Just moments before, his entire world had been spinning. His hands were trembling, his knees locked, and his breath came out in desperate, ragged puffs. It felt as if something had attacked his body from the inside, leaving him an irreconcilable  mess that could hardly find the strength to stand up straight. This wasnât the first time heâs experienced one of these episodes, but this was by far one of the worst.Â
It took him a little while to fully accept Kamuiâs presence. His reasons for allowing her to embrace him were almost entirely selfish, seeing as he was using her body as a support beam to keep himself from crumpling to the floor. He wasnât used to this level of affection, not from anyone other than his mother, at least. Especially from somebody he was decisively wary of only a few months prior. If he allowed her to stay like this, with her arms wrapped around him, would her words finally be able to soothe him?Â
Possibly, yet at the same time, how could she know the truth? âH-How do you know?â he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. âH-How do you know she d-didnât see me as your replacement?â His shaky hands gripped at his sisterâs shoulders weakly, as if she were a lifeline. âHow could you know? Y-You werenât there!â He was taken aback a little by the amount if bitterness in his tone, but he didnât relent. He couldnât. âY-You werenât there, so thereâs no way you could know that!âÂ
        HIS WORDS STUNG KAMUI, though despite her inner anguish, she managed a small, pained smile. He had a point, after all - she had never been there, not for him nor any of their other siblings. When she had finally returned to Hoshido, they had lost their mother, a woman that Kamui scarcely remembered. All memories of Mikoto, sans those she had made in the brief time before Ganglariâs explosion, were either faint or completely eradicated from her mind.
However, this was no time to argue against him. Takumi was a fragile being, someone who Kamui knew she had to approach with caution. The opportunity to hold him so closely was more than he had ever granted her, and she wasnât about to ruin that.
âTh-thatâs true, but...â
What could she possibly say? Perhaps opening her mouth had been a mistake, just as she had initially thought it to be. Ears drooping slightly, she swallowed thickly and forced her smile not to falter, trying not to let his words affect her. He had no control over his emotions; he was vulnerable, his sister knew that, and she had to remain strong for Takumiâs sake.
âI donât remember Mother very much... but it was easy to see that she loved you, and all of our siblings,â just as Kamui herself did. âAll four of you... seemed to be just as dear to her as I was. Iâm sure she came to love you for yourself, not as a replacement for me.â She could not ignore the fact that Mikoto must have had a hole in her heart where her daughter had once been, but it was clear as day that she was a genuinely caring person. âLike you said, you knew her better than me, so... answer this: did you ever know her to lie?â
