Part 108: Episode 100: Brothers

It is hardly easy to change your name and face.
Nageki… He’s calling. He’s calling me, you know?
Isa. I came to greet Nageki. Where is he?
I see you are losing hold of your sanity.
I’m serious. I’ve been waiting for this from the beginning.
He told me what you were doing to him here. But then you closed the facility.

He’s still here, isn’t he? Nageki.
There were indeed some pieces of him left after the fire. They would have degraded in mere hours, had I left them.
If it pleases you to call those bits of meat “Fujishiro Nageki”, I will not attempt to stop you.

Mr. Nanaki didn’t seem to take kindly to the doctor’s attitude, and unloaded another bullet into his body.

……!
You won’t die just yet, Isa. Don’t worry. Don’t worry.
So tell me. Where is Nageki? I have to… take him home now.
…If by Nageki you mean… what was left of him after the fire, then… it is Mr. Kawara’s liver.
The cells from his body that contained the Charon Virus… are now inside Mr. Kawara, parasitizing him.
Oh, is that it? I see. Thank you, Isa.


Mr. Nanaki comes over to me, the same soft smile on his face as when he teaches class.

Can you hear me, Nageki? I’m sorry I made you wait so long. I’m here now.
Sir, it’s me! Kawara Ryouta! From your class! Please, snap out of it…!
I don’t know what happened in the past, Nanaki, but this is not the time for such tomfoolery!
We have only a few more minutes before the humans enter the school grounds! It won’t take them long to find this place!
Mmm… Could you move over for a second, Shirogane? I need to talk to Kawara.

He points the gun at Sakuya.

……!
Sakuya, h-he’s serious…!


Kazuaki forcibly led me through the door and locked it once we were both in the adjoining room.


Open the door! Open it, I say!

The music stops.



…Where is the liver, I wonder? Do you know, Kawara?
S-sir… Nageki would never have wanted this…!

He stares thoughtfully at my stomach, a knife in his hand.
My body feels weak. I think I must have put too much into that fight earlier. I won’t be able to resist…!

Nageki… Nageki… Nageki… Can you hear me? I’ve come to save you again.
Where are you? Tell me. What part of Kawara do I need to cut open to find you?

Sir, listen to me…!

He moves the knife from one place to another, as if making an estimation. He’s going to--

Oh, I see. It’s hide and seek. I’ll look as hard as I can, then.

The music stops.


I closed my eyes as I saw Mr. Nanaki raise the knife, and I heard the sound of the knife cutting through the air.










The knife is stuck deep into the wall under my wing.
I can hear Nageki’s voice.
But I can’t see him. The voice is coming from inside me.

…Mr. Kawara. Let me use your body for a bit.

Okay… Go ahead.
I was still having trouble trying to wrap my head around what was going on, but I thought that if anyone would be able to save Mr. Nanaki, it would be Nageki.



…Of course. I’ve talked with you every night…
You told me, Nageki. Told me to come get you. Told me to exact revenge on Isa.
No, Hitori. That was not me. I never told you to do that.
Have you forgotten what I asked you to do, Hitori? The second thing.
I remember. Of course I remember. So let’s go home.
Listen, Hitori. I am no longer here. I can no longer go home with you.
Who said that? Oh, I see. It was Isa, wasn’t it? Only he would say something mean like that.
No, it wasn’t him.
Don’t worry, Nageki. I’ll take care of him in a minute. Don’t worry.
Hitori. I never asked for you to come for me. I never asked for you to exact revenge.
Who was it?
Nageki. It was Nageki--

The music stops.







I’m sorry, Nageki… But I know that no apology will ever fix it…
…Sir, what…?
There is a shadow in Hitori’s heart. His own shadow, pretending to be mine.
Come for me, Hitori. I’m here.
I know, I know. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want… you to be alone.

That’s what you want, isn’t it? If you want me to carry this pain I will, Nageki.
I won’t ask… for forgiveness… I won’t…


He’s crying.
Tortured by his own shadow.

I’m sorry, Nageki. I’m sorry.
Hitori… I don’t want you to be in pain.
He’s trying to destroy his feelings of guilt… He wants to be saved.
If you’re here, his pain will go far away. Help me save him.
…Yes.




Isa and the others should die in pain. All of them should die. As long as they live, my pain will never disappear.

Sir, you and Nageki… both lost those most important to you to strife.
You should know best of all that revenge helps no one. It brings no happiness, only pain.

I’m sorry, Nageki. If I had been better, this never would have happened…!
Everything would have been fine if you’d never met me. If I hadn’t been there, you never would have felt pain…

The time Nageki spent with you was his greatest treasure. I know how wonderful it is to be able to be together with loved ones, too.
Nageki is glad he got to be with you, sir. There is nothing to regret!

Look at me, Hitori.
Hear only my voice, Hitori.
I will tear your heart to pieces. And when it heals I will tear it again. And again. And again. That is your punishment. It will be wonderful to live with me again. Wonderful.

Please, Hitori. Listen to me.
The voice you hear is that of your own shadow. You have been hurting yourself all this time.
Stop blaming yourself. I don’t want to see you in pain.

The first was… come save me. So I--

My first wish was for you to… make my body disappear from this world..
As long as I live, as long as my body remains, someone will try to use the Charon Virus.
That virus must disappear, and my body with it. It will bring only sadness as long as it remains.

You asked me to take revenge on Dr. Isa. On all those who brought you pain.
Yes. I need to grant this wish. I need to--

No, Hitori. That was not my wish.
Remember, Hitori. Remember my final wish.





“That doesn’t help. With my body like this, I can’t work… or go to school. That’s just how it is.”
“You’re thinking too hand, Nageki.”
“Let’s go pick some millet in the yard. It’s almost dinner time. A full stomach scares the bad things away. Right?”
The music stops.



“What a beautiful sunset… I guess it’s autumn already.
Are you cold, Nageki?”
“…I’m fine.
Hitori.”
“Hmm?”
“It would be… easier for you without me, right?”
“Why do you think that?”
“I heard you and the others talking about it. Medicine costs a lot more than food.
You’re paying for it out of your salary, right? If you had that money for yourself, you could buy better food. You wouldn’t have to work so much. So, you would be better off without me.”
“Don’t say that, Nageki. I don’t care about fancy food, or free time. You’re more important than any of that. You mean more to us than you think, Nageki.
You were very young when you came here, so maybe you don’t remember, but… losing family is hard. I want to stay like this, watching over the people I love, forever.
So, listen. Maybe it looks like I’m working just for you, but… it’s for me, too. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
“…Thank you, Hitori. I just wish I wasn’t such a burden to you…”
“Stop that, already! You’ve never been a burden to me.
Here, have some millet. Eat well and we can sleep well, too… Let’s hope for good dreams, okay?
……
…
I hope we can stay with everyone like this forever.”
“…Yes.”











The shadow had finally disappeared from Mr. Nanaki.


Look at me, Hitori. I want you to live. You don’t have to feel guilty for me.
I couldn’t tell why I was still here…
At first I thought my remains--The parts of me that are inside Mr. Kawara now were keeping me here…
But I don’t think so now.

I can’t, Nageki. I can’t go on without you! I don’t want to live without you…!
We’ve stayed here too long, Hitori. We have to move on.


As Nageki began to fade away, he turned to me.

…Mr. Kawara. Thank you.