"I'm fine." Ren reassured me.
I shook my head "No! What if…"
"…Aoba. It might sound weird for me to say this to you…" Ren mutters "But if Usui has Sei's consciousness within it, you may just be able to reach him and call him out."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"This is a Rhyme Field. It's closer to communicate mind to mind rather than through the flesh. Like how you did to me, you can call out to Sei."
…
I slowly nod my head understanding what he's getting at "…I see. I got it. I'll try."
"And during it, I'll protect you."
"Sorry."
Ren flashes me a gentle smile "It's my duty." He said before taking off to fight against Usui.
I watched him fight Usui taking in some damage, I let out a low sigh relaxing my body as I collect my concentration…I call out to Sei in my mind.
…Sei. Answer me.
To my call…
Answer me…!
BA-DUMP
"Answer me, please."
"Answer me… please!"
"…I'm counting on you… Answer me, Nii-san!"
Usui's eyes… are looking at me-
"…" Toue looks calmly over at Usui that was making painful grunting sounds.
"…" I looked at Usui in shock. Did my call go through?
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…"
"A"
"o"
"ba"
"…"
. . . . . .
"It's fine now…" I smiled gently at Usui "I'll destroy it. I'll release you with my power, nii-san."
"…Usui's attacks have stopped." Ren said before going in for one more move successfully destroying Usui.
...When I return to reality, I see Toue on his knees in front of me. A smile rises to his face.
"Fufu, as I'd expect. A complete loss. So fate led you two to victory."
"…"
"But either way, it's all right. God's judgment is impartial, it has to be." Toue slowly get up, but keeps a distance between us, looking slightly pained. "The loser will gallantly leave the stage. It's the least he could do. Sei is in the room over there." Toue looks to a door in the room. But I kept my sight on him without moving.
The loser will gallantly leave the stage. That means…
"Are you possibly…" I murmur… I didn't say any more than that.
As if to confirm my suspicion, Toue's smile deepens. "The moment before the crash is the most magnificent isn't it?"
"…" After this, Toue will definitely… …I took my gaze off of him and started to walk towards the door.
"Aoba." Ren looked up at me.
"Yeah, let's go." I stood in front of the door without looking back to Toue. It's a large door covered in elaborate, antique ornaments. I lay my hand over the handle and give it a slight push.
The room is bright and colorful, and decorated in a way not unlike a playroom for children. The ribbons, the toys, the gift boxes… The sudden burst of color gives me a flash of dizziness.
A feeble-looking boy sits on a chair in the middle of the room, unmoving.
"…Sei." Upon seeing his blank expression, suffocating lumps arose in my throat. I swallowed them down and walked up to Sei. The pale skin of his cheeks are of an almost transparent whiteness. I reach out and put one hand to his face.
His skin is cold.
I suddenly remember our brief meeting in that back alley.
Sei was squatting down like a lost child in the corner of a forgotten alleyway. Toue mentioned that Sei longed for freedom and had created countless self-consciousness's. and because of that, both his body and his mind began to deteriorate.
"…I'm sorry for being so late…" As I murmur an apology, Sei's eyelashes make the slightest movement. His dark, dull eyes slowly move to me.
At that moment…
An electric shock ran through my body.
ZAP
BA-DUMP
"…!"
…When I opened my eyes again, I saw an empty white room. I couldn't tell if there was even a ground or a ceiling. But the entire place was unbearably white. The human version of Ren is standing next to me.
Does that mean I'm on a Rhyme field…?
"…" Someone is standing in front of me.
Who?
…Oh. Is that…
…Sei?
In the colorful room, I knew he had black hair and eyes, but now everything is as white as the room around us. His hair, his eyes, even his skin. All of his color, gone, as if it was simply left somewhere else.
"Aoba… We finally meet." A tender smile rises to Sei's pale face. It's the first time I've heard his voice, but it feels so nostalgic. I've heard it somewhere. This voice…
"Hurry to me…"
"Dest –roy me…"
"With you –r pow –er…"
So that voice was Sei's…
As I stare into his captivating eyes, my heart starts to throb. "Sei… nii-san." When I call out to him, Sei's eyes thin out as he smiles. "Your eyes and hair… Why?"
"This is what we were like when we were born. In this world, I've changed back to how I once was, maybe because I wish to return to that time…" Sei's smile changes to show a hint of loneliness. "Aoba, I've always wanted to see you. But I thought it'd be all right even if I didn't. It was what I wanted, but…" Sei closes his eyelids.
I don't understand what he means. "…You didn't want to see me?"
"Not that. Even if I did, I'm already…I'm going to disappear soon. Aren't you going to go destroy me, Aoba?"
"…"
I'll kill Sei. I'll release him.
Knowing the significant meaning of it all… leaves me with nothing to say.
"Can't we run away together?" I asked.
"…That's true. I'm happy to hear that, and I want to. But it's impossible. My heart won't last much longer."
"No…"
"I'm sorry, and thank you."
"…You were always with Toue, weren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Was that you in the game? The one that helped me."
"…Yeah."
"And the invitation to Platinum Jail, too…?"
The game that was sent to me from time to time, the messages from the Captive Princess… And that invitation into Platinum Jail.
Toue said that Sei had created countless self-consciousness's in different places. I understood it right away when we spoke…The person who sent those games and those messages was Sei.
Sei had been helping me all this time.
"I had helped you…but truthfully, I just wanted you to come to me quickly." Sei said. "So you could hurry and destroy me."
*Someone, please save me…
"…." That's Sei's only wish now. Too much time has passed for him to have any hope left. He wasn't able to die because of Toue and fell into despair because of it. He's been living only for this moment, hoping for me to destroy him.
That's so…
"…!" My heart twists and I firmly grab onto my chest.
Sei and I are siblings, yet he had to go through all of that…
I know I can't change that fact, but… It's just hurts too much.
"…Ren." Sei's gentle gaze moves to the side of me. "You've always been protecting Aoba, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Ren nod.
"You even let yourself become something completely separate from her, too."
"…I did."
"Then soon enough, 'she' will have to come out as well."
"…"
"You and 'her' are of the same thing. She's always been mourning. Let her out."
Her?
Who are they talking about?
"Aoba. You and Ren used to be a single entity, right?" Sei said.
"Yeah." I slowly nod.
"Ren was born for protecting the balance in your mind… What was he protecting it from?" Sei looks at me as he asks. Unable to think of an answer, I looked to Ren. Ren stares at Sei. "There's not only you and Ren inside yourself. You should know that. You should've seen her, heard her voice. The one other you."
"…!" The one other me. That's…the one with the power of Scrap.
"Ren protected you from her so you wouldn't be taken over." Sei said "But she's no enemy. She's not a bad woman. So there's no way she'd ever do that to you. Isn't that right, the other Aoba?" Sei looked over his shoulder, and at some point the other me had formed behind me. But 'my' skin, eye, and hair were all pure white like Sei's.
Sei did say that that was how we were when we were born.
"Aoba, Ren agreed to your wishes. So I'd like you to listen to his." As he said that, Sei made his way towards the other me. 'I' just stared at myself silently. Sei goes down one step.
…And then I noticed something unusual.
Sei's legs are turning transparent. It's like he's going to eventually fade away.
"Nii-san, your body…"
"My wish has already been fulfilled. You'll kill and release me. I'll be fine. My only regret is 'her'. But if Ren was accepted, it'll surely be fine. Aoba. You might find this surprising, but I don't resent Toue. No one knows what's right and what's wrong. It's the people themselves who decide that. It's true that every single day was painful, but the only one who could judge whether he was wrong or not was I. but all the same, there isn't just one point of view. If you listen carefully to others, you'll come to understand. Because your heart full answers are everything to me."
Sei's body gradually fades.
"Nii-san…!"
Only the silhouette of his hand touches my cheek. "I don't resent Toue, but I am going to end this once and for all. My duty isn't done just yet. I'm going to take all of my consciousness's and focus them – this tower… and Platinum Jail, I'm going to destroy them. This will be my last struggle as a person who was powerless in life." Sei gives me another gentle smile. "Now, Aoba. Destroy me… Release me. And then I'll destroy the tower."
"…No…!" I cried shaking my head.
"Aoba…" Sei slightly frowns and grasps my hands with his transparent ones. "Look into my eyes."
"No…!"
"Aoba." Sei continues with a hint of sadness in his words. "Please… Give me peace. Release me from here… with your power."
"…!" Trying to bear it, I slowly looked up to Sei's face. His eyes were filled with an intense, tender light. I look into those eyes… and open my trembling mouth. This is so… I can save my big brother. …I have to do it. "…I… I… …I'll… destroy you. …!" A bright light flashes, almost too much to keep my eyes open.
And when it faded out… Sei was father away from me, smiling, with his body nearly all gone.
"…Nii-san…"
"I'm glad I got to talk to you in the end… Aoba, thank you, I really mean it, Imōto."
And with his last words…
Sei dissolved into the air.
"…" I stood around like an idiot, blankly staring at where Sei should've been.
He's gone.
I knew very well…what that meant.
Almost too well.
There were no tears.
Just…
"…!" My emotions went out of control and my throat began to burn. I couldn't help it. As I hang my head in shame, the pure white field began to fill with color.
****
In a single blink, the white space turned into an evening sea. This is… I remember it from my childhood. It feels like a very important place. I'd always talk with someone while sitting on the beach and staring at the sea…
That's…
…Father?
…Oh, yes. I remember.
I'd always speak to my friends inside my head, with my heart and mouth closed to the other people around me. The one who set me free from that was my father. I had no blood relation because I was born in a lab, but he was my father. The man who opened up my world and showed me the light.
"It's all right. You can always destroy this world any time."
He said that to me.
Right now… 'I' am standing where my father was.
The pure white 'me' had looked exactly like me this time.
"Aoba." Ren looks at me with serious eyes.
"We were once all part of one whole. Then you, me , and her separated. We can't unite or else you'll turn into the personality you were in the beginning. In short we'll disappear. But I gained a will. You acknowledged me as another existence. You accepted me. So I won't disappear. But she…she's always been lamenting over you not accepting her, over not being able to return to you. Always." Ren explained.
When I look over to the other me, the "me" that was once expressionless had a somewhat helpless face on.
I always thought she was a hostile thing. That she wouldn't stop at trying to take over me. But I may have been wrong. That's what I thought when I looked at the expression of the other me.
"…I was scared of you using Scrap. I thought that breaking into peoples' minds was the same thing as killing them… I was scared of myself becoming a person that had a sense of superiority because of my power. When I had that incident in Rhyme and knew it was like that, I was incredibly afraid. So I got rid of it. So I forgot that I could use Scrap. But that ended up with me denying you. I didn't look into myself, and lived a peaceful life… I always thought that way. " I looked directly towards the other 'me' before continuing
"But you're me, so I hated that I let myself forget. So that's why you appeared whenever I used Scrap. To tell me that 'I' was here."
"….."
"While you rose up, I thought you were against me. I jumped to that conclusion and refused you... Sei said it earlier. That he had one regret. I misunderstood you. So I won't run away or deny you anymore. You're right here inside of me. In the past, in the present, always. I'm sorry for all that I did."
When I finished talking I walked up to 'myself'. Her body faintly quivers and I take a deep breath. When I got closer to her, I could see all of the emotion in her eyes. She slowly raised her hands. I rose mine to hers…and lightly touched her palms. A small warmth grew between our hands. Her unsteady eyes reflected in mine and her lips moved ever so slightly.
"…Thank you."
With a hoarse voice… She bursts into a dazzling light.
"…-!"
When I opened my eyes 'I' was no longer there.
". . . . . "
While silently looking at my hands, my heart sounded like it was just torn apart.
"She went back inside of you." Ren stands next to me. "She went back because you accepted her."
"You're all right, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You recognized that I was a separate being. So I won't go back."
"I see."
Those words relax me a little. I accepted another 'one of me' and she returned to my consciousness. That was what she wanted. But Sei…
Sei wanted me to free him.
So…
I fulfilled that wish…
We won't see each other anymore. Even though we finally did…
Suddenly, the tears rose to my eyes.
"Aoba…"
"I wonder if I could've saved him somehow… If I could've saved Sei."
"He said so. That he didn't hate Toue , but wouldn't become his piece. It's likely that he thought he was saved by you in the end" Ren said
". . . . ."
… If only I could've saved Sei sooner. If only Sei and I didn't have our powers. Thinking of it, I imagine the different futures we could've had.
…But.
What's happened and what's happening now is reality.
So…
There must be no other road than this one.
I roughly wiped the tears off my face.
With no words left, I listened to the sound of the waves. It was like a dream with the scenery dyed in the color of twilight.
I calmly closed the distance between Ren and I.
I smelled the tide with a piercing pain in my chest.
"…It's beautiful."
"Yeah."
"It's my precious memory. I'm glad that I could see this scenery with you. But you've always been with me. We've seen the same places and things… You must've seen this sea too, huh? With me."
"Yeah, I did."
While I stared at the sea, Ren's hand touched my cheek. He stared at me for a moment… and then suddenly hugged me.
"-! Ren ?"
"…"
"What is it, what's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just got the sudden urge to do this."
"Haha , what the heck?"
Grinning, I leaned my head onto Ren's shoulder. His body heat seeped through…
And then I felt a hint of loneliness. It's warm, but it feels lonely.
"…Even though you're a different person than me, you can only take your human form in this world, huh?"
"Yeah."
"…That's a little lonely."
"…..I'll still be there as an Allmate. It's always been like that. Nothing has really changed."
"I'm happy about that too… But it's not that I don't like the Allmate version of you. But it's kind of lonely that we can't do something like this in real life…."
"Aoba…"
" It's fine, I'm sorry, I said something weird."
While trying to backtrack, I try to separate from Ren. What I just said was really weird. I knew that perfectly , because I was the one who accepted Ren.
"Well, it's time to go…"
"…!"
"…! Ren … ? When I tried to move away, Ren pulled me back. His warm breaths entered my ear as he held me in an almost painful embrace.
"… Don't."
". . . . ."
"The truth is, I want to be with you like this for a little longer."
"Okay."
"I know I shouldn't be saying this , but… I want… to touch you more. Those are my honest feelings right now."
When I heard that I was both surprised… and happy. I never thought I'd hear those words from Ren…
He's truly irreplaceable to me.
I hug him back and press my face into his chest.
"… I want to touch you more too."
"… Aoba!"
Ren hugs me even tighter than before and we lose our balance.
"R-Ren, wait, you're hugging too… Uwah!"
With no support,I wobble and fell on top of Ren.
"Sorry, are you all right?"
"… Haha, you surprised me."
Ren was below me so it didn't really hurt much.
"Aoba."
Ren moved his face into the nape of my neck. My heart nearly skipped a beat.
"What?"
"… I can't believe that I'm actually able to touch you like this."
Ren held me even closer with his face pushed into my shoulder. He sat there ,almost like he was taking in my scent. It was a loving gesture, so I gently pet his head. Whatever…data this was based on, it's nice that Ren has a larger build than me here. He's taller than me too. But it's also a little frustrating.
"…Why are you so much bigger than me?"
I playfully ruffled Ren's hair and he lifted his head.
"It can't be helped , it's how the settings are."
"I know that. It's kinda irritating."
"Do you hate it?"
"Nah."
"…"
We just stare into each other's anxious eyes silently. His eyes are a tender amber. They aren't that different from the ones as a dog. They're the eyes of the Ren who was always with me.
"Aoba…"
His breath tickles my cheek when he says my name. He quietly blinked, and moved his face in closer…
Then our lips met naturally.
"….!"
A small spark runs through my body.
Right now I'm thinking of how I'm doing something unimaginable.
