Warning: Grammar errors, Spoilers, Out of Characters, and Original Characters.
Disclaimer: Suikoden belongs to Konami but this fanfiction belongs to me.
Summary: Tir and Kasumi were suddenly missing, then a baby was found in Kasumi's house, whose baby was that and what had happened to Tir and Kasumi?
Hi, everybody did you enjoy the story so far, now this is chapter 21. I hope you like it. I express my gratitude to the last chapter reviewer MagicMissile.
Chapter 21. Painful Realization.
Someone's point of view begins.
I was lost in memories. The memory that was forgotten since I was reborn, my memory as Kasumi, and it was painful.
I remember when I fell in love with him. I remember the time I spent with him. I remember when he left me. I remember the time I spent without him. It was bittersweet and I felt both happy and sad.
I was happy whenever I near him, but I was also sad because he kept avoiding me. I tried so hard to stay by his side, but he still left me.
I remember hurting inside. The pain was too much for me to handle. Then, I became angry at him for causing me this pain. Soon, my anger turned into hate and it numbed my pain. I was relieved that at least I didn't have to feel more pain. Hating him was a painful solution, but a solution nonetheless, and it helped me to survive.
I snapped back into reality and looked at Kaya, who was crying her eyes out while hugging Philip. Philip was trying to comfort her while glaring at me. I turned to look at the last person in this area, who was still unconscious after the ordeal with the rune possession of my body.
When I looked at him after I regained my memories I felt my anger rise, but I also felt a strong longing that I never felt before. I realized then that I both hate and love him equally, even as Misty my feeling toward him still plagued me subconsciously. My mind may not remember him, but my heart did. It's should be impossible to feel both hate and love at the same time. But it still happened and it frustrated me.
I shook my head to clear my mind. It's in the past now nothing could change it. I then turned to look at Kaya again. I felt a sensation of déjà vu when I saw Kaya crying her eyes out. It's strange because except for today I only ever saw her cried once, and that was when her mother died.
I blinked and the image of Kaya crying changed into the image of someone else crying. It only happened for a second, but then my eyes widened in realization.
I saw myself crying when he left, just like Kaya right now. I realized that just like him, I was hurting her and made her suffer all this time. Sooner or later she will become like me, using hate to relieve her pain. She will suffer more because of it. She doesn't deserve that.
"I am sorry, Kaya, for hurting you," I said sadly with tears that I just noticed flowing when I was thinking.
Point of view ends.
Kaya's point of view begins.
I was so happy when she came back, but my heart broke with her rejection. Even after all I did to gain her approval, she still didn't see me. Was it a lost cause? Was all I did for her in vain? Why did it hurt so much?
I couldn't help but snap at her and cried my eyes out. In my distress, I hugged Philip for comfort. I cried and cried, even I surprised that I didn't run out of tears. I never cried this much, not even when mother died.
Suddenly, I heard her voice. I could barely hear her above all the noise I made, so I stopped.
"Do you have anything else to say?" I asked her with a glare.
She looked at me with a sad face. "I am sorry for hurting you." She repeated again.
I was surprised because she never apologized to me. Usually, I just forgive her when she hurt my feeling. Did she try to trick me?
I looked at her dejectedly. I sat on the ground and hugged my knees to my chest.
"I am tired, Kasumi." I sighed. "Before, I always forgave you even if you never apologize. But now that you apologize to me, I was hesitated to forgive you."
She looked down. "I understand."
"Kasumi, I am at my limit. I can't tolerate you forever. Please, don't make me regret it, next time I might not be able to forgive you." I told her.
She looked surprised when she realized I basically said 'I forgive her, but I might not next time'. I gave her a small smile. It was a long day.
She smiled at me in return, which surprised me. It had been a long time since I saw her smile.
Kaya's point of view ends.
Kasumi's point of view begins.
I sighed in relief that Kaya forgave me. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"Whatever do you plan to do?" She said without hesitation.
I sweatdropped. "I should have known, why did I even ask?"
I contemplated our options.
Both of us are rogue ninjas. Chief Hanzo might still forgive us, after giving us proper punishment. But, what if he didn't and decided to execute us for treason. I can't really blame him because it was me who cause all of this trouble. Besides, we might be able to survive without coming back to Rokkaku.
"Kaya, do you want to come back to Rokkaku?" I asked her seriously.
"If you..."
I cut her. "I want to know what do you want, Kaya? Please, answer me honestly. I don't want you to suffer because of me again."
She laughed lightly, which confused me.
"To be honest, I don't really care about Rokkaku, which was ironic because Father tried so hard to be accepted in Rokkaku. Maybe I was a little mad that Father's obligation to Rokkaku causes him to neglect me. I think that's why I was perfectly fine in abandoning Rokkaku." She explained.
I thought about her answer. "Kaya, there is something I want to tell you, but you might not like it."
She looked confused. "What is it?"
I looked at her carefully. "Please, don't misunderstand what I am trying to tell you. Promise me that at least you will listen until I finish."
She became nervous then she nodded.
"I want you to stop following me," I said carefully.
She frowned and she looked ready to protest. I raised my right hand to stop her.
"Please, listen to my reason first. I want you to stop following me because it will hinder your own development."
She looked sceptical. "How come?"
"You have to learn to make your own decision and find your potential. You won't be able to do that if you keep following me."
She frowned. "But..."
"Please, don't even say that it's not important. Trust me it is." I told her firmly.
She looked down. "You're still rejecting me."
I was ready to groan. Sometimes I forgot how childish Kaya could be, despite how insightful she could be sometimes.
"Kaya, please, don't misunderstand me. I want you to stop following me because I care about you. And it's not like that you will never see me again." I tried to explain.
She looked up. "So, we can still meet each other."
I smiled. "Of course."
"Okay, I will try it."
"Good, now I want you to decide what you want to do?" I told her.
She frowned. "I am not sure what I want to do yet."
"It's okay. Just think about it when you're ready." I also tried to think about what I want to do.
Then, I remember something. "Kaya, could you and Philip leave me here. I will look for you later."
Kaya looked hesitated. She might think I would leave for good.
"Just leave her alone, Kaya. She might need a moment after her body got possessed." Philip spoke for the first time. I actually forgot he was here.
"You will come back, right," Kaya asked me.
"Yes, I promise," I told her firmly.
"Let's go to Gregminster. Lady Cleo must be worried that I left this long." Philip said.
I began to think again when I heard they walked away, but suddenly they stopped.
"Mhmm, what do we do with him?" I heard Kaya's voice.
"We might have to bring him too." I heard Philip said.
I looked at their direction curiously, and then I realized what happened. They were standing in front of his unconscious body.
"Leave him to me. I have unfinished business with him." I told them.
"What business?" Kaya asked.
"I am sorry, Kaya. It's personal." I said.
She frowned and she seemed to realize something. "Oh, I understand."
She gave me a knowing look. I raised my eyebrows at her expression, she only grinned at me as if to say 'I know something but I won't tell you what'. I decided to think about it later.
"You won't try to hurt him, will you? I won't be able to face Lady Cleo if I let you do that." Philip said sceptically.
I turned to Philip. "No. And, it might be better if you keep quiet about him being here and what happened here."
He was quiet for a while then said. "All right. You better have a good reason for this."
"Thank you for everything, Philip. Take care of Kaya." I told him sincerely.
He looked embarrassed. "Sure, no problem."
I raised my eyebrows. "I was pretty sure he said the same words when I thanked him before."
"All right. See you later, Kasumi." Kaya waved at me.
Then they vanished before my eyes. I faintly heard a scream. I sweat dropped when I realized that Kaya must be dragging Philip along with her and he must be screaming because he was not used to ninja's speed.
I turned to look at his unconscious body to decide what to do to him. I walked towards him and hoisted him up and put his arm on my shoulder. Then, I ran towards a location I had in mind.
I can't avoid the past forever. It's time to face the past. And I know the appropriate place to start.
Kasumi's point of view ends.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please be kind to me and review it. By the way, you might be surprised that I update so early. It's because I will be on vacation, so no update next month. If nothing goes wrong, I will update the next chapter 2 months later. Thank you for reading my fan fiction.