Absent Love

Chapter Two

Karamatsu bowed his head and folded his hands together, kneeling down in the dirt of the cemetery. Sitting before his two dead parents, which he had also considered his very best friends, the young tengu struggled to withhold his sadness.

"Please be safe," Karamatsu prayed. "I know, wherever you are now, that you will continue to watch over me. You promised to never leave me, didn't you?"

A droplet of water splashed onto the young youkai's nose, thunder sounding from above. Dark, heavy clouds hung overhead, showing signs of a storm about to pass through.

Karamatsu payed no heed to these obvious warnings. He continued to pray, wishing with all his might that Charlotte and Brody were safe.

"I will continue to love you both...even though I can no longer feel yours." Karamatsu rambled on inside his mind. "The warmth and safety I once felt from you has vanished. No matter how much I struggle, the sort of comfort you gave me will never ever return. That's how special you were. That's how much you really meant to me. So, I thank you. Thank you for showing me what it means to love."

~~~
As I continued to pray, lightning struck a tree nearby, causing it to crash down to the ground in anger. I was still unaware of this during that time.

Heartbreak isn't easy to just get over. There's a healing process to it. But this feeling of loss I felt, I could tell it wasn't the feeling of loss I felt the day I had died.

That being said, I was determined to continue looking for the one I loved...

~~~

Unable to keep back his tears any longer, Karamatsu curled up in a ball of misery and self pity, twitching and choking as he struggled to breath.

Rain soaked the tengu's wings, causing them to feel just as heavy as the burden on his chest, which had been gifted to him the moment he realized Charlotte and Brody were gone from the world.

"Why do I have to live forever like this?!" Karamatsu screamed out in agony, pounding his fists into the dirt. "The moment I'm finally comfortable with my life is the moment everything is stolen from me! And the bad thing is, is that this time around, I can't just take my life!"

"Easy there..." a low voice mumbled as a shadow was cast over Karamatsu.

The figure held an umbrella over Karamatsu's head, keeping him from getting more soaked than he already was.

"What's the matter, little tengu?" the figure questioned. "You seem distressed..."

Karamatsu rubbed his eyes and twisted his neck around to face the one whom was speaking to him.

Before him stood a man with fuzzy black cat ears, and a small, thin cat-like tail. His facial expression was difficult to understand, considering he looked half dead.

"I-I'm fine..." Karamatsu choked. "You wouldn't understand how it feels, anyways."

"How can you speak to a stranger like that?" the cat man spoke. "Are you feeling alright up there?" The cat man tapped his index finger on his head.

"The o-only people I ever loved...just..." Karamatsu didn't try to hold back his tears as he went on and one to the man about how much he had loved Charlotte and Brody.

"Fool..." the cat man spat once Karamatsu had finished his tragic story. "Youkai know better than to befriend humans..."

"W-What do you mean..." Karamatsu choked as the rain began to come down even harder than before. Lightning lit up the dark sky.

"Humans live very short lives. Youkai are immortal, unless one allows us to pass on to another life. Even then, such things just can't work out. That's why we cannot be seen by many humans. We're not meant to be together!" the man hissed at the young tengu.

"So..." Karamatsu whimpered. "you're saying this isn't the love I've been searching for...?"

"No." the cat man snapped, his tail twitching irritably. "And before you catch a cold out on this rain, won't you just come with me? You have years to mourn over those petty humans of yours! Don't pick rainy days to do such! Never again!"

The cat man pulled back his umbrella and offered out his hand, which Karamatsu grabbed ahold of immediately.

"Ah..." the man muttered. "I was so caught up in your pettiness that I forgot to introduce myself..."

"I'm Karamatsu!" the tengu exclaimed, interrupting the cat man.

The cat man squeezed the tengu's hand irritability, attempting to keep his anger from coming out.

"Don't interrupt me," he hissed into the child's ear. "So, as I was saying, my name is Ichimatsu. I'm a nekomata, a fellow youkai, just like you. We both arrived here around the same time, actually. You didn't notice me, because unlike everyone else you let humans into your life!"

"S-Sorry..." Karamatsu apologized, a tear running down his cheek.

"Tch!" Ichimatsu spat. "I'll take you back to the shrine I've been living in. You can stay with me for now, I suppose. Since, you failed in even getting a home..."

"Could we s-stop by my old h-home then?" Karamatsu requested.

Ichimatsu narrowed his eyes suspiciously, wondering what the boy was up to. Though, he couldn't help but pity the young tengu. Karamatsu was very fragile, and the nekomata didn't want to put up with the youkai whining if he didn't get his way.

"Fine," Ichimatsu sighed. "But if you're not back in this spot in an hour, I'll track you down and kill you."

"Aren't youkai immortal though?" Karamatsu asked.

Ichimatsu facepalmed then kicked Karamatsu a little.

"Just go!" he hissed.