“Koto Ne, do you remember?”
Once, Koto Ne’s mom had said those words to her.
“There’s a branch. One that can protect you in dangerous moments. You can go outside, right? I left it with someone a long time ago.”
And she told Koto Ne about the man’s house who had that branch.
At the end of her vacation, Koto Ne went there and brought back that branch due to a change in her mood.
She just wanted to do it.
With a bright smile, her figure making talismans was like ‘Mom’.
Perhaps Koto Ne just wanted to try doing something with her.
Whether that would be enough was uncertain.
She decided to hide the talisman beneath the slightly loose tatami.
That spot was known only to the two of them and a goldfish watching them.
“Listen carefully, Koto Ne.”
Koto Ne’s mom said,
“Someday, someone will come to use you. You might not be able to do anything on your own. But I hope you continue to live in this world.”
Koto Ne blinked as she looked at her mom.
Her mom spoke while the chains jingled.
“So, should we get some insurance? I can’t be sure, but it’s an insurance you can have.”
*
Looking in the mirror, Koto Ne’s body suddenly ‘unraveled.’
Like unraveling thread.
What that mirror was, Koto Ne couldn’t tell, yet it might have been a tool to release the ‘real’ form beyond it.
What lay beyond was a kind of monster that was hard to describe in words.
It wasn’t even ‘flesh’. Sota wondered if it could even be called material from this world.
As if his brain refused to recognize its shape, his vision became hazy.
A scream escaped from Sota’s mouth.
He thought he had been hurt quite a bit until now, but the pain was the most excruciating of all.
Crack, crack. Dangerous sounds came from his left arm, which borrowed Koto Ne’s strength.
“I’m sorry.”
Such a voice reached Sota’s ears.
Was it Koto Ne’s voice?
“After all, I guess I have to play this role.”
No.
Sota wanted to say that.
Roles didn’t matter. Isn’t living on after being born what matters?
“Thanks for everything so far.”
Sota wanted to answer that.
It felt pitiful to hear himself scream. How could he convey his words? The gratitude didn’t need to be said. They could just keep seeing each other. Let’s go out and play again.
He wanted to say such things.
It was sad.
So very sad. Why, just a child who loved simple things, fireworks, and playing in the water, had to endure this?
Wasn’t it too heavy a burden for a single girl to carry?
“Since you helped me this far… from here on, I’ll manage.”
Koto Ne said that and ‘let go’ of Sota’s hand.
For a moment, the pain weakened.
The mass that wrapped Sota’s arm fell away.
And, as if being sucked in, it enveloped Nirlas.
Sota looked up at that scene in despair.
Blood was flowing freely from his arms. The skin on his left arm was peeled off badly, but he didn’t care about that.
Slowly, Sota rose to his feet.
Nirlas stood in front of him—at least the appearance of a person—quickly unfurling into a mass of flesh.
It was all over.
Everything, all of it.
The plan to save the world and the plan to save Koto Ne—
What should he do? What should he do—
At that moment.
Koto Ne’s body was suddenly engulfed in blue flames.
Sota, who had been struggling to rise, stared blankly at the scene. Yuka, who was also trying to get up, did the same.
“What’s that…?”
Yuka shook her head.
Sota went to Yuka, gripping her arm to help her stand. Together, they managed to find balance.
Screams were heard.
In the flesh, screams echoed.
Tears streamed from Sota’s eyes.
Koto Ne had said, “I’ll manage.”
No matter what she did, it didn’t matter.
“Yuka.”
“…Yeah.”
At the very least, they couldn’t betray that trust.
Moving their bodies together, they picked up a knife. Handing it to Yuka, she grasped it with trembling hands.
The two of them hobbled towards the direction of the blue flames.
The fire was burning fiercely, as if they could get burned, yet strangely, it didn’t feel hot.
Amidst the screams, laughter resounded. Nirlas’s laughter. It was a sound that seemed to find joy even in this situation.
From above, masses of flesh fell in all directions, as if stars were falling. Those that had soared high had burned and shattered as they fell.
Yuka raised the knife, and Sota held her hand.
Then, they stabbed the flaming pillar of flesh, splitting it open.
Inside was Koto Ne.
Koto Ne who was engulfed in flames.
“Isn’t this fascinating?”
Nirlas said with a laugh.
“A fool who knew nothing thought of a way to drive away the woman.”
“…A way to drive her away?”
“There was a way, it seemed. The woman didn’t know well. Perhaps she heard it from her mother.”
“….”
“When she was about to die, she laughed after hearing someone call her ‘mom’—that woman named ‘mirror’. Isn’t it strange? Until then, she didn’t treat that lump she gave birth to as a child, yet she gave birth to another ‘lump’ that was just as connected and gained motherhood. Being able to speak, looking a bit cuter, um, the woman doesn’t really know. Why she clings to something that is not her essence.”
“You have a point.”
Yuka said.
“After all, the afterlife is just a place you go when you die. Maybe she wished for eternal life.”
Yuka lifted the sword.
The tip trembled—was it because her body lacked strength? Or was it because she knew what she had to do?
“But you died because of that.”
“If you want to think that way, you can do so.”
Nirlas replied.
“Indeed, since you’ve learned the method, you must have been wandering around after being forcibly moved.”
Koto Ne laughed.
“This is the Kurosawa family home. So, surely you must have been able to find it. What a great child. I didn’t expect you to maintain your sanity in that… a place like a furnace where countless souls intertwine.”
So Koto Ne had been searching for such a thing. Did she want to die?
If that mass was Koto Ne and if that girl’s body was also Koto Ne, she would have known. She couldn’t become close to anyone while being that lump.
Even if she imitated an appearance, she would still know her essence.
“By consuming that dagger, it seems the outcome was predetermined. You could say that the problem was how impeccably it united.”
Nirlas muttered.
“Yet, can this be called a ‘victory’?”
“….”
Koto Ne, who had been closing her eyes, slowly opened them.
“Toto Ne.”
Sota called Koto Ne’s name—
The blade clashed with flesh.
Yuka’s sword blocked the blade that was swung toward Sota.
“Still stubborn until the end.”
“Hmm.”
Koto Ne’s body laughed.
“You should know, even in this situation, that you can do anything.”
Nirlas said.
The bodies of Yuka and Sota fell.
From inside the mass of flesh, Koto Ne began to emerge.
Of course, it was Nirlas moving the body.
The body was still on fire, but unlike the writhing masses of flesh in agony, its expression appeared very serene.
“With something like this, I cannot die. Even if I’ve heard the story—”
Nirlas’s voice paused.
“…I know.”
And a calm voice responded.
Slowly, Koto Ne’s body knelt down to the ground.
“…But I also heard another story.”
Koto Ne’s gaze directed toward Yuka.
“A story about a sword that can strike down beings like me.”
A thin breath escaped Yuka.
“…Yuka.”
“Yeah.”
Yuka rose to her feet once again.
Sota supported Yuka.
Staggering, the two of them approached Koto Ne.
“Haha!”
Laughter flowed from Koto Ne’s lips.
“Yeah, I see. So you’re merged with the woman.”
“…That’s right.”
To die.
To kill.
Koto Ne had chosen.
If they could coexist in one body and take the lead for even a moment…
By being stabbed by Yuka’s sword—
Thud.
Yuka and Sota also knelt before Koto Ne.
And they held the sword.
They aimed the tip of the sword toward Koto Ne.
“…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
In the end, Sota broke down in tears.
He couldn’t accept this situation. It was hard to believe things had turned out this way.
Until now, he had managed to save people. At least he had saved the one in front of him.
He thought Koto Ne could do the same.
Yuka was crying too, just like Sota.
Koto Ne raised her trembling hands. Then she embraced the two by their necks.
“…It’s okay.”
Koto Ne’s voice was calm in her breath.
“It’s okay, really… I had fun. For the first time since I was born.”
Sota couldn’t find words to speak to Koto Ne.
Koto Ne held the two tightly until the end.
With her mouth tightly shut as if not to let Nirlas mock her.
On Koto Ne’s closed eyes rested a smile.
*
A gravestone was erected near the cemetery for Yuuki.
No one was left in the Kurosawa family to hold the rites anymore.
It took a long time for Sota, Yuka, and the other kids to properly recover their daily lives.
Sota and Yuka had to stay in the hospital for quite a while. They had so many wounds that it took a long time to heal.
Unfortunately, it was during the school semester, so they couldn’t attend school for a long time.
“Considering the time to gather my thoughts, it’s better that…”
Yuka’s grandpa didn’t finish his sentence, but Sota and Yuka knew well that it was out of concern. They just nodded.
It felt a bit strange for Sota to take a leave of absence from high school.
His father visited Sota but didn’t engage in a lengthy conversation. It was fortunate that he said he wouldn’t completely cut off support just because Sota would stay another year.
“Shii, I’m sorry. Really.”
“It’s okay, older brother.”
Shii held Sota’s hand with trembling fingers, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke.
“Thank you for coming back. I really mean it…”
To Shii, all Sota could do was repeat apologies without knowing what else to say.
In a strange coincidence, the hospital where Sota and Yuka were admitted was the one where Fukuda’s friend worked.
“…Yuuki seems to be feeling a bit better. Although we haven’t talked about Koto Ne yet.”
Fukuda said as he visited Sota in the hospital.
“…I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
Fukuda sighed heavily.
“…”
Then, he bent forward, remaining silent for a while.
“The ones left… they have to live, right?”
Sota couldn’t find the words to respond to that.
“And, they say, divine beings or whatever. Then, someday, they could appear in a way we can’t understand. We can just greet them when they do.”
As Fukuda stood up, he said.
“After all, it seems souls definitely exist, so they say they might come back whenever we pray or hold rites, right? For now… that should suffice.”
Then turning his back to Sota, he left the hospital room.
“….”
Nanami visited Sota with a furious expression.
“…If you do something like this next time, I’ll kill you myself.”
Seeing Nanami with a truly fierce look, Sota trembled in fear.
However, even with that deadly glare, Nanami came back with a pile of rabbit-shaped apples carved as an apology.
At least it seemed that she was relieved about Sota’s return.
Hagiwara-senpai also came to visit, crying for a while before leaving, and many of their classmates came as well.
The apartment where Koto Ne lived remained as it was. Strangely enough, aside from the shattered glass that Sota broke, it was, quite literally, ‘as is.’
Even the goldfish Koto Ne had been raising still remained. Despite the chaos, the goldfish survived. It seemed to have grown even bigger, even though it hadn’t eaten for quite a while as it had been forgotten in everyone’s memories.
That goldfish was taken in by Yuka’s family for now.
Yuka visited Sota in the hospital after her condition had somewhat improved.
“…I’m going to quit.”
Yuka said.
“I can’t do exorcism anymore.”
“…Yep.”
Sota nodded at Yuka.
“…Was it the right thing to do?”
Yuka asked.
Sota couldn’t find a response.
Yuka also didn’t say anything further.
“Hey, Sota.”
Yuka whispered quietly while looking out the window.
“Yeah?”
“If you’re going to hate me…”
“No.”
Sota said.
“It wasn’t just you who held the sword that day.”
Sota replied.
Yuka thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Fukuda said. Since you’re a divine being, maybe you’ll pop up one day out of the blue to say hello.”
So he spoke that even there, huh.
Those were words that could only be said by someone who knew nothing. Fleeting hope.
No, it was more like a defense mechanism.
Thus, Sota couldn’t help but feel surprised by Yuka’s next words.
“I, too, oddly hope that it would be the case.”
“…Right.”
Sota answered with a small laugh.
“I hope so.”
The two looked out the window.
Autumn was approaching.
The sky was carelessly blue.
*
A few months later.
After totally lounging around for the second semester, it was still not warm yet.
It had been a bit since they were discharged, but there were still some uncomfortable spots.
But at least they could leisurely walk outside together with Yuka.
Although he was still somewhat pained by those memories, he felt the gradual recovery. He was meeting friends again, and he even had a conversation with that Yuuki kid.
Perhaps, in a few years, it would be possible to go back to normal daily life?
“It’s been a while since we went home together.”
Yuka said, smiling.
“Right? It’s been a while. And just the two of us at that.”
“Why? Are you harboring strange expectations?”
“Uh, uh?”
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
Yuka poked Sota’s side with her elbow.
After quitting the job, Yuka had become much brighter. She seemed to have let something go.
Sota thought it was not a bad thing.
After all, Yuka’s house had her grandpa and dad, so it was natural for nothing unusual to happen, but still, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t have any thoughts going to a girl’s house. He was just acting rationally.
“The goldfish Koto Ne had has grown a lot.”
“Wasn’t a goldfish originally a large ornamental fish?”
“I looked it up, and they can get quite big. They live pretty long too. Guess we need to get a bigger tank.”
As Yuka said, the goldfish was—
“…Huh?”
Yuka, who opened her room door, froze solid.
“What? What happened?”
Sota looked over Yuka’s shoulder into the room, and he too froze in place.
“Huh?”
The room was a mess.
To be precise, the tank was shattered. Water splashed everywhere, and the goldfish was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s going on? What the heck…?”
As Sota and Yuka hurried into the room and surveyed the scene—
“Sota, Yuuki.”
A voice calling them echoed.
Both of them recognized the voice.
Though it was a bit smaller—
“Koto Ne!?”
Both of them turned to the source of the sound coming from the bed.
And there, miraculously.
Yes, just like what Fukuda said, like a miracle—
“Hello.”
A friend was there greeting them.
Though her body had shrunk significantly, almost to the size of a palm, it was unmistakably Koto Ne, whom both of them remembered.
There were many stories to share.
How did this happen? No, how could it be that she was there?
Could she truly exist? Would there be no danger? How would they live from now on?
But, it seemed that, for now, such rational responses wouldn’t come out right away.
The choice Sota and Yuka made was, a tad embarrassingly, to burst into tears.
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