Elysian's Monogatari

Chapter 22: The Truth About Shiro

"Nii-san wait up!" Ren said as he tried to catch up to his brother. Ito followed soon after. After a while Shiro stopped. "Um...Nii-san?" Ren asked.

"...Tch I never expected that guy to know about the orphanage and that name." Shiro said. "....Ah true in fact it was so long ago I didn't know anyone would remember." Ren said.

"U-Um...W-What's going on...?" Ito asked. Shiro then turned around and with hands in his pocket said. "...Listen up Takasaki. Whatever I'm going to tell you now, you better not tell anyone else even if they begged for it."

"H-Huh?" "Just so you know Nii-san only tells this story to people he trusts and he thinks you have every right to know about it." Ren said.

"...Earlier you heard Ran Nagisa called me Minami-kun?" Shiro asked as Ito nodded in response. "....That's my real name. My real name is Minami Shiro and Hanagaki is my adopted family name." He continued.

"..Eh? Y-You got adopted by Ren-kun's family? ...H-How did it turn out that way...?" Ito asked. Shiro kept quiet for a while before speaking again.

"....Fourteen years ago, when I was four, my real family and I were going on a trip to have a picnic since it was a rare weekend when both my parents were not working."

"Of course cause I was a kid back then I was really excited about it. But what happened on that day changed everything. While we were in the car, an accident occurred."

"....An accident that killed both my parents." Shiro said shocking Ito. "Needless to say I was gravely injured and yet I managed to survive. Even when I got better after a few weeks, the scars on my body will not go away."

"When Nii-san says scars on his body, he meant literally. It's not about the trauma or anything. There were real and actual scars on his body." Ren said.

"....In any case I was sent to the orphanage when I was still four. I never spoke to anyone not because I don't trust them, it's because every time I see the other children with all smiles I was reminded of that day."

"The teacher at the orphanage knew about it and told me to tell the others about it so that I can feel less stress from thinking about my past. But I never do so because I could never burden others with my troubles."

"A-And then? W-When were you adopted...?" Ito asked. "It was five years later the Hanagaki family came to the orphanage. Since Ren was an only child the parents wanted to adopt someone who could keep him company." Shiro added.

"And then Nii-san who was looking out at the window at the time caught my attention!" Ren said. S-So his hobby is looking out at the window...? Ito thought.

"Also can you believe it? When I went to talk to him he ignored me." Ren continued. "T-That's unexpected and not at the same time..." Ito said.

"I didn't know the reason but Ren couldn't stop talking to me. I already told him to leave me alone so many times but he wouldn't listen." Shiro said.

"In the end the parents saw it and decided to adopt me cause they felt like I will be able to make Ren happy." He added. "Which he did! Having Nii-san with me makes me blessed! Although we're not related by blood I'm glad my parents decided to adopt Nii-san of all people!" Ren said.

"T-Then can I ask why you were pissed off at Nagisa-san earlier....?" Ito asked. "Ah...about that...it's just that not even Akkun knows about me going to the orphanage. He thought that I moved away to another town." Shiro replied.

"That's why you know...I was just surprised. For someone that's not Ren or even Akkun to know about my real name." He added.

"A-Are you...going to tell Akehoshi-kun and the others...about this...?" Ito asked. "....I don't know about that. In the first place I only told you since as a fellow Elysian member you have the right to know about it. But I'm still not sure about the rest."

"You still can't trust them huh?" Ren asked his brother. "Ah...T-That reminds me...K-Kagehira-san told me about what you guys said... s-something that happened...years ago..." Ito said.

The brothers looked surprised Ito knows about what they said on their first day of school. "....Haaaa that Kagehira he sure has some loose lips huh?" Shiro said with a facepalm.

"Are you going to tell him, Nii-san? You did told him about your past before you met me after all." Ren said. "....True. But this is after I met you and became a Hanagaki." Shiro said.

He then scratched his head and said. "Sorry Takasaki. But right now it's not the right time. But just know that that incident was what caused me to not trust others easily."

Ito nodded in understanding as he plans to wait for the brothers to say it when they felt like it. "And then? What are we going to do now?" Ren asked.

"Hm...I would feel bad if we went back to the restaurant so why not we go grab a bite at another restaurant. It's my treat." Shiro said as the other two agreed. They then walked to another restaurant to have their dinner.