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Chapter Ten: There is a Light That Never Goes Out:

July 2002. The photo club went on their annual summer trip. They stayed at Clare Ainsworth’s dad’s beach house on the coast. The club had gone to sleep for the night. Well, almost everyone. Henry and Anna were on Anna’s bed, making out. Henry had snuck into her room once the lights were out. He had waited for this for weeks now. Both had. The couple had been dating for close to two years now. They had been taking it all slowly. Three months before this trip, Henry and Anna decided to lose their virginities to each other this summer. The club’s trip conveniently played into their plans.

Henry lied on top of Anna kissing her deeply on the lips. She kissed him back. The girl still wasn’t used to having people so close to her, but this was Henry. So this shouldn’t be a problem, right? Henry slipped his hands under Anna’s pajama top. The junior trembled a bit. Henry seemed to be opening doors she had kept locked for four years. That’s how she saw sex. It was a way for two people to be nakedly open with one another and let their deepest fears and desires spill into each other’s souls. To Anna, she couldn’t open herself up to anyone. It had to be the “one.” So far, Henry seemed like the one.

Henry lightly began massaging her breasts under her shirt. It felt really good. Anna got herself to relax for more. This was what she wanted after all. Wasn’t it? Then, Henry moved his hands from under her pajama shier to the hem of it. Anna began to panic under the kisses. She tried to calm herself down again, however, it wasn’t working. The girl couldn’t explain what was happening. She suddenly… didn’t want to do this anymore. Anna lightly but firmly pushed Henry off of her. The boy broke off the kiss and stared at her confused.

What’s wrong?” he asked. Anna held up hand and shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just can’t…”

“What do you mean? Why not?” her boyfriend asked. Anna looked away in discomfort.

“I just can’t…” she said. Henry climbed off of her lied next to her on the bed. Henry respected wishes. The boy looked over at his girlfriend.

“Not now?” he asked. Anna shook her head. Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow at her.

“When?” he asked.

“I don’t think ever…” the girl mumbled. Henry really became lost.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Why? Are you in love with someone else?” Anna didn’t answer as she shook her head. Henry’s heart sank at that response.

“Who is he?” he asked. His girlfriend didn’t speak. How could she answer? She didn’t even know how to answer that one for herself. Did she even know the answer? Henry turned away.

“Whatever,” he mumbled. The boy dozed off next to her. Late in the night, Anna woke up and looked next to her. Henry was still out asleep. That night, she noticed something for the first time. Anna didn’t love Henry anymore. She had fallen out of love in the beginning of 2002. The girl only stayed with Henry for the company. Now, what was the point of hanging on?

Anna quietly got up from the bed and walked over to the glass sliding door. She slid it open and walked outside. The girl stared out at the sea. The ocean sounds at midnight relaxed her so. Anna slowly shut her eyes. Her mind wandered back to Japan, her father, and to a lesser extent, Tsuzuki.

After the trip, Anna and Henry broke up. They remained friends and in the same club, however. Sadly, Henry just couldn’t let go of his feelings for his ex.

May 2009. This latest mess started between the old woman and Muraki. She found him leaving the hospital in Tokyo after caring for some patients. He had been stalking Tsuzuki lately and didn’t like the Shinigami’s new little friend. The corrupt doctor saw them at the bar together last night. Tsuzuki and Anna looked so happy talking to each other. Though it looked innocent, Muraki saw Anna as a potential threat. And what better to deal with the competition than to eliminate it? She couldn’t have that! She wanted to be the one to kill Anna herself. Nothing was going to diminish that joy. Not even an obsessed doctor.

Muraki came out to the entry and saw an old woman staring at him. He looked this woman up and down. She seemed to be in her seventies. She had on all black. From the outside, it looked like an angel and a devil staring at each other down. The woman’s skin seemed to lack any wrinkles. Muraki stared at her oddly.

“Can I help you?” he asked. The woman smiled at him.

“Ah, doctor!” she said. “So nice to see you again!” Muraki looked at her confused.

“Can I help you?” he asked again. The woman kept her smile.

“Don’t you remember me?” she asked. “You treated my youngest grandson years ago!” Muraki stared at her like she was crazy.

“I’m sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else,” he said. The old woman smiled at him causally.

“No matter,” she said. “You probably treated so many people in your career. They all look the same to you, huh?” Muraki stared at her still.

“What exactly do you want?” he asked. The woman regained her composure.

“Forgive me,” she said. “I am called Kimoto Haruka. You got the time?” The doctor sighed.

“If you insist,” he said. Haruka and Muraki walked downtown. The doctor eyed his new “friend” closely. He too had heard of the whole Eda-Kimoto clan legacy. He wondered what the matriarch wanted with him. Haruka looked up at him.

“Let me not beat around the bush any longer,” Haruka addressed. “I have a small request to ask of you.” Muraki raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh?” he asked. “And what would that be?” Haruka froze in her tracks. Muraki paused as she turned around to face him.

“I know what you plan to do with Kimoto Anna!” she announced. The doctor didn’t flinch. He tried to play off this accusation.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Muraki said, gentleman-like. Haruka didn’t buy it.

“Save it, Muraki,” she cut in. “I know what you really are! We are both the same, you and I!” The doctor glared at her coldly. She saw his true colors off the bat.

“As I was saying,” Haruka went on. “I know you see Anna as a threat to your quest in possessing Tsuzuki-san.”

“What’s it to you?” Muraki snapped. Haruka smiled at him in a twisted way.

“Just…” she said. “Leave her be. You can do what you want with Tsuzuki-san and the rest, but leave Anna to me.” Muraki became angry.

“And why should I?” he snapped. Haruka held up a pale hand.

“Anna is my granddaughter,” she answered. Muraki listened on intrigued.

“Go on,” he said. “What about this loved one that I should spare her for?” Haruka tried not laugh at such a question.

“Loved one?” she asked. “No, you misunderstand. I want to kill the little bitch! A couple of days ago, I sent my oldest son to do the job. He did, but Tsuzuki-san brought her back to life somehow. So now, I’m going to kill her again! And you…” She paused for a moment. “Would just rob me of my joy in killing Anna if you did the job before I had a chance to do it!” Haruka finished. Muraki thought about that for a moment. He finally nodded.

“You do put up a convincing argument…” he said. Haruka gave him a gracious smile.

“I can be rather persuasive,” she replied. The doctor smirked at her.

“I’ll leave the girl alone,” he said. Haruka’s mood softened.

“Thank you,” she replied. “I do like to keep family business in the family. Good night, doctor.” Haruka departed for the night. Muraki watched her do so.

The next morning, Tsuzuki came to Kimoto manor. He knocked on the door. It slid open in a few seconds. Shock met the Shinigami’s face. A young man greeted him at the door. He looked about twenty-six years old. The man looked pretty nerdy. His brownish-blonde hair looked like a 60’s Beatles cut. The man was still dressed in pajamas. (Okay, more like brown pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt.) The other man squinted at Tsuzuki through his black-framed glasses.

“Yes?” he asked. Tsuzuki blinked for a moment.

“Who are you?” he asked. The man stared him down.

“I could ask you the same thing!” he said. The Shinigami stared on uneasily. This guy looked like one of Anna’s Californian friends. If so, this wasn’t good.

“I’m Tsuzuki Asato,” the Shinigami introduced himself. “And you are?”

“Henry!” a woman’s voice called from inside the manor. Both boys looked up. Anna rushed to the front door. She too had on pajamas. Tsuzuki didn’t like the situation at hand. He looked over at Anna.

“Anna, what’s going on?” the Shinigami asked. The woman smiled at him cheerfully.

“Tsuzuki, this is my ex-boyfriend, Henry Reed,” she said. “Henry, this is Tsuzuki.” Both men didn’t speak. Anna kept her warm smile. The Shinigami had a bad feeling about this.

“Uh Anna,” he said. “Can I talk to you for a moment inside?”

“Sure,” she said. The woman led her guardian inside. Henry watched on suspicious. Anna and Tsuzuki made it into Daisuke’s office. Anna sat on the futon. The Shinigami looked a little worried.

“What’s going on? Why is Henry here?” he asked. Anna smiled and gave him a little shrug.

“He just showed up here, I guess,” she replied.

“Showed up here?” he asked. “How did he know you were still alive? How did he find you?” Anna shrugged again.

“Dunno,” she said. “He just showed up at my door after you left last night. I invited him in, we spent the whole night talking in the kitchen, and he slept in the office with me.” Tsuzuki really looked worried.

“He slept with you?!?” he yelped.

“He slept on the sheets while I slept under the sheets,” she reasoned. The Shinigami still stared at her. Good that they didn’t have sex last night. There was still a problem. Anna seemed happy that Henry spent the night. Something was dead off with this picture.

After checking on her for the morning, Tsuzuki went to his favorite bakery for lunch. As he ate, the Shinigami tired to wrap his mind around Anna and Henry. How did Henry know that Anna was alive again? And who told him?

Suddenly, Tsuzuki heard someone screaming. He jerked his head up right away. A high school girl outside the bakery coward in terror at unseen figure. Tsuzuki rushed to window for a better look. A masked man came up to the girl slowly. He had a high-powered chainsaw running in his hands. He looked like a backwoods redneck butcher. Tsuzuki looked on confused.

“What the hell?!?” he thought. The Shinigami quickly raced outside to the girl and pushed her inside the bakery. Tsuzuki turned back to the chainsaw-welding maniac. He rushed towards Tsuzuki with the chainsaw. The Shinigami got out of the way just in time.

“Aw shit!” he mumbled. “What’s with this guy?” No time to think now. The Shinigami had to get the crazy bastard away from these people before he killed an innocent bystander. Tsuzuki looked around quickly. Not many places to deal with this guy. The Shinigami looked ahead of him. A narrow alley caught his eye. Not much, but good enough. Tsuzuki pushed past the slasher and raced towards the alley. The big slasher walked after him with the big chainsaw in his hands. All just as planned.

When Tsuzuki got to the alley, he turned around. The slasher was gone. The Shinigami became confused. “/Huh?/” he thought. “/Where did he go?/” Today just got more bizarre. There would be more to come soon.

Tsuzuki reported today back to the crew. They too saw a problem.

“Who else knows about Anna?” Konoe asked. Tsuzuki didn’t have to think about the answer.

“There was a man named Kato Iwao,” he began. “He was the one who gave me the Hell Stone in the first place.” That was all it took! The others looked on in shock. Tsuzuki looked at them blankly.

“What?” he asked slightly confused.

“That changes everything…” Konoe mumbled. Tsuzuki looked on at him.

“Why? What do you mean?” he asked. However, Watari side-tracked him with his own thoughts.

“You said Henry was her ex-boyfriend, right?” he asked. Tsuzuki nodded.

“Yeah,” he said.

“And the guy with the chainsaw showed up after you talked to Anna-san?” his friend asked.

“Yeah,” Tsuzuki answered. Watari thought about this for a moment. He fellow Shinigami looked on at him.

“What are you getting at?” he asked. Watari looked up at him smiling.

“I think I should come with you and meet Anna myself,” he said boldly. Tsuzuki looked confused at first. He was about to ask why. However, it became clear to him pretty soon. The man shrugged a bit.

“Okay,” Tsuzuki said. “When?”

“Now!” Watari insisted.

“Now?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Yeah, now!” the scientist pushed.

“Okay…” his friend said. “Let’s go Hisoka!”

“Right,” the boy mumbled. Then, they headed out to Kimoto manor.

The boys made it there in a short time. Tsuzuki knocked on the door.

“Coming!” a muzzled voice called. The Shinigami waited outside. The front door slide open wide. Henry sneered at Tsuzuki and them.

“Yes?” he asked, trying to sound nice about it.

“Is Anna here?” Tsuzuki asked. The American man rolled his eyes.

“Anna!” he called. “Your friends are here!”

“Coming!” she said. Watari observed the young man closely. His theory began to make sense in his mind. There’s only one piece to fit it together… Anna came to door as if on cue.

“Tsuzuki!” she chirped.

“Hi…” the Shinigami said. “Uh Anna, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure!” she said. The woman looked over at Hisoka and Watari.

“Hi Hisoka and…” she said. The scientist smiled like a gentleman.

“Watari Yutaka,” he introduced himself politely. “I’m a friend of Tsuzuki’s.”

“Nice to meet you,” Anna said. “I’m Kimoto Anna.”

“Tsuzuki has told me all about you,” Watari added.

“I see…” Anna said.

“Okay!” Henry cut in. “Come in if you’re going to come in!” The boys all did so. Tsuzuki and Anna went into the kitchen this time. Watari watched them from a short distance. He almost had the answer to the Henry mystery. Anna turned to Tsuzuki smiling.

“Henry and I are going back to San Diego tomorrow!” she announced. That seemed to hurt Tsuzuki like a kick to the nuts.

“WHAT?!?” he almost yelped. “Why? For how long?”

“Forever,” she said. It all sounded ugly from there.

“B-But what are your father?” the Shinigami asked. Anna froze at that question.

“Papa?” she asked.

“Yes,” Tsuzuki said as he held her hand. “You have to find out who killed him and why.” Anna slowly returned to normal for a second. That’s when Watari saw it. “/Just as I suspected!/” he thought. It all made sense now.

“Anna!” a voice called from the living room. She and Tsuzuki looked up right away. Henry peeked into the doorway.

“Yes?” Anna asked.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked.

“What is it?” she questioned.

“In private,” her ex added. Right then, Anna disappeared into a mindless doll.

“Of course…” she said. Then, the woman left Tsuzuki’s grasp and followed her ex down the hall. The Shinigami felt so cold all of a sudden. He had her back for a brief second then he lost her again. Henry had to be behind this. Watari confirmed his thoughts.

“It’s just as I thought,” the scientist said as they were leaving the manor. “Henry is controlling her mind somehow.”

“How?” Tsuzuki asked.

“He’s using some sort of a spell on Anna,” Watari explained. “Someone must have told Henry about Anna and gave him the spell to try and win her back. It’s not a complete spell though.” Tsuzuki looked at him slightly confused.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“When you mentioned her father, the spell began to weaken,” his friend went on. “The closer Henry is to Anna, the stronger the spell.”

“So how do we break the spell?” Tsuzuki asked.

“I’m still working on that one,” Watari replied. All three went grimace.

At the manor, Anna sat on her futon in Daisuke’s office. Henry paced around a bit. His ex looked on.

“What’s wrong, Henry?” she asked. The man turned to her.

“Do you remember when we first tried to sex?” he asked.

“Yes, why?” Anna asked. Henry sat close to her. He lightly took her by the hand.

“I have been thinking,” he went on. “Could we start over again?” Anna looked at him with big eyes of shock.

“What?” she asked. Henry paused for a moment.

“I know it’s sudden,” he said. “Just take some time to think about it, okay?” Anna nodded without thinking.

“Okay, sure,” she said. Henry smiled brightly.

“Great Anna!” he said. “I’ll be a good boyfriend.” The young man kissed her on the forehead. Then, he left the room. Anna watched after him in silence. This just didn’t feel right.

Tsuzuki sat in the café alone thinking about the situation at hand. Watari and Hisoka went to do research on this spell Henry had Anna under. Tsuzuki had problems with not only the spell, but with Anna leaving for San Diego. She could become white ash there without ever knowing what happened to Daisuke. No! He couldn’t let that happen. He had to save her somehow.

Right then, Tsuzuki noticed someone sitting next to him again. He looked up and saw, who else? Kato Iwao himself. The Shinigami rolled his eyes. His “friend” looked over at him.

“Oh Tsuzuki,” he said. “We meet again!” The other man glared at him. Kato shrugged a bit.

“Not in talking mood, huh?” he asked. “Alright.” The older man looked at the menu for a minute.

“What the hell have you done to Anna?” Tsuzuki hissed. The older man looked up at him.

“Sorry?” he replied. The Shinigami became pissed.

“Cut the crap, Kato!” he barked. The older man’s face changed.

“That bad?” he asked. Tsuzuki became confused. Clearly, he had no idea what was going on either. Kato raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Malchik?” he asked.

“Malchik?” the Shinigami questioned.

“It’s an old nickname for Anna,” Kato explained. “Now tell me what’s wrong.” Tsuzuki had a few reservations with that one. He still couldn’t trust this guy. However, this had become an emergency now. The man had no choice in the matter. Tsuzuki told him all about Henry, the spell, and Slasher guy-san. The older man listened on the whole time. He took a moment to think about it.

“Does this Henry guy have any past experience with spells?” he asked.

“I doubt it…” Tsuzuki answered uneasily. Kato nodded.

“Interesting…” he mumbled.

“What is?” the Shinigami asked. The older man looked up at him.

“Henry may have control of her mind, but he doesn’t have control of a key thing in a relationship.” Tsuzuki thought about that for a moment. The answer slapped him hard in the face.

“Her heart!” Tsuzuki almost yelped. Kato nodded.

“Yes,” he whispered.

“And what about the man with the chainsaw?” the Shinigami asked. Kato began to smile.

“The chainsaw man is Henry’s psyche,” he answered. “It manifested after you talked to Malchik, right?”

“Yes,” Tsuzuki replied.

“The chainsaw man represents his jealousy, anger, and insecurity. Basically, Henry sees you as a threat.”

“Okay,” Tsuzuki said. “So how so I rescue Anna?” Kato gave him a little shrug.

“I think your friends have that answer already,” he replied. Right then, Tsuzuki’s cell phone rang. He quickly answered it.

“Hello?” he said.

“Tsuzuki!” Hisoka said on the other line.

“Hisoka! What have you found?” he asked.

“Watari and I have found how to break the spell,” the boy said.

“Okay, how?” the older Shinigami asked.

“We need to get Anna away from Henry and tell Henry the truth,” the boy answered.

“I’m on it!” Tsuzuki said. He rushed right out of the café. Kato watched after him stoic. “/Hurry to Malchik!/” he thought. As a distraction, the older man texted Anna about a clue about Daisuke. (A half-lie, of course.) The old man informed Tsuzuki of this through another text later on. (How he got his number, we’ll discuss that later.)

Tsuzuki made it back to Kimoto manor. He found Hisoka and Watari standing on the front lawn waiting. They walked to the front door and knocked on it.

“Coming,” a voice mumbled. The men waited. Henry slid open the door. He rolled his eyes at the Shinigami. By now, he was just sick of seeing their faces today.

“Now what do you want?” he groaned. “Anna’s not here; she took off earlier.”

“Actually, we came to see you,” Tsuzuki spoke up. Henry looked at him confused.

“Me? What for?” he asked.

“Can we come in?” Hisoka asked.

“S-Sure,” Henry stammered out. The boys went into the house. They went into the living room. The Shinigami sat on the sofa as Henry sat looking like a prisoner about to be sentenced. No one spoke at first. Henry swallowed a bit.

“We know about the spell you’re using on Anna,” Tsuzuki told him. The young man went ghost pale.

“You don’t understand,” he protested. “I love Anna! I haven’t stopped loving her! Even after we broke up in college, I still loved her! When I heard that she died, I thought I had lost her forever. But now… Now, I have a chance to start again! I will make her love me! I know I will!”

“That’s the thing…” Watari began. “Anna won’t really love you. You can try all you want, but it’ll all be in vain.” It took a moment for it all to sink into Henry.

“You mean…” he started.

“Yes!” the Shinigami all said. A crushing blow that one was. It showed on Henry’s face too.

“Damn it!” he cursed aloud. “Why do I always screw up everything in my life?!?”

“Hey, it can’t be that bad…” Tsuzuki said, trying to keep him calm.

“I am a disappointment to my dad!” the American yelled.

“An easy fix,” Watari said.

“Every girl I dated dumped me for a better man or woman!” the young man ranted.

“It happens,” Hisoka brushed off.

“I EVEN MADE A PASS AT MY STEP-MOTHER!!!” Henry yelled. That did it all in!

“Oh,” the Shinigami said. “That’s bad!” Right then, chainsaw man showed up out of Henry’s mind. The Shinigami leapt up to battle. Henry looked on in fear.

“What is that thing?!?” he yelped.

“It’s your insecurity!” Hisoka yelled.

“What?” the man asked.

“This monster shows up when you doubt yourself!” Watari yelled. Henry felt like puking now. He really saw his error. Tsuzuki pulled out his fuda.

“By the name of the Ju-Oh-Cho, you shall be judged!” he yelled at the chainsaw maniac. The man didn’t talk. It just ran forward with the chainsaw. Perfect, right into the trap. When the bastard got close enough, Tsuzuki placed the fuda over the monster’s chest. The monster screamed out as the paper burned right through. He slowly burned away into ash—chainsaw and all. Once it was gone, Henry crawled out of hiding. He looked around bewildered.

“Is it over?” he asked in a trembling voice. It seemed that way, but Tsuzuki knew otherwise. The Shinigami had only one guess as to who was pulling the strings in this misadventure. Tsuzuki turned and left to confront the culprit.

Tsuzuki went out to the Moonlit Blossom bar. This was where he kept encountering Muraki as of late. He had the feeling the creepy doctor was stalking him again. If he was right, Muraki was the one who gave Henry the spell to control Anna. Tsuzuki waited at the bar for Muraki.

Right on time, the doctor showed up. Tsuzuki glared at him as he entered the bar. The sadistic bastard looked around for a moment. When he spotted the Shinigami, Muraki made his way over to the bar. He sat down next to Tsuzuki. The doctor turned to him.

“Ah, Tsuzuki-san,” he exclaimed. “So nice to see you again!” Tsuzuki didn’t look at him. He was in no mood for pleasantries.

“I know what you did to Henry,” he hissed. Muraki tried to play off the allegation.

“Why Tsuzuki-san!” he exclaimed. “I have no idea what you are accusing me of!”

“Cut the crap, Muraki!” the Shinigami snapped as he whipped around to his stalker. “Why did you do it?” Muraki smirked at him.

“That girl stands in the way of the bond between us,” he simply explained. Tsuzuki glared at him cross.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?!?” he barked. Muraki gently-mockingly took him by the hand.

“I refused to share you with anyone else,” he said in a pandering tone. “That woman is a burden to me. She has to be eliminated. That’s where Henry became useful.

“I met her ex in this very bar. Intriguing man, he was. I wondered what an American man was doing in a bisexual bar like this. So, I walked over to him and introduced myself. He said that he wanted to be left alone. I noticed that Henry looked a bit depressed, so I asked him what was wrong.

“He told me all about his ex, how she died, why he came with their friends to find out the truth, and how he would give anything to have her back. This gave me a little idea. I offered to reunite him with his ex. Henry didn’t believe me at first, but I can be very persuasive. I gave Henry the spell to control Anna’s mind. However, I knew you and your little friends would try to rescue Anna. To keep that from happening, I gave the pool fool’s insecurity a physical form. I even made it into the villain from his favorite horror movie, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

“At what price?!?” Tsuzuki snapped. Muraki smirked still.

“His soul,” he said, calmly.

WHAT?!?” the Shinigami yelled. The doctor gave him little shrug.

“Henry said that he would even sell his soul to have Anna back,” he went on. “Be glad I didn’t kill her like I originally planned.” Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow at him.

“And why is that?” he hissed.

“Her grandmother asked me not to,” Muraki answered, demonic-like. Tsuzuki’s eyes grew wide in shock.

“WHAT?!?” he almost shouted.

“Kimoto-san found me outside of the hospital,” the doctor answered. “We took a little walk. She asked me not to lay a single Finger on Anna. Haruka wanted the thrill of killed her granddaughter herself!” Tsuzuki went pale with shock. The sick-minded doctor smirked at his prey.

“You amuse me so, Tsuzuki-san,” he said. “I’ll let Reed-san go because of that. Sadly, I can’t guarantee that I’ll keep my promise to Kimoto-san or that she won’t come after her granddaughter again.” Muraki lightly kissed Tsuzuki on the cheek.

“Good night,” he whispered. Then, the doctor turned and left. Tsuzuki sat there with a blank face for a moment. When he came back to earth, anger slowly crept in. Oh great! This case got even more difficult. Not only did he have to worry with the Hell Stone, Kimoto-san, Muraki, and the Kimoto case just made it all heavier. Yet, it all seemed worth it in Tsuzuki’s eyes…

The next morning, Anna and the Shinigami saw Henry off to Tokyo Airport.

“Thanks guys,” he said to the boys. “You really helped me get over my depression.”

“It was nothing!” Tsuzuki cheered.

“Take care of yourself on your way back to San Diego,” Hisoka added.

“Sure will,” Henry said with a nod. Then, he turned to Anna. A confused look came onto the man’s face.

“You look like a girlfriend I used to have,” he informed her. “Can’t remember her name though, but you both look so sad.” Even though it hurt, Anna didn’t show it. What had happened was once everything had settled down, Tsuzuki told Anna everything about yesterday. Horrified for her friend’s sake, she made a simple yet painful request.

“Erase all of Henry’s memories of me!” Anna pleaded. Tsuzuki had reservations about that.

“You sure you want to do that?” he asked. Anna looked up at him nearly pleading.

“Tsuzuki please,” she protested. “I can’t have him make the same mistake again. I’ve known him for many years. He still hasn’t gotten over me and he’ll do anything to have me back!” Anna looked down at her feet worried.

“It would just be better if I never existed to him at all,” she mumbled. Tsuzuki was touched by her logic. He reluctantly agreed to erase Henry’s memories of her. So here Anna and Henry were, strangers once more. Anna nodded.

“Thanks, I guess…” she mumbled. Henry smiled again.

“Anyway, thanks guys!” he said. Then, Henry turned and left. The crew watched him do so.

“You okay?” Tsuzuki asked Anna softly.

“Yeah,” she lied. The Shinigami knew she wasn’t, but said nothing. That evening, Anna went home and ripped off all of the pictures of her and Henry out of her timeline. She tore them up and threw them away. After rearranging the timeline, Anna sat down on the floor and broke down crying. She had just lost a dear friend and another piece of her past all in one night.

On the plane back to San Diego, Henry looked at a photo album of his college days. He came across a picture of that old photo club during that beach trip in 2002. He and the girls looked so happy together. Great memories flooded his mind. Then, he saw Anna standing next to him in the photo, smiling and holding his hand. She puzzled him so. Henry noticed a middle-aged Japanese businessman looking on with him.

“Who is that girl next to you?” he asked as he pointed to Anna. Henry shrugged as he shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he said in his best Japanese. They looked on at the picture.

“She’s pretty though,” the man said.

“Yeah,” Henry agreed. “But she looks so sad in her eyes…” His voice trailed off. He began to think of his favorite Smiths’ song, “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” as he looked on at the photo. He knew that was true, somehow…

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