Friend
Friend
But there was no annoying figure running towards him. There was no idiot, flashing his credit card. The rival...the only friend he ever had who was always by his side. Kanji was always by his side. Where was he now? Why was he not there?
He's dead.
A voice in Minho's heart told him. He's dead. It kept on repeating in his head, crushing his soul. Minho wanted to hit something, unleash the grief he was feeling onto something. At that moment, he would have given away all his money and wealth just to catch a glimpse of his friend. He would trade his soul for the friend who had kept him grounded, stopped him from becoming a monster. The friend who absorbed Minho's darkness, protecting them from afar without question.
He's dead.
Jina was still staring at Kanji's pale figure who was now sad and morose at his friend's state. Kanji wanted to go and hug Minho, apologize for not being able to say goodbye but he could not muster the courage. Minho lowered his head, hiding in his palms as he came to terms with what happened.
Kanji was dead. His best friend...his brother was dead. This was not supposed to happen. Kanji could not die. They were supposed to be rivals forever. Minho was supposed to extract every penny from Kanji's accounts. That was their thing. He could not die. Who allowed him to die?
Tears fell from his eyes as the grief overwhelmed him. Minh completely broke down, unable to think straight. The most powerful man in the country with infinite wealth felt like he was the poorest of them all.
"AHHHHH!" he wailed out loud, not caring who heard him. "AHHHHHHH!"
Junho stooped down to hug his son, comforting him. Minho completely shut out the world, immersed in his loss as he cried in his father's arms. Jina was too shocked to say or do anything. Her eyes never left Kanji, who was now crying silently at his friend's state. He wanted to hug Minho, tell him that he was sorry for leaving like that.
But no matter what he would say, the truth was that they were in different worlds now. He was far away from them in a cold and helpless state. He could watch them but not join them like he used to. They had a life to lead while he would be stuck in a void until he was ready to leave.
"Tell him, I'm sorry," Kanji pleaded with Jina. "Tell him that if he's sad, I'll be sad too."
"Uncle Kanji is sorry for leaving us," Jina parroted in a zombie like state. "If you are sad, he'll be sad too."
Minho did not reply but was still crying hard. He knew his friend was nearby but they were separated by life and death. There was no in-between.
Yumi appeared beside Kanji, witnessing the family's grief. They had finally realized the truth and it hurt her to see the once happy family being thrown into an abyss of sadness. The loss of Kanji hit them hard, pushing them over the edge.
Casper also apparated, worried about Jina. He was aggrieved to see the little girl completely numb with shock, her tender heart being unable to bear the sadness.
"I can't see them like this," Yumi whispered, looking away. Casper looked from Kanji to Jina to Minho. He was in a dilemma at seeing the family who took care of him, falling into this state. They had been nothing but kind to him, accepting his inner monster and treated him like a kin. Especially Jina who became like a granddaughter to him.
He walked towards Jina and shook her hard. The little girl turned to look at him, her brown eyes looking dead as if devoid of all emotions.
"This isn't the time to be sad!" he gestured at her. He pointed at Kanji and went on with his hand signs. "He died but someone must be responsible! Someone killed him! And if you want to help him, find out who it is!"
Casper's words caused Jina's eyes to flicker. Her mind was beginning to understand what he meant.
He was right. Someone was responsible for Kanji's death.
"Dad," she began. "Someone did this to Uncle Kanji. Someone killed him."
Upon hearing her words, Minho slowly turned to look at her. His eyes were red and his face a mess. He was slightly panting because of all the crying but now that Jina spoke up, his head was beginning to focus again. Letting go of his father, he slowly stood up.
"Who was it?" he quietly demanded. "Who dared to kill my friend?"
Kanji took a deep breath and said something to Jina which completely shook her to the core.
"Mr. A," she revealed to her father. "And not just that. Mr. A has Uncle Kanji's body! He possessed it!"
Minho was not shocked but it felt as if he subconsciously knew the answer. There was only one entity who would dare to mess with his family.
"Anna Kirishima is his servant," Jina interpreted. "And and caused the car to crash into a ditch in the forest. That's when Mr. A turned up and killed Uncle Kanji. Afterwards, he healed Uncle Kanji's body and possessed it."
"The steady host!" Junho realized. "Mr. A's last host must be dying so he-"
"He possessed Kanji's body because Kanji is close to our family," Minho gritted. "And he knows that we'll go to rescue his body."
"Mr. A spared Uncle Kanji's ghost so that he could relay the message to you," Jina went on. "He wants…"
She trailed off, unable to understand anything else. Why was Mr. A doing this?
"Go on Jina," Minho said in a steely tone. He was barely holding back his desire for vengeance. That demon had played with his family for far too long and now, with Kanji's death, there was nothing that could stop Minho from throwing that demon's ass to hell.
"He wants me to bring him that ring," Jina revealed. "He wants me."