Love Awaits on the Other Side

Mahiru watched Mamoru pack her bags for the third time in only a few months. This should’ve been a familiar sight to her, but this time, plagued by guilt, she’d decided she should at least try to help him out.

“Geez, Mamoru, how do you fold these clothes? I never seem to get it right,” she complained in exasperation, holding up a sad excuse of a folded blouse.

Mamoru chuckled softly, his movements calm and practised as he took the blouse from her. “Oh, don’t worry about them, Mahiru. It’s not easy when you do it for the first time, so let me handle it.”

“Fine,” she said, puffing out her cheeks, half-pouting, half-amused. “But once we’re home, please show me how to do it.”

Home.

Mahiru’s heart danced in ecstasy as the word made it out of her throat, a gracious smile tugging on her lips.

It had been three months since that fateful day at the Hindenburg camp where she’d finally seen her grandfather. No, actually, it wasn’t Hindenburg anymore. She was now officially allowed to call it Buchenwald again.

Right after his father was taken away, an international court trial took place, condemning him for his war crimes. Imprisoning and torturing civilians was, of course, a violation of international law, and with the rest of the world still wary of Germania’s past atrocities, Kenji was forced to step down as a governor immediately.

At first, it was planned to simply establish a new government in the East. But after many negotiations between numerous countries and growing protests on both sides of the wall, it was decided to reunite the East and West again.

After all, the West had an impeccable image since the end of the war, treating its citizens well and maintaining friendly relationships with other nations. Because of this, it was deemed safer to unify the two regions under the West's existing government, rather than electing a new leader in the East who might just follow Kenji’s footsteps.

And so, it was now no longer East Germania and West Germania. After all these years of division, it was finally just Germania again.

All of this had been made possible by the courage of one man. A man who had risked everything with a plan so delicate that a single misstep could have unraveled it all.

Mahiru giggled as she put the final piece of cloth into her suitcase, folded into perfection by Mamoru himself.

“You know, Mamoru, I keep asking myself how much of this was your doing and what came down to coincidence.”

Mamoru smiled back at her softly, taking the bags out of the room.

“I think most of it went according to plan. You got to live in the West for a while, and my son managed to give you the letters which allowed you to come to the internment camp. It was a bit hard handing them to him, especially since I see him only once a year and your father tracked almost all of my movements, even in the West. But I’m glad he understood what he needed to do with what little information I was able to give him.”

Mahiru laughed in delight, her hand instinctively rising to cover her smile. Hayato, Kousei’s best friend. And coincidentally, Mamoru’s own son.

But no, this wasn’t a coincidence. Mamoru had orchestrated it all, making sure she’d met Kousei specifically, creating an invisible connection between his own son and herself.

Of course, what he couldn’t have predicted was that Mahiru and Kousei would fall for each other so deeply. That part… That truly was a coincidence.

As they walked out of the house, their suitcases behind them, there was still one question Mahiru couldn’t quite find an answer for.

“What I don’t understand… Yes, you couldn’t bring me to my grandfather while I still lived in the East, as my father would immediately notice that. But why couldn’t you bring your son or wife there? They could have gathered evidence and reported it to the authorities, just like Yuuna did. Why involve Kousei in all this?”

Mamoru looked straight ahead, walking with steady steps towards the vehicle that would take them to their new home.

“Your father knew everything about me, Mahiru. Including my background in the West, my friendship with Akira and the names of my wife and son. At first, I was only allowed to serve your family to keep Akira at bay. After I ‘successfully’ got rid of your grandfather, I was able to win his trust. Still, he would’ve known instantly if my own family entered the East. So I needed someone your father didn’t recognise. And that was Kousei.”

Mahiru was dumbfounded, impressed by Mamoru’s thinking. How many years did he actually plan ahead to bring down Kenji?

“But you know, there’s one thing I didn’t anticipate myself,” Mamoru said with a light laugh, clearly amused. “Kousei was the one supposed to follow you and gather the necessary evidence in the internment camp. But instead, it was his meddlesome, impulsive sister. That was a pleasant surprise.”

A grin spread across Mahiru’s face, unable to contain the warmth she felt when she thought of Yuuna. It was hard to believe she’d somehow become the one person responsible for Kenji’s downfall.

Yuuna, the first real friend Mahiru had made in her life.

She couldn’t wait to see her again.

“Ah, here you are. I was starting to think you might have changed your minds,” Akira greeted them in front of the vehicle.

“Of course not,” Mamoru responded. “How could I change my mind about going to live with my family?”

Mahiru watched the two chatter and laugh, just like in the old days when she was still a little girl, dreaming of the freedom the West could offer.

She was finally about to fulfill her dream for good. But this time, she wasn’t just dreaming of freedom.

“Let’s go,” she said impatiently, hopping into the vehicle. “There’s someone waiting for me on the other side.”

The two men smiled with satisfaction, nodding at each other.

“You’re right, Mahiru. But it’s not the other side anymore. We’re finally united as one again,” Akira corrected her.

The drive took a little longer than expected. Given that the gates of the Grand Wall were finally opened today, the streets were far busier than usual. Everyone was probably planning to go visit relatives or friends they hadn’t seen in a lifetime.

Mahiru’s body filled with anticipation with each passing second, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest from her joy.

When they finally came to a halt in front of her favourite pastry shop in the world, Mahiru leaped out of the vehicle without a second thought.

“Howdy-dooo, Mahirun!”

A voice sweeter than any dessert greeted her, its owner jumping at her with full force. Mahiru spread her arms wide, barely managing to keep her balance as she was enveloped in the hug.

“H-hey, Yuuna, calm down. You’re even more energetic than back then.”

Yuuna released herself from Mahiru’s grip after a few seconds, steadily standing in front of her and proudly thrusting out her chest.

“Well, I’m the country’s saviour now, so I have to be a role model for everyone. Hey, you might actually need permission to touch me from now on.”

Mahiru laughed, clutching her stomach in amusement.

“Of course, I’ll make sure to contact your secretary from now on.”

Asuka and Satoshi, Kousei’s parents, approached Mahiru, giving her a heartfelt hug as well.

“I can’t believe we hosted the Watanabe daughter for one entire month. I hope we treated you accordingly,” Asuka said.

“Of course, don’t worry! You were the best hosts I could have asked for. And, uhm, sorry for keeping my identity a secret for so long,” Mahiru responded, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

Hayato and his mother were standing nearby, talking to Mamoru.

“You did very well, Hayato. This couldn’t have happened without you,” Mamoru praised him while running his hand through his son’s hair like a proud father. “This nightmare is finally over.”

And in the background, of course, an inconspicuous figure stood there all by himself, clutching a flower in his hand.

Mahiru spotted him and smiled, her heart fluttering.

“Hey, don’t you want to greet me?” she asked, walking towards him.

But Kousei only folded her into his arms, not saying a word. He held her as tightly as he possibly could. Now that he had finally his arms around her again, he didn’t want to ever let her go.

“H-hey, you’re hurting me.”

“Do you know how much I worried about you when you were gone?” Kousei whispered, softening his grip slightly.

“This is still not a reason to strangle me, dummy.”

“Who’s the dummy here? The letter you left behind made me cry bricks.”

Mahiru laughed, then said, “I’m sorry. I wanted to let you know how I felt before leaving you. Oh, and I still owe you something.”

Kousei raised an eyebrow, curious, as she leaned in closer.

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

Pressing their lips against each other, they shared their first kiss in three months. Without a doubt, it was by far the sweetest they’ve had so far.

“I love you, too, Mahiru. Here,” he told her as he handed her a cornflower.

Mahiru giggled, accepting this precious sign of his affection.

“You really are a kitschy type, huh?”

“Of course,” he responded proudly, a playful glint in his eyes. “Didn’t you know that already?”

“How could I not? After all, I’m still going to marry you one day.”

“Yeah,” Kousei said, leaning in for another kiss. “I can’t wait for that day to come.”