Ch. 78 MtF – Chapter 78
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 78
**Half of Me. (2)**
After that, everything changed.
Minori—who had always ignored me, hated me—became more overprotective than even Mom and Dad.
Actually, at some point, she wasn’t even _Minori-unnie_ anymore.
Just _Minori._
I’d started calling her that because she said I didn’t need to call someone who was just living with us “unnie.” But as I got older, I realized that wasn’t really the point.
Anyway, those were happy times.
So much so that I often felt I didn’t deserve them.
_Cough, cough, cough! Haaaaaaa—hoo…_
“…You okay, Koyuki?”
“…Yeah. I’m okay.”
I took a slow breath through my asthma inhaler after another coughing fit hit me out of nowhere.
A lingering scar from the time I caught Minori’s cold and got really sick.
The doctor had said it was something that would’ve happened eventually.
_If it was going to happen anyway, maybe it’s not so bad that it happened then._
I got closer to Minori. And having that was worth the pain. Even if it felt like my lungs were being ripped apart—even if I was bedridden more than half the week—I had my family.
But.
Yeah, _but._
Why are there always so many “buts” in my life?
“…I’m sorry, Koyuki.”
“…It’s okay. I have Minori.”
Mom and Dad didn’t want to lose me. That meant medical expenses skyrocketed.
Expensive medications. Frequent hospital stays.
It didn’t take long for two ordinary salaried workers to be unable to keep up with the bills.
I started to regret the innocent thought I’d once had: _If I’m going to get sick eventually, maybe it’s okay if it means I get close to Minori sooner._
“I’ll take care of Koyuki from now on.”
“It’s fine, Minori. She’s our daughter—”
“That’s why _I_ should take care of her. You two have already done more than enough. Take a break.”
“…Minori.”
When I was younger, she was just “the one who draws well.” But at some point, she started making money from it.
I still remember the way her face lit up as she handed them a bankbook with a big balance printed on it, standing in front of our worn-out parents, proudly declaring she’d take over now.
I remember being so moved by it at the time…
But later, I asked her why she’d never told them she was earning money from art.
And her answer?
“It was just… spite.”
“…Spite?”
“I owed them a lot of things. So it was a kind of petty revenge.”
Grown-up Minori was more mature, sure—but she hadn’t let go of all the bitterness in her heart.
Even I, not fully understanding everything, could see how sharp and raw that feeling still was.
And then, she let one spoonful of truth drop in front of me.
A vague suspicion I’d had became a clear realization.
“To me, she’s an aunt. Yeah.”
“I see…”
“My aunt gave my parents plane tickets as a gift. The plane they were on… crashed.”
“…”
“There were no survivors, obviously. So yeah… that’s how it is.”
She said it like it was nothing—but I could feel how heavy those words were.
How much weight Minori had been carrying all this time.
I didn’t blame our parents.
I just… felt sad.
“So this… ‘spite’… what do you mean?”
“They chose _you_ to be their family. So I thought… maybe I’d steal you from them. Not seriously, though. Just… petty spite.”
“…That’s so dumb.”
But her eyes told me everything.
Minori had already forgiven them.
Or maybe “forgiven” wasn’t the right word. Maybe she just didn’t want to be angry anymore.
Anyway, after that, I started living with Minori.
What that means is—she got her own place, and I moved in with her.
Mom and Dad were really anxious at first, but once they heard I was doing fine, they seemed relieved.
“What’d Auntie say?”
“…She said to tell her if you ever bullied me.”
“Unbelievable. You’re the one bullying _me,_ not the other way around.”
I looked away, sheepish.
She wasn’t wrong.
I’d poked holes in her bank account, nagged her with little things… I definitely gave her a hard time.
I used to be scared of her when I was little. But as I got older, we just became… like friends.
In other words, I let my guard down.
And because I did, I wanted to return the emotional toll she’d paid.
“Stop teasing me for being bad at games. You’re gonna get it one of these days.”
“But I don’t see you beating me anytime soon.”
While Minori was holed up drawing, I was playing games—console, PC, handheld, you name it.
Sometimes, when I looked bored, she’d play with me. But the skill gap was way too wide, so she never won.
When she asked if the game was still fun, I just grinned and said, “It’s more fun beating you.”
She pouted, of course—but only for a moment.
I mean, she acted like she couldn’t live without me, after all.
“Seriously… what’re you gonna do if I’m not around, Minori?”
“…Why would you say that?”
“No reason.”
I went in for regular checkups. I knew my condition was getting worse.
The days when only guardians were told the truth about my health had long passed.
Maybe I already knew, deep down.
That I didn’t have much time left.
And maybe Minori’s desire to spend more time with me came from that anxiety.
“If you found my twin, maybe you’d feel less alone.”
“…”
“I’m kidding, obviously.”
We’d learned I had a twin during a detailed health screening years ago.
Since my gender hadn’t changed all the way into adulthood, I figured my twin’s had probably shifted.
…I didn’t even know if they were alive.
Maybe they were even healthier than me. I hoped so.
But part of me also worried… what if, when my body changed, I left them with this fragile health?
“Don’t joke about that. Got it?”
“Wh-Why’s your face so scary~?”
“Got it?”
“…Okay. Sorry. My bad.”
Minori’s tone was enough to make me nod slowly, like I was facing a monster.
What would happen to her if I disappeared?
I thought maybe it would be better if she started distancing herself now… but Minori had no intention of pulling away.
And honestly, I didn’t want to see that happen either.
_I don’t want Minori to go through the pain of losing family again._
What was I to Minori?
I’d wondered that for a long time.
A little sister? Just someone she lived with? A pitiful benefactor who once took care of her when she was sick?
But now I knew.
Minori saw me as family. That much was clear.
“Minori, you know you’re my favorite person in the whole world, right?”
“Hey now, I thought you told Auntie and Uncle they were your most beloved?”
“Then… you’re my third favorite.”
“Fair enough. You’re my third favorite too, Koyuki.”
I didn’t need to ask who her first and second were.
That was fine. We were each other’s third favorite people, so no hard feelings.
I didn’t know when the farewell would come—but right now, I just wanted to make more memories with Minori.
Stay strong, Koyuki. It’s okay for now. Don’t get scared.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll get better.
“Koyuki!!!”
But.
Yeah, there it was again. That damn _but._
_BEEEEEEEEEP!!!_
—
Because of the accident, Minori lost the ability to draw.
I didn’t suffer any major injuries, but the shock and the blaring of a car horn caused me to lose consciousness.
The problem was that my body had already been in such bad shape that even something like that was enough to make it worse.
After that, I basically lived in the hospital.
I wanted to go back to the place I shared with Minori… but the situation just wouldn’t allow it.
“You okay?”
“…Yeah. Just a little hard to breathe.”
At this point, I couldn’t even breathe without wearing a respiratory mask.
I was scared of seeing my own worn-out reflection, so I had them remove the mirror from my bedside table.
…Guess going back to live with Minori was out of the question.
I didn’t think I’d lived an unhappy life.
But right now… yeah, this felt a bit unfair.
Having to show my family what it looks like when I’m dying—there’s nothing more painful than that.
And then, one day, as I passed another long hospital day—
“Koyuki.”
“…Yeah?”
I turned to Minori, whose face looked even paler than mine.
“I think I found them.”
“…Found who?”
She blinked slowly, like her brain was still processing what she was saying.
“Your twin. I think I found them.”
And with those words, I forgot how to breathe.
Because the word “twin” carried that much weight.
Fables
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