At Fault. Death Parade Fanfiction

The Truth

I tucked my white, long-sleeved shirt into my brown, knee-lenght skirt and sighed, taking my bowtie. I've been working almost non stop these past few days. But I don't really have a choice, do I? Someone's gotta pay those damn bills.. It isn't helping that I have to pay extra for keeping pets and feeding those two slobs, Monti and Deka. Well, I guess they pay in their own way.. I fixed my tie with shaky hands and secured my black apron atop in place. If I don't pay the bills until next week, the old man will throw me out for sure. I guess I should be thankfull to the lovely Kenji, for giving me more work. If I work at this rate, I'm sure I can get close to the price I have to pay for a roof above my head. Then, I can finally relax, eat a proper meal, which I don't remember the last time I had. It's always some sort of snack and water, so I don't pass out. Maybe I'll even go to a doctor, because loosing this much weight in two weeks isn't healthy.. I should fix my sleeping schedule, too.. And give more attention to those two furry and cuddly jerks. And ,finally, go on that date with Kenji, which I had been rejecting for too long, because of my work or health. Not too long and he'll think I don't like him. Poor guy.. I should have just gone out somewhere with him, rather than complaining. I'm horrible. But I'll make it up to him. A slight smile curved up on my face. Yeah. Everything's going to be great. Just a few more days and I can relax.. Just a few more.. I fixed my braided, but messy hair and walked out, heading to the bar. Only Kamiko, the new worker, who started working just a few days ago, was at the bar. I joined her and smiled. She was talking to a customer. Or I just assumed it was a customer. She introduced me to said customer, which turned out to be her friend - Nori. I shook her hand and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you." I smiled at the shy girl and turned to Kamiko. "Just don't forget that you work here."

She nodded.

"I will do my work, senpai. No need to worry." She reassured me. It looked like Kamiko was passionate about mixing drinks. She was really good at it, too. I smiled and started working myself, mixing coctails, pouring drinks, chatting with the slightly drunk customers and having a laugh or two. At times like these, I enjoyed working. The place wasn't too crowded and I felt a little bit more alive. I liked the atmosphere here, when there were little small crowds of people, instead of the usual, where it was hard to breathe, because you could only inhale sweat, smoke, vomit and angry customer's mouth breaths. It isn't fun, but working here for two years made me used to it. Some of the pigs that came here really did remind me of my alchoholic dad. Drunk, loud, with no respect for others or themselves. Just weak creatures trying to get away from what life has to offer them. Most of these people don't even taste the flavour. They just drink to loosen up and have fun. They drink just to drink. Not to experience this interesting liquid on their tongues and into their throat. I served another man a drink in exchange for money and he went to his table. I yawned, covering my mouth and cleaned the counter, where I had accidentaly spilled, thanks to my clumsiness. I rested my elbows on the clean wood and looked around. Kamiko was at the other side, talking to a customer, while Nori was near me, taking small sips of her Pink Musketeer. Maybe I should start a converstation? I guess she doesn't feel very comfortable sitting all alone. I stood up straight, when I realized that I was too late. A man had taken a seat next to Nori and chatting her up. She looked lost and shy, but handled the situation quite well. I didn't bother them, until the man ordered two drinks.

"Hey, some of my friends told me you make great drinks. Can you mix up something hot and.." He looked at the girl next to him, then at the meniu. "Something hot and blue." He smiled generously. I smiled.

"Certainly." Something hot and blue? A list of possibilities flashed trough my eyes. I picket some beverages and started mixing them. It looks like he's going to give one of the drinks to Nori. Did he wanted blue because of her blue eyes? That's probably the case. I mixed a Caesar and poured in some Blue Curaç. I didn't mix it with anything, since I didn't want to get the girl really drunk. But it's good as it is. I placed both of them on the counter. My payment was already waiting. I picked the money up.

"You can keep the change." The guy smirked. I looked trough the money and my jaw almost dropped. This is way too much money. Is he sure about this? He's probably a rich man.. Maybe he just accidetanly pulled all of this out, but meant to only pay the right amount of money? I looked up at them and my eyes widened. I felt everything freeze around me. The man was pouring a small packet of white powder into the Blue Curaç. He was trying to drug her. I stared at him shocked. I couldn't look away. Was anyone watching? Please, someone stop him.. I looked around. Nori was looking at Kamiko, while she was pouring a drink. There was no one sitting near them. A lot of people were at their own table, further away. I couldn't believe it. I was the only witness. I turned to the man. He noticed and smirked, then placed his index finger to his lips, while the white substance disolved into the drink. I looked down at the pieces of paper in my hand. If I receive my paycheck and also get this, I wouldn't have to borrow from anyone. That old man could get all the money I was supposed to give him. Everything would be okay. But would I really sacrifice something like this in exchange for my own needs? Nori's just an innocent and shy girl, not to mention Kamiko's friend. She's a person with her own feelings. Could I really do this? I looked away as my eyes met Nori's and put the money in my pocket. I started placing all the bottles where they were, with shaky hands. My whole body was sweating. This is wrong.. This is wrong.. This is wrong.. My hand squeezed a stack of money in my pocket, then lift itself up. I should do something in this situation. The manager told me about these kind of incidents.

"There were quite a few, but don't worry. It is likely that a lot of people will notice and it won't be a big problem to you. But just keep an eye on any suspicious customers, okay?"

I remember his words. He's not a suspicious customer.. I walked a few steps and put the money where they belonged. At the register..

I opened my teary eyes. I was kneeling on the ground, holding my stomach. Kiyoshi hit the board. He only wants to win. He was lying. That bastard.. I can't believe how good I talked about him ever since we came here. How could I forget what he did? I frowned as I felt him kneeling next to me.

"I am so sorry, I don't know what happened. Are you okay?" He placed his filthy hands on my back. I pushed them off, making it very clear for him to avoid doing that again. He looked a bit sad and shocked.

"I'm really sorry.." He says. Two faced bastard.. I slowly stood up and took my knife. His eyes widened. My face was teary and my nose was running, but I couldn't care less.

"I can't believe you would do something like that.. You hurt that poor girl.. She ended up dead.. It isn't fair for her, you asshole.. Die!" I screamed pushing my knife toawrds him. His reflexes were good, as he dodged my hit and backed away. I went after him and he started running, cursing. I'll kill that bastard.. He deserves only death. He suddenly turned around to face me and I took the chance to hit him. Since he was faster, he grabbed my armed hand, then not long after I felt a hit in my stomach and a foot, tripping me. My hand let go of the knife and it fell on the ground aswell as my weak body. It cowardly curled into a ball trying to protect itself from any more danger. But I felt a kick in my stomach and gasped for air. I got another one. And it suddenly stopped there. My body was shaking and all I could do is lie there, trying to hide myself. I deserve this.. I could have stopped him. I could have told somebody about his actions. I could have done something better than that.. But I didn't. I'm the only one to blame..