The 1520-Lumen Dark Tokiwa ⑬

Yuta Hamura's Ability 2

There is probably nothing more I can do right now.
Going into the mountains relying only on my smartphone light to look for Tokiwa would be wrong. I might just end up becoming another person who needs rescuing. Besides, it would worry my family and Aunt Masako.

But. Isn't there something I can do? The time spent waiting for help without doing anything was painful. I don't even know how many minutes it will take for people to arrive.
What if it's too late...?
My head starts to fill with unpleasant images again, so I shake it off.

I tried calling Tokiwa as if I had just remembered, but whether the power was off or he had left it at home, it naturally didn't connect.

Unable to sit still, I strain my eyes toward the depths of the forest. The mountain is filled with spreading darkness. The voices of countless unseen insects pour down incessantly. I hear the cry of an owl in the distance. The rustling sound of grass tells me that something is there.

Suddenly.
Deep in the mountains, I saw a faint, blinking light.

—Tokiwa, it's him!!

Tokiwa's light bulb, which was bright to begin with, was asserting itself in the darkness. The distance was probably about 200 meters. It shouldn't be that far, but it feels incredibly far away.
How did he walk into such a dark place without any light?

The light, blinking on and off, was as feeble as a firefly. But it was definitely there.

To me, that light looked like it was saying, "Find me."
Before I knew it, I was screaming from the bottom of my gut.
It was probably the loudest I've ever shouted in my life.

"Tokiwa, you idiotーーーーー!!"

At that moment.

A massive sound of wings flapping echoed out.
The bushes rustled.
The birds that had been sleeping.
The diurnal animals.
It was as if all sorts of creatures had woken up at once.

And then.
Pop.
Pop-pop.
Pop-pop-pop-pop.

One after another, light bulbs lit up. Small lights began to turn on all over the mountain.
I gasped in surprise. There were so many creatures in the mountain that had seemed so quiet.

"Sorry, birds..."
I mutter involuntarily.
"So there was a gang of stray cats too... Oh, and monkeys... Sorry for waking you up."

But.
Thanks to those many light bulbs, the pitch-black mountain path was softly illuminated. And beyond that, the figure of Tokiwa crouching under a large tree faintly emerged into view.

At that moment, something clicked inside me. It was because of my ability. That's why I could see him.
I shout.

"My ability is actually useful!!"

As my worry turned into relief, anger welled up inside me.
"Geez, seriously!!"
I shout loudly again. Then, the light bulbs around me increased with a soft glow.

"What is this! You said you were coming to my place! You liar! Making such a big deal out of this! I'm not going to let you get away with saying you don't want to be known or to be left alone anymore!"

I stomped up the mountain path, ranting. I felt like if I didn't shout, I would lose all my strength. I went right up to Tokiwa and stood tall, hands on my hips.

“H, Hamura...?”
“Tokiwa! What are you doing!? We're going home!”
“Why...”
“What do you mean, 'why'!? Coming into the mountains all by yourself! I don't know what you were planning to do, but we're going home!”
“What was I planning... I don't even really know myself... but, just... I wanted to be alone...”

I said, gasping for air.
“Look, I just want to live a peaceful life!”

When I said that, Tokiwa retorted with a bitter expression.
“...I know that!! So just leave me alone already...”
“No way!”
“Why...”
“I don't know!!”

I didn't even know what I was saying anymore. I was just venting my emotions. After shouting, my nose suddenly stung.

“Am I really that pathetic to you? I don't need your pity...”
“Huh? Don't talk down to me like that! Why do you have to carry everything by yourself!”
“It's fine, really. I don't want anyone to know, it's embarrassing. I'm sick of being a burden, being looked at strangely, or being pitied. No one's going to help me anyway. Why are you interfering so much, anyway...!”

“That's because...”
I didn't have the luxury of thinking about what the right answer would be.
“...My aunt said, 'I don't want you to think that adults won't help you,' but...”

“...”
Tokiwa looked at me silently, as if asking, 'What about you?'

“I...”

I remembered Sane-san's words.
“If you just mind your own business, Hamura-kun, your peace will be preserved.”
...That's right.
Lately, it hasn't been peaceful at all.
I was depressed because Tokiwa ignored me.
I was scared that Tokiwa might disappear.
Even though I knew it would take me further from peace, I couldn't leave him alone.
...I'd been wondering why that was for a long time.

The reason finally became clear to me.

“Because you've already become a part of my peace, Tokiwa.”

Tokiwa is already a piece of my peaceful daily life. If Tokiwa isn't at peace, my peace can't exist either.
In other words, it's for my own sake after all. That's just how it is. But that's okay.

“Anyway! My aunt has probably already called the police! And Sane-san's grandfather is patrolling your house, too! Lots of people are already moving to help you, Tokiwa!”

I don't want anyone to know. I want to be left alone.
That's what Tokiwa said.
But if he really wanted to carry it all alone, I didn't think he would have such a broken look on his face.

Without knowing if Tokiwa would take my hand, I reached out.
“...Let's go home, Tokiwa.”

☆

We walked toward the entrance in silence along the mountain path illuminated by the animals' light bulbs. Since Tokiwa's light bulb was bright, it felt like I was holding a lantern while walking next to him.

I felt incredibly tired. I was hungry, too. It was the time I usually ate dinner.
As I walked thinking about that, I suddenly looked up at the forest. In the pitch-black woods, light bulbs of various colors and brightness were floating. It was like an illumination, or a starry sky.
...The light of the creatures' lives. It's beautiful.

For some reason, Tokiwa was looking up, too.

“Hey. I've been wondering... can you see it too, Hamura? This.”
Tokiwa, who said 'this,' pointed above his head.
There, a light bulb.

“Huh... ...Eh?”
My mind went completely blank.

“You’re clearly looking at the light bulb, aren’t you? I’ve thought that for a while now.”
“No way... eh...? Can you see it too, Tokiwa? But until now, you never gave any indication...”

Various things began to connect in my mind one after another.
The times I thought it was strange how he could read normally in the dark and had such incredible night vision.
The fact that Tokiwa had walked hundreds of meters along this pitch-black mountain path without any light.

However, I was bewildered by such a sudden confession. After all, I had kept it hidden for so long. I had thought there was no one else who could see the same things as me.

“...Why did you keep it a secret until now?”
“Well, I was half-doubting it myself... I’d known for a long time that other people couldn’t see it. I was kind of scared that there was something only I could see.”
“Ah...”
At Tokiwa’s answer, I couldn’t say anything. Thinking about Tokiwa’s mother, I suppose that might be the case.

“Besides, I didn’t really care about the meaning or the reason. I just accepted it. I tried to think of it as nothing more than being convenient for reading books when it’s dark. ...But,”

Tokiwa, who had been looking ahead while talking, looked at me and made proper eye contact before saying,
“Hamura, you said it once, didn’t you? ‘It’s lonely to think you’re the only one.’”

It was me who found Tokiwa huddled in the dark forest, but...
Perhaps. Perhaps I was the one found by Tokiwa, too.

Feeling the back of my eyes grow warm, I said, as if to cover it up,
“Hey, if you have such a bright light bulb on, doesn’t it bother you when you’re trying to sleep?”

Hearing that, Tokiwa looked at me in surprise, blank for a moment. Then,
“That’s the first thing you’re worried about?!”
He burst out laughing, a bright, hearty laugh.

I’ve never seen Tokiwa laugh this freely before.

While listening to that laughter,
I clearly saw Tokiwa’s flickering light bulb steady itself and begin to shine brightly once again.