Toman's Little Sister

54 | Family

Kakucho placed his hand over his chest, feeling the blood that was beginning to stain his uniform.

"Every single time, my well-thought-out plans are ruined by Hanagaki." Kisaki said. "I can't use Mikey now, so I can only use Izana as my medium. Kakucho, you're in the way!"

Kakucho glared at Kisaki at the sound of his plan and - despite the bullet wound in his chest - sprinted towards him with the intent to attack. Kisaki pulled the trigger once again, but instead of hitting Kakucho, everyone watched him get pushed out of the way and...

"What?!"

Izana was shot in Kakucho's place.

"Izana?!" Both Izana and Kakucho fell to the ground as Kisaki watched, his eyes wide. "Why would you... protect a servant?!"

Kakucho turned to his friend, his eyes set on the fatal wounds around Izana's torso.

"Bastard.. what the hell are you doing?" Izana questioned in a shaky voice. Although, it didn't seem like he was supposed to be the one asking the question. He spat out some blood before continuing. "Jeez.. you need a lot of looking after for a servant... My body just moved on its own."

Everyone was silent for a while. It was as silent as a funeral, with so many people but so little sound.

"Mikey..." Izana finally broke the silence. "There's something I want to tell you. It's Ten-"

"Don't screw around! I can say it!" Tears swelled in Kakucho's eyes. "I can say it..."

Izana smiled and nodded slowly.

"It's... Tenjiku's loss." Kakucho hesitantly said. He didn't think Izana would actually let him say it.

A dry laugh left Izana's mouth. "I don't even know why you wanted to..."

"Why would you protect someone like me? You're the king! You can just toss me aside. You have to create a new era! That's what a king is, isn't it Izana?!"

Izana stared up at the sky for a while. "..It's 'our' era, right?"

"Huh..?"

"Sorry Kakucho, but I... only have you, don't I?"

It was one of the most genuine smiles Kakucho has ever seen on Izana's face, but tears streamed down his face nonetheless. The widest smile, the brightest smile, that Kakucho has ever seen on Izana's face would be one of the last memories he has of Izana.

"Mikey... did you say... you want to save me?"

"If you're my brother, of course I will. Just... stop talking, Izana."

"..Once, I came across my mom who abandoned me by coincidence. She was smoking at a casino. I asked her... 'Why did you abandon me? To do this?' And she said... that I was the son of her ex-husband and a filipino woman... and.. he got stabbed and killed. I was furious, and immediately went to Shinichiro.. and..."

Izana remembered the words Shinichiro said and let out a shaky sigh. "That means.. I'm not related to you.. Emma... Shinichiro... I'm not related to anyone at all." He chuckled. "And yet.. there was one... one person that I still considered family..."

"That's why you attacked Shi-nii-chan...?" You stared down at Izana, who was under you. You saw him while walking along the street and tackled him so he wouldn't run, but when you learned why he suddenly ditched... "That's dumb."

You stood up and held out your hand. "But... if you really don't want Shi-nii-chan to be your older brother, then that's your decision." A smile appeared on your face as you held out your hand. "But I'll always be standing here as your little sister, okay?"