the one cleaning your tombstone."

"Is it really worth settling here?" You said. "I don't see sunsets the same anymore. It's vivid in my mind, the vision is palpable."

"You're so unfair," You laughed in a brittle voice, holding back the tears while feeling numb at the same time. You hugged your knees as you try to seek comfort from the cold while your gaze is fixed on the tombstone.

"I guess... we'll never get to watch the sunset sink again."

Suddenly, you heard something lightly thump on the ground, and your heart leaps out of your chest.

You hurriedly turned around and pointed your flashlight at the large dark empty cemetery, but there was no one there except for the graveyards, tall swaying trees, grass, and tombstones.

"Draken, shut the fuck up and stop haunting me." You grunted.

Instead, you saw a familiar object beside his tombstone, and your brows furrowed.

"Huh, what's this?" You mumbled as you reached for the mysterious object lying beside his tombstone, and you realized it was the object you heard that thumped, "Who would leave something like this here?"

You blew the specks of dust off from the object, and your heart sank while your eyes widened as you realized what the thing is.

The walkie-talkie.

You felt your breath escape you as you stared at the object in your hand, mouth gaping. Many questions start to pervade your head. It's the walkie-talkie that Draken gave you.

You looked around to check, but you were the only one in the place. You just snatched up the walkie-talkie and stuffed it into your pocket, intending to take it with you.

Suddenly, you felt droplets on your skin, prompting you to look up to find that it was starting to rain, and you didn't have an umbrella on, only your clothes hugging your cold body.

"I guess you heard the word sunset and made it rain, huh?" You bantered.

It was freezing, so cold that you can not feel your joints and your fingers were becoming numb, but you don't want to leave the tombstone, you never know when you can visit again. You just sighed and let the rain pour on you.

Until you felt an umbrella on top of your head.

"What took you so long?"

You looked up from behind you, and Mikey is standing while holding the umbrella.

"Let's go home."

You stood up after seconds of silence, facing Mikey as you took a last glance at Draken's tombstone before walking away with him to the car.

Mikey opened the door for you as you went inside, sitting in the front seat while facing the window. You just let the silence eat the both of you. He went inside the vehicle and start up the car, with only you and him inside the car

"Why— why did you just stay in the car and didn't come with me to the tombstone?" You asked him while still facing the window, breaking the silence.

Guilt.

Mikey didn't answer for a while, just starting up the car as he drove off, leaving the cemetery.

You cast a quick peek in the rearview mirror at him, and your heart skipped a beat as you noticed his darkly piercing eyes staring back at you, causing you to turn away and return your gaze to the window.

"Because I have no remorse." He finally replied.

You're now home at Bonten's mansion, just the usual doings like before, nothing really changed, just some few renovations on their base which probably caused millions. Still the same familiar workers, but one thing has changed... it's the employees at the office where Mask was formerly working.

Haru is still there working. A while ago, as you were walking down the hallway, you decided to take a quick glance at the office, and you saw Mask's friend there, Haru, and he's working at the desk all alone... and the seat beside him is empty.

You are now lying on your bed under your blankets while shivering, also because of the cold weather since it's raining heavily. Your room is dim, only the moon and lights from outside are the only sources of light along with the lampshade beside your bed, which you always keep on a low setting.

Suddenly, a loud thunder roared outside which made you jump on your bed with your pulse racing as you covered your ears and tried to hide under the blanket, even more, hugging yourself as it reminded you of those terrible roars from your childhood.

"Why do I feel little regret knowing the past... the forbidden knowledge."  You thought while trying to tuck yourself inside the blanket more.

While you're lying on your bed and trying to seek comfort from the loud thunders that brings you to fear, you didn't hear Mikey enter your room.

Mikey gently approaches your bed, and he notices a quivering from beneath the blankets; he was about to pull it off, but then realized. He took a look around your room and then walked over to the wide window near your bed, pulling the blinds down and covering it with a thick curtain too, trying to block the thunder sounds.

You felt your chest tightening and tears forming in your eyes from the deep fear it brings you, and you can't even stand up. At this point, you even try to pray just to make the thunders go away, and your eyes slowly open as the thunders lower down a bit, but you still hear it.

And there, you felt an arm wrap around you from behind.

"Huh?" Your lips quivered from the cold weather as you turned around, and your eyes widen to see Mikey lying beside you with his arm securing around your body under the thick blankets.

"W-what are you doing h-here?" Your voice is trembling from the cold, and you try to lift your head to check him, but he only hummed and his hand lightly pulled your head back on the bed, closer to his chest.

"Sleep. It's cold." Mikey mumbled while hugging your cold shaking body.

"Get off—" You protest, but a loud thunder roars with lightning just outside the window struck, and you covered your ears, tucking into Mikey's chest more.

"I told you, sleep." He muttered while rubbing the back of your head.

"But—" 

"Let me stay here for a while, it's been a year" He murmured while his chin is on top of your head, and your heart quickly beats from his words, "I missed you."

You looked up at him with dilated pupils with the faint light revealing his features, his white hair hanging on his forehead, eyes closed, lips murmuring and humming some words, and his face just relaxed, almost as if it's the first time seeing him this close.

And there, you finally fell asleep.

"All these feisty acts you did, yet you ended up here in my arms." Mikey thought, a smile threatening to form on his lips, but he quickly suppressed it, and he soon went off to sleep with you as well.

After a few hours, you're still sleeping on the bed with Mikey, and the heavy rain and thunders have stopped.

As you awoke, you drowsily opened your eyes and lifted your head to see that the weather had calmed down, but it was still dark outside, and Mikey was still embracing you in deep slumber.

Suddenly, you remembered the walkie-talkie that you took.

Slowly and carefully, you removed Mikey's arms around you and tiptoed out of the bed to get the walkie-talkie on the cabinet.

You carefully opened the cabinet door as you grabbed the walkie-talkie, then sit at the corner of the room on the cold floor while trying to figure out how to work the device.

There's a recording chip peeking from it, and you slowly pressed it.

Your eyes widened as you heard Draken's voice from the recording. Oh, how you dearly missed it... you almost forgot how he looked like and what his voice sounds like.

For once again, you remembered him.

"Hello Mikey, this is Draken, your very best friend in the whole entire world, when will we visit Village Callista again? I hope you spare some time to listen to this... Manjiro."

"As I'm recording this right now, I'm lying at the coziest bed you offered your workers in the office, oh and I'm the anonymous mask guy, working for you, as always. Well, I see this girl every day, she's from the past, the past that she has forgotten. Mikey, you have changed. What if one day, you just kill me? I'm scared, Mikey, especially when I see you holding a gun. I don't want to die, but at the same time, I want to because Emma is waiting for me, yet at the same time, I need to stay alive to fulfill my promise to (Y/N) in this universe. I need to guide her to the future, from the broken past that she suffered, I want to help her see the vision that she always wanted, she always dreamed of. She wants those flowers at the park; she said they're really pretty, and the sunset view on the lake. Whenever we watch the scenery, I always spot a glimpse of joy in her pure eyes, though it feels like it costs a life... As I said, I'm scared. I'm scared to die, but who knows? What cost does it take? It hurts, it really does. Wearing these masks every day, hoping you wouldn't recognize me and kill me. It's scary. You're scaring me, Mikey. What is the 'ken chin' that I always hear about? Man... I miss it, though right now I know you don't know me. You probably already forgot what I look like, what my voice sounds like, how I tie your hair every day, how I cook your meals, and lastly, how I always bring you to the church just to see this church girl named (Y/N), you probably forgot all of those. Let's visit Village Callista again when everything is fixed, okay? I don't care whether it's abandoned or burned down; it's my favorite place because I feel safe there. Oh and, she's my favorite in the church, though she's your crush back then, we have to quarrel who can have her, yeah? Very childish haha. Get her, Mikey, she's the one for you, how whenever I tell her stories about you, she's willing to escape her parent's grasps just to see you, her feelings are pure and fragile, so take care of it. If I can't marry her...? Then promise me to marry her instead, okay? She's the one for you, she is, I promise, I just know it. I know I'll die, so guide her to the future that she desires before the sunset sinks. Never break her heart, make her fall for you... again. Goodbye Mikey, from Ken chin, known as Mask is bidding farewell, stay safe."

"Oh and, her beauty is one of a kind, I describe her as your paraluman."

A/N: let's not forget him :) oh and also, there are more chapters to come!!! I don't want to spoil if the ending is near, maybe, and I'm hesitant to. Maybe I'll inform when it's 5-7 chapters before the ending, you guys may notice it though since it might be obvious, and also some might be shocked that it just ended. Well, every story ends tho, some with happy endings, some with sad endings. Again, thank you to those who continue to read, vote, comment, and support Hasty Feisty! I love you and stay safe <3