A Myriad of Lights

*pant, pant…* Sorry, Toi… I can’t reunite with you yet. Hope you understand.

(*gasp* W-Why’s this slope so damn steep…?!)

(But this means I might have just enough battery to use it…)

Brother Deareeeest!!

Kh…!

*gasp* He started running up the slope…!

Sheesh. I’m not doin’ that. I can just walk, right?

This is…Hachiman Zaka…!

It contains 19 slopes of varying heights and connects the bay area to Mount Hakodate…!

This area used to be plagued with fires, so they constructed a wide road on this slope to prevent them from…spreading…! *pant, pant*

I…see…

Of note is the *pant* view you can *pant* see from the *pant* top of *pant* a 300-meter long *pant* ste… *pant* steep slope…! *pant* *thud*

Ch-Chiiiief!

Don’t turn around. You don’t wanna hurt your sides.

Ugh…

Chief, are you alright? You’ve done well up until this point. I’ll be with you until you get back on your feet.

Yodaka, couldja at least try to run…?! Christ.

*pant, pant, pant…*

*pant, pant…* Wai…! Pleah don’t…go…!

Brother Deareeeeest!! *cough, cough* Bro…ther Deareeeeeest…!

……

Toi, put your hand out.

Huh…?

Leave it to me.

Who the…fuck are you?!

(I can run decently fast. Everyone else can catch up with me later.)

(Nagi-san…!)

Okay…! *running*

Tch…!

*pant…* My sides finally feel okay… Yodaka-san, where did Ryui-kun go…?

Nagi took the baton from Toi and started chasing after him. And there’s one person behind him who still seems to have some energy left to sprint.

D-Daniel-saaaan…!

Damn, this slope is steep…

*pant, pant…*

*pant, pant…*

(This guy looks like he ain’t give a shit, so why’s he so persistent…?!)

(We’re practically walking at this point, but my heart still feels like it’s about to explode…!)

(I’m only…50 centimeters away…!)

Wait…!

Fuck off…!

(He’s gonna catch up if I don’t use it now…!)

*gasp*

Yo, wait, that’s against the rules!

(It’s low on battery, but that’s no problem if I’m goin’ downhill!)

Smell ya later…!

Gh…!

(You ain’t gonna get me…!)

Ah! He has a hoverboard?!

He really bested us.

Brother…Dearest…!

(Sorry, Toi.)

*pant, pant…* Ugh… *pant, pant*

(I just barely grazed him, but I still let him get away…)

He’s…Toi’s…family…

This is…

(Mount Hakodate Observatory, where you can see the whole city from above. It’s considered one of the most beautiful nighttime views in the world…)

(But everyone’s so discouraged right now that they can’t really enjoy it to the fullest.)

Ahhh, my knees huuuurt.

I hate to say this myself, but you didn’t run very much in the first place.

Toyyyy, Yoda is being mean to me.

Ah… Okay…

(Toi-kun looks especially disheartened that we lost Ryui-kun. Is there anything I can say to cheer him up…?)

I’m sorry I didn’t catch him. I was so close too. I’ll hold on tightly next time.

It’s okay. I’m just happy that you ran after him for me. Thank you, Nagi-san.

……

Yoda, look. Some pebbles stabbed themselves my palm when I fell down. Is that not awfuuul?

Indeed. Make sure to clean your hands well in the bath later.

Nothin’ beats a trip to the sauna after a workout. Damn, I’m excited to get back to that hotel.

Daa, if I work out more, do you perhaps think I could get muscly like you?

Da⁠— Daa?

I think it’s a nickname for you, Buchi-san.

Bu…? That’s a new one too. Well, you can just call me whatever.

The view’s amazing from up here! You should all take a look.

……

It’s beautiful… The evening darkens to a deeper blue every time you blink. It makes the lights in the city shine even brighter.

It kind of makes me feel sad…

Ahaaa, so each of these lights indicates a human life?

…Yeah, they do.

The lights on that road might be stretching towards someone’s home. The lights beyond that might be where someone’s enjoying a warm meal.

Yeah. All of these people experiencing those little moments of happiness are contained in this single view…

……

(I’m looking at the happiness of so many people from a place so high up that I could touch the sky.)

(They’re so far.)

(Those lights are far away, as far as the stars. So far that I could never reach them.)

*scoff* They’re prolly not all happy.

We’re trying to have a moment here.

Is striving for happiness really all that? If y’ask me, being content with what you already got is a form of self-love too.

You don’t always get your wishes granted. That’s just the way the world is.

Haha, how cynical. But I do understand how you feel. Even if you’re not constantly working towards happiness, you can still enjoy life.

The future is filled with uncertainties, but you can always look into the past and smile.

……

…I think you feel that way because you’re content with your lives… But I can’t live without my dear brother.

Why not?

Well, because we’re family.

Family, blood relatives, a small group of people you live with, partners, as you may call them… To be acknowledged, to be loved, to be wanted, the extent of which is reliant on others.

I simply cannot comprehend it, no matter how many hours of research I pour into it. Everyone dies alone in the end anyway.

I-It’s nice to have a big family like that, but for me, I… And my dear brother, we…!

Mhm. You’re still family, even if it’s just you two.

……

Nagi-kun?

Nagi-kun? Are you okay? You were spacing out.

I think…

I think you should always be with your family, Toi.

Ah…! Nagi-san!

Chief, I have a favor I’d like to ask.

Hm?

When Ryui comes back, if we can convince him, I want him to be the second Ward 15 mayor.

Huh…?

What a twist.

I am in agreeance! Having twin mayors sounds entertaining!

But he wouldn’t agree to it. The guy literally sprinted away from us.

Sometimes people have to do things they don’t truly believe in to get out of a hard situation. I think. Maybe. So…

Even if he’s stubborn, if we created an unbreakable bond, he might come back, and Toi won’t have to be separated from his family anymore.

In other words, you are trying to meddle.

Now, now. Let it be. I haven’t been able to get so deeply involved in someone else’s life for years now.

Well, the Night Team is one member short.

Yeah… Okay. If Nagi-kun wants it as the team leader, then I’ll go to Kafka about it.

Nagi-san…

……

(The view is beautiful… And the wind feels so nice. I sort of feel at ease when everyone’s standing next to me like this.)

Chief. I’ll do my best as the team’s sort-of-leader.

! Yeah. I’ll do my best too.