Now back to the barracks, Kotaro was urgently taken to the medical center. He had lost consciousness soon after being impaled, but somehow, he was still breathing.
The one who took Kotaro from the battlefield was none other than Kotoko. For putting herself in danger, she had received harsh scolding from the higher-ups, which resulted in her getting out of the conference room with a dark, swollen mark left on her pretty face.
When the foxgirl left the headquarters, she found Izumo waiting for her at the entrance.
Seeing her swollen face, Izumo turned pale, then sad, and finally, he bit his lip in anger. The boy stepped forth with no hesitation, heading for the conference room ready to drag forth the one responsible for Kotoko's injury, when the girl's voice put him back in place.
"You have done enough!" Kotoko said, then walked away without looking back.
It was the first time his reckless actions had been brought up. In fact, neither Ken nor Izumo got to speak with the two girls or the samurais for a couple of days after the events at Haneba's base.
The only thing Izumo could do now was to visit Kotaro, and so he did. But even that had to be done through the wooden door of a small shack meant for the patient. Nevertheless, Izumo stepped forth and knocked on the door.
"Yo, it's been a whole day since they've put you in that dirty room. Is everything all right?"
Izumo received no answer.
"Haha. Kinda stupid of me to ask that… Sorry… How can things be all right with that wound… Are they taking proper care of you? It seems we've done a number on the enemy at least. They're busy regrouping for now. No news of another attack… At least that's something, right?"
As much as he waited, nothing came back from inside the building.
"Ok then. I'm going back to get some rest. I'll be back here tomorrow. Talk to you then!"
Second day since hospitalization.
"Sup? Here's just another gloomy day… Mister Wind Representative, huh? That was way too close for comfort! But hey, it could have been much worse. Imagine a frontal assault… The whole army Would have been done in with one swoop from that monster, right?"
Just like the day before, no words came from Kotaro's side.
"I guess I shouldn't say this to you, thought. You're the one who's had it the worst, after all. Oh, don't worry about Ken! He seems to be handling it pretty well. He is training now; we are lucky he didn't lock himself up in a random room or something."
Maybe because of the silence, Izumo's curiosity overwhelmed him, and he tried to slide open the door just enough to take a look at the wounded boy inside.
"Time to tend to Kotaro."
But he soon closed the door and started walking the other way as the nurses voice resounded from nearby.
"I guess it's a good thing that they didn't forget about you," Izumo whispered, hidden behind a tree as he looked at the cloudy sky.
Third day since hospitalization.
"You know, I've decided to go back there alone if the army isn't going to make a move. I know how stupid it sounds, but I can't stand thinking about my sister being used by that guy. To top it all off, my father is also captive! I'm pretty damn strong, one rescue operation should be no trouble. That Akira guy may brush it off as me giving back someone's freedom, haha!… If anyone asks about me, keep this a secret, ok? I'll plan things out and leave within the next days."
Fourth day since hospitalization.
"Four days have passed since that incident, huh? It's still crazy to think how bad that could have turned out. What about you, Kotaro? Do you feel up for a chat? Those past days have been pretty depressing, to be honest. My family is held captive, our friends are not talking to each other, and the whole camp looks at me like some kind of idiot. So, did you tell anyone my secret? I'm joking, haha! I know you'd first ask me before saying anything."
*Silence*
"Anyway, I'll leave this here. I wasn't in the mood for miso soup today, so I thought I might as well save it for you. I'd come in, but I doubt I am allowed to. Maybe you can tell the caretakers to give it to you… Get well soon, friend! We miss you."
Fifth day since hospitalization.
"You know, it just hit me. Could it be that you are mad at me for not protecting you? I know, I've messed up. I was really doing my best to come up with something, but nothing really clicked. That time-slow thing? I didn't really know I could do it. I know, it sounds like a lame excuse, but it's the truth! It really only came to me after you'd already gotten stabbed. To be honest, I also kinda hate myself for it… Anyway, I just wanted to tell you this. I hope you can forgive me."
Sixth day since hospitalization.
"Six days, partner! Almost a week since—"
"Enough! Stop it!"
"Huh?"
Confused, Izumo turned his head in the direction the sound came from. Standing there were two girls. The little one, the one who screamed, looked at him with tears in her eyes before quickly covering her face with a tengu mask.
"Kotoko? Ten? You've also come to check up on Kotaro?"
"Izumo, it's about time you snap out of it!" Kotoko said with a strong display of sorrow painted over her beautiful face. "You know what this place is…"
"What… is this place?"
He looked at the writing above the entrance door. As if snapping out of an illusion, the letters before the boy's eyes slowly transformed from "hospital."
"Columbarium…"
*****
The columbarium, a place designed to hold the ashes of those who had fallen in battle. On the other side stood lined up small rooms where the patients would be placed while they were receiving regular check-ups. When was it that Izumo started mixing them up? And how come he had just now noticed?
"You're right. Well, that's awkward, haha… He must be laughing his ass off in there, looking at me talk with the dead!" the boy said before thanking the two girls.
Upon realizing his mistake, Izumo tried to take a step towards the patient room, but he felt a strong grip on his arm, accompanied by a slap on his face.
"Stop it, Izumo! It's enough!" the girl with fox ears said. "It's about time you came back to the real world! He isn't going to answer!"
No answer came from boy's lips. He looked with empty eyes and a forced smile at the trembling hand grabbing on to him.
"Izumo… Say something!" the girl wearing a mask shouted.
"What do you mean? When?" Izumo asked with a soft voice.
"He died the evening of the first day after the battle. They cremated him on the second day, right after you tried to peek at him. Everyone was there to send him off, except for you."
Unable to bear the harsh truth, Izumo's knees gave up. He was being held straight by Ten's small palms.
"Why? Why did you leave me like that?"
"Excuse me? What did you expect us to do? Whenever we tried talking to you about Kotaro, you just brushed us off, not giving his passing a second thought!"
"AND YOU JUST LEFT ME BEHIND? It's Kotaro we're talking about here. How could you leave me wondering like that, stuck in denial? Me! His best friend!"
*Smack*
Another hit. This time the strength was enough to almost knock Izumo out. The boy looked around confused, but he only saw a small tengu with bleeding knuckles.
"Ten?…"
The girl could not look at him even with the mask on. Instead, she looked at Kotoko, giving Izumo the hint he needed.
In front of them, the foxgirl stared at the ground, hiding the pain she was feeling. The palm of her hand was grabbing her other arm, her nails digging into the skin.
"Kotoko… So you really—"
"Don't talk to me! You've said enough…"
The two girls turned around and left, leaving Izumo—who had just woken up from his denial—to put together the pieces of the puzzle by himself.
*****
The next day, Izumo came to the same spot. This time, he knew exactly where he was.
"Yo, so… I guess I was gone for a while. Haha, sorry about that. I wonder when my mind started drifting like that. People used to call you weird, but I guess I even took this from you."
Looking at the ground, Izumo balled his fist.
"This is awkward; I never thought you would be the one to go. Out of the five of us, you were the one who liked to stay the furthest from danger. And yet, here we are."
The boy bit his lip until blood started sprouting up. No, his lip was cleanly cut in the form of his teeth.
"So then, why? Why did you propose something so stupid? I even told you how dangerous it would be. I was right, wasn't I? I always am! So why? WHY DID YOU DO IT? LOOK! Look what happened because of your stupid idea! Without you, who is there to keep us together? No, forget that! Who is there to be our Kotaro? Why did I have to be right, why? And why did you have to sacrifice yourself like that? What's up with this stupid mentality of yours? A hero's death? An honorable one? Fuck that! Have you ever thought about living? What's sacrifice? What has that brought you? Where are you now, ha? You left us all here just so you can act like the bigger person, BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN STUPID PLAN!"
Izumo smashed his fists on the door of the columbarium and fell to his knees.
"Haha, you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is for the best. At least for you, dying is the end. Maybe I'm just jealous. Maybe I just want it to end for me too… That way, I may never have to feel the pain this world keeps putting me through…"
After staying there in silence for a couple of minutes, the boy got up and turned around.
"Goodbye, friend. I know that you didn't want it to turn out this way. I'm just too stupid to understand what a kind soul like yours is capable of,"
With a heavy heart far from ready to accept Kotaro's death, Izumo had no choice but to move on. He felt disgusted with his breakdown, but there was nothing he could have taken back.
"Well then, I'm off to make sure nobody else ends up like you. Maybe one day we can meet in heaven, but I doubt I will ever get to visit such a place. Oh, and about Kotoko, she's strong—maybe even too strong. I hope she remembers to also take off her lid from time to time and let it all blow up. You had a good girl. I doubt anyone else could handle somebody like her."
As he walked away, a gentle wind blew from behind Izumo. Izumo spread his arms to the sides and let himself be lifted into the air on the current for a second before touching the ground again.
"You're right. It's been a long week."
Despite the pain, the wind felt good. That wind was surely meant for him and him only. That's why the corners of Izumo's mouth turned upwards, forming his first sincere smile in the last seven days.