Toman's Little Sister

92 | Past, Present, Future

"Y/N."

You looked away from you lap and met eyes with... well, you, a little girl with curious eyes, and some sort of shield around her. Not warding, but not inviting.

A small smile formed at your lips. "Long time no see."

"Yes, that is how growth works." She held the book she always did in her hands. You could never quite recall what it was about or even the title, and now, you see that the book is blank. "Has it always been that way? That book?"

The little girl looked down at the sewn together pages and shrugged. "It is as you remember it."

"You sound so much older than me, yet you're what? Six?" A chuckle left you. "Like I said, it's been a while."

The little girl tilted her head. "Are you finished?"

"Hm?"

"Are you finished? Have you fulfilled your promise?"

You laughed. "I didn't know promises were so important to me back then."

"And I didn't know the darkness would grow so much in the future."

You stared into the curious, glossy eyes of yourself: the only light in that infinite void where you sat, drifting in the dark with no true ground to stand on.

And the little girl before you hovered, stable in her place in the abyss.

"Well, no one said that it would be easy."

"I assume our ability to ask for help is still limited?"

Your eyes rolled. "Goodness, you speak like a God. So many unnecessary words."

"Hm." Her small fingers traced over the book's spine. "Given the knowledge of the Gods and you do not use it?"

"All the knowledge in my head, I got it by myself." You insisted. "The Gods have done nothing for me except reject me."

The little girl before you smiled for the first time since the beginning of the conversation. "Time is a relative thing. It goes by slowly for one and quickly for another. How has it been for you?"

You hummed, bringing your knees close. "It feels like this is still a nightmare, the ones I used to have after Shinichiro's death. It feels like he died just yesterday. So, quickly."

"For me, time is slow. Exceedingly so." Her hand grazed over her chest, clutching over her heart. "I constantly feel like I am waiting for something yet it never arrives. Could you tell me what it is?"

You sighed and looked up, or where you believed was up, although no sun or sky was there to tell you. "Family."

A ray of light seemed to crash through the abyss, break it as if it were glass.

You found yourself staring down from the front of the Musahashi Shrine, gazing down at Toman, a memory frozen in time.

Their fists were raised, mouths open in a battle cry, but they were silent and unmoving.

You stepped down and began walking through the crowd, observing their expressions: the light in their eyes, the little folds that formed when they contorted their face in joy.

"What is it here that I am waiting for?" The little girl still standing in front asked.

You grinned at her, taking her hand and pulling her towards your gang. "Why, your brothers, of course."