𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓

chapter eighteen.

"Onii-san."

Seiko's eyes clenched closed. Noritoshi's body shook around her, the tears hitting her shoulder. His arms tightened around her. He couldn't think of anything else but the feeling of her back in his arms. Seiko was thin and felt so small in his arms. When was the last time he held her?

Two years. 

Seven hundred and thirty days.

That was the last time he had seen his little sister, his little flower. He looked for her every single day, without fail. It made him question if she had been only a miles away all along. 

After she had been taken from his life, he and Gojo worked together to do anything they could to find the precious girl. She disappeared without a word, and it took weeks to find out who had taken her. Sleepless nights, they did all they could to look for her. Eventually, they found her, withheld by Chaoziran, and Raiden himself. 

But in the Kamo household, servants and family members cheered with joy that she was gone. Not a single person went to search with her, and some even went as far as to throw parties to celebrate her disappearance.

Noritoshi pulled away, still holding her by her shoulders. "Sumire...Where have you been?"

Seiko's heart clenched. It was the first time in two years that she had heard someone call her that. Memories, both painful and joyful, washed past her heavy mind. She pushed away her emotions, plastering on a large smile. "Noritoshi," she said, "have you missed me?"

"What?" Noritoshi was taken-aback by her response. She wore the same smile she always had when they were children; confident and clever. Noritoshi had yearned to see it, but seeing it now, after two years, it irked him. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" 

Noritoshi pulled away, confusion overtaking his features. "I...what? What are you..what are you saying?"

Seiko feigned confusion, tilting her head with a smile. "Hm? Is there something you're trying to tell me, Onii-san?"

"You're acting like...you haven't been gone for two years." 

"You must've missed me a lot, huh?" Seiko asked, chuckling. 

Noritoshi pushed her harshly into the tree she stood in front of, making her wince in the sudden pain. His eyes flashed in anger, his body trembling in fury. "What? What's wrong with you? Why won't you tell me what's going on? Why won't...why won't you talk to me?"

Seiko kept her mouth shut, leading to Noritoshi's grip to tighten around her arms. In most cases, she would teleport out, but she couldn't. This was her brother, the only person who had ever loved her, the one person who ever tried to are for her. 

"Noritoshi," she whispered, "let...go..."

Seeing that she was in pain, he lessened his grip, but the fire in his eyes didn't die out. "Sumire. Speak to me. Tell me what went on. Tell me what happened. How long have you been back? Why haven't you come to find me? What did they do to you?"

She shook her head, eyes wide and scared. She looked around them. "I...I...Noritoshi...I can't....."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Noritoshi asked, his eyes narrowed more than usual.