Ch.73Chapter 11. Understanding (2)

“……It’s hot.”

When I was young, I often woke up in summer because of the heat.

My childhood impression of air conditioners was that they were “expensive.”

Air conditioners themselves were affordable, but how should I put it? They were treated as something not worth spending money on unless absolutely necessary.

Summer is short and we already had fans, so did we really need to buy an air conditioner? That was the thinking, I believe.

And then there was the electricity bill.

Eventually, as air conditioners became more cost-effective, our family situation improved, and I started earning money myself, we finally got one. Only then did I regret not buying one sooner.

Not many years after that, I ended up alone again.

“……”

My body feels hot.

It wasn’t just the high temperature that woke me. Maybe because there were no curtains, sunlight was pouring in through the window, and my face was directly in the path of the elongated beam of light, making my eyes incredibly bright.

Heat seems to be rising from the floor too.

I can hear the fan whirring, but I wonder why it’s still so hot—then I realize Kuro is lying on my stomach and Koko is sleeping pressed right up against me. The two living beings were completely blocking the breeze from the fan, leaving my body drenched in sweat.

Koko is one thing, but aren’t cats supposed to be nocturnal?

No, wait, maybe that’s why she’s sleeping now? Because the sun is up.

I check my phone from the bedside and see it’s almost ten o’clock—nine something.

Still, for being woken by external factors, I did sleep in quite late.

My body is hot, but my mind feels clear and refreshed. It feels like I’ve had an incredibly good sleep for the first time in a long while.

Perhaps knowing I wasn’t alone in the room had a significant psychological effect.

“……Ugh.”

……Still, I’d like to wash my sweat-soaked body soon.

I picked up Kuro who was sleeping on my stomach and put her down on the floor.

Seemingly displeased at being disturbed, she glared at me through half-open eyes, but once I placed her in a sunny spot, she quickly curled up and went back to sleep.

Cats have it good, being so carefree.

Despite being a stray cat until very recently, Kuro adapted to indoor life extremely well. Honestly, I thought she might have adapted too well.

As for Koko…….

“Uh.”

Koko must have woken up when I got up, as she was now sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

What should I do?

“……Let’s wash up first.”

“Kotone?”

When I took Koko’s hand and pulled, she followed me and got up.

Her way of thinking is really peculiar.

She has a childlike mindset, but somehow her judgment doesn’t seem that different from an adult’s.

The same goes for her spatial awareness and memory. Sometimes she doesn’t remember things right away, but if you repeat them enough, she remembers them clearly.

I’m thinking about teaching her how to wash herself soon. I can’t always take her in with me.

……Even though she looks exactly like my body, when I see her in front of me, I can’t help but recognize her as a different being.

*

After giving her a quick wash and bringing her out, I dried her hair with a towel.

It should technically be made of flesh, but strangely, the texture is that of hair. And it gets wet just like real hair too.

Well, I suppose there’s no point in applying physical logic to a being that’s inherently formless.

I let out a small sigh.

After drying Koko’s hair and then my own.

……There’s nothing to do.

Watching TV gets old after a day or two, and I didn’t feel like playing games.

You know those days, right? When you get a little tired of the same routine and think you want to do something different today.

“……Should we go out today?”

“Go out?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

That’s what I decided.

I’m not sure where to go. Maybe something will come to mind once we get to the station.

“Should we go out and eat something delicious?”

“Something delicious!”

Koko exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

*

I still have some money left.

To be precise, I’m well-off today. That’s because I received a hefty payment for this job.

Between catching the Raiju and helping capture that flesh mass, I got quite a bit. Even if we eat well today, we should be fine for food expenses for about a month.

I bought two cream buns, put one in Koko’s mouth, and munched on the other as we walked leisurely.

When we reached the station, I somewhat regretted our choice.

Should have taken the bus.

Tokyo’s August heat was truly murderous.

Walking while sweating profusely, I noticed Koko was sweating too.

I wonder how human-like she is? I think she might have been created in a way similar to me, but I’m not really sure.

Sitting in the station, I pondered where to go.

Maybe I should have called a friend.

Shii… I just met her recently, but would that be okay? I worry seeing the two of us might trigger her trauma. As for Sasaki, we’ve gotten somewhat close, but not enough to call him out separately. Unless Shii came along too.

Besides, if I called Sasaki, I’d probably face opposition from Hagiwara and Nakahara later.

I’d rather avoid such troublesome situations.

Yuuki… I feel a bit sorry about visiting her.

Koko is still in a childlike state, so it would seem like I’m dropping her off while I’m out. I’ve already relied on her tremendously, and might need to continue doing so, but I don’t want to burden her.

The same goes for others. I’ve been in touch with the literature club seniors, but haven’t met them specifically, and while I exchange emails with the Miura group, there hasn’t been talk of meeting up yet.

Wow, I know many people but have no one to contact.

I scratched my head.

Actually, maybe I’m just overthinking this. After living in isolation for so long in my previous life, perhaps it’s become a habit.

“……”

While I was sitting there absentmindedly—

“Huh?”

My phone vibrated.

“Wha?”

Koko tilted her head at my reaction.

The name on the phone screen was “Senior Kaneko.”

It was an email.

[How are you doing?]

I blinked as I looked at the screen.

Talk about perfect timing.

We’d been exchanging greetings during the break and occasionally having casual conversations via email.

Though I say casual, Kaneko was usually the one making jokes. I heard several dad jokes from her that were even more dad-like than ones from me, who was once actually a grown man.

I’m not sure if she sends them because she genuinely finds them funny or if she just doesn’t want to leave me alone.

[Yes, I’m doing well.]

I wrote that and sent the reply.

After staring at the screen for a while, an envelope icon appeared again.

[Are you free this afternoon? Let’s meet up. We haven’t had the whole occult research club together during the break.]

This person really sticks to her concept.

After thinking for a moment, I replied:

[Sounds good.]

[Izumi says she’s okay. I’m contacting Yuuki now.]

…….

Ah, right. If the literature club is meeting, Yuuki will be there too.

But will that be okay?

[Let’s decide on a place first. Kut-chan, have you been to Tokyo Tower?]

Tokyo Tower?

Of course I haven’t. I’ve never traveled abroad, and even in Tokyo, I’ve never deliberately gone to places that charge admission.

“Koko. It looks like we’re going to Tokyo Tower today.”

“Woo?”

She seemed unfamiliar with the term “Tokyo Tower” and tilted her head.

*

While I am an otaku, I don’t know that much about Japan.

If you asked me to name anime characters, I could list quite a few.

I know that festivals often depicted in manga and anime do take place, and that cars drive on the left side of the road.

But even after spending several months here, my knowledge of Japan’s landscape is limited to parts of Saitama, small portions of Tokyo, and the beach we visited last time.

I’m not complaining though. Even when I lived in Korea, I wasn’t the type to seek out famous tourist spots.

Having lived there for some time, I had visited most of Seoul’s famous places, whether by choice or not, but I rarely went out of my way to visit tourist spots beyond that unless necessary.

So saying “I’m dissatisfied because I haven’t visited” would be a bit… against my conscience.

But still, it wasn’t that I “didn’t want to go.”

I lacked the motivation to explore, and thought, what’s the point of going alone? Without someone to talk to or have fun with, I’d just wander around and head back. I’d probably be home before dinner and just go to sleep.

But if there are people waiting for me, that’s a different story.

“Kut-chaaa…ang?”

Kaneko, who had spotted me from afar and was running happily towards me, slowed her pace.

Her bright smile quickly turned into a puzzled expression.

“Huh? Huh?”

She approached us and kept making confused sounds as she looked back and forth between Koko and me.

“What’s this, you two? Is this a doppelgänger?”

That was quite the deduction from the self-proclaimed occult research club president. In a sense, she might be right. Koko did copy my appearance.

“Ah, I don’t know.”

With that, Kaneko hugged both Koko and me tightly.

And while hugging us, she said:

“Ah, this is nice. It’s been so long~”

“……You really are like a pervert.”

Ikeda, who had followed at a distance, said.

Then she looked at Koko and me.

“But… what’s going on? Are you twins?”

Her voice was filled with curiosity.

I nodded.

“I see… I had no idea.”

Ikeda muttered in a slightly dumbfounded voice.

“Huh? But she doesn’t go to our school, right? Do you take turns attending?”

Kaneko asked as she released us.

“As if they would do that?”

Ikeda chided Kaneko.

“Ah, about that….”

I looked at Koko.

“Woo?”

Ah, right.

I haven’t introduced Koko to them yet.

I pointed to Koko and said:

“Her name is Koko.”

“Koko!”

“Koko?”

Ikeda tilted her head, looking at Koko who had shouted her own name.

This is probably the normal reaction. After all, “Koko” is more of a name you’d give to a pet than a person. Or maybe a magical girl protagonist in a children’s show. It seemed like a plausible name to me, though.

“So… Kurosawa Koko?”

Ikeda asked with a slightly questioning expression, and I nodded.

In situations like this, being brazen is best. If you act like it’s completely natural, the other person won’t challenge you further.

“Koko, that’s a cute name.”

Kaneko placed her hand on her chest and said.

“I’m Kaneko Kaoru.”

“Kaneko? Kaoru?”

“It’s better to just teach her one of the names.”

While Koko understood many things well, she strangely got confused when taught multiple names.

I think, more precisely, she doesn’t understand how to appropriately use family and given names separately. And she doesn’t understand the reason for it either.

She does eventually adapt if she’s around others and sees how they address each other. During our last trip, she was only confused a few times, and after seeing the kids consistently call me “Kurosawa,” she seemed to understand that I’m also referred to as “Kurosawa.”

The problem is she doesn’t understand that she’s also a Kurosawa.

I wonder if she’d get confused about her own identity if she ever met someone with the same name.

……Well, even without going as far as having the same name, I still don’t understand the timing of when to call someone by their nickname or given name, so it’s understandable that Koko doesn’t get it either.

“Oh, um, really?”

Kaneko showed a rare moment of confusion.

“Woo?”

Seeing Koko make such a sound and tilt her head, the two seemed to realize that Koko was a bit unusual.

“Um… okay.”

Kaneko was momentarily confused, but then closed her eyes, nodded, and soon returned to her usual energetic expression.

She placed her hand on her chest again and said loudly:

“I’m Kaoru!”

“Kaoru!”

Koko shouted.

“And this is Izumi!”

“Izumi!”

When Kaneko pointed to Ikeda, Ikeda flinched slightly, seeming a bit taken aback.

Maybe she was surprised to be called by her given name by someone she just met?

……Come to think of it, Kaneko also calls Ikeda by her given name, right? Without giving her a nickname like “It-chan.” I wonder if there’s a story behind that?

“Koko!”

Kaneko pointed at Koko and shouted.

“Koko!”

Koko excitedly mimicked her.

Kaneko rushed to Koko and hugged her tightly.

“Ah, really, she’s so cute!”

“Waa!”

Koko, who enjoys being hugged, seemed to like Kaneko’s embrace too.

“Hey, Kurosawa.”

Ikeda approached me cautiously and gently grabbed my arm. When I turned to her, she asked with a slightly anxious expression:

“Is Koko…?”

“……It’s probably what you’re thinking, senior.”

At my words, Ikeda’s face paled slightly.

“……Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility.”

Honestly, it’s understandable to be concerned.

Unless you have someone similar around, you wouldn’t have any idea how to interact with her.

“Koko is a strong child.”

I used a very ambiguous expression, but Ikeda seemed to interpret it differently.

“I see…”

Seeing Ikeda look at me as if I was somewhat remarkable, I considered how to respond, but decided to let it slide for now.

Unnecessarily defending Koko would only deepen the misunderstanding each time.

“Alright, shall we go get something to eat?”

Kaneko said.

“What about Yuuki?”

“Ah… I contacted her, but she said she has something to do today. Family matters.”

Ikeda answered my question.

“She said she might join us in the evening if she has time.”

Kaneko added.

I nodded.

“By the way, this is the first time we’re meeting outside like this. We’ve always met at school. Hmm, hmm, so Kut-chan dresses like this normally.”

Kaneko said, looking at me.

I was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I tucked the shirt into my pants for a neat look. I’m not sure what the fashion is in this era, but most people on the street dressed similarly. I wanted to be a regular, inconspicuous student rather than a fashion-forward trendsetter.

For reference, I dressed Koko in the same clothes as mine because I couldn’t be bothered to think of something different. The only difference was whether the shirt had pockets or not.

It might be better to distinguish us by the color of our hair ties rather than our clothes. Well, there’s probably no need to distinguish us anyway.

“Kut-chan?”

Koko tilted her head at Kaneko’s words.

“Ah… Kut-chan is Kotone’s nickname.”

“Kut-chan? Kotone?”

She understands that I have both the names “Kurosawa” and “Kotone,” but doesn’t understand that there’s one more term used to address me?

“……She’s still learning. If possible, please use ‘Kurosawa’…”

“Hmm.”

At my words, Kaneko crossed her arms, nodded a few times, and then said:

“I see. I understand. Hmm!”

Then she lifted her head and said:

“Then, today I’ll call you Kotone!”

“……”

Is that… okay?

Well, I guess there’s no rule against it. If asked which feels closer between “Kut-chan” and “Kotone,” it would be the former. It’s more of a pet name than a given name.

But since Kaneko usually skips the “calling by name stage” and addresses me by a nickname, it felt a bit unfamiliar to have her call me Kotone like this.

“Since we’re at it, Kotone, you should call me Kaoru today.”

No, there’s no need to go that far.

She’ll understand things like surnames to some extent if we keep using them.

Before I could explain, Kaneko pointed to Ikeda and said:

“You can call Ikeda ‘Izumi’ too.”

“Why are you giving permission for that?”

Ikeda rolled her eyes as if she found it absurd, but then sighed deeply and said:

“Fine, fine… Well. We’ve known each other for quite a while. This might be a good opportunity.”

Ikeda said this with a benevolent smile on her face as she looked at me.

It doesn’t suit her at all.

“No, that’s—”

I mean, I did say to teach Koko just one name, but that’s for when Koko addresses someone, and when we address each other, as long as it’s not a nickname, it’s fine to use surnames—

“Alright, then, Koko, let’s go. There’s a café nearby that sells incredibly sweet desserts. You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s start by filling up on calories with lots of sugar.”

“Sweet?”

“Very.”

Koko’s eyes sparkled at Kaneko’s words.

Koko following Kaneko looked exactly like a child following an adult who promised candy.

It was probably because she sensed that Kaneko had no ill intentions and that I had a certain fondness for Kaneko, but it still made me a bit uneasy to see her follow someone she just met so readily. I should educate her properly later.

“Come on, let’s go, Kotone.”

Ikeda said.

“……”

It feels like the conversation just rushed past me.

……Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.

They’re both really nice people.

As Ikeda—no, Izumi—said, let’s consider this an opportunity.