Ch.336IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (33)

There are no perfect parents in this world.

Perfect parents aren’t those who simply satisfy their children perfectly, nor are they those who are merely strict.

While there may be an ideal image of parents that society speaks of, even if they show that ideal image as much as possible, children usually aren’t 100 percent satisfied.

Then what about me?

Was I satisfied?

If someone asked if I had any dissatisfaction in my life, I could say that I did. Money is always better when there’s more of it. I wish Kagami didn’t have to struggle so much. If possible, I’d like her to stay at home with me and not go out to work.

But even if that’s not the case, I can already feel that Kagami is always doing her best for me. And that she’s sacrificing herself.

Not resting on days she wants to rest, not buying things she wants to buy, not eating things she wants to eat—the reason she saves money despite all this is solely because of me.

Getting involved with the yakuza family for whatever reason, not being able to live comfortably after running away with me.

…Even giving birth to me without erasing my existence—all of these were sacrifices Kagami made for me. Despite all that hardship, Kagami always smiled at me as if she were the happiest person in the world.

What about me?

Was I a perfect daughter to Kagami?

Wasn’t I too cold? Did I act too rigid toward Kagami because I found it burdensome to revert to childhood and imitate childish behavior?

Now I’m the best student in the class, but what happens when I get older and the basic knowledge I already know runs out? Will Kagami still tell me I did well when I bring my report card then?

…

There are no perfect parents in this world, nor perfect children.

Even knowing that the person beside you isn’t perfect, because you were born as family, the best you can do is to cherish each other as much as possible.

So, I practiced my hardest.

Just as Kagami always gives me the best memories, I wanted the moments when Kagami saw me to remain as memories she would remember for a long time. My cheering was directed at the children in my class, but it wasn’t just cheering hoping they would win the competition.

“Haha! Kotone, you’re really working hard!”

Harumi said that watching me. The other children around me must have seen my efforts positively too, as they all practiced hard, even if not as much as me.

Of course, no matter how much we practiced, we couldn’t do it as well as professional cheerleaders. After all, children who just entered elementary school can’t become professionals with just about a week of practice.

Yes. As always, we can’t be perfect.

But it’s okay not to be perfect. Doing your best for someone feels good in itself.

And so, day by day passed.

The leaves slowly turned their own colors, and the weather became cooler, now truly refreshing.

Yet not cold enough—perfect for children to play outside.

And so, the sports day arrived.

*

How long has it been since a day like this?

It’s natural for adults, and even by middle school, parents no longer pack lunches and come to school. If some parent attended a sports day because of their child, that child would surely be the school president or in such a position. Though I doubt parents would visit even then.

Well, sports days in Japanese manga sometimes have larger scales where parents do visit, but I’m not sure how it is in reality.

Whether in reality or manga, it’s not particularly strange for parents to visit elementary school sports days. In some sense, it even feels natural.

Kagami, of course, came to school with a packed lunch.

Kagami wanted to raise me as an ordinary child. She wanted me to do the same things other children did, even if I wasn’t as good at them.

With a large camera around her neck and a three-tiered lunch box in hand, that appearance felt quite familiar.

It’s obvious, but Kagami wasn’t the only one with such thoughts. Mr. Fukuda and Yuu Yamashita had the same idea.

One good thing about growing older is that Kagami no longer seems out of place among the other parents.

Of course, Kagami still stands out among them. She’s much younger and seems much more energetic.

But people only think she “looks young,” not that she might not be my mother. A mature atmosphere was finally beginning to emanate from Kagami.

“Kotone, Kotone.”

Kagami said, hugging me tightly.

“Don’t be too nervous today, okay? It’s fine if you make mistakes, but you’ve practiced, after all. Mom will be cheering for you from afar.”

It was somehow a bit funny to hear about cheering for the cheerleader.

Actually, judging by her voice, Kagami seemed a bit more nervous than I was.

To be honest, I was fine. I had practiced so hard for the past week that I was confident I wouldn’t make mistakes.

“Yes. I’ll do my best.”

At my answer, Kagami hugged me tightly as if I were the most lovable thing in the world.

Well, most parents probably feel that way about their children.

I only realized after becoming a cheerleader, but cheerleaders are busier than I thought. After all, what cheerleaders do is “cheer.”

If a child participates in an event, they give their all in that event and then rest until the next competition.

But cheerleaders are different. Naturally, a cheerleader’s job is to cheer their best for any competition.

Of course, since children could get tired and hurt if they danced in front of every competition, we designated people and took turns dancing.

The remaining children sat in the cheering section, chanting slogans or singing along to the music the cheerleaders danced to.

Harumi, Yuu, and I were in a group together.

Dancing with my closest friends was fun.

To be honest, I might have been so excited that my dancing was a bit more exaggerated than what we had practiced, unlike my usual self.

But it didn’t matter. All the children in front of me were singing and chanting enthusiastically.

Occasionally, I saw Kagami watching me from afar. She took pictures of me several times with the camera around her neck and waved at me.

However, as time passed, Kagami’s appearance became a bit strange.

Her initially bright smile became more complex, and her widely waving hand became smaller.

Later, she would look at me and then suddenly turn her body away.

Why?

I was a bit puzzled. I thought Kagami would surely enjoy this.

Did I look a bit tired?

As soon as lunch break was announced after all the morning competitions our class participated in ended, I ran straight to Kagami.

“Mom?”

“Ko, Kotone.”

Kagami quickly wiped her eyes as she called me. Her voice was clearly trembling.

When I approached to see Kagami’s face up close, she quickly turned away.

When I moved to her side, she turned again.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

I carefully asked, holding onto Kagami’s clothes.

Did I do something wrong? Should I not have been a cheerleader? Did my actions somehow trigger one of Kagami’s traumas?

When I asked, Kagami finally removed her hands from her face and squatted down in front of me.

Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying until just a moment ago.

But her expression wasn’t just one of crying.

Kagami was smiling.

With a much more complex expression than just smiling out of joy. An expression where I couldn’t tell if she was crying or not, but in the end, I could only think she was smiling.

Kagami gently stroked my head with trembling hands and placed her hands on both my cheeks.

“…How did you grow up so well?”

I was at a loss for words at Kagami’s question.

Kagami, who had been silently smiling while looking at my face, hugged me tightly.

This time, I was the one who looked like I was about to cry.

But somehow, crying here seemed a bit unseemly. I was maintaining such pride despite being a child.

Kagami hugged me tightly for a long time, then let go, stepped back, and looked into my eyes.

Then she slowly caressed my cheeks again and smiled.

Although her eyes were still a bit red and bloodshot—still, this time it was a completely beautiful smile, different from before.

A truly pure smile, as if this moment was incredibly precious.

At that expression, I still couldn’t give any answer.

I was only relieved in my heart that the choice I had made wasn’t wrong.

“Are you hungry? Shall we eat?”

“Yes!”

To forget the tingling in my nose, I deliberately raised my voice loudly as if excited.

Kagami stroked my head, stood up, and held my hand as we headed toward where Harumi and Yuu were.