Rainy Weather (Kazurei)

Shrouded by Precipitation

"Hayano, I'm so sorry." My beloved little sister lay dying in my arms. "I-it's my own fault. I should have stayed where you told me to." Her voice is weak as she struggles to breath. "Don't worry, I'm not going let you go alone." I hold her bloodied hand trying to comfort her the best I could. "No. I don't want you to die because of me." "But you're dying because of me." Hayano's blood gushes from her wounds too rapidly for me to effectively stop the bleeding. "You're the only one I had left. I can't be left alone like this." "That's not true, Yuri. Rei-kun will be here soon, I just know it. You told me you think of him as family. You won't be alone." "That's not the same. You're my little sister. I was there with you when you were born. I need you!" I can't control my tears. This actually happening. I'm really losing her. I guess this is what my life has led up to. Knowing how shady the organisation is, I should have never joined no matter how good the money is. I lost everything because of my stupid decision. Now I must pay the ultimate price. "If you die with me, I'm not going to forgive you for giving up. I know you told me that you make sure I won't have to go alone, but I'm not going to be alone. I'll have Uncle, Natsuki, and Masahiro waiting for me." More emotions well up as she mentions my deceased husband and children. "I can tell them how amazing you've become and how much you miss them...I-I-I'm getting sleepy." Hayano's skin has become sickly pale and her eyes are dulled and unfocused. "It's okay, Hayano. You can rest now. I'm right here." "Stay alive for me. I love you. I'll be waiting for you." "I love you too, little sister." I begin to softly sing to her as her breathing slows.

"My darling, it's alright to cry. It's alright to say goodbye. This is not the end. Someday I shall see you again. Watch over me from above and send me your whitest dove so I know you're still with me. May your memory guide me through the haze on my darkest days. My darling, it's hard to say goodbye, but I know I'll see you in the skies. May you have sweet dreams, my darling. Even if we have to be apart, you'll always be in my heart."

Hayano's breath came to a complete halt as my I stopped singing. Her pulse is gone. A young innocent life snatched away by the one who swore to protect it.I mess everything up...don't I? ah, yeah. I'm so bad at doing things that I have to pretend to be any good. Damn it all.

———

Where am I? I can't see. My arms and legs are bound with chains. I have a blindfold on. Clearly I was captured by Shigeki's mouth breathers, but that still doesn't give me an answer about my location. The room is cold and I'm leaned up a wall made of cement blocks. I was probably thrown into a cell...this is oddly familiar. There's a mat beneath me that's made of plastic with a thin foam filling inside. Am I back inside the Suwa mansion? The last thing I remember were the sounds of the explosion after I decided I wasn't ready to die, but how did I get all the way back here without ever waking up? Did Rei and Kurusu also get caught? I hope not. "Okay, need to get this blindfold off before anything else." I whispered to myself. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I found myself in a situation like this one. It's slightly humorous if you think about it. No? Maybe not. Well it's funny to me. "Just like last time." I start rubbing my face on the wall trying to hook the fabric of the blindfold onto the rough texture of the walls. The abrasiveness of the cement hurts against my face, but I persist. I keep going while the blindfold is slowly moving upwards towards my forehead. I can see the floor a little now. I switched to the other side to give my sore cheek a break from being skinned any further. "Finally." I let out a deep sigh as my sight is no longer obstructed. Why would they even put a blindfold on me in the first place? It's not like I don't already know what's going on. Fools. "Who's there?" I hear footsteps approaching. "Answer me!" I say as demanding as I can. "I'll be the one asking you questions."

———

"The files are horrible. Victim after victim. It's sickening." All the paperwork work is a collection of humans that were kidnapped. "They even had documents of people they were planning on capturing." Children, teenagers, women, and men. All listed out like a grocery store inventory list. "How can anyone ever do these things to another human being?" Kazuki and Kyutaro are going over the files together. The operation was destroyed. There's no where to store people now, why does this matter? Sounds like a lot fuel for unnecessary anger...besides, a lot of those people died that night. They were saved in a way. No more pain. No more fear. No more worry... "I'm going home." I stand up from the bar. "Rei, why? Don't you want to see what's in these as well?" Kazuki grabs on to the sleeve of my jacket. "You can fill me in when you're done here." I snatch my arm away and leave without another word. Truthfully, I don't want to leave without Kazuki. I just need to process that Isaka might actually still be alive. If she is, why hasn't she reached out yet? What could she be waiting for? I put my hood on as shelter from the raindrops pelting me and begin to walk with my head hung low. "Isaka-san...are you out there somewhere?"