Chapter 12 – Responsibilities
The following days and weeks were uneventful, but peaceful. Ohgami had returned to the Teigeki, much to the delight of the Hanagumi. He stayed there and did his work as he always did, but he had to help rebuild his room first. Eventually, he helped out in the entire reconstruction.
The weeks passed, and new plays were brought up, each a constant success. The girls still had their powerful enthusiasm, and nothing else had changed. Sumire continued to berate Sakura, Kanna continued to make fun of Sumire, Maria remained the thoughtful observer and Kohran and Iris were the icebreakers. Ms. Tsukigata, their director, had to remark that the girls' performance after the battles were better than before.
Yoneda and Ayame remained to be the Hanagumi's "parents." Dealing with whatever financial problem or any other mishap, they continued to be the girls' guides. Ayame occasionally visited Yamazaki's grave to pray, and Yoneda, too, made occasional visits to Sendai, to visit his old friend Kazuma. Also, Yoneda remained a saké-hound, and that was ever a constant.
Kayama, the Taichou of the ever-secretive Tsukigumi, now visited the Teigeki to hang out with his best friend, Ohgami. Always bringing his guitar, he kept belting out songs he had learned in his days at the Academy, and Ohgami was always seen creeping out of the room, red-faced with embarrassment. But Kayama would always pull him back and force him to play a few tunes with his guitar while Kayama would stand up and break glass with his baritone. At the end of the day, when his voice was gone and his guitar's strings were snapped, he would always jump out of the balcony and disappear. Much to Ohgami's dismay, he would return the next day, with a fixed guitar and a voice ready for singing.
And it was spring.
In his room, Ohgami closed his small suitcase. He kept this suitcase a secret from the others and with good reason too. It had the symbol of the Yumegumi on it, and was locked with a code that only Ohgami knew.
He pulled down his right sleeve back to its normal place. He gripped his right arm tight, feeling an abnormal heat emanating from it. His fingers were stiff, and he had to bend them a number of times to regain flexibility.
Sighing, he opened the windows, letting the morning sun in, and briskly walked out of his room.
He went straight to the attic, where the old books on history and useful reference materials were kept in storage, and climbed out the window. He scampered up the roof, and sat on the Teigeki's top, staring into the horizon.
The sky was blue, and the sun was up in the sky. The cirrus clouds were few and scattered.
But he wasn't looking at the seemingly endless view of the Imperial Capital. He wasn't looking at the sky too. He was squinting, looking for something, something beyond the horizon.
"Where…," he often muttered.
"You know, you spend a lot of time here."
A voice broke his concentration, making him slightly jump from where he sat, and he looked at where it came from.
It was Sakura, struggling to climb up. With a smile and a hand, he pulled her up. She sat down beside him. A very narrow distance separated them.
"Yeah," he replied.
"What exactly do you do here?"
Ohgami hesitated before replying, "Oh, nothing. Just appreciating the view."
It was an obvious lie, and Sakura realized it. The city was in ruins. Craters made by explosions were everywhere in the city like boils, and there were still some uncontrollable fires. Farther, Ueno Park, despite retaining its pink hue from this distance, had blank blotches here and there. Sirens filled the air, and the noise of the steam-driven fire trucks and police cars nigh muffled the murmurs and grumbles of the citizenry's unrest. Though the city wasn't entirely decimated, it was still a horror to look at.
If Sakura had a notion of what's been bothering Ohgami in the past few days, he wouldn't look at this view, as it would only help resurface bad memories. After all, he believed that he had a part in all of this, though Sakura adamantly believed that he had none.
She looked at him look back at the city, and saw his discomfort. He stared at the Imperial Capital with a look of regret and guilt.
In a caring gesture, she gently placed his hand over his. Ohgami's attention was abruptly diverted from the capital to his hand, then to Sakura, who looked at him with genuine concern.
"If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me," she said.
He smiled, feeling the caring warmth of her hand. "Arigato, Sakura-kun. But there's nothing you should worry about now."
"Really?"
He nodded. Then looking back at the city, he said, "I was just thinking, that's all. About all that's happened in the past few months. Sometimes, I think it's hard to believe that we're here now, talking like this."
"We made it through, Ohgami-san. We survived," Sakura replied, looking at the city too, "We were able to hold on."
"That's true. But still," he said with a slight chuckle, "It's amazing how we got through. The Wakiji, the Kulonos-Kai, Yamazaki, and then recently, Tenkai. They were powerful beings. To think that a group of actresses and a rookie navy officer were able to defeat them, it's pretty amazing."
Sakura giggled heartily. "I guess you can say that."
He sighed. "These are the stuff that dreams are made of, I guess. Hard to believe that we're still alive."
Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. We helped each other get through this. It was through believing in each other that helped us. Don't you remember? You taught us that."
He looked at her, puzzled, "I did?"
"Yes! It started with everybody eating in the cafeteria, then the teamwork, then lastly, the Haja No Jin. You helped us combine our hearts!"
He smiled again. "I guess I did, didn't I?"
Sakura nodded. "So, if you have anything that's bothering you, don't hesitate to talk to me or any one of us. We'll be more than glad to help you out. If you have a problem that seems to be overwhelming, we'll help you out, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay."
"Promise me!"
Ohgami was a bit startled. She had already held out her pinky. "Promise you?"
She nodded, saying, "I think you always tend to do things by yourself, no matter how hard it may be. You don't have to shut yourself out when you're in trouble. You taught us to combine our hearts, but I think you haven't combined yours with ours."
His eyes widened. He gasped. She was right. He wanted so much to protect them, when he failed to realize that they want to protect him too. He wanted to shield them from harm, when all the while, their shields were already ready to protect him.
"I think we can help each other better when we all work together, right?" Sakura said, smiling, waving her pinky, "So promise me!"
But he knew he had something else in mind. When that time came, he'd have to do it, regardless of the consequences.
So he just smiled, the best he could, and hooked his pinky with hers. "I'll try."
"Okay, we should go back down now. I was supposed to call you for breakfast, but I forgot," Sakura said, rubbing her head, "Let's go, Ohgami-san!"
Taking a firm grip on his hand, she pulled him down the roof, carefully sliding down to the narrow ridge, where they would carefully inch their way back to the window.
"Hey, hey! Sakura-kun, be careful!" He said worriedly, but he was enjoying it.
She entered the window, and Ohgami was starting to enter, carefully walking over to the windowpane.
When it happened.
A dark cold chill pierced his heart, taking the heat from his body. He shivered slightly, and clutched his heart, as if a cold lance had struck him through the chest.
It was a message of some sort, because when he received the cold, he was compelled to look back in to the city.
Or rather, beyond the city, past the burning buildings and the uprooted trees. Past the horizon, spanning hundreds of miles. He could see it; everything seemed to zoom past him quickly, until the environment stopped.
He was looking at a small rural town, with Shinto temples and small houses. Nature was abundant here, and there was rarely a sign of modern technology here, save the train that passed here.
He had been here before. Once, twice, he couldn't remember, along with the name. It was at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't remember. It all came to him so fast that he was having difficulty thinking.
But beyond those temples, past the houses, past nature, he could feel it, a mass of dormant energy, quiet, resting.
Ohgami gasped. It all came back to him.
He murmured, "I found you…"
"Ohgami-san! Hayaku, hayaku!"
That snapped him out of his concentration. He blinked his eyes several times, to regain that vision, but all he could see now was the Imperial Capital. He was back on the roof.
But he knew where it was. His mind was set.
Carefully walking over to the window, he yelled back, "I'm coming!"
In the days that passed, the girls could notice that Ohgami was spending more time in his room and outside the Teigeki. He would wake up in the morning, eat with them heartily, and then go out of the playhouse, bringing along with him a small suitcase, the same one that Sakura saw him with on his return to the Hanagumi. When he would come home, he would walk directly to his room, lock it, and stayed there, leaving only for dinner and the nightly patrolling.
During eating time, he wouldn't talk about his odd behavior, readily changing the subject whenever it was brought up.
"Ohgami-san? Is everything all right? You seem to be spending a lot of time in your room…"
Then he would usually reply, "Huh? Oh? Were you talking to me? Sorry…Oh. OH! This tastes good! Mmm! MMMM!!!!" Then he'd devour every scrap of food then zoom out of the cafeteria.
They concluded that he'd still say the same thing even if they feed him dog food.
And the days rolled on and Ohgami spent more and more time in his room. Eventually, the day came that he never came out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
They didn't have time to worry about him, now that Ms. Tsukigata had another idea for a play. They had to practice.
However, that night, Iris finished early, so Kanna asked her to bring some food up to Ohgami's room. "Taichou's probably hungry," Kanna said, "So help him out, okay?"
Iris, in her usual clothes, clutching Jean-Paul in one hand, holding a tray of rice balls in the other, climbed up the stairs to the dormitories. She headed straight for Ohgami's room. She put the teddy bear down, and gripped the doorknob.
It only clicked. It was locked, so Iris knocked.
There was no reply, so she knocked again. She yelled, "Onii-chan! It's Iris!"
Still, there was no reply.
She was getting mad. She had been severely worried about her Onii-chan's behavior in the past few days. She worked hard to make him some rice balls. She even brought it up to him. And this was the thanks she was going to get?
The time of waiting was over. Furious, she placed her free hand on the door.
Then suddenly, the hinges loosened, the screws twirling out of their sockets. The doorknob rattled in place then broke apart, shattering into its basic parts. The door creaked loudly, before it finally fell down the floor with a loud thud.
With a shrill voice, she shouted, "Onii-chan! Itadaki…masu?"
Her voice was caught, trapped in her throat. What she saw in the room was definitely what she expected.
There was a strong smell of incense in the candle-lit room. It was fairly dark, having only candles to light the room. Seals were in the corners of the room, taped to the wall. It seemed to glow with energy, expending their power.
And in the middle of the room, was Ohgami, quiet, meditating. He was wearing his usual clothes, but they were torn in some places. Sweat trickled down his face, and his teeth grit in concentration.
It was either he ignored Iris or in the depth of his meditation, he didn't notice her at all.
Iris was slightly scared, but she was more afraid for Ohgami. She didn't know what was happening to him. At the sight of him, thoughts began to pour in. Perhaps, he was being possessed again, or his dark power had finally ate his soul. She was confused.
"Onii-chan!" She called out worriedly.
At her voice, he suddenly opened his eyes, breaking his meditation. The seals fell to the floor and turned to ash.
He saw her at the doorway, holding a tray of rice balls. Even though the shadows covered her face, he could already imagine what kind of expression her face was wearing.
He breathed a tired sigh. Then he raised his hand, and waved it.
The candles suddenly went out in smoke, and the electric light in the middle of the room's ceiling turned on.
Ohgami looked at her with a smirk on his face. "I guess you know my little secret now."
He stood up, and then took the tray of rice balls from her trembling hands. He placed it on the table, and then picked one up and took a bite. "Mmm! This is good! Did you make it?"
She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she could even speak. She just nodded.
He ate the whole ball, then gently took her small hand and led her inside. He closed the door behind her.
"Please," Ohgami said, kneeling down to look at her eye to eye, "Tell me what you feel."
She stuttered at first, her voice trembling as fast as her body, but after a while, she regained her composure. "Well…there's a lot of dark energy here, Iris could feel it. But Iris could also feel an equal amount of pure energy."
"Right," Ohgami replied, "It has begun, Iris."
"What began, Onii-chan?"
"The curse. Even now, I could feel it gnawing at my soul, slowly destroying my mind, everything I have here," He pointed at his head, "and here," then pointed at his chest.
"Eventually, as Tenkai said before, I'll be reduced to nothing more than a vessel, a vessel for his rebirth," Ohgami finished, sighing.
Iris looked around first, and then asked, "What's with the seals and the incense?"
"Oh, that. I left daily to the Yumegumi to seek advice on the matter. They said that his power, Tenkai's power, was too great to exorcise and it had a firm grip on me. But they offered me was some instruction on how to use seals and the like. Y'know, Shinto stuff. Anyway, all it could do was slow down the process, not stop it.
"So, to tell you the truth, I really don't have much time left in this world," he said, matter-of-factly.
Iris gasped a bit, but he stroked her hair to reassure him.
"Daijobu, Iris. I have a plan, but you have to keep it a secret from the others, okay?"
"Iris thinks she knows what Onii-chan has in mind," she said, looking at him directly.
He was surprised. If she was right, she had good insight.
"You're going after him, aren't you?"
Ohgami briefly smiled, then nodded.
"Alone?"
He nodded again.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
He nodded again, saying, "Yes, it will be dangerous."
"Then why don't you ask for help from the others?"
Ohgami gently held her shoulders and deeply looked in her eyes. He wanted to let her know that he was telling the truth and how he honestly felt about the situation.
"Because this is my own responsibility. I let Tenkai to go free. It was my own fault that Tenkai was allowed to do all this damage to the Teigeki and to the Imperial Capital. I don't want to have others be involved in MY fight, my…retribution."
"Retribution?"
He nodded. "You may have forgiven me for all the trouble I've caused, but I haven't. Not yet. While Tenkai roams free, I can never bring myself to forgive myself. When Tenkai is finally vanquished, only then will my sins be atoned."
He stood up, then walked over to his desk, where his suitcase was. It was open, and Iris could see that it was stuffed with seal paper and incense sticks. Then she realized that all this time, when he was absent, he was already fighting with Tenkai for control over his own body.
"Truth be told," Ohgami said, as he gathered his materials along with a brush and a bottle of ink, "I was actually hoping that when Tenkai's defeated, my curse will be lifted."
He shut the case, and the lock fell in place, clicking shut. He picked it up and placed it along with another, larger, suitcase.
Iris saw this, gasped, then asked, "You're leaving already?!"
He sadly nodded.
"Demo, Onii-chan! Aren't you going to at least say good-bye?"
He said, "If I wasn't going to tell anyone of you, then what's the use of saying goodbye? Besides, I'm only telling you because you're already here."
"But when they realize that you're gone…" She was at a loss of words.
He sighed, sitting down on his bed. He said sadly, "You know, Iris? If I had my way, I wouldn't leave. If there was some other way to do this, some other way that I don't have to be so far away from home, I'll do it in a heartbeat. I don't want to be away from you."
Then he looked at her, and said, "But I have to do this, for my sake, and for the others. The reason why I won't tell you is because I think that you'll try to stop me, persuade me to come along. I can't have that."
He looked out the window, out to the night sky. "Because this is one battle that I have to do on my own."
"Onii-chan…"
He looked back into her eyes, saw them at the brink of tears. He immediately went to her, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, then wiped it dry. "There now. No tears, please, Iris? I promise you that I'll come back. I don't know when, but I will. I won't die."
He gently brought her to him and hugged her. She returned it, grasping tightly, as if he wasn't ever coming back once she let him go. "Onii-chan," she said, between sobs, "You better keep your promise."
"Mochiron."
"Iris loves you," she confessed, holding to him tighter, "Onii-chan."
He gently stroked her hair, then said, "You know, you gave me more reason to come back."
They stayed like that for another minute or so, then they let go. Ohgami, still kneeling, pulled out a small white envelope from his pocket. It had only one thing written on the surface.
"Sakura?" Iris asked.
"Yes. Could you please give it to her tomorrow morning? The very minute she wakes up?"
Wiping a few more tears, she nodded in agreement. Then, she said, with a slight bow and with much sorrow, "Ganbarimasu…Sayonara, Onii-chan."
