March 11th
It was a difficult three months inside the Guardian shelter. In addition to people giving us nasty looks, the shortage of food and supplies halfway through along with less-than-ideal living conditions brought an end to the lives of some souls. What didn't help things was the occasional childbirth, which put an even greater strain on our food supplies. Hitomi and I agreed that we shouldn't have kids until we got out of that, but that didn't stop us from getting married. The ceremony wasn't fancy or anything, just an exchange of vows followed by a kiss. The Hanaoka family (what's left of it, anyway) were honored guests at the informal ceremony.
Speaking of which, Chizu-san never got over her mother's death. She spent a great deal of time crying and brooding in a corner, starving herself half-to-death in a corner. It took some encouragement from all of us, but mostly Hitomi, to get her back on her feet and eating supper with us. Hitomi's compassion towards Chizu-san slowly changed the latter for the better, and she decided to live a life that would make her mother proud. I don't have a clue what that would be, but Chizu-san seems a little happier now. Dr. Hanaoka learned from her of our agreement to become 'siblings', and while he laughed at what he called a 'childish idea', he happily accepted me into the family.
Now that we can finally come out, it's about time we started things anew. The entirety of Kazamatsuri shows a little bit of greenery here and there, but for some reason, most of the buildings are intact. The streets definitely took the most damage, so hopefully there are enough people left in the world to repair them.
"It looks so different now," Hitomi observes.
"Yeah," I respond. "It looks like this won't be a good place to live for a while."
"But where would we go?" She asks me, puzzled.
"I wonder..." Assuming Salvation hasn't touched it, there's really only one place we could go that's not too far for Hitomi and the others to walk. Whether they agree or not, I feel it's a suitable place to bring up a child. After all, I was born there.
I dig my hands in my pockets, where I come across a piece of crumpled paper I don't recognize. Pulling it out and unfolding it, I remember the day I met that cloaked woman. She left this letter before taking off to who knows where. Chances are she's probably a tree now, poor soul. I am curious to know what she wrote inside...
"What's that?" Hitomi asks me.
"It's the envelope that got us to safety," I refresh her memory. "There's a letter inside."
"What does it say?" She curiously asks.
To Imako Tanuma
Do not fear for my life. Trust me when I say I am alive. Even if Salvation takes my body, it is a separate entity from my spirit. I am always with you.
I am aware of your feelings for Hitomi, and I do encourage you both. But I must warn you of the consequences of your temporal union. You may not notice this yourselves, but future generations will have to deal with the responsibility of being tied to the Earth. You know what I mean, Tanuma-san. As a servant of the Earth, you are bound to the will of your contractors. The strange blood you possess will curse your family for generations, doomed to become Earthen abominations.
Do not think this is your fault. It will be a great burden to Hitomi, but I know you can lead your children to become as strong-willed and kind-hearted as you. If you falter, do not fear. Your mother will be watching over you, as will Hitomi's.
I pray that we will meet again, either here or beyond our lifetimes. Perhaps in that day I could see Hitomi again...
With no signature at the bottom, I lower the letter from my face and turn to Hitomi.
"Who was it that gave you that letter?" She asks, puzzled.
"I don't know," I answer. "But she led me to you, so I can only say...she's a friend."
"How does she know about our mothers?" She questions, looking even more puzzled.
"Beats me," I shrug. "She said she knew your mother, but I don't know about mine."
As the both of us try to puzzle to ourselves who this mysterious person might be, Chizu-san and Dr. Hanaoka wave to us from the long line of people leaving the shelter. Looks like we'd better go and tell them where we should go.
December 15th
Dad (that is, Dr. Hanaoka) and I decided to take a walk to see how construction on Kazamatsuri is doing. After all, we can't really bother Chizuru while she's delivering. Man, I get shudders just thinking about it.
"Are you okay?" Dad asks me.
"Uh...yeah," I answer unconvincingly. "I'm just a little nervous."
"I know how you feel," Dad sympathizes with me. "You know, on the day Chizuru was born, I was flipping out. Never had a kid before, and I wasn't sure what to expect at all. So I took a walk in the park to calm my nerves, and at some point, I thought I could hear a voice telling me that my daughter would play part in a task beyond her, saving lives or something in the name of the Earth. I never would have believed it would come true..."
"You heard a voice?" I ask.
"Well, not so much a voice as it was more of a powerful impression," he answers. "It actually felt comforting, like my late mother was whispering a lullaby to me, bless her soul."
"Hmm..." I remember the impression I got over a year ago, right before Salvation occurred. I get the feeling that some benevolent force was guiding us on a path to true salvation, a life better than the one we lived in back then. I pray silently in my heart, thanking whomever it was for the guidance, hoping she would get the message.
"Ah, here we are." As I look up, I see the tall structures of Kazamatsuri almost as new as they were two years ago. There are still visual and audible signs of construction, but the city looks almost back in working order.
"Think you'll be moving back any time soon?" He asks me. Without waiting for an answer, he responds to his own question. "I probably should. I'll have to pay my respects to the missus, poor girl. It's hard to lose a woman that beautiful, you know?"
"Perhaps," I answer, chuckling. "I'm sure Chizuru took it pretty hard, too."
"Oh, anyone's going to fuss over their mother dying," he comments. "I can't replace her, so I'll have to do the best I can to raise her until she's grown enough to live on her own, like the both of you."
"That shouldn't be too long," I point out. Just as I say that, my new smartphone starts ringing. I pull it out of my pocket and take the call. "How's it going, Chizuru?"
"Delivery's finished," she pants. "Dear lord, that was hard work." I didn't expect her to be the one panting, though.
"Is Hitomi okay?" I ask.
"Yes, she is," she answers. "She looks far more tired than I do. It doesn't make me excited at the prospect of having kids myself..."
"Oh, yeah! How's the baby?" I ask.
"She was crying a minute ago," she responds. "Now it looks like she snuggling softly with her mother."
"It's a girl?!" I scream into the phone. I hadn't bothered to check the gender while Hitomi was pregnant, so it was definitely a surprise to me. Heavens, I have a daughter! I feel like telling my neighbors!
"Hold your horses, Aniki," Chizuru replies. "You may want to come see for yourse-"
Without hearing the rest, I hang up the phone and start running back. Dad starts following me as best he can, wondering why I'm so excited. "What happened? What did she say?!"
"MY FIRST CHILD IS A DAUGHTER!" I yell from the top of my lungs. I don't care if my voice echoes across the entire city. My happiness cannot be contained any longer. For the first time in my life, I feel as if God is smiling down upon me.
Simulation complete.
Report: the Earth has successfully rejuvenated, and humanity is able to start over. Subject Imako Tanuma has fulfilled his role, despite some complications. The future will last a fair while before the Earth requires Salvation once more. Conclusion: This is the most successful run so far. Preparing for instigation of final solution.
"Wait."
What is it?
"There's a variable I want to change first."
Any change to the current simulation will yield a less-than-desirable outcome.
"But if this change succeeds, I think it may bring about a better result."
How can you be so sure?
"Trust me. I know Imako better than you do. He will know what to do."
...Very well. What variable would you like to change?
"Fifth day, exactly 1:32 in the morning. Suggest action variable A instead of B."
...Done. But why this part?
"Imako thought he could only receive the answers he needed by straying away from those he held dear. That cost him his mortal life. If this works, he may just have the patience to understand who he is a little better. Don't you agree?"
To be honest, I think he'll remain an idiot either way.
"He may be somewhat misguided, yes. But he's still my..."
EisenKoubu here for the last time! I know I sound like a broken record by now, but I can't thank you all enough for reading my work! I loved working on this story, although I never expected it to be this long. It's kind of a testament to how poorly-thought-out the structure of my stories gets after a while, but improvisation tends to be more entertaining for the writer sometimes. 8)
This is the end of Messiah proper, but who knows what I might be doing next? I may come back to this universe if Harvest Festa or some other novel gives me some ideas, although I also intend to focus on writing more original stuff (which you won't see here, unfortunately). Whether you like this wonderful story or think it's a piece of trash, I'm at least glad I was able to get the readership I got after writing and posting this story. Once again, thank you so much! :D
EDIT - 1/22 : I added an extra bit of epilogue to this epilogue, and removed the tie-in to Terra after receiving feedback from a couple kind readers. As you can guess from the new ending, I decided that I'm not done with Imako's story yet! Imako has a chance for a better future than the one he got here, but will he take that chance? Find out as we go back to that fateful decision on October 4th, and see what lies in store for this alternate future!
