KAZUKO RYOSACHI

It had been a long time since she last saw him or heard his voice. Her dear … friend, whose dry-cut jokes often made her laugh, whose bleak outlook on life at times brought her to tears, and whose eventual growth gave her a newfound perspective. Looking at this scenery of a small temple struck by the gleam of the twin moons and the millions of stars twinkling high within the dark sea … At the very same spot, where they first shared their first kiss …

“To me, stars are dreams that everyone sent out,” he once said. “The untold wonders of imagination waiting to be seized and become real.”

“That’s a beautiful way to think of things,” she replied, genuinely, brushing her dark bangs to get a better look of him, toned and manly, yet sweet and gentle. Their eyes met, her midnight blue to his soft hazel. “Still, to think that you’re still capable of thinking such things. How does your mind work, young sir?”

“Now who are you calling ‘young sir’?”

“A title befitting a promotion, Garson-sama of the Eleventh Division.”

What a momentous day that was. What a strange coincidence for it to be announced on the day of the meteor shower, right on their first anniversary no less. It was as if fate was being weaved by an unseen hand, devoted to their favor, as their warm lips touched and their hearts for the first time connected and became one.

If only I didn’t … Her deep blue eyes wandered upon the city where she lived. The thousands of lights lining upon hundreds of intersecting paths and hundreds of structures big and small, stretching far beyond the horizon toward the distant sea up north, shimmering beneath the gaze of the twin moons. To think that Takamichi, once an ordinary town of fields, now became a bustling metropolis in a span of ten years.

The local bakery which she once frequented was replaced by a clothing store of high fashion kimono and the soon-to-be-blossoming sakura park was cut to half its original size for new neighborhoods. The Third Division precinct of the Murikami Order, however, faced the opposite, having doubled in both size and staff in response to their larger role in Hoshikuni’s inside threats.

At the newly-built training ground, Kazuko could see her twin brother’s draconic flames bursting high and mighty, clashing with the winds and waters of his opponents. A training session most likely, in which she pitied the officers training with him and wished them luck.

Just what was ‘change’ in the eyes of those who strive for it, and in the eyes of those who sullied it? What was the difference between a noble goal and an ignoble one disguised as noble if both were heading in the same direction? Did the bystanders and those who watched from the sidelines deserved the hatred poured onto by the winners of the conflict?

The screams of terror haunted Kazuko still. So too did the raging flames that once Takamichi and all the other districts of Hoshikuni. Buildings fell to debris, roads broken and stained in crimson, bodies scattered all over the place, unable to grab hold onto the lives they worked so hard to live for, becoming nothing more than a cold carcass of forgotten memories.

“Sensei, I’m scared!”

“Sensei, I can’t run anymore!”

Sensei, sensei! I can’t find my friend!”

“Sensei … where’s mom and dad?!”

“It’s alright everyone. Just stay close to me. I’ll keep you safe,” Kazuko once promised, yet what occurred later deprived of any light. Her dear students, whom she vowed to protect, lay cold and lifeless upon the flaming roads minutes away from the evacuation point. Had her brother not come there in time, she too would’ve shared the same fate. But not long after that, once the flames receded and the conflict ended, the radio broadcasted a list of fallen heroes. The first name was …

Now to the list of deceased in Chiyuhara. Garson Evian, Captain of the Eleventh Division.

Even after ten years, Kazuko still couldn’t shake the feeling of regret. The terrified expressions of her students as they met their ends continued to appear in her dreams this way, as well as the face of her friend, smiling both awkwardly and gratefully before being crushed by the falling debris of the catacombs. What else was there right after? What meaning did those memories have anymore now that those whom she shared them with have left this world?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Kazuko?” a familiar voice called, to which Kazuko turned around and saw her husband, Hikari, yellow hair and all, carrying their son, Mihiro, who was sleeping in his arms.

“You alright?” he said, with kind dark eyes and a gentle expression.

“It’s … nothing,” she replied. “What are you doing here, Hikari? Didn’t I tell you to watch over Mihiro for a while?”

“He fell asleep just as we left the house. I have always wondered why you always come here on the same day of the same month,” his gaze casted toward the cityscape, showing wonders upon laying sight on the beautiful night scenery. “As always, you have an eye for scenery. It makes me want to wake our little boy up for a bit to see it.”

“One day, but not today,” Kazuko took out a small wooden coin from her pouch, engraved to bear the image of a rabbit, and placed it on the shrine next to the other coins.

A tiny little man then appeared, a shinigami, dressed in fine regal gowns of black and gold. The yokkaebi tread upon the moonlit grass toward the shrine, inspecting the coin which Kazuko had placed, only to vanish without doing a single thing to it. The offering was denied just like the other nine coins which she placed each year before.

“Do you think that the reason why the Gods refuse my prayers is because of what I’ve done?” she asked, solemnly, questioning on what was it that she did wrong, or if she ever angered the divine in any way. Ten years she asked this question and never was it answered. “Hikari … am I a bad person?”

Hikari stared bewildered, but nonetheless gave his answer. “No, you’re a good person.”

“You really think so?” she asked again. “Even though I’ve hurt you, and am hurting you right now.”

“You’re right. This does hurt. Seven years and Evian-san’s still on your mind,” he spoke truthfully. “For him to have a deep impact on you, it makes me wonder what kind of person he was. Had he still been alive, I would've liked to meet him.”

“And what are you going to do then?”

“Not sure …,” Hikari thought for a moment. “Maybe I’ll confront him and beat him to pulp. Say to him that Kazuko’s my lovely wife!” —Kazuko gave a light chuckle, her cheeks blushing red— “Then again, after seeing his pictures, I’d probably lose against a trained Murimaki Order officer.”

“I wouldn’t put my bets in just yet.”

“So, there’s actually a chance I could win?”

“Technique aside, you’re definitely much stronger than him since,” Kazuko playfully carressed her husband’s chest, thin yet firmly. “muscle size isn't everything you know.”

“There’s a time and place for everything you know,” Hikari blushed and sported a cute expression in her eyes. Those kind pitch black eyes, which remained innocent despite what they’d seen, as Kazuko wondered what kind of eyes were reflected on him now.

Suddenly, Mihiro yawned and woke up for a moment, his pitch black eyes scratched and glanced toward Kazuko.

“Good evening, Mihiro-kun,” she whispered. “Want mommy to carry you?”

Alas, her son returned to slumber on his father’s arms, while mumbling out “Mom … snowflake … want mochi …”

Hikari let out a chuckle only to be nudged by his wife..

“I guess we both know what we’re adding to breakfast,” he said.

Kazuko smiled warmly at them both, her family whom she had now and shall treasure for the days to come. However, a part of her remained fixated in the past, beckoning her to look back on the wishes and futures no longer able to come true.

“It’s fine,” told Hikari. “Take your time. You did so for us.”

Kazuko smiled once more and looked back. To the shrine facing the cliff, a bodiless tomb serving as a place for memories to rest. Tonight was not the time to mourn nor to ponder on past regrets, but a night to look back to and reminisce. To remember all that had happened as fond memories that would propel her forward.

Back then I couldn’t do this. But now … Kazuko took a deep breath and calmed her mind. A query placed, an equation formed, and results showed, as the very thin lines beneath her veins glowed a soft bright hue. Cold emanated for her palm, converging and compiling themselves into a singular solid form. Its shape then altered furthermore, becoming a blooming rose of frozen crystal.

I did it! Kazuko thought, gleefully, as she then placed the frozen rose on the shrine and sat it next to a hand-carved wooden emblem of a dragon dancing on top of a waterfall. An insignia of her once-noble clan, the Ryuugen Clan, who kicked her out for being talentless in magic. You were the first one to truly believe in me. Thank you, Gar … Evian-san. Thank you and have a good night's sleep.

No tears were shed that day. Her eyes hadn’t done so for so long. Acceptance was truly a difficult thing to do. However, it was the only thing ordinary people like her could do. Well, maybe not that ordinary, but ordinary in the eyes of those she wished to look at her. How fortunate it was that she needed not to do so anymore. A present he would’ve loved to see …

Kazuko turned back to Hikari and looked sweetly upon their sweet innocent child, whose cute sleepy expression gave butterflies to her chest and lifted the corners of her mouth to form a warm gentle smile.

“Let’s go home,” she said, no longer looking back.