Shion no hana ga saku toki

"Nezumi, we'll meet again, right?" You turned and asked me. "Huh, uh, well, yeah... I guess..." I said, turning away, feeling a tight knot tighten in my stomach. You gave another smile and stroked Hamlet gently. Hamlet sniffed lovingly at your finger.

"Bye bye Hamlet, I promise when I meet you again, I'll read Hamlet to you again, okay? Well, not like I can read it better than Nezumi but..." You trailed off, handing Hamlet to me. Your hands were shaking and I could tell how much you didn't want to part with Hamlet.

"Don't go ahead and name my hamsters! And hell would I want to read to a hamster." I said. "Take him."

Your head jerked up, and I saw tears sparkled in your eyes. "I can? B-But Hamlet is your precious..."

"Just take him."I said, turning my head to one side before you could see me flush red. "I'm sure you make a better owner than I do."

You beamed and your eyes lit up. "Thanks Nezumi! I promise I'll take extra good care of him!" You ran up to me and gave me a hug. I could feel my cheeks burning. "Y-Yeah, that would be nice of you."

When you let go, I couldn't even bring myself to look at you in the eyes. In a few minutes, you'll be leaving me. in a few minutes, I'll turn back and find you disappear into the crowd. In a few minutes, we'll be living our own lives, lives that would never meet. In a few minutes, I'll never be able to look at your eyes anymore...

I looked into your ruby eyes. Unique as it is, its full beauty did not show for there was a tinge of sadness in it. I pulled you into a tight hug again, and you gave a little yelp at my sudden action. That instant, you felt so vulnerable. I wanted to protect you, to stay by your side forever.

Every since I was born, you were my only weakness. I didn't admit that you were the most important thing to me, but Inukashi went ahead and showed that I had weakened, because I had gained something I had to protect.

We stayed in that position for a good 3 minutes before breaking free. "Goodbye then,Shion. I hope that we'll meet again. One day..." I said, aware that my voice was trembling. I tried hard to steady it.

You nodded slightly, and then, clutching Hamlet tightly, you took a step towards me and gave me a kiss before turning around.

I stood rooted to the ground, taken aback by your sudden action. However, I felt this terrible feeling inside me. It wasn't happiness, for I will be leaving you today with no more means to contact you anymore, and I might be caught anytime by the Generals of No. 6 and executed without you knowing. But this wasn't sadness too, as for a second, when our lips touched, I felt like the happiest an in the world.

I turned my back and started walking. I had to leave, I had to leave before my tears fall.

" Nezumi!" I spun around on hearing my name. You stood there, and at that instance I was captivated by your beauty again. Like an angel, your silvery white hair ruffled in the wind. That hair you hated as a result of a near-death experience, but I honestly thought it looked really pretty.

"When the residents of No. 6 and the residents of the Western District finally live together, I'll be waiting for you here when the Asters bloom. Okay?" you smiled. Your smile was like the sunshine, and that moment you reminded me of the Aster, blooming beautifully in the wind.

"Alright." I said and turned around, this time no longer afraid that my tears would fall.

Indeed, that very next summer after the law has been passed on that residents of No. 6 would now live in harmony with residents of the West District, I returned once again to the place where we had parted 10 years ago.

The once barren land was now a sea of beautifully blooming asters, and I walked through the sea of it, determined to locate the aster that bloomed the most beautifully, the aster that belonged to me.

"You'll tell him how well I've treated you, won't you, Hamlet?"

I've found you, my beautiful aster.