'Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…'
Berwick slowly opened his eyes. His phone alarm was vibrating, displaying 07:30 AM. A dull ache throbbed in his head, and his mouth felt dry as he got out of bed. The effects of the previous night lingered; his body still felt heavy with fatigue. He knew he normally shouldn't consume alcohol, but it didn't seem to matter much anymore.
Navigating carefully through the clutter of his room, he headed to the bathroom. He took a slow shower, trying to wake himself up properly. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen and ate a packet of instant noodles for breakfast. It was his day off, and he decided to spend it by visiting his aunt's house.
After a journey lasting about two hours, he arrived at his aunt's home. He took a deep breath before the door. Just setting foot here was enough to send shivers down his spine. Even though he didn't want to remember those moments, he couldn't escape the ghosts of the past. With trepidation, he knocked on the door. Footsteps approached from inside, and the door opened. His aunt greeted him with a warm smile.
"Berwick, welcome, dear… Come on in," she said softly.
The young man nodded silently and entered. His aunt's house was neat and clean, as always. He went into the living room and sat on the couch. His aunt headed to the kitchen and returned shortly with mini snack cookies and fresh iced tea. After placing the refreshments on the table, she sat opposite him. Berwick thanked her and took a sip of his tea.
"So, tell me, how are you? Have you gotten used to your job?" his aunt asked curiously.
Berwick shrugged. "Sort of… It's a bit tough, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."
A warm expression settled on his aunt's face. "I understand. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"
Nodding in agreement, the young man took another sip of tea. Silence hung between them for a while. But the main reason he had come was his sister. He decided not to wait any longer.
"How is Illya? Is she better?"
The woman sighed deeply, her eyes momentarily welling up. Her smile couldn't completely mask the sadness hidden within. "She seems a little better… But whenever she hears your name, she withdraws and refuses to speak," she said with a hint of sorrow.
Berwick lowered his head and sighed softly. "I see… Can I see her, even just from a distance?"
His aunt's eyes shimmered with sadness. She hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Of course, sweetie… She's your sister, after all."
Berwick followed his aunt upstairs with silent steps. The woman gave him a look indicating he should be quiet before gently cracking open the door. Inside, little Illya was playing with her toys. The innocent happiness on her face brought a faint sense of relief to Berwick.
His aunt whispered softly, "She loves her toys… Especially the toy flute."
Berwick nodded slightly. "Thank goodness… I'm genuinely relieved."
However, Illya's cheerful mood didn't last. The little girl immediately looked up when she noticed the figures peering through the crack in the door. Berwick pulled back so she wouldn't see him, but Illya had already spotted him. In that instant, the happiness in her eyes vanished, replaced by a dull, expressionless gaze. The little girl glanced at her aunt standing in the doorway.
"Illya dear, would you like to talk to your brother?" the woman asked gently.
But Illya firmly shook her head, refusing the offer. Her aunt sighed softly and tried to approach her again. "Illya dear, I know, but it wasn't your brother's fault, was it? He's sad too, look…" she said softly.
Illya lifted her head for a moment and looked towards Berwick. But as soon as their eyes met, she quickly turned away, stood up, and ran towards her room's balcony.
His aunt called after her angrily, "Illya, wait—"
But Berwick gently raised his hand, stopping her. "Auntie… That's enough. There's no need to force her. If it's not happening, it's not happening…"
Yui looked at her nephew's face with surprise, but soon nodded in understanding. She straightened up from where she was leaning and closed the door. They descended the stairs in silence. Only one thought occupied Berwick's mind: When will Illya ever accept me?
After coming downstairs, Berwick asked his aunt's permission to leave for work soon. "We hope to see you again soon, dear. I'm sorry about Illya."
Berwick smiled faintly and nodded. "It's alright, Auntie. At least there's some progress compared to before. As long as she's okay, she doesn't have to talk to me for the rest of her life if she doesn't want to."
His aunt sighed wistfully. "I hope it gets resolved. Be careful on your way, sweetie, and don't push yourself too hard, okay?"
As Berwick headed towards work, he waved goodbye slightly without looking back. An hour later, he arrived at his workplace. His friend Touga had already opened the shop and was arranging the shelves.
"I'm here." Berwick entered, took off his jacket, and started walking slowly towards the staff room.
"Oh, welcome, sir. If you'd been any later, the boss might have fired you."
"I went to my aunt's, and besides, I already got permission from the boss. Unlike some people, I don't just sneak off," His pointed remark hit Touga. But unfortunately for Touga, Berwick won this round. After going inside and putting on his apron, he started working. Time must have flown by; before Berwick realized it, evening had arrived. The two friends closed the shop again, grabbed cold beers from the fridge, and went up to their spot on the market roof. They started chatting while gazing at the stars.
"Hey Berwick, your aunt has a house, right? Why don't you stay with her? Honestly, an apartment is a lot of hassle and responsibility for someone as young as you."
Berwick sighed and sipped his beer. "How many times do I have to tell you? My aunt's house is far away, and besides, because of my sister's situation, I can't stay there. On top of that, I am responsible."
Touga chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, sure buddy. I caught a mouse in your apartment, man, a mouse!" After laughing, he sipped his beer. Berwick reacted, stung and annoyed.
"What can I do! I'm saving my energy for work. Besides, no one comes over anyway, it's clean enough, what more do you want?!" Suddenly, young Berwick's phone started ringing. "Who the hell is calling this late? My aunt and Illya should be asleep by now." He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. An unknown number was calling. At first, he dismissed it with a 'meh' and hung up, but 5 minutes later, the same number called again. He hung up; the number called again and again. Finally annoyed, Berwick answered the phone. "BROTHER, ARE YOU SOME KIND OF PSYCHO? CALLING THIS LATE AT NIGHT-"
A familiar girl's voice: "Ah, u-uh, I'm sorry for disturbing you…"
Berwick tried to recognize the voice, quickly correcting his tone. "Sorry, I overreacted. Uh, who is this, please?"
The girl on the phone reacted with surprise, then began speaking. "So you forgot me already, huh? I'm hurt, really. It's me, Lisandra." As soon as Berwick heard the name, he froze. Cold sweat broke out on his skin, as if all the blood flow in his body had stopped. Touga looked at Berwick.
"Dude, are you okay?" Berwick snapped back to reality at Lisa's 'Are you there?' and answered the phone. "Lisa… Is it really you? The real Lisandra we know?"
"Yes..." As soon as Berwick heard this, as if all his emotions flooded back at once, he instantly stood up and started talking. "Lisa! Where are you right now?! Are your parents with you?!"
Lisa was astonished by Berwick's sudden reaction. "I'm at Oritron Hospital. It's only been two days since I woke up. As for my parents, they're at home right now."
"UNDERSTOOD, I'M COMING RIGHT AWAY." With a surprised expression, Lisa said, "O-okay." After Berwick hung up, he looked at Touga.
"What happened, man? Weren't we going to have a nice beer?" Berwick grabbed Touga by the collar, agitated. "Is this the time for beer! Quickly, take me to Oritron Hospital! I need to go there!" Touga flinched. "HEY HEY HEY, CALM DOWN, CHAMP! LET GO OF MY COLLAR!" After Berwick slowly released his collar, Touga composed himself. "Is she someone important to you?" Berwick nodded rapidly. Touga smiled. "Got it. Then let's not waste any more time, kiddo. It takes about 30 minutes from here."
Without wasting any time, they got into the car and set off. Since Touga participated in night races, he drove professionally and with lightning speed. They covered the normally 30-minute journey in 15 minutes. Berwick practically threw himself out of the car; no lie, the ride was terrifying.
"If you ever... huff... drive like that again... I'll break your head..."
After saying this, Berwick quickly entered the hospital and started wandering around. He reached the hospital garden and began scanning the area. Before long, he saw Lisa sitting on a bench further ahead and started running quickly towards her. "Lisa!!" Lisa stood up when she saw Berwick. Compared to before, Berwick looked somewhat unhealthy and unkempt.
"Berwick! You ca-" Berwick hugged Lisa tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm truly so sorry..." Lisa's eyes were filled with tears; she shook her head, denying Berwick's words. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. My parents gave you such a hard time, and on top of that, you lost your family… I am truly so sorry." Lisa couldn't hold back her tears either and started sobbing uncontrollably. After about 10 minutes, they composed themselves and sat on the bench. Berwick looked at Lisa, appearing worried.
"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Lisa smiled faintly. "I'm fine, I just feel a bit weak," she touched her chest, "and like a part of me is missing." Lisa looked at Berwick. "Forget about me right now, how are you feeling?" Berwick slowly looked down at the ground and began to recount what had happened. With every word Berwick spoke, Lisa was shocked, her blood running cold. He told her about his family dying before his eyes, how they had hidden their identities, that all three were actually Guardians. He even explained that his father was incredibly powerful, pointed out among Guardians as a Legend. He told her how Illya started hating him after the events, how Illya was staying with his aunt, how he couldn't mentally cope and left the academy, and started working as a cashier in a supermarket. Lisa stared at Berwick with eyes full of astonishment.
"I have this friend, his name is Touga. I was with him; after you called, we came here together." Lisa took Berwick's head and rested it against her chest. She began gently stroking his hair. "You've been through so much… My blood ran cold, honestly. I'm truly so sorry for you, and I'm angry that I couldn't do anything. But despite all these events, you're still standing. You've done well, Berwick... I truly admire you." After hearing these words, Berwick's eyes started to well up, and he began to cry. He pressed his face into Lisa's chest. Lisa soothingly rubbed his back. "Shhh… It's passed… It's passed…" Berwick couldn't compose himself for a while. Even though he had told Touga about the hardships he'd faced over the past 8 months, he hadn't felt like he'd truly unburdened himself. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had poured his heart out and felt relieved. After calming down some time later, they continued talking. "Are you better?" Berwick sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Yes, I'm better.."
Three hours later, Berwick returned to Touga. "We grew roots waiting, buddy. What took you so long? You could have been a bit quicker."
Berwick sighed. "Nothing to be done. I came to visit an old friend, I told you she was very important." Touga sighed and nodded understandingly, then they got into the car. "I'm just going home to sleep for today. Take me home." Touga nodded. "Alright, alright, tough guy. Whatever you want. By the way, what did you guys talk about, really? It took quite a long time."
Berwick looked at the side mirror with a faint smile. "We didn't talk about anything."
Touga looked at Berwick, slightly annoyed, the car swerved a bit. "WHAAAAT!! Have I been waiting for hours for nothing?!" "Dude, you psycho, drive straight! We're going to crash!" "A crash means nothing to me, man! Ugh, I really can't believe it…" 20 minutes later, they arrived at the apartment building where Berwick lived. Berwick got out of the car, said goodbye to Touga, and entered his apartment building. Talking to Lisa had genuinely done him good; so much so that the apartment, which hadn't bothered his eyes before, suddenly started to look incredibly messy as soon as he entered.
The next day, Berwick got out of bed energetically, his mind still stuck on yesterday. Lisa being awake, being able to pour his heart out, things finally getting a little better after the difficult things he had experienced in life had motivated him and opened his eyes. So much so that when he saw the mess in his apartment, he—
"HEY, AUTHOR! INSTEAD OF NARRATING ALL THIS POINTLESS STUFF, JUST GET TO THE ACTION ALREADY!"
What can I say? He's the main character, after all; have to accommodate him a bit. He started cleaning up the mess in his home. After two hours of tiring and challenging work, the apartment was sparkling clean. After taking a nice shower and cleaning himself up, he put on his work clothes and headed to the market. When he arrived at the market, there was no one inside except the Manager.
"I'm here. Huh? Boss… Good to see you."
Berwick's Manager sipped his coffee and looked at Berwick. "Welcome, son. Are you ready for today's busy pace?"
"Yes, but," He looked around, unable to see Touga. "Where's Touga? Wasn't he supposed to come in today?" The Manager looked at Berwick with one eyebrow raised in surprise. "Didn't he tell you? Touga's off today. He had some business to take care of, went to do that."
"No, I didn't know." He looked thoughtfully at the shelves. "Wow, I'm surprised, honestly. You two are so close."
"I'm surprised too. Oh well, it's probably one of the jobs his dad gave him again. His life is tough too, after all." Touga's life was as hard as Berwick described. When Touga was a child, his mother tried to kill his father with a knife; his older brother intervened at the scene and ended up getting stabbed instead. His mother was institutionalized due to mental health issues. When he reached his 20s, he met the love of his life. They married when he was 25, but he lost his wife and child during childbirth. Afterwards, his father fell into gambling addiction, and Touga is currently working to pay off his debt. That's why Touga is an important and valuable friend to Berwick.
Hours passed like flowing water, and evening arrived. There was still no word from Touga. Berwick started to feel uneasy. During a past conversation, Touga had told him, 'If you don't hear from me for a whole day, know that something has happened to me.' He had never forgotten those words. Before his shift ended, he thought about how long it had been since he last heard from Touga and remembered the time after Touga dropped him home. There were 25 minutes left until 24 hours had passed. Berwick waited on the roof, glancing around while waiting for any news on his phone.
"Come on, man… Give me a sign…"
After 30 minutes had passed the mark, Berwick started to move. The tactic he used to find Lisa came to mind, and he immediately applied it using his phone. When he saw the coordinate area, his blood ran somewhat cold. Because the location indicated was the exact place where the events of 8 months ago had occurred, the site of the old hangar, where almost no one went now. Though, there was no trace left of the hangar or even that part of the city.
"What's going on? Of all places, why here?"
Without waiting, he ran downstairs. Strangely, Touga's car was also parked here. Now Berwick was absolutely certain. Something had really happened to Touga. Despite being 16, Berwick knew how to drive most vehicles from his previous life and was used to it; he just didn't want to drive because he didn't have a license. But in the current situation, there was no time to think. Touga usually kept a spare key in the market's cash register drawer in case of emergency. Berwick hurried there, found the key, ran to the car, opened the door, started the ignition, and drove full throttle towards the area.
About 1.5 hours later, he reached the region… The surroundings were filled with the ruins of the old city: dilapidated houses, huge boulders displaced from their original positions, and ground turned into barren soil. As he got closer to the area, driving the vehicle on the terrain became increasingly difficult. Even though the vehicles were more advanced than those from his previous life, the battle his father had fought was so devastating that entering that area was impossible even with these machines. Therefore, he had to get out of the car near the end of the road and started running towards the scene until his lungs burned. He reached the location in about 20 minutes. As he caught his breath, his lungs hurt so much that the oxygen felt like it was scorching them. He immediately began scanning the massive crater formed from the top and tried to pinpoint Touga's location by shouting, 'TOUGAAA!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!! ANSWER ME!!!'. Before long, his eyes caught sight of a tiny beam of light shooting towards the sky about 200 meters away.
"WAIT FOR ME!! TOUGAAA!!!"