Chapter 435 - Crossing the Border
She was a sister and a mother to my precious partner. She gave me all sorts of advice and help. She granted me her permission for various things—
Taking all that into account, I'm just going to say it: That maid needs to get a grip.
I'd anticipated Sora running away from me in the virtual world, and I'd already arranged to have a meeting set up at the Yotsuya residence if that happened.
I even had Chitose-san help out again and give me a ride here, all according to plan—but launching a surprise attack like that was, no joke, completely unplanned.
To make matters worse...
"..."
...being left alone together i-n S-o-r-a'-s r-o-o-m was beyond anything I could have imagined.
Is she sane? Hey, is that maid actually sane? After telling me to my face that she doesn't like me, what the hell is she thinking, throwing a guy into her beloved mistress's private room and then making a tactical retreat?
In fact, maybe it's because she doesn't like me... to be blunt, she might even hate me. Which means this could very well be a plot by that maid to humiliate me—
"...This is the second time, isn't it?"
"Hah...? What is?"
Sorry, but all my resolve is currently dedicated to a completely different matter. I don't have the capacity to calmly deal with sudden curveballs like this.
...But, calm down. It's o-k-a-y.
"...Sorry, the second time for what?"
This must be because only Sora and Natsume-san live here. While smaller than Shijo's place, the Yotsuya residence was still worthy of being called a 'mansion'.
Since this was my first time even setting foot in the mansion, it was naturally my first time seeing Sora's room. I couldn't just stare impolitely, but at a glance, it seemed to have very little furniture.
In terms of size, it wasn't even comparable to the room of that other young lady, Kaede; it was just an 'ordinary room'. The only things in it were a desk, a bed, and the Arcadia machine.
"Meeting in the real world," she replied.
In the middle of that room, I sat on a cushion I'd been given while Sora, huddled at the edge of her bed as if to protect herself, answered my question.
Unlike that maid of hers, she seemed to have a healthy sense of caution, which was a very good thing.
"Oh, right... I guess we haven't seen each other here since then, have we."
That day I first met her—Sora Yotsuya. It was after the Four Pillar War, a month ago, when I was being swallowed by reality in every sense of the word.
A month? Has it only been that long? The thought made me let out a faint, meaningless smile, and the sky-blue eyes staring intently at me narrowed slightly.
She was angry, or rather, that's what s-h-e w-a-n-t-e-d t-o l-o-o-k l-i-k-e.
"Why did you come here?"
Again, I swallowed the smile that threatened to escape. The narrowed eyes, the stiff voice, the forceful words... This girl really never changes.
No matter how much time passes—she's still so bad at being angry.
"I came to see you, Sora."
"...I said I was going to be alone for a bit."
She must have meant that as 'leave me alone.' Of course, I understood that.
But.
"I r-e-f-u-s-e."
My answer was already decided. Or, to be more accurate, it wasn't an answer—
"You're the one who said it."
"...W-What are you talking about?"
"You said, 'Please be my partner forever.'"
It was a promise we made, and a duty I had to fulfill.
"You also said it a ton of times. That partners are supposed to stand side-by-side and support each other. I haven't forgotten, you know."
That goes for two things.
Her ideal of what a 'partner' should be, and the fact that she lived up to her own words by supporting my heart time and time again.
"So we have to support each other. It's just my turn now, that's all. It's o-n-l-y n-a-t-u-r-a-l, r-i-g-h-t?"
"..., ...I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yeah, I guess not."
We can see into each other's hearts—and t-h-a-t i-s w-h-a-t's s-t-r-a-n-g-e.
Because we're s-t-r-a-n-g-e-r-s w-h-o d-o-n'-t k-n-o-w a s-i-n-g-l-e t-h-i-n-g a-b-o-u-t e-a-c-h o-t-h-e-r. I don't know Sora Yotsuya, and Sora doesn't know Haru Kasuga.
And yet, we connected in that world. We connected so deeply that others were baffled, thinking it was too much even for partners.
And that's why it got twisted.
We don't know a single thing about each other, yet we understand each other better than anyone. On top of that, we could sense the 'something' the other was holding onto without exchanging a single word, and we continued to be the person the other needed—It's beyond abnormal. It's not sane.
And that's why we drifted apart.
And that's why I won't hesitate or hold back anymore.
"I... hated romance."
"—...Wait."
That was one half of the 'something' we had both kept untouched.
"And the thing you're carrying... I don't know the details, but I pretty much g-e-t i-t."
"Stop, please don't..."
This was me crossing the 'line' we had drawn, supposedly to protect each other.
And again—I will not hesitate.
"—You're terrified of loss. To be more precise, y-o-u c-a-n'-t l-e-t y-o-u-r-s-e-l-f h-a-v-e s-o-m-e-o-n-e p-r-e-c-i-o-u-s."
"—!"
Sora shot to her feet, walked straight toward me, and raised her hand.
No matter where that palm was headed, I had no intention of complaining. But the reason I didn't look away or try to dodge wasn't because of that.
"Tch..., ...tch...!"
It was because I knew that she, with tears streaming down her face without a sound, would collapse powerlessly.
I knew that her small hands, which had nowhere else to go, would...
"...Why?"
...reach for me as if to cling for dear life.
Yes—
"...You knew, didn't you? In the virtual world, and here in the real one."
We never needed a skill like telepathy to begin with. Even though Sora and I had never talked about ourselves, not even once...
"You know everything I'm thinking right now, don't you?"
"..."
Our mysterious, fantastic connection isn't a one-way street. That's precisely why we needed to get to know each other.
Not by pretending to trust each other, claiming we could understand one another without knowing anything.
"...I don't know everything."
"Well, that's true. But I have a pretty good idea of what you want right now—whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Don't suddenly start struggling! I won't, I won't do it!"
For now, at least, the most I can do is catch her small body in my arms.
...If, beyond that, she wants more.
"Sora."
Even without a reply, my will is conveyed.
"I won't force you to talk about your side of things. But I'm going to lay all my cards on the table, so I want you to listen."
"...But Haru, you—"
"I'm not forcing myself. I'm talking because I want you to hear it—because I want you to know me. Though... it's not exactly a happy story."
So, though it's incredibly late—
"Will you listen?"
"..., ...Yes."
It's time to finally give the introduction for Haru Kasuga—for me—that I've been putting off for so long.
"You see, I had a brother."