Who are you?

Part 43

Shiori's vision went black as she felt like she felt the harsh grip on her wrist again and was pulled roughly. When her vision came back, she was in another place. Yoichi was casually strolling in the first.

His steps seemed confident as if he knew exactly where he was going. He reached a river and casually sat on a small boulder. He then waited. A few minutes passed, and someone approached him. Yoichi did not turn to look at the newcomer but slightly leaned back, and soon, there was a back pressing on his.

"Hello, my friend," Yoichi greeted. His tone was soft and warm.

"Why do you keep coming back?" the familiar voice asked. He seemed tired—a bone-deep tiredness that came with a harsh life when everything was too much.

"I cannot leave you like this, my friend. You deserve a place to belong," Yoichi said in a gentle voice.

The other man laughed. "We both know that it is not true. I've spilled the blood of innocent. I've taken so many lives that my hands will never be clean from the blood. I..." He trailed off.

"No. While you will carry the weight of your action, you must also acknowledge that you were also a victim of your circumstances. You..." He was interrupted by the other man.

"I was not a victim. Even if I had no choice in my actions in the beginning, no one could have stopped me for years now. I chose to do those things." He said angrily. But his anger was not directed at Yoichi. He was angry at himself.

"You know that it is not true, my friend. You are no more to blame than a blade is to blame for being sharp. It is the person who wields the blade that is to blame. You were a victim of your upbringing. While that does not take away from your role in what happened, you must acknowledge it." Yoichi said. His voice was full of sympathy, and Shiori could tell from his body language that all he wanted to do was turn towards the man and give him the comfort he needed, but he was holding himself back.

"You are not beyond redemption, my friend. Even if you can never take away the pain you have caused, you can repent by taking away as much pain from this world as you can. You've already lived for the sake of others' goals once, so how about you try living for yourself?" Yoichi asked, trying to encourage the other man.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it is too late for me. I can't control him, and I know that if given the opportunity, he will cause more harm. I cannot let him," the other man said desperately.

"So what will you do?" Yoichi asked, his body was all tense and ready for action.

"You do not have to worry. I have no intention of letting him loose. I will stop him at any cost." the man said with determination.

Yoichi immediately got up and turned towards the man, trying to grab him, but when he turned, the man was not there.

Shiori's vision went black again as she was pulled into another memory.

It was dusk, and Yoichi was running around the temple. It reminded Shiori of her own state a little while ago, but Yoichi seemed to know where he was going. He followed the maze of hallways with ease and reached the room he was looking for easily.

He slammed the door open and just in time. Akira was sitting in the middle of the bedroom with a sword held to his own neck. His eyes were closed, and his hands were shaking, but he seemed determined.

Shiori's heart clenched in pain from seeing Akira-sensei like that. Thankfully, Yoichi was only frozen for a moment before he made a dash and Knocked Akira's hand out of the way. Akira didn't put up a fight as Yoichi wrangled him to a better position on the ground.