ODE TO THE MURDERED, bonten

42

PART FOURTY TWO !
let the sky fall.

            THE TOKYO BREEZE IS SHARP WITH SUSPENSION. your gaze drops down, eyes on your watch. 2:47pm. you're a little bit early, and early you came at the proposed location, Mori Art Museum situated in Roppongi.

you hoped to quickly finish your business before Bonten notices your absence. out of vigilance, you had tugged the black trench coat around your shoulders, pressing black shades over the bridge of your nose as you waited on a bench, waited and waited despite your early arrival. your are not sure how long you've waited, with your back pinned and poised on the bench until you felt someone take the empty seat beside you, tapping the bench twice. pause. then four times. a familiar code of greeting you used to use. you closed your eyes,

    "so, Sanzu and Takeomi huh?"

there was a flinch on the person's shoulders, shifting under a grey hoodie they say, "i don't feel it would be necessary to tattle on about my family matters to you."

"so it seems, Kawaragi." you eyed her, barely seeing the pink tuffs of Senju's hair from her hood. "it has been awhile. i expected Ryusei or Hanma to come, not you."

"do you not miss me?" a teasing lilt succumbs her soft tone. you shake your head with a smile.

"don't place words in my mouth. of course i'm glad to see you. you're a busy woman, i just thought you were too preoccupied to come see me in person." you cannot help but chuckle lightly. once your tone falters into quietude, the light-hearted atmosphere dips into a steady pace of seriousness. stolid was your tone when you asked,

"what are you doing right now? the others as well, do you know about the death of Kiyomasa?"

"that's what i wanted to report." Senju shimmies closer to you to avoid wandering ears from hearing, her breath on the shell of your ears.

"the news of his death spread like wildfire. everyone in the underground markets are talking high and low of the conflict. people are getting antsy because if a war breaks out between the east and west top gangs, what is to happen to the economy, the businesses and trades surrounding them? everything will go to shit now that there's an echelon's dead corpse on the table, and with this? this will also be our chance to finally strike when Quoia has their hands full."

"Hanma had already set up the last ambush needed in this conflict, everything has been in order." you fail to collect the saddened look Senju throws at you when she says, "and he had personally told me to tell you that you are no longer needed for it. so you don't need to show up."

you freeze. head whipping faster towards Senju than ever before, appalled by her words. "what do you mean i'm not needed?" you demanded with petulance. Hanma had said that?

Senju notices the bitter hurt in your tone, eyes widening. she's quick to iron out the misapprehended statement. "no wait, that's not what i meant."

"then what were you trying to imply?"

Senju's smile is thin. "you're fond of Bonten."

her tone is placid. "Hanma told us how happy you looked with them. he thought that he should do you a favor and that there won't be any need for you to expose yourself to them knowing that you found some sort of fulfillment already." she stands up, facing away from you and says,