Haruka Yamato: A promise fulfilled

Six months later.

“Alright, just give me a second.”

Ruka sat still on the couch as Taro fixed something onto her face. All she could see in front of her was blackness. It had been like that ever since she was just a teenager, ever since she fell sick and lost her sight completely. But according to her baby brother, all of that was finally about to change.

“Okay,” Taro said, pressing a button on the side of the thing. “That should do it.”

There was a gentle hum as the device booted up. Then, as if switching on a television screen, there was a flicker, a flash, and slowly, after fifteen years of total blindness, Ruka’s vision gradually returned in full.

“So, is it working? What do you see?”

Ruka was speechless for a moment. Her mouth hung open in disbelief, words caught in her throat. She could see again. She could see everything. The house, the furniture, and her little brother.

Taro.

He wasn’t so little anymore. He had a tired look in his eyes, and he had a bit of a stubble coming in underneath his chin. He looked like a fully grown adult with life problems, rather than a care free teenager.

“So, from the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s working?”

Ruka reached out in an instant and wrapped her little brother in a tight hug. Despite all he had lost, all he had gone through, all he had suffered and endured the past six months, somehow, he still found the resolve to try and move forward.

“I can see again.” Ruka said with excitement, pulling back from the hug and giving her baby brother some breathing room. “I can see you; I can see the couch, I can see this little stubble of yours, becoming a man huh?”

Ruka noticed Taro crack a tiny smile, his expression softening as she gently teased him by playing with his chin. She knew he was still hurting deep down, but she was glad to see him soldiering through the pain.

“I can see everything. But how? I wasn’t expecting you to figure it out so quickly.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Taro replied with a small shrug. “But working with the guys at HQ just makes things a lot easier. Plus, with all the formerly censored research the government provided, things are very different now than back when I was trying to figure things on my own.”

Ruka could see how hard her baby brother was trying to be happy. All he ever wanted, was for the government to support his ideas and help improve the lives of disabled individuals like herself, and his late girlfriend. But what he ended up losing for that to happen, was something Ruka was scared he might never forgive himself for.

“Can I see her?” Ruka adjusted the glasses gently, her voice quieter this time. She didn’t need to clarify. Taro already knew who she was talking about. His eyes widened slightly at her request, but he nodded and reached into his pocket, switching on his phone as he showed it to her. Without even unlocking it, the image of Kokoro filled his home screen, her large blue eyes and thick blonde hair being the first things Ruka observed about the deceased girl.

“She’s beautiful.” Ruka whispered, placing a palm to her chest while she took the phone from Taro. “She is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Yeah.” Taro replied in a soft tone. “They are actually planning to use the same picture during the music festival this weekend. Since they decided to dedicate the opening ceremony to her, they asked for a photo and Tomomi suggested they use that one.”

“Well, I honestly still can’t believe the government delayed the festival this long as a way to pay their respects.” Ruka said, still studying the photo. “Just goes to show how special she was, and how much society is now changing because of her.”

“How is she by the way?” Ruka asked. “Tomomi. How is she holding up?”

“She’s good.” Taro replied. “I don’t think she has entirely stopped blaming herself for not being there when it happened, but for the most part, I think she is coming around.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Ruka said, handing back Taro’s phone to him. “It’s good to see you kids pushing on despite the weight of what happened. You allow yourselves to feel and remember, but not to the point that it holds you down. It shows how much you’ve both grown. I am proud of you.”

***

Ruka wrapped her baby brother in another gentle hug as he prepared to leave. They were outside, and he was already seated on his golden and black hover-bike. It looked really cool.

“Wait! Aren’t you going to return this?” Ruka asked as she gestured to the pair of glasses she was wearing. She was also holding her youngest daughter in her other arm, who was only seven months old.

“It’s called the vision goggles.” Taro said, putting on his helmet. “And that one is yours.”

Ruka stepped back as Taro started his bike. The large machine spooled to life then bounced off the ground with a soft leap.

“You hear that Kiko?” Ruka said with excitement, lifting her daughter in front of her and smiling at the little girl. “Your uncle fulfilled his promise he made to me as a kid, and now I can see again. Not only that, but he said I can keep the device too.”

Taro twisted the throttle on his bike twice, catching Ruka’s attention.

“Oh!” Ruka turned to face him. “So, we’ll see you for dinner, right?”

Taro replied with a nod of his helmet, before engaging boosters and driving off.

“Okay then.” Ruka said to her baby. “Let’s go look at things around the house. Starting with, ooh! That flower over there.”