I Need to Make Up for It

The aura emanating from her changed; it transformed from that silly, food-loving girl into something far more dangerous.

Tianxiang.

The other side of Tohka Yatogami.

Or, to put it more accurately, according to the original work, Tohka Yatogami is the other side of Tianxiang?

She turned her head, her deep purple eyes looking at him.

What do you want to do to her?

Her voice was icy, like the winter wind blowing across an ice surface.

I didn't intend to do anything.

"You're lying. You took her to the movies, to see fireworks, and performed magic tricks for her. You had ulterior motives towards her."

Higashino Makoto remained silent for a moment.

"Yes, that was correct before."

"Then why don't you continue?"

"Because I feel she's too naive, dating a 'naive' guy, I just can't accept it."

Tianxiang's lips twitched slightly.

"You..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She stood up, walked up to him, and looked down at him.

She was half a head shorter than him, but her deep purple eyes looked down at him with a sense of oppression.

"Do you remember? In that timeline, I killed everyone."

Higashino Makoto nodded.

It's Beast Tohka's world line, the same world line I first traveled to, so of course I won't forget it.

So, is this "Tianxiang" actually composed more of the "Beast Tohka"?

"Remember."

"I destroyed the entire world."

"Know."

My hands are covered in blood.

"Know."

Tianxiang looked at him, her deep purple eyes swirling with complex emotions.

Aren't you afraid of me?

"I'm not afraid."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't do it on purpose, and I've already corrected your mistake. Besides, you can't beat me."

Tianxiang's lips trembled slightly.

"You..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled him up from the bench.

She was very strong, so strong that Higashino Makoto stumbled before regaining his balance.

"You saved me, you saved everyone, you woke me from that nightmare."

Her voice trembled.

Higashino Makoto looked at her without saying a word.

Tianxiang loosened his collar and cupped his face in her hands. His deep purple eyes were inches away, his face reflected in their pupils.

Do you know what it feels like to be saved?

"Have no idea."

"Then I'll tell you."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

It wasn't a fleeting peck, but something that could be called a French kiss.

It was as if he wanted to cram all his thirty years of silence and waiting, the guilt of destroying the world, and his gratitude to Higashino Makoto into this kiss.

Higashino Makoto didn't push her away. He reached out and put his arm around her waist, and she leaned against him, closing her eyes.

The moonlight shone on the two of them, casting their shadows on the ground, where they overlapped.

After a long while, she released him and took a step back.

Her deep purple eyes looked at him, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.

"This is a thank-you gift."

That's it?

Higashino Makoto wiped his mouth and commented that she was not as Kurumi and Mio Takamiya.

"Anything else?"

"What?"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him deeper into the park.

"Come with me."

Deep inside the park is a small grove of trees, and behind the grove is a meadow.

At the end of the meadow stood a huge cherry blossom tree, but since it wasn't the blooming season, only its bare branches stretched out in the moonlight.

Tianxiang stopped in her tracks under a sturdy cherry blossom tree.

She turned to face him. Moonlight filtered through the bare branches, casting a holy and beautiful glow on her face.

"This is the place where we first met in that timeline."

Her voice was very soft.

"Back then, every time I finished having a fit of madness, I would come here and sit for a while in a daze."

She looked down at her hands.

"Back then, I wondered if I would fall in love with someone who could make me stop."

She looked up at him.

"Now I know, I will."

Higashino Makoto looked at her, at the emotions churning in her deep purple eyes.

"I like you, Higashino Makoto."

"Tianxiang."

"Um."

Your eyes are beautiful.

She paused for a moment, then smiled, a smile tinged with the shyness typical of a young girl.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her face against his chest.

"Higashino."

"Um."

"Don't abandon me, don't lie to me, don't only like Tohka Yatogami and not me."

Aren't you the same person?

"No, she is her, and I am me. She's a bit silly, and I'm very smart. She eats everything, and I only eat the good stuff. She likes to say 'I like it,' and I only say 'I like it' once."

She looked up at him, her deep purple eyes meeting his.

I like you, just once, listen carefully.

"Um."

"I, Tenka Yatogami, love you. Remember that."

"I've got it."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"That's good."

She tiptoed and gently kissed him on the lips.

Then she let go and took a step back.

Her long purple hair swayed gently in the night breeze, her deep purple eyes looked at him, and a faint smile played on her lips.

"Now, you're mine."

Wasn't that just a thank-you gift?

"A thank-you gift is a thank-you gift, and this is the time."

She took his hand, and their fingers intertwined.

"Walk."

Where to?

My home.

Higashino Makoto fell silent. This scene was quite peculiar; it seemed to be the first time he had ever witnessed it.

"Alright, lead the way."

Higashino Makoto led Tianxiang out of the park.

That night, Tianxiang released all the emotions she had suppressed for thirty years.

She called his name over and over again, as if confirming that he was real, as if confirming that this was not yet another hallucination she was having insane.

"Higashino..."

"Um."

She buried her face in his chest.

"It's so good to have you."

"Me too."

Tianxiang didn't say anything more.

She simply leaned against him and closed her eyes.

Two more days passed, Higashino Makoto lay there, staring at the ceiling.

I was drained Kurumi by Kurumi at Kurumi for the past three days, and today I was squeezed dry by Tohka Yatogami and Tianxiang in turn.

He needs to take good care of his health.

Quitting drinking is no longer an option; he needs something more tangible.

For example, starting tomorrow, could we eat one more meal a day?