𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲.

                                    

                                          
they say that letting go of the past helps you move forward to the future- and that's exactly what kokonoi hajime was doing.
after dropping off the young manager at the prison center, he decided to make one final stop to the past that anchored him down for the last twelve years.
where you may ask? the cemetery of course.
how long has it been since he last visited? a decade or so? ah who knows, all that's in his mind right now is to visit one particular family tombstone that's located at the very back of this depressing place.
he hated going here when he was still a teen- couldn't handle the smell of incense and chrysanthemums that people would leave on the foot of their loved ones' resting place.
but of course, he needed to at least give inui akane a proper goodbye, it's what she deserves to say the least.
the soles of his dress shoes crunched the luscious green grass beneath him, eyes landing on the familiar marble just in the distance. the silver-haired man silently thanked the gods that the place was relatively empty- save for the stray cats that were lurking about, but that's about it.
and as much as he dreaded looking down at her engraved name on that stone, he was finally standing in front of it with his head down in respect.
kokonoi wasn't a very religious man- growing up with only money on his mind never really gave him the headspace to think about anything else, so his 'prayer' was just him being silent for a long minute.
dark eyes solemnly looked at the burned-out incense and dried-out flowers, wincing inwardly to himself- should've at least bought flowers you know?
"yo, akane. it's been a while hasn't it?" he began, a sigh leaving his lips as he sat down on the stone ground beneath him, not caring if his suit was going to get dirt on it or not.
as expected, only the sounds of the fluttering birds above him was his only response. not that he minded of course, he was the one talking to thin air.
if he was the same man that he was back then, his eyes would've welled with tears by now- chanting his usual 'i could've saved you' like a prayer.
the man grew out of it, of course, knowing and accepting that all things happen for a reason- and if the gods planned to take akane from this world at a very young age then so be it. even with mountains of wealth under his name, he wasn't a god to have a say on it.
"sorry i haven't visited in so long, kind of busy with my work and all." he had a solemn smile etched on his features, eyes never meeting the marble stone as he watched the leaves fall from their branches.
"a lot has happened the past few years, and when i saw a lot i mean a shit ton of it."
kokonoi hajime never thought that after a decade of not seeing her, he would've expected himself to be sad- telling her all of the things that had happened with a pain struck heart. but for some reason, all he felt was relief.
"i still like money- obviously. and i'm also now a part of a big shot criminal organization, hooray i guess." god did he feel pathetic talking to no one else but himself, but it's alright.
as long as he says what he's come here to say, then he wouldn't mind talking to thin air for an hour or so.
silence dawned upon him, dark eyes trained at the incense that was letting out its final smoke- a trail of grey fluttering up into the heavens like some sort of offering.
"hey... did you remember the promise that i told you back then? you know... the whole 'i'll marry you when we grow older'?" a chuckle left his lips, eyes closed trying to dull down the pain that he was feeling.