Published at 17th of August 2019 7:51 am

Volume 10, Chapter 7: What Was Put Into the Necklace

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Having jumped out of the parking lot of the abandoned building, Koutarou set his eyes straight at the site of the accident where his mother had died. He didn't look around him. He ignored traffic lights and he bumped into people; he ignored all of that and pressed forward. The time was already 7PM. Koutarou's memories told him that the accident had occurred shortly after 7. Since he wasn't sure of the exact time, he couldn't say if he'd make it or not. That's why Koutarou bet everything on that small chance that she was still alive.

That corner, it's just around that corner!!

Koutarou was now just a little bit away from the site of the accident. His heart was racing, his lungs screamed for oxygen and his legs were slowing down from exhaustion. The sound of his pulse was so noisy that he could barely hear anything else. However, Koutarou pushed all of that aside and continued forward. Just around the corner, his mother was about to die in an accident. It wasn't the time to worry about his own worry.

Alright, I just turn here!!

Koutarou slowed down a little to turn the corner. As he did, he could hear the loud screech of a siren behind him and a large white van was approaching. The van turned the corner at the same time as Koutarou did and passed him.

'Harukaze City Hospital'

That was what was written on the side of the white van. A red warning light shone at the top of the van that had sirens blaring. There was no doubting it, that was an ambulance.

There was a large crowd gathered in the direction that the ambulance was heading. The people were gathered around something. In the middle of the crowd there was a stopped car that had slammed into the guard rail. Right next to it was a lone boy. The boy was embracing a half-knit sweater and was sitting down on the road. Around him was a basket woven out of bamboo and the knitting tools in it had been scattered around. A woman lay collapsed in front of the boy. The woman looked like she was floating as she lay on top of a red pool of liquid.

“Ah...”

The moment Koutarou saw that, he stopped. Strength left his body and he froze. Koutarou simply stood there and watched the development. The emergency personnel passed by the boy and rushed towards the fallen woman. The crowd continued growing and Koutarou could no longer see the boy, the woman or the emergency personnel.

“Bertorion...”

A woman appeared next to Koutarou's side. She was wearing glasses and a long dress.

“I am very sorry... by the time I got here, it was already...”

Like she had said, Clan had an apologetic expression on her face.

After Clan had guided Koutarou to the abandoned building, she followed his simple directions in search for the site of the accident. However, she had a hard time finding it with the short description she had gotten, and by the time she finally found it, the accident had already happened.

Hearing Clan's apology, Koutarou lost all strength and sat down where he was standing. He looked the same as the boy who was embracing the half-knit sweater.

“Onii-chan! Onee-chan!”

That was when Kii caught up. Koutarou had left Kii to Clan's observation device and rushed on ahead. Because of that, she had appeared a little later.

“What happened to your mom!?”

Kii still didn't know what had happened. But she had gotten a bad feeling when she saw Koutarou sitting down. But she didn't want to believe in that feeling.

“...We didn't make it in time...”

Clan spoke to Kii in a sorrowful tone and shook her head.

“No!! Then did Onii-chan's mom die!?”

Kii screamed out and tears filled her eyes. She didn't want to accept that Koutarou's mother had died.

I didn't make it... mom died... again...

Kii's scream carved the reality into the frozen Koutarou's heart. And then the memories of the days after his mother had died surged into his head all at once.

Koutarou's mother had died leaving behind a half-knit sweater. Like Kii, Koutarou searched for his mother, and his father took to alcohol to drown out his sorrows. Koutarou's relationship with his father grew worse, and it took a long time to repair that relationship. They were fine now, but Koutarou had to mature before that could happen.

One could say that Koutarou's childhood was lonely. Once he got home, he would be all alone. Being all alone in a house full of memories of his mother was hard. His father didn't get back until the night. Both Koutarou and his father had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they had suddenly lost their mother and wife respectively. As a result, a long time passed before they could properly reconcile. Before time and his friends could heal his heart, Koutarou spent a long time alone. This was also one of the reasons for why he had devoted himself to baseball.

All those memories of his childhood revived in Koutarou and he was overcome with deep loneliness and an intense sense of loss. Koutarou had lost his mother once more.

“Damnit, I couldn't save her! I couldn't save mom!!”

Koutarou slammed his fist into the hard concrete. The strong blow tore his skin and blood poured out. It was possible that the flowing blood was a replacement for tears.

“I was just a little bit away!!”

Koutarou continued pounding his fist into the concrete, not giving a single care for the blood flowing out. He felt that if he didn't do that, his heart would break into pieces. It was only because he hurt himself like that he was able to maintain his sanity.

“Even if you call me a knight, I can't save anyone!! History is still the same!! GOD DAMMIT!!”

Koutarou screamed. The sight of his mother dying in front of him once more was more painful than he could ever imagine. He couldn't save anyone. He couldn't be of help to anyone. Everything proceeded as if according to a script or history. Koutarou couldn't do anything. Overcome with that despairing feeling of helplessness, solitude and sense of loss, Koutarou looked like he would shatter if he was even touched.

“I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Onii-chan!!”

However, there was someone who was protecting Koutarou as he looked like he'd fall apart. It was the young girl, Kii, who had desperately chased after Koutarou.

Not caring for her own clothes being bloodied, she held Koutarou's fist by her chest and embraced it with all her might. It was as if she was going to accept all of the feelings in his fist.

“It's, It's all Kii's fault!! If Kii hadn't run away from home, Onii-chan's mother...!! Onii-chan's mother would still...!!”

Kii couldn't stop herself from doing so as her soul screamed.

She felt responsible, she felt that it was all her fault that Koutarou's mother had died because Maya had captured her. And looking back at it, she had been captured because she ran away from home. Kii's selfish actions had deeply hurt Koutarou, which was a massive failure for Kii.

Kii understood Koutarou's feelings more than anyone. They were the same feelings that she had felt before she found her mother's star. She had felt the same despair and solitude herself.

More than anything however, Kii loved Koutarou. That was surely the young girl's immature first love. Her pure emotions screamed at her that she couldn't leave Koutarou alone. Something deep inside her screamed at her to save him.

“I promise you, Onii-chan!! Kii will never let you feel lonely!! Kii will always be by your side!! So, so..!”

Just like Koutarou had healed her heart, Kii felt that it was now her turn to heal his. Since she loved him more than anyone else, she accepted that role. She would always stay by his side so he wouldn't feel lonely. She would learn how to cook, she would do the cleaning and washing. She would do all of the things a mother would do. She wanted to pour her warmth into Koutarou. She believed that together they could save each other from solitude.

“So, please don't cry!! You're not lonely, Kii is here!! Kii will always protect you, Onii-chan!!”

Tears scattered as Kii screamed.

The pure, warm and gentle emotions jumped into the Koutarou's heart. And they gently wrapped his frozen and cracked heart.

“Kii-chan...”

Kii's desperateness barely kept Koutarou's heart from breaking. Thanks to that, he managed to calm down a little. It wasn't like the sorrow of losing his mother had vanished, but he managed to recover from the shock of losing his mother twice.

Kii's clothes were dyed red with his blood, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Her body shook and her voice was desperate.

All of that let Koutarou know that he wasn't alone. At the same time, it turned into the power he needed to be able to stand up again.

“...Thank you, Kii-chan. I feel a little better... thanks to you.”

Koutarou somehow managed to smile at Kii.

“Onii-chan...”

After showing a stiff expression, Kii always showed a smile.

“I-I'm so glad... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Onii-chan... I am really, really sorry...”

Kii reached out and touched Koutarou's cheek. She gently wiped his tears away. Relieved to see Koutarou act like that, she let out tears of relief. But Koutarou wiped her tears away as well.

“You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“But, but!!”

“It's okay. Thank you, Kii-chan.”

“Onii-chan!! Uaaaa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Deeply moved, Kii threw herself at Koutarou and hugged him.

She cried for my sake...

Koutarou embraced Kii's trembling body, gently patted her back and felt grateful that she had cried for him.

And thanks to her crying first, he somehow managed to choke back his tears.

Part 2

After Kii had finished crying, she fell asleep from exhaustion and from the deep relief while still hugging Koutarou. Carrying her, he headed towards the Cradle.

“She really is a child. Look how well she's sleeping.”

“She should still have childish parts like this. She's too good of a child.”

“That's true. If she's always awake, I would lose my turn to console you.”

“You're awfully childish about the weirdest things.”

“Shut it!”

By now, Koutarou had managed to recover to his usual state. The grief hadn't vanished, but he somehow supported himself thanks to Kii's and Clan's help.

I'm really grateful, Clan. I'm glad we're together...

When Koutarou thought of being alone here, he was overcome with gratitude for Clan. The reason he didn't say that directly was because of the distance between them. He was a little embarrassed about telling Clan his honest feelings.

And this might be for the best for Clan...

If he had saved his mother, Clan would lose her place to return to. That fact also helped easing his grief. She was an important friend to him. While he grieved for his mother, he also felt like he should be happy that his friend would be alright.

“By the way, Clan, what do we do now?”

“I've finished my calculation, but wait a little for our departure.”

“Why?”

“This girl found out the location of the Cradle, right? After we get her home, I'm moving its position.”

“Okay, I'll leave that to you. I better practice my acting, so you don't have to hurry.”

“Oh yeah, there was that thing too.”

As Koutarou and Clan discussed the future, they entered the mountain where the Cradle was buried. Since they would be walking on a paved path for a while, it wouldn't be very difficult to traverse. Kii didn't wake up as they started the climb.

As Koutarou and Clan had made it about halfway up the mountain, the bracelet on Clan's right arm sounded off an alarm.

“Warning. An unidentified group is approaching from ten o'clock. Forces four, threat of weaponry is low, energy reaction is also low. Maintaining threat level one.”

“Bertorion, someone is coming.”

“Looks like it.”

Though slightly behind, Koutarou also noticed that.

They don't seem to be very hostile, but...

Koutarou's ability to see spiritual energy was growing weaker, but he could feel the presence of four people approaching.

“It might be best to wake that girl up.”

“Yeah.”

A mysterious group was approaching them from the left. There was no path in that direction, only an abundance of trees and bushes. It was hard to imagine it would be someone gathering mushrooms and plants at this hour, so they decided to at least stay on guard.

“Kii-chan. Wake up, Kii-chan.”

“Mm, Mmmm~”

Koutarou lightly shook Kii's body while calling out to her, and she soon began moving. She moved her arm that was around Koutarou's neck and rubbed her eyes.

“Good morning, Onii-chan? What is it?”

“Some strange people are coming. They don't seem like enemies, but we thought it would be best to wake you up.”

“I see.”

Kii seemed satisfied with the explanation and got off of Koutarou and nodded. And while rubbing her drowsy eyes, she looked to the left hand side. A bush in front of her shook and four men appeared.

There was an elderly man in the front with three men behind him and all of them were wearing expensive brand suits. Based on how the man was moving and the three were following him, it looked like they were the elderly man's guards.

“Uncle!?”

“My lady!!”

When the men stepped on the asphalt road, Kii and the elderly man shouted out at the same time. The elderly man then panicked and ran towards Koutarou and the others.

“I finally found you, my lady!!”

Upon seeing Kii, the elderly man showed a big smile and ran as fast as he could. He didn't seem to care who Koutarou and Clan were at all.

“Kouma-sama, please wait! We don't know who the others are yet!”

“As if I care!! My ladyyy!!”

The three behind him seemed cautious to who Koutarou and Clan were, so they hurriedly tried to stop the elderly man. However, he completely ignored them. The three men looked at each other and reluctantly chased after him.

“Kii-chan, do you know them?”

Based on the elderly mans and Kii's reaction, Koutarou vaguely understood that they weren't enemies. But since Kii's life had been targeted he remained cautious.

“Yes. It's uncle Kouma who works in my house.”

“Like I thought, she seems to be the daughter of an influential family.”

At the same time as Koutarou learned of the other's identity, the elderly man called Kouma reached Kii. He then squatted down in front of her and matched her eye level.

They seem okay...

Seeing Kouma squat down and match Kii's eye level, Koutarou decided that Kouma wasn't a dangerous person, and the tension built up inside of him released.

“Just where have you been these three days!? I was very worried and looked for you all over!!”

“I'm sorry, uncle...”

Kii apologized to Kouma who was in tears. It was now that she understood what her selfishness had caused.

“Of course, the master also worried for you. I desperately stopped him when he said that he would go look for you himself, and that's why I came here looking.”

“Dad did...?”

“The master heard that someone was after your life, and he had to use everything at his disposal to keep his enemies at bay. He was in no way not worried about you.”

Kii's father noticed that his political adversaries would try to use the fact that Kii had run away from home to sway the public opinion. Kii's father hadn't found out that Tayuma was the mastermind and that he was using Maya to target Kii, but he used everything he could to keep his political adversaries at bay. Because of that, nobody could move except for Tayuma and Maya.

And in exchange for Kii's father who couldn't move as he held his adversaries back, Kouma, his trusted vassal, was sent to look for Kii. This was Kii's father's best efforts to protect her.

“Uhm, about that.”

Koutarou who had been watching over the two, opened his mouth. There was something he had to tell Kouma.

“This girl, Kii-chan, was just attacked by some stranger. So please take her somewhere safe as fast as possible.”

“Onii-chan!?”

Kii's eyes opened wide from Koutarou's words. However, Kouma's reaction was even more exaggerated.

“I-Is that true!? We can't stay here!! You guys, secure our surroundings!! And contact the master!!”

“Understood!”

Kouma gave out orders and the men behind him sprung into action at once. One of them used some kind of device to survey his surroundings, and pulled out a small gun. The third used a communication device and contacted somebody. They were preparing for an ambush and at the same time planning their retreat.

“I somehow managed to protect her, but she might come back again... so please hurry.”

Koutarou and Clan didn't know who Maya was. All they could imagine was that she was an assassin that Kii's father's political adversary had sent. They didn't know what was going on behind the scenes or if they might still be under pursuit. There was a limit to how well Koutarou and Clan could protect Kii. So they wanted to hurry to take Kii somewhere safe.

“I see... Normally I would like to formally thank you, but since this is an urgent matter we will take our leave. Please excuse my impoliteness.”

Kouma politely bowed his head towards Koutarou. In response Koutarou nodded.

“I think that's for the best. So please don't worry about it.”

Koutarou could vaguely understand the circumstances, so he agreed with Kouma's actions. They should take Kii somewhere safe as quickly as possible.

“I am most grateful.”

Hearing Koutarou's words, Kouma bowed once more. This was the most gratitude that he was able to express at the moment.

“My lady, let us go.”

“No!! I won't go back!!”

Despite Koutarou and Kouma having come to an understanding, Kii herself was for some reason fiercely shaking her head. This surprised both of them.

“What's the matter, Kii-chan. Didn't you say you'd go home before?”

“M-My lady, why!?”

Koutarou tilted his head and Kouma grabbed Kii's shoulders with his eyes wide open. They were greatly surprised. Especially Koutarou, who had heard Kii say she was going home just before. He couldn't understand why she had suddenly changed her mind.

“That's because I promised Onii-chan!! That I would be with you!! Kii will protect you so that you won't feel lonely!!”

“Kii-chan...”

Kii had changed her mind because of Koutarou. Just a moment ago when he had lost his mother, she had cheered him up by saying she would stay with him. Since she didn't want that to be a lie, she tried to stay by his side.

“...It's okay, Kii-chan.”

Koutarou squatted down next to Kii and put his hand on her shoulder. Seeing that, Kouma decided to leave the convincing to Koutarou and took some distance from them.

“It's not okay!! Onii-chan did so much for me, so now it's my turn!!”

Even when Koutarou spoke to her she fiercely shook her head and she began tearing up.

“Kii promised to protect you!! I definitely won't go home!!”

“Kii-chan, you've already protected me enough. Don't you get it? I'm only able to cheerfully talk like this thanks to you.”

Koutarou had lost his mother twice. The one to ease his pain had been Kii. It was because she had lost her own mother that her feelings had reached him. That's why Koutarou could confidently say that Kii had protected him more than enough. And the tears she had shed at that time still remained within him and protected him.

“That's why it's okay. Thank you, Kii-chan. I am really grateful.”

“Onii-chan...”

Kii spoke a little quieter.

Since Kii was clever and sensitive to others feelings, she understood how Koutarou felt. That's why Kii also understood that he wasn't lying now. He wasn't making it up to get Kii to go home.

Because of that, her argument lost its momentum. She understood that it was time for the two to part ways.

“I will never forget that you cried for my sake. And as long as I don't, I won't be alone. Right?”

“Yeah...”

Kii would return home, and Koutarou would do the same.

But the bond the two had formed wouldn't disappear. As long as they didn't forget the time they spent together, neither Koutarou nor Kii would be alone. Knowing that there was someone that understood them out there somewhere, they would be able to confidently walk down their respective paths.

Though for that other party to be a six-year-old girl that’s just like me...

While amazed that he had been cheered up by a six-year-old girl, Koutarou was grateful that he had met her and at the same time he was sad that they would part ways. So he at the very least prayed that her future would be bright.

“Take care, Kii-chan.”

“...Yeah. You too, Onii-chan.”

“Yeah. I will be okay.”

“That's a lie. Kii knows that you're weak, Onii-chan.”

“And as long as you know that, I will be okay.”

“Aha, this is almost like a confession.”

“It's pretty similar. I'm exposing my weakness after all.”

“That's true.”

A smile finally appeared on Kii's lips. She had been able to accept that it was time to part ways. Sensing that, Kouma who had been watching from the sidelines opened his mouth.

“My lady, it's about time...”

“I know. But just wait a little.”

The time to part was near. Kii knew that as well. She had no more intention of being selfish, but she had one more thing she had to do.

“Onii-chan, take this.”

Kii lightly pulled down the clothes around her chest and pulled out a necklace. The necklace had polished jewels and fangs and was strung together by a colorful string. It had a unique beauty, different than modern accessories. It was simple, but had a powerful beauty to it, and it suited Kii very well.

“I want you to hold on to this, Onii-chan.”

Kii removed it from her own neck and presented it to Koutarou.

“My lady, that's...”

Kouma instinctively tried to stop Kii. He knew just what that action would mean to her.

“I know, that's why.”

“...If you are aware, then I will not speak any further.”

“Thank you, uncle.”

Kii smiled and nodded at Kouma and handed the necklace to Koutarou.

“Here, Onii-chan. Think of this as Kii and take good care of it.”

“Are you sure? Isn't this something precious to you?”

Based on how the necklace looked and how Kouma had reacted, Koutarou understood that it was something valuable. And if that was actually correct, if Koutarou had heard what it was worth, he would definitely had tried to give it back to Kii.

“Yes, this is my thanks for the card! From today, this will protect you instead of Kii! And... I would be happy if you looked at it from time to time and thought of Kii.”

In Kii's hometown there was a certain custom. That was that two people who had pledged to marry one another would exchange items they regularly wore as proof of their engagement.

Kii had gotten a card from Koutarou, so Kii decided to give Koutarou her mother's keepsake. Kii had been able to find the star and meet her mother again. She no longer needed to look for her mother in the necklace. She believed that it would be better if she gave the necklace to Koutarou and have her mother protect him. Those were the two meanings this present had.

However, Kii had no intention of telling Koutarou that. Since he lived somewhere else, he didn't understand the meaning of this action. And they wouldn't be able to meet again for a while. That's why she didn't want to push her feelings onto him. She had learned what selfish actions could cause.

That's why she would tell him everything when she met Koutarou again. And she hoped that he would remember her and accept her feelings. Until then, it would be a promise with herself. Koutarou only needed to think of the necklace as a lucky charm.

“I understand. Thank you, Kii-chan.”

“Yes! Make sure you take care of it!”

She had now done everything she wanted. Satisfied with that, Kii smiled. Her smile was so very mature it was hard to think of her as a six-year-old girl. During these three days, she had grown immensely. Kii's childhood would surely be reaching its end now.

“Okay, then I'm going now.”

Kii kept her smile and waved her hand. Her smile looked a little lonely, but there was no sadness in it.

“Yeah. See you.”

“Take care, young lady.”

Koutarou and Clan saw Kii off with a smile. Kouma bowed towards Koutarou and Clan once more the other three men then did the same. The time for parting had finally come.

“Good bye, Onii-chan! Onee-chan!”

Kii was pulled away by Kouma and walked away. They had left in the same direction as Kouma and the three men had come from. Kii continued waving towards Koutarou and Clan until she could no longer see them.

“Goodbye! Let's meet again!”

There was no guarantee that they would be able to met Kii again. If anything, the chance for it was very small because they would now be returning to the future. And even if they did, Kii would probably not recognize Koutarou. But there was no need for them to say that.

“Wait for me! When Kii grows up I will definitely come back to you, Onii-chan! So wait for me, Onii-chan! I love you!”

However, as Koutarou looked at Kii's expression, he began thinking that he might meet her again some day.

Kii's smile was so bright that it was overflowing with her desire to meet him again.

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