Tatsuya sat in silence across from the colonel, his eyes heavy with exhaustion, weighed down by the storm of emotions that had ravaged him since the moment they started talking. The colonel's words echoed in his mind, but it was the truth about Miyuki and her mother that shattered the last of his fragile defenses.
"I didn't know…" Tatsuya whispered, voice hoarse, hands trembling. "I didn't know she was Miyuki's mother. If I had known, I…"
The colonel, face set in stone, watched him with tired eyes. "It doesn't change what happened, Tatsuya. But none of it was your fault. You were a soldier, following orders. None of us… none of us wanted this outcome."
Silence hung between them, thick and suffocating. Tatsuya stared down at his hands, his heart aching. The image of Miyuki's mother pulling the trigger played in his mind over and over again.
"I should've stopped her," Tatsuya muttered, his voice trembling with regret.
"Enough," the colonel's voice was firm but not unkind. "You're not a god, Tatsuya. You couldn't save her. Just like I couldn't save Miyuki. We all failed, but you don't have to carry it all by yourself."
Tatsuya bit his lip, fighting the tears threatening to spill. Before he could respond, the door opened with a soft creak. A figure stepped inside.
Miyuki's twin.
She looked exactly like her sister, her eyes wide and filled with a mixture of anger and sorrow as she stared at Tatsuya. He couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. His heart clenched with guilt.
"You're…" Tatsuya's voice faltered.
"Miyuki's twin," the colonel confirmed, his voice grave. "She's been wanting to see you for some time now. I thought it was finally time you met."
The girl stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides. "You…" Her voice cracked, and she paused, struggling to contain the storm of emotions within her. "You were the last person with my mother. You could've stopped her."
Tatsuya's chest tightened. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. He could only nod, his head heavy with guilt.
Her eyes, filled with a pain so raw it was almost unbearable to witness, locked onto his. "Why didn't you do anything?"
"I…" Tatsuya's throat constricted. "I don't know. I froze. I couldn't…"
But before he could say anything more, the pressure in his chest intensified, a sharp, unbearable pain tearing through him like a chain had wrapped around his heart and wrenched it tight. His breath caught, and he clutched his chest as the world around him dimmed.
"Tatsuya!" the colonel's voice sounded distant, but the panic was clear. "Get help! Now!"
Tatsuya's vision darkened, and his body slumped forward, the pain in his chest exploding into a searing agony. His consciousness flickered like a dying flame. The last thing he saw was the twin's horrified face before everything faded into nothing.
When he regained his senses, he could hear voices—distant and muffled, like echoes in a cavern. He lay still, his body heavy, his mind sluggish.
"…there's nothing more we can do. His condition is too far gone," a doctor's voice floated into his ears. "He's got very little time left."
Time left? The words registered slowly. He blinked, his vision swimming as he tried to make sense of where he was. The ceiling above him was stark white, sterile, and cold.
Footsteps approached. The colonel's voice spoke softly, though Tatsuya couldn't make out the words. There was a tenderness to it, something he hadn't expected. And then, another voice—the twin—shaky but determined.
He wanted to speak, but his throat felt dry, his energy drained. It felt like the world was slipping away from him, like sand through his fingers.
In his final moments, Tatsuya found himself floating between the past and the present. His body weakened, his breath shallow. And then, through the fog of pain and regret, he saw her—Miyuki's twin.
She approached him slowly, her face pale with grief, but she was smiling—a broken, beautiful smile through her tears.
"Promise me," she whispered, kneeling beside him, her hand trembling as she reached out to touch his cheek. "Promise me you'll leave all the regrets behind… before you die. I don't want you to become a ghost later, brother-in-law."
Tatsuya blinked, his vision blurring, but he could see the tears rolling down her face. Her voice wavered, but there was something earnest, something pleading in her tone.
"I... promise..." His voice was weak, barely a breath, but he meant every word. He wanted to be free of the burdens that had weighed him down for so long. He wanted to let go.
She smiled through her tears, her eyes shimmering with both sadness and relief. The colonel stood beside her, watching silently, his eyes reflecting the same sorrow but also a quiet understanding.
As Tatsuya's breath grew fainter, the darkness returned, but this time, it wasn't terrifying. It was peaceful. The last thing he saw was her tear-streaked face, her lips forming a bittersweet smile.
And with that, Tatsuya's soul was finally free.
Somewhere, in the quiet of the night, Yuna wept softly. Tatsuya's passing had brought an end to her first love, a love she had never spoken of, a love that had grown quietly, overshadowed by the weight of her sister's legacy. It had always been complicated—how her sister, Miyuki, had loved him, how their mother had given him her final moments. And Yuna herself, lost in the storm of it all, had fallen for him too.
But she had never known how to behave in front of him. How could she? Miyuki had loved him deeply, her mother had entrusted him with her dying wish, and Yuna… she had struggled to comprehend it all. Why him? How could she ever voice the feelings that had stirred inside her? She had no right. Yet, in his presence, the confusion turned into something more—something that had slowly consumed her.
And now he was gone. She couldn't help but wonder if her silent turmoil had added to his burdens. Had the way she watched him, the way she'd never been able to speak her truth, somehow weighed on him too? The stress, the guilt—had she been part of the reason for it all?
As she knelt beside his lifeless body, a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. Tatsuya had looked so relieved in his final moments, a peace settling over him that he hadn't found in life. He was free of the burdens that had chained him down for so long.
She wiped her tears, her hands trembling. Her voice broke as she whispered to the stillness, her heart heavy with guilt and unspoken love.
"You found your sweet release, huh? Good for you."
And with those words, she let go—just as he had. But the pain remained, as did the emptiness his passing left behind. All she could do was cry softly, alone in the night, holding on to the only solace that remained: at least he had found peace.
After a day of mourning, she sat on her bed while resting her head against the headrest, and passed out.