Chapter 45
I reached out my hand.
The sword slashed through Aso’s body. Drops of blood scattered in every direction. In a world dyed bright red with blood, only Aso seemed to have stopped.
For a moment, our eyes met.
Just as I thought Aso seemed to smile faintly…
Thud.
“Ah, ah…”
Aso collapsed.
While blocking me, taking the sword in my place.
Bleeding…
“N-no, no, no, Aso, no.”
I collapsed right there. Then I hurriedly crawled over to the fallen Aso. My arms trembled violently as I pulled her into my embrace.
Was this a dream?
“This, this can’t be happening… this really can’t be happening. Why did you come out there? Why did you step in? You hate getting hurt. You’re scared of everything. So why…!”
I couldn’t continue.
A long shadow had fallen over me.
I blankly looked up and saw the black-masked man. He was raising his sword.
The same sword that had cut Aso… this time, he was going to cut me with it.
Yeah, if this was how it was going to be, then I might as well…
“Hey, bastard!”
Clang!
Sparks flew as the masked man’s sword was knocked aside.
I blinked.
At some point, Brother Im had stepped in front of me.
“Get a grip! Do you really want to die?!”
“…….”
“Do you think doing this here is going to bring the dead back? The living have to live! I’ll hold him off here, so you move.”
“…….”
“Go!”
And before I could even answer, he led the masked man away and disappeared somewhere.
It was that sound again. Everyone kept telling me to go.
Go? Where? Where was I supposed to go? Aso was already dead, so where was I supposed to go by myself? Aso was already dea–
“Cough…”
“……!”
I opened my eyes wide.
I hurriedly looked down and saw Aso gasping for breath.
I asked, panting.
“Aso, are you, are you okay? No, don’t talk. There’s so much blood, too much blood. We need to bring the physician… we need to bring the physician here, hurry….”
“It’s… okay.”
Aso struggled to open her mouth.
“I…… I’m fine…… really. I’m just…… a little sleepy. I keep…… getting sleepy…”
“N-no.”
I adjusted my hold on Aso’s body.
“Don’t fall asleep, okay? Aso, just hold on a little longer. Then you’ll be okay. You can live. I promised you, remember? I said I’d buy you a present when we went to Hefei. No, wait. I’m not going. I’ll stay by your side. I won’t go anywhere…”
“No…”
“Hm?”
Aso murmured blankly.
“I told you. Eat lots of delicious things…… and wear pretty clothes…… lots…… lots of them. Later, when you wear…… a skirt…… we can buy accessories…… together…….”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay. I’ll do everything you say. I’ll eat lots of delicious things, wear pretty clothes, skirts…”
Suddenly, I stopped.
‘A skirt?’
Perhaps noticing that, Aso gave a faint smile.
“…You knew?”
“…….”
“When did you know?”
“When you got hurt…”
If she meant when I got hurt, then it was probably when I stayed in the guest hall after injuring my head. Aso had been taking care of me by my side while I was having trouble moving around.
Yes, it had been strange. The fact that my clothes had been changed without anyone suspecting anything. The fact that I had never been discovered, even in dangerous situations, and that I had been able to cleverly slip away.
It was all thanks to you.
“You thought… I wouldn’t know, right?”
“…….”
“Do you know how much…… how much trouble…… I had? You’re surprisingly…… careless, so…… if it weren’t for me, you would’ve been found out…… Cough, cough…….”
Seeing Aso’s complexion suddenly turn deathly pale, I belatedly came to my senses.
“Yeah, I see. It was thanks to you, Aso. Thank you. I didn’t even know… Once you get better, I’ll repay you. Okay? I have to repay a debt of gratitude. So don’t fall asleep. Okay?”
“…….”
“Just a little longer. Hold on just a little longer. I’ll somehow figure something out. I’ll do anything to save you. I absolutely won’t let you die like thi–.”
“You know…”
Aso spoke calmly.
“I…… I was glad to meet you.”
“Aso, stop talking. Your wound…”
“Actually, I…… I live with just my father, too. But my father…… he’s really pathetic, you know? He isn’t sick anywhere like your mother was. He just drinks every day and gambles…”
“Aso…”
“So at first, I couldn’t understand you……. That you could go that far for your family, that you could sacrifice yourself for someone else…”
“…….”
“But…… when I watched you, I understood.”
Aso smiled faintly.
“You were always kind to me. No matter how harshly I spoke to you, you kept coming to me, listening to me, saying you’d help me… Until then, there had never been anyone who tried to help me without asking for anything in return.”
“…….”
“I thought I didn’t need something like a friend…… but I guess that wasn’t true either. I was happy that you were close to me. The more time I spent with you…… the more I came to like you.”
“…….”
“I wanted to do something for you, too…”
Aso paused for a moment, breathing in ragged little gasps. I adjusted my hold on her and hurriedly said,
“Me too. Me too. I was glad that I became friends with you, Aso. I was so happy whenever I was with you. I wanted to do anything for you.”
“Really? Even when I…… grumbled and said harsh things?”
“What was harsh about that? None of it was harsh. No, even if it was, I liked it. You can say whatever you want to me. Keep grumbling at me from now on, too. Okay? I don’t care what it is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
Aso smiled at my desperate words.
“You keep saying things like that, so you’re making me act spoiled.”
“You can act spoiled. As much as you want. As much as you possibly can.”
“Really? Then, actually…”
For an instant, Aso’s eyes grew hazy.
“…I’m scared of dying.”
“…….”
“I’m still young, and there are so many things I want to do… I’m scared that I might really die. I’m scared that if I fall asleep like this, I’ll never wake up again… I’m so scared of that.”
“N-no, Aso. You won’t die. No.”
“But something even scarier than that happened. Do you know what…?”
“No….”
“You… dying.”
I stopped breathing.
At some point, Aso was looking at me with warm eyes.
“Isn’t it strange? Before, I thought sacrificing yourself for someone else was really pathetic. I thought I could never do something like that… but now I’m the one doing it.”
“…….”
“Still, strangely enough, I don’t regret it. At the same time, I keep thinking this. That even if I went back to the past, I would make the same choice…”
“…….”
“…Don’t be too sad.”
Suddenly, Aso raised her hand.
Only then did I realize that at some point, I had started crying as her hand reached toward my cheek.
I took Aso’s hand first.
The warmth of her hand was horribly cold.
“Thank you for being friends with me.”
“…Aso, don’t, don’t do this. You said you liked being with me, didn’t you? You said you didn’t want to part with me, didn’t you? We have to stay together. From now on, forever…”
“I’m glad I met you.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t say things like that, as if it’s the last time…”
“When I think about it, I…”
Aso spoke as though talking to herself.
“I think I liked seeing you smile… Seeing you smile brightly no matter what the situation was comforted me…….”
“Please, Aso…”
“Smile for me.”
Aso smiled brightly as she said it.
“I want to see your smiling face one last time.”
My vision was blurry.
Tears fell onto Aso’s snow-white face.
But I forced the corners of my mouth upward.
At that ridiculous expression, Aso smiled along with me.
Aso’s eyes slowly closed.
I heard a small murmur.
“Dan…… Danna.”
“Yeah…”
“Take care…….”
“…….”
“…I’m going to miss you.”
I answered in a trembling voice.
“Me too, me too…….”
“…….”
“I’ll miss you, too. I’m going to miss you, Aso. So, so much. I won’t forget you. I’ll never forget you, Aso…”
But there was no answer.
I relaxed my grip.
Aso’s hand fell limply.
Instead, I hugged Aso tightly.
No matter how hard I held her, Aso didn’t move even a little.
I lowered my head and pressed my forehead against Aso’s.
My entire body began to tremble violently.
A long wail spread through the air.
***
I continued holding Aso for a long time.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
It felt like a few minutes had gone by, or perhaps a few hours.
All my senses were hazy, but there was one thing I knew.
Aso was no longer here.
I stared blankly down at Aso.
Her small face, stained with blood in places, looked as though she were peacefully asleep.
Holding Aso, I slowly stood up.
Strangely, I couldn’t feel any weight in my arms.
I simply carried her over and laid Aso’s body beneath a tree.
Truthfully, I wanted to bury her somewhere warm and sunny, but I didn’t have much time left.
All I could do was wipe the blood from her face and straighten her disheveled clothes.
I looked at Aso for a moment before trying to stand.
Then, suddenly, I sensed someone behind me.
I turned around.
Someone familiar was standing there.
“…Young lady.”
Comments (0)