Eulogy
by Leareth

First published September 2004.

The river was grey, clouded from the industrial waste an ultra-metropolis like Tokyo spewed out every day and reflecting a leaden sky. The shoreline was likewise begrimed, not disgustingly so, but certainly nothing like those pictures he had seen in travel advertisements of the white sand and blue water which seemed to exist elsewhere in the world. Not that the /Kamui/ of the Dragons of Earth had ever been to those places. He had no particular desire to, either.

Sneakers crunching into the gravelly sand, /Kamui/ made his way down to the line where land met water and crouched down beside the dark, still shape that lay there. The ornate flask hanging against his hip was heavy. "You're an idiot, you know that," he said.

Small waves lapped at the body. They tugged at the hem of black coat, making it move as if caught in a gentle wind. /Kamui/ smirked.

"I had thought you a little more intelligent than this, you know. Incapable of feeling emotion but completely aware of the world, I gave you more credit than the rest of them at least in the beginning. Now," he shook his head as if with parental patience. "You're completely washed up. No pun intended, of course."

The moving water was his only reply. Somewhere across the river, a distant ship sounded its horn.

"Seriously, assassin, the girl told you what her spell would do if you ever tried to kill your little plaything the same way you killed her, and yet you went and did it anyway. Did you not believe her or something? Or, wait – ah." He leaned in a little closer, eyes alight with new understanding. "You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you."

The dead man did not respond. Against the gritty sand and black, saturated clothes, his skin was blue-white, bloodless and cold. /Kamui/ chuckled unpleasantly. "How pathetic. Well, I suppose you didn't have much choice, did you. I mean, a Sakurazukamori experiencing love? It's practically an oxymoron. Maybe it's interesting when written on paper, but I suppose when it's walking around you're bound to snap sooner or later. Actually, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did." He shot the corpse a significant look. "But you're still an idiot."

Silence. The dead man's eyes remained closed as if in peace. With a sigh, /Kamui/ sat down properly beside the body, reaching out to rummage in the folds of the coat. The packet of cigarettes was in the inside breast pocket, and he pulled it out along with its companion lighter, ignoring the ragged, fist-sized wound in the body where the heart would be. Unfortunately for him the cigarettes were soaked through; exasperated, /Kamui/ chucked them into the water and settled for playing with the lighter, flicking it on and off. The gas flame wavered weakly in the wind.

"You know, your precious Sumeragi's in a bit of a bind, now. His Wish was to be killed by you, but now that you're lying here that's not going to happen, is it. What do you think, will he trudge along with what's left of his miserable life, or go throw himself into the river? Or maybe he'll go embrace your Tree; I can see him going for that kind of poetic ending. But wait, isn't he the Sakurazukamori now? That means he'll probably end up coming over to me. Unless, of course, Kamui has enough of a hold on him." He laughed. "Kamui made you real jealous, didn't he, hanging around your Sumeragi like that. I suppose that's why you were so rough on him in bed. Then again, your Sumeragi did seem to like it, masochistic skinny – what was that? Oh, you didn't know I was keeping tabs on you? Come on, Sakurazukamori, you were one of my Angels, of course I had to keep track of you, even if it was like watching a gay porn film sometimes."

No reply. /Kamui/ hadn't expected one. In the city he could see street lights turning on; it was getting onto dinner time. Shaking the sand off his jeans /Kamui/ stood up. "Well, I suppose I had better be going. Things to do, you see. Don't worry; I didn't forget what you wanted." He removed the flask from his waist and opened it, taking care not to spill the viscous fluid inside. "I can't tell you when your Sumeragi's going to get this – he seems to have gone into hiding. But I can think of places to find him." Setting the flask upright on the sand beside the body, /Kamui/ kneeled down and pried the left eye open. Carefully, he inserted his fingers into the socket, curling them around to reach behind the soft ball of the eye and tearing the nerves there apart before pulling it out. The amber eyeball seemed to look at him in mild surprise before he dropped it into the flask and closed the lid. /Kamui/ stood up. "Pity your Sumeragi can't see you now, it might be entertaining. Who knows, maybe he's sick enough in the head to fuck you still." He laughed and tucked the flask under one arm as he flicked the lighter on again. "Anyway. Time to go."

He glanced at the lighter. At his silent command the tiny flame grew larger, brighter, the warmth almost like sunburn on his skin. It hung in mid-air and expanded, throwing the shadows into sharp relief as it moved over the dead body. There the fire came to rest, settling over the corpse like a strange blanket, covering hands, legs, chest, head … the hair caught fire immediately, the clothes and flesh soon after, crumbling under the intense heat as misty steam rose from the water and mingled with the smoke. Satisfied, /Kamui/ threw the cigarette lighter into the river and turned to go, not bothering to watch as the funeral pyre destroyed the physical shell of what had been the Sakurazukamori. He tossed off a casual wave goodbye. "Nice talking to you, Seishirou."

/Kamui/ walked away. Behind him the fire dissipated, leaving nothing but a scattering of ash, melted buttons, and charred bones. The water lapped at these, each wave carrying a little piece away, until finally there was nothing left. Somewhere, someone was trying to cry.

 

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