Chapter 12: To You, My Counterpart, I Give You Name

[Name]

Words are, in a sense, merely symbols. They simply connect what signifies with what is signified.

In short, as long as the word and the object it represents are connected within the society, organization, family, or community in which it is used, then, in extreme cases, almost anything can be considered a word that expresses it.

Perhaps there are people who call the animal we call a dog with the word 'cat'. However, even if that's the case, there would be no inconvenience for them.

It doesn't matter what you call a dog; as long as the word and the image it evokes are correctly connected with the object it referred, there's no problem. This isn't strange at all; it happens everywhere, regardless of the language.

Ultimately, words are simply a means of calling something.

So-called names and designations are also symbols, and there's no absolute necessity for a particular way of calling something.

But then, can names that represent individuals, such as [Onjōji Chitose] or [Hojo Sakura], also be considered mere symbols?

If asked that question, I would say no.

Of course, there's no doubt that it serves as a symbol for distinguishing oneself from others, and some people would say it's just a symbol. So, to be precise, it's more accurate to say that I, as an individual, don't want to think of it that way.

Names are almost always given with a wish for how the person should be, or not to be. Whether it's happiness, health, prosperity, or strength, the wishes embedded in names are diverse, but there must be some kind of feeling from the person who named them.

The name [Chitose] was given with the wish for a long life. That wish has definitely reached me. A name may indeed be a symbol. But at the same time, it must also have the power to convey something more.

That's why I think it's rather sad to consider it merely a symbol for distinction.

Well, I've been rambling on and on with this unnecessarily serious talk, but in short....

'The scene of naming something, whether a person or an object, is always exciting...and even more so if a sickly heroine is involved!'

★★★

For the boy, the world was suffering from the moment he was born. The wind carried excruciating pain, the light that reached him was more than too much, and the sounds that resonated were like a curse that flowed in no matter what he did. His five senses, amplified too much by his Yang energy, constantly tormented him.

What was a refreshing breeze, warm light, and pleasant sounds to an ordinary person was despair, terror, and pain to him.

He never even considered why things were this way, what he was doing, or what the purpose of life was—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he couldn't even think about such things.

Neither cries of pain, pleas for help, nor questions of "why" ever escaped his lips. Every sound that escaped was meaningless groan, and he didn't even understand that he was abnormal.

Of course not.

Because he knew nothing. 

Abandoned as an infant, given no name or anything, and forced to live alone, he had never had anyone to teach him such things, nor had he ever had the luxury of even considering them.

There was no one to give him anything, no one to respond to him, and he simply spent his days in pain, merely surviving.

That was what living meant to him.

A life destined to wither away without even knowing himself.

At least until that fateful day.

That day, the fateful day when Onjōji Chitose and the boy met their counterpart.

For the first time, he experienced the pleasantness of the wind.

He experienced stillness.

He experienced the warmth of the sun. 

He experienced the beauty of snow.

And for the first time, the boy came to know someone other than himself, and to see that person's smile.

The following days were nothing short of tumultuous for the boy.

He learned the joy of eating, the comfort of sleeping, the warmth of being with someone, and so many other things.

So many things that he could not even begin to describe or comprehend. 

His world, which had been composed solely of pain, was dramatically transformed in just a few days.

During those few days, the girl visited him frequently, and they talked and talked and talked, as if cherishing every moment.

Finally, with that smile that had been etched into the boy's heart, she said, "See you later," and returned to her room with her attendant, the girl in black.

The boy still didn't understand words; even the girl's conversation and the words "See you later" were just sounds to him.

But even so, he grew to love the time they spent together.

He grew to love the sound of "See you later" coming from the girl's lips.

The Onjōji family, and the girl who was his counterpart, gave him so much that it blew away everything he had experienced in his life up to that point, and so much more that it was incomparable.

The sound of the girl's footsteps reached the boy's ears again today.

Realizing that the person he had been waiting for was coming, the boy jumped up and stood before the door of his assigned room, waiting impatiently for the girl to arrive.

"Thank you for always greeting me. I'm sorry about yesterday, for leaving so quickly. You must have been surprised when I suddenly showed up and then took you away so soon, right?"

"It's because you get too excited, Chitose-sama. I know you're happy, but you were out of breath like that. It's bad for your health."

"Hmmmm, I've been feeling fine lately, and I keep telling you I'm okay."

"That's precisely why you shouldn't let your guard down. In fact, you were coughing terribly yesterday, weren't you?"

"That was... because I was so excited... hmm..."

"..... Pu-Puffing out your cheeks like that won't do any good. I have a duty to protect you, Chitose-sama."

In front of the boy, the girl in black and the girl in white began their usual playful bickering.

Naturally, the boy understood almost nothing they were saying. Not only the content of their conversation, but he was still too young to understand that even as they argued, they cared deeply for each other.

Yet, he didn't dislike this sight. He didn't know why yet, not yet.

He knew that one day he would understand why.

The boy who received nothing from anyone and had no one to respond to him was gone.

"That's right. I have something important to tell you today! Right, Sakura?"

"I don't really..."

"Don't say that. You worked so hard to think it through with me yesterday, Sakura."

"That was because Chitose-sama asked me."

"Sakura, you can be a little stubborn sometimes, can't you?"

"That's absolutely not true."

"Hehe. I get it. I'll leave it at that."

"..... Why are you acting like I'm the one who's been given this opportunity?"

"It's okay once in a while, isn't it? It's something you always do, Sakura?"

While the boy watched, the girls' conversation flowed smoothly and quickly, and their expressions changed just as rapidly.

The boy didn't understand yet, but he was smiling anyway.

"Look, he has a strange look on his face too."

"I don't think he understands what we're saying yet."

"I'm sure he understood us not through words, but through his heart."

"...Anyway, how about we get this matter done first?"

"That's true. It's so much fun being with Sakura and him that I always end up getting sidetracked."

The smiling girl, Onjōji Chitose, stood before the boy. And with that smile on her face, she spoke to the boy.

"I thought of a name for you. I chose it with the hope that you'll have lots of happiness and lots of laughter in the future."

The boy still doesn't understand those words. Even so....

"Chiharu."

—the feelings behind that name are definitely conveyed to him.

"Let's be friends from now on, Chiharu!"

And so, the nameless boy became 'Chiharu'.