11/15/92, Tokyo, Japan 

The smoke from my cigarette filled the air, along with its satisfying smell. People find it weird that I find the smell satisfying, but it’s the very reason why I do it every day. I had my arms on the rails of the school rooftop while looking into the big city. I start to look down at the exterior of the school, thinking about how if I jumped down right now, I could end my suffering. 

I hear the door of the school rooftop creak. I opened my mouth, “Yukimura! Sup?”

“If you keep skipping class like this, the second thing that’s gonna have you suffocating in the future is the debt.” 

I laugh at his remark. Daichi leans onto the rails next to me. 

Daichi Yukimura. We’ve been side by side since grade school, even more closer since junior high. In our last year of junior high, we were required to join the DES. We have gathered quite the reputation in the DES, being known as the strongest in the field, but this very reputation is what detached us. 

Ever since we began carrying out executions, we became more like  acquaintances than close friends. He started talking to me less and whenever he does talk, it’s always about work and what we should try to improve on. He rarely wants to go out and have fun, but loves to work extra hours on killing Deceits. He even bosses me around about anything now! DES  related or not! He has a huge ego! 

Smoking isn’t the best if you’re part of the DES? Who gives a damn! I have a life that doesn’t revolve about being a workaholic or having a fucking ego! He’s a workaholic and has an ego! A egotistic workaholic! Even with that though, I can’t find myself completely hating him. After all, he did give me some of the best memories and times I’ve had in my life. How could I hate someone like that?

Yukimura pokes my right shoulder. “That tattoo you have has been getting more and more visible and detailed by the day.” 

“You’re telling me that as if I don’t see it every day of my life.”

“Well it’s very alluring is all. I often find myself staring at it. When I look into its eye… I feel a horrifying presence that even a god would have been trembling from.” 

“Am I that hot?” 

Yukimura gets flustered. “Whuh!” 

“I’m only kidding. Everyone says the same thing and it’s been worrying me. It’s gotten so bad to the point that I have to keep covering it with a leather jacket due to the fact that people avoid me because of it.”

“Is it a part of your executioner ability?”

“I’m certain that it’s not. It’s more like a curse honestly. I’ve even thought about jumping just so that I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

“It’s not that serious! Also, if you die then I’ll have no execution partner!”

“…” 

“Could you push through for me? Please?”

“You really are a piece of garbage aren’t you?”

“How so?”

“All you do is think about yourself. You’re a shitty narcissist and it pisses me off all the time! What’s your fucking problem? You don’t want me to die so that you can have an easier job dealing with Deceits and get a promotion!”

Daichi cups my cheek with his hands. He gives me stare that’s so serene that it almost makes me uncomfortable. 

“We’re just a tool for the government, Izumi. We aren’t seen by society as heroes but instead as objects that they rely on. Have you once heard anyone admire an executioner or talk about an executioner whenever they aren’t in danger? Calling me a narcissist is contradictory. We need each other to survive this corrupt world.”

My face softens and I slightly stare down at the ground. I sigh as I push his hand off of me. 

“Whatever.”

“I’m glad you understand. How about we investigate this little curse instead of killing yourself?”

“You’re right. Wanna skip the rest of school?”

“Let’s head to the café.”

Avsluta Café has a tranquil environment that never fails to make me forget all of my dilemma. This isn’t the only reason why I come here all of the time though. I come here strictly for the amazing mocha coffee they have. The aroma of the coffee hit my senses once it was placed on our table. 

“You seem to like that coffee very much.” 

I notice how fast I’m drinking and slow down. 

“So tell me. What else does that tattoo do? It’s a heart with one eye and two horns. Does it bring out your demons or something?”

“That would be way more manageable than what it actually does to me.”

“What is it then?”

The ambience of the café gets quiet as I place my coffee on the table. “I have to suffer my death. It’s been happening ever since I was six. Every time it happens, I learn something new from it. For example, what time it is, my age, the year, who was there, and the where.”

“And what details have you gathered so far?”

“It happens on my seventeenth birthday. I don’t know how exactly I die because of the different things that could happen each time. It’s like a flowchart. If I do this one thing, then the other will happen.”

“I’m guessing that you have taken many different paths which lead to different deaths?”

“Exactly. That’s what is worrying me the most. If I could destory fate…”

“Fate can’t be destroyed.” 

“I’m sure anything is possi—“

“Not for you.”

I throw my coffee at Yukimura and start shouting, “Anytime I have a problem you always tell me that I can’t fix it!”

Yukimura uses a napkin to clean his face. “When was I ever wrong?” 

“You!”

“We’re gonna get kicked out in a few seconds by the way.”

As soon as he says that, we are kicked out and never allowed to return. What is up with me? Me and Yukimura depart. I flop onto my bed squeezing my pillow. I think back to what Yukimura said and he wasn’t wrong. Ever since we were little he would always tell me if certain things will or will not happen and not once was he ever incorrect. The scariest occurrence of this is when he predicted the death of one my family members. 

He simply told me, “A part of your family could disappear at any moment. That’s why you have to cherish your moments with everyone that you love.”

That same day, my mother was killed in a fatal car accident. We got into a huge fight because of it and distanced ourselves from each other for a while. I hear my phone ding on the counter near my lamp light. I grab it and flip it open. It’s a message from my friend Haruka. 

[  Dont forget to come ovr to my house on your b-day ;) ] 

I reply.

[ I may not be able to come. Sorry! ]

[ Awhhhhh… :( ]

[ Maybe next year. ]

[ (Punches air) ]

[ Don’t be like that… ]

[ I haven't seen u in years… ]

[ You’ll certainly see me again someday! ]

I close my phone and listen to the repeated dings. I feel bad for her. The only time she gets to interact with a human being, even in the slightest, is whenever it’s my birthday. We met one day at grade school. Me, her, and Yukimura use to be a trio until she had moved once we got into junior high. 

We were always be close together at all times. Occasionally we would go roam around Tokyo for hours! We would find cats, maybe steal a few things from stores, play in the rain, and even had snowball fights during winter. Once she left, nothing had been the same ever since.  

I never knew where she went once she moved. She left me hanging with nothing except memories and loss. Around our last year of junior high, I got a text from an unknown number and to my surprise, it was Haruka. I asked Yukimura if he was pulling some sort of prank, but he told me that he forgot who she even was. I still don’t know how she got my number and I never really cared. 

Haruka would always ask me to come over to her house for my birthday, but I always decline, so she always delivers me my cake and presents. A note comes with my cake every time. The first one told me about how she was a hikikomori and how I am the only person she wants to see. When I first saw it I felt sad and considered changing my mind about not going over to wherever she resides, but it felt as if something was restraining me from seeing her. 

As I try to get comfortable, an unbearable pain shoots through the arm that my tattoo is on. It’s starting. 

—————————————————

11/17/92 (Curse)

I arise from my bed with the sun illuminating  its light onto me. I hope I get some kind of hints this time around. Something I didn’t tell Yukimura was that I rarely get hints. The most I’ve gotten so far is the people who I interacted with on this day. The people I talked to used to be just red figures with distorted voices until I met them in the real world. The voices were so painful that they would always give me a headache from just hearing them breathe. 

I go into the bathroom to get a look at myself. As usual, my reflection wasn’t there. I remember punching the mirror one time to see if anything would change, but my fist was stopped and the words Memento Mori manifested onto the mirror. 

I got ready for school, went outside, and waited for someone to appear. They appeared exactly at 7:30 AM. I know this because of the first time I was ever put through the curse. Once I got outside, I was amazed at the glorious sight of structures that Tokyo had to offer. I was in shock for so long that someone came up to me. This person is still unknown.

I open my phone to check my text and I had 2 unread messages from Haruka. 

[ HAPPY 17TH BDAY ! ! ! ]

[ PLEASE COME OVER! I MADE CAKE! ]

I smile at the messages and close my phone. Out of all of the routes I’ve taken, I have never visited her. Maybe I’ll go on the last day that this curse happens. I hear a distorted voice beside me and shift my head to see the red figure. I follow it to school while listening to its distorted and muffled speech. 

Nothing eventful happens until the time of lunch. I use this time to skip school and do something different from the original route and many other routes I take. I usually talk to some of my classmates that are celebrating or even go up to the rooftop to smoke. This time something came to mind. 

The conversation about me not being able to change fate and to investigate really made me think. I should investigate more than just my school or home and even the way I die. Now that I’ve grew up and known Yukimura longer, I knew where he lived. I’ve been wanting to keep his privacy, but the only way for me to feel safer is by debunking that he is one of the variables. 

He lived in a dorm not too far from where I lived. I went to the dorm and walked up stairs to his room. Room 203. I slowly open the door and I'm met with a jaw dropping sight. I drop to my knees and cover my mouth in disbelief. A girl around my age, sitting on a bed, looked at me with wide eyes. 

“Why are you…”

“Haruka…”

“N-no way! N-not here!”

I contain myself and calm down. My time is limited, so I need to get as much questions as possible. This might be changed in another route so this hint matters.

“You still stutter a lot. Never gets old.”

I sit on the ledge of the bed and tilt my head to her. “I’m here for answers.”

Haruka starts to get jittery. 

“W-well, what is it?”

“Why are you in Yukimura’s dorm room?”

“W-we’re dating.”

“The real answer.”

Haruka flinches and speaks quietly, “I can’t tell you.”

“I see…”

Haruka gets up to look outside of the window. “I can give you your final hint though. Just know that this will be your only chance to hear all of this. Once you’re out of here, I won’t be here anymore…”

I gently smile and lay down with my arms crossed. I speak in a soft tone, “That’s what I like to hear.”