(POV Kaito)
Ah, I wonder when it was. I used to believe that I wasn’t a significant presence.
There was a time when I helped a child who was bullied when I was young. I had stood up against the bullying, and as a result, I ended up being bullied myself. At that time, my parents told me,
“You don’t need to do dangerous things. You’re not anything special, so live safely.”
There was a person I liked, and when that person was about to be pushed onto the train tracks by the same bully who used to torment me, I grabbed her hand as she seemed about to fall. In doing so, I got hit by the train and died.
As I was dying, I thought, I truly wasn’t anything special after all. It would have been better to live a safe and normal life. If I had done that, I could have avoided dying in such a way.
However, I wanted to express that such a way of living was mistaken. I wanted to convey that my actions at that time were justified, even if they seemed disproportionate for the sake of someone else.
And so, I deeply loved and cared for the quadruplets. I saw my own history of unhappiness and feeling inadequate reflected in them. I affirmed this connection repeatedly.
I should be capable of love; I should be able to speak kind words. After all, the words I spoke to them were the words I wished someone had said to me during my times of unhappiness.
When I came to realize this, I couldn’t help but loathe myself. Even now, with Chinatsu right in front of me, caring about me, I was only thinking about myself.
“I… I wasn’t truly trying to love you all… I just wanted to affirm myself…”
◆◆
It was the first time Kaito had expressed his weakness. Upon hearing this, Chinatsu felt a strong desire to support him. She hugged his fragile body and held him close.
“…I don’t know what happened to Kaito, or what he had been doing. But it doesn’t matter,” Chinatsi said.
“I didn’t love you all with good intentions,” Kaito said.
“Whether it was malice or kindness, it doesn’t matter. Because Kaito saved me. It’s ridiculous for a saved person like me to seek a cool reason.”
So, Chinatsu conveyed her feelings, urging him not to belittle himself so much. No matter the reasons behind his actions, she was the one who had been saved.
And now, she wanted to save him in return.
“It’s okay. I’ll be by your side no matter what happens. I’ll never let you feel lonely.”
Am I truly human? Am I going to be all alone? In a world where such thoughts lingered in her mind, he came. She, who had never intended to explore the outside world using her sisters as shields, was no longer there.
“I will absolutely protect you. So, Kaito, stay with me.”
“……”
Kaito was stunned. She had given him the words he wanted to hear. Perhaps it was coincidental, but he undeniably desired them.
An existence that affirmed his actions. Even if it was from her, a child, or rather precisely because it was from her, her words restored calm to his inner turmoil.
What he had done, the time he had woven, wasn’t proven to be in vain. That affirmation was undoubtedly right in front of his eyes.
“…Thank you, Chinatsu. Your words made me happy.”
“I’ll make you even happier, so we’ll be together, forever and ever. Kaito and I will be together. Got it?”
“…I think that would be nice,” Kaito replied.
Kaito didn’t view Chinatsu in a romantic way. He saw her as a child, so there was a slight disparity between Chinatsu’s affection and Kaito’s affection.
However, Chinatsu was content with that for now. She resolved to be with him forever, and she decided to keep loving him for as long as possible.
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