Golden Canary

by Bladedknight

According to String Theory, there are an infinite number of parallel universes, each one just a slightest bit different than the other. This is a oneshot about a history where Izayoi and Canaria never met. Izayoi is instead adopted into Tenkawa Household during the peak of his troubled childhood where he becomes brother to the young Maihime. No prior knowledge is required to read.

1. Golden Canary

Brief Remarks— Though this is indeed a crossover between two existing and established works of fiction, I implore you to not go delving into this piece of writing with that at the forefront of your thoughts. This story is written in such a way that the names of each and every character could be switched with entirely new ones and it would have no bearings on the actual storytelling itself. In other words, if you have never seen either source materials, then simply take it as though you were reading a standalone title. Thanks, and enjoy.

—Sharp images, powerful scenes: Fire raining thoroughly from the sky; plumes of black smoke rising up challengingly to meet it; rubble stretching as far as the eye could see; charred bodies littering the as far as the eye could perceive; acrid smells; luscious smells; absolute horror-filled screams ringing vivid against the night.

He crushed a piece of paper in his hands.

He walked hastily. He broke off into a dash. Hot winds brushed past his face.

With each successive step, he flew from one mound of rubble to another, quickly— rapidly.

Go— Go— Go—!

He needed to move— but where to?

He needed to hurry— but why?

He could waste no time— but what was he looking for?

Hurry—

—Hurry.

—Hurry!

He came to a screeching halt.

"I found you—"

Cling. Cling. Cling.

He opened his eyes to the sound of the bell.

A black vehicle parked outside a middle school entrance. Seated within it were merely two; a chauffeur dressed in black, and a youth with unkempt blonde hair. The youth sat in the back and stared out the side of the car through lowered windows. His eyes were half opened as he leaned against the door. Just prior, he had been in a light slumber, but now that he was awake, his eyes were still more than attentive enough to catch anything put in front of them.

Melodiously, the sound of wind chimes and bells of nearby houses drifted through the air to where he was. He closed his eyes fully at the sound, as coincidentally, there was a cool breeze that wafted at just the right moment. It was a comfortable sensation, to speak of it the least.

The youth sat like that for some time. He was simply enjoying one of the small gifts brought on by nature during any day. Before long, another bell rang. However, it was a different sort of bell, one much larger, deeper, slower, and was associated with one particular time of afternoon which all primary school children long sought for at the end of a long day at school.

It took but a scant few moments later before the noise of children bustled through the air. In another minute after this, the boy opened his eyes– violet, sharp, and piercing– and scrutinized the view in front of him. It did not take long before he found just what he had been looking for.

He grabbed the water bottle next to him, got out of the car, and motioned for the chauffeur to drive off behind him.

"Here," the boy offered with the hand holding onto the glistening bottle.

"Mm, thanks," the girl nodded as she took the bottle and took a long and long welcomed draught.

"Are you good to go?" the boy asked after taking the bottle back for safekeeping.

The girl nodded lightly and reached out with her hand.

The boy took the hand without a second thought and the two walked, side by side and with matching strides.

…

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Before the girl had spoken, the two had been walking in silence for some time. Holding hands, they merely took in each other's company with the sound of crows and wind in the distance. However, make no mistake, these two were no lovers, nay; Siblings, simple as simple could be.

It was a quiet town— or rather, it was a quiet path that the two took. It was the kind of path that one would take if they started in the middle of the city and wanted to get as far away from the stress of the modern day as quickly as possible. It naturally wound itself away from all the main streets and shopping centers until it made a beeline towards the residential district, parks, and the sides of roads less traveled.

"About a year," the boy responded, speaking softly the same way he had before. His voice was brief and seemingly uncaring, yet it was clear from his demeanor that he still viewed the girl with a great deal of importance.

"It certainly feels like it's been much longer though."

"You aren't used to being alone after all… no, forget I said that," the boy quietly retracted his words as the circumstances surrounding the girl were refreshed in his mind.

"No," she shook her head clearly, "I didn't mean that. You. It's you."

Her words came out gently and earnestly, "I am talking about you. It feels as though I have known you forever.

"Only a year," the boy repeated again, briskly. He was not angered or annoyed, however. This was simply how he spoke at times.

"But so much more happened over that year than I could have ever hoped for."

"I did not do much," the golden strands of his hair shook as his head did.

"But it was just enough. When you first arrived here, I didn't know what to think. But…"

"But…?" the boy prodded. He was slightly curious as to what she was going to say. It was something about him after all; it was only fair that he would be allowed to press for more.

"I just think it turned out alright. You've changed as well, you know— more open to things," turning, the girl smiled sweetly to her brother and said no more.

"'Changed,' me. Is that right…" the brother wondered, then laughed once, "Changed. I did… me, 'changed,' of all people. Ha! Fine, I will give the satisfaction of victory to you just this once."

But had he really? Perhaps outwardly he was a bit more mellow, but on the inside…? The boy truly wondered to himself through that same unchanging expression. For a person to change meant they were volatile to begin with. There must be something they wanted to be– something about themselves that they were discontent with. That discontent or "thing" the person wanted to be would serve as the catalyst for which "change" clung onto.

But could that really be said about himself for him to have "changed"? What was his catalyst? Just what was it within him that he was so discontent with? Just what was it that could have acted as a catalyst for his change? The boy did not know.

The two kept on walking… past streets, past crosswalks, past chain linked fences, past rusted steel gates kept forever open, and past similar vertical standing stone monuments until they stopped at one that was separated from the rest in its own aloof place.

[Tenkawa—]

The girl bent down and placed a single flower on the clean and polished monument– a sweet pea which she had hid in her clothes the entire time– onto the offering plate set on the grave.

"Hello," she murmured, "How have you been…?"

Golden Canary

A Project Qualidea and Mondaiji One Shot

"They say, 'Above all, family is the most important thing in the world.'"

—Icy cold air conditioned wind blasted from the front end of the passenger car as a heavy and endless hail of rainwater drummed against its glass and metal shelling. With fogged up windows, bright high beams up front, and the low key rumbling coming from the engines, it all blended together into a sort of hard ambience.

"I would like to go meet whoever was the first person to speak that line and ask what fucked up in their brain during that exact moment."

—Lightning flashed; thunder ushering soon thereafter.

"I would go and ask them how drunk were they when they went ahead and spoke such an irresponsible line."

"—Listen, Sakamaki-kun, I know that no foster parent is perfect; even the best and seemingly flawless will have one thing or another that will work against them. But that doesn't mean you have to cause so much trouble for them to beg us to take you back a week into it."

"Oh yeah? Tell me what I did wrong and I'll give you more reasons than you can count on your two pudgy hands how I wasn't."

"You— you brat…!"

"Yes, and you, the person sent by the children welfare organization who was sad enough to be sent at three in the morning during the heaviest rainfall seen in the last decade, came and committed to making an eight hour round trip to pick me up off a house in the middle of the countryside."

The welfare agent sucked in a breathe, "…You have no idea how much I hate every bit of you for it."

"Good, I prefer it that way. I vouch for you to keep that level of professionalism and we'll both come out forgetful of each other and be happier at the end of the day as a result of it."

…

…

—Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The hour was just past noon, yet the skies were no lighter than if it had been late in the evening or way early in the morning.

Here, in the yard of a long retired primary school building of the bygone Meiji era, a ten year old Sakamaki Izayoi leapt out the back seat of a brown automobile with a bag slung over his shoulder and kicked the door shut behind him.

"Whoa, hold up!" the driver, who had drove him all this way, hurried to extract his car keys and undo the seatbelt restraining him across his torso.

"Are you mad, child? What are you in such a hurry to jump the gun for? You could have at least waited for me to take out the umbrella!"

"Don't make me laugh," Sakamaki Izayoi sneered. Faceless, every last one of them! People like that, agents of the children welfare system, were a dime a dozen with no better work to do. It did not matter what they said; Izayoi understand how they thought anyways. Their antics– their words– it fooled no one, least of all him.

The boy could have chosen to stay silent here.

"Exactly who are you trying to deceive here: Me, or yourself so you can save face when you face your superiors. Your car is spotless: The dashboard cover is wiped clean, the carpet is freshly vacuumed, the inside smells of lemon, and the exterior has just been recently waxed. You obviously like it a whole lot more than you like me and just wanted to go out first under the pretense of opening an umbrella so I wouldn't get the inside of your car soaked. But you don't have to worry about either of those. I did you a favor and got out and made sure to close your door before that could happen. So you can spare your efforts."

"Look, you shitty brat, I am trying to be a reasonable adult here and do what would be expected of me."

—Izayoi laughed spitefully.

"Hah! See, what did I tell you? And it didn't even take ten seconds for you to come to admit it."

"Listen here—"

"I would listen, if only you had something worth listening to," Izayoi spat, interrupting the man with loathing underlying his tone.

"You—!" the man seethed, but his fury was nonetheless spat upon by the child cutting him off.

"What else about me do you want to say? I am going to head inside. Unlike you, I did not bring an umbrella, nor am I particularly inclined to stay out here and chat with you all day and get soaked, so I will leave you to continue standing out until night falls if that's what you want to do."

"Why do you always purposefully make things difficult for everyone?" gripping white-knuckled onto the umbrella, the welfare agent demanded.

"I wonder why," Izayoi spoke, paused, but then quickly added—

"That was sarcasm, by the way. Just in case you try to bring it up in an attempt to turn the tables on me," Izayoi walked away without giving the man a second look or ear.

There had been but a single organization owned orphanage in the Kanagawa Prefecture, a traditional primary school building that had been built near towards the end of the Meiji era and shut down during the aftermath of the second Great War. Though it had already been in a state of decline towards the end of its life, what really drove the final nail in the coffin for its forty year long run was a lack of fundings coupled along with a fundamental shift in national policies.

The building itself had been in the ownership of the headmaster and sectional landowner who made it into his home during the latter half of his life. When he passed on, he gave the land away to charity where it ended up in limbo until the children welfare organization took hold of it and renovated it to contemporary standards, a surprisingly easy thing to do given how well kept the building had been up to that point.

As much as the quality of the actual building did not matter to him, as he would be hopping around foster home to foster home, Izayoi felt pleasantly surprised; it had some actual history to its name. Only for a fleeting moment though, before the voice of the man behind him knocked his mood right back where it had been all along.

Tax evasion? Bribery? Legal exploitations? It was most likely and probabilistic that it will be back to that status quo once the "once-in-a millennium" genius Izayoi was picked up by a foster parent again, Izayoi supposed, but things like those were all part of the basic package that would always be requested of him. And so, he did not let it bother him all that much. It was just something he had to contend with, just as how the adults had to deal with the paperwork to legally take him into their home.

But even still, Izayoi thought, it would also be good if the next one that came by would have a more interesting use of him than the previous couple, or else… he may just end up taking things up a notch and making a cruel and twisted game out of it…

—Those were the kind of things currently going through the brain of the ten year old child.

The next events as Izayoi entered the restored Meiji period school building were as expected. The sixteen-something year old looking receptionist exclaimed at the sight of his thoroughly soaked body, dripping hair, and frost-laden glare before running to the nearest place with a dry towel. Izayoi ignored her all the same and dripped water all over the wooden floorboards as he moved towards the halls to find an empty bed to place his belongings.

There had never been a thing such as the concept of "privacy" for orphans living in an orphanage. This one would be no different. Though the site was interesting, it was nevertheless still something built in the Meiji era, and for a different purpose than housing orphans. There would be some compromises for adequate spacing issues. The peculiar room Izayoi stumbled upon was at the very end of the hall, with windows facing perpendicular to the evening sun. A layer of dust coated everything on the insides filled with unopened boxes and several broken or unfinished bunk beds crammed into an isolated corner.

"Joy."

A short grimace of disgust colored his face, but he immediately suppressed the feeling. He was not ungrateful; he would not let himself be ungrateful. He chose a storage room on purpose; nobody was forcing this onto him. He would not let himself feel like he was looking to be pitied by willingly choosing the lesser living conditions.

Coming up to one of the empty beds, Izayoi quietly dropped the bag slung over his shoulders and casually unzipped it to check the conditions of the contents.

"Good, it was a smart idea to pick up a water resistant bag when I had the chance."

—Although he, Sakamaki Izayoi, said that, there was in actuality nothing much in the bag that would get in the way if soaked; just an identification card, paperwork in a watertight plastic envelope, and the few pieces of worn rags of clothes that he could wholehearted say belonged to him and was his own property.

At this moment—

"There you are!"

Four entire large bathing towels had been dumped straight onto Izayoi's head before they were subsequently used to rigorously dry up his hair. They were corse. One of them smelled like the scent of a girl's shampoo.

As unhappy as Izayoi was about the girl's actions, he did not resist apart from the brief struggles whenever she poked an eye or rubbed against his head too roughly.

"Hey, didn't they teach you at school that you'll catch a cold if you get soaked like that in the rain?"

"Who knows, I never went to school."

"Well, I did, and that's what they taught me!"

They taught you wrong, Izayoi thought in his heart, there was no scientific basis behind that claim. But in the end, even though it would have been his status quo and go-to thing to do, he did not find it within him to outright refute her claim. Not now, not when there was such transparent concern written all over her face. She was the troublesome type to deal with, no doubt.

"Jeez, I heard we would be expecting a troublesome one, but you already blew all my expectations out the door! Why were you soaked like that? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

"Why, does that bother you?"

It had just been a statement that he said out of spite, but what she had said in response was enough to make even him shut his mouth and give in.

—She smiled, and then told him in a soft voice.

"Well, I used to live with my blood related family too, but stuff happened so then I ran away from home and ended up living and helping children here who were put through a similar circumstance as I had once been. That's why I care, because it makes me feel sad inside to see myself in others."

"Che, how obstinate," Izayoi clicked his tongue and grumbled lowly.

"Ob-stuh-nit? What's that?"

The foreign sounding word was being rolled around in her mouth.

"No, nevermind. It just means you're a good person."

Izayoi lied straight through his teeth.

"Are you done with your towels? I feel exceptionally tired after talking to you, so if you are finished, I plan on going to sleep, right now."

"Ah, sure— no, wait, you need to take a bath first or you'll catch a cold going to sleep freezing like that! And we need to introduce you to the other kids as well!"

…

And so Izayoi did— take a bath, that was. Then he went straight to bed without making any effort to mingle or socialize. And after that, two mere weeks later, paperwork had been filed for Izayoi's new foster home. He left with the same pack he arrived with and left without bidding farewell to the receptionist girl. It was for the best, for him not to have gotten close with her. After all, unlike the others, he had no plans on staying any which were for a prolonged amount of time. That included the orphanages and any foster homes. There was a high chance for him to never see the receptionist girl ever again after this, so it would be considerably easier on her if she never had gotten close enough to him to have to say farewell, so Izayoi thought.

He did not think he was wrong, at least when it came to that aspect.

…

…

…

…

On that day, a page turned in the book that was Sakamaki Izayoi's life.

When he walked out of the Meiji-restored school building with that cheap bag on his shoulders, the last thing he had been expecting was for his life to be changed forever from that moment on.

Awaiting him when he came out was a black vehicle with a chauffeur on the driver's seat and a ghastly lady standing before it. This would be the final and last time Izayoi would ever see such a scene awaiting him outside an orphanage.

However, it would not be this lady who caused this change in Izayoi's life. Rather, it was through this lady that such a change could happen. Because it was through this lady that he met her—

—Tenkawa Maihime. And she– the sole daughter and heir of the Tenkawa household where he had been fostered into– was ordinary. When their first saw each other, neither he nor she questioned each other. She asked not for who he was, the reason for his being there, or why… and he certainly had not brought up the way dirt and stains covered the girl from top to bottom, and definitely not the way she consciously hid her hands out of sight when she waited for the lock on the front door to be undone. And when the lock had been undone, she rushed in first thing and Izayoi followed suite for a slow and relaxed second.

That was the first meeting between the boy, Sakamaki Izayoi, and the girl, Tenkawa Maihime.

Their first impressions of each other however, would come subsequently.

…

…

"H-Hey… I… I'm Maihime…"

—With a head of light and silky hair that one could seriously not tell if natural or had been bleached, fair white skin, and proportionately slender limbs, Tenkawa Maihime was without doubt one of the small, frail, and delicate types.

"I… I am Maihime. What about you…?"

When Maihime first met Izayoi, she was in a rush to get indoors to clean up– to take a shower and a bath and to give herself some buffer of a time to prepare herself so to speak. The news that she would have a new roommate starting the day had been quite surprising; she was excited, but she did not know how exactly to go about it.

"That doesn't sound right…" Maihime mused to herself in practice. She was walking to her room by herself, so nobody heard what she had been saying for the past several minutes.

"Hello… I am Maihime… Okay, alright! That's good, I am ready for this!"

Maihime psyched herself up verbally and then stopped at her door; she would be sharing her room with her new friend, so she had been told. So then on the other side of that door…

Deep breaths. Maihime cracked the door opened and took a peek inside.

"Hey! I'm Maihime, your new…?"

—But nobody was in sight. She gave her best introduction yet, only no one had been inside for it to be directed towards.

"Eh…?" unknowing of what to do, Maihime scratched the side of her cheeks slightly. She stepped inside and gently closed the door behind her. A part of her was slightly disappointed that her practiced greeting was left unheard, but another part of her was just as glad that it had been left unheard. She could probably do a better job at it the next time around… probably… so she thought.

But at this point, nothing had happened yet, so dwelling on it was moot. Shaking her head, Maihime cheered herself on.

"Okay, I'm ready for this!"

"—Ready for what?"

"…Huh?"

—It was a boy's voice. Hearing it speak suddenly, Maihime did a double take around the room, but still saw nothing.

"There's no one here. Could… could it be that a ghost has haunted my room? Is this the beginning of a brand new friendship?"

Maihime was taking things rather optimistically.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not dead yet, and I don't plan to be anytime soon," with an open book in hand, Izayoi finally stood up and revealed himself from his hiding spot– the floor blocked from sight by the other side of the bed.

"Whoa, w-what were you doing hiding behind the bed like that? You gave me quite a scare."

"Me? I am wondering how long I'll stay here this time before I get kicked out again. And you don't sound that scared. Plus, I should be the one asking that to you right now. What are you doing hiding behind the bed now? Am I that much of a contemptible fellow to you that it is the first thing you do upon seeing me? That's an insult to my charisma, you know. Not that I am particularly offended by it though."

"Skin that is translucent white, pigmentless hair; albinism?" Izayoi took a good look at Maihime's face that was doing its best peeking from the other side of the bed.

"Ohh, so that's what they mean by charisma. You should have told me that sooner then. It's not good for my heart, I don't think."

Izayoi felt his eye twitch; he had not expected for her to take what he said for so much face value. The initial mood had already calmed down rapidly as a result of those few exchanges.

"Your eyes, they're violet… like Hotaru-chan's…"

"Hm?" Izayoi raised an eyebrow, "Violet eyes are the result of extremely rare cases of ocular albinism; it should result in visual problems and sensitivity to sunlight. Yours though…" he carried on.

The group of muscles responsible for frowning began to act up on Izayoi's face. It was unnoticeable yet, but it was there, and Izayoi could feel its effects.

"I don't think I understand what you just said, but it sounds amazing, and it looks so pretty up close as well." While talking, Maihime had crossed the gap between the two by going over the bed. Now she was up close and looking into Izayoi's eyes as well, "What about mine? Do you know anything about these?" Maihime asked while pointing to the two gleaming round orbs on her own face.

Izayoi leaned in for a deeper look.

—Deep and red… he thought, no different than the shade of blood and wine.

…

…

Tenkawa Maihime was inherently– for all intent and purposes and for a lack of a better terminology– simply a good girl— nay, simply a very good girl.

It was an important detail to emphasize.

Tenkawa Maihime, the girl, the albino with eyes like blood and wine, was simply a very good girl; almost too good for the world— to remain alive in or for it, in that kind of sense. Nothing less. There was truly nothing underlying nor were there any other forms of implications behind that statement. Tenkawa Maihime was just, very simply, a very good girl, through and through…

Again, there was simply nothing more to it.

Though perhaps… this was also the main culprit as to why Maihime did not have many friends growing up; the number itself, easily accounted on the digits of a single hand.

As good of a girl Maihime was growing up, she acted absolutely normal otherwise; every bit of her, save for her apparent albinism, conformed directly to the norm. Her grades were average, being neither too good nor too poor. She did not attempt to stick out, participating in class just as much as the next person and no more. Even the lunch hours she spent enjoying quietly by herself. Everything that she did and stood for was plainly normal… in her eyes—

—But not in the others. Because in the eyes of her beholders, the girl known as Tenkawa Maihime stood far apart, leagues apart, from the rest since the very beginning– since the time she had first been unveiled. In the first place, it had been something she never could have had a hand in controlling. She was she before she could have realized it. It was because in the eyes of her beholder, she was beautiful.

Like a doll— like a perfect construct of the human genome— the physical traits derived from her albinism (fair skin, light hair), accentuate with her body and character, aligned so much with the cultural standards of beauty.

Therefore, Tenkawa Maihime was faithfully beautiful.

—So she was outcasted as one.

Just as how a masterwork is not meant to be touched and stained by filth, just like how a masterwork is meant to be admired standing from afar, so was she to be treated. The boys, too nervous to approach, had not; the girls, feeling pathetic and inferior in comparison, stayed wistfully away. Even the adults, full members of society, fared not much better being afraid they might put a stain on such a character.

Being the person that she was, it was also easy for Maihime to be mistreated, with the few and far between who did end up approaching, doing so with not the purest of intent.

—Just as how young boys bullied their crush.

—Just as how young girls ostracized and harassed those whom they are envious of.

—Just as how adults, driven by their own greed, sought to exploit her for their own gain.

But that was just fine.

It was all just fine.

Maihime did not take it to heart.

She shook her head and smiled to show her strength.

Maihime was a good girl after all– mature, but innocent– she did not mind.

It did not bother her at all.

It was all… just fine, because there was nothing anyone had to worry about…

Maihime was a good girl after all.

…

…

"Your eyes are unnatural," Izayoi responded briskly to her inquiry.

"No humans should ever be able to have eyes with such a deeply saturated red. It is physically impossible for the structure and composition of the human eye to naturally produce such a color."

Maihime stared at Izayoi blankly, paused over, then shook her little head with a smile.

"No, it's okay, nobody knows about it either, so it's fine."

"Oi."

In response, Izayoi clicked his tongue. He was pique. The way Maihime spoke, it insinuated him, just a little bit. It was not part of his character to particularly enjoy being underestimated— and with the way the girl worded it to him, it felt to him like it was just that.

"Don't lump me in with the rest of the people you know. Just who do you take me for, all I said was that it was unnatural. I never said I was done speaking just yet."

"Ohh…!" fascination brimming in her voice, Maihime opened her eyes wide.

"Like I said, red eyes like yours are impossible due to the physical structure and composition of the human eye, but that does not take into account any genetic mutations or external influences. Right off the bat, I can give you three possible conjectures. The first being that, before you were made aware of it, your irises were surgically altered to look red. The second being that, due to a never before seen genetic mutation, you have an abnormal amount of pheomelanin in your irises, and the Tyndall effect isn't occurring for whatever reason. And the last simply being that your irises aren't structured the same as a regular human's, which brings me back to my first point."

"Ohh…"

In face of the slew of jargon coming out of Izayoi's mouth, even Maihime's excitement faltered.

—Just a bit though.

—Just a bit. It could not douse the flicker that was her expectation right this moment.

"The first hypothesis can be thrown straight out of the window; if we could do that, then we would be able to do a whole lot more right now. The second and third however, holds much more weight. Genetic mutations produces random, novel, and unexpected results; that has always been the case from antiquity until now. If we managed to go from the rudimentary single cellular organisms bred from abiogenesis to a bunch of talking apes that, as a people, managed to create the very things that would one day destroy ourselves, then I think genetic mutations hold more than just a little bit of weight."

"O-O-Ohhh…? I-I see," Maihime's voice trembled. Having no idea what kind of alien words were being sputtered from Izayoi's lips, she could only sit and nod like she understood half the things he was saying. The discussion was way too high of a level for her to follow and she kind of wished she said something else earlier so she would not have had to sit through all of this.

And yet… at the same time, Maihime found that she actually did not mind it as much as she thought she would— truly, this time. It was weird— it felt weird. Maihime could not comprehend it. It was a content feeling, yet it had come without her own insistence. It was not something she did out of self preservation. It did not come with the dwelling feeling of melancholy.

—It was… a comfortable feeling, calming in the same way only her dearest friend before was able to do. It surprised her how quickly and easily Izayoi was able to instill that sentimentality into her.

"New family, is it…" the girl muttered.

"Oi… what are you doing? Are you… tearing up? First you come in here yelling, then you hide behind the bed, and now you're going to cry?"

"Mm, it's nothing. I just teared up from holding in my yawn."

—Maihime wiped clean her eyes and just continued smiling.

Izayoi, who definitely noticed something, kept to his thoughts.

…

…

It was a scene. It started with rubble— ended with rubble. Then the imagery of torn skyscrapers crumbling to a shadow of their former glory. Ruinous fire, ash, and brimstone hailed from the skies in an a peaceful descent that beguiled the destructive properties that followed in its

And then finally, the remains of the skyscrapers crashed into the ground as deep and dark smoke rose and billowed into monstrous plumes that blocked out the skies.

—Hot, dirty, suffocating.

His heart pounded ever more furiously. Every breath was like breathing in a sauna turned too hot with too much steam; he could almost drown in this atmosphere.

When he looked around, he stood on a mound of mixed concrete, steel reinforcement bars, and dirt.

When he walked, the footing was unstable and shook every time he set his foot on it.

—Where was this? What had he been doing? How did he end up here?

These weren't questions so much as they were emotions he felt while he traversed this desolate landscape.

He looked down.

A letter was in his hands… plain, wax-sealed…

Addressed to it, there was but a single name…

—Izayoi's eyes snapped wide open into daunting orbs and the bright light of the midday sun flooded straight into his vision.

(Again…)

It was that dream again, Izayoi clutched his face as he slowly gained back his senses. His clothes were clinging a bit to him with cold sweat. He looked around: There was a small book by his side and he was out on the back lawn of the estate. Yes… that was it, he had come out here to enjoy the weather as it was clear for a change. Somewhere during the middle of that, he laid down to take a short rest and had that dream again.

Ever since Izayoi had been adopted by the Tenkawa household several weeks ago, he agreed to doing a few things and so kept up and maintained a busy schedule of reading documents and meeting people. The first thing he did was to change his sleeping habits; "Change your circadian rhythm, change your lifestyle," and so he did, quickly enough. After a short week, he became accustomed. Now he was sleeping in short bursts at odd hours of the day and awake at every other. He even kept an alarm on his person that sounded ten minutes ahead of the time he needed to get ready to sleep.

However, it happened at almost the same time after he started this regime of his: these recurring dreams. At first, it was just a dream, short and irrelevant, then it came back again, more vivid, longer, and with more detail. First, it was merely rubble. The next time there were ruins of once glorious skyscrapers. The third time, there were black smoke and fog rising that blotted out the sky. And just now, there had been a new development: A letter, addressed to him. Izayoi may not have been able to open it in time, but next time, for sure. In its own way, it was turning out to be kind of something to look forward to.

Izayoi was not a superstitious person, but something like this, if it was not an omen, then it damn well masqueraded as a good one. He looked around. It was high noon. Just how long did he pass out for, he wondered.

Twenty minutes— perhaps a little less, but it was around twenty minutes. That was how long REM sleep typically lasted during these little naps of his.

"—Izayoi…?"

From far away, his name was called.

"Izayoi? Izaaaayoi? Izaaayooooiiii?"

"I'm over here," Izayoi returned the call as he sat back up. Damn, he really wanted to wash his face after waking up from that.

"Ah! Found you! There you are!" waving Maihime smiled back at him from the second floor of the estate.

"But I just— You— No, actually, y'know what? Nevermind. Let's have it your way this time."

Izayoi showed some self-restraint and held himself back from yelling. Battles should only be fought after taken into account the cost and potential gains of it.

Some battles were indeed better off not fought at all.

…

"What's this one called?"

—Summer time, August, bright, sunny, and dead in the midst of typhoon season. It was one of those rare days where everything went perfectly and even tired old men came out for walks.

Maihime's finger was pointing towards one particular spot on one of the leaves of the garden bushes.

"It's a mollusk belonging to the Cornu genus, the Cornu aspersum," peeked over an upturned page of his paperback with a little effort, Izayoi gave an answer to Maihime's question. He was now leaning back under a parasol while Maihime did her own thing prancing about in the open sun. This was one of the few rare pieces of free time which he could relax and do what he wanted.

"Isn't it just a garden snail though…?" she asked back, unsure whether or not what she had just said was correct.

"If you knew already, then why ask?"

Though it may sound abrasive, it was actually quite a casual remark coming from Izayoi's end. It was not as though he actually minded Maihime's questions. Small talk, small talk, nothing more than that.

"Ooh! How about this one then?"

"That's a flower."

"You dummy, of course I know it's a flower! What kind is what I'm asking!"

"It's a cactus."

"A cactus?"

"Yeah, a cactus. In the language of flowers, it means endurance, because it can grow even in the harsh environment of deserts. Wait, actually, hold on a moment, whose the landscaper that planted a cactus here. It looks like it's time to get the pink slips."

"Hm hm. What about this one then?"

Maihime danced across the garden.

"Sweet pea. It signifies thanks and goodbyes."

"Thanks and goodbyes is it…?" the girl mused.

"Don't eat the pods though, the peas contain a bit of poison."

"What about this one…?"

As this sort of back and forth exchange between the two of them continued, it gave way to a very soothing and ataractic atmosphere that neither of them were in any hurry of breaking. Izayoi was putting half a mind to reading while Maihime went about being Maihime. And it was… peaceful, Izayoi felt for once.

It was… enjoyable and he could even admit it if asked. It certainly was not boring or annoying or irritating. It was such that even he could feel the tiniest corners of his lips creaking upwards in a smile.

The afternoon quickly passed under this manner. And eventually…

"Hey… Izayoi?"

Maihime dusted herself off and approached him slowly. A bit of hesitation colored her actions and gave the impression the entire afternoon had been merely a pretense to build up for this moment. Izayoi noticed it and he sat up, putting aside his reading while he was at it.

"What's up?"

Izayoi chose his words carefully. He avoided saying anything such as leading questions which might have an undesirable effect on what Maihime was going to say.

"Could I… could I take you somewhere for a bit?"

That was a strange thing to ask; Izayoi could not help but raise an eyebrow himself. Nevertheless, he accepted, and without thinking about it too much either.

"Sure," he said, quickly getting up and stretching his body.

"Mm… thanks."

It was a low whisper, but Izayoi heard it just fine.

…

"This way," Maihime spoke, guiding Izayoi through some bushes and leaves.

"Over here."

"Be careful, there's a root sticking out of the ground."

It was nothing but quiet exchanges as Maihime led izayoi by the arm. But every so often, the girl would stop to check her directions and turn head to look for the right landmarks to move forward to.

"We should be getting there soon," Maihime said.

After accepting the platinum haired girl's proposal to follow her, Izayoi had been led from the confines of the Tenkawa manor, halfway across town, past the park where other kids played and caught bugs, all the way to the base of a hill covered in dense trees and unhampered overgrowth. Izayoi noticed there was a path which led to the top, but clearly with something else in mind, Maihime did not take it. Instead, the girl spent a good amount of time circling the thicket before she finally headed in.

That was about half an hour ago. Right now, the two were deep within the woods.

Well, as deep as two could go in half an hour anyhow. Bushes and branches stuck out everywhere. Trying to move a few steps in the same direction was impossible without having one thing or another brush or scrape up against their bodies.

"At least the sun isn't bearing down on us here," so Izayoi compromised. As much as he enjoyed being out in the blazing sun during typhoon season, the shade was considerably more comfortable, even with all its downsides right where he was.

Still, however uncomfortable Izayoi was, he kept a silent mouth and an open mind while following Maihime faithfully. He gave his word, and he would be damned should he go back on it. And if not that, at the very least it would leave an indescribably bad taste that would linger for a long time in his mouth.

Besides, the look of determination on Maihime's face despite making little progress gave him all the convincing he need to just stuff down his complains.

"...Ah!"

Maihime gasped all of a sudden. It was in a different tone than usual: slightly higher pitch, along with a tint of excitement that came at the end of a long and fruitless hunt.

"Come…! Quick!"

The girl quickly tugged onto Izayoi's arms. He followed, at his own pace.

"Have you found what you were looking for?" Izayoi asked, staring at a the base of a large coniferous at the other end of his vision.

"...Mhm."

Coming up to Maihime's back, Izayoi looked over her shoulders. And, immediately upon seeing whatever it was, something in Izayoi's head clicked. The gears which made up his mind supon and a missing piece of information was filled.

"Ah… so that's why…"

It became clear. Putting two and two together, Izayoi came to a conclusion about a certain event from the recent past.

So then, what was it that Izayoi saw when he looked over this poor girl's shoulders?

—A stick plunged into the ground.

That was what Izayoi saw: A mostly straight piece of stick protruding out of the dirt. What made it special however, was that despite it being just another piece of nature interjoined with nature, it was obviously man made. After all, a stick does not simply break off from its branch just to dig itself a mound to be buried through.

"A grave?"

A small one, simplest as could be, clumsily made, but dignified still nonetheless.

"Nn."

"Is this why you were covered in dirt the day I met you?" Izayoi asked. He took special care not to ask what it was for, only if that it was the reason Maihime's hands were stained with dirt and why she hurried so much to take a bath before greeting him properly the day they met. It was consideration in his own special way, such that he did not bring up things which might cause grief. Maihime brought him here specifically for this, but even still, Izayoi could be pretty mindful in his own way at times as well.

"...Mm."

As though to confirm Izayoi's suspicions, Maihime nodded with her back turned towards him. She unzipped her jacket and pulled out something from within.

"That's…" Izayoi trailed off.

It was the sweet pea from before, in the garden that Maihime had been prancing about in. When had she picked it? Having been lending on half his attention to her, Izayoi had not even noticed this action.

"Thank you… and goodbye," Maihime closed her eyes and murmured her prayers beneath her breath.

…

"Why did you bring me here?"

It was getting late. The two slowly made their way back home, through the leaves and branches and the same way they came. Izayoi asked Maihime a question suddenly, breaking the silence with a light tone– not too aggressive, not too passive.

Maihime paused to think for a brief while after Izayoi's question. It was clear that she was thinking about something, perhaps what she should say, how much she should say, or even just where to begin.

"Actually…"

Until finally… Maihime knew of what to say.

"For the past month, I had been taking care of a stray."

"A stray?"

"Mm," Maihime nodded, "A pup, fox, with a cute looking tail. He was wounded when I found him on the way back from playing with Hotaru-chan."

"A pup fox? How'd you find it in the first place?"

Maihime merely shook her head to Izayoi's inquiry.

"I don't know," she said, "I just found him lying there on the grass right next to the road. I didn't know what was wrong, but he looked hungry, so I fed him a piece of bread I had in my bag."

—"You shouldn't feed stray animals…"

Izayoi did not say. He kept that thought safely tuck in his mind and not through his mouth.

"I walked by the same place everyday after that, and each time, I would see him standing there. He was smart, I think he knew I had food with me so he just stayed there waiting everyday. For the first time in a long time, I had something that I could look forward to."

Izayoi understood the gist of it, the situation as Maihime recounted it. She, being the person with a kind hearted disposition, took pity on a stray. However, as the creature was not old enough to hunt, it grew dependent on the girl for survival. Had she not arrived, the pup would have certainly starved to death.

Well, it still died in the end anyhow, so perhaps it was not yet the full story.

"And? What happened next?"

"Next?" Maihime repeated. Without thinking, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, she answered.

"He died. He got sick and he died, just like that."

"Just like that…?" Izayoi pondered. He did not question it though. He was not there when it happened. And this was Maihime's story that she decided to tell him to begin with. All he had to do was to keep still and listen.

"Mm, he got sick one day as he led me here, to these woods. It was his— his home, here. By the time I visited next, he was already dead. It was the same day mother came home with you."

"So you dug a grave for it on its nest. That's why you were covered in dirt and hid your hands."

"Yeah… Was it that obvious…?"

Red eyes falling as she remembered back to the scene, the girl nodded slowly.

…

"Do you feel saddened?"

…

"Yeah…"

Maihime continued to give the same response.

…

"Soon, it'll just be another memory. Isn't that why you brought the flowers? Sweet peas to give your thanks and goodbyes."

Izayoi spoke, eventually.

…

"Yeah…"

…

"But… you know… I…"

Maihime stopped. Her voice, hesitant.

…

"I don't feel as sad about it now as I did back then. It was the same for father, how I slowly took my mind off of him not being able to be there anymore. But, I think that's because everyone keeps on telling me to not think about it anymore…"

After listening to her, Izayoi nodded.

"Of course, that's just how it works, grief and acceptance. If everyone mourned forever, the world would be a very boring place."

…

"Yeah…"

…

At the end of the long day, the two walked home, side by side.

Although Maihime told Izayoi about all this, Izayoi still could not help but feel that the girl was still keeping some things secret.

It was as though she told him everything on the surface– everything that happened as it were– but in the end, she still beat around the bush when it came down to it. Still, just as how Maihime was Maihime, Izayoi was himself as well: He did not question it. They had met only just recently. While they do spend the majority of the day in each other's presence, it was just simply the novelty effect, Izayoi believed, they were not actually anywhere near as close to each other as a stranger would believe if they looked from afar.

If Maihime decided she would tell him, then she would. Otherwise, there was just nothing he could do about it.

That was the last time Maihime ever visited that lonely spot secluded far off within the jumbled mess of the woods.

…

…

—Hot, suffocating, ash billowed– dust– everywhere. Breathing was heavily laborious. Walking was unnaturally strenuous. His entire body felt heavy, as though a thousand tons was being pressed down on him from all angles.

The scenery was dreary— dark grey plumes rose in the distance— the sky, disjointed and red— rubble laid barren for kilometers all around.

Smells assault his nostrils: Disgusting smells, luscious smells— nauseating sweet, fatty, steaky— and putrid smells, like sulfur, like charcoal, and rot— it was all mixed, a swill all oh so sickeningly thick, concentrated, and rich— right down to the point of almost tangible taste— human.

Hundred of bodies laid bare amidst the rubble: Some charred, some freshly bleeding, and some twisted in horrendous angles like the broken doll of an adolescent girl.

There were screams– screams of terror but filled more than with just fright– all encompassing.

There was somewhere he needed to go. There was something he needed to look for.

When he moved, the world shifted before him. With every step, the world flew by in streaks of color.

Then he looked down.

In his hands, a single letter.

It was white… simple… smooth, crisp… and on it, a name.

[To: Sakamaki izayoi]

—His name…

He stopped, and slowly, carefully– and meticulously so– he reached to tear it open.

The fine textures of bleached paper, ear tickling shearing noises—

Slowly…

Carefully…

The little slip of paper tucked securely inside…

"…!"

—Violet eyes, extraordinary, and displeased, awakened.

"So close."

Izayoi closed his eyes in recollection. His dream just now… it was so close, but yet still ever so far away. From the previous time to the now, his dream was even more vivid. Just speaking of comparisons, there was… more— just, more— lots more even. Little details, big details, important details, unimportant details, it mattered not; there was simply just more to his dream. If it could be compared to a merger canvas before, it was now well on its way towards completion. It was quite a big jump in the gap of quality, despite the paltry amount of actual progress.

"So very close…"

As though reaching out to snatch it, Izayoi grasped his hand into a fist. He stared blankly as he opened and closed it. That letter— he had hoped to at least see the contents of it, even if it was just a glimpse. Alas, next time was the key.

Getting onto his feet, Izayoi slipped out of the heavy blankets swiftly and soundlessly. Indeed, he took special care to be soundless and swift, as next to him had been his bedmate, Maihime, sharing the same blanket and resting space. There she was, a mound and blissfully unaware of anything as she was being catered to by the sweetness of her dreams.

It was dark, but not quite pitch black. Izayoi glanced to his left at the digital clock by the bedside.

Midnight– the start of his day.

This little piece of technology was not originally native to the room. Maihime, being Maihime, had no need or desire for such a thing in the first place. Izayoi had to push for it to be put in addition to the bedside, his bedside of course. "Basic functional necessities," so he said. The young girl did not understand a word he said, needless to say.

To wake up at half past midnight— this was the start of a day in the young Sakamaki Izayoi's life.

Starting off, Izayoi went to freshen up– brush his teeth, take a shower, what have you. It was the six-in-the-morning ritual for anybody else, except it was just six-earlier-in-the-morning for Izayoi.

A short while later, Izayoi found himself wandering in the long and empty halls of the Tenkawa manor. It was raining furiously outside, otherwise he would have elected to go out on a midnight stroll a little later. As of now, he aimed for the kitchen for a glass of water; he sometimes found his throat dry after waking up. But he did not want to eat or drink anything with sustenance until sunrise, when the servants of the household would serve breakfast for the Tenkawa mother and daughter (and himself as well by extension).

It was still one in the midnight after all, he had supper merely six hours ago. It was called "breakfast" for a reason, because it broke the fast of yesternight— a fast of six hours could not nearly be called a "fast," so he believed. Coffee was a no go as well. His new sleeping schedule required him to take frequent short rests throughout the day– with the next one just three hours away– he could not afford to mess up this sleep schedule just as his body was starting to adapt to it.

The kitchen was a rather large space, slightly dated, but still with all the proper amenities to serve up the Japanese staples. A lot of the ingredients were already prepped it seemed. Chopped potatoes, carrots, onions, poultry— all placed in weaved bamboo baskets and placed inside the walk in refrigerator.

"Curry, it seems."

After looking through the ingredients, Izayoi speculated. Because the servants always prep for meals the night prior, Izayoi always found a little bit of excitement in taking shots at what the meals for the day could be whenever he came to the kitchen at this time.

"Then… let's get out of here quickly."

Izayoi left the kitchen as soon as he finished his drink and rinsed out the cup. The servants did not like him coming into the kitchen area like this. Too many knives and dangerous equipment to children, so they told him. If he wanted to get something from the kitchen, such as a glass of water or juice, he should ask a servant instead.

He was not about to go and wake up someone at one past midnight to ask for them to pour him a glass of water. He was young, not imbecilic; something like this he could do for himself.

…

Click.

Click.

Click.

About a quarter after one, lights– both on the ceiling and on the walls– turned bright as their corresponding switches were flipped one after another and by the entryway of the room as this happened stood a single figure—

Sakamaki Izayoi casually dropped a heavy brass key into his pockets. Once in the room, he casually closed the vault door behind him. Said vault door was one of those meter-thick and several ton heavy round vault doors reminiscent of those found in banks and treasuries, but this boy still managed to casually swing it open and close it behind his back like nothing before locking it from within. Nobody was to enter or exit from this room without express intent from the head of the house… the same head of the house which was now currently the Tenkawa mother and also the same one who had given the boy this key first thing upon his arrival to the manor.

This was part of the terms of his adoption, made secretly in the car ride from the orphanage.

". . ."

In truth, there was actually a little known fact about this blonde haired boy, Sakamaki Izayoi— an open secret, privy only to those who have attempted to adopt him in the past. It came naturally that the Tenkawa mother knew about this little secret before adopting Izayoi. In fact, it was only because of this piece of information that the Tenkawa mother got out of her way to adopt the boy into her family.

This secret— it was quite obvious from the get-go to anybody who had seen the kind of things Izayoi could do, or even just met the boy in person, that he was far from a normal ten year old juvenile boy. From his immense intellect, to his warped outlook about life, the kind of things he could pull without batting an eye, and especially his extensive prowess on the field of white collar work, none of these were reasonable.

This was a ten year old boy who could speak of social debauchery and bribery in the same sentence, mention tax evasion and legal exploitations as though they were simple things, and then perform everything he said he would without batting a second eye… but not without repercussion.

—Strength of body.

—Wisdom of mind.

—A will of pure iron.

From birth, the child was awesome— the biblical interpretation of awesome. If one took into account all the things which he was capable of, and then proceeded to think on it even just a little, then it was clear. One would indeed feel mingled dread, veneration, and wonder towards this miracle of a child.

These three traits, when mixed together, resulted in the human being known as Sakamaki Izayoi. Mere words could not describe the extent to which these three traits extended. Nay, Sakamaki Izayoi could not be described as a product of the modern era— he was something that came straight out of a legend— a "myth-revived" in every sense of the word. This was not something that was just on the level of being simply very intelligent or being very strong, nay. In this case, the truth was more outlandish than fiction. What Izayoi could achieve broke and defied mankind's understanding of the laws of physics and entered the realm of mythos and magic.

—Make no mistake however. Sakamaki Izayoi was no "hero" out of a legend; he was the devil born in human skin.

To adopt him was the same thing as to sign one's contract in blood. Like a gentleman, he would first tempt his "contractors" with offers of wealth, fame, luxury, and fortune. Then he would start small: Quick investments which would see returns of thousands within the same day, tickets to well sought after events, and other such menial things.

His sweet words, filled with only truths and thick with venom, would work themselves into the minds of those poor souls– lulling innocent men into false security– and tempting honest men into decadence and dishonesty. This "boy" would, without fail, finish his work within the week until the pressure and stimulus from the newfound power at their fingertips turned those foster parents into broken messes. And when the time came for them to beg for the devil to annul their contracts, he would do so glady, only to then enact his payment in the form only a devil would.

If he had not been taken in by the Tenkawa mother at the time that he did, then eventually he would have moved onto doing things of a much darker nature than to simply over stimulate his foster parents. He was never afraid of the repercussions of his actions, because he never cared about the world and he understood that when it came down to it, he could get out of anything if he truly wanted to.

But what had been so special about the Tenkawa mother that was different from the rest of them? The difference had was something remarkably simple.

"Time to get to work. Today, I'll finish this section."

—The studies.

Or more accurately, this was the repository in the basement where all the records, taxes, and other such miscellaneous important documents that pertained to the Tenkawa household were stored.

This was really not the true "studies," which doubled as the library where all the literary works in the manor could be found. The true "studies" was a place where the previous head of house would go to sit and drink hard liquor while sitting by the lit fireplace. The "office" for that matter, was an entirely different place where guests who came for official business would sit at, therefore it was just a boring place with a desk and some soft leather sitting paraphernalia in front of it.

The repository Izayoi stood in now actually housed long-term all the legal papers for the Tenkawa household. And because he foresaw just how much time he would be spending here in the future if he wanted to do the things that were given to him to do, Izayoi, after moving into the manor, wasted absolutely no time in shuffling out the shelves and boxes to clear out his own practical little corner where he could sit in peace and do work.

This was the deal— rather, this was part of the deal. The Tenkawa mother placed a great deal of trust and responsibility on Izayoi. In return, he rendered his services, but not for the sake of her. No, what the Tenkawa mother asked of him, was to simply take care of one person and be the pillar of foundation that supported that person's life. And in return…

"Plenty of things to do, let's get to work," walking over, Izayoi stretched his arms.

Right now though, this miracle child, this myth-reborn, merely sat at a cheap plastic table reading over dusty files and documents for the Tenkawa household.

It would not be until several hours later, at four proper, when Izayoi would take a break again for a glass of water and another short rest.

…

Sunrise, but raining still.

"You got everything?"

Izayoi stood by the door cross armed.

"Yep yep!"

Standing outside under an open umbrella held by a servant of the house, Maihime nodded twice.

"How was breakfast?" before heading off the girl asked.

"Pft, who serves curry for breakfast?"

"I thought it was a good idea, hey!"

"So then it was you, wasn't it!" Izayoi glared.

Maihime laughed.

"See you later!"

"See you."

Acknowledging Maihime's response, Izayoi waved his hand and clicked the door shut as he retreated back into the central heated interior of the Tenkawa manor.

It was September now, school had resumed for Maihime rain or shine. But for Izayoi, nothing had changed about his schedule. It was in the very fundamentals of his agreements when he was first adopted that he would not be forced to attend any form of compulsory schooling; above all else, this was the one thing he was utterly adamant about. In spite of this, as someone who would be one of the fundamental pillars of the Tenkawa household later on in the future, Izayoi could not skimp out on school. Therefore, Izayoi and the Tenkawa mother came to a consensus of their own.

Izayoi would have to take the equivalence of an university-level entrance exam. As long as he could complete the exam with a score higher than 95% before he reached a certain age, he would be freed from this responsibility.

Still, that was long and far into the future. He would probably spend a couple review sessions prior to it, whenever it took place. Otherwise, it was not even something that was worthy of occupying a space in Izayoi's mind. Aside from interesting stories and literature, academia had no place in his interests.

…

At noontime, Izayoi still had his back arched and nose buried in a pile of documents.

"Aah, so boring," Izayoi kicked back against his chair and played balance with the chair on two legs.

It was boring; it really was. At this point, what he was doing was no different than someone scanning all the books in a library to a digital archive, except with the digital archive being his brain and the books being boorish and moldy tax forms and the likes.

"Ahhhh, this really is boring. Lawyers and accountants sure have it tough, eh."

How was anyone supposed to stay focused and work when they have been doing the same thing for the past twelve hours? That was what Izayoi wanted to know.

"Though… I suppose this isn't all that different from what I was doing before."

Breathing out a deep sigh and still immersed in the delicate balancing act of the chair on two legs, Izayoi closed his eyes. Just what was it that he did in the past, prior to this? Well, he was acting like a good kid. No, that was the wrong way to describe it, Izayoi thought. Due to the negative light that Izayoi saw all humans in, being creatures inherently evil and selfish, he was acting like a "good" kid with all the deeper intentions kept behind a thick veil.

As a result things turned out in a way where he was like the devil whispering over one's shoulders by doing everything his foster parents asked of him, perfectly, until they asked more of him— or rather, until he suggested they asked more of him. Then he would do the things– starting from menial to significant– that were assigned of him perfectly as well. All the way up to the point where the power no longer lied in the foster parents' hands and they were desperately dependant on the things that only he could do. By this point, even things such as blackmailing or steeping hands in the the underground world were up in the air.

Naturally, this was far too much stimulus for ten out of ten of the general law abiding citizens of Japan, whose original intentions were just to adopt a boy out of goodwill. The rest became history.

But you know, Izayoi was far from being a fool. He could do all this amazing feats, so naturally he understood just what it was he was doing in the first place. He understood what kind of position his views on human nature placed him in, and how these views affected his actions. He was dragging the greed out of good and honest natured people. Just like how rules and laws were placed to keep honest men honest, removing those rules and laws would tempt the honest man at every corner.

"Maybe I'm the bad guy here…" so sayeth the devil.

What an absolute piece of work he was, Izayoi scoffed. All this time, he observed the people across from him in a bad light, but never once did he consider himself in front of that judging light. Perhaps out of them all, he was the one who was truly and inherently the most evil of them all. But knowing was different from doing. As a person, he naturally could not place himself as the antagonist of his life.

...Not that any of it mattered anymore anyhow. Izayoi came to an agreement with the Tenkawa mother's woes; he stood to gain from his side, as did the Tenkawa mother. What was done, was now done. Here he was, now under the Tenkawa wing, so what he needed to do was no different than before: Sit still and do what he was told. He would not need to think any further about it.

…

". . ."

Dark. Still and dark.

From a dreamless slumber, he awoken.

Izayoi opened his eyes slowly

What time was it? Was it three now?

Izayoi opened his eyes slowly.

What time was it? Three, most likely. He checked.

—15:17

"School just ended," closing his eyes again, Izayoi murmured. Now that it three past noon, Maihime would soon be back to the manor to do her own thing. He should get up as well as he was beginning to feel a little hungry. Not since breakfast had he consumed anything after all. Curry two meals in a row was just fine in his books.

—"Hey there, you shouldn't be sleeping in all day!"

Speak of the devil and it shall come; Izayoi waved his hand without bothering to get up.

"I see you're back early."

"Silly you, how can you see anything if your eyes are closed?"

"Same as always. Aren't you back a little early?" Izayoi asked, ears itching slightly about what the girl had to say about her situation.

Maihime placed down her bag and changed out of her jacket.

"Well, it is raining after all. There's nothing I could do even if I wanted to."

"It is, isn't it? It's a nice weather: Dark, wet, gloomy. But a change of pace every once in awhile would be good as well."

"I agree. Ah, wait! Maybe we should go jumping in puddles when the rain stops! Have you ever done it before? It's real fun, I promise! I know this real good place where there are lots of puddles as well!"

"A rice farm. A rice farm, you mean, with lots of puddles," Izayoi responded. However, Maihime did not quite understand, not from the way her head tilted and her expression met an expression of puzzlement.

"A rice farm?" Maihime repeated before giving the boy a look as though he had just said something purely idiotic, "What does a rice farm have to do with this? I was talking about the park near the big bridge!" Maihime waved her arms big, "I've been there with Hotaru-chan once, after a big storm, and the puddles were this big! You wouldn't believe it!"

"And…?" Izayoi asked.

"And then we left because we were in the middle of being taken home in the car."

"Eh. From the way you were talking about it, I would have thought…" Izayoi reeled.

"'Next time!' There was always next time, I thought to myself, so I let it go. I have still been meaning to go there again someday."

"So what of it?" he asked. Going out jumping into puddles really was not his idea of a fun time. His clothes would get all soaked, his shoes would get stained with mud, and if Maihime tripped and fell, then there would be hell with the cleanup afterwards.

"Naturally, what else of it?"

"In the end, you're just trying to rope me into it, aren't you?"

"Of course!" nodding with a second thought, Maihime gave out a smile without a second thought as well.

"Ehh… I'll, I will think about it."

—Izayoi never even gave it a second thought.

…

…

In the office, with the glazed oak shelves, maroon carpet, black sofas, and coffee table down the middle were the pair of youths.

"Hey… what are you eating?" Maihime slowly eyed Izayoi from where she sat on the carpet. Her eyes peeked up, with the girl clearly looking for a distraction from her work at the coffee table. There were several sprawled out worksheets as well as a pencil tossed carelessly to the side and an empty glass of juice. Maihime herself leaned back against the foot of the sofa to recover from the mental exhaustion of doing her take-on school activities.

Hearing this, Izayoi, cross legged, stared at the thing on his plate with an opened mouth.

"Some type of pastry of French origins. The insides have a cream filling with some bits of chopped fruit mixed in. It has a sweet taste when you first bite into it followed by a zesty flavor as you take it in."

"No! Why? Don't describe it to me like that!" Maihime exclaimed with a wail, covering her ears in distress. Clearly, she was quite on the peckish side herself after all the work her brain did, not to mention listening to it like that did wonders in causing her to feel even more of the hunger pangs in her stomach.

"No, in the first place, where and when did you even get that!" Maihime demanded. It was still raining outside, but somehow during the time from when she met Izayoi sleeping to now, he managed to get his hands on some sweets to go with tea.

"Come on now, what are you talking about? When the house servants came earlier, they asked if we wanted anything right?"

"Yes, but what about it?" Maihime worded out slowly, not quite sure what he was getting it.

"You asked for juice, and I asked for something light to go with tea."

"No no no, there is no way that thing you are eating is 'light.'"

"Even if you deny it like this, it won't change the truth."

"I've never seen something like that before in this house, and I have been living here my entire life!"

"So what?" Izayoi sat unchanged, "I asked the house servants to get this for me yesterday. If you want some, then ask for it—"

"May I try some?" with a soft voice uncharacteristic of her normally, Maihime said right away, interjecting before Izayoi could even finish.

He blinked unknowingly.

She blinked responsively.

Izayoi took out a small white container tucked out of Maihime's sight. It held the other of the pastry.

"Take it, take it all."

…

"You're pretty diligent at this."

In a moment, the house servants took away the used dishes and glasses. Izayoi himself had been silently lazing about on the couch while keeping an eye on Maihime's work.

"I have to get good grades after all, don't you think?" the girl answered briefly and heavily, answering both as though it was the natural thing for her to do and as though it was a subject had given a lot of thought to.

Her father was dead. Her grandfather was also dead. It was just now her mother left now, and who knew how long she would able to last either. Every parent wants their child to have good grades and be successful in school, right? That was what Maihime understood. Academia was an important thing, therefore during this stressful time, she should be showing her efforts in school to give some peace of mind to her mother.

To her mother's grief, what Maihime did not realize was how her own happiness during these times was far more important to her mother than some red markings she would get on a piece of paper.

Mental health was a serious topic. Having two very close parental figures die off in quick succession would scar the mind of any developing child. That was the reason why Izayoi was there. That was the reason why Maihime's mother begged for Izayoi to stay.

"Is it fun?"

"What is? Homework?"

"School. Is it fun?"

Izayoi looked at Maihime as he restated himself. It was a weird question to come off from him, who had never really went to school himself.

"I'm just wondering," Izayoi quickly added. He was not really interested in going to school himself, truly, but at the same time he did not want to sell him sell himself short in this position.

"Mh…" Maihime mused herself for an answer. "Fun? I wouldn't say it is exactly that…"

Unlike how she normally was, this time Maihime was rather hard pressed for a proper way to answer Izayoi. It was a difficult feeling to express, as though the right words would express the wrong intent.

"It's something I just have to do, you know?"

The place known as "school" was just not a good place for Maihime. "School" for her was a place filled with just as much bad memories and experiences as it was filled with depressing moments— that was to say a lot.

She was bullied. She was ignored. She was taken advantage of. Her only solace in that crude life was her friend Rindou Hotaru. But she could not be everywhere; her "Hotaru-chan" could not be there to protect her always.

"Are you done with the worksheet? Hand it over. Let me take a look," noting the way Maihime placed the piece of paper on the table, Izayoi reached out with his hand in a gesture that indicated his intent.

"Alright."

"Eh."

"Say, why don't you go to school, Izayoi?"

"Why?" Izayoi raised.

He did not know if he said it in a wrong tone or if it was something else, but Maihime quickly added as an after statement, "I've been meaning to ask for a while now actually. You mentioned it once, how you don't go to school, but I've never asked why. I thought it was a sensitive topic and all…"

"Ha!" Izayoi laughed.

"It's not?" she asked.

"It's not."

"Mm."

"Mm?" Izayoi repeated the muse.

"I guess I was right that I was worrying over nothing."

"You're a quick one."

The two of them leaned back to relax: Izayoi against the back of the couch, and Maihime against the leg of it.

Izayoi tasted the question around with his tongue. Why did he not go to school? A whole slew of reasonings sprung up in his head now that he thought to it, with some of these answers being what he tended to reserve for people he cared much less about.

Izayoi breathed out deeply. What he thought originally to be a simple question grew more and more in complexity the longer he mused about it. He felt that Maihime deserved something more than an offhanded answer, hence his struggles. Every since he passed a certain age, he hopped around and changed residencies about as much as a fugitive of the state would have. He never stayed in any one place long enough to enroll in any kind of school, and he never kept in contact with anybody long enough to make friends with them. And eventually he just stopped bothering altogether, going to school and attempting to make any gestures of communication towards other people.

"Why did I not go to school, you ask?"

Sitting up straight, Maihime nodded attentively to the question.

"Let me ask you a question to answer a question then."

"Alright?" the girl tilted her head. She was slightly confused, but still open to anything.

"Why do you go to school?"

"Why do I go to school? Because I have to, of course."

Hearing this kind of a response, Izayoi shook his head. Clearly, she missed his meaning.

"No, I meant why does a person go to school?"

"Because their parents tell them to."

"The purpose of going to school is to receive an education. You learned how to read, how to write, how to count, and supposedly how to make friends as well."

"So that's why you don't have any friends!" Maihime exclaimed.

"I suppose so."

"Well, I only have Hotaru-chan as well, so I think we both failed at that subject."

A short laugh was shared between the two of them.

"But well, you see, aside from the last one, I already know how to do all those things," Izayoi said, riding onto the tail of the joke as he continued on. "You know how I lived before coming here, yes?"

"No, actually, I don't," Maihime said, "It never came up to me to think about that."

"Well, I lived in a foster home before this. And before even that, my birth parents kicked the bucket; they died, for some unknown reason, and I was left in the custody of the government. I don't have any relatives either. We're not so different, you and I. But in any case, after I was put into the government's hands, I started to be bounced from foster home to foster home when they couldn't stand me any longer. It was a forgettable time, nothing interesting whatsoever happened here."

"What about school?"

"There was a time when I did go to school and was enrolled in a new one every time I bounced homes. Sometimes the new foster parent would live close to the last one and so I would be able to stay, but other times, I would be moved across the country and be forced to enroll and transfer. Quite frankly, it was a pain in the neck. What a hassle. I could not learn anything like that. Well, it wasn't like I had anything to learn at that level anyhow. Still, I got tired of the charade. After the second year, I told them no when they tried to transfer me to a new school yet again."

"How did you manage to get out of it?" Maihime asked. She had no idea how the goings-on and inner workings of things likes these played out.

"Well, here in Japan, schooling for grades one through nine are mandatory, so I took a graduation exam. It's something that a person might take to prove that they already know all the material that would be taught in a peculiar school year. It's not given out normally, but people who skip grades would also take these."

"Oh, I know about that!" the girl exclaimed, "I took one of those when I was in the third grade!"

"Eh, you did?" it was Izayoi's turn to be taken aback. That came as a surprise to him. He never took Maihime to be someone who would be good at academia. Sure, it was merely the third grade exam, but still...

"Yes! What's with that look?"

"Ah, well, anyways, though this exam would normally be used for someone to skip a grade or so, it had never been taken to the capacity that I had it. I was tired of going to school like some stray dog being tossed around homes of relatives whenever the previous owner got tired of the novelty. I took every exam up to the final grade nine one in one sitting. I was in the second grade then, so it was a total of eight exams in one go."

Izayoi closed his eyes then shook his head. As he sighed exasperatedly, he spoke, with a tone as though he was about to talk about some great tragedy such as the loss of something he greatly treasured, "And then that's where all the trouble grew far out of proportions. After going through those exams, I was hailed as some outlandish once-in-a millennium genius or prodigy or something. And when word got out about how often I switched families as a foster child, people started flocking by the hundreds to try and get a chance to adopt me. Some even went as far as to bribe or threaten the families I stayed with at the time."

"It wasn't a very fun time for you, was it?"

Izayoi scoffed at Maihime's words, "Yeah, no kidding. Imagine spending all that trouble moving from one home to another, all those days spent riding in a car, getting used to a new home, the people there, only to get booted out before the end of the week to repeat the cycle all over again. Ridiculous! Just plain and simple. And a pain in the neck! I never got a single good night of rest during those days. Ah, my bad, I hope you aren't getting turned off by this. I finished checking your homework as well."

"It's okay, I want to learn more about you so I'm very interested. Ah, how did I do?"

"Passable."

"I'll take your word for it."

"All in all, after I finished taking the exams in order to make my life easier, my life became equally worse off. Much more worse off actually, to the truth. Such a chaotic time, that was. I think I switched foster homes at least fifty times in that first year. And the roughest period was when I went through four homes in one week. I started getting offers to go on tv shows, scholarships, invitations to attend certain universities, among other things."

"Did you accept any of them?" with white hair resting on the seat of the couch, the girl asked curiously.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know…?"

"I was just a poor foster child, right? What did I know?" Izayoi smirked and Maihime could not help but to get the feeling that there was just a hint of malicious intent buried deep within his speech.

"Yes, what did I know?" Izayoi continued, "I was just a poor helpless foster child after all. My foster 'parents' held all responsibility for my decisions and actions. I was the holy grail of prizes and everybody wanted to grab and take a piece of me home for their own gains. And since everybody wanted to get a piece of me… I made sure to make myself open at all times."

"Hey… are you alright, you're scaring me…"

"Everybody became blinded by greed. I would be passed on from family to family, bribed— sold to the next foster family at an ever increasing amount by the next highest bidder."

"Izayoi…?"

"So do you know what I did?" Izayoi smiled grimly. His voice was clearly worked up, excited in a way Maihime had never seen before. She did not know if he was aware of it himself, but he spoke with greater emotion and zeal than he had ever before, like he took great joy in his actions.

"It was great, you know! I exposed them, every last one! It was clearly against the law to traffic children. Although this was not exactly trafficking per se, it did not take much convincing for the authorities and judges to think the way I wanted them to. But of course, I did let them enjoy it a bit first. I am generous like that. I let them take in the enjoyment of being suddenly rich and feeling important. It's very important, Maihime. Because the greater the high they reach, the farther they get to fall. And you know what else?" Izayoi asked hysterically.

"I made sure to make time to visit each and every one of them after they were taken into custody and thrown in prison. I specifically opened up my schedule to have regular visits. I am just an innocent kid, visiting his past foster parents to show concern, right? As an innocent kid, how would I know why they were thrown in prison like that, so I simply must go and give them company, right? As a caring child, I wouldn't want anything else, right?"

"Izayoi, stop, please…"

"I went to sleep every night looking in anticipation for the next time I would get to visit one of them. Say, Maihime, do you know how they treat child traffickers in prison? They get the absolute worst treatment. Honor among thieves; comradery upon prisoners— but do you know what happens to people who abuse children? They are treated worse than shit! The way loneliness twists a person's soul when they are socially outcasted and harassed day and night— the way these same people would cling onto the comfort and longing of home and look upon it as their one light in the darkness— it was great, Maihime. It was the absolute best feeling in the world! I would spy at their hopeful faces from a far off corner as the wardens spoke with them and got their hopes up that a family member would be coming to visit them, and then revel in the way all of that hope melts into despair as I show up to meet them eye to eye. I thrived on it, Maihime. It was the one thing in this shitty life that I looked forward to—"

"—Izayoi!" Maihime mustered aloud finally.

"—Maihime!" Izayoi snapped, smashing his fist into the armrest of the seat. The entire second floor of the manor buckled as a shower of splinters exploded out the side of the sofa and flew all across the room. It was a rare display of anger from the blonde haired youth, and the violence displayed was something far beyond the ability of a fully grown man, much less coming from an adolescent.

He needed this right now, his teeth gritted tightly. He so desperately needed this right now. Four years. For four entire years, he had to endure all of this without say nor complaint nor anyone to confide with. To be able to take it off his chest and speak with this to someone was his catharsis.

—Do not take this moment away from me, his eyes seemed to say.

Maihime turned away and shut her eyes trembling. But she did not leave. She did not say no either. She decided from this point that she would hear the end of this, despite how much it frightened her. This was not the boy– Izayoi– which she had came to grow fond of and gotten to know over these weeks.

There was a look of silent gratefulness in Izayoi's eyes as understanding passed between the two.

"Yes… those fools…" looking up towards the light, Izayoi leaned back in his couchIn that moment, he looked many tens of years older, "The last time I checked, the earliest the next one would get out of prison would be in another seven years while the harshest one would only be in there for another fifty. I wish it would be longer; I wish I could make their sentence lifelong. But I cannot. Alas, I cannot. It was somewhere during this that I decided I would take this to the end. No, I am not trying to be an ally of justice. I am not trying to do this for anything like the greater good or for the betterment of humankind. I am not a hero like that. I am selfish. I am more selfish than anyone else you know, Maihime. Don't be tricked by my looks and seemingly relaxed behavior. I am the absolute worst person you know, or will ever get to know, Maihime."

Izayoi exhaled with a soft chuckle, just as though there was something deeply funny to him with the words he had just said.

"No, there's nothing wrong. I just found it funny imagining myself as wearing a cloak and going around serving as some ally of justice. Ahaha… not in this life," Izayoi simply shook his head, "Have I ever thought about becoming one? I mean, I wouldn't deny that I haven't, but I'm far too much a villain to become something as brilliant like that. But, you know… what was I supposed to do? Maihime, what was I supposed to do? What else could I have done? Be a good child and just listened obediently like what they teach children to do everywhere?"

The boy stared at his hands, then clenched it tight, into a ball that was no bigger than even a tennis ball.

Such tiny hands, yet so many things, atrocious and foolish, had been done with them as the culprit.

"Never! So what if I went out of my way to drag the evil out of the heart of men? So what if I tempted honest men into giving into the avarice buried deep within their hearts all for the sake of my own satisfaction when they finally get their comeuppance? I don't care! I never cared! But…" Izayoi gazed into Maihime's eyes blood red and deep like the color of wine, "I look sad…? Haha… does it seem that way to you? Maybe I am. Maybe all I ever wanted in my life was to be able to live happily like a good boy and have loving parents who didn't try to take advantage of me and was able to see me for who I am. However! That is something that will never happen. Not here. Not anywhere. It is too late for me. I am a villain beyond saving. Don't be sad, Maihime. It's been too late for me. Long before I met you and you met me, I already passed the point of no return. But I am thankful for this, Maihime. I don't think I have to say what for.

"Maihime, I don't think I can ever be the same anymore. I don't think I ever want to be either. I have changed. I am tired, Maihime. I am just tired of this forsaken world and all the people who dance across it like some string puppets across a stage. Do you understand? There is nothing for me here. Everything is the same, dull, monochrome to me. People may die on the news every day. Empires may rise and fall. Countries may go to war. But in the end, the world still revolves once a day and orbits the sun once a year. We are still but a speck compared to the grand splendour of the universe. I am just tired of it all, Maihime. I am sick and tired of it all— everything! Maybe if I had acted like a good little boy all those years ago. Maybe if I had just listened to those goddamn wishes of those foster parents,then everything might have turned out differently.

"Can you imagine it? I would have never met you, and you would have never seen me. I could have grown up 'happy' as could be. Well, as 'happy' as growing up in a middle class family, going to school, making 'friends,' graduating from a prestigious university, and then finding a stable job becoming a corporate slave for the rest of my life like the rest of the fifty-odd million working adults of this country. Now that would have been a sight to behold! But Maihime, do you know why I could not do this? The answer is a simple one. Because I would have become a stifled soul. You should know how this feels, right? You have to keep up with the expectations of everyone around you, regardless if you even know their faces or not. Do you think I could have put up with that for the rest of my life? I would sooner destroy the world than to go through something like that.

"I have grown too accustomed to this life where I expect everything in the world to be turned against me. I can't live in peace anymore. When I sleep, I don't dream of brighter days; I dream of the people who have plotted against me, people who might be plotting against me even now. I dream of the things I wish I could do to them. I dream of the things I would do against them. While you slumber in your merry land of dreams, I am awake, toiling away at my responsibility and to keep the dreams away. And when I do end up sleeping, it is of pitch black dreams.

"If there is ever the possibility where I could go back to a simpler time, I would turn it down without a doubt. Even if the world was rainbow colored and I could be confident that nothing bad ever could happen, my heart and soul would still be dyed pitch black. I would always still take every step cautiously. I would check my food for poison, flip furnitures for wiretaps, and read the fineprint of every contract for ways it could exploit me and for ways I could exploit it. Do you get it now? I am beyond hope, not here, in this life.

"Maihime, I don't take enjoyment in the suffering of others. Do you think I, of all people, could truly be so dull as to take glee from such shallow forms of entertainment? Do you want to know why I do what I do? Do you want to know why I go so out of my way just to make it so my foster parents beg for me to be taken away? It is because I am the kind of trash who takes enjoyment wallowing in a pool of his own misery and spitting others who try to lend a helping hand. Out of everything else in this bland and pitiful world, this is the one thing I can find solace in. Do you think I like having to jump from foster parent to foster parent once a week? Do you know how disappointed I feel every single time one of these 'foster parents' beg for me to go? Do you think I find enjoyment out of this?

"I do find enjoyment out of this. In fact, I get the same enjoyment out of it as people who make the conscious decision to fuck up their bodies with drugs and alcohol all for the sake of that sweet rush before it dies down and they have to feel the full brunt of the drawbacks before they can do it all over again. And after so long, this whole thing has become a lame game to me, all for the sake of that unadulterated rush of endorphins that washes over me whenever I manage to send one of those guys to prison. It made me feel something in this forsaken life, Maihime. Can you understand my feelings? That's why I did it. That's why I kept on doing it."

Izayoi shut his eyes momentarily. He was reflecting on his words just as much as he was reflecting upon his life up until now.

"You be you, Maihime," Izayoi whispered whilst still reflecting on his thoughts, "You stay who you are. You are too good for this world, but that does not mean you have to come and cross into mine. It is not worth it. Do not come across that line between you and me. It is not merely a simple line drawn in the dirt; it is a deep and treacherous gorge. So don't do it Maihime. Don't you dare do it Maihime. I walk my path that takes me to my hell; you walk yours that lets you ascend to the heavens. Do not take pity on me. Whatever you do, DO NOT take pity on me Maihime. Don't do it. The higher you are, the more clear you are in the sights of those who wish you shoot you down. Don't let it happen; don't let yourself be shot down just because you wish to take pity on me."

"Izayoi…"

Maihime herself did not know how to feel. It was too sudden. It came far too unexpectedly.

How? Why? What should she do? What could she do? Just as Izayoi was lost in his world reflecting, she was also lost and confused in her own world of thoughts.

Too sudden; all of it was just too sudden. All this information hit her like she was at the bottom of a dam just before it collapsed and crushed her underneath— and it hurt, unbelievably so. It hurt for her to even just take this all in, to the point of her holding back her tears as well.

"Izayoi…" she mustered up once again.

Impossible. It was just impossible. She tried to say more, but the lump quickly forming in her throat prevented her from uttering even a syllable. She was at a lost of words; there were too many things she wished to say and express. She did not understand how she was supposed to feel; her heart was a vortex, churning with too many emotions that gave birth to an endless amount of feelings too complex for her rudimentary vocabulary to express.

The entire time, she viewed Izayoi as that invincible older figure that she never had. She had fun with it, she truly did. It was one of the best times in her life that help brought her out of that emotional low caused by the lost of her loved ones. Losing one was already enough. Two was two-too-many.

But she did not know— how could she have known? It was not as though Izayoi's situation was public information. This entire time, she…

". . ."

Maihime's body trembled. When she stole a glance at Izayoi's figure on the shattered couch, his back was slouched and his entire face was leaning into his hands. Just the sight of it made her feel miserable. And before she knew it…

"Maihime…" Izayoi looked up.

"Nn," she mustered whatever strength she had in that thin body of hers and pulled him into a tight embrace, "I… I don't really get it, what you said, or what you meant. I am inexperienced and naive, I know. There's a lot of things I don't know about yet too. But here now, I understood your feelings."

"I see… this is just like you, huh…" the boy smiled bitterly, but it was fine. This was just like her, after all. Although they had only known each other for a scant few weeks, they had grown close unmistakably. If not from before, after what he had divulged just now, they certainly had. Brother and sister, Izayoi could start to feel the bond of that connection now.

"I… You said that I should be myself, right?" Maihime whispered into the ears of her brother, "Then this, this is me being myself."

…

…

…

…

A young man with white hair and grey attire.

A beautiful maiden with long black hair and a dress filled with knives.

One stood ahead of the other, but not too far. The maiden was several steps back— a distance not too close, but not too far for her to rush to the man's sides at a moment's notice in case anything went awry.

"Your highness," the maiden spoke with respect. Her gaze was directed to the man in grey and her tone was filled with duty, however, there was also something a little extra within it. Love? Dependence? That was not it. It was slightly different than that. However, judging from the aura that the two emanated together, it would be a forgivable mistake if anyone saw them as lovers. Alas, however close to the truth this may actually be, the two shared a different relationship with each other.

The young man known as "Highness" focused on a white envelope held in his hands: The name of the recipient along with stamping the envelope with a red wax seal.

"Your Highness," the maiden spoke again, asking him, "do you think it will be this simple? Will he really open the letter just like that?"

"Rin," Highness smiled as he looked over to the maiden.

The maiden, Rin, immediately became attentive for the next few words that would come out of the man's mouth.

"Only time will tell. We cannot rush, lest our "Savior," "Hero," disappear on us once again."

"But how long will we have to wait? It's been so long already. The children in that community have all grown up already! Even the youngest of the bunch is already old enough to be a working adult!"

"As I have said, only time will tell. Worrying over our only option is quite meaningless. To begin with, to us, who reside in the Little Garden that lies outside the flow of time, the concept of time is something that loosely affects us in the first place. A hundred years could pass in the lower world and only a single day would have passed here. And just the same, a hundred years could pass here in Little Garden in the time it takes for a person's heart to beat once down in the lower world. But, of course…" Highness paused with a brief hint of a smile, "if need be, we can always pay a him a little visit. It has been a while since I have met him after all. It would be a good opportunity for me to have a quick taste of how he is developing in this world where he never got tamed by that songbird… That was just an idle thought. Don't take anything more from it, Rin."

"Mm…" Rin grew pensive, "but why did it happen in the first place? Everything was going so well! We were fighting with our lives and the fate of everyone on the line, but then Poof! He was gone! We searched everywhere, but he was nowhere! It was only because of your Highness that we all managed to pull through in the end. Do you know something?"

Highness, however, chose to answer indifferently, "Only time will tell. I am not time."

"But your Highness," Rin pressed, "weren't you saddened even just a bit with what happened? Despite your rocky initial conditions, your Highness and him had been through alot together. The times that your Highness fought against each other, the times that your Highness worked together even begrudgingly, everything! Your Highness was the one who was most closely matched with him! Not Yō, not Asuka! He saw your Highness in a different light than all of them! So when that suddenly happened, your Highness, weren't you at least a little shocked by all of it?"

Highness, with white envelope in hand, grew silent as he gazed pensively at the neat letters that spelled out the name of its recipient.

[To: Sakamaki izayoi]

…

…

…

…

Cling. Cling. Cling.

As though rousing from a sweet bed of flowers bathed with the dazzling beams of a sunlit garden, Izayoi eyes opened. Soft light illuminated his senses as the sounds of ringing bells rushed to his ears. The sight of red leaves, fallen yet still drifting through the air in splendor, greeted his clearing gaze as did the leftover decors of yester-season and those who walked about the streets wearing long sleeves and thick coats.

The days were growing increasingly short and the night grew only longer and colder.

At this moment it was slightly chilly, with the air tickling Izayoi's nose as he glanced upwards towards a clear blue sky. He did not hate this kind of season either. The youth inhaled deeply, firstly with his nostrils, then sighed through his mouth.

Autumn.

Time was like a river, flowing on regardless of one's wishes. Prior to his wakening, the vehicle had been parked on the side of the streets. It was the same black vehicle that had come to pick him up from that crumbling excuse of an orphanage all those months ago. Only, now Izayoi was the one who owned the rights to it and employed the chauffeur out of his own pockets.

The boy closed his eyes yet again and allowed himself to be immersed in the melodious sounds that accompanied the drifting winds and chimes. The combination of all the different elements just felt oh so comfortable to him in a way he could not simply describe in words. In a way, even if it was only for a slight moment, it felt like he was drifting into the land of dreams where he could toss aside all worries and simply went with the flow. He managed to doze off just before his, and he felt like he was about to doze off once again soon.

Izayoi continued to sit idly like this for some time. He continuously drifted in and out of sleep like a breeze through open windows.

"It is almost time, young master."

Alas, all simple things must come to an end, sooner or later. Before long, a second bell rang, this time with a much larger, deeper, and slower rhythm: A school bell– one which, when chimed in the morning, announced the dreaded start of school for some and when played half a day later governed the end of school for all.

Shortly following that came the noise of busy children and the peace that Izayoi enjoyed only a scant few moments before had all but evaporated. Izayoi opened his eyes finally and breathed out one final, deep, sigh before finally rolling his back as if to shake the languidness from his body.

As the boy kept a steady gaze into the growing crowd, one peculiar individual surfaced among the many who then waved at the car he sat in. Noting this as his cue, Izayoi stepped out the car with a remarkable practical grace that could only be produced with thousands of rounds of repetition.

By the time the girl, Maihime arrived by his sides, the chauffeur had already long driven off, leaving behind the pair of siblings. On a normal occasion, Izayoi would not have come to pick Maihime up from school personally; the job of that was left to the chauffeur, and at times left to the daughter of the Rindou house, Hotaru. But on no occasions have Izayoi actually come in person. This day however, was a special one.

Incidentally it was also the first day of school again after the end of a long summer vacation… but that was not what made this day special.

"Here," Izayoi offered with the glistening bottle in hand.

"Mm, thanks," Maihime accepted the water graciously and took from it a long sought after draught.

—The reason Izayoi was here today was because the two of them were going to go to a very important place.

"Shall we?" Izayoi asked.

"Let's," the girl nodded slightly to those words before reaching out with her small, but firm, hands.

The brother grasped the hand with a similar firmness and then the two walked, side by side, with strides that was neither too long nor too short for either of them.

…

"Kanagawa is a quiet place," one of them spoke with a quiet voice.

"'Home is where the hearth is supposed to be!'" the other replied merrily.

"Heart. Home is where the heart is," the first corrected the words of his sister.

Before either of them had realized it, the sun had already turned into a setting one. It was Autumn after all. Along the way, Izayoi got the both of them popsicles from a small family run convenience store using pocket change he always kept on hand. "I want peach flavor!" and so he picked the peach flavor.

Not long after their brief exchange, the two siblings fell into silence again. Yet, it was not an awkward or uncomfortable silence. On the contrary, it suited the both of them just fine. They were long beyond that line of familiarity after all.

…

"Hey, Izayoi?"

…

"Yeah, what is it?"

…

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

…

Izayoi looked at his sister with a gaze that seemed to be trying to figure out just what she was thinking.

…

Finally, he responded.

…

"Just about a year now."

Yes, a year— twelve entire months— three hundred and sixty some days. Before he had come to realize it, a year had already passed since Izayoi had been adopted into the Tenkawa family. A lot could happen in a year and a lot truly had happened: In that one single fleeting year, Izayoi's world turned upside down, tumbled a few times, and he found himself firmly rooted in a new life he could not help but find oddly satisfactory… even if there were some things that could never change..

"One entire year? It certainly feels like it's been much longer than that though," the girl mused thoughtfully, her brows squeezing as she pondered the implications of such a feeling.

"It's a given. You aren't used to being alone after all— no forget I just said that," the boy spoke his mind reflexively, but he quickly and quietly retracted his words as soon as they had come out. He knew better about Maihime's circumstance after all. He was a part of them now! He did not mean for his words to come out that way, thus he took it back.

But, to his genuine surprise, Maihime seemed to have been thinking on a different wavelength as him.

She shook her head clearly for her brother to see, "No, I didn't mean it like that."

Maihime stopped in the middle of her stride, spun to meet his gaze, and pointed directly right between his eyes.

"You," his sister affirmed, "it's you. The one I am talking about here is you, Izayoi. It feels as though I have known you forever in just this 'single year.'"

—It was but only a year, the boy's expression said it all to her.

"No, Izayoi. So much more has happened over this simple "one year' than I could have ever hoped or expected for, you know? What is it: 'It's just you'? 'I didn't do much'? You have have these thoughts, but for me… it was just enough, you know. For me, it was just enough…" the girl turned, her gaze falling. "Do you remember when you first arrived here? I didn't know what to make of it. Mother simply told me I would have a new brother that day. I was very nervous, scared even, if you could believe it. But, I think it turned out just alright. You've changed lots as well, don't you know? You're more open to things now… you even came to pick me up from school… hey, why are you laughing like that?"

"Changed? Me? Is that right… Ha ha ha! Changed huh. I did— me, 'changed,' of all people. Hah!" Izayoi chuckled heartily, "Fine, Maihime. I will give you the satisfaction of victory here this one time. I can accept this defeat if I were to indeed compare the me of today against the me of the past. If it were the me of the past, I would not even be here now."

"Hey…" Maihime frowned, her cheeks puffed in a pout, "you know I don't like being kept out like this…"

"It's nothing, I was just reminded of something."

"Something? What? Was it something I said?"

"Well, it would be wrong to say the cause of it was entirely from what you said," Izayoi shook his head and asked, "Do you recall the first time I saw you here?"

Yeah, it was that morning, Izayoi recalled. On that particular morning, Maihime told him that she was going to play with her friend, "Hotaru-chan," for the day…

"Mm," Izayoi nodded to himself.

It was one particularly slow morning during the days that led up to Christmas. The precise date was about half a year since his adoption to the Tenkawa household. Izayoi himself never really bothered or cared about such festivities, so he was happily stuck to his sun naps out in the back garden.

—"I'm going out to play with Hotaru-chan!"

Maihime uttered such words before she left early in the day.

Izayoi had met this "Hotaru-chan" once, when she came over shortly after his arrival: He acknowledged her, so had she for him, and that was that. She was a serious girl: Straight black hair, violet eyes— perhaps even slightly tomboy. He never met her again after that; despite his leisurely demeanor, he was a busy soul with a busy schedule. When not taking a break, he was always elsewhere, locked away in the confines of his studies and and such.

But with a slow enough day, even he got bored senseless enough to go out for a stroll. It was just one of those days, where he had nothing better to do and felt too uninspired to do anything substantial. That was where the real meat of the story took place.

…

—Five past noon, on a residential street at the outskirts of Kanagawa.

"Who would have thought that, of all things, it would get so tediously boring without her face jutting in and out all over the place."

Here, with one hand holding onto a popsicle stick and the other carrying a bag carrying the rest of treats, Izayoi sauntered aimlessly. Here, he was bored. And here, his mind wandered carelessly. If someone were to tell him half a year ago that he would be able to stroll along some street with spare pocket change, some popsicles, and have the leisure to think about how he hasn't been bothered for an entire day, then he would have scoffed at the person and told them to scram.

"Oh, this one is peach flavored."

Izayoi was on his way back home at this time, as he had already gone out for a walk. In fact, he had only gone out to buy popsicle sticks from a specific shop he liked, so now that he had gotten his hands on them, he was ready to go back. However…

". . ."

He had encountered a slight obstacle. As the boy looked down the empty street before him, he was able to see, the clear view to the ocean obstructed only by the metal railings strung together with white painted chains… along with the estate manor directly opposing the view. Even from some distance away, Izayoi could make out the glossy black wood name plaque that wrote out the characters for "Rindou."

This was the home of Maihime's friend, Rindou Hotaru. Similar to the Tenkawa family, the Rindou's had their own special standings in the country. Perhaps that was why the two families were closely affiliated with each other and why the daughters of both houses could get along with each other. However, the reason why Izayoi stopped was not because he had any misgivings about the Rindou family. It had nothing to do with them, in fact.

It was a bit silly of him to make this move, but he did so anyways. Apart from going the same way he came, this was the other shortest path home from the convenience store that sold him the popsicles. He decided that if Maihime was out to play, he wanted her to have her time to herself until she arrived back home. A trip was not truly over until one got home after all. He did not want to risk the chance of bumping into her halfway through the day just because he decided to walk through the street Hotaru's house was.

Just like that, he decided to take an extra long detour home just for an added security as to not accidentally bump into Maihime. Plus he also had been wanting to explore for a while now, so it was the same as killing two birds with one stone. This was just his little form of consideration.

And so he walked, past the sight of unfamiliar streets and crosswalks, past the rusted chain links of old buildings and the rotted wood fences lining the side of hillside passes, before he finally stopped before a dull gate of iron rods that was barred from ever closing by the significant buildup of rust at the hinges.

There was a familiar head of hair beyond the gates just as Izayoi walked by and he stopped short as his eyes caught sight of it. Could it have been who he believed it to be? At this time? On this day? Of all places, why would Maihime be here in a graveyard when she told him she would be out playing at her friend's place? He knew it was pretty late now and she could have been finished by now, but it was not all that late compared to other occasions.

Izayoi could not help but feel just a little displeased at how all his efforts to avoid running into her before the day was done had gone to waste.

"Mai—" raising his arm, he was just about to call out his sister's name before he shut his mouth with a better idea in his mind.

She was by her lonesome, Izayoi realized that when he was finally a good thirty meters away and in clear sight behind the girl. He tried to make out the name on the tombstone from where he was, and he could for the ones separated and even further away from it, alas he could not for this one as Maihime had completely blocked his sight.

As far as he could tell, she was just gazing at the sight of the grave… but for whatever reason he just had the feeling that she actually had been there since the morning, coming straight here all the way back when she told him she was leaving for her friend's home to play. The boy hesitated as he stood there watching. He debated and toyed with the idea to leave right that moment. It was a private moment for Maihime, he knew, and he felt that he should not intrude onto it.

Izayoi felt his decision clear. He decided he would leave without waiting another moment.

"—Izayoi…?"

It was nothing more than a murmur… yet even from thirty meters away Izayoi could hear her voice crisply as though she had just now whispered right into his ears.

Maihime seemed taken back to see him: Surprised at first, confused a close second, pensive then, before she waved for her brother to come over nonetheless. He could only compy to her will.

It was an exchange without words. When Izayoi stood next to Maihime, the two did not speak. She gazed into his eyes with a harmonious expression. He looked back in hers with sturdy eyes that always reflected his resoluteness.

Maihime was the first to break eye contact as she turned back to the grave. Unlike the sites everywhere else, this one was well maintained, courtesy to the groundskeeper. Her hands brushed softly against the grave, with her fingertips hovering just barely to the the luscious and polished finish of the granite. And then they came to a halt, right where the stone had been precisely machined into form the name of the buried.

[Tenkawa—]

It was a double grave for husband and wife, with one side filled and the other still vacant and waiting.

"Ah…"

Izayoi nodded in his mind. He understood now. He was able to make the connection without anyone having to tell him. It could not be the grave of the Tenkawa Head, that grandfather was someone much more prestigious and his grave would not be in such a place. Nay, it was the grave of the deceased Tenkawa Father– Maihime's father.

…

The idyllic atmosphere of sundown: Cicada noises in the background, crow bird songs in the sky, train tracks trembling as workers made their commute home, wind blowing, and dry leaves rustling…

The two youths settled in silence for a time, each merely taking in the feeling of the ambience to themselves. Maihime seemed lost with almost glazed eyes in a complicated world of her own; Izayoi could not help but spare glances at the girl at this moment. Although he had certainly witnessed many occasions of this phenomena happening in the past– such as the time when they first met and Maihime asked about her eyes, or the time when Maihime took him to the pup's burial site confounded deep within the woods– Izayoi never once addressed the issue to anyone.

To be honest, it always seemed to him like Maihime was concealing something deeply to herself, but because he was not the naturally nosy type, nor did he feel completely comfortable becoming a prying person for this reason, he kept his speculations completely to himself. For the longest time, Izayoi had a vaguely clear idea what it could have been that Maihime kept so secretly, but he could never be certain, not back then. Only today however, as he stood one step from her shoulders before a glossy-black tombstone, could Izayoi truly say he understood what Maihime had been hiding.

While it might seem unnatural that Maihime never spoke of her father in front of him, the boy who became her brother by adoption, who lived closely under the same roof, who even slept in the same room, in the same bed, under the same blanket, for over a half year already, Izayoi (perhaps erroneously in hindsight) took this as a sign that he should not worry about it.

Even now, Izayoi could only helplessly shake his head. Even if his judgement had been erred, even if he had asked what Maihime had been hiding, what were the actual chances that Maihime would be honest and spill out her heart? Izayoi knew how his sister was and understood even better just what made her tick. If the boy Sakamaki Izayoi was the devil who wore his blackened heart on silken sleeves so to always show his true self in spite of what others believed or said, then it could equally be said that Tenkawa Maihime was the angel who feigned a pure heart on hers in order to make everyone believe her showcase of pure honesty and virtue.

—So what then? Izayoi continued to muse to himself while standing next to Maihime.

When he looked at her expression, it had not changed even the slightest since her calling of him to come over. And by now, the sun was rapidly falling and night would soon be upon them.

". . ."

It was during this delicate moment that Maihime suddenly quivered, her small shoulders unable to keep from trembling in the cold.

Wordlessly, Izayoi slid off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She looked at him thankfully.

He looked at her responsively.

"Do… Do you remember the day I took you to the woods?"

Quietly, Maihime began to speak, her lips slow to form the first syllables making up her words. The look in her eyes were distant, glossed over in reflection almost, as though in the process of repeating the scene over and over again in her mind.

"Mm, that one," she simply nodded, "Yes, that one exactly. Can you remember it? I can, clearly. No… not as though it was just yesterday. As though it was happening before me right now.

"When I close my eyes, I can retrace it all, everything that happened that day step by step. From the way I woke up half clinging onto the pillow, the black and white dream about a terrible place with ash raining from the skies like snow, corpses of the dead, and ruins everywhere, the way I begrudgingly forced down my breakfast to not let mother worry, to even how exactly I found you sleeping away in the garden. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day, I am able to live through it— and I have lived through it, multiple times in my mind.

"Why do you look so grim? You look silly like that, Izayoi. It's not like you to frown like so," Maihime gazed deeply into Izayoi's eyes, "Please don't look like that. It isn't like you."

"…Ah," Izayoi— Izayoi could only show a difficult expression.

"It was a very meaningful day for me. When you taught me the meaning of those plants and sweet peas in the language of flowers, that was when I decided to accept it, the truth for what it was. I made up my mind about the pup and decided what I had to do at that moment.

"…I'm sorry," Maihime suddenly apologized. "I'm sorry that you had to see something like that. I knew it wasn't a very thoughtful thing for me to do, dragging you all the way out there to see some grave of something you weren't even aware or interested about.

"But…" she stopped, her face struggling to find precisely the right words to use in this heavy moment, "I just felt it was something I had to do… or else I would try to back out again at the very last minute afraid to move on.

"For that, I am thankful, Izayoi. I can't tell you just how much I appreciated you not asking any questions; just how much it meant to me when you just stood there by my side. It gave me just the push I needed to not hesitate and turn back. I'm sorry I used you like that, I'm really sorry. I was selfish, I didn't think about how you would feel, but… you gave me the courage to move on, not just about the pup, and for that, I can't thank you enough.

"Truthfully, it surprised me when I first realized it, how much my mind had cleared and how much more colorful my day-to-day life became. For the first time in a long time, I could even taste what I ate again and not have to gag to force the food down. For the first time in a long time, I could look out of my window and see the sky and appreciate the beauty of nature. I could go out and play without feeling like I shouldn't be having fun. It was like a great weight was lifted from my entire body… and all of it made me feel very guilty.

"I never thought I was such a terrible person to be like that. How could I continue living everyday like this, happy? How could it be any okay for me to be enjoying myself like this when my father and grandfather were dead? It made me feel dirty, so dirty that I could wash both my hands and take as many baths as I could possibly manage but the stains would still cling onto my body like some kind of permanent grease.

"I didn't feel like this even when I took my mind off to take care of that pup— at the very least it felt as though I was the one who needed to take care of it, therefore letting me relieve my mind somewhere else as I focused on taking care of the small life in front of me. Everyday was almost blissful during the time that I spent taking care of the pup. When I opened my eyes in the morning, I knew it would be waiting for me, dependent on me– like i was its everything. It felt good. It felt like I could actually do something to help, even if it was just me bringing it the scraps of bread that was a part of my lunch everyday. I knew it wouldn't last, but I still hung onto it like it was the most important thing in the world to me, even to the point where I neglected Hotaru in favor of going to see it during the weekends.

"But this feeling of relief and guilt I felt after coming to terms with the pup's death was something entirely different. It was something much worse and before I even realized it, I was dragged right back to exactly how I was right after my father and grandfather passed away. No, in fact I would say that I felt even worse than I had back then. No matter how many times mother told me not to think about it, not to worry about it, and to try to do things to distract myself from brooding day and night about it, it just never felt right to me! I acted terrible to everyone during this time. I shunned away the house servants that have been around me my entire life when they tried to help me. I even acted meanly towards Hotaru when she tried to help. I turned her down and rejected any attempts to comfort me. I knew that I was in the wrong! It pained me every day where it would just eat away at my conscience and every night where I knew I had to wake up knowing what would wait for me. I didn't want to see anyone— I didn't want to speak with anyone! Because I was afraid that I would break out into a crying mess and make them worry even more about me!

"How could I have moved on so quickly? My father is my father— even if he hadn't been there for me all my life and it was my grandfather who raised me in his place, my father is still my father! Even if he wasn't there when I went to school for the first time— even if he hadn't been there when I first learned to ride a bike— when I fell off that bike for the first time and hurt my knee— or even when I was all alone and had nobody to play with at school— he is still my father! I always would ask my mother and grandfather about him. I wanted to know more about him— what he did for the country, what his hobbies were, what he liked, what he didn't like, how he met mother, how they got married, everything! I asked all these things in hopes that one day I would be able to meet him finally and get closer to him— to one day be able to finally go through what other children could!

"I don't get it! I just don't get it, Izayoi! I don't understand— I can't understand any of it at all! It didn't feel right! It still doesn't feel right! All I ever wanted was a chance to get close to my father. Is that so wrong? What is so wrong about that? Why did everything have to turn out like this? He is the reason why I was even born— why I can be happy, sad, angry, scared, everything—! I owe my life to him, so how could I just— just turn my head away from him like I owed him nothing and that there was never anything between us in the first place? I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I can't take it anymore! Help me, Izayoi… help me… what can I do to stop feeling like my chest hurts all the time and that there is a lump stuck in my throat everytime I speak… I don't like this. I don't like it. I don't like any of it at all…"

Maihime's body shook as her laments rang out in the coldness of the dark. Her face was flushed and her eyes strained with tears. All the things she had held back up until now, all the complicated emotions and feelings she could not describe were all spilled forth like a buckling dam.

". . ."

However… as much as she felt confused and alone in this sentiment, there was just one light among the darkness that she could reach out to and feel its warmth. She had called out its name before, and although it had its own problems with the complicated subject of emotions, the girl knew it would never reject her.

"Maihime…"

Izayoi spoke in a murmur, yet that underspoken voice still reached true to the girl's ears.

"Cry… if you have to."

It was almost as difficult for him to squeeze out these words as it had been for him to speak about his past stuck in the loop of orphanages. His throat was clenched and his jaws stiff as he said what he felt he had to. Izayoi was no good at these delicate things, Maihime knew that as well. That was why she too could understand the extent to which Izayoi wanted to help her– the extent to which Izayoi was willing to bear to try to make her feel better. And just like before, when the boy had inspired that courage within her to not back down, for her to see him trying so hard, it too gave her just the right amount of push she needed during this emotional high.

"Thank you, Izayoi, but… I didn't come here today because I wanted to cry. Today, I am here because I need to move on. I told myself I needed to move on, that I couldn't let myself act spoiled like this forever. And I think… I am strong enough to do that," Maihime nodded slowly.

"I didn't understand it at first, why I suddenly found the strength to make up my mind on all these things. No, I mean, I knew you had a part to do with it, Izayoi; you gave me the push I needed all those months ago like I just told you, but I just didn't understand what part it was exactly. Right now, I think I finally figured out the reason: It was because mother brought you home. No… let me finish before you say anything, Izayoi. It was because I didn't know you and you didn't know me that I could open up to you. I was able to be honest about myself with you because you were a stranger. I had no image to uphold with you around. I was able to latch onto you and grow dependent on you in a way different than from Hotaru-chan. You were the brother I never had, and it might be silly of me to say this, but whenever I was with you, I felt that bond I wish I could have had with my father. And when you opened up to me and told me all the hardships you had during your life under the orphanage, I felt that connection even more!

"Izayoi, you saved me. Even if you didn't know, even if it didn't seem like it to you, you saved me. You gave me courage. You gave me hope. You did! You really did! I understand that now."

Hearing this coming so genuinely from Maihime's mouth, Izayoi could not help but shake his head in denial.

However, responding as though all knowingly, Maihime staunchly refused Izayoi's claims.

"No, I think you are wrong, Izayoi. I don't think anybody else would have been able been able to look at me and treat me the way you did, because you are one of a kind. To you, I was a completely blank slate; like I said, I did not have to worry about any impressions you might have had for me. Haha… I think back to when I first introduced myself to you now. That morning, mother told me she would bring you home, but I had completely forgotten about it while burying the pup. I didn't get enough time to brace myself when I saw you walking towards me from the car. So I did what anybody would do and ran in the house and took the longest bath to prepare my heart," Maihime began to laugh feebly. It was an embarrassing moment for her. Speaking about it now after the fact did not change that. But she definitely was more comfortable speaking about it.

"Ahaha… I really was stiff when I introduced myself, wasn't I? I almost don't even want to think about it, much less confess my feelings about it like this."

"It never bothered me," Izayoi said.

"Mhm," Maihime closed her eyes and nodded all too knowingly. A faint smile was present on her face– one which had clearly only just surfaced after all this time.

"Thank you…" she whispered softly before giving the tombstone one last look. She reached out with her hand and gently touched the smooth glossy surface. Her fingers traced over the name, lightly, delicately, as though the engravings would crumble at even the slightly pressure. She traced her fingers over the markings with her heart trying to memorize the feeling of every knick and corner in her heart.

Izayoi did not know whether she was thanking him or her father in the grave. He didn't ask either, but after this talk– this confession– it seemed the girl had moved on from a delicate and difficult milestone of her life. And in the coming days, Izayoi would feel she had become noticeably happier as she moved forward on the road of recovery.

…

…

"A lot have changed…"

The two kept on walked… past familiar streets, past crosswalks, past chain linked fences, past rusted steel gates kept forever open, and past similar vertical standing stone monuments until the pair finally stopped before two individual slates that were separated and identical in shape and color to each other.

[Tenkawa—]

[Tenkawa—]

The sister bent down and placed a single flower– a sweet pea which she had kept hidden in her clothes the entire time– onto the offering plate set on the grave.

"Hello, mother, father," she murmured, "How have you been…?"

…

…