Sing of 'Love' Above All Else, Episode 9: 'Making Landfall'

Sing of 'Love' Above All Else, Episode 9: 'Making Landfall'

①True Intentions
Sotaro felt ashamed of himself.
While he had been distracted, things had begun to move in a major way, and now, they were about to reach the worst possible outcome.
And furthermore, he had been completely mistaken. If he had only stepped closer to the boy and listened, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this—

Since the day he saw the footage of Saori and Sumie on his smartphone, as expected, he had been struck down by a severe headache, a high fever, and the 'thirst'.
Perhaps because the 'thirst' had been lying dormant for about a month, it was now punishing his body as if to make up for lost time.
Even going to the bathroom was a chore; his high fever left him delirious, and his memories of the last few days were hazy. He had been essentially bedridden for several days.
In the midst of this, that boy appeared before him once again.
Though his mouth was tightly shut, his eyes, which looked as if they were about to burst into tears, seemed to be pleading with Sotaro about something.
Sotaro, in his delirious state, placed his trembling left hand against the boy's cheek. A faint electric current sparked against his fingers. Each of those particles burst, and all sorts of images flooded into Sotaro. And then, the boy opened his mouth.

Sotaro realized that he had been mistaken.
If he had realized the boy's feelings sooner, this matter should have been resolved much more easily and much more quickly. Thinking this, he felt irritation toward the 'thirst' and the 'someone' inside him who was pleading for it. The wretch had stayed hidden until this situation arose, and now, it was raging with fury. He couldn't help but click his tongue at its cunning.

Sotaro's right eye took on an even deeper shade of red.
He raced along, following the trajectory of the boy's thoughts.
The city streets, as the veil of night fell, were dyed in an ominous, vivid world where low-level spirits gathered, drawn by the scent of the boy's sorrow, and lost emotions stood out in sharp relief.

“Grandma! Are you okay?!”
Saori ran up the stairs and rushed over to Sumie, who was trembling in the corner of the cramped, stifling attic.
“Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu...”
Sumie was chanting the Nembutsu desperately, as she always did.
Around her, a fan had been knocked over, and what might have been dinner—salad and something that looked like sweet and sour pork—was scattered about. Combined with the smell of excrement that stung her nostrils, the unsanitary and utterly unpleasant situation filled Saori with rage.
“Grandma! It’s okay! Hey! It’s okay now!”
She hugged Sumie and tried desperately to soothe her, but her trembling would not stop.
“That’s enough, stop it already!”
Saori shouted toward the direction of Sumie’s fearful gaze, and she, too, strained her eyes into the dimness.
Then, in that darkness, the figure of a boy began to faintly emerge. The figure gradually became clearer, and a boy with an expression twisted in anger and sorrow appeared. He stared straight into Saori’s eyes, silently pleading the emotions within him.
Saori gritted her teeth so as not to be overwhelmed, and confronted him.
Then, the boy suddenly started running toward Saori. The turn of events was so sudden that Saori couldn't avoid it, and she allowed him to enter.

In that instant, the anger swirling within Saori and the anger accumulated within the boy resonated.

“I won’t forgive you! I won’t forgive anyone who bullies Grandma or ‘Mother’!”
Saori and Norio shared the same body with their anger, and with expressions of fury, they glared down at the floor below.
Just then, someone’s voice could be heard from downstairs.
Had Nobuko, who hadn't been there a moment ago, returned?
Saori and Norio scooped up Sumie and ran down the steep stairs as if sliding.

“What on earth was that?”
Nobuko, having returned home, pursed her lips in annoyance.
She had gone to the entrance because of a sudden visitor, but no one was there. However, she was certain she had felt someone’s presence. She looked around once more. Then, in the corner of her vision, she saw a shadow that looked like a boy. Thinking it must be a prank and intending to catch and scold him, she chased the shadow, but she lost sight of it about a few dozen meters from her house.
“What is this! Seriously! Don’t mess with me!”
Unable to hide her irritation, she cursed. Then, the boy’s shadow appeared in the corner of her vision again. She hurriedly followed it with her eyes, and the boy slipped through the gate of her house and went inside.
“Cut it out already!”
Furious once again, she ran back toward her house.

Kicking off her sandals, Nobuko stomps around the room.
"Where are you! Come out right now!"
No matter where she looks, the shadow that looked like a boy earlier is nowhere to be found.
"Am I just tired?"
The boy's shadow was too vivid to be a mistake, yet felt too out of place to be real. Finding it too much trouble to think about, Nobuko dismissed the boy's presence with that single thought.
Then, as she turned around suddenly, she froze for a moment.


"S-Saori-chan... you were here? W-what's wrong? So suddenly."
Standing right in front of Nobuko, who had just turned around, was Saori, holding Sumie in her arms.
Unlike her usual gentle impression, Saori's expression was one of overt anger.
"What do you mean 'let's live happily'? Don't make me laugh! That's not what we agreed on! Locking Grandma up in a filthy place like that!"
Saori suddenly scattered her anger. Since she rarely showed her emotions, Nobuko was almost overwhelmed by her demeanor. However, she wasn't one to lose a verbal argument.
"What's wrong with you, Saori-chan? I don't remember making any promises like the ones you're thinking of! And 'filthy'? You should be grateful I took that troublesome thing off your hands! What kind of talk is that!"
"Troublesome! Are you trying to kill Grandma? Locking her up in a place like that, and feeding her such greasy food!"
"You! Don't get cocky just because I've been letting you talk! Don't you dare speak to me like that!"
Nobuko, her lips trembling, slapped Saori across the cheek.
"Who do you think you are? I helped you pay off your debts, I helped you find a place to live, I've been helping you all this time, and what is this! That attitude! I don't deserve to be complained to, I deserve to be thanked!"
Nobuko bared her true colors and snapped at Saori.
"I won't forgive you! Grandma, 'I won't forgive anyone who bullies my mother!'"
As Saori's and the boy's voices overlapped, a shockwave like an explosion ran through the room, and Nobuko was blown back into the hallway as if she had been struck.
Then Saori glared at Nobuko with intense focus. Suddenly, a power cord appeared from somewhere, writhing like a snake, and wrapped itself around Nobuko's neck.

"Hey, what is this!"
Nobuko frantically tries to remove the cord from her neck, but the more she struggles, the deeper it digs into her skin.

"I'm home, I'm so tired today."
While Nobuko was struggling, Kenjiro returned, letting out a pathetic, off-key voice.
"Hey, Nobuko... hey! What are you doing!"
The moment he stepped from the entrance into the hallway, Kenjiro couldn't believe the tragedy before his eyes.
Pushing Saori aside, Kenjiro rushed over to Nobuko in a panic.
"Hey! Are you okay!"
Placing his hands on the neck of Nobuko, who was turning bright red and suffering, Kenjiro desperately tried to untangle the power cord.
"Don't get in my way!"
The voice of the boy, Norio, burst from Saori's mouth, and power cords unplugged from all over the room gathered around Kenjiro and the others.
"Eek!"
At the bizarre phenomenon, Kenjiro let out a pathetic cry and, like a game of Whac-A-Mole, swung his bag at the crawling cords. However, he couldn't handle them all, and before he knew it, a toaster cord had wrapped around his neck as well.
The plugs at the ends of the cords wrapped around their necks crawled up the wall to the ceiling, hoisting Nobuko and Kenjiro into the air.
"St... stop..."
The two struggled desperately, but they could no longer speak.
Their necks, scratched as they tried to remove the cords, were covered in multiple wounds, and blood was seeping out.
Seeing this, Saori's face took on an even more demonic expression.
Then, a violent metallic sound was heard from the kitchen, and several knives, forks, and paring knives flew toward Saori. They continued to float around her, pointing their tips at Kenjiro and Nobuko.
"How dare you! How dare you bully my mother!"
With Norio's roar, they flew toward Kenjiro and Nobuko!

"St... op..."
Even as Nobuko pleaded with her dying breath, the knives slid through the air with great force.
"Aaaah!"
The instant the knives were about to pierce them, they fell to the floor at Kenjiro and Nobuko's feet with a clatter, and the cords wrapped around their necks fell away as if they had lost their will.
Kenjiro and Nobuko were immediately dropped onto the hallway floor.
The two collapsed on the spot, foaming at the mouth from the sheer terror.

"Who's there!"
Norio, shouting with a demonic expression, looked behind him.
There stood Sotaro, his right eye stained red, gripping Norio's left shoulder tightly.

"Don't get in my way!"
As soon as he saw Sotaro, Norio showed his anger.
"You didn't remain in this world just to do things like this, did you? Your mother won't be happy if you do that! Far from being happy, it will only make her sad again."
Sotaro gently admonished him. He gripped Norio's left shoulder even tighter. At that moment, the shadow of Norio, which had been wearing a demonic expression, faded away, and Saori's expression returned.

"H-huh? I..."
Saori, whose body had been occupied by Norio, was stunned by the carnage before her, as if waking from a dream.
"Please don't worry. Those two are just unconscious."
Realizing the person in front of him was Saori, Sotaro briefly explained the situation.
"Until just a moment ago, Norio-kun was synchronized with your anger, Saori-san, and was occupying your body. And he was about to stab those two, who were treating your grandmother, Sumie-san, so poorly, with knives."
"What! W-what should I do?"
Saori was flustered by the current situation. For now, she laid Sumie down in the living room.
"Grandma, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
Sumie nodded silently, though she was trembling.

"Norio-kun didn't appear before those two just out of resentment."
Sotaro began to tell Saori about Norio's true feelings.
"Of course, his resentment remains intense. But more than that, he was deeply worried about his mother, Sumie-san. Even when he was alive, he was suddenly no longer allowed to see her, and not being able to 'protect' Sumie-san seems to be his greatest regret."
"Then, you mean he wasn't scaring my grandmother out of resentment?"
Rubbing Sumie's shoulder, Saori listened to Sotaro's story.
"It is true that he was intentionally abandoned, and that sadness remained as a grudge. But more than that, he loved Sumie-san very much and wanted to be by her side forever. That's why, before your parents died in the fire, Saori-san, he seems to have foreseen it and tried to convey it somehow."
"Eh? You can even tell things like that?"
Saori hadn't told Sotaro that her parents had died in a fire. She widened her eyes at Sotaro's tone, as if he had known all along.
"And recently, as her dementia worsened, I think he was so worried that he became visible even to us. But he himself didn't know what to do, and just ended up scaring Sumie-san."
Before arriving at this house, Sotaro had put into words, as much as possible, the unspoken feelings that had overflowed from Norio's mouth and conveyed them to Saori.
Yes, Norio was sad, lonely, and despite being abandoned, he still loved his mother and was worried about her. That feeling had remained as a grudge for a long time, floating around Sumie. Furthermore, even though it was a grudge, he never had any intention of harming Sumie or Saori. However, the sadness of being abandoned and the hatred for the grandmother who had bullied his mother also swirled within him, and he was often unable to control those feelings. Therefore, he would mess up the room like a tantrum because Sumie was only afraid and would never look at him, and he would vent his hatred toward those who oppressed her, even to the point of being willing to kill. And if he were left as he was, there was no doubt that he would kill everyone who harmed Sumie, including Nobuko, and that sin would fall upon Saori.

That, at all costs, had to be avoided.

"How can we soothe Norio-san's sadness?"
Saori brought up the main point.
"He has one wish. He wants to be held by Sumie-san as her child, that is his only desire. I don't want to turn him into an evil spirit either. I want to let him depart as a child, with his pure feelings intact. For that, we need Sumie-san's cooperation."

Saori and Sotaro looked at each other, then turned their gaze to the trembling Sumie.




②Homecoming
After Sotaro conveyed Norio's feelings to her once more, Sumie collapsed in tears. She understood what he had said. However, as a mother who had abandoned her child, she couldn't look her own child in the face. Because of the guilt that followed her every day, she couldn't bring herself to look up as his mother. The words that welled up were purely an apology. And she even blamed herself, thinking that she had no right as a mother to hold Norio, having only thought that she would be haunted to death without considering Norio's feelings.

"Sumie-san, no matter how much you criticize yourself or hate yourself, Norio-kun still loves you and has been waiting for you to smile at him. As his mother, can you hold Norio-kun one more time?"

Influenced by Sotaro's words, she made up her mind. Not to cover up her mistakes, but to accept them with responsibility.
"I understand..."
She whispered in a trembling voice, biting her lip tightly.

"Norio-kun is still inside Saori-san. First, I will enter Saori-san and call him out. Then I will bring him to Sumie-san, so please, Sumie-san, hold him with all your might."

When Sotaro's explanation was finished, the three sat in the living room and held hands.




'Norio-kun! Norio-kun! Your mother is calling you!'
Wrapped in dim darkness within Saori, Norio was hiding.
'Norio-kun! I'm telling you, your mother is calling you!'
The other party was a child. Sotaro spoke as brightly and gently as he could, and held out his right hand.
At his call, Norio approached while watching the situation, wary like a stray cat.
'It's okay! No one will bully your mother or you. You can finally meet properly, so you shouldn't have such a dark face.'
Some time after Sotaro said that, a terribly thin right hand reached out from the gloom.



Before she knew it, Sumie was standing in front of the entrance to the tenement house where she used to live with Norio. Her attire was from that time, a blouse and trousers that she had washed and worn many times. Both were worn out, and the fabric was so thin it was almost threadbare. Her face and body had also returned to how they were back then; her wrinkled face and white hair were gone, replaced by skin with luster and firmness, and her jet-black hair was fluttering in the wind.


'...Mother!'
Then, a nostalgic voice reached her ears from afar. At that voice, she braced herself and bit her lip. She didn't expect to be forgiven. She might even be dragged off to hell just like this. But she didn't care anymore. She had committed such a grave mistake.

'Mother!'
When she realized it, Norio, with eyes full of tears, was standing in front of her.
The moment she looked directly at his face, the love of a mother for her child surged through her body, transcending guilt and self-reproach.
She knelt down, met Norio's eyes, and reached out her hands.

'Norio, come here!'
At that voice, Norio immediately jumped at her.
And Sumie held Norio tightly. The hair that was a little long from his crew cut and prickly, the arms and legs that were often black and dirty because he hated baths, and the sweatiness that accompanied them—they were all, without a doubt, the 'Norio' she had given birth to with pain, and whom she had poured her heart and soul into loving and raising.
'I'm sorry... you were lonely, it was hard, I'm sorry...'
Both of their faces were a mess of sweat and tears. After hugging each other tightly, they looked at each other's faces once more.
Sumie, who had avoided that gaze for decades, now looked firmly into Norio's eyes, following the feelings welling up within her.
Norio, while crying, gave her a guileless smile.
Sumie wiped the drops running down his cheeks with her thumb and smiled gently once more.
'Mother, I missed you...'
'Mother missed you too, Norio.'
Pushing her guilt into a corner, Sumie now conveyed her true feelings to her son. Her son laughed aloud and hugged her once more.


How much time had passed?
The two shared a moment that felt like both an eternity and an instant, confirming each other's feelings.
What was there was the 'love' of a parent and child who cared for each other, and a 'bond' that would not be broken even by life and death. It was something unique and universal, that would never change or fade for all eternity.

'Mother, I have to go now...'
Norio looked lonely, but there was no cloud in his expression.
'We can meet again...'
Sumie felt that she could be Norio's mother again in the next life.
'Mother, don't give up! Be strong!'
At those words, Norio smiled brightly.

And from behind Norio, Sotaro quietly appeared.
'Please take care of Norio.'
When Sumie whispered that, Sotaro bowed with a smile and gently took Norio's hand.



At that moment, the 'thirst' that had been suppressed within Sotaro ravaged him with a force that could no longer be contained. While maintaining 'himself' as much as possible, he placed his left hand on Norio's head.
'Well, shall we go?'
Suppressing his rushing feelings, Sotaro spoke gently to Norio. Norio also closed his eyes and nodded silently.
And then, Sotaro released the 'thirst'.








Sotaro woke up under the Izayoi Bridge once again. It seems the tenement house where Sumie and Norio used to live was built along this river.

From a life forced into honorable poverty, to an instant loss of freedom and life in darkness. Then the tragedy of being abandoned by his mother. And then, struck by an earthquake and flood, Sotaro was torn to pieces, body and soul.
However, because his beloved mother was waiting for him at the end of his journey, his feelings were so bright that one could say he was fulfilled the moment he woke up.
Nevertheless, his right leg was struck with such intense pain that he collapsed. It seems that when Norio was swallowed by the waves, his right leg had been caught in the rubble and torn off. Because of that, he was forced to drag his leg again and take a long time to return home.
However, Sotaro did not complain, and hurried home, stepping forward powerfully, one step at a time.











③Will
One month later.
Sumie declared that she would enter a nursing home of her own volition. Of course, both Saori and Nobuko opposed it, but she stubbornly refused to accept that. Saori was worried about the expenses, but she remembered the savings Nobuko had tried to steal, and strongly insisted that she would make a living with that in her later years.
As for Nobuko, despite it being only a few weeks of living together, she was desperate to extort that money, saying this and that about what she had done for her at the time. However, by appointing a third party as her guardian, she was no longer able to do as she pleased.

Also, the incident caused by Norio this time was barely resolved without further trouble.
For the time being, Saori stuck to the story that she had rushed to where Nobuko and the others had collapsed and called an ambulance. Or rather, from halfway through, it became Norio's memory, and she herself didn't remember it well.
Nobuko and the others complained of spiritual possession at the hospital they were taken to, but since there were no traces left on their necks, their claims had no evidence. On the contrary, they were even recommended to see a psychosomatic medicine department because of the way they were both frantically complaining. However, a rift remained between Nobuko and Saori. Nobuko tried to stir up trouble unilaterally at every opportunity. However, Kenjiro, inspired by his mother Sumie's determination, turned to the side of protecting Saori as her uncle and relative, just as he had intended. Because of this, it seems this matter did not come to light any further.

And Saori also moved out of the housing complex and moved to an apartment near Sumie's nursing home.
Work continued with the usual bullying from the senior staff and the subtle sexual harassment from the store manager, but she was able to sublimate that as a trivial matter. Now, visiting Sumie once every three days was her greatest pleasure.


"Saori, isn't there anyone nice for you?"
Sumie had been in very good condition lately. By interacting with many people, it became a stimulus, and the symptoms of dementia appeared less frequently than before. Moreover, her complexion had improved significantly.
"Well, I haven't had the luxury for that. But I'm thinking of drawing again."
Saori changed the subject, having been hit in a sore spot.
"That's good! I like your drawings. Once you get your sense back, draw a portrait of me, okay?"
"Yeah! Definitely!"
Saori answered immediately.

'Isn't there anyone nice for you?'
On the way back from the nursing home, Sumie's words pricked her heart somehow.
She was long past the age where it was appropriate to talk about love and romance, and she couldn't flatter herself by thinking she was pretty. Therefore, she had thought that living in a world different from that was her life. However, having gained a little bit of 'freedom,' even if it was honorable poverty, she began to care about those things as if she had remembered them.
"The store manager is... out of the question!"
The so-called 'males' who had ulterior motives rather than affection for her were out of the question. Thinking this, Saori laughed to herself.
And the lonely expression of one man passed through her mind. He was a suspicious man who wore full protective gear and heavy clothes in the height of summer, but he didn't seem like a bad person. And honestly, the atmosphere where she could talk calmly was also comfortable.

"Well, I guess not?"
She probably wouldn't have the chance to meet him again. She stopped thinking about it.


A few minutes' walk from the nursing home, her apartment came into view.
Was there a forecast for rain from the evening? The sky, which had been clear, was dyed with overcast clouds before she knew it, and the clouds were moving fast. It might rain. Not having an umbrella, she quickened her pace a little.
Her apartment gradually came into view.
When she turned her gaze to the gate, she saw a woman standing there with a different brightness than the surroundings.
'Huh? Someone is standing there.'
Thinking that, the distance to the woman gradually closed.
The woman's surroundings were clearly of a different color than the rest, strange and eerie. And perhaps noticing Saori's gaze, the woman suddenly lifted her drooping head and turned her eyes toward her.
"!"
Saori gasped.
The woman's face was sunken as if crushed by an iron ball, and only her crushed, protruding eyes shone white and inflamed. Then she started giggling, and as she passed Saori, she spat out a large amount of blood spray from her mouth.
"Kyaaa!"
In sheer terror, Saori crouched on the spot. And she gripped the memo paper in her pants pocket.


And after a few seconds? A few minutes, Saori lifted her face.
The woman was no longer standing there.
And the sky, which had been dyed with overcast clouds, had returned to the clear weather she had seen until just a moment ago.
Saori stood up timidly and looked around.
Nothing had changed; her usual apartment was just there.
"!"
Swallowing her saliva, she remembered that she had been gripping the memo. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it.
On it was written Sotaro's phone number, blurred by sweat.



To be continued