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V6 Story IV – Part 01

Story IV

Do you vow to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?

I do.

I remember answering that way once. It was a memory of a distant day, a fragment of a happy memory that I still cannot forget.

In my memory, I am wearing a pure white veil and looking down. The dazzling light coming through the stained glass fills the air with a blissful glow. My husband looks into my face and utters gentle words. I smile and reach out with both hands, as if I know nothing of sorrow.

Now, I want to tell her. I want to whisper into those soft ears like the devil.

You will be unhappy. You will lose happiness so easily that you cannot even cry.

He was supposed to love me until death do us part.

It was a decision made during childhood. He was my destiny, and my feelings for him were unshakeable. But he left me. He didn’t even tell me to wait.

Still, I chose to wait. Like a faithful dog, like an animal. I obeyed him, even when he was no longer around. That was the only way I could prove my love.

If I could meet him after a hundred years, I would wait with joy.

But even if I waited for a hundred years, there was no guarantee that I would see him again.

Time gradually weathers my determination. Someone speaks to me gently. Comfort, pity, affection.

I am wrapped in the kindness of others. As I indulged in people’s affection, I learn the shape of loneliness. I examine it, digest it, and try to swallow it. But before it reaches my stomach, its coldness disappears. This is not good. I can’t wait like this.

Anxiously, I touch the window glass. I check its hardness, like touching the wall of an aquarium.

A black crow takes off, flapping its wings. The eyes of hundreds of birds look back at me.

There were countless black figures in the forest. I gaze at the feathers falling from between the trees.

Has a hundred years already passed?

I don’t know.

It felt so painful that I wanted to die.

“So, what did you think of your first catfight, Odagiri-kun?” Mayuzumi asked with a nasty smile.

She lay on the leather couch, swinging her thin legs. The glossy, black plume on her hat swayed in the air conditioner’s breeze.

I sighed and covered my face. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put it like that.” I forced the words out. “It’s misleading.”

Mayuzumi laughed. “People who disregard a woman’s affection are destined to be kicked by a horse and die. Originally, this cause of death was limited to those who interfered with someone’s love affairs. But they’re similar in terms of being boorish. Your organs will burst, but you reap what you sow.”

Mayuzumi waved her hand around, her black nails moving up and down.

Her shoulders and chest were also adorned with feathers. Black feathers reminiscent of crows, but not the living kind. Her ominous appearance brought to mind a corpse lying in a graveyard.

Her big eyes blinked. She found the current situation amusing.

But I wasn’t enjoying it at all.

I glanced to my side, cautiously. A figure in white was sitting there.

A girl with jet-black hair dressed in pure-white kimono, hands folded solemnly.

She didn’t say a word. She just stared straight ahead with a stern gaze.

Minase Shirayuki. She had come to Mayuzumi’s apartment.

It all goes back to yesterday.

“Huh? Odagiri, you were married? Ugh, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I don’t want to get involved in a real-life soap opera. Oh, but it’s not like we’re in a romantic relationship or anything. It’s just a misunderstanding… Um, nice to meet you. My name is Aya. I’m, uh… your husband’s friend! Not anyone shady or anything, and uhh…”

Aya stumbled over her words. Shirayuki pushed open the door silently and removed her sandals.

Aya met her gaze and straightened herself. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’m sorry!”

Shirayuki gave a tender smile. An immaculate expression adorned her beautiful face. She opened her fan gracefully.

Swish.

The brush glided swiftly across the fan.

“Thank you for everything you have done. I have heard of my husband’s poor health, but I could not come immediately. Do accept my sincere gratitude. Please do not apologize. I have no reason to be angry at you.”

Aya blinked, surprised by Shirayuki’s way of communication. She took her time to read the words on the fan, nodded, and straightened her back again for some reason.

Swish.

Shirayuki closed her fan and looked at me. Her calm gaze sent shivers down my spine.

She was genuinely furious. I felt like a mouse facing a cat.

It didn’t make any sense. Why was she angry? Why would she claim to be my wife?

Swish.

“It has been a while. Yukihito received a notice from Mr. Saga Yusuke about your health. How are you feeling? I heard you have problems with both your eyes and stomach?”

Sympathy flickered in Shirayuki’s eyes. The anger she felt earlier seemed to have dissipated like mist. I breathed a sigh of relief. She was staring at me worriedly.

“So Yusuke did that. I’m sorry,” I replied. “It’s nothing serious. I couldn’t see for a while, but I’m completely fine now.”

“Have you recovered completely? I know you. Are you certain you are not pushing yourself?”

“No, really. I’m fine. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

As head of the Minase clan, Shirayuki couldn’t leave her home that easily. She was also prevented from having any contact with me due to her involvement in the fox incident. But she probably insisted on coming here upon learning about my condition. I just put her in trouble. I lowered my head, and Shirayuki breathed a sigh of relief.

She smiled. “Thank goodness. I was so worried when I learned that you became blind. I am truly relieved that you are fine.”

There were tears in her eyes. Realization struck.

Shirayuki communicated using her fan. If I went blind, I wouldn’t be able to read her words. Her shoulders were quivering.

“I’m really sorry,” I said.

“I am glad. With this…”

Her fan whipped open, and she ran her brush across it.

Shirayuki flashed a lovely smile.

“There is no need to hold back.”

“…What?”

Her words didn’t make any sense. I felt a jolt in my stomach. A fist dug into my gut, causing my dinner to travel up my esophagus. Just before I could throw up, a sharp blow hit the back of my knee. Shirayuki swept my legs, and my vision tumbled. Aya screamed as a figure in white straddled me.

Smiling, Shirayuki raised one arm.

Her fists came crashing down one after another. The baby cried out in confusion. Shirayuki landed her punches precisely, careful not to hit Uka.

“Ugh, ah…”

I couldn’t even scream. My consciousness began to fade from the shock. I didn’t understand what was happening. I felt like I’d been tossed into a raging storm. Shirayuki relentlessly dropped lightning-fast blows. I desperately protected my stomach and managed to catch her small fists.

“Shirayuki-san…”

Shirayuki was crying. She glared at me while shedding tears. She pulled her hands back and opened her fan, swiftly running her brush.

“Did you really think sending one letter was enough?!”

Her messy handwriting looked like a scream. She closed and opened the fan again.

Shirayuki wrote words with a pained expression, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Was my declaration of love so insignificant as to warrant only a letter?!”

“You are the man I love. Be proud. And stand tall.”

“I will not allow you to say that you deserve to die.”

I remembered her words. She once told me she loved me. And she fought the fox, risking her life for me. But I rejected her feelings.

She glared at me while crying like a child. She wailed. I swallowed against the lump in my throat.

“You are the most wonderful woman I have ever met. But I cannot accept your feelings. I would like to personally talk to you sometime.”

The contents of my letter crossed my mind. I sent it to Shirayuki knowing that I wouldn’t be able to see her for a while. But I never intended to take her profession of love lightly. I hoped to someday talk to her directly, to give her my reason for rejecting her feelings.

But the fact remained that I hurt her.