Mai

I don't think Omiya Station looked like this thirty years ago.

Then again, it's not like I'd ever know. And I'd never know, because of course, there was no turning back time. I'd come to terms with things since we finally decided to reveal the truth the summer of ten years ago. But still, there were faint echoes of regret threaded through my life. Such as right now, as I looked for the signs that would lead me out of the station, and readied my pass for the ticket barriers.

Then again, thirty years ago, if we had completed our road-trip then we might not have gone through the station. The hotel we would have stayed at and the sights we would have gone to see, they wouldn't have been exactly the same as the plans we've made now. But that's alright. Though we have met up in smaller combinations over the years, life and distance have meant we'd not met up again the way we did ten years ago. But for the longest time we had been thinking that we should meet up again, all seven of us survivors but this time to celebrate and commemorate our survival. To be together because we wanted to, rather than because we were forced too.

And most of us seemed to have the same idea that it should be Saitama where we met again. Saitama, the place where we were meant to end our road-trip. It felt fitting, somehow. We had met up in a place where it had all begun to end things, and now we were meeting in the place things should have ended to begin again, essentially. So as I made my way through the busy station, though there was some wistfulness mostly I felt light. Free, happy.

When I exited the station, I stopped to the side near a small stall with a magazine stand to call Juro. He answered immediately.

"Mai, my love, you've got there safely?"

"I've just left the station, and I can see the hotel across the street. Well, around the corner across the street, but it's the same. Are you busy?"

"Not particularly. I'm just finishing signing off these reports. I'm glad of the distraction."

I chuckled at that. Since Juro got promoted a couple of years ago he's definitely seen an increase in admin and paperwork. If he decided to go for Superintendent once Shizuka Onoe retired (or even if she ended up the station's captain-a real possibility according to police gossip, apparently), he'd have even more on his hands.

He wouldn't have much competition if he did go for it, though. Evalynn was ambitious too, but in her words, 'anything that chains me to a desk is a demotion no matter how fancy the title'. Nobu was fine where he was, by all accounts, wanting to focus on his family life. Understandable, given that he and Kanon had adopted two more children. Gabriel on the other hand had transferred, having been given the opportunity to be in charge of a different station's Juvenile Crimes Department.

But whether Juro went for this promotion or not, whether he got it or not, he'd be successful and on top of that as long as he was happy that was all that mattered. I just wanted my little family to be happy.

"I'm guessing it's still pretty quiet." I said. "No major cases."

"Not so far, no. And don't worry, even if there is, I'll make sure I'm home to Kei and Sachi on time."

Kei. Our unexpected youngest, born a year after that fateful summer ten years ago. I'd been happy with just Akio and Sachi, and it was certainly challenging having to deal with a baby after assuming those years were long behind me. But the joy of it was so worth it. Since Juro had mostly chosen Akio's name, and I had mostly chosen Sachi's name, we decided to have both of them work together to pick a name. A character each, we said, thinking that Akio would at least be able to rein Sachi in from picking something weird (still being an elementary-schooler at the time, she definitely would have). But they had both chosen Kei, as in blessing. They had also insisted that that same reading be used even if Kei had turned out to be a girl instead of a boy, rather than then switching to the more common reading of Megumi.

"Where are they both?" I asked.

"Kei's at the park with friends, and Sachi just messaged me to say she's home from work, and that she's invited Naomi-chan and Nicky-kun around."

"Oh, that's good."

Now Sachi had graduated high school, she was working part-time at a small gift shop. The managers were acquaintances of Nobu's, who had helped smooth the way to get Sachi the job. Things like university would be way beyond her, but she had been holding down this job with no problems and became more independent with every day. She had even recently started dating Nicky, Rieka Amasaki's little brother and she, him and Naomi were a tight little trio. Though Sachi still lived with me, Juro and Kei, I was sure that in the future she'd be able to live away from us, with some help.

To some people, it didn't look like much of a life, I knew. It didn't matter. I, and the rest of our family, knew the reality. And we were very proud.

I blinked suddenly, catching sight of a distinctive blond bob amongst the crowd of passengers who were now streaming out of the exit.

"Ah, I've just seen Friede-chan!" I said. "I'll call later. Give the kids my love-though I'll try and call later, if I can."

"Will do, Mai. Bye for now."

I hung up, and then waved frantically, calling for Friede. She looked around in confusion and then spotted me. She lifted her hand briefly in acknowledgement then strode over, dragging her wheelie suitcase along behind her.

"Were you waiting for me?" she asked.

"No, I was just phoning Juro," I said. "But I did wonder if we'd arrive at similar times. Did you take the next train?"

"Yes, I must have."

There was a pause after this. Even though we're the ones who lived closest to each other out of all the survivors, and we've seen each other the most often, there was sometimes still an awkwardness between us. It was most likely because of Akagi. He'd become so close to Akio, it was sometimes like having a third son. But of course, Friede is still his actual mother, not me. I'm well aware of how cruel she was to him, and I didn't want to pressure Akagi to forgive that. But Friede was so much crueller to herself, and continued to be so.

I'd tried to encourage her to do the reaching out, at least a little bit, and I asked Akagi what information about his life he'd want me to share with her, if she asks. It's still a work in progress. Indeed, there was one bit of news that I had, that I didn't know if she had.

"Did you know I'm a grandmother now?"

I blinked. Friede lips upturned slightly, as though she'd half-expected that surprise.

"It's the first time Akagi's used my address, since you gave it to him," she said. "Hold on."

She reached into the handbag she was carrying on her shoulder and pulled out a purse. From that purse, she tugged out a photograph that was tucked into the clear window and held it out to me. The newborn baby in that photograph was one I recognised, given I had met her a month ago.

"Her name is Erika." Friede said. "She looks like Lucius did, at that age."

"She's beautiful. Are you going to meet her?"

"Yes, she is beautiful."

Friede put the photograph back in the purse. Both of us knew she hadn't answered the question, but I didn't want to push it. This, at least, was something. Friede was about to put the purse in her bag, when she stopped and stared at the magazine stand. Unexpectedly, she picked up one and bought it, and then once that was done we started to walk to the hotel.

"What was that about?" I asked.

Friede pulled the magazine and pointed to the cover.

"Look, it's their wedding."

I stared at a picture of Mitsuhide Okita and Akemi Koizumi standing under an arch of white roses, blue lilacs and other blue and white flowers. Akemi held a bouquet of flowers that matched and wore a dress that looked exactly like one from a fairytale wedding, except that instead of it being white it was a swirl of deep blues and purples complemented with silvery sparkles resembling stars. Mitsuhide's suit was deep purple as well, and he even wore a top-hat. Text on the cover proclaimed 'COVER STORY: The most heavenly wedding of the year-Okita family philanthropist and star-gazing weather girl finally tie the knot! See page 15!'

"Oh yes," I said. "Akio and Akagi-kun went. They said it was fun, and there was definitely a celestial theme. It was also extremely lavish."

"Sounds like it's the best of both worlds for them. I hope they'll be happy."

"I'm sure they will be."

Since they're both still friends with Akio and Akagi, I've seen their relationship progress, albeit from a distance. There were parallels between them and my own relationship with Juro-Friede's with Tsubasa too, for that matter. But it was different and better for them. They didn't dive into things, desperate for the safety and security of a marriage. They've been able to really grow up, know each other, let their relationship progress more organically. All things neither me nor Friede gave ourselves time to really do. And yes, in the end it worked out well for me, and I wouldn't change the shape of my family for the world. But now I am healed, it's easier to see why it wasn't the ideal way to go about things. I was glad that this new generation will do better, even though our silence ended up hurting them so much.

I looked at the picture for a few moments longer, and then realised that we were probably blocking the streets with our suitcases. With a laugh, I handed the magazine back to Friede and said:

"Let's have a look at this together at the hotel."

…

When we got to the hotel, Azami was already there, talking to a violet-haired man. I was confused for a moment until I remembered that Azami had said that her partner Gen was also meeting friends in Saitama. He had something interesting in common with both us and Azami, having lost both a twin and friends to a tragedy during a school trip. His tragedy had happened a year after ours, and was a lot more straightforward, though no less horrible-the coach driver had suffered a heart attack and the coach had crashed and fallen down a steep incline, killing both the driver and most of the students.

I called over to them, and Azami startled before putting a hand on Gen's arm and pointing us out to him as we approached. Though we had all seen photographs and the like, this was mine and Friede's first time meeting him in person since Azami had started seeing him. So there were a flurry of introductions and handshakes.

"Gen's been looking forward to meeting you, just as I've been meeting his friends."

As Azami tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, I noticed a flash of pink and blue, and realised she had subtly dyed some streaks in the under layer. Azami noticed me looking and smiled.

"I got it done a few months ago. I felt like a change but didn't want to dye it completely or cut my hair. It feels nice though."

"It looks nice, too." Gen said. "I've said it thousands of times and will say it a thousand times more, but it suits you, the unexpected flash of colours."

Azami smiled, and then jumped as a voice called out her name very loudly. A few other people stared as Eizo came running, abandoning his suitcase to run faster and hug first Azami and then Gen before leaning back and saying.

"I am so glad to see you! How have you been?"

"Good, thanks," Gen said. "How's things with you?"

"How are the kids?" Azami said.

Eizo lit up at that, and began describing the exploits of his three-year-old twins. I listened with interest. It had been such a surprise when we learnt Eizo was going to be a father, but even more of a surprise for Eizo. The relationship had been what he thought would be a short-term thing, but now though they hadn't moved in together, they still co-parented very well and had an amiable relationship. And Eizo adored his twin son and daughter deeply. Their names were tattooed on his arm-Hisafumi and Hiyori. He still had the bear tattoo on his other arm, but he'd already told us he wasn't getting rid of that. Though he was very open with us about almost everything else, he never really explained it. But I felt like I might be able to understand, though even I wouldn't have been able to explain it.

After a few moments of chatting, Gen excused himself since he was going to see some of the friends he was here for. Gen, Azami and Eizo made promises to make plans to meet up on a different occasion, and then Gen left. After a moment, there was a brief awkward silence until Eizo remembered his suitcase and went back to get it.

"So, your boyfriend is friends with your ex?" Friede asked.

"Yep. They're both friends with David, too." Azami said. "I'm quite lucky in that regard, really. I'm lucky that both David and Eizo are friends with me too, still."

"There's no luck about it, Azami," Eizo said. "I'd always want to be your friend, always."

"So, no hard feelings, then?" Friede asked.

"Friede-chan, don't interrogate them!" I said.

"Ah, it's fine, don't worry!" Eizo said. "Some of my other friends are also goggle-eyed when they realise I'm still tight with Azami, even beyond what they'd expect from the whole survivor thing."

Eizo stopped, and then looked around at him, askance. None of us needed to ask what he was looking for, as probably all of us had been looking for the same thing. To see if anyone has recognised us, and what they might be doing about it if they had. In the immediate aftermath, there had been so much media attention, and it had taken a toll on us just as it had done when we'd been rescued. The difference was, we had each other again. Eizo had been one of the ones to act as a spokesperson for us, alongside Ayuna (and surprisingly, sometimes, Takaaki), and we had all supported each other even as we navigated our own lives.

"Okay, I think we're clear." Eizo half-whispered. "Anyway, there really are no hard feelings, especially not now. After all, we both realised that we wanted different things from life. We've both ended up with people better suited to us too. "

Azami had always been steadfast in her conviction that she didn't want children, so I rather suspect that that was what was meant by 'different things', but I didn't press. The ins and outs of their past romance aren't my business. So instead, I changed the subject.

…

We decided to have dinner in the hotel dining room once we'd all arrived and left our things in the hotel room. They had a buffet, so we piled up large plates to share from and chatted. We looked through the magazine that Friede had bought and talked a lot of that second generation. I told them how both Akio and Akagi were working for Hope's Peak under their 'Transparency Committee', and about Akagi's new baby. Eikichi reported that Ritsuka was doing well as a detective in a cyber-crime related department in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Ayuna talked about how she'd encountered Otsuka a lot as she chased a story, and how she'd occasionally encountered Mitsuhide in his philanthropy work or at movie-related gatherings. Ayuna herself sometimes donated money or time to various causes, but Mitsuhide's specific focus was supporting survivors of sexual assault. Akemi sometimes came to fundraisers, but otherwise stayed at home-though she had decided to take advantage of her fame to become a weather forecaster, she did not seek the spotlight anymore. Rieka on the other hand remained firmly in the spotlight, still doing her online things, but focusing more on true crime than books these days. She sometimes collaborated with Otsuka, apparently, since both had the same nose for a story and almost reckless persistence once they'd caught the scent.

Then, with the exception of Friede, those of us who had kids talked about ours. I had plenty to share about my three, and of course Eizo was happy to go on about his twins once again. Then there was Eikichi's daughter, Saki. She was a few months older than Kei, and almost everyone called her Midori-chan because she had inherited her father's green hair and mother's green eyes. Only Eikichi and Ritsuka used her real name on a regular basis-even Shion would only switch to calling her Saki if she was in trouble. But from the sounds of it, Saki was in trouble frequently. She was a goodhearted kid, but impulsive and with a fondness for pranks. The main thing was she was happy, as all our kids were.

After that, it was about our lives in general. How our careers were going, and our partners or spouses for those who had them. I told them about Juro's promotion, and it turned out Ayuna's wife Ryoko had also had a promotion in her graphic design company. Takaaki had also become the deputy head of his university's philosophy department, which seemed both unexpected and oddly appropriate. He had an air of strangeness and wildness to him still, but these days he looked more presentable. He was taking better care of himself, and it showed in every inch from the non-crumpled clothes and the hair-shorter than it had been, but still relatively long, the ends neat and the remnants of hair-dye gone. He even had a calmer air to him.

"I'll be going to visit Kenichi, after our trip is finished." Takaaki told us. "But I might be coming for a third time this year."

"A third time? Why?" Ayuna asked.

"Yeah, hasn't it always been one visit in the summer and one in the winter, for you both to visit her grave and talk about her?" Eizo asked.

"Yes, but Kenichi's getting married to Hanami Fuudou." Takaaki said bluntly.

"Hanami….wait! Moeka's mother?" Ayuna exclaimed.

"They were seeing each other?" Eikichi asked, almost choking on the piece of chicken he was eating.

"You didn't know?" Takaaki asked.

"Why on earth would I?" Eikichi countered after recovering.

"I had heard something about that…someone in Forensics told ,Nobu-san, who told Evalynn-san who told Juro…but we hadn't realised it was serious." I said.

"That's nice though, I think," Azami said. "They must really be able to support each other, and maybe it will be a second chance of some happiness. I think that our families…our parents and things, they deserve that too, don't they?"

"That's very true," Ayuna added. "It's not just us who deserve it, is it? Anyway, I'm taking it that you're invited to the wedding."

"Yes." Takaaki nodded.

"Actually, about weddings…" Eizo piped up. "We haven't set a date, and it won't be for a while, because we're saving up, but…"

"Eizo!" Ayuna exclaimed. "Don't tell me that you and Yukiko-san are going to be getting married too!"

Eizo blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, we're hoping to…and I hope at least some of you will come."

"I'll be there, Eizo." Azami declared. "Me and Gen both. I'm really happy for both of you."

"Yes, so am I." I said.

"Perhaps we should have a toast." Eikichi proposed. "Let's get drinks."

We had to order alcoholic drinks, so Eikichi flagged down a waiter to do so. Once the drinks had arrived, Eikichi held up his glass and said.

"So…I suppose this toast is to Eizo and Yukiko."

"Hear, hear!" Ayuna said. "To Eizo and Yukiko, and the little twins."

We echoed the toast and clinked our glasses. Then we carried on chatting.

…

At the festival, there were lots of teenagers. Girls in brand new yukata, happy couples eating sweets, groups playing games at stalls. We stopped at one of those stalls, and Eizo insisted on playing twice so he could win two soft toys. Then, at the goldfish stall, Takaaki ended up winning a goldfish. He seemed pretty satisfied with it.

"You keeping that thing?" Ayuna asked.

"Of course I'm keeping Nietzsche."

"You've named your goldfish after the most depressing philosopher?" Eizo asked.

"Well, he does look rather nihilistic, doesn't he?" Takaaki stated.

"…it's a goldfish." Friede said after a moment.

"More to the point, how are you going to transport that all the way home?" Eikichi asked.

"Oh, I have my ways." Takaaki declareda with a confident mysteriousness, as if he transported festival goldfish across great distances on a regular basis.

Friede and Eikichi rolled their eyes, but the rest of us laughed as we moved on. It was not as if we were the only adults, not by far, but everywhere I looked, there were teenagers and I could tell that the others spotted them too. It wasn't so hard to imagine what we were all thinking of, and I'm sure we were all recalling similar memories.

"Oh look, masks!" Ayuna said. "We were going to visit a mask-maker on our road trip, weren't we?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember. I don't remember where it was we were going to stop, though." Azami said. "Somewhere we didn't make it to, in the end."

None of us said anything for a while as we watched the teenagers at the stall eagerly select masks, trying them on, swapping them and then paying the vendor and running off. For a moment, the scene in front of me wavered, and they started to look like us, as we had been at that age. But just as quickly, reality returned and I turned to my friends as they were now.

"Let's get some masks ourselves," I suggested. "To make up for it."

So we approached the stall, and we too eagerly selected masks, swapped with each other and tried them on before making our final selections and paying. Unlike the teenagers, though, rather than running off we stepped to the side and put them on. Takaaki was the only one who wore his (a black, gold and red fox) like a proper mask, over his eyes but most of us either wore it on the side of our heads or on top like a hat or headband. I wore mine (a cat, decorated with cherry blossoms) on the side of my head. Once we were done, Ayuna got her phone out, and we all posed to take a group photo. And then another, and another.

"Okay," Eikichi said. "I think that's enough for now! Haven't we got the rest of the festival to explore before the fireworks?"

"Ehh, even if we don't explore all today, we can come back tomorrow." Eizo said. "But you're right about the fireworks, so let's go."

…

Eventually, it was time for the fireworks to start, and we had to scramble for a place to watch them. Not only did we have our masks, Takaaki's goldfish and Eizo's toys, but I'd also bought things for my kids, and Eikichi had bought something for his, and we all had candyfloss and other snacks weighing us down. Still, we eventually found somewhere to sit.

And then the fireworks started.

Red and gold and blue and green, and more colours besides. Streaking like comets, or bursting, or spinning, or a combination of all those things. Some loud, some quieter, some higher than others. Obviously, these fireworks would not have been exactly the same as any we might have seen thirty years ago. And we weren't the same either. Not with us all approaching the end of our 40s. Not with some of us with adult children and some of us with young children or none at all. Not with our range of different careers and lifestyles and changed appearances. Time had marched on, inexorably. Nothing was the same, nothing would ever be the same.

For the longest time though, despite everything marching on, we had been stuck. Unable to go back to the past, but unable to really move forward. But it was different now. Look at us now, I thought, just look at us now. The ones who had died-we would always miss them, of course. There would always be sorrows and regrets still lingering in the background. We would always wish we had been able to save them. Some trauma would never be shaken off, not truly. But it was fine. We had told the tale and lived, and we had finally been able to move on.

We were so different, but we were together and we were better. The fireworks were still bright and beautiful, the candyfloss tasted good, the weather was just right. We would watch our children and their friends grow up and become wonderful adults. After this trip finished, we would still see each other. There would be a wedding to attend in the future, other celebrations to partake in. We would remember them, and honour them, but no longer would we be haunted.

Life went on, as it always had. And finally, finally, we could march along with it.

We have reached the end at long last! I tried to include at least a little bit about where every character is now within this epilogue, but if you're curious about anyone (whether your character or someone else's) you can always ask me!

As for me, well, I have plans for another SYOC, but that won't be happening for a long while. The first reason is that I need a break from writing SYOCs. I might spend time on other writing projects, and I'll likely submit to other SYOCs but considering this started in 2019, ASIB started in 2018 and I spent a good chunk of time on both simultaneously...yeah I need a break from SYOC writing.

The second reason is, the last time I made plans for this new idea was a very long time ago. Once I'm ready to start SYOC writing again I need to blow the dust off those plans and rework them first.

Anyway, thank you so so much for following this story for all this time. I really hope you enjoyed it! I certainly enjoyed writing it! Please leave your final thoughts, if you want.

Before I end this note, I'm going to promote another SYOC that's taking submissions until 11th August on -The Summer The Wind Cried by CandiedStars, who created Kenichi, Kimiko and Akemi. Her SYOC will also examine the aftermath of a killing game and its impact on people/the world but in a different way, and I'm looking forward to it.