Kibishi's POV

  "Who... are you guys?" I whispered as I took a step back.

  From there, I could see a middle-aged man with dark skin, short bck hair, a bck suit, a dark tie, and some dancing shoes. Next to him was a girl with brown hair and gray eyes who was covered with a brown, messy cloak. Her hair seemed pretty long as well. Shoulder length and if not, a bit longer. She seemed to have a golden item around her neck too. Shaped like... something. I couldn't really make it out from there.

  The girl tilted her head in confusion, but then gasped, her eyes widening.

  "Supernatural..." The girl spoke quietly and stepped forward, lifting her left hand to protect the middle-aged man. "Master, be careful..."

  "Easy there. We don't want to cause a fight in their territory. That would cause disaster for us." The man chuckled and stood in front of the girl. "Besides, this guy here is an ally of justice, right?"

  "You guys didn't answer my question!" I shouted out of fear.

  The man raised his arm toward me, not just for my sake, but also toward the girl who seemed ready to attack. I didn't know why, but I felt like I might have stepped onto a minefield if I wasn't careful.

  Careful, Kibishi. Think before you speak.

  I nodded to myself and breathed in and then out. I did this a couple more times before calming down and facing those two once more. "I'm sorry for the outburst. It's been a long night."

  "By all means, I beg to differ. Showing me that you have human emotions makes me trust you more than ever." The man pced his arms behind his back and chuckled.

  "..." I remained silent and just stared at the man.

  The man must have noticed it and wore a surprised expression.

  "Oh? Why the long face? I'm not here to kill you or anything like that, you know."

  The man began to walk forward slowly. That made me flinch, and it gave the girl a reaction as well, but the man simply held onto the girl's hand and walked past me with a satisfied smile.

  "Do forgive my daughter. She's protective of her only parent left." The man announced as he took a couple more steps toward the table in the middle of the room. Once he got there, the man slowly pulled out a chair for the girl and pushed it in softly. Once the girl was comfortable, the man sat right next to her. He adjusted his tie and then put on some white gloves for some strange reason. The girl was doing the same as the man.

  Click!

  With a push in the air, the man made some teacups appear from inside the table.

  Wow.

  I had to say, the technology of this pce was way more advanced than it had been a few years ago.

  "Now then, let's have a little chat while the doctor is away for the time being," The man gestured with his hand toward an empty seat next to him. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. It wasn't that I minded waiting for Mato now that I was up to this point, but something about those two seemed... strange. Like... they had this-

  My mind got interrupted when the girl tugged on the man's suit.

  "Ah, sorry." The man lifted up a teacup and then made water appear in thin air. And then some sparkles appeared and headed toward the cup that the man was holding. Finally, he used the free cup to mix it all together. After putting the water from one cup into another, he held the cup that seemed to be steaming by that point. He then handed it to the girl.

  The girl nodded and took a sip from the cup.

  This made the man chuckle and he gently patted the girl.

  "Come now, boy. I cannot do anything to you in this sorry state. All I can do are party tricks for my daughter." The man smiled at me once more.

  I was still having trouble with the vibe I was getting from him, but he seemed alright for now.

  "...Oh, alright. You seem to be a caring parent, at least, so I'll bite..." I slowly walked toward the table. It wasn't that far for me since I had been a bit closer to it than those two, but that didn't matter at that point.

  Once I reached the table, I sat on the opposite side from those two.

  I then saw the girl toss the other cup, which seemed to be full of hot water, it appeared. I gnced up and saw the girl enjoying the teacup that was full of whatever he had made for her. The man, I mean.

  Though, if I had to guess, it was probably a home-style tea. I wasn't sure what kind, but still. It was just a feeling of mine.

  And while I was still iffy about this whole thing, it would be rude to reject this offering, so I grabbed it and took a sip.

  I pced the cup down with a surprised look.

  "Heated sugar water. That's only known in the Caribbean area." I whispered, but loud enough for the guy to hear.

  "Not all Caribbean people know this, though. Only a selected few, such as myself, do this. If you have nothing in the house, then simple bread and this should fill your belly." The man answered me.

  "So you're from the Caribbean?" I tilted my head.

  "Indeed. But I did study Japanese for a bit and then moved to Japan in my 20s." The man rested his arms on the table.

  "But that aside for now, I want to ask a few questions if you don't mind." The man raised his hand toward me with a calm expression.

  "If it's something I can answer, then sure," I nodded.

  "It's nothing too complex. I'm sure you can answer it."

  The man turned serious and stared at me.

  "Now then, to the question. Why do you hesitate about yourself?"

  "Huh?" I straightened my back and blinked.

  "Why do you hesitate? Surely, you don't think you're different from your friends who are supernaturals, right?"

  I lowered my head.

  There were many things running inside my head. There were many answers I wanted to give, but most of them sounded like excuses.

  Why was I being hesitant?

  Of course, the answer was very simple.

  "I just... I just think that now I know that I'm a..." I trailed off and gripped my head.

  "...Too scared to say what type of Supernatural you are? I suppose it's a dangerous type?" The man asked while putting his hands together.

  "...Y-yeah..." I nodded.

  "...I see." The man said.

  I looked up and saw him adjust himself to sit up straight.

  "Tell me your name, son."

  "It's Kibishi."

  "Ah, The Grim Reaper. No wonder you hesitate. But I'm asking for your NAME, not your supernatural name."

  I was taken aback by what the guy said to me.

  "What do you mean? My name IS Kibishi." I answered while scratching my head.

  "That can't be." The man patted the girl's head. "This girl here also has a sub-name, but her real name is Jessica Louis. Born in Texas in the United States, but she is special in her own way. And by the looks of things, you and your friends are Japanese, meaning that you have Japanese names."

  "I don't know what to say to you. Kibishi is my name."

  "Hmm..." The old man thought to himself for a moment.

  It didn't take long before he shook his head and smiled at me. "Forget it. It's not that important as long as you have a name."

  It seemed like the man wanted to know more deeply why my name was Kibishi, but even I didn't know why.

  That was something I should look up someday.

  Because if I could recall, names had a first and a st.

  Hmm...

  "But it seems like I got the gist of things. You're the Reaper, and you're afraid of harming people. And for such a young man to have that on his mind isn't a healthy thing."

  "I suppose not."

  ......

  .....

  ........... The silence was awkward.

  The man realized this as well and pced a card on the table.

  "Well, it seems like you're uncomfortable with our presence. I'll give you our card and we'll be on our way." The man was about to stand up, but he then sat back down.

  "Oh. One st thing. What's the reason for that power of yours?" The man asked while the girl was finishing up her cup.

  "What's the reason for it?"

  "I mean, yeah, death means the end of all things. But that doesn't mean you have to be. Like real life, we're all going to die. That's inevitable. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it as we see fit. My boy, just because you're the concept of death, doesn't mean you have to be the end of all."

  I looked at the table once more.

  What did he mean by that?

  I mean, I sort of got it, but still. All of this was strange. Maybe if I asked the man, then he would know.

  I looked up to ask something, but then the girl and the man were nowhere to be seen. Where did they—?

  "We shall take our leave now. Perhaps we can have tea another day, Son. Good night."

  I turned behind me and saw the man and the girl near the doorway. The man saluted me, opening the door and letting the girl head out first. He then followed her and closed the door gently.

  I was alone once more.

  I slowly looked back at the tea and picked up the cup.

  I drank the rest of the tea in the cup. I could taste the sugar entering my mouth.

  After finishing the st of the sugar water, I pced the cup down.

  "Oof. That hit the spot, at least..."

  Yup. That guy was a parent through and through.

  I gnced back at the doorway. Even after all of that time, Mato hadn't returned yet...

  "Where could he be—?"

  Stab!

  "Ugh!" I clutched my chest.

  Did I just get stabbed just now?! I looked at the table and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I looked at my chest and saw no red marks. But then... why-?

  Stab!

  "Ah!" My body was unched forward. I had to hold onto the table to bance myself.

  What the hell was all of that about?! Why was I acting all weird suddenly?!

  Static!

  I held my head when a lightning bolt zoomed inside my brain. My vision went from red to normal in a matter of seconds.

  "What the...?!"

  "Help her. Help her. Help her."

  A voice besides my own announced in my mind.

  Static!

  "She doesn't deserve to exist. But none shall take the pleasure except for me."

  Static!

  I stood up and slowly gripped my red hair tightly. What were they talking about?! Who were they-?!

  "....Ah." I whispered in realization.

  The person who wasn't supposed to exist. That was what my mind had been telling me before back in prison, too. When Tao-

  "Tao..."

  Cree...

  I heard the door opening.

  "Sorry for the wait, Kibishi." I heard Mato's voice. It seemed like he had arrived at st.

  I gnced in his direction, my palms sweating.

  The door.

  The door.

  The door was opened.

  "Boy, it took longer than I thought and Kevin had to go do something else so‐"

  Dash!

  I made a mad dash toward the door.

  "Huh?!" I heard Mato.

  Step! Step! Step!

  I went past Mato and was already exiting his office.

  I wasn't sure myself, but I had already gone out of the office in a matter of seconds. Such speed. Such power. I didn't know I had it in me.

  Step! Step! Step!

  I zoomed through the hallway, hearing Mato's voice from behind.

  "Hey hey hey! Where are you going, Kibishi!"

  I heard him. But I decided to ignore him. There was only one thing on my mind. One thing that mattered to me right now. That was Tao's life!

  Step!

  Bending one knee and using the other to speed up my movement.

  Like a group of bees working together to protect the beehive, my body was moving to try to protect Tao.

  I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop.

  I just needed to get to my door and put on my Super Code. I was a fool for not wearing it on me.

  If I made a left in the hallway then—huh?

  Was that...?!

  "Jir?" I whispered as I felt the rush slow down.

  Trip!

  I ended up tripping on the floor. I made myself into a ball to soften the impact. After a couple of rolls, I uncurled myself from being a ball and hit my head on Jir's now bruised-up boots.

  I gnced up and saw her face all messed up. There were some cuts here and there. I could see some of her green hair out of pce. Her super code was scratched up as well. What had happened out there?

  "Kib... please... help..." Jir slowly stepped back and then hit the floor in a lifeless way.

  "J...ir?" I slowly stood up and took a look at her once more.

  And as I thought, Jir's breathing was heavy. And she had wounds all over her body.

  "Jir.... Jir!" I started to rush toward Jir.

  What was Jir doing back here?!