Ch.222Epilogue. The Flame (5)

Making Kagami flustered is harder than one might think.

That is, assuming we’re talking about making her flustered through ordinary means.

Making slightly mischievous jokes, saying funny things, teasing her—even if I do these things, Kagami doesn’t get particularly surprised.

Ah, of course, she was surprised when ‘I’ first did it. She probably never expected me to show such familiarity toward her.

Now, I can hug her without any awkwardness, and even when I throw light jokes at her, she smoothly returns them.

You could call it life experience… No, it’s more that she’s been through so many strange things that she’s developed a resistance to most ordinary situations.

In that sense, it was a bit surprising that Harumi managed to fluster Kagami.

“So, how are things going with my dad?”

“Pardon?”

Well, to be honest, it was a question that might reasonably cause some embarrassment.

“Haven’t you been meeting with my dad lately?”

“I… I’ve never really met with him separately.”

Kagami answered Harumi’s question with surprising care in choosing her words.

Before, she seemed to have no interest in forming separate relationships with people, but now it’s different.

To Kagami, I am precious family, and Harumi is my friend.

The idea of ruining my friendships probably doesn’t exist in Kagami’s mind at all.

“…?”

Mako looked back and forth between Harumi and Kagami with wide eyes.

Ah, I see. Mako must know about this too.

After all, we’ve already been to the police station after getting into a fight with other people.

Mako probably remembers that Harumi’s father showed interest in Kagami at that time. Honestly, it’s not a situation one would easily forget.

“Are you thinking about remarriage or something?”

“…Do you want me to marry your father?”

Yuu’s brow gradually furrowed as she listened to the strange conversation between Harumi and Kagami.

Come to think of it, Yuu is my cousin. If Harumi’s father and Kagami got married and I suddenly had a father, Yuka would also gain an uncle.

And that uncle would be her close friend’s father… hmm.

Depending on the person, this could be either good or bad, but it seems Yuu thinks it’s bad.

Friends are good because they’re friends. Isn’t a friend someone you can confide in about things you can’t tell your siblings or parents? Of course, Yuu and I are more like friends than relatives, and Harumi would probably continue to be the same—

But still, being related by blood originally and later becoming connected through marriage are two different stories. Yuu has already experienced the bizarre situation of her friend becoming her mother.

Yuka looked at me with an incredulous expression, then seemed a bit flustered when she saw me seriously pondering the situation.

Yuka poked me in the side.

“Hm?”

“Would you like to have a father?”

Yuka asked in a relatively quiet voice, showing concern for me. In fact, with the air conditioner noise, not many people could have heard it.

“A father?”

The problem was that one of the “people who could hear” was Koko.

As soon as Koko tilted her head and murmured that word, the kids stirred.

I’m the type who wouldn’t care much whether I had a father or not, as long as it wasn’t my biological father, but Koko is different.

Somehow, looking at her, I get the feeling she should have both parents. Even though she’ll be an adult in just two years, Koko still has a childlike quality that makes the phrase “a child who needs a dad” feel painfully apt.

“Woo?”

Koko tilted her head when she noticed everyone looking at her.

“Koko.”

Kagami said with a somewhat serious expression.

“Do you need a father?”

“Uh…”

And Harumi, who had first brought up the topic jokingly, was flustered.

That makes sense. Perhaps Kagami had started to feel more approachable. What was meant as teasing a close older sister figure turned serious when Kagami responded this way.

Though she always appears to be a carefree gyaru character, her emotional core is still that of an ordinary high school girl.

“Woo?”

In response to Kagami’s question, Koko tilted her head and then asked,

“Do I need one?”

It was truly a philosophical question.

And it was also a dangerous question where one wrong answer could turn you into garbage. To think she could be this formidable without even trying—Koko will surely become a great politician when she grows up.

“If you feel something is lacking in your current life…”

“Wooo?”

Koko tilted her head.

“If I get a dad, will someone else come in?”

We looked at each other.

Then back at Koko.

“I suppose that would be the case.”

Kagami replied with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

“I like things the way they are.”

Koko answered after thinking for a while.

“I like it with Kagami and Kotone!”

Seeing Koko exclaim with both arms raised high, Kagami’s expression turned somewhat moved.

No, not just Kagami. Probably everyone in the room was touched. Well, except for the cat sleeping in the corner.

“Right? This is fine as it is, isn’t it?”

Kagami exclaimed as she pulled Koko into a tight hug.

“Wah!”

Koko shouted happily.

I could see Harumi letting out a sigh of relief.

“…”

By the way.

Seeing her ask such a thing to her daughter, Kagami really is quite extreme. Shouldn’t her own feelings be more important in this matter?

If Koko had said she wanted a father, would Kagami really have considered marriage?

Being a devoted mother is good, but I wish she would think about her own life a bit more.

Right now, her only joys in life might be the two of us, but perhaps as time passes, she could find other sources of happiness.

“Anyway, that’s how things stand for now. I’m sorry.”

“N-no, there’s no need to apologize.”

Harumi responded to Kagami’s words with an expression that was difficult to describe.

In exchange for making Kagami flustered, Harumi ended up showing an expression we never normally see, so this round ended in a draw.

Though I’m probably the only one thinking of it as a contest.

“Still… even if it’s not dating, maybe you could at least see him occasionally?”

“Oh my.”

Kagami blinked at Harumi’s words.

“But Mr. Fukuda rarely contacts me first.”

Rather, it’s probably that he lost confidence because Kagami almost never contacted him first. Even the most confident man would lose the courage to send another message if a woman ignored his previous ones.

“What if he contacts you first?”

“Depending on my schedule, I could meet him.”

Of course, that “meeting” wouldn’t mean dating or anything like that. It would be literally just “meeting.”

“I see…”

Harumi answered with a somewhat complicated expression.

“Actually, my dad has been a bit…”

Harumi held back her words, but we all more or less understood what she meant.

He probably misses her, or something like that.

Kagami smiled bitterly.

“But would that be okay? Just meeting and nothing more.”

Harumi’s expression became even more complicated.

She wasn’t someone with a boyfriend or complicated romantic history, but there are some things you can understand just by imagining.

It’s not impossible for men and women to be friends. But being friends and meeting someone who has romantic feelings for you are completely different stories.

The balance of mutual feelings becomes disrupted.

Mr. Fukuda doesn’t seem like someone who would do anything inappropriate to Kagami, but still.

If something unfortunate were to happen, the relationship between Harumi and me would become incredibly… complicated. In many ways.

It might become even more complicated than if they actually got married.

“I guess… I’ll have to talk to him about it.”

Harumi said with a sigh.

She sometimes grumbles about her dad and speaks roughly to him, but she definitely has strong family bonds.

In the end, we couldn’t reach a proper conclusion.

But still, we all could feel a bit more at ease.

*

Originally, we had planned to sleep in two separate groups, but when we squeezed in together, we found we could just barely fit.

Since the air conditioner was only in this room, we couldn’t send our guests outside, so we decided to sleep like that.

“If we stick close together, it’ll be fine.”

Well, I’ve already experienced sleeping under a pile of legs during our last trip.

If I had to choose between being tightly embraced in Kagami’s arms or being crushed under everyone’s legs, I’d rather be embraced by Kagami.

“Come, come, stick close to mama~”

Kagami said as she tightly embraced Koko and me in both arms.

Her body temperature is a bit higher than usual. Her face seems slightly flushed too.

…Is she drunk?

Could she be drunk from just one glass of alcohol that’s not even 10 percent proof?

Well, the definition of “drunk” varies from person to person, but if drinking alcohol changes your behavior, that could be considered being drunk.

A drunk Kagami clings a bit more annoyingly than usual.

Thanks to that, even though we slept with the air conditioner on, my pajamas were soaked with sweat the next morning.

And so was Kagami’s side where I had been nestled.

She must not have tossed and turned while sleeping, as she kept holding me tight until morning.

…Alright. Let’s make sure not to give her alcohol next time.

Maybe even last night’s “Koko’s dad concerns” were all because of the alcohol.

Looking at Kagami, who was still half-asleep even though everyone else was up, I made that resolution.