+ + +

"Kuro, I'm sorry."

A pair of hands slipped away from his grasp.

Kurotora turned his head around to face his companion, but he was too slow.

The black-haired girl in a witch's hat had disappeared. Her light footsteps flitted away in the distance. She weaved in and out of the crowd, while the black mantle that she wore shrouded her like a fast-moving shadow. The girl was surprisingly fast. In a blink of an eye, she had dashed across half of the room.

It happened so quickly that hardly anyone registered her presence.

"...Fall?"

Kurotora had to blink a few times.

The shadow bullet leapt into the air and landed in front of the podium. A split second later, it sprang up with its massive black cloak spread like wings. The fluttering curtain of pitch dark cloth was like an inverted waterfall that burst from the earth.

Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, but Kuro couldn't help but think of some kind of angel of death — the grim reaper.

"Synbius!" The mysterious girl's crisp voice sliced across the gallery.

There was a look of sheer surprise on the administrator's face.

However, in the next moment, a silvery 「TELEPORT」 portal opened up beside them, and the two of them were gone in a flash.

The podium was empty, and the audience of staff members was left staring at and empty platform.

The former administrator for their server had just been... kidnapped?

Only a single wide-brimmed witch's hat was left behind, and it drifted down in the air like a feather. The breeze blew it slightly off to the side, and it missed landing directly on the platform. It spun just like a falling leaf, tumbling slowly and erratically.

Eventually, it landed softly on the dirt.

+ + +

Kiu was in the 「Tower Library」, and she clung tightly to the stocky arm of her most senior administrator, refusing to let go.

Her eyes were tightly squeezed shut.

Even now, Synbius was still much like a tree. He was broad-shouldered and enormous, and it often seemed like there was no kind of storm that was capable of blowing the massive mountain over. Kiu couldn't count the number of times she had seen the door to this library come smashing open, a tornado of rain and screaming winds whistling in the air as the grizzly bear walked unfazed straight out of a hurricane of water.

He was really cool.

And he was supposed to be invincible.

Trees were...

...The thing about trees were that they were always there when you needed them.

You swung on their branches when you were young, and they gave you shade on a hot summer day.

They made the air clean for you to breath, and they made your home pretty with chirping birds who sang without delay.

You always had faith they'd still be waiting for you no matter how far you wandered astray.

Kiu really liked trees. She loved them a lot.

But it was also terrifying to think about the Giving Tree who gave too much away.

Because at that point there was nothing left but a stump abandoned to decay.

+ + +

"「Q」?" His thick voice was steady but inquisitive.

"Synbius." She responded.

"「Q」."

The question turned into a statement.

Silence filled the space between the two of them, and an innumerable amount of words seemed to be transmitted in an instant.

+ + +

They stood there awkwardly for some time, with Kiu's grasp wrapped tightly around his arms.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.

The man avoided eye contact.

"It wasn't going to change anything." He answered. "The audit was coming for us as soon as I signed those bans."

"You kept the letter from me? How long have you known?"

"Long enough."

Kiu's grip became even tighter.

Synbius sighed in response.

"I asked for a friend to help out. @Kurotora2 — if you're familiar with him — he's a security expert. I've contracted him to upgrade the database firewall. The server should pass the review with flying colors. It won't be possible for anyone — even an administrator — to breach user privacy regulations. There shouldn't be any issues with the government audit."

The black-haired girls eyebrows furrowed deeply.

There was a slight tremble to her hands, and she angrily released her grip. Kiu shoved back and took a few steps away.

"You know that's not what I care about! Synbius! I... I..."

"I did what was necessary. What was right. That kind of behavior among staff is unacceptable."

"I don't want you to leave! I never would have wanted this!"

"It was necessary to make a firm stance. To prove a point. To demonstrate to everyone that certain behavior is not okay."

"But at the cost of taking the fall yourself!? ...I can't accept that!"

"「Q」 — I chose this. Let me take responsibility for my choice."

"I don't need you to protect me!"

"「Q」!"

The broad-shouldered man suddenly seized Kiu's hand. His grip was firm but gentle.

The look in his eyes was pleading.

"Please."

+ + +

She stared deeply into his eyes.

Synbius sighed and let go of Kiu's hand again. He turned around and faced the opposite wall with his hands crossed behind his back.

Kiu was left staring at his silouette.

"I had a daughter. Her name was Marian." He started talking to the empty wall.

The high school student didn't say anything. She had heard him talk about his daughter before.

"If she were alive today, she'd be the same age as you."

"Right."

"Sometimes, I look at you and see my daughter. I think about what she would have been like — the person who she would have been — and the things that she might have experienced. The joys, the sorrows, the anger, the disappointments, and the laughter. I think about all the things that never came to be. I think about my mistakes. I think about the shadow of a life that I've been leading since then, in all of its trivial worthlessness."

"Syn..."

"—I am not an admirable man. I have very little to be proud about." He interrupted her. "I'm 46, divorced, and unemployed. I live off of social security income. I spend most of my day on the Internet. There is very little of this mess of myself that I'm proud about. Truthfully, I hate myself."

"Syn, you know that's not—"

"Please."

He turned around at that point, his mahogany eyes imploring.

"Let me do this."

Kiu shook her head back and forth wildly. She was upset. Very upset.

"No! No. I'd rather delete the server than lose somebody again! You're the last of original members left!"

Synbius took a few steps forward and placed a hand her shoulder.

"Kid." His voice was steady. "You know that's not what any of them would have wanted."

"But what about what I want?" Kiu burst out. "I don't want any of this! I never wanted this! It's meaningless if everyone is gone!"

The grizzly-haired administrator had a look of regret on his face.

"This is just temporary. Thirty days, and I'll be back. Watch the house for me while I'm gone, will you?"

Tears were streaming down the black-haired girls face.

She wept. She cried. She grieved.

"I hate you." Her voice was weak and fragile and tired. "I hate all of you so much."

Synbius comforted her in a light embrace and rubbed her hair.

"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving," he spoke. "Take some time with your real family and think about it."

She hiccuped and wiped her face with both hands, struggling to get a hold of herself.

"I just want you to know that to me, you are family, and I believe in you."

"I hate you."

His wry smile was gentle. He flicked Kiu gently on the head.

Synbius stood up, slid out his console, and brought his finger to the 「LOG OFF」 button.

Then he was gone.

 

∎