I'll be there forever

Chapter I

July 10th

A week after the anniversary of Mahiru's death, Guren was still mourning.

Shrouded with the air of melancholy around him, his comrades pointedly avoided him, afraid of what he might do to them if they angered him.

Completely unaware of his surroundings, the sure headed leader ignored everything, focusing purely on his own misfortunes.

A certain gloom had also settled in the city, the kind of fog that invoked a foreboding sense.

It rained every day now, the unusual cold lingering in the greyed city.

A white-haired man cloaked in dark black stood alone in a courtyard, with a towering building behind him.

The man was all alone and the building was certainly empty, with cans littered everywhere, a shadow of the past community that had thrived there. 

A loud thump sounded and the man turned towards the sound.

Just a tree branch

The man thought.

Anyone who passed by, anyone who was sane would think nothing of the sight, just a civilian reminiscing old times,  but those who looked closer would see, trails of tears slipping down the face, a silent pain resonating in the man's eyes.

Shinya had never thought that one day, he would be that man.

Alone in the dark.

Crying

Unsmiling

But then again.

Shinya never thought that he would hurt.

Because deep inside.

A wound had been cut.

Slashing the heart Shinya had worked to protect.

But he reminded himself.

If I smile.

He'll be happy.

So I'll smile.

Even though I'll be alone.

I will smile

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Guren cleared his head from past memories.

The traces of his mourning was already disappearing, preparing himself for another year of surviving

He frowned suddenly.

Where on Earth is Shinya?

Guren briskly walked through the corridors of the darkened building.

Not paying attention to where he was walking, he collided with a small figure causing both of them to fall.

Guren rubbed his slightly bruised head and looked up.

Sayuri Hanayori, a close member of the Ichinose family tree looked back at him.

She picked herself up quickly and saluted the dazed general.

'I'm sorry Captain Guren, I didn't see you.'

Guren waved it off, dismissing the slight blush that had risen in her cheeks as exhilaration from the collision.

'It's alright, I was at fault as well.' Guren stood up, 'Have you seen Shinya around?'

Sayuri furrowed her brows, 'Mito and I saw him a while back, he was walking towards a cluster of buildings on the North side of the city.'