POV: Hoga Yasahiro.

Date: 24th Nov – Monday.

Timeline: *After Nana's storytelling*

"They finally left," I mumbled in the car as I watched the crowd of reporters leaving the station's front gate, slamming their notebooks on the floor with anger in their eyes.

I guess they didn't find what they were looking for. Well, same for us.

As I took a closer look at the station, the old building that could fall any minute caught my eyes, "if it looks that bad from outside, I can imagine how it must look like from inside," I mumbled feeling a bit left out for not going with the rest inside.

Breaking my train of thoughts was a slamming sound coming from Izumi knocking on the window, "this guy, is he planning on breaking the car? Always knocking so aggressively," I mumbled as I unlocked the doors letting him inside.

"Hey, follow the firetruck," Izumi ordered while pointing at a truck leaving the station, "eh? What?" I asked but got scolded in return with a harsh voice, "step on it, you slow junk."

S-slow junk!? Is that how this guy asks for favors!?!

I started the car and followed the truck with a weird awkward silence in the air, none of us said a single word till we reached an apartment building that was on fire.

We got out of the car, and as I stared at the building burning in fire lighting up the night sky, I looked at Izumi and asked him hesitatingly, "don't tell me, you are planning on going inside this?"

Izumi tossed his jacket inside the car and glanced at me with a smirk on his face, and he bragged, "why else are we here? It's fine, no? we are immortals after all."

"I mean," I interrupted and continued to disagree, "I don't think this is our responsibility," Izumi put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer, and whispered in my ears, "won't it be fun to stick our noses where it doesn't belong, every once in a while?"

No, it's not fun at all.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked while glaring at him hoping he will realize how meaningless this is and change his mind, instead he looked at the burning building and as his hands started trembling, his face wore a scared smile as he said, "I wonder why."

Izumi: 'seriously, why am I doing this? Not like it will fix anything.'

Is this guy really an idiot? Doing this for no reason? Even though he looks so scared...

Izumi's trembling body started moving toward the building, he stole a water bucket from the firefighter's truck and splashed it on himself before running inside avoiding the hands that attempted to stop him.

Why?

I moved closer to the fire scene, step by step, each step made the air around me hotter and heavier, the screams, the cries and the thoughts of onlookers rushed in my head whenever I made a step forward.

Why?

As my feet stopped, I heard a kid's cry, "I'm sorry, mom, it's my fault," as I turned toward the voice I saw a mom hugging a kid, the mom's body was filled with serious burning marks.

Why?

I got closer to them, and asked the mom, "d-did he cause this?" the mother started crying and repeated a phrase over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I really am sorry."

Why?

From behind me, the man that slapped Nana was getting yelled at by someone who seemed like he was his superior at work, "why the hell did you let a citizen get inside!? Who will take the responsibility!?" and the man said, "I tried to stop them, but Nana said that it was fine!"

Why?

I raised my hands to look at them to see them shaking, "am I scared?" I mumbled as my heartbeat continued to raise with every bone in my body shaking, "rather than fear... it's like," I mumbled as I closed my eyes preventing me from thinking about this situation anymore.

Why? Just Why?

A loud crashing sound resounded in my ears, making me open the eyes I closed to see that the ceiling has collapsed, and from it a familiar voice shaped a thought,

Nana: 'Izumi!!'

Rather than fear, the feeling I was experiencing was excitement. The kind of excitement that shook my body to the bone.

If I go inside, will I feel more feelings? If I took another step, will I be able to experience a new world? If I ... If I saved someone, will I be able of feeling happy?

Why? Why? Just Why... Why am I smiling?

Nana's previous words rushed inside my head, 'not regretting it later, is enough.'

My feet started moving forward, starting from a slow walk that turned into a run as I rushed inside the building.

I know that I can't do anything about this, I know I won't be much of a help, but if I do it despite knowing all of this, maybe... just maybe, the perfect in me will break apart.

As I reached the place I heard the thought from, I saw Izumi lying under a pillar with Nana carrying someone on her back and screaming at Izumi to get out,

You Idiot!

Why did you rush here without a plan?

You were trying to save someone, yet you got stuck!?

How lame of you to be lying there.

You even made me come all the way here.

Out of all the thoughts that rushed in my head, out of all the things I could have said, I got closer and between my huffs, only three words came out, "I am here."

"Y-Yasahiro!" Nana yelled as she shifted her eyes toward me, and started explaining while panicking, "I, as I was about to leave, the ceiling fell, and Izumi ... he is stuck there, what... what should we do!?"

"You should leave," I told her, as I moved closer to Izumi, "take that man on your back outside, leave Izumi to me," Nana shook her head sideways and with her tears coming down her cheeks she mumbled, "no, I don't want to leave ... if someone else got hurt because of me, I ... I wouldn't be able to live anymore."

"Leave!" I yelled surprising Nana and myself, Nana started running outside with the man on her back while sobbing.

I yelled... I yelled.

"I ...never knew you could yell like this..." Izumi said from behind me while breathing heavily.

"that makes both of us, I never knew either," I said while starting to push the pillar from on top of him, "even though it's made of wood you are lucky it isn't burning," I said as I noticed how the pillar on top of him wasn't on fire, "Nana... she put the fire out..." Izumi said while coughing in a weak voice.

"So lame," Izumi mumbled while staring at the floor, "just why did I do this, what was it for?" Izumi continued to blame himself for his current state.

You. Me. Us searching for a reason won't get us anywhere.

"Because," I said while looking at him, "because you wanted to, isn't that enough of a reason?" I continued.

"The fire," Izumi said with a trembling voice, "the fire took away everything from me, I hate it."

I stopped pushing as I shifted my eyes toward Izumi as he said, "but if this fire can take me as well, do you think I can see what I lost again? Do you think I'll be able to see him again?"

Izumi: 'Kenta...'

"You... how do you know that name!?" I asked as I heard Izumi's thought, but Izumi's conscious started fading as he started closing his eyes slowly, I rushed down there and told him, "you can't, you can't die here! If you die, that kid who caused the fire, or Nana who made you come inside will be the reason for your death, and they will die."

"but... it's so hard to breath, it hurts, I don't think I can handle the pain anymore," Izumi said in a weakened voice, I reassured him, "don't worry I'll get you out of here quickly and kill you."

"this is the first time," Izumi said while smiling, "that I'm glad someone is trying to kill me."

As I moved the pillar away from on top of him, his twisted legs came in my vision, "you can't walk," I stated the obvious as I got Izumi on my back and ran outside.

"You will die if you kill me?" Izumi asked with a faint voice from behind me, "it's fine, I'm immortal so even if I die I'll come back," I answered.

As we got outside, Nana rushed toward us, "Izumi! Is he ... is he okay!?" she asked me with worried eyes, "he's fine," I assured her, "is h...e...alright?" Izumi asked Nana and she nodded her head, and said, "thank you, and I'm really sorry."

I started moving toward the car, and I heard Izumi mumble, "I'm glad."

Izumi blamed himself for being lame, and I might not know what he means when he wants to be cool but his back when he rushed inside the fire while trembling, was way cooler than anything I have ever seen.

As we reached my apartment, I put him on my bed and told him, "I'll poison you with a drop of concentrated prussic acid, it will be a bit painful for a while like you are having a heart attack, but you'll die in ten minutes at most."

As I got up to bring it, Izumi held my shirt and mumbled something I didn't hear clearly, "are you scared? It's fine, you will come back, you are one hundred percent immortal," I reassured him again of the fact.

As I went and brought the injection, as I was about to pour a drop on his lips, Izumi said, "I'm sorry for being the reason you have to die."

This idiot... even though he is the one being killed, he is apologizing to me.

Izumi: 'I'm sorry, Yasahiro... I'm sorry... Kenta.'

Again, with that name.

"the time now is 10:48 PM, you'll die at 10:58 PM. make sure to check the time when you revive, I will need it," I said as I poured the drop on him.

Izumi's eyes widened and turned beet red, as he reached out for his neck, being unable to breathe. He seemed like he was choking, his mouth started letting out a white foam, as he struggled to get air inside.

As I calculated, after exactly ten minutes, Izumi stopped moving and his body started turning cold.

From the corpse of Izumi, a white smoke started going out, forming a shape that resembled the demon till it completely formed, the demon body started taking shape.

"YoU ReaLly EnDEd uP kiLliNg hIm, LiKe I tOlD yOu," Kenta said while laughing with a high-pitched voice.

He reached for the needle I used to carry the acid in, and he smiled while saying, "this is an interesting painful way to kill someone, I like it."

"You want to kill me using that?" I asked him curious about the way he'll kill me in, he shook his head sideways, "no way, that's no fun~" he said while grinning, "if I don't pull your guts out by my own hands, and see your blood flow down my feet as you beg for your life, killing you won't be fun~"

"Sick psycho," I mumbled while glaring at him, he moved closer and with a smirk he told me, "not like you didn't know that already~"

"But too bad for you," I said provoking him, "I don't feel like begging for my life, not in the least," I moved toward the clock showing 11:00 PM and told him, "instead just let me die in front of a clock so I would see the time."

And that was how our long eventful day, came to a bloody end.

-End of Chapter 23-