Chapter 8: Coma. Part IV.

At Kobayashi building, Yevgeni leaned back on his chair with a pencil between his mouth and nose, balancing it skillfully, deep in thought.

Joe Armand appeared in the room unnoticed, he laughed to himself seeing Yevgeni concentrating looking at his computer screen. Joe Armand closed the door as loud as he could making Yevgeni fall to the floor with a 'bang', Joe laughed as hard as he could seeing the face that Yevgeni had as he muttered bad words in Russian.

-"Dude, so classic!" Joe Armand said still laughing a little.

-"Not funny..."

-"So whazzap? I thought you would be longer at the meeting..." Joe Armand said sitting in the chair in front of Yevgeni's desk.

-"Something came up with the kid, Richard said to meet later..." Yevgeni said picking up his chair from the floor.

-"What kind of thing with the kid, he alright?" Joe Armand said with a hint of concern.

-"Da, but he had an encounter with the re-encarnation, so to speak, of Setsuna..." Yevgeni said checking if his head had any bumps on the window.

-"What?!" Joe Armand almost feel off the chair.

-"What you heard" Yevgeni said still looking for a bump on his head.

-"And why the hell are you so calm about it?!" Joe Armand said with obvious confusion.

-"Because it is not a 'Sephiroth' being pulled out, Setsuna found a host to live on..." Yevgeni said sitting back on his chair.

-"Oh...(he looked down at the floor) poor Richard..."

-"Da..." Agreed Yevgeni also looking down at the floor.


For a while you could see that sky turn with colors as the day died in Neo Tokyo, Aleksandr walked the streets with a small smile on his face. Alongside him walked Witold, it was not strange that the two would do that, sometimes they would discuss life, sports, politics, whatever came into mind,but today somehow the air had changed and neither said a word, they just walked.

They arrived at Harry's the usual settlement for them after a day's work or play. The sat at their usual table, waved 'hello' slightly at the bartender and just stared into the windowed wall of the place.

After a while it was Witold who broke the silence.

-"I didn't know that you had no clue as to why Charles was still around..." he said with a mix of curiosity and disbelief.

-"I suppose I thought that he just had unfinished business as the rest of the 'ghosts' that lurk the earth, but since I cannot see him or talk to him..." Aleksandr said absentmindedly.

-"Oh I see...do you still keep Nessa's ring then I gather..." Witold said with a hint of defeat.

-"I won't take it off...never" Aleksandr said with a faint genuine smile.

The waiter got them their usual, it was customary by now that the waiters got them their usual without even them asking for it. They thank him bowing slightly.

-"You worry about something...." Witold said smiling a little.

-"I'm sorry if it offended you that I asked about Charles at the meeting..." Aleksandr said looking at Witold now.

-"Not at all...you know I still get sort of touchy about it, he was my best friend alongside Richard, had been with me since the beginning of 'this'..." he said smiling slightly again.

-"He was our friend too..."

-"Yeah..." he said sipping his drink a little.

-"And you worry about Nessa" Aleksandr said sipping his drink.

-"Is that wrong?" Witold said lifting his eyebrow.

-"Should I think it is? (chuckles) the answer you won't find it by rummaging through my thoughts on the matter by the way" he said taking another sip from his drink. Witold smiled at his friend.

-"But you share my concern...that I can see..." Witold said with a smile, somewhat feeling triumphant.


Nessa sat on a tombstone on the cemetery in which Charles Daniel rests. She watched how the sky played with the colors, deep in thought it seems.

-"Lovely day isn't it?" Charles said suddenly appearing beside her, she smiled brightly looking at him.

-"Indeed..."

-"You needed to see me?"

-"I need to ask you something, but this is not a mere 'business meeting', I have come here to rest as well..." She said with a smile.

-"Shoot, what is on your mind?" He said sitting beside her on the grass.

-"You knew that Setsuna found a host?"

-"Aye..."

-"Somebody helped her?"

-"No"

-"So it is safe to say that it was a 'normal procedure'"

-"Aye"

She sighed in relief and smiled as she looked again toward the sky. Charles stared at her a little, smiling himself.

-"Are you happy the way you are, do you want to find a host? Have you felt you need to break free?" she said out of the blue. He laughed heartily.

-"No, not at all. I have my place in the world Nessa and it is with you guys, even though some of you cannot see me or hear me, my place is here..." He said smiling broadly.

-"Witold made it sound so sad today at the meeting..."

-"The man has issues..." he said laughing a little.

-"Still...sometimes I gather that even if our abilities gives us the pleasure of playing with death and life,I abuse them...or have abused them..."

-"You tried to save Setsuna as well, you couldn't,none of us could and she wouldn't have let you bind her anyway, there was no point, Richard cannot see or hear us dead people..."

-"You should have seen his face when I told him that this person was not really her, he was so devastated..." she said looking down at the grass.

-"Richard is a strong fellow, he has a kind heart and a great mind...he understands this better than you give him credit for"

-"He told me he felt relieved actually...but he was still devastated..."

-"She died a horrible death..."

-"So did you..." she said looking at him.

-"And we were all left in a coma..." Said Charles looking at the sky with a sad smile.


-End of Chapter-