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Reiji: ...
Sakura: ...
How long have we been like this already?
After we arrived home, all I've done is lay on the couch staring upwards.
While Sakura hasn't spoken since than, she hasn't left me to be alone either...She looked strained, as if she desperately wants
to say something, but stands aside without saying anything.
Reiji: ...
The Sagara household has permanently lost one of it's residents, and the only sound heard throughout the house is the booming echo
of the old clock.
Ichigo-san still isn't home, and now Sayuki is gone...Without those two, it feels as if this house has lost all of it's energy.
Reiji: ...
Sakura: ...
Only silence reigns here.
I'm trying to forget the world right now, and I lose myself in the memories I have of Sayuki.
The kitchen from which she would stand in, making dinner.
Seeing her sit on the sofa together with me, casually watching TV.
Sayuki...Sayuki...Sayuki...
...I stay like that for about half an hour.
I suddenly feel the need to talk to someone, and I glance over at Sakura who has stood there all this time, and slowly stand up.
Reiji: ...Sakura.
Sakura: ...Nn?
Reiji: I...
Sakura: Nn.
Reiji: I...Sayuki...
Sakura: ...Nn.
I know what I want to say, but my mouth won't work, as if it were finally speaking for the first time in years. Sakura smiles
kindly and nods knowingly as tears stream down my face.
Reiji: I...She was really important to me. Sayuki.
Sakura: ...Nn.
Reiji: She was the reason why I went with Master, and worked so hard to come back to this island.
Reiji: All I wanted to do was protect Sayuki.
Sakura: ...Nn.
Reiji: ...But, I couldn't protect her.
Sakura: ...
Reiji: I know. I understand the rules behind this struggle.
Reiji: Kirisaki knew as well. Arizuka, Hinako, Kajiura and old man Sanada as well...Everyone that's disappeared up until now knew.
Reiji: That's why I can't hold a grudge against Satomura...If Sayuki had won, Satomura would have disappeared.
Sakura: ...
Reiji: ...But.
Reiji: She's (Satomura) the one responsible for her (Sayuki) disappearance...I've got to respond.
Sakura: !! Master, than you mean...
Reiji: Please, Sakura. Just listen to me.
Sakura closes her mouth but still looks at me sternly as I continue.
Reiji: I'm not strong enough, and I can only blame myself for what's happened up until now.
Reiji: But, I have to do it...I have to bet my existence against Satomura's.
Each of us is important to the other...But, we are not the most important thing.
Satomura has something that she will protect no matter what. Because of that, she had to sever all ties with me.
If she couldn't do that...Than she would not be able to say that she could fight against me.
Reiji: Therefore I have to get stronger...So that I can prove that I can put a stop to all of this.
Reiji: She left everything to me, entrusting it all to me...
Sakura: ...
Reiji: ...But, this is reality.
Reiji: I couldn't stop anything. Amamiya, Kajiura...I couldn't stop Satomura either.
Reiji: Because in the end all I could think of was myself...I couldn't save Sayuki because I thought that way...
Sakura: ...
I quietly sob to myself as everything comes tumbling out, and Sakura stands there and bears my harsh words.
Reiji: ...That's why...one more time...
Reiji: I have to talk to Satomura one more time.
Sakura: ...
A flash of anger comes over Sakura when I say that.
Reiji: I don't want to fight against Satomura. I don't want revenge on Sayuki's behalf...
Reiji: All I want to do is talk to her face to face one more time.
I've lost Sayuki, and Satomura has declared herself my enemy. However, I have only this one wish.
I hope that she will answer my feelings...
Sakura: ...
Sakura: Master, I...
After having quietly listened to my story, Sakura takes a breath and begins to speak.
Sakura: I'll follow whatever you decide to do, Master.
Reiji: ...
Sakura: I am both your sword and your shield, Master...
Sakura: Master, if you decide to fight, than I'll destroy the opponent, no matter who it is. I will never lay my hands on anyone
you consider an ally, Master...
Sakura: Therefore, I'm relieved that you want to talk with Momiji-chan.
Sakura: How I act is left to you, Master...That is my role...
Suddenly, I'm enveloped by a soft warmth and a faint floral scent.
Reiji: Ah...
When I notice, Sakura is holding me again.
Normally I would have thrown her off because I'm easily embarrassed, but right now this feels very comforting.
Even though I've never experienced it, I wonder if this is what it feels like to be held by a mother...
Reiji: (...Huh...?)
Reiji: (...This feeling...this isn't the first time I've felt this...)
I remember feeling this exact same way sometime in the past.
Yes, it was back when I was young, ignorant and powerless...It was back when I lost nearly everything important to me again,
and had nearly lost myself.
After finally becoming close with Sayuki, our emotional scars slowly began to heal, and under the watchful eyes of the elderly
Kurobane couple I started to regain a normal life.
Sayuki would always follow behind me like a kitten wherever I went, and she always managed to look cute
even though she never tried to be.
The elderly couple looked after us, and to them we might as well have been their biological children.
Even though it was a humble life, it was calm...I'd spend day after day wrapped in such warm happiness.
However, those happy days would not last forever.
...One day, the elderly Kurobane couple were involved in an accident and passed away...
The elderly couple that treated us so kindly were taken from us, and once again we were without a family.
But out of nowhere, we were left with the elderly couple's son and his wife...
That couple said they that they could only care for one, despite my arguing that they take both of us.
As an older brother, all I wanted was for my younger sister to be happy.
That's why in the end I entrusted Sayuki to them, and I returned to the orphanage.
That's how I came to meet Master, and while living with him I diligently took countless part-time jobs in order to be able to
come back and live with my younger sister again.
I'm sure Sayuki thought the same as I did, that we would soon be able to return to those peaceful days where we lived
with the elderly Kurobane couple.
However, in reality it was the exact opposite.
Sayuki's body had been weak since she was born, and couldn't properly attend school...in the end she had to withdraw and stay
home and be cared for.
Despite having to work and go to school, I made sure to always visit Sayuki everyday, even if it meant that I would neglect
my own health.
At first the couple would not even let me inside their house, and I couldn't see Sayuki.
But, I kept coming back every day without fail...And eventually I was able to obtain their permission to see Sayuki.
And it became a part of my daily routine to stop by and visit Sayuki every day after work.
However, Sayuki showed no signs of recovery. In fact, she seemed to weaken each successive day.
But still, Sayuki would weakly smile and say that she would be alright. And I cruelly kept encouraging her to get better.
However, one day I arrived early and finally noticed it...
The true situation that I had placed Sayuki in when I had left her in the "care" of this couple...
They worked Sayuki like a slave, and never gave her a decent meal.
And because Sayuki's body was originally weak, they had downplayed her sickness and told me she would recover, and wouldn't
even let me take her to the hospital.
I never knew a thing, yet Sayuki would always weakly smile and tell me not to worry, even though she knew what was going on.
My chest tightened every time I thought of her weak smile.
Why...Why didn't I notice it sooner?
Why couldn't I have noticed before my precious younger sister had wasted away so much?
My chest hurt, as if I were being swallowed up in the flames of regret.
Yes, that couple had never wanted Sayuki at all.
It would have been better had I gone with them and Sayuki had returned to the orphanage.
If I had thought about it just a little more I would have seen it.
Even though they claimed that they would take care of Sayuki, all they wanted was a servant.
...However, by the time I noticed, it was too late.
Although I appealed to various people, in the end all that I could accomplish was that they would wait and see if there was any
proof of abuse.
Still, I couldn't let Sayuki continue to stay with that cruel couple, and I became determined to somehow get her away from them.
However, because we had no family of which to turn to...in the end we would have ended up as runaways.
I walked around the island lost in my own powerlessness, until at last I reached the large Sakura tree, and I ran forward and
hugged it desperately.
And I let everything out, confessing my frustration at being unable to do anything to save my younger sister...
Every adult had become my enemy, with no one to rely on, but the fact is that I couldn't change anything by myself, and I raged
and cried over the unfairness of the world taking away the one light I had left.
Since I had been the one to condemn her to that hell, I wished that I could at least die together with her.
...At that time...
"Don't give up, even if it seems hopeless."
Within my mind...calm, gentle words resonated.
And than, the gem in my pocket began to shine.
I found it under the tree one day when I visited as usual after work...
Along with this large gem, I also found two smaller, cracked ones.
Suddenly, a dazzling pink light shot out from the shining jewel.
And before I knew it, a woman had appeared from that light and leaned down and held me.
I remember that she looked as beautiful as the pale Sakura blossoms in the air...
But more than anything, that warm smile she gave me melted my frozen heart in an instant.
"I know how scared you are of being alone. You're in pain, and you feel helpless to do anything."
"But, everything will be alright now. I'll always be on your side..."
She held me even tighter, like a mother gently comforting her crying child.
...Yeah, if I still had a mother, I'd hope she would have been like her, I thought.
"Therefore, don't give up, and think of the time when you can be together again, ok?"
Useless, there's no way I'll ever obtain that...
That's why I came here, because no matter how hard I appealed, no one would do anything,
and I was desperate for someone to listen to me.
In the end everything is still left up to the adults, who aren't taking my claims seriously.
Therefore that's why I can't rely on anyone!
"Do you truly believe that? Do you truly believe that no one has reached out to help you in the past?"
Indeed...That's...
...No, maybe there was someone.
At least, the elderly Kurobane couple was kind, and also this unfamiliar woman that is embracing me so closely.
Than, just a little more...I'll continue to believe.
Even though I don't know anyone with any power, I'll continue to look for people who are kind.
Yes...this time I really do have adults who have at least listened to me and said they would look into it.
"This world is much kinder than you think."
Triggered by those words, I began to consider things again.
And strangely, the answer that was hidden from me for so long dawned on me.
Before I knew it, the pale pink light had disappeared, and the unfamiliar woman had vanished as well.
But for my younger sister who was waiting for me, I firmly nodded and stated:
Reiji: If there's no one I can rely on, than I'll become a reliable person.
That was the simple answer I had come to.
That was the true first time that Sakura and I met.
At that time, Sakura had disappeared immediately afterward.
That's why at first I thought she may have been a ghost...But it was thanks to her that I was able to save Sayuki, and through
her, myself.
Ever since that moment...Sakura has silently been watching over me.
Sakura: No matter how painful things get, I'll always be on your side, Master.
Reiji: ...
In a sense, ever since that time I had thought of her as the ideal older sister, and had longed for that feeling of security...
Reiji: So, that was it...For the longest time, I...
Misunderstood...No, that's wrong too.
I only view her like this because my memory of that time is so beautiful as well.
Sakura: Hm? What's wrong all of a sudden, Master?
Reiji: I-It's nothing.
Reiji: ...I can't be caught up in my sadness forever.
Sakura: Nn, that's right. Master, this world-
Reiji: "Is much kinder than you think," right?
Sakura: Eeeeeh, how did you know what I was going to say?!
Reiji: It's hard to see it in the world as it is today. But the kindness of the world is always there for us if we look for it.
Yes, even though the things that one person can accomplish alone may be small in the grand scheme of things...
Even so, that is still a part of the world that everyone wishes for.
I'm still here, so it's up to me to build the better future that those who are gone would have wanted.
Sakura: Nn. If it's you Master, I know you can do it. Until than, I'll always be on your side, Master.
Saying so, a gentle smile forms on Sakura's face.
Reiji: Yeah, thank you...
Thanks to Sakura, I decide to firmly walk down the path that has appeared before me.
I trust her with my life, and hers with me, and as partners we vow to face life or death no matter what in complete confidence...
For now, that is the best that I can do.