As a result of the overwhelming emotions I started feeling from seeing that woman, I ran straight at her into her arms. "You're alive. You're alive." I said several times. "Sorry, I'm not your sister." I heard her words, and my heart shattered a tiny bit. I think that, I knew it wasn't really her, and I refused to accept it in my heart. The thought of seeing a family member hadn't crossed my mind in a long time, and I had lost all sense of reason when I saw her. I took another look at her to reinspect. I pulled back, and profusely apologized. "Sorry, you just look a lot like my sister, and I got lost in the feelings."
My sister, Yamazaki Makoto, as well as the rest of my family, died in the incident involving my village and the first known Ash Wraith. The rest of the village was wiped out as well. The onlyu survivors were Natsumi and me. "She's dead after all, I shouldn't have jumped on you like that." I muttered.
"It's okay, I'll comfort you if you need to. After all, we're not strangers."
"We're not?" I had a strong, unwavering feeling that I had never seen this woman in my life.
"You don't remember me? Then, take a closer look." The woman got uncomfortably close to me, her face was centimetres away from mine.
Oh.
I had forgotten.
How could I have forgotten?
Her.
I know her.
Rather.
I knew her.
It had been years.
Since we saw each other.
Her.
"I remember now. You're not dead?"
She took off the cloak she was wearing. Underneath was her, just how I remembered her from those years ago. She Let her long, scruffy hair down, and pushed out the underside of her trademark lab coat.
"Alive and well."
Doctor Nishihara Ran. She was born, raised, and lived her whole life in the same village as me. She was the same age as and similar in appearance to my sister. She was the only doctor at the local medical clinic, but her real occupation was working with Niyomi Labs, the company that would later become the main man in the field of Rooks and their development. I helped her out a lot when I was younger. She was my first kiss too, just a playful kiss though. The age gap would have made that kiss disgusting if she had put passion into it. I guess it was just a reward for all my hard work back then? Believe me, I busted my ass helping her.
"Shall I step out?" I heard from the corner of the room.
"For a bit, please."
"I'll see myself out."
I had forgotten the black mask was there. It didn't matter to me though, she left of her own accord.
I spoke up.
"About the incident-"
"Survivors."
"Hm?"
"You didn't think there were any?"
"Every account, report, and testimony I've checked and received had reported only two survivors."
"That's because I messed with the data, and made a fake death report for myself."
My information was wrong. There were three survivors that day.
"Is that a crime you should be admitting to?"
"Don't tell anyone and there's no problem."
"Fine, It's not like I'm so much of a goody two shoes that I just have to report any crime I witness. You must've had a good reason anyway, so no need to silence me."
"I wasn't going to do anything rash."
"..."
"I'm not the only one who 'died'."
?
"There are others who lived after that incident. Five more, to be specific."
I was incorrect again. There were eight survivors.
"Hey Dr. Nishihara, do you think-"
"Your parents and sister truly didn't make it, I'm afraid. Sorry."
"That's fine. I've accepted this."
Quick list of survivors from the incident:
Yamazaki Shiro
Nishihara Ran
Natsumi
???
???
???
???
???
"Do you know who they are?"
"I know of three. I don't know who the other two are."
"Then how did you know how many fake death reports to make if you don't know who the other two are?"
"You don't need to know." She uttered a sly chuckle.
"Don't worry, I didn't bring you here to ask you to go on a quest or to seek out the remaining five. They're not all that important anyway."
I'm glad they weren't super important, the last thing this story needed was to get even more derailed from the main parts.
"I do know that the rest of the survivors have taken an interest in you, and they'll likely come to you eventually. So don't worry about it too much."
"Sure. I'll deal with them when the time comes."
"That's a good boy."
"I'm not a dog, and I'm different from back then. I don't need to work myself so hard for you anymore."
"You never needed to, you just always helped me out because you're a kind person. Or perhaps was it that you were in love with me?"
"I was, like, thirteen! So no!"
"It's totally normal for boys as young as thirteen to develop romantic interest in girls. Personally, I think it was my kiss that made you so infatuated with me."
"Do I sound like I'm infatuated with you? Also, that was my first kiss! I'll never get that back! What were you thinking, even? You were twenty four! What would your parents think if they found out you kissed a thirteen year old boy? What would my parents think?"
"Okay, enough about the past. You wanna know why you're even here?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Because I know that you consumed the first Ash Wraith in its entirety. I also know that you can use the full power of an Ash Wraith, the dark essence. In short, you're the Black Rook."
"All of that has to remain a secret. Also, how did you hear that nickname?"
Oh right, the mask is the doctor's buddy. All she offered in response to my question was a chuckle.
"Hey, Dr. Nishihara."
"We're close, so call me Ran."
I guess we were close.
"Ran."
"Yes."
"What's the real purpose of bringing me out here?"
"I want to help you."
She said she wanted to help me. There was no helping me. I was an oddity, not meant to exist. As the only one who can use darkness, I shouldn't exist. Yet I do. I had a belief that one day the punishment for being unique would come for me. Yet she wanted to help me.
"What are you trying to help with?"
"Your powers are dangerous, but also very unique and useful. I want to help you use your abilities to the maximum. If we accomplish that, it will be a scientific breakthrough. Your very existence is a scientific breakthrough in itself, so that's why your true nature is kept hidden."
Ah yes, my true nature. I can't help that I became a monster after that day. I didn't have a say in the matter. I'm just someone who shouldn't exist anymore. I don't even know if I qualify as a "someone" after that day. I think I'm nothing short of a monster.
"But I think you're ready, Shiro. It's about time for you to start seriously training using the darkness."
"No."
"But you have it, so why not use it?"
"Not using it lets me retain the bit of humanity I have."
"Oh, you think that you're some monster because of it?"
Is she a psychic?
"Don't think you're a monster over this, think of it this way; while most of the Rooks can command light, you control both light and shadow."
"It's not just shadow. It's an all enveloping darkness that has an insatiable desire to consume and destroy. That's why I mustn't use it."
"That is the will of the darkness, not you. You are not one with the darkness. The darkness is all powerful and consuming. Yet it yields to you. You control it. You, a human, have power over the most powerful thing known in existence. That just makes you a human. An extraordinary one."
"I still think I'm a monster, but thanks for the encouragement."
"You'll realize that you're more human than you think sooner or later. I'll be working with you a lot from now on, okay?"
"Sure. I'm not totally ready, but I'll ease into training with the darkness slowly, in private."
"Yeah, we'll have private training sessions until your power is stable enough to be used publicly."
"Never can that happen. No one can know. I'll be outcasted."
"Unlikely."
"It happened once before."
I hate it, thinking about back then, when I went through that hell.
"Well, It won't happen again."
"I'm sure it would."
"Well, no need to rush things. We'll develop your ability in private. What can you do now?"
"I can do simple stuff, like short range teleportation, I can consume things and make them disappear, and I can take people's Malevolent Pieces."
"As expected, all simple things by Ash Wraith standards-"
"WHAT?"
"What's the big deal?"
"You can take Malevolent Pieces?"
"Yeah. I can copy Malevolent pieces, but I don't need darkness for that. Darkness lets me take other people's Malevolent Pieces so they can't use it unless I give it back."
"Don't use that. Ever."
It was best not to tell her that I did it once in a demonstration. She might have flipped, as this was the one thing that actually surprised her.
"Got it."
"Be extra careful. Something like that could be big trouble."
"I understand."
"Now, you should head back to the school and wrap things up there. She will take you back." Ran pointed to the masked lady outside the room.
"I suppose I should. Bye, Doctor, er, Ran."
"Bye, Shiro. See you back here soon."
With that said, I walked with the masked lady out of the front door. Ran saw us out. As I got in the car and was ready to take off, Ran said one more thing.
"You know Shiro, that kiss from back then, I put love and passion into that kiss. Lots of it."
Oh god.