Shiro and Friends' Determination to Go On (Or the lack thereof)
I rinse the dishes with water from the sink. My fingers run through each plate to check that they are spotless. Now that I finished my chores I sit on the couch and turn on the TV. Nothing was on. Nothing good at least. Just the same reality TV shows. I look out the window. Kanna is standing alone in the snow. I descend the stairs to meet her, "Kanna? You should go inside before you catch a cold."
"I'm used to the cold," she says. She sits down on the ground. Georgie watches her outside their room.
She steps back and forth worried, "Saikawa would love the snow. I wonder where she is now."
She goes back inside and shuts the door behind her. I go back in my apartment. The clothes are stacked in piles around the living room. Kotori quickly folds through them.
"Don't push yourself," I help her fold the clothes.
"This place needs to be clean when Tohru comes back," she licks each of them thoroughly.
"And what if she doesn't come back?" She stops. She doesn't give a response. She holds tightly on the clothes she's folding in her hand.
"She will come back," she insists, "She promised we would find my home in the other world after all."
"She's not coming back," I told her bluntly. She doesn't say anything. She ignores me instead and goes back to folding her clothes. There's no way I can convince her. I leave through the front door. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I need a moment away from the house. It brings back too many painful memories. I decide to go to the mall. Magus is standing in front of the water fountain with Lucoa and Shouta seated, watching him. I stand next to the fountain. The water is dried up today. Coins litter the bottom.
"How's Kanna?" Magus asks me.
"I don't know if she'll be okay. Saikawa didn't come back yet."
"She has to. Georgie is here."
"We hid the truth from her. I don't think she'll come back."
"How is that Kanna's fault?" he growls.
"She's just overwhelmed. She needs space."
He kicks the fountain, "Space from Kanna? Kanna is innocent. I was the one who kept her in that prison!"
I recall he fought for Harmony with Elma. They hunted down dragons and humans who didn't obey their laws and imprisoned them.
"Damnit, I'm an idiot."
"Hey," I speak slowly, "It's not your fault. You didn't know who she was or why she was there. You can't control how Saikawa feels."
He shrugs, "Whatever. I'm leaving. See you later, I guess."
Magus walks off waving his hand to say goodbye. The mall was a bad idea. I think I've had enough fresh air. I walk home. Along the way, I run into Fafnir and Takiya.
"Oh hey, Shiro!" They're holding bags of videogames and figurines, "We're going to be playing a new Fighter. It's something the boys at the company made. Want to try?"
I spend the next couple of hours playing the game with Takiya. He's beating me to a pulp with this overpowered character. The character is the BladeMaster and he's destroying my Mage every round.
"C'mon," Takiya shouts, "You can do better.
I mash the buttons, "You're too damn fast."
"No, I'm not. It just seems that way. Time your hits."
I glue my eyes to the screen and wait. I see his character make a sudden movement. I randomly parry at random times. The first few attempts result in painful defeats for my character, but eventually I manage to deflect his fast attacks.
"Are you going to block forever?" he taunts.
"You're really fast. It's insane." My heart is beating quickly from how intense these fights are.
"I'm an aggressive player. Focus. How can you use that against me?"
I press the parry and hit button at the same time. My character blocks an attack then strikes him. Hmm. I continue to parry and hit. I win my first round and from there, I turn the tides on Takiya. When we're done, I win more matches than I lose.
"That wasn't hard now, wasn't it?" Takiya laughs.
"I thought I was gonna keep losing for the rest of the day."
He hands me his controller, "You could have. I provided a decent challenge for you and knocked you down a lot. But you got up, focused, and prevailed. That's important," he wraps the console and controller up in gift wrap.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
He ties a bow on a box then places the game, console, and controllers in, "Merry, Early Christmas, Shiro."
I hold onto the box amazed, "Thank you. Why are you doing this now?"
He scratches his back, "I know what happened with Tohru. I didn't want to see you be miserable so I decided to play with you. Remember what I said. Focus, don't give up, and prevail. Those are things Kobayashi told me when she was still alive. Think. What would she want you to do? What would she say?"
I scratch my head, "It's hard to know. She's dead after all."
He shakes his head, "It's sad that she died. But she's not gone. She wouldn't leave our side. She's stubborn like that," he opens the door for me, "It's getting late. Next time, you're playing against Fafnir. His skill level is insane. I'm warning you."
I smirk. He's no challenge for me. He gives me a card with his phone number on it, "You'll need a job. Both you and Kotori. Come by next week. I can arrange something."
A few hours later I open the door to my home. Kotori is sleeping on the couch. The clock hands are both pointing straight at 12 am. It's midnight. I crawl into bed.
"She wouldn't leave our side. She's stubborn like that…," I whisper Takiya's words to myself. I drift asleep.
I see a young version of me barely 8 years old holding on to a kite. The wings and face of a dragon are painted on it.
"Let's fly with the dragon, Shiro." That voice is Kobayashi's. She lets the kite ascend while she holds tightly to the string keeping it in the air.
"Fly, Fly, Fly!" my younger self shouts.
Man. I used to be so cheerful.
"I wonder what she would say to me now?" I thought to myself.
How would she react to how I changed? Would she be ashamed at all?
"I wouldn't be ashamed," Kobayashi said.
Huh? I look at Kobayashi. She's making direct eye contact with me.
I rub my eyes…, "Is this a dream?"
Kobayashi laughs, "Yes and no."
I touch her cheek. In response, she gives me a big kiss on my cheek.
Chu
"Mom…What should I do? Tohru left."
"Tohru isn't gone," she says before I can even finish my sentence. She looks at me, "You can feel it, can you?" she rubs the area where my heart is, "I had this feeling before. When I first met Tohru."
I never heard Tohru say anything about how they first met.
She sits me down so I can rest on her lap, "How did you meet?"
"I was really drunk and ended up in the mountains. That's where I found her," she pauses to blush.
I lean closer, "What happened next, mom? Don't keep me waiting."
"We talked and drank together. I asked her to come to my place. I had a huge hangover and couldn't remember a thing. When suddenly, there she was dressed up in a maid outfit. I apologized and said I couldn't take her in. She was about to leave…In that moment I felt like I was making a mistake. Like I was going to regret it if I let her leave," she gives me a mischievous look while adjusting her glasses, "That reminds me of a certain someone, Tohru refused to take in at first. I have a feeling she knew she would regret not letting this someone live with her."
I grin, "Tell me. Did this certain someone have a mother?"
She nods, "Oh yes. I think his name is…Shiro," she jokes. She clears her throat, "Tohru is going to leave. If you let her leave you'll regret it just like I would have regretted letting Tohru go."
I nod. My heart beats with determination. I recall finding her, helping Kotori, fighting with Kanna, and hundreds of other events I experienced flash through my very eyes.
"You're right, I'm going to find her."
My mom holds me up like a little boy. The sun's rays cast blinding beams of light into my eyes.
The sun blinds my eyes, "Oh. It looks like you're about to wake up, Shiro! You know where to find her…"
"In the mountains," I reply. I step toward the light and wave goodbye to her, "Thank you for everything, mom!"
I wake from my sleep and walk into the living room.
"Good morning, Shiro," Kotori folds her clothes again. I seize her by the palm.
She looks puzzled, "What are you doing, Shiro?"
"C'mon. I think I know where Tohru is. Let's go!" I run out the door dragging her with me.
"Shiro. Wait! What about the clothes!"
"Forget about that! Mom's more important, right?!"
Her eyes sparkle, "Shiro…," she nods, "Right."
We run to the subway. I dump my money in front of the cashier and collect our tickets. We climb to the top of the escalators. By accident we knock over a few businessmen.
"Sorry!" I shout. We force ourselves into the bullet train full of passengers. They all hold on to handrails while some take a seat. The bullet train whizzes through the countryside. Ten minutes later it stops at a train station in the middle of the forest. I can see mountains in the distance.
Kotori sniffs the cold mountain air, "Tohru's scent. She's here!" She jumps into the forests with me following right behind her. We search every trail, every corner. Leaving no stone unturned, we followed her scent downstream. The sun is setting, but we don't hesitate or even consider turning back. We make it to an opening where trees were cleared out recently. Tohru sits by a huge bonfire made from cut down trees.
She jumps back, surprised to find us here, "Shiro. Kotori. How did you find me here?"
"Kobayashi told me you would be here," I answer.
"That can't be right. She's dead!" she shouts unconvinced.
"Who else but Kobayashi would have known you met here, Tohru?"
She pauses, "You saw her?" she pulls me closer to her, "How did you see her, Shiro?"
"Some sort of vision. Ever since your fight with Elma, I've been seeing visions of her," I explain.
"Kobayashi," Tohru closes her eyes whispering, "So you're still watching over us."
"She doesn't want to see you make a mistake that you'll regret forever," I add.
Tohru turns around to look at the mountains, "I don't want to leave."
Kotori holds Tohru's hand, "Mom. Whatever happens I'll take care of the home for you. We will miss you though. If you choose to stay please come back home. I'm not good at being a maid like you, so…"
When she finishes her sentence, Kotori lets go of Tohru.
"It's time I made my decision," Tohru flies above us.
Tohru pulls out a black cape, "This is a memento from my father. I wore this a long time ago when I was a violent, lonely dragon."
The cape waves like a flag in the wind. Tohru grabs it with both hands and spins, "Hyah!"
She tosses it into the distance, "In the past, I ran away and hid things from the people I cared about. I was weak and was afraid that I would get people I love hurt. Never again. I'll get stronger. I'll make my own decisions. Starting now, I choose whatever makes me happy. That means I stay with Kotori and Mr. Kobayashi's dear son. Father, if you're hearing me, you don't scare me!"
She lands next to the two of us and wraps her arms around the two of us, caressing us with her fingernails by the chins.
"I'm not a dog," I sigh.
"Right. Sorry. Let's go home," she says to the both of us.
She flies both of us home. We can see our apartment from across the street. I see, Georgie comforting Kanna. Magus is standing beside her, too. Magus isn't a person who hangs out with people. Something must have come up. I run over to them.
Magus nods in my direction then focuses his attention back to Kanna, "I'll find her. I promise."
Kanna shakes her head, "That's not necessary."
"But I caused problems for everyone. I have to make up for it," he insists.
Kanna and Georgie exchange glances then say, "We already forgive you."
"B-But-"
Lucoa rests her chest on his head.
He breaks free of her grip, "Stop, mom. That's embarrassing."
"Everyone forgives you. The problem is you haven't forgiven yourself."
A spark in Magus' mind is ignited. He punches himself in the face, "I'm being an idiot."
Shouta stands in front of the apartment balcony, "Can't be helped. You still have a lot to learn. But we're here for you.
Magus is taken back by their kind words, "Thanks…."
Lucoa pets him on the head, "Dinner should be ready soon. Try to cheer up every now and then for your parents okay?"
Magus gets his knees and bows to them, "I will! I promise you by the order of harmony!"
"That's too much!" Lucoa shouts. She shakes her nod but decides not to scold him for it.
Tohru reveals herself to the others. Everyone stops what they're doing and run toward her.
"Oh my is that who I think it is?" Lucoa asks surprised.
"It's me, Tohru," Tohru replies.
Kanna's tail wags happily. Georgie and Shouta bow to her.
"I've changed my mind. This world is beautiful. And…"
"Annd?" I coax her to continue.
Tohru raises her voice, "AND I decided to stay."
My phone rings. I pull it out and look at the calendar, "Oh it's almost Christmas.
Tohru seizes both my hand and Kotori's, "Let's go buy gifts then."
She runs off with the both of us being dragged with her.
"You're too damn fast! Hold up!"
Preview: The portal is going to open. While we prepare for the fight with Tohru's father, I realize there are unresolved issues that my father and friends face. We don't have much time so it's up to me to help them with whatever burden is on their chest!