Chapter 10: Interlude – Hanzo

Inside a black sedan, Hanzo was currently staring at his watch intently.

Just as Ken had instructed, he had taken one of the cars and drove off elsewhere while also closing off all channels of communication. The black car was currently parked in an alley somewhere. Even Hanzo was not quite sure where he currently was.

'It should be about time...' Hanzo thought impatiently. It was approaching the twelve-hour mark since he'd left Ken's side.

Hanzo felt something foreboding in Ken's demeanor, however, Hanzo was a butler. And he had just received a command. There was no debate as to what he needed to do. That said, he would have absolutely wanted to stay with Ken if possible.

Hanzo kept waiting and waiting until finally, the alarm he had set finally rang.

"It's here!" Hanzo exclaimed. He immediately took out his phone and checked his email. There he found a message from Ken.

'It's a video... Why is it a video? Couldn't he simply send them to me in text form?' Hanzo thought for a while, but eventually came to the conclusion that Ken was just being too lazy to type in his orders, so he took a video message instead. Hanzo quickly played the video and put his phone's volume to max.

When the video played, Ken was sitting on his couch, with the urn containing his dogs' ashes beside him. The young man, with very tired-looking eyes, was currently smiling warmly at the camera. For reasons unknown, the lights in the room weren't turned on. The only source of illumination was the moonlight, seeping through the open windows. Hanzo remembered that it was a full moon last night, so the moon should be at its brightest.

"Hey there Hanzo. If you're watching this after twelve hours like I asked you to, which I know you are, then thank you for properly following my orders." Ken said while bowing.

'No, young master... Don't bow.' Hanzo thought, he subconsciously extended his arm to stop Ken from bowing, however since this was a recording, the deed had already been done. Hanzo just ended up holding almost bumping the phone he was holding on the steering wheel. He hastily fixed his position, and continued to watch his young master, hoping that he quickly stops bowing as soon as possible.

"Haha, you probably just tried to stop me from bowing just now didn't you?" The Ken on the screen turned to look up, with a mischievous grin. He had accurately predicted Hanzo's actions.

Hanzo just chuckled. It seemed he had fallen for one of his master's pranks.

"Well, let's get down to business." Ken's expression suddenly turned serious, causing Hanzo to also sit up a bit straighter. Hanzo put his full focus on Ken's next words. "By the time you're watching this. I would probably be already dead."

"...huh?...HUH!?" Hanzo exclaimed. He tried to stand up in surprise but ended up just slamming his head on the top of the car. However Hanzo completely disregarded the pain, Ken's words were much more important.

'D-d-dead...?' Hanzo thought, trying to maintain what little composure he had left. 'Is this a joke...? If it is, I will have to scold the young master thoroughly after this. Even if it would be impudent of me to do so!'

"You probably think I'm joking about this, but I'm not. I am serious." The Ken on the screen still had a solemn look on his face, and it was becoming more apparent to Hanzo that Ken wasn't just fooling around. "I owe you a bit of an explanation. You see, when I woke up I just had this feeling that... If I fell asleep, I wouldn't be waking up afterward. That's why I haven't slept these past two days."

The moment Hanzo heard Ken's words, he almost wanted to shout at how absurd it all was. A feeling...? That was what Ken was basing all of this off of? Hanzo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He always thought Ken was a bit silly from time to time, but he was a rational person at his core. Hanzo didn't hear it from Ken, but he knew Ken didn't believe in supernatural things such as Gods and Spirits. He also knew that Ken thought of things like horoscopes and whatnot as stupid. But a feeling...? Ken was putting so much weight on a feeling he got? Hanzo couldn't understand, he even began fostering thoughts that someone was tricking Ken or threatening him to act like this and say this nonsense.

"Now, I know this may be quite hard for you to believe, but I've always had good intuition. You know that right?" Hanzo met eyes with Ken on the screen. As if Ken was asking him to remember. And Hanzo did remember that Ken had a strangely accurate intuition for certain things. Ken's intuition when it came to people went without saying, but he even had good intuition for mundane things like whether it was going to rain on that day, which nurse was going to check on him next, or things like which team in a sports match was going to win. Hanzo had never witnessed Ken be wrong about these kinds of things.

"Yeah. You remember now right? Well anyways, after I woke up with all the pain gone, I just felt that I was gonna die soon, y'know? That's why I decided to forgo sleep. I just indulged in my hobbies in between doing some stuff that I always wanted to do, like thanking the hospital staff and researchers personally and talking to Father. I also wanted to talk with Mother, but since she isn't here, there is no other choice. Anyways, you'll know that I actually am dead, the moment this video ends, since you'll have probably received a bunch of messages about me." The Ken on the screen said with a calm expression, as if none of this had anything to do with him. "In any case, I'm dead. That's that. There are a few things I'd like for you to handle."

Hanzo was still shocked, but he subconsciously prepared to remember the things Ken was about to say.

"Alright. I'm assuming you're ready. First off, this laptop will go to Kyouka. She will know what to do with it, but please remind her anyways. She has to thoroughly smash this thing to pieces. Then throw those pieces into an incinerator, and have them vaporized. I don't want any traces of what I have been looking up to remain in this world. Second, my books. Those can just go to Kyouka, too. She'd be the only one interested in those anyway. Third, my stocks. Please return those to Father. What else..." The Ken on the screen rubbed his chin while thinking. Then lightly hit his palm, as if he had finally remembered. "How the hell could I forget... Please make sure that all the bodyguards and maids assigned to me get reassigned somewhere good. I want them to be able to take it easy but still get paid well. Finally, please make sure that my body is cremated, and the ashes placed inside this urn." Ken lightly patted the urn right next to him. "I want to be together with my bois. If not in spirit, then in ashes I suppose. Then please give the urn to Kyouka. She'll take care of me."

Ken just rattled off his orders matter-of-factly, as if he wasn't the person involved. Hanzo just stared at the Ken on the screen, and for some reason, he felt as if Ken was really staring back. Ken's eyes looked like they were about to close shut at any minute now, but Hanzo could still feel a strong will from them. Hanzo couldn't remember when his young master started having those eyes, or whether he had them from the start, but Hanzo couldn't pull his eyes away from the screen.

"After you've done all that..." The Ken on the screen then smiled warmly. "Please retire."

"...huh?" Hanzo couldn't help but be shocked.

"I'm not saying this because I think you're not cut out for being a butler or anything." Ken shook his head. Then he looked at the camera and smiled. "Rather, I think your too good to remain a butler. There are better uses for your talents. Talents that you've wanted to put to use since a long time ago."

The Ken on the screen gave Hanzo a knowing look. "I know you've always wanted to run your own restaurant."

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"Wha--" Hanzo was shocked once again, but then a wry smile appeared on his face. "So the young master knew..."

"Am I right? You're probably smiling wryly now, wondering how I knew." The Ken on the screen smugly grinned, satisfied with himself. "I told you I had good intuition. It's almost supernatural at this rate. Anyways, after you do all that crap I told you to, please retire and do what you've always wanted." Then, a look of regret came over his face, and he muttered, "It's a shame, I won't be able to see it."

"Young master..."

The Ken on the screen cleared his throat and smiled again. "Well, once business picks up, maybe you could take my urn on a little tour of the place." Ken joked.

"Anyways... That's all I had to say... geez, I really want something cool to have as parting words..." The Ken on the screen massaged his temples with a troubled look on his face, seemingly thinking hard about something. "Meh. Thinking too hard doesn't really suit me. I'll just say what I feel."

The Ken on the screen took a deep breath, then solemnly looked at the camera. Hanzo once again could feel as if Ken was staring right at him. "Hanzo, you have done so much for me. You might say that you did it all because you were my butler, but I know otherwise. I can feel the genuine care you have for me, the devotion and loyalty that is honestly really outdated in this day and age. You really make me think of one of those samurais in the Sengoku period with their undying loyalty. You even delayed fulfilling your dream because you didn't want to leave my service. It makes me feel really apologetic, but I know you wouldn't really be happy with an apology, so instead..." The Ken on the screen took another deep breath and sincerely smiled. "Thank you, Hanzo. Thank you so much for everything. It may have been twelve hours since I've said this to you, but to me, I just said it a few minutes ago. Being served by you was one of my greatest fortunes in this life. I'm not going to bow, since you'd hate that. But I hope you know how thankful I am. Seriously."

"..." Hanzo couldn't say anything as he watched. Ken was always polite, so he'd thanked Hanzo many times before. Hanzo had never felt unappreciated, but he had never felt such deep gratitude before. Before he knew it, tears had started falling from his eyes.

"I apologize that I can only say these things in a video message. Y'see Hanzo, I don't want to see your pained face as I die. In my last moments, I want to remember you as my capable butler, albeit one that is a bit silly from time to time. I'm sorry for being selfish. This is the last bit of selfishness I'll force on you, so please forgive me." The Ken on the screen chuckled while smiling wryly. "And so that ends my message to Hanzo the butler. I'll be talking to the other Hanzo starting now."

Through the tears, Hanzo was confused. What was Ken talking about? What other Hanzo?

"Hanzo, my second father." Ken smiled widely. "I hope you don't find me presumptuous, but I actually considered you a father figure. Thank you for scolding me all the time, and calling me on my nonsense. If Hanzo the butler was the person who stood by my side, ready to do anything I asked, then Hanzo the father was the person who kept nagging at me stubbornly whenever I went too far. Thank you. Although your role in my life was smaller than Hanzo the butler's, it still weighed heavily on me. I would not be the person I am, if not for you. Maybe I would have turned out more cynical, or maybe I would have just constantly hated everyone and everything. Even if you weren't around as much as Hanzo the butler, you made a huge impact in my short life. Thank you..."

The Ken on the screen didn't seem to notice that tears had started falling down his face as he said these things. But as he was saying thank you, he finally perceived how wet his face was. He wiped his eyes with his hands and smiled wryly. His ears turned red from embarrassment.

"D-dammit. I can't believe I'm crying. I-I still have to record Kyouka's message, and now I have to do it with swollen eyes..." The Ken on the screed stammered while trying to wipe all his tears away, but they continued to pour out of his eyes in a seemingly endless stream. "Ugh... They won't stop... A-a-anyways! That's that. I'll end the message here. Don't forget about the stuff I asked you to do. At the moment, you're still my butler so you have to do it well. Then retire and start a great restaurant, okay?"

Ken, seemingly quite embarrassed, was fiddling around with something off-screen. He seemed to be preparing to end the video. But just before he ended it, he smiled and Hanzo felt like their eyes were meeting yet again. "Hanzo. Be happy."

With those last words, the video message ended. Hanzo could only stare at the triangular symbol on the screen, as if asking whether he wanted to play it again. Hanzo just sat there, weeping. He watched the video again and again for a while. He didn't even bother to check his other messages to confirm whether his young master's words were really true. At this moment, Hanzo felt that Ken was saying the truth. And if what Ken said was the truth, then he, Hanzo the butler, had only one thing to do.

'I cannot be like this, right now.'

Hanzo snapped out of it. He could grieve later. Right now, he had a duty to fulfill. Hanzo took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears away. His eyes had their usual sharpness, albeit a bit red from weeping. Hanzo started up the car and drove off to complete his tasks.

'Young master...' Hanzo thought back to his young master's face as he had broken down crying. 'A father...'

Hanzo didn't have any children. He was the type of person to be married to his job, and his family would be his colleagues. His relationship with Ken though, was undoubtedly a special one. He had watched the newborn Ken grow into a toddler, then into a young boy. Then as he lay in bed, ridden with disease, Hanzo had watched Ken enter puberty, then adulthood. Hanzo had been present to witness most of Kagami Ken's life. He had spent more time with Ken than most fathers would spend with their children.

And throughout all these years, he had felt an emotion that he deemed impudent, such that he started hating himself for even feeling that way. He decided to lock these feelings away as best as he can.

Yes, Hanzo had also felt like Ken was a son to him.

'So, he also felt the same...' Hanzo mused. He also felt a hint of regret. 'If I had known...'

Just as his thoughts were about to go in a certain direction, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't matter now.

'Besides...' Hanzo thought, he couldn't help but smile. It was a smile stained by pain, but a smile nonetheless. 'What we had wasn't bad.'

"I wouldn't change a thing." Hanzo said loudly, his voice reverberating in the car.

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