CHAPTER 10

DEPARTURE

The next day, Crush received a message from his sister. She wasn't permitted to have a cell phone while she was at the trauma center, but he had trained her on how to communicate with her telepathic powers, in case she ever needed to reach out to him. Apparently, that was the case today.

When he arrived at the trauma center, Crush quickly ran into Shoko, and she held both hands up as she ran up to him, appearing frantic. "She's locked herself in the restroom. We tried calling you."

Crush followed the staff worker down the hall until he arrived at the restroom where Ichika had taken refuge. He was about to rip the door open himself but he refrained. His sister was still at risk from stressful situations, and he didn't want to startle her. Instead, he contacted her mentally, informing her that he was going inside. She insisted that no one else be around.

With the request in mind, Crush motioned to Shoko and some of the other staff who were gathered around. "I'll take care of her. Everyone else please give us space."

The normally overbearing Shoko was fully submissive this time, relieving Crush. She even took to urging the other medical personnel and children to return to the recreation room, away from the scene.

That left Katsuo alone with his sister. He held the door handle and turned it, and the locked door opened to grant him access. Once he was inside, he shut the door behind him and locked the latch.

Ichika was curled up in a corner on the floor, wiping tears away, as if she didn't want her brother to see her like this. "I'm fine. I wasn't upset. They're lying. Don't make me stay. Please don't make me stay now. I've been on good behavior." She accidentally bumped the rail attached to the wall with her left elbow, then growled in frustration as she then had to elbow it five more times to even it out.

Katsuo slowly walked over, unsure of what triggered all of this. He would need to use caution. "It's okay now, sis. It's just you and me here. No one else. I'm here now, aren't I? Didn't I always tell you if you ever contacted me that I would come?"

She slowed her breathing, although it was difficult to calm down. "Yes… I guess so."

"You know so." Katsuo grinned as he reached for the paper towels hanging from the bin above the sink. He took a couple and placed them on the closed toilet lid, then he sat down so he was right by his sister. "What happened?"

More tears oozed out from her eyes, but she resisted the urge to cry by proceeding with her explanation. "I just wanted to go outside and take some pictures of the birds. And they told me it was too dangerous. I told them I would be fine but they kept on saying I was wrong. Then… it was different. They were acting like I was a crazy person. I don't understand it…"

It was a pain Katsuo hadn't experienced before. Even with how cold he'd been for the past two years, he felt this. His empathy for his sister had extended far, but she was teaching him new lessons. In this case, she now revealed to him that he had underestimated the effects of keeping her enclosed in this place. In fact, the trauma center, which was supposed to be helping her in the recovery process, was doing the opposite. It was imposing further harm on her.

Katsuo had a tough decision to make now. The timing couldn't be worse. He was so close to finally confronting the Tornado of Terror. But with things the way they were, this decision came quicker to him than he expected.

"It's okay now, Ichika. I'm taking you from this place now."

Her eyes widened, and even her tears took a pause. "Really?" She had a puppy dog face. "You… really mean it? I can leave?"

"I do." Katsuo reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

She cried a different style of tears this time. "Oh, Katsuo-Kun! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I want to leave so much! I want to go home!" With that, she returned to her feet and leaped against her brother, hugging him tightly. He caught her and avoided falling backwards, while keeping her in his arms. From there, he returned to his feet, carrying his little sister to the doorway. The latch unfastened on its own, with a little help from his powers, and the door slid open.

When Katsuo exited the restroom carrying his sister, the hallway was empty. Shoko was visible, peeking from around the corner at the end of the hall. She looked afraid of what was going to happen. But Katsuo didn't pay it any mind. He simply took his sister with him, heading back to her room. And Ichika wept—a combination of joy and relief—while she was finally being rescued.

While Ichika took time to pack up her belongings in her room, Katsuo made it official. The staff continued to express concern with his decision but they were powerless to stop him. Katsuo was no longer going to keep his sister in this place. Nothing would change his mind about that now.

Once they were just outside the facility, Katsuo released his sister's hand and motioned to a nearby tree. She looked at him, unsure of what was on his mind. But he grinned and pointed. "Go ahead. Take your pictures."

She smiled back at him and dug in her backpack for her camera. The birds were chirping, as if excited to be photographed. Ichika ran up to the tree and snapped away, taking as many photos as she could before the birds decided to fly away.

Katsuo stood there, watching her, enjoying the warm feeling of his sister's joy.

But Crush was there, too, planning his next move. His plan to confront Terrible Tornado was still in place.

There was a challenge right away. Katsuo had to get Ichika to his apartment, but he wasn't sure if she could handle flight. He tried lifting her off the ground, but she tensed up right away. Therefore, he would have to do what was normal and ride a cab. The entire time, she had to keep her eyes closed, while Katsuo held her hand. Halfway through the ride, she settled down and let her eyes open again. She even looked out the window in excitement. The fear and anxiety of the trip faded away.

At last, they arrived at Katsuo's apartment. He lifted her bags with his power so he could carry her up the stairs, and then he took her inside. She hesitantly walked into the living room, blinking her eyes repeatedly, as if it were a dream. Just as her brother set the bags down, she turned to face him. "What happened to our house?"

Katsuo sighed and shook his head. "It's gone, Ichika."

"Gone?"

He knew ahead of time she wasn't going to be happy when she found out. "I sold it, to help pay for… everything."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She was sad to hear it, but this time she seemed unsure of how to feel.

Katsuo smiled as he walked over to her. "I took care of it. You did your part. You studied constantly and you were on good behavior. You didn't need to worry about the house."

"But I could have…" She stopped herself. "You just did it because you love me? That's it. That's nice. I think I love you too, big brother."

It was a relief that she accepted his decision rather easily. At least, that was how it appeared. "Listen to me, Ichika. I'm going to take care of you. Always. But you have to trust me, just like before. Even more than before. Things are going to be difficult, and they're not always going to make sense. The one thing I need you to always understand is that I love you."

She was smiling, grateful to have that. None of the people at the trauma center could offer her the same thing. Even if she had bad days now, she would always have her brother.

Therefore, she invested her heart to him.

When night came, and Ichika was sound asleep in the bed, Crush went outside to smoke a cigarette. The puffs he exhaled traveled up, spreading out in the cold night air, drawing his eyesight to the moon above. It was hanging over him, illuminating the shadows of the night, giving them life.

He would soon be looking into the eyes of the monster that killed his family. It was a tense situation but he wasn't afraid. At least, not for his own life.

The real issue now was his sister. She needed him. If he was killed from confronting Tatsumaki, then she would be truly alone. That was a weakness now for him. And he couldn't simply set it aside. It was already in place.

Katsuo shook his head, resisting the dark thoughts. He was with his sister and the rest would come together after. This just meant he had to be absolutely sure that he didn't fail in his bid to stop Tatsumaki. When he thought it over, nothing had changed. Just like before, he had to succeed, no matter what.

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