breath of the sun.

kny shenanigans…….. seems like fuyumi is quite partial 2 this family huh

her  ministrations  slow  to  a  pause,   quisitive  hum  murmured  in  reply  before  blue  eyes  raise  slowly  to  study  her  companion                  he  sits  so  still  that  for  a  moment,   fuyumi  questions  whether  he  might  have  said  anything  at  all.   she  waits,   patient  as  he  is  guarded,   for  any  indication  of  continuance,   and  while  yoriichi  only  stares  down  at  the  budding  flower  between  them,   she  ponders  briefly  if  this  is  the  form  his  nervousness  takes,   if  he  even  feels  such  a  thing  at  all  :   admittedly,   it’s  rare  that  she  ever  knows  for  certain  what  he’s  thinking,   and  it’s  even  rarer  that  he  chooses  to  share  it.

‘   yoriichi - san   …   ?   ’   she  asks,   head  dipping  forward  in  attempt  to  catch  his  gaze,   but  of  course,   he  remains  elusive.   sometimes,   it  feels  as  if  he  were  a  spectre  in  her  garden,   as  if,   if  fuyumi  reached  out  to  touch  him,   her  hands  would  pass  through  him  instead                 but  here,   in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun,   cicadas  buzzing  violently  in  the  trees   …   he’s  just  a  man.   and  almost  of  their  own  accord,   fuyumi  finds  her  hands  extending  to  grasp  his  own,  half - expecting  them  to  press  against  some  unseen  force  before  they  reach  him,   to  slip  right  through  into  the  dirt  instead.  

   but  they  don’t.

      soil-stained  fingers  close  gently  around  his  wrists,   and  any  worry  given  to  if  she  might  be  stepping  over  her  bounds  is  forgone.   a  pause  weighs  heavy  in  the  air  as  fuyumi  stops  to  marvel  at  the  difference  between  them                    it’s  almost  comical,   how  his  palms  could  engulf  hers.  so  rough,  she  notes.   but  warm.   gentle.   they  remind  her  of  another’s   …   hands  she’d  held  with  reluctance,  hands  she  had  not  held  enough.  the  furrow  of  her  brow  softens  into  melancholy,   this  longing  she  can  often  forget  until  the  quiet  hours  of  the  night.   this  time,   she  thinks,  and  her  grip  slips  from  his  wrists  to  his  fingers,   nearly  out  of  her  grasp   …   but  it  tightens  just  moments  before  his  hands  fall  from  her  completely.   this  time  i  will  not  let  go.

“ why you should do that is something you should figure out for yourself. “

“ i don’t need to stay in a place like this. “

“ if you stay in a place like this, you might not be able to connect. “

“ what’s it like when you die? “

“ ____, i walked home with you just once. do you remember? “

“ do you understand? it’s okay if you can’t right now. you will all understand soon. everyone will. “

“ god is here. “

“ you know, ____, in this world, whether it’s here in the real world or the wired, people connect to each other and that’s how societies function. “

“ i don’t come here because i want to. “

“ everyone is connected. “

“ why are you making me do this?! what right do you have?! “

“ you are not alone. “

“ there was no reason for me to stay in the real world any longer. “

“ in the real world, it didn’t matter if i was there or not. when i realized that, i was no longer afraid of losing my body. “

“ i love kissing. just kissing is enough to make me happy. “

“ dying feels so good! “

“ i just want to do business. what do you say? “

“ humans are all alone. they don’t connect to anyone at all. “

“ you prefer a machine to your friends, huh? “

“ i can’t go where you are. “

“ don’t worry. i’m still me. “

“ if you can hear it, it is speaking to you. “

“ mankind is a creature that no longer evolves, is it not? “

“ not knowing what it is that drives them, they keep their bodies merely to satisfy the desires of the flesh. they’re worthless, don’t you think? that’s all mankind is. “

“ i am god. “

“ there is nothing that you don’t know. i can’t tell you a story that doesn’t exist. you understand, don’t you? “

“ for every event, there is first a prophecy. an event first comes into existence when there is a prophecy. “

“ the other side is crowded. the dead will have no place to go. “

“ the prophecy is being fulfilled, ____. “

“ the body exists only to verify one’s own existence. “

“ i think i may have talked with god. “

“ if people can connect to one another, even the smallest voice will grow loud. “

“ it’s just a little strange. i don’t have many friends. “

“ you’re more noise than signal. “

“ i want to relax here until my body rots. “

“ time passes so beautifully here. and quietly, as if it’ll last forever. “

“ i don’t know what you plan to do here or what sort of being you’re trying to become, but you’re powerful. incredibly powerful. “

“ if there really is a god here, you’re a blessed child. “

“ i’ll tell you, but it’s just between you and me. “

“ i can exist anywhere. no matter where my body is, i can send my consciousness anywhere i want. “

“ the real world isn’t real at all. “

“ i… i don’t want to be here. you understand that, don’t you? “

“ my name… it’s meaningless to know my real name. “

“ you are what’s dangerous. “

“ do you want to be hurt, too? do you want your heart to feel like it’s being scraped with a rasp? “

“ you’re looking for me, aren’t you? “

“ so god makes his grand entrance, huh? “

“ how do you define ‘god’? if it’s the creator of the world, that’s not me. the all-powerful ruler of the world? you give god too much credit. “

“ you are merely a hologram of that other you. you are just a body. “

“ who are you? you’re not me. i’ll never do what you do. “

“ stop it! why are you acting like the part of me that i hate? “

“ wherever anyone is, wherever they go, you have always been there. “

“ you’ve watched what they didn’t want others to see. you’ve told everyone about it, that’s all. it was the right thing to do.

“ everything you say is a lie. “

“ as along as i’m aware of myself, my true self is inside me! “

“ you were born with that kind of power. “

“ i… i’m me, right? there’s no other me but me, right? “

“ if you want to be free of suffering, you should believe in god. “

“ how could i turn something that did happen into something that didn’t? “

“ i don’t know you. but you know me… “

“ the flow of information doesn’t always go both ways. “

“ the truth has power because it’s the truth. and because it’s the truth, that makes it just. “

“ there is only one truth: god. “

“ you’re dead, aren’t you? a dead human. “

“ to die is merely to abandon the flesh. “

“ love certainly is a strange emotion, isn’t it? “

“ it’s because of me that you can stay yourself. “

“ you never had a body to begin with. “

“ don’t talk about me like i’m a machine. “

“ there’s nothing easy about dying. “

“ i had no idea the world was this simple. “

“ people only have substance within the memories of others. “

“ why did you leave only me? why did you only leave my memories alone? “

“ you were my friend, even without connecting with me, ____. you’re my only friend, ____. “

“ it doesn’t matter which is real, this side or the other. “

“ you and everyone else, ____, you’re just applications. “

“ your body’s cold, but you’re alive, ____. “

“ it doesn’t matter. with no body, you can’t understand. “

“ you’re just an acting god, standing in for someone. “

“ i mess up everything i try to do for you, huh, ____? “

“ if you don’t remember something, it never happened. if you aren’t remembered, you never existed. “

“ no one is dying, and no one is being hurt. and no one hates you. “

“ the human world creates and prays to its various gods, and humans convince themselves, ‘this is how the world is.’ “

“ it’d be so much easier if you became god. i think it’d be a lot easier than being a human. you wouldn’t have to do anything. just stand there and watch. “