The morning of the funeral was colder than any day before.The snow didn't fall straight anymore—it swirled in small circles, like the wind didn't know where to go.
Taro walked toward the funeral hall with the others.No one talked on the way. Their footsteps were the only sound, muffled in the fresh snow.
When they reached the entrance, Taro felt every pair of eyes turn toward him.
People stopped whispering.Some looked away quickly, some stared longer than they should.
Taro swallowed, confused. Why are they all looking at me? Did I do something?He didn't have time to think—because someone suddenly pulled at his sleeve.
A small figure stumbled toward him, crying so hard he couldn't breathe properly.
"Kito?" Taro said quietly.
Chiyo's younger brother nodded, his face swollen from crying. His hands were shaking violently as he grabbed Taro's coat.
"Taro… Taro… please," Kito whispered, voice cracked.
Taro bent down. "Hey… hey, slow down. What happened?"
Kito looked around once, making sure no adults were watching.Then he pulled Taro toward the hallway corner.
His voice was almost gone from crying, but the words came out clear:
"You have to kill someone."
Taro froze. "What?"
"You have to kill them," Kito repeated, staring straight into his eyes. "The people who did it. You need to kill that group."
Taro stepped back, heart jumping into his throat."What the hell are you talking about? Kito, stop. You're not okay, you need—"
"No."Kito's voice sharpened suddenly."Someone murdered her."
Taro's breath stopped.
Kito continued, eyes trembling, "…and I'll show you everything. Come to me after the funeral. Don't tell anyone."
He turned away before Taro could say anything else.
And behind a pillar, unseen by them, Akira had heard every word—but said nothing.
Inside the hall, the air was thick with incense and quiet crying.
Chiyo's photograph stood at the front—her smiling, holding her hair behind her ear.That was all people were allowed to see.Her body was not displayed.Her coffin was closed.The priest didn't explain why, and no one dared to ask.
People approached one by one with flowers and small offerings.Chinatsu and Hikari cried almost the entire time.Akira kept wiping his face, trying not to break down.
Taro sat stiffly, staring at the floor.He felt like he wasn't fully there.
His mind drifted, pulled back into a memory he didn't want to remember yet.
He was fifteen again.Summer evening.Warm air, smell of soda cans, the sound of kids playing near the river.
Akira and Taro were arguing loudly, both red in the face.
Akira shouted, "TS Fighter has better story, are you dumb?"Taro fired back, "Underworld King is literally peak—shut up!"
Chinatsu groaned. "You two are idiots."Hikari tried not to laugh. "Please stop before I hit both of you."
Then Chiyo called out to them."Come here! All of you!"
She stood near the railing overlooking the river.The water reflected the sunset, a train passed in the distance, and a group of children splashed near the shore.It was peaceful in a way Taro hadn't felt in a long, long time.
"Look," Chiyo said softly."All of this… it's too beautiful to waste time fighting. Be good to the people you care about. Don't forget that."
She smiled at them.Soft. Warm. Something pure.
That memory hit Taro like a punch.His chest tightened painfully as the priest's voice returned him to the present.
The ceremony ended.People bowed, stepped out quietly into the snow, spoke to Chiyo's parents in gentle tones.
Taro's group walked outside together, their eyes red, their faces numb.
Akira wiped his cheeks. "I still can't believe she's gone."
Chinatsu sniffed. "Everything feels wrong."Hikari nodded silently, hands shaking.
Taro didn't speak.He couldn't.
All he could hear was Kito's voice in his head:
"She was murdered."
At the corner of the funeral building, Taro saw Kito sitting alone on the steps.Just like he said he would be.
Taro approached him slowly."…What did you want to tell me?"
Kito looked up, and for a moment, Taro didn't recognize him.His smile wasn't a child's smile anymore.It was thin, strained, almost broken.
Then he laughed.
Low at first.Then louder.Then louder.
"Hahahahah… hahaha… ha…"
Taro stepped back. "Kito…?"
Kito's eyes were wet, but his smile stayed."She was murdered," he whispered, shaking."Murdered. And I know who did it."
Taro felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach.
"What… what did you just say?"
Kito wiped his tears with the back of his sleeve and whispered again:
"I know who killed my sister."
And the snow kept falling.