84.5%

Chapter 5: Friends

(Chapter 5: Friends)

----

Joe briefly turned away from Ryoko in order to collect his thoughts and to take a hard, deep breath. He felt some sort of both relief and jealousy: at least she didn't have to stare into the cold, dead eyes of the exsanguinated corpse that used to be their dear friend. Of course, out of respect, he turned back around once she asked him a question.

"Joe... what have you been up to recently?"

Of course, she knew what he was doing for a living. Joe had remained rather tight-lipped on what he planned to do after graduation, worrying the rest of the student body. They understood why he would apparently forgo further education and lock himself away to become what was called a hikikomori, but the teachers were still wary. Joe had actual talent - a shame his best friend had to die in order to unleash it.

The Death Game had left a few lessons in Joe, and one of them was that he should live life to the fullest and not take it for granted, as it could end any moment. So he took his studies more seriously, his grades improved by the week, and by graduation he was set for a career. Of course, he had no intention of full-time employment.

But was it truly to become a shut-in from the outside world? No. As known through the case of Kuro, the cat Joe helped out in the rain, he was rather good at handling pets. After graduation, he decided to help out part-time at an animal shelter just down the street from which he lived. His mother was rather poor, especially now that her husband was untimely killed, and Joe knew that he had to make ends meet - after all, she was already driving herself mad with her own job as a waitress.

Thankfully, the extra money Joe received for his contribution was enough to keep the Tazuna household financially stable. And with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his mouth, reminiscent of the boy he used to be, he bragged about it:

"Been helping out at the animal shelter."

"Oh, Joe. You've always had a soft spot for animals, didn't you?"

"Yeah, sure did." Joe replied, his hand on the back of his head. "Takagi's probably buying some cat food for Kuro right now."

"You still remember that?!"

"Of course - one of the last happy memories I have with Sara and all that..."

A brief pause of silence, before Ryoko continued the conversation.

"I... I went into college. Degree in music, piano."

It was rather inevitable, in hindsight. Ryoko had been a member of her middle school's music club, and she was rather good at the piano. Joe knew from earlier visits to her house that Mr. and Mrs. Hirose had bought her a rather large piano for her 18th birthday. He had been hearing the distinctive sound of piano keys shortly before he arrived at the doorstep. Of course, he just had to comment on it.

"That's rather nice. Are you going to dedicate one of your pieces to Sara?"

"Of course, Joe. Why wouldn't I? She was my best friend as well - and I... I read the report into what happened, and... she died... she died so cruelly..."

She broke down sobbing, and Joe stood there, unwilling to further hurt her with words. He knew exactly how Sara died. After all, he had witnessed it with his own two eyes. But he felt it was better to keep Ryoko in the dark if she didn't know already. He didn't want her to be imagining Sara's initial shrieks of agony as the tubes punctured into her flesh, or the pained and slowing breathing as her life ebbed away.

That would just be even more cruel.

"Hey... Ryoko... weren't we planning on going to her grave?"

"Yes... we were."

"I think we could visit the old doner kebab shop we frequented. For old time's sake?"

Ryoko's tears stopped as her head perked up.

"For old time's sake...?" she asked. "Yes. What a wonderful idea, Joe."

"We'll buy three. One for me, one for you, one for her. We'll leave the last one near all the flowers, right?"

"Sure." was Ryoko's terse answer.

Nevertheless, Joe felt a bit more satisfied as he and Ryoko went on their way to buy some familiar snacks. The carefree days of drinking cheap soda from the vending machines on the rooftop were dead. They died along with Sara Chidouin.

But at least Joe Tazuna and Ryoko Hirose, her two best friends, were still there to carry on the childhood traditions for her sake.