CHAPTER 7 - Tears of Life
Just outside the front door, was Ikaros. She was seemingly alone at first glance.
"Ah...", a voice creeped out of my air deprived lungs. "Ikaros... What's the matter?", I continued in asking the Alpha type angeloid.
Sohara came running to the door by this point.
"What's going on?!", she yelled, seeing me collapsed on the floor, with cookies and letters scattered around.
"I am sorry, Tomoko... but master is...", she apologized before opening her right hand.
In her reached out hand, was none other than Tomoki. However... it was beyond apparent of what the issue was. Tomoki, had shrunk to half the size of his already tiny body.
"Omg!", I yelled. "W-what happened to him?!", I continued in shock.
"We do not know... Master said that he wanted to come speak with you about his knewly found understanding of your feelings... And he shrunk shortly after..."
A blue haired girl was flying through the sky about a mile away from our current location, enjoying the morning air.
"...I wonder how Tomoki's doing... and Tomoko... How is she handling herself...", Nymph thought.
"I want them... to both be able to live... I understand Tomoko's want and desire to be free... I understand it very well... But how do we fix Tomoki... Is there really some other way?"
The wind continued to blow threw her beautiful, light blue hair.
"She deserves to live... but... Tomoki... No matter what... No matter how much it would deeply hurt me to do so... I'll force her to merge with him if I have to...", she continued in thought.
She was high above the ground, and completely lost in complicated thoughts.
"Well... I can only hope there's another solution... I'd love to get to know her better... And, I guess I have been a bit of a jerk in not making her feel very welcome... I suppose I'll go visit after a little more fresh air... Besides, I could use a bag of chips right about now."
"Is that true Tomoki... do you... understand... how I feel to-"
"Tomoko... I know how badly you want to... stay around... I know... that you've begun to settle in... but...", the boy spoke to me.
"Y-yes?...", I responded.
"...I'm not sure there's any other way to get me back to normal..."
"S-sure there is! I'm certain that we'll find a way to-"
"Look at me... I'm already half the size I was a couple of days ago... How much more will I shrink before I completely disappear?", he told me while finally showing an irritated expression.
"I-I-I'm...", I stuttered in worry as to what he was implying I should do.
"I'll ask you kindly... alright... Tomoko... are you going to merge with me?", he said while he hid the fact that he grinding his teeth.
"T-Tomoki, we can find another way! I'm absolutely certain of that! All we have to do is think of a s-solution and-", I said with a shaking voice.
"THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE ANOTHER SOLUTION, YOU DUMBASS!"
Ikaros was in utter shock, as this was the opposite of what he told her he had wanted to speak with me about. His anger... It was understandable with how terrified he was of what may happen to himself next. Fear and anger... they truly do go hand in hand...
"I... I don't want to- ...I-I've been thinking of solutions every night and-", I said as I felt tears begin to form in each eye.
"IF I SAY YOU'LL MERGE THEN YOU'D BETTER MERGE...", he shouted in anger.
I reached for the letter I had written specifically to him. Let's just say that for very good reasons, my arms were shaking terribly as I found his letter. My lips began to quiver, and even more water was forming in my two eyes. The letter had a little... something inside...
"L-l-look... I w-wanted to apologize to you for all the t-trouble I've caused and... for y-you to know that I want-", I said as I handed him his letter.
He reached out, grabbed it, and wadded it up. It all seemed to happen in slow motion.
"I DON'T NEED AN APOLOGY FROM SOMETHING THAT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A CLONE OF ME!", he shouted aloud. "WHETHER YOU WANT TO ADMIT IT OR NOT, YOU'LL ALWAYS JUST BE A DUDE INSIDE!! THAT'S WHAT YOU STARTED AS, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE NOW!!"
His words... they sliced me worse than any sword ever could have... Finally... after holding back my tears... holding in my cries... holding in all my negative emotion those past few days... Those words he used... what he called me... it broke down the dam that held together my mind of flooded sadness. Finally... after all that time of holding back... I burst like a balloon as I sat there on the floor.
"Y-Y-Y... Y-...Y-...YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME THOSE THINGS!!! DON'T YOU GET THAT I'M JUST AS SCARED OF LOSING MY LIFE AS YOU ARE?! YOU MAY HAVE CREATED ME AS NO MORE THAN A TOOL, BUT YOU WILL NEVER ENSLAVE ME!! I'LL BE DAMNED IF I'M FORCED TO MERGE WITH YOU EVER AGAIN!! I'M NOT A BOY! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT, YOU ARROGANT LITTLE BASTARD!! I'VE TRIED TO BE KIND TO YOU, BUT EVERY OTHER THING YOU'VE SAID TO ME HAS BEEN HURTFUL!! DO YOU KNOW HOW SADDENING IT IS TO BE VIEWED AS THE LEAST IMPORTANT BY EVERYONE AROUND YOU?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TROUBLING IT MIGHT BE TO BE THOUGHT OF AS NO MORE THAN A MERE BONUS IN TERMS OF LIVING?! AND CAN YOU EVEN FATHOM THE FACT THAT UNLIKE YOU, IF I'M THE ONLY ONE OF US THAT GETS TO LIVE, THEN EVERYONE WOULD BE MISERABLE AND HATE ME FOR THE REST OF MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE!?!", I screamed at the top of my lungs before violently gasping for air.
Nobody said a word as I then began to cry out on the floor. Sohara had covered her mouth, while Tomoki had never once in his life shown a more surprised expression. As for Ikaros, her face showed despair. Not that I was able to look up from the floor while tears fell, as I could only attempt to wipe away more as they relentlessly poured from my eyes while I cried out in a state of total despondency.
"Tomoko...", Ikaros spoke.
It was almost as if I didn't recognize her voice. I stumbled to my feet, ran straight past her, and out the front door.
At this point, Sohara began crying, staring out the door as I ran aimlessly.
"What is- ...Tomoko?", said a charming boy riding his bicycle, as he did every morning.
Sugata pedaled to the scene faster.
"Tomoko! Where are you going?!", Sohara yelled out to me.
I just ignored her... My mind... it was so far gone in despair... All that I had been fearing for the past few days... It all came together in my mind at the exact same time... And the barrier holding everything back... was destroyed...
I ran... I ran down the street... Even faster than when I ran towards my friends the previous day...
"Come back!", Sohara yelled as she ran out of the house to chase me.
"Sohara, what's happened??", Sugata's smooth voice asked her after arriving.
"It's...", she said, watching me run father and father away.
Sohara wasn't sure where to begin.
Sugata looked to Ikaros, and saw Tomoki in his further shrunken state.
"Mmm...", he mumbled, feeling that he had a rather good understanding of the situation.
Nymph was also almost to Sohara's house. When flying through the air, she happened to notice me, running off.
"... Is that...?", she wondered.
"Hey, would someone mind explaining what's going on?", she shouted just before landing in Sohara's yard.
"I feel it might take us some time to hear out the entire story...", Sugata told the Beta type.
"Wh-... What happened to Tomoki?!", Nymph asked Sohara.
"That we don't know...", Sohara informed the blue-haired girl.
"*sigh* This is so not what I expected my morning to consist of...", she snapped.
"I'll initiate a scan on Tomoki to see if I can find anything out.", she said before touching Tomoki's head.
"Hey, what the hell are you-!"
"Relax, I'm just checking your systems, for a lack of better words.", she assured him.
"...Hmmm... Everything appears to be normal on him so far..."
"Normal?! You call THIS normal?!", Tomoki snapped at Nymph.
"I'm trying to find a possible issue, so just calm down!"
"70%... 80%... 90-... Wh-..."
"What is it Nymph?", asked Sohara.
"I... I don't know... my scans show that all of his bodily functions, health, and systems are in perfect condition, but..."
"But what?", asked Sohara, rather worried.
"Something's... missing in him... Something that my scan doesn't have labeled... Yet... it's clearly detecting a small lacking... somewhere..."
"Well find out what it is!", Tomoki snapped, once again.
"Don't you think I'm trying?!"
"... *sigh My scan is complete... and I have no idea what it detected as missing..."
"Thank you for trying Nymph.", Sohara said in gratitude.
"So... can you tell us what exactly happened here?", Sugata asked Sohara.
"Well..."
"I will explain...", offered Ikaros.
So, with a sorrowful voice, Ikaros told Nymph and Sugata what had transpired in full detail. Sohara then took over when telling them what I had said.
"Seriously? She blew up like that? I didn't think she had it in her...", Nymph said in shock to my quoted words.
"Oh, you'd be rather surprised at what human emotions can do in swaying someone's character...", Sugata sharply responded. "And it's apparent that Tomoko had quite a lot on her mind to have caused a reaction such as the one you described... Frankly, I'm worried about her right now... Anyone on their own in this state is vulnerable... especially someone who ran out in a hurry such as Tomoko.", he finished.
"Yes, I'm worried too!", announced Sohara.
"...Nymph, could you do us a favor and go after Tomoko?", asked Sugata.
"Yeah, no problem. I'm sure she couldn't have gone very far."
"Please... have her be safe...", Sohara thought to herself.
"Excellent. We'll stay here with Tomoki. Once you find her, come get us, alright?", Sugata told Nymph.
"Got it.", Nymph said as she took to the skies.
By the time Nymph left, I was currently running through an alleyway. I just went wherever my two feet led me. I was a sniffling, sobbing mess. Of course, my endless, aimless running couldn't last forever. I was beginning to finally lose my breath, panting as I ran.
"Where did she go?? Surely she's within a kilometer of Sohara's house...", Nymph said as she flew over Sorami.
When I left the alleyway, I ran across the street, and through many more areas that were, thankfully, void of people. It was early in the morning, after all. It seemed that if I took a left, Nymph checked for me on the right. However, I eventually ran straight into an open field. In the middle, was a gorgeous, breathtaking cherry blossom tree.
I was completely out of breath, and fell down on the grass next to the oh so familiar tree. After minutes of panting, I was finally able to breath...
"-I just don't understand how she-... There she is!"
Nymph had spotted me as I laid down by the tree, unable to breathe. As promised, she went to inform the others.
"Where are you going Ikaros?", asked Sohara.
Ikaros was walking towards Sohara's front door. She bent down, and picked up two of my letters.
"Sohara... this seems to be for you.", said Ikaros as she read the paper.
"What?"
"And this wadded paper, is for master... Both of them... they're signed by Tomoko."
"Eh... for me?", said Tomoki on the sidewalk.
"Lemme see that...", Tomoki told his angeloid, as he ran to her with his stubby little legs.
"Of course, master."
Sugata and Sohara both sprinted up to the front door.
"Ikaros, can I see the letter for me?"
"Yes, here you are."
Both Tomoki and Sohara began to read their respective letters.
"This is... this is...", said Sohara in disbelief as to what she was reading.
"What is it?", asked Sugata.
"She's... blaming herself... for everything Tomoki did when he transformed into her..."
"You don't say?", Sugata responded.
"This... this is awful! Why does she feel responsible?!"
"... It's certainly interesting... However, I think I understand where she's coming from... Just think about it... How would you feel if you were in her current given situation?", Sugata responded, as sharp as ever. "And Tomoki... your letter?", he asked the shrunken boy.
"...It's...", began Tomoki.
"Huh?", both Sugata and Sohara said in confusion.
"Her... It's..., Tomoki finished.
"Tomo, what does it say?!"
"... We need... to go find her damn it...", he said, as one tear fell onto his letter.
"What's the matter? What does it say?!", demanded Sohara.
"Guys! I found her!", said Nymph after returning.
"Wonderful, Nymph! Where is she?", asked Sugata.
"I'm totally... worthless...", I thought to myself as I lied with my back against the ground.
"I... I'm..."
"I'm... I'm just... done... It's too much... No more...N-no more... ...N-now... he'll... never... he'll never...", I said before covering my eyes.
"Not that I can blame him... After all, who could want someone like me as their-", I stopped mid-sentence, seeing Nymph come down, beautifully from the sky above.
Nymph landed right by my side.
"H-hi, Nymph! How are you?"
"Just fine... What are you doing all the way out here?", she asked, testing my response.
"Oh, I'm just enjoying the morning air, it's really nice to-"
"I can see where you've been crying... Your eyes are red from rubbing... aren't they?"
"... Maybe... just a little..."
"...Ikaros told me and Sugata everything..."
"...! S-she did? ... I'm sorr-"
"There is a thing called overly-apologizing, you know... You should relax for once..."
"Nymph... why are you... being kind to me? I thought you of all people would prefer me gone the most..."
"... It's true that I've known Tomoki the longest... but to tell you the truth... I would still love to know you better if possible..."
"R...really? You... actually mean that?"
"... Yes... I do...", she told me smiling.
I covered my eyes once more.
"You know... all I've wanted... was to have girl friends... t-to... to finally be loved by other girls... as a friend... and I-"
"H-hey! No need to cry!"
Nymph hid it well, but she could feel her heart being tugged... tugged by a string of similarity.
"*sniffle* T-to finally be a normal girl... who people w-wouldn't mind having around... I know... how awkward you and the others felt when I first separated back then... I j-just wanted you to..."
My voice began to shake beyond repair at this point.
"I-I was... I was just... I..."
"Hey, c-calm down... it's hard to understand you.", she said while she clenched her outfit, as to help her hold in emotion.
"I want Ikaros as my f-friend... I want Sohara as my friend... I want YOU as my friend!"
"T-...T-Tomoko... you're... please stop cr-...cry-...crying!"
"I just... I just want to live... I... I love what freedom feels like..."
"Gh...", Nymph was at her breaking point.
"She's... her desires... they're no different than m-mine were...", Nymph thought to herself.
"I'm... I'm so worthless though... I know how strange it is, but.. I... I want T-Tomoki... I want him to b-be my-"
"Gh..."
"N-Nymph?"
I uncovered my eyes, and to my surprise, Nymph had tears flooding down her precious face.
"N-no... You don't have to cry over m-me...please don't waste the tears...", I told her.
"K...k... waaaaaa!!!", she cried out, falling on top of me as I lied on my back.
I held on to her, giving her all the comfort I possibly could.
"N-Nymph... it's okay... e-everything... will be okay soon... I-I promise..."
Ikaros finally landed in the field. If I had to guess, after Nymph told everyone where I was located, she was instructed to go back to me to ensure I stayed put, while Ikaros stayed with Sohara and the others as they came to me. However, Nymph did far more for me than just come back...
"Nymph...", said Ikaros, as she stared at the scene of Nymph and me holding on to each other on the ground, letting emotions run wild.
"Wh-what's going on?", asked Sugata.
"C-... can somebody please just fix this situation already!?", Nymph cried out.
She yelled rather close to my ear, but I didn't mind... I didn't mind at all... because I knew... that it was out of love for both Tomoki and me. We just continued to hold each other as our emotions flew. As we did, Sohara walked over to us. When I looked up, I noticed that in her right hand, was my entire stack of letters.
"Those are-", I thought to myself.
"Tomoko... you silly, silly girl. These... they aren't necessary.", she said as we locked eyes.
At this point, Nymph got up, sitting on the ground beside me.
"She isn't wrong...", Sugata spoke up.
"My... my letters.", was all I said.
"Tomoko...", called Tomoki's voice from a few feet away.
As usual, he was on top of Ikaros' head.
"T-Tomoki, I'm... please... forgive me for what I said earlier..."
"...No...I won't..."
"...Gh... Please, forgive-"
"I think you've done enough apologizing.", he told me.
"What?", I questioned.
"I think it's time... you get an apology..."
"No... for what?", I asked him.
"... What I said... no girl... should have to hear that..."
When I heard that... I barely managed to hold on to the composure I had just regained.
"So tell me... why have you been blaming yourself for the things I did?", he asked.
"I..."
"You can... vent your frustration... I'm sure you've got a lot of it...", he told me.
"I... I... Those things... that you did when disguised as me... That's all people know about me... Those are literally the only memories people know how to associate me with! And it's up to me... to fix it all..."
"... No. It's not."
"Huh?"
"Like you said. It's what I did.", he told me smiling.
"But... nobody... understands that I'm..."
"It must really suck being stuck with the perversion left over from somebody else.", he told me.
"It's... it's the worst thing ever! I... I don't want it!"
"And it doesn't belong to you."
"...Tomoki..."
"Hm?"
"Why... the sudden change of heart?", I asked.
Ikaros then took out the letter I had written for him, and showed it to me.
"...! ...Oh, I...", I spoke out.
"Just look... Do you see? Your handwriting... is completely different than mine. It's so girly and expressive. There's a start.", he said smiling.
"Mm...", I mumbled.
"I read it by the way...", he told me.
"Uh... Yeah, pretty dumb stuff, am I right?, I said before letting out a fake laugh. "Ahahaha!"
"...No. It's not.", he said firmly.
"Eh..."
"So... did you mean it?"
"Mm...", I mumbled, as my face turned slightly red.
"Tomoko... did you mean what you wrote in that letter or not...", he asked again.
"... Yes... I meant every last word.", I began, as my tears began relentlessly falling once again. "I... I started out as just wanting friends... and I still do... but after I thought, and thought...all this time, I..."
My voice began to shake terribly, as I was about to tell him how I felt...
"But now I... I... I want... Oh, Tomoki...I..."
"Gh... Tomoki... I WANT YOU TO BE MY BIG BROTHER!!", I said as I dropped to my knees crying.
"...!!!", was everyone's silent response.
"Ikaros... will you take me to her?"
"O-of course master.", Ikaros responded, still in total shock.
I saw them coming, and I clenched my head with both hands in fear of what he may want to do...
But then... I felt a light... very, very light rub... A... passionate rub... in between my hands, right on the top of my head.
"Mm... hm?"
"I guess... you've had a pretty stressful past few days, huh?", he comforted me.
"Y-you... you're...", I attempted to speak.
"Having a sister... that sounds just fine to me.", he said with a shaking voice.
"B-but I'm... I thought you thought of me as-"
"It's over now, okay? Everything's gonna be alright... I'm not gonna let my sis just cry like this."
Nymph began to tear up once more. Sohara had her mouth covered, while Sugata's was opened half as wide as his eyes.
"Y-y-y... You... want me as a sister??", I asked as I finally looked up to see Tomoki standing in Ikaros' reached out hand.
"... I never considered the possibility of having someone that close to me... I just... I'd love to be your big brother...", he told me with teary, passionate eyes.
"I...I'm finally... this feeling... IT'S...", I began to think to myself.
"T-Tomoki... can I... do something really quickly...?"
"Sure t-thing...", he said sniffling.
"...Sohara... may I see my letters?", I asked her.
"S-sure!"
I took out one of the letters, and began walking to a wonderful, wonderful girl...
"...Nymph..."
"W-what?", she said wiping her eyes.
"You don't have to read it now... But you really should have this... While it's true that I did mostly apologizing in my letters... I left a lot of love... for everyone in them..."
"W-what are you-"
"Thank you... for letting me know that you think of me as a more than a bother... The fact that you comforted me... means the world... I'm so... so very grateful... And I hope... you'll always keep me as a friend in your heart..."
"D-don't talk like that! Of course I care about you! Of course I'll be your friend-"
I leaned on to her, wrapping my arms firmly around my newly made friend.
"Gh..."
After a few seconds of a warm, loving embrace, I moved on to Sohara.
"Sohara... thank you... for letting me live with you... It's because of you, that I finally have happy memories in my head... my own memories... Thank you... for giving me the one thing I truly wanted... a friend that will last forever."
"Tomoko? Why are you telling us this right now?"
I just smiled at her, with my tear soaked eyes.
"S... Sugata... I... Even though you also helped Tomoki to create me for nothing more than a tool... I... I want to thank you the most! ...If you had never done that... I wouldn't have known what living feels like. Thank you... from the bottom of my heart... Life... it feels wonderful... I'm so happy... that I got to meet so many kind people such as you. And... I... I lo-... I... ...Best of luck with Mikako."
"...Tomoko... what are you saying to us?", he asked me.
"Ikaros... thank you for being so patient with me... It means so much that you would diobey even Tomoki to give me a chance at happiness... thank you."
"T-Tomoko...", she said as she began to cry.
I walked over to her, and gave her a hug... placing one hand being her head.
Finally, I looked to Tomoki once again.
"And with you... My heart... it's finally at ease... I'm finally... finally feeling full... You were the last peace of the puzzle I needed... Thank you, big brother... I love you."
"kk... k... W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL US?!"
"My life... It's finally where I wanted to be. At last... I'm seen as normal by other girls... I've experienced what falling in love is like, and now... thanks to you, I can finally rest knowing that I have family..."
"Tomoko..."
"I'm more than willing... to give up my life now... At least then... my big brother will get to live-"
"No!!" yelled out Sohara, as she and Nymph came running to me.
They both placed their arms around me.
"We can find another way in time! You don't have to just give up like this!", Nymph yelled while sobbing.
"But I'm-"
"You're alive aren't you?! You can feel emotion can't you?! You're free aren't you?!", Nymph passionately asked me those questions.
"I-"
"We don't want you gone! We want to have you around! We love you! And we want to make even MORE memories with you!!", Sohara assured me.
"I'm... I... I'M NOT LETTING YOU JUST GIVE UP LIKE THIS GOD DAMNIT!!", Tomoki told me.
"I... Please... don't be upset-", I tried to comfort my friends.
"HOW THE HELL CAN WE BE HAPPY!?", Tomoki yelled at me.
"I... I JUST WANT TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT! TO SOMEHOW GIVE BACK THE LOVE I'M FEELING!" I said as I collapsed to my knees.
"And I, no... all of us... We want to give you even more of that love. It feels great, doesn't it?", Tomoki told me. "Even if it's the last thing I'm able to do... I want to help you clear yourself of the perversion... that I left you with. Can you let me do that?"
With a teary expression, I was a second away from nodding. However, Nymph's mind... It brilliantly lit up on hearing him say that...
"W-wait... What did you say?"
"I.. I told her that I wanted to help her clear herself of the perversion I left her wi-"
"THAT'S IT!!", Nymph yelled. "THAT'S GOTTA BE IT!!"
"Nymph, what did you figure out?", asked Sugata.
"That perversion... It's gotta be what my scan picked up on..."
"You mean-", inquired Ikaros.
"Is master's problem... not a side effect from Tomoko's existence... but rather... from some of his perversion being exported?"
"That's what I'm guessing.", Nymph said smiling.
"Well if that's true, how do we give it back to him without Tomoko also getting absorbed as well?", asked Sohara.
"Hm... Just leave that to me! It'll be a piece of cake!", Nymph said giggling.
"How are you going to...", wondered Tomoki.
"It won't be much different than when I blocked your ability to remember how to swim.", Nymph said, once again smiling.
You could see just how excited she truly was.
Nymph touched my head, and then Tomoki's.
"Initiating scan..."
"... Tomoki... just like before, it says you're only missing 1% of that thing..."
"1%? So Tomoko only has 1% of his perversion? And it causes her to act that berserk?!", questioned Sohara.
"Wow, you're such a perv...", Nymph told Tomoki.
"Yeah, yeah, so are you almost finished??"
"Just about. All that's left is to swap that 1% back over to you... And... exchanging."
"Whhhaaaaaa-", was the noise my voice made.
It felt as if my mind was being... sucked on... for a lack of better words.
"What's the matter with her?", asked Tomoki.
"Oh, you'll find out once it crosses into your mind.", she said winking.
"Eh? What do you-Uwaahahaha! That tickles! Okay! Okay!", Tomoki yelled.
"Ah, this is as amusing as ever to do.", said Nymph. "Transfer... complete!", she finished.
"Did... did it wor-"
POOF!
In a big puff of smoke, Tomoki's size... was completely restored. ...And thank god his clothes came back, too...
"T...Tomo!", yelled Sohara.
"Wow! I'm... finally back!", he yelled as well.
"T...Tomoki...", I called.
"... Wow... It's so funny seeing you while I'm in regular size like this...", he told me.
"Is... is it bad?", I asked him.
"Hell no.", he said smiling.
"So do you... feel alright, Tomoko.", asked Sohara.
"Mhm!"
"This is all so interesting... That little amount of perverted tendency caused Tomoko to act out that much...", said Sugata's voice, as charming as ever.
"Yeah, Tomo, you're such-"
"*giggle* *giggle* ...*laughter*"
"Wh...what is it Tomoko?", asked Nymph.
"It's just... I've got such a pervy brother! *laughing*"
Everyone could be seen smiling around me. And Ikaros, with no one seeing, Aldo cracked a slight, slight smile.
"Tomoko... I know this is a bit late but... welcome to life, sis. We all can't wait to spend more time together with you."
I placed my hands close atop my chest, before wrapping my arms around my brother... And soon, to my absolute delight, everyone else came around to deliver a hug.
"I say this is worth a celebration.", said Sugata.
"Yeah! Let's have a party for her!", Sohara responded.
"I... I just want to say one thing..."
"Hm?", everyone quotationed.
"My heart... is so full... I love you all, and I'm so very happy to be alive..."
And still... ever since that day... I've been so happy... with my friends... and I can't wait to meet even more... as time goes on.
I'll be sharing a few more adventures... very soon.