Aqua stood his ground as he saw who stood before him. "I won't let you in," he frowned as he used his body to block the doorway.
"I understand," Kamiki, who also looked exactly like the day he had died, stared at Aqua.
"Fuck you," Aqua growled back at his face.
"Come in," the sudden voice made Aqua whip around. It was Ai, smiling through the cracked living room door. She must've sensed that there was no way Aqua would actually let Kamiki enter.
Aqua's sweat turned as cold as the lake that had drenched his clothes. 'One wrong move and I will kill him again,' he thought as he complied, stepping aside to make way.
Speaking of the lake, after Kamiki had entered, and Aqua wanted to shut the door, he noticed that it had changed. Where there was once a big and shiny lake, were now the bustling streets of Tokyo. The veranda had also been replaced with a concrete outside hallway, typical for apartment buildings. He should have probably cared more about this; however, the uncertainty of what were to happen if he left the two of them alone for two long was crippling.
By the time Aqua had also returned to the living room, Ai and Kamiki sat opposing each other at the dinner table. They were sitting still like two figurines made out of wax (and spoke just as much too). After assessing the situation, Aqua sat down next to Ai and joined what almost looked like a silent prayer.
"I was wrong," Kamiki said, he was the one that broke the silence that almost began to feel everlasting. His voice was almost exactly like Aqua remembered it, just the hint of arrogance that was omnipresent before had vanished just like thee stars in Ai's eyes. "I can understand if you don't want to see me, but when Ai told me she would get the chance to meet you, I asked if I could come along…"
"You're right… I don't want to see you." Aqua's voice was cold, probably enough to freeze the lake that once surrounded them. "But speak... Mom allowed it, so I won't go against her wish."
Kamiki sighed quietly. "When I first got here, I was full of fear… By now, I don't even know what exactly it was that I was fearing," Kamiki began as he quietly got up from his chair and looked out of the massive window. Aqua noticed for the first time that the window didn't work as it should; it looked surreal, displaying unexplainable things that made his head hurt.
"But when I met Ai again, my outlook on life changed… She had waited for me all these years…" Kamiki turned back around, facing Aqua again as he leaned against the wall next to the window. "You and I both assumed that my love for Ai wasn't genuine, that I was loving Ai as a concept and not as a person… But that has changed, or perhaps it always has been that way."
"Regardless…" Kamiki continued, his voice monotone, "The reason why I cut your friend was to prove to you that you also only loved her concept… Now that I have accepted that I was wrong, your friend had to go through all this for absolutely nothing." He sighed. "I don't want to make excuses, but-"
"Enough of this!" Aqua's voice was quiet, yet there was just so much venom engraved into it. "You weren't wrong… Ever since that day, Kana and I have not talked to each other even once… On that day, you didn't only rob the illusion of her I had in my mind away, but you also took her illusion of me away by exposing her to my real self…"
Kamiki had no reply to this, all he could do and did was look at the floor like a beaten dog.
"I believe both of you are wrong…" Ai intervened, sensing the tension that felt like a bubble about to burst, "Aqua, when you only love the concept of someone else, that's not real love. Hikaru, the same goes for you. What you did to them wasn't 'disillusioning' as you like to call it, you traumatised them…" Both men fell silent, busy thinking about her words. Ai never was the brightest, there's no shame in that, and she never was too emotionally intelligent either. The odds were always stacked against her, during her entire 20 year stay on earth she never had the chance to learn. However, after her death things changed, she had a lot of time to mature in peace she never before had.
"So what would you say that means for me and Kana?" Aqua hesitantly asked after a moment.
Ai lowered her head a bit. "When the love is once gone, it will probably not come back easily…" Ai looked up again, a smile plastered onto her face. "Isn't it crazy? Me talking big about love and all when I could barely say 'I love you' last time we saw each other… But I've learned a whole lot of things over the years I spent in the afterlife…"
"It's probably better like that," Aqua murmured while sitting back down next to Ai, "Being with me would only kill her acting dreams, I can see it in her eyes… Choosing between me and acting would be nearly impossible for her, and in the end, she might think for too long and lose what she really wants… So it's sort of a good thing that she doesn't have to make this choice anymore."
Ai wrapped her right arm around Aqua's shoulder. He had grown so much that she barely managed to even reach his shoulder with her short arms. "I'm proud of you…"
"For what?" Aqua asked, slightly taken aback by the gentle touch.
"The list of reasons is far too long for the little time we have... Just smile and accept that I am thankful for having such an amazing son, even if I was only an active part in a fraction of your life." Ai mumbled while looking up at the ceiling; small pieces of it slowly disappeared.
"I think our time here is almost up… If there is anything else you want to say, now is the time; otherwise, you'll have to wait, hopefully at least another 60 years to tell me," she joked, as her eyes wandered back to Aqua.
"Mom…" he said as he engulfed Ai in a tight hug, "Please give me a purpose in life."
"A purpose?" Ai asked while a hint of confusion and astonishment crossed through her voice; then she smiled again and returned his hug. "I want you to always be there for Ruby. I want at least 2 grandchildren; names are up to you. I want you to get married to a girl you like. I want you to stop keeping all your feelings for yourself and open up to someone. I want you to visit all the beautiful places I have never seen. I want you to do your dream job. And I want you to…" Ai hesitated for a moment, "I want you to be happy."
"I know, I know... That's a whole lot of stuff to do, but like that, you will never again live without a purpose," Ai shoved Aqua's hair away from his forehead and placed a big kiss on it.
Eventually, the hug came to an end, and Aqua stood up. He could still feel her lips on his forehead and the warmth her body shared with him just a moment ago, but more importantly, he could also feel a quiet happiness residing deep within his body.
"Mom, when I die in 60 years, you will still be here, right?" He sounded almost like an uncertain child as he asked the one question he needed to have answered before he could keep going.
"Even if it takes another 10.000 years, I will always be waiting for you."
With that, Aqua smiled one last time before he turned away. 'I want to turn around… I wanna go back, just one more second,' he thought, his mind turned louder with each step he took, but he knew this wasn't his place to be. Instead of stopping, he just took step after step. It felt like something was physically weighing him down, wanting for him to stop so it could crush him beneath its weight. This time he didn't listen to the voices, he didn't want to be crushed, he didn't want to let everyone down, he didn't want to be weak. As he walked through the same hallway in which Ai died in his arms 15 years ago, the sensation of wanting to run back to her was stronger than ever. But he made his choice, unlike last time where she was ripped out of his arms he was now the one that could choose... And he chose to walk away.
The weight dis evaporated as he stepped out of the door. It was all gone as utter silence engulfed him. He leaned against the wall of the apartment and buried his face in his hands. 'Just a moment,' he thought, still unable to fully comprehend everything that just happened.
In front of Aqua was once again the vast lake; every trace of the hallway and Tokyo was gone again, just like they had never been there to begin with. He sighed once, looking back at the door with longing in his eyes before stepping back into the cold water of the lake. 'Damn, was this water always this cold?' He began to walk without even knowing where exactly he was going, but it was definitely better than just standing around doing nothing. The temple faded further and further into the distance until it completely disappeared on the horizon, leaving nothing except for the vast nothingness in every direction.
His feet began to swell from the water, yet he kept moving.
…
"What do you think, Susanoo? Will he be able to do what it takes?" Tsukuyomi, who stood in the distance watching Aqua from afar, asked into the nothingness of this place.
"No, he won't," Susanoo's voice replied a moment later, once again seemingly coming from everywhere around Tsukuyomi. "So prepare yourself to fight Amaterasu at his full strength."
"I would lose no doubt," Tsukuyomi replied casually, almost monotone, "There is nothing we can do now, either this boy chooses to sacrifice his world, or the world like we know it will cease to exist today."
"At least the Shura eyes have disappeared. I never would have thought that this would actually work out… A Shura turning human again is completely unheard of… How did you know, Tsukuyomi?"
"I didn't," Tsukuyomi said as she lay down in the shallow water of the lake, "I just had a feeling that it might work."
"So you just decided to make me open a gateway between the realms on a whim? Do you even know the risks that come with doing this?" Susanoo frowned.
"I know, I know," Tsukuyomi brushed him off while fidgeting around with the hem of her drenched dress. "I just wanted to see if you could actually do it… Also, it worked, so why are you complaining? You came to me for help, not the other way around. I didn't even know you really existed just a few hours ago."
"Touche," Susanoo replied, "No need to become this defensive…"
"Susanoo?" Tsukuyomi asked while looking at her own reflection, which mirrored her actions in the cold water. "What do you think is his goal?"
Susanoo remained mute for such a long time that Tsukuyomi began to doubt that he was even still there. When she was just about to get up, Susanoo finally spoke, "World domination, probably, if his plan works, both of us will perish. He will dip the world into chaos."
Tsukuyomi rolled over onto her back while reaching her hand out towards the empty sky, focusing on her fingers, then forming a fist with them. "I don't think that's it…" Tsukuyomi stood up, the cold water dripping down her small frame back into the lake as she began to walk without a destination. "Maybe he plans on making the world a better place after all…"
"That's out of question, and you know it," Susanoo said. This time, his response came far quicker than before. "My memories go back 5.000 years while yours only cover the last 2.000. I have memories of him reigning over this world with a brutal grasp."
"Quiet down, if somebody hears that, we could face quite a problem," Tsukuyomi growled while looking around the empty place, her expression a bit worried all of a sudden.
"Calm down, nobody is here anymore except for you, me, and the kid," Susanoo assured her.
"You are right… But why is he even here still? Upholding this place drains much of your energy, right? You must be at your limit. Why are you doing this?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"You're right, maybe I'm just trying to delay the inevitable…" Susanoo said, his voice really thoughtful all of a sudden, "You think the time has come?
Tsukuyomi silently nodded. "Let's get this over with."
…
The silvery sparkling lake and the impossible horizon were replaced by the mundane and dimly lit living room, which Aqua had spent the last two days of his life preparing. He couldn't even react fast enough as he found himself mid-air once more, barreling towards Tera's unmoving presence.