“Nanao…”
“It’s what we agreed on, isn’t it?” she said with a smile. “I have nothing to tell you if you can’t uphold your end of the bargain.”
“Why go so far?”
Jinya’s arm had to devour others whole in order to take their abilities. He couldn’t steal someone’s abilities and nothing else. To take someone’s ability was to take their life. She had to know that, and yet she still insisted he kill her.
“Because. I may be my mother’s girl, but I am myself first and foremost,” she said resolutely, as though to suggest there needn’t be any further reason.
He couldn’t manage a word in response, but her feelings reached him, so he slowly nodded after a moment’s hesitation.
“Thank you. I’m ready to tell you everything now. I only ask that you not get caught up in what I have to say and instead make the choice you believe to be right. I’m sure my mother will accept whatever future you choose.” As if she was entrusting her last wishes to him, she began, “My mother’s ability is Mahoroba…”
Jinya listened to Nanao’s explanation in full. He learned of the truth behind Magatsume’s regeneration and the wish that formed it. Her pitiable feelings made his heart feel constricted like it was being wrapped in soft silk. He would no longer hesitate now that he knew everything. No matter how painful an ending it would lead to, his answer was set in stone.
Nanao said, “I’ve said it already, but I’ll say it again: You are the only one who can stop my mother at the end of it all. A demon’s ability can grant anything but their one dearest wish. Don’t forget that.”
“I know.”
If what she said about Magatsume’s ability was true, then the only one who could stop Magatsume—in terms of both ability and emotion—was Jinya. Of course, even if there were somebody else who could fill his shoes, he wouldn’t let them. This was his responsibility.
“With that, I’ve told you everything. I’m satisfied. Are you?” Nanao asked.
He had confronted what lay in Magatsume’s heart and learned of her goal. Though it had taken him many years, he finally had an answer to what he would do at the end of his journey. He could proudly say he had no more lingering regrets—which meant it was time to bid farewell.
“Thank goodness,” she said.
The time to fulfill their bargain had come. There was no fear in her eyes; in fact, they were full of joy. That must have been because she was made from Magatsume’s emotions. She was more than glad to give her life for Jinya.
“Don’t look so glum. This is what I wanted,” she said. She drew close and put her hand against his chest. Her warmth was comforting. He had let his guard down toward her enough that he could indulge in such a thing.
“You’re really fine with this?”
“Of course. Believe me when I say I’d be the happiest woman in the world to become part of your strength.”
The other daughters of Magatsume up until then had only been enemies because they obeyed their mother. Having become estranged from Magatsume, Nanao instead placed Jinya first in her heart. She wanted to become his strength and was readily willing to throw her life away to do so.
“You’d better not back out now. Not after forcing a lady to make such a shameful display of herself,” she said, speaking flirtatiously in the manner of a lady of the night.
A natural smile formed on his face. “Ha. Fair enough.”
The tension in the air dissipated. Taking advantage of Jinya’s lowered guard, Nanao made her move and stretched forward, stealing his vulnerable lips. It was a kiss without passion, crude and forced. Her cheeks flushed lightly.
“Hee hee. Looks like I beat my mother and Himawari-neesan to it.” As if to say that action alone made all her efforts worthwhile, she took Jinya’s left hand and put it at the base of her neck.
Jinya would likely never understand this woman’s heart. He couldn’t fathom the depth of her emotions—he dared not even try. But this was the end she wished for. Even if he couldn’t understand her desire, he had a responsibility to grant it.
He put strength into his left arm and tightened it around her thin, pale neck.
And so, behind closed doors, the story of the mysterious sex worker of the Dove District came to a conclusion. Her end was far from a happy one, but she smiled in her last moments.
Jinya left Nanao’s room and stopped, sensing a change in the air. It was already night, work time for the brothel, yet the place was silent. Not a single light was on in the corridor, and the air was dry. He couldn’t see any of the other sex workers around. The place was abandoned. This was a dead building, absent of its caretakers. Without any fanfare, Ichikawa had met its end.
Nanao had been this place’s manager. With her gone, many of the other sex workers must have lost their reason to linger. This place had never existed to begin with, so perhaps this was only a fitting end. Jinya felt a little disheartened, but he couldn’t stand still forever. He looked back once and committed the sight of Nanao’s room to heart. It was no funeral service, but he had a feeling it was enough.
He left the brothel behind. It was late in the night, but the unique vitality of a red-light district was absent. The end was palpable. This place that shouldn’t have existed would meet its proper end soon.
Jinya stood alone on the empty street and stared at his left arm. He had devoured Nanao. He’d gained almost none of her memories, as had been the case with the other daughters of Magatsume. However, he’d gained her ability and therefore learned her true name and the meaning behind it.
“Suisen… The ability to redirect something meant for another to oneself.”
Suisen was Nanao’s true name, and her ability’s purpose was to force feelings meant for another onto oneself. In the language of flowers, suisen—the Japanese word for “daffodil”—meant “narcissism.” But Nanao had said she liked yellow flowers, and in the language of flowers, yellow daffodils meant…
“…‘Love me once more.’”
That was why Magatsume abandoned Nanao. She alone represented a feeling she could not accept as part of herself.
Magatsume could acknowledge her feelings of love for her brother, but her desire to be loved by him was another matter. Jinta had loved Shirayuki, so Suzune stopped her own growth to at least remain by his side as his sister. However, a sister could not hope for anything more than familial love. Out of love for her brother, she gave up on being loved back. That was why she spurned Nanao, who represented her unbecoming desire to steal his feelings for another and make them hers.
Nanao lived her whole existence unwanted. She had no place to go or belong, and she only found meaning through being devoured by Jinya and passing her ability on to him. To provide at least a little help through self-sacrifice was the only thing she could wish for.
“Nothing’s sadder than feelings with no place to belong,” he said. For her sake, he would walk forward carrying the feelings she had shown him. He caressed his left hand and committed her warmth to heart. “Thank you. Your feelings are with me now.”
He would not forget the way she had loved her mother, nor the way she had helped him. His murmur might fade into the night, but a part of her would remain with him. He closed his eyes and prayed: Even if the Dove District had to end, even if his memory of this fleeting dream would be lost, may the warmth that had come to rest in his heart remain.
With that, he began to walk again.
Silence echoed down the dreary street, and he could not see what lay ahead in the darkness. But, much like a lantern, Nanao had lit the path awaiting him. He had a feeling the destination he sought would be brighter than he’d previously expected.