The young 12-year-old Blythe stood inside the bedroom, looking at the awoken Chiaki.
She cried and echoed screams from the fear and anxiety she had from the loud noises and people's shouting.
"Come on, Chiaki. Everything's going to be all right! Stop crying, please. Our mother will protect us until the very end. I promise you." Blythe exclaimed, composed yet anxious.
Suddenly the door behind them burst open.
The light shone, and a person stepped inside. It was one of the soldiers from the world government. "Chief... I found a boy and a baby. What do I do with them?"
Blythe backed away, holding Chiaki in his lap. "Do they have a black flower symbol somewhere on their bodies?" The chief over the call inquired, allowing the soldier to glance at them.
"I'll check." The soldier stepped toward Blythe and Chiaki, that cried. "Stay away from us! You're scaring us!"
The soldier forced his way and grabbed Blythe's right arm. "Leave me alone! Mom!" Blythe shouted until the man lifted his sleeve, revealing a tattoo of a flower. "Sir, these two are the members of the Yasuda family? What should we do with them?"
He received the following commands. "Take them with you and make sure they stay alive. We don't want anyone from the Yasuda family to die."
The soldier understood the orders and pulled them together. "You're coming with us! Whether you like it or not!"
"No, leave us alone! Please, somebody!" And to Blythe's call, a silhouette appeared behind the soldier. "Leave my children alone, you creep!" She wrapped her arms around the soldier's neck and forced him to lose consciousness.
His body collapsed on the ground, the world government's radio sliding to the side into the corner. "Mom!" Blythe happily called, but despite the happiness in his eyes, he feared and felt nervous. "I'm scared..."
Mia made sure to hug her son. "It's all right now. You're safe. How's your little sister?"
He removed his head from Mia's chest and gazed behind him. "She's crying and scared. I tried to calm her down, but I can't." He explained, then returned his gaze back to his mother's face. "Don't worry, Blythe. Your sister is scared just as you are. Come with me."
Mia ran toward Chiaki and picked her into her arms, grabbing Blythe's right arm.
She ran outside of their home and into the streets of oblivion.
As Chiaki cried and her brother and mother sprinted through the burning streets, they heard people screaming and getting shot or even stabbed.
"Mom! These people! They're dying! We need to help them!" Blythe shouted, looking up at his mother while running beside her. "Blythe, there's no helping them. These people won't make it, even if we help them out." She explained as they noticed a cannon getting fired from the distance.
"Mom! Watch out!"
When the cannonball exploded in front of their route, it ignited a fire that caused the ground to crack, crumble, and shatter.
Mia stopped running to watch it happen.
Before they would get blown to bits, Mia stopped running to watch it happen.
Once it was clear, she dashed toward the coast, where she intended to take her kids.
She dragged Blythe down the stairs and did her best to blend in with the running crowd before they'd be spotted. "Where are we going? Please, tell me!" Blythe shouted, incomprehensible about the situation, seeing more people dying in the vicinity.
"To get you a boat." Her words traumatized Blythe, causing his eyes to shake in terror. "You don't plan to leave our home through that war? I don't want to go to the sea right now! Our people, they're-!"
Blythe was interrupted, and before he would speak, they came across a boat on the sand. "Listen to me, Blythe..." She gently crouched in front of him, holding Chiaki's body in her left arm.
She grabbed Blythe's ear and rubbed it gently, looking him directly in the eyes. "It's not safe, Blythe. As a mother, I want to protect my children. If you stay here, you already know what will happen to you and your sister. So, please, Blythe... listen to me and take this boat. Sail across the ocean and find somebody to help you and your sister."
Blythe slowly shook his head. "M-Mom. I can't... I-I don't want to leave you. Please, go with us." He begged as tears slowly gathered around his eyelids. "I know you don't want to, but I'm sorry, Blythe. Taking this boat is the only way for your and your sister's survival." She replied.
"No! I won't! Mom!" He jumped into her body and hugged her. She hugged him back as a real mother would.
She smiled after leaning her forehead onto Blythe's.
"Blythe, I know how you feel, but please... do what I tell you. You and your sister mean the world to me... I want you to see the world's beauty, not some disaster." Despite keeping a smile, tears ran down her cheeks, making sure to hug Blythe tighter. "I want you two to grow up and become somebody the world will respect.
"And if you don't leave right away... the beauty will fade. But I've still got some spirit left. I am confident that the Yasuda family can continue to coexist with society so that our culture can live on a different compass needle." She spoke, her smile gradually fading.
"So... this is my final request to you, Blythe. Sail into the Vast Expanse and live under the sun and not under the fire. Please, grow up to become somebody who will care for his friends and do whatever it takes for them and your sister..."
Blythe continued sobbing loud. He couldn't resist thinking about never seeing his mother ever again.
His tears dropped and slipped down his chin, splashing on the sand as he grabbed her mother's clothes more firmly. "M-Mom... I... I want to see you again. Please... say you'll live and come to find us... I beg you." He rubbed his face deeper into his mother's body as Mia held him tighter.
"I love you, Blythe. You're the best son I could have asked for." She gave him a deep hug and then slightly pulled away from him. "I'm sorry I couldn't see you two grow up. So, deliver this to her. When your sister grows up, tell her I love her, that I couldn't ask for a better daughter."
Blythe's tears filled with a shower of tears nodded as he tried to wipe away some of his tears. "I will... I promise." After his statement, Mia pressed her lips against Blythe's forehead and gave him a kiss.
She turned and looked at Chiaki, doing the same. "I'll see you in the afterlife, Chiaki." She gently placed Chiaki's small frame in Blythe's hands and helped him on the boat.
She prepared the oar and allowed him to row through the ocean. "Be careful, and remember. Your mother will always love you." Mia gently pushed the boat into the ocean and observed her children slowly float into the distance.
The explosions continued to detonate in the distance, and her hair and garments waved in the swift wind that was blowing by.
She was unable to take her eyes off her kids when she heard Blythe screaming in the distance.
"Thank you for everything, mom! I promise to see you in the future! Thank you!!!" His tears flew through the air like particles.
Mia's eyes opened wide and got covered by transparent tears. "Goodbye, Blythe! I'll miss you!!"
And as she heard Chiaki's crying in the distance, she finally turned around and ran back into the city.
"Please... stay safe, mom..."
Knowing that he might never see his mother again, he waited for the new way to appear as he cast his gaze into the distance.
To be continued...