Chapter 1218 - Sora
As if, of course, if things had turned out that way...
"................................ What?"
My silence, which I had intended to maintain as quiet listening, did not even last a minute.
My thoughts cannot keep up. What on earth did Sora just say... —I only have memories from six years ago, the words I had succeeded in hearing reverberate.
If so, to put it simply,
"............................ Wh-eh, what..."
I am only bewildered, wondering what kind of story has just begun.
"...Don't let go of my hand."
But I am held fast. By her gentle breath, by the heat that seeks me.
"In order."
And then, inside my arms. Remaining relaxed, as if entrusting both body and soul to me,
"I will tell you everything, in order. Because if I don't speak in order, it surely won't get across... The 'me' that I know, please... keep listening to me like this."
Because Sora says so, in a voice that occupies my heart.
"...I understand. I'll listen properly."
When I nod, her slender fingertips gently caress my back, as if to convey thank you.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Just whose mental preparation was that necessary for, I wonder.
"I've told you before, haven't I? That the 'me' of when I was little had a weak body."
After a pause, Sora slowly begins to speak again.
If so... although I said I would listen properly, I felt as if I was being prompted.
"...You mean, much more so than now, right?"
"That's right. Because the current me is normal."
When I interject with words of agreement, the girl rests her cheek against my chest and nods as if welcoming it.
"Sometimes I could get up, sometimes I couldn't. It was always like that. Ah, it wasn't that I was suffering from some major illness... it was just that my body was far too fragile."
"..........."
"Always on top of a bed... sometimes at home, sometimes at the hospital. But, if my condition got better, I could go outside, and once in a while I could even go to school. ...It felt like I was allowed to go."
Just what was that.
"According to the doctor, I wouldn't be able to withstand my own growth."
"............"
"Wondering if I could live until ten... it seems it was that kind of feeling."
What was the girl's past, which I hadn't even known about.
"It wasn't genetic, but something sudden. It seems it was a misfortune I was born with."
To the point where I want to scream out for no reason, her own way of speaking is all too fitting.
Suddenly, I became terrified. That this terribly fragile thing might crumble away inside my arms in the next moment. That I might crush her with my own strength—and so,
"Ngh..."
"...The current Sora is normal, right?"
Believing the words of none other than my partner, whom I have decided to believe above all else. Even as I am about to flinch before the surging great river of information, I strengthen the force in my arms.
"...Yes. I am your healthy partner."
Then, inside my arms, her escaping breath sounds happy.
"Nn... Well then, in that case... I am going to say something surprising now, okay?"
"I've already been surprised plenty."
"But it's something that will surprise you much, much more."
She pampers me to no end.
As if to heal the pain coming from the surprise with the palm of affection, telling me not to worry, that it is alright.
"That 'Ark'... [Arcadia] is..."
At the same time, as if honestly exposing her fear.
From inside my arms, sky-blue was looking at me.
"—Apparently, it's a time machine made for my sake."
While bringing the secret of the world, like a kiss.
◇◆◇◆◇
Thus,
"...................... Time... eh?"
"Fufu... That was just me repeating what Father said. I don't know what it means either."
For a full several tens of seconds. After inevitably freezing at a flow of conversation that far exceeded my scope of understanding, the murmur I blankly let spill is laughed at by Sora.
The words she uttered while laughing are something I, of all people, cannot comprehend.
"You don't know what it means... um, so... Sora..."
"I have been told, but not everything. What Father told me... yes, what he told 'me' was just how on earth I woke up, and that's all."
"Woke up...?"
But, right now.
Because Sora is certainly here.
Because she is saying that it is alright.
Because she has promised that she won't disappear—my heartbeat is quickening at a story I cannot possibly know or understand, but I can ask back without falling into utter panic.
"Yes. Um, in other words..."
Well, that too.
"When I was ten, I... —it seems I died."
"............................................ Huh?"
Was only up until this very moment, though.
"It was the predicted limit point."
"Eh, no..."
"My body couldn't withstand the flow of time anymore."
"Wa-wait a minute..."
"Rather, I did my best. Like, plop. Not gradually becoming bedridden... but running to the limit...! Like a thread snapping."
"............"
"And there, the end."
"............"
"A brain death diagnosis was also firmly handed down."
"And there, Sora Yotsuya (I)... no,"
...My throat,
"The first me... —Sora Yotsuya lived out her natural life."
My throat is dry.
"...Haru."
"........"
"Haru."
"............"
"Haru!"
"—Ngh, y-..."
With a tight pinch to my back, my consciousness returned.
Reflex. When I instinctively lean back slightly, Sora's face staring at me through the gap comes into view. With a slight pout, she was glaring at the dumbfounded me.
"Look at me."
"........"
"I am here. Look."
"......Yeah."
When I nod, her blaming... or rather, pleading gaze quickly melts away.
And then,
"Medical equipment."
"Eh...?"
"I think it is medical equipment. ...That is. Something really amazing, like magic."
While softening her expression again, and while leaning against my chest, what lies ahead of where Sora pointed is—a bed different from the one the girl is currently on.
The mechanical Ark, the chassis of [Arcadia] that I also know well.
"Apparently it's a promise with the developer, so they won't tell me who made it either."
"..., ............"
"But, anyway... it seems Father placed the deceased 'me' inside the Ark."
"......And then,"
"Yes. And then... four years."
"Four years...?"
"Yes, four years."
Just as I thought.
Just as I thought, Sora speaks as if it is nothing special.
"Four years passed, and... —not 'me', but I woke up."
She is handing herself over to me now.
"To put it simply, amnesia."
"Amnesia..."
"My body, surprisingly, was not just back to normal but completely healthy... um, that... ah, an update! Even my head that had gone bad regained its functions and made a complete recovery!"
"......................"
"...But,"
There, for the first time.
For the first time, Sora—
"The 'me' who died... Sora, didn't come back."
She smiled with an unbearably lonely face.
"...Sora."
"I am not 'me', you know."
"Sora...?"
"I am not 'me'. I know it, myself. That I am not her."
"Sora."
"I know it, Haru."
Even so, as if smiling at me to say that it is alright.
"I am the second one. I am a different person from the me who disappeared."
Because in that smile and those words, I could feel neither a lie nor a bluff.
"...What the hell does that mean."
"Fufu... eh, hehe..."
"What the hell does that mean," I can only blankly mutter, simply drowning in wonder.
Because, that's right. Because, this girl—
"You were surprised, right?"
Without any need for me to say anything, she has already swallowed it down and is here.
"............"
Then. If so, the reaction I should return is...
"...Can I ask a question?"
"Yes, go ahead."
A return for before.
Like Sora, who, upon hearing me talk about my past, knew that I had already overcome it on my own... and believing it without a doubt, smiled at the me who had overcome it.
"You have no memories. But I've heard stories about when Sora was little from Sora before."
Without fear, without awe, just drawing close to my partner.
"...Yes, that's right. That's right, because I know them."
"Even though you don't have the memories?"
"Yes. I know. ...Even if they aren't my memories."
"...An information installation... —You, Sora..."
My understanding hasn't caught up at all. I am merely believing Sora's words, and whether I am accurately accepting and swallowing what I was told as fact is a different story.
But, that's fine.
It doesn't matter at all.
"—Which one did you wake up as?"
"—...Which one do you think?"
My partner is here.
Even if that is,
"...A child of the virtual world."
"..., ............"
Even if she was a personality (person) born in a different world.
"...I feel like I finally understand the reason why you had that complicated look on your face."
"...Ah, haha..."
Indeed, it doesn't matter. Anything is fine.
"I knew it, you found out..."
As long as the person I love is here, right now. With a smile on her face.
The two who overcame on their own, started walking, and met.
I think the protagonist will ask about the detailed points of doubt, so it will continue a little longer.