SAI SHINU
I was stunned. My mind stopped working logically—I spoke without thinking.
"What kind of monster… would do something like that?" I blurted, my voice shaking with anger.
Taro didn't answer right away. He just turned his back to me, tilting his head toward the moon. His silence spoke louder than words.
I joined him, lifting my gaze to the same pale moon. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Just breathing, calming down. Finally, he began again.
"After I saw my father like that… I collapsed. My body gave up on me. I couldn't move. I just crawled along the ground, screaming. I wasn't hurt physically—but inside, I felt shattered. Broken. The man who raised me… the man who pushed me to train every day, who I wanted to become… was gone. Just like that."
I stayed silent. I knew this wasn't the moment for my words.
"I sank into pain. Into depression. For months I wasn't myself. And when the police finally uncovered the truth…" His fists clenched. "They said the man from Sora had hired an assassin. That's who killed my father."
His voice trembled with rage.
"When I heard, I wanted to kill that bastard myself. With my own hands. But the assassin was caught. He rotted in prison. As for the one who ordered the hit… execution was his sentence. I thought it was justice. I thought it was enough."
Taro paused, his eyes narrowing.
"But hours before the execution… he vanished. Disappeared from the face of the earth. No trace. No word. Nothing. I searched everywhere. No leads. No answers. Just emptiness."
My chest tightened. "What was his name?"
Taro's jaw locked. His voice dripped with fury.
"Shiro Kazuhiko."
The name itself felt heavy, poisoned. His whole body was tense, trembling with barely restrained rage.
Then, as if a shadow lifted, his expression softened. His stance relaxed. He looked almost… human again.
"That's when I met her," he said, voice gentler now. "Saki. The best woman I've ever known. She found me at my lowest point—made me feel human again. Made me feel… like I mattered." His lips curved in a faint, bittersweet smile. "I thanked fate every day that I met her. But after Yuri was born… Saki fell ill. And years later… she was gone."
The sorrow in his voice hit me like a weight. My chest ached for him. I wanted to speak, but I didn't.
"I thought it was unfair. Cruel. But before she passed, Saki made me promise one thing—that I'd raise Yuri as if her mother was always there. So every time I look at my daughter, every time I think of both Saki and Yuri… my heart feels like it's burning."
His eyes darkened. "Sai… Yuri doesn't have many memories of her mother. Please—don't mention her in front of her. It's too painful."
"I… I had no idea," I whispered.
And then it hit me. That's why she cried… when I told her about my father. My chest tightened with guilt. Idiot… I should have realized.
I swallowed. "Taro… if you were born here, how did you end up on Earth?"
His expression hardened.
"You remember I told you Sora was the largest village? Well… three years later, when Saki was pregnant, a war broke out. Sora turned against Yasu and Yoshi. Villages burned. Families slaughtered. We had no choice—we escaped through a gate, like the one you opened. That's how we ended up on Earth."
I felt the ground shift beneath me. "A war…" It was the last thing I'd expected to hear.
"For years, we lived in peace. But in my heart, guilt stayed. I had abandoned Yasu, abandoned my people. I couldn't forgive myself. But you, Sai…" He reached out his hand. His eyes burned with gratitude. "You've given me a chance to return. A chance to set things right."
I clasped his hand, gripping it firmly. His stare locked onto mine.
"Thank you," he said.
We held the handshake a moment longer, then finally let go.
"Now," he said, his tone shifting, "tell me your story."
So I did. Every detail, every truth—except one. Yuri's powers. That was hers to reveal, not mine.
When I finished, Taro nodded, his eyes studying me with a strange mix of awe and caution.
"Your power is exceptional," he said. "I've never seen anything like it. Use it wisely."
We returned to the motel in silence.
When I entered my room, Jiro was still snoring softly in bed. I laid down, but my mind wouldn't let me sleep.
Instead, it twisted around one thought.
After my mother's disappearance, the police found nothing. No evidence. No trace of her… or the criminals.
My eyes widened.
"What if…" I whispered to myself. "What if they didn't just vanish? What if they were taken here… into this dimension?"
The idea chilled me to my core.