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V12 Story IV – Part 09

Still, she pressed on. Amidst the drifting cherry blossoms, she regarded me with a calm gaze.

“Remember what I told you? You can never leave me. You must stay by my side. You will protect me, work for me, and die for me. But it looks like this is farewell, Odagiri-kun. You should head back. There are people waiting for you.”

The spinning parasol flicked the petals away. In the magnificent and beautiful sea of cherry blossoms, Mayuzumi smiled. I shook my head repeatedly. Again and again. I held her hand tightly, determined not to let go, no matter what.

“B-But, Mayu-san,” I stammered. “You… You…”

“What is it, Odagiri-kun?”

“Y-You told me… You told me to come with you.”

On that day when cherry blossoms swirled around us, she held my hand and said: “You can climb out of hell, but only hell awaits you there anyway. Do you still want me to save you?”

And when I told her I didn’t want to die, she said, “Then come with me.”

“I did. I made that promise,” Mayuzumi said. “That’s why we’ve been together all this time. No matter how much you wanted to break free. In sickness and in health.”

Mayuzumi chuckled. Even as she was joking, she observed me with clear eyes.

She laughed at the dead, reveled in tragedies, and savored misfortunes. But occasionally, she showed a crystal-clear gaze. She would look at me with an expression not fitting a young girl.

How I hated that beautiful smile of hers.

“Don’t worry about it, Odagiri-kun. This is fate. I’ve told you many times, haven’t I? I’ve lived by reveling in human misfortune. Everything will return to where it belongs. That’s the rule. This outcome was inevitable. There’s no need for sorrow or regret. This is the end. All’s well that ends well.”

Unwilling to accept her words, I said, “But… But Mayu-san…”

Cherry blossoms continued to flitter around us. The twirling umbrella repelled petals over and over. Round and round it swirled. With each spin, the world around me blurred into darkness.

I clung tightly to Mayuzumi’s hand. I grasped her arm to keep her from slipping away. Yet, as if mocking my efforts, changes appeared in the parasol. The crimson fabric started fraying, fading, before turning into white petals. Slowly, the change spread to Mayuzumi herself. Her shoulder melded with the flowers. Mayuzumi remained silent. She didn’t bemoan her disappearance.

“…Mayu-san, I don’t want this…”

She was turning into cherry blossoms and vanishing. Her body was being torn apart gradually, carried away somewhere. Her left hand was completely gone. I couldn’t see the wound in the murky darkness. Mayuzumi wore a vague smile.

The scene foretold by the card unfolded before my eyes. Mikage’s prophecy had come true. And I still couldn’t let go. I clung desperately to her right hand.

“Mayu-san, how will I live if you’re gone?!”

“What are you saying, Odagiri-kun? Your life is yours alone. It’s not mine to dictate. Mayuzumi Azaka’s fate has no bearing on Odagiri Tsutomu. From now on, just live the way you want.”

The woman who saved me and changed my fate was leaving alone. I refused to let go of her hand, but it crumbled anyway. Her entire body transformed into cherry blossoms.

Just before her face was gone, she said without a hint of regret, “It was utterly worthless, but it was a good life.”

She disintegrated into thousands of petals, slipping through my fingers and disappearing into the darkness. I clenched my fists and watched until every last petal was gone.

When I came to, the darkness had lifted. A cold, pure wind brushed against my cheeks.

I looked up to see a pale pink night sky. Before me stood two familiar old buildings, with red flowers stirring at their base. I couldn’t quite understand what I was seeing.

The scene felt strangely familiar, like a memory from a hundred years ago.

Suddenly, someone embraced me from behind, shouting wildly and shaking me. I turned to see a face I’d seen countless times in the spirit world. She was crying.

Finally, I found my voice. “Shirayuki-san?”

I held her tight. Rubbing her back, I looked around, struggling to remember the names of the people rushing towards me. It wasn’t until the woman in white took my hand with concern that their names came to me.

“Maihime-san… Kugutsu, Yusuke, Yukihito… I…”

“Odagiri-san, you were swallowed up, you disappeared, but then you suddenly reappeared, and then—”

Yusuke stopped abruptly. Scanning the surroundings, he realized something. His face twisted as he swallowed hard.

“Where’s Mayuzumi-san?” he asked fearfully.

I shook my head. A collective gasp came from everyone. I looked at my clenched fist.

Gently, I opened my fingers. There wasn’t a single cherry blossom petal left in my palm. Spring was still far away.

She was gone. I recalled her vague smile. That serene, lovey smile painfully reminded me that I would never see it again.

Mayuzumi Azaka was no longer in this world.

“Mayuzumi Azaka would’ve never said all that,” I choked out the words, barely able to speak.

I clenched my fist again and struck the ground. Over and over, I pounded the earth. Yusuke said something. Kugutsu closed his eyes. Asato, standing behind him, turned on his heel and walked away. The men in black were still plopped down on the ground. Yukihito rubbed his eyes fiercely.

Shirayuki stopped me, her hands enveloping mine. I lifted my head, my vision blurred.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, as if my tear ducts had broken.

And then, like a child, I cried out loud.

And so the night of destiny for Mayuzumi Azaka and Odagiri Tsutomu came to an end.

---

I stopped along the embankment, looked up at the distant sky, and let out a deep breath.

Red petals still drifted in the air, but the wind from the river was starting to feel warm.

Spring was just around the corner. Soon, the sky would regain its original blue color. Then, everything would be back to normal.

Nodding to myself, I resumed walking, slowly heading back to Maison de Nanase. Shortly the slope came into view, and I saw a familiar figure.

It was a holiday. Nanami, her pigtails swaying, was sweeping the front of the apartment with a broom. Sensing my presence, she looked up. I waved at her, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Odagiri-san!” she exclaimed.

Instantly she closed her mouth. She stared at my face, perplexed. She gripped the broom tightly, narrowing her eyes like she was looking at someone so pitiful.

“Um, what… what happened?” she asked cautiously.

“Hmm? Everything’s fine. It’s over now. I’m back, Nanami-san,” I reassured her.

I was back as promised. But she didn’t respond. She was probably busy. I bowed to her and continued walking. Her stunned face disappeared from my view.

I climbed the rusty apartment stairs and entered my unit, placing my luggage on the burnt tatami mat. The urn with the girl’s ashes would be buried in the cemetery on another day. I breathed in the dusty air and lay down. I never thought I’d be back here.

I recalled what happened after returning from the spirit world. I stayed at Maihime’s mansion for a few days for observation. Surprisingly, Uka was stable. My abdomen didn’t seem likely to open anytime soon.

When I said I was leaving since there seemed to be no problems, Maihime was unusually flustered. Kugutsu also suggested I stay, but I couldn’t impose any longer. I left the mansion almost forcefully. That was this morning.

Shirayuki and Yukihito had returned to the Minase household for the time being. They said they would come back after reassuring their clan members. I appreciated their concern, but there was no danger now.

I declined multiple times, but they insisted they would come back. I remembered their almost tearful faces. I couldn’t understand why they looked like that.