Chapter 116 The First Act Of Helping Others
Atami Shou knew that fire could take away a lot.
The fire incident that claimed many lives, leaving him as the sole survivor. His parents died in the accident.
But that didn't leave him completely alone. His maternal grandparents had already passed away, but his paternal grandparents, Atami Heisuke and Atami Yoshiko, were still alive, and Shou was taken into their care after being discharged from the hospital.
'From today, this will be your home. Don't be shy, Shou.'
A small town that wasn't quite urban but also not quite rural, boasting seafood from the nearby port.
The old Japanese-style house was very different from the rented house they lived in when they were in the city, but Shou didn't find it inconvenient. Heisuke and Yoshiko treated him with genuine affection.
'Is it delicious? I'm so glad. That child also loved this fish dish... Grandma's happy.'
The loss of his parents and the sudden change in environment. But Shou didn't show any signs of being deeply affected. He may not have been good at studying, but he ate well, exercised a lot, and was always willing to help with chores. He was a very well-behaved grandchild in their eyes.
Yoshiko, who had always been affectionate towards her son, especially doted on her grandson. Heisuke's weekly Sunday golf program was replaced by a superhero show, and when Shou negotiated with a karate dojo flyer, saying he wanted to get stronger for his dream, Yoshiko gave in, albeit with some concern for his safety. When it was decided that Shou would attend his father's alma mater, Heisuke even bought him a collection of superhero show merchandise as a memento.
Atami Yoshiko's love for Shou was so well-known among her friends that they could tell she was using it to cope with the loss of her son. But they knew that the foundation of this love was fragile and wouldn't last forever.
So, the cracks in their bond began to show, like cracks in a mirror, gradually becoming more apparent.
At first, she got his name wrong.
'Oh, good morning, Kei... Ah, no, wait. Did I just space out? Sorry, Shou.'
──Next, she messed up the theme.
'Huh? You're cheering for the hero? That's strange, you always cheered for the bad guys because you thought it was boring if justice always won...'
──And then she made another mistake.
'What's wrong? You look all pouty. Is it the commercial? Hmm, so it's a game where the demon king defeats the hero... I get it. You want it, right? What, not at all? You don't want it? Oh, really... You didn't have to hold back, you know.'
──By the end, it was already too late.
'Here, a birthday present. Haha, surprised, huh? Go on, open it. How is it? It's the game you wanted, right? Grandma remembered it well.
Hey, that's right, isn't it? It's right, isn't it?'
Kei-chan?
Yoshiko was diagnosed with dementia. It was also linked to psychological factors, stemming from the tragic event of losing her son, Kei. Because of this, she mistook Shou for Kei.
Heisuke repeatedly apologized for not noticing sooner. Yoshiko was also told she would need to be hospitalized for treatment for a while, which made her expression darken. Even if she was mistaken, it was sad to be away from her kind grandmother.
So, Shou wished for it.
'I want to see Grandma's face.'
Heisuke couldn't refuse such a kind wish from his grandchild. There was no malice anywhere. There were no villains to defeat.
But still, mistakes happen.
'Kei is dead? Come on, don't joke around. He's right there, look. No? That's not true. It can't be... right?'
Tragedy follows one after another, like dominoes.
'That can't be. Kei came back to me. He came back to my side once again.
Please, just say it's true... Please, I'm begging you.
Help me, Kei.'
He wants to be a hero.
Like that person who saved him.
And that wish pushed him forward.
But the dominoes fell, and they wouldn't stop.
'Yeah. That's right, Grandma. I'm not dead or anything.'
'What are you saying, Shou?'
'Come on, Grandpa. Who's Shou?'
The heat of the longing for Shou shattered even the mirror that reflected myself.
'I'm , Atami Kei. Just call me Kei.'
Pretending to be someone else, playing a role.
That was the first act of helping others for Atami Shou.
* * *
Everyone is the protagonist of their own life. That saying sounds nice, but it was probably the truth.
So, the boy named Atami Shou killed himself for the sake of his first act of kindness. He killed the protagonist.
He didn't go by Atami Shou anymore; he called himself Atami Kei.
Not only that, he started to bite into the head of grilled fish, something he had never touched before.
He made himself fall off his bike on purpose.
He increased the chances of playing indoors instead of outside.
He stopped standing in the kitchen.
He changed the manga he read.
He wore glasses without prescription lenses.
His sleep became shallow.
He started forgetting to write his name on school tests.
Every Sunday, he began to cheer for the villains instead of the heroes. He tucked away his cherished goods deep in his room.
Every time Yoshiko said, 'Kei was this kind of kid,' he made an effort to act that way from then on. Shou was trying to save Yoshiko by becoming his father's past.
He must have been serious. Not just in front of Yoshiko, but he acted like Kei wherever he was. Even at school, Shou was thorough enough to call himself Kei.
Fortunately, in elementary school, most kids called each other by their last names, so there were few students who found it strange.
Some asked, 'Why?' but when Shou only answered with 'It's to help people,' they felt uneasy and didn't ask any further.
Even when Heisuke repeatedly interrupted with, 'You don't have to do that,' Shou kept smiling and brushing it off, saying he was fine. Gradually, Heisuke found himself unable to say anything to Shou.
This hell made of kindness lasted for 2 springs.
And the end came suddenly. Yoshiko collapsed from a heart attack.
'Kei... where are you... where are you... please let me hear your voice...'
'Grandma! I'm here! I'm right here!'
The flame of life is flickering. It's clear just by looking at the frail old woman's hand, and Shou grips it tightly and shouts.
'...Shou. Have you grown taller?'
'Gr, grandma? D, don't get it wrong at a time like this. I, I am... I am...'
Is it a miracle that happened at the last moment? Or has she awakened from a long dream?
Her eyes can no longer see. Yet, the head she gently strokes with her other palm feels different from a long time ago.
'...Ah... I see. How pathetic of me. Making my dear grandchild feel lonely like this...'
'Gr, grandma...'
The electronic sound shortens, and a single cherry blossom flutters down from the hospital window. Spring is the season of beginnings, but it was about to face its counterpart, an ending. The story, which had lost sight of what was right for the sake of kindness, needed a conclusion.
'Shou... I'm sorry...'
The eyelids close quietly, never to open again.
The very first act of saving someone ends like this.
* * *
He wanted to be a hero.
He wanted to be someone who could help others.
Like that back that saved him from the flames.
But his first act of saving someone only brought tragedy.
Yoshiko's last words were 'I'm sorry.'
A few years later, Heisuke, who followed her in death due to stomach cancer, said 'I'm sorry' as his final words.
What he received from them was not the 'thank you' that those who were saved should say.
Even if he killed the protagonist to become a hero, in the end, he couldn't save anything.
Atami Shou had to reclaim his own life.
He gathered the discarded protagonist, reclaimed his name, and devoted himself to a way of living. Even if he forcibly corrected the twisted things, the distortion would still remain. So he continues to be trapped in the idea that he 'must become' the protagonist.
And still, he longs for it.
For a hero. He keeps chasing that aspiration.
That's why Atami Shou can't help but grasp the hand reaching out for help.
* * *
'Yet... why did you help me...?'
In the closed darkness, a whimper echoed.
Tears fell, wetting the face.
Feeling the warm droplets on her cheek, Shou thinks.
──Ah, I knew it, there really are no witches.
Just a weak girl, trying too hard.
'Why, you wanna know? It's 'cause only one reason.'
So he reaches out.
'Help me, you begged. That's why, ain't it?'
To pick up the shards of the mirror.
To keep chasing her dreams.
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