Her sister had not said anything like that, yet those words still echoed in Shinobu Kocho's heart. She watched as her vision of her sister gradually blurred with tears.
"I hope you can be happy like an ordinary girl. I hope you can live until your hair turns white. That's... enough..." Kanae's breathing grew more labored, and her words became disjointed.
The fingertips stroking her younger sister's cheek trembled faintly. Her sister's face gradually blurred, while her body felt an unprecedented chill.
She was dying.
Kanae's pupils gradually lost focus.
As a physician, Shinobu Kocho knew exactly what that meant. Tears spilled uncontrollably as she tremblingly grabbed the wrist of the hand Kanae had placed against her cheek, her voice choked with emotion.
"Don't die... Sister, please don't..."
Kanae's slowly unfocusing eyes suddenly shifted toward the front of her.
A blurry figure was approaching.
Who?
She could no longer make out the person's face.
The sky behind the newcomer glowed with golden-red dawn.
But the sun had already risen, and Shinobu was safe.
With that thought in mind, Kanae peacefully closed her eyes.
The figure squatted down directly beside Kanae.
"You..." Even Shinobu Kocho, who was overcome with grief and had lost all awareness of her surroundings, was momentarily stunned by the sudden intrusion of this stranger.
"She can still be saved."
Shinobu Kocho's pupils contracted slightly. After freezing for a moment, she forcibly swallowed her doubts and hurriedly asked, "What should I do?"
As she anxiously questioned her, she did not forget her professional duty as a physician and carefully laid her sister flat.
She wanted to step forward and help, but had no idea how. In the end, she could only move aside with mixed feelings of joy and worry, making room for Yuko so she would not