At first she glared at him, as if he'd just said the most insulting thing to her. "Why are you...of course he..."
She feels her nails digging into her flesh, knuckles turning white. There's something wrong as they go on. Her brother would know all of this, but before she can stop herself, she blurts it all out anyway.
"...I was in my room. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to crawl out...like they'd taught us. There was so much smoke that I could barely breathe. I-I tried to open the door to my room, but it was so hot I couldn't do it..." As she talks, her gaze is lost, as she looks beyond where Shinjiro is. In her mind, she's seeing the fire again. "Just as I was about to pass out, someone opened the door for me. The smoke was so thick I couldn't see anything, but I knew it was him. He grabbed and dragged me out. I'm not sure how I was able to follow him. I...I think he carried me for most of the way...but then..."
She shakes her head and her voice cracks.
"W-when we arrived at the door, the orphanage started to crumble from the fire. We had made it...only. Bro--" It's becoming much harder to talk and Miki swallows hard to force herself to continue. "Because he'd been carrying me, the effort had caused him to breathe in too much smoke. He had burns too...all I had were a few on my legs and back."
There was a reason why she wore the long socks and tended to stick to boots. Even her festival kimono was longer than the average one. Some of Miki's burns were still visible, and she didn't like looking at them. They only served as a reminder.
"I remember the firetruck and ambulance sirens. They took the both of us put us in different ambulances. I-I screamed for us to be in the same one but it wasn't possible. He was rushed to the hospital with one of the caretakers. They told me he'd be okay, but he...but he didn't make it..."
By this point she's a mess. She uses her sleeve in an attempt to dry her tears and sniffs loudly, attempting to look collected again, forcing her breathing to return to normal.
"S-sorry. I know I shouldn't..." She is stronger than this. "...I've always tried to help others like he did for me." She releases the pressure on her hands and she looks down at them again, thinking, falling into silence. Miki is rather bright for her age, despite her bouts of forgetfulness and being easily distracted. At this point it's not too hard to figure out anyway that whoever was standing before her wasn't her brother. The clues had been in front of her the entire time; the girl who looked like an older Minami, the fact he hadn't recognized her at the festival, the...Minato...who seemed friendly with the both of them....the fact Shinjiro was alive, standing before her...
It was too good to be true.
"You're not the Shinji I know, are you." It wasn't even a question. Just a statement.
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She feels her nails digging into her flesh, knuckles turning white. There's something wrong as they go on. Her brother would know all of this, but before she can stop herself, she blurts it all out anyway.
"...I was in my room. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to crawl out...like they'd taught us. There was so much smoke that I could barely breathe. I-I tried to open the door to my room, but it was so hot I couldn't do it..." As she talks, her gaze is lost, as she looks beyond where Shinjiro is. In her mind, she's seeing the fire again. "Just as I was about to pass out, someone opened the door for me. The smoke was so thick I couldn't see anything, but I knew it was him. He grabbed and dragged me out. I'm not sure how I was able to follow him. I...I think he carried me for most of the way...but then..."
She shakes her head and her voice cracks.
"W-when we arrived at the door, the orphanage started to crumble from the fire. We had made it...only. Bro--" It's becoming much harder to talk and Miki swallows hard to force herself to continue. "Because he'd been carrying me, the effort had caused him to breathe in too much smoke. He had burns too...all I had were a few on my legs and back."
There was a reason why she wore the long socks and tended to stick to boots. Even her festival kimono was longer than the average one. Some of Miki's burns were still visible, and she didn't like looking at them. They only served as a reminder.
"I remember the firetruck and ambulance sirens. They took the both of us put us in different ambulances. I-I screamed for us to be in the same one but it wasn't possible. He was rushed to the hospital with one of the caretakers. They told me he'd be okay, but he...but he didn't make it..."
By this point she's a mess. She uses her sleeve in an attempt to dry her tears and sniffs loudly, attempting to look collected again, forcing her breathing to return to normal.
"S-sorry. I know I shouldn't..." She is stronger than this. "...I've always tried to help others like he did for me." She releases the pressure on her hands and she looks down at them again, thinking, falling into silence. Miki is rather bright for her age, despite her bouts of forgetfulness and being easily distracted. At this point it's not too hard to figure out anyway that whoever was standing before her wasn't her brother. The clues had been in front of her the entire time; the girl who looked like an older Minami, the fact he hadn't recognized her at the festival, the...Minato...who seemed friendly with the both of them....the fact Shinjiro was alive, standing before her...
It was too good to be true.
"You're not the Shinji I know, are you." It wasn't even a question. Just a statement.