Ch.363IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (60)

Until just recently, I thought I was living quite an unfortunate life.

Isn’t that so? Whether they were friends I’d known for a long time or friends I’d only recently made, I always ended up parting ways with them. I had to flee, almost like being chased out, from neighborhoods I’d grown attached to, and there was even a crazy group pursuing me.

But thinking about it, I’ve always had people who helped me.

Kagami is one of them. As my mother, Kagami truly did everything she could for me. If there was anything Kagami couldn’t do for me, it wasn’t because she didn’t want to, but purely because she couldn’t.

Though I never took it for granted, I’ve always lived watching Kagami sacrifice herself by my side. And in some ways, I had become somewhat accustomed to it.

The same goes for Dad. Even though we don’t share a single drop of blood, he’s always tried to protect me.

…Whether they share blood with me or not, the people around me have always been willing to help me.

But the scene before my eyes now.

“Father…?”

Souta’s eyes trembled with shock.

Souta had always been a kind kid. He seemed somewhat intimidated in front of me, but he was cheerful around his male friends.

Girls often talked about Souta too. Being the most handsome boy in class, it was natural that he was popular.

To children’s eyes, Souta seemed quite mature.

But.

“Souta.”

Souta’s father frowned.

“Souta. Come here. That child… Shii needs to go back to where she belongs.”

Shii burrowed deeper into Souta’s arms.

A small child burrowing into an even smaller child’s arms.

Children are beings who live depending on adults. Even I was like that. Even though I knew there were cases where that wasn’t possible, seeing it right before my eyes was a different story.

A small child, with no adult to lean on—seeking refuge in another child who wasn’t even in middle school yet. Burrowing into his arms as if asking for protection.

It was inevitable to feel an indescribable emotion seeing that sight.

“Excuse me.”

Dad opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what the circumstances are, but—”

“If you don’t know anything, wouldn’t it be polite not to interfere?”

Souta’s father cut off Dad’s words.

I blankly looked up at that man.

He’s an ordinary person. Maybe in his late 30s? Someone who probably got married in his mid to late 20s, making it about 10 years now. Considering my age and Souta’s, that timing makes sense.

It seems like the divorce happened quite a while ago.

His angry expression wasn’t as scary as Dad’s face. He was truly just an ordinary person. Unlike that strange woman who resembled Kagami that I saw before, he was genuinely ordinary—

“Even so, to the children…”

Dad, who has me as a fake daughter and also has a real daughter, seemed completely unable to understand that attitude.

“Souta.”

Souta’s father, or whoever he should be called, sternly called out to Souta.

For an elementary school student, it’s an age where one can’t easily defy a parent’s instructions. Especially in 1999, before the 21st century had even arrived, such tendencies were stronger.

Souta’s trembling eyes looked at Shii in his arms.

Shii was trying not to separate from Souta.

“Souta—”

Once again, as the man who was Souta’s father began to speak, Kagami approached Souta and Shii.

And gently placed her hands on both children’s shoulders.

“Shii-chan.”

Kagami spoke softly.

“…”

Despite Kagami’s words, Shii remained in her brother’s arms without even lifting her head.

As if she was afraid of anyone trying to take her away.

“Shii-chan. Would you like to stay with us for a while?”

“Mom?”

I called out to Kagami, somewhat surprised.

Kagami looked at me and smiled gently.

Various complicated thoughts come to mind. Especially, Shii is not a child of our family. Regardless of whether blood is mixed or not, taking her in could itself be a crime.

Right away, Souta’s father was glaring at Kagami. Dad was watching the situation with a blank expression. Of course, he was clenching and unclenching his fists as if ready to intervene if anyone rushed in.

“Souta-kun.”

“Yes?”

“We’ll take care of Shii-chan for a little while. Just for a few days. You can come visit her as many times as you want during that time.”

“You, that’s now—”

Souta’s father’s words were blocked by Dad.

Dad didn’t do anything particularly impressive.

He just showed his palm to Souta’s father who had taken a few steps toward our house. As if to say, stay right there.

Though his expression was gentle, his temples were not. The thick vein protruding there created an uncomfortable feeling that one might get hit if not careful.

I don’t think Dad would do that, but to others, the story might be a bit different.

One might have tried to bluff with “Are you yakuza or something?”, but Souta’s father’s gaze was shifting around. Besides being scared, he seemed to be increasingly conscious of the eyes around them.

If he cared so much about appearances, he should have properly taken care of his children from the beginning.

There must be some story behind it. But in the way he treated the two children, I think he lost any justification regardless of what that story might be.

“…Mr. Sasaki.”

Kagami, who had heard about Souta from me before, turned toward Souta’s father.

And with her hands clasped together, she bowed deeply and said:

“Would it be alright if we let Shii stay at our house for a few days?”

“…”

After Kagami went that far, Souta’s father seemed at a loss for words.

“Weren’t you planning to send the kid back to her mother from the beginning?”

Dad slowly opened his mouth. His expression wasn’t much different from usual, but the vein on his temple was still prominently protruding. And his voice was low.

Even though he sometimes becomes oddly high-pitched when talking to me, to the point of his voice cracking.

“Staying at a friend’s house for a few days doesn’t seem like a big problem.”

“…”

After hearing that explanation, Souta’s father also seemed to think it wasn’t a big loss for him.

Judging by his use of expressions like “that woman” and “that woman’s daughter,” he didn’t seem to consider her his daughter in the first place. Did he think we would be the ones to get involved in trouble anyway?

Or maybe he just didn’t want things to get any noisier. If Shii was with us, even if things got noisy, it would be our house that would be noisy.

“…If there’s any problem, it’s your fault.”

That’s what Souta’s father said.

“Souta.”

And he called for Souta.

“…”

Souta hugged Shii tightly once more.

In this situation, bringing Souta to our house as well would be too much. Everyone present knew that.

Souta whispered softly into Shii’s ear.

“Shii. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

“…”

Shii lifted her head. Those two eyes fully taking in Souta.

I found that expression heartbreaking.

I also have a younger sibling. We always fought, and sometimes even cursed at each other, but still, we were family.

Yet we also gave each other birthday presents, went on family trips together, and would rush out of the house if we heard someone got hit.

If they were completely torn apart and living separately, with only each other to rely on, it would be even more so.

“I’ll come tomorrow. It’s okay.”

That’s what Souta said.

Shii didn’t say anything for a long time, but eventually nodded as if she had given up on everything.

*

“…Mom.”

“I’m sorry, Kotone.”

On the way back home.

Shii refused to hold hands with Kagami or Dad. She seemed to reject any approach from adults altogether. Perhaps she thought getting closer would only lead to more pain.

“But… it was hard to just stand by and watch.”

“…”

I know.

Kagami is a mother, after all.

People with children tend to empathize more with parents who lose their children in movies or dramas than those without children. Even more so if it’s not just a scene from media.

Above all, Kagami is the person who ran away with me.

She gave birth to me when she herself could still be called a “child,” and even ran away with me at that age.

Whatever the situation was, the fact that Kagami gave birth to me means she was suffering terrible abuse.

Perhaps Kagami wasn’t just seeing this as a mother, but was overlapping her own childhood with the situation.

A young child who wished someone would save her.

Who wished someone would pull her out of that pain.

Kagami gripped my shoulder.

I held onto Kagami’s clothes more tightly and stood close beside her.

I’m not sure what will happen next. For now, Shii is supposed to stay for just a few days.

…It wouldn’t be strange if her so-called mother appeared in front of our house right away.

Tonight seemed like it might be a bit long.