What did the gods do?

CHAPTER 3

WHAT DID THE GODS DO?

It was a cold and rainy day in Shibuya. People said that they saw a woman standing on the roof of a building, swinging back and forth on the edge. Yuki was tempting fate once again. "I'm bored. What did you want again" she asked. "The others want to meet you again. They miss you." answered the voice of an unknown person. Yuki turned around to face the voice. It was suddenly quiet as if everyone in the world disappeared and it was just her and the voice. She took one step back and fell off the building. The voice ran to the edge. Yuki was falling slowly. Her eyes were closed, she was smiling. She seemed happy. Her black hair framed her face as she extended her hands up as if going for a hug. It felt like she was falling for an eternity before she reached the ground. She couldn't embrace death just yet. The streets were empty. She opened her eyes and tears started rolling down her face. She was ready to go.

As the sun was going down, Yuki arrived at an abandoned warehouse. She took a step towards the door, but to her surprised, a familiar face opened it from the inside. An old friend, with golden hair, greeted her with a big smile. "Long time no see, Arai-san." said Akira, the woman with golden hair. Akira seemed always happy. She was known to brighten everyone's days. Yuki couldn't help but smile when she saw her face again. Akira took her hand and pulled her inside the building. The building was falling apart. Broken windows, molding walls, and doors off the hinges. There were shipping crates and cardboard boxes scattered all over the floor mixed with the occasional dead bird or rat. On one of the shipping crates was sitting a slender man with pure white hair and grey eyes. Yuki took a deep breath and a single running step towards the man, who welcomed her with open arms. He lifted her and spun before giving her a long hug. As soon as he put Yuki back down, she went for another hug. She held on as tight as she could. She had missed him greatly and for a good reason. Daisuke, the man in question was the father of her passed children after all. There was one other person in that warehouse that night, but he isn't important.

Akira, Daisuke, and Yuki all sat down on the crates. "What have you been up to down here Arai?" Akira asked, slightly tilting her head, like a curious puppy. "Not much. Doing my job. It's getting repetitive if I'm to be honest." Yuki answered. She looked sad. She started playing with her hair, avoiding eye contact. "How are things upstairs? Is everyone doing good?" Asked Yuki, trying to change the subject. Daisuke and Akira gave each other a confused look before Daisuke said "You know you can come anytime right?". Yuki knew she could, she just didn't want to. She wanted to stay down. She wanted to walk with the people.

"Arai. Your future isn't bright if you stay here. Come back to us. If you stay here, everyone you're in contact with will perish. You know that." Said Akira. "Besides, we're all upstairs. We can't come down here whenever like you." she continued. Her tone wasn't blaming or demeaning, she sounded worried. "I can't accomplish my dream if I come back..." answered Yuki. Daisuke got up and walked up to her. He extended his arm towards her and opened his palm. Yuki took his hand. He pulled her closer and took a step back and then forward. The outside world went quiet again. The only thing that Yuki could hear was her own heartbeat and a quiet violin. She closed her eyes. She felt like she was falling. It was peaceful. She didn't hear her heartbeat anymore. She was happy again. She was pulled back to reality by Daisuke's soft voice in her ear. "Is that want you want? Do you really want to rest again?" he asked. Yuki looked him in the eyes and nodded. That is in fact what she wanted. To die. She was tired.

She pulled away from him and sat on the disgusting floor, her back against a wall. She looked down at her hands and said "I don't want to take any more. I don't want to have to wash my hands clean from the blood of others anymore. I want to see my family again.". Akira left out a slight giggle. "No one wants to have to do that. Unfortunately for people like us, we have to do things we don't enjoy." she said smiling. Just like Yuki, Akira and Daisuke weren't like everyone else. As a child, Akira burned at the stake for her sins. Daisuke was feared and attacked for his unique features. Just like Yuki, they were given an invitation to change the world. They agreed. Daisuke was gifted with the ability to give people their deepest desires, Akira with the gift of sight. The three of them were assigned to the task of cleaning the world of filth and sin. But now, let's get back to the story.

The year 1879, Yuki was sent to collect the soul of someone special. He was a soldier from an influential family. He was his parent's only son. Yuki arrived in Hokkaido on the 17th of March, 1879. She found the man on the battlefield, badly wounded. She felt bad for his family. She didn't want them to lose their only son, so she broke the rules and saved him. The man was extremely grateful and asked how he could repay her. Yuki didn't accept any of his offers. She stayed in Hokkaido for a year, living with the man, who soon fell in love with her. He asked for her hand in marriage. Yuki, scared to return to the afterlife after breaking the rules, accepted his proposal. Their marriage ended long before it was due. The man died in battle and Yuki was heartbroken. She felt like there was nothing left on earth for her. Too scared to return to her peers, too sad to stay. She decided that staying would be less harmful to her, but she couldn't stay in Hokkaido. That's when she moved to Tokyo and stayed there. She's been in Tokyo for centuries. She's been collecting souls for even longer. She's no longer sad about losing her love. She's ready to move on but isn't allowed.

Arai Yuki, born on the 15th of August, 1601, died on the 20th of October, 1624. The collector of souls, bringer of death.

AKIRA

Akira, the child without a last name. She is the daughter of a beloved priestess, who was praised for keeping an imperfect child. Akira was born blind, and because of this, her father refused to give her his last name. As Akira grew older, others in her town accused her of witchcraft, because even though she was born blind, she would know when someone did what they shouldn't, to which her mother responded by burning her at the stake. As the flames went higher and burned brighter, Akira gained her vision. When the people saw that Akira wasn't affected by the fire, they accused her mother of mothering the child of the devil, and they exiled them. Akira's mother abandoned her. That's when Akira was approached by the voice. It asked her if she wanted to make the world a better place, to which she answered with a nod. It proposed a deal to Akira. If she could show her loyalty to the gods, she would become one. Lost, she agreed to the proposal. For the next few years, Akira would travel the world and tell people when they would face their creator. She did not take pride in her gift and instead wanted to give people hope for a better tomorrow. She started lying to people about when they would pass and how they would pass. The voice was not happy about Akira's lies and confronted her. Akira assured them she wouldn't do it again. One hot day, Akira was in a small town when she saw a beautiful woman, dressed in white. She didn't see her future, but her past. The woman stopped in front of her and asked her to take her hand. As soon as she did, her whole life passed before her eyes. She had completed her task. She left with the woman and was not seen after it. She was taken to a dark place, with 7 chairs in a semi-circle. On each chair, there was a name. The woman dressed in white sat in the chair with the name "Yuki" engraved on it. When Akira looked around the room, she saw that one of the chairs had her name engraved on it. She walked to the chair and sat down on it. She wouldn't leave that room for centuries. The people that would enter that room would from now be her family. Slowly the chairs would fill up with new brothers and sisters.

The first time Akira was able to leave the room was when she was asked to go warn people of Jack The Ripper. She hadn't been in contact with regular people in years. She arrived in London and was astounded by all the changes. She went to warn all of the victims, but no one believed her. She didn't know why, and that made her upset. She didn't want anyone to die. She tried over and over again to warn people but all of her warnings fell on deaf ears. She was discouraged and returned to the room, not to leave again for years to come. She sat in that chair, knowing the future but not being able to do anything about it. Yuki assured her that a time would come when people listened to her. She always listened. Yuki was Akira's first friend, first sister.

"I'd be very sad if you died, Arai." Akira said, no longer smiling. The warehouse suddenly felt very small. Akira's whole world felt small. "I'll never leave you. Even when I'm gone for good, I'll always be by your side." Yuki answered. Akira felt her heart sink. She couldn't imagine a world without Yuki. She'd been on her side for so long, she felt lost without her there. She didn't want her to die. "Akira, please tell me, what do you see?" Yuki asked. Akira could hear the desperation in her voice. She didn't want to answer, but she wanted Yuki to be happy. "Your wish will become reality.". Tears filled her eyes. She didn't want it to be real. She was startled by her arm around her, tightly hugging her. "Thank you Akira." Yuki said, Akira in her embrace. Akira could hear the happiness in her voice. She let it all out. Crying on Yuki's shoulder was something she had missed. She didn't let her let go of her.

Akira, The child without a last name, born on the 15th of August, 1651, died on the 20th of October, 1671. The God of knowledge, The informant.

DAISUKE

Orphaned at a young age, Daisuke grew up in an orphanage. He was given the last name Aki, meaning autumn by the church. He was born with hair as white as fresh snow and skin that was almost as bright as the sun. This concerned the staff of the orphanage, it was quite unusual to see a boy with his complexion after all. He was shunned by the other kids and belittled by the staff for his unique appearance. When he reached the age of 18, he was thrown out of the orphanage for bad behavior. Daisuke's poor luck didn't end there. He failed to get a job without education, he could barely even read. Without funds or a family, he was left living on the street. He begged and begged for money every single day from pedestrians only to be met with cold shoulders and mean looks. People feared Aki Daisuke because of the way he looked. One day, he was outside a shoe-shining shop, begging for money, when the people from the church approached him with pitchforks. "You good-for-nothing, a child abandoned by your parents and god, are a disgrace to your town and church!" yelled the priest. Soon enough, others joined him and started throwing rocks at Daisuke. With each stone, the voice's proposal became louder. "Would you like to fit in? Do you want to help others like you?" It asked. In pain, Daisuke yelled his answer. The stones stopped flying. Daisuke was covering his head with his arms, crying in pain. It was so quiet all of a sudden. He didn't hear anything. He opened his eyes and looked up. Everyone was gone. He was no longer on the street, but in a dark room with seven chairs. A beautiful woman was standing in front of him. She offered him her hand, smiling. "There's nothing to fear anymore, Aki Daisuke." She said. Her presence calmed Daisuke. He took her hand, and she pulled him up. They were standing eye-level. She was like the opposite of him. Jet black hair and eyes. Her voice was kind and soothing. "Who are you?" He asked. He wanted to know more about her. "I'm Yuki. It's nice to finally meet you." She answered. Daisuke wasn't scared anymore. She made him feel safe. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. He hugged as tight as he could. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to let go. He felt like he knew her. After a few minutes, he finally had to let go because his arms were getting tired. The woman, Yuki, smiled at him. "Welcome home.". That's all she needed to say before he fell on his knees, letting all of his tears out. Yuki put her hand on his head. He looked up at her and saw that she was crying too. "What's wrong?" he asked, wiping away his tears. "Nothing, you just remind me of someone I used to know." Yuki replied. Daisuke looked around. The room was empty except for the chairs. All of the chairs had a name engraved on them, like gravestones. One read "Yuki", one read "Akira" and one read "Daisuke". He walked up to the chair with his name on it. It looked soft. He moved his hand along the chair. It felt like velvet. He sat down on the chair. He felt like he was sinking into the pillow on the chair. Yuki sat down on the chair with her name on it. Daisuke realized there was someone else in the room as well. A woman with golden hair. She sat down on the chair with the name "Akira" engraved on it. This room was his home now. His job was to give people their desires. But what he really wanted, was to fulfill the desires of Arai Yuki. He was intrigued by her, and she was intrigued by him. As they spent more time in the room together, the more Daisuke fell in love with her, and vice versa. Unlike with other people, he didn't hear her desires. To him, being with her was the only time the world was silent. Unlike Akira and Yuki, Daisuke didn't need to leave the room, but he still did. He wanted to make people's dreams into reality, and that is exactly what he did. He would leave the room for days at a time, giving people what they wanted. The voice wasn't exactly pleased by this behavior, but Yuki assured It that what Daisuke was doing wasn't harming anyone. Daisuke liked helping people. He wanted to help everyone.

"If that I really what you wish, I'll help you" He said. Daisuke was sad but wanted Yuki to be happy. He couldn't bear seeing her sad. "Thank you. You were always so kind." Yuki said, smiling. Now he knew Arai Yuki's desire. She wanted to die.

Aki Daisuke, born on the 15th of August, 1680, died on the 20th of October, 1699.

The God of kindness, the giver.

"So you agree to help me?" Yuki asked. Her eyes were lit up in a way they hadn't been in years. "Only if you promise not to leave me." Akira exclaimed. "I'll never leave you." Answered Yuki. All of them stopped in silence. The atmosphere had changed the warm reunion into a new mission. Their eyes met, and almost in unison, they all went in for a big hug. Could the God Of Death die, without creating an imbalanced world? In my opinion, no. The world needs death and destruction, just like humans need water, trees need the sun, babies need their parents. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter. I'm just the narrator after all. A faceless all-knowing entity. What could I even do? But with that said, I'm not the only one who's not fond of this plan.