Shichika Yasuri - Epilogue: Eiengatari
There was an island that Shichika Yasuri used to live on called Fushou Island. He was born on this island, where he lived for many years, raised by his older sister Nanami, and his father, the head of the Kyoutouryuu Style, whom Shichika had been trained by to become the new heir. Indeed, Shichika grew to slay his own father in order to prove that he was worthy of being the new head, and so, his father's body remained in an unmarked grave on the island, leaving only Shichika and Nanami left.
One Yasuri had left the island.
When Shichika had turned 24 years old, that was when a mysterious, beautiful girl had appeared before him and offered him the journey of a lifetime, to collect the Deviant Blades to present to the shogun in exchange for recognition, fame, glory, and other earthly pleasures that Shichika had little personal desire for, except for the one thing the girl was able to give him; love. He left behind Nanami, and went off on his own journey.
Two Yasuri had left the island.
Eventually, Shichika's journey led him back to Nanami, who was eventually revealed to possess one such Deviant Blade. Consumed by a desire to fight, a sadism that Nanami had always tried her best to mask, Shichika was forced to put down his own sister as well and recover the Deviant Blade from her.
And with that, all of the Yasuri were gone from the island they had all once called home.
Shichika bore no ill will toward his sister. He simply did not have the capacity to hate anymore. Not after losing everything just as soon as he believed his life had changed for the better. Just like their father, Nanami Yasuri had her own unmarked grave on the island. However, unlike her father's grave, Nanami's did not hold her body underneath. No, her body was gone, unbeknownst to Shichika, displaced through time and space, but it mattered not to him even if he were to know. What mattered was that she was with him in heart.
Shichika had become something of a nomad after everything that had transpired, but he still found time to return home every now and then, so as to not forget where he had come from. With the place completely devoid of human life now, the animals were able to flourish, and the plants were able to grow peacefully. Truly, it was a pristine place, and maybe it was better off that Shichika didn't come back anyway.
"Hey, Nee-san. I'm... home."
Sitting down before his sister's grave, setting down his bag as well, he looked intently at the gravestone, as though he were imagining Nanami's face on it, before continuing to speak.
"You know... A lot of bizarre things happened while I was gone. I met a person with crazy golden hair... I think he's supposed to be from the western lands, but I don't know. I also met a girl who reminded me of you... A guy with a funny mustache... Another guy with a funny mustache... I think they liked rubbing their mustaches together... Yeah, I met some new companions alright."
Flattering descriptions.
"You know, it's hard to believe..." Shichika continued, a nostalgic yet bittersweet smile on his face,
"Just a year ago, the only two people I'd ever known were you and Father. And then when Togame came, before I knew it, I was meeting all sorts of people! So many foreigners, and yet, I felt like the biggest foreigner of them all. And I don't just mean by tallest."
"But you know, it's... It's difficult. Sometimes, it's hard to go on without Togame, or even you, Nee-san. You were always the smarter one, so without you... I don't know what's going to happen," Shichika sighed, the shadow of doubt being cast over him,
"I'm blending in more and more with everyone else. I'm... becoming a different person. Soon enough, I'll be different than who I was when I was born. There'll come a time when I'm not a sword anymore. Just a normal human being... But I don't know if I'm ready for that."
...
"But... I suppose that's the only way to go. I can't go back to the way I used to be, so I have to keep going, no matter what. Time doesn't wait for anyone after all, right? It'll just... keep moving. And as time goes, everything will change. The world will change, the people will change... and I'll change too. I guess what I'm trying to say is... Well, actually, I don't know."
Shichika struggled to find the words. A poet at heart, he was not. After all, he spent the first twenty or so years of his life as more of an instinctive creature than any sort of thoughtful one, and now here he was, coming of age, but not from boy to man, but rather, from sword to human. He was no longer a tool to be used on the whim of others; he had become his own man.
Maybe just knowing that in his head, even if he didn't know how to express it, was good enough.
"Well, I mean, you know I've never been good with my words but... ah, y'know. Even if I'm wary of what's to come, it's all natural. And I have to be ready for whatever the future has in store for me. That's why Togame... had to go, you know? She couldn't let go of her past and let it rule her, while I... I'm done letting the sins of our father overshadow me."
"That's not to say... I won't miss the days when everything was simple, and nothing was complicated. I'll always cherish those memories in my heart, and I'll always come back here if I ever feel lost, which you know, can be pretty often for all we know. Right, Nee-san?" He let out a soft laugh, before sighing, having a sip of water from his canteen,
"Because when I've found you, that's when I'm no longer lost."
A redundant statement, but it meant something to him.
With all that said, Shichika remembered back to the halcyon days when everything was simple.
And he smiled, keeping it in his heart as he moved on.
So ends another tale. And just as one tale ends, another will begin. Such is the way of life.
While memories will remain in the past, along with the people who were left behind in it, they will never be forgotten. We will always fondly remember those who are no longer with us, for as long as just one person keeps them in their heart, they will live forever.
