“…M-Momo…”
Having regained consciousness, Daniel saw his master falling fast. Then, right in front of his eyes, he saw Momo hit the ground with a thud. It was a dull and terrible sound.
“Momo…!”
As Daniel raced toward his master, he heard a voice calling out to him from behind.
“Daniel…”
The voice sounded familiar. Startled, Daniel turned toward the voice and was stunned by what he saw. Behind him stood the shinigami who had attacked him and Momo. Next to it was a gray cat.
Although his appearance had changed a bit, those evergreen eyes were just as Daniel remembered them.
“…Nichol…”
It was Daniel’s childhood friend.
“It’s been a long time… Daniel.” The cat’s voice sounded nostalgic.
If not for the place and the horrifying situation, Daniel would’ve been so happy he could have cried like a baby.
“Nichol! What’s the meaning of this?!” Daniel demanded. “Why did you hurt my precious master?”
“……” Nichol stood still and stared silently at Daniel.
“Answer me, Nichol! If that shinigami is your master, then answer me!”
In response to the irate Daniel, Nichol answered calmly, “Daniel, it’s not like you to speak in such insulting tones. Show respect toward my master.”
“What are you talking about?” Daniel shouted. “Who’s the insulting one here?! Who’s the one who attacked Momo?!”
“See, that’s what I meant by ‘insulting.’ This is shinigami #A-99-sama. My great master.”
Then the shinigami itself spoke. “That is enough, Nicholas…”
“Y-yes, master…” Nichol stuttered.
“How boring…” sighed the Shinigami. “Is that all…?”
Although the hood hid its face, the voice was tinged with obvious disappointment.
Daniel reached the boiling point. “Why you! You’re no shinigami at all!”
Unable to endure the insults any longer, Daniel bared his fangs and leapt at the black Shinigami.
“Daniel!” Nichol exclaimed, jumping in between the infuriated cat and his master. “Stop this already!”
“Shut up!” Daniel snapped. “Why are you this guy’s servant demon?! How could such a good servant as you serve such a terrible thing as this?!”
Daniel’s clan, the House Alara, was an honorable family of servant demons. Nicholas had been bom to a family just as prestigious as the Alaras, the Winola Clan.
The Alaras and Winolas were actually long-time rivals, who had both produced many famous servant demons in the other world.
Neither Daniel nor Nichol liked fighting or competing. That why they had become best friends, even though they came from rival clans.
Eventually, Daniel had been assigned to serve Momo, and the two hadn’t seen each other anymore. But despite that separation, they were still supposed to be best friends.
However, that wasn’t the case now. As Daniel seethed with irritation and inexpressible anger, all of the fur on his body stood on end.
“Well, Daniel, I could say the same to you, couldn’t I?” Nichol declared. “You’re serving the un-shinigami-like ‘Death!’”
Daniel stopped breathing. He couldn’t believe that his childhood friend, and a member of the prestigious Winola Clan at that, would utter a discriminatory term like “Death.”
“Nichol, how can you seriously say those things?! Do you really believe that? If you do, then I can’t forgive you! ”
For a second, Nichol was at a loss for words and looked away. It seemed as though there was regret and confusion in his eyes. But in the next instant, his mood changed.
On the other hand, Daniel felt utter sadness and helplessness. He could feel the warmth of their childhood bond gradually going cold.
“Why, why… Nichol? Why did you turn out this way? Why have you changed like this…?”
In response to Daniel’s pained words, Nichol snapped, “What’s wrong with changing? You haven’t changed, that’s what’s unnatural. We’re not children anymore. We cannot remain the same!”
For the first time, Nichol displayed emotion. He had tried hard to suppress his feelings but had reached the limit.
“Nichol! You… you…”
The black shinigami interrupted, cutting Daniel off in mid-sentence. “…You’ve got a big mouth!” It reached out from behind Nichol and once again grabbed Daniel by the head.
“Whatever issues you servant demons have,” it announced, “do not concern me.”
Gripping Daniel’s head, it began to apply force. Mercilessly.
“Gyaaaaahhhhh! ”
The sound of Daniel’s head being crushed reached Nichol’s ears. Although Daniel had acted cruelly, even Nichol felt like averting his eyes.
Then a voice commanded, “Let go of Daniel…” The voice was weak but valiant.
“………”
The shinigami turned its gaze, and there stood Momo. She was in terrible shape, barely able to stand, leaning on her scythe.
“Let him go,” Momo declared more forcefully.
But it wouldn’t let go. In fact, it squeezed Daniel’s head with even more gusto.
“Gyaaaaaaah! ” Daniel screamed.
Momo disappeared from where she stood, and in the next instant she appeared right beside the black Shinigami. In the same motion, she swung her scythe.
Shwuu!
However, the other shinigami easily dodged the blow. But Momo had had no intention of striking her opponent. The tip of her scythe ripped through its hood. Surprised, the black shinigami let go of Daniel.
Momo jumped back, snatching Daniel out of mid-air and creating a space between herself and the attacker.
“Master?!” Nichol shrieked.
The shinigami ’s mouth, now visible beneath its hood, was smiling.
Nichol was unable to speak.
“Hmph!” the black shinigami exclaimed. It slowly caressed the portion of the hood tom by Momo. “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”
There was obvious pleasure in its voice. Then it casually flipped back its hood.
There was a moment of stunned silence. Momo, of course, was shocked, and even Daniel was rendered speechless.
The face that had been shrouded by the hood was like an image reflected in a mirror.
“…It looks just like… Momo…” Daniel was dumbfounded. However he looked at it, its face was the same as the one he was accustomed to seeing: that meddlesome crybaby, nevertheless much loved by him—the face of Momo.
✦ ✦ ✦
“—Now then, #A-100100, you say the entire responsibility for this matter lies with you?”
“Yes.”
Wearing tattered clothes, the little girl seemed to be in worse shape than she actually was.
Momo stood in a space of pure white. The place seemed endless, with neither a ceiling nor a floor. It was completely empty.
A great distance from where Momo stood, there was a simple desk. Behind it sat a “former human” dressed in black, who worked for the Afterlife Soul Collection and Management Bureau. To put it simply, it was in charge of data for the shinigami bureau, and it performed its assignments without a hint of emotion. In fact, the task at hand, involving Momo, was being conducted in a very businesslike, even robotic manner, devoid of all expression.
Only its mouth moved slightly as it spoke. “Then I shall report to my superiors that you are the one responsible.”
“Yes, please.” Momo bowed.
Next to her, Daniel—wearing a large bandage on his head—did the same.
“I suppose it can’t be helped… after all, you are ‘Death.’”
Upon hearing those words, all of Daniel’s fur stood on end. “Kyaaaahhhh!” he yowled, spreading his wings as if to attack.
He managed to get a running start, but— “Fgahhh!” Momo had grabbed him by the collar, choking him.
Flap, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap. Only the rapid beating of his wings showed his arrested momentum. But Daniel’s consciousness was fast slipping away.
“………”
Flap, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap.
“……”
Flap, flap, flap.
“……”
Flap… flap… flap…
“…hyaaaaaaaaaahh!” Daniel finally realized he wasn’t breathing. He tried to gulp air into his lungs and in the process calmed himself down.
“…Hey, what are you doing, Momo?”
“You did that to yourself,” Momo answered.
“Come on, we’re going.
She put out her hand, and a doorway appeared from nowhere. She quickly opened the door and went through to the other side.
“H-hey, wait! I’m coming too… Gyafuuh!” Daniel tried to follow Momo, but before he could, the door closed. The impact of his face colliding with the door made Daniel feel thinner by half.
“…This always happens…” he mumbled.
✦ ✦ ✦
The shinigami with the same face as Momo unfurled its cloak. Around its neck, it wore a brilliant red scarf. From head to toe, it was dressed completely in black, save for that single point of red.
It raised its scythe.
“……”
Its eyes gazed intently at Momo.
“Master…” Nichol interrupted. “Although you are a superb and great shinigami, if this gets too out of hand, we will have to endure great pains to settle things. As well as face your superiors.”
In speaking, Nichol had stopped the Shinigami. “What?” it said, unbelieving. “Nicholas… since when have you become bold enough to speak your mind to me?”
Though it had the same warm face as Momo, it spoke with a terribly icy voice.
Rattled, Nichol apologized. “P-please forgive me, master!”
Seeing Nichol trembling in fear, Daniel felt helpless. Why would he go to such lengths to serve this creep…?
“Fine,” the black shinigami said. “I can find her anytime. I can kill her anytime.”
Its taut smile confirmed that, although it wore the same face as Momo, it was a completely different entity.
With that fake and menacing smile, it told Momo, “See you…” and then disappeared.
To Momo, such behavior indicated that it enjoyed using its powers.
Nichol ran after his master, though Daniel tried to stop him. “Nichol!”
Silently, Nichol averted his eyes and vanished.
Only the tattered little girl in white and the bruised black cat were left behind.
The sun was about to set.