Chapter 18 #2
“You have a family, Akira,” I heard my mum say from all those years ago.
“No, I don’t,” I’d said, resistant as hell.
“Yes, you do. Now is the time for healing.”
Wise words. Gorgeous words.
I closed my eyes, picturing her in her white sundress with the pink petals on. A tenshi, so beautiful, so divine.
Her name was Sakura.
Super befitting.
I saw Dad in the background with her, a hint of his face, reunited with the woman he loved before Sarah.
Peace be with you both, I thought, opening my eyes.
The tenshi letter vanished, a true sign of the book closing on that part of my life.
Let the next chapter begin.
Zach showed up an hour after everyone left.
“Hey,” I signed.
“Hey,” he responded.
His eye was the glossy red of the final phase of the Cherry Moon. It didn’t change color.
Those blond highlights were now the same red as his eye, pretty striking against the rest of his black hair.
The katana was nowhere in sight.
“They’re still running things by me about my new powers,” he said. “They wanted me to reiterate the point about you still being a target.”
“Okay. Nice of them.”
“And that The Eight are cunning. The Cherry Moon’s magic was a stroke of luck this time. Going forward, it won’t be the same. Menace crackles in the air.” He shot a disdainful look toward the ceiling.
I rolled my eyes. “When doesn’t it?”
“Anyway, let me show you this.” He snapped his fingers. With a puff of tiny Sakura, the katana appeared.
“Wow. I fucking love that.”
A second snap, and it disappeared the same way.
“Handy,” I said.
He nodded.
G wasn’t here, off to have a couple of scans to double check some things. Which gave us brothers a chance to talk about stuff.
I kicked things off with a splash of self-pity. “I’m sorry I’ve screwed you over. This wasn’t meant for you.”
The more I chewed on it, the harder the guilt kicked me the balls.
“You haven’t.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “I took up the sword. I knew what they were saying. It wasn’t hearing, but I felt the words. If that makes sense.”
It did.
“Anyway, I didn’t like what they said. They were basically forcing you to pick between G or the blade. No. Absolutely not.”
I smiled, which quickly died. “And now you have all this responsibility without the intended tenshi blood.”
“I think they’re a bit gutted.”
Then they needed to be straight with me.
He shrugged. “I’ll work harder, prove I don’t need angelic blood.”
“Zach…”
“These healed quicker than normal.” He held up his palms, showing me those marks, the skin healed. “So, I’m pretty robust already.”
True. “New powers?”
“Apparently, I can self-heal a little bit,” he replied. “But not like I should.”
A flicker of hurt in his eye.
Ah, shit. That grated on my patience. If the tenshi had a problem with him, then they could shove it. They were lucky they had themselves a Sakura Chosen.
He shrugged again. “I’m stronger, fitter, and I feel great. I’m ready for some adventure.” He took a moment to carry on. “I love my brewery, but I’ve been drifting. I need something new, a big change.”
Then take up golf, I thought, keeping it to myself.
He regarded me with an extreme intensity that made me shudder. “Let me take over. I know you still have to defend yourself, but let the biggest burden be with me this time.”
I flinched, hating this for him as much as I hated myself for the sprinkle of relief over my decision.
How much damage had I done?
Damn. It left a sour taste in my mouth.
“What about what you told me?” I wondered. “Don’t you want to explore that?”
“Who says I can’t do both?”
Touché.
“I might be this Sakura Chosen guy now,” he tapped both tattoos, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t find myself a love interest along the way. Whoever they might be.” A cheeky grin.
I liked the cut of his gib. “True.”
“By the end of the Cherry Moon,” he continued, “I’ll be ready for what comes next.”
“And I’ll help you,” I said. “I mean, I’ll kind of be a line of defense for those pricks who pay me a visit. Don’t need a Cherry Blade to take them down.”
He tilted his head. “Thank you. I’d rather they didn’t come for you.”
“I’m ready for them.”
Some things change, some things don’t. Like me being a magnet for drama.
Ugh.
He stared at me for several long beats. “Talk to me.”
“I am.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Akira.”
Dammit. Just like that, he kicked the door down. I let my guilt and apologies flow, barely pausing for breath.
There. All on the table now.
Zach blinked several times, lines drawing across his forehead.
I’m gonna vomit.
“I did this for you,” he finally signed.
Remorse sat heavy like a dense sponge in my intestines. “What about your peace?”
He sniffed. “No such thing as true peace. However, you’ve earned your cottage life. Let me carry the torch now.” He jutted a thumb at himself.
If it didn’t tear me up so much, being a responsibility shirker, it’d be an amazing gift.
It was an amazing gift. One I’d never be able to repay.
I signed this to him, bothered by the stress of it all.
“We’re done,” he returned. “You don’t owe me anything other than cake.”
I snorted, misty-eyed. “I don’t know how to make this right.”
“Cake, I just told you.”
“What if I spoke to them again?” I tried, getting desperate, and feeling sick at the idea of being Sakura Chosen.
“Then we’ll fall out. This life isn’t for you.”
He got off the bed, walking around to grab me gently by the skull and planted a kiss on the top of my head.
“What’s that for?” I signed.
“For being you.”
Damn. Loads of bro bonding tonight.
“Never feel guilty over this,” he added. “I chose this path to save you. Like you saved me.”
“Your Big Bro has your back. Forever.”
There were only twelve months between us, Dad meeting Mama Rita three months after my mum died.
“No more of this,” he said.
Hmmm. The weight of guilt might never leave. “You’re not alone in this.”
An enthusiastic nod. “And don’t think this changes anything about Dungeons and Dragons.”
“Course not.”
“Good.”
I would always be there for him and Riku.
Us bros needed to stick together.