After the whole trip (Y/N) had prepared for us, all of us went back to our normal lives, besides the fact that Yashiro is ignoring me.

"Yashiro?"

"Huh-?"

"You're doing it again."

"D-Doing what again?"

"You're way too quiet! Say, don't you think this happened before?"

"I- I don't know what you mean!"

She quickly goes back to cleaning.

Although... This time, I'm not really surprised she's avoiding me.

(Y/N)'s fake world was a real fright, and I can't imagine what it was like for Yashiro.

And then there's...

"Boy."

"What-?"

I get close to his face, inspecting his expression. He gets uncomfortable.

"W-What?! I didn't do anything!"

"I know, I know." With a wave of my hand, I suspiciously walk away.

I let out a sigh.

So it's this again...

...

"Hanako-kun, give these to your siblings!"

"Huh? Me? With them?"

Yashiro hands me donuts with both hands, closing her eyes with frustration.

This situation looks familiar... Doesn't it...?

I smile, patting her head and accepting the gift.

"Thank you, Yashiro. I'll do that right away."

It's this again.

...

Clutching onto the donuts, I patiently wait at the garden for our family reunion.

I know it sounds peculiar of me to call my family, but if no one got us together, I would. I don't want things to be awkward between us triplets.

"AMANE, AMANE!"

"Tsukasa-!"

He clings onto me, and I no longer feel like pushing him away.

"AMANE! I heard you got donuts! Are they plain? Homemade?"

"Are the donuts the only reason you came...? Yashiro and Kou made them for us."

"Let's try them, now!" Tsukasa dives for the donuts, but I quickly pull them away.

"Wait, Tsukasa. We should wait for (Y/N) first, and eat it together."

Just like that, Tsukasa and I just sit on the dirt and stare at the sky.

...

"Ah, perfect." A shadow and voice appears behind us.

Hm-?

That voice... I know who it is.

"Minamoto Teru."

"Huh?" Tsukasa looks back and forth between our glares.

The eldest Minamoto son wields a sword in front of us, slashing it in the air as if trying to scare us.

Turning to Tsukasa, he says, "I guess you're not familiar with me. My name is Minamoto Teru, and I have a mission to complete."

The boy takes his bracelet off and lengthens it to tie both Tsukasa and I. Just as I summon Haku-Joudai, Teru summons a lighting cage.

I grit my teeth, silently staring at Minamoto.

"KOKU-JODAI!"

"I won't let you summon your Tsueshiro. I wouldn't want to make this fight more difficult."

Teru's power seems more than two times stronger compared to our first encounter...

This is bad...

Reaching for my knife, Teru swiftly moved behind me and kicked us both, making us lose our balance.

"My knife... it's so close..."

"AGHH" Just as I reach out to my knife, Teru dives in to stab my right hand.

Blood spurts out like a gruesome fountain.

"AMANE!"

"No, Tsukasa, don't do anything-!"

I speak too late. Tsukasa starts reaching for Teru's forehead to use his sleep induction.

...We... can't win this fight...

"Hmm? Haku-Joudai?"

Recently, I've been trying to figure out how to get my yorishiro back. Not to gain power, but it's my prized possession. And it's the only photo I have left with all three of us.

But a picnic sounds great, too...

"Tell him I'll be there. Just let me try this one more time..."

Plus, getting it back is wearing me out.

"Did it!" With a bit of my ✨magic✨, I see my Yorishiro appear before me. I smile, inspecting it. It has some of my power left, but it's not strong enough to be a Yorishiro.

Ah... Well, as long as I have it, it's alright.

"Now... 'Donuts,' he said?"

Quickly, I sprint out of the music room to my brothers.

I'm excited to meet both of them, and this time, not in a tight situation. Just a casual picnic.

It's been awhile since we had some family bonding time.

...

"AGHH!"

Huh?

Tsukasa...?

My eyes whip across the scene.

What in the world...?!

Someone has a lot to explain...

Why is Teru holding a sword, and most importantly, why are my brothers in pain?

By the looks of it, one more hit and they'll disappear...

My thoughts begin to piece it all together.

...

I felt like shaking my head, but my head won't move an inch.

No...

This can't be happening again, right?

I'll protect them... right?!

...

I won't be left alone again, right?

The thousands of thoughts whizz through my head again like a storm.

My legs fail to hold me as I stumble onto the ground, staring at the two hopelessly trying to fight back. My brain can't even manage to process the actions in front of me.

Why...?

That's the only thing I'm good at. Watching.

I watched as my parents drifted apart from us.

I watched as my brothers lay dead before me.

I watched as my life tore apart.

I only watched.

Watched, watched and watched.

Am I doing it again? Just letting it all happen?

How stupid of me... It was all my fault that their life was shit.

I didn't even try to fix it.

My eyes focus on my brothers.

But this time... It's not too late to save them.

Is... Fate giving me a second chance?

No... It's not fate. It's myself.

If I get hit instead of them, they can survive.

Survival...

That's the most important thing in existence, isn't it?

I made up my mind. I'll save them, I know I will.

...

I call out to my spirits one last time.

Not sure whether they can hear it, I whisper out a "thank you".

Hah... Who knew it would all end like this.

In a flash, I'm standing in front of my brothers, facing Teru with a smile.

Ah... this is the end of me...

Teru swings his sword, without realising I'm there.

Say... I had a pretty shitty life, didn't I?

But...

I guess I could say my afterlife wasn't so bad.

...

Everything loses focus.

My eyes start squinting.

"(Y-Y/N)! What was that? It wasn't supposed to be you! I-..." Teru screams. "Why did you do this..."

It's only minutes until my second death arrives.

With a proud voice, I manage to call out. "I can't afford to repeat my mistakes."

Simple as that.

It's weird, feeling happy even though you're never coming back.

I feel Teru hold me close.

He's... He's crying...

"(Y/N)!"

It's Amane and Tsukasa.

"We just found you again!"

"You can't leave us like this!"

I'm sorry.

"Amane, Tsukasa. I don't have much time left so please listen to me. Teru put me down on the floor please."

Teru reluctantly places me on the floor as I cough out blood.

My eyes... It's all so bright.

I can sense the warmth of all three of them there... But why can't I see them?

Is death... really meant to be this peaceful?

...Maybe so.

"Amane, make sure to keep your future girlfriend safe, heh. And Tsukasa... don't bully Amane while I'm gone, okay? Be sure you don't, because I'm always watching. I had a lot of fun with you boys and I don't regret being triplets with both of you."

Say... Am I going to hell?

Most likely.

But for some reason, I'm alright with that.

Even if Amane and Tsukasa get to heaven, I'm alright with it.

"Lastly, Teru. Don't get me wrong, you're still a bitch, and I won't ever forgive you.

"But...

"Thank you. For everything you have done for me... and my sacrifice will have been meaningless "if you exorcised the twins... Now, ain't that true?

But I knew it was hopeless. Hopeless and impossible."

At this point, I'm just crying non-stop. My voice is breaking.

"Amane, Tsukasa..."

I'm sorry...

I'm sorry, Amane. I'm sorry, Tsukasa.

Be happy from now on, will you?

I can't feel my legs.

Slowly, I'm starting to feel less and less throughout my body.

But my emotions stay.

Even without my body, I'll love them the same. I know that for a fact.

"Guys, I seriously have no time now. Oi, both of you, stop crying and come here give me a hug one last time."

Even though there was no body heat in any of us, it was enough to warm my heart, and I'm more than happy with that.

The last thing I know of is warmth.

The girl with ribbons disappears and the triplets have now been reduced to twins.

(Y/N) is gone. Her body is gone, but what is left are her ribbons.

The black ribbons that represented (Y/N).

Minamoto Kou and Yashiro Nene enter the garden to see Teru picking up the ribbons and the twins silently crying, side by side.

The yellow sunset melts onto his blonde hair as Teru stands up and starts walking away from the school. Kou follows his brother, fuming.

Yashiro on the other hand, is trying to get the boys feel better but nothing could make them cheer up after knowing that their sister sacrificed her afterlife for them. It wouldn't work anyway, since Yashiro is also starting to shed tears.

"...Nii-chan. You did that? You killed (Y/N)...?"

"..."

"SHOW ME YOUR FACE!" Kou grabs onto Teru's shoulders and makes his brother show him his face.

Kou steps back and stares in disbelief, starting to lose the power in his voice. "Tell me..."

"You did this to her... so why are you crying, Nii-chan?"

It's been three days since the incident happened. I've been cleaning the bathroom while Hanako-kun stared out of the window day by day. Mitsuba informed me that Tsukasa had been under the table in the REC room for the three days.

"Hanako-kun, I'm done cleaning! I'll come back tomorrow to check on you."

Walking down the steps, I keep thinking on how I could cheer Hanako up.

Donuts...?

No... Not after that incident.

But I don't know anything else about him...! What else should I do?

♫♬♫♬♬

Huh?

♫♫♫♫♫

Where's this music coming from? The music room?

It's strange... It's 5:30... No one would be playing in the music room this late...

And the person plays extremely well, too!

♫ Goodbye to today, say hello to tomorrow ♫

♫ Don't regret the past keep, smiling for the future ♫

♫ Never give up, always bring your standards sky high ♫

♫ Say hello to tomorrow, goodbye to today ♫

Haven't I heard this song before?!

The shorter the distance to me and the music room, the higher my heart rate went.

This is...

The one she wrote for her brothers...

But... Isn't she the only one who knows how to play it?

I stand in front of the door, trying to keep calm.

.

.

.

{ a collaboration with @Big_brain_Author }