Ch.332IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (29)

The next day.

I hadn’t heard the whole story yet, but I felt much more at ease.

At least I was relieved to know that Yuu and I weren’t actually sisters.

As for my image of Mr. Yamashita—

“Hya, hya!”

“Miho, wait a moment.”

…

Well, at least he wasn’t the one approaching her.

Mr. Yamashita seemed a bit perplexed that a middle schooler with no blood relation was being so familiar with him.

To be honest, Miho looked much younger than the Miho I usually saw. Not that her body looked younger, but her demeanor did.

The Miho who came to pick up Yuu on time always seemed dependable. Part of it might be because she was someone I had to look up to, but the way she took care of Yuu was certainly mature enough.

Like a mother, she would bring us snacks while we played.

…

Hmm.

Now that I think about it, Miho does seem a bit different. She appears “too” mature, if that makes sense.

After seriously debating whether I should intervene, I decided not to dig too deep. It could just be my imagination. This was also too sensitive a topic to ask directly, but there must be a reason why Miho was staying with the Yamashita family.

So if she saw Mr. Yamashita as a close uncle or even a father figure, that would make sense too.

Well, as long as people don’t cross certain lines, it’s fine.

“Splash!”

I was more concerned about Yuu.

Mr. Yamashita seemed a bit flustered at first, but then, as if he’d decided to think of her as his daughter like I did, he was awkwardly playing by splashing water. Or rather, entertaining her. Honestly, with that image, I couldn’t possibly describe him as “innocent.”

But the problem was that Mr. Yamashita’s real daughter was right here.

Children are jealous creatures. I’ve heard they get jealous when they have a new sibling, or when a puppy or kitten comes into the home.

In times like these—

“Yuu.”

I took Yuu’s hand.

“Kotone?”

Yuu had been watching Miho playing with Mr. Yamashita with a blank expression, but now she looked at me with slight surprise as I suddenly took her hand.

“Want to play with Mom?”

“Oh, yes!”

Actually, Kagami was a complete novice at “playing with children,” but Yuu liked her. Probably because, as Kagami said, she resembled Yuu’s mother.

When I brought Yuu over to Kagami, who was sitting under a parasol, she looked a bit surprised to see us both but then smiled.

“Kotone.”

Perhaps because of our conversation yesterday, Kagami seemed proud of me. In truth, I was just feeling more comfortable and treating Yuu more naturally.

As Kagami patted my head, Yuu stared up at her blankly. Kagami smiled softly and patted Yuu’s head too.

“Me too, me too!”

Harumi, who had suddenly followed us, exclaimed with both hands raised. Kagami laughed a little and patted Harumi’s head as well.

“Hehe.”

Perhaps worried that Harumi might cause trouble, Mr. Fukuda, who had been following behind Harumi, stopped at a distance watching us, then smiled slightly, scratched the back of his head, and quietly backed away.

I saw this and turned back to Kagami.

Then I tugged at Kagami’s hand and said:

“Mom, let’s play in the ocean.”

“Yes, yes! Let’s play!”

Yuu also tugged at Kagami’s hand along with me.

“My goodness.”

Kagami stood up with an expression that suggested she didn’t mind at all. By now, Harumi was also holding onto Kagami’s wrist along with us.

When Kagami was fully standing, the three of us simultaneously let go of her hands and ran off.

I could hear Kagami following us with light footsteps.

“Wow!”

Harumi was the first to shout like that and jump into the sea. Yuu and I didn’t jump in so dramatically, but we entered the water with enough force that the tubes around our waists bounced a couple of times when they hit the water.

Mr. Fukuda was watching the three of us from waist-deep water. Was he worried we might go too deep?

“Mom!”

“Alright.”

When I waved and called out to Kagami, she also jumped into the sea—

Ah.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Kagami.

It wasn’t because an adult was jumping. Kagami looked young enough on the outside.

But, well, um.

Kagami’s body would probably be incredibly alluring to men. Whether the top or bottom.

When a body like that twists in mid-air, it’s a bit much in many ways.

Splash—!

Kagami, who had sunk into the water,

“Puha!”

She rose up with that exclamation. Her hair flipped back, just like the mermaid princess I saw in an animation before.

“Wow.”

Harumi exclaimed in pure admiration. Fortunately, Yuu seemed completely oblivious to this aspect.

…

What should I do about this?

Should I tell Kagami? But am I too young for that? If I tell Kagami that I know about such concepts, she’ll be shocked in many ways.

After all, Kagami had a child early, and above all, she’s a mother who just wants me to grow up normally.

And besides, after saying I want her to be happy, thinking such thoughts might be a bit… inappropriate.

“Koto— Eek!?”

In the end, without saying anything, I splashed water at Kagami, and she screamed as she was calling my name and got drenched.

That reaction was so like Kagami in many ways that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Kotone~”

But it seems Kagami also thinks of me quite comfortably now.

She seems to have relaxed a bit after seeing me going to school with my friends.

“Puhh!?”

Kagami splashed water at me, and I made that sound while holding onto my tube.

I turned my head and splashed water back at Kagami. She did the same—

“Ahaha!”

Harumi excitedly jumped between us and splashed water at both Kagami and me.

“Take this!”

Yuu did the same.

We kept splashing water at each other until we were all soaked.

And it was really fun.

Hmm, now I think I understand why Miho had such a joyful expression.

*

On the train ride back.

Harumi, who had been full of energy on the way there, had completely exhausted herself after playing energetically in the water until sunset.

So unlike when we were sitting together on the way there, now we were each sitting next to our own parents.

Well, Miho was sitting next to Yuu. It would have felt a bit sorry to have Miho sit alone.

Mr. Fukuda and Mr. Yamashita sat separately with confidence. Though the two often chatted like close friends, they apparently weren’t close enough to sit together.

Above all, Mr. Yamashita’s arms were so thick that when Mr. Fukuda, who had a relatively standard build, sat next to him, their shoulders kept touching. Mr. Yamashita and Mr. Fukuda described it as feeling “gross.” Well, I can somewhat understand.

I, of course, sat next to Kagami.

I wasn’t completely drained like Harumi or Yuu, but I was sleepy and kept nodding off.

Kagami kept watching me. As if just looking at me rather than out the window made time pass very quickly.

…Time, huh.

Yes, I was actually a bit worried before starting school.

What if I couldn’t make friends?

Time spent alone in a room seemed like it would never pass. Well, that had its own restful quality, so it wasn’t bad.

Still, time does flow faster when you’re having fun.

There’s still a lot of summer left. Not just trips to the beach like this, but we’ve also planned to go to festivals.

Wearing yukatas with Kagami, enjoying the festival, and watching the fireworks.

“Mom.”

“Yes, Kotone.”

“The festival, together…”

“I know. I remember everything.”

Kagami said with a smile.

“I remember every moment when Kotone asked to do something together. I have no intention of forgetting.”

Saying that, Kagami tucked my hair, which had fallen a bit as I nodded off, behind my ear.

Feeling that gentle touch was the last thing I remembered before I finally fell asleep, completely drained of energy.