VOLUME 2

Epilogue: Part 3

We played deep into the night. When I got back home, I immediately headed for the second floor. Haruna had yelled herself hoa.r.s.e with joy and headed for the bathroom, Sera headed to the bathroom to take a bath, while Yuu was probably in the living room, where she always was.

Not even changing out of my uniform, I dove into bed. Perhaps because I was so tired, I felt drowsiness attack me even though I had slept plenty that day. And I didn’t have the strength left to fight that drowsiness.

I closed my eyes…

“Ayumu!”

Haruna’s one shout dispersed all my drowsiness. I jumped up, and looked at Haruna with half-asleep eyes.

Haruna was holding a single memo.

“This is…”

I stared at the first sentence written on the page.

Goodbye.

I leapt up out of bed, brushed Haruna aside, and left my room. I ran down the stairs and went into the living room.

The photos we had taken at the photo booth that one time were placed on the table.

These were the ones that I had given Yuu, the ones that mostly had me in the frame being kicked and panicking.

That envelope was also thrown into the garbage can.

This was the envelope that the bunny Megalo had been carrying. Could it be that this envelope had been meant for Yuu?

Yuu and Megalo came from the same place, the Underworld.

So there was definitely a considerable chance that that was true.

But wasn’t there just a blank sheet of paper in here? What was written on there? What was it used for?

At that moment, I had a flash of insight.

Those gla.s.ses. If I used those gla.s.ses that could see through anything on this blank sheet of paper, would I be able to figure something out? Maybe the reason Yuu left was also connected to that piece of paper.

I returned to my own room and put on those gla.s.ses. As expected, I saw words appear on the white piece of paper.

Here is a sum up of what was written:

The fact that the King of the Night is making fake Megalo, and the fact that beause of that, the vampire ninjas have been really active, all of that is Yuu’s fault.

Why the h.e.l.l did everything always have to be Yuu’s fault?!

Did this get on Yuu’s mind and cause her to run off? It can’t have, right?

I picked up the photos and ran towards my front door. I haphazardly stepped into my shoes and left the house with them only half on.

The remainder of the memo Yuu had left read as follows:

I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.

If it wasn’t for me, this town wouldn’t have gotten like this.

“Yuu!” I yelled out, but of course there was no response. “Dammit!” I frantically looked around me.

Where was she?

Where did she go off to?

Sera, Haruna, Ayumu. All of you spoke such kind words to me.

It made me so happy. And I began to take that for granted.

The convenience store, the graveyard, the school.

I hit all the usual places nearby, but I didn’t find Yuu.

Had she really left this world behind?

But I am not someone who can be together with others. Everything is my fault. I’m sorry.

Yuu was not the one who was wrong here.

It was me. I was wrong. All I could spit out were cheap words, empty promises that I would do anything for her, and in the end I just left her alone with that lonely expression of hers.

I’m sorry for always causing you such pain. If I stayed with you, I’m sure that someday, someone else would have gotten hurt.

Even though Yuu had looked so lonely back then, I didn’t do a single thing for her.

I was an idiot. A huge, huge idiot. I hadn’t spent even an ounce of energy to try and maintain this small bit of happiness I had achieved by living with everyone.

Because I am one who calls death.

I raised my head up, and saw a huge stalk of bamboo, decorated with lights.

Dammit Haruna, have you not cleaned that up yet? I once again turned to the memo that Yuu had left.

So, goodbye.

Her last word was a bit blurred out.

Dammit! Why did she just decide this all on her own?! She was worse than Haruna!

Just tell me! If you’re in pain, or if something is bothering you, then just tell me!

I went up the stairs, to Sera’s room. Going out onto the Veranda, I took one of the tanzaku in my hands, knowing it wouldn’t come true.

“Ugh…” I let out a pathetic-sounding moan.

There was Haruna’s tanzaku.

Give us snow. Enough snow that everyone here can see it. If it’s not enough I’ll kill you, okay?

There was Sera’s tanzaku.

Let my cooking skills double. Let my cooking bring smiles to all the faces of the people here. Let my cooking skills double again.

There was Yuu’s tanzaku.

I wish that I will always be able to be with Ayumu and the others.

And then, there was mine.

I wish that none of the wishes will come true.

Why? Why? Why was it that the only wish that came true was the one I had written?

I wiped off the heated tears that streamed down my cheeks, and took off my tanzaku from the bamboo stalk. I crushed it in my hands. And then I realized that I had also crushed the photo booth photos I had been holding in my hands at the same time.

I took out the photos and reopened them. These were the photos that Yuu had said she wanted all of, and not just a half. When I looked closely… I saw that Yuu was also showing in a corner of the photo…

–

And she was showing the camera a happy smile.

–

I lost the strength in my legs.

Waves of regret flowed through me, and I could feel my vision darkening.

“Ayumu!”

Haruna was calling me, but I couldn’t hear her.

… Yuu.

………. Yuu.

…………………….. Eucliwo-

I felt someone knee me and I fell to the side.

“What the h.e.l.l are you doing, Haruna?! Did you bite me?!”

“What are you moping about?! You idiot!”

“Yes, Ayumu. It’s not like this was her final farewell.”

When I turned around, I saw Sera standing there, wrapped in a bath towel with her arms folded.

“Let’s go get them back! Dai-sensei and that gloomy necromancer!”

“But Haruna. Yuu left by herself. So we can’t-“

“As if I care! I said we would go get them back!”

As usual, Haruna wasn’t in the mood to listen to the opinions of others. I was always the one getting led around. But…

This time, it was my turn to do the leading.

END EPILOGUE

END VOLUME 2

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES