There is more to Seiko Kiruma than medicine.
Why can't Ruruka see that?
It's like she looks at her and only sees her talent. And when they were young, Seiko didn't mind. It was as if Ruruka was saying useful . But as she's grown, Seiko can't help but wonder: is there really a difference between useful and used ?
Why can't Ruruka see her ?
Averted eyes, pressed lips. A girl all sugar and little substance. Willing to believe the worst of her, looking away over and over, and Seiko wishes things were different. Somewhere along the way, it all went wrong. Somewhere along the way, it all came undone. Was it the first time she rejected her sweets? Was it the first time Ruruka asked her for medicine? Was it that day in the gym? Surely not. Those thoughts don't come from nowhere.
Was it when they met, all those years ago, and Seiko tried to heal that dog? When she failed?
From the beginning, it was rotten. It was doomed. It was fated. From the beginning, Ruruka Ando didn't see her as anything more than this, than a savior who failed, than something medicinal. Something to seep into tea and then down with a scrunch of your nose, something unpleasant but everything. Was that the case? Was that all Seiko Kiruma was?
She remembers those eyes, so sparkling and bright. Looking at her. Seeking hope. Did she fall in love with her, or only her kindness? A facet of her that could never be the whole truth? Or was it not even that kindness she loved? A friendship built on talent. She looked at her in that moment, and saw her medicine, and nothing else. (She is not Ruruka's savior. She couldn't even save that dog. She can't even save herself.) Was that it? Was that it?
But there is more to Seiko Kiruma than medicine.
Than talent.
Can no one ever see her ?
Ruruka and Seiko both die alone.