Ch. 14 The fight amongst flowers.

The next six months after that I had spent in mourning.

That is not to say I did not keep my promise to my mother. I had the whole resistance searching for my sister.

After the first three months, Kellan said he can't stand seeing the man who took his title be reduced to that sad state. I let him go.

Mori was there for me the whole time. She stopped trying to get anything out of me. She was just there, acting like nothing had happened unless I was the one to bring up the subject.

It felt like we were properly living together instead of being on the run all the time. I even built a small hut in the forest to live in.

I had kept up with the other resistance leaders. On one hand, I was getting frequent updates about people who may be my sister. On the other hand, I was preparing something for when I get back in action.

I kept living like that for 6 months.

...

"Ok. Let's go."

Mori smiled at me.

Mori: "Welcome back!"

Six months I had mostly taken a break. For six months I had just one thing to prepare.

I had already decided what my next goal should be. I needed something to keep me moving. I would settle for nothing less than everything.

I decided to turn the whole world around. If that won't work, nothing will.

"Let's see how far we can up the scales."

...

War.

Probably one of the worst things that could happen to humanity. Yet I started one.

I started a war against a society that, objectively speaking, was prospering. I used my connections with a small group of exiles to bring hell upon unfortunate, misled people.

Why did I do that? 

I just felt like it. I just felt like this is what I want to do and what could bring about my happy tomorrow. It was another shot in the dark.

Of course, I was not thinking about the process. I have never once done this. I have always been thinking about the results.

More specifically, I wanted to bring an end to the world that thing had made.

For my sister? For my old father? For Mori? For a good future? For revenge?

Yes...all of them.

Self-satisfaction. That has always been my goal.

I am doing it to feel good. I am doing it because I want to.

...

In one go we were right back to Tokyo, where everything started. The war had suddenly started. They didn't have time to intercept us.

Or this is what we were supposed to do.

I noticed that we got out of the hub a bit before the destination. Kellan was also there. He looked at us with a dumb smile.

Kellan: "This way, please."

Mori took my hand and took me to where Kellan was pointing. Only, he didn't follow us.

When we passed the dense forest, I found myself among hundreds of cherry blossom trees.

Artificial forests were nothing unusual in this day and age, but it still took my breath away.

Mori turned towards me and looked me in the eyes.

Now that I think about it. She is wearing the same clothes she was wearing when I met her. It's been so long since I last saw her in those.

She took my other hand and put it around her waist. She drew her body close to mine, and without saying anything, she took a step backwards.

Suddenly, I found myself following her steps. If she took a step back with her left, I would take a step forward with my right.

I was never good at dancing, or maybe it is better to say I have never had the chance to train myself, but I put my full trust in her, and everything just fell into place.

Not only when we dance, it has always been like that, hasn't it?

We kept going like that.

A step to the right, forward, forward, turn left, back.

She got a little bold at one point, and she let go of my body with one hand, she stretched both her hands to the side, and then pirouetted back into my arms. I somehow managed to keep up.

I started working up a sweat trying to keep up with what she was transforming from a calm, slow dance, into the tango of my life.

But she has always been like this, I bet this is also something that she has seen in a movie.

Calm, composed, dependable. That was the Mori the people around could see, but the second she would drop her inhibitions, she would become as fiery as that volcano in the background gets from time to time. I was lucky that I was on her good side at times like this. 

I don't want to imagine what this girl would do if she ever really got mad at me.

If I were to describe her at those times, despite her maybe unfitting pink hair and her deep, captivating green eyes, crimson is what fit her best. A crimson so deep, no flower known to me could ever come close to it.

I had lost count of how many dances we had been through, but she made sure that the finishing move would put the two of us facing each other right in the middle of the trees.

This is when she looked at me and asked.

Mori: "So, what am I to you?"

I smiled.

"I think it goes without saying at this point."

Of course I would never be able to give a straight answer.

It's weird, we are no strangers to those things after so much time spent together, yet I cannot shake the feeling that the one just now is the only one that we should call our "first kiss."

...

...

...

Yet, something was still not in place.

She didn't ask, but I still could not give her my new name.

I still couldn't look forward to the next sunrise, even if I was sure it would be next to her.

"Selfish" does not even begin to describe it...