"K-Kaoru!"
"Ai!"
After the drama ended, their schedules were packed with interviews, commercial shoots, and other commitments, so it wasn’t until the New Year that the two of them were finally able to see each other properly again.
Ai, eyes brimming with tears, threw herself into her husband’s arms. In that warm, solid embrace she had missed so desperately, her anxious heart finally began to settle, and only then could she smile in peace.
Kaoru held his wife’s small body tightly as well, sharing the embrace they had been unable to give each other for so long. For a while, he said nothing, simply feeling her warmth and scent.
Snuggled in his arms, Ai wrapped her own arms around him and gently rubbed his back as she whispered, "Mmm... hugging Kaoru in person is better than talking on the phone."
"Ai."
"We’ve both been so busy that we haven’t even been able to see each other properly. Even if you’re tired, even if you want to rest, stay with Ai today..."
"Da-da! Da!"
"Da!"
As if they couldn’t stand watching their mom and dad being affectionate any longer, the twins came toddling over and clung to their legs in protest.
Instead of answering, Kaoru cupped Ai’s cheek and kissed her lingeringly, his silent reply of agreement, then smiled as he touched his nose to hers.
"The twins too."
"Hehe-♥ Of course!"
Miyako had gone to her parents’ home after a long time, and President Ichigo was working overtime on other matters. In the Saito family home, with the Saitos absent, the family spent a happy time together.
On the way back, Kaoru had worried that people might recognize them, so he had strengthened their usual route’s security and taken a path that normally took 20 minutes but ended up taking 40. There was no way he was going to give up this golden time that had finally come to him after so long.
In the middle of the night, after the twins had fallen asleep, the two of them quietly but intensely shared married love in the bathroom. After drying off, they sat on the sofa and talked about everything they hadn’t been able to say before.
Ai sighed, saying she wanted to get closer to the members, but because of the circumstances of the past and present, she couldn’t get any nearer. Kaoru soothed her, telling her that this was something that could be left to time.
Ai kneaded his shoulder with her small hands and offered him loving comfort, saying he must have had a hard time with his schedule lately.
"I’m thinking of going to Miyazaki Prefecture this weekend..."
"...Because of the doctor?"
"Yeah. I think it’d be better to look for him in person there than to keep hearing about it from Tokyo. And while I’m at it, I should also pay my respects to the midwife."
"......Mm."
Had painful memories resurfaced? The starlit eyes shadowed by grief trembled pitifully. The disappearance of Goro, the kind doctor and fan who had worked so hard for her sake, had become an unerasable scar in her innocent heart.
Ever since his disappearance, Ai had searched the internet now and then whenever she remembered, hoping that Goro would at least be safe, even if nothing else had been found.
Kaoru knew that feeling well. He gently pulled Ai’s head close, kissed her, and stroked her with a tender hand to reassure her.
"Ai. It’ll be okay. Even if... something bad did happen, we’re husband and wife. We can get through it together."
"......"
Listening to Kaoru’s words meant to comfort her, Ai nodded and quietly closed her eyes. Without saying anything else, as if she wanted to focus only on her husband’s warmth and love, she leaned in even deeper.
Preparation.
Maybe... maybe she needed to prepare herself.
That brief but sad premonition brushed through Ai’s mind.
-
Miyazaki Prefecture, due to its geographic location, had a mild winter even in the middle of the season, with average temperatures hovering around 3 degrees Celsius. It was also known as one of the rainiest regions in Japan.
"......"
Kaoru had come to Miyazaki Prefecture for the first time in a year and four months.
Before leaving for Miyazaki, he had searched the news, and Goro’s whereabouts were still unknown.
Kaoru’s guess was that after more than a year, the case had probably been classified as a long-term unsolved disappearance, or perhaps simply closed as an internal matter under presumed death.
Kaoru could only feel deep disappointment toward the police, who had made no real effort even in the disappearance of an adult man with a medical profession and, objectively, a high likelihood of criminal suspicion.
After getting out of the taxi, Kaoru moved forward, watching his breath scatter in the pale white snowfield spread out before him.
Winter hiking boots and gear he had bought at the outdoor shop in front of the airport.
Because of the unusual snowfall in the south, including Miyazaki Prefecture, a heavy snow warning had even been issued.
Why had it started snowing so suddenly on the day he came to Miyazaki Prefecture?
Weather is chaos. Kaoru understood that grand truth better than anyone through countless training sessions and real combat experience.
This was a time for cold reason and judgment, not complaints.
He took out the portable GPS he had prepared in advance and began climbing, matching it against the map he had memorized in his head.
"Hoo."
Heavy snow was falling, and the mountain path cut straight upward instead of following the road to the hospital.
For Kaoru, who had trained in a wide range of survival skills and used them in the field under the assumption of the worst possible conditions he might face in real combat, such as heavy snow or torrential rain...
"......"
It was not difficult to reach the cliff below after another year and four months.
Kaoru’s blue eyes flashed coldly like a wolf’s.
He planted the hiking stick he had brought into the snow and looked around.
The place that had once been covered in dense forest had become a bleak space where only bare branches and a bone-chilling snow wind raged.
Caw-cawCaw-caw
Kaoru checked the location again with the portable GPS. Even allowing for an error range of 50 to 100 meters, the terrain here matched the terrain he had seen exactly.
But the snow had piled up more than expected, and finding any trace seemed difficult.
After estimating the contact records left on Hikaru’s phone with the stalker, Kaoru concluded that the body probably had not been dumped elsewhere.
One middle schooler and one adult.
Even if they had tried to crudely dig with their hands or stones without a pickaxe or shovel, unless they were skilled, digging more than 40 centimeters into the ground would have been brutally hard labor that consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
If they had tried to bury a sturdy adult man around 180 centimeters tall, they would have needed to dig even wider and deeper, but given the situation they had been in, that was effectively impossible.
"......"
Kaoru pulled the hiking stick free again and walked toward the cliff. Crunchcrunch The only sound was the snow breaking and compressing underfoot.
Caw-cawCaw-caw
The ominous cry of crows echoed around the mountain. Kaoru used the small modular field shovel he had brought to dig through the snow around the cliff where Goro was presumed to have fallen, searching for traces.
Too much time had passed. Even if he found bloodstains, they would have discolored, and it would be hard to identify them with the naked eye.
So rather than looking for bloodstains themselves, Kaoru searched thoroughly for even the smallest clue that might remain nearby.
"Ah!"
Then, by chance, Kaoru spotted a small piece of fabric fluttering, caught on a tree near the snow-covered cliff.
It had been exposed outdoors and worn down by sunlight, rain, and wind, darkening with age, but it definitely looked like cloth.
Kaoru clenched his teeth. Finding a piece of fabric that had somehow remained there like a miracle, he set down the hiking bag he had been carrying so he could climb the tree.
At that moment—
"That tree will be dangerous."
"!"
A young woman’s voice came from behind him.
Startled by the sudden voice, Kaoru stopped moving for an instant and slowly turned to look at the owner of the voice.
"......"
Caw-caw
The crows’ cries sounded close by.
Beep-beepBeep-beep
An error warning rang out from the portable GPS. There was no way a normally functioning GPS device would suddenly start sounding an alarm.
The battery was full, and above all, it was a tough model that could operate even at minus 30 degrees Celsius.
Kaoru forced himself to ignore the warning beeping from the GPS in his pocket.
On the pure white snow.
A girl in a dark, deep black fur coat that stood in stark contrast to it.
Kaoru lowered his blue eyes and said nothing, silently staring at the unidentified little girl standing about ten paces away.
"Hoo."
The girl lifted her head, a strange smile playing at her lips, and slowly moved both hands behind her back, clasping them there as she gave a small shrug.
Even so, Kaoru regarded the girl before him with a presence so calm it was almost chillingly cold.
For Kaoru, who had passed through countless deaths, the girl’s alien and eerie atmosphere felt like a threat that could never be dismissed lightly.
Why was a young girl standing here alone? As that fundamental question rose, Kaoru, who had once experienced supernatural phenomena firsthand and remembered his past life, swallowed dryly at the thought that flashed through his mind.
The cold wind carried a frost that pricked his spine.
Still wearing that strange smile, the girl quietly raised one hand and pointed to a small cave in the corner of the cliff.
Kaoru turned his head in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, there was a small cave tucked into the cliff’s edge, one he had not noticed, barely large enough for an adult man to pass through.
"Over there."
"...!"
"I saw something... If you look, maybe... something will turn up?"
"Why are you...!"
Kaoru turned to ask her, confusion in his voice.
But the girl had already turned away and was walking off into the distance.
She moved through the deep snow without seeming to exert any effort at all, then turned back as if she had heard Kaoru’s voice.
Even from far away, Kaoru could tell that the girl’s strange gaze was fixed directly on him.
A faint red starlight rose in the boy’s blue eyes.
He smiled, and did not look away until the unidentified girl turned her back and disappeared from sight.
Even in the cold wind, Kaoru never once turned his gaze away.
"Hoo."
After entering the cave, Kaoru found, in the middle of the small cavern, beneath an old statue that looked like a tiny altar...
"Ah."
...he could only let out a short gasp as he looked at the skeleton wearing what looked like a white coat.
His breath, roughened by the cold, spilled out white and scattered into the air.
His blue eyes trembled faintly with sorrow and shock, then soon shone with resolve.
Slowly, Kaoru walked toward the person who was half-collapsed, leaning helplessly against the altar.
"......"
A skeleton wearing glasses. A white coat. A name tag. And inside it, Ai’s goods.
Kaoru clenched his teeth for a moment.
Exhaling one long, shaking breath, Kaoru slowly knelt on one knee, carefully removed the goods from inside the name tag, and held it precious in his hand as he said in a low voice, "...I’m sorry I’m so late. I’m sorry, Doctor. Thanks to you, Aqua and Ruby... were able to be born safely. Thank you, Doctor."
Inside this cave, so cold it seemed to freeze the bones, Kaoru comforted the soul of the abandoned skeleton.
Kaoru looked at Goro’s remains, this victim of his own younger brother, for a long time with a face full of sorrow.
He had come here to repay Goro for the devotion, kindness, and sense of responsibility he had shown toward the couple. If not for the accident, it would have been Goro holding the twins and rejoicing.
So many emotions passed through him, but not one of them could be spoken aloud. In utter devastation and searing grief, Kaoru remained kneeling silently for a long time, head bowed toward the skeleton as he tried to swallow his sorrow.
Then, after rising to his feet, Kaoru bowed again and said, "I’ll come visit again soon, Doctor. I’m sorry."
Kaoru left the cave, leaving Goro’s body behind.
Pure white snow poured down from the black clouds overhead.
Looking at the goods in his hand, Kaoru carefully tucked them into his chest and moved on.
-
<Breaking News) Remains of a man in his thirties who went missing in Miyazaki Prefecture two years ago discovered... presumed to have died from a simple fall...>
The news of the doctor’s death, after all that searching, amounted to nothing more than a single short article. There were no other reports beyond the piece pointing out the police’s incompetence in failing to find the body for nearly two years after what was judged to be a simple accidental fall with no signs of criminal involvement.
The death of Amamiya Goro, who had lived and died alone without even much family to call his own, ended with a brief notice sent to his former hospital colleagues and a short announcement posted to an alumni gathering that had long since faded from memory.
"Sob... sob sob..."
Like a miracle, Ai heard through Kaoru’s phone call that Goro’s remains had been found just as Kaoru arrived in Miyazaki Prefecture, and she cried for a long time.
The news of the death of her devoted fan and kind doctor, who had cared for her with such dedication, left her heart aching as if it were being torn apart.
"...We just have to keep remembering him."
-Sob sob..."
Kaoru returned by plane, dropped his bag at home, and headed to Ai’s one-room apartment.
Ai, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, burst into tears again the moment she saw her husband.
Kaoru wordlessly pulled his wife into a tight embrace and patted her back.
After Ai had calmed down somewhat, Kaoru picked up the item he had found on the scene—the goods Goro had always kept on his name tag—and, after cleaning it carefully, handed it to Ai.
Ai took it with trembling hands and began crying again.
"Sob sob... why, why did it have to end up like this? Why did he have to suffer an accident like that... sniff—We promised we’d invite him to a concert someday. We promised we’d invite the patient who introduced me to him too..."
"Ai."
Kaoru had finished his brief report from a public phone rather than his mobile so his identity wouldn’t be exposed.
Kaoru knew the whole truth, but for Ai’s sake, he did not tell her everything.
He did not say it was merely an unfortunate accidental fall, and he did not tell her that he had found Goro’s remains through something so strange.
There were too many truths he did not want Ai to know. He did not want to see her hurt by the truth any more than she already had been.
Kaoru judged that Goro would have wanted this too, and quietly held her while soothing her.
And then...
"What? You mean when you went there, they found the missing doctor’s body? The police found it? Near a cliff, apparently from a fall? No, wait— even so..."
"!"
Miyako, who had taken the call in the bathroom while washing Aqua, could only be shocked by Kaoru’s call. A simple accidental fall! After all that searching, it had been a simple fall off a cliff in the woods...?
After hearing the truth—that it had been a futilely unlucky accident—Miyako let out a sigh, said how unfortunate it was, offered prayers for the deceased, and then hung up.
She was an adult.
She felt sorry for the young doctor who had died in such an unfortunate accident, but since she hadn’t been as close to him as Ai was, she quickly put it out of her mind and focused on washing Aqua.
As you live in this world, you sometimes hear news of people dying in accidents like this. To Miyako, it was just one story among many.
But.
Aqua, who had heard it right beside her, felt as if his heart had dropped with a thud, and his legs nearly gave out for a moment.
Aqua’s blue eyes shook violently.
Had he finally been found?
He had known he would be found someday, and since he had been reincarnated like this, he had been prepared for it in his heart... but hearing the news so suddenly left him deeply shocked.
And yet—
A simple accidental fall?!
'No way! That day, he was definitely chasing suspicious guys, and he was attacked!'
Aqua forced his tangled thoughts of confusion and anger to settle, breathing harshly.
It was obvious. Obvious!
And yet the truth of his death had been buried so absurdly, without ever being uncovered, that Aqua could only be stunned.
Although he was satisfied with his current life and with living as "Hoshino Aquamarine"... still, the fact remained that the life of "Amamiya Goro" had been a chain of misfortune from birth to death.
Aqua could only soothe the grief that seared in his chest.
"What’s wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Ruby, who still didn’t know and had no way of knowing the truth, worried a little about her gloomy twin brother, but Aqua forced a smile and acted as if nothing was wrong.
He simply didn’t want to tell his blood relative about his own tragic past life, which had ended in tragedy.
Shoving aside Ruby’s concern, Aqua... even in his father’s arms, stared quietly into the distance with sad, downcast eyes.
Kaoru came to see the twins in place of Ai, who had forced herself to pull it together again for her schedule, though she was still sad.
He quietly looked out over the darkened cityscape, then opened the mouth he had kept tightly closed.
"Aqua... Dad... lied to Mom."
"......!"
At Kaoru’s calm voice, Aqua flinched and looked up at him.
Deciding that Aqua still wouldn’t understand what he was saying, Kaoru took out the feelings he had buried deep inside and endured alone, with regret and guilt staining his blue eyes.
"I lied because I couldn’t bear to see Mom any sadder. Mom... hates it when Dad lies. But... still... somehow, I felt like he would have told me to do that too."
Kaoru soothed his heart, which had been worn ragged by sighs, and looked out at the dark city beyond the window before lowering his head and raising his moist blue eyes to look at his son in his arms.
Kaoru’s warm, large hand gently stroked Aqua’s head.
Aqua’s blue eyes, so much like his father’s, trembled violently.
"He’s a benefactor who helped make it possible for Aqua and Ruby to be born into this world. Someday... someday... when Aqua and Ruby are grown up... let’s go together with Dad and Mom to pay our respects."
"......"
Kaoru, who showed a sad smile only to his young son, a smile he had never once shown Ai, looked back out at the dark cityscape and fell into thought.
'...So you knew.'
Aqua had a hunch.
He sensed that Kaoru knew the "truth" about his death.
That was why he had gone to Miyazaki Prefecture in person.
The strange coincidence that the police found his body just after Kaoru arrived in Miyazaki could never have been a coincidence either.
That was why he hadn’t told Ai the truth, and why, with such a sad face, he was whispering to a child too young to understand, as if making a confession.
And perhaps he even knew the identities or whereabouts of the people connected to his death, or had taken some action in his own way.
Kaoru’s words—that Ai would be sad if she learned the truth behind his death, and that he seemed to have been told to lie like this so she wouldn’t know—
Aqua was confused, but he forced himself to hold onto reason and think clearly.
Without a doubt. Without a doubt, Kaoru knew the "truth" about his death.
But when Aqua looked at Kaoru’s face, he found himself swallowing dryly at a certain feeling that filled him, rather than hatred or a desire for revenge.
Pity.
Suddenly, Aqua felt so sorry for his father.
The boy who had treasured "Amamiya Goro" so deeply, and who had endured that "truth" alone in his heart for the sake of his beloved wife.
And even through that pain, the tenderness of the love he showed his children.
Aqua felt the turmoil in his mind gradually settle.
For some reason, he felt relieved.
Unlike in his past life, he no longer had to struggle alone, worrying himself sick.
Because the "ally" who loved him unchanged was always by his side now.
Aqua trusted Kaoru.
There must be a reason he couldn’t say it outright.
If the day ever came when Aqua grew up and revealed his own "secret," Kaoru would surely give him the "answer" in return.
After finishing his thoughts, Aqua slowly buried his face in Kaoru’s chest.
The warmth of his body, his scent, and the steady beat of his heart gently soothed Aqua’s wounded, sorrow-stained heart.
"Papa..."
"Yeah. I’m here, son. Go to sleep."
Kaoru’s low voice settled softly by Aqua’s ear.
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