Ch. 7, Part 2: The Racket Ceases Fourfold

(Continued from Part 1.)

 Death is always a sad thing, no matter how many times you experience it in your lifetime.

When I played a role in resurrecting the Rackets many years ago, I knew that they would die again at some point. I knew it was going to affect me, given I helped bring them back.

There was something else I knew, as well: It was going to hit Shark hard.

He knew that the time had almost come for four of his relatives. Two of them hadn't even died before. The fact that they all lived this long, could only be considered a miracle.

Shark made it his goal to visit his relatives before their time came. It still didn't make the process any easier, and he sure as hell wasn't ready to say goodbye. Though, I suppose no one ever is.

The first relative to go was his Aunt Scout: the woman who cared for him when his real mother could not.

The lady was very likable. And you can't exactly sneeze at the fact she could keep up with a fleeing criminal on foot.

Not...that I had to learn that the hard way.

But apparently, the athlete that she once was, it wasn't her anymore. Shark told me that seeing her up close shocked him. She was a far cry from the energetic woman he remembered. She looked frail, he said. He was almost afraid to hug her, like he didn't want to break her to pieces.

Shark only went home from this visit, when Scout told him she was tired and wanted a nap.

He found out from his Uncle Dudley, after he got back, that Scout never woke up. That little nap turned out to be an eternal rest for her.

The next one was Shark's biological mother Silver. When he was a teenager, she had been kind of a snob, and never really paid attention to her kids.

But after she was given a second chance, she made sure she was a better mother, and did her best to be a decent grandmother. She still partied from time to time, but she made sure not to go overboard with it.

Silver went the same way Scout did, dying in her sleep. Her second chance had been fulfilled, and she died, I hope, relatively peacefully.

After her, came Shark's dad Dennis. Shark said that Silver's death was taking a toll on them both. Dennis was obviously lonely as hell, amongst other things.

Not only that, but he said he felt as though he would soon follow her, and he felt like something was missing. Shark had a feeling he knew what he was talking about.

All these years, Dennis and Dudley had still been on the outs with each other. So, he begged his father: 'make things right with Dudley, before you die.'

Dudley had taken Dennis' place in caring for Shark when Dennis could not, so he at least owed his brother that. And, that stupid, pointless grudge they harbored toward each other was, well, stupid and pointless.

So, Dennis gladly fulfilled his son's wish, and put any hostile feelings toward Dudley to rest. Why he didn't just do that when he first came back to life, I have no idea. Better late than never, I guess.

And he apparently did it just in time. The day after the both of them made up, Death came for Dennis.

Shark and I were told that he succumbed to a heart attack. We were also told that, oddly enough, he died with a grin on his face. A face that meant he had no regrets.

Seems that when Dennis went out, he wanted to go out with a smile.

And finally, it was Dudley's turn. Shark told me that of all his relatives, his uncle was the hardest to say goodbye to.

The both of them had been through so much. A simple farewell wouldn't be enough for him. So, as soon as he visited, Shark spent as much time with Dudley as he possibly could.

Shark visited him early in the morning. He wanted to try to have a regular day with his uncle one last time. He said he recalled all the times the two of them spent together.

They talked about how their lives had been after Shark moved out, Shark cleaned anything dirty in Dudley's house, they watched TV together...

When the time came for Shark to leave for work, he didn't want to go. But apparently, his uncle insisted that he get to where he had to go. He was told not to worry about an old man like Dudley.

Even though he tried reasoning with him, in the end, Shark did what he said, hugged him one final time, and said the last words he ever said to his Uncle Dudley.

I asked him what he said, and he said the only words he could think of:

"Thank you for everything."

...Dudley died shortly after Shark left for work. When he got the news during practice...he was a wreck. He was so worked up, he couldn't keep going, and ended up leaving early.

Shark always had been rather...open with his emotions, especially if it involved tears. When he got the news that Dudley had finally passed away, he was inconsolable.

He'd known it was coming, but it didn't make things easier. I remember him laying on the bed, shaking and crying.

I tried my best to calm him down, telling him that Dudley was in a better place, that a nice guy like him deserved the best possible spot in the afterlife, alongside his wife Scout.

Then I ended up introducing him to our new friend.

She came along while Shark was on his way to Dudley's house. When I first caught sight of her, I couldn't help but remember Yukiko. Except, you know, different color.

I couldn't think of a good name for her, so I just looked up some random Japanese names, and named her Tomoaki.

Shark definitely took a shine to her. He was still crying, but he was doing his best to put on a happy face for her. Seeing as how he got hit hard with the deaths of four of the most important people in his life, he really needed the support.

Of course, there was one last thing that was going to happen for him.

(A/N: End of Chapter 7, Part 2.)