Seven
Akko froze. What? She was sure her face showed her confusion as Izana couldn’t help a chuckle escape past his lips.
“I wanted you for myself. You were always with Mikey, I was jealous.” He shrugged. “I used to be incredibly stupid. A few months after you…” he paused as he swallowed, looking away from Akko. “…after you died, I lead my gang, Tenjiku, in a fight against Toman.” Izana looked back at Akko, tears forming in his eyes as he saw his words had brought tears to Akko’s as well.
“I died in that fight, along with Emma.” He finished, looking away once again so he couldn’t see Akko’s face, and she couldn’t see his.
“Zana-nii.” Akko started. Hearing her use of that nickname caused a jolt in Izana’s spine and left his mouth dry. “Why did you want me so badly?” She asked.
“I can’t answer that. Not anymore.” Izana shook his head. Akko was silent for a moment before she sighed and walked over to him.
“You didn’t kill Emma. You didn’t kill me.” She comforted, walking around him so that she could look into his pale purple eyes. “You didn’t kill Shin-nii.” That was the plough that broke the dam. Tears fell down Izana’s cheeks as he embraced the reincarnation of his little sister. She hugged him back and the two stood, silent aside from the occasional sniff as they both grieved.
Around thirty minutes passed before the two left the shrine. Akko had long since removed her jacket and placed it within the bag Izana had attached to the back of his bike. Both of her tattoos showed, but she didn’t care as the two drove to a graveyard. The two had stopped to pick up incense and offerings before they arrived at the cemetery.
The first grave they visited was Shinichiro’s. It was well kept and definitely more clean than most of the stones within the cemetery. Izana placed a pack of cigarettes in the offering place as Akko lit the new incense they brought. They took a moment to pray before moving onto the next grave.
Mikey’s grave was equally as clean as Shinichiro’s, signifying that Izana had been a frequent visitor of the cemetery. This time roles were reversed. Akko placed a down packaged dorayaki as an offering as Izana lit the incense. This repeated eighteen more times with many different offerings.
Sano Emma, Ryuguji Ken, Hanemiya Kazutora, Hanagaki Takemichi, Baji Keisuke, Kawata Nahoya, Kawata Souya, Haitani Ran, Haitani Rindou, Mitsuya Takashi, Tachibana Hinata, Sanzu Haruchiyo, Imaushi Wakasa, Kokonoi Hajime, Kawaragi Senju, Shiba Hakkai, Inui Seishu, and Matsuno Chifuyu.
By the time Izana and Akko were close to being finished, the sun began to set. The two had only two more graves to visit. Theirs. Sano Akko’s grave sat beside Mikey’s and was by far the most clean in the cemetery. Akko didn’t feel comfortable placing the offering or the incense at her own grave, so Izana did it for her. When they moved onto Izana’s, the roles were reversed.
Once they were finished Izana and Akko sent up a silent prayer before leaving.
“So,” Izana started as they walked out to his bike. “Do you want to take the train home?” Izana asked as he climbed onto his bike. Akko shook her head as she unzipped the bag attached to the motorbike and pulled out her jacket, putting it on and zipping the bag once again before climbing on the bike with him.
“Nah, I don’t wanna go home. Not yet.” She replied fully after wrapping her arms around Izana’s waist. Nodding silently, Izana drove off in the direction of the tattoo parlour.
“You could probably stay at Kyo-san’s place for the night. I think Anri-chan and Kyo-san wouldn’t mind.” Izana said, yelling slightly so that Akko could hear him over the wind in their ears. Akko placed her head on Izana’s back as she nodded so that he would know that she understood.
The ride was short seeing as the parlour was close to the cemetery. When they arrived, Kyo and Anri seemed to have just finished locking up for the night and were preparing to walk home when Izana and Akko pulled up beside them.
“Hey Ann-cchi, Yo-cchi, do you mind if I stay over for the night? I got into an argument with my kaa-san and don’t feel like going home.” Akko asked, sitting back from her position leaning against Izana’s back.
“Of course not!” The two responded at the same time, electing a grin from Akko as she climbed off of Izana’s bike.
“Bye Zana-nii, today was fun.” She said as she turned to the white haired boy, waving as she walked away with Anri and Kyo. Izana waved back before starting up his bike again and driving home.