healingbonds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
healingbonds) wrote2021-04-18 10:52 pm
healingbonds) wrote2021-04-18 10:52 pm
Entry tags:
Paradox-Roid | Chapter 19
Chapter 18 << | index | >> Chapter 20
Cain:Sorry to keep you waiting! Here’s your long-awaited CBSC!
Owen: Long-awaited by whom? By you?
Cain: By you. Here’s one for you too, Akira.
Akira: Are you sure?
Cain: Yeah. I got that bribe from Boss, after all.
Akira: (Didn’t he say he was going to return it? Isn’t it kinda bad to take it......)
Owen: Nom......
Akira: How is it?
Owen: ............
It’s delicious.
Akira: Yay! I’ll try it too. Nom......
Owen: Well?
Akira: It’s so good~!
Owen: Right. It’s cold, sweet, and melts in your mouth with the taste of spring.
Cain: I’m glad I got to fulfill my promise. It was bothering me all this time.
Owen: ...... Wasn’t it just a verbal promise?
Cain: Huh?
Owen: I don’t remember anything, but. It was our first time meeting, right?
We’re neither related by blood, nor are we responsible for each other in any way. And yet you infiltrated the lab just so you could fulfill a small promise like that?
Cain: Is that strange?
Owen: ......Who knows, I can’t judge. Was I special to you?
Someone once said that the things that you can’t forget are the things that you love and cherish.
Akira: Owen......
That’s Cain’s line.
According to Dr. Garcia, Owen’s memories of meeting us should have been completely erased.
But by some miracle, some may have been left in a corner of his mind.
It might have been brief, but to Owen, it was his first taste of freedom. A special time where we met each other.
Cain: No, it’s not like that. It’s not like anyone is special.
Cain easily refutes the sentimental atmosphere hanging between us. A vein almost pops on Owen’s forehead.
Owen: Is that so.
Cain: How do I put it...... I wanted to fulfill my promise, so I could continue to love myself.
So I can continue to live with my chest held high, for the sake of my past and future self.
What a straightforward, sincere, and quintessentially Cain reason.
He never did anything indifferently. Not when it came to us, and not when it came to his job. Even when he was confused, he still treated us with sincerity.
I give Owen a word of advice.
Akira: People like him are probably really rare. If you think that all humans are this sincere, then you’ll end up in trouble.
Owen: I know that. I have every bit of data imaginable. I get that he’s a rare species.
Cain: Don’t call me a rare species...... What are you going to do from now on? You have permission to leave, right?
Owen: I’ll try walking wherever my heart takes me. It might be good to actually leave this city and walk all the way to the ends of the earth.
It’s fine if I don’t do that either. I’ll just space out and do whatever I feel like.
Cain: I see.
Owen: I might not see you guys again.
As the wind sweeps through his hair, Owen narrows his eyes and turns his face away.
The sakura petals flutter and scatter all around, blown by the dawn wind.
After just one night, the ground beneath the sakura trees is already carpeted in pale pink.
Akira: Really....? Did the people at the lab say something to you?
Owen: Not really, but I feel like it isn’t quite right to plan when we’d meet again.
I bite my lip. It makes me feel lonely, but I get what he’s saying.
Just as one doesn’t sew the petals to the branches of the trees to stop them from falling, I want us to laugh and say, “let’s meet again someday.” We encountered each other in a wonderful manner, so I’m sure we can make this a wonderful farewell.
Cain: That’s right...... It’d be nice if we met again when the world completely changes. Maybe I’ll be Chief by then!
Owen: But I won’t forget the two of you.
Owen says quickly, as if to drown out Cain’s playful remark.
Beneath the pink sky on the verge of sunrise, there’s a note of irritability tinged with sadness in his voice.
Cain and I turn around at the same time.
Cain: That means?
Akira: Which means?
Owen ducks his chin, struggling to respond as we gaze at him.
His expression in that moment doesn’t look like it belongs to the latest Assist-Roid model. He looks more like a melting soft serve.
His lips curve up with a reluctant smile; the lifted corners of his eyes almost make him look angry as his eyebrows furrow together, and his cheeks are dusted rose pink.
There’s so much complicated information mixed together and splashed across his face.
It’s uncool, entirely human, and so, so beautiful.
Owen: ......You’re so annoying.
Cain and I burst out laughing at the same time.
Cain: Well, I have to send Akira back too. Can you tell me your ID once again?
Akira: Yes.
Unlike the last time, I reply without hesitation.
I root around in my brain, and discover the relevant numbers easily.
Akira: ID: DZRJ-ST-RTWN-21
The moment I say them aloud, the long string of numbers in my head starts flashing, transforming into something else in my mind.
The numbers shift around twenty-one times, and then rearrange themselves into the words below.
Forest of Dreams.
......I hear someone calling for me.
Owen: Akira?
A strong gust of wind sweeps the sakura petals up into the air.
I turn to look at the sakura trees.
But what I see aren’t the sakura trees in the shopping district — it’s a mysterious frozen forest.
A familiar sight.
The voice of someone calling for me grows stronger.
Akira: (That’s right, I......)
(I have to go home.)
I sprint in the direction of the voice.
Akira: (I have to return to everyone......)
......I hear a familiar sound.
A sound I used to hear everyday. A sound which I had stopped hearing......
Owen: Akira!
Chapter 18 << | index | >> Chapter 20
Cain:Sorry to keep you waiting! Here’s your long-awaited CBSC!
Owen: Long-awaited by whom? By you?
Cain: By you. Here’s one for you too, Akira.
Akira: Are you sure?
Cain: Yeah. I got that bribe from Boss, after all.
Akira: (Didn’t he say he was going to return it? Isn’t it kinda bad to take it......)
Owen: Nom......
Akira: How is it?
Owen: ............
It’s delicious.
Akira: Yay! I’ll try it too. Nom......
Owen: Well?
Akira: It’s so good~!
Owen: Right. It’s cold, sweet, and melts in your mouth with the taste of spring.
Cain: I’m glad I got to fulfill my promise. It was bothering me all this time.
Owen: ...... Wasn’t it just a verbal promise?
Cain: Huh?
Owen: I don’t remember anything, but. It was our first time meeting, right?
We’re neither related by blood, nor are we responsible for each other in any way. And yet you infiltrated the lab just so you could fulfill a small promise like that?
Cain: Is that strange?
Owen: ......Who knows, I can’t judge. Was I special to you?
Someone once said that the things that you can’t forget are the things that you love and cherish.
Akira: Owen......
That’s Cain’s line.
According to Dr. Garcia, Owen’s memories of meeting us should have been completely erased.
But by some miracle, some may have been left in a corner of his mind.
It might have been brief, but to Owen, it was his first taste of freedom. A special time where we met each other.
Cain: No, it’s not like that. It’s not like anyone is special.
Cain easily refutes the sentimental atmosphere hanging between us. A vein almost pops on Owen’s forehead.
Owen: Is that so.
Cain: How do I put it...... I wanted to fulfill my promise, so I could continue to love myself.
So I can continue to live with my chest held high, for the sake of my past and future self.
What a straightforward, sincere, and quintessentially Cain reason.
He never did anything indifferently. Not when it came to us, and not when it came to his job. Even when he was confused, he still treated us with sincerity.
I give Owen a word of advice.
Akira: People like him are probably really rare. If you think that all humans are this sincere, then you’ll end up in trouble.
Owen: I know that. I have every bit of data imaginable. I get that he’s a rare species.
Cain: Don’t call me a rare species...... What are you going to do from now on? You have permission to leave, right?
Owen: I’ll try walking wherever my heart takes me. It might be good to actually leave this city and walk all the way to the ends of the earth.
It’s fine if I don’t do that either. I’ll just space out and do whatever I feel like.
Cain: I see.
Owen: I might not see you guys again.
As the wind sweeps through his hair, Owen narrows his eyes and turns his face away.
The sakura petals flutter and scatter all around, blown by the dawn wind.
After just one night, the ground beneath the sakura trees is already carpeted in pale pink.
Akira: Really....? Did the people at the lab say something to you?
Owen: Not really, but I feel like it isn’t quite right to plan when we’d meet again.
I bite my lip. It makes me feel lonely, but I get what he’s saying.
Just as one doesn’t sew the petals to the branches of the trees to stop them from falling, I want us to laugh and say, “let’s meet again someday.” We encountered each other in a wonderful manner, so I’m sure we can make this a wonderful farewell.
Cain: That’s right...... It’d be nice if we met again when the world completely changes. Maybe I’ll be Chief by then!
Owen: But I won’t forget the two of you.
Owen says quickly, as if to drown out Cain’s playful remark.
Beneath the pink sky on the verge of sunrise, there’s a note of irritability tinged with sadness in his voice.
Cain and I turn around at the same time.
Cain: That means?
Akira: Which means?
Owen ducks his chin, struggling to respond as we gaze at him.
His expression in that moment doesn’t look like it belongs to the latest Assist-Roid model. He looks more like a melting soft serve.
His lips curve up with a reluctant smile; the lifted corners of his eyes almost make him look angry as his eyebrows furrow together, and his cheeks are dusted rose pink.
There’s so much complicated information mixed together and splashed across his face.
It’s uncool, entirely human, and so, so beautiful.
Owen: ......You’re so annoying.
Cain and I burst out laughing at the same time.
Cain: Well, I have to send Akira back too. Can you tell me your ID once again?
Akira: Yes.
Unlike the last time, I reply without hesitation.
I root around in my brain, and discover the relevant numbers easily.
Akira: ID: DZRJ-ST-RTWN-21
The moment I say them aloud, the long string of numbers in my head starts flashing, transforming into something else in my mind.
The numbers shift around twenty-one times, and then rearrange themselves into the words below.
Forest of Dreams.
......I hear someone calling for me.
Owen: Akira?
A strong gust of wind sweeps the sakura petals up into the air.
I turn to look at the sakura trees.
But what I see aren’t the sakura trees in the shopping district — it’s a mysterious frozen forest.
A familiar sight.
The voice of someone calling for me grows stronger.
Akira: (That’s right, I......)
(I have to go home.)
I sprint in the direction of the voice.
Akira: (I have to return to everyone......)
......I hear a familiar sound.
A sound I used to hear everyday. A sound which I had stopped hearing......
Owen: Akira!
Chapter 18 << | index | >> Chapter 20