The Thought of You Doesn't Stop

"Guilty!"
Those were the words Kazuma never wanted to hear, especially not now. When and where did it go so horribly astray? This was not the outcome that was supposed to happen.
Kazuma glances over as his gaze lands on him, his eyes still ashaken, darting to all corners of the room, but his head has sunken toward the floor; tears streaming from his eyes onto the bench that now damns their existence.
Upon exiting the courtroom, people have been shifting away from Kazuma and Ryunosuke and glancing back at them and whispering; it hurts to hear these things about Kazuma's beloved Ryunosuke, especially because it was he who failed to prove his innocence.
The next day he was sent to the gallows. As he walked the stage with his head hung low which shaded his expression. Tears blurred Kazuma's vision as the rope encircled Ryunosuke's neck, after all, this is Ryunosuke's last moments alive.
"Ryunosuke... I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too... Kazuma." He was sure only his mind concocted that reply, but as it was in his beloved Aibou's voice his head shot up and was greeted by the sight of a tightened rope and Ryunosuke's lifeless body strung from that rope.

—

Days, weeks, then months had passed since Ryunosuke's death but Kazuma had only since, considerably worsened. In the night, his visions are cursed with images of his lifeless body, as his incompetency cursed his days. He has handed back his badge which began these accursed nightmares. The trauma never ceases as those final memories replay in Kazuma's mind endlessly, and every time those scenes finish with his still lifeless body lightly swinging from above the platform.

—

In the cusp of night, Kazuma's room remains empty for the first time in months, and in the morning, Yujin Mikotoba checks in on his heartbroken son but there was no son to find. Susato sees her father quickly run out of the house, curious as she also looks into Kazuma's room. His room was dim-lit with shards of the sun peeking through the curtains. Near the paper-screened windows- or what remained of them anyway, there lay large droplets of water, fresh from the evening storm. Susato paced back and forth, carefully observing how the room was left in an unusual disarray; she perhaps was imitating her favourite detective a little but her deductions aren't off the mark.
"He ran away?" She mumbled to herself. "The Kazuma-sama sized hole confirms it— but he had no reason to exit into last night's storm." The sun had nearly set when Mikotoba returned,
"Did you find him?" Susato hurriedly asks, Mikotoba's eyes don't land on Susato and he sighs, "not even traces of the boy."
"Even with last night's storm?"
"He may have left prior to then."
Susato's eyes become teary as she takes in this information,
"I'll go look for him."
"Right now?"
"Yes!"
"Susato-chan. You realize it is the middle of the night, you won't be able to see much now."
"That doesn't matter now! Kazuma-sama is out in the elements right now."
Mikotoba sighed, "kazuma-kun is a grown adult now, he can take care of himself these days."
"That doesn't matter!" Susato cried, "I'm not losing my only brother!"
Mikotoba was stunned silent from his daughter's outburst. As she turns to leave, Mikotoba lifts a lantern from the counter to relight it, "I'll help you search for him."
In the dark abyss of the outdoors Susato and Mikotoba look tirelessly for their long lost Kazuma but their efforts amounted to nothing. Upon returning home Susato looked defeated verging on tears,
"We'll look again tomorrow for him." Mikotoba said reassuringly.

—

Two, three, four more days pass by and there's still no sign of Kazuma's presence. On the evening of the sixth day of Kazuma's disappearance, Susato had been wandering around the base of the cliffside hill that holds Ryunosuke's grave. His grave was full of bouquets so Susato had some difficulty placing another flower, when she stumbled to the base of the mountain a certain piece of cloth caught her eye. Looking closer, it was a shred of a muddy red fabric; reminiscent of Kazuma's headband.
Susato bursts through the entrance to the Mikotoba household,
"Father! I have found clues to Kazuma-sama's whereabouts!" She then showed Mikotoba the soiled textile.
"My... this is his headband, Susato-chan, where did you find this?"
"It was partially buried by mud at the foot of the hill that holds Mr. Naruhodo's grave." She replies, still heavily catching her breath.
"We'll investigate there when the sun begins to set."
"Why can't we look for him now while it's bright outside?"
Mikotoba hesitates to answer,
"Complications." Was all he could tell her.
"Then I'll find him myself." And with that, Susato rushes out the door.
"Susato-chan! Wai—"
Dashing through the now drizzling weather, Susato didn't care what state her clothes would become as long as she could see her brother again. With every splash of a puddle dashed through, the storm from the clouds above would rage on harder and harder until it became difficult to hear her own thoughts. Nonetheless she didn't need to hear her thoughts because all of them consisted of finding Kazuma.

—

Rainfall began to pour as Kazuma placed another armful of bouquets onto the grave of his one and only Aibou. With each passing daylight, there would be less flowers added to the grave, he knew he was getting weaker. He slowly reached to wrap his arms around the grave and tears welling from his eyes,
"Very soon... we'll be reunited... Ryunosuke."
"Ma-sama..."
"What...? These illusions... must be getting to me" he muttered to himself.
"Kazuma-sama...!"
Susato scaled up the hill as fast as her legs would carry her, calling for Kazuma all the way. Her eyes met with a shell of the man she once knew, he's thin and bony with his skin now three shades paler. Now that she has found him, they were locked into a staring stalemate as an uncomfortable silence washed over them. Eventually, Susato formed her words,
"Let's go home, Kazuma-sama."
Kazuma held his silence...
"Kazuma-sama... please..."
He hugged the grave even more forcefully.
Susato dragged an item out of her sleeves,
"At least let me return Karuma to you." She holds out the katana to him. He looks around as if in thought but ultimately declines as he strains to shake his head. Susato sighs,
"Kazuma-sama, You'll die if you stay out here any longer." She then hoists Kazuma onto her shoulder with little issue. He knows it's futile to fight back, therefore he accepts his fate.

—

At the Mikotoba residence, Mikotoba began preparing to search for his daughter and son when he heard a THUD from behind him.
"Father, I found Kazuma-sama!"
"Oh good job Susato!" Then when he glances over at his daughter, "oh GOODNESS." Susato dashes past him and places Kazuma in Mikotoba's room. She keeps an eye on him as Mikotoba prepares a soup in the other room.
"I'm all right." Kazuma meekly whispers
"No you aren't."
"I..." he pauses, "I wanted to stay with him." He hissed. Mikotoba passes the soup to Susato, "I trust you can get him to drink it," then promptly leaves the room. Susato first hands the bowl and spoon kindly... he ignores it, staring off into the distance. She then picks both items back up and begins spooning the food to him,
"Kazuma-sama, you need sustenance."
"I'd rather if... Ryunosuke... would spoon feed me..."
"Well unfortunately, he isn't here... now EAT." She then shoves a spoonful of cooled-down soup into his mouth. He chokes on the unexpectedness of the spoon.
"HEY!"
"You need food! I'm sure you haven't eaten for a week!"
He sighs, "give me the bowl then, I'll drink it without your help."
"Mr. Naruhodo wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Of course he wouldn't." He's gripping the now-empty soup bowl, "he's too kind for his good, so much so that he got killed because of it." Susato slides Karuma onto the bedding beside him, "please just take your time to get better." Then takes her leave. Gazing upon his left hand he laughs bitterly,
"Fate is such a cruel thing... isn't it Ryunosuke?"