The End Of One's Journey

Before this begins, if you didn't read the entire synopsis for this story. Just wanted to state once again that this story will contain quite a number of times where my character will perform tarot readings and that I am in no way an expert on the subject. So, you will probably see me misunderstand some things and do things incorrectly if you are experienced with the practice. I may even make some customary spreads and such.

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"Talking"

'Thinking'

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"Yo, Yuto. You doing your readings again?"

"Hm? Oh, Kudou. What's up?"

The sound of a young male voice could be heard responding to another voice, to which the first voice had belong to a young male who appeared to be around the age of fifteen or so, with the second person appearing to be the same age as well. Both of them were lean in stature, though the second male had some defining compact muscles.

The first person had slightly tanned skin along with black spiky hair that was swept to the right, and he was wearing a simple outfit consisting of black shorts, a white singlet, and also white running shoes. This male being named Kudou Yazuma, the friend of the other male that was seen sitting down at a table within what appeared to be a restaurant.

The second male being none other than Yuto Kasumi.

He had fair beautiful skin along with straight neat crimson red hair, going well together with his ruby red eyes that shined like the very crystal itself. He was wearing a tight pair of black pants, showing his lean legs off well. He also had on a tight red t-shirt on underneath a black hooded jacket. He also wore black running shoes.

Looking closer, you could also see that he had on two black wristbands on each of his wrists and was wearing what appeared to be a silver necklace around his neck with a silver cross attachment on it. Aside from his appearance though, Kudou took a seat opposite to Yuto as the male had accidentally run into him when coming into this restaurant.

Yuto was holding what appeared to be a deck of relatively large cards in his hands.

"So, did you just come back from basketball practice?"

"Yeah. Got pretty hungry so I came here, didn't expect to see you here though." Kudou chuckled as he poured himself a glass of water from the water jug placed on the table. He gave a small sip before looking at Yuto curiously. "So, how about you? If I remember correctly, don't you have a combat lesson with your father right now?"

"Nah, he's pretty busy at the moment and was unable to come home just yet from his little trip, so we'll be having the lesson tomorrow or something." Yuto shook his head as he responded. Kudou just nodded his head in understanding, though Yuto narrowed his eyes. "So, tell me something. Is something bothering you at all?"

"E-Eh? No, nothin-."

"Don't lie to me. I can tell just by looking at your face that you have a lot of thoughts going through you." Yuto frowned. If there was something that people had noticed about Yuto was that he was quite the observation skills. "Why don't you tell me what's going on? I can tell that something is bugging you."

"Guess I can't hide it from you, huh? Hehehe..." Kudou laughed defeatedly as he slumped his shoulders as he looked at the down at the table his elbows were resting on. "The thing is... my father is really pushing me. He still doesn't approve of me playing basketball and my grades aren't exactly the best..."

"I see... how long has this been going on now?"

"Maybe a week or so now...?" Kudou recalled as he gave a small sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "He keeps saying that if I ignore my studies and just play basketball then I'm going to become a total failure! Doesn't he know that professional players get paid greatly?! Ugh... sorry for yelling. I'm just honestly frustrated."

"Don't worry about it. It's good to share your troubles with others to see if they can help." Yuto waved it off as he said this. Yuto then looked Kudou directly in the eyes"Sure, and the boy could have sworn he saw Yuto's eyes glow for a second. "How about I give you a reading? Let's see what your future has in store for you. How about it?"

"Sure, I guess..."

"Very well then." Yuto smiled. He then presented the deck of cards in front of himself as he began shuffling them in a number of different ways. He then handed the deck over towards Kudou. "I'd like you to close your eyes and shuffle the deck while thinking about what you want to know. In this case, you can think about what your future holds for you."

"Okay."

Kudou closed his eyes as he began shuffling the deck, though he was having some difficultly as the tarot cards were bigger in size compared to normal cards from a normal deck of playing cards. Luckily, Kudou managed to shuffle the deck without dropping any of them, so that was good. It only went on for a few seconds before he opened his eyes.

"Good, let us see then." Yuto flicked his hair as he took the tarot deck back from Kudou's hands. Yuto then set the deck onto the table before cutting it three times as three separate neat piles were now in front of them. "Okay, so the three cards on top of each of these piles will show us what the future may have in store for you. You ready?"

"Yeah..."

Kudou honestly felt nervous.

The process seemed so simple in his eyes, though he couldn't help but shake in nervousness at what the outcome was going to be. He wasn't really into the whole tarot card reading thing like Yuto was, though he didn't mind giving it a try at least. He watched as Yuto flipped over the top card on each of the piles.

"Ten of Cups, Five of Swords, and the Eight of Cups. I see..."

"Wh-What does it mean?" Kudou asked in a confused manner as he stared down at the revealed cards. The first one depicted what appeared to be a family looking up at ten cups, the next being two people, a male and a female, with the male holding a sword in his hands. The final card depicting a man walking away from eight cups that were arranged on one another.

"Well, the first card here, the Ten of Cups usually embodies happiness, joy, and emotional contentment. This usually seen within relationships and family." Yuto explained simply as he pointed at the mentioned card. "This may be speaking of how your relationship with your father was a great one, full of life and joy. Now, the Five of Swords speaks of now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it represents ideas such as conflict and disagreement. It's when you have a disagreement with something or someone and walk away with a sense of sadness and loss." Yuto explained as Kudou frowned. It sounded perfectly like what was happening right now. "This card can also be an invitation for you to apologise, try and make up with your father and come to agreement with one another."

"To apologise...?" Kudou frowned. "That won't be easy."

"I know, but it would be better for you to try and forgive one another. It'll be healthy for your future." Yuto stated as Kudou just nodded his head. "This final card connects well with the previous. It can mean that you need to move on. This situation you are in is unhealthy and is eating away at you and you are hoping to it will all just get better over time."

"That's..."

"Am I wrong?"

"...No."

"Then you agree?"

"Yes..." Kudou frowned as he slumped his shoulders as he held a somber look on his face. "Even if it's only been happening for a week, I had hoped it would have gone away a few days ago. Maybe my dad will just understand my feelings and just accept me for what I am wanting to do... I want to just move past it all..."

"Then I suggest you listen to what this card is telling you to do for the future." Yuto smiled as he picked up the Eight of Cups and held it up in front of his face. "Instead of waiting for your problems to go away, take action and try to make amends with your father so that not only you, but also your father, can move on from this dilemma."

Kudou didn't respond as he thought over the words.

It was true indeed that the relationship between him and his father had plunged downwards over the past week, and it was as true as saying what was made of oxygen and hydrogen that he had been doing nothing but hoping his father would forget about it and let him do what he wants. Perhaps he really did need to do something.

"Thanks for the help, Yuto."

"Don't worry about it." Yuto smiled as he shuffled the cards back into a neat deck. "Move on from your current situation, say goodbye to this past and present yourself into the greater future. Whether or not you can do that depends on you now. Hopefully, you'll be able to move on and create a greater future for both you and your father."

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Your future I mean. What about your future?"

"Well, I suppose we can see what the cards have to say to me." Yuto shrugged as he shuffled the cards once more before holding the deck in his hands as he spoke his question out aloud so that Kudou could hear him. He kept repeating the question over and over a few times. "What does my future have in store for me?"

Once he stopped, he cut the deck into three just like he had done before.

When he flipped the top three cards...

"Let's see...! Yuto... these look pretty scary..." Kudou stuttered a bit as he looked at the images of the cards that had made themselves present. When he looked at the, he couldn't help but fear for his friend as the first card appeared to be some kind of tower that was burning as people were falling off, the next was a card that displayed an armored skeleton riding upon a horse. The final card being that of a young man carrying a knapsack while standing atop a cliff without worry.

"The Tower, Death, and The Fool, huh?" Yuto didn't show too much of a reaction, though you could tell he was thinking hard as he looked at the three revealed cards. Kudou was shaking slightly as he looked up at Yuto, who was still gazing down at the card with a critical look in his eyes.

"D-Does this mean you'll... die?" Kudou wondered fearfully as he stared at the cards, specifically at the tarot card representing Death. Yuto just shook his head in response before looking up at Kudou, his face as calm as always as he then explained to the clueless individual.

"The Death card really isn't as bad as it sounds. We'll start with The Tower, this means that my future may hold some kind of unexpected change. Let it be disaster, destruction or even perhaps death." Kudou widened his eyes at the last part. Yuto continued though. "However, whenever this happens, I'll have to just rebuild what I may have lost, perhaps making it stronger."

"Like improvement?"

"In a way, yes." Yuto then pointed towards the next card, the one that Kudou had been staring at fearfully this entire time. The Major Arcana card of Death. "Death may sound scary, but that doesn't mean it'll be a physical death, though it very well can be. However, it is usually meaning the end of an era, or chapter in my life. Death can mean new beginnings and starting over."

"Oh, I see..." Kudou sighed in relief. He didn't feel completely fine with it though as he did catch the part where he said that it could mean his physical death at some time. He didn't want his friend dying anytime soon. That wouldn't happen... would it?

"This final card now, The Fool. He represents a form of a new beginning, which can be closely connected to the Death card as that was representing the end of a chapter, while this card may mean the new chapter within my life." Yuto stated as he held The Fool in his hand. "The number of this card is zero, a number of infinite potential. The next chapter of my life will have many things that will shape me into a new person or perhaps build upon myself."

"This still means you might die in the future... right?"

"I won't lie, that is a possibility." Yuto shuffled the cards before placing them away into his pocket as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Everyone dies at some point, though when that will happen is the question. Even if physical death awaits me some time in my future before I expect it, then I shall face it head on."

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen..."

"Everybody, get down on the ground now!" Both Kudou and Yuto heard the shout of a person as they looked to see the front door of the restaurant suddenly fly open as two adult males suddenly ran in, though what they were both holding caused the boys to widen their eyes. This included everyone else in the restaurant.

They were guns!

"If anyone tries anything funny, then prepare to face the consequences!"

"You heard him, so don't any of you try to be a hero!"

"Th-These guys are insa- wah!"

Kudou didn't get to finish what he was going to say before he felt himself get pulled down to the ground, courtesy of Yuto. Kudou looked at his friend as the male held a finger up to his own lips, telling him to obviously be quiet. Yuto then glanced up towards the two males as he narrowed his eyes dangerously at them.

He may look calm, but he was panicking a bit inside. This was an unfortunate situation they found themselves in. However, he needed to think things through or things could get seriously ugly.

'Not good, are those two drunk?' Yuto frowned as he could see the redness on the two male's faces. Observing their actions, he could also see that they were a bit sloppy on their feet, making the possibility greater than before. "Kudou, follow me silently. We're not in the best position if they turn hostile towards us specifically."

"R-Right..."

Yuto then quickly yet silently rushed across to other tables as Kudou followed behind him, though at a much slower pace. It didn't take them long though before they managed to get underneath a table that was pretty much directly beside the two men. Kudou could feel his heart beating faster, same with Yuto as they were silent beneath the table.

"Should we try and take them down?" Kudou whispered to Yuto as he could see that they could easily tackle down the male that was right beside the table they had managed to sneak beneath. Yuto shook his head in response as he pointed towards the other gunman, who was around three or so meters away from the one beside them.

"Not a good idea. They might be drunk, but I'm pretty sure the other gunman will still be able to react in time if we sprint out. Doesn't help that the other guy is facing this way." Yuto responded. True to his words, the gunman that wasn't beside them was indeed looking in their direction. Making it all the easier for the man to react to their movements.

"P-Please, we don't want any trouble...!"

"Shut up! You're all our hostages!" The gunman next to them shouted at the worker who was behind the counter, the worker having flinched heavily from the shout as they ducked down under the counter. The gunman then looked at his ally. "Hand me that kid over there, I'll give these guys something to worry about!"

"Got it!" The other gunman replied as he took hold of a little kid that was probably around the age of eight or so, being a male with short black hair. The parents of the child tried to pull him back, but were kicked away by the gunman. The gunman then pushed the kid towards the other gunman, to which Yuto then widened his eyes.

"Kudou, prepare to catch!"

"Wh-What?!"

Yuto didn't say anything else before he suddenly rushed out from beneath the table and past the gunman next to them, surprising every person who hadn't realised that he had even been beneath the table. Yuto took hold of the kid before suddenly tossing him under the table, to which he could hear Kudou grunt as the kid collided with him.

"Wh-Who the he- gah!" The gunman who was beside him previously didn't get to finish his sentence before Yuto punched him in the stomach, the force being enough to force the man to lose all his air and to also drop his gun. Yuto didn't waste time before performing a spin kick that was aimed directly at the man's head.

The kick caused the man to drop to the ground unconscious instantly as his body actually slid a few meters due to the force behind Yuto's attack.

"Y-You brat!" Yuto gritted his teeth as he turned towards the other gunman.

'Don't have time to close the distance! I'll have to try this!' Yuto thought to himself as he then swiftly took hold of a steak knife on the table he was under before. It wasn't the sharpest knife out there, but it could still cause damage. Yuto then narrowed his eyes before beginning to throw the knife towards where the man was.

"Take this, you brat!"

The man pulled the trigger of the gun, causing a loud bang to ring through the building as all the people around them screamed in fear. Yuto widened his eyes to their max as he felt unimaginable pain rush throughout his entire body. He wasn't sure where he was shot due to this, but it didn't stop his actions as he let go of the knife.

When he did, the knife went flying straight towards the gunman. The man who had shot him widened his own eyes as the knife quickly pierced right through and into his brain, his skull didn't protect him as the knife had plunged through his eye socket and pierced right through his brain. His life ended instantly as he fell to the ground.

"Y-Yuto!"

Kudou had quickly leapt out from the table as he saw his friend stumbling on his feet. Yuto gritted his teeth as his right hand was gripping the left side of his chest, he could now feel that the bullet clearly shot right through his heart. Blood completely drenching his clothes as a blood puddle was starting to form beneath him.

It didn't take long before his legs gave out as he fell to the ground head first. He coughed up tons of blood that splashed onto the ground beside his head as the pain he was feeling was immense, it showed no signs of stopping at all. It was honestly a miracle that he wasn't screaming as this pain was unlike anything he had ever felt.

"C-Come on, man! Stay with me...!"

"I-I guess my tarot reading is... on point... huh? Hehehe..."

"Don't make such ridiculous comments right now, Yuto! Someone call an ambulance!" Kudou shouted desperately as the worker behind the desk quickly grabbed the phone before immediately calling. Kudou then looked at Yuto who had a growing pool of blood beneath him. "Stay with me, Yuto! The ambulance will be on their way, man!"

"S-Sorry, it's too late, dude." Yuto cracked a smile as he managed to grunt those words out. "The bullet pierced my heart, there's no way I'm living through this one I'm afraid..."

"Y-Y-You're joking... right? Right?!"

"Afraid not..." Yuto chuckled as his eyes started to become visibly dull. "Just promise me you'll make amends to your father... that's all I wish for. I want you to live your life to its fullest. Good luck, friend."

Yuto kept his smile as his eyes soon became completely dull, causing Kudou to widen his eyes as tears formed at the corner of his eyes before they came running down his face. Kudou then opened his mouth as a loud scream was released. He had just seen his friend die right in front of him, and he couldn't do anything about it...

Yuto's previous ruby crystal eyes had lost their beauty and were now lifeless as his body laid on the ground completely motionless.

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