Date A Live: Starting as Acheron

"Are you sure we're even on the right bus? ⬛ asked anxiously.

"Yes, I'm sure," I replied. "Since you're so worried, why don't you just check yourself?"

"I was just making sure." ⬛ leaned back on their seat. We sat in silence, listening to the hum of the engine and the incoherent noise of the people around us. Minutes passed in relative silence.

"It's the next one," I announced quietly. ⬛ nodded, swinging their legs as they hopped off their seat. 

⦿ ⦿ ⦿

"⬛⬛⬛ Woods, huh? It's a lot larger than I thought it'd be. And a lot less dreary," I commented.

"Did you think these places were all just cobwebs and dirt paths?"

"Well… actually, you know what? You've got a point. I guess I didn't even really know what to expect." I shrugged my shoulders casually. "But still, a giant field surrounded by houses on all sides?"

⬛ shrugged back at me. "It do be like that sometimes."

"I guess so." I shook my head as I brought out my phone. "Now, where exactly was he…"

⦿ ⦿ ⦿

"...just walk down the road until you see lot number 20, and it'll be the sixth one in the row."

"Thanks, have a good day."

"Of course."

I put down the phone with a sigh, catching ⬛'s gaze with my own. "Apparently, he's actually in lot 20, row six."

"Bruh…" Their jaws dropped. "Ain't no way they got that wrong."

"There is indeed a way." I slipped my phone back into my pocket and pointed to the right. "Down that way. Let's go; after all, you wanted to be gone by 4pm, right?"

"Mm-hmm." 

⦿ ⦿ ⦿

"Here it is." We stared down at an empty cement pedestal. To the right, there was more cement. To the left, another gravestone.

"Hey, ████." ⬛ waved their hand at the ground, where a few fallen leaves littered a small circle of dirt had obviously been freshly dug and refilled.

"Hello," I spoke softly, though not completely sure why. After all, He was long gone. What lay here, if anything lay here at all, was not Him. Not anymore.

"I miss you, buddy," ⬛ continued. "Life's been pretty shit since you left."

I didn't speak anything more. I didn't really know what to say, after all. What lay here under the ground, if anything lay here at all, wasn't Him. What meaning would continuing to talk have?

⬛ stopped talking too. Silence descended upon the cemetery once more. I took the opportunity to look around. Golden leaves dotted the trees that grew in rows around the field, falling down upon countless rows of names engraved upon stone. Occasionally, I saw a grave with flowers placed in front of it. Flowers, huh.

"Didn't you say you wanted to bring flowers?" I turned to look at ⬛.

"I'll come back next week and bring some then," they muttered. 

"Then I'll join you," I said immediately. ⬛ nodded. I couldn't read the expression in their eyes. Was it despair? Anger? Guilt? As I pondered their mentality, they crouched down and began picking dead leaves off of His final place of rest. I joined them, clicking my tongue at a spec of dirt that immediately found its way under my fingernail.

We set the leaves to the side. To be honest, it looked even stranger; a circle of fresh dirt and a pile of wilting leaves, and an empty cement pedestal. I hated that it was empty. After all, He had disappeared from our lives months ago. How was it that He still didn't have a gravestone? Where exactly did His family purchase one from? I shook my head.

"Hm?"⬛looked at me.

"It's so utterly depressing, isn't it? Not in a sad way, but a hopeless way." I gestured to the rows of tombstones, then back to His empty pedestal. "He doesn't even have a damn name to his name anymore." I laughed dryly.

⬛chuckled weakly before returning to silence. There wasn't any more talking after that. The two of us remained as quiet as the dead, all the way up until we turned to leave He behind.

⦿ ⦿ ⦿

When I first conceived the idea of writing fanfiction, I was stumped on what to name my main character. Then, He died, and suddenly I was struck by a mad fever. I would continue his legacy, let his name be etched into internet history forever.

I wondered what He would feel if He knew I borrowed His name, even just for one chapter. Perhaps shame? Perhaps incredulity. Maybe even irritation. But nevertheless, he is the origin upon which Erick is based upon.

And yet, a mere two chapters in, I gave my main character a new name. 

The reason why is guilt. I realized quickly that I would never be able to capture His essence in my writing. Even continuing to borrow His name felt like disrespect to who he really was. 

虚, which can be read as "Kyo," is not a typical name. Included in its many interpretations is "void" or "emptiness." Indeed, Kyo is born from the emptiness I felt as I saw His name be desecrated by my own hands.

Today is the day He was born. If He were still alive, I would have joined Him for His first legal drink. But since He is no longer here, all I can offer now are these meaningless words.

So happy birthday, my friend. This fanfiction is dedicated to you, whether you would have liked it or not. May every person who reads this carry a piece of your memory into the future. May you never be forgotten.