Author's Note: This chapter takes place about two weeks before the
prologue, keep in mind that the next few chapters will take place
before the prologue as well. Like I said in the prologue, Maya may
appear out of character in these chapters due to her getting depressed
over Mitsuomi's death. His death will be briefly explained in this
chapter, but the full details will slowly be revealed in later
chapters. Also of note, this chapter is slow, don't expect any romance
to develop between Maya and Aya yet, that will happen in the next
chapter. Well then, let's continue, or rather, start seeing how this
takes place before the prologue chronological-wise.
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Darkness
(Maya's POV)
"Light naturally coexists with darkness. If he is completely
surrounded by darkness, then it's because he put himself in it. Right?
The world is overflowing with light!"
Those were the words I had told Kuzunoha Mana two years ago. She told
me that it was my fault for why my brother betrayed his friends, that
it was my fault for him being consumed by darkness. I was such a
simpleton back then, believing that it was one's own fault for being
the way they were because they allowed themselves to feel that way. I
feel as though I've learned a lot in these past two years after my
brother's death, and I had come to learn that there are just some
things you can't control, things that you can't help but feel.
My brother had once said that he could hear the joys of the sakura
blossoms falling, the whispers of the winds, and the dances of the
grass, but I never believed him. I think now that maybe he really did
hear these things, that it was made possible because of his Ryuugan.
Even my sister is beginning to hear such things, like when she rode our
brother's bike so that she may save the kid and his friend when Ryuzaki
attacked them. Sometimes I wish I could hear the same things they
could, see what they can, trying to do so whenever I look out the
window in my classroom. I am a failure of the Natsume House, being
unable to understand such things. Aya and the others in the Jyuken
Club may not think so, but I feel as if they don't truly mean it.
There was one person, however, who I felt truly meant it when he said I
wasn't a failure, that I could be happy for just being who I truly was
and not for who I wasn't.
"Mitsuomi..," his name barely escapes my lips.
The man said to be the strongest in Todou Academy, the one whom I had
given my heart to two years ago, the one who killed my brother.
Takayanagi Mitsuomi, I had not expected one as powerful as you to fall
in a way such as this. Your heart, I was never aware of how much you
strained it during your battles, but I knew it was more than our fights
that caused your death, it was your heart breaking again and again.
You asked me to return to your arms many times before, my answer always
being no. What you did not know however, was that each time you had
asked me, I came closer and closer each time to saying yes.
"Yes, take me back into your arms," the hidden urges of my heart wanted
to say. "Let me be yours once again, let me feel your embrace, let me
feel your soul, let me be yours and yours alone..."
The time for me to say those words will never be, however. You are
dead, and I am alone once again. You were the one who took away the
first person I truly loved, my brother Shin. How happy we were
together, everyday was like a holiday when I was with him. I always
thought that our happiness would never end, but slowly the fact hit me
the more time I spent with you, the holiday would soon end. Mitsuomi,
you took my brother away from me, leaving me to mourn for him for the
rest of my existence. I swore that I would defeat you, kill you, out
of hatred, but I... I could never bring myself to do it, my heart
still yearned for yours. Again my heart ached knowing this fact, it
ached for the fact that as I hated you, I still loved you. I never
wanted to go through with revenge, but Fate has decided to commit it
for me. Your death was so sudden, Mitsuomi, and here, once again, I
mourn for another I loved so dearly, stripped from my arms once more,
and just like two years ago, I am alone as I cry.
Everyday I look at the photo we took two years ago, it always brought
back memories and emotions I haven't felt in the what feels like an
eternity. Everything that happened since that day has brought nothing
but sadness in my life, there are times I just wish I could forget
everything from that point until now. I just... I just want to
remember what I felt those days, I want to remember the happiness we
all shared, I just want to relive it all once again. I sigh knowing
that it will never be, I know that I cannot relive the past, I know
that I can't erase it, I can only live in the present, regardless of
how cruel it may be.
"Daydreaming again are we, Natsume?" I look up from the picture in my
hand to find my instructor standing next to me. "You may be showing up
to class more often than your first year, but can you at least look
like you're paying attention to my lectures?"
"...sorry," I apologize. "If it's all right, may I be excused for a
moment?"
"Go ahead," he answers with a sigh.
I place the photo back in my pocket and begin to exit the classroom
now. I don't care where it is where I walk, I just find myself blindly
following the tiles of the floor. Though my eyes are turned to the
ground, my thoughts are focused elsewhere. Mitsuomi, I've never
thought about him this much until now. His spiked, bleached hair, his
cinnamon brown eyes, and his bright smile, what I'd do just to see them
again in the present.
"Oneechan, is that you?" a familiar voice breaks my thoughts once
again.
I take a moment to look at her; normally I would ask her something like
"why aren't you in class right now?" or "just got back from feeling the
effects of the kid's baby, huh?", but something is holding me back from
saying any of these things. Instead I just stare at her, my lips
unmoving and my eyes barely focused on hers.
"Is something wrong?" she asks. "Please, talk to..."
I sigh and begin to follow the tiles once more. I see a concerned look
on my sister's face as I pass her, but I do nothing to return the
stare. Aya, she's so naive and innocent, I just wish she can stay that
way. Was this how my brother felt about me two years ago? To shield
his younger sister from his own sins, to hide her from the terrible
hand Fate has dealt us? Or was it a more selfish reason, to take away
all my happiness so that he may be happy? When I think about what
happened two days ago, I can't help but think this way.
I feel the wind beginning to brush past my face and the heat of the sun
beating down on my skin; I must have wandered to the school rooftop
without even knowing it. I make my way over to the railing on the edge
of the roof, my arms folding on top of the bar and the rest of my body
leaning on it. A sigh escapes my lips the moment I find comfort, my
concentration returning to that day two days ago when we first learned
the news.
It seemed like another day in the Jyuken Club; Takayanagi and the
foreigner were sparring with one another and my sister was trying to
feed the kid her homemade obento. As usual I was just watching my
sister's futile attempts to feed her self-proclaimed husband, my shinai
constantly tapping against my shoulder and my face frowning at the fact
that my little sister is so dense. I knew the day would become
something more when she walked through our room's doors. Pink hair in
curls, azure eyes, and a slim figure, it was none other than the Vice-
President of the Enforcers, Isuzu Emi. All of us stopped our current
activities the moment we saw her, my shinai no longer tapping against
my shoulder but now held in front of me. I was positive that she
wanted to finish that haircut she gave me a while back, but this time I
wouldn't hold back after seeing her true form and feeling the effects
of her hidden annki but I realized a second later that she had come for
a different reason. Her head hung low and the rest of her body
sulking, something was definitely bothering her.
"Isuzu-san, why are you here?" Takayanagi was the one to break the
silence amongst all of us.
"Takayanagi Masataka-kun, Bob Makihara-kun, Nagi Souichiro-kun, Natsume
Aya-chan, and Natsume Maya-san," the pink-haired girl addressed each of
us, her voice low as she did so, "it is my sad duty to inform all of
you that..."
Silence filled the room once more before she could finish. The
expression on her face, it made me feel so unsettled; for some reason
my knees began to lock and my breath grew short. It was strange how I
was feeling so uncomfortable around her and how I was suddenly
paralyzed for no apparent reason. My intuition was telling me that
something was wrong, it wasn't like the bread-haired girl to just come
in like this and be silent all of a sudden; it wasn't even like her at
all to drop by our club room in the first place.
"Well, come on already," the blond street fighter began to yell at her,
"what're you here to inform us about? Your boss want a rematch or
something? Shit, I wouldn't be surprised, he's always wanted a piece
of me. Why wait for the preliminaries, I'd be glad to give him a
rematch now, I'll be sure to beat the living crap outta him! I'll
give him another taste of..."
"Takayanagi Mitsuomi-san is dead!" Isuzu yelled using all of her
breath.
The sound of her voice had caused the entire room to grow quiet once
more, expressions of shock falling upon everyone's faces, but to me,
those very words did more. I found my knees suddenly falling to the
floor, my heart suddenly racing, my throat parched, and my eyes
practically melting. My entire had been trembling at this point, the
news she had just spoken repeating themselves over and over again in my
ears like a broken record.
"Takayanagi Mitsuomi-san is dead! Takayanagi Mitsuomi-san is dead!"
the words echoed again and again.
'No!' I thought to myself. 'It can't be, Mitsuomi can't be dead! He
was the strongest man in all of Todou Academy, he can't die that
easily. This is absurd, it's absolute ludicrous!'
"What, what happened? My brother could never be killed so easily!"
Takayanagi exclaimed.
"It was his heart," Isuzu explained, her voice barely audible. "It
finally... gave out on him last night."
I can't begin to describe what I was feeling after I heard those words.
Mitsuomi's heart failing him, that didn't sound right. I knew he
couldn't have a heart attack, he was always careful with what he ate
and he was constantly exercising according to my knowledge. There was
no way he had heart disease either for that matter, I've never seen him
take any medication for it. The reason for his death, I just kept
trying to tell myself that it was a lie, but the more I tried to tell
myself that, I would find myself growing more and more angry. It
didn't take long for what I assumed were lies to reach the peak of my
anger because the next thing I knew, my fingers wrapped around Isuzu's
neck and my arm slammed her into the nearest wall.
"What are you talking about?!" I cried after my anger reached its
pinnacle. "You expect me to believe that he'd die so easily? Mitsuomi
was always healthy, he was never sick! He was the fittest person I
knew, you can't expect me to believe that his heart suddenly failed
him! We've all seen his strength and the fruits of his training, we
all know that it's impossible for his heart to suddenly stop! One who
was constantly by his side should know that! There's no way Takayanagi
Mitsuomi would fall so easily, especially by a disease that's
impossible for him to...!"
"Oneechan, please stop it!" my sister suddenly screamed. "Isuzu-san
just came here to give us the news, she's not the one at fault, so
don't take your anger out on her."
I turned my attention to my sister after and took a moment to reflect
on what she just said. After a moment of thinking, I realized that
what Aya said was true. To let my emotions take over me so easily
wasn't like me at all. I took a deep breath in after in an attempt to
cool myself down, but it did very little. Still, it was enough to stop
my violent tendencies upon hearing the news.
"...all right, tell me what happened," I ordered, releasing her from my
grasp.
"Straight to the point as always, Natsume-san," the pink-haired woman
said as she dusted herself off. "Very well. I'm sure you remember two
years ago when your brother saved you after Fu Chien and his thugs
attacked you."
"How could I ever forget something like that?" I seethed, her words
reopening an old wound.
"When Mitsuomi-san appeared and tried to save you but was struck by
your brother's attack instead, the energy from that attack was absorbed
into his heart," Isuzu explained.
"That's impossible," Takayanagi butted in at that moment, "the doctors
said that there was no damage done to any of his muscles or bones after
he was hit by that attack."
"That's what they thought at first," Isuzu continued, "but the truth of
the matter was that the effects of the damage didn't show up until
later that evening. From that point on, Mitsuomi-san's heart was
beating at an average of two-hundred beats per second. His heart had
apparently absorbed the energy used by the Ryuugan, using that energy
to pump at an extraordinarily high speed. The result was as you've
seen in all of his battles; superhuman strength, godlike speed, and an
immeasurably high metabolism, he had become a god among men, but at the
cost of drastically shortening his life span."
"So my brother was...?" I felt the weight of his death beginning to
fall upon my shoulders.
"It happened when he was returning home from the school last night,"
the Vice President's following words immediately caught my attention,
"his body suddenly became paralyzed as he reached for the door. I
helped him inside after I heard him collapse outside and asked him if
he needed to go to the hospital, but he told me it was just another
usual occurrence of his condition. I didn't believe him, but I also
didn't want to disobey his order to leave him be. I shouldn't have...
If only I hadn't listened, if only I persisted in telling him to go to
the hospital, Mitsuomi-san would still be alive!" she screamed, her
last sentence echoing throughout the entire room.
"It's not fair...," the words barely escaped my lips.
"Oneechan...?"
"It's not fair...," I repeated, slightly raising the volume of my
voice. "Mitsuomi... Mitsuomi was only trying to protect me back then,
and my brother..."
"If you run away, I'll kill," my brother's words began to echo through
my head once more. "Of course, it won't be you. I'll kill the person
you ran away to or who you resorted to. I'll kill every single person
who you have been involved with."
'It's just as my brother promised that day,' I thought to myself, 'even
in death, he has kept his promise. Brother, why, this isn't fair.
After two years, do you still wish for me to pay attention to you and
only you? I was supposed to love him again, I was supposed to return
to his arms. Why? Why did you have to take him now?'
The tears begin flowing down my face once again, my voice breaking, and
my nose sniffling. I find myself overcome by my emotions once again,
the weight of my feelings sending me to the floor. The tears won't
stop falling, the image of his face remains stuck in my eyes, I can't
stop... I can't stop remembering, I can't stop crying.
"Mitsuomi..."
Images of our past together begin to flash through my mind now. I
remember riding to school with him on his motorcycle, how I would
always wrap my arms around his waist and nestled my cheek against his.
I remember the feeling the beat of his heart from his back as I
pushed my body behind his, how his soft green hair tickled my skin as
it was caught in the wind, and how his voice would always make my heart
race.
"Maya...," I remember how soft and soothing his voice was whenever he
called my name.
The tree on the hill, there were so many memories we had together
there. I remember how I would usually be taking a nap there, only to
be awakened by a warm brush against my lips. Every time I felt that
brush, I remember opening my eyes to be greeted by a pair of cinnamon
pupils. My own lips would always widen when I saw my reflection from
them, how I would lose that image by trying to see into them further.
I remember each time how my arms would reach upward, wrapping around
the shoulders of the owner of those beautiful eyes, pulling him closer
so that our mouths could meet once again.
The walks we had in the forest near my house, there was not a moment I
can forget no matter how many times we walked through it. It always
started with us walking together hand-in-hand, Mitsuomi looking forward
with a smile on his face, but my eyes were always on his. Every time I
wanted him to look at me, I would simply brush my hand up his arm,
wrapping both of mine around his and leaning my weight onto him. Each
time I did this, his gaze would always turn toward me, his own face
lighting up when he saw mine. He would then take his hand and place it
on my forehead, brushing away a single strand of hair each time.
Then there was the first and only time we made love. It was in my room
two years ago. It was one of those rare times when my brother was at
Mana's and Aya was at a friend's house for the night. It was just
Mitsuomi and I that evening, the two of us watching the stars together
right outside my room. There was just something about the night sky
that made it feel like a special night, I just knew looking into the
shimmering atmosphere and the sparkle they created in his eyes that
that night was the night we would become one. I remember luring him
into my room, asking him to make love to me.
"Mitsuomi," I called him in a barely audible tone, "please, do whatever
you want with me. Love me, ravish me, do whatever you want, just let
me become one with you."
"Maya, are you sure?" he asked me. "This is a big step. Whatever is
done tonight can never be undone. If there is any part of you that
doesn't want to do this, don't push yourself. Your happiness is my
happiness, Maya, and so, if you're only doing this to make me happy,
then..."
"Mitsuomi, your happiness is my happiness as well," I told him. "Every
fiber of my being has wanted this for a very long time, so please, make
this an experience I can always look back on and smile. I love you,
Takayanagi Mitsuomi, and I want to love every part. Body, heart, mind,
and soul, everything, I want to love every part of you."
"As do I," he said as he wrapped his fingers around my chin. "I love
you, Natsume Maya, and I want to love every part of you as well."
I still feel every inch of his touch to this very day. His hands were
so warm, his body was built like stone but as soft as silk, and his
touch was oh so delicate. Everything he did was slow yet gentle, I
remember the fires of passion that continued to burn brighter and
brighter with every action he did to my body. Time felt like it had
stopped as we made love, it felt like eternity when we were one. No
words could come close to what I had felt that evening, neither could
any emotions or thoughts could express what I was feeling.
I had felt so much happiness back then, so much bliss, and I had still
felt such things whenever I looked back at those times, but now I feel
nothing but emptiness and sadness when I remember. I no longer see
that young and energetic face, now I see a cold and frozen visage. It
does nothing when I see it, it simply stares at me, eyes never
blinking, lips never flinching, nothing but absolute stillness. I feel
as if the world that was once overflowing with light has suddenly
disappeared, overcome by the shadows of darkness. If I had known what
would've happened later that evening when he died, I wouldn't have...
Mitsuomi's death was my fault, my brother's death was my fault, my
parents' deaths were... Everyone I've grown close to and loved have
died because of me. If that's the case, then...
The tears that fall down my eyes begin to stop falling and my voice
begins to calm down. My arms begin to pull against the bars now,
pulling so that I bring myself back to my feet. I find my right leg
beginning to step over the rail that holds the bars, easily slipping
past the rusted metal. My other leg follows shortly after, both of my
feet now on the tiny space between the rooftop and the sky. A slight
breeze begins to blow shortly after, the air nearly stinging my eyes
as it catches some of my hair. I look to the area below my feet to
find a rare site: an empty campus with no students walking to class or
talking with their friends. No bicycles, no broken branches, nothing.
The feel of the rusty railing begins to slip from my fingers, my body
beginning to succumb to the dangling of my feet from the roof's edge.
The winds begin to beat against my face once again, at first a whistle,
and then a gust. The image of the campus below begins to grow within
my vision, my eyes shutting so that I may get used to the sight of
darkness. My body begins to sink now, the feel of the floor
disappearing from my feet. This is how it should be; the guilt of the
ones I love will no longer be cast on my shoulders and in turn, no one
will be close to enough to me any more that it will cost them their
life. Yes, this is how it should end, this should be my destiny...
"Oneechan!"
A jolt suddenly surges through my entire body now, my being no longer
sinking to the surface below. Something is stopping me, the wind is no
longer slicing against my body, but now blowing parallel to it. I
begin to peel away the darkness away from my eyes, the surface below no
longer growing but slowly dangling from side-to-side. I feel something
holding my wrist, as if it were trapped in a vice. The hold is strong,
but I feel my body still sinking, but barely. My vision begins to turn
toward the direction of the grip now, catching the sight of one's
fingers tightly wrapped around the base of my hand. I look further to
find the familiar face of its owner; chocolate brown eyes with a slight
cherry hue, long cinnamon brown hair, and fairly light skin, it's...
"Stop it, Aya, let go of me," I order.
"I can't," she tells me, her voice filled with absolute resolute, "I
won't! Why are you doing this, Oneechan, this isn't like you at all.
The Oneechan I know wouldn't give up so easily, she wouldn't stay down
after being knocked down, she would always get back up."
"Let go of me!" I repeat.
"No! I'm not letting you go, Oneechan! I know you're upset over
Mitsuomi-san's death, but doing this isn't going to do anything to make
you feel better."
"You think I don't know that?!" I spit. "Tell me, Aya, how would you
feel? How would you feel if the two men you loved with all your heart
died? How would you feel if their deaths were your fault? What if the
kid died and it was your fault, how would you feel? Tell me!"
"I'd be just as upset as you are now, Oneechan," she answers. "Of
course I'd be sad, of course I'd be angry, but I wouldn't do what
you're doing now. I loved our brother just as much as you did, I
mourned just like you when he died. I know I didn't know Mitsuomi-san
as much as you and Oniichan did, but still, I grieved for him. Even if
Souichiro-sama were to die and his death was my own fault, I would
blame myself for the rest of my life, but that doesn't mean I would end
it. Do you know why, Oneechan? Because there are still other people
in this world that care about me and my death would only make them
grieve."
"And about me, Aya? Who would grieve for me? After all the things
I've done; I destroyed our brother's gang, I was the one responsible
for the deaths our brother committed, I was the reason why the
Enforcers continued to go after the punks, and I... I've burdened so
many and I'm sure others hate me for it. Who would grieve for me, Aya?
Who would grieve for a someone as burdensome as me?!"
"I would!" she screamed, her voice echoing at the top her lungs. "I
would cry for you, Oneechan," she continued, streams of tears beginning
to roll down her face. "You...you're the only one I have left. Mother
and Father died when I was only six, and Oniichan seven years later.
You're all I have left, Oneechan!" she yelled once again. "Please...
don't leave me alone, I can't bear to lose anyone else so dear to me,
please... Don't give up on me. I need you, Oneechan!"
"Aya...," my own eyes begin to water now. "Wait," I order her.
"Natsume Ryu Kouki Renpou Nijusan," I chant the name of my most used
technique.
I feel my entire body growing lighter now and the grip around my wrist
tightening. In a quick tug, my entire body is lifted back onto the
rooftop. I find my sister falling onto the ground after she pulls me
back up, my body falling directly on top of hers after she loses her
balance.
'Why?' I think to myself now. 'Why did I just do that? I had every
intention of simply letting myself fall off this rooftop, and yet I
allowed her to pull me back up, making it easier for her as well by
turning into my child form. Why?'
"Oneechan, you idiot!" my sister's arms quickly wrap around my form.
"How could you? How could you do something so selfish and stupid?!"
"I... I'm sorry, Aya," I find myself returning the embrace.
"Captain, Aya-chan!" I look behind my sister to find Takayanagi and the
punks running toward us. "Is everything okay, we heard you screaming
and..."
"Everything's fine now, Takayanagi-senpai," Aya answered.
"Guess it was just a false alarm then," the blond punk says as he
begins to scratch the back of his head.
"Were you worried about me, Souichiro-sama?" my sister quickly turns
her attention to her self-proclaimed husband.
"What?" he quickly jumps.
"I'm so happy you were so concerned, Souichiro-sama!" she quickly wraps
her arms around him.
"Wait, what are you doing, you idiot?!" the kid yells, trying his best
to push Aya off of him. "Bob, help me out here!"
"She's your 'wife', a healthy couple should be able to handle disputes
like this amongst themselves," the ebony-skinned young man shrugs.
"What the hell are you saying?!"
"I'll make you a special lunch for tomorrow for worrying so much," my
sister continues, her hold on him as tight as ever. "White rice,
takoyaki, teriyaki chicken, shredded pork, oh I know you're just going
to love it, Souichiro-sama!"
The voices of my comrades begins to grow deaf in my ears as I turn back
to where I was about to fall. The thought of why I let Aya pull me up
begins to cross my mind, and again, I can find no answer as to why I
let her save me. Could it be because she said that she needed me?
Perhaps, but the way she's acting right now, it's as if what just
occurred never happened. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to her.
"Captain, are you all right?" Takayanagi asks, breaking my thoughts.
"...I don't feel well today," I answer. "I think I'll go home early."
I begin to brush past everyone now and begin to make my way back down
the stairs, my eyes once again glued to the floor. Again I've been a
burden, the others rushing to mine and Aya's aid when she helped me.
If I'm going to die, I shouldn't let the others be involved, I mustn't
allow them to try and prevent me from doing so. Even if I am a burden,
I still...
"Oneechan, wait!" I turn around to find my sister following me.
"Yes?" I stop.
"Your clothes...," she says, a slight brush of red painted on her face,
"they're slipping off."
I look down to find my clothes are too big for my current form, that I
did in fact forget to revert back to my normal self. Sighing, I use
the technique once more to allow my clothes to fit again and I continue
on my way once more.
'I failed in killing myself earlier,' I think, "maybe I can try again
later..."
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(Aya's POV)
Oneechan hasn't said a word since we got back from school; as soon as
we came home, she locked herself up in her room. She always worries me
whenever she's like this, how she always grows silent and doesn't tell
me what she's thinking.
"How's the captain?" Takayanagi-senpai asks me as I renter the living
room.
"She still won't come out of her room," I answer as I take a seat, "she
won't even talk to me when I call her from the other side of her door."
"Poor kid," Souichiro-sama says, "that little girl has gone through a
lot in her life. Tell me, Aya, how long did it take for her to recover
after your brother died?"
"About three months I guess," I answer.
'That's not true,' I think to myself, 'Oneechan never recovered after
Oniichan died.'
Ever since our brother died, she's usually been like this. She was
never the one to start up conversations during our meals, she would
always stare blankly into the ceiling whenever she thought she was by
herself, and every time I looked into her eyes, I could see them
beginning to water. Even when she would crack jokes, it would be the
same; she would tell the joke, laugh about it for a little bit, and
then that sadness would return. I miss the days when she wasn't like
this, I miss the days when she smiled and spoke to me, I miss the days
when she was herself.
"Damn, that's quite a while," Souichiro-sama continues, "and the fact
that she's going to be expelled once the month is over isn't going to
help at all..."
"It's getting late," Makihara-san says as he begins to make his way to
the door. "Chiaki will be mad at me again if I miss another one of her
home-cooked meals."
"Do you think the captain will be going to school tomorrow?"
Takayanagi-senpai asks as he follows Makihara-san.
"I don't know," I answer. "If she isn't, I'll be sure to stay with her
after what happened earlier today."
"That's good to know. Listen, Aya-chan, the captain is your only
family left, so take good care of her," he continues.
"I know."
"I'm sure this is a really hard time for her. Maybe you should spend
some time with her, cheer her up if you can. It hasn't been easy for
me or my father after learning about my brother's death just a few days
ago, even though he kicked us out two years ago. Still, that didn't
change the fact that he was my brother and he was my father's son. I
wish that my brother and I could have made peace when he was still
alive, but now... Aya-chan, please take good care of the captain, I
don't your relationship to grow sour like how mine did with my
brother."
"All right, I'll be sure to do that," I assure him as he exits.
"Guess I'll get going too then," Souichiro-sama yawns as he begins to
make his way out the door with the others.
"Souichiro-sama, you don't have to go," I stop him, wrapping my arm
around his own. "I can give you that meal I owe you for being
concerned about me right now if you want."
"I think I'll pass...," Souichiro-sama says with a disgusted look on
his face.
"Well then, I'll give it to you tomorrow then," I tell him as he makes
his way out the door.
"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever," he waves with his back turned toward me.
"See ya."
The house is empty once again with everyone gone. I still haven't
gotten used to this silence, even after Oniichan died. Actually, it's
worse now that I can't even get a word from Oneechan. I turn on the TV
to try and get rid of some of the silence, but it doesn't give the same
effect of when my sister and I talk.
"Listen, Aya-chan, the captain is your only family left, so take good
care of her," Takayanagi-senpai's words begin to echo in my head.
"Maybe you should spend some time with her, cheer her up if you can."
Taking those words into account, I turn off the TV now and make my way
out of the living room. I begin to make my way toward Oneechan's room
now, Takayanagi-senpai's words still ringing in my ears. He told me to
cheer her up, but I don't really have any idea how to do so. Our
tastes in humor are often times different, we don't have much of the
same interests, and as far as I remember, we're complete opposites in
just about everything. Still, that doesn't mean I'll give up, she's
the only family I have left, and I won't give up on her that easily.
"Oneechan, it's me," I knock on her door now. "Can I come in?"
She doesn't say anything after I ask her. I wait several moments
before knocking again but I get the same result. I wait even more, but
I still get nothing, even with a third knock. She worries me even more
now, so I decide to make my way in.
"Oneechan, I'm coming i...!"
I open the door to find my sister sitting in the middle of the room,
her knees sitting on the ground and her arms stretched forward with a
wakizashi in her hand, its blade pointed at her chest. Her arms begin
to move inward now, the blade pulling in with the folding of her arms.
My legs quickly push me forward at this moment, my hand quickly
reaching for hers. I do not grab her hand, instead, I find a geyser of
crimson erupting from the steel slab in her hands.
"Oneechan...?"
"Aya?" she looks at me with a blank look at her face.
The pain from grabbing the short sword begins to erupt through my body
now, but it isn't what causes me to wince. I find my eyes beginning to
water now and my mouth quivering. My remaining hand begins to come
forward now, my palm stinging against the air before it meets with the
face of my sister. The blank look in her face remains, but her fingers
release their grip from the weapon, allowing it to fall to the floor.
I take the wakizashi into my own hand now, making sure that my sister
won't be able to grab a hold of it again so easily.
"What are you doing, Oneechan?!" I yell at her. "Didn't I tell you not
to do this? Do you really intend to make me cry that badly? Are you
happy now, Oneechan? I'm crying!" I exclaim, my voice nearly choking.
"I'm crying, Oneechan, I'm already mourning for you. What happened to
you? After Mitsuomi-san died, no, when Oniichan died, you've always
been...! Why Oneechan, why are you blaming yourself for things that
aren't your fault?!"
"...because they are my fault," she speaks, her eyes blindly gazing
into the ceiling. "Everything is my fault. Our parents' deaths,
Shin's death, and Mitsuomi's death, all mine. I opened Pandora's Box
when I was eight, when I let our brother touch the Choktou Reiki, even
when our parents told me not to let anyone touch it. It drove him
insane, Aya!" her voice begins to grow louder. "He killed Mother and
Father! And then our brother died after realizing what the Ryuugan
did to him. And a few days ago, Mitsuomi died because I...!"
I interrupt her before she could say anything else. My arms wrapped
around her in an instant, pulling her body close to mine. Whimpers
take place of words after that, the cries muffled by the fabric on my
shoulders. Her fists begin to strike at my sides now, but none of them
are strong enough to make me release her. The strikes start to slow
down, but her cries are as loud as ever. My hold on her tightens, my
cheek becoming wetter as her tears mingle with mine. Her arms stop
flailing at me, her fingers now putting a tight grip on the fabric of
the back of my shirt. She continues to cry in my arms as I hold her,
slowly but surely, I notice her beginning to calm down.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for things that you couldn't control,
Oneechan," I tell her. "You can't expect to bear all the weight you
put on your shoulders."
"But Aya...!"
"Sh, don't speak," I assure her. "Just let it all out, Oneechan. Let
it all out."
I don't know how long I hold her, all I know is that every time I look
at the moon, the light grows brighter. My sister's sobs are more
silent now, each one becoming less and less audible. Her hold around
me is tight, but I feel it slowly loosening. When she stops crying, I
finally let go of her, but her nose continues to sniffle and her eyes
still gazing at the floor.
"Are you feeling any better?" I ask her.
"...a little," she answers.
Just those two little words bring relief to my heart, but I'm still
worried that she might try to hurt herself again. I have to keep an
eye on her and make sure she doesn't. If we were to go to school
tomorrow, I'm sure she would still be like this, and I can't keep
watching her the entire time. Not only that, it might be hard for her
as well, I'm sure some things on the campus would stir up some old
memories of her and Mitsuomi-san.
"Oneechan, let's not go to school tomorrow," I tell her. "Let's go
somewhere else for the day. I think you need a little break from
studying."
"Then where will we go?" she asks.
"Somewhere fun," I answer, "a place where you can relax. I know, we
haven't been to the water park in years. Summer's almost here, how
about we go there?"
"...sure," she says after a moment of hesitation.
"All right, it's settled then, Oneechan," I tell her, "tomorrow will be
you're the first day in your journey of healing! It will be so much
fun, I'm sure you'll be back to your normal self in no time."
"You're so optimistic," she says in an almost monotone voice, "and I
envy you for that."
"Oneechan..."
I don't know what to say after that. My own sister, jealous of me?
I've never heard her say that before. If anything, I've always been
jealous of her. I've always been jealous of how strong she was
compared to me, how confident she always is, and most of all, how she
much prettier she is than me. To hear that she's jealous of my
optimism, I never thought I would hear such a thing.
"...I think I'll go to bed now," my sister tells me as she takes her
futon out of her closet.
"Then I'll stay here too," I impose.
"I won't try any...," I leave before she can finish.
I come back a moment later with my own futon only to find my sister
already asleep. It amazes that she's fallen asleep already, her face
looking so peaceful despite what she was going through today. I can't
help but smile as I see her resting. I lay my futon directly next to
hers so that I may greet her when I wake up. She breathes in slowly,
her breath tickling my nose every time she exhales.
Tomorrow, tomorrow will be the first day in her journey of healing.
No, it won't be just her journey, it will be our journey. In this
journey, I will find the sister I lost two years ago, I will heal the
wounds not only Mitsuomi-san left her, but the ones Oniichan left in
our hearts as well. Yes, this will be our journey, our journey to
reclaim what was a lost, our journey to mend our broken hearts...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: Well how was it? Sorry about the lack of any real
romance in this chapter, but this is basically just to get things
started. You can't expect their relationship to evolve just like that,
it takes some time to develop, so wait around for three more chapters
to get to the point in their relationship that was shown in the
prologue. But yeah, the early stages of their relationship will begin
in the next chapter though, so you can expect to make have their
relationship to make some progress, slowly but surely. In the anime
I don't recall seeing any clear evidence that shows whether or not Maya
knows about Mitsuomi's heart condition, so I just went with the
assumption that she didn't. In any case, see ya in the next chapter.
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