風隠と疾風の八咫烏連盟条約機構（この神殿を犯すヤツは許さない）たちの出会い(英語版)

vow of repentance

A story about the Yatagarasu - this is a story of a broken heart finding light again.

It was raining.

Quietly, coldly, as if washing away the pain of the past.

Ink went deeper into the Yatagarasu headquarters. A dimly lit corridor, the atmosphere tense.

Waiting there was a former "comrade."

"What do you think of your recent rehabilitation?"

Ink asked Ghost. Standing there in silence, he answered with his eyes only.

"That's... something you have to think about."

His voice was cold. But there was something trembling about it. His emotions were wavering.

As if tearing through the air, a heavy door slid open.

Who appeared was... Clay.

A young man who had once worked as an "anti" alongside Ink and Ghost.

Now, he carried a deep darkness deep in his eyes, and the burden he carried was different.

"...So you came, Ink."

"It's been a while, Clay."

"...Hmmm. Are you sentimental? Or...regret?"

At that moment, Clay's mouth twisted. And then he spoke.

"I'll destroy everything you have."

Ink's heart thumped quietly.

Those words were filled with "sadness" rather than anger.

Memories from the past came back to Ink's mind.

--Clay felt lonely within his "family" of Yatagarasu.

He wanted to be recognized, he wanted to be needed. But no one reached out to him,

and he eventually fell into despair and took the path of anti.

Ink and Ghost "abandoned" him.

At least, that's how Clay felt.

"You all used your "righteousness" as a shield to cut me off."

"You never had any intention of helping me in the first place!"

Ghost spoke up.

"No. That's not true, Clay...!"

"Then why? You had a place to belong, but I had nothing!"

The scream was a string of pain.

Ink took a step forward.

"But I still abandoned you. That's the truth."

Silence.

Clay's fists tremble.

"But Clay... I still think of you as a friend. No, I think of you as family."

"... Don't mess with me...!"

"I want to rehabilitate you. I want you to laugh like you used to. I don't know if that will atone for my sins, but still... I don't want to abandon you!"

Tears well up in Clay's eyes.

But he still won't let her go.

"Don't think those pretty words will bring my heart back...!"

"No. It's not pretty words. I want to save you, Clay. No matter how long it takes."

Ghost adds.

"Clay, I felt your pain too. But I was scared and couldn't step in. I'm sorry."

Clay's shoulders shook.

Then, quiet footsteps echoed.

"The atmosphere is heavy."

Nanaka appeared. And Reich walked behind her.

"You guys have always been too emotional."

Reich said quietly.

Nanaka approached Clay and smiled gently.

"But you're not broken yet. You can still go back."

Clay stood there, eyes wide open.

"Go back...? Where am I...?"

Ink answered.

"Here. To us. To the Yatagarasu's "family."

And then, Ink held out his hand.

A helping hand that had never been exchanged before.

"Will you trust me once more?"

A single tear fell from Clay's eye.

"...I want to believe. But...I'm scared. To be betrayed...to be told I'm not needed again..."

"Well, I'll say it again and again. I've never thought I didn't need you. I'm who I am now because you were there."

Clay slowly placed his hand on Ink's.

"...Can I go back? A guy like me..."

"Of course. We're a 'family'."

Ink's words made Clay smile for the first time.

--A broken heart will never return completely.

But even so, you can start walking again.

Even if you carry the past on your shoulders and the pain.

With the 'family' that is the Yatagarasu.

That day, the rain quietly stopped.

A ray of light shone across the sky.

That light gently enveloped even the broken shadow.