Ch.329IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (26)

Not only did we prepare clothes and swimsuits, but we also got various other things ready in advance.

A tube for me, and a tube for Kagami.

True to her character, Kagami had never even considered buying a swimsuit before, and it seemed she had no intention of getting in the water at all. At first, she was only going to buy a tube for me.

But just like when we bought swimsuits, Kagami eventually gave in to my persistence and bought a tube large enough for an adult to use.

Strictly speaking, I do know how to swim. I had a job in my previous life where swimming was a required skill. Besides, children float more easily than adults. Usually, they just float naturally when lying still.

But the danger of swimming in a wave-filled ocean versus a calm indoor pool is completely different. As easily as children float, they can also be swept away by currents, and they’re much weaker than adults, so at my age, having a tube is the safest option.

Kagami herself must have realized, albeit a bit late, that if I went into the water, she would have to follow me in one way or another.

…Unfortunately, Kagami doesn’t know how to swim. If it were simply a matter of her not having learned, that would be one thing, but Kagami never even had that choice.

“…”

And right before the weekend of that week.

Kagami stared blankly out the window before going to sleep.

The residential area was quiet. If you walked just a little from here, you’d immediately reach a fairly wide road where people bustled about even at this hour, but in any city, once you enter a residential area by a block or two, the streets quickly become quiet.

That’s the kind of place we lived in.

Though there was nothing interesting to see outside the window, Kagami just stared out with a blank expression.

“Mom.”

Wondering what she was thinking, I approached from behind and tugged at her clothes. Kagami quickly turned to me with a smile.

“Since we need to leave early tomorrow, shall we go to bed now?”

Saying that, Kagami picked me up and laid me down in the futon.

Before, when I was a few years younger than I am now, we used separate futons. It can be dangerous for a very young child to sleep with an adult.

Now that I’m in first grade of elementary school and can express myself properly, it’s fine.

So, at some point, I started sleeping right next to Kagami. She didn’t seem to mind much, as she never pushed me away.

Looking back, I think it became a habit after we slept close together to stay warm during winter.

…It might seem a bit childish for someone like me who already had a previous life—but somehow.

For some reason, it felt reassuring, even if it was a bit warm.

After laying me down first, Kagami turned off the lights and lay down beside me.

A faint light came in through the window.

The rhythmic sound of an old fan spinning could be heard, and its rotating breeze regularly swept over my legs. It wasn’t completely cool, but it was better than nothing.

There were two bags at our bedside. Since we planned to leave first thing in the morning, we had prepared two bags in advance—one for Kagami to carry and one for me. Well, almost all the important luggage was in Kagami’s bag, while mine mostly contained snacks.

“How about it, Kotone?”

Kagami, lying face-to-face with me, asked.

“Are you excited?”

Somehow, I felt like that question revealed her own feelings rather than asking about mine.

But, well.

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Of course I was excited.

The days when I thought our relationship was awkward and strange had long passed.

Now we were just family who could rely on each other.

So, I was excited.

That the person I had lost was now beside me.

That I had been given another chance.

I was happy and excited about the opportunity to build new memories and cherish each other again.

“Then we should go to sleep early.”

Kagami said that with a slightly embarrassed expression.

I closed my eyes.

Kagami’s hand overlapped mine.

Still rough hands, no matter when I held them.

…I wonder if someday, I could restore them to how they were before.

I just hoped that time wouldn’t take too long.

*

Just like when Kagami came to Yuu’s house to pick me up last time, Yuu kept strangely staring up at Kagami.

She would stare up for a while, tilt her head, move to the side, look up again, and tilt her head once more.

I could have dismissed it as typical childish curiosity. Sometimes kids do stare intensely at people’s faces.

But that image didn’t really fit Yuu.

To begin with, Yuu is quite shy around strangers. Even when she first met Harumi and me, it took her some time to talk to us, and she still hasn’t become friends with everyone in the other classes.

I don’t think it’s particularly unusual, but this behavior from Yuu was somewhat out of character.

While Kagami is an exceptionally beautiful woman, do children really recognize that properly? Usually, they just think of anyone above a certain level of attractiveness as simply “pretty.”

Besides, Miho, whom they see every day… well, she’s still much younger than Kagami, but in children’s eyes, anyone in a school uniform often looks like an adult. And she’s pretty too. Being fascinated by Kagami when you have someone like that around you every day seemed a bit strange.

After staring at Kagami for a while, Yuu eventually turned and ran over to Miho, who was waiting nearby.

Then she tugged slightly at Miho’s pants.

“Hmm? Yuu?”

Miho, who had been checking the train tickets, immediately crouched down beside Yuu.

Yuu put her hands up by Miho’s ear, as if telling a secret, and whispered softly.

Miho’s gaze shifted toward Kagami as she listened to Yuu’s voice. Then she made a slightly troubled expression.

“No, Yuu. Different person.”

Different person?

I tilted my head in confusion.

Could it be because she’s related to Mr. Yamashita? She might have met her once when she was very young. Is that why she remembers? And Miho is pretending not to know?

But I wondered if there was really any need for that.

Miho gave a bitter smile and patted Yuu’s head.

Yuu tilted her head again, then approached Kagami once more.

Kagami’s reaction was equally strange. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Yuu’s gaze, avoiding direct eye contact, turning her head this way and that, and slightly shifting her body to the side.

Yuu persisted and circled around Kagami.

After tilting her head for a while, Yuu ran over to Mr. Yamashita this time. Mr. Yamashita crouched down in front of Yuu just as Miho had done earlier.

Yuu put her hands up by Mr. Yamashita’s ear too and whispered something.

“No, Yuu. It’s just someone who looks similar.”

Hmm?

This time, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

What could it be? What were they talking about? I wasn’t really an elementary school student, but I still wanted to hear what they were saying about Kagami.

Although I was Kagami’s daughter, I still didn’t know how the two of us ended up living alone together.

But even then, Yuu didn’t ask me directly.

*

I thought we might all ride together in a black sedan because they were yakuza, but I guess I had too many stereotypes.

Well, when kids go on a trip, they should feel like they’re on a proper trip.

As could be seen from Miho checking the train tickets earlier, we were taking the train to our destination.

Mr. Yamashita and Mr. Fukuda, who usually dressed in outfits that screamed yakuza—well, now they were wearing aloha shirts and shorts.

They still looked like yakuza to anyone, but I suppose they were trying to get into the vacation spirit in their own way.

Miho wore a fresh white blouse and short denim shorts. Kagami was wearing the white one-piece dress she had worn once when we went for a walk together.

Originally, the seating plan was for each child to sit with their own parent, with Miho sitting across the aisle next to Yuu—but at some point, Harumi and I ended up sitting together, with Yuu and Miho sitting across the aisle.

They had reserved the seats on the opposite side too, so no one was sitting there, which meant Yuu had no reason to be uncomfortable. The seat was originally reserved and left empty for Miho, but… well, at least it came in handy.

Harumi sat by the window, and I sat on the aisle side, so Yuu was in a position where she could talk to me anytime.

Yuu had been glancing at me for a while now. Miho seemed tired from preparing since morning and was nodding off. Well, she was only a middle school student, just older than us.

Harumi’s eyes were fixed on the window outside.

“Kotone.”

Yuu called me softly.

I had been absentmindedly looking out the window like Harumi, but when I turned my head, Yuu was leaning toward me with her hands cupped around her mouth, as if she were about to shout “yahoo” from a mountaintop.

It was exactly the same posture she had used when questioning Miho and Mr. Yamashita earlier.

“Kotone.”

Even though I had already turned my head toward her, Yuu called my name again.

“Yes?”

When I responded with a tilt of my head, Yuu seemed lost in thought for a moment without saying anything, then,

“Kotone.”

She unnecessarily called my name once more.

What kind of question could it be that she needed to call my name three times?

“Yes?”

When I responded again, Yuu finally voiced the question she had been pondering.

“Your mom… she is your mom, right?”

“…Huh?”

I blinked at Yuu’s question.

I didn’t really understand what she meant.

“I mean…”

She needed to whisper, the train was running loudly, but she didn’t know how to phrase her question.

With a frustrated expression, Yuu asked again.

“She’s not… our mom, right?”

“Huh?”

But receiving that question, I was pulled even deeper into the labyrinth of confusion.

Um…

I really didn’t understand the meaning of the question at all.

Was this one of those child-specific questions with things omitted that are hard to understand?

I spent a long time thinking, just staring at Yuu with a blank expression.