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eywa-eveng · 11 months

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ɪᴠ. sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴛᴏ ɴᴏɴᴇ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ – ᴊᴀᴋᴇ sᴜʟʟʏ, sᴜʟʟʏ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ X ᶠᴱᴹ ᴹᴱᵀᴷᴬᵞᴵᴺᴬ ᴿᴱᴬᴰᴱᴿ

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ – 12.4

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ – angst

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs – widower!Jake, major character death

ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪ – ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪ – ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪɪ

ᴛᴀɢ ʟɪsᴛ – @eywas-heir @fanboyluvr @amiets2 @neteyamforlife @itscheybaby @sunrays404 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @eternallyvenus @bobojojoba69 @behindthearcane @elegantkidfansoul @goldenmoonbeam @ladylovegood-69 @slutforsmut4ever @myheartfollower @pinkiemme @arminsgfloll @wtf-why-do-i-gotta-do-this @onlyreadz @sovereignsylvia @scc7514 @ghost-lantern @calums-betch @nao-cchi @a--1--1--3 @crazy4books1 @meladollsims @yeosxxx

Wounds will heal with time. Scabs turned to scars. And these demons have gouged deep gashes across Pandora, ravaging everything they touch with no regard for anything outside of themselves. They are the aliens setting foot in a world that is not their own and yet they treat Pandora as if she is theirs to tame. To torture and abuse. Like a diseased plant poisoning all that it’s roots tough, they take and take, never returning that which they’ve stolen. They reap without sowing and destroy everything that wanders into their path. The Great Mother has surely weeped for many years at the atrocities these sawtute have committed against her. And even those years of peace were stolen away in a heartbeat. A scar long since healed torn open to bleed once more. Pandora had prevailed once before and yet these humans have learned nothing. Ignorant as children, repeating the same mistake and hoping that this time it will be different.

The oceans have been stained in blood by their hands. The blood of tulkun. The blood of Na’vi. But the favor has been returned and it’s now their blood that mingles with the waves. This battle may have been small, only a shadow of the might they brought down upon the forest, but they lost. What was left of their people retreated like wounded animals, chased out of the ocean back to whatever stolen piece of the forest they’ve made their home. But how long until they’ve regained their strength? How long until they return once more in search of revenge. These humans are like weeds. Cut away only to grow back once more. It will be a small miracle if they’re gone long enough for the People to heal, to grieve. Because both sides have suffered losses, though some feel greater than others.

“Tsireya!” It’s the first word you’ve spoken in what feels like days and it sears through your throat as if you’ve swallowed fire. The clouds of smoke had not been kind to your body, feeling your lungs and making each breath feel like you’ve swallowed thorns.

“Sa’tsmuke!” Sunlight spills over her in a wash of amber light, tears sparkling in her eyes as she finds you in the distance. Payakan had kept all of you in the cradle of his fins through the eclipse. It allowed for a fitful sort of rest in the soft rocking of the waves. It felt like the comfort of your mother’s arms gently bouncing you as your mind slowly began to stitch itself back together after coming undone by the thought of your son being one of the casualties lost to the hands of the sky demons. Even now you can hardly think further than what is in front of your eyes. Your children, your mate. Your family. You cling to the idea of them, terrified of what will happen if you allow the pain to consume you once more. To return to that great gaping maw that swallowed you whole, covered your eyes and quieted your mind to anything but seeking to make others suffer with you. It was deserved but the demons are gone. To lash out now would be to hurt those that you love. The only people that remain already share in your pain.

A deep breath steadies your resolve.

Tsireya stands shakily to her feet, swaying as she wraps her arms around herself, quiet sobs shaking her shoulders. She reaches for you as soon as you climb ashore the tiny stone island.

“Tsmuke’ite,” you cup her face until her gaze steadies on your face, “where’s your brother? Where are Ao’nung and Rotxo?” She shakes her head as falls into your arms, burying her face in your chest. Her heartbeat drums against the palm of your hand settles on her back. You curl yourself around her as if there’s anything left to protect her from. The damage has been done. All you can do is pick up the pieces left behind. Her tears wet your skin as your nose presses against the shell crowning her head. She smells like home. Like comfort and safety and happiness beyond this small piece of land wet with water and blood. Her hair carries the familiar scent of dried flowers and that sour fruit so few people seem to like. Your heart pinches at the thought as your arms tighten around her. Ronal and Tsireya were always the ones to share the sour fruit with you until the Sullys arrived. Neteyam seemed to love the almost bitter taste. It pains you to think you’ll never bask in the simple joy of eating with your son again.

The points of your fangs dig into your lower lip as you brace yourself to look over at where you know he’s lying. Tuk is at his side, holding his hand in her own. Her tears fall over his fingers and drip down his arm and still he doesn’t move. And his stillness can’t be mistaken for anything other than death. His eyes are closed but it hardly looks like he’s resting. The hole torn through his chest stands out against his deep blue skin, like a red flower blooming in his chest. The sight of it snatched the air from your lungs and the strength from your body. Lo’ak rushes to your side as Tsireya struggles to keep you standing. The ground meets your knees, stone chafing your skin, but you hardly notice. Tsireya says something. Perhaps to you, or maybe to Lo’ak. It sounds as if she’s shouting from across the horizon even as she kneels beside you. A hand touches your shoulder, just for a moment before falling away as you rise just far enough to move. Your hands keep your movements steady as you half crawl towards Neteyam’s prone body.

There’s a deceptive sort of warmth to his skin as you reach out to touch him, fingertips brushing over his cheek. The sun casts fleeting heat across his cold body as you pull him into your lap. He’s been here for hours, cold and alone save for Tsireya and the stone beneath him is wet with a facing wash of his blood. It stains your legs as you hug him close, Tuk nuzzling against you as you wrap your arms around the both of them. Her cries are quiet as she hides her face in your side, hands clinging to the beaded strings of your chest covering. The pads of your fingers find the shape of his pil, tracing the striped pattern so different from the ripples dappling your own face. Tears cloud your vision as you brush over the softness of his lashes, desperately hoping against hope that his eyes will suddenly flutter open.

The shape of the wound in his chest seems almost delicate. Small and insignificant if it were in another place. The ocean holds many wonders, but also great dangers. Warriors have come to you to heal far more grievous wounds. Your fingers find the shape of the wound you’d stitched only weeks ago. It has healed well, only a slightly raised scar, a pale slash across his arm. He bled then too. It had seemed like such a simple thing to heal. A needle and thread to soothe the hurt, but some things are beyond your abilities as tsakarem. Even a tsahìk would be powerless to this injury.

The thought weighs heavy in your heart. Already so much has been taken and still there is more to lose. But these things have a reason. There is balance in all that Eywa does. The Great Mother protects the balance of life no matter the cost. All things have a reason even when you cannot See it. This pain has blinded you, closed your heart. Your chest feels cold and empty as if the flame of your soul has burned out. Perhaps it has. The only thing left burning inside are the tears in your eyes, clouding your vision even as you try to focus on Neteyam’s face. To carve him into your memory before he is washed and committed to the ocean, returned to Eywa. Soon a search party will be sent to find those stranded and your family will be among them. Neteyam will be taken home. His adornments will be removed and his body washed in preparation for his burial, but you want to stay here for a while longer. To count the pale freckles dotted across his cheeks, to remember the pattern of stripes crowning his forehead.

Someone says your name. Gentle as a warm breeze as you hug Neteyam close, cheek pressed against his braided hair. A shadow falls over your back, blocking out the warmth of the sun and reminding you just how cold Neteyam feels in your arms.

“Come here, yuey.” Jake whispers. It’s his hands that move you more than any will of your own, gently unwinding your arms until Neteyam is laying on the ground once more with Tuk still at his side. It seems wrong to leave him there. Stone isn’t as gentle as sand. Surely his tswin is being pinched under the weight of his head. You reach to push a stray braid away from his face but Jake catches your fingers with his own. His grip is insistent as he pulls you away. Kiri takes your place at Neteyam’s side, taking his hand in hers just as Tuk had. You watch over them as Jake pulls you aside and wraps you in his embrace, arms tighten until the air is crushed from your lungs but you hardly protest. His grip is grounding though you can’t help but wonder how long this strength will last. Already you can see the splinters forming in the crease between his brows, in the hard line of his lips and the pain swirling like a storm in his eyes.

“Monkey boy.” Kiri’s voice is quiet, only the faintest hint of relief ringing in her otherwise doleful tone. Her eyes are staring past you and you turn to find the same human god threatened on the demon ship. He looks different now that your mind isn’t fogged with mournful violence. When he was under your knife you hadn’t cared much for the finer details of his appearance, but now you stare at him with a renewed sense of curiosity. He boasts the trappings of a Na’vi and yet he still seems so strange and out of place.

“Are you alright?” Jake asks, fingertips brushing over the scratch you’d left on his chest. It’s shallow as you’d expected and the bleeding has long since stopped. He nods but he eyes you warily before stepping away from the two of you. He joins the children around Neteyam’s body, speaking your language with assured fluidity. On the ship he had spoken in the human language but now he seems comfortable as he speaks to Kiri and Lo’ak, gently touching Neteyam’s arm. You stiffen, tail swaying tensely behind you.

“Shh,” Jake whispers, nuzzling his nose against your temple as he feels your muscles tighten in his arms. “He’s okay. He’s safe.” You aren’t sure if he means the boy or Neteyam who can no longer be hurt by the hands of a tawtute. You watch him as he interacts with your family. Tsireya eyes him warily, sharing a fleeting glance with you even as Lo’ak speaks to him with a familiarity akin to that he shares with his siblings. All of the Sully children seem at ease in his presence but you find yourself still wondering about his ties to humanity. The man that held your daughters captive, that nearly killed your mate, hesitated at the thought of this human boy dying by your hand. He hadn’t seemed so worried over his band of uniltìrantokx warriors and it makes you nervous to think of what importance he holds to the demons terrorizing your home. He must feel the weight of your gaze as you scrutinize him, picking out the finer details of his appearance, because his shoulders begin to curl as if he can become any smaller.

His hair is loc’d like Jake’s and adorned with beads, and you notice the end of a braid hanging down his back. Likely his equivalent of a tswin. A scowl finds its way onto your face, lip curling with distaste. Seeing something so sacred being mimicked by a human feels almost insulting. Your shoulders rise as your body seizes with disgust only to be soothes by Jake’s soft petting as he traces the shape of the stripes swirling across your shoulder beneath his fingers. You feel all five of them gliding across your skin. Five fingers. The same amount that Lo’ak has. That Kiri has. That this boy before you has. If he is so repugnant then what is keeping you from feeling repulsed by your mate and the family he’s given you. Your eyes move away from the braid, tracing over the rest of him. His armbands are handsomely made, the pattern indicative of the Omatikaya’s intricate weaving style. His tewng is comparatively plain but there is a songcord hanging from it.

“Sa’nok,” Kiri says warily, watching you watch the boy. She had always spoken so fondly of her human friend and now she seems almost resigned to your displeasure. Hearing about him is different from seeing him before you, and suddenly you can’t reconcile the thought of this seemingly peaceful boy with the demons that attacked your family only a few hours ago. Not when he meant something to one of them. Norm and Max had been abandoned by their people, left here to live out their lives in a place that they loved. They made sacrifices to be here. What has this boy done but aided the demons that attacked your home. Speaking the tongue of your people only to demand to know where Jake had hidden himself away in a desperate attempt to live in peace.

“Sa’nok, please.” Kiri tries again. You do your best to smooth out your expression and ease your body until a tenuous sort of neutrality returns to your face. Tsireya seems to calm with you, shoulders relaxing under Lo’ak’s arm. The boy–Spider–looks between all of you, as if he’s trying to piece together the threads that bind you to them. But he speaks Na’vi. He must know what sa’nok means. His eyes are brown and full of hesitancy as he stands to face you. So strange that you can See into him the same way you can with your People.

“Spider,” Jake says finally, introducing you by name. “This is my mate.”

“She is the sister of tsahìk of the Metkayina. A tsakarem.” Kiri adds. Spider nods but it hardly relieves the tension between the two of you. Part of you wonders if this is how Ronal felt when the Sullys first arrived. These strange new people, coming to join your clan despite their obvious differences. But if her animosity had been misplaced then, so too is yours now. This boy is loved by those that you hold in your heart. Even still he doesn’t seem any more at ease than he’d been a moment ago.

There’s a dip between his brows where the fear on his face has gathered. He’s frightened again. Though not nearly as terrified as he’d been with your blade against his skin. He looks afraid, but not of you. In his eyes the fear seems to run deeper than your appearance. This Spider does not fear Na’vi. And yet he is still afraid. He shrinks back when you take a step towards him, curiously staring into his brown eyes as if the dark depths will become clearer with closeness. Surely you aren’t easing his nerves with your continued silence, but you’re listening for something. A shift in the wind, a rogue screech of a hì’ikran. Anything that might tell you what Eywa wills you should do with this boy. When nothing comes you wonder if she’s already given you your answer. This boy is no threat to you or your family. He is precious to your children. That should be enough. Especially now when so much has already been lost. To turn him away would be to further fracture your family. Still you’re curious.

“Oel ngati kameie.” He bows, hand extending towards you in a customary greeting. You hum in acknowledgment but don’t share the sentiment. Just like his tswin you can’t help but wonder if he fully realizes the weight of his words or if he’s simply mimicking those around him. His body is adorned with fading war paint, stripes streaking across his skin in uneven lines. There’s no pattern to the blue markings as there would be on a Na’vi. It seems strange that someone like him hasn’t decided on a more traditional design for his paint. It’s almost childish how desperate the thick lines are, how obviously they’re meant to mimic the sharper stripes of a forest Na’vi.

“Where is your family?” You ask at last. Spider seizes as if you’ve struck him but you spoke softly, keenly aware that all your screaming had whittled your voice down to a rasped drawl that might make him hear anger where none was meant to be found.

“My mother is dead. And my father… he’s dead, too.” He looks away as he says this but you don’t need to see his eyes to know that isn’t the truth. A lie. A word Jake had to teach you. Something different from the truth. You don’t ask again. If he wants to lie to you then you will let him live in his delusion. No one corrects him and you wonder if they know he isn’t speaking truthfully.

“This is my family.” He says after a beat of silence. His voice breaks as he looks down at Neteyam. You hum and turn your back to him, eyes facing towards the horizon where riders will soon come to take you home. They arrive as you listen to the faint voices of the children reuniting with their friend. The soft screeching of skimwings echo over the open water followed by the long bellow of a horn. A scattering of voices whoop and yip in return as those left behind make their presence known. Your own voice joins the calls, the sharp sound burning your throat. Riderless tsuraks and ilus swim through the water and you mount the first one you find. The ilu tosses its long neck as you make tsaheylu, clicking as the storm in your mind mingles with their own. Tuk rides with you, her little arms clinging tight to your waist as you ride back to the village.

A net of silence has been cast over the island. The shallows are empty and the beach deserted, chores abandoned in favor of mending what’s been broken by the humans. Battle is not unknown to Na’vi. Clans fight amongst themselves when peace cannot be made with words. The humans had ravaged Pandora before. But never here. Never in the far reaches of the ocean reefs. Even the tulkun that had been killed were murdered far to the south. Now the shadow these demons cast has finally fallen over Awa’atlu. Kiri takes Tuk as all of you arrive home, leading her to the marui. All of the children trail behind Jake as he carries Neteyam’s body. He looks so small in his father’s arms. It’s your instinct to follow, to comfort. Instead you find yourself hand in hand with Tsireya as you make your way to your sister’s home.

Tonowari is the first to notice your arrival, nostrils flaring as he catches the scent of you and his daughter on the breeze. He meets you on the path overhanging the water, arms winding painfully around the both of you before he kneels before Tsireya. A gracious sigh comes from inside the marui as Ronal emerges with Ao’nung at her side. She goes to her daughter first, hands moving over her body in search of any wound that needs tending. Ao’nung strays toward you, head knocking against your shoulder. He doesn’t speak but his actions are enough. You rest a hand on his head. Not quite a hug but enough to offer comfort. He hesitates before grabbing your arm and leaning into the weight of your hand resting on his braided hair.

“Tsmuke.” Ronal moves in beside her son, eyes tracing over you. “You’re hurt. Come.” There’s no leniency in her words as she pulls you inside and sits you next to the cookfire. The needle stings as she threads the torn skin of your arm back together with meticulous hands, rubbing a soothing balm over the wound when she’s finished. The pain had already calmed to a manageable throb after being ignored for so long and now it feels all but numbed.

“What happened?” She asks after returning her healing items to their rightful place. “I felt your tirea so vividly but I could not find you. We searched but the demons were retreating. We had to look after the clan. We–I thought–” she gathers herself with a long breath, “I’m glad to see you safe.”

Ronal has never been a coddling person that speaks gently and soothes worries with softened words. She is plain in her speech, pointed and assured even with her own children. It has always been this way growing up in her shadow. You were kept under her impartial guidance in all things and even now she isn’t inclined to soften her strong voice, but she can do nothing to mask the worry she felt even if she hasn’t said it in so many words. The fear she must’ve felt turning for home without her daughter and sister at her side must’ve stabbed through her like an arrow but Ronal is tsahìk before she is anything else. The clan looks to her and Tonowari for guidance and they cannot waver no matter the circumstances. Though your olo’eyktan is more open with his fears.

“You are a fearsome warrior, but I feared for your death when we could not find you. I stayed until the last of our mounted warriors had retreated, praying that the Great Mother would spare our tsakarem.”

“Eywa has heard you.” You hum with little enthusiasm. “I was on the demon ship. They took Kiri. They had Tuk and Tsireya. I couldn’t leave them.” Tsireya looks towards the floor, ears pulled back tight as she leans heavily against her father. He holds her close, thumb rubbing soothing circles into her arm. A parent reunited with their child. You understood the need to keep her close. You’d felt it when you saw her stranded and alone on that little island, felt it when you saw Kiri and Tuk bound on the demon ship. A part of your family has been reunited but there is still a fragment missing. A piece that will never be replaced. Your hand finds the length of your songcord, thumb drawing over each piece in turn. Your first breath, your selection as tsakarem, your iknimaya. The whole of your life is strung here. And it will continue. Already there is a need for new additions. But so many cords were cut short in the battle. The threads slip through your fingers as your hands begin to shake. The bitter taste returns to your mouth as you try to find the words through the rising tears.

“I found Kiri and Tuk after Tsireya escaped, but–” your voice cracks as tears rise in your eyes once more, “I couldn’t protect them all. I–we lost Neteyam.”

“Neteyam? He–?” Ronal’s eyes find yours in an instant. Her eyes are wide with panic as her hands find yours now tightened to fists to keep the tremors at bay. You can imagine what she is thinking. How could Neteyam, the promising warrior, son of Toruk Makto, be lost in battle? Tonowari looks just as disbelieving. He has seen Neteyam’s prowess, trained him alongside Ao’nung and the others. His death must seem impossible and yet he is gone just the same.

“He is with Eywa now.” Is all you can muster. Your sister bows her head, eyes unblinking as she hears your words. When she meets your gaze again her eyes are resigned. It’s the same dark cast her green eyes had taken when Jake insisted on sending away the tulkun. Disbelief and rejection linger in her voice when she finally speaks.

“Go to them.” A basket is hastily filled with food before she leads you outside. “Your family needs you now.” The path from your sister to your mate is a familiar one and you arrive to find the children gathered outside the marui. The covering meant to keep out wind and rain is drawn closed and Jake is nowhere to be seen. Still, you tend to your children first. Tuk is hugged against Lo’ak’s side and Kiri and Spider are sitting in the canoe just beyond their hanging feet. There are no words exchanged as you offer each of them food, hesitating for a moment before offering some to Spider. He doesn’t protest when Kiri snatched the leaf wrapped meat from him, carefully picking through it before rewrapping it. They haven’t eaten in hours and you watch them carefully as they take their first bites, keeping a close eye on Spider.

He takes a deep breath before his mask hissed as he pulls it away just long enough to fit a gluttonous bite into his mouth. It must be easier to take larger bites than prolong his time without proper air. You find yourself waiting for something terrible to happen. It isn’t uncommon for children to explore the world with their mouth, eating anything that looks enticing. But some things are poisonous, meant to be consumed by animals that have developed immunities to them. But when Spider doesn’t begin to choke or itch you deem it safe to leave them to eat. You’re still weary of him but far too exhausted by loss to let another child slip between your fingers today. Human or otherwise.

Inside you find Jake kneeling beside Neteyam’s body, the faint blue light of the sun peeking through the marui membrane, the only thing lighting the somber home. His ears twitch at the sound of your approach but he makes no move to look at you. He takes in a deep breath through his nose, scenting the air instead of turning to see who you are. Only when you’re within arm’s reach does he move, his hand finding yours in a nearly painful grip as he pulls you down beside him. He curls himself around you until you’re nearly in his lap.

“I’m sorry.” He says it over and over, nearly choking on the words as the air refuses to stay in his lungs. Each inhale is shallow and rushed, too quick as each exhale rushes across your neck.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, clinging impossibly closer. His tail finds its way around you, the tuft of hair tickling your skin though you hardly feel like laughing as you watch your mate fall apart in your arms with no way to hold him together. He had been strong for all of you but at last the tide has turned.

“She killed him. I killed him. All of it was for nothing. I’m supposed to protect the People and I can’t even protect my own son.”

Your skin is wet with tears where he’s hidden his face. Even if you wanted to, you can’t pull away from him. He’s holding you tight, blunt nails biting into your skin as if even the slightest bit of slack in his embrace will leave space for something to take you away. He’s shattering like splintered wood and it’s all you can do to gather the pieces back together. He lets you. His cries grow quiet and his breaths slow as you try your best to soothe him. It’s only a temporary consolation. This type of pain isn’t one that can be healed with salves or prayers. Even tsahìk cannot heal this wound. Grief is something that only passes with time. And even if you like a thousand years it’s almost certain a part of you will die still mourning your son.

“I failed him.” Jake mumbles. His voice sounds utterly defeated. “A father protects. That was my job. Above anything else I’m supposed to protect my family. I couldn’t even do that. My son–” his words break off into a choked sob as he shakes his head. “My boy.” He touches Neteyam at last, his hand settling against his son’s cheek while the other keeps you close. “Neteyam.” Tears fall onto Neteyam’s cheeks as Jake bows over him. His eyes flit across his face, looking at every detail before he finally sits back.

“I wish we had more time.” Jake whispers. It breaks your heart, or what’s left of it, shredding the few fragile pieces that remain. No father wants to bury their child. Neteyam was meant to grow up, grow old. Be laid to rest long after Jake was gone. Now here you sit. Returning such a young soul to the Great Mother.

“I wish you had more time with him. He loved you, you know. I know he might not have said it much, but he did.” Jake’s hands hesitate as he takes Neteyam’s songcord from its place hanging on his loincloth. Some beads you know from when he would hum the melody of his life during quieter moments. His iknimaya, the shell marking his arrival in Awa’atlu. But there’s another close after. One you’d assumed was a chorus bead, a placeholder between events. Events that would never come. There’d be no bead for his Metkayina iknimaya. No bead for his mate. No bead for his first child or a triumph in battle. Every cord must have a last bead and it seems the one Jake is rolling between his fingers will be it. It’s a pearl, pale blue and lustrous in the muted light.

“This one’s for you.” Jake says, gently placing the waytelem in your hands. “It matches his mother’s.” There’s another bead, farther back in his life story. A light blue bead of stone laced with black veins. “This was the bead for her death. He wanted yours to match hers as a show of his love and respect for both of you.” It’s not until Jake thumbs away the moisture gathering on your cheeks that you realize you’re crying. Of course you knew Neteyam loved you. A tsakarem is taught to See all, to feel the ties that bond each being to Eywa and each other. When you quiet your mind and steady your soul, pushing aside any thoughts and worries you can almost feel the people around you. Their triumphs and tribulations. Their happiness and sorrows. Just as clearly as you can see it in their eyes, their tirea can be felt like the warmth of a flame wafting off their skin.

Neteyam always radiated calm and contentment when he was at your side. You often found him accompanying you in your chores the same as Kiri. The eldest of your children preferring the more subdued space of your marui to the mischief Lo’ak and Tuk seemed to stir the moment you take your eyes off them. Now there is nothing surrounding him, no air of comfort as you stare at his serene face. Nothing. This is only a body, waiting to be returned to the earth. Neteyam has been gone for hours, his vitra already passed into the hands of Eywa.

“We have to clean him.” You say finally, rising to gather some water. The freshwater spring isn’t far from the Sully marui and you find others there. Bowed heads and solemn faces as they gather their fill of water. Death is not uncommon. Life must always be returned in the end. Energy is only borrowed and one day you have to give it back. This is the way. And it is good. Eywa holds all those that have passed into her hands. No one is truly gone, and yet you will never see your son again. Not truly. The Ranteng Utralti will offer brief glimpses, small moments of comfort. But it won’t be lasting. No new memories will be made. No changes will be seen in his face. He will remain as he was while everything continues to change without him. Death has parted him and only death will reunite you in the Great Mother’s arms. Jake is still where you left him when you return, Lo’ak following close behind you.

“It is time.” You say gently. Jake nods. He’s slow in his work as he washes the blood from Neteyam’s skin. Taking off each of his adornments and setting them aside. His necklace, his armbands. They’ll be kept as memories, passed down to his siblings or their children as cherished items. Lo’ak puts them away with care. It’s plain on his face that he has many things he wishes to say but has resigned himself to the silence. You busy yourself with weaving, the familiarity of the task is strangely comforting even as you weave the bindings Neteyam will wear as he’s returned to Eywa. It takes hours, long enough for day to give way to evening as the sky begins to darken to dusk. Finally you set aside the last of your weaving to stand. It is time to allow everyone to say their final goodbyes. Jake has already had his time with Neteyam as he washed the blood and sweat from his body. Now he leaves you to say your parting words.

It’s so strange to touch him and know he will not move, to breathe in and find his scent stale in their air as if he hasn’t been here in many hours. And truly he hasn’t. The body before you is empty of life. Neteyam is gone. But there’s still a small comfort in sitting beside him one last time.

“We didn’t have long together did we?” You ask quietly, a sad laugh leaving your lips. “Even if it was only for a moment it has been an honor being your mother. Did you know your sempul still hasn’t told me your mother’s name. I’ve been too afraid to ask. You’re likely with her now. I’d like to think she’ll be happy to see you but I’m sure it’s a bittersweet reunion. And I’m sorry I could not do more to protect you. Our Great Mother protects only the balance of life, but if she willed it I would trade my life for yours. But what’s past has passed, all I can say now is goodbye, maitan. Until we meet again.” His skin is cold beneath your lips as you press a parting kiss to his forehead. When you emerge Kiri stands with Spider in hand. They duck inside and you leave them to their privacy.

Instead you find your way to your own marui. It stands as little more than a place to keep your things since finally being convinced to sleep with your mate in his own home without feeling as though you’re imposing. You’ve had your time with him. Now it is their turn to whisper their goodbyes.

“Here you are.” Jake stands at the entrance of your home, back turned to the darkening sky. The freckles dotted across his skin are beginning to glow faintly. The pattern is interrupted by a slash across the bridge of his nose, dipping over his cheek. You hadn’t noticed it before but now it gives you purpose. Just as weaving had you find a distraction in healing.

“You’re hurt. Come here.” You light the fire pit in the center of your pod, before finding a needle and thread. Jake’s eyes don’t leave your face as you stitch up his wound. When you’re done he doesn’t allow you to pull away. Instead his hands settle on your face, bringing your head close until your nose is pressed against his. One hand leaves your cheek to reach behind you, brushing over the curls of your hair before settling over the braid of your tswin. He draws it over your shoulder, bringing it to his lips. For a moment you expect him to ask for tsaheylu so that you might share this burden of pain, but it would only feel heavier as it weighs on both of you. Instead his lips brush against the braided hair for a moment longer before letting it fall between you.

“Tsmuke.” You’re drawn apart by the sound of Ronal’s voice. She arrives with her arms full, footsteps slowing as she sees Jake by your side. Her eyes turn away but you catch the edge of regret in her eyes. It’s been there in fleeting bouts in the months since the Sullys have begun learning the ways of your clan. She’s slowly grown past her previous misgivings even as things have ended in this way. With the sawtute turning their eyes towards your peaceful home in search of the man seated beside you.

“Jakesully,” she say at last, inclining her head towards him, “may Eywa ease your spirit.” Jake returns her show of respect, touching his brow and extending his hand towards her.

“Tsmuke,” she says evenly, “you are our tsakarem.” You aren’t the only one but you’re surely the eldest. The most experience and the most respected within the clan. Tsireya has inherited the honor as well with a few others but only one will be named tsahìk when Ronal passes down the mantle. “Will you lead with me tonight?”

The clan hasn’t suffered a loss this great in many years. Usually only one, perhaps two people are committed to Eywa in such a ceremony but tonight there will be many lives returned to the Great Mother’s hands. Ronal extends her own hand, balancing the basket she’s holding on her hip. She pulls you to stand but Jake doesn’t allow her to take you farther than necessary. His tail coils around your ankle before you can take even a half step away from him. His eyes don’t meet yours when you look down at him and he says nothing as you accept your sister’s request to lead with her. It is your duty to your people no matter the occasion. Eywa has chosen you for this and you can’t turn her back on her when you so desperately need her guidance.

The sky has turned a deep shade of blue like the darkest depths of the ocean, dotted with pearls of light as stars shine overhead. The village flickers in shades of orange and red, finally stirring after a day of lingering silence. A song lingers on the breeze, the familiar sound of chorus beads and the intimate words of each Na’vi’s life. Ngaru irayo seiyi ayoe… You know these words by heart. They’re the words that you sing in your heart as you trace the beads of your own songcord. Your hand finds your hip where you keep the cord wound around your tewng. The beads and crystals, bones and coral that symbolize your life. Jake’s fingers draw over yours before slipping his hand into yours.

The covering is drawn back by the time you return, Kiri’s voice carrying outside as she sings the beads of Neteyam’s songcord. Jake’s hand tightens in yours as he listens to your daughter sing. Her voice lulls over the last words before your home falls silent once more. All of the children have come to hear Neteyam’s waytelem. Tsireya and Ao’nung have come along with Rotxo as they kneel around Neteyam’s body to hear Kiri sing. Such an honor is only given to those closest to you and everyone here cared deeply for your son. There won’t be another chance to be beside him after this moment. Soon the ceremony will begin and Jake kneels beside him, carefully bundling Neteyam into the ties that you’ve woven. Tsireya offers you a jar of paint in customary white. It’s cold against your skin as Jake drags his fingers from your forehead to your chest. You return the favor, painting each of the children in turn. And when people finally begin to gather in the shallow waters you shrug on the woven shawl Ronal gave you as Kiri straightens the veil upon your head.

Firelight drifts over the gentle waves as Ronal’s voice rings out across the shore. She calls to Eywa to open her arms to her children, to hold each of them in turn. Your brothers and sisters, each treasured members of the Metkayina are pulled out to sea in their sämunge surrounded by those that were closest. Mother, fathers, siblings, mates, children. Tonowari announces their names as they’re given over to the anemones lighting up the ocean with yellow syuratan. The grasping fronds glow brighter as each body is accepted into the watery earth. Returned to Eywa.

“Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk’itan.” Tonowari’s voice echoes into the night as you step away from Ronal’s side as she opens her arms to send Neteyam home, joining your family as Jake leads the ilu over the open water. Pale pink flowers trail behind as you carefully pull Neteyam from the woven carrier. His tanhì are still dark, no light glowing from within. There’s nothing left of your heart to break as each of you takes a final moment with him. Jake’s eyes find yours as you hold Neteyam above the water. He isn’t ready, but when will you ever be ready to part with your child? Lo’ak lingers beside you, his hand resting on Neteyam’s head until you and Jake pull him beneath the water. One swaying frond touches his skin, brightening until it’s nearly white. Another and another until they’re pulling him from your hands, wrapping Neteyam in their grasping arms and pulling him deep into their embrace. He disappears all too quickly. Blue skin lost in the sea of yellow. Part of you wants him back but that desperation won’t be quelled by holding his body. Neteyam is gone. Clinging to his body won’t bring back your son. Your tears mingle with the ocean as you linger longer than the others, knowing you’re meant to sing when you rise again. But it is your duty and you must do it.

“Utralä Anawm ayrina’lu ayoeng.” We are all seeds of the Great Tree. Words you know by heart. Words you’ve sung many times. Words that sting your tongue as you sing them for Neteyam. For all that were lost to the hands of those demons. How had a day like any other darkened so deeply with a storm that seems as if it will never pass. The clouds crowd your mind and darken your heart. It’s cold, and desperately lonely even as you stand beside your sister with the clan at your back. This pain is yours and yours alone. Others have lost those they love but they haven’t lost Neteyam. They haven’t lost those small pieces of him that you would never get back. It feels selfish to feel so anguished, to be so utterly consumed by this darkness of grief. You only had him by your side for a short time, but even so you loved him. He was your son. You were his mother. And now he is gone.

When the night draws to a close and the People retreat to their homes you find yourself wandering the shore. The ceremonial garbs have been abandoned somewhere behind you. Perhaps slipping carelessly into the sand or maybe you’d given them back to Ronal. You can’t quite remember but the air feels cool against your suddenly bared skin. Your hands run over your arms as you hug them around yourself, feeling the prickles flesh of your cold skin under your fingertips. Despite the slight chill of the night you find yourself wandering further than you have a need to, walking aimlessly until sand turns to dirt underfoot. Burst of blue and green light come to life with each step as the treeline swallows you. The forest holds a different type of silence. The sound of waves breaking over the shore is replaced with the buzzing and chirping of unseen insects and the sound of wind rustling through the leaves.

Fatigue creeps over you like a tree taking root, threatening to bind you where you stand. Two days you have fighting. The demons and your own grief-stricken mind, and finally it is beginning to take its toll on your body. Each of your footsteps is slower than the last, your legs feeling heavier with every passing moment. The forest is still bright with syuratan that dapples your skin in shades of purple and green but darkness is starting to creep in around you, tears only working to further disrupt your vision. So soon after you’ve been blessed with everything you could ask for it was taken away. The sea gives and the sea takes, no matter when your blessings were received. All life must remain balanced and equal. It is your sole purpose as tsakarem to abide by Eywa’s will, to uphold the Great Mother’s balance. But the mantle feels too heavy to bear at this moment.

Your feet slip, knees going weak, and fall to the ground. You’ve asked for so little in this life. Never wanting more than that which was given. Your heart never darkened against your sister when she was bestowed the honor of tsahìk. Never once did your happiness falter when those around you were mated and blessed with children. And when finally the tides turn in your favor a wave comes to wash it all away. Your arms tighten around yourself, nails biting into your skin as you curl in on yourself. Content to let this terrible moment pass in the cradle of the forest floor. Now you will allow yourself to grieve, allow the ugly, terrible feelings to overtake you. Your tears seep into the soil as your cheek rests in the dirt. Each breath is gasping and shallow as a weight like a thousand stones threatens to bury your prone body and return you to the earth as well.

The silence is nearly deafening until it isn’t. The lull of the forest is broken by the sound of something tearing through the trees. Too heavy to be a benign animal, yet too loud to be a hunting predator. There’s a stiffness to your limbs as you try to sit up, rolling to your knees in time to see Lo’ak vaulting over a fallen tree.

“Sa’nok!” He stumbles to a stop in front of you.

“Lo’ak? Why are you here?” He should be asleep.

“Why am I here?” He asks incredulously. “Why are you here? I’ve been looking all over the village for you!” Why are you here? You hadn’t meant to walk so far, to get so lost in your own head. Instead of answering you find your feet and begin walking the way he came. Despite his loud approach Lo’ak has left hardly any trace of his presence aside from the dimming light where his feet had been only moments ago. Veins of syuratan ripple like water through the ground, rising and fading as your son walks beside you. Grass turns to sand and the light of Naranawm washes over both of you.

“I’m sorry,” Lo’ak finally says, breaking the comfortable silence between you, “I’m sorry about Neteyam.”

“It was not your fault, Lo’ak.”

“But it was!” He is suddenly in front of you, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I was the one that said we should get Spider. Neteyam saved us and now he is gone because of me.” You hear his words before you speak, turning each one over in your mind. Of course it was not Lo’ak that killed his brother. He loved Neteyam. You raise his head with a hand under his chin, nearly drowning in the amount of guilt shining in his yellow eyes.

“It is no fault of yours, maitan. Many lives were lost. No one is to blame except the demons from the sky. They brought this storm upon us, not you.” He pulls away from you, pacing in the sand. It seems he won’t allow his guilt to dissipate so easily. You sigh and close your eyes, turning to the Great Mother for guidance. It’s a lesson you learned as tsakarem. Eywa speaks when thoughts are quiet and hearts are open.

Somewhere in the wind there’s a whisper of her voice. It’s a simple breeze brushing through the mangroves but you hear more. Somewhere in the stillness of your focus you hear the sound of a tulkun singing, slow and mournful. The same song that filled the air as you and Ronal laid Roa to rest yet the voice in your head isn’t as deep, still light with youth. A young tulkun mourning its mother. And then more. Many more. Na’vi and tulkun, all dead in bloodstained water. One remains, a single voice. Payakan. Your eyes jump open as if you’ve been struck. Eywa’s meaning is clear as the stars overhead as you look at your son. Lo’ak is still pacing and muttering to himself.

“But if I hadn’t asked… if I’d left Spider–”

“Neteyam might’ve died even still. Perhaps not on the demon ship but those ayvrrtep were everywhere in the water. What did you tell me when you bonded with Payakan?” His feet finally come to a stop as he thinks over it.

“Those Na’vi died, but it wasn’t Payakan that killed them. He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”

“And neither were you. We are not tulkun. Their way is not our law. I know Neteyam’s death is heavy on your heart, but it is not your fault, maitan. Who is to say he would not have been struck by their metal arrows later. It is the sawtute that should carry this guilt.” He sniffles and nods, eyes still staring at the sand, then he lets out a watery laugh.

“Bullets.”

Your ear twitches, “What?”

“The metal arrows are called ‘bullets.’” You taste the foreign word on your tongue. It’s your deepest hope that you will never have to say the word again, but it’s a naive thought. War has come to Awa’atlu and it will not end until every hostile human on Pandora is dead. But these are worries for another day. War is a heavy burden and you are barely carrying the weight of your son’s death. You draw Lo’ak into your arms and press a kiss to the top of his head. He smells like the ocean and home. It makes your heart long for the comfort of your family, of your mate’s warmth and the sound of Tuk’s purring snores. You’re tired and you both should sleep but for a moment more you find yourself standing still as Lo’ak wets your skin with silent tears.

The horizon is hidden behind the silhouette of the seawall. A small piece of protection around the village. But somewhere beyond, over the horizon yet far closer than they should be, the humans are lurking deep in the forest. Or perhaps they’re even closer, building a nest for themselves on some island just out of sight. The threat is great but you’re already so tired. Tired of the fighting and the death that it brings. It makes you wonder how tired Jake must be.

He doesn’t look peaceful even as he sleeps. His face is pinched, brows drawn tight as you finally lay down beside him. Lo’ak finds his own bedroll, the place next to him occupied by Spider instead of Neteyam. When you lay down Jake stirs just long enough to wrap his arm around you before falling still once more, and you wake to the feeling of his tail slipping from its place curled over your thigh.

The sky is already alight with light far past a blushing dawn. Voices and sounds float in from beyond the open marui as village life moves on. One day at a time. A first step and then a second until you’ll lose count and look back to see how far you’ve come. The pain will linger. A familiar smell or a comforting melody might bring echoes of pain to the surface like ripples across still water, but with time your heart will heal if you don’t allow the grief still clinging like a second skin to consume you. Just one step, one day.

Kiri kneels next to the cookfire, turning over carved skewers of fish. Lo’ak is missing as is Tuk, but you can hear her voice somewhere nearby, giggling and splashing in the shallow waters. Spider lingers in the shadiest part of your home, knees curled up to his knees as he watches Kiri cook. He’s uncomfortable, you can tell just in his posture. Pulled up tight into himself as if he will disappear from view if he can make himself small enough. He seems almost ashamed of himself, of everything that he is. He seems so like your children and yet no amount of warpaint will hide his true nature. Still, you quell the animosity still festering deep inside you. There is no time to dwell on darkness. If you stay still and wallow in these feelings, you’ll be lost.

“Good morning.” It’s a tentative extension of kindness, kinder than the few words you’d had for him yesterday. Spider raises his head, eyes darting between Kiri and Jake as if your eyes aren’t resting pointedly on his face. Kiri returns your greeting, murmuring about Lo’ak having already left to tend to his chores. It’s a distraction for him, you’re sure. It is easy to forget yourself in the needs of the many. You imagine it’s why Kiri is cooking. Busy hands, quiet minds.

“Good morning.” Spider says at last. It is enough. One step. You rise with Jake as he stands to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to speak with Tonowari.” His face is guarded, eyes clouded as he tries to hide his intentions from you. He’s pulling away and you reach for him. It’s instinctual. He is your mate, your love, and you want to stand beside him.

“Ma Jake, what is wrong?” So much is wrong, so much hurts. You want to bear this burden with him. Let me, you want to say. Spiritual burdens are something you were taught to See. The bond between Jake and the Great Mother still holds strong, the rope has not frayed. Eywa has not abandoned him and he has not turned his back on her. So what is so wrong that he would hide his eyes from you? He doesn’t explain himself as you trail behind him, hand still in his. You pull hard, planting your feet against the path until he can go no further without letting you go. He hesitates before his hand falls away from your own. For a moment it feels as though the world has fallen away completely, that there’s nothing left to ground you now that he’s pulled away. Anxiety rushes through you like bitter poison, pricking over every inch of your skin as tears begin to burn in your eyes. His rejection stings more than any other you’ve felt in your life. Every terrible thought rushes to the surface all at once.

“Jake?” Your voice wobbles as your arms hang limply at your sides. His shoulders rise and fall with a heaving sigh before he turns to face you.

“Ma muntxate.” His hands find your face and you, thumbs brushing over the shape of your cheeks. There’s conflict in his eyes, uncertainty, as if he is standing at the edge of a cliff wondering which way he should step. Away from danger. Away from whatever is causing him so much strife. The look in his eye is different than the pain you saw yesterday. It isn’t the futile longing of a father. It’s something more resigned. Whatever he wants to tell Tonowari, it shadows any of his own feelings.

“Don’t.” You say quietly. “Please, don’t. Whatever you are thinking, please, don’t do it.” He’s heard your words but doesn’t seem to take them into his heart. Instead he presses his forehead against yours. The world falls quiet for a brief moment. You feel grounded once more even as Jake pulls away with no intention to heed your words.

“Nga yawne lu oer.” And he means it. There’s no glint of deception in his eyes. Jake loves you as you love him and yet something inside you feels as though you’re losing him. Each step he takes away is like a thread straining and if you don’t follow it will break. His pace is slow as if he dreads what he is about to do. All it would take is a moment’s hesitation. If he would just turn around it would quell the panic rising in your heart.

Tonowari and Ronal rise as they see the two of you coming towards them. Jake trudging somberly with you quick at his heels. Ronal looks between the two of you, setting aside the spear arrow in her hand.

“What is this?” She asks before Tonowari can speak. Jake swallows thickly before he answers.

“My family and I, we’ll move on tomorrow. Far away from here.” Ronal takes a half step away from him as if moved off balance by his words. You feel the same. A weakness builds in your knees as you try to step towards him, to see his face, his eyes, and know what he is thinking. This is his home. Your home. He has built a life for his family–your family–here. You’d promised to follow him, but hearing the words makes you realize the path you’ve laid for yourself. A new life in a new place, far from anything you’ve ever known. Wherever you go it will be a place your previous life cannot follow. Ronal, Tonowari, the children, your spirit sister. They’d all be left behind. The thread begins to break.

Tonowari nods but it is a gesture you’ve come to recognize as disapproval. He is acknowledging Jake’s words but he will not heed them.

“Your son lies with our ancestors. You are mated with our tsakarem. This is your home.”

“Now you must stand with us. As our brother.” Ronal’s voice is steadfast though Jake still seems to hesitate even before the words of his tsahìk and olo’eyktan.

“I caused all of this. They were looking for me, for my family.”

“And we are here.” Ronal’s voice echoes your own as the two of you speak in tandem.

“You are Metkayina now.” Tonowari extends his hand expectantly. Jake looks at it, then at you. As if trying to decide if this is truly what he wanted. A moment passes before he clasps Tonowari’s forearm, committing himself to his place within the clan. With time, when Jake has fully committed his heart to the Metkayina, he might become eyktanay and stand beside Tonowari. The clan needs his guidance now more than ever. War is inevitable. All that’s left now is to prepare for the coming storm. He’s quiet as you walk away, aimless steps weaving through the village paths.

“I’m sorry,” he says at last, “I don’t want to abandon you. I want you by my side. You are my mate; I love you. But I have to protect the People. I can’t let anyone get hurt because of me.”

“These things we cannot decide. It is up to the will of Eywa who lives and who dies. The Great Mother’s balance is out of our hands. All life must be returned to death sooner or later.” It hurts to say the words and know that your son was among those taken into the Great Mother’s arms. It was far before his time if you could’ve chosen it. He would’ve lived a long life, far beyond your own and died with the legacy of a great warrior. With a mate and children of his own and many beads to sing of his waytelem. But it was not meant to be. Neteyam is gone and you miss him more than anything but he would not want this. He would not want his father, the mighty Toruk Makto, to give up this fight. Jake was like the brightest star in Neteyam’s sky, a place so high he could only ever hope to reach. His greatest wish was to be a warrior resembling his Jake. You will not allow him to abandon his son’s dream even in his absence.

“Eywa has not abandoned you, ma Jake, so you will not abandon us.” He nods but his eyes are shrouded with a fog of sadness. Grief does not pass easily and you don’t expect this wound to heal within a day, a year, or even a lifetime. You’ve lost people in your life. Great warriors and clan elders. Thinking of them is like pressing against a bruise. It pangs and throbs but soon you will forget until you touch it once more. Neteyam’s parting is still fresh in your mind, weighing heavy on your heart.

“I miss him so much.” There are no words to placate the pain in his voice. “I just want to see him again. Just once.”

The desperate wish leads the two of you to the Ranteng Utralti. It will not be a true reunion. Not in the way Jake wants, but it will be something. Neteyam still lives within Eywa. His vitra has not been lost even in death.

The sun is still high overhead, poking beams of white light through the water as the two of you dive towards the Spirit Tree. The fronds seem to beckon your arrival as they sway in the tide, tossing patches of purple light across your skin. You’re still wearing your mourning garbs, your paint, your veil. It seems fitting as the two of you lock eyes. Jake’s hand reaches for yours, squeezing tight as you both make tsaheylu with the Spirit Tree. One moment you feel yourself floating, water all around you, but it fades in an instant, swallowed by a swirl of flashing light that fades first to green and then to more defined shapes. Leaves, a forest. It’s only vaguely recognizable, just different enough from the forest of your home to know you’re far from Awa’atlu, returned to the Pandora jungle once more.

There are voices among the sounds of rustling leaves and chittering animals. The sun is warm against your skin as you trail towards the sound, wide tail brushing against the plants around you. A warmth unfolds in your heart as you peek around a tree and find Jake kneeling next to a stream, a young boy at his side. At once you know it’s your son. His smile is just the same as it was as he offers his little bow to Jake. It’s beautiful in a way only Eywa can provide. A peaceful piece of perfection, a sweet dream to tide over an ailing heart. You’re content to watch them but a sound draws your attention, an ear flicking towards the noise. It doesn’t seem to disturb Neteyam or Jake and you wonder if they even know you’re here just beyond sight. Perhaps you’re at the very fringe of Jake’s vision, peering in from the outside. You leave him to it, attention drawn towards the sound of a woman singing. The forest changes around you, wavering like air above a fire as you walk a seemingly long distance in only a few strides and stumble upon a marui. It’s large, much too big for its single occupant, and woven with the intricacy expected of an Omatikaya dwelling.

“If you have time to stand and watch you should come help.” She interrupts her singing to finally look up at you and her face is striking. Round eyes, full lips, and her pil slant upward in a way that makes her features seem sharper. And there’s a sense of familiarity within her features, as if you’ve seen her somewhere before, like a memory faded with time. You stare at her even as she hands you a stone bowl, expecting that you’ll begin to grind cycad seeds. It usually isn’t your place to make such preparations but you are a guest in this woman’s home and she wouldn’t know if you are better suited preparing meat rather than flour. Still it is the same as preparing plants for medicines, an easy enough task, though you nearly drop the bowl when she asks who you are. But it’s hardly a question as your name rolls off her tongue.

“That is your name, yes? Neteyam has spoken highly of you since he arrived.” There’s a bitter tinge to her tone. For a moment you think it’s directed at you as you finally recognize her face. It’s Neteyam’s face if only older, more feminine. This is his mother. Jake’s first mate. Your chin tucks towards your chest as you try to hide within the dark cloud of your curls, shrinking behind the curtain of your hair. Perhaps you had wrongly interpreted Eywa’s will. Perhaps you were not meant to mate with Jake. It had been a selfish thought just as you’d worried, inconsiderate to the woman waiting for him here. She curses under her breath and your fangs bite into your lip to keep from apologizing before she’s said her piece.

“I give my life to protect my children and still it is not enough. Faysawtute.” Her chopping begins to gain vigor, scoring the wooden slab as she goes. “I kill him and he lives even still. When will it end?” Finally she looks up at you.

“Are the children safe? Kiri, Tuk, Lo’ak? I have not seen them here. They have to be safe.” She is trying to hide her desperation, you can tell by the pinched doing of her voice, but her eyes cannot hide from you. She is terrified that more of her children will be delivered to her soon.

“They are safe. They’re all safe.” The tension leaves her shoulders.

“That is good. And Jake?”

“He is with Neteyam now. He might come to see you soon…” your voice trails off as you realize he never told you her name. In his quest to keep you from questioning his devotion he has hidden a piece of himself. She will always be a part of him and it is not your place to begrudge him that. It is because of her that you have the family he’s given you. She deserves your unyielding respect as the mother that came before you.

“Neytiri,” she sounds almost amused by your ignorance. “Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite.” She sets aside her cooking and reaches for you, her hands finding yours once you set aside the bow of ground seeds. “I’ve heard of you and your sister Ronal. A skilled tsahìk and her tsahìknay.”

Tsahìknay. No one had ever called you such a thing. It was always tsakarem; a tsahìk that never finished her training and earned the honored title of clan leader. That was your sister, that was Ronal. She was tsahìk and yet you’re still treated with such respect within the clan. Even Ronal defers to your guidance at times. Was it not you that told her to allow the Sullys to stay? Before the clan she reminded you of her authority, but she is your elder sister. It has always been her guiding you and giving orders. Of course she would bristle at her word being questioned before the clan, before outsiders. And yet she allowed it. Even Jake had acknowledged your place upon first meeting. He called you tsakarem just as the rest of the clan did. It’s a title for a child not yet completing their rites to become one with the People, but what else were they meant to call you. Rarely does a clan have more than one tsahìk. But just as Eywa has blessed Jake it seems she has chosen you for something as well. Why else would you be blessed to See things as you do?

You See and yet you are blind. Ronal has told you this more than once in your life. It was meant as a reminder. To look clearly at things as they truly are. The shadows retreat and you see at last. You were never lacking, never less than. You are equal. Second to none.

Neytiri smiles, “A clan with two tsahìks must be blessed. I am glad it is you that he has chosen. My children will grow up well.” Her hand presses to your chest, palm against the tattoo inked over your heart. It means loving, protective. These are words you live by.

“Oel ngati kameie,” she says with gentle reverence. Your name sounds like a prayer on her tongue. “You have a strong heart. I trust it to take care of everyone that we love.” Even when you’ve failed to protect Neteyam she has given her blessing to look after her mate, her children. Your mate, your children. You move to bow but she meets you halfway, pressing her forehead against yours just as Jake would. You aren’t taking her place. Tsaheylu bonds your body and soul. She is a part of Jake just as much as you are, so she is now a part of you.

When your eyes open the marui is suddenly full of white light. And though you’ve never seen a forest atokirina’ you recognize the delicate creatures at once. There’s something calming about the presence of the pure spirits. Their syuratan is different from the yellow glow of the tree spirits of your home but they still feel gentle as a kiss when they caress your skin. One lands and then another. Neytiri reaches out her hand as one dances over her palm. She holds the bouncing sprite in her hands, white light dancing in her eyes as they fill with a rueful sadness.

“When I died, I was afraid. I knew I was dead the moment my eyes opened. My sister, my father, Tsu’tey. Everyone I had lost was here to greet me within Eywa. But I was afraid for my family.” She lifts her hands and gently blows on the atokirina’. It swirls through the air, threadlike tendrils swirling about before it finds the breeze and floats away with the others. They leave in a shimmering cloud just as quickly as they came. When you turn back to Neytiri she’s smiling. “I’m not afraid anymore.”

For a moment you think you’re crying as her face begins to swirl into a wash of color like spilled paint, but when you blink it away the vision is gone and you’re staring at the Ranteng Utralti once more. Jake’s hand is still tight in yours as his eyes open as well. When you surface you find that you were crying, tears streaming down your cheeks along with the seawater as you mount your ilu.

“What’s wrong, yuey?”

“I saw her, Jake.” A smile finds its way to your face despite the tears. Your heart flutters in your chest, beating heavily where her hand had been. Your skin seems to sing as you touch your tattoo as if her hand would still be there.

“Saw who?”

“Neytiri.” His eyes go wide, ears standing on end. Behind him his tail perks up, curling anxiously as he sits on his own ilu. It has always been his greatest fear that you would seek out knowledge about his mate. He knows you, knows your heart. You would have compared yourself to her, belittle and bemoaned your every flaw until you felt like nothing by comparison. But that isn’t the truth of it. There is no comparison. He chose her. He chose you. Jake values both of you just the same in his heart. There is no superior. You see that now. See it more clearly than you ever have.

“Why are you crying? What happened?” Sharing what you’ve seen while connected to the Spirit Tree is always an intimate experience. Tsaheylu is sacred, and what’s seen while communing with Eywa is always a look into someone’s soul. But you do it every time you meet someone’s eye. Jake’s vitra is plainly clear in his eyes. The bittersweet feeling of being able to catch even a glimpse of his son, to relive the memories that he cherishes and know that’s all that will be now. Just memories.

“She called me tsahìknay, said I was blessed. We were touched by atokirina’.” The Great Mother’s has not been subtle with her intentions on this day. You are meant to be by Jake’s side, just as Neytiri was before you. And Jake is meant to be by your side. To part would be to spite the blessings Eywa has given you. There was a reason you were not mated before. He is the reason. This is the reason. You were not meant for Tonowari, not meant for any man in Awa’atlu. This is the path Eywa has drawn for your life. It has not been without its hardships and there will surely be more to come–more death, more destruction–but the only way is forward. The storm will come and you will weather it. One step at a time. For now, though, you return home, listening to Jake recount his time with Neteyam. Their fishing and climbing trees. He sounds younger, a quiet smile in his voice. His spirit is lifted if only for the moment.

“She would’ve loved you.” He says at last. “I wish I’d told you that sooner.” There’s so much he hasn’t told you, so much you’ve yet to learn. A sharp pain pinches in your chest as you think of Neteyam and all the things that died with him, all the things you’ll never know about your son. Part of you wishes you had seen him with Eywa, had a chance to speak with him, but the Great Mother doesn’t always show you what you want to see but what needs to be seen.

“She said she trusts me to take care of our family.” Jake smiles and for a moment he looks like himself again. His face isn’t drawn with sadness but bright with a satisfied grin.

“I know she does, because I do. This family is our fortress and I trust you to protect it. No matter what happens.”

ɴᴀ’ᴠɪ ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴs

Tawtute, Sawtute – sky person, sky people

Sa’tsmuke – aunt, mother’s sister (speculative)

Tsmuke’ite – niece (speculative)

Hì’ikran – dorado verde, small ikran (speculative)

Sämunge – transportation device

Eyktanay – a step below clan leader

Waytelem – songcord

Ranteng Utralti – Spirit Tree

Vitra, Tirea – soul, spirit

Vrrtep – demon

Tswin – neural braid

Muntxate – wife, female mate

Maitan – (my) son

Naranawm – Polyphemus, the planet Pandora orbits

Syuratan – bioluminescence

Uniltìrantokx – dreamwalker, avatar

Pil – facial stripes, skin stripes

Tsakarem – tsahìk-in-training

Tsahìknay – a step below tsahìk (speculative)

Yuey – beautiful (inner beauty)

#jake sully x reader #sully family x reader #avatar x reader #avatar #atwow

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bluelanternn · 5 months

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— dream come true

* ˚ ✦ ═ levi ackerman x gn! reader

* ˚ ✦ ═ fluff, suggestive, kisses, a bit ooc levi, needy & clingy levi, non-canon au, all aot characters are alive bcz i said so

* ˚ ✦ ═ synopsis: in which, as his lover, you are determined to make his dream come true and make him the happiest.

* ˚ ✦ ═ author’s note: a happy birthday post for my dearest, levi ackerman. whether this is shit to you or not, it’s an appreciation post for my lover.

Business comes in a form of having to spend much. Having to be retired from the military, Levi Ackerman spent his time being chaperoned—cared for—by you. It did not matter to you on how much he has changed physically, he was still your Levi, your love for eternity.

This day is to celebrate the day that is all about him. You start off his day with a good morning kiss, who grumbled and tried to lean away from your kiss, but you knew he loves you too much not to give in.

“Good morning, sunshine. Rise up.” You pepper kisses all over his neck, grinning softly as you breathe in his scent. The curtains around your room were already open, making the sunlight cascade both of you two. Levi lets out a soft breath. “Mhm, good morning.. what time is it?”

“It’s 8:00, sweetheart.” Your eyes were still full of love even after so many of years of being together. Levi still couldn’t get used on having to wake up later than what time he was used to before, his body clock was now slowly getting 12 hour cycle—and all because of you.

He can now have a full time rest without worrying about anything. His hooded eyes gaze towards you, bringing his hand to caress your cheek. “How come you always look so damn good whenever you wake up?” His statement made you chuckle heartily.

“I should be saying that to you, love. You always look like an angel.” Levi wants to scoff and roll his eyes in disbelief at your words, but the sincerity in your eyes always makes his heart beat so fast. He switches both of your positions—making him now lay on top of you.

That index finger which never makes to send shivers on your spine, travels all over your lips. “Really, that mouth of yours will be the death of me.” Before capturing it against his lips, you two share an intimate passionate kiss, your hands gripping his waist lovingly, your lips peppering kisses all over his neck.

A meow inserted over your conversation, making you glance towards your cat. Beautiful black fur and gold irises, your Nao. He climbs on the edge of the bed, curling himself in a ball.

“Happy birthday, darling.” You peck his lips. “Getting older and older, eh?” You grinned teasingly, touching his skin intimately but not anything more, Levi likes how your touch was sensual yet loving at the same time.

He buries his face on your neck, “Can’t I stay here for a while?” You chuckled softly, feeling his breath fanning over your collarbone.

“I’m pretty sure Eren and the rest are already making their way here. It’ll be rude not to entertain your guests, hm?” A laugh bubbles in your throat making his eyebrows furrowed that worsens your laughter.

“Those brats always come here whenever they want like it’s their own home.” He complained, his grip around your body tightened. Despite his words, you can feel the longing in his voice. “G’nna start charging their ass every minute they spend here.” And his vulgarity on his mouth is back again.

You press your lips over his again, him not hesitating to kiss you back. “Calm down, baby..” You whispered against his lips with a soft smile while he pressed his lips against yours again, interrupting your words with a frown—breathy sighs of pleasure slip out of your mouths. You two were about to make it to the next level before you both hear loud knocking on your door.

“Mr. Levi! [Name]-san! Can we come in? We want to give you something!” Eren’s booming voice rolled all over your home making Levi groan in annoyance. You giggled sweetly, standing as you went to open the door for your guests. Nao begin to make his furry presence known by letting out a soft meow before shrieking when Hange begin to coddle him in their arms.

“G’morning to you all.” You greeted with open arms, having Sasha and Connie jump into your arms with a happy smile. Your eyes wandered over to the food that they brought, making your heart swell in warmth. Their love for your husband never fails to make you smile. “Have you brought his favorite cake?” You run your fingers through Sasha’s hair, your eyes zooming in over her mouth. “Sasha.. why is there icing on your face—?”

“I brought you freshly baked banana bread, [Name]-san!” Niccolo tried to direct your focus on his pastry, sweatdropping with a flustered look on having to cover for his girlfriend—who only sheepishly giggled to herself. “No raisins, just how you like it.”

Armin inserted himself on the conversation, “Not just pastries, Niccolo also cooked baked lasagna, salmon, lobster, and a whole chicken!” If you can look closely, you can see Sasha already drooling, preparing to feast over your banquet but controls herself.

Suddenly, you feel two elbows draped over your shoulders, seeing Mike and Hange grinning. “Now, where’s that old man, huh? Want to see the look on his face.” Hange pointed out with a grin, while Mike added, “Probably not out of delight, but that’s what we are looking for.”

You cannot help but laugh, “Well you guys interrupted us so expect his moodiness.” You winked, both veterans getting the hint as they laughed together with you, though Eren was a bit dense. “Your arms might get sore, why don’t you leave the food here?” You helped placing the delicious food all over the table, the aroma filling your home.

Your living room was slowly being piled up with so many gifts but you did not complain, you were more excited to open the gifts for your husband with a glow all over you. You see Erwin, one of his bestfriends, giving Levi a box of his favorite tea in your bedroom—you laughed when you see how fast Levi tried to open the box.

“Let’s eat!” Jean shouted with a hungry look on his face, both Connie and Sasha agreeing making you grin. Mikasa has to hold back the three for almost ruining the cake, she bowed in respect towards you while you smile once more, your cousin-in-law looking radiating as always—your eyes softened while you put the candles all over the cake.

You heard creaking from your bedroom, seeing Levi already making his way towards you all with his wheelchair. You quickly go towards him, gliding his wheelchair towards the dining table, you laugh seeing the moody expression on his face once again.

Everyone begin greeting him, even them having the courage to hug and ruffle his hair which really didn’t seem to annoy Levi, already getting used to their antics with a sigh.

Lighting up the candles, all of you begin to sing the typical birthday song. “Happy Birthday to you~🎵”, not changing the expression of the birthday celebrant before about to blow the candles.

“Wait, wait. Make a wish first, you old man!” Hange cackled, Eren nodded his head vigorously with Armin making Levi deadpanned.

“Do I really have to? I’m not a kid anymore—“

“Make a wish, you old man.” You pecked his cheek with a teasing grin, pouting playfully. “Surely, you wouldn’t reject me?”

Levi Ackerman has a soft spot for you, he rolled his eyes before shutting them out, silently wishing in his mind. You all watched him anticipating before he blew the candles, you clapped loudly.

“Now, let’s have a feast!”

“YEAH!”

The sun was set as the night shows. Everyone already left your home, you were thankful for them helping you to clean up or else Levi will ban them from coming into your home. Either way, some leftover food were stock in the refrigerator.

“Are we now alone?” Your husband quipped, sipping his green tea, gazing through the stars outside of the window. You have now finished washing the dishes, drying your hands in a cloth before sitting beside him on the couch. Nao-nao is now resting on his own little bed, curled up in a ball.

“Yeah, but your birthday is still not over.” You held his hand, helping you get onto his wheelchair. “I haven’t showed you my gift yet.”

Levi’s curiosity was peaked. It was very obvious that he was getting tired, but you know what you have as his present will make his sleepiness go away. “We’re going outside. Sweetheart, I swear if you bought me a new home—“

“It’s not a house, silly. Although… you’re close enough.” You giggled with bright sparkles all over you, helping your lover take a stroll outside. The wind that brushes over you two, it was very peaceful. “Now, wear this blindfold.”

“I don’t say this very often, but this is quite making me nervous.” Levi shivered with a gloom expression making you sigh. You flicked your fingers over his forehead.

“Why do you always assume bad? We’re getting close, put it on!” Nonetheless, Levi followed your instructions. It was a good excuse to rest his eyes for a second while you continue to giggle like a madman.

“Take it off.”

Levi did take out the blindfold, his eyes widening when they both landed in front, he took in a shaky breath. Two cloves of leaf coupled in an artistic design with an abstract green in different shades.

— 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐈’𝐒 tea —

It was a brand new tea shop. His ever dream, enough to make him so damn happy. Before he can stay still in shock while you smile at his reaction, you stroll inside. Every pack of tea, the tables and chairs were all made from oak, the aroma was nothing but organic fresh tea leaves—you can definitely see how clean everything is.

“The brand sucks.”

“Oh shut up, just let me have this moment.” You retorted, pinching the fat of his cheek. “You can change it with whatever you want, you’re the official owner.”

“How did you afford this?” He asked, gripping your left hand tightly. He continued to be amazed internally, like his breath was knocked out of his lungs.

You were both financially stable enough to provide you both the necessities, yet not more than enough to have a new home. “I saved enough money for your dream, I knew you wanted to open your own tea shop.” You massaged his shoulders. “Clean as brand new.”

You were engulfed in a hug by his arms, him scoffing. “You really are one hell of a lover, eh?” He mumbled while you pretend to be offended. “But this is why I love you.” His eyes softened, his playful scowl turning into a smile. “Thank you, [Name].”

You press a soft kiss on his forehead, sharing a kiss on his lips once again, before he breaks it in a soft, velvety whisper. “Really, thank you. My dearest..” His heart was full of love, because of his family, and you.

You rubbed small circles on his back, “So can you brew me some tea, honey?” You teased.

“Don’t assume you’ll get it for free.”

#✎blue.lantern.writes 𓆩♡𓆪 #anime x reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi ackerman #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi ackerman x reader fanfiction #aot x reader #attack on titan x reader #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin x reader #snk x reader #shingeki no kyojin #aot #levi #fluff #gn reader

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haru-rain · 8 months

Text

Seeing Nao move on, inviting Goro to come to her home town - a place she's avoided for a long time - and wanting to introduce him to her mother… It's so touching…

#skip to loafer #skip and loafer #nao chan #goro #stl #sukirofa

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bl00dst41ned · 7 months

Text

*.·:·.✦ another lifetime ✦.·:·.*

pairing: jude bellingham x black female oc (named her Nevaeh)

summary: in which when a life ends, another one begins

author's note: ummm…….i’m sorry guys. inspired by nao's 'another lifetime' song

warnings: mention of car accident and death

word count: 1856

“It’s gonna be a bit cold”

The translucid gel dripped on Nevaeh’s belly as she laid down on the hospital bed. The obstetrician spread the gel around the round stomach using her little sound instrument. She clicked a button, turning on the screen.

Nevaeh watched it move around until appeared the perfectly-formed baby silhouette. Her eyes gazed at the black and white image in awe.

“There she is”

“Looks like she’s sucking her thumb” Nevaeh pointed before looking at her left.

At her left sat Jude, whose leg couldn’t stop shaking out of excitement. His eyes glistened as he watched his baby girl.

His longtime girlfriend Nevaeh and him were expecting a little girl. Today was their last ultrasound before their baby’s arrival, due in two weeks. And the same as the others, they were in wonder in front of their little creation.

“She’s getting in the right position to get out” The doctor pointed on the screen. “But the due date stays the same”

She told them a few more information on the baby’s vitals and on the upcoming birth before the visit ended. The couple checked out of the clinic before leaving out of the building. Jude's hand automatically reached for Nevaeh's, tangling them together as he rubbed his thumb on her hand.

They walked to Jude’s car swaying their hands together. Once they both got in, Jude booked a Uber for Nevaeh since she had to go home and him, to training. As they waited for her driver to arrive, they sat in a comfortable silence.

Jude occasionally left soft kisses on his girlfriend’s cheek.

Nevaeh was the apple of Jude’s eye. She could always catch him lost staring. He admired her brown skin glowing in the sun that he loved so much. Her braids that she insisted on getting to be comfortable to give birth. Her naturally curved eyelashes moving as Nevaeh closed her eyes.

“You can’t sleep now, baby” Jude smiled seeing her tired expression. He knew how much Nevaeh hated to be woken up out of a nap, so he didn’t want to take the risk to make her mad, even more now that she was nine months pregnant.

“This driver need to come, I wanna sleep”

Deciding to stay awake, Nevaeh took her phone out, opening the Instagram app only to be met with her baby-filled feed. Her eyes shined from the overload cuteness, tears filling her eyes.

“Why are you crying, babe?” Jude asked, trying hard not to laugh. “It’s the babies again?”

“I just can’t wait, Nugs” Nevaeh called him by the affectionate nickname she gave him years prior. “Like, we’re going to be parents, and it feels like a dream come true” She ranted, full-blown crying. “Because I could not imagine another person to start a family with than with the person I love the most, and that’s you”

Her words had left Jude speechless. Nevaeh was shy when it comes to vocalise her feelings. She would write him letters to express her love, but the hormones had made her talk more and let her emotions out to him.

“I love you too” He responded with a grin. “And I can’t wait for her to arrive too. You’re my forever best friend and will be the greatest mom of all moms”

They exchanged a kiss and Jude went down to kiss her stomach, the baby kicking instantly. They observed her belly move as their daughter’s feet moved.

“Time for you to go” Jude realised the Uber had just came. He walked out the car going to open Nevaeh’s and help her out the vehicle. He accompanied her to the car, settling her in and not forgetting to drop a peck on her forehead.

“Bye Nugs I love you”

“I love you, babe”

………

Nevaeh's hand rested on her pregnant belly, feeling her daughter's light kicks against her palm. Her eyelids were now heavier and she started to doze off. Before she could, she heard the driver shout.

Nevaeh didn't get to look at what happened that her head was projected to the top of the car. Nevaeh crouched as much as she could, protecting her child as the car flipped over and over again.

The scene looked straight out of a horror movie. The sound of windows shattering, the screams, the metal dropping on the concrete.

Bypassers ran to the crashed Honda, ambulance already called over. A deadly atmosphere filled the space around. The violence of the accident left no hope to them for anybody to be alive as they still looked inside.

“There’s a pregnant woman!” One of them shouted seeing Nevaeh’s hands around her belly.

She opened her eyes once it stopped, only for them to be blinded by the smoke in the car. She could only mumble weakly "Nugs" before falling unconscious.

...........

"Jude"

At the call of his name, the man started running towards to get the ball from his teammates and shoot it in the goal. He went back to his place with his head down, breathing hard. As he looked up, he saw the club’s secretary, Louise, call him over.

He furrowed his eyes the closer he got to Louise, catching her worried face expression.

“What’s wrong?”

She stumbled on her words, struggling to form a sentence. She finally took a deep breath before breaking the news clearly.

“You need to get to the hospital quick, Nevaeh had got into a bad car accident-”

Louise could not even finish her sentence that he had took off running to his phone and car keys and rush to his pregnant girlfriend.

Each minute spent in the car felt like an hour. His sweaty hands gripped the steering wheel harder every time he had to stop at a red light. He silently prayed for his girlfriend and daughter to be alright and kept all negatives thoughts out of his mind.

At the hospital, he pratically ran to the front desk.

“Hello, I’m looking for my girlfriend” He managed to say in a calm voice. “She had gotten in a car accident earlier”

The nurse looked on her computer before answering to him.

“Third floor, the elevator’s on the far right” She pointed the direction.

Jude thanked her quickly before rushing to the third floor. He cut road of the first doctor that came his way.

“Excuse me, do you know where’s my girlfriend, she got in a car accident”

“Oh yeah, I’ll check, just wait there”

Jude did as told going to the waiting room. He tried to sit still but got up the next minute pacing back and forth in the room and sitting again. He repeated the cycle until a nurse came into the room, catching his attention.

“Are you here for a certain Nevaeh ?”

“Yes, can I see her ?” He immediately asked, frustrated to see her shake her head.

“Not yet. But there’s somebody else who wants to see you”

Jude was confused for a bit, not knowing who he had to see other than his partner. But one look at the nurse’s face made it clear in his mind. She was here.

He followed behind the nurse to a room, with another nurse inside. He approached them to see a newborn girl move around. His newborn girl.

“Look who’s there to see you” One of the nurse cooed. “You’d like to hold her”

“Obviously”

His face now held the biggest smile, showing his white teeth.

“Okay, take off your shirt and sit there”

Jude did as told as she set his daughter on his chest. The little baby gesticulated slowly before settling.

Jude stayed stiff, intimidated by this tiny little human, which the nurse had caught on.

“Relax” She said with a chuckle, earning one from Jude too. “We’re here if anything happens”

They reassured him the first few minutes before setting back, seeing that he felt more comfortable.

Finally alone with his child, Jude took a look to take in her features. Her fair skin from just being born. Her little head, her little hands, her little legs. She looked so tiny in his hands, fragile as porcelain. He watched her eyes opening and closing. Her dark brown eyes, just like her mom’s.

He snapped a quick picture as the nurses came to him.

“Seems like dad is handling it well”

Jude smiled while keeping his eyes on his little one.

“She has a lot of hair too” He rubbed the short black hair. “Nevaeh’s gonna be so happy to not have had heart burns for nothing”

The nurses face expression changed instantly. Their wide smiles were now replaced with concerning looks. It was silent for a few seconds before the one that took him to see his baby spoke.

“Unfortunately, Nevaeh didn’t survive the accident, I’m sorry”

Her voice resonated as if the room was entirely empty.

After the birth of their daughter, he didn’t even think of Nevaeh not being alright too.

“How c- what happened?”

“She…died shortly after the baby was born. I guess she used her last forces into giving birth”

Jude stared into space and his hand mechanically caressed his baby’s skin. A baby he never imagined raising without Nevaeh. Within hours, he had gone through the best and worst moments of his life, his mind split from happiness and sadness.

Jude walked out of the room minutes later, his head hanging low and feet dragging. He joined his family that he had called earlier. They quickly got up at his sight and Denise first started talking.

“How are they?”

“Little girl is here and healthy”

“And Nevaeh?”

His silence spoke louder than words could ever done. Since the news was broken to him, Jude had kept himself from crying, scared that his daughter could feel his sadness. But as soon as his mother wrapped her arms around him, all the tears bottled inside escaped his eyes.

He cried, his head snuggled in Denise’s chest, feeling like a child again. A child who just fell and needed a hug. His heart got hurt and needed comfort. Denise’s hand gently rubbed the back of his neck while reassuring him. Just like Nevaeh does.

Like she used to do.

judebellingham

9,557,513 likes

judebellingham I've never imagined having to write this. Nothing could have prepared me for it. Losing my best friend but also welcoming another one. And for that Nevaeh I thank you. For gathering the little rest of strength into bringing our love into this world, that you cherished so much. Best believe she'll be reminded of that every day. She looks just like you aswell. I wish you could see her. Sometimes it's hard to not have you by my side, but there's always someone to help me. So I should be alright. I hope you are granted Heaven. Because that is what you are. You were my Heaven on Earth. Heaven is your name. And that's where we'll meet again. I’ll see you in another lifetime. Until then, I’ll take good care of little Shaili, I promise. I love you both with all my heart 🐻‍❄️🤍 - Nugs

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like and repost for support (hope you enjoyed it)

i'm so sorry y'all but the song inspired me too much

masterlist for more

#written by bl00dst41ned #football #football blurb #football imagine #football x oc #jude bellingham #jude bellingham blurb #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham x black oc #jude bellingham x oc

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beanieman · 7 months

Note

what are your thoughts on an 'everyone survives au', what they would do after the death game?

(Before I get into separate headcanons, I want to add that I think every single one of these characters would be struggle with paranoia. I mean, they were put in a death game.)

Sara Chidouin - Sara ends up staying at Joe's place a lot considering her Father was taken down with the company. It's easier for her to hang out with him then to stay at home, but she still calls her Mother daily to make sure she's alright. Other than that she continues going to class and her near death experience has only made her more determined to get good grades so she can go to a good school. She also finds a local kendo and joins as a student.

Joe Tazuna - Joe finds a lot of comfort with Sara staying at place. It makes him feel more secure that they're together, and the whole experience has certainly made him value their friendship. But outside of her, he keeps going to school with the intention of getting his diploma. He's not sure of what he wants to do after high school, but his experience has left him more determined then ever to live life in the moment.

More Undercut

Gin Ibushi - Gin goes back home and gives his Mom a big hug. He missed her a lot, and he's very glad to be home safely with Mew-chan. He was walked home by Sara and his Mother ensures that he can still see big sis Sara and all his other new friends. Despite his new connections his Mother is still worried for his safety, so she moves him to a private school that is much smaller. He gets a lot more help here and makes some good friends his own age, but he's still always excited to see Sara and Joe when they come to tutor him after school.

Keiji Shinogi - Keiji is forced to finally get therapy considering his friends around him know that he can't keep ignoring his issues. He gets a lot of encouragement from them, but he knows that the healing process takes awhile. While he works on himself, he gets a job as private investigator and helps people that the police won't. Also he dyes his hair a different color to symbolize a fresh start. (Also because the person writing this post hates his hair color.)

Alice Yabusame - With ASU-NARO's grip loosened, Alice is released from jail within a few months time. He doesn't go back to making music considering Reko already has an established band and he feels like he's intruding, but he still gets what he really wants. He gets to play music with Reko again. This time for fun without the pressure of stardom. As for his career...well it comes to him while he's reapplying hair dye. He decides that he would make a great hair dresser, and Reko supports him whole heartedly.

Reko Yabusame - With a near death experience to change her life, she decides to send Alice a letter in prison and offer a chance at reconciliation. He takes it, of course, and she's glad that she's the first one to great him once he's released. Outside of Alice, she decides to tour with her band. Life is short, and she wants to play as much music as she can in that time!

Nao Egokoro - Nao goes back and finishes her collage education. That's what's most important to her, but after her education is said and done she works out a plan with Mishima to become his official mentee. She wants to teach art to some day, but in the meantime, she's more than happy to attend all the shows Reko invites her to.

Kazumi Mishima - He goes back to teaching as that's his passion. Yet now he tells his story to his students as both a cautionary tale and a tale of persevering despite all odds.

Q-taro Burgerberg - Q-Taro goes back to playing sports. It's what he loves, and he's not going to let a death game slow down his passion. He also keeps in contact with Gin and frequently takes him to watch his games.

Kai Satou - With parts of both his families taken down with ASU-NARO, he is left having to live for himself. He gets a job as a chef and his own apartment in the middle of town. It's all very new to him, as is his friendship with the rest of the group. He talks to Q-Taro and Sara the most, often checking in on them to make sure that they're doing okay. He's even let Sara crash at his place a few times if Joe wasn't around and she needed a break from home. He really feels like she's family, and it fills some of the hole Mr. Chidouin left behind.

Kanna Kizuchi - Kanna is very glad to be home with Kugie and her parents. She's also glad that she has Sara and Shin's number and can call them anytime if she wants hangout. They both frequently come to pick her up to get ice cream, and they pick her up from school so she doesn't have to walk home.

Shin Tsukimi - Shin doesn't handle being put into a death game well. Even though he survived despite all odds (or percentages) he still struggles with shaking the fear. Anyway, let me elaborate on my AU about this exact scenario where Shin ends up traveling and living in hotels so no one can truly track his location. Also very important note that he keeps with Kanna and they eventually find out that they're bio siblings after he meets Kanna's parents and they recognize the name of his parents.

Dolls

Ranmaru Kageyama - Ranmaru gets Sara's, Joe's, and Anzu's number before he leaves the death game. Despite it all, it feels...refreshing to have new friends in his life that are happy to talk with him. He spends a lot of time texting with them, and when he's not doing that he relaxes with the knowledge that he has genuine friends.

Naomichi Kurumada - He's proud of everyone that they were all able to win, and he has a new outlook on teamwork considering they were all able to win together. He continues to box, but now he has new friends coming to watch him from time to time.

Anzu Kinashi - Anzu goes back to business as usual. She likes being a funny clown girl and wants to continue her craft. She would like to see her mentor again to tell him all that's happened, but she'll be happy preforming either way.

Mai Tsurugi - Mai goes back to the bakery and uses her near death experience as a way to make money. Anytime anyone comes in she goes "I just had the roughest time,🥺" so she will get better tips.

Shunsuke Hayasaka - Shunsuke tries to find a different job that doesn't tangle him up with ASU-NARO. He figures he'll try to get some kind of desk job, but in the meantime, he enjoys taking his morning jogs again.

Hinako Mishuku - It depends on how the participants escaped the death game. If ASU-NARO was running then she'd stay with the company and wonder what was next. Maybe it would be another death game, or maybe they'd do something new, but she is loyal since ASU-NARO presumably wouldn't get the chance to betray her in this route. However, if ASU-NARO was destroyed, then she'd have to find an entire new path in life. Where that could take her I couldn't say with as little as we know about her real personality now.

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tokusmuts · 2 months

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A forbidden love, with a new heart's desire!

P/s: This is the story which I was requested...from 2022, sorry @glaremeh for taking that much time to finally have a chance to write it, hope that your friend can still read it somehow!

Characters: Hidden Male Character x Nao Nagasawa

Words count: 4088

Categories: Oneshot, MILF, Riding, Cowgirl and Reverse Cowgirl, Blowjob, Breastfeeding.

Enjoy!

Summer has come; you don't know for anyone, but for yourself, this is a dream time, at least when you are still a student, like now, 18 years old, and have completed all the exams before entering university. learn. This is your last time as a teenager, and not only you but also your whole family want to enjoy this time as much as possible. With your dad rewarding himself with an expedition, you and your mom couldn't stand it, so you also organized a beach trip together. If it was just you and your mom on the trip, it would be very cozy, but that's when you realize your mom will bring her friends along. It was none other than Ms. Nao, who often came to her friend's house to play. Actually, you don't have any problem with her; she's even very nice to you, but she is a single mother. Although it was difficult for her not to bring her child along, you also didn't like that child. If only he had a part of his mother, that would be enough for you to fully enjoy this trip. But it's okay to have Ms. Nao here; at least you don't have to be a reluctant babysitter because there are two adults here to take turns looking after that annoying kid without you. After you have ignored the most annoying obstacle, the convoy has reached the beach. The feeling of wind and sun hitting your face really makes you want this trip to last all summer or even into your freshman year. After checking into the hotel, it was still extremely difficult for two families (or rather, two mothers and two children) to separate, especially given the story of the two parents. Fortunately, Ms. Nao finally ended the story with a closing sentence:

"Change quickly, and let's go to the beach, my friend! Remember to wear your bikini; we must have a lot of pictures then!"

Your mother also seemed interested in this, so she immediately agreed, probably to show it off to your father when she got home. But there's something else on your mind—you're about to see Ms. Nao in a bikini! You often hear that single mothers have amazing bodies, and in fact, your teenage years are the perfect opportunity to start absorbing a little bit of adult culture like this. And you’re starting to think that this trip is going to be even more interesting than you expected.

As you walked towards your rooms, you tried hard not to stare at Ms. Nao's ass swaying enticingly beneath her loose T-shirt and shorts. Once inside the room, you quickly changed into your own swimsuit, trying hard not to think about how close you were going to get to seeing her in hers soon. When everyone was dressed appropriately, you headed down to the beach together. The sun was already high up in the sky, casting its warm rays upon the sandy shoreline, creating a picture-perfect scene. Children ran around happily, building sandcastles, while their parents lounged lazily on colorful umbrellas.

As you settled onto your spot under one such umbrella, you couldn't help but notice how effortlessly Ms. Nao moved, every step seeming almost fluid as she adjusted her sunglasses and spread out her towel next to yours. Her figure was truly breathtaking, accentuated perfectly by her choice of attire: a skimpy orange two-piece suit that highlighted every curve and contour of her toned physique. Your eyes drifted downward involuntarily, taking in the tantalizing glimpse of cleavage. It wasn't easy, though; the sight of Ms. Nao adjusting her bikini straps, exposing more of her tanned skin, made it nearly impossible to focus on anything else.

“Wow, so what I often hear is true then, and it's even better!” - Finally, what you've heard about single mothers is proven at this moment.

You couldn't help but feel a wave of excitement wash over you. Yes, everything you heard about single mothers having amazing bodies was indeed true, and seeing Ms. Nao in person confirmed it beyond any doubt. As you watched her move gracefully across the sand, you found yourself mesmerized by the way her bikini clung to her curves, leaving little to the imagination. Even though your mom was chatting animatedly nearby, your gaze kept drifting back to her friend.

It was clear that Ms. Nao noticed your attention, but instead of being embarrassed or uncomfortable, she seemed to embrace it. She flashed you a knowing smile, winking subtly as she picked up a volleyball and called out, "Come on, kids! Let's play!"

Embarrassment flooded through you at being caught staring, but you forced yourself to join in the game. It was strange, playing volleyball with your mother and her friend, but somehow, it felt right. Ms. Nao's laughter rang out freely, and her athleticism was evident as she dove for the ball and sent spikes flying across the net. Her breasts jiggled slightly within her top, and you could see her nipples hardening under the heat of the sun. Meanwhile, your mom played along, enjoying herself despite her obvious discomfort around Ms. Nao's flirtatious demeanor. However, you couldn't deny that there was something undeniably sexy about watching them both interact. The game continued for hours, and eventually, exhaustion caught up to everyone involved. Finally, they decided to call it quits and head back to their respective rooms to freshen up before lunch. But her body is starting to make you not stand for it anymore. And then, you wonder if you should do something risky or not. The thought of doing something risky crossed your mind, but you hesitated. What if things went wrong? What if Ms. Nao took offense? Despite these doubts, the urge to act on your desires grew stronger. The sun beating down on your skin, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the image of Ms. Nao in her bikini played through your thoughts relentlessly.

Finally, after some internal debate, you made up your mind. You approached Ms. Nao as she lay down on her towel, sipping coconut water and letting the sun kiss her bare skin. "Ms. Nao," you began hesitantly, "I just wanted to say... you look amazing today."

Her eyes widened slightly at your sudden boldness, but she recovered quickly. "Thank you," she replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. “And...uh, I got something more to say, but can we talk in a...more private place at, you know, this beach?” - Now that’s the risky thing you had to give it a chance to do.

Ms. Nao raised an eyebrow at your request for privacy, but she seemed intrigued rather than offended. She set down her coconut water and stood up, brushing sand from her bikini bottoms as she did so. "Alright, lead the way," she said with a playful glint in her eye.

You guided her away from the crowded area where families played and laughed, walking along the shoreline until you reached a secluded spot where tall grasses formed natural barriers. The wind carried the distant sound of laughter and splashing water, but it was quiet enough for you to speak without being overheard. Ms. Nao looked at you expectantly, waiting for whatever it was you wanted to discuss.

"Uh, so..." you stammered, feeling nervous under her gaze. "I've been thinking about what I said earlier. About how amazing you look in that bikini..." Your cheeks burned hot with embarrassment, but you pushed forward anyway. "Is there any chance...we could maybe see more?"

To your surprise, Ms. Nao chuckled softly. "You're quite direct, aren't you?" She asked teasingly

“I mean, I've heard many talks about how perfect single mothers are! And you're a single mom also, but through the years, I just saw you as a good guest in my family, especially for me. But today, there's something growing on me through all of our times together, and... Sorry if I was too bold, I cannot think about anything else then!” - you took a deep breath, showing everything you feel right now about her.

Ms. Nao studied your flushed face, taking in your honest confession. She seemed amused by your boldness but also appreciative of your sincerity. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in satisfying your curiosity," she murmured seductively, reaching behind her neck to untie the strings of her top.

With a flick of her wrist, she let the fabric fall away, revealing her incredible breasts - full, firm, and tanned to perfection. Your breath hitched at the sight, and your eyes devoured every detail. She leaned closer, allowing you to gently touch her soft skin. The sensation sent shivers down your spine as you realized what you were doing, yet you couldn't resist the temptation.

"Now, what about the rest?" Ms. Nao purred, unbuttoning her bikini bottoms slowly. As they slid down her hips, revealing her trimmed bush and slender legs, you gasped involuntarily. There was no denying it now: Ms. Nao was the embodiment of feminine beauty and confidence. You felt a surge of desire coursing through your veins, but also fear - this situation was risky and dangerous.

“This is...perfect, but why do you just deny all the men out there? Your body is just undeniable!” - you are stunned by your view right now, and it’s come with a long enough wonder as you ask her directly with trembles.

Ms. Nao smiled sadly, running her fingers through her hair as she stepped back into her bikini bottoms. "Life hasn't exactly been kind to me lately," she admitted softly. "After my divorce, I focused solely on raising my child. Men have come and gone, but none of them were worth my time or energy." She paused, looking directly into your eyes. "Until now."

Something shifted between you then - an understanding, a connection born from shared secrets and mutual attraction. You knew you shouldn't pursue this further, but you couldn't resist the pull either.

"What happens next is up to us," Ms. Nao whispered, stepping closer once more. "Are you sure you want to continue?"

Your heart pounded in your chest, and butterflies danced in your stomach. This was dangerous territory, yet the thrill of danger only fueled your desire. You nodded silently, unable to find words, as you reached for her again.

She sighed, leaning into your touch, her body responding eagerly to your tentative caresses. For a few stolen moments, you explored her lush curves, losing yourself in the warmth of her skin and the scent of saltwater mixed with her sunscreen. Time seemed to slow down as you lost yourself in the sensations, each touch igniting a fire within you both. It was clear that Ms. Nao was enjoying this as much as you were; her breaths became shallow, her moans barely audible above the sound of the waves.

“Ms. Nao...I'm…” “Shhh,...”

She whispered, placing a finger over your lips. "We need to keep this secret, alright? No one can ever know about us, understand?"

You nodded frantically, your mind racing with the implications of what you were doing. You couldn't believe this was actually happening - you were making love to your mom's best friend, right here on the beach!

Slowly, Ms. Nao led you back to your blanket, keeping her hand locked with yours as you walked. Once they were alone, she pulled you close, her lips crashing hungrily against yours. Their tongues tangled together in a passionate dance, their bodies melting into each other's embrace. Her breasts pressed against your chest, and her thigh rubbed against your crotch, causing a visible bulge in your swim trunks.

“This...is...amazing, Ms.Nao!” - You cannot complete your words normally, as she’s now controlling the kiss.

Ms. Nao smiled against your lips, her hands roaming over your back and pulling you even closer. "That's what I like to hear," she murmured, breaking away only long enough to catch her breath. "But remember, we can't let anyone find out about us. We're taking a huge risk here."

Despite the warning, you couldn't help but feel exhilarated by the taboo nature of your affair. Her words only served to heighten your arousal, making your erection strain against your swimsuit. Ms. Nao seemed to sense this, her hands sliding lower to grip your buttocks possessively.

"Let's go somewhere more private," she suggested, guiding you towards the hotel room. "There's so much more I want to show you."

You searched so much just to find this place, a private enough part of the beach, it seems like she still has some certain care of her own. But things are leading you to not move anywhere else anymore. “Please...this place is private enough, as my continuous refrain of not standing up towards you, Ms. Nao.” - you have no choice but to obey the action right away.

Ms. Nao hesitated for a moment, her eyes darkening with desire as she considered your request. "Very well," she whispered hoarsely, leading you behind the tall grasses once again. She pushed you down onto the sand, crawling on top of you and capturing your mouth in another searing kiss.

Your heart raced as she ground her hips against yours, her wetness seeping through your swimsuits and setting your blood ablaze. The feel of her naked body against yours was intoxicating, and you gripped her waist tightly, desperate for more contact.

"Do you want me, boy?" she growled, grinding harder against you. "Tell me how badly you need this."

“Yes, Ms. Nao, I want to make love with you, more than anything else.” - You knew you entered her world now, so following it is the best idea now.

A satisfied moan escaped her throat as she felt your eagerness. "Good boy," she praised, moving her hips in a slow, seductive motion that drove you wild. With a growl, she ripped off your swim trunks, freeing your throbbing member from its confines. Her eyes widened in surprise at the size of your cock, but instead of showing shock or disgust, she leaned forward, her tongue tracing the head of your cockhead.

"Mmmm...you've grown up nicely," she complimented, sucking greedily on the tip of your dick. Her tongue circled the head, teasing your sensitive spot before she engulfed the entire length of your shaft. You groaned loudly, your hips buckling involuntarily against her face.

“Oh my....fuck...you're so good at this, Ms. Nao!” - You cannot lie, and you know you have to express the feelings of her lips on your cock right now.

Ms. Nao grinned around your cock, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Just wait until you taste me," she promised, releasing you from her mouth. She positioned herself over your erect penis, positioning the entrance to her pussy against your tip. "Ready?"

You nodded vigorously, your hands trembling as they rested on her hips. This was it - you were about to make love to the woman who had captured your attention since childhood.

With a gentle thrust, Ms. Nao impaled herself on your cock, her pussy enveloping your shaft completely. She cried out in pleasure, her eyes closing tight as she adjusted to your size. Slowly, she began to ride you, her breasts bouncing with each movement. The salty sea air filled your lungs as you both moved in perfect harmony, sweat glistening on both of your bodies.

As she rode you harder and faster, Ms. Nao reached down, massaging her clit rhythmically. Her moans echoed around the deserted beach, punctuating the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Your hands roamed over her body, exploring every inch of her flesh while she rode you relentlessly.

“Oh my, Ms. Nao... your body...is my view now...I cannot ask for something better than this!” - Regardless of the fact that you can't see anything other than her body, you enjoy it even more.

Ms. Nao's face twisted into a mask of ecstasy, her moans turning into pants as she neared her climax. "Look at me," she commanded hoarsely, her eyes locked on yours. "See what you're doing to me."

You complied, drinking in the sight of her riding you passionately. Her tits bounced with every thrust, her face flushed with passion, and her pussy clamped down on your cock in an attempt to milk every last drop of pleasure from the encounter. It was raw, primal, and utterly beautiful - everything you could have ever wished for.

"Cum for me, boy," she demanded, her voice thick with lust. "Make me feel how much you want me."

With those words, you lost control. Your hips bucked violently, driving deeper into her wet heat. She met each thrust with enthusiasm, her nails digging into your shoulders as she came hard, her orgasm shaking her entire frame.

Finally, you followed suit, filling her with your seed as she collapsed onto your chest, panting heavily. Together, you lay there on the sand, basking in the afterglow of your illicit tryst.

“This...this is my first time, Ms. Nao, and it's...amazing.” - A first time of everything, and that’s what a teenager like you should have, but your first time..is a bit different from others.

Ms. Nao propped herself up on her elbows, her breath hitching as she looked down at you. "My first time with someone this young," she mused, tracing her fingers lightly over your chest. "And on a beach, no less. Quite the memory to start with."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "But don't worry, darling. Our secret is safe with me." She leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead. "We'll have many more adventures like this one, won't we?"

“Uhm…So, can we...get one more round? I just...want to receive all the stimulation that comes from you for a proper cum.” - Now that’s the adventure you want the most.

Ms. Nao giggled softly, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Of course, my little pervert," she teased, rolling onto her side beside you. "I wouldn't dream of disappointing my newest fan."

She reached over and grabbed a bottle of sunscreen lotion from her bag, squirting some onto her palm. "Spread this on me, will you?" She handed it to you, her eyes filled with anticipation.

“Yes, as you wish, Ms. Nao” - You’re still a kid to her, so hearing commands is better than ignoring them, especially when you’re still in this lovemaking time with her.

You applied the sunscreen lotion generously, covering every inch of her body. As you did, Ms. Nao arched her back, purring at the sensation of your touch. When you reached her breasts, she moaned softly, her nipples hardening under your fingertips. She wriggled beneath your caress, clearly aroused by your attentions.

Once you'd finished, she sat up and took over, applying the lotion to your own body. Her hands lingered on your erect nipples, playing with them gently before moving lower. By the time she reached your cock, it was hard and ready once more.

"Perfect timing," she purred, straddling you again. This time, she took control, adjusting her position until she was sitting backward on your lap, facing away from you. Her pussy hovered just above your dick, teasing you cruelly.

"Enter me, baby," she instructed, turning her head to give you an inviting glance. "Fuck me hard."

“Yes, let's enjoy this view together, Ms. Nao!”

With a growl, you thrust forward, pushing inside her tight, wet channel. She gasped loudly, her body tightening around you as you claimed her. Your hands gripped her hips firmly, holding her steady as you picked up the pace. Slapping her ass cheeks rhythmically, you found your rhythm, pounding into her depths with ferocity.

In response, Ms. Nao moaned loudly, encouraging you on. Her breasts swayed enticingly, and her long black hair whipped wildly behind her head. Her moans turned into high-pitched gasps as you continued your relentless assault on her sensitive spots.

"So good, baby," she panted, her nails leaving trails of red marks on your back. "Take what you want."

Seeing her submit to your lustful appetite only served to fuel your desire further. You increased the speed and intensity of your thrusts, driving deeper and harder into her core. Both of you were lost in the primal pleasure of their illegal rendezvous, oblivious to the passing time and the potential consequences of their actions.

“Ms. Nao, I...cannot scream, but....can I...kiss you? I need...something....to replace my screams!” - The temptation is making you lose control again, and you definitely need something to keep this place private.

Without a word, Ms. Nao turned her head slightly, meeting your lips in a searing kiss. Her tongue darted into your mouth, dancing with yours in a frenzied tango. The salty taste of the ocean mingled with the sweetness of her lips, adding an extra dimension to the experience.

Her body shook around yours, her moans becoming more urgent as she neared her climax. "Soon, baby," she breathed against your mouth, her voice shaky. "So fucking soon."

Your own release was imminent, too. You grunted deeply, thrusting faster and harder, needing to feel her come undone around you. Finally, she cried out, her inner walls contracting violently, sending you over the edge.

Together, you collapsed onto the beach, your breathing ragged and your hearts pounding in sync. Despite the danger and secrecy surrounding your tryst, there was a certain freedom in this moment - two souls united by their mutual desires. But, after all of this, one more thing appeared in your head.

“Oh my, Ms. Nao, I cannot ask for anything more than this! But can I ask this?” - Even though you are scared a bit about asking it, you took a deep breath for a request. Ms. Nao chuckled softly, brushing your sweaty hair from your forehead. "What do you want, my little lover?" she asked playfully. "Anything is possible between us now."

“Uhm...basically, I filled you...without condoms, so...will there be a baby created by us?” - you asked with relentless trembles.

Ms. Nao's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly composed herself. "Don't worry," she reassured you, her hand squeezing yours comfortingly. "I'm on birth control. Besides, I haven't been with anyone else since my divorce, so the chances of getting pregnant are quite low."

Adding with a wink, "Plus, isn't having a baby with your mom's best friend... interesting?" She gave you a mischievous grin before leaning forward, capturing your lips in another passionate kiss. Her teases finally defeat you, and she also makes you deny escaping from them. Yet, having a baby with your mom's best friend is the best off-script thing ever, isn’t it?

“So can I...taste your breasts? I don't want just our baby to have them...that is if we actually have a baby together then!” - Yeah, she and your baby are the only things in your head then.

Laughing softly, Ms. Nao rolled onto her back, offering her breasts to you. "Help yourself, my dear," she said teasingly. "You've certainly earned it."

You hesitated for a moment, unsure of yourself. Ms. Nao's eyes encouraged you, however, reminding you of the trust between you two. Gathering your courage, you leaned forward and took one of her nipples into your mouth, gently sucking and swirling your tongue around it. She moaned approvingly, her hands threading through your hair.

Switching sides, you repeated the process, giving equal attention to both breasts. They tasted divine, a mixture of seawater and lotion that made you crave more. Her nipples grew hard under your ministrations, standing proud against her skin.

When you finished, Ms. Nao reached down, stroking your hair affectionately. "Now that's what I call a proper reward," she said, her voice laced with satisfaction. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

“Yes, Ms. Nao...until I really get pregnant with you!” - Again, the baby.

Ms. Nao's laughter rang out across the empty beach, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Well, then," she replied, drawing you closer for another deep kiss. "We'll have to make sure we create a miracle."

After that day, things changed between you and Ms. Nao. There was newfound intimacy and understanding - a bond strengthened by secrets and shared experiences. Even though you knew it was wrong, you couldn't help but cherish these moments, hoping they would last forever.

And maybe, just maybe, someday you'd get your wish - a tiny human born from your illicit affair, filling the world with even more love and chaos.

#toku smuts #nao nagasawa #nagasawa nao #長澤奈央

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avatarl0v3r · 1 year

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The Cave Na’vi Chapter II Inside The Caves| NeteyamxCave!Na’viReader

The Cave Na’vi series: all chapters

Summary: Neteyam and his siblings go with the reader into her home and meet more Cave Na’vi they tell them stories and the reason they are in hiding

Warnings: mild language, mentions of death, mentions of kidnapping

Clan song during celebration: Beautiful Creatures (besides the pop pop part, and yes i know the songs from Rio but this song for this series is about their connection with the animals around them and how there different with the ‘same kinds of hearts’)

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Tag list 🏷️: @lil-iva @spatterpus @ssc7514 @pearlrosegardener @ellielovesrobinarellano @mashiromochi @dakotali @itsnotme02 @btsiguess-kpop @laylasbunbunny @fanfics-welcome @jkiminpark @brookesbizzareadvendture @tinkerbelle05 @sully-stick-together @arminsgfloll @spqce-bun @never--mind @aonungs-tsahik @liyahsocorro @classicpinkfairie @nao-cchi @minkyungseokie

Neteyam brought his sisters and brother with him the next day without any context “Why are we going back to the waterfall Tey” Tuk said with a smile “You’ll see” which always made her excited because she knew it was a surprise.

Kiri was interested to because she’s never seen Neteyam in such a hurry. They finally made it to the waterfall “Uhh it’s just the waterfall from yesterday bro” Lo’ak said “Yea no shit” Lo’ak threw his arms up in defeat.

You were on your Thanator Lilo as you walked to the waterfall you seen Neteyam and some other people with him since Lilo was almost a full grown Thanator she was a lot bigger than you mean i my you could lean down onto her back and not be seen which is what you did you enjoyed scaring people sometimes and every clan but yours doesn’t celebrate them in song.

You leaned the upper part of your body down onto her back and told her where to go to the river that’s connected to the larger waterfall Lilo knew what the two of you were doing so she crept up to the people slowly and roared loudly Neteyam and his siblings all screamed scared of the creature “Bro come on we gotta leave this thing will kill us” Lo’ak said the fear of the Thanator in his every word Neteyam looked at the Thanator and realized it was yours and calmed down he laughed and petted the creature Lilo happily allowing it.

The three of them looked at their brother in disbelief “What the fuck- i- what- how!” you laughed causing all of them to look at where the voice came from, you sat up on Lilos back smiling Kiris and Lo’aks eyes widened seeing how you looked like a Cave Na’vi from their mothers stories.

Tuk was the first to speak “Your so pretty!” your smile grew larger “Thank you, i’m Y/n and this,” you look at Lilo and pet her “is Lilo my Thanator” Lo’ak looked in disbelief once again “You really ride those things with out a bond?” you nodded “I’ll explain later,” you looked at Neteyam “now follow me we’re having a celebration right now” you slide off Lilo and head towards the waterfall Kiri looked confused “Why are we going to the waterfall?” you looked back at her “You’ll see.”

You walked behind the waterfall and to a more hollowed out path “So what’s your name” you say speaking to all of them “This is Kiri, Lo’ak, and Tuk my brother and sisters” you nodded now knowing their names you stopped at a hole covered in vines the bioluminescent plants lights peaking threw the small openings, you moved the vines revealing a plant and vine covered path the path was mainly purple “come.”

All the siblings looked around mesmerized by all the plants around them “I’ve never seen anything like this” Kiri said with wonder in her voice “That’s good” she nodded knowing what the RDA would’ve possibly done if they found this place back when her father first came to Pandora Tuk looked at all the animals in the cave wondering what they were doing here but never vocalized it Thanator pups were running around playing with one another “Come this way” you said smiling from ear to ear that they like your home so far.

You started to get to the end of the glowing path and all the siblings were met with a bioluminescent mushroom forest, the mushrooms were a lot taller than Neteyam who stood at 8’2 while his brother stood at 7’7 they all looked around at the sight around them they’ve never seen anything like this let alone in their forest Lilo was still at your side walking in pride “Stay close you can get lost easily and never find your way out” you said while looking at the four of them.

The walk through the forest was a long one they stayed close, soon you turned off the path Lo’ak noticed this “Don’t we got that way” he said pointing to the path that still went on you shook your head “No it’s this way to the village," you laughed slightly "that's there to confuse people who try to come in uninvited" as you turned and kept walking "Makes sense to me" Lo'ak said as he continued to follow you.

—

Soon you reached a spot that was hidden somewhat far away from the mushrooms the ceiling was glowing almost as if glow worms were sticking to the top and showing you the way to your home “Almost there come.”

Soon the Sully kids eyes widened as they were welcomed with a beautiful sight, the ceilings still glowed, large trees connected to the cave ceilings, huts scarred all around them, bridges connected the trees so you could walk over, the little tree village was lit up by bioluminescent vines hanging off the branches, little plants, there were many Na’vi walking around, many animals running around some with people at their side, the leaves at the top of the trees were flowing along with the rest of the world surrounding them.

You turned to them “Welcome to Underwent village” as you walked through the village with your new friends people started at you seeing as you brought outsiders into Underwent but no one vocalized there shock seeing as you were the chiefs daughter and the next clan leader.

Kiri pulled Neteyam back by his shoulder “Dads gonna ground you for life if he finds out we’re here” Neteyam looked at his sister “Yeah, but it’ll be worth it right” he said with a smile as they then caught up with you and their younger siblings.

You walked farther and walked up a set of stairs to a larger tree that over looked the whole village as you all walked up they seen a Na’vi who looked like the Chief of the village.

You walked up to the man and put your fingers to your forehead and brought them down “Father i see you” he looked behind you “Who are these people Y/n?” Your father was soft spoken despite his physical body and looks “This Neteyam, Kiri, Lo’ak, and their little sister Tuk, the children of the Omaticaya Olo’eyktan.”

You father nodded “As close allies you are welcome here with open arms if that time comes, but as of now you are welcomed as friends my oldest daughter has wise judgement as like her mother, please stay for our celebration tonight” Neteyam looked confused “Celebration for what?” you smiled “A Thanator was born this morning, and we celebrate new life amongst our brothers and sisters so please, join us.”

—

Soon after you gave them a tour of Underwent you had to separate from the small group of friends and get ready for the festival you the Sully kids sat with your mother, father, your your brother Welp.

You and your bestfriend Ne’yah and a few other girl dancers were getting ready for the festival Ne’yah loved teasing you about certain things, certain things being a very dark blue young warrior from the Omaticaya clan "So why'd you bring outsiders here" you looked at her slightly confused "Who? Neteyam, if im honest i really dont have an answer i just went off my judgement" Ne'yah looked at you knowing your judgement has been good ever since you were kids.

You both were finished getting dressed you were wearing a top that connected around your neck and came down to the top of your chest and many light purple, light red, and dark red feathers coming down to adorned your chest, you wore a semi long light purple hip scarf with different colored beads coming down to add decoration. Ne’yah was wearing brown, black, and red crisscross cropped top with a fringe, and a loin cloth fringed skirt you both walked out of where you were and looked to see the animals and Na’vi crowding the fire waiting for the ‘Performance of New Life’.

—

Neteyam talked to your father about what the performance is for and he explained how this doesn’t happen very often anymore since the war and when it does a Thanator completed it’s cycle to give birth and it was successful “So it means they had a successful birth since the war started?” your father nodded and the young Na’vi “Yes.”

(i’m not going to add the song lyrics or anything just know the dancers plus y/n are dancing and singing)

The Na’vi were shushing one another signaling the start of the celebration the music started to play, using many foreign instruments the Siblings looked at eachother confused but left it alone shocked by how beautiful they sounded, they noticed the dancers were both male and female the watched intently at the scene in front of them eyes full of wonder.

Each dancer moved with his or her own grace, the girls who were the only ones singing at the moment their arms and hips moved with such grace as if they were dancing in the wind soon other Na’vi in the crowd joined in making calls, the Sullys looked at the leader in confusion and he joined in making calls too he smiled at them and he nodded his head as for them to join in which they gladly did, soon the calls stopped and the male dancers joined in saying “I’ve already told you about the Thanators birth” there dancing getting closer to the girls, then the girls did the same getting right next to the boys, then they all started to dance, Neteyam kept his eyes on one particular Na’vi dancing in the front you hips and arms moved with such grace matching the rhythm of the music that he’s never seen in his clan then the girls stopped dancing in the same position, one arm was above their head the other reaching across their stomachs in the same position and legs crossing with smiles on their faces the Na’vi cheered and clapped.

You changed and went to meet up with your family and friends for the celebration dinner, you were greeted with smiles, the animals joined in on the dinners with there families as they are Kiri asked the question all of them were wondering “Why are in hiding” Your father and mother looked at eachother wondering if they should tell them your mothers gaze hardened your father looked between the kids in front of them and her, she finally closed her eyes allowing him to tell them.

“The color of our skin they’ve taken and killed to many of our kind from the tribe to sell for our skin colors because it’s very different from yours, ours is white with a light blue pattern and at night it glows a pale blue and the dots scattered around our bodies so the same when they got my children Y/n and her brother Welp and said they could sell them for a lot of money I changed everything we moved and stayed hidden only coming to help fight and disappearing Y/n cannot be taken she is the next Tsahìk and Olo’eyktan, while her brother is the next head warrior, that is the reason we have been hidden for years” Neteyam and Lo’ak looked in shock at the man in front of them Kiri on the other hand looked disgusted that the humans would even do that.

“Shall we continue eating” your father said with a smile the rest of the night was filled with laughter, talking, and joy.

—

Soon it was time for Neteyam and his siblings to get home because it was almost eclipse you showed them the way out and before leaving the cave Tuk ran to you and hugged you to which you hugged back “Thank you for the food and dancing” you laughed “You’re welcome, please feel free to come back anytime” Lo’ak, Neteyam, and Kiri smiled and waved at you and started to head home.

Kiri was the first to speak “If dad finds out about this we’re all gonna be grounded for life” Neteyam shook his head as they kept walking, it was already eclipse when they were halfway home the forest glowing around them “Oh we are so dead” Lo’ak said as he noticed the forest glowing.

They stopped walking hearing large wings flapping from above the trees “Where the hell have you been at” They all froze at the sound of the voice and turned around “Hey dad” they all said together meeting their fathers hardened gaze.

#avatar #avatar x reader #jake sully #avatar way of water #pandora #neteyam x reader #lo’ak #kiri sully #tuk sully #neteyam #neteyam x you #neteyam x y/n

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miniwolfsbane · 2 months

Text

JUNK!!!!!! 😭😭 I own most of these already!! Edit: And I'm tired of being a mermaid magnet. Raf, please leave and make room for Zayne and Xavier! They want to come home nao.

#love and deepspace #Rafayel #Zayne #Xavier

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loaksky · 1 year

Text

— 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥

the lowdown — the one where lo’ak makes a grave mistake.

the who — lo’ak x fem human!reader

the word count — 516

the tags & warnings — language, TW! main character death, mentions of blood & fatal wounds, please tread cautiously! content under the cut! :)

the notes — based off of this request! i've never written a mc death before, i have no idea what inclined me to do so this time around i—

The blood won’t stop gushing.

It was an accident. Pure adrenaline coursing through his veins as you tried to get close without tipping off the rest. He’d acted out of sheer self-preservation, couldn’t risk being captured by the enemy.

But you’re no enemy. You’re his ________, all his.

You were one of three kids who’d been trapped on Pandora, too young to survive the journey back to earth. So you stayed, even after you'd grown into yourself and was offered the option to go back home.

But Pandora was your home, Lo'ak was your home.

That planet will kill you, your parents warned you time and time again through a tiny screen in the lab that Norm and Max were heading.

You hadn’t relented, too tied to the people, to the beauty of the sprawling forests, the glowing waters, the mighty creatures. Your life was an oasis, living in proximity to the Sully’s and their clan.

So when they started closing in, the sky people, using you and the other two as bait to lure them out, you knew there wasn’t much time left.

They’d been hot on your heels until you cut through the brush, took the hit of the unforgiving trees, branches gnarled. Lo’ak had been so close, waiting for your call, waiting for any sign of you, but they’d hear you. Capture you to use you as collateral.

You know Lo’ak, know your friend so well that he’d go with them to make sure you were safe.

“Fuck, wait, stay with me.”

Hands are icy to the touch, but hot, alive like a livewire underneath the skin as his huge palms close over your grasp on the hilt of the dagger.

“Jesus,” you hoarse, gaze glazing as you stare at the blade lodged deep within your navel with hiccuping breaths. “Good shot.”

Your laugh is breathy, like one too many will drain you, but Lo’ak is in no mood to laugh. He’s too busy taking note of your rapidly paling face under the oxygen mask.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he cries out. “I could’ve– I wouldn’t have–“

“They’re close, Lo’ak,” you hoarse. “If I called, they’d know. I couldn’t lead them to you.”

Your hands are loosening and Lo’ak’s face shades with alarm.

“Wait, no, no!” he calls out.

Your bloody palm comes up to touch his cheek, thumb brushing his bottom lip.

“Be quiet,” you whisper.

He shakes his head.

“Stop, ________,” he shudders. “Don’t–”

“Leave me, Lo’ak,” you murmur, eyes unfocused. “Be brave.”

His hands are trembling as he brushes your hair from your face.

“You-You remember when we were little?” he chokes. “I asked you if we’d always be friends?”

Your smile is weak, fingertip brushing the tear that brims his waterline.

“You could…you could kill someone, and I’d–“ You cough and the inside of your mask is smattered with vermillion. “I’d still…”

Your last breath shudders through your tiny frame until you go slack.

You’d still be his friend.

Of course you would.

He could almost hear your taunting voice, sweet and teasing.

“How well has that aged?”

taglist: @nao-cchi , @jkiminpark , @philiasoul @amart-e , @s-u-t , @netesbby , @tayswiftlovebot , @dumb-fawkin-bitch , @ewackmn , @fanboyluvr , @neteyamoa , @itssiaaax , @girlpostingsposts

#lo'ak x reader #lo'ak imagine #lo'ak fanfiction #lo'ak avatar #lo'ak sully #avatar way of water #avatar #avatar the movie #avatar the way of water #atwow

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doodlegirl1998 · 8 months

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No one talked or wants to talk about it is how Tenko had more good stuff than Izu. I'm talking about his two faceless friends when Tenchan was a cute baby. No they aren't important and granted Hori can't bakugoufied them any minute

My point is so far

Compared to Izuku's childhood...Tenko was better. He had a lovely corgi,his big sis loved him and he had friends.

"but Kotaro" yes Hori is a coward to go to the laziest option but even so...Tenko the soon to be Le villain had a better childhood than the mc (not forgetting his pain here but it's not as if he was abused 24/7. Hori went to a coward route but we only see one bad day on Kotaro. To be clear not excuse the abuse just saying Tenko had people on his side even if it wasn't perfect)

Now compared to Izuku's past and ....wow.

Izu doesn't have good friends

Never had a fluffy corgi (bk would have killed I know he would)

His mom is just existing.

And he is stuck with his abuser (in the begin Izu didn't had a good view on bk which hori couldn't let stand)

It's just...Izu had a sad backstory but no one gives a shit. Is it sadder than shig? The point it's not this... The point is how the mc has a bad childhood and his villain had a decent one (again I KNOW IT WASNT PERFECT)

Hi @mikeellee 👋,

You do have a good point here, while Tenko had an abusive father in Kotaro (which Hori went super lazy with making him abusive and failed to expand on his abuse), in his childhood he's shown to have more good things in his life than Izuku has had.

Tenko had in his backstory prior to the accident:

A good pet in Mon-chan

A big sister who loved him (although I am mixed on Hana, her lying to save herself from Kotaro as another part of her main appearance doesn't do her any favours. Although that sits more on Kotaro making his daughter that afraid of him.)

A mum and Grandparents who loved him** (although they too are not without fault, they should have acted sooner to stand up to Kotaro but no one can deny they loved Tenko.)

And his two faceless nameless friends who seemed nice from what little we are told.

Whereas Izu in his backstory;

Has never had any pet to our knowledge.

Has no cool big brother or sister.

His Dad is MIA ( apparently abroad working but he's never shown to call Izuku or come home.)

He has no sweet loving grandparents from his mum or dads side.

His Mum* doesn't stand up for him and cries on him about his being born quirkless.

Izuku is never shown to have any friend prior to U.A.

Izuku is chronically bullied (abused) from the ages of 4 - 14 by Bakugou and his cronies. (I'd argue this is actually still ongoing in UA the tone in the narrative has just shifted to be more in Bkg's favour now than Izu's.) And Izuku is still STUCK with Bakugou as a member of the 'wonder duo'... (that whole concept can fuck right off.)

So Shig, other than Kotaro being an abusive POS, actually had more nice things in his backstory than Izu did whereas Izu's backstory (prior to meeting All Might) is just PAIN.

*- it could be argued that Inko is a good thing in Izuku's backstory and while I'm not denying she loves him I'm saying that in their relationship is not all that great... He has to comfort her a lot of the time she's on screen and Hori never shows Inko confronting Aldera or the Bakugou's about her son's bullying. So she's failing as a parent there.

** - While Nao and her parents are actually shown standing up to Kotaro which is leaps and bounds ahead of anything Inko is shown to do for Izu (sorry it's true.)

#mha critical #bnha critical #izuku deserves better #Midoriya Inko critical #anti bakugou #anti bakugou katsuki

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karikarasuno · 4 months

Text

sonder ch. v

Pairing: Erwin Smith x Fem!Reader x Levi Ackerman

Rating: Mature

Warnings/Tags: Holidays, Alcohol Consumption, Flirting, Banter

Word Count: 8.3k

song(s) for the chapter: wishlist by jojo, orbit by nao, better than snow by norah jones & laufey

a/n: this chapter was especially fun to write since i do rather enjoy the holiday season. pls enjoy the chaos of it all.

chapter iv | chapter v | chapter vi

Ghosts, witch hats, and little black cat cutouts littered nearly every corner of the office. There were pumpkins, real and decorative, in the break room, the cubicles, and even on your desk. Which you had not placed there and could only blame really one person for.

“And exactly what are you supposed to be?” Moblit asked, dressed in all white with a halo attached to a headband on his head. He looked comical dressed as an angel because even though Moblit may have looked innocent, he was anything but.

“Ghostface,” you shrugged, pushing aside some papers and leaning forward on your elbows against the edge of your desk. You were dressed in your regular work attire, if not slightly more casual than work typically permitted. It was an extremely chilly day in the city, the wind sharp enough to bite at your cheeks and nose. You made sure to layer up before you left the house this morning, and funnily enough, the day already started to warm by the time lunch rolled around.

“Where’s the mask?” He teased as he gestured to his face and then pointed at yours.

“It’s before the big reveal,” you laughed, standing when you heard some excited commotion come from outside your office. “So do me a favor and don’t expose my secret identity.”

When you walked into the break room, where you found everyone in their fun little costumes, the tables were covered in sweet Halloween treats and finger foods. Moblit was in charge of the event planning committee, accompanied by the overly excited Historia, who was standing at one of the tables with her hair braided and little flowers clipped all over.

“Rapunzel, is that you?” You asked teasingly as you walked up to her table and grabbed a mini cupcake with a cartoon ghost sticking up from the orange icing. She clapped her hands once in excitement and spun in response. Her purple dress stopped just above her knees, and the lilac complimented her skin tone in a delicate way. She looked adorable in her get up.

“The one and only,” she grinned. Her eyes took in your simple outfit of high-waisted brown slacks and your black, long-sleeve mock neck. Accompanied by some black leather boots. You could tell the question was on the tip of her tongue, but before she could ask it, Jean and Marco strolled in in matching costumes. You smiled extra hard when you spotted their outfits, and immediately recognized the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts. You giggled to yourself because this had Jean written all over it, and you couldn’t help but find it endearing.

Once you made eye contact with Marco, his grin turned rather mischievous as he approached you holding out a spear and shield in your direction.

“What is this for…?” You grabbed the props suspiciously as he continued to smile at you.

“I had a strong feeling you wouldn’t dress up, so I took matters into my own hands.” The realization dawned on you when he motioned to his own shirt.

“Athena,” you said, nodding as you looked between him and the props in your hands. “While I appreciate the thought, I’m too young to be your godly parent. By a millenia.”

He laughed rather loudly, chin tilting to his chest as he shook his head. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m no child of Athena.”

Photos were taken and the food provided was gone by the time you called it a day and headed home. The wind was especially chilly when you stepped outside and towards the train. Even though the time wasn’t due to change for another few days, the sun sat low in the sky, practically hidden by the tall, city buildings. Routine continued to follow you as you placed your headphones snug over your ears. They acted almost as ear muffs against the sharp breeze and you were grateful to find them charged.

The worst part of your routine was the new addition. The part where you addictively listened to Onyankopon’s song. You couldn’t really explain to yourself why you did it. It wasn’t anything remotely close to healthy. In fact, it was almost this obsessive need to torture yourself. That maybe feeling the guilt that already resided deeply against your sternum would grow so abundantly that it would just explode and kill you. Saving you in the end.

But that never seemed to happen. And you continued living life splitting yourself into two versions. This version, the one that allowed herself to feel the emotions that seemed to always be thrumming just beneath her skin. The one that anguished over lost love and was riddled with self-doubt and insecurity. This was the version you hated. Therefore you hid her behind carefully constructed smiles and well-timed jokes. Creating the other part of you. The one you longed to remain because she was charming and witty. People seemed to like her, so in times where you weren’t alone, crowded in a room of colleagues or even friends, she was who you became. You clung to her in fear, almost. Desperate to show everyone that you were okay.

That you were fine. Happy, even.

The street leading to your home was flooded with trick or treaters. Parents accompanied their small children while groups of teenagers laughed and chatted loudly on the sidewalk. As you neared the entrance to your home, you noticed Levi and Erwin were home too. A bowl of candy sat on their steps and their gate was propped open. You were tempted to stop by. Simply because you were starting to miss the consistency of your old routine. But it was harder to keep up appearances with them. Difficult to let them in completely, even though they were the ones to seemingly revive you from the fog of depression that loomed over your head for weeks before. And mostly because it felt awkward. Pretending to be someone else when they so clearly could see right through it, but were too polite to call you out on it. They often entertained your brush offs and changes in topic. All the while you could tell that their curiosity was starting to eat at them. Especially Levi. Who wasn’t the type to dance around topics or force pleasantries for fear of ruining a mood.

So you decided to just spend the evening alone. A far easier choice to be alone rather than confront what was going on inside your head outside of it. And in front of an audience. Instead deciding to keep the lights off, aside from the small yellow light above the stove, and playing Onyankopon’s song on the record player until you fell asleep on the couch like you always did.

Another new and unbreakable habit.

“I just don’t understand why you won’t say yes. Who wants to spend Thanksgiving alone? Are you even gonna cook something for yourself?” Erwin whined from the doorway of your home. You told the guys a few days prior that you were heading back home for the holiday, but a sudden and surprising snow storm ended up canceling your flight. The airline offered you their next flight out, but at that point you wouldn’t land until late Thursday evening, effectively missing Thanksgiving. Which was the whole point of going back to your hometown.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. Honestly I’ll probably just order Chinese or something. I promise it won’t be as sad as it sounds,” you argued, rifling through your junk drawer for the menu to the Chinese place a few blocks away.

“That is so un-American of you,” Erwin pouted. “Just come to my dad’s place with me and Levi. Please.”

“I will ignore your first comment because we are not opening up that can of worms tonight.” You tossed him a playful glare, remembering the drunken night at Hange’s bar where you all loudly and incoherently discussed the history behind the origins of Thanksgiving. He rolled his eyes in response.

“Anyway, I don’t want to intrude. I’m sure your dad didn’t cook enough for an extra person.”

“Clearly you don’t know my father,” he chuckled. “He probably cooked enough for 10 extra people.”

You found the menu before you could formulate a response, waving it excitedly in front of you before opening it to read the options. But as you contemplated which dish you’d want more, the menu was snatched from your hands and when you met Erwin’s gaze there was startling defiance behind them.

“You’re not eating Chinese food on Thanksgiving when there is an old man in his home cooking his little heart out.”

“Don’t try to guilt trip me,” you answered, astonished at the immature tactic he decided to use.

“I refuse to leave until you say yes.” He opened the drawer positioned in front of your hips and slid the menu back inside of it. All while maintaining determined eye contact with you. Your resolve was crumbling. You felt it as layer after layer of it fell to your feet in a dusty heap.

“Erwin,” you pleaded, crossing your arms over your chest in one final attempt to get your point across. Even though you already knew that you were leaving this house with him, albeit with halfhearted reluctance.

From the doorway you heard Levi enter. And a part of you thought that he would back you up. Oftentimes, reeling in Erwin’s rather persistent nature. But as soon as that hope flickered around in your chest, Levi said, “we let Halloween slide because I quite frankly don’t care much for it. But I’m drawing the line here. Go get dressed.”

Your mouth popped open, shock evident on your face as Levi sent you a stern glare. No room for arguments. Noted. “You’re not spending another holiday alone. I don’t care.”

You sent a look of surprise to Erwin, again expecting some sort of alliance, but he simply smirked. Knowing that they did indeed win this argument. So you walked your ass to the bedroom to change out of your loungewear and into something much more appropriate for a family dinner.

“I can’t believe you two would gang up on me like that,” you said as you slipped into the back seat of Erwin’s car, your coat secured tightly around your body to protect you from the harsh cold. Levi chuckled from the passenger seat. The car was already nice and warm since they waited for you inside of it. The heat blasting from the fans.

“I wouldn’t call what we did ganging up on you.” Erwin began to drive, the streets surprisingly sparse given what day it was. “You were persuaded into coming along with the prospect of good food and even better company.”

“We’ll have to see about that,” you argued, sticking your nose into the collar of your coat to try and defrost it. While the drive to Erwin’s father’s home was comfortable, the conversation flowing with seemingly no effort, you still held the unmistakable pit of anxiety in your chest. It was unwavering, steady, and atrociously annoying. There was no reason for it. Other than to make you as supremely uncomfortable as possible.

The consistent feeling of it was morphing into a dreaded resentment. Mostly for yourself. And the predicament you only brought upon yourself. It was repetitive. Every day was the same since it was always accompanied with the same negative feelings. You couldn’t help but hate each day. The active effort of trying to enjoy the simple things, the little things, was increasingly harder to do. And your current state of depression was beginning to worry even you. Since the amount of work you were previously throwing yourself into was diminishing rather quickly, you have had no other choice but to sit and feel and reflect. And upon reflecting, you only realized that you felt like shit and no amount of work would ever fix that.

The worst part was knowing that you had friends. Friends willing to force you from your home late on Thanksgiving day and forced you to actually spend time with them. Friends who cared. Friends who wanted you around. Even when you felt like the worst person to be around. Especially when you were alone.

But that didn’t stop Erwin or Levi from ensuring that you didn’t spend this day lonely. Ensuring that when you walked into Mr. Smith’s home you were greeted with the smell of roasted vegetables, well seasoned turkey, and warm spiked apple cider that you were questionable of until you had your first sip. The Christmas tree was already up as well, and you were about to make some well-intentioned joke about it still being November until you noticed that there was a second one in the dining room. Granted this one was fake, unlike the very real (and fragrant) fir that was decorated rather elaborately in the living room.

“So,” Mr. Smith walked up beside you as you admired the twinkling lights and sparkly ornaments. “I heard you’re a pretty good cook.”

“I dabble,” you shrugged with a light laugh. “It’s been a minute since I spent some time in the kitchen, but I wouldn’t say I’m a chef or anything.”

“Either way, I’m excited to hear your thoughts about dinner,” he said as he nudged you gently with his elbow. And when you looked into his eyes, while you saw kindness and comfort in his gaze, there was a familiar glint of knowing sadness. A pain that you recognized rather fiercely. It struck you deeply that someone you barely knew and have only interacted with once before could resonate with the gnawing feeling in your chest with just a simple look. You were intrigued, wanting to question what was wrong. But then you remembered that Erwin lost his mother when he was younger. And what you saw reflected in Mr. Smith’s eyes was the knowingness of loss.

In some capacity, you knew what that aching emptiness felt like. That transitionary period between loving someone and not being able to have them anymore. Whether it was a choice to be made or a tragic ending. Loss was like a tradition. One that anyone, human or not, partook in simply by living and breathing.

Another reminder that we had hearts to be broken and then mended with time.

“Also,” he added, “I’m happy you could make it. Erwin said it was a bit of a debate getting you over here.” He chuckled when you sighed and shook your head in disbelief.

“Remind me to never tell him a secret, since he doesn’t seem to have any filter.”

“He gets that from his mom, y’know. Looks almost nothing like her, but everyday he reminds me of her more and more.”

You both glanced over at Erwin at that moment. Him with a longing fondness and you with aching curiosity. He was attempting to goad Levi into trying one of the cookies that sat atop the island in the kitchen and failing miserably since you all knew how much Levi despised anything sweet before meals.

“Come on, it’s good,” Erwin said, offering him the half again and chuckling when Levi’s scowl deepened.

“I don’t doubt that, but we’re about to eat dinner and you're going to ruin your appetite,” Levi responded before turning away with a shake of his head.

“For someone younger than me, you sure act like an old man. So damn crotchety,” he continued teasing Levi.

“Give it here,” you held out your hand as you made your way to the kitchen. Erwin deposited the cookie onto your palm with a grin, eyes sliding towards Levi to catch his reaction when you ate the half in a single bite.

“I don’t understand either of you sometimes,” Levi grumbled. The timer for the turkey went off then, Erwin’s dad running over to the oven to take it out. The four of you began bringing over all the sides to the dining table that was already set up with dinnerware and utensils. It was a cute little set up he had. A seat on each side of the table with all the food presented in the middle. There was a deep burgundy cloth covering the table and the white plates had gold decorating the rim. Levi held out your chair and motioned for you to have a seat before taking his place next to you. Erwin and his father bickered for a moment about who should carve the turkey until Erwin took the knife and fork with a resigned sigh. Mr. Smith sat down with a pleased grin, winking your way when you caught his eye.

Dinner was pleasant. Your wine glass was never empty. Which would've been a bad thing seeing as you only really ever drank nowadays to wallow in your sadness, but with the constant chatter and laughter it was hard to feel anything other than satisfaction and ridiculously full. Full from the incredible meal, full from the very obvious love surrounding the table, and full of ever-fleeting happiness. You didn’t really want your night to end, but as the hours crept closer to midnight you felt the lull of sleep beckoning you. You were all seated in the living room, fire crackling in the firepit, lights dull besides the twinkling lights on the tree. It was the coziest you’ve felt in a long time.

In the background, Mr. Smith’s phone rang. The chatter died for a moment as he excused himself to answer it. Levi and Erwin exchanged a weird look. Levi’s of barely there curiosity while Erwin looked downright confused. But you didn’t question it, and when you glanced over at Mr. Smith you noticed a small smile on his face as he spoke with whoever was on the other line in the kitchen. You couldn’t make out the words, but it didn’t seem of any significance. Not until he returned to his place on the recliner in the living room, the same little smile tugging on his lips.

“Who was that?” Erwin asked.

“No one. Just a coworker,” he responded dismissively.

“Seems a little late for ‘just a coworker’ to call you on a holiday.” Erwin said, an intonation of irritation in his voice.

“It’s nothing, son. Really,” he said, a tone of finality present in his voice as he looked at Erwin with a firm yet understanding stare. The air around the room shifted into something awkward and you weren’t sure how to shift it back. Luckily, you didn’t have to. Levi swept in to recover the previous content with a story of how he and Erwin recently attended one of his mom’s yoga classes. Erwin’s simmering mood turned to one of offense when Levi lightheartedly recounted how Erwin was endearingly bad at it.

And you hadn’t realized you fell asleep until Erwin was rousing you awake from your place on his shoulder. Not exactly sure when that happened either and you were almost embarrassed by it. Until you were met with a bright smile, lips tinted from the red wine and eyes soft and tender as they looked down at you. It was one of those rare moments when you couldn’t help but acknowledge how stunning Erwin was. Hair just slightly tousled, lashes long and sweeping – perfectly framing his dazzling blue eyes. You swallowed, mouth dry as you tore your eyes from his face and cleared your throat. Trying very hard to ignore your obvious attraction to him, blaming most of it on the wine and your creeping loneliness.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” he said with amusement on his tongue.

“Sorry,” you apologized, voice unexpectedly hoarse. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“No need to apologize.” He squeezed your knee, large hand warm and fitting there. And another subtle wave of shame washed over you for thinking of him as anything other than a friend in that moment. “It’s time to get going, anyway.”

You nodded in response, uncurling your legs from where they were on the sofa and placing your socked feet on the fluffy rug before you. Erwin stood up before you did, walking to the kitchen to grab the bowls of food Mr. Smith most likely packed for you all to take as you slept. Your mind was distracted. Mostly confused as you tried to remember the moment you succumbed to your slumber. The kind that came with no dreams or nightmares, just a blank space of peaceful rest. The kind you haven’t had since that night Onyankopon left. The kind that always seemed to evade you. Until now.

“Here.” Levi held out your coat, blocking your vision with the black fabric until you looked up to look at his face. Expression hard as it always was, but this time laced with something fonder. His features weren’t deeply set, his brow unfurrowed and eyes half-lidded from sleepiness. His cheeks were a signature rosy color. The shade you’ve come to correlate with tipsy Levi. It suited him– the slight blush dusted across his face.

You rose to your feet before you grabbed your coat, only to come nearly nose to nose with him. Yet you were surprised when he didn’t take a step away from you. The space between your bodies was so little, it would hardly take a few inches of leaning into each other to kiss him. And the thought was so appealing to you. So startling in its wake that you stepped backward, only to tip over back onto the cushions of the sofa.

Levi chuckled deeply in his chest, the sound rolling over your shoulders and down your spine. And you knew the way your cheeks warmed had nothing to do with the glasses of wine dancing in your bloodstream. But despite the sudden onslaught of confusing desire thrumming beneath your skin, you took Levi’s hand when he offered it to you. Even allowed him to slip your coat on for you, buttoned it up until it stopped just beneath your collarbones, and tied the loose ends securely around your waist. It shouldn’t have felt like anything other than platonic. But your body was saying a very different thing than your mind was.

“Thank you,” you breathed, voice distant from your own ears, but there was a note of yearning there not even you could ignore. When Levi looked at you, fingers still holding the ties of your coat, you noticed how long his hair has gotten. His bangs nearly touched his lashes as his eyes glanced over your face. He simply nodded though before he finally took that step away from you. Air rushed in to fill the gap that wasn’t previously there and you were even more ashamed at how much you missed the close proximity. Your heart hammered away in your chest, reminding you that you weren’t frozen in place and when Erwin gently called your name, the heavy fog began to lift and you made your way to the door.

The goodbyes were quick. The ride home even quicker. But the awkward realization sat with you the entire way. The realization that due to your tangled emotions, you were somehow blurring the lines between friends. Even though it was just you feeling so conflicted, you wanted to pull away again. A part of you wanted to do what you always did and lock yourself away until time forced you to forget or get over it. But knowing them, they wouldn’t allow it. Just as they didn’t allow you to spend the holiday eating Chinese takeout and binging whatever reality show you managed to find.

You would just have to sort it out. Push away any longing you felt and just replace it with platonic affection. Surely, once the wine simmered its way out of your system it would take away any attraction you’ve encountered tonight with it. Because you couldn’t lose them too. Not to something as trivial as rebounding desire that ricocheted from a past love and desperately searched for a new one.

The Christmas music was nonstop. It played at work, in stores, and even on the train one awfully dreary morning. You didn’t even know the train system had that option. So with all of that, you also weren’t surprised to hear a chaotic rendition of Jingle Bell Rock blast through the door of Hange’s bar. It was significantly warmer in their establishment and absolutely decorated to hell and back. This was either a person’s wet dream or elaborately niche nightmare.

There was an abundance of loud conversation happening over the song. Moblit was yelling something to Mike a few feet away from the bar top. All while Mike shrugged in response as he continued to polish glasses. You were sure he was only pretending to hear whatever Moblit was screaming and you chuckled into the scarf that was pulled over your nose to protect you from the fierce winds.

The three of you–you, Erwin, and Levi– began to shed off your outer layers at the door, the bottom of your boots leaving wet spots on the mat from the snow. It was starting to become quite evident that the three of you were nearly inseparable. You became a noted trio in your friend group.

When you met Nanaba for the first time a few weeks ago, she even jokingly referred to you as “Levi and Erwin’s third! It’s so nice to finally meet you.” It sort of rubbed you the wrong way initially, but you relaxed when you noticed everyone brush it off as meaningless banter. Because if you were being completely honest with yourself, that was a bit of a sore subject for you. The idea of being with Levi and Erwin, instead of just being with them all the time. You blamed it on some weird clingy rebound you must’ve been experiencing since your broken off engagement. The part of you that latched onto anything seemingly stable since you were so far from that. Especially since you didn’t have any idea how you managed to form such strong feelings for two people. Let alone your closest friends. You were positive you were just confusing potent platonic affection with regular romantic feelings. Whatever that meant.

“Don’t move!” Hange yelled from their place near the stage. You three immediately stopped in your tracks, your body flinching slightly since their voice carried much further after the abrupt ending of the song. You looked frantically behind you and then towards Levi, confused and more than a little concerned. On the opposite side of Levi, Erwin glanced nonchalantly at them as he readjusted the gift he bought for Secret Santa in his arms.

“What?” Levi said sternly, obvious irritation in his tone from not wanting to admit how their exclamation startled him. Instead of answering, Hange pointed to a spot directly above Levi’s head. You all tilted your heads slowly in the direction of their finger, and you were the first to react. A sudden and single laugh spilled from your lips. Cherry red and green spun down at you. A mistletoe hung delicately above your heads, still swaying from the wind that gusted through the open door when you entered it.

Levi sighed out a deep and annoyed breath, which made you huff out another light laugh. Over Levi’s head you made eye contact with a grinning Erwin, whose eyes twinkled with mischief and plotting. He glanced down at Levi with a jut of his chin and then pointed at his own cheek. You were confused at first until he exaggeratedly puckered his lips and pointed from his cheek to Levi. It clicked then, and you were hesitant, but when Ewin flashed another excited smile you conceded. It seemed like it only got harder to say no to him the more time you spent in his presence.

As Levi bickered with Hange in an entertainingly escalated debate, you and Erwin leaned over at the same time and placed a quick kiss to his cheeks. Which, comically, blossomed into a glorious shade of red. Deeper than any wine could ever do to him. Erwin retracted with a gross smacking sound and you just knew that the disgust now present on Levi’s face was due to the wet smooch left behind.

“You can stop arguing now, Grinch,” Erwin chuckled as he finally stepped out from beneath the mistletoe.

“That was wholly unnecessary,” he responded while wiping the spit from his cheek with the back of his hand. Which was when you noticed the glossy red lipstick mark you left on the other one. You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from laughing when he looked your way.

“What?” He asked, exasperated.

“You have some…” You pointed to your cheek and suppressed a smile. “Some lipgloss on your other cheek.”

He sighed, but to your surprise he made no move to remove it. He simply walked into the bar with another shake of his head and a defeated shrug. You stood planted at the door for a second, just taking in the chaos. The bar was closed for this intimate little event. The usually lit low hanging lights were off, instead replaced with a vast array of string lights that were strewn over every place the ladder would allow Hange or Moblit to reach. At the top of the Christmas tree was an empty bottle of bacardi that appeared to be haphazardly covered in red and gold glitter. It was a very interesting choice for a tree topper, but you expected nothing less from the otherwise eccentric owner.

“Yo, you gonna keep standing there or are you gonna come try this?” Moblit called out at you holding up a drink with what seemed to be vibrantly red contents inside the glass.

“What exactly am I trying?” You wandered over, skeptical and not trusting his dismissive nature as he handed you the glass.

“A surprise,” he smiled, pouring another one into a similar looking glass.

“I’m not a fan of surprises,” you stated, sniffing the surprisingly fruity smelling drink.

“It’s a good surprise, I swear.”

“You said that last time and I ended up drinking a cocktail with Fireball in it. Which was disgusting, mind you,” you said, just before taking a tentative sip of your drink. And he was right. This time it was good. You couldn’t really pinpoint what the ingredients were other than that it was slightly tart, but with a lovely hint of holiday spices incorporated.

“You like it,” he grinned, taking a sip of his own.

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“Didn’t have to. You’ve become very easy to read since I work with you everyday.” He chuckled when he said that. As if it was some simple thing to declare but there was a spike of fear in your chest. Because exactly how easy has it become to read you? “It’s called Christmas punch. We found the recipe a few years ago at this other bar we visited and it’s become kind of a staple seasonal drink for us ever since.”

You took another sip, noting the fun tease of ginger this time and smiled against the rim. “It is pretty good.”

“I fucking told you so.”

You propped your gift bag on the end of the bartop with all the other Secret Santa gifts, watching as everyone fell seamlessly into their own conversations and it was a comforting sight. Moblit and Mike behind the bar, while Hange and Levi tinkered with the karaoke machine settings to get the mic properly hooked up. Nanaba was racking the cue balls on the pool table while Erwin sipped on the same red drink you had in your hand as he gestured wildly with the pool stick.

You ended up watching them play a round, Erwin winning by a landslide. Many of Nanaba’s solid colored balls were still on the table, while the 8 ball was nowhere to be seen. Erwin’s celebration was loud, Nanaba rolling her eyes at him as he raised his arms above his head and cheered for himself. You laughed, third glass of punch in your hand and you were teetering across the line of tipsy and into drunkenness.

“You’re next.” Erwin pointed the pool stick at you as you pointed a questioning finger to yourself.

“Absolutely not. I don’t have enough coordination for this,” you defended, waving your drink at the game and laughing again.

“Perfect! It’ll be another easy victory.” He directed that at Nanaba, who flipped him off as she walked over to you and handed you her stick.

“I’m getting another drink,” she said. “Good luck with him.”

“Not sure how I feel about being the one to stroke his ego, but thanks.” You placed your now empty glass on a table nearby.

“You wanna break it or should I?” He asked, referring to the balls that were already set up in a triangle while adding the blue chalk to the top of his stick. Before handing it to you so you could do the same.

“Go ahead, big shot, since you’re so good at this.”

His grin was huge and confident. And you had to admit smugness looked good on him. Even if it did serve to annoy you. The balls scattered when he hit them, two striped balls falling into separate pockets.

“Guess your solids,” he said, hitting the white ball again, this time accidentally sending it into a pocket.

“And I guess your luck might be running out.” You teased, walking over to the pocket the white ball was in and positioning it by the ball of your choice.

“Doubt it, but let’s see what you got, sweetheart,” he said snidely, but he was still clearly amused.

And whatever luck and skill Erwin had seemed to transfer to you. Before either of you could even register it, you won the game. The 8 ball bounced off of his last striped ball and slid into one of the corner pockets. You were shocked at your win, but Nanaba and Hange cheered enthusiastically beside you. Nanaba very maturely telling Erwin to “suck on that, loser!”

Mike clapped Erwin on the shoulder as he chuckled at his expense. All while Erwin stood with his lips parted and obvious confusion on his face. “I call bullshit,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at you. “You hustled me.”

“Beginner’s luck?” You offered instead, grinning from the adrenaline rush of winning. And the fact that Levi came over and slung his arm around your shoulder and laughed into your ear. “Thanks for humbling him. He needed it.”

When you made eye contact with him, you both began to laugh. Your cheeks were warm, the sweater you were wearing became stifling, but it didn’t matter. You were happy. Forreal this time.

“You have chalk on your cheek,” Levi said, fingers finding your chin and angling your face away from him. “How’d you manage that?”

His words were slightly slurred and you could smell the alcohol on his tongue. You were sure your breath probably smelled the same, but it was different feeling his fan delicately across your cheek as he used his thumb to rub off whatever smear was left there. When it didn’t wipe away cleanly, he reached out to the glass that sat precariously on the edge of the pool table and collected some of that condensation on the tip of his thumb.

“Not sure,” you breathed. “I was too busy kicking your man’s ass.”

He smirked, using his damp finger to effectively clean off the residue of the chalky substance. It was a thoughtful, if not compulsive gesture. Levi had a thing about cleanliness. A thing about things being orderly and appealing. So it was better for you not to read too deeply into the moment. Because it was a small moment between friends, no matter which way you cut it.

“And you looked good doing it,” he said as he let go of your face and wiped his fingers on a nearby napkin. Your brain stopped. You heard the gentle teasing in his voice, but it still surprised you. Because it felt like flirting. But Levi wasn’t the flirting type. You’d expect and actually have gotten used to these types of comments from Erwin. But that was who he was. Pushed your boundaries. Invaded your personal space. Made silly, complimentary comments. Flirted, but it was meaningless. Mostly.

“I-”

“Time for Secret Santa! Gather your shit and get your drunk asses over here,” Hange yelled. The gifts had been moved from the bar to a round table where enough chairs for everyone had been arranged in a circle. You grabbed the one you brought, the gift inside for Hange and your palms were beginning to sweat with nerves.

“You’re up first, new girl,” Moblit pointed your way as soon as everyone got settled. You knew you gave him a panicked sort of look because he chuckled, squeezed your shoulder, and then gestured for you to go on.

“Are we doing the whole I give you three clues and you guess or should I just hand it over?” You lifted your gift bag in emphasis, silently hoping they chose the latter. Because honestly you were a bit too drunk and a touch too nervous to come up with anything funny or interesting.

“Just give it,” Levi answered and waved his hand dismissively, and you could tell Moblit wanted to argue but when he felt your shoulders noticeably untense his lips closed around a smile. Hange was distracted, endlessly making sure everyone had a drink or a snack or was comfortable. They were a great, if not chaotic host. So you almost felt bad interrupting the small conversation they were having with Nanaba.

“Hange,” you said, standing in front of them with the strings of the gift bag dangling from your fingertips. Their face lit up. Eyes wide and smile splitting their face enthusiastically.

“For me?!” They squealed and you couldn’t help but smile back at their reaction.

“For you,” you urged the bag into their hands, and took a step back as they ripped the tissue paper from the bag and threw it over their shoulder. But unlike their rough treatment of the paper, when they pulled out the folded bundle of yarn, they held it with delicate and curious fingers. You felt the need to explain in that moment, in an attempt to jump ahead of the confusion in case they had no idea what it was. “It’s a balaclava. Handmade from this little online shop. You wear it over your head and it’ll keep your ears warm because I remember when you were complaining about wearing ear muffs so I just thought that maybe you would…”

“I love it!” They immediately shoved their head through the hole on the bottom, their hair a mess peeking out of the front with how forcefully they put the accessory on. You reached forward, swiping their bangs out of their eyes and adjusting it so it sat better around their face. They smiled up at you, colorful, crocheted balaclava fit snugly over their head.

“You look cute, actually,” you laughed, stepping away as they toyed with the drawstrings hanging under their chin.

“I’m never taking it off.”

“Ok, weirdo,” you laughed again with a shake of your head as you took your seat again.

The game somehow worked out perfectly with you going first. Everyone received their gift from their Secret Santa until you were the only one without one. And it just so happened that the final person standing with a gift still to give was Erwin. There was a heat in your chest that rose when you realized the present he was clutching so ridiculously the entire way to the bar was actually for you. Which then explained his odd reaction when you pretended to lift a piece of the wrapping paper that wasn’t secured properly. You had never seen him move so quickly since you’d known him.

He grabbed the box-shaped gift off the table, spinning it his hands as he dramatically scanned the group as if none of you knew who it was for.

“Just give it to me.” You held out your hands in anticipation, your cheeks warming under the attention, but ready to get the moment over with and not over think it.

“How are you so sure it’s yours?” Erwin teased, taking careful steps towards you and your outstretched arms.

“Erwin,” you said, wiggling your fingers as he placed the surprisingly light box onto your palms. You peeled the paper back attentively, even though it was just plain brown paper with little snowflakes on it, you still felt bad tearing it apart. And you weren’t too sure what you were expecting. Knowing Erwin it could very well be a gag gift or a play on some inside joke you had with each other. That was what you were anticipating. A laugh and then a change in subject since the game was over.

But what you weren’t expecting was a vinyl record. You knew of the artist, but never really listened to her work. And so when you flipped the record around after slipping it out of the cardboard box, the silence was louder than what would’ve been comfortable for most people.

“Norah Jones,” he said, shifting in place before continuing. “That was my mom’s favorite musician. And I know how much you like to collect those things, so I kinda thought that maybe you would like that album.”

You were drunk. That was how you justified the tears that pricked at your lash line. And the burning in your throat. And the slight pout of your lips when it hit you how sentimental and thoughtful his gift was.

“Erwin, I-”

“Put that bottom lip away. Don’t be weird about it.” He rolled his eyes. His playful energy attempted to resurface but you could tell how important it was for him that you liked this gift. Because it meant something to him. Something very personal and intimate.

You held the record to your chest that was already feeling far fuller than it has in months. “Internally, I’m being very weird about it, but for now I’ll just say thank you. So, thank you, Erwin.”

“Good, can we get drunk now?” He sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he smiled his easy going grin at you.

“We already are,” Mike piped up from his spot behind where Erwin was standing.

“Fine, can we get drunk-er now?”

“Yes! And I have just the thing,” Hange exclaimed, jumping up from their seat, balaclava still on, as they ran behind the bar to make whatever lethal concoction they had up their sleeve. When everyone stood to do their own things again, you approached Erwin with the record still held tightly against your heart.

He looked down at you with a relieved fondness in his gaze, and you melted. “I really do love this.”

“I’m glad,” he shrugged, acting as if this present was really no big deal at all.

“I’m gonna play it as soon as I get home,” you grinned, flipping the record around to read the tracklist.

“Is that right?” He was standing closer than you expected, and you could feel the rumble of his laughter against your shoulder, where he was pressed against you.

“Mhmm,” you hummed, looking back up at him. A strange and overwhelming sense of contentment flooded between the two of you. And again you blamed the rush of emotion on the alcohol. Because otherwise, the feelings would be unexplainable. Or too uncomfortable to linger on for longer than a moment.

The walk home was twice as long as it usually was. And far funnier than any of you could actually account for. You were wasted. Words slurring, unable to walk in a straight line, and a giggling mess. The entire walk home you clutched to Levi’s elbow as Erwin held tightly to Levi’s hand. And he could fool anyone, but you both knew how drunk Levi really was. He just had a great center of gravity. The stabilizing force between you and Erwin, tethering you two to the ground. The three of you spent three long minutes searching for your house keys in the bottom of your purse. Voices loud and intrusive in the city nighttime. Even though the train could still be heard, it was nothing compared to the obstructive whispering that was occurring on your doorstep. It would have been quieter if the three of you just talked regularly to each other. But logic and reason were not within reach.

“I got it!” Erwin spoke, disregarding the whispering in exchange for a near echoing shout. You shushed him by pressing your forefinger to his lips, his smile stretching against your fingertips and he winked at you. You snatched the keys from his hand and turned around before your flustered state became noticeable. It took four tries before you were able to slot the key into the lock and you stumbled into your home when the weight of your body against the door threw it open. Levi caught you by tugging the tie of your coat towards him. His other hand somehow landing on your hip over your layers and gripping tightly in order to keep you from falling to the ground. When you turned to thank him, his face was only centimeters from yours. And you briefly thought about how much of a coincidence it was that you always seemed to find yourself in this position with him. But when you noticed the scowl on his face, you laughed. Your head fell forward, forehead knocking against his cheek because you couldn’t help it. He looked so over your antics and when you breathed out a chuckled “thanks, Levi” he simply grunted and pushed you gently into your home.

Erwin found his way into your kitchen. The fridge light brightened your dark home and cast a harsh white glow over the small area. But it supplied enough light for you to kick off your boots and hook your coat onto the rack before following him into the kitchen as well.

“You have no food,” he grumbled, opening a bottle of water before chugging down half of it in one go.

“We just ate at the bar. How are you still hungry?” You pulled your sweater over your head as you answered him and tossed it onto one of the barstools, leaving you in the thin black long-sleeve beneath. He handed another bottle over to you, unscrewing the cap and a little bit of the water dribbled over the lip and onto your thumb when you took it from him.

“Don’t judge me,” he argued, “you’re the one with an empty fridge. When was the last time you went to the grocery store?”

“I buy groceries on an as needed basis,” you slurred out, propping yourself up on your elbows on the island to keep from tipping to one side.

“And you need food,” he laughed, kicking the fridge door closed and leaning against it, darkening the space again. You waved him off, instead turning around to see Levi staring inquisitively at your couch. You didn’t clean it off this morning before you went out. The blanket unfolded and your pillow still propped against the arm. An awkward rush of discomfort flooded into your chest. Something close to shame sat tightly against your sternum and you waited for Levi to say something. Anything really when he turned to you. But instead of asking the question you could practically see on the tip of his tongue, he took two steps towards you and grabbed the water bottle from your grip. You stared as he swallowed down a quarter of it in what seemed to be a singular gulp.

“That was mine,” you said, the words an offended whisper. Erwin chuckled from his spot behind you. You turned to glance at him and he simply shrugged. Your home felt so small when they were in it. Their two bodies somehow filled up the space in a way you couldn’t really describe. Other than that you liked it. Your home felt more complete with them in it. And the weird fluttering feeling you found in your stomach sometimes when in their company decided to make a reappearance.

“I should go to bed. I need to sleep off the liquor.”

“Great idea,” Erwin replied, pushing himself off of your fridge and tossing his now empty bottle into the recycling bin you kept next to the trash can. “You should take ibuprofen before you sleep, though. May help with the inevitable hangover.”

“Yeah yeah. Whatever you say, dad,” you laughed with a roll of your eyes. He responded with a similar gesture, the both of you smiling at each other at the end of it. You walked them to your door, taking a steady breath to brace for the cold that would seep in when you opened it. There was a pause in your doorway as the three of you looked out at the city night. Gentle snow flurries fell to the ground, the scene idyllic and calm. And the silence that fell over the city should have felt eerie since it so rarely happened. But you only saw beauty in that brief silence. Broken only by the sudden passing of the train.

“Good night,” you said as you stepped aside for them to walk out. As they walked past, Levi gave you a surprising hug. It was quick, but the squeeze of his arms around your shoulders was reassuring. And you would’ve returned it if he hadn’t released you so swiftly as if he shouldn’t have hugged you in the first place. Right after him, Erwin pressed a kiss to your temple. Unlike Levi, he lingered there for longer than would have been necessary between friends. Only to pull away with a whispered and returned “good night.”

You watched as they trotted down the steps, shutting your door only when you heard the opening of theirs. The space was yours again. Lonesome in its wake and a veil of knowing sorrow draped over the interior. But that was to be expected. And you found an odd comfort in it. Because above everything else, at the very least it was yours and no one could take that from you.

#the holidays are over i know but here this is anyways #eruri fanfic #eruri x reader #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction

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crimsonstonetranslations · 11 months

Text

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo volume 10 - file 03

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Volume 10 - Signpost of the Spirit

( prologue | file 01 - omen | file 02 - confession )

file 03 - signpost (translation notes)

His body felt incredibly heavy, and his vision blurry as if surrounded by a thick fog.

He tried to move, but to no avail. His body refused to budge even an inch, almost like it was already detached from his consciousness.

He felt like he had already lost his body and only his consciousness remained. Strangely enough, however, a sharp pain plagued him at regular intervals.

What is happening to me?

Gotou asked himself.

At the same time, multiple shadows rapidly flashed through his mind.

Nao, standing at the street at night, looking at Gotou with hollow eyes—

Headlights of an approaching car shining upon Nao’s figure. Her elongated shadow. Gotou’s body had naturally moved at the sight of it.

He had jumped across the street to save Nao.

Afterwards, he had felt a hard impact—

When he had come to, he had been lying down atop the asphalt.

Nao had been staring down at Gotou from above.

Although the outward appearance had been Nao’s, Gotou was certain they hadn’t been Nao’s eyes. Rather, they had been someone else's.

After smiling faintly at Gotou, Nao had slowly walked away.

Stop! Don’t go there! Gotou yelled.

However, his voice had refused to come out.

Nao had gone increasingly further away.

Don’t leave. Without you, how are we supposed to continue on living afterwards?

What a strange feeling.

Prior to Nao’s arrival at his household, things had felt normal without her presence.

But what about now?

After having Nao’s presence up close and feeling a sense of normality in their togetherness, he had grown scared of losing the little girl.

In a way, perhaps love was humankind’s greatest weakness.

No! That’s not true! Gotou shouted within his heart.

Be it strength or weakness, he didn’t care. Living with Nao had brought him happiness.

Reasoning be damned. He didn’t want to lose those days of joy. That’s why—

“Nao…” called Gotou.

A white space flashed before his eyes as if clouded with fog. Nao’s figure was nowhere to be found. Besides, Nao wouldn’t appear just from calling out her name.

Even so, Gotou continued to call out for her.

“Nao...”

Gotou repeatedly choked from pain, yet he called out for her nonstop.

“Nao.”

A black figure had been standing amidst the fog for quite some time.

For a moment, he thought it was Nao.

No, that’s not Nao.

Who?

“Don’t worry,” whispered the figure.

While the tone may have sounded unenergetic, the voice was gentle.

“I will definitely bring Nao home,” said the figure again.

Gotou’s heart, which had been filled with worry, immediately grew calm. While he didn’t know the voice’s identity, he felt that he could trust it.

“Please help Nao...” said Gotou, to which the figure nodded. Relief came over Gotou afterwards and his consciousness then subsided—

Rays of sunshine entered from the gaps between the curtains—

She didn't know how long it had been since morning arrived.

Morning would always come around no matter what. Such a simple fact made the void within her heart grow larger.

After returning home from the Movie Research Circle clubroom last night, Haruka felt no motivation to do anything and remained lying on her bed.

Haruka felt a sense of fatigue she had never felt before, even lifting a finger felt like a chore. And oddly enough, although fatigued, drowsiness never came over her.

Haruka had attempted to close her eyes several times, yet she remained wide awake.

Her mind began to wander, all the while feeling as if she was floating on a body of water.

Her thoughts were mostly filled with regret.

That night, Haruka had gone to Yakumo’s hideout with the intention of expressing all of her thoughts.

While her intention had been achieved, regret began to emerge within her over the realisation that she could have chosen her words differently. Spewing her thoughts emotionally the way she had might have only puzzled Yakumo even further.

Furthermore, she had ended up expressing her hidden feelings at the end of their conversation.

Even though Haruka had prepared herself to be hated, she couldn’t help but feel a gaping hole within her heart at the thought of never seeing Yakumo again.

Haruka could never imagine life without Yakumo. She was reminded of that fact once more.

No, that wasn’t it.

She knew that Yakumo had become an important person to her, one who was irreplaceable.

Hence, she had avoided expressing her feelings all this time out of fear of destroying their relationship.

However, it was too late for regret.

The words that had been said couldn’t be taken back anymore. The time that had already passed couldn’t be treated as if it had never happened.

She turned to change her position and sighed.

Funny how she had only thought about her feelings now. She should have already made up her mind not to care over what Yakumo thought about her, as long as he would make a move to look for Nao.

Perhaps this trait of hers was her weakness.

That’s right. I have to find Nao.

The thought popped into Haruka’s mind yet again.

Truthfully, she was drained physically and mentally and didn’t even feel like moving an inch. Even so, she couldn’t stop here. No matter what happened, Haruka needed to step up and search for Nao.

She didn’t think Nao would be found solely through her own actions, but if she continued to not do a thing, she couldn’t be one to criticise Yakumo either.

Come on, search.

Haruka tried to sit up, but her body remained motionless. It was as if the connection between her consciousness and her body was severed.

Perhaps it could be that while she wanted to get up, she was actually fast asleep and was in the middle of a dream. Haruka felt that way right now.

Yakumo-kun, help, mumbled Haruka within her heart.

Strange. Without realising, she had turned to ask Yakumo for help.

That was proof of just how big Yakumo’s presence had become within her.

“This is bad…” said Haruka, shedding a tear.

Even though she had cried herself to exhaustion last night, her tears hadn’t completely run out—

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Maybe it was a call from Ishii or Makoto. There might have been some development around the case. No, it could also be from Atsuko–

Her blood drained at the thought.

Did something happen to Gotou-san?

Haruka forced herself to reach for her phone, before pressing the answer button.

“Hello?” greeted Haruka, picking up the call apprehensively.

<It’s me—>

The voice heard from the other end of the call was Yakumo’s—

Haruka nearly dropped her phone without noticing.

“Yes.” Haruka held onto her phone with both hands.

She grew fearful at the thought of what Yakumo was about to say. She wanted badly to just hang up the call, but that felt the same as running away.

Haruka had dumped her feelings one-sidedly last night. So Yakumo also had the right to state his thoughts like Haruka had done.

And, no matter how scared she was, Haruka had the duty to hear him out.

Yakumo chuckled at the opposite end of the line.

“N-No,” Haruka hurriedly denied, but she didn’t understand at all.

Why did Yakumo suddenly—?

As she had braced herself to get hated on just a moment earlier, Haruka grew even more dumbfounded.

She couldn’t understand how Yakumo could joke nonchalantly after everything that had happened yesterday.

However, she didn’t want to question it.

<Do you have a moment to talk?> asked Yakumo with a serious tone unlike before.

“Y-yes.”

<I’d like to request for your assistance.>

“Eh?” Haruka got more confused.

What is Yakumo-kun actually talking about? What did he mean by requesting my assistance?

Yakumo’s words vibrated through Haruka’s eardrums, creating a massive ripple within her heart.

The tears that should’ve dried by now began to fall once again.

“Of course!” yelled Haruka in a sob.

A cell phone ring could be heard from a distance.

The noise harshly woke Ishii up from his sleep. He had been sleeping on top of the table for an unknown amount of time.

He searched for his glasses and examined the surface of the table while rubbing his eyes. They were nowhere to be found. Had they fallen somewhere?

However, as he shifted his wheeled office chair, he heard an ominous cracking noise.

Ishii hurriedly went down from his chair, crouching on the floor. That was when he found his glasses, laid there in a horrendous state.

The left lens was cracked, and the frame was bent as well.

Goodness.

With disappointment, he attempted to wear them.

They could still hang over his ears, but they were out of shape. Not to mention the left side was completely broken.

“That thing is already unusable. When you have time, go and buy a new one,” said Miyagawa who sat across from him.

Apparently Miyagawa had just woken up as well; he held back his yawn with a sleepy expression.

“I can't. We haven’t found Nao yet,” said Ishii firmly.

Although the left side of his glasses was totally broken, it wasn’t like he couldn’t wear them at all if he were to adjust the frame a little. There was no way that he could casually go to an eyewear shop while Nao remained missing.

“There’s no use if you collapse from overexerting yourself.”

“But I can’t just leave it be.”

“Well, that is true. But we can’t do anything anymore,“ Miyagawa lightly clicked his tongue.

The search for Nao that they had been on since last night hadn’t seen any development. In fact, the situation became messier because Sayama had fallen to his death.

However, Ishii had no intention of giving up.

Even now, Gotou was fighting between life and death. There was no way he could rest.

“I’m still going to keep looking!” exclaimed Ishii.

Miyagawa snorted, laughing in disbelief. “Yes, yes. No time for small talk, let’s go and look for her.”

“Yes!” Ishii answered energetically, but he didn’t actually have a plan.

Like this, they could only continue their search for Nao while interviewing people around the area.

While he had now equipped himself with burning determination, anxiousness returned to taunt him.

Is there still time for us to do something?

This was the second day since Nao had disappeared. The longer they took, the less likely it would be for her to return alive.

All the more if she were actually possessed.

Yakumo had previously said that humans possessed by a ghost would slowly grew weaker and weaker, before eventually dying—

Even if they were to find Nao, there would be no use if she was already dead.

“Nevermind that, somebody rang your phone earlier,” said Miyagawa, returning Ishii to his senses.

It was only then that he realised he had been shot awake earlier from the sound of the phone ringing. He had forgotten all about it because of his broken glasses.

Ishii hurriedly grabbed his phone, checking the incoming call history.

It was from Yakumo.

Amidst the chaotic situation, a call from Yakumo was something he greatly needed. Yakumo had to know how to get them out of this situation.

Ishii intended to call back immediately, but he stopped his hand.

Yakumo’s left eye could no longer see.

An average human being like Ishii would be able to live a normal life relying exclusively on his right eye. Just like his current predicament, where he could continue about his day despite his glasses’ left lens being cracked.

But Yakumo was different.

Yakumo’s left eye saw a completely different world. And right now, Yakumo lost a world that he had always been familiar with.

Would the current Yakumo still be able to find clues to solve the case?

No, I shouldn’t think of these things.

Ishii shook his head.

Yakumo had called him, so he had to have some business with him. Ishii convinced himself and promptly called back.

Unfortunately, Yakumo’s phone appeared to be busy so the call didn’t go through.

Having already braced himself, he became disappointed.

As Ishii slumped his shoulders listlessly, the phone he was holding began to ring.

He jolted out of surprise and picked up the call.

“Hello? This is Ishii Yuutarou.”

Ishii thought it had to be Yakumo calling, but the voice at the other end of the call turned out to be Makoto’s.

“Oh...Makoto-san?”

Makoto’s tone sounded angry.

“No, no. It’s not like that. Um...I thought it was from Yakumo, so...it’s not because I don’t like getting calls from you or something.” Sweat began to form all over Ishii’s body across his forehead, armpits, and back, at the thought of Makoto hating him.

<Oh? Then maybe I shouldn’t call you again next time.>

“No, no. Really. That’s not what I meant.”

<I’m joking. You’re forgiven.>

Ishii felt relief upon hearing Makoto’s stifled laugh.

As he thought about it again, it felt strange.

When they had met for the first time, Ishii had been scared to receive calls from Makoto. It hadn’t been Makoto’s fault, but rather the circumstance in which they had first met.

Ishii had first met Makoto while she had been possessed. He had grown fearful of the sight of her face as it had reminded him of the horrors of that time. Even so, his fear had long since completely disappeared.

While he didn’t fully understand the reason, the previous case might have been a significant trigger.

Wait, now was not the right time to think of such unnecessary things.

“So, what’s going on?”

“A message from Yakumo-shi?”

<Yes. He said he had tried to call you but there had been no answer, so he wanted me to deliver the message to you.>

Earlier, Ishii hadn’t been able to pick up Yakumo’s call in time. When he had attempted to call back, Yakumo’s line had been busy. It turned out to be because Yakumo had been speaking to Makoto.

“I see. So, what was the message?”

“Is that true?”

<It is. He said, please help me out—> said Makoto, imitating Yakumo’s way of speaking.

“I can’t imagine Yakumo-shi saying such a thing,” said Ishii straightforwardly.

Yakumo was a calm, composed person who kept to himself. He wasn’t the type to show his weakness in front of others.

Ishii was surprised that Yakumo had said ‘help me’.

“Haruka-chan?”

“That’s true—” Ishii said naturally.

This was strange as well.

He used to be jealous when seeing Haruka, whom he liked, getting closer to Yakumo, but now those feelings were nonexistent.

“I’ll go over there immediately,” said Ishii before ending the call and hurried to leave the room.

But Miyagawa suddenly pulled the collar of his shirt.

“You! How could you go on a date at a time like this? How dare you!”

“D-date?”

Miyagawa seemed to have misunderstood.

Ishii tried to explain the situation, yet he struggled to do so. “That’s not it!” he denied as he forcefully freed himself from Miyagawa’s grasp before running.

And then he fell—

Haruka stood in front of the door to the Movie Research Circle clubroom.

Memories of the events from last night flashed vividly in her mind once again, making her scared of opening the door.

Yakumo’s call from this morning felt like a fever dream out of her own wishful thinking, and when she opened the door, perhaps Yakumo would insult her, saying ‘you still have the nerve to come here?’

No, maybe Yakumo wouldn’t even talk to her.

It was perhaps even possible that Yakumo would refuse to meet Haruka’s eyes, as if Haruka didn’t exist.

What now?

“Morning.”

Someone abruptly patted Haruka’s shoulder.

She turned around, jumping out of surprise.

Makoto was standing there.

“M-Makoto-san. Why are you here?”

“Yakumo-kun called me over. Same goes for you, right?”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

If Makoto had also been called over, then the call she had received from Yakumo this morning hadn’t been a dream after all.

“Haruka-chan, good work,” said Makoto gently whilst staring at Haruka’s face.

“Eh?”

“Yakumo-kun finally made a move to find Nao-chan because you cheered him on, right?”

“I...didn’t do anything...” Haruka quietly said, shaking her head.

She wasn’t trying to be humble. Haruka really hadn’t done anything. The only thing she had done had been dumping her emotions as she pleased.

Had there been a change of heart within Yakumo, it had to come from Yakumo himself.

“With that swollen face that looked like you’ve been crying the entire night, there was no way that you didn’t do anything, right?” said Makoto with a smile, adding a wink in the end.

Having it pointed out made Haruka suddenly feel embarrassed. She had in fact worn thicker makeup than usual to cover it up, but apparently her face was still obviously showing that she had just cried a lot.

“Let’s go,” invited Makoto as she opened the door.

Haruka entered the Movie Research Circle clubroom while hiding behind Makoto.

Yakumo appeared to be sitting in his usual chair. His hair was messy, his face gloomy, and he wore his usual pair of white shirt and jeans.

Yakumo didn’t look any different from yesterday, except for one thing. He had taken off the eyepatch that he had been wearing over his left eye.

The vertical scar on his eye was clearly visible.

Upon noticing Haruka and Makoto’s arrival, unlike usual, Yakumo said, “Sorry for calling you over so early in the morning,” before ushering them inside.

“Your left eye...is it able to see already?” asked Makoto, throwing a question that Haruka wasn’t able to say.

“No. I still can’t see anything,” Yakumo shook his head flatly.

Haruka felt disappointed, but to think about it, it was to be expected. They wouldn’t have been struggling had Yakumo’s eye been able to heal so easily.

“Is that so...” mumbled Makoto listlessly.

The corner of Yakumo’s mouth formed a little smile. “Although I can’t see yet, I’m taking off my eyepatch to show that I want to be able to see.”

Yakumo’s words moved Haruka’s heart.

She had said harsh things to Yakumo last night, despite knowing that he had been suffering. And despite it all, Yakumo was now saying that he wanted to be able to see.

Yakumo had to have gone through a long internal struggle before finally reaching that decision. Without being prepared to accept his past, he wouldn’t have been able to say he wanted to see.

Haruka was happy for Yakumo’s preparedness, yet she felt guilty at the same time, as she felt she might have forced Yakumo to take a cruel path.

“Don’t worry. Even if my left eye can’t see, there has to be something I can do,” Yakumo said in a firm tone as he briefly stared at Haruka.

Haruka had no idea what he was thinking. Nevertheless, Yakumo’s gaze had never been this strong.

Receiving the stare, Haruka made up her resolve. There was no use in regretting at this point. If Yakumo had made up his mind, then she would follow his lead.

Even if the outcome might be painful, she would see it to the end. It was the only thing Haruka could do now.

“We’ll be in your care,” said Makoto with a smile before sitting on the nearest chair.

Haruka also sat herself down on a chair right across Yakumo.

The chair that Haruka had always sat on every time she came to this room. As she had thought that she’d never be able to sit here ever again, the rigid feel of the folding chair now felt so nostalgic.

“So...” Yakumo’s words were stopped as the door opened loudly.

Entering the room was Ishii.

“S-sorry. I’m late.”

He looked like he had been in a hurry. His forehead was sweating, breaths panting. Furthermore, Ishii’s glasses frame appeared bent and the left lens was missing.

“Ishii! What happened?” Makoto yelled in surprise and stood up.

“No..that…the traffic was unexpectedly heavy...” explained Ishii, scratching his head with guilt.

“Not that. Your glasses...” said Makoto, staring at Ishii’s face.

Perhaps Makoto thought that Ishii had been hit by somebody, or something along those lines. Haruka had thought the same upon noticing Ishii’s glasses.

Even so, his face looked too clean to belong to someone who had just been hit.

“Aah, this? It’s embarrassing, but my glasses broke because I crushed them myself...” said Ishii, laughing bitterly.

“Silly you,” exclaimed Makoto, hitting Ishii’s shoulder.

Given everything that had happened, the enjoyable conversation made Haruka’s heart feel a little lighter.

“Has everyone gathered?”

The door opened up once more, and Eishin was the one who entered this time around.

“Eishin-san too?” asked Haruka.

Eishin nodded. “Of course. I was the one who brought up the case. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I continue to ignore that,” he said, bursting out laughing.

“Anyway, please be seated first,” ushered Yakumo. Ishii and Makoto nodded altogether and sat on their chairs.

Eishin also sat on a nearby chair, while Haruka turned to face Yakumo once more.

Yakumo’s red eye might not be able to see yet, but since Yakumo had begun moving like this, they now had the expectation that he would be able to solve the case.

Yakumo’s presence was indeed significant.

“Now...I’d like everyone to tell me everything you have discovered so far—” said Yakumo while rubbing his hands together.

Looking at him, Makoto sighed in relief.

Ever since his left eye had been injured, Yakumo had lost his confidence and had the appearance of someone who had completely given up.

It was different now, though.

Makoto turned to see Haruka’s face. Though covered up by makeup, Haruka’s eyes appeared as if she had just cried a lot and her eyelids looked heavy. Her nose was red as well. Those were proof of Haruka’s efforts.

Yakumo had to have been able to get himself back on his two feet thanks to Haruka who had pushed herself that far.

I’m jealous.

Makoto felt that way.

Yakumo and Haruka had become irreplaceable to each other.

They were intertwined not merely just by love, but by their souls. The very definition of soulmates.

Would she ever be able to achieve such an existence, too?

Makoto grew embarrassed and quickly got rid of the thoughts in her head. Just as she did, Ishii began talking.

“Miyagawa-san and I were tracing Nao’s whereabouts, but it hasn’t been going well...” said Ishii as an opening before further explaining the progress of their search up to that point.

Based on the driver’s testimony and the scene of the accident, Gotou had suddenly jumped into the street. There hadn’t been anyone else at the scene aside from Gotou and Nao.

Then, Ishii had traced Nao’s footsteps from security camera footage and witness’ information.

According to those two sources, Nao most likely had gone to the Signpost apartment. Yet, despite searching all over the apartment building, Nao hadn’t been found.

He had asked nearby residents as well, but had failed to gain any valuable information.

At the end of his story, Ishii explained how Sayama had died from falling.

Makoto’s heart sank upon hearing that fact once more. Had they acted more efficiently, Sayama might not have died. Her chest ached at the thought.

Her mind knew there was no use regretting now, but her heart refused to ditch the feelings so easily.

“Died from a fall, huh,” said Yakumo with a serious expression, seemingly interested in Sayama’s falling incident.

“Yes. His apartment window was open. It was suspected that he had gone out to the balcony from that window and fell,” elaborated Ishii while reading his notes.

“Suicide?” asked Yakumo, putting one hand under the chin.

“There were no signs of struggle in the room, and the entrance was locked. The detective handling the case assumes it was a suicide, but...”

“You have a different idea, Ishii-san?”

“Yes. A few things feel out of place.”

“What things exactly?”

“First of all, apparently Sayama had been living with a woman, but after this incident, the woman was nowhere to be seen.”

“I see. If the person who lived with him was his lover, it would be unusual for her not to show herself.”

“Yes. Furthermore, before Sayama fell to his death, he had said something strange.”

“Something strange?”

“Makoto-san knows better about it,” said Ishii, turning to Makoto.

Makoto responded with a nod before explaining about Sayama.

As her story would make no sense if she solely mentioned the phone call prior to Sayama’s death, Makoto began by explaining how Sayama had consulted her about a spiritual phenomenon whilst showing the ghost photos that Sayama had taken.

Yakumo carefully examined the photo displayed on the tablet.

Now that she thought about it, Sayama’s phone call was difficult to comprehend. From the conversation, there was no doubt that something had been happening to him. Makoto didn’t think he committed suicide.

“Is that so….” mumbled Yakumo once Makoto had finished talking. “It wasn’t a spiritual phenomenon or anything like that…are you certain Sayama-san said that?”

Makoto nodded at Yakumo’s question.

“Suppose that the man’s words were true, does that mean there really wasn’t any spiritual phenomenon at that apartment?” asked Eishin, rubbing his split chin.

Judging from Sayama’s way of speaking, it was likely. The events occurring at the apartment building hadn’t been spiritual phenomena and Sayama had been killed for discovering that secret—while the idea sounded forced, Makoto suspected that had been the case.

One reason behind her suspicion was how the events at the apartment building didn’t match the theory of how ghosts were incapable of physical influence.

Another reason was Sayama’s line, ‘why didn’t I realise all this time’, so it was natural for Makoto to come to that conclusion.

“I can’t comment on anything for now, but I can’t deny that possibility either. Anyway, there’s still one more thing I’m curious about,” said Yakumo as he leaned against his chair, arms crossed.

“About what?” asked Makoto, leaning over.

Yakumo laughed bitterly. “No. The basis is weak as of now...”

Yakumo seemed to have a different impression of things compared to Makoto. However, once he responded like this, Yakumo would refuse to elaborate his line of thinking no matter how much anyone tried to pry it out of him.

“Makoto-san, you have been investigating the spiritual phenomenon, correct?” asked Yakumo, changing the topic.

“Yes.”

“Could you tell me what you’ve found out as well as the status of the investigation in detail?”

Makoto nodded. She then began explaining her investigation with regards to the apartment building.

Before the apartment had been built, there had been a shopping mall at the location. Prior to that, it had been an orphanage called Michishirube.

Michishirube had been burnt to the ground in a fire that had claimed the lives of ten children. Preceding the fire were suspicions against the orphanage that had caused further problems down the line. To support that suspicion, Hirosawa Shozo—the man who had been running the orphanage—had committed suicide following the fire. Makoto spoke while showing old newspaper articles of the incident.

As Makoto finished her explanation, Yakumo let out a long sigh.

Yakumo appeared to have something in mind, but Makoto wasn’t able to make a guess.

“So, how is it?” asked Ishii to Yakumo while adjusting his glasses.

Everyone who was present in the room turned their eyes to Yakumo.

It would’ve been good had they been able to solve the mystery of this case by themselves, but that wasn’t possible. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to rely on Yakumo.

Everyone thought that despite Yakumo’s left eye being unable to see, he would be capable of leading them to solve this bizarre case.

Still crossing his arms, Yakumo turned to gaze at the ceiling before closing his eyes.

Silence ensued.

All of them gulped as they waited for Yakumo to finish thinking.

Yakumo must have felt the expectations of the four people in the room.

After a long period of silence, Yakumo opened his eyes and sat upright. He touched the base of his nose with his index finger, narrowing his eyes.

Makoto shivered at the sight of Yakumo’s sharp gaze. At the same time, she felt that Yakumo had reached a different conclusion from what they could think of.

“I would like to ask for all of your help,” said Yakumo.

The heavy atmosphere from earlier was gone in an instant with that sentence.

“Ishii-san and Makoto-san have worked so hard. But, please help me a little bit more,” said Yakumo, bowing his head, and no one there had any complaints.

After receiving instructions from Yakumo, Ishii, Makoto, and Eishin left the room.

They were back in high spirits now, that the glum atmosphere that had been enveloping them since earlier felt like an illusion.

Nao was still missing and the dire situation hadn’t changed. Even so, each of them had discovered what they needed to do.

All thanks to Yakumo.

Amidst the endless darkness, Yakumo had become the beacon of light for everyone.

Last night, he had said that he couldn’t do anything without his red left eye, but now he knew that wasn’t true.

Just like this, Yakumo had the power to move others’ hearts.

“Now—” said Yakumo whilst standing up.

He must be about to begin the investigation. No matter what he was going to say to her after last night, Haruka wanted to follow after him. That was why there was something she had to say before Yakumo said anything.

“Yakumo-kun—” called Haruka, who stood up to follow suit.

“What?” Yakumo turned to her.

Facing each other like this made Haruka grow scared. However, she wouldn’t be able to go on about the day without speaking out on what had been bothering her.

“I sincerely apologise—” Haruka bowed down. No matter the reason, she shouldn’t have one-sidedly spewed her emotions the way she had the night before.

“Why are you apologising?” mumbled Yakumo.

“Why…? I knew that you had a lot on your mind, and yet I went and said something so cruel...”

Haruka realised that she had essentially rubbed salt into Yakumo’s wounds last night.

Yakumo had suffered so much and felt deep sorrows because of his red left eye. He had become devastated as his life’s meaning had crumbled the moment his left eye could no longer see. Haruka knew all that, and yet she forced Yakumo to continue facing them. Not to mention after saying such cruel words—

Just from the thought, her chest tightened as if her heart was being squeezed.

“That’s enough,” said Yakumo.

“But I...”

“I said, that’s enough.”

Yakumo placed his hand on top of Haruka’s head.

His touch could be felt over Haruka’s hair. It was heavier than she had ever felt, yet warm at the same time.

“But…”

“I’m glad,” said Yakumo calmly before removing his hand from Haruka’s head.

“Eh?” When Haruka finally lifted her face, Yakumo had already turned around and she was facing his back.

“Just as you said, I’m a weak human being. I keep my distance from others, yet I’m scared of being lonely.”

“No. Yakumo-kun...”

“You weren’t wrong. I’ve always lived while hiding my weakness. No one has ever pointed that out loud to me.”

“........”

“Everyone who has ever interacted with me is careful not to offend me. But you were different. You faced a weak and fragile person like me upfront.”

“That was because...”

It had been the only thing Haruka could do.

“Thanks to you, I realised. Even without my red left eye, there’s still things that I can do. No, it’s a little different.”

“What is?”

“I viewed myself as meaningless without my red left eye. That was why I had concluded that I couldn’t do anything.”

“Yakumo-kun...”

“But you’ve told me that I was wrong. Even if my left eye couldn’t see, I’m still myself. So...”

After speaking to that point, Yakumo stopped.

Staring at Yakumo’s back, Haruka waited for the continuation of his sentence. However, Yakumo didn’t say anything further, shaking his head as if erasing his next words.

Yakumo turned to Haruka and spoke with a confident tone, “Enough talking. Anyway, let’s get going—”

Haruka actually wanted to know what Yakumo was thinking. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. Nao’s life was still on the line.

She could ask Yakumo about it once this was all over.

Haruka braced herself once more, but she was suddenly reminded of the words she had blurted out last night right before she had left.

Though she had been carried away by emotion, she had yelled to Yakumo, ‘what I like isn’t imaginary!’

Those words were true from the bottom of Haruka’s heart, but depending on the interpretation, it could have been read as a love confession.

Did Yakumo realise that? There was no way he didn’t. If so, what did he think about that?

While Haruka knew the timing hadn’t been right, she couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Why are you spacing out? Let’s quickly be on our way,” said Yakumo, placing his hand on Haruka’s head once more.

True. Now wasn’t the time for unnecessary thoughts, Haruka prepared herself again before answering, “Yes.”

No need to worry about her own matters. Right now, she had to do everything in her power for Nao.

As soon as he left Yakumo’s room, Ishii immediately contacted Miyagawa—

<Hey! Where have you been running off to?>

Miyagawa’s yelling greeted him.

Indeed, Ishii had left the office without explanation earlier. Miyagawa was understandably upset. The usual Ishii would’ve jumped in surprise, but he didn’t have time for that right now.

“Sorry. I will explain the situation later. Nevermind that, I’d like to ask for your help.”

<Hah? What are you saying? Explain what’s going on first!>

Miyagawa grew even angrier on the other side of the phone.

Ishii understood his superior’s feelings, but there was no point in them arguing then and there. Ishii one-sidedly expressed his request and ended the call before Miyagawa had a chance to protest.

He thought Miyagawa would call back straight away, but he never did.

Although he complained a lot, Miyagawa was the type of person that couldn’t ignore those who needed him. That trait of his was similar to Gotou.

Miyagawa would certainly investigate the matters Ishii had requested in a thorough manner.

Ishii then got in the car to go to the hospital.

Not the hospital where Gotou was being treated, but the one where the forensic doctor Hata Hideyoshi worked.

Upon reaching, he quickly went past the entrance and descended towards the basement.

He still grew fearful of the place despite having been there many times.

The lighting in the long and narrow corridor was dim from the lack of fluorescent lights. Not to mention that the scratches and stains along the wall stood out and gave off a run down impression.

Furthermore, the pungent smell of antiseptic made Ishii anxious.

Despite that, he had to keep moving. Bracing himself, Ishii walked all the way to the door at the end of the corridor before knocking on it.

“Come in, the door isn’t locked.” A hoarse voice could be heard from behind the door.

“Excuse me,” said Ishii as he opened the door.

The smell of antiseptic grew even stronger. No, it wasn’t just antiseptic. What seemed like a hint of blood was also mixed in.

Ishii was further riddled with anxiety.

“Just as I suspected, I thought it’s about time that you came,”

There was a work desk at a narrow corner of the room, filled with rows of cabinets, and Hata was sitting there.

His appearance was that of bones wrapped in skin, along with large, fish-like eyes. Combined with his maniacal way of laughter, it made him comparable to a demon.

“How did you know that I was coming?” asked Ishii.

Hata’s lips widened into a smile. “That bear died, right? So I thought you’d want me to perform an autopsy on him.”

Hata’s tone sounded like he was joking, but his gaze was serious.

While he worked as a forensic doctor, Hata was a pervert who didn’t hesitate to admit his work was a hobby. He had mentioned in the past that he had wanted to autopsy Gotou, and apparently to this day he hadn’t changed his mind.

“Please stop that. Detective Gotou is still alive,” Ishii loudly emphasised.

Hata slumped his shoulder out of disappointment. “Oh. He’s still alive? I heard he was hit by a car, so I thought he was already dead. What a stubborn man.”

“Stubborn…?”

“Rather than a bear, he’s more like a cockroach,” commented Hata while giggling eerily.

“Please stop.”

“So, if not for that bear’s autopsy, why are you here today?” Hata tilted his head.

“You knew about the person who fell to his death from his apartment last night, right? That’s why...” said Ishii, explaining his business coming there.

“Ahh, that one?” Hata gave a disinterested answer.

“I heard you were the one who autopsied him, Hata-san.”

“Yes. It was indeed me.”

“I’d like to ask your opinion about that…”

“Erm, where was it again?” grumbled Hata as he began searching amidst the stack of documents that had piled up on the desk.

His movements were almost like that of a demon.

“Ooh, found it. Here it is,” exclaimed Hata cheerfully as he pulled a document and handed it over to Ishii.

Ishii took it and opened the document.

A photo of Sayama with blood on his head came into view so suddenly that Ishii spontaneously looked away.

He thought he was now braver than before after Gotou had trained him. Yet, to this day he still struggled with photos like this one.

It wasn’t out of disgust. He felt fear at the sight of a human that should have been alive, now transformed into a mass of flesh.

Whenever he looked at these photos, he was reminded of how fragile humans were. He grew restless at the thought that one day, he too would become a mass of flesh just like this.

“What was the cause of death?” asked Ishii as he shifted his gaze from the document to Hata.

“As you can see, it was from cerebral contusion, a traumatic brain injury. I think he died on the spot.”

“Died on the spot…?”

“Yes. Most likely he didn’t even have the chance to feel pain at all.”

Ishii couldn’t decide whether not having the chance to realise that he was dying was a good or a bad thing.

“Is there anything else that caught your attention?” asked Ishii.

Hata frowned. “What are you suspecting?”

“Even if you asked what, I don’t know myself. It’s just that no matter what, it’s difficult to treat it as a regular case of death from falling.”

“The young detective that’s handling this case thinks that he committed suicide.”

“Yes. But either way, something is off.”

“What exactly?” asked Hata.

Ishii briefly explained everything that had happened thus far whilst focusing on the message that Sayama had left right before his death.

Once Ishii was done explaining, Hata exclaimed “Ooh,” and touched his chin. “Interesting,” he said, laughing.

“I don’t think it was interesting.”

“Is that so? There’s no need to be so rigid. Not that there wasn’t anything that caught my attention, though,” said Hata.

“W-what thing?”

Ishii leaned forward without realising.

“While it could possibly be an accident, I think there was no way he committed suicide.”

“Eh?”

“Just look at the photos and you’ll understand,” said Hata.

Ishii gagged at the idea of looking at the photos again, but he wouldn’t be able to make any progress otherwise.

After mentally preparing himself, Ishii stared at the photo inside the document. However, he still couldn’t understand what Hata meant afterwards.

“What do you mean?”

“Looking at the man’s wound, he had fallen with his back first.”

At Hata’s explanation, Ishii came to a realisation.

There was a large tear wound at the back of Sayama’s head so it was obvious that he had bumped his head from the fall.

When Ishii had been at the crime scene, Sayama had been laying down on his back as well.

If he had committed suicide, normally he would have fallen face first.

“Have you pointed this out to the detective that’s handling the case?” asked Ishii.

“Of course,” Hata answered confidently.

“Then, why was it suspected to be a suicide case?”

“You’ve been in the police force for a while, so you should know why as well,” said Hata.

His words weighed on Ishii’s shoulders.

The police handled a lot of cases. Compared to the number of cases, the amount of manpower was extremely lacking. They were severely understaffed. As a result, cases that didn’t stand out were often closed as either a suicide or an accident.

Not too long ago, there had also been a commotion when a case that had first been treated as a suicide had been revealed to be a series of murders targeting insurance payouts upon further investigation.

Whilst embarrassed at himself, Ishii now realised that this case may be being treated similarly to those cases.

The first thing Makoto did was send messages to everyone who might have known Sayama through social media.

Her goal was to gather information about Sayama’s lover.

Sayama’s death wasn’t widely reported, so most people probably didn’t know about it just yet.

Because of that, Makoto had struggled to compose her message and it had consumed a considerable amount of time.

After sending the message to everyone at once, Makoto sighed in relief.

With this, hopefully she could gather some information, although she shouldn’t get her hopes up too much.

Next, Makoto made a call to Otone Real Estate.

She requested the woman who picked up the call to transfer her call not to Miyama, but Yamashina.

The waiting tone played for a while before Yamashina’s voice spoke, <Hello?>

“Thank you for yesterday. I’m Hijikata from Hokutou newspaper.”

<Ahh. You…> answered Yamashina listlessly.

From his response, Yamashina appeared to let his guard down around Makoto.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you…”

Yamashina quickly replied.

It was hard for Makoto to imagine how Miyama would’ve scolded Yamashina. Most likely, Miyama had reported him to higher management and Yamashina was scolded by their superiors.

“Yes, I know. That’s why I won’t trouble you more than this, Yamashina-san.”

“Actually, I’d like to ask, Yamashina-san. Could you introduce your older brother to me?”

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the call.

“Yes. Based on your story yesterday, your brother was involved in the construction of the shopping mall and had experienced some strange phenomena. I’d like to ask him about it.”

Yamashina went silent once again upon hearing Makoto’s words.

Perhaps he was trying to figure out what exactly Makoto was looking for.

Yamashina’s question was to be expected. He must have felt odd that someone was pursuing events that happened over forty years ago. However—

“These aren’t events of the past,” said Makoto firmly.

“To this day, spiritual phenomena continue to occur in the apartment building, right? So, I think these aren’t past occurrences, but an ongoing one.”

<That’s true...>

“Personally, I think that the current spiritual phenomena have been going on since forty years ago.”

<Well, perhaps that’s really the case.>

“That’s why I feel that this case might be solved faster by asking Yamashina-san's brother, who knows about the events from forty years ago.”

Yamashina must’ve wanted to say that Makoto’s interest had gone past that of work-related reasons.

It was understandable of him. In fact, Makoto had never considered this case as work since the start of her investigation.

Furthermore—

“You know that someone had fallen to death at that apartment yesterday, right?” asked Makoto. She could hear Yamashina sighing at the other end of the call.

The atmosphere of rejection could be felt in an instant.

After yesterday’s incident, Yamashina must’ve been pressured to immediately reject Makoto. His superiors clearly had instructed him not to say anything unnecessary.

<Sorry, regarding that—>

“The deceased was my co-worker,” Makoto quickly interrupted Yamashina’s sentence. She could feel Yamashina holding his breath on the other side.

“Yes. He had consulted me about the spiritual phenomena at that apartment building. That was why I had been investigating it. But I was too late...”

Makoto’s chest felt heavy as she spoke.

Indeed, the death of an acquaintance could leave a deep scar on one’s heart.

There was sympathy in Yamashina’s voice.

Since they first met, Makoto had had the hunch that Yamashina was an emotional person. It didn’t feel right taking advantage of Yamashina’s kindness, but Makoto couldn’t just end their conversation with no outcome.

“I want to find out the cause behind the spiritual phenomena for the sake of Sayama-san.”

Yamashina replied doubtfully. Even so, Makoto felt that deep down that wasn’t his true feelings.

“I don’t think it was unrelated.”

“The timing was too odd.”

<Well, that’s true...>

“If strange rumours were to surface about the apartment building because of this, wouldn’t it cause trouble to your company? I think that solving the spiritual phenomena is important not just to me, but to your company as well,” emphasised Makoto.

Yamashina went silent. If he still refused after all that talk from Makoto, she would try to come up with something else.

<Alright. I will reach out to my brother,> answered Yamashina.

Makoto stroked her chest in relief. “Thank you very much.”

<Goodness. I’ve lost against your persistence. How about you take my son’s hand in marriage?>

“Sorry. I already have a partner,” replied Makoto, making Yamashina laugh on the other end.

<Don’t take my words seriously like that. I was just joking.>

Makoto laughed as well.

Her words had come out on their own earlier, but who did she even mean by partner? She felt embarrassed now.

“Um…Sorry, even though I’ve just pressured you to help me, there’s actually one more thing I’d like your help for.”

Makoto could feel the uncomfortable atmosphere from the call.

It couldn’t be helped if she were rejected. With that in mind, Makoto stated her request.

Unexpectedly, Yamashina gave a positive reply. “I’ll give it a shot.”

Makoto thanked him repeatedly, and gave him her contact number before ending the call.

Upon checking her tablet, it turned out she had received a message whilst talking to Yamashina.

It was from Shigemori, a freelance writer. Now that she thought about it, Shigemori had often worked together with Sayama and they had been close in their personal lives as well.

This might just be a good side.

Makoto proceeded to open the message.

Haruka stood in front of the apartment with Yakumo—

The building had eight stories with a sizable area of land. The field was filled with greenery and had a spacious feel, one wouldn’t be able to tell that spiritual phenomena took place there just from looking at its appearance.

Haruka was reminded by the fact that while she had heard about the spiritual phenomena, this was her first time setting foot in this place. Like she was finally standing on the starting line.

Normally, she’d ask, ‘what do you see?’ to Yakumo, but this time there was no use in asking that question.

“Come on—” mumbled Yakumo, who walked towards the building entrance and contacted the building management through the intercom.

Not long afterwards, a man wearing a blue shirt appeared.

On his chest was a name plate that spelled Takemoto.

“I’m Saitou. I believe Detective Ishii from the Setamachi precinct had contacted you earlier…” said Yakumo.

“Yes, I’ve heard from him,” answered Takemoto who then handed over a key. It was the key to Sayama’s unit.

Usually, outsiders wouldn’t be able to enter the apartment units this easily, but Ishii seemed to have made some prior arrangements.

They thanked him before entering the elevator.

“Are there really spiritual phenomena here?” asked Haruka to Yakumo as the elevator ascended.

“What do you think?”

Yakumo asked her back whilst staring at the elevator ceiling.

“I’m not sure. The apartment’s very clean, and the atmosphere isn’t eerie as if a ghost would appear at all…but since I’ve been told that there’s spiritual phenomena here, I’m starting to view it in that manner…”

“I have the same thought,” said Yakumo, dropping his gaze down to his feet.

“Eh?”

“So everyone is anxious like this, huh…” Yakumo softly mumbled.

Haruka wanted to ask the meaning behind his words, however the elevator had finally reached their destination floor and the door opened.

Yakumo was the first to walk out. Haruka followed suit.

As they arrived in front of the apartment unit that used to be inhabited by Sayama, Yakumo stopped walking. “So this is the place…” he said.

“Yes.”

Yakumo held the keys with hesitance.

Did he sense something?

Before Haruka had the chance to ask, Yakumo turned the keys, pulled the door knob, and entered the unit.

Haruka came in after Yakumo.

The foyer was spacious, equipped with a neatly arranged shoe rack; far from the one-person apartment that Haruka lived in.

Signs of living still lingered here.

That reminded her of the fact that the owner of this apartment had just fallen to his death yesterday.

Yakumo removed his shoes, entered the corridor, and walked straight into the living room far inside the apartment.

Haruka wanted to follow him, but she hesitated.

“What are you doing?” asked Yakumo, urging her to move faster.

Many things were in Haruka’s mind, but nothing would get going if she merely stood there. Haruka steeled her resolve, before removing her shoes and ran after Yakumo’s back.

The living room spanned nearly twenty tatami. Inside was a dining table, sofa, and large-screened television.

Sayama, who was now deceased, or the woman who had lived with him had to have been strict about cleanliness. The space had been thoroughly cleaned.

Yakumo walked all the way towards the television and crouched.

What is he doing?

Ah, right, that was where the ghost photo had been taken.

Yakumo stayed still for a while, before he stood back up and opened the door leading to the balcony.

There were no other tall buildings within the vicinity, so they were greeted by the sight of the city panorama.

The night view from here must’ve been beautiful.

As Haruka’s mind wandered, Yakumo began inspecting the handles of the balcony railing.

At that sight of Yakumo, Haruka was reminded of the fact that Sayama had fallen from there, and her back shivered at the thought.

The railing was quite tall. It looked difficult even for an adult to accidentally fall from it.

After some time, Yakumo stopped inspecting and returned to the room.

Like a duckling, Haruka simply followed Yakumo around. She was truly being useless. Haruka thought hard of anything she could do to help even if just a little, but she ended up merely closing the window.

Yakumo stood in the middle of the living room, covered his right eye using his palm, and casted his gaze across the room.

“So this is how it is…”

Yakumo stared around the room for a while before lowering his hand.

“Did you find something?” asked Haruka.

“Yes,” answered Yakumo, ”now I know that this is how it feels.”

“Eh?”

“Being able to see ghosts was something normal for me. So I didn’t understand the feelings of people who get scared easily by the presence of ghosts.”

“Is that so...”

Having explained that, it was true.

From Yakumo’s perspective, who was used to seeing ghosts, the exaggerated reaction people had towards ghosts must have looked ridiculous.

“But now I understand.”

“About what?”

“Not being able to see makes me this anxious.”

“Yakumo-kun...”

“Them being invisible, yet being able to sense their presence is perhaps even more anxiety-inducing than being able to see ghosts. People are scared because they have no idea what sort of presence they are sensing,” said Yakumo with a light chuckle. His expression looked a little sad.

Haruka wanted to say something to him, but there weren’t any words that she could come up with.

Turned out there was nothing else she could do.

“I think it’s about time we leave this place,” said Yakumo as he took a step.

Right at that moment, a strange event began to occur.

A groaning sound could be heard all of a sudden.

What?

Haruka gazed at her surroundings.

The vase at the kitchen counter began to make noise as it vibrated. Snapping sounds as if the lights had gone out could be heard from all directions.

Could this be the spiritual phenomena in this apartment building?

Moments later, the photo frame on top of the sideboard fell with a thud.

Along with that, the sounds stopped, and the vase that had been vibrating went still.

“This...” said Haruka.

Yakumo shook his head with a serious expression. “I don’t know. If my theory was right, this kind of phenomena couldn’t possibly happen,” he said while ruffling his messy hair in annoyance.

When Gotou had first told them about it, Yakumo had suspected that the spiritual phenomena in this apartment building had been a prank.

Reason being Yakumo’s theory that stated that ghosts didn’t have any physical influence.

And yet, a phenomenon occurred that had gone against that theory.

Had Yakumo’s left eye been able to see, he’d be able to clarify directly whether this was a true spiritual phenomena or the work of a prank. Unfortunately, Yakumo couldn’t do that right now.

Yakumo had to have been plagued by frustration from his inability to know for certain.

“Even if you can’t see right now, I think it’s better if we hold on to your theory,” said Haruka.

Yakumo gave a little smile. “I’d like to do the same, but the ghost photos looked legitimate.”

“That’s true…”

“Maybe my theory was wrong all along.”

“What do you mean?”

“The theory was based on my own experience. So, maybe ghosts could actually exert physical influence, I’ve just never experienced it before,” explained Yakumo as if talking to himself, before approaching the sideboard to pick up the fallen photo frame.

A photo was displayed within the frame.

It was of a woman standing at the edge of the lake at dawn. The person who had taken the photo had probably been Sayama, the owner of this apartment.

Since he had been a photographer, the photo was beautifully taken.

Yakumo stared at the photo intently for some time, before his lips widened into a smile as if he had discovered something.

“So that’s how it is...”

Yakumo’s words were almost like a whisper to Haruka’s ears—

“You fool! Where have you been!”

Miyagawa’s yelling greeted Ishii as soon as he returned to the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division.

“S-sorry,” Ishii hurriedly apologised, but Miyagawa’s anger didn’t seem to match the loud volume of his voice.

Ishii felt disappointed for some reason.

“What on earth are you doing while Gotou’s daughter is in danger…?”

Miyagawa’s words made Ishii freeze.

“What happened to Nao?” asked Ishii in a panic.

Miyagawa grimaced in annoyance. “What? She went missing, didn’t she?”

“Oh…I thought something else had happened to Nao…”

Ishii truly felt relieved.

Just now, Miyagawa’s words had made him imagine the worst case scenario in cold sweat. But that wasn’t the case.

“Here. The document that you requested earlier,” said Miyagawa, tossing an old document towards Ishii.

“Thank you.”

Ishii intended to catch the document, but to no success and the contents ended up scattered on the floor. His aiming seemed to be inaccurate due to his broken glasses. He hurriedly gathered the papers from the floor.

“So, what do you need that document for?” asked Miyagawa, who plopped himself on a chair and lit a cigarette.

Ishii really didn’t feel like explaining. Even so, he couldn’t just say nothing after asking for Miyagawa’s help. He then summarised all the events leading up to the current situation.

“So that was how it is. Basically, you’re just being ordered around by that brat without knowing what the document is for,” said Miyagawa, sighing.

“Well, more or less so.”

“Goodness. How pathetic. You’re a police officer, yet you’re not only relying on the help of a university student when the investigation reaches a dead end, you’re even working as his assistant.”

Ishii never thought of it that way before, but being spelt out in such a manner, he now realised that it was true. However—

“But Miyagawa-san, the current situation requires us to rely on Yakumo-shi.”

“Well, that is true.” Ishii thought he was going to get scolded. Unexpectedly, Miyagawa acknowledged the same thing as well.

While indirectly, Miyagawa too had witnessed how Yakumo had managed to solve a myriad of cases.

Yakumo’s abilities were acknowledged by just about everyone.

Despite the lack of vision in his left eye, he would certainly be able to lead them to the truth of the case. Yakumo was a marvel, to be able to make others feel that way.

“In that case, what are you going to do after this?” asked Miyagawa as Ishii’s phone began to ring.

It was from Yakumo.

“Sorry, give me a while,” Ishii excused himself to Miyagawa without answering his question, before moving elsewhere to pick up the call.

<Ishii-san, have you managed to obtain the document?> asked Yakumo directly.

“Which document?”

Yakumo had requested multiple things from Ishii. Without being specific, Ishii had no idea which one Yakumo was referring to.

“Ah, I already have that one.” Ishii glanced at the document he had just received from Miyagawa.

Yakumo’s manner of speech was more eager than usual.

Not too long ago, Ishii had still thought that Yakumo was scary, due to his lack of expression that made it difficult to tell what he was thinking.

However, recently Ishii had realised that although Yakumo hardly showed any expression, there were hints of emotion in the tone of his voice.

Yakumo had probably discovered something and was getting slightly fired up.

“I understand. I will bring it over now,” said Ishii.

He could also explain the information from Hata at the same time. Ishii then asked for Yakumo’s location before ending the call.

“What is it this time?” Miyagawa raised an eyebrow.

He must have guessed that the person Ishii had been speaking to on the call had been none other than Yakumo.

“I am delivering this to Yakumo-shi now,” said Ishii, holding up the document.

Miyagawa laughed in disbelief. “You’re really becoming his servant!”

Ishii couldn’t deny that. If somebody unrelated were to hear about a police officer delivering documents to a university student, they would have been puzzled.

Furthermore, a police officer on duty was leaking investigative information to a university student. If word were to come out, things wouldn’t end with just Ishii's dismissal.

Regardless, there was no use worrying about that now. Besides—

“There’s no other way, in order to solve this case.”

“Goodness…hurry up and go.”

Miyagawa waved his hand as if shooing him out.

He might have appeared scary, but this flexibility was proof of Miyagawa’s kindness.

“Yes!”

As Ishii was about to leave excitedly, Miyagawa suddenly called out to him.

“What is it, sir?”

He had been the one who had told him to leave, yet why did he call out to stop him now? Ishii turned his head in confusion.

“What else are you guys investigating aside from that?” said Miyagawa as he puffed a smoke towards the ceiling.

“Eh?”

“Don’t ‘eh’ me. Surely there are other things you guys are looking into, right? I’ll look into it while you’re away, so hurry up and tell me.”

His way of speaking may have been harsh, but Ishii was deeply moved by his concern.

“I-is that okay?”

“Since when are there things that are okay and things that aren't? It’s all for the sake of finding Gotou’s daughter, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s something I have to do,” said Miyagawa, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Thank you!”

“No need to thank me. So, what needs investigating?”

“Ah, yes—” Ishii then explained the things that Yakumo had requested to be investigated upon.

Miyagawa frowned in confusion.

He must have had no clue why those things needed investigating. Ishii had the same thought. But since it was Yakumo’s request, there had to be a reason behind all of it.

“Understood. I will see what I can do,” answered Miyagawa, although dissatisfied.

He was truly a reliable superior.

“Thank you very much!” After thanking him, Ishii left the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Division…and fell—

Makoto paid a visit to the family restaurant in front of the station and sat at a table for four next to the window.

It had been less than an hour since she had called before Yamashina had called her back, stating that he had some free time during lunch to meet her.

If the meeting spot was too close to Yamashina’s office, they might catch the attention of people who knew him, so they decided upon a family restaurant two stations away as their meeting spot.

Although the agreed timing was rather early, restaurants tend to be crowded during lunchtime. Because of that, Makoto had arrived early to reserve their seating.

After ordering a drink, Makoto took out her phone and contacted Shigemori, a writer who replied to her message about Sayama on social media.

The call immediately went through.

<Mako-chan, is it true that Sayama-san passed away?> Shigemori asked promptly.

He seemed to be unaware of Sayama’s death prior to receiving Makoto’s message. His replies were filled with shock.

“Yes...” answered Makoto. A long sigh could be heard from the other end of the call.

<You’ve got to be kidding. Last I saw him some time ago, he had been doing just fine...>

Shigemori’s disbelief towards the situation was the same as Makoto’s.

A sudden death never gave anyone time to sort out their feelings.

<Even though he was such a good person…> Shigemori’s words were filled with emotion.

“I know.”

Shigemori sniffled.

He must be crying at the loss of his best friend.

Makoto couldn’t find the right words to say to Shigemori, and could only respond to signify that she was listening.

<How did it end up like this…?> said Shigemori with a trembling voice.

“I don’t know the details either. The police seem to be treating it as a suicide case...”

<Impossible!> said Shigemori harshly. <An optimistic man like Sayama-san would never have killed himself.>

“I know. That’s why I am investigating it privately.”

<That’s the reason why you wanted to know about Sayama-san’s lover?>

“Yes.”

Regardless of whether Sayama’s death was an accident or suicide, it was strange for the woman who should have been his lover not to show her presence.

<As I had written previously in my reply, I don’t know much about it either.> Shigemori’s voice weakened.

“But you’ve met her before, right?”

“What was the woman like?”

“Did you manage to exchange words with her?”

“Is that so...”

Makoto had been hoping for clues to find Sayama’s lover, but it seemed to be difficult to find any leads from Shigemori’s story.

Yet, after hearing the story, something bothered Makoto’s thoughts.

“Where did Sayama-san first meet that woman?”

At that point, Shigemori’s words turned vague.

“But what?”

Makoto understood what Shigemori was trying to say.

That was how conversations typically went. Whilst talking, people tended to just follow the flow of dialogue, and wouldn’t realise something was off until the conversation had ended.

“When did Sayama-san start dating that woman?”

“Is that so…”

As they had already lived together, Makoto thought that they had been in the relationship for much longer. But based on Shigemori’s story, apparently Sayama had only been dating for a month.

Could one’s relationship really develop to the point of living together within such a short timespan?

With Makoto’s own life values as a measurement, such a thing would be impossible. But that didn’t mean there didn’t exist any couple who lived together since their first meeting. In fact, some decided on marriage almost immediately.

Sayama might have also felt something that compelled him to live with his lover.

<Sorry, my story isn’t of much help.>

“Not at all. I got to know a lot of things.”

<Is that so? No matter what, I can’t believe that Sayama killed himself. Mako-chan, please find out the truth,> pressed Shigemori.

“I will do my best,” answered Makoto, ending the call.

Makoto cupped her face with both palms and leaned against the chair.

This chain of cases had gone in an unexpected direction, starting from the spiritual phenomena at the apartment, Gotou’s accident, Nao’s disappearance, now further complicated by Sayama’s death.

The investigation might have been progressing, but unexpected pieces of information were revealed one after another, from the strange phenomena during the construction of the shopping mall on that land, to the children who died in a fire at the orphanage even further back in time.

Makoto began to feel as if there were no exit to this labyrinth of mystery.

“You seem occupied,” someone said to her.

Makoto quickly lifted her face and saw Yamashina standing there. Next to him was an old man around the same age as him.

He must be Yamashina’s older brother. Their faces look alike.

“Apologies. I was deep in thought… Please have a seat,” Makoto adjusted her posture and ushered the two to sit.

She exchanged name cards with Yamashina’s brother along with a simple greeting. On his name card was the name of a middle-sized construction company and the name Yamashina Hideyuki.

“Thank you for coming all the way here,” said Makoto.

“No need to thank me like that,” said Hideyuki cheerfully. “So, you’d like to hear about a ghost story?”

Hideyuki began the conversation.

“Yes.”

“Even so, you’re quite the interesting fellow, to be interested in a ghost story from nearly forty years ago,” Hideyuki loudly laughed.

“That’s true,” replied Makoto with a friendly smile. “So, what was the incident like?”

“There were all sorts of incidents—” mumbled Hideyuki. His face quickly turned serious.

“What kinds exactly?”

“At that time, I was responsible for working on the building’s foundation, and the machinery kept breaking down.”

“Breaking?”

“Yes. For example, the motors would refuse to start, some malfunctions would occur, things of that nature. But whenever inspected, no abnormalities were found on the machines.”

“That is indeed strange.”

“Yes. Then, some said that it might have been the work of the ghosts of the children who had died during the fire at the orphanage...”

“I see.” When something unexplainable happened, it wasn’t strange for people to say such things.

“Nobody believed that at the time, though. But due to such working conditions, the construction progress became delayed and we had to work nights.”

In the present, construction work using heavy machinery during nighttime would have caused an uproar due to the potential disturbance to the neighbourhood. Back then, however, the regulations hadn’t been as clear as they were now.

“And then?” Makoto pressed further.

“Until one day, as I was about to head home after my nighttime work, I heard the sound of children’s laughter. ”

“Children?”

“I didn’t believe in ghosts then, so I assumed a child from the neighbourhood had snuck in. I thought that it would’ve been dangerous if they were to get injured at the construction site, so I went to follow the sound...” Hideyuki then stopped talking and stared at Makoto.

His gloomy eyes made his cheerful self from earlier felt like an illusion. Fear grew within Makoto at the sight of those eyes.

“Then…I saw children playing near the prefabricated building used as a resting station. And it wasn’t just one or two of them. Lots of them. With just one look I could tell that they weren’t living humans. I immediately screamed and passed out...” Hideyuki quickly continued.

A group of ghost children playing about—Makoto’s throat dried up at the thought and she gulped in response.

It wasn’t surprising that Hideyuki had passed out from fear.

After a moment of silence, Makoto tried her best to let her voice out to ask, “What happened afterwards?”

“The next day, my coworker found me lying down over there. No one believed my story at first. But some time after, a few other workers also experienced the same incident.”

“Did you ever report it to the company?”

“I did report it. But they ignored me. After all, our work would be finished not long after, and we wouldn’t have to go there ever again.”

“I see...”

“Apparently though, the same things happened when the construction above ground was being worked on.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. All the workers grew fearful and the construction was delayed as a result. Even after the shopping mall was opened, there were neverending rumours of visitors or employees who saw a ghost child at restrooms and such.”

From Hideyuki’s story, the spiritual phenomena that had happened forty years ago and the ones that took place at the apartment appeared to be alike.

In other words, the spiritual phenomena at the apartment didn’t just happen recently, but had been happening for forty years.

If that were the case, something was off.

“Did such incidents also happen during the construction of the apartment?” asked Makoto to Yamashina.

Yamashina seemed to have expected that this question would arise. He didn’t look surprised at all and nodded his head slightly.

“I had the same concern, so I decided to check with the company who handled the construction, and confirmed that similar incidents did occur.”

So it was true.

There was no doubt about it. The cause behind the spiritual phenomena at the apartment was none other than the children who had died in the fire at the orphanage.

With that said, the case had become troublesome.

If Nao had been possessed by the ghost of a child who had died forty years prior, where, and what would she be doing now?

Even if they managed to find Nao, how would they be able to save her?

Makoto didn’t have a single idea about it.

“From what I heard, the shopping mall went bankrupt as they couldn’t get enough visitors because of the ghost rumour spreading around,” Hideyuki ended his story.

That was likely to be the case. Not to mention the additional cost of demolition, it wasn’t a surprise that the building had been abandoned to fall into ruins instead.

“Thank you. Your story helped a lot,” Makoto politely thanked the two.

The two of them stood up, about to leave. However, Yamashina suddenly remembered something. He took out an envelope from his bag and placed it on the table.

“Here. The copy of the document you requested. They are going to make a fuss since it’s personal information and all, so please use it well,” said Yamashina carefully.

He must have brought it out of his office in secret.

“Thank you so much,” Makoto thanked them once again.

After the two left, Makoto stared at the document on the table. The document felt like a Pandora's box that shouldn’t be opened.

His right arm hurt really badly—

No, it wasn’t just that. His back and waist felt painful as well, like his bones were being ground against.

He thought his body had gotten used to pain, but the pain he felt now was so great that he wanted to scream.

“Ugh...” Gotou groaned.

Upon opening his eyelids, bright light from the fluorescent lights shone against his eyes.

Where is this?

His neck was the only thing he could move with great effort. Gotou then looked at his surroundings. The place seemed to be a hospital. He was lying on the bed, the tube of an IV drip embedded in his arm. He could also hear the beeping sound of the vital signs monitor.

He tried to lift his body, but was hindered by the pain. On top of that, his body felt so heavy that he became helpless.

“Hey! Don’t move!”

He heard a familiar voice.

Gotou turned to see Atsuko standing next to the bed, staring at him with disbelief.

“I…”

“Goodness… Don’t cause a commotion again like last time. You nearly died.”

Atsuko’s scolding triggered the return of Gotou’s memories.

Gotou had forced himself to get up from the bed to look for someone. That’s right. He had been looking for Nao.

He had been chasing Nao, who had run away from home, and had gotten into an accident.

“Nao! Where is Nao?” yelled Gotou.

Atsuko’s face turned glum.

Why are you making that face?

Despite not hearing anything from her, Gotou began to imagine the worst possible outcome.

“Nao hasn’t been found,” said Atsuko hoarsely.

Gotou felt relieved as it wasn’t the worst scenario that he had previously assumed. Even so, he couldn’t be at ease yet.

Nao’s whereabouts were still unknown.

“Nao...”

Gotou tried to force his body to get up, but Atsuko stopped him.

“Cut it out. Your body isn’t capable of moving yet,” she said.

“Let go…I have to look for Nao...”

“What can you even do with a body like that?” yelled Atsuko, making Gotou freeze.

He knew. He wouldn’t be able to look for Nao with the current state of his body that could barely move from pain. Despite that—

“I…have to look for Nao...”

“Don’t worry. Right now, everyone is trying their best to look for her.”

“Everyone?”

“Yes. Ishii-san, Makoto-san, Eishin-san, Haruka-chan. And, Yakumo-kun as well...” said Atsuko with a pleading tone.

I see.

Gotou was worried as Nao hadn’t been found, but he was overjoyed at the news that everyone was working hard to find Nao.

Excluding Ishii, who was a police officer, and Eishin, who had started everything in the first place, it wasn’t Makoto nor Haruka’s duty to look for her. And yet, they tried to do their part for Nao’s sake.

Their feelings moved Gotou’s heart.

While he was thankful for their efforts, Gotou still couldn’t rest easy.

“Still, I...”

“Stop it. Don’t let all of their kindness go to waste.”

“But...”

“Yakumo-kun left a message for you.”

A message?

Hearing those words, Gotou’s clouded memories quickly cleared up.

When his consciousness had been drifting between dreams and reality, Gotou had seen a shadow standing in front of his eyes. Perhaps that shadow had been Yakumo.

“What did Yakumo say?”

“I’ll definitely find Nao. So, bears should just hibernate in peace…that’s what he said,” said Atsuko whilst doing an impression of Yakumo’s voice.

Gotou spontaneously laughed.

As expected of Yakumo.

When Gotou had first come to discuss the spiritual phenomenon, and when he had requested his assistance because of Nao’s strange constitution, Yakumo had refused on the basis of his left eye being unable to see.

Having lost the ability to see the things he had always been able to see, Yakumo had lost his confidence. That was what Gotou had felt.

And yet, the message from Yakumo that Atsuko had passed earlier signified that Yakumo had gotten better.

Gotou didn’t know what had happened, but if Yakumo himself said definitely, perhaps he really could rest assured.

Yakumo was someone who kept his word.

That was why, Yakumo wouldn’t say anything when he was still not confident or unsure.

I can leave her to you, right? Gotou asked Yakumo, who was currently elsewhere.

There was no answer. Even so, Gotou’s anxiousness began to subside.

“That’s true...” mumbled Gotou, closing his eyes.

Eishin paid a visit to a home at the outskirts of the city.

The building was one story tall with roof tiles. It appeared to have stood there for a long time, but the land was spacious.

After gathering information from some of the families supporting the temple and following the stories of various others, he ended up here.

To tell the truth, the place was difficult for Eishin to locate. The current relationship between the temples and the families supporting them was different from how it used to be a long time ago. It may have been partly due to the fact that temples were now primarily only needed for funeral processions.

Despite that, unlike what Eishin had thought, the families’ network was really good. Word got around fairly quickly and before he knew it, they were able to find the person who used to live at the Michishirube orphanage.

They were even kind enough to offer a meetup with Eishin.

“Truly not to be underestimated,” said Eishin, mocking himself whilst pressing on the intercom.

“Yes,” A voice then answered from inside, and the sliding door opened to reveal a woman in her fifties.

Her face was chubby and appeared friendly.

This woman must be Tokue.

“My name is Eishin,” said Eishin introducing himself.

“Please come in,” Tokue ushered him inside.

Eishin went inside, taking off his sandals at the foyer before being led to a room on the side of the corridor that appeared to be the living room.

It was a Japanese-style room with the size of around eight tatami. Despite being an old building, it was clean and tidy.

Perhaps Tokue was a diligent person.

Eishin reluctantly said, “There’s no need to trouble yourself,” but Tokue left shortly and returned with a tray containing tea and some snacks.

“Thank you.” Although he felt bad for troubling her, Eishin took a sip of his tea.

Tokue sat across from Eishin and once the two of them had settled down, Eishin began to bring up the main topic.

“I came over today to ask a few questions about the past,” said Eishin.

Tokue nodded as if she had known. “Yes. I have heard. About Michishirube, yes?”

Tokue’s face appeared slightly gloomy.

This woman had also grown up in an orphanage. For whatever reason, she had had to live away from her parents.

Such wasn’t a regular experience.

She might have appeared tough now, but many things must have crossed her mind.

“Since when were you at Michishirube?”

“When I was six years old, my parents left me and disappeared… I began living in Michishirube afterwards.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes. Apparently they had gotten into debt, but I don’t know the details.” Tokue shook her head listlessly.

This must have been the reason behind her gloomy expression.

Parents abandoning their children. The news had reported an increase in such cases in recent times, but that wasn’t true.

Such cases had existed in just about any era.

“I see. You must have been through a lot.”

“Well, more or less so…” Tokue laughed bitterly.

Eishin wanted to ask further about Tokue’s life up until now, but he didn’t have the time to hear a long story like that for the time being.

There was a lot he had to do still.

“Were you at Michishirube when the fire happened?”

“Yes. As far as I recall, it happened when I was ten years old.”

“I heard ten children died in that fire...”

“Yes.” Tokue held her own body, trembling.

The incident must have been engraved into her mind as a terrifying memory. Not only did she have no parents, she had even lost her friends. The trauma she had suffered must have been immeasurable.

“It must be hard for you, but could you please try to describe the event in detail?”

Tokue nodded, took a sip of her tea, and placed her hand on her chest to calm herself down before saying, “The fire happened at midnight. I was sleeping, and I heard someone yell that there was a fire. I woke up because of that. By then, my surroundings were already covered in smoke...” Tokue was at a loss for words afterwards.

As she described the devastating incident that happened a long time ago, Eishin who had been listening to her couldn’t help but feel sad as well.

Even so, he had to find out what happened next.

He didn’t know how the story was related to the current case, but since it was Yakumo’s request, there had to be something about it.

“So you managed to escape?”

“Yes. The girl whom I had been roommates with pulled my arm…so I managed to get out.”

“You were lucky.”

“But, the other friends didn’t survive...” Tokue sighed, slumping her shoulders.

As if she was embarrassed for being able to survive.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to experience a similar feeling whenever there was an incident that claimed many lives. They would blame themselves out of guilt towards others who didn’t make it.

“Tokue-san, you didn’t do anything wrong. No one will blame you for feeling relieved for being able to survive,” said Eishin as he placed a hand on Tokue’s shoulder.

Tokue nodded. Despite that, Eishin wasn’t convinced whether she had actually accepted it. Human emotions couldn’t be cast away as easily as that.

As someone who practised Buddhism, Eishin knew it wasn’t good for him to think of these things. But not even Buddha could heal the wounds of a human heart so easily.

“So, did you know the cause of the fire?”

According to the article that Makoto found, it was likely that the fire had been started by children who had been playing with fire.

However, Eishin felt something was off about that statement.

While he hadn’t said it out loud, Yakumo had probably felt off about something as well.

“As the source was deemed to be children playing with fire, it had caused a public uproar, but I don’t think that was true. Someone had started the fire on purpose.”

“Goodness!” Eishin exclaimed without realising.

He had been wondering about the cause of the fire, but wouldn't have guessed that the idea that the fire had been intentional would surface.

“Was there a reason for you to think that the fire might have been intentional?” asked Eishin once he had composed himself.

“Because we were frequently disturbed…”

“Disturbed?”

“Yes. The windows often got smashed, the buildings vandalised, that sort of thing.”

“It wasn’t done by the children from Michishirube?”

“It wasn’t,” Tokue vehemently denied.

“Do you have a basis for that?” asked Eishin.

There didn’t seem to be any certainty. Eishin couldn’t jump into conclusions now, but this could have been what was called persecutory delusions.

It was possible that her regret from the fire incident led Tokue to believe that an outsider had put them in danger.

Even if that were the case, there was no point for Eishin to try and clarify that now.

“What happened after the Michishirube fire?” Eishin asked a different question.

“We were split up and transferred to different orphanages...” said Tokue with a tense expression.

It seemed that her life at the new orphanage hadn’t been too pleasant either.

“You must have been sad having to part ways with the other children.”

��Yes...but I managed to overcome all that and continue on living up till now...” said Tokue while staring at the distance.

Eishin knew Tokue’s heart had to be tired from remembering many unpleasant things. The man wanted to go home soon, but there was one last thing he had to confirm.

Eishin turned to Tokue once again.

Haruka and Yakumo returned to the Movie Research Circle clubroom to meet with Ishii.

As they opened the door, Ishii had been waiting there.

“Yakumo-shi, Haruka-chan,” greeted Ishii as he stood up.

“Apologies for the wait,” said Yakumo, who then sat on his usual chair.

Haruka felt a change in Yakumo at the sight of it.

She had seen Yakumo apologise several times, but his apology had always felt expressionless, as if he merely mouthed the words out.

Yet now, she could clearly feel that Yakumo’s words toward Ishii had been filled with apology and gratitude as Ishii had come all the way here.

If asked, however, Yakumo would probably have said ‘I didn’t change’ ....

“Why are you spacing out?” asked Yakumo to Haruka, who had been standing still.

“Ah, it’s nothing...”

“You’re probably just thinking about food. The case won’t be solved just by gluttony.”

“T-that’s not it!”

And here she was just thinking that Yakumo had changed.

Halfway in disbelief, Haruka sat down on a chair.

“Here is the document you asked for in the call,” said Ishii as he handed over a document.

Yakumo accepted it and began reading it carefully.

“What document is it?” asked Haruka to Ishii.

“The list of names of the children registered in the orphanage that burned down.”

“List of names...?”

“Yes. It’s called a list of names, but the details of how they came to live at the orphanage are also recorded here.”

“Such a document exists, huh?”

“Yes. While there are also privately owned orphanages, the right to register the children falls upon the local prefecture, and the one who decides upon it is the head of the Centre of Child Consultation.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a rare case nowadays, but in the past there have been children whose identities and how they ended up in an orphanage were unknown. When that happened, the mayor would be the one to give them a name.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Apparently orphanages had many procedures in place.

Whether Ishii had known from the start or had discovered that fact during the investigation, Haruka was still impressed at his knowledge.

“Found it,” Yakumo suddenly exclaimed.

“Eh?” blurted Haruka and Ishii, before turning to Yakumo.

Still staring at the document, Yakumo’s lips curved into a thin smile, as if he had discovered the root cause behind all these incidents.

“Found…what?” asked Ishii reluctantly.

“I found the identity of the ghost possessing Nao,” said Yakumo, brimming with confidence whilst pointing at the list of names.

The name Akira was written there.

Haruka didn’t know how Yakumo was certain that this was the person in question. But since Yakumo had pointed at a name from the orphanage’s list of names, then the ghost possessing Nao had to be one of the children who had died in the fire.

“Then, what should we do next?” asked Ishii to Yakumo.

“Before that, there was something else that you had discovered, right? Please tell me,” Yakumo replied with another question.

“Ah, that’s right,” said Ishii, taking out a memo and talking as he read through it. “I haven’t found out much, though…” he started, before explaining how Hata had doubted that Sayama had committed suicide.

“I agree with that,” mumbled Yakumo once Ishii finished his explanation.

If the man called Sayama hadn't committed suicide and there was a possibility that he had been murdered, who could possibly have killed him, and for what reason?

Even if she wouldn’t reach an answer just by thinking about it, Haruka couldn’t get rid of the thought.

Maybe it was the final words Sayama had left to Makoto before he had died that had been the key. “It wasn’t a spiritual phenomenon or anything like that—”

However, Haruka had just experienced for herself the spiritual phenomena at the apartment. The incident had been significant enough not to be treated as mere misunderstanding.

“So, after this…” Ishii yet again requested for further instructions.

Yakumo stopped him and took his phone out of his pocket.

Apparently someone was calling him.

Yakumo picked up the call and began discussing something. Haruka didn’t know the details of the conversation, but based on the voice she heard, the call seemed to be from Makoto.

“In that case, I’ll leave it to you—”

After a brief conversation, Yakumo gave a number of instructions before ending the call.

“Anyway, regarding what we should do next…” said Yakumo, turning back to face Ishii.

“Yes.”

“Actually, I’d like Ishii-san to help me find someone.”

“You want me to find someone within that list of names?” Ishii pointed at the document on Yakumo’s hand. He then pointed at the name of the child that Yakumo had claimed to have possessed Nao.

“There’s no need for that,” denied Yakumo immediately.

“No need?” Ishii frowned in confusion.

“There’s no use in looking.”

“Why?”

“This person is now possessing Nao. In other words, the person is already dead.”

Putting it that way, he was right. If the person was possessing Nao as a ghost, then the person was no longer alive. They wouldn’t be able to find that person even if they tried.

“In that case, who are you looking for?” asked Ishii once more, which made Yakumo grin in satisfaction.

From the looks of it, Yakumo seemed to have discovered the truth amidst the confusing situation.

Yakumo spoke the name of the person he was searching for. Ishii jotted it down and quickly left the room.

“Then, what about us?” asked Haruka once the two of them were the only ones left.

“That’s right…. I got a message from Atsuko-san earlier.”

“Atsuko-san?”

“Yes. She said that Gotou-san had regained consciousness and that his condition had stabilised.”

“That’s a relief...” said Haruka sincerely.

Ever since she had received the call that Gotou had gotten into an accident, the worst possible situation had repeatedly crossed her mind and her heart was crushed by her anxiousness.

Since Gotou’s condition had improved, all that was left was to find Nao.

After Haruka had renewed her own feelings, Yakumo suddenly said something unexpected.

“That’s why, let’s go and visit Gotou-san,” said Yakumo as he stood up.

“Eh? You’re serious?” Haruka spontaneously exclaimed.

“What? Aren’t you worried about Gotou-san?”

“Of course I am worried. But, we have to look for Nao-chan.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“What are you talking about?”

Could it be that he had given up on looking for Nao?

If that were the case, there was no point in requesting Ishii and Makoto’s help. Besides, there was no guarantee that Nao was alright.

“If my speculation was correct, she’s going to show herself without the need to look for her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I meant just as I said,” replied Yakumo as if it was obvious. Haruka didn’t understand at all.

Even so, as they have come this far, she could only agree with Yakumo.

“Alright,” said Haruka, who also got up from her chair–

After she finished her call with Yakumo, Makoto let out a long sigh.

She had just examined the contents of the envelope given by Yamashina upon returning to her office from the family restaurant.

Just as she had suspected, the envelope was like Pandora's box.

If only she could find the beacon of hope whilst escaping a series of calamities, just like in mythological stories. However, there were no signs of such a thing thus far.

Makoto’s mind was shrouded in darkness and confusion.

Despite that, something bothered her.

When she had stated this important piece of fact to Yakumo, he simply responded, ’so that really was the case—’ as if he had known about it all along.

He could’ve just been doing it to impress, but Yakumo wouldn’t have done such a thing.

In other words, Yakumo likely had predicted all of this information. He might have gotten the bigger picture, and had in turn requested for Makoto to investigate.

Makoto was curious about a number of things, but now wasn’t the time to sit around. There were still things left to look into.

Yakumo had requested for more assistance just now.

Firstly, to send a photo to someone. Although the request had come from Yakumo, Makoto had the same speculation after reading the documents from Yamashina.

Makoto opened the file from the computer, putting the photo in full view of the monitor.

She shivered at the sight of the face displayed on the monitor.

Hopefully we are mistaken, she wished.

With trembling hands, Makoto attached the photo to an email, typing a message before finally sending it out.

It would get a reply for certain.

Next, she had to investigate an orphanage. Not the one that had burned down, but a different one called Kazaoto.

Yakumo had never elaborated on why she had to look into this orphanage, but Makoto had a few ideas of her own.

After Michishirube had burned down to the ground, the children who had managed to survive had been transferred to other orphanages.

This orphanage might have been one of them.

Makoto opened the browser in her computer and tried to search for the keyword kazaoto orphanage.

She quickly found some relevant information.

Apparently, the orphanage had been located in Kanagawa, and had since closed down. Makoto couldn’t believe her eyes upon reading the reason behind its closure.

“This...”

Child abuse by the orphanage staff had taken place for a prolonged period of time at Kazaoto orphanage. The orphanage had to be closed down once the truth had come to light.

Unfortunately, the website she was on didn't provide any further information.

It wasn’t surprising as the incident had been made public over thirty five years ago. Back then, news sites and the like hadn’t existed yet.

However, if it had been an incident, the newspaper company Makoto worked at might have an article about it as well. If the journalist who had covered the story was still alive, she might be able to ask about it directly.

Makoto immediately sprinted to the data room.

She searched around on the computer. It was just as she had thought. She then clicked on a few articles.

A-san, who used to live at Kazaoto orphanage, reported the abuse that took place at the orphanage to the Kanagawa prefecture police…

“Goodness...”

Makoto felt sick reading the contents of the article.

The children at the orphanage had been in a situation where they had no other choice but to live without their parents.

They had to have gone through more hardships compared to other children.

Not to mention that they had nowhere else to go. Taking advantage of that situation to abuse them for one’s own satisfaction would simply be a brutal thing to do.

It wasn’t a crime that could be forgiven by merely punishing them with the law.

Makoto felt like closing her eyes, but that would have been the same as running away.

As she examined the details, she discovered that the article had been written by a journalist named Takabe. Takabe had retired due to old age, but was now hired doing contract work.

Makoto searched the list of contact numbers on one side of the table and found Takabe’s name. She promptly reached for the handle of the office phone and dialled the number.

After a brief dial tone, Takabe picked up the call. <Takabe here.>

His manner of speech was slow and peculiar, but since he had even been reemployed, his work had to be sharp.

“I’m Hijikata from the culture department,” said Makoto.

Takabe quickly exclaimed, <Oh, the daughter of the ex police chief?>

He seemed to know about Makoto.

“Please don’t address me that way. My father is no longer in the police force.”

She ended up remembering some unpleasant things.

<That’s why I used the word ‘ex’, though.>

“Well, that’s true...”

<So, what’s the matter? Since you’re calling from the data room, you’re probably getting yourself involved in matters outside your scope of work again.>

He probably knew Makoto was in the data room based on the incoming call number.

“What do you mean, again?”

<It’s common gossip at the office that you like to poke your head around cases that has nothing to do with you.>

“Eh?”

“What are you saying?”

<I’m saying that you’re more well known than you think.>

“Oh...”

Even when told such a thing, Makoto had no idea how to deal with it.

Perhaps all this time, her coworkers had been uncomfortable around her, and she was the one who had never noticed.

<Well, anyway. Putting that aside, what did you want to ask?> said Takabe.

He was right. No use in worrying about what other people thought about her now.

“I’d like to ask you about an article from thirty five years ago.”

<That’s pretty far back.>

“Yes. About the Kazaoto orphanage...” Makoto could instantly feel as Takabe held his breath on the other side of the phone.

<That case was rather unpleasant...> he mumbled.

“I heard there were incidents of child abuse…?”

<That’s right. Not to mention it had been going on for over ten years. I could somewhat understand had it been a sole perpetrator, but we’re talking multiple staff abusing children together.>

“How cruel…”

Since multiple staff were involved, the children must have had nowhere to escape.

“Goodness...”

Makoto gripped the phone handle tightly.

Had those abusers stood right in front of her eyes then and there, she wasn’t confident she’d be able to keep herself together. That was how angry she felt.

“Truly unforgivable...” commented Makoto with great effort.

“I see...”

<Then, I wasn’t able to include this in the article, but something strange happened after.>

“Something strange?”

<Yes. Three staff that were involved in the abuse eventually died one by one.>

“Eh?” exclaimed Makoto in a high pitched tone. “Died? How so?”

“That’s...” said Makoto, swallowing her next words.

There was a possibility that the children who had been abused had sought revenge on them.

Takabe sighed as if he could read what Makoto was thinking.

“Did you look into it?”

<Yes. But I wasn’t able to find a connection between their deaths. The police eventually reached the same conclusion and closed the case just like that.>

“So that was the case…Thank you, your story was a lot of help.”

Even after ending the call, Makoto remained enveloped in anguish.

Since the police had reached the same conclusion, their deaths might have actually been mere coincidence. Yet Makoto’s heart rejected that idea.

There had to be something behind them—whilst thinking that, Makoto received a message from Shigemori regarding the photo she had wanted to clarify with him.

That was the contents of Shigemori’s message.

Unexpectedly, Yakumo’s prediction seemed to have missed its mark.

Gotou turned towards the window.

He could see the usual city scenery from it. Even so, his chest felt crushed at the thought of Nao being out there, somewhere. He was fighting hard against the urge to leave right there and now.

Gotou, who wasn’t good at thinking, held the principle of taking action first before using his brain. For that reason, he made a great team with Yakumo, who had the brains but struggled to take action. It was the same with Ishii.

It felt ridiculous for Gotou, who could only prove himself by making a move, to be in his current state.

His frustration towards himself grew uncontrollably.

“Your injuries look rather horrible—”

Gotou turned to the source of the sudden voice, and found Yakumo and Haruka standing at the entrance of his hospital room.

“Yeah. I can’t move in this condition.”

His right shoulder and left leg was broken, his back was bruised, and his hip bone was fractured. He had also gotten a concussion and there were lacerations in multiple places over his body.

The doctor said that an average person would have died by now and was impressed by the sturdiness of Gotou’s body.

Despite that, it was no use if he couldn’t even move amidst the urgent situation.

“Sounds like a good opportunity. How about reading a book for a change? If you know how to read, that is,” Yakumo chuckled lightly.

“Shut up!” yelled Gotou, who instantly felt a jolt of pain across his body.

His condition was really pitiful; he couldn’t even yell.

“Well, you’ll need to stay still for a while,” said Yakumo.

However, Gotou couldn’t just do as he said. “Nao…I have to find Nao...”

The moment Gotou said so, Yakumo shook his head. “Did you not hear the message I passed to Atsuko-san?”

I heard.

The message from Yakumo. A message that had stated that he would definitely find Nao.

“In that case, how could you come over here so nonchalantly?”

He hadn’t heard any news that Nao had been found. Yakumo shouldn’t have the free time to pay Gotou a visit.

“No need to be angry like that.”

“Of course I am angry. Nao’s life is in danger!”

“I know. But rest assured. I have cracked most of the mystery. All that is left is how am I planning to face it—” said Yakumo as if it was common sense. Gotou still didn’t understand.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, you’ll understand eventually. For now, you should peacefully rest up, Gotou-san.”

“That’s why...”

“If you were to force yourself to move now, you won’t be able to move when it’s absolutely necessary,” said Yakumo with a grin.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I might need your help later, Gotou-san. Well, only if you’re willing.”

There was no need for contemplation. His answer was clear.

Gotou was being treated at the hospital and couldn’t move freely, but if there was something he could do, he would do whatever it is.

“Of course. I won’t be satisfied until I beat up the person behind all of this.”

“That’s relieving to hear—” said Yakumo as his cellphone rang.

“Hey, Yakumo-kun. We’re in a hospital,” scolded Haruka.

“I know,” answered Yakumo, who nodded at Gotou before saying, “See you later,” before leaving the room.

“Please don’t push yourself too hard,” Haruka said to Gotou before chasing after Yakumo.

Gotou wanted to go after them too. But as Yakumo had said, there was no use forcing himself to move now and rendering himself incapable of doing so when needed.

Gotou leaned back against the bed and sighed whilst suppressing his annoyance.

When Ishii stopped his car in front of the hospital Gotou was in, Yakumo and Haruka had been waiting for him.

The person Yakumo had been looking for had been easier to find than he had thought, so he contacted Yakumo soon afterwards.

His call had been left unanswered, but Yakumo had promptly called him back and once Ishii had explained the situation to him, Yakumo immediately expressed that he wanted to meet this person.

As a result, Ishii came to pick them up with his car.

“Sorry for the trouble again, Ishii-san,” said Yakumo as he sat in the backseat alongside Haruka.

Seeing them side-by-side like this, they looked like a couple. Ishii felt strange as he had never viewed them in such a manner before.

No, that wasn’t it. His heart used to be riddled with anxiety at the sight of the two next to each other.

Now, it felt more like watching a little sister with her partner.

“Are we really heading there?” Ishii asked Yakumo once he got rid of the strange sentimental feeling in his mind.

“I’ll be counting on you.”

“Alright,” answered Ishii, starting the car.

“Why do you want to meet this person?” questioned Ishii as he glanced at Yakumo through the rearview mirror.

The person Yakumo had requested him to find was Kazue, wife of Hirosawa Shozo, who had been the headmaster in charge of running the Michishirube orphanage.

Kazue now resided in the Institute of Elderly Welfare.

The orphanage that she had been managing had burned down, taking the lives of ten children. On top of that, her husband—Shozo—had died from hanging as if responsible for the incident.

Forty years after the event, how did Kazue feel now? Furthermore, what did it have to do with the current case?

Ishii couldn’t find an answer for those two questions.

“We won’t be able to solve this case without her,” answered Yakumo firmly.

What could be the reason behind Yakumo’s words? Ishii tried to think about it, but he still couldn’t understand. In that case, he could only leave the rest to Yakumo.

Ishii grew quiet and drove the car.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Institute of Elderly Welfare, where Kazue was.

Ishii stepped out of the car, thinking that they would be entering the place together, but Yakumo stopped him.

“Sorry, but I’m going to meet Kazue-san alone,” said Yakumo with a stiff expression.

“Why?” blurted Haruka in surprise as she had also thought she would be going in with Yakumo.

“She may refuse to open her mouth if we were to meet her as a group. If I’m by myself, she will certainly speak up.”

Yakumo had a point. She might put her guard up if there were a large number of people seeing her at once. However, a group of three people wasn’t that large.

Besides, whatever it was that Yakumo wanted to find out from Kazue, Ishii felt that his role as a police officer, and Haruka as fellow woman would put them at an advantage.

As Ishii expressed that fact, Yakumo’s face frowned into a complicated expression.

“Fine. I’ll tell the truth. This is something that I have to face alone.”

Yakumo’s explanation only confused Ishii even more.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly as I said. I wanted to ask Kazue-san about someone’s past. To recover my left eyesight, I have to face the truth by myself,” said Yakumo firmly.

Ishii still didn’t understand.

However, Haruka seemed to have a different reaction.

“Alright then. I’ll wait for you here,” she replied.

Satisfied with Haruka’s response, Yakumo nodded before walking away.

“Did you get what Yakumo-shi is planning to do?” Ishii asked Haruka as they watched Yakumo walk into the front entrance.

“Not at all,” Haruka added with a smile.

“You let him go all by himself despite that?”

“Yes.”

“But, if that’s how it is...”

“Yakumo-kun said that this is for the sake of recovering his left eyesight.”

“Right. He did say that.”

Those words did nothing to make Ishii understand. He couldn’t fathom how listening to Kazue’s story could contribute to Yakumo’s recovery.

“Yakumo-kun must be in the middle of trying to accept his own existence,” said Haruka gladly. Ishii couldn’t understand yet again.

The only thing he knew was that Haruka wholeheartedly placed her trust in Yakumo.

“You’re putting your trust in him…” said Ishii.

Haruka nodded firmly as if it was only natural for her to.

It made Ishii realise how much Haruka liked Yakumo from the bottom of her heart. There was no place for Ishii there from the start.

Haruka and Yakumo were bound by such a deep mutual trust.

“It makes me jealous.”

Words came out of Ishii’s mouth without him realising.

“Eh?” Haruka tilted her head.

“I mean...to be able to like someone to such lengths is an impressive feat.”

“No, it’s not like that...” said Haruka, looking down with a flushed face.

Her expression was more adorable than anything Ishii had ever seen Haruka made before. Even so, he knew it wasn’t directed at him.

Back then, this would have hurt Ishii’s feelings, but now he could watch over it with a smile. The whole ordeal made him feel bizarre.

“Enough about me. Rather, how are Ishii-san and Makoto-san doing?”

Out of nowhere, Haruka asked an unexpected question.

“Eh?”

“I’m saying, are you and Makoto-san dating now?”

“Th-there’s no way,” Ishii denied in a hurry.

His forehead suddenly grew sweaty for some reason.

“Is that so? The two of you looked like you were getting along really well recently, so I thought it was official.”

“N-no…that…would only trouble Makoto-san,” said Ishii, wiping the sweat on his forehead.

“Eh? Why?”

“Why…? There’s no way someone like me would suit a remarkable woman like Makoto-san.”

“This isn’t a matter of suitability, rather, how does Ishii-san feel?”

“No, I...”

“Ishii-san, what do you think about Makoto-san?”

“I…”

What do I think?

During the last case, Ishii had realised how much Makoto meant to him as a person.

But, he suspected that his feelings were slightly different from love.

He felt comfortable around Makoto and was always happy to talk to her. Back then, he might have been afraid of her, but now Makoto was among the few people of the opposite gender that he could converse with without feeling nervous.

“How would you feel if Makoto-san were to date someone else?”

Haruka threw an unexpected question that horrified Ishii for some reason.

“There’s no way!” he reflexively exclaimed.

“Why?”

“Why...? Well, as to why...”

Ishii couldn’t explain the reason. It was simply that he felt immediate rejection at the idea of Makoto enjoying herself with another man.

“So it’s true, you really do like Makoto-san—” said Haruka, filled with emotion.

Those words echoed repeatedly within Ishii’s heart.

Haruka stared at the building entrance intensely whilst leaning against the car.

Earlier, she had nodded when Ishii had asked if she trusted Yakumo, but she would be lying to say that she wasn't worried.

Having watched Yakumo go past that entrance with a firm resolution, Haruka grew annoyed at herself for only being able to stand back and wait.

She turned to Ishii’s direction, who was speaking in a call a few distance away. He had to be in the middle of gathering more information about the case.

Haruka sighed and looked at the sky. Line-shaped clouds floated across the dim sky as night approached. Soon enough those clouds would be swallowed by darkness.

She grew increasingly anxious at the thought.

Yakumo-kun, you’re coming back, right? Haruka asked within her heart.

Yakumo had only left to ask for information. He would definitely return. So Haruka’s request wasn’t about that.

Even if his body was physically fine, it would be pointless if his heart wasn’t as well.

Haruka was glad that Yakumo was willing to face his red left eye. However, it would come at a great deal of mental pressure for him.

He might not be showing it, but Yakumo must have been suffering even now.

In other words, he was still mentally unwell. Haruka couldn’t say for certain that Yakumo wouldn’t be consumed by the darkness in such a state.

All her worries made her feel that she should’ve tagged along with Yakumo, but she chose to keep waiting.

Perhaps this was merely her own feelings, but she believed that by trusting him and waiting, she could become Yakumo’s support. Or at least she hoped so.

The winds roared strongly.

Haruka glanced at the entrance and saw Yakumo walking out from it.

He’s back.

For a moment, Haruka was delighted, yet she soon noticed something was off and her heart froze.

Yakumo’s expression was clearly unlike how it had been prior to entering the building. It was difficult for Haruka to describe, but Yakumo seemed to be carrying a different burden from before.

“Yakumo-kun—” called Haruka. Yakumo responded with a smile. A clumsy one, as if he was forcing his face muscles to form a smile.

What happened?

She wanted to ask him, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

Perhaps because she was afraid.

Almost as if Yakumo would disappear if she were to find out what he had heard and felt.

“Ah! Yakumo-shi! How was it?” Ishii ran towards Yakumo after finishing his phone call.

“More or less, I finally got the bigger picture...” said Yakumo.

His mouth might have said so, but he didn’t sound too enthusiastic about it.

“So does that mean you’ve solved the mystery?” asked Ishii excitedly.

“Yes. From the start, this case didn’t have a lot of mysteries to it. Even so, the events that had caused the spiritual phenomenon happened way too far back, so we wasted a lot of time gathering information,” explained Yakumo effortlessly.

“I-is that so?” responded Ishii in surprise as he gestured excessively with his body.

Normally, Haruka would’ve laughed at Ishii’s antics, but right now she found herself unable to.

“Yes. Anyway, Ishii-san, you’ve discovered some new information as well, right?”

Ishii hurriedly took out a memo from his pocket. “Yes. I heard a few things from the call with Miyagawa-san earlier.”

Ishii promptly described the information he had received from Miyagawa to Yakumo.

Yakumo remained silent, listening intently to Ishii’s explanation, before sighing deeply as he watched the sky.

There had been a faint sunlight left earlier, but now the sky had turned completely dark. The line-shaped clouds from earlier had been covered in a sea of black.

After a moment of silence, Yakumo spoke up. “Thank you, I know a lot now. I think it’s about time we go pick up Nao—”

Yakumo’s tone sounded glum to Haruka.

“Pick up? How exactly?” asked Ishii.

“I’d like for us to rendezvous with Makoto-san and Eishin-san. Please pass on the message to them to gather at my room.”

“Understood,” Ishii replied excitedly before contacting them on his phone.

“Yakumo-kun—” called Haruka softly as Yakumo was about to enter the car.

“What?”

“You’re not thinking of anything funny, aren’t you?“ warned Haruka.

“Yes. I’m merely thinking about what the best plan is to save Nao.”

Yakumo’s words stabbed into Haruka’s chest.

Although she had no basis, Haruka felt an ominous premonition. Yakumo’s words were just like the sky now; no presence of light to be found.

“What are you saying…?”

“I’m really grateful to you,” said Yakumo with a smile.

His smile was filled with sadness.

“I...”

“I could only get this far because you’re with me. Thank you—” said Yakumo before getting inside the car.

Makoto hurried towards the Movie Research Circle clubroom.

The campus was dead silent during nighttime, so much that the buzzling activities during the day felt like an illusion. The stark contrast terrified her.

As she opened the door signed <Movie Research Circle>, Makoto found Yakumo sitting on his usual chair. Ishii, Haruka, and Eishin were present as well.

Since Yakumo had requested them to gather, Makoto had assumed that the mystery behind this case had been solved, so she excitedly came over. Yet, the air around the room felt suffocating.

“Sorry for troubling you to come over,” Yakumo politely bowed his head.

Makoto thought that Yakumo’s optimism had returned thanks to Haruka, but his expression appeared listless like a corpse.

What happened?

Puzzled with questions, Makoto sat on a chair next to Ishii.

“So…you’ve solved the mystery?” Eishin opened up the conversation.

“That’s right. Although there was hardly any mystery in this case in the first place.”

“Eh?” blurted Makoto without realising.

How could there be no mystery about it? What about the cause behind the spiritual phenomenon? Nao’s whereabouts were still unknown. Not to mention Sayama’s death.

Makoto emphasised those to Yakumo, but he shook his head in response.

“No,” he replied, “I was uncertain at first as I couldn’t believe myself, but from the start there wasn’t anything you could call a mystery.”

“How is that possible?”

“I believe everyone is now aware that the cause behind the spiritual phenomena at the apartment building was a fire that took place forty years ago,” explained Yakumo as he narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance.

“So that means there are ghosts of children lurking in that building?” confirmed Ishii.

“Yes. As we have discovered through Makoto-san’s investigation, after the fire had taken place, the spiritual phenomena had occurred during the construction of the shopping mall and its business operations later on after it opened.”

“I confirmed it again afterwards. As it turns out, similar phenomena occurred during the construction of the apartment building as well.”

Prior to coming here, using the number she had obtained from Yamashina, Makoto had called a construction worker who had been involved in the construction of the apartment building to hear his story.

She had discovered that the worker had experienced similar phenomena as Yamashina’s brother.

As all the workers grew fearful, progress of the construction work had halted. One cause that had factored into the apartment’s exorbitantly high price had been the increase in construction costs from all the delays.

Makoto explained her investigation in detail, to which Yakumo nodded in satisfaction.

“This story confirmed that the children who had died in the fire had been haunting that location for the last forty years.”

“Does that mean the ghost possessing Nao was one of the children who died back then?” interrupted Haruka.

“It’s a little different, but yeah, something along those lines.”

“What do you mean…?”

Dissatisfied with Yakumo’s vague answer, Haruka wanted to ask further questions, but Yakumo stopped her.

“I’ll explain the details later. That aside, the question is, where is Nao? Furthermore, how can we save the ghosts of the children who had been lingering for forty years?” said Yakumo with a hardened expression.

“Do you have something in mind?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo let out a deep sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know anymore.”

“About what?”

“The fire forty years ago. Do you think it was really caused by children playing with fire?” asked Yakumo. Makoto fell silent.

At first, she had considered the possibility. However, upon reading the documents given by Yamashina, those thoughts had completely vanished.

“I don’t think it was...” said Makoto.

“I-it wasn’t?” Ishii added.

Apparently Ishii hadn’t heard about the fact. If he had, it would’ve shifted his line of thinking entirely.

Makoto intended to explain, but Yakumo shook his head without saying a word. He appeared to be asking Makoto not to talk about it for now.

“Ten children lost their lives all because of the greediness of a few people. Despite having to face the harsh reality of moving into an orphanage, those children had continued to live optimistically.”

Yakumo’s voice shook. Overwhelming sadness and anger spiralled together in his heart.

Even Yakumo wasn’t acting like himself as his vast emotions carried him away.

“Yakumo-kun...” Unable to ignore the state he was in, Haruka called out to Yakumo.

“Those children were innocent. Yet the culprit easily took all of their lives in the name of greed. Such an act is unforgivable,” said Yakumo, curling his fists.

If he continues to wallow in anger, this can go badly.

“But...” started Makoto.

“Would you be able to forgive him, Makoto-san?” Yakumo glared at Makoto, eyes burning with anger.

Unable to win against such pressure, Makoto couldn’t say anything more. Whatever had happened, she could feel that Yakumo’s heart was greatly shaken by it.

If this went on, would Yakumo end up being swallowed by darkness?

A long silence ensued.

Moments later, Yakumo slowly stood up.

“I’d like to request all of your help.“

Everyone’s eyes in the room turned to Yakumo.

“I will do anything to save Nao. In exchange however, I have to surrender myself.”

“Yakumo-kun, wait! What are you saying?” shouted Haruka, unable to withstand the situation.

Her reaction was understandable.

Yakumo spoke as if he was about to die.

“There’s no other way than this—”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, once Nao is safe, please tie me up as soon as possible. I will leave the rest to all of you.”

Makoto couldn’t understand the meaning behind Yakumo’s words.

Everyone exchanged glances with confused looks on their faces.

“It may not make sense to you now, but when the time comes, I’m sure you will all understand,” said Yakumo with a chuckle.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to die?” asked Makoto, who couldn’t bear it anymore as well.

Yakumo didn’t answer and simply stood in place. Makoto felt as if his silence was the answer itself.

Makoto turned to Haruka who was now staring at Yakumo, half-flabbergasted. For Haruka’s sake, nothing should be allowed to corner Yakumo to his death.

“Whatever happens, we have to save Nao,” said Yakumo, immediately leaving the room—

“Ishii-san.” Makoto called out to Ishii, who had been sitting next to her.

“I know. We have to protect Yakumo-shi no matter what.” Unlike his usual self, Ishii’s words sounded dependable.

Despite that, restlessness emerged within Makoto. She felt that what was about to happen would turn into an unchangeable course of fate—

Yakumo looked up at the apartment building that stood out amidst the darkness. Stone covered footpath extended all the way to its entrance.

It was late, so most of the apartment lights were out and the building appeared more terrifying than it was in the daytime.

Haruka felt even more chills as Yakumo had mentioned earlier that the ghosts of the children who had died in the fire were haunting the place.

Hey, what are you thinking right now? Haruka asked Yakumo in her heart.

Whatever Yakumo had talked about with Kazue in the Institute of Elderly Welfare had caused him to behave strangely ever since.

Even now, he emitted a tragic aura akin to that of a soldier marching to his death.

Not to mention what he had said at the Movie Research Circle clubroom bothered Haruka.

Yakumo had said that in order to save Nao, he had to surrender himself in exchange—

Did he mean it in a literal sense? Or—

Haruka wanted to ask him, but her words turned against her and refused to come out.

But why? She had already made up her mind to face Yakumo without fear of being hated.

Perhaps it wasn’t out of fear of being hated, but out of fear that if Haruka were to say the quiet part out loud, it would become the truth.

“I’m glad you’re here,“ said Yakumo without turning around to face Haruka.

“Eh?”

“Because you’re here, I’m able to go this far even though my red left eye doesn’t work.”

“Yakumo-kun…”

A burning sensation filled Haruka’s chest.

In truth, even this time around Haruka hadn’t been able to gather any information to help solve the case, unlike Ishii and Makoto.

All she had done was to stay by Yakumo’s side, and she was annoyed by her own helplessness. And yet, Yakumo’s words earlier seeped into her heart.

“You’re a signpost,” said Yakumo.

“Signpost?”

“Yes. I suppose all this time you’ve always been like a signpost to me.”

What Yakumo said only made Haruka’s brewing anxiety implode.

“Stop saying those kinds of things!” yelled Haruka, unable to hold herself anymore.

Yakumo turned.

“...”

“Why are you saying those things? Why are you making it sound like it’s in the past? We’ll be walking together even from now on, right?” said Haruka following her emotions, inciting a chuckle from Yakumo.

A truly empty chuckle.

“Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry?”

“If you’re with me as a signpost, I could always make it back no matter where I go.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Last night, Haruka had emotionally revealed her deepest feelings, despite her true intentions. She had intended to express them in good terms, unlike what happened that night.

She didn’t care about the outcome.

Haruka only wanted Yakumo to know, just how much she liked him—

That’s why—

“There’s still lots of things I’d like to tell you.”

“What things?”

“I can’t say right now.”

“Why?”

“I believe in your words. So I’ll tell you everything once you have saved Nao. I won’t say it now.”

“Alright. There’s something I have to tell you as well.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a long story, so let’s save it for when everything is over...”

Haruka got curious about what Yakumo had to say, but it was better not to ask now. She wanted Yakumo to think of the future—

“Sure,” Haruka nodded.

Yakumo placed his hand atop Haruka’s head.

Haruka’s chest heated up. Her tear ducts welled until her tears were about to fall that instant. However, she held it in as much as possible.

If she were to cry here, perhaps Yakumo would never come back. So—

“I believe in you.”

Yakumo walked away without giving Haruka a reply.

They might have not been far apart in distance, but Yakumo’s back felt incredibly distant. She was even worried that Yakumo would be swallowed by the darkness.

“It’ll be fine,” a voice cheered up Haruka’s gloomy feelings.

Haruka turned to find Makoto, who had stood there for some time. Ishii was next to her.

“Makoto-san—”

“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, we’ll help Yakumo-kun. Right, Ishii-san?” Makoto smiled and turned to Ishii beside her.

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

Ishii thumped his chest in an act of bravery.

However, he didn’t adjust the strength of his fist, so he was soon coughing violently.

“Ishii-san, are you alright?”

“S-sorry. I hit too hard.”

“Goodness, what are you doing?”

Watching Ishii and Makoto’s banters, Haruka reflexively smiled.

That was true. She wasn’t alone. Ishii and Makoto were here. Even Gotou, although physically he was lying in a hospital bed right now.

Besides that, while they weren’t present, Atsuko and Eishin would support them as well.

“What are you doing?” called Yakumo whilst turning to them, having walked ahead earlier.

Haruka, Ishii, and Makoto exchanged glances and nodded, before stepping forward together.

Ishii chased after Yakumo in front of the apartment building entrance.

More precisely, Yakumo was waiting there. As he didn’t have a key, he couldn’t get in.

“Ishii-san. This apartment building has a basement, right? I want to go there...” said Yakumo, narrowing his eyes.

It wasn’t clear why Yakumo wanted to enter the basement right now. That aside, Ishii didn’t understand why they went to this apartment building either as Yakumo had said that they were going to save Nao. Ishii and Miyagawa had searched all over this building, including the basement.

Ishii questioned that fact, but since this was Yakumo's request, there had to be a reason.

“I understand. Let me borrow the keys.”

Ishii called the management office through the intercom. Luckily, Takemoto was the one who answered. As soon as Ishii expressed that he wanted to borrow the basement key, Takemoto simply grumbled, “Again?” and arrived at the apartment entrance bringing the key.

Ishii had thought that Takemoto would ask a series of questions, but he merely reminded, “Please don’t do anything strange,” before handing over the key.

“Let’s go,” said Yakumo.

“Yes,” replied Ishii before leading the way down the stairs that were connected to the basement.

He opened the metal door with the key borrowed from Takemoto.

Upon turning on the lights, they entered a square shaped room surrounded by concrete walls. There was a large control panel, with water pipes twisting like a labyrinth.

Unlike the apartment building’s exterior, this room felt barren, like a factory.

“Why are we here?” asked Makoto.

“I wanted to confirm something,” answered Yakumo before touching the nearest pipe.

“Confirm what?” asked Ishii.

Yakumo smiled a little. “Regarding the poltergeist phenomena in this apartment building.”

“So it was really a poltergeist,” said Ishii excitedly, but Yakumo responded to him coldly.

“It wasn’t,” he said.

“It wasn’t?”

“Yes. I’m sure about it now.”

“About what?”

“I defined spirits or ghosts as clusters of emotions of people who had passed.”

“Yes.”

It was a theory that Yakumo had repeatedly said.

“Because of this, they don’t have the ability to exert physical influence.”

Up until this point, Ishii understood what Yakumo was about to say.

“So, there weren't any spiritual phenomena here?”

“I never said that.”

“Eh?”

Ishii thought he had caught the flow of Yakumo’s explanation. But that one sentence instantly rendered him unable to predict the direction of the conversation.

“It’s just that there are a number of phenomena that can be explained scientifically,” Yakumo continued.

“Which phenomena?”

“In this apartment building, people have heard groaning sounds and some units have also experienced earthquake-like vibrations, right?”

“Yes.”

Ishii had felt it firsthand.

“The cause behind those phenomena was this—” said Yakumo as he knocked on the pipes.

“Eh?” Ishii blurted in surprise.

Haruka frowned in confusion as well.

Unlike the rest, Makoto had a different response. “So that was how it is,” she said, clapping her hands together.

“Throughout this case, I wasn’t able to see ghosts,” said Yakumo as he traced the bottom of his left eye with his finger.

“Yes.”

“I lost faith in the definition I had defined because of it. As a result, I was thrown off and couldn’t judge the authenticity of the spiritual phenomena.”

“S-so?” Ishii braced himself.

Yakumo turned to Makoto.

It seemed that he wanted Makoto to take over with the explanation. Makoto replied with a nod and said, “If Yakumo-kun’s theory was correct, putting the groaning sounds aside, it was impossible for them to cause the apartment units to vibrate.”

“Well, to put it that way, yes.”

“So, another possible cause could be these pipes.”

“W-what does that mean?”

“After some research, I discovered that most poltergeist phenomena had a physical cause, such as vibrations from pipes or problems in air ventilation flow.”

“So that’s the case for this apartment building as well?”

“Yes, most likely,” Makoto nodded in confidence.

However, Ishii still couldn’t accept it. “Well…if it’s an old building, perhaps it could be due to poor construction or something. This apartment building was built recently, though. Did they do a half-hearted job at it and somehow ended up causing the strange sounds and vibrations?”

“That’s true...”

“Not only that, based on information from Miyagawa-san, the phenomena didn’t occur for all of the apartment units,” Ishii briefly explained.

“I can easily answer Ishii-san’s question,” said Yakumo.

“Easily?”

“Yes. After inspecting these pipes, the construction wasn’t poor and there didn’t seem to be any specific issues with it. In that case, the problem lies not on this place, where the pipes originated, but rather on the branching pipes that go along the apartment units.”

“In other words, some of the units were constructed poorly?”

“Something like that,” Yakumo shrugged.

“But…how could such a thing be…?”

“Recall the story that Makoto-san heard from the apartment building’s construction worker.”

“Which one?” There was so much information, Ishii didn’t know which one Yakumo had meant.

“The construction worker informed her that the spiritual phenomena had occurred during the construction of the apartment building as well.”

“Ah!”

Ishii finally understood.

Out of fear towards the spiritual phenomena, the workers had done a poor job on some of the units so that the construction work could be completed faster.

It wasn’t like Ishii didn’t understand their feelings. It must have been difficult for them to focus on their work whilst being scared of the spiritual phenomena.

Ishii nearly accepted the explanation before realising a contradiction.

“So, the spiritual phenomena in this building was caused by the poorly constructed pipes?”

If that were the case, then what had the construction workers been afraid of?

“The phenomena thought to be the work of poltergeists weren’t the only thing that occurred here.”

“You’re saying...”

“There are two separate phenomena taking place here; the phenomenon caused by faulty construction, and the genuine spiritual phenomenon.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes. Previously, I had assumed that the various phenomena occurred as a whole. Had I been able to see with my left eye, I wouldn’t have gotten confused over something like this…” Yakumo laughed at himself.

“So that’s how it is!” Ishii spontaneously clapped.

Roaring sounds and vibrations weren’t the only phenomena in this apartment building.

Some people had heard voices of children laughing, or even witnessed figures of them. Sayama had taken a ghost picture as well.

As it turned out, the phenomenon from the faulty construction had gotten mixed up with the actual spiritual phenomenon.

It was just as Yakumo had said, had his left eye been able to see, he would have easily differentiated the two phenomena.

Yakumo had been thrown off by his inability to make that distinction.

“In that case, the ghosts that are haunting this place...” said Ishii, now curious about that fact.

“As I said before, most likely the ghosts were of the children who died in the fire forty years ago,” mumbled Yakumo.

The weight of those words burdened Ishii’s shoulders.

The innocent children who had died because of the fire. Was there still a way to save them?

As Ishii turned the gears of his brain, Yakumo began walking further into the room.

“Where are you going?” asked Ishii.

“To see Nao,” said Yakumo without turning around.

What was he saying? There was no way that Nao could be here. Ishii had conducted a search. So then why?

Furthermore, Yakumo hadn’t said he was going to ‘find’, rather to ‘see’.

Almost like he was confident that Nao would be in this basement. Ishii wanted to ask more, but Yakumo continued walking.

Makoto and Haruka followed Yakumo.

Still confused, Ishii walked further as well, as if drawn by them.

Huh?

As he reached the side of the innermost wall, Ishii tilted his head.

Next to the control panel there was something covered in blue cloth. There shouldn’t have been such an object back when he had come here together with Miyagawa.

“So this really is the place—” mumbled Yakumo before he grabbed the cloth and pulled it away at once.

With a swishing sound, the cloth came off to unveil what was hidden underneath.

“What?!”

Underneath it had been a wooden chair with a little girl sitting on it.

Her head hung weakly, but based on her figure and the clothes she was wearing, there was no doubt that it was Nao.

“Nao-chan!” Haruka shouted, running towards her.

However, Yakumo quickly caught Haruka’s arm to stop her.

“Don’t get any closer to her yet!” Yakumo yelled.

“B-but...”

“Did you forget? Nao is still possessed by a ghost,” said Yakumo sharply, and everyone in the room held their breath.

Makoto held her breath at the sight of Nao.

Yakumo was right. A ghost was possessing Nao. It would be dangerous to approach her carelessly.

While they were relieved at having found Nao, they couldn’t let their guard down yet. Rather, the finale was only getting started.

How was Yakumo planning to save Nao?

“Nao is possessed by the children who died forty years ago, right?” Makoto asked Yakumo.

“No,” denied Yakumo bluntly.

What’s the meaning of this?

Based on their investigation, the children who had died forty years ago had been haunting this apartment building, causing spiritual phenomena.

Hadn’t Nao gotten possessed by them and disappeared as a result?

“B-but, didn’t you say before that she was possessed by the children who died in the fire?” reminded Ishii.

Makoto also recalled that Yakumo had said so in the clubroom.

“I said that it was similar. More precisely, I said it was slightly different.”

Yakumo’s words made Makoto come to a realisation.

Indeed, Yakumo had answered Haruka’s question ambiguously back then.

So, the ghost of the children who died in the fire and the ghost possessing Nao were different?

“Then, whose ghost is now possessing Nao-chan?” Makoto leaned over, desperate for an answer.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s that man—” said Yakumo, covering his right eye with one hand and looking at Nao solely with his red left eye.

“That man?”

“My father, the man with two red eyes.”

“What!?”

Makoto wasn’t the only one who exclaimed in surprise. Ishii and Haruka covered their mouths with their hands, and their eyes grew wide like they were about to pop out.

“H-how could that be...” said Makoto with a shaky voice.

Yakumo nodded slightly before saying, “Remember the incident at Togakushi?”

“Yes.”

Makoto hadn’t been involved directly with that case, but she had heard about it.

During the case in Nagano, Yakumo and the others had uncovered the past of the man with red eyes. A terrifying past that made Makoto want to close her eyes.

The boy with red eyes and his mother had been stranded in Togakushi, Nagano prefecture.

Because of his red eyes, the mother and child had been shunned by the villagers. The boy with red eyes—Unkai—had suffered from a condition called stratum corneum that had resembled a horn on his forehead, and it had made matters worse for them.

The people of the village had banished them not as humans, but as demons. Eventually, Unkai’s mother had been killed in front of his eyes and only he alone had survived.

“Since losing his mother in Togakushi, he became alone and homeless, so he had to live constantly moving from place to place,” Yakumo explained calmly, but Makoto sensed there was indescribable anger underneath that facade.

“Afterwards, he arrived in this neighbourhood and was rescued.”

Yakumo’s gaze dropped onto his feet and he fell silent for a moment.

But it wasn’t long after before he lifted his head and continued, “And then, he was taken into the Michishirube orphanage—”

“R-really?” Makoto shouted in surprise.

“Hold on. The man’s name wasn’t in the list of children registered in the orphanage,” argued Ishii.

“He had a different name. When he was rescued, he didn’t say his name. So he was named by the serving mayor of that time. His name back then was Akira,” said Yakumo.

Ishii drew his breath in astonishment. “B-but, how do you know that the person called Akira was the man with red eyes?” he asked.

“Fairly simple. The list of names also recorded how those children came into the orphanage. I was able to hazard a guess from there.”

“Don’t tell me that person also died in the fire forty years ago?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo laughed bitterly and shook his head. “No. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have been born.”

“T-that’s true...”

“Anyway, he lived in Michishirube afterwards. Until the fire incident happened—” said Yakumo with sorrow in his eyes.

“Yakumo-kun...” called Haruka out of concern, but Yakumo didn’t seem to hear her.

“The fire forty years ago wasn’t caused by children playing with fire,” Yakumo continued.

“What was the cause?” asked Ishii.

“Someone wanted to acquire this plot of land to build a shopping mall.”

“Nanase Kanji...” said Makoto in horror.

Nanase Kanji was the father of Nanase Miyuki, the murderer who was currently a fugitive.

Ishii and Haruka couldn’t hide their surprise at the mention of that name. Makoto had gotten the chills upon seeing that name in the document from Yamashina as well.

Things that had used to be ambiguous to her became crystal clear in her eyes.

“W-what does that mean? Why that name…?” asked Ishii, his voice clearly shaken.

“Nanase Kanji’s wife was the manager of the orphanage and older sister of Hirosawa Shozo, who owned this land.” said Makoto, further eliciting Ishii’s surprised face.

“That’s...”

“From here on, some details are my own assumptions,” said Yakumo, stepping forward once. “After being informed of the plans to build a shopping mall on this land, Shozo-san never intended to sell the land. The real estate company then consulted Nanase Kanji on this, and for the sake of a decent monetary reward, he repeatedly tried to convince Shozo-san. But it was to no avail. Shozo-san refused to take away the place the orphaned children had called home.”

“D-don’t tell me...” said Ishii, guessing something from Yakumo’s explanation. He had likely reached the same conclusion as Makoto.

“At first, Nanase Kanji spread a rumour of abuse taking place at the orphanage. Despite that, Shozo-san continued to insist on not selling the land. Then came the series of disturbances, such as the building being vandalised and being thrown stones at, yet Shozo-san still refused to agree. That’s why—”

Yakumo cut off his sentence and stared at the concrete ceiling.

He was hesitant to spell out the continuation. It was to be expected. What had happened next was far too devoid of humanity, it would send a chill across anyone’s spine.

“Nanase Kanji set Michishirube on fire. He thought that would make them abandon the place,” said Yakumo calmly. His voice echoed over the concrete walls.

“S-so he took the lives of ten children for such a reason?” said Ishii out loud.

“How cruel...” Haruka placed her hand on her chest as if in pain.

Makoto’s feelings were also deeply shaken as she heard it reiterated like this. The act had been truly inhumane.

“Even after all that, Shozo-san never thought about letting go of the land. He worked hard to reopen Michishirube once again. But...”

“What happened?” asked Haruka, her voice trembling.

“Nanase Kanji thought of killing Shozo-san.”

“So, his suicide was...”

“Yes. Most likely, Nanase Kanji had killed him. Afterwards, he persuaded Kazue-san, who was mentally exhausted by then, to give up the land. As a result, not only did he receive the monetary reward, he also received the money gained from selling the land.”

Not a single person responded. No, rather, they were unable to.

A long silence filled the room surrounded by cold hard concrete.

“To go as far as killing Shozo-san...” said Haruka, choking on her words with a voice on the verge of crying.

“No. There are more victims,” Yakumo shook his head.

“Eh?”

“The children from Michishirube were transferred to other orphanages. That man was no exception—”

Makoto’s chest ached upon hearing Yakumo’s words. Now, Yakumo was about to describe the cruel reality that followed, like pouring salt on a wound.

“He was transferred to Kazaoto orphanage. What happened there? Makoto-san, please tell us.” Yakumo turned to Makoto with a sorrowful gaze.

I don’t want to.

Although her heart said so, Makoto had to do it.

“The child abuse at Kazaoto orphanage was brought to light and the orphanage closed down afterwards.”

Even without hearing the details, Ishii and Haruka looked pained upon realising the heavy nature of this story.

Makoto struggled to find her words at the thought that this had been the life story of the man with red eyes.

“The orphanage staff that had led the abuse eventually died one by one. Those were most likely his doing,” said Yakumo with a sigh.

Had the man with red eyes really caused all of their deaths as Yakumo said, his actions would be unforgivable.

That didn’t mean Makoto couldn’t understand the reason why the man with red eyes hated them to that extent.

“D-don’t tell me he was also involved in the Nanase family massacre for the same reason?” said Ishii, sweat dripping across his forehead.

“I think so,” answered Yakumo.

Ishii couldn’t comment anymore and simply closed his eyes.

While difficult to believe, Makoto had the same opinion as Yakumo.

Sixteen years ago, there had been a massacre of a family of four, including Nanase Kanji.

The person who killed them directly had been Nanase Miyuki, who had been ten years old back then. However, she had been provoked by the man with red eyes.

The man with red eyes hadn’t acted without thinking, but rather with a clear goal in mind.

While his actions were unforgivable, there had been another reason behind those actions. He wasn’t just any regular serial killer. What he had done was vengeance.

Perhaps such a person had also been born out of human greed, their tendencies to vent out anger through ways that are flawed, or even their erasure of those different from oneself for the sake of self-defence—waves of emotions that could come from just about anyone.

The man with red eyes hadn’t been anyone exceptional at the start. Instead, he had been transformed into something exceptional through the actions of others.

Makoto’s feelings became unbearable at that thought.

“You heard us, right? I think it’s about time that you wake up,” said Yakumo, turning to Nao.

As if she had been waiting for those words, Nao slowly lifted her face.

Nao’s eyes, which used to be filled with gentle light, had turned glum. They gleamed with anger and hatred.

“Even though my left eyesight finally recovered, the first thing I saw ended up being you—” said Yakumo, talking to himself.

“Yakumo-kun...” said Haruka reflexively.

His words just now...could Yakumo see through his left eye now?

Noticing her intentions, Yakumo briefly glanced at Haruka and nodded.

So his left eye really could see again. After knowing the fact, the light that had once vanished from Yakumo’s red eye appeared as if it had returned once again.

“W-what are you saying?” asked Ishii, his voice stuck on his throat.

“As I said earlier, the ghost possessing Nao is that man—” answered Yakumo.

“That man…as in the man with two red eyes?” said Ishii to confirm, and Yakumo responded with a nod.

“Eeek!” Ishii instantly jumped in horror.

His reaction was a little excessive, but Haruka could understand how he felt. All this time, Yakumo’s father—the man with two red eyes—had been the cause behind countless cases.

Although he had died and only his soul had remained, he continued to manipulate others and led them to destruction.

Such actions simply couldn’t be described solely as ‘horrifying‘.

“B-but, why is he possessing Nao-chan?” Makoto asked the burning question.

Haruka had the same thought in mind.

Why did the man with red eyes possess Nao?

“From the beginning, his target wasn’t Nao,” said Yakumo, narrowing his gaze.

His eyes looked sad.

“What do you mean?” asked Makoto.

“Don’t you understand? He’s already dead. Yet after becoming a ghost, his desire to live grew even stronger,” said Yakumo lightly.

“Why go that far…?” Haruka asked the question that popped in her mind.

“I’ve explained the story of the man’s life just now, right?”

“Yes.”

Moments earlier, Yakumo had revealed a portion of the man’s past. His mother had been killed in front of him and he had to live homeless from one place to another.

He had been in the care of Michishirube orphanage for some time, but the orphanage had burned down from the actions of some greedy people, killing ten of his friends. Furthermore, Shozo-san, the orphanage headmaster, had become a victim of murder that had been made to appear like a suicide.

The tragedy that had befallen the man with red eyes didn’t end there. He had been abused in the orphanage he had been transferred into.

Just what kind of feelings had he been living with whilst going through such a cruel reality?

Everything the man with red eyes had done was impossible to forgive. Regardless, if she were asked if it was entirely his fault, Haruka had trouble finding the answer.

It had been the injustice surrounding him that had driven the man with red eyes to insanity.

“His mother was killed before his eyes, Shozo-san whom he cared for was killed as well—”

“Don’t tell me he witnessed Shozo-san’s murder as well?”

“There’s no proof, but based on his actions after that incident, I think we can assume so.“

“...”

Yakumo was right.

Afterwards, the man with red eyes had taken his revenge at Nanase Kanji. He had done so precisely because he had known the truth.

“From his experience, he came to believe that darkness is the true nature of humans, and his desire to live extended past reasonable lengths.”

“Because he saw people die before his eyes?”

“I believe so. The deaths of one’s closest people often left a significant impression. Especially if the deaths weren’t natural. His view of life and death became horribly distorted.”

“...”

Haruka held her breath.

She understood what Yakumo was saying. Haruka herself had gotten a lasting wound in her heart after her older sister, Ayaka, died when they were children.

It had greatly affected how she viewed life and death.

“Yet somehow, the man died. The cause remains unknown, but I believe he’s been dead for several years.”

How did the man with red eyes die?

There were a couple of things left unanswered, but now wasn’t the time to think about them. Instead—

“Then, why is he possessing Nao-chan?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.

Haruka’s heart shook.

Why were Yakumo’s eyes like that? They were as if he had given up on everything.

“That man wanted life. He attempts to continue on living by taking over other people’s bodies. And the target he chose was someone who inherited his DNA, who shares the same red eye and has the ability to see ghosts—me.”

That’s right.

The man with red eyes’—Unkai’s—goal was to take over Yakumo’s body. However, in order to have complete control over his body, he had to align Yakumo’s mental state with his. He had to pull Yakumo over to his side, or else there would be a rejection reaction.

Because of this, Unkai caused countless new cases in his efforts to hurt Yakumo.

All so that he could corner Yakumo into despair so that his body would be easy to take over. Isshin’s case had been a prime example of this.

Yakumo had managed to pull through all of them thanks to the resilience of his mental state.

But what about now?

Yakumo had been acting strangely ever since he had talked to Kazue. As if he felt hopeless against the cruelty of this world.

Besides, just now his eyes looked empty, like he had given up on everything—

Suddenly, Yakumo’s words back at the Movie Research Circle clubroom resurfaced in Haruka’s mind.

At the time, Yakumo had asked Ishii and the rest to tie him up as soon as Nao was safe. What was the meaning behind that request?

“I suppose that man wanted to show me, just what kind of life he had lived—”

“That’s...”

“Yes. He wanted my mental state to come close to his by doing so. To make me easier to possess.”

So that was how it was. That was why Yakumo had gone to meet Kazue alone. Haruka understood now.

Yakumo had to have asked about Unkai’s life at the orphanage to Kazue. To confront the man with red eyes—his father—Yakumo had gone by himself to hear a piece of his past.

But you’re fine, right, Yakumo-kun? Haruka hoped within her heart.

Unfortunately, her hopes were rendered pointless as what Yakumo said next shattered her heart.

“To be honest, I don’t know anymore. Which is right, and which is wrong. Saying sugar coated words like there’s always hope and the like, those are merely delusional fantasies.”

“Yakumo-kun, what are you saying?” interrupted Haruka.

Her voice didn’t seem to reach him as Yakumo continued without skipping a beat, “No matter how much one puts up resistance, the cruel reality will eventually consume those who are weak. In the end, perhaps that is the true form of human life—”

Yakumo turned towards Nao—no, towards the man with two red eyes. His eyes trembled as if he was going to disappear in that instant.

“Yakumo-kun, please don’t think of anything strange,” said Haruka, but Yakumo didn’t give any reply.

He simply stared intently at Nao.

Nao’s expression, which had been blank the whole time, suddenly moved. It was clearly different from her typical gentle smile. She smiled cynically, as if mocking others.

“You finally understood—”

At first Haruka thought it was Nao speaking, but she was wrong. It was the voice of a man. Besides, Nao’s hearing was impaired, and it affected her ability to speak.

The voice must belong to the man with two red eyes, who was possessing Nao. As further proof, a shadow appeared to float behind Nao.

The shadow soon took the form of that man—the man with two red eyes.

“Yes,” Yakumo nodded.

“Surely now you understand the meaning behind my words back then. Humanity’s true character is darkness. Everyone cares only for themselves. They will not hesitate to endanger others for their own sake. Even love is nothing but a way to satiate one’s desire.”

“Perhaps that is so...” Yakumo replied weakly.

He appeared to be swallowed by pressure from the man with two red eyes.

“Humans are helpless in the face of darkness.”

“I don’t deny that.”

“You’re helpless yourself. There’s nothing you can do even though you want to save this child.”

The man’s laugh reverberated across the room.

It was irritating to admit, but perhaps the man with two red eyes was right. This entire time, when Yakumo had helped all those people who had gotten possessed, he’d find the cause behind the ghosts’ lingering attachment before resolving that cause.

In other words, he had pleaded for them to leave.

But the man with two red eyes wouldn’t respond to such pleas. He’d continue to inhabit that body until Nao died.

“No, there’s another way.”

“What?”

“There’s only one way to save Nao,” mumbled Yakumo.

Haruka immediately figured out what Yakumo was about to do next. Perhaps Yakumo was about to—

“I won’t allow it!” shouted Haruka.

However, Yakumo didn’t respond.

“It’s my body you wanted, right? Then be my guest,” said Yakumo as he spread out both of his arms.

“Stop it!”

There’s no way I’ll allow it!

In order to save Nao, Yakumo intended to transfer the soul of the man with two red eyes possessing Nao into his own body.

“Please! Stop this!”

“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER! THIS IS OUR ONLY WAY TO SAVE NAO!” yelled Yakumo with a voice so loud unlike anything he had ever done before.

The pressure was indescribable. But if that was enough to scare Haruka, she wouldn’t be able to stay by Yakumo’s side.

If the ghost possessing Nao had really been the man with two red eyes, he wouldn’t answer to any of their pleas to leave Nao’s body peacefully.

If they left the situation as it is, Nao would grow weaker or worse, she would pass away.

Indeed, there was no other way to drag the man with two red eyes out of Nao’s body other than this. But at this rate, Yakumo would—

“Didn’t you tell me not to worry?” yelled Haruka again.

Haruka felt her worst fears would come true if she were to cry right here. She had been keeping herself together, but now her tears fell down on their own.

“Sorry. That was a lie—” Yakumo looked at Haruka with saddened eyes.

“A lie…?”

“You’re a signpost to me. So please stay right there—” said Yakumo, forming a smile on his face.

All of a sudden, Haruka was able to see through everything. That was it. So that was how it was—

If that were the case, what she could do now was stay right here as she always had. She would always be where she was so that Yakumo could return from any kind of darkness.

Haruka held the red stone on her necklace with both hands and prayed.

Yakumo appeared satisfied at the sight of it and nodded.

That’s right. Yakumo wouldn’t lie.

“Now. If you want to do it, hurry up,” said Yakumo, challenging Nao.

“No. Once this child dies, only then I’ll slowly take over your body,” said the man with two red eyes with a smile.

“I won’t allow it. If you refuse to leave Nao’s body—” said Yakumo as he reached into his pocket, before taking out a folding knife and aiming it at his own neck.

Yakumo threatened that if the man with two red eyes wouldn’t leave Nao’s body, then he would kill himself—

The man with two red eyes wanted Yakumo’s body while he was still alive. If Yakumo were to die, then it would be pointless.

This was Yakumo’s last resort strategy.

“Stop with your games. You’ll never be able to kill yourself,” said the man, narrowing his two red eyes.

“Oh yeah? Shall we give it a try?” Yakumo responded with a sharp gaze of his own at the man with two red eyes.

His eyes weren’t fooling around. He was completely serious about this. So it was true, Yakumo had fully prepared himself to die as he arrived at this place.

No one dared to make a sound.

Unbearable silence filled the entire room.

Amidst the tension that rendered it difficult to breathe, Haruka struggled to stand in her place.

She wanted to save Yakumo. But if she weren’t careful, the knife at Yakumo’s neck could slice through his artery.

What should I do?

Time passed before the man with red eyes asked, “Why would you go that far?”

“Don’t you understand? Because I have people I need to protect even if it means putting my life on the line.”

“You’re saying it was an act of love?”

“No. To put it in your words, this is my greed. My greed for not wanting Nao to die...”

“That greed gave birth to darkness.”

“I know that without you telling me.”

“Did you invite that darkness yourself?”

“What are you saying? You were the one who said humanity’s true character is darkness. If so, then any human would possess that darkness from the start.”

“Now you understand that fact?”

“Cut the small talk. What will you do? Are you going to stand back and watch? Or will you leave Nao’s body for mine?” said Yakumo as he applied pressure using the hand that held the knife.

Droplets of red blood spilled from his pale neck.

“Your body is mine—” said the man with two red eyes, exiting Nao’s body in an instant before leaping towards Yakumo.

Nao lost consciousness soon after and her head hung listlessly.

“Aagh!” Yakumo screamed and held his head, one knee dropping against the floor.

“Yakumo-shi!” yelled Ishii, running to approach him before stopping on his tracks.

Yakumo’s body trembled as he growled in agony.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

“Yakumo-kun, hang in there,” called Haruka, but Yakumo didn’t answer and fell towards the ground in pain.

His body began to spasm as if throwing a fit.

“Yakumo-kun...”

Yakumo screamed, drowning the sound of Haruka’s voice.

A scream akin to that of a howling beast.

He’s being devoured.

That was what Ishii thought upon hearing the sound of Yakumo’s beast-like howl.

Yakumo’s soul must have had been overtaken completely by the man with two red eyes. Otherwise he wouldn’t let out such a horrifying scream.

Ishii could only stand in place.

For the sake of saving Nao, Yakumo had been willing to give up his body to the man with two red eyes. He must have had predicted this situation from the start.

Hence the reason why back when they had gathered in Yakumo’s room, he had requested for them to tie him up.

He had wanted to save Nao whilst entrapping the soul of the man with red eyes within him at the same time.

The man with red eyes might be a ghost, but he had manipulated the feelings of many through his words, encouraging them to commit crimes.

As a police officer, forget prosecuting him for his actions, Ishii couldn’t even apprehend him or prevent his movements.

Even so, if Yakumo were to seal that man within his body, then at least they would be able to catch him.

Obviously, Yakumo had never committed any crimes so they couldn’t send him into prison, but perhaps they could isolate him in a facility and keep him confined there.

For him to had made such a request, Yakumo must have thought that far ahead.

However, that would be the same as shouldering all the crimes committed by the man with red eyes all by himself. Like Jesus Christ shouldering all of humankind’s sins—

Haruka might find such an ending unacceptable, but they had no other choice.

As if Ishii could accept it either.

It was simply that if they were to let the man with red eyes go, then Yakumo’s efforts would be in vain. He had to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

He felt that was the only thing he could do to repay Yakumo’s fearless act.

Ishii reached for his handcuffs, firmed his resolve, and walked towards Yakumo.

Strange. Each time he stepped closer to Yakumo, his vision kept getting distorted.

What is this?

Ishii touched his eyes and his tears overflowed.

It wasn’t as if Ishii liked everything about Yakumo. He never trusted Yakumo the way Haruka did and he didn’t depend on him like he depended on Gotou.

Despite that—Yakumo was still a friend.

No, perhaps family was the better word. They might have only crossed paths whenever a case turned up, but Yakumo was an irreplaceable existence to Ishii.

Ishii was once again reminded of that fact.

Right as Ishii was about to handcuff Yakumo, Yakumo suddenly stood up. His cold gaze pierced through Ishii. The pressure was so intense, Ishii froze in place as he held his breath. Almost like a frog being glared at by a snake.

“Did you really think you could catch me that easily? I’m going to kill all of you—”

Yakumo’s voice echoed throughout the room.

No, the words might have come out of Yakumo’s mouth, but the man with red eyes must have been the one who had made him say those things.

“E-Eeek!” Ishii shrieked, jumping backwards instinctively.

He tripped on something and fell sitting down. He immediately tried to get up, but Yakumo was already in front of his eyes.

This is bad. I’m going to get killed.

Ishii shut his eyes tightly as he held his head.

He knew that such an act wouldn’t save him, yet he still acted so in reflex.

“Just kidding—” said Yakumo.

His voice was clearly different from before. The intonation sounded like he was fooling around.

“Eh?”

Ishii hesitantly opened his eyes and saw Yakumo standing there with a thin smile.

“Sorry. I was just messing with you guys a little. I’m fine,” said Yakumo nonchalantly.

Finally, Ishii grasped the situation.

“Idiot!” Haruka shouted as she approached Yakumo, landing a punch onto his shoulder.

Ishii normally would’ve tried to intervene, but right now he had no intention of doing so. Rather, he thought it would’ve been better if that punch was directed at Yakumo’s face instead.

Yakumo wasn’t the type to joke about these kinds of things. So Ishii had bought it entirely. And yet—

“Yakumo-shi, you’re not possessed?” asked Ishii.

“I have a signpost, so I’ll always return from the darkness no matter what,” said Yakumo, turning to Haruka with a smile.

A signpost. So that was how it was.

Ishii understood now.

The words Yakumo had said to Haruka back then. The meaning behind his words must have been ‘no need to worry’. Haruka had been able to read it and trusted Yakumo.

That was why earlier, Haruka hadn’t tried to stop Yakumo and continued to pray.

The strength of their feelings toward each other impressed Ishii, but he suddenly felt something was off.

Why would Yakumo decide to do something like this?

“Wasn’t your joke taking it too far?” said Makoto, clearly displeased by Yakumo’s actions.

“Sorry. I thought that I had to do a little bit of acting in order to trick that man,” Yakumo laughed bitterly.

“Acting…?” Ishii tilted his head.

“If I didn’t show that my mental state was weakening, that man would’ve refused to leave Nao’s body. Besides, I doubt that he would’ve accepted my offer if I didn’t take it that far.”

“Oh...” blurted Ishii, accepting Yakumo’s explanation.

The man with two red eyes wanted to take over Yakumo’s body. He didn’t know the details, but for him to take over his body completely, apparently their mental states had to align.

In other words, Yakumo had baited the man with red eyes to possess him by pretending that his mental state had weakened. Furthermore, he had used the suicide act as a tactic to push the man into taking action.

Even so, Yakumo’s eyes back then didn’t look like he had been acting. Perhaps at that time, he had really been prepared to die.

“If that were the case, why didn’t you inform us earlier? You were acting strangely, so we got worried...” interrupted Makoto.

She was right. A plan like this could’ve been shared with them in advance.

It must’ve been difficult for Haruka as well, although she trusted Yakumo in the end.

“Ishii-san, Makoto-san, could both of you check your right shoes?” said Yakumo.

Why did they have to check their shoes in this situation? His words didn’t answer Makoto’s question, either.

Ishii grew dumbfounded and exchanged glances with Makoto.

Yakumo urged them, “Don’t think about it, just check it out first. You’ll understand afterwards.”

With no other choice, Ishii took off his right shoe. But for what exactly? Ishii tilted his head in confusion.

Yakumo then said, “The heel part.”

As he examined the heel as pointed out by Yakumo, Ishii’s eyes went wide.

Embedded there was a small pin-like object. The same object that was also embedded onto the heel of Makoto’s shoe.

Ishii had seen this object before.

“D-don’t tell me this is a listening bug?” asked Ishii.

Yakumo snapped his fingers. “Correct.”

“W-why would there be a bug…?”

“To check just how much I had weakened by listening to my voice through the bug.”

Yakumo must have known about it earlier, so he had continued acting weak in front of Ishii and Makoto.

But in that case—

“Who could’ve done it? And since when...”

Ishii had no idea when that bug could’ve been planted on his shoe. Makoto seemed to feel the same. She was left aghast.

“That question relates to the question of why Nao could get here...” said Yakumo, ruffling his already dishevelled hair.

“So why? Even though Miyagawa-san and I had checked through this place earlier...”

“Simple. Nao wasn’t just here the entire time. Someone had been relocating her.”

“R-relocating?”

“Yes. The culprit estimated the right timing to relocate Nao to this place.”

No wonder why they hadn’t been able to find her despite searching everywhere.

Ishii realised that now, but one question still remained.

“But who did it?”

“You still don’t understand, Ishii-san? The same person who planted the listening bug on you and Makoto-san’s shoes.”

After listening to Yakumo’s explanation this far, one face flashed into Ishii’s mind. His back shivered in an instant.

“D-don’t tell me…Nanase Miyuki?”

“That’s right.”

The person who had answered Ishii’s question hadn’t been Yakumo.

The voice had originated from right behind him. However, due to the cold touch of the knife on his neck, he couldn’t turn around to confirm.

“Nice meeting you again, Ishii-san.”

There was no mistaking the person whispering into Ishii’s ear. It was Nanase Miyuki herself—

“Ishii-san!” yelled Makoto, but she couldn’t step in to help as a long-haired woman pointed a knife at Ishii’s neck from behind.

“So it’s really you—Nanase Miyuki-san,” said Yakumo calmly, unlike Makoto who had begun to panic.

“Eh?” Haruka exclaimed.

Makoto felt the same way. Was the woman in front of her eyes really Nanase Miyuki?

Her stature might be similar and she was indeed missing her left hand. Yet her face was clearly different from what they had seen during previous cases.

Her eyes, nose, mouth, and overall face had a more rounded look; she appeared younger than the Nanase Miyuki that Makoto had known. Beside that, half of her face should have been covered by keloid burn scars, but it was nowhere to be seen.

“Is she really Nanase Miyuki-san?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo nodded. “We can tell from her voice.”

As Yakumo said, her voice was unmistakably Nanase Miyuki’s. Having thought that far, Makoto then understood.

“Plastic surgery?”

“Yes.”

So it was true.

Nanase Miyuki had done plastic surgery countless times up until now. As it had turned out, this time around she too had managed to evade police investigation by altering her face.

“You speak as if you’ve known that I was going to come,” said Nanase Miyuki, glaring at Yakumo with a gaze full of hatred.

“Yes, I know.”

“Why’d you think so?” Miyuki asked challengingly.

“Simple enough. This case began so that man could take over my body. With this knowledge, it’s not hard to conclude that you had to be moving behind the scenes as well.”

There was no anger nor contempt within Yakumo’s eyes as he returned Miyuki’s gaze.

Yakumo’s eyes looked as if he pitied the woman.

“Acting tough.”

“Wrong. Here is the proof.” Yakumo took out a piece of photo from his pocket and brought it up.

Makoto had seen that photo before. It was the photo that had been displayed in a frame in Sayama’s apartment. The photo of a woman standing at the edge of a lake.

When Makoto had asked him whether that woman was his lover, Sayama had laughed shyly.

“This was you, right?” said Yakumo calmly.

The photo of the woman had been captured from afar, but when pointed out, the woman before her eyes—Nanase Miyuki—did appear similar to the woman in the photo.

In other words, unknowingly, Sayama had gotten into a relationship with Nanase Miyuki and had lived together with her.

“Oh? I got found out?” Nanase Miyuki jokingly replied.

Yakumo spontaneously laughed in disbelief. “Are you kidding? You’re a meticulous person, it was impossible for you to leave something like this in the apartment unintentionally.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying that you left this photo behind in the apartment on purpose so that I would see it.”

“And why would I do such a thing?”

Makoto questioned the same thing as Nanase Miyuki. There was no explanation for her having gone as far as getting plastic surgery after escaping, only to purposely leave evidence of her presence behind.

“Your plan was to make me look into that man’s life. Both of you intended for it to affect me mentally in order to create a situation that makes it easier for him to take over my body,” said Yakumo, glancing towards a corner.

While faint, Makoto could also see the figure of the man with red eyes standing there.

“So what if so?”

“To put it simply, you had to somehow make me realise that the two of you were behind this case—isn’t that right?”

So that was how it was.

Makoto finally understood as well. For Yakumo to begin investigating the life of the man with red eyes, they first had to reveal their involvement.

“More or less so. Well done…should I say?”

“Yet such a cowardly move only backfired to put you at a disadvantage.”

“What do you mean?”

“I realised more things than you intended after seeing this photo,”

“What are you saying?”

“About the listening bug planted onto Ishii-san and Makoto-san—” said Yakumo, to Makoto’s surprise.

“When exactly did the bug get planted?” asked Makoto.

Yakumo grinned. “Ishii-san and Makoto-san have visited Sayama-san’s apartment before, right? Both of you must have taken off your shoes at the entrance.”

“Ah!”

So that was when—Makoto then understood.

When they had entered the apartment before, it was only natural that they had to take off their shoes. The bug must have been planted as Makoto and Ishii had been talking to Sayama in the apartment.

Having mentioned that, Yakumo had told them before to rub off their shoe soles [1]. Perhaps he had realised the bug’s existence by then.

An amazing display of analytical skill.

Amidst the investigation, Yakumo had requested Makoto to find out the identity of Sayama’s lover.

At the time, he had asked Makoto to show a photo of Nanase Miyuki to the person who knew the face of Sayama’s lover. As the outcome, Shigemori had said that they hadn’t been the same person. However, Yakumo’s intentions had never been to confirm that fact.

He had known that Nanase Miyuki had had plastic surgery done and had a different appearance, so using the bug implanted on Makoto, he had intended to indirectly notify her that he had been investigating the man with red eyes’ past, before pretending to have a weakened mental state in order to bait them into coming here.

As Makoto was impressed by how fast Yakumo’s line of thinking worked, she felt a horrifying feeling. A thought appeared in her mind.

“D-don’t tell me, the person who killed Sayama-san was…”

“Yes. It was her,” said Yakumo as he stared at Nanase Miyuki.

“W-why would she do that…?”

“Recall Sayama-san’s final words once again. You’ll find the answer from there,” said Yakumo, as Makoto began to think.

That’s right.

Sayama had said, why did he not realise after all this time. Perhaps he had realised by then that his lover had been the fugitive murderer, Nanase Miyuki.

Afterwards, he had mentioned that it hadn’t been a spiritual phenomenon or anything of the sort. Those words hadn’t been because he had doubted the occurrence of the spiritual phenomena, but rather because he had become distrustful of all the phenomena that had happened thus far upon realising Nanase Miyuki’s presence.

Yakumo nodded as if he had known that Makoto had understood everything now.

“Thanks to that, I was able to make use of your own cowardly methods,” said Yakumo.

Nanase Miyuki grimaced. “So, you think you’ve won?” she said challengingly.

“As a matter of fact, that man failed to take over my body.”

“You really are full of yourself. Why do you think I am here?”

“Because you are foolish.”

“Wrong. Because there are still other ways to push you to the edge of despair.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Do you still not understand? You’re unexpectedly oblivious. Why do you think he’s still here even though the plan didn’t work out?”

As if responding to Nanase Miyuki’s words, the man with red eyes stepped closer.

“Would you still be fine once I’ve killed every single person that mattered to you right here?”

Nanase Miyuki’s words made Makoto shiver.

Her plan was clear as day. If she were to kill everyone in this room, Yakumo would surely lose his sanity.

And Ishi was about to be the first to fall victim.

Calmly and gradually, Nanase Miyuki applied pressure to the knife at Ishii’s neck.

“Please! Stop this!” yelled Makoto.

“Makoto-san! Don’t come closer!” Ishii stopped Makoto who was about to run towards him.

Usually, Ishii would’ve screamed and cried by now, but right now Ishii’s eyes emanated a powerful light that Makoto had never seen before.

“I-Ishii-san...”

“Now it’s my turn to save you,” said Ishii, a faint smile forming on his face.

Judging from his expression alone, Makoto could tell what he was about to do. Ishii intended to stall Nanase Miyuki by sacrificing himself.

“No! If you were gone, I...” said Makoto as she began tearing up. She felt it was better for her to be the one sacrificing herself rather than Ishii having to die. Without realising, her feelings towards Ishii had grown to such an extent.

“Farewell, Makoto-san—”

Ishii’s voice reverberated hollowly within Makoto’s chest.

Ishii firmed his resolve—

Frankly, he was scared. Yet if he didn’t act, Nanase Miyuki would surely kill everyone in this room as she had declared.

His feelings of not wanting Makoto and Haruka to get killed overpowered his own fears.

Strange. All this time whenever his life had been put on the line, he had only been able to cower and prepare to run away. Yet right now, he was mustering all his courage to act.

He even thought that it was fine if he were to die here. And the one who had changed him was Makoto.

Ishii had thought that he could only have gotten this far by chasing after Gotou’s back. But he had been mistaken.

Ishii could reach this point because Makoto had always been watching him. Thanks to Makoto, little by little Ishii began to like himself, whom he had used to hate.

That was why—

As Ishii made up his mind to confront Nanase Miyuki, a blunt thud was heard.

The knife on his neck went away as he felt Nanase Miyuki, who had been standing behind him, collapse and fall.

What just happened?

Ishii turned and his eyes were greeted by an unbelievable sight.

“D-Detective Gotou!”

Gotou stood before him.

He looked pitiful with the bandages all over his body and the crutch he was using. But he was unmistakably Gotou.

Miyagawa was there as well, supporting Gotou who was on the verge of collapsing.

“What are you doing just standing there? Handcuff this woman immediately!” scolded Gotou.

“Y-yes!” answered Ishii, who hurriedly handcuffed Nanase Miyuki against the nearest pipe.

At last, they managed to catch Nanase Miyuki.

As Ishii felt relieved over the fact, Gotou walked towards Nao with staggering steps.

“Nao...” Gotou called for Nao, who remained sitting on the chair.

But there was no response from Nao.

“Don’t worry. She was slightly weakened, but she should recover soon,” said Yakumo.

Gotou then hugged Nao in a loving embrace.

The corners of Ishii’s eye began welling up at the scene.

However—

“How did Detective Gotou get here?” asked Ishii.

“Gotou-san was furious, saying that he wouldn’t be satisfied if he didn’t get to beat up the person behind all of this. So I requested Miyagawa-san to bring him here,” answered Yakumo.

Certainly, Gotou couldn’t forgive the person who had done all of this. True to his word, he really had beaten Nanase Miyuki until she passed out.

Even so, the real reason Gotou had forced his badly injured body to come over must have been that he had wanted to hug Nao with his own hands.

Having known that intention, Miyagawa had agreed to bring Gotou here.

“Goodness. To think all of you could force me to do something like this...” Miyagawa grumbled, scratching his head.

As opposed to his manner of speaking, tears also welled up slightly around Miyagawa’s eyes. Miyagawa had also worked hard for Gotou and Nao’s sake. The scene must have moved him as well.

Lost in his train of thought, something suddenly bumped onto Ishii’s body.

Ishii nearly fell due to the abruptness.

It was Makoto—

She had jumped towards Ishii and hugged him.

“M-Makoto-san...”

“Seriously. Please stop it. I won’t forgive you the next time you value yourself so little once again,” said Makoto, burying her face onto Ishii’s chest.

Her voice was trembling and weak; a voice that was unheard of coming from a woman who was normally cold headed.

Ishii couldn’t see her face, but Makoto seemed to be crying. His chest felt slightly damp.

Makoto’s quivering body looked adorable.

Following his instincts, Ishii was about to hug Makoto—but a punch landed on top of his head at the next instant.

“What are you two doing, getting all lovey-dovey! I can’t stand looking at it!” yelled Miyagawa, returning Ishi to his senses.

He had nearly done something inappropriate, hugging a woman in front of so many people.

Furthermore, Makoto wouldn’t like it if he did it. Makoto was only crying like this out of relief after getting out of such an intense situation.

Otherwise, there was no way Makoto would have hugged Ishii.

“S-sorry,” apologised Ishii to Miyagawa, but he couldn’t force Makoto to let go and ended up standing still in place.

Either way, everything was all over at last—

Ishii’s chest filled with satisfaction.

“So, it’s all over?” asked Haruka as she slowly walked to approach Yakumo.

For a moment, she had thought that everything was going to end badly. Her mind was still all over the place even now. Despite that, the most important thing was that everyone was safe and sound.

Yakumo had safely returned as well.

“No, not yet—” replied Yakumo with a serious expression. His eyes turned towards the man with red eyes, standing amidst darkness. Haruka’s body froze from anxiety.

As Nanase Miyuki had been captured, they had let their guard down, but the man with red eyes remained still with them in that space.

Everyone’s gaze soon focused on the man with red eyes, as if influenced by the atmosphere emanated by Yakumo.

“I’d like for you to meet with someone. Please—you can come in now,” said Yakumo.

The entrance door opened, and entering the room was Eishin, pushing a wheelchair.

A woman was sitting on the wheelchair. She must have been at least eighty years old. Her face might be wrinkled and her hair completely white, but the woman’s eyes radiated her strong willpower.

As soon as the woman entered the room, the air began to shake.

“You recognize her, don’t you? She’s Hirosawa Kazue,” said Yakumo to the man with red eyes.

So this woman is her.

Although Haruka had followed along to the Institute of Elderly Welfare, Yakumo had entered the building by himself, so this was the first time she had seen Kazue’s face.

The woman who had managed the Michishirube orphanage with her husband, Shozo. Because of Nanase Kanji’s rotten plan, she had lost ten children in the fire. To make matters worse, she had to lose her husband as well.

Just that kind of life had Kazue lived afterwards, all alone by herself? Haruka’s chest ached at the thought.

Suddenly, children’s laughter could be heard.

Yakumo glanced upwards and mumbled, “That’s true...”

“What was that sound?” asked Ishii, glancing around for the source.

“Those children came to see Kazue-san.”

Yakumo’s explanation made Haruka understand. While she couldn’t see them, the ghosts of the children who had been haunting the apartment building had gathered upon Kazue’s arrival.

She had been horrified when she had heard about the spiritual phenomena in this apartment building for the first time. However, having gotten the full picture, she thought differently now.

The sound of children’s laughter echoed once more.

To Haruka, their laughter sounded overjoyed.

They must have been delighted to be able to meet Kazue.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been abandoning all of you this entire time…” mumbled Kazue.

No one knew whether she could actually see the ghosts of those children. Regardless, she must have felt their presence.

The presence of the children she had been looking after—

“All of you must have been lonely. Hurt. I’m sorry. But there’s no need to wait here anymore.”

Tears fell from Kazue’s eyes.

“Yakumo-kun...” Haruka turned towards Yakumo.

Yakumo nodded. “The children haunting this apartment building don’t realise that they’re already dead.”

“That’s awful...”

“So they waited while playing here. Waiting for someone to come fetch them—” explained Yakumo, voice trembling slightly.

The children who had been taken into Michishirube hadn’t been able to live with their biological parents. Yet to those children, Shozo and Kazue must have been like their own biological parents to them.

Shozo and Kazue had also loved those children from the bottom of their hearts. Even looking at Gotou and Nao had made Haruka realise blood relations weren’t everything.

Hence Shozo and Kazue had insisted not to let go of their land and had worked their hardest to reopen the orphanage after the fire incident.

“After Shozo-san passed, Kazue-san lost her spirit. She let go of the land and never came close to this place again,” said Yakumo, shaking his head lightly.

Haruka understood her feelings. Kazue must have struggled to approach this place as it had been where everything had reached a dead end for her.

Without knowing that, the children had stayed here and continued to wait.

“Sorry it took me so long. It’s alright now…” said Kazue, stretching out her hands.

Faintly, Haruka could see the figures of children gathering around Kazue’s wheelchair.

The scene was gone in a flash, but there was no mistaking it, Haruka was certain. The brief smile forming on Yakumo’s face was the very proof of it.

After a long silence, Yakumo turned his gaze to the ceiling as if following something, before inhaling a deep breath.

“They’ve left—” he whispered.

“Is that so...”

Haruka couldn’t just simply feel relieved about the fact.

The fact that the lives of those children had been lost out of personal greed would never change. No amount of prayer would ever return the future that they could never have—

“Now then—it’s your turn,” said Yakumo as he slowly approached the man with two red eyes.

For some reason, the man with red eyes’ figure appeared weaker than earlier. Even though moments ago his mere presence had made Haruka’s body froze—

“You’re still trying to resist?” The man with red eyes threw a cold gaze towards Yakumo.

“Yes. Didn’t this incident make you realise? From here on, no matter what you do, I’ll never share the same opinion as you,” declared Yakumo assertively.

The man with red eyes returned his gaze with one just as sharp. “Why would you resist that far?”

“I used to hate myself—” said Yakumo, dropping his gaze onto his feet as he smiled mockingly at himself.

Haruka’s chest felt crushed.

A life lived whilst hating oneself had to be one full of suffering.

“I thought I was cursed from having the blood of someone such as you run through my veins,” Yakumo continued.

“That’s right. You’re cursed. That red left eye of yours brings forth all kinds of hatred. People will run into misfortunes if they cross paths with you,” the man with red eyes provoked with a smile.

“Perhaps you are right.”

“If you understood that, why resist? If you continue to live, you’ll only be spreading that curse.”

The man with red eyes lifted his palm in front of Yakumo’s eyes and curled his hand into a fist.

As if he was crushing Yakumo’s heart into pieces.

“Even so, there are people who say despite who I am…no, rather, because I am myself, they need me.”

“Those were merely illusions. In reality, they hate you. They were mocking you. They merely said nice things out of their own hypocrisy.”

“That’s not true!” Yakumo exclaimed.

“What?”

“It wasn’t an illusion. Neither me, nor you...”

“Then, what is it?”

“It was all the truth. No matter how much you try to deny it, the truth cannot be changed.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I can finally accept it. That it was all thanks to this cursed blood that the me right now was able to exist.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” said the man with red eyes, his expression hesitant.

Confusion must have risen within himself.

“Don’t you understand? I said that I was able to meet people important to me thanks to you.”

“What!?”

The man’s eyes went wide.

Even to the man with red eyes before him, who had manipulated the feelings of countless others, Yakumo’s statement had been unexpected.

“Certainly, your actions are unforgivable. But I have now stopped denying your existence.”

“You...”

“There’s no use for me to deny your existence. You exist, and as a result, I am here as well. Humans can only stand above the past. No amount of denial can ever change what has happened.”

“That’s just an excuse...” said the man with red eyes, tilting his mouth.

Haruka could feel that Yakumo’s unexpected words had left him confused and faltered.

“I wasn’t making excuses. It was the truth. Someone told me that they liked this cursed self of mine. For that person’s sake, I can’t allow myself to deny my past, and your existence.”

Yakumo’s words made Haruka’s chest heat up.

Yakumo was ready to accept everything that had happened thus far—every misery, every suffering, every sadness—as part of himself.

It might have sounded easy, yet difficult to do in reality.

For people who had been burdened by a cruel past just like Yakumo, all of those were painful memories. Despite that, Yakumo had accepted them all.

“Those feelings were precisely the illusion. Humans only think of themselves in the end. Even as they do something for others’ sake, those actions are merely for their own satisfaction.”

“What a pitiful mindset.”

“It’s simply the truth. Are you certain the people around you truly accepted you as a human being? Aren’t they just fulfilling their own satisfaction by pitying you and protecting you?”

“If that were true, they wouldn’t have scolded me to the point of hurting themselves.”

Perhaps Yakumo had been referring to Haruka, who had dumped her emotions onto Yakumo.

“What have you been seeing all this time? Have you become so short-sighted that it made you draw such a naive conclusion?”

“You’re the short-sighted one here.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” said the man with two red eyes. In his voice was a hint of uneasiness.

“You’ve known all along as well, haven’t you?”

“Of what?”

“That you had hope.”

“There’s no such thing as hope. Humanity’s true character is darkness—”

“That’s a lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

“If so, then why did you seek revenge?”

“What?”

“I’ve heard about it from Kazue-san. When you first entered the orphanage, you were such an unruly child. You must’ve developed distrust towards humans as your mother had been murdered.”

“...”

“She said you were hurting others, hurting yourself, struggling to regulate your emotions, and even threw a fit of rage.”

“...”

“Shozo-san and Kazue-san struggled to handle you. But they never gave up. Their efforts to look after you weren’t for their sake, rather for your own.”

“Silence!”

“No. I will not stay silent. No matter what, they continued to provide their love for you. One step at a time, your behaviour eventually calmed down and you were able to laugh and play with the other children.”

“I was merely pretending. My heart was filled with hatred and anger.”

“You’re mistaken!”

“What do you know?”

“I know. Thanks to the life you had lived at the Michishirube orphanage, you found the hope to live. At the very least, you trusted Shozo-san and Kazue-san.”

“So what if I did? Even if there was hope, that hope was easily crushed by other people’s ill will.”

The man with red eyes’ words could pierce into one’s heart.

The one place those troubled children could call home had been effortlessly taken away from them. And with it more suffering had followed.

The man with red eyes had to experience abuse at the orphanage he had been transferred to.

He had grown into a twisted character as a result.

“What you just said merely revealed the contradiction in your statement,” said Yakumo with a flat expression.

“What?”

“So this place really gave you hope, after all?”

“The darkness of the human heart had taken it away.”

“I’m saying that was the contradiction."

“What contradiction?”

“Isn’t it strange? If darkness really was humanity’s true character, are you saying that it applied to Shozo-san and Kazue-san as well? If your true character is darkness, then why did you have hope?”

“I don’t have hope!” yelled the man with two red eyes.

It was the first time Haruka had ever seen him show such a raw display of emotion.

“Then, why did you wish to take over my body?”

“To satisfy my desires.”

“A desire may be dark, but at the same time, it is hope as well. You couldn’t throw away your hope to live. Hence even after your death you wanted to take over my body. Am I wrong?”

“A play of words. Did you think you could throw me off with such tricks?”

“No. The truth was, Michishirube had been your backbone. It was there that you had found hope. So you were angered when that place was taken away and sought revenge.”

“You’re wrong. You know nothing,” said the man with red eyes, forming a smile.

However, even Haruka could tell that it was merely a tough act.

“Why did you fail to take over my body? My resistance was a factor, but haven’t you realised for yourself that there was no point in doing this anymore?”

“All I need to do is to try and take over your body once again.”

“There’s no point. Surely you’ve noticed, right? Your existence is dwindling.”

“...”

The man with red eyes grimaced.

As Yakumo had pointed out, Haruka could sense the same thing. The man with red eyes’ existence had weakened compared to before.

Perhaps it was due to the faltering of his heart.

“Please, stop all of this. You should have understood by now. Isn’t that right, Father?”

Yakumo’s line made Haruka hold her breath.

He had just called the man with two red eyes ‘father’.

Yakumo had affirmed his existence; something he had never managed to do all this time.

He understood who he was and accepted all of it. Such preparedness must have been born within Yakumo.

A deafening laugh filled the air, as if shrouding and blocking Yakumo’s resolve.

It was Nanase Miyuki.

She had passed out from Gotou’s beating, but the woman must have woken up at some point.

“What’s so funny?” asked Yakumo.

Nanase Miyuki stopped laughing before staring at Yakumo with a cold gaze. “Did you think he would submit to you if you lectured him with that kind of sob story?”

“I do, that’s why I said it.”

“I’m curious, just how long will you be able to continue bluffing like that?”

“I wasn’t bluffing. I really do think that way.”

“Do you? Alright then, I’ll be taking away the person most important to you next. Will you still be able to say the same thing by that time?” Nanase Miyuki uttered something unpleasant whilst looking at Haruka.

Haruka’s back froze upon receiving such a gaze, filled pitch black with ill intentions.

“You’re the one who’s bluffing. Do you think you can do anything of that sort in the state you’re in?”

Yakumo narrowed his eyes and stood in front of Nanase Miyuki.

Storm filled Haruka’s chest. Nanase Miyuki was handcuffed and couldn’t move as she pleased. Even so, she felt a premonition that something terrible was about to happen.

“I can. I have another backup if my plan doesn't work out,” said Nanase Miyuki as if she had already won.

“Even at this point, you’re still...”

“Just so you know, what I said wasn’t merely a bluff. I have an ace up my sleeve,” said Nanase Miyuki exaggeratedly. She was holding something in her right hand.

Yakumo took notice of the fact and yelled. “Stop!”

Unfortunately, his voice was drowned by the blaring sound of an explosion that shook the ground.

At the same time, a few pipes bursted and large amounts of water came spraying out.

Haruka’s ears rang badly. The explosion had made her lose her balance, she couldn’t tell whether she was still standing upright.

“Get out of here quickly!” shouted Yakumo.

“Miyagawa-san! Please help assist Detective Gotou! I will carry Nao!” Ishii yelled amidst the chaos.

As they scrambled all over the place, water continued to flow and had filled the room to their knees before long.

“Eishin-san, please help Kazue-san,” said Yakumo before approaching Haruka.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get out of here—”

Yakumo held Haruka’s hand.

Haruka reciprocated, holding his hand tightly so they wouldn’t lose grip. Yakumo then led her treading across the water.

By the time they had reached ground level, they were completely drenched.

Ishii and Makoto stood next to each other, turning their sights towards the apartment building.

Eishin sat next to Kazue who was on her wheelchair.

Meanwhile, Miyagawa peered at Gotou who was hugging Nao tightly, overwhelmed with emotion.

It appeared that all of them made it out safely.

The basement had filled completely with water. Was Nanase Miyuki there still?

No, she must have left.

She had to have done something like that because she had already devised her own escape route.

Suddenly, Nanase Miyuki’s words flashed in Haruka’s mind.

I’ll be taking away the person most important to you next.

Nanase Miyuki had clearly been looking at Haruka’s face as she said that.

In other words, she had hinted at the identity of her next target.

Translation Notes

[1] Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specific event this scene was referring to. At first I thought I had missed translating it when working on earlier parts of this file (in which the event should happen sometime after Yakumo and Haruka had visited Sayama’s apartment and met with Ishii and Makoto again), but I reread the publication and still couldn’t find it. It’s possible that this section was missed in the JP-ID translation, or it had been omitted when the parts had been compiled and revised to be published as the Japanese volume. With my limited Japanese I can’t really crosscheck this despite having a copy of the Japanese version. I’ll be updating the post if I ever manage to confirm this detail.

[2] This note isn’t referring to one specific line, but I thought at the end of this file I’d clarify one wordplay detail that was lost in translation. In the original Japanese title of this volume, 魂の道標 (Signpost of the Spirit) and the title of this file, the Japanese word used for signpost was 道標 (michishirube), which coincides with the name of the orphanage (as well as the apartment building).

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