"There there, Tsu-chan, look! He's fine!" my mother told me as I kept on weeping.
My little brother Saru fell and hurt himself. He scratched his knee.
I was crying.
Because he got hurt while I was told to keep him safe.
I didn't protect my younger brother, so I was sad. I kept crying uncontrollably.
"There. All fixed up!" said my mother, Furimiya Yuugo.
She was a very kind person. People called her "The Lady in Red." She had a habit of wearing red dresses. She always interacted with the poor and gave them something to wear, eat, or simply some money. She also had a habit of giving toys to orphans that she made herself.
"Look, big bro, it doesn't hurt anymore, so please stop crying!" Saru pointed towards his knee, now bandaged up.
"Okay…" I was relieved, though still a little guilty about it.
I sat, listening to the slow hmmn of my mana lamp on the study table.
I was lost in thought about how to be a better person—a bit like Retfilkrof.
A real hero where I live, though his name is kinda funny.
But he never cried when people got hurt.
Why couldn't I protect Saru?
And then—
"Tsu-chan! Ken's here!" my mother called out to me.
I wiped my eyes and face and went downstairs.
"Yo!" Ken said to me with a grin on his face.
"Wanna play?" I asked him with a cheeky smile of my own.
"Duh." That's all he said.
"Mama! I'm gonna go play with Ken-ichi!" I told her.
"Just be home on time! I'll be making your favorite—tomato chicken stew!" she yelled from the kitchen counter.
"Okay! Thanks! YOU'RE THE BEST, Mama!" I made sure I'd tell her that. Every single day.
I felt a tug at my sleeve.
"Big bro! Come back quick, okay? I wanna play too!"
My little sister Maria looked up at me with that same stubborn glint in her eyes.
She was dangerously adorable.
"Yes, ma'am." I ruffled her hair before heading out.
"Let's go already, Mama's boy," Ken said to me with a smug look on his face.
"Ken is a dummy! Don't tease big bro!"
"EHHHHH?" Ken said with false hurt.
"Right. Like you didn't run away scared of a cat yesterday."
"I THOUGHT IT WAS A TIGER!" Ken explained, annoyed.
"Oh no, not a tiny tiger! We're doomed!" I exaggerated.
"Whatever, let's go."
"Stop cussing, dummy."
"No."
"I'll tell your mom."
"You wouldn't dare…"
"Would I?" I said with a stern look.
"You're scary sometimes, dude," Ken said to me with a fake-scared look.
"We're here!" Ken whispered to me.
Our favorite spot.
The Hollow Woods.
Well, a spot in those woods at least.
We both would often climb up the trees, or play games with rocks and sticks.
Though my favorite game of those hangouts was just throwing pebbles into a pond nearby.
"Y'know, Tsuk?" Ken said with a serious look.
"Yeah?" I asked curiously.
"You think I could be a swordsman?" Ken asked me.
"Is that what you want to be? If so, you can be a swordsman." That's what I told him. I wanted him to be strong.
"If you're saying that, it must be true," he said.
He thought I'd never lie to him. And he was right. I never would. But I'm only human.
We then talked for a while. Then we had a jumping competition. (I won, of course.)
"Let's play hide n seek," Ken said to me.
"No. You hide in the same three spots," I groaned.
"Maybe I won't this time," he replied, a certain look of smugness on his face.
"Fine," I said. I shouldn't have.
Oh, do I regret it.
"Who's it?" I asked, prompting Ken to pull out a copper coin he found to be "lucky."
"Heads," I said.
"Too bad!" I had lost. I was it.
I covered my eyes, my head against a tree stump.
One…
Two…
Three…
Ken's footsteps grew fainter.
The wind was eerie and the sun had begun to drop.
Then…
Drop.
It had started raining, and I began looking for him.
I checked the same three spots.
Under the mossy rocks, under the fallen tree, that one bush spot.
Nothing.
"Guess he wasn't lying," I thought to myself.
Now the rain was getting heavier.
"Ken-ichi?" I called out.
No response.
"KEN-ICHI!" I yelled.
It wasn't funny anymore.
Then I went to the pond.
He was standing there, facing the moon.
"Ken-ichi?" I ran towards him, but when I got close…
"Hey! I'm here!"
"It's cold, Tsuk." He spoke in an unfamiliar voice.
"Who are you?" I asked, falling onto my back, terrified.
He pointed to the moon.
"彼は見ている.彼は聞いている.彼は忘れない."
"何?" I suddenly replied in a language I never even spoke.
Then I felt my head spinning… and I passed out.