120 – 120. Kiss.
There is something.
Connecting hearts between people isn’t just about words and actions.
A tender smile, affectionate gaze, a momentary hesitation at parting.
All of that fueled the inception of love and still remains locked in my heart.
“You’re very late, fool.”
Sawamura Sento sighed and walked alone through the city without him, the unseen streets.
Snowflakes falling from the bright sky piled up and covered her footprints.
As she walked on, footprints appeared again in the snow.
Thus, the steps forward were filled with countless layers of waiting.
“Hey, Sento. Long time no see.”
Upon arriving at the Shei Mansion, as usual, Kitagawa Kenichi, who was swinging his sword, was there.
His hair had grown longer compared to two years ago, and his demeanor had matured.
Of course, he still seemed like a fool.
“How long has it been? Half a year?”
“It’s only been less than three months since we last met after the final exam.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Kenichi scratched his head with an immature expression and started swinging his sword again.
As a friend reunited after a long time or as a host welcoming a guest, his actual performance was like his grades—below average.
However, Sawamura Sento didn’t particularly criticize Kenichi’s behavior.
The fact that Kitagawa Kenichi became more devoted to the sword was since Ichimaru Shiki disappeared.
His room, a letter was left on the desk like a will.
He brought it back and cried so sorrowfully… It was as if his spirit had collapsed, so he cried profusely while looking at the letter, just like that.
“Ha-ha, I’m sure everyone will miss me dearly after I disappear, but please wait a little. I’m planning to go on a very distant business trip. Ha-ha-ha-ha (smirk).”
Although it was a letter written in the typical style of Ichimaru Shiki, the person who was left behind also felt their heart break, so they sobbed for a while.
The secrets he didn’t tell himself, the words he wanted to say, and the time they were supposed to spend together in the future.
Countless emotions of his that one could only imagine since they couldn’t hear directly made their heart itch.
Even his determination was passed down.
He said he would come back, he would somehow make it, but human affairs are unpredictable.
Endlessly waiting for him to return for two years, yet the rationality of a cold sorcerer hinted at the possibility that he might not return to this world.
If he couldn’t return to his side.
If he were to face death far away, the people left behind would have to deal with his death.
If there was no body, his will.
From Noble mtl dot com
Even if it meant seeking revenge.
Such thoughts were the same for both Kenichi and Sento, and even after Shiki disappeared, they did not stop their training.
Even though all the major demons in the country disappeared and there was no immediate threat.
Kenichi still wielded his sword, studying his own abilities and magic power, while Sawamura Sento began to explore another realm beyond simple sorcery.
After finishing her final high school exams, Eris went back to England to continue her training at the magic headquarters.
It’s not like they couldn’t see each other’s faces, and she would have visited the mansion much more often than the few months she was absent.
The reason was, of course, that two of the people who honored Shiki lived in the mansion, and Ichimaru Shiki’s mortuary tablet was at the Shehehei Mansion Shrine.
Although they had confirmed as if he were truly dead, Kenichi and she had argued, but when the owner of the mansion, Rinn Shehehei, half out of his mind, made the mortuary tablet about a year after Ichimaru Shiki disappeared, there was no way to stop him from crying and holding on to it.
Once the mortuary tablet was made, it seemed necessary to pay respects there, so Eris often visited the shrine at the mansion.
Continuing the work she had done a few times a month on the moon even after going to England.
It was impossible for Sawamura Sento, who still believed in Shiki’s death and did not want to give up on his return, to give up and come back.
Since the day Shiki’s mortuary tablet was placed in the shrine and shone on, Sawamura Sento had never gone there.
For his absence, all she could do was to strengthen herself.
To seek revenge on Ichimaru Shiki someday.
To welcome him back in a way that she wouldn’t be ashamed of if he returned.
She was living through the day.
“Enhancement, the art of brainwaves.”
As she reached out her hand, a crimson lightning struck.
“Thunder.”
Kwarrung! With a loud thunder, the red lightning roamed the alley, and as evening approached, the demons that had been appearing one by one vanished in an instant.
Sento, who was counting the demons in the city while squinting, soon brushed off her hand.
Two years ago, unless it was boiling like the White Night procession, she could defeat all the demons with a single gesture.
Although the inner demon, Shtendoji, had disappeared, she had recovered her abilities beyond what she had back then.
“…Ha.”
Still, she couldn’t replace Ichimaru Shiki, but it was something she wished for once.
What would have happened if I had followed him back then, now it’s just useless regret.
Like breath that turns white in the winter cold, it was a dream that scattered into nothingness.
“Shall we go back soon?”
In the darkening sky, Sento turned his steps.
She was still wandering the street where she first had a conversation with Ichimaru Shiki.
The bustling street with people and Christmas Eve-decorated trees and lights.
She aimlessly wandered the colorful street and headed back home.
The house where he once lived.
She directed her steps towards the place where they had meals together, laughed, and shared stories.
Square by square,
Before she knew it, the street was covered in a thin layer of snow.
How nice it would have been to walk down this street with him, she thought foolishly, was it because of the long walk down memory lane.
Suddenly, she saw the back of a man in the distance.
“….Shiki?”
With uncertain eyes, Sawamura Sento followed his back.
White hair, tall stature, distinctive physique… regardless of the appearance, just looking at him was heart-wrenching.
Could it be an enchanting demon deceiving me?
While entertaining such thoughts, Sento walked on, half convinced.
By then, the man with snowy white hair turned around, revealing his face.
The familiar, beloved face she had longed to see, with a carefree and charming smile as always.
Ichimaru Shiki, appearing like a dream, smiled and said, “Long time no see.”
His voice was unchanged.
So familiar, not much different from memory, Sawamura Sento flinched as she walked.
Is this really reality?
Is the Ichimaru Shiki in front of me real, can I be sure?
‘What if it’s fake?’
If I fall for that fake, keep living in this illusion, and end up deceived… what would happen to the real Shiki’s revenge?
… What should I do?
Along with joy, a sudden fear crept into Sawamura Sento’s heart.
Tears began to flow down her pale face.
Seeing her in tears, Ichimaru Shiki awkwardly smiled and scratched his head.
“Oh, it’s awkward if you cry already.”
He seemed genuinely awkward.
Should he approach directly, or wait quietly, not knowing what to do, the man sighed.
Tiptoeing cautiously on the ground, he slowly approached.
Familiar magic arose from the ground, soaring into the sky, blending with falling snowflakes, painting a white and blue aurora in the air.
Approaching her, the man grabbed her hand, smiled, and murmured.
“Merry Christmas, Sento.”
“….”
“After much effort, I managed to make it in time. It seems a bit more mature, but I came back before becoming a gray-haired old man.”
“….Is it really you, Shiki?”
“Being absent for a long time might make such words a bit awkward, but would you consider it commendable? I worked hard to come back quickly.”
The man I remembered was not as good-looking as the woman in front of me, but he spoke with a twisted expression.
“It seems like you’ve been working hard while I was away, just like you. I’m back, Sento.”
At the sound of that familiar voice, Sawamura Sento impulsively embraced the man in front of him.
He sought the warmth of the man, his lips craving a kiss.
The man, in turn, embraced the woman in front of him tightly, their lips meeting in a long-awaited kiss.
As they had waited, it was a very long kiss.
White snow began to fall over their shoulders.
***
“So, how long do these guys plan on standing here like this?”
The inner voice of Yongyong grumbled with a rough tone.
“They’ve been snuggling for tens of minutes already!”
Feeling a strong urge to join in himself, the inner goblin in his mind also grumbled.
“We’ve spent decades together in this empty space; isn’t that enough? What more do you want? Just stay quiet.”
“No! Let me join in too! Please! Let me join…”
“Can’t you just be quiet for a moment?”
The Shuten Doji, who had started to show more of a sage’s traits than a goblin’s, whispered.
“It’s the perfect time to watch.”
Just as the goblin king mumbled, Ichimaru Shiki flicked his finger.
Suddenly, the scene of the mundane world that he had been watching from within was cut off and plunged into darkness.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
After that, no one knew what happened.