Timeless

2.5 Again and again and again

Ashiya strolled down the street of the Underworld, looking for Abeno-san. As he walked through, he notices the shops are all closed with very little yokai walking around. If he sees anyone, they would be running in a hurry, mothers would hush their kids indoor to remain quiet and it seems that the doors are not just locked, but barred heavily. It was as if...

"I'm back in the warzone."

Immediately, Ashiya could feel his heart fell, fear crept through his whole body as he froze in place. He looked to the direction of where the war is supposed to be and ran towards there with all his might.

How could this be?! I was definitely back in time to save Abeno-san, why am I back here? Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to help yokais? What went wrong? Shit! Dad, please talk to me.

He ran and immediately headed to the tent where he remembered Abeno was last being laid. But, nobody was there. He saw Shizuku-chan however, and asked here where is Abeno-san.

"Why are you here?! Go help Itsuki-kun in the field, he needs you more there than here! But don't push yourselves too hard and come back here if you have injuries.", Shizuku had to scream the last sentence because Ashiya was bolting away as fast as lightning.

Is he still alive? Is he really still alive? Please. Please. Please.

He found Abeno-san fighting in the warzone with Yahiko alongside him. He felt a relieve that washed over his whole body, as if a huge burden has been lifted. At that moment, he wanted to just drag him out of there and shut him inside the Mononokean because right now, he is paranoid of what could happen. He doesn't want to lose him the second time.

"Abeno-san!"

"Ha?! You are late, dumbass! I can't believe you make me do all these by myself. You are still officially employed for the Mononokean!", Abeno immediately went on rage and ranted Ashiya for good. His eyes are, however, fixated on the battlefield focusing on which yokai to avoid and which one to control. The yokais don't necessarily need to be killed as some are weak enough to be kept unconscious for weeks. At least, long enough until the war is over. While Abeno has a better build today compared to when he first met him, he is right now panting, trying to keep up with everything that is going on and on top of that all, he is only a human.

"I am terribly sorry, Abeno-san!", Ashiya immediately reacted to the rage of his employer, but he immediately came back to his senses. "Abeno-san, this is really Abeno-san right?"

He could feel Abeno-san's eyes stabbing into his face, annoyed with the weird question his employee is asking in the middle of an important battle. But right now, he really can't think straight, so he jumped for it before he regrets it. Ashiya threw a big hug to Abeno, sending him bewildered and fully annoyed by what his employee did.

"What the- Ashiya, get off me! We're in the middle of war, do you even realize the importance of this?!", Abeno kept hitting Ashiya and pushing him off, but he couldn't believe how strong his employee, Ashiya Hanae hugged him. It felt almost as if something is wrong with him.

"You, what's got into you?", Abeno calmed down as he notice Ashiya was not about to stop his hugs any soon. Yahiko had to deal with everything alone, but he is a strong youkai to begin with.

"...nothing. Just glad you are back.", Ashiya finally regained himself and pushed Abeno-san away as he holds his shoulders. This time, I will do my best. I won't let you die. I won't.

"What did you mean, Hanae?", suddenly he heard Zenko's ice cold voice behind him. Ashiya immediately turned his body to look at her, surprised by her sudden appearance. He also slowly realized that Zenko heard his mind. Or did he say those words out loud? Zenko pointed her fingers upward, somewhere behind Abeno. Ashiya had a hunch of what she was pointing to, but was a few seconds late in reacting.

"Abeno-sa-", Ashiya managed to muster a few words before it happened again.

A long spear was lunged into the air, sticking itself to Abeno's already tired body, sending the pale white-skinned boy tumbling forward. Blood splattered across his clothes as his body falls to the ground. A lifeless body, lays on the ground in front of Ashiya who is too shock to react at all.

"Argh..... Uhh... Abeno-san.", Ashiya's voice cracked as he reached out, but he stopped himself. The image of the dead body sends his whole body into shock, he could feel his legs losing their strength, his hands cupping his face.

"I am so sorry. I have been a useless employee for you, Abeno-san. I couldn't protect you. What can I do?", Ashiya's began to cry uncontrollably as his whole body shakes tremendously. He could only hear his own screaming, the sound of the spear impaling itself to Abeno and fell into a deeper darkness before he opened his eyes. Tears are still streaming on his cheeks as he is laying on his right side.

Ashiya tried to sit on his bed, but his arms gave in not because they are weak. But Ashiya suddenly felt hopeless, unwilling to continue the fight anymore. He was tired of seeing his dead body in his dreams every day. He is tired of waking up crying from grieving and guilt. There are times when he feels like everything is pointless because he sometimes can't differentiate dreams from reality. It is hard when your dream is built upon your personal experience that replays itself over and over again.

Ashiya cried silently in his room, not wanting to alert his mother. Because after this, he has to prepare today to fight the biggest a**hole in the world.

Fate.

---

Wrote this while listening to sad OSTs from Naruto. I was 12 or 13 when I first listened to them and they touched my heart. So much so, I learned about the pain of losing from that movie because every character seemed real to me. And their deaths are tragic to me, too.

Haku's death was so tragic, but it was something to learn from. What people are willing to do for love. What people are capable of going through for love. It's not always sunshine and flowers. And Zabuza sorts of reciprocated his feelings in the end.

In short, I'm just pouring out my angst wish to this series asdsjdlaal
Thank you for reading.

Yes, I will continue. Hold your horses. lol

ANY INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED <3