The Promise of Tomorrow

Chapter 25

Morning has come and sun shone in the windows of the Karasawa's temporary household. There, a certain lieutenant had woken up and was remembered the grim reminder in her mind. The second day...' Kusakabe thought in fear, reminded of the lives that were in Kurumi's mercy. Immediately leaving the guest's bedroom, Kusakabe saw Yoshino looking at the window with a worried face. 

"Oh, Yoshino you're awake. What's wrong?" Kusakabe asked, placing her concerns for the young Spirit. Yoshino wasn't paying attention, and it seemed like she has been gazing at the window for a while now. "He hasn't come home yet..." Yoshino uttered out in a soft spoken tone as she continued to peer at the window for a few more seconds before turning around, noticing Kusakabe and bowing, wanting to apologize for not noticing her. 

"It's alright. I won't hurt you. Anyways, do you want anything for breakfast? I can make pancakes if you want, that's your favorite, right?" Kusakabe tried to cheer Yoshino up. This worked partially, as Yoshino responded by nodding and sitting down on the table. She patiently waited for her food, and Kusakabe started to make breakfast for the two of them. Immediately, the telephone on top of the desk beside the living room's couch began to rang and immediately, Yoshino answered the phone call.

"Yes, Karasawa residence, h-how may I help you?" Yoshino greeted with a stutter before her nervous and shy voice became happier. "A-ah! Y/n! How are you doing?!" Yoshino asked in an excited, yet light tone. She was very happy to hear from Y/n and her voice of happiness- though very far- could be heard by Kusakabe who smiled at this thought while she made pancakes. After a short while, Kusakabe served the food and Yoshino had finished chatting with Y/n on the phone.

As the two ate their fill, Yoshino's way of eating was quite voracious. It was as if she was excited about something which made Kusakabe curious. "What are you so happy about?" the lieutenant asked, wanting to know what made the young girl so happy today. Immediately, Yoshino answered, "Y-Y/n is coming home!" which made Yoshinon go, "Oooh! So big brother has finally decided to return home!" and the 'two' chatted about how excited they are. 

As Kusakabe looked at how Yoshino and Yoshinon talked with each other and Kusakabe felt guilt, seeing how Yoshino had resorted to talking with a puppet, unaware that Yoshinon isn't real just because the young girl's whole life was nothing but loneliness due to Kusakabe and AST's actions. Maybe, just maybe, Kusakabe could finally understand why Y/n had took pity and taken her in his care. 

Spirits were no less than humans. They were quite similar in reality. They can feel emotions, think rationally, and the only difference is that they were much more capable than regular humans in all physical aspects and were supernatural. However, if they were similar to humans, that means they are free to choose whether they want to be good or be evil which Kusakabe feared, especially with Kurumi whose actions brought death to many. 

That being said, Kurumi's actions might lead to AST hating and fearing the Spirits more, causing more hate and prejudice towards innocent Spirits. Kusakabe feared about what might happen in the aftermath of the whole incident. This means that Y/n will have to work hard to keep Yoshino away from danger and put himself in harm's way to protect her. 

Wanting to make amends, Kusakabe made the best of her time with Yoshino by babysitting her and interacting with her, diverting the girl's worries away even for a temporary amount of time.