Rice Paddy fields

by Batya000

First journal entry

Rice paddy fields

The idea of brotherhood should dawn upon the world with a broader, more extensive significance than the narrow association of siblings tied by blood. Sometimes, the one you get to call your brother isn't necessarily your bearer's offspring and while quite controversial is the sagacity of such regards, you cannot contribute anything to the ideal condition of mind and heart known as brotherhood, especially if we are talking about the residues of gregarious affections onto the lives of strangers, those who are lonely while they pass through a firestorm and those who seek to adopt the world as their shelter.

Brotherhood; yet another word I so strongly associated with them.

And when it comes to my mind, I so thoroughly examine the lonesomeness their births conditioned each to share and how idyllically they became a whole new association of company; I nod to myself, they saved each other. That is, within the context of their lives, one melancholic conception.

After a while of finding myself looking at these tombs, their tombs, I have realized the next significant truth, one that is in this stage of life as important as it was witnessing what I did. I was born blind and how I regained my vision and all the memories of everything I once witnessed and was not able to appreciate is a story for another time. Today I want to write about them. Writing about them is as pointless as it is redundantly, true to myself and a memory I wish to protect.

In a day where a rice paddy field meant an evocative premise of success, this is the cusp of tragedy that I can't cope with as I'm aimed to only stare at what I've seen to be lost. Daichi and Sakuraya, the subjects of my grief, have died under a sun that disemboweled the most humble of partakes.

I can't keep my head from mentally shaping their silhouettes in the distance. What a wretched conformity I have come to. I can only remember, but that is resignation to my terms. What else can I do? At least keep my head off of their premature departure and more into what made their lives- theirs. Where can I begin? What do I write? First and foremost, I bow at their synchronicity; they once said they were born alone, but were sure to die together, and in this tragic soliloquy, I can't help myself but think that they did, although less than a month apart, in their soul and more than in one way, they did, poetically, heartbreakingly and hopefully meaningfully.

These brothers who were born from different wombs, I so often remember, had in their surroundings something keen and spirited to make amends with, a fearless future that was shaped of danger and companionship. And who's to say that it was something worthy of attention, regardless of their anonymity, Daichi and Sakuraya became a synonym of bravery to my eyes, theirs is a story for me worth telling.

The oldest was stubborn, loud, and tenacious, Sakuraya was somewhat of feline sagacity, he had a hostile tone of voice and brown orbs that were so light, one could easily think they were made of gold, black long hair that was always tied up and his unfriendly scowl easily made him an imposing figure despite his size. He was always mistaken to be younger and he tried very hard to convince himself that it wasn't because he was shorter. People were just, in his very own terms, 'stupid.'

Daichi, the youngest and calmest of the two, had gentle, profound dark eyes and uniquely long and wavy hair, contrary to his brother, he always refused to tie it up. He was the most approachable of the two. Although zealously protective, he often wore a reassuring smile and carefree strut, Daichi, as naturally sentimental as he was, seemed to make the most rational and well-thought decisions between the brothers. He was talkative but as mentioned, never too naïve to let anyone get too comfortable, Daichi had sharp instincts against the two-faced people who planned to harm them.

Their ambitions run very much present for my mind to forget, I can vividly hear them as I recognize that their wishes are now only words from a discolored, distant past. I stare at the field where I buried them and I allow myself to agree because it is true; these are beautiful, rice paddy fields were and are a dream come true. I have paused more than twice to admire what was never theirs and I curse at the short lives they were allowed to live. They had so much to live for.

Sakuraya headstrongly wished to gift his brother ten acres of golden rice paddy fields, long, endless meadows of green and gold, tranquil water shaping squares around them. He steadfastly reinvented their agitated lives onto the fields he envisioned. In his mind, time was endless, he was sure of his foresees, without a doubt, they would till the gilded strings together.

Daichi, undoubtedly the wiser of the two, was always enthusiastic to agree, but deep inside his heart, he wasn't keen on the endangerment they often disregarded. His pulse always raced for apprehension when they spoke about the future, for their future, under his eyes, sometimes looked uncertain. He knew the paths they walked on were dangerous and he often wondered if it fairly, paid its price.

Daichi wished for something that felt more unrealistic in retrospective, Daichi wished to protect Sakuraya from harm.

None of those promises were ever fulfilled.

I stop for a while and let my mind linger. What else can I tell about these figures?

When I think about Sakuraya, I think about the shielding belligerence he represented, those fierce and aggressive eyes that wouldn't allow anyone in, the strong voice eroding as invincible. Things that I just said, things that I exposed about him but somehow it feels like these words are never enough to make people know him. No physical attribution or mental capacity can make anyone anywhere nearer. Is only when I look up at the skies and hear a storm coming is when I seize a real hold of the memory of his. For me, Sakuraya meant the unpredictable lethality of life.

When I think about Daichi, I can't help myself but think about the wind. It's inevitable. It's inexplicable. It's just as fitting. As I write this down I can't help but feel his loyal company in between these fields, between the dancing foil and wavering branches, up the clouds, and down on my shoulder. A hug he still owes me as of today. The gust of wind rustles slightly and it says he was devoted, he was loving and he was passionate about his stances. Daichi meant the unwavering faithfulness of tomorrow.

Because I spoke so often with him, I just wish I could have one last conversation with him and ask what haunted his life while he lived. 'Did you find peace?'

I shake my head, is it possible that I perhaps, may hold the answer between these words? Maybe or maybe I don't. I wonder, is it possible to know more about someone you already knew, by merely remembering them? I don't think so. Yet I hope the answer, somehow arrives, for I wish to know if he lastly, felt how he deserved, at peace. I remember that when he left, he said he would meet him, his counterpart, the side that made him stay throughout all those years, the side that was opposite and equal to him; Sakuraya. I chuckled as I now realize that if he left because of it then maybe yes, he left at peace. Thank you Daichi, that was at least, fast.

Or not? I sigh, dear lord, I'm making assumptions again. I have to offer a less passionate retailing but then my thoughts become deranged and I struggle against what feels like the truth and what others want to know about the truth. I sigh to myself and try to think about everything in the right order. I meander lost in the field, I sink in what I feel is incoming bitterness and I realize that I am still upset about their deaths. Three years have gone by and I still come. Three years have gone by and I still wonder about their lives. Three years have gone by and I have yet to write what I know in a way that is fair and dignified.

This field is not theirs but their tombs should signify something less dull than their deathbeds. There is not a tombstone that identifies their remains. After all, this is not a cemetery but the place where both wanted to spend close to for the rest of their existence. I close my eyes to the depth of my memories. I was told their vestiges must be buried in the unknown.

I recall the last and one of the very few conversations I ever had with their Sensei. Taciturn words came from an unfamiliar, unmoving poise, through all the years that I was able to witness the playful affection he displayed for Daichi and Sakuraya, it surprised me. His anger, I naturally believed it to be lenient. So there is to see, because of his lighthearted nature, the old man was often mistaken by a mere fraud. I knew, firsthand, he was far from it and he meant his words, unfortunately, by heart.

"Forget about them. Remove the gravestone, dry the water up and forget that they ever existed."

"I can't!" I refused. Having gone and on for about half an hour with him, our bickering was starting to take a toll on me. Right to my left, I remember Seiji did not say a word, but his eyes bore resentment on his own powerlessness. "If I remove the tombstone then the world will forget about them." I yelled back, I felt heartbroken, "And if I remove their names then how will I find them later on?"

"You shouldn't."

"You want us to forget about them?"

"It's how it should be."

"You were their sensei, you trained these men for ten years. How could-"

"They have failed," he said sternly, "they must pay the price and be forgotten." Before I could say a word, the old man shook his head and turned to leave, "It'd be a shame if you dishonored this honor. I'm forgiving them by burying them into the forgotten, as tradition, their graves must be markless."

"I don't give two damns about your forgiveness, we will decide-"

"Do as you wish." He said without ever turning back.

As he slowly walked away, I remember Seiji's hand tapping my head, "Do as he said. It's fine."

"What? No. I-"

"It won't hurt them. These tags are a place for our misery, not theirs." He said distantly, "They can't see those no more."

"But what if I need… what if I need to be here."

"I'm sure it's already engraved in your head." He said easily, I could tell there was wreckage behind his eyes, "I'm confident."

"No, it's not. I don't want to lose them here."

He chuckled, "Impossible. I don't think none of us will ever forget about this place, silly."

No tears that I could shed would change the inevitable, I shook my head in denial, "…What if they get buried in the matted meadow?" I closed my eyes, "…How will we visit if we let them be forgotten?"

"We can't." He said serenely. "I wish we could forget about them now that their passing burdens our hearts, but we can't, can we?" He smiled acidly, "Some things would be easier if they relied on a stone tag, wouldn't they?"

I looked at the yellow grass beneath, "I will want to visit them Seiji."

"They are dead. You just visit those who live…"

I blinked through tears, "…What do you mean? You won't return again?"

Saddened eyes softened on me, "I won't." he smiled gloomily, "and you shouldn't either." This time he turned to leave and I wondered if I would ever see him again. My dear friend Seiji, would he relieve later than I would? I wondered as I shed another tear. "There are some things that we can't bring back. It doesn't matter how fiercely we miss them."

I nodded

"…Will we meet again?"

He laughed, quietly, almost to himself. "If you ever get to have something of value, be sure I will steal from you. Otherwise, I doubt it."

"Why? Why do I have to lose you too?"

His gesture was despondent, the breeze enraptured the sadness that sang behind him "I don't want to be myself right now Hiroshi. You are also part of that self of sense I want to run from. That part that fitted between them." He slightly turned to me and gently breathed out, "I hope you don't hate me for it. Be sure I will also miss you."

I hated myself on that spot. Why couldn't I stop crying? I promised myself those would be the last tears I would shed, from this life to the other. "I wished you'd stay. For a while at least."

"I can't. I can't grieve them another day." He enclosed to himself and after our silence, I defeatedly nodded, "One day we will meet again, and hopefully, both will be fine. For right now, I am too angered at the path they chose to follow. That deadly path dragged us both to devastation. I can't forgive them but I can't help myself but want to see both."

Seiji continued as he walked away, "Here it ends and you shouldn't fight against it. And back to the gravestones," He stopped and turned to look at me, "Even without them. I doubt you'd be able to forget about this place."

"What about you? You can't be certain you won't return."

"Ah. It's fine." He said, "I can't forget it anyway." He sighed, "after all, It's golden in here, like the color of his eyes."

His silhouette became black and distant as he walked against the sun.

"Farewell Seiji!" I yelled at the last minute. My hands up my mouth to make my voice louder and be heard, the tears flooding down now that he was far from my reach "Take care of yourself! Stop stealing and stop eating that much!" He turned swiftly around and smiled at me. That one sincere, yet saddened smile that I got from him that day will always be engraved in my heart. From afar and without a word, he moved his hand in candid goodbye.

Until we meet again Seiji.

That day I understood, that while Seiji lived and as long as I am alive, there was no way this two-made cemetery could fall into such sad disgrace. And that is the only thing that should matter.

But while I comfort myself with it, I can't help but retrieve from my recollection and realize it does matter to me. The sole thought of them being forgotten without us wounds me deeply.

Once I die, time will kill the rest of Sakuraya and Daichi.

After all, my friends weren't hailed by the villagers they saved, nor were they well-known heroes. They weren't rich. They weren't anything special in the eyes of the world. They were young brothers trying to make peace with their loss and that is how they are being slowly forgotten by everyone they once touched.

For such vane-driven reasons is that I have come in here. I have decided to defy their sensei and the absurd ideas of punishment. I have dealt with my own dejection and I have promised myself that I won't shed another tear as I try my best to make something important out of my mindless words. I will write down what I have envisioned as the truth of a tale I don't wish to forget.

I hope so that one day, I can come across the thought of them without feeling despondent, without feeling I am missing some laughter and peace. I wish so to myself and wherever he is, that one friend I very deeply miss, Seiji. I wish him health and hopefully, he has found life outside the tragedy that I understood was his love for Sakuraya.

Where do I begin? I feel like I have started quite a few times by now.

Daichi. It has to be Daichi. Well, Daichi was not always his name, he wasn't born with that name, his original name was in fact, Sakuraya. These tiny bits of information are not something anyone knows and while they are harmless, for me it was the beginning of their destiny. Daichi was found with a peculiar tag under his hand-crib that spelled, 'Sakuraya', 桜湯 the name was read as "cherry blossom tea" however, this name was somewhat the conundrum, the Kanjis read from left to right read as "Drowned Cherry blossom" and that was, unfortunately, more fitting for Daichi at that time.

His mother tried to drown him in the tumultuous river Haruto. She was hysteric, losing control as she pushed her child down the waves with the only tragic purpose to erase him from ever happening. The wind roared resentfully behind her neck, wallowing in angry floods of delusion and she claimed he was haunted, haunted by the wind. She released the child and left him alone to float and hopefully for her, to drown.

"Bastard! Have the wind nurse you." She shrieked as the water left her toes and she finally walked the only path that would get her lost. She never once turned her back.

The baby did not make a sound as he gurgled through the waves of cold.

"Mercy." Whispered the wind as his sufferer stripped peace from the water lilies and he became tranquil. A lonely man felt sudden hollowness and anguished by the disturbed amity, stared at the strange river. A cherry blossom swayed from a branch and then fell atop a soaping bundle.

The man's eyes widened and he acted upon realization. 'Sakuraya' thankfully, survived, but was promptly wrapped between Sarashi cloths and hid inside a basket, the one hand-crib that embraced his fragile existence. The man inspired, wrote the tag down, and left the baby at the front door of a lesser-known orphanage. The baby was about five months old, friable but alive as the man knocked on the door and ran without waiting for a response.

Vigil and Buddhist prayers throughout the night from the entire foster home were pledged that night, all for mercy, the tiny baby that was just abandoned at the foot of their door was a breath away from death. Oddly similar, they realized. Daichi, who I only knew as Sakuraya, was another baby that was abandoned a week earlier, he also had this peculiar tag in which a name read as Dai-ichi (第一), meaning number one, or first. Somehow, to the caretakers, it clicked that the two babies were two halves from a whole. One of the caretakers said aloud, "Daichi is older than Sakuraya. Perhaps, that's who he is first to."

That is how they determined, the wavy-haired man I know now as Daichi was younger.

"Oh maybe." One said with a burst of upbeat laughter, not at all surprised that they just made an absurd connection between two unrelated babies. Perhaps everyone was thinking about it. They were the only babies they had under their care. One of the caretakers looked at them closely, she nodded, Daichi, in fact, was found first but looking at them, they just seemed like they were the same age.

"Hmm… Maybe Sakuraya is older?"

A rumble of thunder was heard outside.

"Alright, then he is not. Sakuraya is younger" She sighed at the skies. Something within her told her that maybe those babies were special and maybe, just maybe, they were meant to meet. She went inside the room where the other baby rested and placed them side by side. "Let them be known, both are lucky enough to understand that. I hope one day they are worthier than what their survival left of them."

Sakuraya and Daichi made their first eye contact that night, both quiet and at peace as the unusual thunder and wild wind raged outside. The baby, named at that time Sakuraya, quickly regained health. From that day, the caretakers understood they were better if they were together.

Six years passed, to the outside world we all grew old. But not to the brothers who found reassurance within their domain. They knew each other as they always were. They knew each other's hearts, they knew each other's minds. They shared private jokes. They shared their feuds and secrets, griefs and joys. For the whole world that witnessed their first years, it felt like they were living outside of the touch of time.

The waterfall, the blooms, and a bountiful stream gave the lake and its hills a superb spring scent, built up from earth excavated from a natural basin to the ware; a red bridge over the oasis, and the natural guardian stones. It was another typical day at their favorite garden.

"Daichi." Busy hands with sticks kicking the grass and barefoot on a sunny day, Daichi, up to that moment, the older one, started a conversation that would change way more than their identity, "Can I tell you something."

"Mhm." Sakuraya wrapped a band around his curled hair. "What is it Ni-san?"

"It's not... too important I guess." He frowned, embarrassed.

"It's fine, what is it Ni-san?"

"Right. But first, haven't you noticed?"

Sakuraya stared at the torrent washing down the rounded pebbles near their feet, "Notice what Ni-san?"

"They always call me Sakuraya."

"Oh?" Sakuraya blinked, "Hm?" With a finger up his chin, he gave it a quick thought, "True. True. I always tell them that's not your name."

"Exactly and they also call you Daichi." Daichi gave Sakuraya a wide mischievous smirk, and the youngest immediately realized something was up to his brother's mind.

"Do they?"

"Yes, regardless of the obvious, they do so all the time." He playfully rolled up his yellow eyes.

Sakuraya snorted amused. "Niii-san… it's not obvious." he chuckled.

"I'm saying." Daichi frowned and cleared up his throat. "It's uh, sort of useful."

"Useful? What for?"

"Umm." Hesitated the child, not making anything clearer for his confused brother. "For uh, because I'll do something about it." He nodded, convinced at his own words.

"What, why? Does it bother you Ni-san?" Asked Sakuraya concerned, his hands ripped the grass from underneath his feet.

"No." Daichi moved his head in negative. He puffed his chubby cheeks and then he stared back down "But it's our birthday and I thought about giving you something…" his cheeks tinted, "it's just that I don't have anything more than my name."

"Your name? Ni-san-" asked confused Sakuraya. "You don't have to worry about giving me anything, it's also your birthday."

"But I want to." The headstrong nodded, "…Would… would you want my name from now on?"

Sakuraya stopped for a good minute and then slowly nodded, "It's your name still. Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He frowned despite his winning smile.

"Hm," Sakuraya gave it another thought, "If that's so. Is only fair I do the same."

The elder's lips pursed stubbornly "You don't have to."

"Well," Sakuraya, now baptized as Daichi smiled "Now I want to Ni-san. I would also like to give you my name, is all I have."

A heartfelt and candid serenade of breeze danced through their hairs and the grass inclined at the direction of the soft torrent, there was something earnest and profound about the way the wind swayed, it told the golden-eyed that it was fine, it was true, his brother really wished to give him that, he could nod.

"If you want to..." Nodded sincerely the renamed Sakuraya. "I will."

"Happy Birthday then, Sakuraya." Said Daichi with a toothy smile.

"Hey!" Frowned Sakuraya with a pink hue over his cheeks, "It was my idea! Happy Birthday… To you first!"

The newly named Daichi followed down his brother's chase game until they reached the clear of water, splashing and jumping on lukewarm water, and if they stopped to relish on the jovial sensations, it felt like having the best day out of the week. It didn't matter if they were prone to catch a cold.

The name that was on Daichi's basket said "Sakuraya" and Sakuraya had "Daichi" written on the tag of his. More than the assignation of their names, it was the name of the person they would have to look for in this life.

It was never meant to be their birth name and that is why their original names never fitted to them, they never stuck to anybody that ever called them in those six years. If anything, people always said "I always confuse you two." Without being able to pinpoint why. Not that oddly, people called Daichi, the one I knew, by Daichi's name without knowing about the exchange, and they called Sakuraya as Sakuraya and nobody remembered it was another name they had for six years. The brothers didn't have to tell anyone about their gift to the other. Without further questioning, both realized they were fine with it.

When both turned seven, they forgot they used to have the other's name around. Even Daichi once asked Sakuraya why his name was referring to be 'the first' if Sakuraya was the older one, to which Sakuraya didn't know, in their world, they came from the same place and from the same time.

In the heart's deepest place, where the burden of ego is dropped and the mystery of soul is pierced, a man finds the consciousness there not different in any way from what all other men may find. The mutuality of their fraternity thus revealed as existing only on a plane where its humanness is transcended. Sakuraya and Daichi became as effective as a thunderstorm, I viewed them as the meaning of togetherness.

Having their lives wrapped around a foster home became for a while, everything that protected their innocence. Daichi and Sakuraya were brothers without sharing blood or any other figure that weren't the religious mothers that did the noblest of deeds only to gain some sort of redemption from lives filled with excess.

Sakuraya and Daichi often hid when visitors came seeking for a future son. Though often after a visit, they found themselves in trouble, they viewed the whipping as part of the sacrifice of being together. Nothing could further harm them inside the house that would never find the momentum to give them away.

They did not want a forever home as the caretakers, often called it in order to make it more appealing to their children. They decided long ago that their forever belonged in their ties and even after understanding that when adolescence hit them both there was the possibility of being either sold to Shudo or Wakashi houses or simply being left abandoned on the streets of Nippon.

Both understood, yes, both would constantly nod at the idea of being left alone. Together was a condition of mind. Nothing seemed scary if that was implemented in their future. The caretakers stopped pressuring them to give in the idea of being separated and for a little while, when both were eight years old, Sakuraya and Daichi found peace.

There is a saying that a peace of mind is a mere prelude to bitterness.

While carelessly sitting alone outside up on one of his favorite hills, Daichi tried to keep his mind away from the various tasks he had to do that same afternoon. He was grounded, he exhaled loudly, he had to clean everyone's tatamis and for what? He frowned, because Sakuraya convinced him to switch everyone's belongings. It wasn't even that funny… He chuckled, well perhaps it was, considering how offended everyone was. He snickered again.

He groaned to himself, he was supposed to be upset. Oh, I told him we would get into trouble, stupid Ni-san…

A mindless and involuntary whoosh to a leaf made Daichi raise his eyebrows, he just moved his hand before it. It was almost as if air trespassed his skin and into the sprig.

How strange.

Interested, he immediately popped up into his elbows and spit out the grass stick he was munching before, he straightforwardly tried again and it worked, just as easily. Beyond astonished, he wondered if he was somehow hallucinating.

He stopped and placed his palm up his forehead. After determining he was on his terms, alright, he tried again. As soon as his hand motioned, the leaves as if influenced by gusts of air, followed suit "Alright, this can't be." He mumbled to himself. Shaking his head in denial.

Staring blankly at the scene for a good minute, Daichi decided to open up to the craziest ideas, then out of curiosity and whilst feeling silly, he squinted his suspicious eyes as he elevated his fingers above a branch and swiped it down. It moved with force and he gasped.

"No way." He said, proceeding to repeat the miracle in insistent disbelief. "No way" he maintained, eyes widening as his hands started moving around, obliging foil and leaves to move as he did. It couldn't be, it was impossible. He shook his head and hit his face with an open palm. Was he dreaming?

What is this?

Suddenly he felt it physically coming at him, a wave of uncontrolled prowess within the inches of his hands, a whimsical approach to the waves of air he could not see but feel and while it felt strange, Daichi recognized a sensation so oddly familiar, he could very distantly recall being held by the hands of this impressive dominion throughout his entire life and he suddenly understood and recognized its form.

It was the wind, his friend, his protector, his oldest ally, his other side, the rest of him.

His eyes widened in shock, vividly feeling the entire earth as his essence roamed grounds with it, around and above those who couldn't see him, flying, feeling, finally remembering he was always up the skies. Ancestral knowledge asserted his young head, spirits of freedom reincarnated on the wings he missed on this life. Daichi had a cabalistic epiphany and understood how he formed before deciding to roam down with human skin.

It took his consciousness a while to get a hold of the energy that withheld all of the intricate memories stored inside the depth of his memoirs. Unfathomable reminiscences inside his soul, everything that always pertained him now clear as crystal, an entire storm of possibilities relied now within his grasp.

Daichi waited for the energy to subside and laid down the bentgrass. Could he go further than moving foliage with his hands? He stared at them, wondering, eagerly challenging his own head, he felt within him his mind could control way more than his hands could.

He concentrated; the whooshing wind came down, he stared intently as the branches swayed from side to side and the clouds suddenly darkened to give birth to a torrential draught. "Incredible." He said. The wind became unhinged.

Not an hour passed for Daichi to have the whole forest dancing up and down below his fingers, the weather altered beneath the control of his hyperactive mind. As deranged as it looked, Daichi felt amused, entertained and flattered. He had to tell his brother about it.

"Ni-san!" he stopped his motions and ran through the foliage, thrilled and excited to tell his brother all about it. "Ni-san!" he called again.

"Ni-san! I'm a god! Ni-san!"

"Ni-"

He abruptly stopped as he saw a lump in the middle of the forest, curled to himself in what sounded were incessant cries. A seemingly dead rabbit across who, Daichi immediately recognized was his brother.

"Ni-san?" He asked, concernedly. "Are you alright?" A chocked up cry made Daichi wince. Was his brother in pain? "Why are you crying? Ni-san?"'

"I killed it." Sakuraya mumbled between tears and Daichi followed again to lay his sight on the disgraced animal. "I killed it Daichi, I didn't mean to."

Oh.

"Why? What happened?" Daichi stepped close, not wanting to alter his brother any further. "Was it sick?"

"I don't know." Sakuraya chocked and then sniffed, he brought up his fists and wiped away some of the tears that were smearing dirt all over his face, "I was p-playing with it." He sobbed, "And then I touched it and ZZZzzt" He cried harder. "He died on me."

Daichi involuntarily chuckled, "Zzzt?" He imitated the odd sound.

"It's not funny!"

"I'm not laughing?" He lied and then cleared his throat "It's just that, well what is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know! It just did that!" Sakuraya cried aggravated. He shook his head and sobbed again, "It was fine before and somehow I killed it."

"Niii-san…" Daichi said in a reassuring tone, "I know you didn't mean it, that's all that matters." He pursed his lips and he sighed, "Perhaps it was dying and it just had a… collapse you know? Nothing that you could have changed."

"Not true, it was fine before I came in here." Sniffed stubbornly Sakuraya.

"Well maybe-" Daichi said but after staring at the skies, the words got lost in his mouth.

"Maybe what?" Said Sakuraya after his brother remained in silence for around a minute. He wiped his tears and stared up at him, "What are you looking at?"

"Ni-san," Daichi said in an unusual commanding voice, "I want you to touch the rabbit again, touch it like you mean to have something taken from you and given to him."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Do as I tell you." Daichi stared at the skies, stuck in the impending thunder that threatened to come.

"Hey! Don't act all grown on me, I'm the older bro-"

"Ni-san!" Daichi frowned and looked down at him, but somehow his gesture did not seem angered, he was just determined. Sakuraya was perplexed, an unusual smirk painted his brother's lips and he swiftly acknowledged the gesture as 'Pride'.

Sakuraya nodded and watched down at the rabbit, an unusual debris electrified his hands into a power unclear for him, his fingers felt alive beyond the body that withheld them. He approached the numb body and laid his index finger on its chest. His heart synchronized with the bare pulse of the animal and somehow Sakuraya knew he could fix it.

A controlled swipe of energy passed from the muscles of his arms to twist in ethereal energy outside his fingers. It didn't make a sound but the animal palpitated with him.

His eyes widened.

Quickly, the thunder abrogated their heads and electrified flashes of lighting started making pole down beside them. A circle of light and combustion surrounded them.

Sakuraya barely noticed his environs as the power slowly crept inside his hands.

Daichi patiently stared as his brother's progress took a peal in front of him, although in hindsight it was a perilous stance, he couldn't feel dread at that situation because deep inside Daichi, he knew his brother wouldn't hurt him and those flashes of lighting, no matter how uncontrolled and effulgent, they were still aligned with his brother's soul, they were still part of him, it was all about the power he was taking in.

The exorbitant motion, suddenly halted. The rabbit ran away and Sakuraya sat perplexed even as the animal left, the circle surrounding him subsided. Sakuraya unexpectedly looked as pale as Daichi imagined he looked back when he took all of the information at once. Daichi waited and then finally, Sakuraya looked up to him, finally standing up. "What the hell was that?"

"Ni-san," he face-palmed, "didn't you get it?"

"I mean yeah but…" He shook his head after frowning, "what in the hell…" Sakuraya stopped and looked intently at Daichi. "Wait, how did you kno- how- uh, why?" and the breeze became strong and intimidating, it answered all of his questions. "Holy mother..." whispered Sakuraya again as he approached his brother "You too?"

Daichi nodded, "But mine is the wind."

"I can tell…" He stared up amazed as his brother swayed the forest for him, "this is breathtaking." He said in a barely audible whisper.

"Yes! Isn't it amazing? I think that for some reason, we are very special people." He put up a two sign in front of his perplexed brother, "We are of the same kind. Look at this too." The push of a strong breeze made Sakuraya sway on his feet and he had to ask his brother to stop.

"This is crazy." Said Sakuraya, putting his hands up his head, "This is nuts, what are we going to do with this?"

Daichi shrugged, "I don't know." He smiled, as excited as one could be, "But I want to see what we can do with these."

"Aren't these dangerous though?"

Daichi stopped and looked at him "You know what? Let's switch roles for a day, let me be me who says 'who cares' this time around and you be the careful one."

"Deal because I am scared."

There is no proper prelude one can write about the awakening of someone's wild spirit. I do firmly believe in the innocence of their intentions that afternoon, those same they were displaying in front of the other and the inconsequence of having found freedom within a chained realm of humanity gave their deadly dances of power something to be carefree about. Sakuraya and Daichi made their gift dance against the other in an attempt to have the wildest side of the nature manifest against their fingers.

Tornadoes of gale twirled in pirouetting lighting, creating something fantastical to see, a true masterpiece up the skies and around them. Daichi and Sakuraya, smiled up the skies that painted up in different palettes something unquestionably powerful. Their own reflection as nature, wild and latent beneath a sky full of life.

Hand in hand, childishly and very jovially impressed. Both missed the explosion that was heard behind them. The orphanage was starting to be consumed by the unforgiving flames of hell, it was only when their noses distinguished the bitter smell of smoke was that their eyes widened and dared to look behind them

A sinking, fearsome feeling took a hold of both of them and the same flashing thought made their sweat become cold.

Did we do that?

Yes, we did.

"We need to help them." Said Sakuraya, mortified by the stones falling down the pit of his stomach. Daichi nodded, if they were about to die, then so be it.

They ran, as fast as their legs could carry both back to the now deafeningly scorching place. Without another conversation between them, they decided they would not separate their path while they made their way inside the burning hell. Was it their lighting? Did they strike it too fast? Did the wind take it somewhere that it shouldn't have? Both mentally succumbed under the pressure of their actions, their innocence being ripped in place as they realized their lives would never be the same again; someone was burning in front of their teary eyes.

The various screams became earsplitting, thunderous to listen, they felt scared, afraid of what they did. The pleading, the heat, the horrid scent, it would all be engraved in the deepest nook of their soul.

What have we done?

The caretakers running, children crying going in every way and before they could come into terms about their powerlessness in such a catastrophic situation, they found themselves lost well deep inside a colossal blaze. As Daichi turned to his left, his eyes widened. He was alone.

Capricious, catastrophic, although tragically otherworldly in the upbringing of its incessant disturbance, the inferno blazed every corner and crevice inside the orphanage. The shrieks could be heard from heavens as tragedy settled inside the bones of those who once slept inside the dorms. Impure, incandescent, indefatigable, flames licked the faces of the caretakers who were risking their right to heal as they tried to take every children they could outside of the calamity.

The creaks and tiles were starting to rumble inside the wooden walls that decayed to black in slow scorching blister. The caretakers were beyond their usual poise, praying loudly for a god that wouldn't respond, running from side to side, up and down the cursed stairs so they could retrieve everyone alive. Tears that robbed of the oxygen they needed, children perished as the smoke caught up their lungs and Daichi found himself in the middle of perdition itself.

Once again, where was his brother? He cried as he crawled inside the sweltering abyss. "Daichi!" Faima-san, the closest of the caretakers to Daichi cried as she found him, "Baby, thanks God you are alive!" She grabbed his arm as he forcefully tried to break free.

"Ni-san!" He cried.

"There is no time baby, we have to get out of here."

He squirmed despite the tight grasp, "No!" he cried, "Where is he? He was with me" and it dawned upon his realization that Sakuraya was in danger. Daichi proceeded to do the unspeakable and as he was dragged down what could only be the exit, he squinted his eyes as his heart writhed and the idea became a necessity. He moved his face up and bite as strongly as he could on Faima-san's hand.

She immediately squealed and released her hold on him, she looked down at him, horrified at what the child just did. An anguished tear rolled down her face and then a betrayed scowl became her gesture, it hurt him as he watched her go on and help someone else, she left without him. Daichi swallowed hard and despite his tears, turned back to where he came from. That was the last time he ever saw Faima-san. He swallowed and blinked back to his torment, there was someone he needed to find.

Finally his mind found the frame to repose of affliction.

"Ni-san!" Daichi threw himself at his older brother's frame, effectively tackling him down, "Stupid Ni-san!" he sobbed.

"Daichi!" He exclaimed after a gasp, "You are alive!" He corresponded to his brother's hug and smiled despite a tear-stained face. "I thought…." He sniffed.

"Me too." Daichi allowed both to reincorporate to their feet, "How did we get separated?"

"I think you didn't hear me when I asked you to come my way." The only second that both found normalcy happened right after Daichi smacked his brother's arm, making the later retract his statement, "Or perhaps I didn't speak louder?"

In between yells to be heard throughout all the chaos, Daichi smiled, "Sounds about right."

"Right. We need fix what we have done!" Said Sakuraya, stubbornly eclectic to understand what was happening. Daichi frowned, sharpening his eyes at the sight of them both.

"We can't Ni-san. We need to get out of here."

"But, we did this Daichi." Said Sakuraya regardless.

"I won't forget it, I know you won't too. But we have to leave, now!"

Sakuraya stared at him, unusually anguished eyes told his brother that maybe, he wasn't prone to "I am not sure Daichi…"

"What? There is no time for your stupid plans Ni-san. We have to get out of here."

Sakuraya stepped back, away from his brother's grasp "It was my lightning after all," he chuckled sadly and pointed at the decaying exit, "But you… you can get out of here. You would deserve it."

"What? No!" Said Daichi with anger, "I'm not going anywhere without you!"

"Maybe… you should." His brother responded through a hushed mumble.

"What are you talking about Ni-san, we are losing time!"

"I am a murderer now."

"Stop it!" Daichi punched his brother's arm again, managing to make him backtrack a step further away.

"Ow! It's true!" Sakuraya grabbed his pained arm and howled.

"No, it's not! Shut up!" Daichi growled and another punch followed, this time out of frustration, out of disbelief, what was his brother implying? That he deserved to die? Alone? He forcefully grabbed his brother's sleeve and started running towards the exit.

"Ow! Ouch!" Said Sakuraya, "What the hell, Daichi? Release me!"

"Shut up Ni-san! Just shut up!" He repeated every time his brother tried to speak, "It was the both of us Ni-san now shut up! Shut up!"

Feet finally making their way outside, Sakuraya could not say he was used to seeing his brother act the way he was doing. Afraid to speak and incite another relentless meltdown, Sakuraya allowed Daichi to drag him all the way back to the hill where they came from. He swallowed hard after hearing his brother gasp out for fresh air. "D-Daichi?"

"Stupid!" He raggedly breathed, "Both of us!" He released Sakuraya but didn't turn around. Sakuraya allowed his brother's rapid respiration to subside and little by little, his heart broke all over again. "It was the two of us." He rasped out, "It was the two of us. It was not only you."

"…Daichi…"

"Shut up!" He fell down on his knees. Ashamed and pained, he grabbed a fistful of grass "You did deserve to die… Ni-san…" Sakuraya blinked back tears and nodded, but Daichi sealed their fate before Sakuraya could agree aloud, "But so did I."

I sigh to myself, stupid ink, I'm out of it again. I better head home now that the sun is settling down.