Kuro-A Mystic Messenger Adventure

Chapter 16: Kuro Disappears

The dragons hadn't come back when the morning came. The four of you left behind held a funeral for V in the early hours of the day. The silence was comforting as you buried the photographer who had spent so much of his time in nature, taking pictures of the small miracles that could be found there. V seemed to sigh in relief as Seven and Searan worked to cover him in the rich soil. He seemed so contented with the fact that he was dead.

The funeral ended quickly. Seven put some flowers on the grave but no one said anything for the dead man. It seemed that all of you just wanted the past to stay where it belonged. Kuro finally stood up with a regretful look in his kitten blue eyes.

No use standing for the dead who are happy to be so. There other things that need to be done. Kuro padded back to the campsite.

You sighed. It was strange to think that you had seen someone die. Death happened quietly, away from the eyes of family members in hospitals or in the middle of the night or in the middle of a crisis where you couldn't just watch someone die. It was a very sobering experience to see someone die, not to mention just give up on life.

"I think he blames himself," Searan said, kneeling down beside where you sat, looking at the grave. "Kuro I mean."

You looked up at the cat. His head drooped a little. "You think?"

"Yeah," Searan said, looking down at the grass. "Are you okay? You've been really quiet."

"Yeah," you said quietly. "It's just...I've never seen someone die before. It's just strange to realize that death is a real thing, even if I'm not that sad. I think it's really just seeing the death of a man who had lost his life."

"Makes sense," Searan said quietly. He was still looking at Kuro thoughtfully. "I bet he's seen a lot of death."

You were surprised. You looked at Kuro again as the cat stared into the forest without really seeing anything. You had only thought about Kuro's "children", the people he had saved, but that must of meant that he had seen lots of death, too. Maybe even the deaths of the people he tried to protect.

"I bet so," you said seriously, a calm feeling coming over you in order to keep you from panicking as you had in the past. Searan put his arm around you, kissing your forehead. You hugged him back as he rubbed your arms. You couldn't stop them now. The tears of the people that died without finding their dream, the people that had never been happy, and, most importantly, the people who had been happy but had lost that feeling over the years to adversity. You cried for just everyone.

You stopped crying around the time that Seven approached you and Searan. "We have to go after that snake," Seven growled. "The dragons haven't been back since they chased after her. We have to find them soon. If she's hurt them I don't know what I'll do but....."

"You'll shoot her," Searan said matter-of-factly. "Or something like that. I know I need my Honey back. I'll absolutely destroy Rika if she's hurt my child."

You looked up as Searan, surprised by this statement. Your heart warmed as you realized how much this man that you loved wanted to protect those around him. Heaven forbid that Rika had hurt Honey or Buddha. If she had, there would be no where on earth or in all the universe where she could hide from Searan's wrath.

You nodded and followed the boys to the camp. You pack some food while the boys grabbed first aide stuff, a blanket or two, and the guns. Most of the campsite was left untouched as you left. You wondered if you would be coming back to this place after you found the dragons. It was strange to not know exactly what you were doing that day. Strange to walk into the unknown and hope to come out with some sanity intact.