Ch.400IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (97)

No matter how I thought about it, introducing her to Kagami as “my sister” didn’t seem right.

But I couldn’t just not explain who she was either.

Kagami and I are family. Things might seem safe for now, but who knows what kind of trouble Koko might cause inside the house.

The best solution would be for me to stay by her side, but even then, blind spots would inevitably occur.

“…This is Koko.”

“Koko!”

As soon as I spoke, Koko raised both arms high and shouted her own name.

Technically, her hair and arms weren’t that different from mine, but seeing her make such gestures made me wonder if she had some kind of instinct as a “human” in her mind.

…Human, huh.

I am human. At least. I don’t know how to strangely transform my body. If cut with a knife, I bleed, and my internal organs probably aren’t much different from anyone else’s.

I’ve never imagined myself with some of those organs missing. Even if I did imagine it, I’d just think I’d die.

Then, what about Koko?

When she was that giant nose, she seemed unable to see us. She probably couldn’t hear us either. Even when we made small sounds or shined faint light from our phones, she barely noticed. Did she feel vibrations through her skin?

She made sniffing sounds like a nose would… and she transformed after touching me.

A human nose shape. All those flesh pieces in the refrigerator resembled human body parts. That means, if she thinks it’s necessary, she could exist as a human, right?

I want to believe that. At least now she was mimicking my voice instead of sniffing around.

Kagami looked back and forth between me and Koko with a bewildered expression. She looked like she wanted to back away immediately, but also like she wanted to rush forward because I was there.

“…May I help with the explanation?”

Looking at the three of us—me at a loss, Kagami confused, and Koko tilting her head with a smiling face beside me—Yuka finally stepped forward and spoke.

“…Ah.”

Kagami finally made a sound, as if time had started moving again.

“Kotone?”

And she called my name once more while looking at me.

I nodded. Yes. That seemed like the best option right now.

Although Yuka, the expert, didn’t fully understand how the situation had unfolded, at least she had witnessed it with me. She might have noticed subtle details that I missed.

“Come inside the house first.”

Dad spoke up.

“We can’t just keep standing out here.”

Hearing that, we slowly moved and entered the house.

I grabbed Koko’s shoulder and positioned her in front of me. The part that mimicked my raincoat felt smooth, just like touching an actual raincoat.

“…”

I wondered if this was the right thing to do, but the water was already spilled.

For now, I decided to hear Kagami’s opinion.

*

After Yuka and I explained everything we’d experienced today in as much detail as possible, Kagami looked dazed. Understandably so.

I hadn’t told Kagami how I usually fight. I didn’t want to. The fact itself was already instilling tremendous guilt in Kagami, and if I mentioned deliberately cutting my hand to draw blood, Kagami might faint.

Yuka seemed to understand this to some extent and glossed over those parts. What we explained in detail was where and how Koko had been sealed, what that woman had said, and how Koko had fought.

And how Koko had taken on my appearance.

Crunch. Crunch.

Not quite understanding our conversation, Koko tilted her head while looking around the house, then instinctively picked up a cookie from the living room table and put it in her mouth.

“Whoa!?”

Her eyes immediately sparkled, and she dove onto the table.

Thud.

Koko’s weight must have been similar to mine because the table didn’t collapse under the impact. She lay half-sprawled on the table, stuffing cookies into her mouth with loud crunching sounds.

“Koko.”

“Woo?”

When I called her name, Koko turned toward me.

Cookie crumbs were scattered messily around her mouth.

“…”

Both Yuka and I who were explaining, and Kagami and Dad who were listening—

We all stared blankly at Koko, unable to say anything.

Koko tilted her head a few times, then moved her mouth again. Crunch, crunch—the sound of cookies breaking in her mouth could be heard.

“Sigh.”

Kagami covered her face with trembling hands.

“Mom…”

“Kotone.”

When I called out to Kagami, she quietly murmured my name.

“Yes.”

“That woman said she was your ‘sister,’ right? Kotone’s sister.”

“…Yes.”

“…And when you found her, she was in a form that couldn’t be called human.”

“…Yes.”

Do you know something?

I couldn’t easily ask that question. Kagami seemed to definitely know something, but the memory itself appeared to be very painful for her.

Was it because she was truly my and Koko’s mother? Or was Kagami born in a similar way to us? I wasn’t sure.

But I decided not to ask in detail. As much as I wanted to hear the story right away, I didn’t want Kagami to suffer because of my curiosity.

“That’s… right.”

Kagami answered as if she had organized her thoughts, removing her hands from her face.

Then she leaned slightly against the sofa, closed her eyes in thought, and,

“Sigh.”

Let out a long breath.

“Alright.”

After saying that, Kagami stood up.

“Mom?”

“…Kotone, Yuka. Neither of you have eaten yet, right? …And Koko too.”

Kagami asked with a gentle smile, looking at us. She was even smiling brightly as if the earlier concern was nothing, just like she usually did.

“Oh, yes.”

I nodded without thinking.

Is this really okay? Just hearing this brief explanation?

Kagami nodded to us, then looked at Dad. “I’ll prepare dinner,” she said, then headed toward the kitchen.

I got up without thinking and followed Kagami.

“Mom.”

Kagami started preparing in silence. It seemed she had already prepared some things in advance, anticipating our arrival time.

I was about to ask if she was okay, but seeing her hands trembling slightly, I closed my mouth.

She hadn’t sorted out her feelings. She hadn’t fully understood the situation. It was just that there was no other option but to accept it.

Kagami has never been angry with me. At most, she had briefly expressed frustration when we were alone shortly after I arrived here.

Even though what I’d done today could easily be considered a major incident.

“Woo?”

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere,

Koko, who had somehow approached me, made that sound while tilting her head.

Kagami’s hands, which were placing various items on the table, paused briefly.

She raised her gaze to look at Koko. Her pupils trembled slightly. Now that I noticed, her face had turned pale.

Was she feeling fear?

But soon a smile appeared on Kagami’s face.

Somehow, it didn’t seem like a forced smile.

…Maybe the fact that Koko was mimicking my appearance had a positive effect.

Though I still wasn’t reassured at all.

“Koko. No.”

As Koko reached for the table, I gently took her hand.

“We’re not done preparing yet.”

“Woo?”

Koko tilted her head as if confused, cookie crumbs still around her mouth.

I guess it’s fortunate she at least ate those in advance?

*

*

*

…Mornings in our house are always busy.

Kotone is a diligent child, but she’s not immune to morning drowsiness, so if I don’t wake her up early, time gets a bit tight. Still, I’m thankful she’s never so lazy that she’s too late.

Mr. Maeda, who now protects our family as my husband, leaves early for work.

“There’s no need to wake sleeping children early.”

Thanks to his kind words, Kotone rarely has to get up for breakfast with him.

…Children.

Yes, children. Since last weekend, we’ve had two children in our house.

The child I brought with me. Kotone.

She’s a good child. So good I can hardly believe I gave birth to her.

I can’t imagine how I could have ever thought of her as just a tool to escape my circumstances.

…Well, I suppose it was that judgment that allowed me to flee with Kotone in my arms.

Before that, I had given birth to “children” many times.

Those children that my sister Kosuzu dismissed as failures.

From what I’ve heard, they weren’t really “children.”

It was a “child.”

Shattered into pieces.

Unlike Kotone, who stayed in my womb for ten full months at once, this child had come and stayed several times prematurely.

“…”

In the kitchen, still empty except for me, I grip the table to steady myself.

Since last night, thinking about this has made me dizzy.

Kotone slept in her room again today. She probably couldn’t leave her “sister” alone. She’s such a kind child.

I asked her many times if she was okay. Today Kotone has to go to school. I’ll be left alone in the house with that child.

Mr. Maeda offered to stay with me, but no, this might be something I need to face myself.

…

I thought that child wasn’t a “child.”

Parts of that child that had barely survived for weeks or months in my body. I still vividly remember the scream I let out when I first saw it.

Pain. The metallic smell. Kosuzu clicking her tongue in disapproval.

After many years and repetitions, I got used to it, though.

Yes, I saw that child being wrapped in plastic, all in pieces. I saw it being stored in a cold refrigerator.

Why didn’t I realize?

All of them, ultimately, in the same way.

Children I had carried and given birth to, suffering with my own body.

They could only have been the same.

I feel sick.

For the first time in a long while, my throat stings and there’s a sour taste in my mouth. I cover my mouth and run to the bathroom.

The sound probably didn’t reach the second floor.

“Mom?”

Just as I finish rinsing my mouth in the bathroom, I hear the door opening and that voice from upstairs.

A sleepy voice. The voice of my daughter whom I love.

“Woo…”

And another voice following.

I hear footsteps.

Though I saw her yesterday too, how should I view that child?

The child I left behind simply because she didn’t look like Kotone.

The children are coming downstairs.

Today I’ll be alone with that child.

Honestly, I can’t sort out my feelings.

Still, the image in my memory was of something inhuman, still incomprehensible and unacceptable.

And yet, the form before me now.

Yes.

It’s the image of Kotone, whom I took with me. There’s no difference at all.

A child with Kotone’s face, smiling like Kotone, speaking with Kotone’s voice.

A child who could do that.

Ah.

If I had known before Kotone that this child could be like this, would I have taken this child and fled?

I don’t know.

I really don’t know…