Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 10 - Chapter 8

Roller Coaster at Dusk

Sunday, February 14th

Not only did Valentine’s Day fall on a weekend this year—Sunday, to be precise—but the amusement part was holding a special event to celebrate it. Because of that, despite it being cold, there were plenty of people visiting the park and the surrounding area. Families and couples alike surrounded Koutarou and Kiriha as they walked along. They were all smiling and enjoying the holiday.

“Kiriha-san, where are we going today? You said you found a clue.”

“Calm down, Satomi Koutarou. There’s a proper procedure to these things.”

Kiriha had brought Koutarou to the amusement park to help her find someone. Since he had helped her look many times before, he readily agreed this time as well. Since Koutarou considered Kiriha to be a precious friend, he had no reason to refuse. On top of that, it wasn’t just anyone Kiriha was looking for. She was trying to find her first love. Of course he wanted to help a dear friend with that. And since she’d said she had a clue this time, Koutarou was pretty excited about coming.

When they entered the amusement park, Kiriha took the lead. They definitely seemed to be headed towards the attractions in the park, but Kiriha wasn’t telling Koutarou her plan for some reason. Confused, Koutarou had asked her about it, but she had only dodged the question with a smile. Giving up, he simply followed along.

Still... I’m getting a strange feeling about this...

Since they had left Corona House late that afternoon, the sun was already setting. The orange sun cast long shadows on the ground. The sight stirred Koutarou’s memories, and he felt like he’d seen it before.

Well, I’ve come here several times now, so...

This wasn’t the first time that Koutarou had come here with Kiriha, either. In fact, he had been here with her more than anyone else. Once was under the pretense of a date, and they’d come a couple of times since then to look for her first love. The date in particular had left quite an impression on him, so it was only obvious that he would think of it coming here with her again. However as they walked along, other memories came drifting to mind as well. Specifically, he was thinking of a day long in the past that had had a profound effect on him. It didn’t have anything to do with Kiriha, but he waxed a bit nostalgic as he walked along with her.

“Here we are.”

Kiriha stopped in front of a certain attraction. She then turned towards Koutarou and flashed a cheerful smile. It was a pure and bright smile, completely different from the one she normally revealed. It wasn’t unlike the smiles of the children standing in line for the attraction.

“This is...”

Kiriha had brought them to the roller coaster. When Koutarou looked up, he could see people shoot by, spinning and twisting in the cars along the tracks. This was the most popular attraction in the amusement park.

“I was thinking that we should ride this today.”

“Wait, didn’t you want to ride this with your first love? Or did you give up?”

Kiriha suggested riding the roller coaster together, but Koutarou objected. In the past, they had decided that Kiriha would ride the roller coaster with her first love since it was something she’d always wanted to do with him. If she gave up on looking for him or if she found him and he rejected her, then Koutarou would ride it with her. But not until then.

“No, I haven’t given up. In fact, I may have found him. My Onii-chan, the man I’ve always been in love with...”

When Koutarou heard her say “Onii-chan,” he almost saw someone else in her.

“I’ve decided! Onii-chan, let’s ride that next!”

“That thing spinning round and round and zooming by!”

The person Koutarou was thinking of was a young girl that had just turned six years old. He’d met her by coincidence a month or so ago and spent a few days with her. Koutarou knew he was talking to Kiriha now, but he was certain he’d caught a glimpse of resemblance.

Could it be...? No, that’s impossible... Do coincidences like that even really happen?

Koutarou was near speechless. A strange idea had crossed his mind, but it was far too strange to be true. The truth was this wasn’t actually the first time it had occurred to him, but each time he considered it, it seemed more and more delusional. Even simpleminded Koutarou knew that it was impossible to have an effect before a cause.

That’s why when the same strange thought occurred to him even now, he didn’t know what to do. Confused, all he could do was stand in place. And while he was rendered speechless, Kiriha smiled and began to slowly speak.

“Ever since I came up on the surface, I’ve been looking for him using the wrong method. That’s why I couldn’t find him.”

Kiriha’s tone was different from normal. She was still polite, but not formal. She sounded like a regular girl her age. It was unusual, but Koutarou didn’t find it strange. If anything, this seemed more natural than the way she ordinarily spoke. She was normally too mature about this kind of thing.

“The person I met ten years ago was the same age I am now. That’s why I assumed that his mother would at least be in her thirties, and more likely in her forties. Going off of that, I went through records of traffic accidents involving women in that age range during the dates in question. But no matter how hard I looked, I always came up emptyhanded.”

Kiriha had tried to find her first love with what she knew about him, and that included that his mother had passed away in a traffic accident. Assuming that her first love had been around fifteen years old when she met him, it was only natural to assume his mother was at least fifteen years older. And so she’d investigated traffic accidents involving women in their thirties or older. She’d found a few that matched the description, but she still hadn’t been able to find her first love.

“I’ve tried other methods too, but I just couldn’t seem to find him no matter how I tried. I started to think that he wasn’t even real to begin with. Maybe that it had all just been a dream...”

Kiriha had tried other tactics to find her first love, but all to no avail. Nothing was working, and that frustration made her start to doubt that her precious memories were even real.

“But... you know what? The day before yesterday, I found this...”

Kiriha’s eyes filled with tears and she reached into her purse and carefully pulled out something.

“Thanks to this, I finally understood why I couldn’t find him... Why his mother didn’t exist in the records I was looking at...”

Kiriha held in her hand an antique necklace decorated with polished jewels and fangs.

“...Th-That’s...”

The moment he saw that, Koutarou gasped. The necklace she was holding was a memento that he’d kept hidden in his wardrobe. That Kiriha had found it, that she recognized it, and that she’d brought it here told Koutarou that what he’d been suspecting for a while now was actually the truth.

“There was no way I ever would have found him like that. As it turns out, he was only six years old back then...”

That information was rightfully startling. Kiriha remembered the boy she’d met being around the age of sixteen, so it was hard to understand the apparent age difference.

“I gave this necklace to him when we parted ways.”

But when Kiriha reinvestigated her first love assuming she was looking for a six year old instead of a sixteen year old, things started to fall into place. Only one person fit the description, and now she’d even found this necklace as proof of his identity. All that was left was for her to confirm one last thing.

“I gave it to him as thanks for this card.”

Kiriha pulled out a trading card from her purse. It was originally metallic, but it was old and had lost most of its sheen with age. The card depicted a beetle-themed superhero, and it had a young child’s handwriting scrawled across it.

Koutarou had seen that card before, handwriting and all. It looked just the same as the card the six year old girl he’d met recently had.

“This necklace was a keepsake from my mother. I gave it to him, hoping that my mother would watch over him so he wouldn’t feel lonely and cry on his own.”

Kiriha was in tears. She had never displayed this kind of intense emotion in front of people before, but now she was crying without a care in the world for who saw her. She looked both happy and sad at the same time. Her expression betrayed all kinds of emotions, and those overflowing emotions were welling up in her eyes as tears. As they rolled down her cheeks one by one, they sparkled in the light of the setting sun.

“I’ve always been worried these past ten years. Is he happy? He’s not feeling lonely, is he?”

It was as if Kiriha could no longer control what she was feeling. Her body was trembling and she was weak in the knees. Just standing up was the best she could muster. She looked like she would collapse to the ground if someone so much as tapped her on the shoulder.

“So please tell me, Koutarou! Is the owner of this necklace still happy? He’s not feeling lonely... is he?”

That was the real reason why Kiriha had been looking for her first love. Before confessing her feelings, she wanted to know if he was happy.

Kiriha still loved him, but she didn’t demand the same from him. He would have his own life, and that might already include a lover or even a family. Kiriha had no intention of forcing her way into his life. After ten years of not seeing him, just being able to confess was enough.

But above all else, she wanted to know if he was happy and make sure that he wasn’t lonely. Those feelings were why she’d given him the necklace in the first place, and what she’d wished every time she’d stared at that card all these years. And without knowing that he was happy, she wouldn’t be able to move forward in pursuing her own happiness.

“...Could you stand over there for a moment?”

Koutarou didn’t answer Kiriha’s desperate appeal. Instead, he smiled and pointed to something behind her. His expression and tone were calm like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Huh...? O-Okay...”

While Koutarou had regained his calm, Kiriha’s mind was still a mess. She wanted to hear his answer, but this strange request had thrown her for a loop.

“Like this?”

Though confused, Kiriha obediently followed Koutarou’s instructions. Koutarou had pointed to a signboard in front of the roller coaster, and Kiriha walked over to it as asked.

“Yeah, just like that.”

Once Kiriha was in position, Koutarou walked over to her.

“Ah...”

As Koutarou approached, Kiriha’s body stiffened and she instinctively grasped the card and necklace she was holding in her hands. She was anxious. Even if she had proof, she still couldn’t be completely sure. And so she supported herself with the necklace and card as she wondered what Koutarou was going to do.

“Hmm...”

Though Kiriha was anxious, Koutarou smiled and nodded. But rather than at her, he seemed to be looking behind her. Wondering why, Kiriha turned around. Then she saw it.

The sign she was standing in front of read: “You must be at least 140 centimeters to ride this attraction.” The height limit had been written in large letters on the side of the sign, and next to it was a large illustration that demonstrated the requisite height.

Koutarou happily looked at it before putting his hand on top of Kiriha’s head.

“...You’ve sure gotten big, Kii-chan.”

This time, Koutarou made sure to look at Kiriha while he was talking to her, and he gently patted her head a few times.

“Ah...”

In that instant, Kiriha was able to confirm that her wildest dreams were indeed a reality. At the same time, her emotions erupted and she fumbled for words. She desperately tried to say something, but her mouth simply opened and closed without making a sound.

“Since you’re this tall, it looks like we can ride it together now.”

The illustration only reached up to Kiriha’s shoulders. She easily cleared it.

Surely the attendant won’t stop us this time...

Koutarou smiled as he remembered the first time they’d tried to ride it.

“I couldn’t tell it was you, really.”

“O-Onii-cha... You really are Onii-chan, right?”

Tears began overflowing from Kiriha’s eyes again. Her heightened feelings made her body shake.

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Koutarou firmly nodded. He had also been surprised by this development, but he wasn’t as shaken as Kiriha since he’d had a month and a half or so to think about it. Seeing both Kii and Kiriha cry had played a pretty big role in it. Knowing that Kii had cried for him, he wanted to be strong for her, and he felt a very similar feeling whenever he saw Kiriha in tears.

“Ah...”

Strength left Kiriha’s knees and she lost her balance. The whirlwind of emotions she was experiencing kept her from catching herself properly, and it looked like she was about to fall right over.

“Hey now.”

However, before she could, Koutarou was there to support her.

Even though you’ve grown, you’re still light, Kii-chan...

Being able to support the girl that supported him made Koutarou happy. And while he was grinning to himself, Kiriha put her arms around him and held him tightly. She looked as if she was clinging to a lifeline.

“...It’s Onii-chan... You really were Onii-chan all along...”

Kiriha completely entrusted herself to Koutarou like a small child wanting to be doted on by her parents. Though surprised for a moment, Koutarou readjusted his hold on her body to properly support her.

“...Back then you were more of a tomboy, and less like this.”

Koutarou held Kiriha while smiling wryly. Right now, she looked even younger than Kii ever had.

To think she really was Kii-chan though...

Kii, who had been hiding inside of Kiriha all this time, had now come out to the surface. She had peeked through here and there before, but he’d never thought that much of it. Of course, he was surprised when he realized the truth, but also happy. And as things came together now, he didn’t have any trouble looking at her and believing they were the same person.

“Stupid... Even if it’s only been half a month for you, it’s been over ten years for me, Onii-chan. Can’t you just let me stay like this a little longer?”

Kiriha kept her arms firmly wrapped around Koutarou. She poured enough feeling into them to make up for ten years of not seeing him, and the feelings that overcame her now served as her new promise to him. She would protect Koutarou from solitude, and always warm up his heart.

Just like Koutarou had supported Kiriha and Kii, they would support him back. As her best friend and first love became the same person, her desires merged. Her wishes melded into one and became even stronger together.

“I’m sorry. I’ll listen to whatever you say today, so please forgive me.”

“Anything?”

Kiriha looked up and smiled at Koutarou as she tilted her head to the side curiously.

“Yeah.”

“I might say something incredible.”

“You won’t. That’s not the kind of girl you are.”

“Heehee...”

Kiriha giggled happily and entrusted herself to Koutarou once more. She then leaned in to quietly whisper into his ear.

“Onii-chan, you still haven’t answered my previous question, so I want you to give me a proper answer.”

Was Koutarou happy or not? Kiriha really already knew the answer to that question because she’d met him in the past. Ten years ago, he was anxious to get home, and that was a good sign he was happy there.

But still, Kiriha wanted to hear Koutarou say it. Had she been able to protect him during the ten months they had been together, and had Kii been able to warm his heart since they had met? Had Kiriha and Kii been able to support him? She wanted Koutarou to answer her in his own words.

“Now that you mention it, I didn’t, did I?”

Koutarou smiled bitterly and gathered his thoughts as he looked up into the sky. What meaning did these past ten months since he’d met Kiriha and these past couple of weeks since he’d returned home have for him? It wasn’t a very difficult question for Koutarou to answer.

“...The owner of this necklace is pretty stupid, you see. He couldn’t even tell who the girl in front of him was. And it’s because of things like that that he’s always getting into trouble with the people around him.”

Koutarou smiled as he answered her. But it wasn’t his usual smile. Both the look on his face and the way he was talking to her were different. It was like he was interacting with a small child.

“But... when he unexpectedly ended up somewhere far away, strangely enough, he missed all the fighting. He then worked hard to be able to come home. So I think... that he’s happy. At the very least, I don’t think he’s feeling lonely.”

Koutarou spoke as if he was talking about someone else. It was almost too embarrassing just to be honest, especially when one of the reasons he’d wanted to return home was right in front of him.

“I’m... I’m so glad...”

However, Kiriha didn’t seem to care about that part. The moment he had said that he was happy, intense emotions began welling in her chest, and they overflowed without end. Kiriha didn’t know what to do, and so all she could do was cry and embrace Koutarou.

However, there was one thing she knew for sure. She no longer had to worry about whether her first love was happy or not. On top of that, she could genuinely support him from now on. She would also be able to see his smile for herself from now on, and she would do what she could to protect that smile.

It all made Kiriha happy too, but all she could do was cry more tears of joy and put more strength into her arms wrapped around Koutarou. Whether she realized it or not, she was acting just like her younger self.

“But still, to think you were Kii-chan...”

“You’re so slow... Jeez... Couldn’t you have noticed half a month ago...?”

“I’m sorry.”

Like that, Kiriha continued crying and holding on to Koutarou. Since she had so many emotions pent up inside, it would take some time to let it all out. And Koutarou would be there to silently support her all the while.

Kiriha did eventually calm down, and she took half a step back to look up at Koutarou.

“Say, Onii-chan...” she whispered with a smile.

“Hmm?”

“I have a little bit of a dilemma.”

As Kiriha said that, she hung the necklace she’d been holding in her hand around Koutarou’s neck. To her, that was its rightful place. After that, she showed the card in her hands to Koutarou and then dearly clasped it to her chest. That was also its rightful place.

“And what’s this dilemma?”

Kiriha continued crying as she talked to Koutarou. Tears trickled down her cheeks and fell from her chin, wetting her hands and Koutarou’s necklace. Seeing them, Koutarou reached his hand out to her cheek to wipe them away. The gesture made Kiriha incredibly happy, and she shed one final tear with a smile.

“Kiriha and Kii are arguing inside of me. Kiriha wants to trouble you more, but Kii wants to stay like this.”

“Ah, then there’s no need to argue.”

Koutarou let out a small sigh and shrugged.

“Why not?”

Kiriha tilted her head like Kii would. Nothing about her face was different than usual, but she looked especially childlike to Koutarou in that moment.

“People have been glaring daggers at me for a while now. They must think that I’m making you cry.”

By having Kiriha rely on him like Kii, Koutarou was already being troubled. In the end, the results were the same, regardless of whether it was what Kiriha or Kii wanted.

“You are making me cry, jeez...”

After giving Koutarou a very Kiriha-esque mischievous smile, she hugged him like Kii would. The two girls melded into one and threw their mutual feelings at Koutarou. She knew that she could get away with it. That he would be the only one to accept her feelings like that, past, present, and future.

“Then let’s go.”

Koutarou smiled bitterly as he whispered to Kiriha. Strangely enough, he remained calm even as Kiriha was hugging him. As a result of his feelings for Kiriha and Kii merging, he started to feel like their hugging was normal. It was something similar to the way he felt about Sanae.

“Where to?”

Eyes closed and still hugging him, Kiriha whispered back to Koutarou.

“We’re getting on the roller coaster, obviously. I’m tried of people glaring at me. It hurts...”

That was making Koutarou more uneasy than Kiriha hugging him.

“Trying to get a girl in a good mood by taking her on a ride... Don’t you think you’re being a little too simple?”

Kiriha looked up and smiled. She then let go of Koutarou and held his hand instead. Though she had criticized his idea as simple, she seemed rather amenable to it. That was, of course, only obvious considering she’d been waiting ten years for this moment.

“I don’t. I told you before, didn’t I? I’m actually very interested in roller coasters myself. I want to give it a try.”

Koutarou began walking. Kiriha naturally accompanied him, and she gently rested her cheek on his shoulder. They passed through the entrance to the roller coaster, walking along like they were old lovers.

“By the way, Onii-chan, who were those words for? Was it Kiriha, or was it Kii?”

“I forgot. Does it even matter?”

“Heehee. I’ll just leave it at that. Koutarou and Onii-chan are both so shy.”

“Shut it.”

On this particular day in the middle of February, the cold had more bite than usual. The sun was setting, and the evening began growing colder. In the amusement park painted orange in the hues of the setting sun, the roller coaster cars clacked along the track at full speed.

Nothing special had really happened on this day. A boy with an antique necklace and a girl with an old trading card had just gotten to ride a roller coaster together. It was just like any other holiday in the park, but it would change the relationship of that boy and girl forever.

Midnight sometime just past the middle of March. A car was parked in a dark alleyway near the station. A fat man was alone inside the car, fast asleep in the passenger seat. The driver’s seat was empty, and the sleeping man was waiting for the driver to return.

“Zzz... Zzz... Zzz...”

The man had been asleep for over an hour, but all of a sudden, the door on the driver’s side opened and a slim man jumped in.

“Wake up, Hachi! This is an emergency!”

Despite the slim man’s shouting, the fat man called Hachi didn’t wake up. He simply continued drooling in his sleep. Panicked, the slim man grabbed hold of him and violently shook him.

“I told you to wake up! Can’t you at least wake up right away when it’s important!”

“Hwah?! A-Aniki...?”

“That’s right! Wake up! It’s an emergency!”

“Aniki... what happened?”

Hachi rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked the slim man what the occasion was. The two men had been working on a surveillance job for several months, but nothing before now had ever warranted this kind of commotion.

“Things have changed! That girl’s apparently in critical condition now!”

“Th-That’s terrible!”

The moment he heard the words “critical condition,” Hachi’s eyes opened wide and his hazy mind snapped awake. He now understood the dire nature of the situation.

“That’s why I said it was an emergency! Hachi, you contact Nee-san right away!”

“I’ll call her right now! What about you, Aniki?!”

“I’m going back to the hospital! I’ll set up this spiritual energy stabilizer that I got from Nee-san to make sure that she doesn’t die! I just hope I make it in time!”

These two men were the ghost hunters that Koutarou and the girls had encountered once upon a time, but things were different with them now. They’d given up their ghost hunting ways and taken on a new gig. Their job now was to regularly report on the condition of the hospitalized girl. It was a fairly plain surveillance job, but it paid well, so the two men had worked on it for months without complaint.

“Nee-san! Kiriha-neesan! It’s me, Hachi!” Hachi had used his cellphone to call Kiriha. “Bad news! That girl, Sanae-chan is dying!”

The name of the girl they were watching over in the hospital was Higashihongan Sanae.