“Goodbye, my loveable and most dearest Mako-nee-sama”
… Suddenly, my beloved lil sis Tachibana Koma left home, leaving such a letter behind.
“Why!? Why!? Whyyyyy!?”
I am disturbed, clutching the letter that Koma left behind, rolling around in the living room, and scratching my already ruffled hair as if to punish myself even more.
It’s strange… Why!? Why, why did she do this…!? I was determined as her older sister, to be her eyes and guide her alongside her, who suffered from prosopagnosia, but she left this letter and went away without saying a word to me or my Aunty. I don’t understand… Why!? Why did Koma leave…!?
“Maybe, I… did something that hurt her feelings… or something that made Koma hate me…? And that’s why Koma has left me…?”
I’m trying to think while I’m slightly panicking. If so, what on earth did I do to cause it…? Think, properly think about it, me…. What comes to mind immediately—-
“… Don’t tell me, she found out I was sniffing Koma’s bra every day before washing? Or, she found out that I used to make yoghurt with the leftover water from the bath with the Koma in it and eat it every morning…? No, she may have found out that I was trying to trick Koma into producing Koma-made kuchikamisake by saying I wanted to do a science experiment…? Or that I had been eavesdropping on Koma’s sleeping voice and enjoying it as a hypnotic sound, lastly—-” (TN: kuchikamisake = sake made from rice or other cereal which is chewed before fermentation)
—- This is bad. There are a little too many things that come to mind, and I can’t pinpoint which one is the cause at all….
“Calm down, Mako. Sure, normally it’s a being taken back & breaking off course matter, but I don’t see why Koma’d be taken aback by that much at this point.”
“Is this something I can be calm about!? Aah, Koma… Koma…! Why, why….!? What did I do wrong…!? Don’t tell me everything is wrong about me…!?”
Then, Onee-chan will apologize… Onee-chan will try to be better…! Please, come back to me, Koma…!
“You’re so noisy… I told you… Calm down!”
“(*Thump*) Bugh!?”
As I was sobbig, Aunty mercilessly smashed her knuckle into my head. This, BBA…. Does she know nothing about holding back…!? It seriously hurts!?
“Just calm down already. If you’re panicking too, we’re not going to get anywhere, Mako.”
“But, but…”
“No buts. You were told earlier by the nurse Sayuri-san. What exactly is it that you’re supposed to be doing? Tell me, Mako.”
“What Sayuri-san… told me? What I’m supposed to do…?”
Aunty scolds me for that, and I think back to what Sayuri-san told me…. That’s right. If I remember correctly, Sayuri-san,
“No matter what happens… You’d always and will remain on Koma-san’s side”
She gave me advice like that…
“That is… What I have to do is… No matter what happens, even if the whole world is against us, I will remain on Koma’s side…”
“That’s it. If you’ve got a lot of time to be idling away worrying here, then you have lots of things you need to do. Shouldn’t you be making an effort to be on Koma’s side? Am I wrong?”
“… Un”
“If you get it, take a deep breath. Cool down your head and calm your feelings.”
“…. I got it.”
I’m a bit unsatisfied being scolded by Aunty’s sound arguments, but she’s certainly right. Rolling around on the floor here for no reason, brooding over your thoughts, won’t bring Koma back… Taking no action…
Breathe deeply as Aunty told me to. What can I do after calming my hot head and heart? I’ll work with Aunty on where to start.
“… Fuu. OK, I’m already fine. Thank you, Aunty, my head is cool.”
“Okay. Then we’ll reopen the emergency meeting. Anyway, we won’t get started until we hear directly from Koma. Mako, are you able to get in contact with Koma?”
“… No, I can’t. Koma, she had left without her phone.”
Koma’s mobile phone was left in Koma’s room. This means that there is currently no way for us to contact Koma.
“So, do you have any idea where Koma’s going? For example, Koma’s friend or teacher… Isn’t it possible that she’s being sheltered in the house of someone close to Koma, someone she could rely on?”
“Probably not. I called Koma’s best friend earlier and she said, ‘I don’t know. At least I haven’t heard anything from Koma, and of course she hasn’t come to school.’”
In the first place, if the current time was normal, she’d be in class… So I don’t think she’s being shelterted at Himecchi or any of her other friends’ houses.
“Fuumu… It’s a bit of a problem for us that she is out of touch and not even know where she is. So, the only possible clue is that letter that Koma left behind.”
“As you say. It’s a bit, no, quite hard, but let’s read it again.”
Why did Koma leave and where the hell did she go…? The likely clues are… As I thought, they are in this letter.
I take a deep breath again to prevent my heart from shattering and read it just one more time.
“Mako-nee-sama. I love you, Nee-sama. But… No. That’s why we can’t be together anymore. Because if we continue like this, we will cause each other more trouble than ever before. It would cause Nee-sama more pain. I think I’ll pack my bags properly and officially leave this house by the promised next month. It may cause Nee-sama and Aunt-sama a lot of trouble for a while with procedures… But, please forgive me. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done till now. The days I spent with Nee-sama are a treasure for me. And then, I’m really sorry… I promise not to go near Nee-sama again. Please, Nee-sama with an amazing person…. Please be happy with a wonderful person like Nee-sama’s best friend, Kanai-sama. Goodbye, my loveable and most dearest Mako-nee-sama.”
“… Haa. No… This is hard to read again and again. If I hadn’t been prepared, it would have been a close call, even for me…”
“… I understand it’s hard… You, you’re still in danger at the moment. You’re spitting blood in real life, Mako. Are you really okay…?”
“Un, I’m okay. I was one step away from cardiopulmonary arrest when I read that earlier, and this is a lot better than that.”
I knew I was right to take a deep breath. I managed to avoid a fatal wound.
“Now. There are a lot of things that bother me, like why Koma wrote a happy, confessional note at the start, or why Kanakana’s name was suddenly written in the letter and lots of different things, but the word that made the least sense to me after re-reading the letter was… This, right here, Aunty.”
“Aah. I was a bit curious about that word too. What the hell do you think she meant when she wrote this stuff about?”
Pointing to a sentence in a letter written by Koma with Aunty. The sentence of concern for me and Aunty was—
“”‘I think I’ll pack my bags properly and officially leave this house by the promised next month’, It’s this, isn’t it?””
That’s right, this sentence. Other passages are about Koma’s feelings towards me, gratitude, apologies, etc… I can really feel most of Koma’s feelings.
But, this one sentence… I don’t know what she means by it. What? What promise about next month?
This, this one. If only I knew what this sentence meant… I feel like there’s something about it…
“Hey, Aunty. What’s so special about next month? The only thing I can think of in relation to next month that comes to mind quickly is… Mine and Koma’s birthday… Christmas… And winter holidays.”
“The only other thing is that I will be away from home for a while next month because of my work… But, why is Koma even leaving the house? Maybe she was planning to go somewhere else, too? Another volunteer appointment like the one in September?”
“I don’t know, at least I haven’t heard about it.”
“”Uuun…””
Aunty and I do our best to turn our empty heads to see if there’s anything we can think of. Next month, next month… ‘Promise’ It’s written down, and it’s probably some kind of important promise between me, Aunty and Koma. Did Koma say anything about it? I’m afraid I don’t remember anything…
PRRRRRRR! PRRRR! PRRRRR!
“”!””
Suddenly, the ringtone of Koma’s mobile phone, which Koma left behind, rings. Could it be… Koma!?
“Hello!?”
Maybe Koma realized she forgot her own phone and is calling her own phone. I thought so, and without even checking the number, I hurriedly opened Koma’s mobile phone and picked up the call.
… But the person on the other end of the phone is not Koma—–
“Ah, Koma? It’s me. It’s mother, but… Is it fine with you now?”
“……Eh?”
—– But she was someone I knew very well. The caller was so unexpected that I can’t reply because I am too speechless… Kaa-san, she says?
“I’m sorry. Are you maybe at school now? Myy, mother didn’t think it was a good idea to make a call at this hour either, but as I’ve been saying for a while now, there’s no time left until next month? It’s about time you give a reply to me on that matter. So I’m sorry, but I called you to urge you—”
Because I didn’t answer,Kaa-san, who thinks the caller is Koma and not me, is talking one-sidedly, as if she wants something. I haven’t heard my own mother’s voice in years, and I miss her— Not at all. I was confused and reacted to every word Kaa-san said.
“(Koma left the house leaving a letter behind, which contained an unintelligible sentence such as ‘Promised next month’. And Kaa-san, who called Koma’s mobile phone at this time as if to intrude, also said worrying words like ‘until next month’ and ‘about that matter’…)”
There’s something about this. I had a hunch, so I quickly switched to the speakerphone so that Aunty next to me could hear me, and continued to listen to Kaa-san’s story in silence.
“—- Probably, Koma is a sweet girl and I know she’s worried about mother, but it’s okay. I have plenty of money and nothing to worry about. And my remarriage partner is a very understanding person, and he said he’d be fine with a child from a previous marriage—”
‘This voice… Also ‘Okaa-san?’? Oi, oi, oi… It’s Aneki, isn’t it? What is she doing…’
‘Hey, Aunty. How does Kaa-san know Koma’s phone number? Did Aunty give her the number?’
‘No, it’s not me. I don’t have the right to tell her, and if I did, it would do no good and a lot of harm.’
‘I know… By the way, do you know what she means by remarriage?’
‘Don’t know. It’s the first time I’m hearing it too.’
I’m secretly talking to Aunty in writing so that Kaa-san, who is on the phone, doesn’t notice. Apparently, Aunty didn’t hear about it, either, Kaa-san—- For Auntie listens to her sister’s story with a suspiciously raised eyebrow.
Of course I didn’t hear anything about remarriage either… It’s a secret that I didn’t even know Kaa-san had divorced Otou-san in the first place. Well, I don’t have a problem with not knowing about it because, frankly, it doesn’t matter to me!
“— That’s why, you know, maybe Koma should just give me some answers? From next month… Won’t you live with Kaa-san and him?”
“”!?””
Such a shocking statement from Kaa-san reached my ears as I was thinking about this.
Eh, eh?… What did Kaa-san just say…? Did I mishear? Didn’t she say something outrageous like, ‘Won’t you live together with me from next month?’—-
“I keep telling you, my remarried partner doesn’t care if you’re a child from a previous marriage or not. No, rather, my remarried partner thinks highly of Koma, and you’re more than welcome to come to us.”
“”…””
“Mako… She’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. My previous partner—- *Cough*, she’ll be looked after by Otou-san. I’m sure that Otou-san will take great care of Mako till she’s grown up— I know he’ll treasure her dearly. After all, he’s the kind of person who’s crazy about tiny, big-breasted girls like Mako.”
“”…..””
“Of course, both Mako and Meiko agree with me on this matter. That’s why… And then, you know? If only Koma would say yes, then everyone would be happy. Okaa-san, Meiko, and then… Mako too. Everyone will be happy.”
“”….””
Aunty and I are too astounded when Kaa-san talks too much nonsense… Hey. What is this person talking about? What? Is she an idiot?
“”….. Ah.””
Hearing Kaa-san’s story. Suddenly, the advice that Chiyuri-sensei gave me just a few moments ago comes to my mind.
‘From my point of view, there has probably been some kind of change in Koma-chan or Mako-chan’s surroundings in the last month or two…. Koma couldn’t deal with the change in circumstances, and she must have developed prosopagnosia. Other than that, I can’t think of any other cause that would cause Koma-chan to have prosopagnosia.’
… Don’t tell me, it’s this? Maybe…. This is the cause? Is this the reason that Koma developed prosopagnosia…?
At about the same time that I had this thought, Aunty, who was sitting next to me and listening to Kaa-san’s story, also seemed to have noticed something.
“Hey, Mako. I just thought of something.”
“What?”
“Maybe, Koma… She must have half-listened to the conversation between me and Mako earlier.”
“Earlier?”
“Look, you and I were talking about me being away from home next month. You said it in the middle of that story. ‘No wonder I’m disappointed! Finally, free from the pesky baggage… We were supposed to live just the two of us as I wanted!’”
“Aah, un, I did say it… But, what about it?”
“After hearing Aneki say such stupid things. I think Koma thought Mako’s comment about ‘baggage’ was referring to her? So she left home with a terrible misunderstanding, and…”
“…..!”
With that Aunty’s guess, I felt as if I had connected the dots.
… I see, I get it now. Koma’s sudden face blindness, the part of this letter that I didn’t quite understand, ‘promised next month’, the reason why she left without saying anything… I understood everything. I see it now…!
“… Hey, just a bit? You’ve been quiet for a while now, but I’m hoping you’ll say something, Koma. It’s exhausting for me to talk to you one way. If you don’t respond, I’ll assume you’ve agreed to move in with Okaa-san? Is that fine?”
As soon as I understood, a certain feeling boiled over in me towards Kaa-san, who was currently thoughtlessly talking on the phone. Aunty is making a face I haven’t seen on her till now, and she feels the same way as I do.
Fufufu… Really, how much more… This woman…!
“…. Hoo? ‘Koma’ll live with her mother?’ is it? You thought up some pretty things you can’t laugh about without consulting me or Aunty…. Kaa-san.”
“…. Huh? Kaa, san…?”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a conversation. About 6 years? Well, that doesn’t matter… I’m relieved that Kaa-sanis doing well. I’m relieved to see that you seem well enough to sneak around secretly without telling me or Aunty about this stupid plan of yours…!”
“… Eh, eh? Ah…? It’s not ‘Kaa-sama’…. ‘Kaa-san’…? Ah, could it be… No, don’t need to guess… Mako!? Eh!? Why!?”
I’m trying desperately to hold back the urge to crush my little sister’s precious mobile phone, while trying to have a conversation with Kaa-san. Kaa-san, what an utterly worthless person. How dare you, you hag… How dare you drive my lovely and cute my beloved Koma, not once, but twice to the wall…!
“Uhm, uhm… Ma, Mako? That’s, not it. I have a profound reason for it…”
“In the meantime, there’s a lot I want to say and a lot I want to do to you… I’ll hold off for now. I have to go and get Koma now. That’s why—”
“I, I see… Then, I’ll leave at this part too…”
“That’s why…. I’ll leave you to Aunty Meiko. Aunty, I leave it to you.”
“Understood, Mako, leave this person to me… Hey, Aneki. Long time no see…”
“Hiii!? Me-Me-Me… Meiko!?”
I don’t have time for this useless Kaa-san right now. I hand her over to Aunty and rush to pack my bag with the things I need from my room and prepare to pick up Koma.
“Don’t hang up, Aneki. If you hang up the phone, it’s going to be worse, so you’d better plan for that.”
“Me, Meiko… You see, it’s different. This is, that… It’s just Onee-chan is having a bit of a delusion…”
“… Noisy. Keep your mouth shut until I give you the all-clear.”
“… Yes.”
“Aunty, I’m going out!”
“Oh… Wait, Mako. You forgot something.”
As I was about to run down the stairs and out of the house after quickly getting ready, Aunty took one of the fruit baskets in the living room…. She grabs a certain fruit and throws it over to me. This is a…
“Bring it with you. Probably for Koma… It’d be effective.”
“Aunty… Un! Thank you! Well, I’m off then!”
Understanding Aunty’s true intentions, I thank her, put the fruit in my bag and rush out of the house. Thank you, Aunty, leave Koma to me.
“Now… How to find Koma…”
I’m trying to figure out how on earth I should find the Koma in front of the house where she ran out and how I should pick her up.
Koma doesn’t have a mobile phone, so I can’t rely on that to find her. As expected, It would take too long to randomly search places Koma would go to.
In that case… I have no choice but to use that.
“… Can’t be helped. It’s an emergency.”
While muttering to myself and apologising to Koma in my mind, I take out a certain item from my bag. Onee-chan will get you right now….
Author’s notes: It’s finally time for Mako. Mako is stronger now that she no longer has to wonder. Now, go forth, Onee-chan.
Tintan 