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zakkunwrites · 2 years

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Finally, I Found You.

Media : Naka no Hito Genome [Jikkyouchuu]

Summary : Canon divergent to the canon story of NakaGeno on what I think would happen if Zakuro and Sakura reunited.

A/N : There’s no implied relationship, everything here is written to all be platonic.

Word count : 5575

Zakuro would go through lengths for his sister, even if it meant that he had to let himself get kidnapped just for the sake of seeing her again.

After years of being separated, Zakuro has never been so lonely without his other half. Being a minor, there wasn’t a lot that he could contribute to the investigation — in fact, there was almost nothing for him to do.

He felt useless.

So when he was presented with the opportunity to reunite with Sakura, who was he to accept it without hesitation? He would find her again, even if he had to put his life at risk.

Wait for me, Sakura. Your brother’s gonna find you soon. We’ll meet again, I’ll guarantee it.

But finding himself stuck on an island with seven others was not a part of his plan. Far from it, actually.

Though, it’s okay — he thought. He just needed to keep it on the down low and no one would suspect him. He does specialise in stealth, after all… It’s what he does best, right?

Cut to the cue where Onigasaki Kaikoku enters his life.

He didn’t know how he managed to earn the unfortunate role of being Kaikoku’s ‘caretaker’, but when he disappeared one second and was announced disqualified the next, who could blame him for not feeling at least a tinge of worry?

Screw that, he was more than worried. Of course he was.

In fact, he would be willing to stay up to finish the puzzle like Akatsuki and Makino had if it weren’t for Himiko ushering him to take breaks — and well, he really can’t say no to Himiko now, can he?

And Himiko was right, he knew that. But he wanted to contribute more than he already was, but with how Yuzu was pushing them away…

Look where that got you, Roromori.

If anything, Kaikoku’s behaviour only grew stranger and stranger since his isolation in the White Room. Everyone else had left the - more than just - suspicious letters when he wasn’t answering all the worried yells being sent to him alone and unspoken, but Zakuro wasn’t convinced.

Kaikoku Onigasaki was hiding something from him, and he was sure of it.

There are one too many red flags surrounding the raven that he just couldn’t continue neglecting, and to top it all off, he still disappears without his knowledge up until this day, and quite frankly, Zakuro was starting to get fed up.

He has to confront him sooner or later, before he regrets it.

Which is what brings him to the front door of Kaikoku’s room at… quite a questionable hour, but hey — it was the only way to catch him before he was up and wandering around the prohibited areas and potentially getting himself into problems that he would rather not get wrapped up in again.

Zakuro takes a step closer, hand reaching out to touch the metal surface of the door’s handle, and—

“Oshigiri?”

He jumps, quickly grabbing one of his emergency pocket knives from his coat and swiftly turns around to point the weapon at whoever the voice belonged to.

“…Onigasaki?”

Kaikoku stood in front of him, umbrella in hand as usual. Even in the dark, Zakuro could see the curiosity shining in his eyes, clearly intrigued, “And what exactly brings you to my doorstep at… 4am?” He wondered out loud, head cocking to the side.

Cautiously, Zakuro slowly brings his weapon back down to his pocket and gives Kaikoku a look similar to a mother scolding their child, “I thought we agreed for you not to wander off on your own again?”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter if I don’t get caught,” Kaikoku all but shrugged, “And I’m an adult, Oshigiri, I think I can take care of myself, no? There’s no need to watch over me like an overprotective parent~” At that, Zakuro mentally scoffs, what a white lie. If that really were the case, then you wouldn’t have even gotten sent to the white room in the first place.

…Wait, an overprotective parent?!

It was obvious to anyone that Kaikoku was trying to get a reaction out of Zakuro by throwing teasing remarks at him and it was working much to the stealth player’s dismay. He rolls his eyes to brush it off, “If you ever get yourself stuck in the white room again, don’t expect me or Roromori to help you for the second time.”

“Actually, Roro-san would~ you’re just mean.” Oshigiri felt like he was being led to a trap more akin to a cat’s mischief, but before he could even retort Kaikoku, the latter brought the light back to the original topic at hand, “You’re avoiding the question, Oshigiri, so please enlighten me, what were you planning to do, standing in front of my door like that?”

Zakuro’s eyes twitched. “Are you suspecting me?”

“Am I?” Kaikoku shoots back, “Who knows.”

He does his best to ignore the taunting words, throwing glances at Kaikoku’s door and then at Kaikoku himself. Now’s a better time than ever.

“I wanted to have a talk.” He said through his mask. He sees Kaikoku raise an eyebrow, visibly intrigued by the offer. “Oh? And what might you want to converse about? If it’s another lecture, however, I might just leave.”

“No, no. Just- can we move to a place that’s more… ‘private’?” Kaikoku hums, “Go ahead, my room’s suited for conversations such as this.” He slips past Zakuro and twists the doorknob open.

“Come in.” Zakuro follows.

It wasn’t the first time he’s been to Kaikoku’s room, so he sat down on the floor, watching the other mimic his actions.

“So,” Zakuro began, his narrowed eyes meeting Kaikoku’s ever-so carefree ones, “You’re hiding something from us, aren’t you?” He asked, straight to the point.

Kaikoku only remains silent, wearing a complete poker face. “Well?” The blonde urges on.

“Mm. You’re right. I am indeed hiding something.”

Zakuro tries not to let his shock show at how easily he admitted to it — “What?”

Calmly, Kaikoku answers back, “You asked, and I answered. But will I tell you what I’m hiding? Unlikely.” It was clear that he had zero intention on telling Zakuro about what he knew.

That’s why he answered with no hesitation. He knew that he’d have no issue with confirming Zakuro’s suspicions while keeping his mouth shut at the same time.

“You oni bastard…” He mutters under his breath, and Kaikoku raises his arms up, as if to mock Zakuro, faking a surrender. “Whoa there~ has Kudou been influencing you?”

He grits at the mention of Anya.

“What’s so important that you have to keep it from me, too? You know that I’m not the type to tattle.” And I thought we trusted each other…!

Kaikoku only shrugs, “I don’t see a reason why you should know.” And it makes Zakuro absolutely livid.

“Then at least tell me where you were earlier this morning.”

“I was meeting someone.”

“Who?”

“None of your business.”

Zakuro groans, growing closer and closer to just giving up entirely. At this rate, there’s no way Kaikoku is going to show any signs of opening up to him.

But the thought of meeting someone — this early of all times, has got him thinking.

Was there someone here that didn’t belong with the main players? Someone — or maybe some people were hiding without their knowledge?

It’s a stretch, but what if… What if Sakura was one of them?

“Judging by the way you’re clamming up on me like this… It wasn’t one of us that you were meeting up with, wasn’t it?”

Kaikoku pauses. Zakuro breaks into a small grin under his mask, bingo.

He quickly regains his composure, however. “Now what makes you say that? Quite a big accusation you’re throwing against me here, Oshigiri.”

“It’s not an accusation. I can explain myself.”

“Oh? Why, be my guest.”

This guy… is really testing my patience…!

“For starters, Aikawa wouldn’t be awake this early, so we can cross him off. You wouldn’t have any issue telling me that it’s Roromori because it would make you sound less suspicious and more believable,” Zakuro had begun the process of elimination, checking off every possible person that came to mind as he goes,

“I doubt Kudou would be talking to you, especially with his sleeping disorder, and Iride would also be an unlikely pick, considering how much time he’s been spending overnight with Kudou himself lately to look over him, and I don’t think he would leave him unattended…”

Kaikoku tries not to let his surprise show on his face — Oshigiri’s much more observant than I thought.

Zakuro continues his explanation further, “I don’t have much evidence against this claim, however, I see no reason for you to be conversing with either Inaba nor Sarayashiki either. I don’t think either of them are the type to hide things well, on a long term period, anyways. And you and I both know why it can’t be me either, so tell me, Onigasaki,” Zakuro leans forward and stares right at Kaikoku’s eyes, “Who were you really talking to?”

Kaikoku stays silent. He’s quiet for a few seconds, and Zakuro was about to comment on it until—

“Pfft…”

Huh?

He suddenly bursts into a fit of laughter, doubling down and reaching his hand out to cover his mouth. Even with the attempt, his laughter was still heard as clear as day. “Hahaha!”

“...What?” Genuinely confused by his sudden outburst, Zakuro starts to question himself, did I get something wrong? Maybe there wasn’t even a person aside from us here to begin with and I’ve just made a fool of myself…!

The laughter stopped, but the smile on Kaikoku’s face never left. A look of amusement plastered on his smug face, I want to wipe it off with a punch. “Wow,” he says, “Maybe I should be paying more attention to you.”

Adding to his confusion even more, Zakuro questions him, “What? What do you mean?”

“I mean that your loose speculations — they’re dangerously accurate. Are you sure you’re not a detective?”

What.

“W-Wait, so I was right?”

“Mhm,” Kaikoku confirms, “It’s funny how you seemed like you weren’t even confident in your own speculation. Did the heat of the moment get to you~?”

Zakuro doesn’t answer him. Instead, his hopes are brought up even higher than it ever has been ever since he found his sister’s bracelet. So there’s a chance that Sakura’s still alive. There’s a chance that I can see her again…!

“Can you tell me more, then?” He asked before he could stop himself. He couldn’t help it — he was one step closer to finding his twin sister after two long years, after all.

He sees Kaikoku thinking, deep in thought, deciding whether or not he should actually spill what he knew. He shrugs, deciding to give him the bare minimum of the information without revealing too much. I’ll just explain it to Nanami-nii-san later.

“Well, from whom I’ve met… there’s about three people hiding underground. Two guys and a girl. The first guy… he acts like an elder sister. He’s a bit eccentric for sure, but he means well. Not to mention how he’s very smart.” Zakuro absorbs all the information in, fortunately, he was getting more than he bargained for.

“The other guy — a boy, he’s very… ‘tsun’ if I had to describe him one way or another. Cute. And last but not least, the girl. She’s kind and pure-willed, I’d say. The three of them make an excellent group.”

“Kind and pure-willed, huh…” Zakuro repeats. Kaikoku hums in response, a contrast to the mess jumbling up in his mind—

He’s onto me. Oshigiri is definitely onto me. He might’ve already figured out that his sister’s one of the three. Man, I really said too much, didn’t I?

He sighs, he might have to have another word with Nanami when noon comes rolling around.

“Is that all you wish to know, Oshigiri?” Please say yes.

Zakuro chews on his bottom lip from beneath his mask. He wants to ask something about his sister, to dig up some more information, but he’s already gotten a lot of useful leverage.

So he decides to ask him about the matter on a later day.

“Yeah, that’s all I need to know for now.” And he glances up at Kaikoku, his tense body seeming to relax at his words, “Thank you, Onigasaki.”

“It’s no problem,” grinned Kaikoku, “I’ll see you later for breakfast.”

“See you.”

In seconds, Zakuro was back outside. He took one more look at the door before he walked away.

The moment the door closes with a click, Kaikoku lets out a long, relieved sigh.

He’s never been so exhausted after a conversation turned confrontation in his life, and he was more than glad that it was over.

For now, anyway. He suspects that Zakuro might come back for more answers, after all — he clearly looked like he wanted to ask him more, but probably backed away at the last second.

If only those two can reunite again, I might not have such a difficult time right now.

Well, at least Zakuro was now a smidge closer to his goal, and that’s what counts in the end.

He supposes a quick nap wouldn’t hurt. Laying on his futon, Kaikoku closed his eyes and slowly drifted off.

Nanami was chatting with Ichiya, the two catching up after years of each other’s absence. In all honesty, no matter how much Nanami had told himself that Ichiya was going to come back for him, it was all just wishful thinking. He was prepared to face reality, no matter how harsh it was. He was prepared to accept that Ichiya has probably left him to rot on the island.

So that’s why, seeing his face again, it was surreal to him.

He really thought that he would never get to see him again.

When they first reunited, it was messy. Ichiya cried, pouring out his apologies and left Nanami to pick up his pieces and build him back up again. He could tell how much the guilt gnawed away at him until he couldn’t hold it back any longer — how damaging it must have been to the Niki Ichiya he knew in ways he couldn’t possibly begin to imagine.

But now — now, it finally felt like they were once again complete.

They went back to where Chihiro and Sakura were, checking in with how Hinoki and Shinya were doing as well.

After speaking to Karin about her older brother, Nanami had been extra cautious around Hinoki. The world must be a small place, Nanami wonders.

Who knew that he was going to meet the elder brother of the girl he was just talking to not even two days ago?

A few hours later, Sakura comes skipping towards Nanami.

“Nanami!” Sakura greets, “Onii-san is here again! I think he wants to see you?”

That intrigues Nanami almost immediately, considering how they were just chatting a while ago. “Okay, Sakura, nee-san will be back soon.”

“Take care!”

The inventor passes through, seeing Ichiya send him a look. He smiles, turning to him, “I’m just gonna meet someone, kay? Watch over Sakura and ‘Hiro for me while I’m gone.” Ichiya curtly nods, shoving his cigarette packet back into his pants’ pockets before sending Nanami off.

When he makes it to the usual room, Nanami spots Kaikoku, already there waiting for him.

“Yo, Onigasaki-kun! Did you miss nee-san that much~?”

Kaikoku laughs, but waves him off, “I want to have a thorough conversation with you. You see, after we spoke, a little… ‘Something’ happened.” Picking Nanami’s interest, he inquires, “And what might this ‘little something’ be?”

Kaikoku takes in a reath, ready to address the issue. “Someone else knows. About you guys, that is.”

“Someone who isn’t Sara-chan?”

“No, no. It’s Sakura’s brother.”

Nanami perked up. If he wasn’t paying attention beforehand, then he sure is now. “The twin Oshigiri, you say?”

The raven explained, briefly going through the timeline of events that unfolded on that day, “Mh. It’s likely that he found out himself, because I’m pretty sure that he was going to confront me about it being completely unaware about our previous meeting.”

Nanami hums, “So he’s a smart one?”

“More observant than what you’d make him to be.”

At that, the blonde sat up straight and tilted his head back, “And I’m assuming that you want to discuss whether or not it’s a good idea to let him visit the underground,” was what he said, deliberately taking the words right out of Kaikoku’s mouth.

“Precisely.”

“Personally, I would have nothing against reuniting Sakura with her dear brother, however, it’s a risk,” There comes the part that Kaikoku had expected. Nanami has a point. “How do we know whether or not we can trust him?” The inventor then asked, glancing at Kaikoku from the corner of his eyes, it was more akin to a glare of suspicion.

Nanami may be an oddball, but even Kaikoku would admit it sends his nerves wrecking whenever he’s serious.

But this time, he knew just what to answer.

“He’s trustworthy, Nanami-nii-san. He keeps me in check as much as I refuse his company, and he hates Paka just as much as you do. It’s unbelievable for me to say this, but he purposefully played the game just to look for his sister here. He’s a good guy.”

His words left an impression on Nanami.

“All that just to seek for his lost sister, huh…” He couldn’t stop his mind from trailing back to how he and Ichiya were separated for so long. For years he had blindly waited for his delayed arrival, and right then he decided that — if he got to see his best friend again, then a brother should be deserving of reuniting with his sister.

“Very well then, since Onigasaki-kun is speaking so highly of the other Oshigiri, then I’ll be looking forward to his arrival.” He agreed, coming to a decision.

Kaikoku nods. “Thank you, Nanami-nii-san.” The one in question chuckles, “You’re welcome!” He looks back to the entrance underground and turns back at Kaikoku, “We kinda have guests right now, so I’ll have to go~ bye-bye, Onigasaki-kun! Good talk.”

“Farewell, stay safe.” And with that, Kaikoku waved Nanami off as he left. He stood up, hand finding its way to grip onto his umbrella.

Should I approach him about it tomorrow? He thought — yeah, I should.

He walks out of the room and calls it a day.

The day went by like fluid. According to Paka, they’re entering their ‘filler episode’ week, so until the end of the week, they wouldn’t have to participate in any games.

Before they knew it, the sun had made its descent back down, and it was already nighttime.

And Zakuro couldn’t sleep.

He laid on his bed, arm above his head, holding his sister’s bracelet.

‘Oshigiri Sakura’

He knows that his sister was here somewhere — she has to be. But it’s been a while since he found the bracelet, and he hasn’t gotten any major leads until today.

Maybe he was just being naïve, but he hoped that his sister was one of the people that Kaikoku had mentioned. He hoped that she was still alive and well, and best case scenario — she has new friends to accompany her. He wishes her the best as he brother, after all.

With sleepiness eventually taking over his body, Zakuro’s heavy eyelids unwillingly closed as he fell into light slumber.

When Zakuro woke up, the sun had already risen. I woke up late, was the first thing he thought of.

He throws the covers off of himself and hastily grabs his coat. I have a lot of free time today, which calls for more exploration time. Walking outside felt like he was dragging himself — since when did it feel so heavy?

He hasn’t slept that long in a while, maybe he really was sleep deprived. Once Zakuro opens the door, the last person he expected to be at the step of his doorstep — seemingly waiting for him to come out of his room — was none other than Onigasaki Kaikoku.

“Good morning,” greeted Kaikoku with a smile that did nothing but scream red flag in Zakuro’s ears.

“...Morning. Do you need anything?”

The raven claps, “You know me so well,” he laughed, “Follow me.” He gestures his hands for Zakuro to come with him.

Assuming that it might be related to their conversation the day before, he follows him reluctantly. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

The two started walking through the hallway in silence. Zakuro’s eyes darted around cautiously, “Are you taking me to a trap…?”

“So I’m the one being suspected now?”

“You’re just naturally suspicious.”

“Ouch.”

The longer they walked, the more Zakuro thought, where could Onigasaki possibly be taking me?

The sound of their footsteps filled up the building’s silence to make up for the fact that neither were speaking. A few more minutes passed, until Kaikoku abruptly stopped. Zakuro took a peek from behind him, seeing that he had stopped in front of a door. He goes first, opening the door to the room after looking around to make sure that no one was following.

“Come in, be sure not to make too much noise.”

When Zakuro stepped in, it was… oddly underwhelming. To him, it looked just like your average storage room. He looked around, skimming every detail of the room to see if he missed anything that may serve as a major clue, but frowned when everything seemed just the same as it has been to him.

“...What now?” He asked, completely and utterly disappointed at the anticlimactic turn of events to what he had expected.

“My, my, Onigasaki-kun… He sounds a bit unamused to see me,” a new, unfamiliar voice slides into the conversation, “Are you sure that he’s as nice as you described him to be?”

Zakuro flinches, jumping away from the source of the sound, compulsively pulling out his pocket knife. The… stranger seems taken aback at his possession of weapons, so he snakes a hand to one of his pockets and feels around for his taser on standby.

Despite how heated it looked between Nanami and Zakuro, Kaikoku laughs, easing the tension. Zakuro looked at him, baffled, “Why are you laughing? Why did you even bring me here — who’s this…!?”

“Whoa now… You’re asking too many questions, slow down.” Zakuro was not going to ‘slow down’, how could he expect him to be calm?

“Meet Omejima Nanami-nii-san, Oshigiri.” Kaikoku gestures to the blonde, the latter’s lips curling up into a small smile, “Hello! I’m Nanami, but nee-san wouldn’t be too bad either~” He waves with his free hand.

At his introduction, Zakuro carefully lowers down his knife, tucking it back. Nanami’s other hand detached from his hold on the taser. “And might I know your name?” Asked the inventor.

“...Oshigiri. Oshigiri Zakuro.”

Nanami’s eye twitches, Oshigiri Zakuro, huh… They do look quite similar, and they even share the same family name. How cute. He extends his hand out for Zakuro to shake, “It’s nice to meet you, Oshigiri-kun.”

The stealth player carefully shook it, nodding. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“Heh…~ You didn’t tase him like how you tased me when we first met? How unfair, Nanami-nii-san.”

Zakuro jolts, pulling his hand away from Nanami as if he touched a burning stove, “H-He tased you…!?”

In response, Nanami only laughs. “Well, I can’t possibly tase the person that my buddy speaks so highly of in front of him now, can I?”

Kaikoku rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the amusement in his face. He could tell that Nanami was still trying to wrap his head around meeting the brother of his long term companion for the first time. But judging by how easily he was able to get along with Karin when they first met, he had a feeling that the tension would disappear sooner or later.

“Onigasaki-kun,” the one in question looks up to Nanami, “Yes?”

“Would the both of you be ready to head to the underground now?” The request tugs on Zakuro’s interest, He stays quiet and listens.

“Ah, sure. We could go now.”

Oh, we’re really doing this, huh?

Nanami wordlessly nods at Kaikoku’s answer and bends down to open an… entrance from the floor? Zakuro watches Nanami open up the pathway without breaking the silence.

“Follow me, and please mind your steps!”

And so, they slowly made their descent. The light from the storage room starts to dissipate as the three went further down — not that Zakuro was complaining, after all, it’s only natural for him to be surrounded by darkness.

They kept going down, and down, and down… Just how long did it take to dig all of this up?

Obviously, it’d be the last thing Nanami would want if someone like Paka were to find such an area, much less acknowledge the existence for there being people living underneath the game grounds.

Zakuro could only assume that Nanami was an escaped player, too. Did that mean that there was also an escape route in the white room as well? Was that how Kaikoku met him?

And he mentioned there being several people, as well…

If Nanami was an escapee, and Kaikoku learned of his residence underground through the white room — was there a chance that Sakura had also gotten disqualified at some point and escaped through that route, too?

It was an unlikely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless, because if his theory was correct and he had already met Nanami, one of which escaped the game, then going down to what may just be their base…

Sakura might be there.

But one worry still lingered, tucked away at the back of his mind. Whether he liked it or not, he had to address it sooner or later.

“Hey,” he said. He could hear Nanami’s hum, gesturing to him to continue, “How do we know if we aren’t being watched right now?”

“Good question,” the blonde answers, “The room we were in just now, it’s camera blind. Paka won’t be able to spot us like this.” Camera blind? Well, I guess that’s one of my questions answered.

Before they knew it, they finally reached some form of a surface, feet meeting the ground after a while of descending. Then, an illuminated pathway greets them. Judging by the cracks on the walls and the disuse of multiple rooms, this place looked old. And maybe ‘old’ would be an understatement.

“Welcome to the underground, Oshigiri-kun!” Nanami announced when they arrived. Zakuro takes more of his time to look around — so this is where they lived. Kaikoku notices him taking his time examining anything and everything he sees, sliding over to him, he asks, “So, how is it so far?”

“The facility is better than what I expected.”

At that, Nanami wails, “What were you expecting? Did you think of my survival skills so lowly, Oshigiri-kun…!?” He made it very clear to anyone passing by that he was overexaggerating, and most certainly overdramatic. He and Kaikoku could have been mistaken as actors, even.

“Nanami-nii-san, you two only met a couple minutes ago…”

“Point still stands. But back to touring Oshigiri-kun around the place, let’s have him meet the others! Sounds good?” Admittedly, this was the part that Zakuro was most nervous about, yet anticipating as if he were a child who couldn’t sleep because of a school trip.

“Sounds alright to me.” Zakuro only nods along with Kaikoku in agreement. Nanami grins in glee, “Come along, then! We aren’t that far from our base, I think.”

“You think?” Nanami dejectedly ignores Kaikoku.

Sakura, with Chihiro, were discussing Sakura’s new findings after yet another impromptu exploration session. And new findings meant more gears to tinker with.

With a smile on her soft frame, Sakura thinks that, I can’t wait to share this with Nanami!

And the moment she heard footsteps coming towards her, Sakura lit up in excitement. “Is Nanami back already?” She hears Chihiro ask, “And hey, don’t you hear more than one pair of footsteps, too…?”

“I mean, it has to be Nanami, right? Maybe he brought onii-san along with him again! It’s been a while since we’ve seen him, right, ‘Hiro?”

Chihiro shrugs, “…I guess.” He mumbled, glancing at the way where the growing steps are coming from.

Sakura shoots up from where she was sitting, bruising the dust from her clothes and tucks the wrench into her pocket, stretching her body. “I’m gonna go greet them! Then I’ll tell Nanami about all the things I found!” Before Chihiro could even begin to stop her from running off, Sakura was already bolting out.

“A-Ah, Sakura! We still don’t know if it actually is them…! Wait!”

“You know, Oshigiri-kun,” Nanami starts, catching the attention of the stealth streamer, “I think that you’ll get along with the others fairly well.” He had remarked. Zakuro couldn’t deny that he wasn’t at least a little curious, so he inquired, “What makes you say that?” The smile that Nanami flashes back at him is reassuring — like one of an elder sibling. Maybe this was what Kaikoku had been talking about.

“It’s a gut feeling.” Zakuro only makes a noise of acknowledgement, not looking to pry more.

While they were walking, the sound of someone’s footsteps — it seemed like they were running — had Zakuro on-guard.

“Who’s—?” He was cut off by a familiar voice. A very familiar voice, in fact. A voice that he couldn’t begin to even forget in the first place, because after all, how can he forget?

“Nanami! Back already? I have so much to tell you! Actually, ‘Hiro and I were just… discussing it… and…” The girl’s voice slowly died down on her tongue when she saw him.

It felt like time stopped for the two of them. Nobody dared to move. The twins only met each other’s gaze, as if to ask themselves — is this real? Am I dreaming?

Sakura was right there, living and healthy, not to mention how pleased and happy she sounded when she was greeting Nanami.

Zakuro has encountered a lot of strange phenomenons ever since his arrival on the 13th district of the game 『 Naka no Hito Genome 』 from man-eating plants that he has almost died to to giant pandas and real spirits, so if this really was an illusion or a dream, how would he explain all the other things that he’s seen?

So it is real after all.

“Sakura—”

“Zakuro—!”

They stopped and looked at each other once again, eyes wide with all kinds of emotions swirling in identical violet eyes, disbelief, joy, happiness, and most importantly relief.

Carefully, Zakuro muttered, “Sakura… Is that really you?” Uncharacteristically, his voice cracked at the end of his sentence and normally, he would be embarrassed by it if he was in a rational state of mind, but right now, he lets it slide, because at this moment — he was far from that.

“Mhm! It’s me, Zakuro!” Sakura only confirms, eyes glossy with tears threatening to drop any moment they were in each other’s presence any longer. As if her body moved on its own, she ran and practically threw herself on her brother, “I missed you… so much..!”

Although he was caught off-guard by the sudden bear crushing hug, Zakuro quickly found it in himself to hug her back just as tightly, “I missed you, too…” I’ve never felt so relieved in my life. I’m so glad that I finally found you.

The Oshigiris were complete once again.

Kaikoku and Nanami had backed away as soon as Nanami saw Sakura’s figure running up towards him. It’d be for the best that they gave them some space.

“Woy, Sakura—!” Chihiro came running in, waving at Sakura, “Don’t just run off on me like that- whoa!” Nanami pulls him aside and shushes him before he could get the opportunity to protest, pointing at the pair of twins. Chihiro was momentarily surprised, but that turned into fondness for the girl in front of him finally getting to meet her brother again after two long years of guilt and remorse.

Kaikoku spoke up in a hushed voice, “About time they got to see each other again.” He simply stated, but the words weighed heavier than what he’d like to admit.

After all those weeks seeing Zakuro so stressed about finding his sister when she was this close the entire time had Kaikoku absolutely winded. So seeing how clearly a big burden was lifted from his shoulders, he was more than happy for him.

But of course, he was also going to congratulate Sakura for it after they finished having their small moment together. Right now, he thinks that he’ll be content just watching them from a distance.

Zakuro has finally found his other half. With all the hurdles that were thrown at him, he stubbornly clawed his way through them all and how much effort he put into searching was so worth it and satisfying in the long run.

He finally felt whole again. After all this time, he’s been searching and searching blindly without any leads, like looking for a pin in a haystack. To be able to find what he was looking for for years was an achievement better than anything that he’s ever gotten ingame.

#naka no hito genome #the ones within #oshigirizakuro #onigasakikaikoku #omejimananami #oshigirisakura

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