Ryoku sat in his room, waiting and staring out of his window. It was fifteen minutes until noon and the others were waiting for him outside. He wanted to get this over with, but Makoto wasn’t back yet, so….
“I got it,” she declared as she walked into the room, carrying a long, thin rectangular box.
“Thank you, Mako-chan,” he replied quietly as he turned from the window and held out his left hand.
“If you want to put this behind you, then you’ve got to stop doing this every year,” she pointed out as she handed the box to him. “Get on with your life. Forget Keiko-chan, or at least don’t dwell on her as much anymore. I want to see the old Ryo-chan again,” she said, sitting beside him on his bed and giving him a warm hug. “The one I remember from long ago, before Keiko-chan was….”
“Mako-chan…,” he murmured quietly, hugging her back and sighing sadly. “I’m sorry you have to deal with such an emotional wreck of an older brother.”
She smiled and released her brother. “We’ve got to take care of each other, Ryo-chan. No matter what happens.”
Ryoku half-grinned back. “I love you, Mako-chan.”
“I love you, too, Ryo-chan,” she replied and stood up. “Now come on. The others are waiting and growing anxious to hear what you have to tell them.”
He nodded and stood up as well. “No more secrets,” he said softly and followed Makoto out of the room and the apartment.
“Finally!” Usagi exclaimed as they exited the apartment. “Why’d you make us wait anyway?”
Ryoku glanced at everyone present. His gaze slid from Usagi at the far left, with Luna in her arms, to Rei, then Ami and finally Minako, with Artemis in her arms. When Makoto stood beside Minako and nodded, he walked past the girls.
“Follow me,” he said over his shoulder and continued. The girls all exchanged a look and followed him.
“What’s going on, Ryo-kun?” Rei asked. “Where’re you taking us?”
“You will understand as I tell you my story,” he replied flatly as he continued walking. “Although it began five years ago, the true beginning started a year before that, when I met a girl by the name of Hisakawa Keiko….”
Six years ago….
“Can’t catch me!” a eight-year-old Makoto shouted back to her nine-year-old brother, Ryoku, as they played a game of tag with a group of their friends and other students in an empty field near the Shirokoyama boarding school, which the Kino siblings were attending at the time. Ryoku was ‘it’.
“Oh, yeah?” Ryoku retorted and darted after Makoto. She led him on a long chase: over a nearby wooden rail fence, then under it; around a large boulder; around a tree; and so on. The other children watched as she managed to stay one step ahead of her brother.
Soon, he decided to give up and chase the others, hoping to get someone else to be it. “What’s wrong, Ryo-chan? Giving up?” Makoto taunted playfully, but he ignored it.
As he randomly chased after one kid after another, his gaze settled on a small, redheaded girl just off to his left. Her fiery-red hair went down almost to her waist, easily making hers the longest of all the girls in the school. As her light hazel eyes caught his, she smiled and giggled, then started to run. He quickly chased after her.
She was quick, too. Every time he reached out to tag her, she would step out of the way just in time. Eventually, he got tired of missing the girl and leaped at her the moment she dodged him again. He managed to lightly tackle her, taking her down to the ground with him.
Instantly, he regretted having done this, since some girls his age still tended to cry if handled too roughly. He was surprised to find out that she not only wasn’t crying, but she began to wrestle with him until she pinned him to the ground face-up and sat on him while holding his arms to the ground, her face just a couple of feet away from his.
“You don’t have to play easy with me just because I’m a girl,” she told him as she stared down at him.
“O… okay…,” he stammered in surprise. A girl managed to do this to him? He was very impressed, especially since the only other girl he knew that could do the same to him if he were caught by surprise was his own sister. “Can you get off me now?”
“What’s wrong?” the girl asked playfully, leaning closer to him. “Can’t get up by yourself?”
He grinned. “Well, if you insist…,” he said, then began to roll to his right, pitching the girl off him. He then got up and brushed himself off, then walked over to the girl and offered her a hand. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m all right,” she replied, taking his hand and standing up, then brushing herself off as well. “Thank you,” she replied, then stretched up to kiss him on the cheek.
Ryoku blinked in surprise. “What…?” he finally managed to get out.
“You’re cute,” she told him, then giggled. “My name’s Hisakawa Keiko.”
“Kino Ryoku,” he replied numbly, still in a little bit of shock.
“By the way,” Keiko replied, walking up close to him and tapping him lightly on the nose, “you’re it again.” She giggled lightly and ran off, leaving him to stare after her with a small grin on his face.
“That was the first time I met Keiko-chan,” Ryoku said as he stopped and turned back to the girls.
“How cute!” Usagi said cheerily. “Love at first sight!”
“Don’t interrupt!” Rei chided.
“No, it’s all right,” he replied. “In a way, it sort of was love at first sight, only I really wasn’t aware of it yet.
“Of course, all of the other boys started teasing me. I just ignored them.”
“Really?” Minako asked, raising an eyebrow. “Usually nine-year-old boys would deny everything and start beating up on the ones who’re teasing them.”
“Perhaps normal boys would,” he replied. “But, I didn’t.”
“You see,” Makoto added, “after our parents died, Ryo-chan had to grow up quickly in order to take care of me. I really looked up to him back then and although we tend to take care of each other now – instead of him just taking care of me – I still do look up to him.”
“That’s so touching,” Usagi commented as tears began to form in her eyes.
“If you must cry, can you do it after Ryo-kun finishes the story?” Rei snapped.
“You don’t have to be so mean, Rei-chan!” Usagi shot back. “It’s so moving I can’t help but get watery-eyed.”
“Can I continue?” Ryoku interrupted as he turned and continued on his way.
“Sorry,” Usagi and Rei apologized as everyone began to follow him again.
He sighed and shook his head in exasperation. “Anyway, I quickly became close friends with Keiko-chan and so did Mako-chan. Since they were somewhat alike, it was easy for them to become close friends. In fact, they were almost like sisters.
“The friendship between me and Keiko-chan, however, was much different. Even though she was like my sister, I never treated her like my sister, or thought of her as one.
“Since we lived in the same boarding school, we could see each other practically whenever we wanted….”
Ryoku sat under the tree in the field the students usually played in during recess. It was almost midnight, but he wasn’t tired. The Moon was directly overhead, and the moonlight combined with the light of the stars made just enough illumination to make out soft outlines of various objects. Had he not known beforehand what was out in the field, his imagination would be making those outlines up to be any kind of scary monster, just waiting to attack him. He never stayed up this late before and it felt… boring. Waiting was a pain.
“Ryo-chan?” a soft voice called out in the darkness. Ryoku smiled at the way she called him that. Besides Makoto, she was the only person who called him ‘Ryo-chan’.
“Red?” he replied just as softly. That was his nickname for her. “I’m over here, under the tree.”
“Okay, I’m coming.”
“Watch where you step,” he warned, getting to his feet.
“Don’t worry, Ryo-chan,” she retorted, walking carefully toward him. “I’m not going to trip.” Just as she said this, she tripped. Ryoku quickly rushed forward and caught her in his arms.
“Really, Red?” he mocked lightly. “Then, I don’t have anything to worry about.” He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could see her face turning a slight shade of red.
“Just help me up,” she replied. They walked over toward the tree and sat underneath it together.
“Isn’t it great staying up past midnight?” he commented excitedly as he gathered his legs to his chest and started rocking back and forth.
“Yes,” she replied and started to copy what Ryoku was doing. “Isn’t the Moon beautiful tonight, Ryo-chan?”
“What?” he replied and glanced up at the Moon. “Sure, I guess.” He stopped rocking and released his legs, letting them straighten out on the ground. “Look, Red, that’s Orion!” he said pointing to the constellation in the sky.
“Yeah! And, there’s Ursa Major and Minor!” she replied pointing toward two more constellations.
“Aren’t those the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?” he asked, turning toward her.
“Uh-huh,” she agreed, nodding without looking away from the sky.
“Then, why didn’t you say so?”
“I wanted to see if you were paying attention,” she told him, glancing at him for a moment, then looking back up into the sky.
“What?” he replied, slightly confused.
“There’s Pegasus,” she said, pointing to another constellation.
He shook his head in confusion, then shrugged. “You always were good at astronomy,” he said, gazing back up into the sky as well.
“I wonder if there is life on other planets,” she mused almost to herself.
“Maybe there is,” he replied.
“You think so?” she asked, turning toward him.
“Why not? If there’s life here on Earth, who says there can’t be any life on the other side of the galaxy or something like that,” he told her earnestly as he turned to look at her again. “As far as we know, there could be or could’ve been life on… oh, Jupiter or some other planet.”
“Jupiter?”
Ryoku shrugged. “Just an example.”
Keiko regarded him for a moment. “Ryo-chan, can I ask you something?”
“Anything. What is it?”
“Could you…?” she began, then trailed off hesitantly.
“Could I what?” he asked encouragingly.
“Could you kiss me? Please?” she asked softly as she moved close to him.
“What? Kiss you?” he exclaimed.
“Please?”
“O… okay,” he agreed and lightly kissed her on the cheek.
“That wasn’t what I meant, Ryo-chan,” she told him as she stared into his eyes.
Ryoku stared unblinkingly back into her hazel eyes for what seemed to be hours. Slowly, he moved closer to Keiko and kissed her lightly on the lips. She closed her eyes and moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. His eyes slowly began to close as he gently embraced her. They kissed under the tree in the moonlight for what seemed like forever, but was only an instant.
“Your first kiss?” Minako asked.
“How romantic!” Usagi exclaimed. Ryoku nodded as he turned the corner and headed down another street.
“It was then that I realized that she loved me,” he told them. “It was also when I realized that I loved her.”
“He must’ve been quite a cute little boy to have a girlfriend at such a young age,” Minako remarked with a wink toward Makoto.
“He was,” she agreed, nodding.
“Isn’t this the street that leads to the Tenth Street bridge?” Rei asked suddenly.
“It is,” he replied quietly. “This is where my story turns to tragedy. It began with a field trip to a museum here in Tokyo, five years ago to this day….”
Five years ago….
“This is boring,” Makoto complained after staring at some ancient pottery for a few seconds.
“No kidding,” Ryoku agreed. “The samurai display was much more interesting.”
“Anything that has to do with swords, you find interesting,” Keiko retorted with a grin.
“At least it’s not some boring chunk of crockery,” he replied facetiously. Makoto and Keiko shared a glance and rolled their eyes in exasperation. “What?”
“Never mind,” Makoto replied. “Let’s get going or we’ll fall behind.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Ryoku shouted and dashed over to a display case across the room.
“What is it, Ryo-chan?” Makoto asked.
“Come look at this!” he called. Makoto and Keiko dashed over to where he was standing.
“What did you find?” Keiko asked as she stood on his left and Makoto stood on his right.
“This!” he said, pointing down at some ancient-looking dagger in the display case.
Makoto looked at the dagger. It was a long, curved dagger that seemed to be made of some dark metal. The dull, single-edged blade was almost black and shone with a dark glow as the room’s light reflected off it. Although the blade looked dull and had no decoration, the edge looked to be sharp enough to cut through any metal. It was adorned with only one blood red ruby on the tip of the hilt, which seemed to be made of gold, or some gold-colored material. The crossbar was made to look like a pair of sinister vipers; the heads forming the crossbar, while the rest of their bodies entwined around the hilt up to the ruby at the tip.
“Can’t you just feel the evil seeping out of it?” Ryoku whispered in awe.
“Yeah…,” Makoto murmured almost to herself.
Keiko looked at the two of them. “I don’t know about feeling anything, but this thing sure looks evil,” she replied and turned to leave.
“I wonder where this thing came from?” he wondered aloud.
“Um…,” Keiko said as she tapped both Makoto and Ryoku on the shoulders.
“What is it, Red?” Ryoku replied absently without looking away from the dagger.
“The school group is gone.”
“What?!?” Makoto and Ryoku exclaimed simultaneously and whirled around to see that they were alone.
“We gotta go find them!” Makoto shouted and ran off with the others following.
As they rushed out of the room, searching for their group, they heard the sound of glass breaking and the burglar alarm sounding.
“That came from the room we just left!” Ryoku exclaimed and stopped abruptly.
“Ryo-chan! What do you think you’re doing?!?” Makoto shouted as he ran back toward the room.
“No, Ryo-chan! Don’t!” Keiko shouted and ran after him.
“Keiko-chan!” Makoto shouted and ran after her friend and her brother.
As soon as Ryoku ran into the room, he saw a red-haired man drawing out the dagger he had been staring at a while ago, and sliding it into a long curved sheath at his belt. It was almost as if that sheath had been made for that dagger….
“Hey!” Ryoku shouted, getting the man’s attention. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just take that dagger! It doesn’t belong to you!”
“It does now,” the man replied as he turned to regard Ryoku. The man’s red hair was short and very close to Keiko’s hair color. He wasn’t very tall, but his height was above average and he was slightly muscular. He had very sharp features and a condescending look to his face, almost as if he were always looking down his nose at you, even if he were sitting in a chair and you were standing over him.
“I suppose you would like to stop me from taking this dagger?” the man asked, raising one eyebrow in amusement. “You are welcome to try, provided you are ready to forfeit your life.” He spread his arms open toward his sides as he slowly began to walk backwards. “Well?”
“As you wish,” Ryoku replied and rushed at the man just as Keiko rushed into the room.
“Ryo-chan! No!” she shouted, just as he leaped into the air.
“Red?” he said in surprise, losing his concentration as his gaze slid over to her.
“Look out!” she shouted before the man backhanded Ryoku, sending him crashing into the display case and knocking it over.
“What poor form,” the man commented mockingly. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you, boy. If you’re going to attack someone, then you shouldn’t take your eyes off your enemy.”
“Leave him alone!” she shouted angrily as she stood protectively in front of him.
The man chuckled at her defiance. “What a brave little girl,” he said condescendingly and reached out, grabbing her by the cheeks with one hand. “Do you think you can protect your little boyfriend all by yourself?”
“She’s not alone!” Makoto shouted as she lunged forward and punched the man in the nose. “Don’t you dare hurt my friend or my brother!”
“How scary,” the man taunted as he felt his nose. “Quite a punch this little one has. Maybe….” The man paused as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. “Ah, the guards are here. I wonder what took them so long?” He glanced down at the children and smirked as he noticed that Ryoku was on his feet again and was standing protectively in front of the two girls. “Well, I’ve had my fun, but now I must be going.” He reached out and grabbed Keiko by her arm. “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow her for a little while. I wouldn’t want anyone getting in my way as I escape, so I need a hostage. Behave and perhaps I’ll let you live,” he told her as he ran off, carrying her off with him.
“Ryo-chan! Mako-chan! Help! Ryo-chan!!!” she screamed as she kicked and struggled to free herself.
“Shut up!” the man shouted and punched her, knocking her unconscious.
“Keiko!!!” Ryoku screamed in fear and rage and began to chase him, leaving Makoto to get help.
The man was fast, but Ryoku managed to keep up with him. As they ran down one street after another, he began to get a stitch in his side and his breathing came raggedly. Despite the pain, he didn’t slow down. Keiko’s screams and struggles were enough to give him the strength to continue.
After several minutes, Ryoku began to hear the sounds of police sirens in the far distance. About time! he thought and increased his speed a little to catch up with the man. The man apparently heard the sirens as well, since he began glancing behind him every few seconds.
Near the Tenth Street bridge, Ryoku could hear police cars coming in their direction, obviously in hopes to surround the man. The only option left was to head for the bridge.
As the man headed onto the bridge, he saw that there were police cars already waiting on the other side. He was trapped.
“Hah!” Ryoku gasped in triumph as he approached the man on the middle of the bridge. He kept himself from holding his side, where the stitch was torturing him. His heart was beating enough to burst and it took almost all he had to remain on his feet and keep his breathing normal. “No where to go, is there? Now, let her go!”
The man grinned wickedly. “I’m far from trapped, boy,” he replied confidently. “As long as I have your girlfriend, I can still get away.”
“Don’t try to stop him, Ryo-chan,” she told him as she gazed at him with worry in her eyes. “You’ll only get hurt. Please, just leave him alone and let him go. I’ll be all right.”
“Young man!” a voice sounded through a police bullhorn. “Young man, please step away from the suspect! Young man!”
“Is that what you believe, Keiko-chan?” he asked, ignoring the police as he continued to slowly approach the man. “Do you truly think that I’m unable to protect you? I can’t stand idly by while you’re in danger! I love you!”
“I love you, too, Ryo-chan,” she replied, as a tear slowly began to roll down her cheek. “And I do believe in you.” As soon as she said this, she stomped down hard on the man’s foot and bit hard on the arm that held her.
As the man bellowed in pain, Ryoku quickly moved forward. The man recovered quickly and drew the dagger at his side. “Die, boy!” he shouted and slashed at him. He tried to dodge the dagger, but didn’t get far enough away as he received a long, thin gash across his chest. He tried to ignore the pain as he struck the man in the neck and the groin simultaneously, then pushed him backwards while grabbing Keiko’s arm. The man tumbled back against the bridge railing and started to fall backwards over the railing. Ryoku and Keiko were just about to run away from the man when he felt her being pulled backward. Despite biting down hard on the man’s arm, he had not entirely relinquished his hold on her. Instead, he had managed to grab onto her school uniform and was dragging her back with him. As the man fell over the railing, Keiko was pulled away from Ryoku’s grip and was being dragged with him.
Ryoku quickly dove at her and managed to grab onto one hand as she fell over the side. Below her, the man had managed to thrust the dagger into the bridge itself, stopping his downward plummet, and was now hanging by the dagger several feet below.
“Ryo-chan! You’re hurt!” Keiko said concernedly.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ryoku replied as he held tightly onto her hands with his. “I’ll try to pull you up.” He tried to pull her up, but the long gash across his chest was preventing him from pulling with all his strength. “Keiko-chan, try to climb up! This wound is hindering me!”
She tried her best to climb up, but the metal was too slick for her to get a good grip. “Ryo-chan, my grip is slipping!” she shouted fearfully.
“I won’t let you go!” he shouted back determinedly. “I promise I’ll save you! I promise!!!” He tried again to lift her with all his will and might, and still failed.
“Ryo-chan,” Keiko said, suddenly calm. “Will you promise me something?”
“What?” he shouted frantically as he felt her grip slipping away. “Keiko-chan, please! Try to hold on!”
“Please, promise me that you’ll never forget me?” she asked as tears began to form in her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” he replied as he tried again to lift her up onto the bridge and failed again. “You don’t have to worry about that! I’m going to save you!”
“Please, Ryoku!” she begged earnestly. “Please, promise me.”
“Yes, Keiko-chan, I promise. On my honor.”
A look of complete peace spread across her face. “Thank you, Ryoku, my love,” she whispered softly as her hands slowly slipped out of his.
“Keiko!” he shouted as he reached out toward her as she plummeted to the river below.
“Never forget me!” she shouted just before she hit the water, hundreds of feet below.
“Keiko!!!” he screamed as he tried to climb up over the railing and leap in after her, only to be stopped by several policemen pulling him back. “No!!! KEIKO!!!” Realizing that it was now too late, he slumped lifelessly to the ground.
“Ryo-chan!” Makoto shouted as she broke though all the policemen and ran to his side, hugging him tightly.
“Mako-chan…. Keiko-chan is… she’s…,” he whimpered pathetically.
“Shh… I know,” she murmured, tears flowing down her cheeks, joining with the tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Hey, boy!” a voice shouted from beneath the bridge. “Looks like you failed to protect your girlfriend! I feel so sorry… for her! Having a weak boyfriend like you, unable to protect her from danger. I’d hate to be in the shoes of the next girl you fall in love with!”
Ryoku sprang to his feet and looked over the side of bridge at the man. “It’s your fault this happened to Keiko!” he growled furiously, pointing an accusing finger at the red-haired man. “You bastard! I swear I’ll kill you for this!”
“A weak little boy like you is going to kill me?” the man scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh, boy. You couldn’t even protect your girlfriend and you think you’re going to kill me? Who will kill who, boy?” The man then pulled the dagger out of the bridge and plummeted down toward the river below.
“Who will kill who, boy?” the man shouted again before he hit the water… or, so he thought until he realized that the man made no splash like when Keiko hit. It was almost like he… disappeared into the water.
“Her body was never found,” Ryoku concluded as he stepped toward the part of the railing where she had fallen over and looked out over the water. “I cried for the rest of the day until I cried myself to sleep. When I woke up the next day, and heard that the police couldn’t find any trace of her or the red-haired man, I continued to cry. I cried all day until I cried myself to sleep again.
“After all my tears were shed, I realized that I had to remain strong, for Mako-chan’s sake as well as for Keiko-chan’s sake. From then on, I had no more tears to shed.”
He paused for a moment as he stared down into the water with a grave expression on his face. “On my honor…,” he continued quietly. “Those who know me, know how seriously I take matters of honor. A promise made on my honor is impossible for me to break and holds until the promise is fulfilled, no matter how long it takes. Days, weeks, months, years… none of that matters to a promise made on my honor.”
“So, that’s why…,” Makoto murmured partly to herself. “A promise on your honor…. You never told me that part, Ryo-chan.”
“I saw no need to,” he replied as he lifted the box in his hand, opened it and took out one of the two lavender roses from inside. “She loved roses,” he mused to himself as he studied the flower in his hand, “especially this shade. Red roses were so common, but lavender roses were much more beautiful, she would always say.” He inhaled the fragrance of the rose and gently tossed it over the side of the bridge, then watched it fall to the water below.
“No wonder you’re so depressed all the time,” Rei said quietly, wiping some tears away from her eyes. “Your loved one perished right in front of your eyes.” Everyone else began to follow Rei’s lead and began to wipe away their tears as well.
“And while I was trying to save her life,” Ryoku added, nodding. “That’s why I practice martial arts and swordplay as much as I do. I’ve failed to protect someone’s life once. I will not fail again.” He walked past everyone and stopped a short distance away with his back to everyone. “I cannot fail again. I would rather die than fail to protect someone’s life. And I will even go as far as to exchange my own life to do so… without hesitation or regret.” He began to walk back in the direction that they arrived from.
“It almost seems as though he has a suicidal mentality,” Artemis said aside to Luna.
“I don’t know, Artemis,” Luna replied, glancing toward Ryoku. “Maybe he’s just extremely dedicated.”
“Wait!” Usagi shouted as she rushed over to him, followed by the others.
“I have something else that needs to be done,” he said, stopping as he glanced down at the box in his hand. “It’s important that I do this. You’re all welcome to come with me, if you wish.”
“It sounds like you could use the company,” Minako replied as everyone nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, everyone,” Ryoku replied and continued on his way.
“Ryo-kun, can I talk you for a moment in private?” Ami asked as she walked up beside him.
He glanced back, noticing that everyone else was a discreet distance away, so as not to listen in. Idly, he wondered if they would stay that far back. When he caught a pointed look from Makoto, he knew that she would make sure that the others wouldn’t listen in. He nodded and turned back to Ami.
“What is it, Ami-chan?” he asked.
“You remember… that day…,” she began, staring down toward the ground. He nodded silently, telling her that she didn’t need to elaborate. “After you went into the kitchen, I began to wonder why you pulled away when you did. I wondered if it was because of what happened with Ryo-san a few minutes before, but I think I know now why you did.” She looked up at him with an understanding expression on her face. “You felt as if you were being untrue to Keiko-san, weren’t you?”
He nodded. “I don’t really know what happened between us back there, but there is something I feel as though I have to tell you.” He took a deep breath and let it slowly, calming his anxious nerves. “It took seeing you with Ryo to make me realize this, but I care for you. More than I thought I did. I kept trying to tell myself that we were just friends and nothing more, but I can’t believe that anymore.” He stared down toward the ground and sighed softly.
She regarded him for a moment in wonder. This person was very different from the somber and solemn Ryoku she was used to. He seemed… vulnerable; a trait that she had never thought would apply to him.
“Ryo-kun,” she said softly, “I think I understand what you’re talking about. At first, I thought that we were just friends as well, especially after you tried so hard to get Ryo-san and me together. But, now….”
“I think it’s too soon from breaking up with Ryo for you to say anything about what you felt during that time,” Ryoku quietly told her. “Maybe you need more time to think about what happened between us.”
She was silent for a while. “Maybe you’re right,” she agreed.
“Thank you, Ami-chan.”
“You’re welcome, Ryo-kun.”
Everyone continued the rest of the short way in silence, until they reached the cemetery. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ryoku remembered that this place was where they had found the Orange Rainbow Crystal and lost it to Tuxedo Kamen. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He headed straight for a row of headstones and stopped in front of a medium-sized headstone.
“Can you all wait there for a minute?” Ryoku asked.
“Sure, Ryo-kun,” Usagi agreed as everyone waited at the end of the row.
“Thank you,” he told them and knelt down in front of the headstone. “I’ve returned, Red,” he said to the headstone. “I brought you your favorite rose.” He took out the other rose and placed it at the base of the headstone.
“Keiko-chan, I need to talk to you. I’ve kept my promise to you; not a day goes by when I don’t think of you. So many things remind me of you: the breeze that occasionally blew your lovely red hair; the trees and the time that we spent under the one in the field of our school; the Moon and stars and the time we shared our first kiss….
“I’ve come to realize that I been holding onto your memory too tightly and I’m afraid to let go. I’m afraid that if I learn to love again, then I’ll forget all about you and the promise I made to you.
“I need your help, Keiko-chan. Can you tell me that it’s all right to let go? Can you free me from this self-imposed emotional torture that I’ve been inflicting upon myself for the past five years?
“I love you so much, but I need to learn how to live again. My friends want to help me learn to live again; to live and to love.” He paused for a moment, waiting. A strong gust of wind began to blow, picking up the lavender rose and sending it rolling toward Ami’s feet, where it rested. She picked up the rose, walked over to Ryoku and handed it back to him, then rejoined the others.
Ryoku stared back at the headstone, his eyes wide with surprise. “Was that a sign, Keiko-chan? Are you telling me that you approve of her? Thank you. Thank you so much. Let me introduce you to them.”
He turned toward the others and waved them over. Ami glanced down at the headstone and read the inscription. Hisakawa Keiko. She couldn’t read the birth date or the date of death since Ryoku’s leg was in the way.
“Keiko-chan, I’d like you to meet my friends,” he told the headstone. “This is Tsukino Usagi,” he began, gesturing to everyone in turn; “her cat, Luna; Hino Rei; Aino Minako; her cat, Artemis; my sister, Kino Makoto, who I’m sure you remember; and… this,” he concluded, turning toward Ami, “is Mizuno Ami.”
He placed the rose down at the base of the headstone and stood up as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and took out a photo, then put the wallet back in his pocket.
“Everyone,” he said, kneeling back down in front of the headstone and placing the photo at the base of the headstone with the rose, “this is Keiko-chan.”
A gasp came from everyone except Ryoku and Makoto. “She looks…,” Minako began.
“Just like Ami-chan?” Ryoku finished. “I know.”
“It’s incredible!” Ami whispered as she picked up the photo for a closer examination. “She looks like she could’ve been my sister!”
“So, this is what Ami-chan would look like if she had long hair?” Usagi observed. “And dyed it red?”
“Usagi-chan…,” Rei muttered in annoyance.
“What?”
“Here’s your photo back,” Ami said, handing him back the photo.
Ryoku took the photo and glanced at it, then stuck it into the base of the headstone with the rose.
“Leave it here,” he told her as he stood up and turned to leave. “That is the last part of my past I have to leave behind. Her memory. It is time for me to let her go and let her memory rest in peace. I know now for sure that she will live forever in my heart as a part of me. I will keep my promise to her. Now, it is time for me to start living again, for her sake as well as for mine.”
“Well said, Ryo-kun,” Artemis said as he and the others followed Ryoku out of the cemetery.
“Thank you, Artemis. I have an idea. How about we all go get something to eat? My treat.”
“All right!” Usagi exclaimed. “I’m starved!”
“That’s fine,” he replied. “Just don’t go overboard. I’m not rich, you know.”
“Hey, I don’t eat that much!” Usagi retorted.
“Yes, you do!” Rei countered.
“I do not!” Usagi shouted and stuck her tongue out at her.
“Yes, you do!” Rei shouted back and stuck her tongue out as well.
“Do you want us to leave you two here?” Ryoku remarked sharply.
“Can’t we just leave them there anyway?” Makoto asked.
“Tempting, but no,” he said after pretending to consider the suggestion. “Let’s get going, you two!”
I know you’re watching over me, Keiko-chan, he thought as he glanced back toward the direction of Keiko’s headstone as they left the cemetery. I hope I don’t disappoint you. I’ll live my life… for you and me!
To Chapter 40: Fractious Friends