Ch.234Epilogue. At Least This Time (4)

Hmm…

Should I forfeit?

After looking at the slip of paper I’d picked up, I briefly considered that option.

Well, I thought it would be better not to choose that option. The contents of the slip would eventually be seen by others. Especially those who had written these slips and put them in the box would know which one hadn’t been chosen.

But…

Hmm.

Honestly, I don’t know who wrote such a distasteful prompt.

It would have been better if it was something clearly definable like “the closest male friend in class” or “the first friend I made.” Then I wouldn’t need to explain my choice to anyone.

I looked up when I heard someone calling my name.

There were my friends and family. And of course, they all fit the description written on the slip I was holding.

Yes, I understand.

If the slip asked for an item that was too easy to find, or a person too obvious to choose, it wouldn’t be much fun for this kind of event.

“…the most precious person.”

I read the slip’s contents aloud quietly.

Still, isn’t this a bit much?

If your parents are there, you’d have to decide which one to take, and if you had a partner, you’d have to choose between them and a close friend.

There’s always the option of not choosing anyone, but then everyone would be disappointed together. I wanted to avoid that.

But picking multiple people and crossing the finish line together, well…

Souta wouldn’t think of doing that either.

The other kids were already running off in different directions. Since everyone had different instructions, they could all make their choices easily.

Some were bringing what looked like family members, others friends, and some were bringing what appeared to be siblings.

Time was running out. I didn’t particularly care about winning, but losing didn’t feel right either. Kagami wasn’t cheering for me because she wanted me to lose.

…Alright.

I decided to make a quick decision.

Since someone would be disappointed no matter who I chose, I decided to pick “the person who would have the worst aftereffects if not chosen.”

After firmly making up my mind, I quickly ran to where my friends and family were gathered.

And I grabbed Kagami’s hand.

“Kotone?”

Kagami made a sound just like Koko when she calls me.

“Hurry.”

Kagami, wearing a headband, got up awkwardly and followed me as I ran.

I could hear cheers directed at us.

“Huh? Huh?”

As if she hadn’t expected to be chosen, Kagami kept making confused sounds—

And crossed the finish line with me in third place.

It seems we couldn’t beat the kids who had started earlier in a simple race. Well, at least we weren’t last.

“Kotone?”

Kagami called my name.

This time her voice was full of curiosity.

It was a voice asking what was written on that slip that made me grab her hand.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I simply handed her the slip.

Looking puzzled, Kagami took the slip and stared at it blankly for a moment before her face turned bright red.

Hmm.

I’d never seen her make that face even in front of Harumi’s father.

Ah, well, it’s not like she has romantic feelings for him. Though it seems Harumi’s father might still have feelings for Kagami, as he was watching us from a distance.

“Ah, ahaha.”

Kagami laughed a bit awkwardly and embarrassedly, then,

“Haha, my daughter, did you like Mom that much?”

She asked while patting my back.

Then she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

“…”

Since I was equally embarrassed, I made a slightly sulky sound while blushing in Kagami’s embrace.

“…I thought Mom would want to run too.”

Yes. That was one reason.

The truth is, the biggest reason was that Kagami was the only person around me who might genuinely get upset if I didn’t choose her. The others might pretend to be hurt but would laugh it off, but Kagami might actually be upset for a while. There was precedent for that.

And, Kagami… this might be the last sports day she could properly enjoy.

Even if she couldn’t participate fully as a student, I thought it wouldn’t be bad for her to run together as a mother.

Besides, the other kids had been running all day anyway.

“…I see.”

Kagami’s voice became a bit calmer.

For a moment, without saying anything, Kagami hugged me tighter.

And while gently stroking my back with her hand, she said,

“Thank you, really.”

“…”

Strangely, that ordinary phrase made me even more embarrassed, and I couldn’t say anything after that.

By the way, the prize was chocolate wrapped in bronze medal packaging.

*

“Hmm~”

“What?”

When Yuka looked at me and made a nasal sound, I reacted a bit sensitively.

Finding my reaction amusing, Yuka shook her head and said,

“Nothing, just that you made a good choice.”

“…”

I narrowed my eyes at Yuka and asked,

“Jealous?”

“It’s not like that.”

Yuka answered.

And for a moment, she quietly observed Kagami who was enthusiastically cheering for Koko.

“I really think it’s good. Now… you truly have someone who genuinely cares about you.”

Of course, to Yuka’s family, Kagami might still seem a bit suspicious. This change was indeed too unfamiliar for those who had seen the previous Kagami.

But what can we do? This is who Kagami has really become.

The crushing pressure, the only family member who looked down on her, a god threatening the world, guilt about her daughter… She couldn’t completely let go of all those burdens, but she had put them down to some extent, and that was the Kagami we saw now.

Perhaps this is what could be called Kagami’s “true self.”

The term “human nature” is a somewhat vague concept.

Saying things like “that person is naturally bright but looks gloomy now because work is hard” or “that person is naturally gloomy but pretends to be bright” are meaningless statements.

People change depending on who they’re with, and their basic personality itself can change over time.

In other words, rather than saying Kagami’s current self was her suppressed true nature, it would be more accurate to say she was able to change over time through meeting us.

The same goes for me.

I’ve changed a lot too. It’s even more noticeable when I think about when I first came here.

Sometimes, I still wonder. What was the original Kotone Kurosawa like? What kind of life did Kotone Kurosawa lead—one who never met Mako, never became friends with Shii, never exchanged a single word with Yuka?

And what emotions did Kagami feel while watching that Kotone Kurosawa?

Probably, it would have ended miserably.

Kagami slowly began to accept the fact that Koko and I were human beings, and when I died, she nearly went insane.

To the protagonists of the original story, everyone was just a stranger. Perhaps Kotone Kurosawa didn’t even appear as a “character” in the original work.

Maybe she was just mentioned in the background setting as someone who lived a terrible life unknown to others, only briefly appearing as that monster at the end.

I’ll never know for sure anyway. Here, this story is simply reality.

But because of that.

“…That’s right.”

I am,

“Truly grateful.”

“Huh?”

I am thankful.

For Koko, who was friendly to me from the beginning, following the teacher’s words.

For Shii, who quickly set aside her doubts and treated me kindly.

…And for Yuka, who asked me which way to go to our school in front of the school gates.

All those small encounters came together, allowing me to reach a happy ending as a person, not just as a background setting.

“I’ll probably be grateful for the rest of my life.”

“…”

My voice was too quiet to reach Kagami, who was excitedly shouting. Probably only Yuka, who was quietly conversing with me, could hear it.

To be honest, it was too embarrassing to say to anyone other than Yuka. Isn’t it? Going up to a friend and suddenly saying “thank you for being my friend” out of nowhere. It would be much more sensible to thank your parents for giving birth to you.

The reason I could say such things to Yuka was simply because she knew my backstory so well.

Yuka remained silent for a while.

As if carefully choosing what to say, Yuka stayed quiet until she saw Koko coming in first place, then carefully said,

“I’m grateful too.”

Yuka looked at me with a slight smile and said,

“I’m still glad that I spoke to you that day. Both in front of the school and at the cafeteria.”

“…”

She remembered.

Well, my appearance is quite noticeable after all.

The conversation didn’t continue further. In fact, there was no need to continue it.

That was already enough to understand well.

Kotone and I stood up at the same time as the people around us.

And we clapped enthusiastically and shouted toward Koko, who was cheering with an “Woooah!”

An ending. One ending.

But life isn’t made up of just one ending.

There will continue to be new episodes, over and over again.

Endings become sequels, and sequels produce new endings. Not all endings can be happy, but well, that doesn’t matter.

If so, we’ll just walk that path diligently to make it a happy ending.

Without giving up.

At least in this life, that was my intention.