001
Koharu... A city which holds many untold stories and harbours various protagonists, and it shall reveal a certain story with some certain protagonists in it, Kobayashi Kimura is one of them.
Koharu city was located in a very peaceful but lonely place. A unique, rough and ill-tempered sea was battering the city's beach from the North, and from the West and South of it, gigantic mountains watched the sea's crashing waves. A river, gifted with redundancy with all of it's fresh, drinkable water, divided the city into three parts. In the residential area of the North-West, lived the families with the unbreakable bonds and roots in history, and there were Western style mansions at coast. Also, the South-west of the city was inhabited by farmers.
Koharu city was like an abandoned place until the city center was constructed five years ago. It was placed on a spot where the two river branches from the West and from the South unite and pour into sea, and three years ago a significant portion of the East part of city was bought by a certain company, Kobayashi Construction Company.
Winter was the best season of Koharu city in terms of scene, and now it was the middle of winter, raining heavily everyday. Kobayashi Kimura, heir of Kobayashi Construction, was really fond of this weather, this city. Koharu city was the perfect city for him, but, nevertheless he couldn't help to think that he cannot suit well, just like being an heir of an important company.
Because being an heir of an important company did not mean anything to young Kobayashi. Also, there was nothing to hold on for him. Nothing at all.
Young Kobayashi was in his senior year in Koharu High, but he couldn't bring himself to love his classmates. He couldn't bring himself to approve his father's decisions. He couldn't bring himself to accept his fate. He just couldn't do it. He became paranoid. His mind was full of bad manners.
Like all days, the sun set and light left its place for darkness. The night brought rain with itself once again. Young Kobayashi wanted to use this chance, the chance of finding himself, and stepped out in a rainy night and took a walk to the farm fields. He got out of the residential area, where he and his family lived. It was raining heavily, each drop was like a bullet freshly shot from the pistol.
He was neither tall, nor short, around 170 centimeters. Compared to his height, he was fit and had a well-built body with 70 kilograms. He had a short but unusual curvy dark hair. His hazel eyes seem to fit very well to his triangular-shaped face and he had a little scar below his chin.
He was wearing a black colored rain suit, and his face was barely shown. Also, he had a yellow flashlight with him, just to be cautious. His clothes were soaked after a minute walk in rain.
While he was on his way to farm fields, he saw that the bridge that connects the fields was under construction. Therefore, he needed to go city center first and use that bridge to cross Tsukuyomi which named because of shrine in East.
However, he wanted to save some time, and get away from people to find inner peace, so he decided to use old wooden bridge which was rarely used, since it was believed to be a wicked path. Yet, he decided to take the risk with no second thought.
The sound of each raindrop on the bars of wooden bridge was like a music for his ears. Even with that music, he could not set his mind free for some thinking.
So many thoughts were going through in his mind, so many voices shattered his thoughts, he couldn't focus, he couldn't think. It was like he was going crazy.
After passing the bridge without falling, he just ran blindly, not knowing exactly where to go. His boots were covered in mud, and he was soaked to the bones, but he continued to run. There were dancing shadows at fields. They were dancing with light of lightning coming from far away, and thunders were their scream of joy. There were nothing alive, just these devils.
He found the church between the watchful mountains and silent farm fields just like before. He stood in front of church for a moment.
(This place again. I think I have walked South.)
While standing, an image caught his sight. He scared, but peeked further. It was a dragonfly using the church's door as a shelter.
It took young Kobayashi's attention for a moment, but things were getting more interesting. He switched off the flashlight. He couldn't see well, but dragonfly was still there. However, after a minute, even though he switched off the flashlight, dragonfly abandoned its shelter, and started to fly to west.
(Just why would it leave its shelter and risk its life in such heavy rain?)
The reason clearly was not him. While thinking, a sudden lightning illuminated the night, and with a second delay a ground breaking sound.
Even there was no real reason, he was impressed by its bravery. He decided to chase that dragonfly, and started to run after it.
The rain was becoming harsher and harsher, but he did not give up. Because he did not feel anything other than guilt and doubts, and he had nothing to give up for, he felt like he was nothing. He was hoping to clear his mind. Also, he did not want to lose against a bug.
He was guilty, at least he was thinking so, and that made him depressed. He became seventeen three days ago, but he had been feeling thirty since last month. He couldn't forget about a certain incident. He had been trying everything since then, but could not throw away that feeling. He just couldn't move on, and stuck in a vicious circle. As soon as Kobayashi felt little fuzzy inside, his guilt started to dominate that feeling and took over it.
While trying get rid of this nonsense, young Kobayashi found himself in an unfamiliar scene. There was a forest up ahead, just in the skirts of the mountains. After running for uncertain time, he saw a weird-looking tree. A tree that distinguished itself from other trees with a rarity, and it took all of his attention, he just couldn't turn his head and look somewhere else. He was fascinated. He even forgot about the little dragonfly. Exciting things were coming one after another.
(I guess I am lucky tonight.)
It looked like an ancient tree, for some reason, there was a strange kind of knot made with a thick, white rope. White straps were hanging out from that rope, they were in an unusual shape. The trunk was as large as a moderate car and a dense amount of moss were climbing up to that trunk. The cracks of the tree were so old and deep that they almost looked like blade scars .
(It should be a sacred tree. Wow, it is beautiful.)
He slowly approached to tree, and started to circle around of it. While looking into the sky, he touched the tree and moved his hand a bit. And suddenly, he felt something sticky. He pulled his hand immediately, and looked at his hand.
There was something red. He couldn't understand what it was and decided to look at the tree. There was a blood blotch on tree, then he saw a corpse. He couldn't understand if it was a boy or girl at first glance.
(What is this!?)
He dropped his flashlight, and light was gone.
He puked while tons of thoughts passing in his mind, and tears started to fall down from his eyes. He took his time to protect his sanity, but it didn't help that much, and he collapsed to ground. Young Kobayashi was devastated.
After a certain amount of time, he tried to peek further, and found out that with help of a lightning.
It was an ID card of a certain school. A school that young Kobayashi was attending. He tried to take it, but it was out of his reach as he was nailed down to the ground.
He turned and looked at the black clouds, and a lightning illuminated the night. Then he saw that.
It was a girl, but her legs and arms were not in their right place, her legs were coming out of her shoulders and her arms were hanging out from her hips, and her head and right hand was missing. There was also a weird scratch on her belly. It was look like a sign, like a Chinese Dragon.
Young Kobayashi was terrified but yet, his mind became serene for a moment. He stood like that for a long time while watching corpse illuminated by lightning again and again.
(So this is what I searched for...)
While thinking, the dragonfly took his attention again. It was flying in front of his eyes, and young Kobayashi could see each movement of its wings as if time slowed. Now his ears couldn't hear ground breaking thunders. He just became used to it.
It felt like a minute was a year, passing with an unbelievable speed, startled by an unknown presence, time started to flow normally again. A foul shadow was standing right before his eyes, and that shadow was holding the katana he saw a while ago. He had no thought that, the image of a shadow holding a katana would be his last memories.
While trying to get up, he felt an enormous pain in his abdomen. He was cut, and his eyes even couldn't see it. Lightnings came to a stop. He could not see anything. He just screamed once, and his voice was extinguished. He was just feeling the dirt and the mindless rain drops, and the buzz of the dragonfly. He had a little smile on his face while giving his last breath.
(Alas, I had found out something to be amazed.)
That was the end of story, and Kobayashi Kimura named young boy.
An epilogue.
However, this will be the prologue of new story.
♂♀
Kobayashi Kimura woke up early yesterday. His window was wide open, and he heard annoying voice of police siren, and room was freezing. He stood to close the window while shaking. While closing the window he saw a certain woman in the street. She was wearing sunglasses, and turban. He closed the window, and tried to sleep again.
