Kapitel 18: Are you giving up on your wish?

"Is this because of... Akira?" Kaito asked and Akira's eyes immediately widened in shock.

"What... About him?" Akira asked in disbelief and confusion.

For a second there, he wondered if Kaito also had something to do with his death.

Kaito sighed as he spoke, "Don't pretend. I already know how much you hate him. It annoys you that I look out for him, doesn't it?"

Akira almost heaved a sigh of relief as he heard this.

He didn't know why but the thought of Kaito Takahashi having something to do with his murder made Akira feel betrayed. Although they were rivals, Kaito had always treated Akira warmly, and without even having to say, there was a good understanding between them.

If they were not rivals, perhaps they could have become great friends.

"Yuzu, I have already said this before but the one I like is you. Akira is a good friend of mine and I care about him but the two of you cannot be compared and there is no need for you to feel threatened by him."

Akira gulped as he heard this and felt a little surprised.

Kaito had just called him a friend...

Since when did they become friends?!

And Since when did Kaito care about Akira?!

Weren't they rivals?!

"And I know that you don't like it when I talk to him. That's why I have been keeping my distance. But about his fiance... I feel like I really should tell him."

Akira's heart stopped in fear as he heard the word 'Fiance'.

"I don't want him to marry somebody like that. I don't want him to ruin his life by marrying her."

Akira frowned slightly as he asked, "Why? Why can't he marry her?"

"You already know the answer to that," Kaito sighed as he spoke, "It's because she doesn't love him. The one she wants to marry is Asahi Sato. To marry a woman who is in love with somebody else... It's too cruel for Akira, is it not?"

Akira didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard this.

Akira already knew that Ayami used to like Asahi. However, Ayami had already promised him that she had overcome her feelings for the man and was no longer interested in him.

Akira and Ayami were certainly not getting married because they loved one another, however, there was a clear understanding between them: They respected one another and would never cheat.

"Yuzu, are you okay?" Kaito worriedly asked, looking at Yuzu's face which had turned pale.

Akira gulped as he shook his head and spoke, "It's nothing. I just don't feel so well."

"Then get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow."

Akira nodded his head and closed the door without saying anything more.

Feeling exhausted, Akira lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling as he thought about his life which seemed as if it were filled with lies.

"Mr. Grim Reaper, are you there?" Akira calmly questioned but there was no response.

"I have a question. It's your job to answer my questions, is it not?"

There was still no response from Zaelek.

With a sigh, Akira spoke, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you. I was being ungrateful."

Zaelek finally showed up with his scythe in hand and looked at Akira as he taunted, "I thought you didn't need me anymore."

"I never said that."

"You did."

Akira pursed his lips into a thin smile as he spoke, "I didn't mean it."

"You also called me an untrustworthy bastard," Zaelek raised an eyebrow as he added.

"See! I knew you were listening!" Akira angrily exclaimed as he jolted up.

Zaelek shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to say anything in response to that.

"Was it fun to see me struggle?!"

"It wasn't fun. It was satisfying."

"..."

"But you should be thankful to me."

"Why in the hell would I be thankful to you? You abandoned me with my rival!"

"Because of me, you got to know something important, didn't you?"

Akira frowned but did not deny it.

"I feel like I should give up."

"Huh?"

"I feel like the more I get to know, the more I realize how much of a lie I had been living in," Akira spoke with a sigh as he revealed his worries, "I can't help but wonder... What if the truth is something I don't want to hear?"

"Then give up. I'll take you to the afterlife," Zaelek replied casually.

"..." Akira looked to be unimpressed and slightly offended by this response.

"Trust me, the truth isn't something you want to hear. It's going to be cruel and it's going to make you suffer. If you simply say the word, I can take you to the afterlife. You can give up on your wish and pass away in peace. It sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?"

"You just want to get rid of me, don't you?" Akira questioned with a frown.

"I won't deny it."

"Well, your words really did motivate me."

"So are you giving up on your wish?"

"No," Akira shook his head as he firmly spoke, "I'm going to stay and complete my wish. I'm gonna make sure that you also have to stay here with me. You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

"You'll get sick of looking at my face."

Akira chuckled as he heard this and unconsciously voiced out his thoughts, "I'll never get tired of looking at that handsome face."

"..." Zaelek looked to be a bit surprised as he heard this unexpected response.

Akira's ears turned bright red and he immediately looked away, avoiding eye contact as he tried to save his embarrassed self, "I-I mean Kaito's face! Kaito's face is handsome! I can never get tired of looking at that face."

Zaelek's eyes narrowed down on Akira but he didn't bother saying anything.

"Anyways! We need to come up with a plan!" Akira desperately tried to change the topic as he spoke.

"I thought you already had a plan."

"I do but we might need to change it up a bit."

"Why?"

"Asahi isn't interested in Yuzu at all."

"Huh?"

"If I can get close to Asahi as Yuzu, I can make him talk about my death."

Zaelek couldn't help but frown as he heard this and commented, "If that's your plan then your plan was bound to fail from the beginning itself."

"Why?"

"Even if you managed to get close to the man, there is no way he would tell you that he murdered someone."

Akira gulped as he heard this and spoke, "But you don't know Asahi as I do. The man blurts out everything when drunk."

"In that case, you don't need to get close to him. You just need to get him drunk."

Akira shook his head, "Asahi doesn't easily get drunk in front of others. He only gets drunk in front of his close friends."

"Then let me be the one to get close to him."

"You?"

Zaelek nodded his head, "I'm sure Kaito has a good relationship with Asahi. We can use that."

After thinking about it for a second, Akira nodded his head and spoke, "That might work but there is still a problem."

"What problem?"

"It's not about Asahi. It's about Ayami and Mr. Watanabe."

"Hmm?"

"Those two are difficult to deal with. They'll do everything in their power to bury my murder and it's impossible to trick them into confessing their crimes. I can defame them all I like and I can even affect the price of their company stocks but it's simply not enough to bring them down. The stocks will eventually go up again and they can easily win the public back."

Zaelek nodded his head as he heard this and took a few minutes to think about it before he spoke, "Then let them see your ghost."

"Huh?"

"What if they saw your ghost haunting them? Would they still be just as unfazed?"

"Are you going to turn me into a ghost?"

"No," Zaelek shook his head as he spoke, "You are already a ghost. I don't need to turn you into one. All I need to do is make sure that they can see you as well."

"..." Akira didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard this.

The fact that he was a ghost had still not registered in his mind and hence, Akira couldn't help but feel a little awkward as he heard Zaelek's words.