We Will Meet Again

After that surprising confession, somebody knocked Chauncey Long out. Setsura saw him approach, but she did not say a word. The person who knocked Chauncey out was none other than Oslo. "Even if he didn't tell me, I wanted to go back for a while now."

"Are you sure? Don't you still have things left to investigate here?"

"Indeed, I do. But.." Setsura recalled what Chauncey said. "I want to see with my own eyes."

She wants to see it if Victor is loyal to Touma. Would that man honestly do anything for the sake of his clan?

"Let me go back," Setsura mumbled.

Oslo nodded, and a bright light surrounded him. He extended his hand out. "Come."

Setsura glanced over at Chauncey, and she hesitantly bent down. She kissed his forehead softly. "Thank you."

Since she came back here, the one who has 

_____

Meanwhile back in the Meiji Era 

A certain man with bright brown colored hair placed some coins on the shopkeeper's hands as he stepped out of the store. Victor's gaze fell on the grey skies and sighed. The only people in the streets are the ones who wear that persons emblem.

'You're never able to say whether or not you want something.

I don't know why that is though

It's okay to want things you know

You either get it, or you don't.

Yet you always complain about it when it's over,

… It's like your more childish then I am brother'.

That's the truth.

As a kid, he could not allow himself to be selfish. He had to stick to the rules and regulations. Ever since he was born into this world, people told him that. His brother had said to him that if anything were to happen to him, he would be in charge of his family. At a young age, Victor could not comprehend the meaning of those words.

Even now, he kept those words in mind, even if it was difficult for him to understand. As he grew older, he still couldn't understand those words. That was until he got to know more about her. The more he learned about her, the more time he spent with her, Victor realized how fond of her he became as time went by. 

The more he realized it, the more he ended up drawing himself away from her. He cannot get any closer to this girl. He cannot get too close because if he does, then he would paint her destiny black.

He will stain and soil her purity. For the longest time, even when they met again, that is something he kept to himself. He ensured that there was that wall between them. 

Yet she broke that destiny and it all came crashing down. The feelings he had bottled up inside him.

All his feelings that he bottled up spilled the moment she saved him. It was similar to a switch that broke. He could finally behave the way he wanted to.

That person is the one who brought in the light to his world—the woman named Setsura.

At the start, Victor did not intend to get close to her. When he heard the news from Chauncey, he was curious and decided to head back. Other than his inventions, there is one other hobby that he has. He did not intend to keep it a secret. But before he knew it, he could not say.

But when he discovered their interests aligned, he decided to show her.

Victor could not deny that he ends up doing everything perfectly. Especially when it came to Art, he noted how his paintings appear to speak his feelings.

While people considered him expressionless and considered difficult to approach when it came to his artwork, instead of it being dull and complicated like his personality, it was not empty like a blank canvas. His paintings are that's right, it's almost as though they are alive.

For sure, his skills as a painter, an artist contributed to it. But Victor found himself unexpectedly drawn to that raw emotion. Perhaps it was because he was the same, although not in the same sense as Terashima. He lived his life striving for perfection, striving to be perfect in everything he does. 

Ensuring that he does not make a single mistake, even for a split second. Ensuring he makes no such mistake at all. Because a single slip up would ruin his brother's hard work. 

Reputation is like that; it is something fragile. It cannot be stable; it isn't something that can stabilize itself. It's vulnerable and can slip away in an instance. It may be due to that, that he found himself attracted to her.

Since he was a person who had discarded his emotions a long time ago. 

Initially, that had been the only reason why he approached her in the first place. To him, she was merely something of passing by interest until he tainted her, then he would remain beside her although he remained detached at the beginning. He remained distant and yet close to her. 

At some point, something had changed, and when he realized what that was, he ended up feeling that one emotion he long locked away.

Those emotions that are core to a person. Although he had locked it away, bind those emotions away with chains inside his heart. She somehow found a way to unlock it and get past the storm in his heart. It's when he became genuinely close to her that Victor saw her reality. The colors in her world.

Monotone.

They are all monotone. Although there is color, there is nothing there. He remembers thinking that it may as well have been greys and whites and ---black...

Ah, this person.

He and this person are alike. Even though there was no true 'connection' between them, then, somehow, Victor felt they were alike. This may be why he has not reported to Touma yet.

Victor entered the shop and noticed Akito was fast asleep on the sofa. How carefree of him. He placed the bags on the table and glanced up at the sky from the window. Akito drew the curtains shut, but he could still see a spec from the small gap.

The streets were still in a bad state, traces of grey fog every day, and loud sounds from gun powder and canons. The only reason he could go out freely was because everybody knew who he was. 

His gaze fell toward Akito and noticed some doc.u.ments by his feet. Victor sighed. Did he go out again? Victor wanted to take Akito home, but he said it would mean getting dragged into things. Indeed if Akito went home, he would have to take charge as the head of the vizconde group.

"Your back?" A female voice said from the doorway. Victor glanced over and spotted a woman with long hair.