Kotsuki suddenly lowered her head, her eyes closed as if lost in distant memories. There was a long silence before she slowly spoke, her voice sad but determined.
"That day, in my hometown, a bomb suddenly exploded. Everyone was running away in panic, and I was stuck next to my mother, who was crushed under the collapsed rubble. My mother looked at me, gave me a weak smile, and told me to run away to save myself. But I couldn't leave her. I could only sit there, tears silently falling, silently praying that someone would appear to save my mother."
Kotsuki paused, taking a deep breath as if to calm herself. "I had planned to stay there forever with my mother, accepting my fate. But then he appeared. He rushed into the rubble, his face full of pain but still standing firmly in front of me. Instead of pulling me away immediately, he gently comforted me, saying words that touched my heart. Those words made me realize that I still had something to protect, that there were still other relatives in this world that I was not allowed to abandon. After that, he used all his strength to pull my mother out of the rubble, then took both of us away from that dangerous place."
She smiled slightly, her eyes slightly distant. "He probably saved many people, and I was just one of them. But the words he said, I believe I will never forget in this life. I wanted to find a way to repay him, but I didn't have any information to contact him. Until he took the initiative to contact me, asking me to help you – something I didn't expect."
Kotsuki looked up, smiling a little awkwardly. "Sorry, my story is probably boring. It must have ruined the atmosphere, right?"
Yui listened quietly, not interrupting. Kotsuki's words seemed to evoke a hidden corner of her mind. A stream of memories suddenly emerged, blurry but vivid images gradually appearing. She remembered the moment she was saved years ago.
"You have to live, even if it hurts, you have to live, I won't abandon you. Even if you want revenge or something in the future, you have to survive first, absolutely don't give up! If you don't have any relatives, I will become your family, if you miss your family, I will give you a new family, so you have to live!"
The scene of the boy carrying a seriously injured girl and rushing through the forest regardless of his own injuries, with continuous words of encouragement, was deeply imprinted in Yui's memory.
Yui suddenly smiled and said, "It's not boring, not only you but I was also saved by those words."
Kotsuki was surprised, then smiled warmly. "Really? It seems we have more in common than you think."
The two continued their meal, the conversation gradually turning to lighter topics. After finishing, they returned home together in a comfortable silence.
As soon as they entered the house, Kotsuki immediately lay down on the sofa, sighing in relief. "Finally I can rest."
"Sorry for bothering you." Yui suddenly felt guilty.
"It's okay, don't apologize anymore, go take a bath first, Yui. I want to lie down for a bit."
"Yes."
After Yui finished bathing and came back, Kotsuki left the sofa to take her turn. While waiting, Yui sat quietly in the living room, observing the space where she would be living in the future. The room was simply furnished, with a few basic pieces of furniture: an old but clean sofa, a small wooden table, and a few plain paintings on the wall. The pale yellow light from the ceiling shone down, creating a warm but also somewhat lonely feeling.
Yui's eyes suddenly stopped at a folded photo frame, placed quietly on the shelf. Curious, she approached, intending to pick it up to look at it when Kotsuki walked out of the bathroom, his hair still wet.
"What are you doing, Yui?"
"Ah... I'm just curious," Yui replied calmly, not surprised.
Kotsuki walked over to look at the thing Yui was about to pick up and said, "Oh, that's a photo I took with my sister a long time ago, I just happened to find it recently so I brought it out to display here."
"Really?" Yui asked, her eyes still glued to the photo frame.
"Um, for some reason I moved out." Kotsuki nodded, his voice low.
"We don't get along?" Yui asked.
"Um, you're really good at judging, Yui. Even though we're sisters, I don't really understand my sister. Ever since our mother passed away, we've talked less. She blamed me for our mother's death, but I know she was also suffering because of her mother, so that's why she said that. Actually, she's usually very cute. She's living with our father now. Oh, I think she's the same age as you!"
"Ah... yes" Yui thought to herself. "Same age is... real or fake age? But it's best not to ask this"
Kotsuki yawned and stood up. "I'm going to sleep now, if you need anything, just take my car, here's the key" She told Yui a few things and then went back to her room to sleep.
In contrast to Kotsuki's tired appearance, Yui was still very alert, because she couldn't get used to the lifestyle of a normal person, where everything was slow and lacked the urgency of her time as a secret agent, so she was currently arranging her things in her room.
While Yui was still cleaning, the phone suddenly rang, causing Yui to panic and almost drop everything. Even though the captain had already shown her once, it still took a few seconds for Yui to operate the phone to answer the call.
"Who... who is it..?" Yui's voice was somewhat timid.
"A... hello... why are you so slow to pick up? You've only been here for less than a day and you already have the tone of a shy young girl?" The teasing voice of the captain came from the other end of the line.
"Captain...?" Hearing whose voice it was, Yui's attitude immediately returned to normal.
"Um, it's me."
"How do you have my number?" Yui asked.
"Um.... is that important?" The captain asked back, with a hint of humor.
"Sigh.... no." Yui replied.
"That's good."
"Then why did you call?" Yui continued.
"Nothing much, I wanted to ask if you've gotten used to your new life yet?"
"How can you get used to it in just one day?" Yui sighed. Although this new life wasn't too bad, Yui felt uncomfortable having to show herself in front of so many people.
"Is that so? But just get used to it! Mayoru-san is very kind so you'll be fine"
"I… not sure, she's very kind but I still feel very empty…"
"Yui, didn't I tell you to look up at the sky and search for the moon and stars when you're lost?" The captain said.
Yui paused. She had really forgotten this, before her life wasn't so good so she had many foolish thoughts and every time like that there was always someone who just looked up at the sky.
Although that person didn't explain anything further, Yui felt more at peace doing so and from then on she formed this habit.
Now, facing the sudden change, Yui stepped out onto the balcony and looked up at the night sky. The faint moonlight filtered through the trees, bringing a familiar sense of security.
"Every time we look up at the moon, we can find each other, the moon will guide us" Yui whispered, as if reminding herself.
"It's good that you still remember, but you should sleep early Yui, tomorrow is the real test"
"Eh? What's going on tomorrow?" Yui was surprised.
"Well, you have to go to school tomorrow?" He replied, as if it were obvious.
"Huh?"
"Huh?" Both of them looked surprised at the same time
"Wait, why are you surprised?"
"Didn't I tell you?" the other person said.
"But I didn't say it would be this early?"
"Sooner or later, it doesn't make any difference. Just try your best"
"Wait...."
Before Yui could say anything, the phone went off
"That guy… still likes to do things his own way" Yui complained once and then had to accept it.
"Forget it, what will happen will happen." Yui Yui carefully folded her things, quickly packed up her things, and went to bed. The moonlight outside the window still shone quietly, like a promise that she was not completely alone.