Dictator

15. Disaster at Yokohama

A week had passed, and yet there had been no signs of Q anywhere. It had sent Tomie's mind into a never ending frenzy.

The sea that painted the landscape of Yokohama with an infinite azure of weather patterns glistened in the presence of sunrise. It was the prettiest color she's ever seen. There wouldn't be a day where she could get tired of it. A gentle breeze upon the rise of the sun made the green leaves and grass around the landscape dance in rhythm. It had a wonderful, fresh smell that put the mind at ease. Tomie was sitting on the ground with her back leaning against a cherry blossom tree, in front of her was a gravestone. She was in a deep state of reminiscence as she gazed off to the sea that was gently swaying. Tomie embraced the warmth of the golden rays of the sun kissing her skin. She was in momentary peace. It had been a long, long while.

"This is the first time I've felt so lost... I mean, I don't really give a damn what happens to this city. It could burn down to ashes for all I care. I'm not keen on protecting it like our leaders... But still..."  She muttered. It was unknown whether it was directed at herself or not. "I've realized that there are people that my heart refuses to let go. And they live in this city, and if I want to protect them... I'm supposed to be the strongest, yet I'm the one who always breaks first. Now I don't know what to do."

The only response was silence.

Tomie chuckled lightly after a moment. "If you were here right now, I bet you would've said 'You're stressing out too much, Tomie. Let's have some curry and talk about this over lunch.' wouldn't you? I wonder... just how different things would've been if you were still here. Would you have helped me?" Her amber eyes moved towards the grave in front of her, half lidded with exhaustion due to lack of sleep for... She's lost count at this point.

"...Of course I'm not used to feeling these emotions. After all, they were right. I'm no human. I'm a mere monster. It's not my right to feel normal human emotions. I guess I don't have a choice but to push through, eh?" She stretched her arms above her head and slowly rose from her spot. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she glanced down at the gravestone one last time, then up. She saw a faint silhouette of a man, who was smiling at her slightly. A burn spread across Tomie's chest like the roots of a tree and settled around her heart. She blinked, preventing tears from forming in her eyes. And when she opened her eyes again, the man was gone.

"Goodbye, Odasaku." She turned to the other direction and made her way out of the cemetery. And into the fires in Yokohama.

The abrupt strident sound of an explosion followed by a chain of explosions caused Tomie to speed back to town as quickly as possible, jumping from one obstacle to another while trying to avoid a swarm of mind-controlled people who showed no hesitation to attack her. Some buildings were even collapsing, which she had to dodge by sliding underneath a stable roof, or destroying the debris herself mid-air. The disaster she was afraid of had finally occurred. She landed on top of the roof of a high building where she looked down at the city that was in shambles. She spotted her friend, Chuuya, and the rest of her subordinates protecting the Mafia Headquarters. Chuuya was leading them, and he was doing a pretty good job at it. Yokohama's skies were painted in black clouds of smoke.

I've done what you've asked of me, Dazai. Now it's your turn.

Tomie leaped into the air and landed on some ruble with a crash. The Mafia members immediately turned their attention to her as she looked down on them and threw her arm up. Her voice roared with sternness that rumbled through everyone. "Keep the chaos under control. Hold the transport lines and shoot anyone who attacks! If this keeps up, our operation sites will all burn down! This is an order. Protect it with your lives!"