That night, Gojima decided to cook a simple porridge for himself, as he was not feeling much of an appetite.

They all had talked with the doctor at phone about being allowed to meet Ruri a few hours ago. What they heard from him was not that positive.

Ruri had gained back her consciousness a while ago, and she is able to sit on her bed now. But...

The doctor told them that she was having a serious case of PTSD and was getting sudden panic attacks whenever she was with any adult. She would start hyperventilating whenever the Doctor would try to approach her—or any other male worker there. Fortunately, it was a lot less when she was with one of the female nurses—around maybe half of the times—they were able to administer medicine thanks to that. But it was still bad nonetheless.

Gojima, being a former psychiatrist, could understand what the girl was going through. He had seen and handled cases like this before—albeit the situation og his patients were far worse than her sometimes. The young girl, who had already lost both of her parents, got betrayed and almost got killed by her only living relative that she could trust and rely on. How could a young child like her not develop a fear of adults? She might have been physically safe, but her psyche must have suffered a lot of damage.

He was not sure he would be able to take care of her if she would get panic attacks just due to his presence. Maybe he could let her be with the Kobayashis, but they already had a family. Where would Satoru stay? And there was no guarantee that Ruri would take Koharu's presence to be well, as she was also scared of adult women as well.

What about Sayuri, then? Of course the same issue applied to her as well. She was, however, still a better candidate than himself. The main problem would be her husband, who was clearly not fond of the situation—not to mention the money Sayuri spent for Ruri's surgery. Unlike Gojima, she was not alone and thus could not make that decision on her own.

Well, they would at least try to visit Ruri tomorrow to see whether Ruri would be less scared of them. He was not really much optimistic though.

Ding Dong!

Gojima heard the bell ring and came out of the kitchen.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Ken kun."

"...Sayuri san?"

Gojima opened the door and saw his neighbor standing.

"Um... I'm not being a bother, am I?"

"No, not at all. Umm... do you need some help? Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yes! Everything is fine on my side. It's just..." Sayuri then handed him her phone, "Mama actually wishes to talk to you a little."

"Oba san? To me?"

"Yes."

Gojima took the phone from her hand and brought it close to his ear.

"...Hello?"

"Ara, Ken chan! How have you been these days?"

"Uhh...quite fine."

"Really? Sayuri told me that you are getting admitted to the hospital quite frequently nowadays?"

"That—"

Gojima took a glance at Sayuri, who just looked sideways as if she was not listening.

"She also told me what you have been up to recently. I gotta say, Ken chan, being hero is cool and all, but you need to take care of your health properly! Did you even eat anything?"

"Uh, I'm cooking dinner—"

"What dish?"

"Eh?"

"I asked, what dish?"

"...Porridge."

"Porridge? Are you feeling sick? My daughter knows some basic medicine passed down in our family, I will tell her to make you—"

"No, I am fine. Just a loss of appetite, that is all."

"Oh! We have a cure for that too! I will tell Sayuri to make one for you! And no, you cannot say no to me or her!"

"Uh..."

"Anyways, these things aside! The reason I mainly wished to speak with you."

"Yes?"

"Ken chan, do you wish to come to my village?"

"...Eh?"

"Hum, I heard from Sayuri that your actions got you a little trouble at your workplace, and you need to do something for yourself, right?"

"T-That—"

"And I also heard about Ruri chan. Poor girl, she did not deserve all of these. I have already prayed to the local church for her wellbeing, and also for that scroundel uncle of hers to burn in hell for eternity!"

"..."

"It was really noble of you to decide to take care of that child. Oh, what a good man you are! I wish you were Sayuri's husband instead! Then I would have no qualms about you inheriting all of our lands! I still have no qualms about it though!"

"O-Oba san—"

"M-M-M-M-Mama?! What are you saying all on a sudden?!"

"Ahahaha I am just teasing you, don't worry! Anyways, how about both you and Ruri chan come to our village to stay! You will not be able to take care of her without having a way of living, you know? And I think it would be better for her to live in a quiet and serene place like our village. And I will be content with you two inheriting my properties. I will at least be at peace that they will not go in wrong hands."

"I am... thankful for your offer, but wouldn't it be unfair to Sayuri san?"

"...S-Sayuri?!"

"Um, yes?"

Both Gojima and Sayuri were a little confused about the muffled screaming on the other side, where the old lady was rejoicing the fact that they were already on first name basis. Her reply came after a few seconds.

"Oh, yes. Sayuri is also okay with it. Right, honey?"

Gojima looked at Sayuri who nodded at him with a smile. Was she really that angry at her husband?

"I... will talk to Ruri chan about this tomorrow."

 

---

 

Tomorrow all of them went to visit Ruri again.

Gojima entered the room and saw the young girl staring vacantly towards the window, with a melancholy that he had seen on her face before and thought that it didn't suit her at all.

"...Ruri chan?"

Miki slowly called out her name, causing the girl to flinch and slowly turn her head.

Then she saw all of them, and her eyes went bigger. She recognized them.

But Gojima could see her face going pale and her clenching her bed sheet strongly with her palm. Fear and distrust obvious in her eyes.

"...Ruri chan..." Miki unconsciously took a step back. She did not know this Ruri. She did not know or realize what was truly happening. Why did it all happened? Her innocent mind could not fathom all the evil and corruption of this world.

Takeshi called out to her.

"Ruri? It's me, Takeshi. Please don't be scared, okay? We have taken care of the bad guy, okay? Please... don't be scared."

Takeshi slowly took his step forwards, carefully watching for the girl's reactions. Ruri was still scared, but he could see a little hint of trust. She knew that he would not harm him. Was it because he was there for her that day?

"Everything will be alright, okay? I—I'll never let any harm come to you."

Takeshi slowly extended his arm towards her. The girl just stared at the arm.

Then she slowly extended her quivering arm and accepted it.

Gojima could see relief visible in the young boy's eyes. He was crying and smiling.

"Ruri."

Ruri could not utter a sound, so she could only nod in reply. Tears started to come out of her eyes as well.

It was a bit too much for Koharu to bear.

"Ruri chan!" Taking Takeshi's succesfull attempt at reaching her as a positive sign, both she and her husband ran towards her.

It was a mistake.

Ruri immedietely got frightened and started to scream, but no voice came out of her mouth. Then she started to shake violently and also started to hyperventilate.

"Ruri chan?!"
"Wha—"

"You two! Please get away from her for now!" Gojima was already in between Ruri and the others, facing the confused duo and trying to guide them away. Trauma was not something so easily cured, after all. It was going to take a lot of time—

Someone grabbed her back strongly from behind.

'What?'

Gojima looked back and saw—

Ruri was strongly grabbing his back with her face buried in it, her eyes closed tight and her whole body shaking; as if she was grabbing on to a sturdy rock in a raging tornado.

Was it by instinct? Or did she knew that he would not harm him? Just like Takeshi, he was also there for her that day. She saw both of them before passing out after all. She instictively trusted both of them.

Gojima and Takeshi. Her guardian angels.

The 32 year old man turned and put a hand on the scared girl's head.

The girl slowly looked upwards and saw the man who defeated the evil for her. She did not have any fear for him.

Tears kept flowing out of her eyes. She started to cry silently, without being able to make any sound.

Why? Why was it always her? Why was the world so cruel towards her? What sins did she commit? Why?

Gojima just hugged her tightly and patted her head.

Then he remembered and asked the girl.

"Ruri."

The girl looked up.

"Do you want to live in a village with me?"

The girl just stared at him silently for a few seconds.

Then she nodded her head in reply.

 

---

 

A few days later, Gojima Kenzaburou and now Gojima Ruri both left for Sayuri's village by the train.

Fortunately, there were very few passangers on the train and thus there were very few chances of getting a panic attack.

Gojima sat with the huge boxes of chocolates and other stuff his neighbors and other well wishers handed to him as he watched Ruri silently stare outside the window, with the same melancholic eyes.

As he said before, some scars took time to heal.

Maybe it will take a lot of time to heal, maybe far more than her throat. Maybe it will take a lot of time for her lost cheerfulness to return.

But as long as you are alive and you have people who care for you with you, you could overcome any challenge.

Thus they both started their journey towards an unknown chapter of their lives, only hoping for a brighter future.