Chapter 32.3: Down By the Bay, where the Watermelons Grow

  Ace sipped on the hot chocolate that Mrs Kusakabe had kindly made for him, blowing on the sweet concoction to cool it down. Dante rested on the couch next to him, with a hot towel over his eyes. He had also donned Shiro’s windbreaker, which was the only oversized top Shiro had on hand.

  Dante’s hands were stuck deep into the windbreaker’s pockets, concealing the jagged red welts that Ace had been eyeing the whole way back.

  Mrs Kusakabe came around with a second serving of hot chocolate. “Was it to your liking?” she asked as she refilled Ace’s cup.

  Ace nodded enthusiastically. “My daughter loves it. She loves strawberry milk the most.” Shiro beamed as he carried in a small tray of snacks. “Here, I got you all some sweets to eat.”

  “What did the Sanctum say?” Dante asked out of the blue.

  “What sanctum?” Mrs Kusakabe asked, turning to her husband.

  “W-We’re talking about work at the animal sanctum,” Shiro smiled nervously. “Er… Yua’s sleepy, how about you put her to bed?”

  After cajoling his wife, he came back and pushed Dante on the back of his head. “I told you not to talk about sorcery while she’s around!” Shiro hissed.

  Dante said nothing, drawing a loud sigh from Shiro. “The Sanctum cleaned up the area. I had to fudge a story about how I happened to be there,” he said, wringing his hands. “Dante-san, I can’t keep this up. They’ll bust me for sure! They’ll know that you’re back!”

  Dante sighed and slid the towel off his face. “The rest don’t know that you’re here?” Ace asked, to which Dante shook his head.

  “Why?”

  Dante shook his head again. “Do not ask questions that you do not want the answers to,” he said.

  Ace bit the inside of his cheek and glanced down, his eyes finding Dante’s injured hand once more. The towel barely covered the scars and welts that riddled it. “Is your hand o-”

  “I said it was fine.” Dante’s gaze hardened, and something in Ace quivered.

  Quickly finishing his drink and excusing himself, Ace retreated into his room. Burying his face in the pillow, he had to remind himself that he was a guest in this house to stop himself from screaming out loud.

  “So much for being nice,” Ace grouched.

  ***

  I’m tired.

  The fibres of the towel became blurry as Dante let his eyes unfocus. He let his lips part a bit, feeling the skin slowly harden as he breathed through his mouth.

  I should not have any lingering wills or attachments, he thought numbly. My will has been signed. Whatever assets I have would be sold. A portion would go to Nova’s care when she meets her next owner. That’s all there is.

  Dante balled up his hands. Every time he thought he was staring Death in the face, there was something that pulled him away from it. Felix was there when he was about to face the phantom at the crematorium, and this time, it was his duty to ensure that Ace returned to the Sanctum in one piece.

  I chose Singapore because there was no one to get in my way. Dante wanted to kick himself for falling ill and allowing himself to be found. Being a city with no sorcerers – except for those squirrelled away at the Beacon – he could simply keep Cursed Essence level right below the threshold. If he somehow found a way to die, he would be in a morgue or have his funeral carried out by some charitable organisation by the time sorcerers arrive to attend to the increased levels of Cursed Essence.

  Dante’s train of dooming thoughts was interrupted by a grating ringtone. “It’s Felix,” Shiro said upon answering the call.

  “Tell him I am not here.”

  Light flooded Dante’s eyes as Shiro snatched away the towel. The ice-cold screen of Shiro’s phone kissed Dante’s ear. “You will answer to Felix,” Shiro said. “Felix! Dante’s listening.”

  Dante clicked his tongue but remained silent. “Is Ace doing okay?” asked Felix.

  “Yes.”

  Felix sighed over the phone. “What is he up to?”

  “Asleep, I presume.”

  “Good.” Felix let out another sigh. “About the bodies and the phantoms that came along with them, did you use Ignition?”

  Nothing escaped Felix’s eyes. Dante grunted in response, finding no use in forming words for an answered question. “There were traces of your Regalia’s Essence. Thankfully, I got there first before Dr. Lee did,” Felix said.

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  “Okay.”

  “I burned away every last bit of it.”

  “Okay.”

  Then came the inevitable question. “Are you alright? Ignition must have–”

  There was something in Felix’s tone that nauseated Dante. He pushed away the phone roughly and rubbed his earlobe to get rid of the irritating tickle. “He’s fine,” Shiro answered on his behalf. “It’s been a long day and I’m sure that you have lots of things to deal with as well...”

  Shiro conversed briefly with Felix before he hung up. Dante tried to take his mind off his aching body, completely disinterested in their conversation. His back was what bothered him the most, and the windbreaker rubbing against his skin only exacerbated the discomfort. Home called out for him, but he hardly had any fuel left in him to travel back.

  “What’s with that attitude?”

  Dante turned slowly towards Shiro, who had both hands on his hips. His senior’s face was like a crumpled rag. “I don’t care about the bad blood between you and Felix,” Shiro admonished. “Ace was concerned about you! Why did you–”

  “I mentioned I was fine on the way back,” Dante said robotically. “I do not have to repeat myself.”

  “Anyone would be worried if they keep seeing your arm in this shape and not getting better!” Shiro said, visibly upset. “Have you never expressed concern once in your life?”

  The room grew dim as Dante pulled the hood of the windbreaker over his head. “Oh, there you go. Being invisible doesn’t mean I would stop talking to you,” Shiro said in hushed tones. “To think that I thought that you came back willingly, but it just seems that you want out.”

  “If you had not told Felix about my whereabouts, we would not be having this conversation,” Dante retorted.

  Shiro sighed and took a seat next to Dante. “I see now,” he said. “You blame me.”

  “That was not what I meant,” Dante said. “He kept sticking around, and I wanted him to leave. This is all there is to it.”

  “You see, this is the problem,” Shiro said. “It’s difficult to read your tone and therefore, it’s easy to take it wrongly.”

  “This is how I am.”

  “Really? I don’t think so,” Shiro challenged. “Where was the Dante I met two years ago? The one who decided to purchase a plane ticket, go to his favourite bar, drink so much until the bartender had to call the only person known to drink–”

  “Enough!” Dante blurted, breathing heavily. He had no answers to the many accusations hurled at him, for they were the truth and nothing but the truth. He met Shiro’s gaze and saw that the meek swordsman was no longer looking through him

  “There we go,” Shiro said with a small smile. “Now we are sorting out our feelings.”

  Dante lowered his gaze and slowly put up his legs, drawing his knees close to his chest. “I may not know the full story between you and your former student,” Shiro said solemnly. “But from what I saw two years ago, you were capable of extending the same kindness offered to you when you were a new student at the Sanctum.”

  “I am not the person you make me out to be,” Dante said quietly.

  “You are. Your struggles are proof of that,” Shiro insisted. “You know, I admire Dr. Farid for raising you so well that even after all you’ve been through, you still struggle. I would have been a lot less forgiving if I were you.”

  “Forgiving? Me?”

  “I’m not asking you to forgive whoever forced you out of the Sanctum,” Shiro said. “That’s too much to ask for. I only ask for one thing.”

  Dante cocked his head, waiting for Shiro to go on. Shiro took a deep breath before continuing. “All I ask for is for you to be as kind to Ace as Dr. Farid was towards you. Now that I think about my days at the Sanctum and today… You and Ace had the same eyes.”

  Dante picked at his skin as he thought about Ace. What did Shiro see in them to draw similarities? Ace had large, brown, almond-shaped eyes, messy hair with a white splotch on his fringe and a fairly average build. Perhaps it was the same stupid naivety they had when they were still inexperienced.

  Ace, like him, was chosen against his will.

  They were both cursed, but in different ways.

  It was these two sorry sacks of flesh and bones that the God Hands chose to haunt.

  What was I doing?

  A little light bulb went off in Dante’s head, and he stood to his feet abruptly, going to his car. When he came back, Shiro was staring at him, mystified by the sudden surge in energy.

  Dante shoved what he retrieved into Shiro’s hands. “Dorayaki?” Shiro asked as he turned the packet in his hands.

  Dante nodded. “Pretend you are Ace,” he said haltingly.

  “What does dorayaki have to do with…”

  “Childhood snack.” God, he must seem like a dumb child in front of his senior.

  Dante sat Shiro down and toyed with the dorayaki wrapper. He opened his mouth, but nothing would come out. It was just two simple words, yet it felt as if he became mute right before he could say them.

  “I can’t do this.” Dante’s shoulders slumped, and he cupped his ears with his hands, feeling them heat up.

  “Take your time,” Shiro reassured.

  Dante had no idea what was stopping him from apologising. Perhaps it was ego, or maybe it was chauvinism, or possibly pride. He thought he had abandoned all of them long ago, but their ghosts were back to haunt him. He shook his head vehemently and steeled his will. “I’m s-sorry,” he blurted.

  “Try again.”

  He readied himself for the second one. “I’m sorry,” he said again. It came out slightly better than the first, but he said it too quickly.

  Shiro nodded. “Good.”

  “Can I try again?”

  “Take as long as you need. I can accompany you if you’d like.”

  “Do you also happen to have a glove?” Dante asked. “I lost mine in the sea.”

  “Give me a moment.”

  Shiro returned with a black leather glove. It was tighter than Dante had liked, but it would make do. He nodded, thanking his senior wordlessly. As he slipped the glove on, Scarlet slid the replicas of itself back on the fingers of his right hand. The two black rings, which he had hoped were lost forever in the sea, were somehow retrieved by this godforsaken Regalia.

  Dante sighed, his mind returning to Ace. Say just enough to give him the drive he needs. Nothing more, he decided.