Haibane Renmei 3

Missed opportunities. A name.

âWhere is Kana? Itâs been nearly three hours.â

Rakka looked up from her exhausting work of cleaning the second of the new girlâs wings. âIâm sure she found a nice clothing store to browse or something,â she suggested, smiling, but inside she agreed on Hikariâs concern. Kana was a very punctual person, and today especially was it odd that sheâd think more highly of something else than watching for the sprouting of the twins boyâs wings.

Nemu, having listened quietly to the casual chatter of Rakka and Hikariâs for the last half hour, now listened intently. âI think sheâs coming now,â she announced calmly.

The following second the door burst open and Kana barged into the room. Red as a tomato in her entire face, panting like a wiped mutt and barely able to stand up, she stopped in the doorway, much like last time, as her eyes immediately stared at Nemuâs hand, which held a wet, bloody cloth. A bucket like Rakkaâs sat by her feet, and a limp, half-red wing rested in Nemuâs other hand.

Kana just let out a weak âdangâ and sank down on the floor.

Hikari came in from the kitchen. âSorry, Kana, I know youâd wanted to see this, but frankly it came as suddenly as his twinâs did.â

Kana nodded weakly, still sitting on the floor position, trying to catch her breath. When she had finally composed herself, she pulled up a chair from the guest room table, sat down, and sighed immensely. Then she told them everything that had happened.



***



âWow, thatâs quite the story,â Nemu frowned. âAnd the guy just asked you if he could come by, just like that?â

âYeah. Weird, huh?â Kana frowned back at her.

âWeird?â Hikari was the only one standing, and now she put her hands on her hips and smiled humored from ear to ear. âKana, that guy likes you! The next time you meet, donât be expecting anything other than a date.â

âIs it true, Kana? Do you really have a boyfriend?â Rakka asked, thrilled.

Kana threw her hands up in defense. âHuh? Now wait a second. That guy canât like me, it doesnât happen that fast. We barely know each other, andââ

Her sentence was cut off by a silent but heavy breathing over by Nemuâs bed. Nemu noticed that the boy had barely opened his eyes. Lying on his belly, Nemu had to go on her knees to see them.

âHey there, sleepyhead, feeling better?â she smiled, and felt his forehead. âWell, your fever has gone away, so why donât you try to sit up when you feel like it, so you can meet the others.â

The boy muttered something incoherent, but Nemu just continued to smile. âWould you like to try and sit up now?â

He nodded slightly, and she stepped back a little as he, slowly but surely, turned around and sat down in the bed. He seemed to be surprised to see others present, despite Nemu mentioning, but he looked over at the other bed, where Rakka was busy helping his sister sit up against the back of the bed.

The twins took everything in as they stared out in the room where Hikari stood and Kana sat by the table, then at Nemu and Rakka who sat by either bed.

Hikari and Kana both suddenly started laughing, catching the smiling yet confused Nemuâs attention. Rakka and the twins just stared at them as if they had both gone crazy.

Hikari trying composing herself enough to talk, as she wiped a tear from her eye. âSorry, you two, you must think weâre insane. We didnât mean to scare you or anything.â

âYeah,â Kana continued. âItâs just that we donât really know how to start this off, since it didnât go exactly this way the last time we had a newcomer.â

Nemu caught the twinsâ attention as she continued the explanations. âIâm sorry,â she smoothly said, âYouâve both been out the entire time since coming out of the cocoons, so we havenât had much time to talk.â

Both of them bowed their heads, seemingly ashamed. âWeâre sorry,â they muttered simultaneously, but Hikari, Nemu, Kana and Rakka all tumbled all over each other in words, dismissing their apologies as âcompletely naturalâ and that they would have done the same thing too.

âCan you tell us your names? Do you remember anything about your dreams from inside the cocoons?â Rakka tried, her timid voice making her seem fragile and nervous. But on the inside she was really dying to find out about these new Haibane.

The girl seemed to be deep in thought, then she spoke for the first time. âI ⦠donât remember my name, but I can tell you about my dream. But how did you know I had a dream?â

âIt happens to every Haibane. The dream is supposed to tell them why theyâre here and what their purpose is.â Hikari explained. âWe name the new Haibane after the most essential part of their dream. For example, my name is Hikari, which means light, because I had a dream I was surrounded by it.â

âIn my dream, I was drifting in the river like a fish, so Iâm Kana, which means river fish,â Kana said, and with a smile she pointed at the girl standing next to the boy. âYou already know Nemu. Her name means sleep because she was sleeping even in her dream.â

Nemu sighed. âSame old.â

Kana continued, grinning at the boy, who seemed to be all ears. âSheâs even sleepier than you were.â

âUgh. Why even botherâ¦â Nemu sighed, even more heavily, her head hanging.

They all suddenly awaited Rakkaâs supplement to all this, and Rakka almost wished to disappear into the woodwork of the stool she was sitting on. She forced on a smile, and as she started talking it became much easier to be genuine.

âMy name is Rakka, because I dreamt that I was falling through the air. Could you tell us what you remember of your dreams?â

âI ⦠Iâd rather notâ¦â the girl mumbled hesitantly, staring down on the white bed blanket.

âThatâs okay, weâll just give you some time then,â Hikari hurried as the poor girlâs eyes suddenly became glassy. Rakka sat down on the bed and held her arms around her, rocking her softly as she broke down silently.

Hikari, Nemu and Kana all looked at Rakka, who seemed just as perplexed as they, but Nemu quickly turned to the boy. âWhat about you? Would you like to tell us about your dream?â

The kid stared at his sister. To everyone else in the room, there seemed to be something vacant in the eyes of both the newcomers, like they didnât remember that they were family. Then he, too, looked down at the white blanket on his bed.

âI ⦠saw a river. It was gold. It ran until it came to a fork, and split in two. One end seemed to go forever â into and beyond the darkness â while the other ⦠fell over the edge when the darkness started.â

The three stared at each other.

âI donât know what to make of this,â Hikari said, and instinctively looked at Nemu, who shook her head. Their eyes came to Kana.

âHey, donât look at me, I have no idea how to read analogies.â

âRakka, what do you say?â Nemu asked, and all four â the boy included â turned to Rakka, who frankly felt like she had enough tending to a crying Haibane.

âWellâ¦â she hesitated, trying to muster her thoughts. âThe dream mentions several meaningful things to me:¨a river running forever, golden water; falling. But thatâs my name, soâ¦â

âSo we canât choose that one,â Hikari stated firmly, then she fell back into contemplation. âMan, overlapping againâ¦â

âThis is just what happened at Rakkaâs naming too,â Kana inserted.

Rakka looked like she just remembered something, and lit up. âOh, thatâs right!â she turned to the girl, who had just stopped crying and now wiped her tears, and the boy was still listening. âI havenât told you! I came to this place around this time last year! Iâm supposed to be your senior Haibane! Now we just need a name for you twoâ¦â

Kana looked like she was on the verge of unravelling a great secret that had been lost to the earth for centuries. âLetâs see ⦠if we canât call him âFallingâ, and âRiverâ is too close to mine, then the only real name I see here is Kin â âGoldâ â describing the river itself. What do you think?â

Rakka turned again to the boy, who nodded, a little smile cruising his thin lips. âThatâs settled then. Welcome to Old Home, Kin.â