Ch.204Epilogue. What I Wish For (4)

“Kagami. About the marriage talk…”

“Oh my. I apologize. I misspoke.”

When Yamashita spoke quietly with a troubled expression, Kagami responded with her hands clasped together.

Is that really a slip of the tongue?

Because of how Kagami treats me since I came back to life, I sometimes forget, but Kagami is basically the type to put up walls with other people.

That’s how she was when she first met me, and that’s how she is when meeting others. She even acted like a completely different person in front of my friends.

That’s why it took me quite a long time to notice Kagami’s true feelings.

The attitude Kagami is showing now might seem friendly at first glance, but in reality, she’s just playing the role of a sociable relative.

No, thinking about it again, rather than being a sociable relative, she’s just wearing a mask. Basically, “this attitude” was similar in front of all strangers. It’s just that this attitude appears somewhat sociable in front of others.

By adjusting the intensity according to time and situation, it can be used effectively. That’s how Kagami has survived until now.

“Still, shouldn’t we start discussing it soon?”

Mori said as if she had caught something good.

Her gaze was directed at Yamashita.

Mori’s height is similar to Yuu’s. That’s one reason why they appear to be around the same age. Of course, since Yuu has a model-like figure overall, Mori looks similar when standing next to her, but I think she would look fairly tall if she stood next to me.

But why?

Mori with rabbit ears on her head somehow gave off the impression that she could devour the much larger cat-like Yamashita.

I thought her image was different from what I had seen before, but thinking about it again, every time I met Mori, the situations weren’t particularly good.

Once to pick up Yuu.

And once when she was affected by the curse.

Other than that, I haven’t really talked to her at length, and even when I went to Yuu’s house, we just exchanged greetings.

The appearance she showed then might be similar to the “mask” Kagami shows, in some sense. Well, all adults tend to wear masks during first meetings.

“It’s been quite a while since you gave permission.”

The gently urging voice was a bit scary.

Even Koko seemed to notice the atmosphere, staring at Mori with wide eyes.

Was it around this time that Yuu’s mental state deteriorated so much?

In terms of time, it’s been almost a year, so it has been dragged out.

One might think it’s too short for marriage considering their dating period, but Yamashita is getting older. Given that they’re already a couple with a big age gap, getting married before he ages more doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Yamashita glanced at Kagami, but Kagami was just eating cotton candy bit by bit with a happy expression.

…She just passed the buck.

Until just a moment ago, she was enjoying the trip with Koko and me, when suddenly we ran into acquaintances. They help each other, and there’s even a blood-related niece, but these two families aren’t fundamentally that close. More like a business relationship.

If I had to say, only Yuu and I are close to each other.

But we can’t get upset or angry at the person who provided the reason for us to be here, so she brought up a topic to divert attention elsewhere.

“…”

I looked at Kagami once, then turned my gaze to look at Yuu.

Yuu had a very blank expression.

Having known her for quite a while, I’ve tried to learn how to interpret Yuu’s expressions. But in the end, I wasn’t successful.

If there’s a reason, it’s because Yuu only has a blank expression when she’s genuinely feeling blank. Since there are no other emotions present to begin with, there’s no room for interpretation.

At first glance, she might seem like someone who doesn’t show emotions outwardly, but in reality, she’s more emotional than one might think. At least that’s how I felt being by her side.

She just tries not to express them.

“…Hmm.”

I pondered for a moment.

Should I continue going around with Kagami here? Or should I go separately with Yuu?

But it seems a bit sad to leave Kagami, who deliberately took the time to bring us here.

It hasn’t been long since we started living as a “family,” but because of that, Kagami still seems insecure. She’ll probably be like that for a few more years.

It means we don’t completely trust each other yet.

Not because we might deceive each other, but whether this relationship will last a lifetime.

“Yuu.”

When I called out to her, Yuu blinked.

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

And the adults too. No, why? Continue with what you were talking about.

Only Koko was distracted by the cotton candy.

“Want to play together?”

“Together?”

Yuu tilted her head as if she wasn’t sure exactly what I meant.

“Just as I said. Won’t you come along with us? What do you think, Koko?”

“Wha?”

Koko, with cotton candy all over her mouth, looked up.

Then she looked back and forth between Yuu and me.

“Yes!”

She smiled brightly as if having more friends to hang out with is always better.

I glanced at Kagami.

“…Is that okay?”

Kagami’s expression rapidly turned blank. It’s like seeing Yuu from a moment ago.

She looked like she was about to mutter something to herself, so I quickly said:

“Mom?”

Her blank eyes widened a bit, and life returned to her pupils.

Kagami looked at me with sparkling eyes and nodded.

“Of course, daughter.”

And with a very maternal expression, she nodded with a smile on her lips.

Kagami, who wants to be a mother.

Because she wants to show herself as the perfect mother, she probably couldn’t refuse my suggestion.

When I turned my head again, there was Yuu with a complex expression.

It must seem incredibly… strange to her that I call Kagami “mom” and Kagami calls me “daughter.”

Well, that makes sense.

Maybe she sees herself in this? While the situations are different, it’s true that Yuu is also in an awkward position about calling Mori “mom.”

“…Kagami?”

Yamashita asked with an extremely confused expression.

“Yamashita, would it be alright if I take my niece with me for a while? It seems like you two have things to discuss.”

“That’s right, Ryohei. It seems we have things to talk about.”

Perhaps because she had been holding back and waiting all this time.

Mori said with flashing eyes.

Is this a scene of role reversal?

I’ve imagined something similar when I was young, but this is scarier than I thought.

“…”

In the end, Yamashita closed his eyes, sank into thought, and then nodded with a serious expression.

He probably didn’t expect this to happen at an amusement park during the Golden Week holiday. I didn’t expect it either.

Mori brightened up, while Yamashita still had a complicated expression.

No matter how I look at it, they should really swap their headbands.

*

“…”

“Are you worried about Yamashita?”

“Sorry, but I’m also Yamashita.”

When I asked, Yuu replied with a still complex expression.

The reason for her expression probably includes thoughts about her father, whom she left with Mori, and her feelings about the way I refer to her father.

Well, it is her surname too.

“It doesn’t matter since we call each other by our first names anyway.”

“It does matter.”

Yuu looked towards Kagami.

Perhaps because I called her “mom” several times, Kagami was walking with a very pleased expression, holding my hand and Koko’s hand in each of hers.

This seems to have been a “profitable deal” for Kagami.

“…That person calls me niece. But isn’t it strange if you call him that way?”

So, it seems she means I should address him as a relative.

Honestly, it’s a bit puzzling.

Until now, she probably didn’t care much about me addressing her father formally because she thought we were strangers, but after learning that I’m her cousin, her attitude seems to have changed a bit.

I still don’t understand that subtle difference. If I were Korean, I might just think “because we’re cousins” and move on. Korea is legally a country where relatives up to eighth cousins are considered family, and I actually met my cousins during holidays quite often. The relationship was only cut off later, but the psychological distance wasn’t that far.

But… Japan is a bit different, right?

Should I call it an international standard? Japan, like many other countries, allows marriage between cousins.

And unlike our country, they don’t have complex personal pronouns that divide relatives into “how many cousins” units. Uncle is “ojisan,” which means mister, and aunt is “obasan,” which means madam.

Since these are words that can be used even for people who aren’t blood-related, the sense of distance is quite different from what I have.

“…Then, should I call him uncle?”

“Yes.”

Yuu nodded at my question.

That’s a bit challenging. To be honest, I’m not very confident. Yamashita has a somewhat scary impression.

“Koko too.”

“Uncle?”

When Koko tilted her head, Yuu nodded.

“Yes, uncle!”

…

If Koko calls him uncle, maybe I can just go along with it.

He doesn’t seem like someone who would get angry about being called that, but he’s still a bit intimidating.

“Please just call me by my name.”

Kagami quickly said that before Yuu could use the word “obasan.”

“…”

Yuu seemed to be overwhelmed by that subtle pressure and slightly nodded.

We walked in silence for a few seconds.

“So… is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“…”

Yuu thought for a moment and then said:

“This is my first time here too.”

“Is that so?”

Kagami interjected at Yuu’s words. She was still holding my hand and Koko’s hand in each of hers.

“Then, I’ll guide you. Despite how I look, I did a bit of research beforehand.”

I wonder if she bought and read a tourist guide.

Somehow she’s been confidently going around since we entered.

“There are still many places we haven’t been to.”

Seeing Kagami’s excited expression, Yuu looked at me with a complex expression again.

All I could do was shrug my shoulders.

Well. I didn’t expect Kagami to change like this either.

Seeing my expression, Yuu seemed to give up on understanding.

Well, she’ll understand eventually.

This is just my thought, but I’m certain that when Yuu’s way of addressing Miho changes from “sister” to “mom,” Miho will show exactly the same reaction as Kagami.

While the situations are different, the affection is the same.

In some sense, they’ve been taking care of Yuu longer than Kagami has been taking care of me.

…Biologically speaking, the age difference isn’t such that I could never be her daughter. But whatever.

Family isn’t just connected by blood.

Rather, shouldn’t she be more concerned about having a “biological sister who could actually be her daughter”?

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

When I was looking at Yuu with a complex expression, opposite to earlier, Yuu asked with a furrowed brow.

I had no answer other than shaking my head.

*

Yuu enjoyed the amusement park more than expected.

She seems to have decided to set aside her father’s relationship with Miho for now. Well, that was the wise choice. It would be too depressing to spend time worrying when you’re supposed to be having fun.

After playing for a few hours like that, Yuu’s phone rang.

“…Dad’s calling.”

We looked at each other.

When I looked up at Kagami, Kagami looked down at me.

“…Mom?”

“Shall we escort them back?”

When I used the magic word again, Kagami answered with a bright smile.

Yuu was starting to look as if she found the relationship between Kagami and me suspicious. It’s an expression like she’s watching the two of us acting.

So, she’s probably recalling when Kagami and I acted out an abusive family.

I feel like the boy who cried wolf.

Well, even if she later found out it was an act, the image she once saw doesn’t easily disappear.

I’ll probably have to keep showing her consistently from now on.

The place where they called us to was the same place where we met earlier.

“…Have you been here the whole time?”

When Yuu asked Yamashita, Miho answered instead.

“No, we enjoyed ourselves in our own way.”

“…I see.”

Yuu made an indescribable expression. That slightly furrowed expression was one that said “I don’t know what to say.”

To try to empathize a little, I briefly imagined.

If Kagami said she was going to marry Fukuda’s father…

“Why is your expression like that again?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Hmm, I don’t think the comparison works.

If Fukuda had even half the diligent image of Miho, I might have felt like cheering them on a little.

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“We haven’t reached one yet.”

At Miho’s words, Yuu’s expression became a bit empty.

“But we seem to have decided on a direction. We’ve decided to move forward slowly, without rushing too much.”

“I see.”

Just as Yuu was about to smile a little at those words,

“We’re thinking of going all the way within the next three years or so. Since Yuu will be a college entrance exam student next year, we need to have some leeway.”

“…”

Yuu’s expression became somewhat dazed.

By the way.

I looked back and forth between Yamashita and Miho.

Do they match, a little?

You know, in typical yakuza movies, the “wives” are often beautiful women with an Oriental atmosphere, wearing kimonos.

This person might look similar if she wore a kimono.

I still don’t understand why he fell for her.

Was she that good to him?

I probably wouldn’t be able to empathize even if I heard the story directly.