Das Lied der Trennung: The Song of Parting: 09/08/2014, 17:02 Watase was hospitalized with a broken right femur. Though he was grateful to have his own room, thanks to the large sum the driver had paid as reparations... it seemed that Wataru had been more hurt by the incident than Watase.  ♪ BGM: Languid Hours of Rokumei City ♫ Wataru burst into tears when she came to visit Watase and saw the cast the hospital had set on his leg. Watase spoke with a wave of the hand.  Nah, don't worry about it. It's just a broken leg, and there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. I-I see. That's good to hear... Wait, no, not -good-, but...Wataru let out a heavy sigh. Why is it that all I do is cause trouble whenever I try to do something...? You must hate having such a dumbass for a big sis, don't you...? Seriously, that's not true at all.Watase spoke encouragingly to the totally dispirited Wataru. ...Don't be so hard on yourself. It's no fun seeing you so depressed. Besides, I was the one who voluntarily ran with you. So it's my fault that I got hurt. But you should stop forcing yourself to come. I mean, I know you think it's a total pain in the rear end... Well, at first I did, yeah... but not anymore. Now I want to try and help you accomplish your dream. Huh...?Watase gave his sister a faint smile when he saw the stunned look on her face. It doesn't matter what your physical abilities are... You're still amazing. You have big dreams about getting a job that'll let you save lives. I'm a little jealous of you. I don't have anything like that at all. ... There are things I 'can' do, but I don't have anything I 'want' to do. But you're the complete opposite. You find what you want to do and you put everything you've got into it. Even though your motive was just a spur of the moment idea, you've been running every day for three months because of it. You're confident in yourself and don't hesitate to act... So I felt that if I kept on hanging out with you, I might find something like that too. No way... that's the way you've been thinking? Yeah, kinda. Hmm... heheh, so you're jealous of a weak little thing like me.Wataru let out an embarrassed laugh, then looked at Watase and spoke. But you know, I'm sure that you'll find something you want to do too sooner or later. You really think so? I just know you're the kind of kid who can do anything he wants to. As long as you act before you think about every little thing, that is. ...Aren't you the one who should think a little more before you act? I-I've already considered that, you know.Watase sighed when he heard that. ...But hey, thanks. Though I think the whole 'looking for something I want to do' thing will have to wait for after my leg heals up. That's true. I'll come visit you every week until then. No thanks. Oh come on! I'd feel bad if I didn't! Seeing as how you don't have a girlfriend to do that for you. What? You're the one who needs to hurry up and get a boyfriend already!The twins then shared a laugh.   Yeah, tell the old man and lady I said hi. All right. Okay then, see you later.Wataru then turned to leave the room. She looked so lonely from behind that Watase called out to her one more time. Wataru. Yeah? Let's start running again once my leg heals up. If you'd like, I'll keep doing that with you until you become a bona-fide rescue worker.Wataru smiled brightly at that suggestion. Thanks, Watase.Wataru finally left the room with those words. --And thus, Watase's peaceful life at the hospital went on for a while after that-- It was a fairly simple life where he just spent his time either attending to people who came to visit him, or just eating, reading, and sleeping when alone. But one night eight days after Wataru had come to visit him-- --something unexpected happened.  ♪ BGM: Silence ♫ Watase had woken up from a bizarre dream he'd had that night. (... What was that all about...?) He had been desperately running for his life from the flames that were engulfing the town. But no matter how hard he ran, the flames just kept on chasing him. Watase was soon surrounded by flames and smoke that filled the air around him--  Watase tried to go back to sleep as he vaguely wondered that. But at that moment-- his nose caught the stench of what smelled like something burning. (...? ... Am I dreaming again...? ... No!!)Watase suddenly sat right up. He wasn't dreaming. That stench of smoke was clearly all too real. What's more, the sound of the fire alarm was echoing around him like crazy. ♪ BGM: Approaching Death ♫ Automatic PA: --A fire has broken out in the hospital. All patients and visitors, please evacuate as soon as possible. This is not a drill. Everyone in the facility, please evacuate as soon as possible. The robotic announcement explained the situation in a detached voice. Watase felt himself shaking like crazy at those words. C-crap...!With the cast around his leg, Watase couldn't move at all. So that meant when the fire reached his room--! (I... I'm gonna die!? Oh poo poo! I've gotta get out of here!)Watase dragged his left leg and crept out of his bed. His room was on the 7th floor. He couldn't escape through the windows. But when he opened the door to his room--   Watase frantically shut the door. He had no chance of weaving his way through the flames with the condition his leg was in. (If a nurse or someone doesn't get here before the fire does, then I'm...!) H... help!! Is anybody there!? Help me! Someone help me!!But no one came by no matter how much he yelled. The nurse call button wasn't responding either. Perhaps the doctors and nurses had abandoned Watase and the other patients and had already evacuated. --It wasn't long before smoke began seeping in from around the edges of the shut door. Ghh... *cough*...! *cough* *cough*! *cough*!!Watase coughed violently. He frantically opened the window, but the smoke was filling the room faster than it could escape it. It only grew thicker as time continued to pass. Just then, Watase thought he heard something burst open. The fire had probably already reached the room. (I... I'm in deep poo poo here...! If things stay the same, then in just a few minutes, I'll be--!)Dead. The fear of death gradually weighed down on Watase's mind. Someone-- *cough*! *cough*!He tried calling for help, but he couldn't speak anymore. With no other idea of what to do, Watase was about to break the window and jump out when-- WATASEEE!!He heard her voice. !? Wha... how!? I came to save you when I saw the smoke rising from the hospital!! The firefighters are taking too long to get here! You'll die if you keep waiting in here for help! So let's get out of here! R... right!There wasn't any time to think. Watase grabbed on to Wataru's shoulder and left his room.  The twins weaved their way through them and ran away. But the staircase was completely blocked by flames. Watase and Wataru were stuck on the 4th floor.  Ugh... *cough*...!Wataru broke into a violent coughing fit. She'd probably exhausted her stamina while dragging Watase through the fire. (If this keeps up, then Wataru will die too! All because of me...!)Once he realized that, Watase forced himself to speak. Wa... Wataru... Leave me and save yourself...! What are you saying...? There's no way in hell I can I do that... Didn't I tell you that if you were in grave danger, I'd save you even if it cost me my life...? But we'll -both- die at this rate...! You might still have a chance to get out of here by yourself...!A light sparked in Wataru's eyes when she heard Watase mutter that.  You have to keep fighting on and on until the bitter end... If you wanna die, you can do that later!Wataru shouted and tightened her grip around Watase's arm... then broke off into a mad dash. They soon discovered an emergency staircase that was undamaged by the fire. They ran down it-- and soon found the exit to the hospital coming into view. L-look Watase, it's the exit! R... right!It was only a hair's breadth away. They hadn't noticed earlier, but now they could hear fire truck sirens closing in too. (We're saved...!) He then tried to move towards the exit with Wataru as he thought that-- --only to hear the unpleasant sound of something creaking above them. !!He looked up in surprise to see cracks forming in the ceiling. The cracks spread wider in an instant, causing the concrete ceiling to bend swiftly. (It's crumbling down!)As soon as Watase thought that-- Watase!!Wataru pushed him towards the exit.  Watase fell on the ground outside the hospital. What he saw before him was a perfect starry sky. And what he heard was-- --the roar of something collapsing. Huh...? ♪ BGM: Abyss ♫ Where Wataru had been standing moments ago was now a burning pile of debris. Wa... Wataru?--No response. Wataru.No response. Wataru!!Watase screamed and limped over to the mountain of debris. Wataru! You're still there, right!? Answer me!! Wataru!! WATARU!!Before long, a response appeared-- !! Aaah, aaaah, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...! It can't be, stop it, why did this--Watase began randomly moving debris as he rambled incoherently in a hollow voice. Wataru, Wataru, Wataru...!The debris was lit with flames, hot enough to burn anyone who touched it. But Watase ignored the pain and kept picking up debris and tossing it aside. --He soon heard a voice from behind. ???: We've located a survivor! It was probably a firefighter. Watase ignored them and kept working on his attempts to rescue Wataru. Firefighter: H-hey...!? What are you doing!? The firefighter ran over to Watase after noticing something was clearly wrong with the boy. Firefighter: It's dangerous! Get back! You'll catch fire! The firefighter grabbed Watase by the shoulder. Watase shook off his hand and shouted. Outta my way! Wataru's under this debris!Firefighter: Wha...! Someone's under this...!? N-no, then we'll take care of the rescue!! AAAAAAH! Shut up! I can't leave it up to you guys!! This is all your fault! Because you didn't get here faster, Wataru's... Wataru's...!!Watase's deranged screams echoed through the night sky. --Watase was restrained shortly afterwards. The firefighters managed to pull Wataru out from under the rubble-- But by that point, she had long since breathed her last...  That was what the events of that night would come to be called.   The culprit was soon caught. It appeared the crime was committed by an extremist group. It was said that the arson had been committed as a demonstration against the rapidly growing Communicator population. But Watase didn't care about any of that. He just couldn't come to grips with the fact that he had lost everything in a single night.  ♪ BGM: Memento Mori ♫ Watase stood still in front of the ruins of the burned down hospital. (... This is where Wataru...)Though he thought that, he no longer had any tears to shed. Though the cast around his leg had already been removed, his emotional scars hadn't healed. (... We didn't even get to say anything to each other when she left... Why did she give up her life for someone like me...?)It pained him that he alone had lived while the rest of his family had died. Simply living felt like agony to him.  (So why is it that someone with no hopes for the future like me... survived instead of her...?)He'd been asking himself that question endlessly for the last two months. He'd thought he might be able to find an answer if he came to this place, but naturally, he didn't. (Tell me, Wataru... What am I supposed to do now...?)The moment that thought crossed his mind-- His cellphone suddenly rang. (...?)Watase slowly picked up the phone. A familiar voice came across the other line. Public Welfare: A pleasure calling you. This is Fujimoto of the Rokumei City Public Welfare Division. Ah... hello.After the Great Arson, the victims of the fire had been given all sorts of accommodations by the city's public welfare division. They had covered Watase's transfer to another hospital and other such procedures while he was still recovering from his broken leg-- The one on the phone was his sponsor in the public welfare division. Public Welfare: ...Due to the effects of this incident, we at Rokumei City have decided to aid the bereaved families of the victims as much as possible. In accordance with the Crime Victim Support Laws, minors will be supplied with residences and welfare. Tips posted:TIP: Crime Victim Support Laws Thank you very much.Watase replied indifferently to the worker's pensive voice. After a brief silence, the worker continued in a quiet voice. Public Welfare: ...We plan to settle things so that you have nothing to worry about in your life and future. My future...?Public Welfare: For example, you will be able to return to high school and we shall assist you if you wish to go on to college. We shall also assist you in getting the job of your choice should you desire to be self-reliant. ...Public Welfare: ...Do you have any plans for the future? As soon as Watase heard that-- Wataru's words replayed in his mind.  I just find that to be so incredibly noble...The moment he remembered those words... Watase's mouth instinctively began moving. ...I... I'll be a rescue worker.--That was the only way he could even hope to repay Wataru for saving his life. (I'll fulfill Wataru's dream...)That was the moment when he decided on his path in life.
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