Bungo stray dogs One Shots

Fukumori - Duty

Morals are hard to understand. They are something that you develop over time and that you get through your life's experience. They will never stop developing. No way is forged for them, neither good nor bad.

A person can be the kindest soul for a long time in their life. And within a split second? Maybe after losing a loved one due to another person everything can change. There's no clear line between when and why this happens. Is it for revenge? Is it a twisted sense of duty? Is it extreme hate? Not even the person always knows why.

Then at the same time, those things can also happen to the ones we call evil. Because perhaps they thought they were doing good and now see the ugly truth. Or they go through hell themselves. It's never clear why or when this change could happen. And again the feelings involved cannot be figured out by a theory or a chart. The one thing that triggers the change after all is the person and their surroundings.

Evil and good are ranges that cannot be put into absolute context after all. What if you are evil for others while you have good intentions? While some change others stay the same. While some want the best for others, others can only focus on themselves. Whether you think it's a universal right or your own life you have to live the fullest - it all doesn't matter as we are all trapped inside our minds.

Killing others for safety, for the good side was something some hitmen took upon themselves. They were proud thinking it was the only right thing. But how could they judge someone on whom they haven't done any research?

Fukuzwawa too took pride in being someone like that. But now he saw how empty those promises were. How taking another person's life could never be truly good nor could it be truly evil. Because you still end someone's life, it's a sin you will carry for the rest of your life. It didn't matter if there was any Karma, an afterlife, hell, or something else after death. After all, this sin would at least haunt you until the end of your own life. A weight you had to carry from then on.

And when you start carrying too many stones on your shoulders your mind starts its decay. You become insane. Some are filled with doubt and might take their own life. Others will start seeing the joy in killing, seeing themselves as superior. Though most likely it will be a mix of both. Everyone has their limit until the decay will slowly spread. It's something that cannot be cured and only stopped by choosing a different way of living.

Fukuzawa had been close to going insane before. He had killed others and slowly but steadily he felt some sort of joy. Was it because he felt superior? Was it because he perfected his techniques and everything had become way easier now? Who knew.

At the very least Fukuawa turned his whole life around. He had now become a bodyguard. A man whose duty was only to save and protect others. To fulfill the job with as little damage as possible. Silent and accepting but not taking a life ignorantly.

So what the white-haired man felt now wasn't as much pride in his job. He'd have a sense of duty and liked that he could finally save and support others differently. However, the weight of all the death he carried would never stop. It was more of redemption now...

He didn't know how long he would keep this job. How long he would protect others like this. It was strange but he knew that he now wanted to use his strength to save others. And that thought alone was good.

The bodyguard tried his best to help all his clients. To not judge them nor did he want to hold prejudices against them. All men are equal after all.

So when Natsume asked him to help someone he knew for a while he just agreed. Yet after meeting the man he had to protect for a while he felt sick.

Mori Ougai. That was the name of his client. An underground doctor who helped all sorts of people when the price was right. It wasn't good nor evil. It was a neutral and more personal way of living. A man who just tried his best to stay alive.