Chapter 7 Arc 1 — The Brown Haired Goddess

—It's been 3652 days since that day.

Sasaki sat by a bus stop amid the heavy rain. He still wore the same jacket he wore the day of his death.

Miraculously, it wasn't torn up by the razor-sharp teeth of the anomaly. At least they had the decency to leave something of value to him.

He looked around. The lights flashed back and forth, the rain glittering as a distorted reflection of his figure shone through the glass of the shop in front of him.

“That's oddly familiar.”

The shop was dark and surrounded by pink and blue neon lights, complementing the vibe of the inky night. Although it wasn't enough to stave off the emptiness in Sasaki's heart.

Just by looking at the shop had made himself feel much more down for no valid reason. It may be because he still couldn't accept the fact that he died before his twin sister.

But he knew he couldn't alter events that had already happened. It was basic common knowledge. If there ever was a chance given to him…

—It's impossible. Who would pity a murderer like me?

He looked around for a second time, turning his gaze to the other street. This time, it was a small park. The trees were blurred by the yellow lights behind them and were slightly distorted by the rapid raindrops.

“Never knew heaven looked like this.”

He paused for a moment, his hands clasped, as his posture was hunched. He was bold to think the place he's currently in was heaven.

“What if this is hell? ”

Obstructing his beautiful view, a topless man ran from across the street in a hurry. He looked nervous, repeatedly looking back at the shop as his steps slowly became more rapid.

—What a drag.

“Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! ”

A loud, high-pitched voice cried out from the shop. His moment of sulking by the bench was disturbed by the pathetic sobs at the shop's entrance.

Outside stood a girl who wore a brown fur coat with a white bra. Although her only undergarment was a gray pants. Her short brown hair was dampened from the heavy rain, covering half of her face.

—A prostitute?

“I guess I'll go help her out—”

Sasaki held his mouth in confusion. Why did he suddenly mutter those words? It was strange, yet it felt like he was indebted to help the young woman.

His body instinctively moved on its own. Walking across the street, slowly approaching the young woman.

In front of the young woman was another man.

—She's definitely a prostitute…

He was well dressed, in contrast to the other. He looks like someone who has a white-collar job. Lawyer? Doctor? Teacher? He assumed he was around one of those occupations.

The man raised his arm, charging up a strong blow.

“Get the hell out of here, you useless whore! ”

“Ah! ”

The woman flinched, squeezing her eyes, prepared to take the blow.

“You… you're one of his boys?! ”

“E—Eh?? ”

Sasaki stared vacantly into the man's eyes. The woman opened her watery eyes, puzzled as she looked at Sasaki, who stood firmly in front of her.

He was tightly gripping the man's wrist. Although it wasn't clear to him why he was doing so, either. But it was clear to him that the man wasn't pleased by his actions.

“Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not saving to use your body.”

The woman's face turned red after hearing Sasaki's statement. She covered her face in embarrassment, while he kept his gaze on the man's fiery eyes.

“Kid, if you ain't one of her boys, mind your own damn business.”

“No. I'd rather you hit that woman away from my line of sight.”

Their jaws dropped. The woman was now more unsure of Sasaki's motive, thinking that he may be some kind of escapee from a psych ward playing hero.

She gently held his arm, shyly looking away from him, covering her cleavage with her other hand.

“H—hey, it's okay… I can take it.”

Sasaki turned to the woman in doubt that the man had any proper business to do with her.

“Are you two in a relationship? ”

Her hazel eyes widened, while Sasaki sighed tiredly, still maintaining a firm grip on the man's wrist. She didn't expect another invasive action from him.

“I— Uh…”

She paused for a moment, looking at the man. She was not in any relationship with him whatsoever; he looked more like a fling or a client, in other words.

Dating a woman who has exquisite looks like hers would require much more than a white-collar job.

Now, concluding the answer to her question, she nodded sideways.

“I see.”

Sasaki lets go of his wrist and lands a swift backhand, hitting the man's chin and knocking him unconscious as he lies flat on the wet sidewalk.

“Works like a charm. Well, I ought to get going now.”

Sasaki waved to the woman without looking back at her, walking on the sidewalk without a clue about where he was headed.

—Why'd I even do that? It was so embarrassing… Did I even catch her name? Eh… that's not important anyway.

She froze there, completely soaked from standing in the rain for such a long period. But that didn't matter to her.

She could've at least thanked him or asked for his name, yet she was choking on her words, unable to express the never-ending gratitude she feels towards him.

She figured she might go home now since it was getting late. She was already freezing from the cold, and the rain didn't seem to get any calmer.

—I should've brought my umbrella…

She sulked to herself, about to walk by the bench, just for her to see two children sitting there. A boy and a girl.

They looked slightly identical to each other, sharing the same sharp, lifeless eyes. She'd already deduced that they were siblings or close relatives.

The young boy had his arms wrapped around his sister, wearing a gray coat too big for his size. He was shielding her from the cold rain amidst this cruel night.

The two looked like a pack of bones. Even the slightest breeze would've probably dragged them away during this cold hour, although it was an exaggeration on her part. Seeing how firmly he was hugging his sister.

It was probably better not to have anything to do with them, since she was running late, and if she stayed a little longer, she might catch a bad fever.

But she couldn't just leave them be by the bench in the middle of nowhere. She just got saved by someone random during such a crucial moment.

—It wouldn't hurt for me to pass on the kindness I felt to another soul, right?

Just the thought made her feel pathetic and useless. Maybe she deserved to take that hit from the man after all. Since she was just scum.

“Hey, I'm Hanae… What's your name? ”

The moment she'd approached the two, the boy glanced at her coldly with the corner of his eye. As if she were about to take away something precious from him.

—This is what I get for passing on kindness…

“Do you have any parents? ”

There was no response; the heavy rain was deafening. She wasn't expecting the boy to act this coldly toward her. If it were any normal child, they would've politely answered her questions to increase their chance of being helped.

But that way of selfish thinking wasn't visible to the boy. It was like she was talking to a man petrified by Medusa's sight. She isn't that terrifying; she doubts that she was anywhere near terrifying.

“Is that your sister? ”

An obvious question. She shouldn't even have bothered asking him. The answer was already clearer than her reflection. People really can't help but ask stupid questions.

The boy looked around cluelessly with his dark, sunken eyes. His mouth was open like a fish out of water. He wasn't gasping for air or any of that. He looked unfamiliar.

“Po—”

“Huh? ”

“Sohi-”

Hanae leaned closer to him, slightly ecstatic and filled with curiosity. Eagerly prepared to listen to the child's soft, hoarse voice.

“Soki.”

“Soki…? Soki… Ah! Sasaki! Am I right?! ”

Another blank response. At this point, she'd concluded the kid neither had the strength to answer her questions verbally nor physically.

Hanae held the boy's hand and looked into his eyes.

“Sasaki, squeeze my hand if yes; keep it this way if no.”

Hearing this, Sasaki squeezed her hand; although it was hard to recognize due to it being so weak, it was bearable enough for her.

“Alright then, Sasaki, do you want to stay over at my place for the night? ”

“Sestra…”

His voice was faint, and his vision was slowly starting to dim out. The girl nodded in approval with a smile.

“I'll bring your sister with me too.”

Although not understanding a word, he felt that she understood what he'd said earlier. So in response,

Sasaki squeezed Hanae's hand. 

To Be Continued...