1.36 — Let's Strike A Deal
“Are you okay there?” Reizumi’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, “You looked like you were trying to think of an answer for a question you didn’t wanna know the answer for…”
Okay, seriously, can she read my mind?! Because that was just way too accurate…
Let me try, ‘Reizumi is the queen of morons who likes to bring pain to people.’
“...or you just realised that you need to pee really bad, in which case, you’re gross.”
“That’s not what I was thinking about!”
Yeah, she can’t read my thoughts...unless, she can indeed hear them and is just pretending that she can’t.
“Can you read my thoughts?” I asked her. Might as well be direct.
“...so you were thinking about the pee. Gross!”
“No, I really wasn’t!”
Why did I think that this would work? No way was she going to be truthful about it.
Maybe I’m the moron here.
Though, that was never up for a debate.
The scene of the mother-son pair being sent to the afterlife did make me wonder about one thing—
“Did you do the same thing to Ritu? The little girl from yesterday?” I mean, the last I saw her was being rescued by these douches in black. And considering I didn’t see her today morning, well, I’m atleast moderately smart enough to connect some dots.
“Yes, we did. Ryou, specifically. He explained everything to her and she agreed,” Reizumi said and offered me a small smile, “She was worried about you though. It took a lot of talking and proof to convince her that you weren’t dead and will be fine under our care.”
Heh, that’s good. I mean, it felt good to be reaffirmed that someone cared about me. Although I’d prefer to not be nearly dead for that to happen.
Still, I was glad that she was safe now instead of being some Rakshas’ soul food.
No pun intended...or intended, now that I think about it.
You know what though, I would certainly miss our morning conversations. I live for simple pleasures.
“And were you telling the truth?” I asked Reizumi who walked towards the dead corpse of the Rakshas, unsure if I was risking some sort of fury by questioning her motives. “About going to some paradise and stuff?” I clarified, just in case.
“...Somewhat,” she said under her low breath. “Afterlife isn’t how you humans imagine it to be, not completely.”
“So wait, you told a lie?” I tried to say that in a non-accusatory manner. Because, yeah, morally, telling a lie like that would be wrong but I could see why saying a lie would make sense in this certain situation. She probably didn’t want the pair to panic too much.
“I did tell the truth about us Grimmers existing to serve the dead souls and make sure they were happy,” she shrugged, “And I was telling the truth about them receiving a roof over their head and not feeling hungry ever again.”
“So what’s the lie then?” Had I missed something else in the offer?
“The lie was that they would live like that, and together, for eternity. They won’t. Once they go through the whole process, they will after a long time be prepared for the process of rebirth. And at that moment, they will be parted from each other.”
“Hmm, well, that does sound rough…” I said, trying to read between the lines. Maybe there was something else to it because while she’s a scary lady and all, she does seem to take her job seriously. So I doubt she’d be okay with this sort of thing unless there’s some kind of remedy for that. “But I’m guessing that won’t really be an issue, right? I mean, I assume you guys do something about it. Like, I don’t know…erase their memories of their current, or I guess previous, life once they’re reborn,” I asked with hope, for which she simply nodded in affirmation.
Hey, good job me! Guess I’m getting good at making these assumptions.
“Plus, I also assume you said it because you didn’t want them to panic and worry about each other. Not to mention if you hadn’t lied, they would have just stayed here, not wanting to part with eachother or something and risk living as a target for some Rakshas. It was a little white lie for their own safety and wellbeing,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and massaging my chest that still felt a little sore from that tail attack.
You know, I’m getting uncomfortably comfortable with looking at the dead corpse of the Rakshas. I don’t like that.
Also, I can't believe I’m agreeing, and supporting, Reizumi. The same woman who dragged me into this weird mess.
She cocked her head a little to the right and crouched down, rubbing her round chin with the tattooed arm.
She placed her hand on top of the green-skinned beast and a moment later, the body of that beast started disintegrating too. Just like the mother-son pair.
Except for this time, I didn’t see a swarm of Ruh carrying away the disintegrating parts.
Either that or they didn’t do that for the Rakshas.
“Hmm, guess this was just a normal one…” Reizumi muttered and stood up. Normal one? “A lie’s still a lie, you know?” She said, looking at me, “However small a sin might seem, it still is a sin. One that I atone for through my work. By following our laws and doing what it asks of me, no matter how taxing and cruel it may seem.”
“Damn, you’re a little too serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Heh, yes, I suppose, I am,” she chuckled and looked up at me, “Although the coven I belong to is filled with such Grimmers. It is our motto afterall, ‘We atone for our sins by upholding the law and justice within every realm.’”
I’m sorry but did she say every realm? How many are there? Eh, I’m too tired to ask that now. I’ve had enough of world-shattering revelations for one day. “No offence, but seems a bit too stiff for my taste.”
“Ofcourse you do. I reckon you’d be easily accepted in the 2nd coven. It’s full of lazy guys like you…”
“I am not lazy—”
Wait a minute...is she—oh no, no way, no, no.
“You—You do realise that I’m not accepting your offer, right?”
“You’re not?” Oh wow, she seemed genuinely surprised…
“I’m not! No way I’m agreeing to be disintegrated like that and die!”
“Well, if it helps, while you will be disintegrating like them, the whole process will be faster for you. You’ll be travelling through the proper Grimmer route.”
“No, it does not help!”
“But...you came here, you saved the souls from Manananggal…”
From what? “Is that the—“
“Rakshas, yeah.”
“Why can’t you guys give them proper names? Why can’t it be just…bat-lizard?”
“We don’t give them names, you humans do. We just refer to them as such for convenience.”
Well, that’s just lazy, isn’t it?
“Okay fine, whatever. Yes, I did save them from the Mangalorean. That does not mean I accept your offer,” I said but from her facial expression, I knew she had no idea why so I explained. “I saved them because I was here. Because they were in front of me. And, because I was able to save them at that moment.”
“This again? Didn’t I explain the flaw in that reasoning of yours—?”
“Yes, you did...and I agree with you,” I said, “I was half-assing my argument before. Because I was afraid that I couldn’t do it. Because I thought I couldn’t be a...hero. A saviour. A protector. I still don’t think I’m up to that level yet.”
Looking at my palm that was void of any form of injury—thanks to Reizumi—I continued, “I can’t guarantee that I won’t still run away in the presence of danger. I can’t promise that I’d be selfless enough to choose someone else over me. Infact, there’s a high chance that when such a moment comes again, I’d just run. But...But I want to improve myself, nonetheless. I want to be the person I’ve always wanted to be.
“And today, I don’t know, today I feel like I was that person. Only for a few minutes, sure, but I was a hero today. I saved someone. And I loved how that made me feel...Enough for me to know that I want to feel that feeling again. I want to be that person again.
“But I also know that alone, I can’t do that.” I looked back up to see Reizumi’s face devoid of any expression. Not out of anger or irritation, but rather of curiosity. The need to know my side of reasoning.
“I can’t give up on my life here. I can’t do that. But I also want to be able to do what I did today. Which is where you come in. You said you want to help me? Then train me. Show me the path. Give me the knowledge to survive in this world. I want to do what you all do, but I sure as hell don’t wanna die for it.”