Chapter 28: Epilogue

Epilogue: “Let It Be”

Following that, the feelings and emotions regarding Bristol’s graffiti changed greatly. The incident surrounding the legal wall made it into the news, and they reported on the fact that the writers of Bristol fought back against the invasion of London’s gang. They even referred to it as the London Invasion, and it was honestly laughable how everyone suddenly jumped onto the graffiti culture bandwagon. And, it might be thanks to George working in the shadows that everything was cleared up so smoothly. Of course, the general problem of graffiti wasn’t resolved, but the general conception of it had gone up drastically.

I watched these news together with Boudicia in my dorm room. Each time the graffiti she wrote showed up on the screen, I was reminded of the fact that the left hand who wrote that was right next to me. And with this much attention, the Caroline Circus quickly turned into another famous spot for Bristol. Surely, the owner probably didn’t expect this, but he definitely didn’t complain. And with this making the rounds, it was probably only a matter of time until more legal walls popped up all over Bristol.

At the same time, Boudicia’s graffiti was accepted by many citizens as a new landmark of Bristol. Other people began writing on it, too, but nobody dared to touch hers that shone brightly in the center. Of course, there was no guarantee that would remain forever. However, I wished for the feelings she documented on that wall that day to remain alive. According to George, the police had sight of the whole situation, with snipers stationed all over ready to take out Sugar. He laughed, saying he barely managed to keep them in check, but I could only shiver in fear at the thought of that.

Lara’s eye and arm healed up just fine. Her arm was only broken but didn’t suffer any severe injuries, so with a bit of training and hard work, she should be able to move it the same way as before. She begrudged the fact that didn’t become a one-armed pirate and laughed, but I couldn’t see it as lightly, considering how Boudicia ended up at first. On a side note, she really grew attached to wearing an eyepatch on one eye, so she’s wearing it still. And she even said that she could save herself the time doing the makeup for one eye, which was a reason very much like her.

It took a bit longer until Peni recovered. However, even as he was plastered in a hospital bed for a long time, he seemed satisfied that he managed to protect Lara, and he was in absolute joy when he heard how Queen Bear’s Revenge protected Bristol. JF ended up being the real loser. He may not have suffered any severe injuries, but having basically missed all of the action, that fact alone turned into a legend in itself, which he deeply resented. But, his first mate Lara just encouraged him to make a legend of himself from now on, and he officially inherited Queen Bear’s Revenge. His determination earned him the trust of the crew, whereas a few still stood after Lara, so they both ended up being the official leaders.

Gabriel obviously learned of the legal wall, voicing his support. Granted, he still didn’t change his opinion of graffiti in the long run, but that didn’t surprise me. Instead, I heard that he’d been in contact with Nelina, acting as music pals, so to speak. Then again, the two somewhat resemble each other, so maybe they’d even end up making music together at some point.

As for Sugar and Liquorice, I was a bit in the dark regarding them. But surely, they will be prosecuted and repent for the crimes they’ve committed so far. However, they have their own justice and value of beauty, so they’ll surely live a righteous life after everything has been resolved. Granted, we might end up running into each other at some point, but a part of me hoped that we’d be able to get along a bit better than before.

Finally, Aeon only regained consciousness after everything had been resolved. It’ll still take time for him to fully recover, so he just spent his time laying in the hospital bed, but hearing that he won’t take any long-lasting negative effects from this, both Boudicia and I sighed in relief.

“I’m really sorry, you two.”

When we came to visit him, he had already seen the news, so those were the words he greeted us with.

“What are you talking about? We gotta help each other in our time of need, right?” Boudicia reassured him.

Hearing that, Aeon flashed his white teeth and grinned.

“Thanks, you two.”

And then, Boudicia and I spent our days together as before. The fact that I would return home to Japan hasn’t changed. But, we stopped running away from it. Because we have this limited time, we decided to use it as we wanted and toured all of Bristol. And everywhere we went, Boudicia wrote. And all of her works were so free and natural, they possessed a magic charm to just naturally melt into the scenery. The only problem was that she wanted to use the right colors for the right place, so she had to pack three times the amount of spray cans than usual, which I was forced to carry.

But, the days we had left, we spent in satisfaction…Until the promised day arrived. I had put all my belongings into my suitcase, excluding the guitar. Then again, I didn’t bring much with me, to begin with, and I didn’t buy many new things to take home with me, so I didn’t struggle much with packing. When I first arrived in Bristol, I was really concerned with the noise my suitcase made as it rolled along the pavement, but now, it was like River Avon just took all that with it. My plan was to leave at Bristol Temple Meads Station, head to London, and then fly from Heathrow Airport to Narita. It even took me a bit longer to get to the train station, so when I got there, the train awaited me, as well as everyone else.

Peni, JF, Lara, and Aeon…But, not seeing Boudicia had me worried. I made sure I told her the right time when Peni suddenly began bawling.

“Yoshi…You’re really going back, right…”

“Peni-san…I’ll come to visit again.”

“If not for you…I would have died…I know it can’t be compared, but I made some burritos, so please take them.”

“Thank you.”

I accepted the plastic bag filled to the brim with burritos. Honestly, I was a bit worried if I could even finish all of these, but I was happy nonetheless.

“Once you get your new song done, make sure to send it over. I’ll let you know once we get our work ready. Gabriel said he’s looking forward to it, too.” JF said and tapped me on the shoulder.

“Yes, I’ll look forward to it. Let’s play again someday.”

“Ayo. I’ll let you know if we need your guitar again. In today’s day and age, you can just send over your recording, after all.”

“That is true.”

Although I felt a bit of regret to leave Bristol and them all behind, it was a fact that we could easily stay in contact thanks to the internet. We can even make music together. So, while we won’t be able to meet directly, this wasn’t a goodbye forever.

“Oh dear…It still hasn’t really set in that you’d be leaving today, Yoshi. I feel like we barely met yesterday.”

“Yes…And now that I can be honest, I was actually a bit scared of you when we first met.”

“Oh my, and I thought you were some weakling.”

I laughed, and she did as well.

“I guess we are quite similar.”

“That is true.”

Lara sighed and narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.

“Thank you, Yoshi. If not for you, Bristol might have lost its precious graffiti.”

“No, I didn’t really…”

“You should be more proud of yourself…Though I didn’t expect you to use my pen like that.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m impressed. You look like you couldn’t even hurt a fly,” she said and placed her hand on my shoulder. “You should be fine no matter where you go.”

“I believe public safety in Japan is quite good, though?”

“Bristol isn’t bad either, you know?”

I couldn’t contain my laughter at hearing that. She might be right, but after everything that happened here, I found it hard to just nod along. And she must have guessed that, as she smiled.

“Anyway…take care, Yoshi.”

“Of course, Lara-san.”

The next person who approached me was Aeon, and I looked up at his tall figure. He was still a bit weak when he was hospitalized, but now he was back to normal and even restarted his training. His muscles had come back already.

“I had fun having you here, and I’ll make sure to visit if I ever come to Japan, so make sure to show me around.”

“Will that really be necessary?”

“There are countless things in this world that I don’t know, after all.”

“That is also true.”

Even this kind of advice was very much like Aeon. There are still many things that I don’t understand. Until I came to Bristol, I didn’t know anything about graffiti. And that must be the case for countless other things.

“Yoshi, um…I wanted to thank you for Sugar. As well as Boudicia. You did what I couldn’t.”

That awkwardness from him spoke volumes. Even Aeon isn’t perfect, and that is one thing I realized through all of this. But, it’s not bad. It’s a wonderful thing to learn about others. And…

“Aeon-san, there’s something I need to give you.”

“What?”

“I found it this morning in my room.” I took out a sticker from my pocket.

“This is…”

Aeon removed his sunglasses to look at the letters. Undoubtedly, it was Sugar’s graffiti. I don’t know if this was instigated by George, or maybe he used someone from his gang, but the sticker was delivered to my room. And I knew that it must have been Sugar because the sticker had the same style as Aeon, with the words “Everything comes to an end” written on it. That’s right, it’s not “nothing” anymore, but a simple end. No matter how much you wish for it, you can’t revert back time. All encounters will eventually come to an end.

“Sugar sure has grown,” Aeon muttered.

Sure, it may have been nothing but a random sticker…But that’s also exactly why it could be a true masterpiece.

“Take care, Aeon-san.”

“Yeah, let’s meet again, Yoshi.” Aeon stuffed the sticker in his pocket and shook my hand, then moved closer to tap me on the back.

Since the time for departure was drawing closer, I stepped onto the train.

“Sorry! It took me longer than I thought!”

Finally, I could hear her voice.

“You’re late. I thought you wouldn’t come to see me off.”

“I honestly didn’t think I’d make it in time, either,” Boudicia said as she put her hands on her knees, gasping for air. “So, y’know, make sure to text once in a while.”

“Of course.”

“And give that fox my regards. Tell her she can go to hell.”

“Understood, I’ll tell her.” I showed a wry smile.

No matter what she says, she must have taken a liking to Nelina.

“Aw, man.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking that time sure flies fast.”

“That is true.”

And yet, I didn’t feel particularly lonely. Thinking back on this last year, we’ve always been together. And it was the best time in my life, but I was prepared for it to end.

“Yo…Yoshi.”

“Yes?”

“Well, you know…”

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Seeing Boudicia fumble over her own words, Lara poked a bit of fun at her.

“Boo darling, if you don’t say it now, you’ll just regret it later.”

“Shut up! I know that!”

Stirred up by a grinning Lara, Boudicia screamed and sighed.

“Yoshi…Well…Gaaah, I don’t know what to say at times like these! Just…take care, okay?!”

Seeing her like that, I had to laugh out loud.

“That’s very much like you, Boo-san.”

“Stop teasing me…Also, there’s something I want to give you.” She said and took out a spray can from her backpack—with the number 94 written on it.

“This is…”

It was the beginning of everything. The spray can she threw at me…and the first time we met.

“If possible…I’d be happy if you remembered me.”

“…Thank you very much.”

I struggled to hold back the tears when Aeon spoke up with a sour face.

“…I hate to break it to you, but you can’t take spray cans with you on your flight.”

Hearing that, everyone burst out laughing.

“S-Seriously?! Why didn’t anybody tell me?!” Boudicia evidently panicked.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. They’re regarded as dangerous objects because they could explode inside the plane because of the pressure.

“I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to return this, then,” I said and placed the can in her hand. “Boo-san.”

“Hm?”

“I actually… hesitated for the longest time if I should really go back to Japan.”

Boudicia’s eyes shot wide open.

“The days I spent here in Bristol were really fun. Even when everything was chaotic and dangerous…And it was you who guided me into this bright world, Boo-san.”

“Yoshi, then…”

“But.” I interrupted her words. “I need to move on with my own music. If not, I can’t be with you.”

“Why?! Who cares about that!”

“I do.”

I gently grabbed her hands, as she reached for my collar.

“I don’t want to lose against the graffiti artist I respect more than anybody else in the world. I want to stand next to you…on an equal level.”

Boudicia looked at me in shock, fought hard to hold back the tears, and then smiled.

“I swear…You’re so stubborn when it comes to the weirdest things,” she said and looked at me. “…Say, I haven’t given you a response yet, right?”

Now that she mentioned it, the answer to my confession was still up in the air.

“Well, um, it’s okay. It’s how it goes in Japan.”

“Then I’ll show you how we do it in Britain,” she said and took a step inside the train.

She leaned forward to approach my face—and then kissed me. Her lips, pressed on mine, were arm and soft. And, they gave off a faint scent of vanilla.

“Don’t forget about me, okay?”

“I won’t. Ever.”

Seriously…If she does something like this, then there’s no chance I could ever forget. She, who couldn’t write anymore, and I, who couldn’t play anymore. We both needed each other. But, that is no longer the case. She can now freely write, even without me by her side. And I can focus on my music again, without having her with me. Even if we’re apart, we’ll be fine. We’ll continue to live inside each other. That’s why…this is fine. I heard the announcer of the train, declaring that departure was imminent.

Boudicia—I looked at her back as she slowly moved away from the train. If I hadn’t met her, my life would have turned out completely different. Where there are encounters, there must be partings. Once you finish writing on a wall, you move on to the next. And being alive is probably just a repeat of that. And then, her voice replayed in my mind:

‘When you’re writing graffiti, the spray tends to just blast off everywhere. When it’s the most crucial, graffiti rarely lets you do as you please—’

That’s right. If life really was like never-ending spray, then even the trails that weren’t meant to be must hold some sort of meaning.

“Excuse me!”

Hearing my voice, she turned around.

“Regarding the last scene of the movie we watched the other day.”

“Hm? Yeah, but is that really important right now?”

“It’s now or never.”

I took her hand and pulled her toward me with all my might. She lost her balance and fell forward, right into my arms. And then, the door of the train closed.

“Huh? Wait, what?! Hold on!”

Boudicia clung to the door and tried to open it. Outside of the train, everyone was smiling at us. Even Lara’s voice only barely reached us.

“Oh dear! Not bad, Yoshi! Have a nice trip!”

“Hey, wait! Open the damn door!”

Boudicia slammed her hands on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Seconds later, the train took off, and we were forced to look at each other. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and snow-white skin were right within my reach.

“What are we gonna do now?”

“Good question.”

“You didn’t even consider that?!”

“I’m sorry, it just…happened in the heat of the moment. But, we can just pay for the ticket later, so it should be fine.”

“I know that. How many years do you think I’ve been living in Britain?”

“So…Well, this will take us to London, but you can just take the train back to Bristol while I head off to Heathrow Airport…No, we could also get off at Bath, too.”

“…I have it with me.”

“Huh?”

At first, I didn’t understand what she was referring to. But when she saw my flustered face, she repeated herself.

“I…have my passport with me.”

“Why…?”

“Well, you know. Just on a whim, I guess.”

Seeing her struggle to speak properly, I had to smile. I’m sure that, in her heart, she must have already decided what she wanted to do. And she just waited. Waited for me to pull her along with me. I swear…From start to finish, she can never be honest.

“Will we get a ticket for the plane, I wonder.”

I stored away my suitcase and took my guitar with me, as we found two open seats.

“Who knows? Well, I’ll just sit on your lap if we don’t.”

“They probably won’t let you do that, so I’ll have you look after my guitar in the storage area.”

“The hell? Then you can sleep with your guitar while I relax with the other passengers.”

We looked at each other and laughed. I moved over a bit and kissed her once more.

“Well, I have no clue how things will turn out…” She said while looking outside the window. “But for now, let’s just go as far as we can, Yoshi.”

A single lifetime can’t possibly be enough to learn everything there is in this world. But even so, the Boudicia I get to know from now on…is something only I’m allowed to see. And only I can watch her go through this change. At least…for now.

The train sped up toward the east, as the scenery outside the window gradually changed. Nothing in this world remains the same forever. Surely, my life, and the time I get to spend with her, will be over in the blink of an eye. And then, just like spray leaving the can, we will grow weaker, and eventually disappear. But even so, we live in this one moment, loving something. And if it was possible to leave these feelings on a wall…then that would be its own eternity, I’m sure.

OVERWRITE: LONDON INVASION

THE END.

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