Akari stood in front of Rin's door, holding a small tray of food with both hands. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her palms felt sweaty against the edges of the tray.
For a moment she simply stared at the door.
Then she knocked.
At first, nothing happened. Only the soft echo of her knuckles drifted through the empty corridor. She waited. The silence stretched long enough for doubt to creep into her chest.
Just when she thought Rin would ignore her, the door slid open.
Rin appeared in the doorway. Her hair was messy, strands falling unevenly around her face. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She did not hide it, did not pretend to be fine. She simply looked tired. A quiet, heavy tiredness that sank into her bones and made Akari's guilt twist like a knife.
The apology came out before she could stop it.
"Cousin Rin… I am sorry. I am truly sorry about last night. I did not mean any of the things I said. I'm so sorry."
She stepped inside without waiting for permission. Rin turned away and climbed back onto her bed, curling under her blanket as if she wished to vanish.
"There is no need to apologize," Rin said. Her voice was calm, but muffled by the blanket. "I am used to hearing those kinds of words."
Akari set the tray on a small table. She sat at the edge of the bed near Rin's feet. Her fingers twisted nervously together as she stared at her lap.
"I still need to apologize," she whispered. "Because if I do not, I will never forgive myself. These past weeks have been difficult. Everything kept piling up until I could not hold it anymore. But yelling at you was wrong. Cousin Rin… I am sorry."
Rin slowly lowered the blanket, revealing only her face. She blinked at Akari, who already had tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Rin sighed softly. "Very well. I accept your apology. But…" She sat up and pulled the blanket around her shoulders like a shawl. "Cousin Akari, can you tell me why you refused Rei's proposal?"
Akari blinked, stunned.
Rin continued before she could gather her thoughts.
"She offered you freedom. A place far from Kaida. Something you always wished for. You were the one who suggested leaving first. And when Rei suggested this time… you told her no."
Akari looked away sharply.
"Did you not hear what she said?" she muttered. "She wanted me to take her family name and abandon mine."
"So what difference does that make?" Rin asked quietly. "Your name, her name… none of it matters if you love each other. Rei's father died. Yet she still came to you with an open heart. She chose you even while drowning in grief. Leaving Kaida could have been your chance to escape. So…"
Rin leaned forward slightly, the blanket slipping from her shoulder.
"What was the real reason cousin?"
Akari's shoulders slowly dropped.
She drew a breath. Then another. Her hands trembled slightly on her lap.
"I could not leave Shion. Not after everything. If I left, she would be alone. And I could not do that."
Rin raised a brow. "But you said yes first. Why use Shion as an excuse after that?"
"I was not using her," Akari whispered. "I really did say yes. I meant it. But I was planning to ask Rei if Shion could come with us."
Rin stared at her for a long moment. She had never understood these two sisters. They fought and argued like enemies. Shion always looked down on her, yet clung to each other as if they were the last threads keeping them from falling apart.
"…Fine," Rin muttered. She lay on her back and covered her eyes with her arm. "Do whatever you want."
Akari hesitated. She wanted to stop talking, but the weight on her chest would not let her. So she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Shion was my mother's first fruit."
Rin lowered the blanket just enough to watch her.
Akari looked down at her hands.
"Mother used to tell me stories. She said she plucked seventeen fruits, but none of them ripened. They spoiled before she even touched them. She prayed, she burned incense, she visited temple after temple. And after all that waiting, her eighteenth fruit finally ripened. That was Shion."
Her voice trembled.
"Mother cherished her more than anything. More than herself. More than Father. And… more than me. Shion never knew how much Mother adored her. I was always jealous. Mother praised her for everything, even the smallest mistake she turned into something beautiful."
Akari wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"When parents die, they give blessings to their children. They speak final words. But Mother… her last words were not for me. She told me not to outshine my sister. To protect Shion. To always look after her."
Her breath shook.
"She did not mention me. Not even once."
Rin remained silent.
Akari let out a long, unsteady breath.
"So I followed her wishes. I never tried to take Father's attention. I let Shion choose the path she wanted. I stayed in the shadows so she could shine. But that night… when Rei asked me to run away with her… I thought maybe it was my chance. Maybe I could finally live for myself."
Her voice broke.
"But now… Shion has no one. Father does not look at her anymore. She sits in her room, waiting for judgement. And if I leave with Rei… she will be truly alone and I will break my mother's promise."
Akari covered her face and cried quietly.
"I want to go with Rei. I truly do. But I cannot leave My Mother's first fruit behind. I cannot."
Rin finally moved closer and wrapped her arms around Akari. Her embrace was gentle, steady and warm.
"Your reproductive system here is very strange, really fruit." Rin murmured as she patted her cousin's back. "But let us not think about that right now."
Akari let out a weak, broken laugh.
Rin held her a little tighter. Her eyes softened as she spoke.
"I am sorry, Akari. That night… I should have helped you, I was just trying to avoid....."
Her voice grew distant, as if drifting toward a memory buried deep within her heart.
The memory of her own final moments with her parents.
For a brief, painful second, she understood Akari far more than she wished to.