[FAN FIC] Message in a Cup (Chapter 5)
Summary: Satoshi meets a shinigami (angel of death) and his guardian angel. He only has 3 days to find out how is he going to die or who is his murderer.
Warning: Major character death
Notes:
- 99% of those who will read this are familiar with Arashi, but for those who aren't, please refer to this video to have visual of the members (their names are shown as Last Name First Name as what is common in Japan. In this story, their name format is in English with Japanese honorifics).
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Nino watched Satoshi sleep and gazed at his peaceful face until he woke up.
“Good morning, Satoshi-san! You have about 35 hours left, more or less. Do you have any questions to make you at ease before I bring you to the next life?” Nino asked.
“Shut up and let me sleep,” Satoshi mumbled.
“But your body will sleep forever in 35 hours. And that’s tomorrow night. Shouldn’t you be awake all the time while you still can?” Nino said.
“Go away,” Satoshi placed a pillow over his head.
“Sorry, I can’t. Anything I can do for you?” He offered.
There was no response.
Nino sighed and stood beside Satoshi. Something in him wanted to ease the anxiety that he can sense within the man.
“I can’t believe I’m going to die,” Satoshi suddenly said under his pillow.
Nino glanced at him. Despite having done this task a lot of times now, each death case was a wound to his heart. He was not tailored-fit to be a shinigami. He gets too emotional for his job.
Satoshi got out of his bed and walked across the room. He stared at the window and was lost in thought.
“I have dreams, you know.” There was a quiver in Satoshi’s voice. “I dreamed of travelling abroad with Sho-chan and Masaki-chan in a few years when the company is already very stable. We all planned to go to the top of Eiffel Tower in Paris. Then we’ll ride the London Eye in England. We’ll lie on the glass floor at the top of CN Tower in Toronto. We’ll all do that until Sho-chan gets over his fear of heights.
Then, we’ll celebrate and go bar-hopping so that Masaki-chan can learn new drinks for his bar until it becomes a tourist attraction in every Samajima hotel worldwide.
And I want to meet the woman of my life, have a child or two and live to see my children grow with my wife and my friends, and their families, together,” he bit his lip and tried to hold back the tears.
He was silent for a few moments. His lips started to shake. He closed his eyes and the tears that he had been trying to hold back started to pour.
“However…None of it will happen.” He sniffed. “I…I won’t get to see the day when my child utters his first word, or when he walks for the first time. I won’t see him graduate from high school, fall in love, then get married,” his face was soaked in tears.
Nino could not do anything but wrap Satoshi in his arms and dare not say a word.
Satoshi felt helpless. Death was so near and he could not accept the cause of it. “I know how will I die. What should I do?”
Nino wiped the tears from Satoshi’s eyes. “Do nothing. Let it go. Forgive while you can and enjoy the company of those who care for you. At least you have enough time to fix whatever needs to be fixed. You can write good-bye letters if you want.”
Satoshi was quiet again. He let go of the hug and sat on his bed.
“You make it sound so easy.” He sniffed some more.
Nino smirked. “That’s why I’m here, to make you feel better on your last 72 hours.”
“35 hours,” Satoshi corrected. “And you’re doing a bad job, you know.”
“Right,” Nino nodded. “I will even hold your hand on your last minutes if you want, just to make you feel safe.”
Satoshi nodded. “Please do. Thanks, Nino-kun. It means a lot.”
“Have you really figured out how you’ll die or were you just bluffing last time?”
“Murder, as you said.”
“Ahmm… On that note, I should not have suggested anything. It was actually against the rules.”
Satoshi smiled. “It’s all right. I have already figured it out. I have four suspects: Reiji Samajima, Toma Ikuta, Masaki Aiba and Sho Sakurai. They all have a reason to kill me.”
Nino had a thoughtful look. “Interesting.”
“And although Sho-chan is in the list, he will still inherit everything that I own and will be the next company president. He’s the only one who can keep the Samajima Group of Hotels strong.”
Nino waved his arms in defeat. “Whoa! Those are none of my business. I just have to keep you alive until tomorrow night and probably grant any dying wish. And I’ll hold your hand and keep things painless for you.”
“Thanks, Nino-chan. I hope you become a permanent Shinigami, not just a temporary one.”
“I hope so too. Geez! Switching jobs is so hard. Moving from one angel department to another can be tiring you know?”
Satoshi was confused with what Nino said and ignored it.
He got up from his bed and started to write letters to people.
Before noontime, he already wrote some business details to be given to Sho so that the company will have a smooth transition. Sho already handles the international side of the business, so Satoshi only gave instructions for the local and mother company business matters.
In the afternoon, he called his lawyer for a dinner appointment. “I will be dead tomorrow evening and I think I know who will kill me,” he explained. “The answer will be revealed after dinner.”
Disclaimer: This is an original fictional work loosely based on the members of the group Arashi and does not promote any specific brand or product. People, places, and others used in this story are purely for fiction.