Sweet Burden (36 page)

Obi perfected the system, but it was a slow process even making a dozen bullets. Rediisu gave him money to buy more supplies and assured him that he would continue to make bullets as well. All the weapons were gathered in a bag and they headed back upstairs.

“I really should be heading back,” Obi commented as Rediisu locked up the first floor door.

“Starting to hurt?” Rediisu raised an eyebrow.

“How did you know?” Obi gave him a peculiar look.

“That’s another story for another day. So, I guess we are planning on meeting you all out at the cabin on Hitomi’s birthday.”

“Alright.”

Rediisu stepped up in front of Obi and put his hands on his shoulders. “You love her, right?”

Obi wasn’t used to the word ‘love’ being used in any kind of reference concerning him. He was a little taken aback for a second, but then nodded his head. “Yes.”

“Take some advice from me and tell her. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

The way Rediisu said the words shot a cold shiver up his spine. He nodded his head again.

“And keep her close to you. Keep her safe,” Rediisu added.

“I plan on it.”

“Nothing can ever happen to her.” Rediisu returned to his lighthearted disposition and smirked. “Okay, enough advice from the old guy. Get out of here and get back to her. The last thing I need is for you to start whining about how your chest hurts.”

“Thanks Rediisu for everything.” Obi adjusted the bag over his shoulder and left the house just as the sun was beginning to set.

****

Hitomi went out to the porch as the sky began to darken. There was not much cloud cover and it hadn’t looked like rain all day. It had been a rare day with the sun present and the rays of the sun seemed to make her feel better. She wished Obi had been here to spend the day with her, but she knew he had things he needed to do.

She curled up in a blanket on the swing and waited for him to return. The sun disappeared against the horizon when she saw a figure appear in the woods. It was almost exactly where she had seen the man last night. Her heart beat started to pick up pace when she saw Obi’s face. Hitomi couldn’t help but smile widely as he hurried towards her. She stood up and rushed over to meet him. She tucked her arms around his waist as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“You’re alright,” she said relieved.

“I told you I’d be fine.”

“I know, but I still worried.”

He squeezed her tighter and then pulled away. His eyes met hers and she almost gasped. “I had a lot to do with Rediisu. Let’s go inside.” He took her hand and started for the door.

“Wait.” She stood firm and he turned back to her. “Obi, your eyes…”

“What about them?”

“They are completely green now. There’s not even a hint of red.”

“It’s a trait of protectors,” Obi nodded. “C’mon.” He tugged on her arm again and they went inside. She could barely take her eyes off of him. She wasn’t sure it was possible for him to be any more beautiful, but his green eyes made her forget to breathe.

Guri was inside reading one of Hitomi’s books and barely looked up as they entered. Obi dropped a bag on the floor and led her over to the couch. Her curiosity got the better of her as she peeled her gaze from him and glanced at the bag.

“What’s in the bag?” she inquired.

“Stuff from Rediisu.” Obi glanced at Guri, but quickly turned back to her. He sat down on the couch and pulled her down with him wrapping his arms around her. For a second she thought she heard him sniffing her hair. “Did you eat dinner?” he asked.

“Yah.”

“You look like you’re feeling better.”

“Mm hm. So, what did Rediisu say?”

Obi sighed and rested his head back closing his eyes. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

She instantly became frustrated. Her mother was keeping things from her already. She was not going to have Obi keeping things from her as well. Hitomi pulled away from him. “How about we talk about it now?”

Obi’s eyes reopened and he lifted his head back up. She watched as he and Guri exchanged another look.

“I’m really tired of everyone keeping things from me,” she huffed. “I think I’ve handled everything up to this point pretty well.” She stared at Obi waiting.

“Okay. I will tell you what I know.” Obi shifted on the couch to face her and took her hands in his.

“And I want to know all of it. I want to know about the realms and beings. And I definitely want to know why all of this is happening now.”

He cut her off. “Okay, okay. I get your point. But again, I can only tell you what I know.” Obi took a deep breath and started from the beginning. “There was a race of beings on this planet before the creation of humans. When humans were created the old race of beings became gods to the humans. Eventually this old race started to become extinct. There was one god remaining who married a human woman. They had two sons, Laebosu and Isbian. In order to rule the human race, their father created two realms putting each of them in charge of one. The Heavens was ruled by the God of Light, Isbian and the Afterworld was ruled by the God of Darkness, Laebosu. The Heavens was also home to beings that Isbian created. I’m not sure what all Isbian created, but obviously protectors were among them. Laebosu created himself an army of death gods. With the two of them working together, there was a balance in the Living World.

I know as the Living World on Earth grew Isbian and Laebosu together created a third realm; the Spiritual Realm. I really don’t know much about that realm. But it exists parallel to the Living World. It is home to what humans see as ghosts and spirits. There are some other beings too, like the Three Fate Sisters and keepers of human ideals.”   

Obi glanced over at Guri who nodded his head in agreement, so Obi continued. “There’s the High Court too. But I have never met anyone from that realm. Shortly before I became a shinigami, Laebosu waged war on the Heavens. Isbian was unprepared for the war as he had let most of his duties be carried out by his advisors. He spent most of his days in human form learning more about humans. Laebosu found out this information and one day when Isbian was in human form, Laebosu had a death god kill him. With Isbian gone, his brother was able to carry out the extermination of the angels and protectors. He left very few surviving and those that did survive were forced to renounce the Heavens and become death gods. With nothing to stop him, Laebosu has had absolute control for almost 18 years plunging the Living World into more and more darkness every year.

But not all death gods, like Guri, Rediisu, and Liam agree with the absolute control. They believe that there needs to be a balance for all three worlds to survive. Others do not agree with the balance and they are prepared for a war, which the Afterworld thrives on. So, right now basically we’re heading into a war.”

Obi finished and Hitomi sat there in a bit of awe. She didn’t realize she had been squeezing Obi’s hands until he loosened up her fingers and intertwined them with his.

“I know it’s not a pretty story,” Obi mumbled.

“I’m glad you told me,” she replied quietly. “So, you think I’m related to some survivor of the extermination?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged and looked at Guri. “I really don’t know. Rediisu wouldn’t tell me how you figure into all of this.”

“Why did you have to go to Rediisu’s?”

“Gathering weapons,” Obi stated and then pulled Hitomi to him. “But nothing will ever happen to you.”

Hitomi now realized that for some reason she had practically the entire Afterworld wanting her dead, but she had no idea why. She knew that Obi could not possibly protect her from everything. But she nodded her head to keep Obi appeased and hide her fears. She thought of the realization that there was probably going to be a war and Obi and Guri would be involved in it. She couldn’t help but shiver.

“What did you get?” Guri said as he closed the book and stood up. He gave Hitomi a quick look and she knew he could feel the fear inside her. “I meant what weapons?”

“Look if you want,” Obi shrugged as he pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and covered Hitomi with it.

Guri grabbed the bag and opened it. He started setting weapons out on the table. There were blades, guns and a crossbow. The blades and metal shimmered in the light of the fire. Suddenly Hitomi became overwhelmed with nausea. She could smell traces of blood on the weapons. She covered her mouth and jumped up from the couch. She rushed out onto the porch and took a deep breath. The fresh air started to settle her.

Almost immediately there were hands on her shoulders. “Are you alright?” Obi whispered.

“I smelled blood. Those weapons have killed before.”

“Yes.”

Hitomi lowered her head. “I can’t believe this is all real.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you everything.” He sounded angry at himself. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I needed to know. I just…” she stopped, her mind searching for the right words.

“What?”

“Everything is so real now. My mind was so occupied with other things that I just kind of put the fact that someone was trying to kill me in the back. But now there are bigger things at stake than my life.” Hitomi turned around and looked up at him. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“See, you keep saying that and what if that’s not true? What if something happens to you? You’ve already been hurt because of me.” She put her hand on his abdomen. She could still feel scarred skin beneath his shirt where he had been stabbed. His muscles tightened in his stomach.

He put his hands on her face as he leaned down and kissed her. “Do you think I’m going to let someone take me away from you?” he asked.

She stared up at him and reached up brushing his hair from his eyes. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him and she didn’t want to live without him. Not only did she not want to live without him, she wasn’t sure she could ever live without him. She would never be able to live with herself if anything ever happened to him again.

However, Hitomi stayed silent and shook her head.

“As long as I know you’re okay, I will be fine because I know I will be coming back to you.”

“You better always come back to me,” she replied, her voice trembling.

Obi kissed her forehead and pulled her tightly against him. “Hitomi, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” She pressed her cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

“I, um…” He took a long pause as she waited. “I’m…” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to have to teach you how to use a gun.”