Ch.303If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (41)

“Kotone, I remember.”

Once, Kotone’s mother had said that to her.

“There’s a certain branch. One that can protect your body in dangerous moments. Can you go outside? I left something with someone a long time ago.”

And then, she told Kotone.

About the house of a man who had that branch.

At the end of the school break, when Kotone went there to get that branch, it was because of a change of heart.

She just wanted to do it.

The way she smiled brightly while making talismans as if drawing pictures seemed just like a ‘mother.’

Perhaps Kotone simply wanted to do something together with her.

Whether that would have been enough or not, she couldn’t say.

They decided to hide the talisman under a slightly loose floorboard.

Its location was known only to the two of them, and the goldfish watching them.

“Listen carefully, Kotone.”

Kotone’s mother said.

“Someday, they’ll come to use you. Perhaps you won’t be able to do anything on your own. But I want you to continue living in this world.”

Kotone just blinked as she looked at her mother.

Her mother spoke, rattling her chains.

“So, shall we take out an insurance policy? I’m not certain, but it’s insurance that only you can have.”

*

When ‘Kotone’ looked in the mirror, her body instantly ‘unraveled.’

It was like unwinding a ball of thread.

Though it was unclear what that mirror was, perhaps it was a tool that revealed the ‘true form’ beyond it.

What lay beyond was a monster of a kind difficult to describe in words.

It wasn’t even ‘flesh.’ For a moment, Souta wondered if it could even be called matter of this world.

As if his brain refused to recognize its form, his vision blurred.

A scream escaped from Souta’s mouth.

He thought he’d been hurt quite badly before, but this pain was the worst he had ever experienced.

Crack, crack. Dangerous sounds came from his left arm, which was borrowing Kotone’s power.

“I’m sorry.”

Such a voice reached Souta’s ears.

Was it Kotone speaking?

“I guess this is the role I’m meant to play after all.”

No.

Souta wanted to say that.

That roles didn’t matter. That once born, all one had to do was live.

“Thank you for everything until now.”

Souta wanted to respond to those words.

He felt pathetic that he could only scream. How could he convey his message? That there was no need to thank him. That they could continue seeing each other. That they should go out together again.

He wanted to say such things.

It was heartbreaking.

So heartbreaking. Why did a girl who simply liked sweet things, fireworks, and playing in water—a girl no different from anyone else—have to end up like this?

Wasn’t this too heavy a burden to place on one girl’s shoulders?

“You’ve helped me this far. …I’ll try to handle it from here.”

Saying that, Kotone ‘let go’ of Souta’s hand.

The pain instantly subsided.

The flesh that had been wrapping around Souta’s arm fell away.

And then, as if being sucked in, it went to Nirlas and enveloped his body.

Souta looked up at the scene in dismay.

Blood was flowing freely from his arm. Much of the skin on his left arm had been stripped away, but he didn’t care about that.

Souta slowly rose to his feet.

Nirlas, who had been before him—at least the human form he had taken—instantly collapsed and turned into a mass of flesh.

It was all over.

Everything.

The plan to save the world, the plan to save Kotone—

What should he do? What on earth should he—

That’s when it happened.

Kotone’s body was suddenly engulfed in blue flames.

Souta, who had risen unsteadily, stared blankly at the sight. So did Yuka, who was also trying to get to her feet.

“What is…?”

Yuka shook her head.

Souta went to Yuka and helped her up. The two barely managed to stand and maintain their balance.

Screams were heard.

Screams coming from all over the mass of flesh.

Tears flowed from Souta’s eyes.

Because Kotone had said, ‘I’ll try to handle it from here.’

Whatever she had done, however she had done it.

“Yuka.”

“…Yeah.”

At the very least, they couldn’t betray that trust.

Somehow moving together, they picked up the sword. When Souta handed it to Yuka, she grasped it with trembling hands.

The two limped toward the direction of the blue flames.

Though the fire blazed so fiercely that it seemed it would cause burns, strangely, it didn’t feel hot.

Amidst the screams, laughter could be heard. Nirlas’s laughter. A laugh that seemed to find even this situation amusing.

From above, pieces of flesh were falling in all directions like meteors. The masses of flesh that had risen so high were now falling in fragments, burned by the fire.

Yuka raised the sword, and Souta stood beside her, helping her hold it.

And they stabbed and cut through that pillar of burning flesh.

Inside was Kotone.

Kotone, engulfed in flames, burning away.

“Isn’t it fascinating?”

Nirlas said with a laugh.

“That a fool who should have known nothing was, on the other hand, thinking of a way to drive me out.”

“…A way to drive you out?”

“It seems such a method existed. I don’t know much about it. Perhaps she heard it from her mother.”

“…”

“That woman named ‘Mirror’ who smiled as she died when she heard someone call her mother. How strange. She who never treated the flesh she bore as her children, gave birth to yet another ‘flesh’ just the same, and then developed maternal instincts. Because it could speak, because it looked a bit cuter, hmm, I don’t understand. Why such fixation on what is not essential.”

“You’re right.”

Yuka said.

“The afterlife is just a place everyone goes to when they die. You probably wanted immortality.”

Yuka raised her sword.

Was the trembling of the sword’s tip merely due to her lack of strength? Or was it because she knew what she had to do?

“But that’s why you lost.”

“Think that if you wish.”

Nirlas said.

“Indeed, knowing the method, she must have searched for it after being forcibly transferred to that body.”

Kotone’s body smiled.

“This is the Kurosawa family’s main house. So she could have found it somehow. What an impressive child. Surely it would have been difficult to maintain sanity after being transferred there. I didn’t think she could maintain her sanity in a place like a furnace where countless souls are entangled.”

So was that what Kotone had been searching for? Was it because she wanted to die?

If both that mass of flesh and the girl’s body were Kotone. Kotone would have known. That as such a mass of flesh, she couldn’t become close to anyone.

Even if she imitated appearances, she would ultimately know her true nature.

“From the moment she found and swallowed that dagger, the outcome was decided. One could say the problem was how perfectly they merged.”

Nirlas muttered.

“But can this be called a ‘victory’?”

“…”

Kotone, who had her eyes closed, slowly opened them.

“Kotone.”

Souta called Kotone’s name and—

The blade clashed with flesh.

Yuka’s sword had blocked the blade that was swung at Souta.

“Persistent to the end.”

“Hmm.”

Kotone’s body laughed.

“Even in this situation, you should know I can do anything.”

Nirlas said.

Yuka and Souta were thrown back.

Kotone walked out from within the mass of flesh.

Of course, the entity controlling the body was Nirlas.

The body was still on fire, but unlike the writhing masses of flesh in pain, her expression seemed very serene.

“With this, it’s a body that cannot die. Even if you’ve heard the story—”

Nirlas’s voice stopped.

“…I know.”

And a calm voice answered.

Slowly, Kotone’s body knelt on the ground.

“…But I heard another story too.”

Kotone’s gaze turned to Yuka.

“About a sword that can cut down someone like me.”

Yuka’s faint breath was heard.

“…Yuka.”

“Yes.”

Yuka rose to her feet again.

Souta helped her.

Staggering, the two approached Kotone.

“Ha, hahaha!”

Laughter flowed from Kotone’s mouth.

“Yes, I see. So that’s why you merged with my body.”

“…That’s right.”

To die.

To kill.

Kotone had chosen.

If they were together in one body, and if she could take control of that body even for a moment.

By being stabbed by Yuka’s sword—

Thud.

Yuka and Souta also knelt before Kotone.

And they grasped the sword.

They pointed the sword’s tip at Kotone.

“…Sorry, I’m sorry…”

In the end, Souta broke down in tears.

He didn’t want to accept this situation. He couldn’t believe things had ended up like this.

Until now, he had been able to save people. At least, he had saved those right in front of him.

He thought he could do the same for Kotone.

Yuka was also sobbing like Souta.

Kotone raised her trembling arms. And embraced the two around their necks.

“…It’s okay.”

A calm voice carried in Kotone’s breath.

“It’s okay, really. …I had fun. For the first time since I was born.”

Souta couldn’t say anything more to Kotone.

Kotone held the two tightly until the end.

With her lips tightly closed, as if to prevent Nirlas from mocking them.

A smile rested on Kotone’s face as she closed her eyes.

*

The gravestone was erected in the cemetery near the Yuuki family.

There was no one left in the Kurosawa family to perform ancestral rites.

It took quite a long time for Souta, Yuka, and the other children to properly recover their daily lives.

Souta and Yuka had to be hospitalized for a long time. They had so many wounds all over their bodies that it took a very long time to recover.

Since it happened during the school term, the two couldn’t properly attend school for a long time.

“Considering the time needed to gather your thoughts, perhaps…”

Yuka’s grandfather couldn’t finish his sentence, but Souta and Yuka knew it was because he felt sorry, so they just nodded.

Souta found it a bit absurd that he was taking something like a leave of absence from high school.

His father came to see him, but they didn’t have a long conversation. It was fortunate that he said he wouldn’t completely cut off support even if Souta attended school for another year.

“Shii, I’m sorry. Really.”

“No, brother.”

Shii held Souta’s hand with trembling hands and said with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you for coming back. I mean it…”

To such a Shii, Souta couldn’t think of anything to say other than apologizing a few more times.

By sheer coincidence, the hospital where Souta and Yuka were admitted was the same one where Fukuda’s friend was hospitalized.

“…Yuu seems to be doing a bit better. I haven’t told him about Kotone yet.”

Fukuda said when he came to visit Souta.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

Fukuda exhaled deeply.

“…”

And he remained silent for a while, leaning forward.

“Those who… those who remain, well, have to live on. Right?”

Souta couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“And, well, if it’s a divine being or something. Then, someday, it might appear again in a way we don’t understand. We can just greet it happily then.”

Fukuda said as he got up.

“At least it seems souls definitely exist, so doesn’t that mean she’ll come visit whenever we pray or perform ancestral rites? For now… that’s how it is.”

And as if not wanting to hear any rebuttal, he turned his back on Souta and left the room.

“…”

Nanami visited Souta with a very angry face.

“…If you do the same thing again, I’ll kill you myself.”

Souta trembled in fear at Nanami’s truly menacing expression.

But even while glaring as if she would really kill him, Nanami left after peeling many apples into rabbit shapes.

At least she seemed relieved that Souta had returned.

Senior Hagiwara also came, cried for a while, and left, and many other classmates visited as well.

The apartment where Kotone lived remained as it was. Strangely enough, the apartment remained literally ‘as it was’ even after that, except for the window glass that Souta had broken.

Even the goldfish that Kotone had kept was still there. Despite the chaos, the goldfish was alive. Even though it had been forgotten in everyone’s memories and hadn’t eaten for a long time, it seemed to have grown even bigger.

That goldfish was now being kept at Yuka’s house.

Yuka came to Souta’s hospital room after her condition had improved considerably.

“…I’m quitting.”

Yuka said.

“Exorcism and such, I can’t do it anymore.”

“…Yeah.”

Souta nodded to Yuka.

“…Did we do the right thing back then?”

Yuka asked.

Souta couldn’t bring himself to answer.

Yuka didn’t say anything either.

“Hey, Souta.”

Yuka, who was looking out the window, whispered softly.

“Yeah.”

“…If you’re going to hate me…”

“I don’t.”

Souta said.

“That day, it wasn’t just you holding the sword.”

Souta answered.

Yuka hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“Fukuda came and said that since it’s a divine being, it might suddenly pop up and say hello someday.”

So he said that there too.

Words that only someone who knows nothing can say. A vain hope.

No, it wasn’t even that. If anything, it was closer to a defense mechanism.

That’s why Souta couldn’t help but be a little surprised by what Yuka said next.

“I just feel like it would be nice if that happened.”

“…Yeah.”

Souta answered with a small smile.

“That would be nice.”

Both of them looked out the window.

Autumn was coming.

The sky was indifferently blue.

*

Several months later.

After taking a complete break for the second semester, when the weather had not yet warmed up.

Some time had passed since being discharged, but there were still uncomfortable areas.

But at least they could leisurely walk outside together with Yuka.

Though still a bit troubled by those memories, they felt they were gradually recovering. They were meeting friends occasionally, and had even talked with that boy named Yuu.

Perhaps, after a few years, it might be possible to return to normal life?

“It’s been a while since you’ve been to my house.”

Yuka said with a smile.

“Yeah. It’s been a long time. And just the two of us going.”

“Why? Do you have some strange expectations?”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m joking, joking.”

Yuka poked Souta’s side with her elbow.

After quitting her work, Yuka had become much brighter. She also had an expression as if she had let something go.

Souta thought that wasn’t a bad thing.

Of course, since Yuka’s grandfather and father were at her house, nothing unusual would happen, but still, when going to a girl’s house, one can’t help but have various thoughts. He was just acting rationally.

“Kotone’s goldfish has grown a lot.”

“Are goldfish originally large ornamental fish?”

“I looked it up and they can get quite big. They also live quite long. I think we might need to get a bigger tank.”

As Yuka said, the goldfish—

“…Huh.”

Yuka, who had opened her room door, froze stiffly.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Souta looked over Yuka’s shoulder into the room and also froze stiffly.

“Huh?”

And made the same sound as Yuka.

The room was in disarray.

More precisely, the fish tank was broken. Water was splashed everywhere, and the goldfish was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s this? What on earth happened…”

As Souta and Yuka hurriedly entered the room and looked around, at that moment.

“Souta. Yuu.”

A voice calling the two was heard.

It was a voice both of them knew.

Though it was a bit small—

“Kotone!?”

Both of them turned toward the bed where the sound came from.

And there, miraculously.

Yes, like the miracle Fukuda had spoken of—

“Hello.”

There was a friend greeting them.

Though her body had become much smaller, no, almost as small as a palm.

The person there was clearly the Kotone that the two remembered.

There would be many stories to share.

How this happened, no, how she could possibly be here like this.

Whether this was even possible. If there were any dangers. How she would live from now on.

But, for now, such rational responses didn’t immediately come.

The action that Souta and Yuka chose was, somewhat embarrassingly, to burst into tears.