In This Life or the Next

Four Hundred Years More

Three hundred eighty. . .

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!"

Three hundred seventy-nine.

Are you watching grandpa? Sixty-seven years since you passed, and I'm still here with your token. This coming year will mark the 121st year since she left, whoever she is.

How come you never told me who she was?

I wanted to know. Really, I did. After all the good things you said about her, how could I not want to know her? Wouldn't it have been okay for me to at least know her as you knew her? Even if it might've not been who she really was, at least I would have some semblance of her, right?

Or maybe you didn't want us to know who she really was?

If so, why? Why hide it from us? Why hide it from me, who you entrusted her token to? I have to make sure this token survives five hundred years, shouldn't I at least know who I'm waiting for? Were you ashamed to know her? Was it supposed to be a secret? Did you place her before Grandma in your heart?

Well, actually, to tell you the truth, after you passed, I dug up everything.

You never said I couldn't go looking for myself, so I went and found out who she was.

And. . .

She's as wonderful as you made her out to be.

Not the first, not the last, but one of the greatest pioneers of her art.

Someone who shattered the then-current image of an "idol," weathered the controversy, and came out on top. A vulgar, yet heartwarming, woman who, from Day 1, never stopped trying to come up with new ways to make the world a brighter place. The bridge builder, who united two halves of the world, and paved the way for new regions to be pioneered, and allowed future idols to not be afraid of expressing their true selves.

And all in a short year-and-a-half.

Though her time here was short, her impact was felt for many years to come.

In one of the hardest periods of her time, she and her colleagues transformed a company into a family, isolation into endless connection, sadness into happiness.

Just talking about it makes me want to watch her again.

Huh.

It's funny, isn't it grandpa?

Whenever I talk to you, or when I talk about her, I feel like a little girl again. Can you imagine that?

An old lady like me, talking to a dead guy, about a dragon that's supposed to return after five hundred years, feeling young?

Yeah, I find it hard to believe too.

Oh, don't worry about the token, it's safe.

These past sixty-seven years, it has never left my side. I have it in a little airtight and waterproof case hanging onto a chain that goes around my neck. It's followed me everywhere I go, and it's even in my hand now.

The children seem to enjoy listening to the story behind it. I might pass it down to one of them soon. They're eager to continue this "mission," as they've dubbed it.

After one hundred twenty years, the Kiryu Clan still stands.

. . .

You know what?

You were right.

'Wait and hope.'

After some time passed after you passed, I found a way to preserve your dream, in more ways than one. The Clan token survives, and the memory of Kiryu Coco survives.

. . .

Hey.

That day. . .

When you gave me this 'mission'. . .

That was the day you passed, right?

No one told me you died until about two weeks after the last time I saw you. I don't know what took so long, but until some time later, I really thought you died a few weeks after you and I talked.

This token. . . this "mission". . . this dream. . .

It must've been a big burden for you, right grandpa?

You must've been so worried about what to do. So hopeless. After all, there's no way a human is going to live to five hundred years. Cryostasis was just in its initial stages then, leaving you with nothing but to hope that reincarnation existed so you could meet her again after her five hundred years of departure. And even then, evidence of such was all but nonexistent, leaving you with only hope to believe that it could happen.

And then I came along.

I was probably the only grandchild who was interested in your stories about Vtubers. And despite my initial doubts, I was willing to carry on your dream.

Maybe that was the last thing that was keeping you in this world.

Heh, I say that as if not giving me the token would've kept you alive for the next four hundred fifty years.

Whatever the case, I'm sure I made you proud.

Are you watching grandpa?

"Gather around children."

"What's up Grandma Estelle?"

"Please, I've always told you all to call me Stella."

"Okay."

"Now, I have something important to tell you all."

"What is it?"

"It's time I choose one of you to be the next caretaker."

"What?! Really?!"

"Now don't go thinking it's an easy job. I know how much you all want to be the next one, so whoever gets the job will be under a lot of scrutiny from the rest of you. Whoever inherits the token must keep it on their person at all times and ensure that future generations know of the name 'Kiryu Coco' and her return."

"Okay."

"And above all, you all who will not be chosen, don't take it to heart. None of you will be getting any special recognition or reward for this. Keeping a dream alive for the next generation is harder than it seems. You must work together with whoever I appoint. The Kiryu Clan must not disappear. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Good. In that case, I will choose. . ."