Chapter 85: Reluctance
The salty tang of the sea breeze brushed gently across the deck, where the boundless blue ocean rolled beneath the vast, mysterious night sky of the Pacific. On the deck, a young man and woman stood side by side at the railing, gazing out at the endless expanse. The girl, delicate and fair, wrapped her arms lightly around the young man's right arm, nestling against his broad, sturdy shoulder, her eyes brimming with tenderness.
The young man stared blankly at the surging waves, his chiseled, resolute face expressionless, yet in his obsidian eyes, dark as the starry river of the heavens, lingered a trace of confusion.
“Azuma… little brother.”
The girl’s voice was soft, the name she called—Azuma—slipped out naturally, but she hesitated, feeling it somehow inappropriate, and forcibly added “little brother” after.
“Hm?” Ryusei Azuma returned to himself, turned his face with a gentle smile to look at the fragile Miyuki by his side.
“Is there something troubling you?” Miyuki stroked Azuma’s hand, swathed in heavy bandages, her beautiful eyes filled with pain and concern.
“Sister.”
“Eh?” It was the first time Miyuki had heard Azuma call her “sister” directly; that word brought her both joy and sorrow.
“I might… have to leave.” Azuma paused, but eventually spoke the words.
Hearing this, Miyuki said nothing, only fixed her gaze on Azuma’s face, as if she wanted to commit every detail to memory in these last precious moments.
She had a feeling that, perhaps after this, she might never see him again.
Miyuki continued to gaze at Azuma’s resolute face, into those deep, unfathomable eyes. Her own eyes reddened, tears welling up until, unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around Azuma and broke into sobs.
“Please… don’t go… Azuma! I beg you! I can’t bear to lose you!”
Choking back tears, Miyuki finally confessed her feelings.
“I…” Azuma wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat.
A man must keep his promises.
He had sworn to Sero that he would use his dark powers to help the Land of Light’s universe defeat Joda once and for all, so that he could never return. He had to see it through! Rationally, what was personal feeling compared to the safety of an entire universe?
And besides… wasn’t Xiaoxiang in another timeline still waiting for him? She was his girlfriend, the one meant to spend a lifetime with him!
But even as Azuma reasoned all this, in that moment, he found himself yearning, wishing he could stay in this world. Hoping there was no time tunnel atop Mount Suna to connect with the Land of Light at all.
Yet Azuma knew he was more than ninety percent likely to leave this world from Mount Suna.
He didn’t even know what he truly felt for Miyuki. It was love, yet not quite love—vague, uncertain. His mind was in turmoil.
One thing, though, was clear: Miyuki was undeniably important to him! And that was enough!
“Actually, I have reasons I must go. But wait for me! I promise—I’ll come back to see you!”
Azuma hugged Miyuki tightly, pressing his face against her hair, the faint fragrance enveloping his senses.
Breathing in that intoxicating scent, Azuma made up his mind—once things were settled in the Land of Light, he’d drag Sero along and have him whisk him through time and space again and again! Even if it meant shuttling endlessly between different worlds.
On the deck shrouded in night, the two held each other close.
...
It was already deep into the night.
Azuma accompanied Miyuki out of the TPC medical center. On the way to take her home, neither spoke in the car; the atmosphere was heavy. Miyuki clung to Azuma’s arm and hadn’t let go for a moment.
In the maze of winding alleys, where newcomers easily lost their way, Azuma now knew every path by heart. Carrying Miyuki on his back, he stepped steadily toward her home.
Gentle as a lamb, Miyuki rested quietly on Azuma’s broad back, her soft, pale hands drooping naturally over his chest, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
“Sis.”
“Yes?”
“I’m thirsty.”
Miyuki responded softly, opened the mineral water bottle in her hand, and held it to Azuma’s lips. He tilted his head back and gulped it down, then she capped it again.
...
“Look, my hand’s injured, your foot is hurt!” Azuma paused, then continued, “So now, I’m your legs and you’re my hands!”
“Neither of us can do without the other!”
...
“Neither of us… can do without the other…” Miyuki was taken aback by his words, then pressed her fair cheek tightly against his warm back, murmuring the words over and over.
Feeling her warmth pressed even closer against his back, Azuma smiled and quickened his pace.
When he got Miyuki home, Azuma simply drank some water and urged her to stay in and recover properly—after all, it took a hundred days for bones and tendons to fully heal!
Then, despite Miyuki's obvious reluctance, Azuma hurried away and set off for Grandma’s house.
Grandma was another person of great importance to Azuma.
She knew he’d gone to Tokyo that day, so he had to hurry back and tell her he was safe.
Who could have guessed that so much could happen in a single day? Two dinosaur-like monsters, Maru Pakun and Naga’s threat, Miyazawa’s transformation into a giant, the artificial giant controlled by Dango.
All of it brought disaster to the city, leaving both Tokyo and Nara in ruins—especially Tokyo. Such wide-scale destruction had never happened, even during the height of monster attacks!
It wasn’t the monsters who inflicted the greatest devastation on humanity, but humans themselves! This was something worth pondering deeply.
Azuma rushed into the house to find, as always, a steaming bowl of tea on the wooden table. Grandma sat at the table, wrapped in thick clothes and a heavy wool blanket. The ceiling lamp seemed never to have been turned off, making it feel as though Redel had never left, and he himself had never been away.
As if everything was still as it was on that torrential, stormy night.
“Grandma!”
“I knew you’d be alright.” Grandma smiled kindly, her aged face like a chrysanthemum blooming in late autumn.
Azuma could see the fatigue she tried to hide—so late at night, it must have been hard for an old lady unused to staying up.
He drank the tea she’d prepared, chatted with her for a while, and finally saw her off to rest, still smiling.
“Young people shouldn’t stay up too late!”
“I know, Grandma!”
“Well then, good night.”
“Good night, Grandma!”
After settling Grandma in for the night, Azuma took off his coat and went to take a proper bath.
After all, having spent time in Tokyo—a city now like a post-apocalyptic ruin—he was bound to be covered in dust and maybe even germs.
He needed a good, thorough wash!