“Yumi!” screamed Yori holding tightly onto his sister, too afraid that even loosening his hold. He dropped his head down as he felt his despair increasing its infection throughout his body. It numbed him and the world seemed to fade away from his peripheral. “…Yumi…don’t…” The more she seemed to get away from him the further his head fell until his forehead was touching her’s. ‘…I should have done more to stop her…’
‘…I couldn’t lose it… I’m sorry, brother…’ whispered an echoing voice within Yori’s head.
He didn't immediately recognize the voice. It was a different voice and almost instinctual that he had to respond. ‘No, I could have done something! Anything!’
‘…it’s not your fault… I made a choice, brother…’
‘But you’re gone because of me…’ Yori became still as he was buried by his own guilt. It made it impossible for him to think clearly. He felt like he was having a conversation with him as it mirrored his own doubts. In his condition there was no questioning arguing with a voice that he was hearing.
‘Yori…’
‘…sister…’ It had only been a reflex on his part, but that was all that was needed for him to open his eyes in confusion. The voice that spoke to him suddenly became clearer to him. His sister was definitely talking to him. He didn't believe it completely at the moment. A test was needed. ‘Yumi? Can you hear me?’
‘Brother?! Why can I hear you in my head?’
Yori gasped and pulled away in shock to have heard his sister reply to him. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that he was talking to his sister. She was still alive. He lifted her up hugging her tightly relieved. ‘You’re alive! I thought you died when you stopped…’
A long pause followed him until he realized that there was no response anymore. ‘Yumi?! Can you still hear me?’ Panic quickly overcame him as doubt filled him up. Yori looked around and shook her, trying to figure out what had happened. The fear that he had been imagining it in a delusional state was becoming stronger the longer the silence lasted. “What’s going on with me? Have I lost it?”
Nothing seemed to be working for him and choices were quickly running out for him. Yori sighed loudly as he considered giving up. Hope failing him he rested his head back down against Yumi at a loss. “I really have gone crazy now…”
‘Hey! Are you there?’
‘Yumi?!’ Yori drew back in surprise and panic having finally heard her again. However, once more as he waited there was nothing more. He slowly began to put it together and lower his head back down. ‘Yumi?’
‘Brother! I’ve been calling out to you, but you stopped saying anything… I was starting to worry…’
‘I’m sorry… It seems we can hear each other when we touch our heads together…’
‘Wah!!! Why are you so close to me?!’
Yori sweated a little hearing his sister reacting so embarrassed despite not actually being conscious. ‘It’s the only way…’
‘…So what happens now?’
‘…I don’t know…’
Chapter 74 – The Sibling Link
Still unconscious or unable to move, his sister rested in Yori’s arms. The initial unsettled feeling of hearing his sister within his own mind was beginning to pass for him. He tried to remain guarded with his thoughts. It wasn't something that he was originally worried about, but as it became more familiar he realized the possible depths that could be reached.
He hadn't been able to hear anything other than direct conversations from her giving him the impression that it might not be possible to listen deeper. Despite that, he was not going to risk leaving stray thoughts if he could help it. Yori knew he had to find something to keep her mind off their dilemma until they were rescued.
‘Yori?’
‘Something wrong?’
‘No…you were just…quiet…for a while…’
Yori’s arms tensed a little as he heard the fatigued words. ‘I’m here still! I won’t leave your side!’ He searched out the room, considering trying to do something himself for an escape. “If I try to dig out, I might collapse the entire thing on us… But Yumi…” Helplessness filled into his panic leaving him feeling crowded and conflicted. His eyes turned back to Yumi knowing that all he could do was keep her safe and stay with her. ‘So what was it?’
‘…huh?’
‘The school, that you needed to get from the classroom.’
She went silent for a while like she was thinking or possibly hesitating on answering him. Only through words it was difficult to know for sure until she spoke again. ‘You’ll laugh…at me…’
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‘No I won’t, Yumi.’
‘You will…’
‘If it was important to you I won’t. You can tell me.’
‘It was that…star pendant…that you bought me…’
An image of the pendant came to his mind as he recalled it. It was something that she carried with her either on her or attached to her bag. There was a bit of a childish gaudiness to it, but she didn't care. ‘I remember…’ Yori's mind got carried back quickly having not thought about it in a while. It seemed almost willing or eager to do so.
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Yori came out of the hall towards the entrance of the school where she had been waiting. When she saw him coming she jumped up cheerfully to join him. It had been the first time in a while that she had been able to walk with him, especially since he asked her. “Big Brother Yori! All done?”
“I am… You ready?”
“Yup!” She nodded, looking a little more honest in her happiness than before. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise!” She hung on to his arm following him every step of the way into the downtown district. He had been so used to keeping her at a distance from him that it had felt a little strange for him, but he maintained his determination. While they walked together he felt a warmth in his arm from her that spread through him that seemed to make him want to smile with her.
They arrived in front of the jewelry store that they always passed. She jumped up repeatedly, bumping into Yori a little. Yori had known that she had always wanted to visit. She would stare at the display windows until she was pulled along by their mother. This was something that they could do.
Inside the store his sister already became glossy eyed at everything shiny. She quickly leapt in front of Yori looking up at him. “Can I look around?” His sister seemed almost surprised that she was going to be able to browse when her brother gave her a nod.
He watched her zip around the store entranced by anything that caught her eye. There weren't too many customers shopping so her behavior was not too much of an interruption. Yori tried to calm her down a little so she was making less of a scene, but she had too much energy for him.
The longer that he watched the happier it made him to see her looking more like her old self. When she seemed to have stayed in one place longer than normal he looked over shoulder seeing a cheap looking metal star pendant set on a short length of chain for keys or a bag. It was painted over with a lot of bright colors that seemed to clash with each other a little, but her eyes could not seem to be pulled away. “You want it? I’ll buy it for you!”
She turned back to him for a moment, a little stunned. “I couldn’t ask you to do that, big brother.”
“I have a little saved up. I can see that you really want it.” Yori picked it up off the display tray; it was on the fairly cheap shelves so there was no need for it to be behind glass like the rest of the store’s jewelry. He handled it over to her insisting that she have it. “Let’s go over to the lady and buy it for you.”
“You sure you can pay for this?” She had hopeful, yet hesitant eyes staring at him.
He gave her another reassuring nod and pushed her a little forward to the cashier. Unfortunately, one of the adults in the store bumped into her knocking the pendant out of her hands. Yori caught his sister in the collision and glared back at the woman, who barely paid either of them any mind. He turned back to his sister to see if she was hurt and found her crying. “Yumi? Where are you hurt?”
“The…star…it’s broke!”
Yori looked down to where she was pointing and saw the star pendant down on the store’s floor broken in two pieces. He knelt down picking up the pieces . “I’m sorry, Yumi…” His hand hesitated in showing the broken star to her seeing how much she was already upset. Thoughts flew through him as he tried to figure out what he could do to make her smile again. Then something came to him. “Come with me!”
“Where?” Yori didn't give her an explanation. She got pulled up from the floor and dragged over to the counter by him. Her mind still focused on the star that she had wanted.
“Thank you!” Yori said politely to the woman behind the counter as he finished paying.
The store clerk seemed a little reluctant to accept it. “Are you sure? It’s broken, we have something else to replace it.”
“No, this will be perfect. Thank you for helping me.” He turned back to his sister holding out his closed hand towards her. “Hey Yumi, could you take a look at this?”
“Huh?” She looked up towards him confused until he opened his hand. In his hand was the broken star pendant, the two pieces lying next to each other with a chain attached to the other broken half.
Yori handed one of the pieces over to her, putting it in her palm. “Here this one's for you.” He held the other from his fingers suspending the broken half from its newly attached chain. “What do you see when you look at it?”
“…a broken star?”
He smiled back at her warmly. “I see a whole star without even the slightest hint of a crack. You know why? Because you have the other half. So long as I have this and you yours it’ll never be broken. No matter how far away I am, it'll always be whole because I’m your brother. You’ll never be alone.”
There was a delayed reaction from her taking in what he had said before she started crying and thanking him for the gift. She promised that she would never let it leave her sight.
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‘I made a promise to myself that I’d always do what I could to make her smile again, an honest real smile that she did not have to pretend to wear…’
Something tapped Yori on the head, breaking his concentration of what he was thinking. He broke the link from her to look around trying to figure out what had happened. It didn't hurt, but he knew that there had been something that felt like it had fallen on him. “Just my imagination?” Once Yori decided to let it go he returned back to Yumi making sure that she was still with him. ‘How are you feeling, Yumi?’
‘…brother…I’m scared…’
Yori’s eyes had widened as he tried to keep his body from reacting too strongly and panicking. The fatigued voice of his sister got even worse than before. There was something wrong with her and he couldn't do anything. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘…I…feel…so…tired…brother…’
‘Yumi stay with me!’ He grabbed her hand tightly hoping that she might feel him. Another poke on his head turned his gaze up. Around the room there were several more light dull echoes of small rocks hitting the ground. When Yori focused on the ceiling of the room dust sifted through pouring across his face like sand. Yori shook his head trying to clear his eyes. However at that moment, he felt a vibration through the entire room that made his whole body run cold. “The dome’s collapsing!” He turned back down to his sister. His only thoughts focused on his inaction.
Yori squeezed on to her feeling the hopelessness begin to replace the empty cold sensation. “I’m her brother and yet… Why does it have to be like this?! I can’t do anything for her… Yumi’s going to…” He could feel the distant glow from his sister start to vanish. Larger pieces of rubble broke through crashing into the ground. Despair was the brush that painted the tears on his cheeks. “…Yumi…”
A light burst from her hand trying to escape through the narrow slits in her fingers. From underneath Yori’s shirt a glow bathed the room in a pulsing red light. The two glowing sources began to resonate together, shining bright enough to appear faintly through their shields. Two halves of a star could be seen burning out.
Yori suddenly felt as though he had a new inner strength within that pushed him to his feet. He couldn't explain it, but it gave him the sense that there was nothing that could stand in his way. The rocks before him were mere toys to be thrown about. “I can save you, Yumi!” He raised his free hand towards the wall in front of him concentrating on it, feeling warmth passing from his sister into him building in strength. “Ah—“
Everything stopped for him, interrupted by the sun shining down on him. All was gone and he could see the students in the distance running towards him. He blinked confused, feeling as though his moment had been stolen from him. Yori turned back behind him, sensing something. Coming into focus was Yuki stepping out of where the school used to be, until he made it all disappear again with his field. Carried in his arms was an unconscious and blood soaked Ayumi. Yuki was equally covered in wounds and blood staggering out of the epicenter towards Saki that sped towards him. He collapsed into Saki, passing out almost immediately.
Yori had taken the time to move before the school and debris was restored. He stood next to Saki looking down at Yuki developing an annoying pang in his chest. It quickly disappeared for him when he felt Yumi moving in his arms. “Yumi!?”
She slowly opened her eyes with her sight coming into focus. “Brother?” She blinked a couple times feeling confused about her situation, but soon relieved seeing that Yuki had made it out.
“Are you feeling better?”
“…yeah…much, but…” Seeing all of the students gathered around her started to make her a little self-conscious about being in the center of the attention. She clutched tightly onto the half star pendant. “Much better…”