Akira stared at the ground. "I couldn't talk to anyone about it, at least not to any other Shinigami. It's considered treason if you refuse to kill."

Linus thought carefully, considering how to phrase his words. "Can you—I mean, can Shinigami choose who they... well, you know..."

Akira shook his head. "No… they're assigned their tasks... I'm not exactly sure how it's decided, but the victims' names just appear on their skin." He rolled up his sleeve and presented it to him.

Linus was astonished to see his own name written in blood-red across Akira's arm. "Like a tattoo," he murmured softly.

"Normally the names disappear over time, once... once the task is fulfilled. But this one… I'll keep it forever. " He smiled at him with a certain melancholy.

Linus nodded. Hopefully, Akira wasn't expecting him to get his name tattooed as well. He grinned at the thought.

Akira noticed immediately. "What's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing, it's fine." A nervous laugh escaped his lips. This wasn't the right time to make jokes. He knew that.

Akira scrutinized him intently. "We can't have secrets from each other anymore, Linus-Minus~," he hummed, poking him in the side acouple times with his finger.

"Stop! I'm ticklish!" Linus screamed as he jumped up, but Akira persisted and overwhelmed him with a tickle attack. Both laughed loudly—well, Linus mostly screamed, albeit it was a cheerful, joyful scream.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This continued for a while until Akira feared Linus might suffocate from lack of air and let him go.

"Are Shinigami like cats?" This time it was Linus using a metaphor. But Akira just looked at him quizzically. "Um, well, I actually prefer dogs."

With a desperate frown, Linus continued, "I meant, do Shinigami have multiple lives, or how did you come back from the dead earlier? The wound in your chest is also gone… like magic."

Linus considered that it might have been because of himself—after all, the healing only occurred when he touched him.

"Oh... That's what you mean. Well, they don't have multiple lives, but as I mentioned earlier, they steal people's lifetime."

"So you used the that to heal your body from the fatal injuries?" Linus leaned forward eagerly. He loved supernatural stuff—as long as it didn't threaten to kill him.

Uncertainly, Akira scratched his head. "...Yea, you see, although I'm a human now, I still have some powers. I just can't do that Shinigami stuff anymore."

"Thank goodness," Linus added.

"Yeah..."

"And what do these powers look like that you still have?" Linus' curiosity was piqued. He wanted to know everything about it.

Akira thought for a moment. "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

Pouting, Linus pressed his lips together. "But I wanna know it now."

Akira chuckled. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

But Linus kept looking at him with pleading eyes. Akira sighed wearily. "I'm still weakened from the... attack. The magical power needs to regenerate first, then I can demonstrate it to you. Isn't that much better than just boring explaining?" Akira's tone was gentle, as if he were speaking to a young child.

"Okay..." Linus finally relented. He couldn't gauge how much the whole ordeal had affected Akira and would feel terrible if he pushed him now. So, he began to imagine all sorts of amazing abilities Akira might have. Suddenly, he found him incredibly cool—though he might have felt that way before already.

"Good boy," Akira praised him, ruffling his hair, much to Linus's visible annoyance.

"But I do have one more question," Linus said, sounding more serious again. Akira was all ears.

"Beyza and Maya... are they Shinigami?"