Ch.354IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (51)

It wasn’t until well after 10 years of living in this world that I realized this world was a fantasy.

In truth, I had been somewhat aware of it since the time I ran away. After all, that situation was difficult to accept as just being chased.

But when you hear the story directly like this, your perspective changes a bit.

Yokai?

Monsters?

In a world where such things exist, naturally there are people who control them.

The government was trying its best to control these things, and Mako’s father was one of those people. It seems he came here to clean up something that had happened nearby.

Yokai are beings that don’t originally belong to this world.

He also said that to hunt humans, they need to create their nests and lure people in, and that there are people who can sense the presence of such beings.

I had a feeling that the reason I got involved was somewhat different.

It appeared suddenly. It clearly wasn’t an ordinary bear, and I didn’t sense anything like a nest. Or perhaps I’m just not the type of person who can sense such things?

But honestly, none of that really mattered.

In the novels and comics I’ve read, yokai and similar beings appear quite often. Even after hearing all this, I still didn’t understand what kind of world this was.

It’s not like I had met the main characters or anything.

Only Kagami’s reaction concerned me.

Sitting next to me listening to Mako’s father’s story, Kagami kept her head bowed low.

Seeing how she couldn’t properly meet my eyes, it seemed like Kagami felt some kind of guilt toward me.

Kagami’s desire to “let me live normally” might have been because of this quality of mine.

The woman in my dream had said it.

That there would be beings coming for me in the future.

I don’t understand what it means that too much time has been wasted, or what it means that more beings are watching me now.

“……”

I reached out and grabbed Kagami’s sleeve.

Kagami also extended her hand and placed it on top of mine.

Whether Kagami told me anything or not, I don’t care.

Because I can feel the reason so clearly right now.

The dream of living a normal life has essentially been shattered right here. I couldn’t fathom the pain Kagami must have endured.

“…I’ll give you some time to think about it.”

With those words, Mako’s father left the room.

Kagami embraced me.

Just like when she had hugged me earlier and sobbed, Kagami cried this time too.

“……”

I also shed tears in her embrace.

*

In the end, we accepted the proposal.

Because there was nothing else we could do.

Now that our identity had been exposed, running away to avoid protection would only result in surveillance.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that the person involved was Mako’s father, whose face I knew.

Though honestly, the impression I had of him as a gentle father who didn’t show much emotion was pretty much gone now.

And at least we didn’t need to run away immediately.

“…Mako.”

About a week after that incident, I met Mako again.

If these were memories from early elementary school or kindergarten, they might eventually be forgotten. Even memories from upper elementary school could somehow be forgotten—well, memories from that time tend to remain scattered in your mind.

Especially for something this shocking.

If there’s one fortunate thing, it’s that Mako didn’t directly see me being bitten. When I pushed Mako away telling her to run, she really did run.

Because there was nothing else she could do.

What could a child do besides calling adults for help?

And because of that, Mako was able to stay safe.

A bear can easily carry a small child in its mouth.

And the strength of its front paws is tremendous. If it had just scratched Mako once…

Above all, it wasn’t even a real bear, so it would have been several times more dangerous. My decision to stay behind was ultimately the right one.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

But as soon as our eyes met, Mako burst into tears. The way she sniffled was unusual.

Ah.

It seems Mako’s trauma wasn’t simply from seeing me being bitten.

Perhaps, yes.

…Could she be feeling guilty about running away and leaving me behind?

Because Mako is such a kind child. A child who thinks of others, a child who would want her close friend to be safe.

“No.”

So I firmly told Mako, trying my best to hold back my tears.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“But, Kotone…”

“Mako.”

As I said this, I spread both hands wide in front of Mako.

“How do they look?”

“Huh?”

“My hands, how do they look?”

“……”

At this somewhat abrupt question, Mako blinked. After staring at me blankly for a while, she tilted her head and said:

“They look… fine?”

She didn’t seem confident in her own answer, adding a question mark at the end.

But that was exactly the answer I was waiting for.

“That’s right.”

I nodded, forcing a smile as I spoke.

“I’m not hurt at all. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Oh, oh…”

Mako was still confused. I understand why Mako’s father had kept us from meeting for a while. She probably needed time to collect herself.

“So, it’s okay.”

“B-but?”

“I think I was mistaken about what I saw back then.”

I lied.

This wasn’t something agreed upon with the adults. In fact, the adults must have been troubled too. What to tell a child.

But I’m not just a child. At least the soul inside me knew that I was somewhat of an adult.

So, it’s all fine.

No one died. At least not this time. My friend didn’t have to be sacrificed.

Honestly, I couldn’t even properly judge whether I was hurt or not.

So it’s okay.

“…I’m sorry. Was I making too much of a fuss?”

“Huh? Huh?”

Mako still didn’t understand, tilting her head in confusion.

“No, Kotone has nothing to apologize for.”

Still, being perplexed is much better than being sad or horrified. The tears that had been flowing from Mako’s surprised eyes had mostly subsided now.

“Mako.”

I reached out and took Mako’s hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I… I think I have to move away.”

“Kotone?”

“We were supposed to be together until the end of the year, but I don’t think that’s possible anymore.”

“……”

Mako’s eyes widened again.

And soon they filled with tears.

She started crying again.

Geez, I’m such a bad person. How should I even talk to her? Despite spending years talking with children of similar age, I still don’t know how to properly speak to people.

“…I’m sorry. Somehow—”

But before I could finish, my vision was obscured by hair.

Mako was hugging me tightly.

“……”

After staying still for a while, unable to do anything, I finally patted Mako’s back.

Children just follow adults.

Sometimes, even without any special reason, they suddenly move away because their father gets transferred to a distant place, or conversely, they suddenly move in.

They can vanish suddenly and be quickly forgotten in memory, or they can suddenly appear and firmly occupy a place in one’s memories.

What kind of child will I be in Mako’s memory?

…And in the memories of other children.

It was quite a selfish thought. I wanted the children to remember me consistently.

I didn’t want to become someone nobody knew.

We stood there for a long time.

The day was hot.

But I didn’t want to let go.

Because I didn’t know if we would meet again after this separation.

And so, my summer of 1999 came to an end.

*

Ironically, the place we moved to was Tokyo.

But of course, it was quite far from Tokyo Bay.

Just as in Seoul, when you go to the outskirts, the high-rise buildings start to disappear and empty land begins to appear, the same is true for Tokyo, which is at the “do” level in size.

The place Kagami and I went to was such an outskirt of Tokyo.

“……”

The uncle who played the role of father came along too.

At least the place we were going to stay was an ordinary two-story house. It had space for one car in front. Like the house I saw in that famous cartoon with a kindergarten protagonist.

Looking up at that house while holding my hand, Kagami didn’t look particularly happy.

Neither did the uncle.

And neither did I.

I wonder how far we can go, starting over here. I really don’t know.

However, I don’t want to give up.

Probably, thinking of Kagami who was gripping my hand tightly—Kagami must have felt the same way.