Martyr

In A Matter Of Minutes

Scythe Sherman was awoken by Scythe Kaku's caring hands shaking her into reality. Scythe Sherman was miserable. The images of the children still burned in her mind, as they had done so the night before. She was unable to get any rest until her body could not physically take consciousness anymore.

"Good morning. I hope you have gotten a sufficient amount of rest. We have some gleanings to take care of."

Scythe Sherman still had not discussed yesterday's gleaning with Scythe Kaku. When she had arrived home she immediately went to her room and locked the door.

Scythe Sherman was sluggish getting prepared to be presentable. She couldn't look like a slob in front of Scythe Kaku. She took a shower which did nothing to energize her, in fact it seem to enervate her.

Scythe Kaku had already prepared breakfast and awaited Sherman's arrival patiently. Sherman descended the stairs slowly. Scythe Kaku made no movement to seem phased by this lack of energy.

"Good morning, Dakota," Scythe Kaku greeted calmly.

Scythe Sherman let out a sigh, "Good morning, Michio."

"As you can see I have already prepared breakfast," Michio stated, opening his arms to gesture to the two bowls of oatmeal that sat before him. Dakota slumped down into her seat at the far end of the table and stirred the oatmeal limply.

"I'm not hungry," Dakota stated. She was, but she was sure that she wouldn't be able to hold the oat paste down if the images of the children flashed before her.

Michio nodded, "I understand. I wouldn't be able to eat after yesterday either."

Sherman perked up with confusion. "How did you know about yesterday?"

Michio moved his hand in a way that signaled to Dakota that she needed to calm down. "Scythe Musk told me. He was involved with your gleaning you know."

"That damn snitch," Dakota grumbled.

Scythe Kaku shook his head. "Scythe Musk being a snitch would imply you doing something bad or unacceptable. You have done nothing of the sort."

Dakota slammed her fists on the table. "I murdered two children's parents!"

Michio gesticulated again to tone it down. "Gleaning is a part of life now," he stated. "Those children will understand what happened in some time. I'm sure they will forgive you."

"Or they'll hate me forever," she mumbled.

Scythe Kaku lifted a spoonful of oatmeal out of his bowl and gave it a gentle blow. He then consumed the spoonful and went in for another.

"If the children do not forgive you," he proposed before he took his next bite. "Then they are mistaken, for you did what any scythe would have done. The gleaning of their mother was on her own hands. You simply carried out your duties."

"It's not as simple as that!" Dakota cried, the anger coming back in her voice. "You may think it is but I assure you it isn't. Because if it was I wouldn't feel so upset about it!"

"Empathy and compassion are two traits of a true scythe. If you cannot glean without feeling anything of sorrow or regret then you aren't a true scythe!" Kaku countered, a twinge of discontempt coming through in his tone. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as he did to keep himself calm. "Whether what you did was right or wrong, we may never know the answer. But one thing is for sure. You carried out your duty with the utmost honor and compassion that I've seen out of any scythe. If what you did was wrong, you can fall back on that, and if what you did was right, it is accented by the way you carried yourself. I am proud of you, Dakota. No matter right or wrong."

Dakota sat back in her chair. Scythe Kaku was right. She couldn't dwell on what had passed. She had a duty to fulfill and she executed without question.

"Eat what you can," Scythe Kaku stated. "I don't want you gleaning on an empty stomach."

Their next gleaning would take place just down the block from the diner. Her next target was a widowed mother whose kids had been fallen into unsavory territory ten years before. They both had been gleaned since, by the infamous Grande Dame of Death herself. The older brother martyred himself in place of his brother to no avail. She gunned them both down mercilessly, for she did have a quota to meet.

Their mother had been a fairly stagnant lady since her sons had been gleaned. She worked a dead end retail job at a store that didn't frequent many customers. The lady would leave every night with the same exhausted and unamused visage that came with working the job. Dakota had given her the choice, as she did with all of her gleanings, to pick where and how they wished to be gleaned.

The woman had picked to be gleaned on the spot of her job, with a poison that was quick and painless. Scythe Sherman noted that was how most people wanted to go. They wanted it to be fast and carefree.

Scythes Kaku and Sherman arrived to the store just before it was about to open, but because they were scythes, the store manager let them in early.

The woman was knelt down behind the counter, fishing for something in the display cabinet. She noticed Scythe Kaku's navy blue robes flow past the glass and knew she would meet her fate in a matter of minutes.

She rose from the floor with the same exhausted visage. She said nothing, and made no moves. She just waited. Scythe Sherman approached the woman and revealed a vial of thick, viscous liquid.

"When you drink this you will start to feel numb and limp. Then your vision will tunnel and you will die," Scythe Sherman stated, handing the vial to the woman. "Is there anything you wish to be done with your money?"

The woman shook her head and uncorked the vial. She threw back her head and downed the liquid swiftly. She hit the the floor after a few seconds.

Dakota turned to the store manager and held out her ring. The man tried to refuse, but Dakota insisted. "You are the closest thing she has to family, not to mention the fact I just gleaned one of your only employees."

The man got down on his knees and kissed her ring, signaling he had been granted immunity from gleaning for a year. Scythe Kaku left the store, and Dakota tailed closely behind.

Scythe Kaku's gleaning was a random pick from the crowd. He and Dakota sat and watched, waiting for someone who looked unfit enough for life.

He decided on a business man he'd previously researched, who always seemed to be in a hurry, no matter where or what he was doing. Scythe Kaku spotted the man and stood. He waited for the man to approach his range.

"Gary Stricker," he stated. "You have been selected for gleaning."

The man began to panic. "What? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"We do not choose based on people's actions. We simply choose from those who seem unworthy."

"Unworthy of what?! I'm an accomplished businessman."

"It's time for someone else to take your place," Scythe Kaku said as consolingly as possible.

The man still panicked, but nodded. He looked around, as if he was trying to find a way out. He stepped back twice and Scythe Kaku lunged forward bringing a knife swiftly across the man's neck. The businessman fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding throat. He drowned in his own blood and then stopped suddenly, the last little gurgle signifying his final breath.

Scythe Kaku stood over the dead man with the knife still clutched in his hand. He had done something he rarely did, and that was let someone suffer before they died. He had to however, or else the man would've run away.

Kaku sniffled and then turned to face Dakota. "Let's go. I'll drop you off and find this man's family."

Scythe Sherman nodded, leaving her seat behind. She rarely saw Scythe Kaku cry over a gleaning, yet some got to him in only a matter of minutes.