Chapter 35
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"...What are you hesitating about? Tsk." Hiroto Amemiya said this and pushed her into ITOKAN's store.
The wind chimes at the door rang and the people sitting in the store looked at the unannounced guest.
"Noble?" Cobra and Yamato had seen her before, and their initial surprise was over. Several Sannoh men were also there, but they didn't know Sakurai, and Sakurai didn't know them either. Noble had always been a difficult topic to broach.
Arden was the more surprised: "Oh."
"Call me Sakurai." Sakurai Minami said.
She tried her best not to look at Ichika, who was looking at her with a puzzled look. Naomi, on the other hand, stood there in a daze, holding the plate.
It took a moment for her to come to her senses. She placed the plate on the counter next to her and hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron. She whispered, "You're back."
“…Welcome back.”
/
Naomi never thought that Noble was the culprit.
She was also present when Jiujiu secretly went to meet Cobra and Yamato that day.
"Noble was forced to take the blame for the Kowloon Group because of threats," said Jiujiu.
But Sakurai Minami was still full of apologies: "I'm sorry for keeping it from you all this time."
Naomi put down the plate and hugged her gently.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Before she knew it, Naomi was already in tears.
Compared to those who have left, the people around you are the most important. Long told her this a long time ago. For a long time, she couldn't understand why she couldn't find happiness after losing her brother who had depended on her for so many years.
Until now, she has slowly come out of her grief. Looking back, she sees that Cobra and Yamato are still by her side, never leaving. Kohaku and Kujuku have also untied their knots. Even Noble, no, Sakurai has been completely cleared of suspicion. She now has a lovely sister.
Brother, did you see this? Is this what you expected?
/
"What are your plans for the future? Why don't you just stay in Sanno Street?" Cobra suggested.
Sakurai Minami declined: "No. I'm going back to my hometown."
"Hometown?"
"Yeah, it's my hometown. Come to think of it, I haven't been back for years." She shrugged. "By the way, where did Yamato go?"
"He went to get some wine. He said he wouldn't come back until he was drunk this time."
Yamato brought a whole case of beer from the convenience store, and Naomi scolded him for drinking even though his injury hadn't healed yet.
The two of them started arguing again. Cobra and Sakurai Minami looked at each other and smiled helplessly.
"Oh right," Cobra suddenly remembered, "You haven't met her yet, have you? Naomi's adopted sister, Ichika."
Ichika looked at her and smiled, and Sakurai Minami said, "Hello, Ichika."
/
In the end, there were a bunch of men lying in the store, but they weren't necessarily drunk. Naomi said, "They're just too tired."
That's why she allowed these people to drink, chat and sleep in the store until dawn. She would have kicked them all out before that.
"What about you? Are you leaving now?" Naomi asked.
"Well, the matter has been dealt with. I have to go back and check on him," she said with an apologetic smile. "I don't know if the old man is in good health."
She turned to leave, and Naomi watched her go. But then she saw Ichika, who she thought was asleep, suddenly jump up and hurriedly stand up and run out, "Naomi! I'll see her off!"
/
I'm not lying when I say I'm going back to my hometown.
Her parents also came from prominent families, as a simple Google search would reveal. After the Sakurai family's fire killed four members of the family, her grandparents also died within a year of their deaths. It's hard to say whether her decision to go directly to Little Asia without contacting relatives was the right one.
My grandmother, however, is still going strong. I didn't consider asking for help back then because I was afraid they would be "burned to death" like Sakurai's parents. Now I can finally go and talk to them.
She thought to herself, "Why don't I go see Jesse before I leave?" She heard hurried footsteps coming, and before she could turn around, someone grabbed her clothes.
"Who are you?" It was Ichika's voice. But it wasn't sweet or gentle, and if you had to say it, it was a bit cold.
/
She sighed and turned to look at Ichika. Ichika had always been a perceptive child, so Sakurai Minami was not surprised. "I... I am, Sakurai Minami."
"What about me? What's my name? You were the one who answered the phone, weren't you?!" She grabbed Sakurai Minami's collar, seeking an answer. Her voice was hysterical, but her eyes revealed pleading.
When she woke up, her mind was completely blank. A few days later, she finally remembered her name. Everyone said her memory would gradually return, but for years, she couldn't recall anything about herself. She didn't know where she came from, who she had been, or what kind of person she had been. Where were her parents, family, and friends? Without a past, there's no future!
She kept thinking and thinking until she fell asleep from exhaustion, and then she saw a figure in her dream. She saw herself following behind that person, sometimes she called that person sister, sometimes she called that person brother, but she could never see that person's face clearly.
And now, the fog finally dissipated, and she was able to glimpse the true appearance of that face.
"You have always been a smart child." Sakurai Minami said softly.
Ichika has been able to sense other people's emotions since she was a child, which is one of the reasons why Sakurai Minami used to hate her. She hated her parents' favoritism towards her sister, and she also hated her sister for sensing her ill intentions and cowering to please her.
She squatted down and looked Ichika in the eye: "These things are very dangerous. I won't let you follow me. It's safer for you to stay in Sanno than to go with me. I didn't want to come to see you, but you should know something, otherwise you will still be unaware when an accident happens. Are you sure you want to listen? ... Sakurai Ichika."
Sakurai Ichika saw herself in Sakurai Minami's eyes. She heard the possibility she had suspected, and she had already prepared for it. So she nodded firmly: "Tell me."
"Our parents were truly selfless, noble, and upright people. Because of this, they refused to cooperate with Kowloon to seek enormous profits from the poor. Therefore, they died. We should have all died in that fire, Ichika."
Sakurai Minami could feel Ichika's grip on her hand gradually tightening. "Then I took you to hide in Little Asia. For some reason, I was threatened by the Kowloon Group to join MUGEN, hoping to serve them one day. As for the final result—you should have heard about it yesterday. And from then on, I parted ways with you, and it wasn't until yesterday that I found your whereabouts."
Sakurai Ichika listened to her talk, but it was like she was listening to someone else's story, her emotions being stirred before her memories. She felt a tightness in her chest, but her mind couldn't imagine the scene she was describing.
"Sanno... they're a good group of people. You can stay here. I have some connections with Hinata Norihisa of Daruma. If anything happens to Sanno, you can go find them. The person who saved you was Lala from Wuming Street. We once owed him a favor. If Jiulong comes looking for you, you can take shelter there. I used to know the Mighty Warriors. If they accidentally hurt you, tell them my name and they should turn a blind eye."
Sakurai Minami said: "You have to live well, understand?"
"...Will you come back?"
"I will come back. Didn't you always say you wanted to be with me forever when you were little? When I'm done and things are going well, I'll come back to find you, and then we'll go wherever you want. Whether you want to go abroad or just have some fun at home... In short, at that time, you can do whatever you want."
She faced the light and gently wiped away the tears on Sakurai Ichika's face: "Don't cry... If I let you cry, I'm really afraid that when I'm old and dead, I'll be scolded by my parents in heaven. I have to go, see you then." Well, her parents were only in their thirties when they died. It would look really funny if she became an old lady and was scolded by her parents.
"...Goodbye," Ichika said, "Have a safe journey, sister."
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