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However, that day would never come again
When I woke up, the sun had started to set. Everyone had fallen asleep under the blanket.
“…Mmm… Pshuppishi…!”
I think we all woke up at the same time. The young girl Tsukiko-chan next to me let out a sneeze and shook beneath the blanket. The wind beneath the tree grew stronger and colder. The horizont started to turn orange as the sun looked down on us. We lifted our stiff bodies up from the sheet and started gathering our belongings and making our way down the hill. The whole time, Tsukiko-chan let out some weird sounds.
“Fuh… fubi… Seppi?”
“What kind of sneeze was that…?”
“…Mu… Mmm… Achoo!”
Tsukasa-san tilted her head, and Tsukiko-chan joined in. Apparently, she couldn’t stop it. A young girl’s body really is a holy object. They should have weird secret switches everywhere, and I want to press them to confirm their existence.
“For now, get inside.”
“Mmm…”
Tsukiko-chan was pulled inside Tsukasa-san’s warm coat.
“………” Steel-san, the head of the group, turned around to look at this couple with a slightly jealous gaze.
When she turned around forwards again, she started spinning her arms.
“Mm, mm…?”
“…Tsukushi, what happened?”
“I mean, it is a trivial event. I feel like my throat is a bit dry, and my nose feels itchy… Mmm… Urk… Ugh!” She let out something that sounded somewhat similar to a sneeze—but with her mouth.
Maybe she thought it was a contest. A contest for Tsukasa-san’s attention.
“Wanna walk with us…?” Tsukasa-san’s forehead wrinkled as she flashed a bitter smile.
For a parent that has several children, you have to treat everyone equally. Small children tend to feel inequality more directly. As someone born into the Yokodera Family, I’ve experienced that a lot.
The closed door on the second floor of the Yokodera Household flashed up in the back of my mind.
She is… Yotsuba-san from the Yokodera Family. I wonder what she’s doing right now. It’s unfair. To her, to everyone. Why is it always her?
“Don’t stop. Keep moving, brat.”
“Ouch?!”
Just when I was getting lost in thought, someone pushed me from behind. When I looked up, I saw Tsukasa-san peering down at me with her hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t make a face like that with that face, idiot.” She spoke with a quiet voice.
I think she was trying to cheer me up. It’s hard to tell, but that’s just how she functions. I keep getting saved, don’t I?
I staggered down the animal trail, almost falling over, when someone shook my shoulder.
“Sheesh, it’s troublesome with so many children around.”
Steel-san, who had acted spoiled this entire time, now was acting like she was special, so I smiled.
“You’ve been calling yourself an adult for a while now, huh?”
“B-Because I am an adult!” She pouted and straightened her shoulders. “I will gather even more knowledge and discipline, and will become a diligent adult… Just like Mother, for example.”
“Aim for a better adult, would you…?” Tsukasa-san gave a troubled retort.
I thought it was a good idea. If you have a goal, your life goes by much more smoothly. Even if you lose that goal midway through.
“Mm?”
“No, that sounds good. Become someone like your mother, okay?”
“You don’t need to tell me!”
I laughed and nodded. Tsukiko-chan showed her consent with a sneeze as well. A child has limited possibilities. History is there so that it can be changed. Avoid the route of your clumsy future and become a proper Mama!
*
When we got back to the Tsutsukakushi Household, Tsukasa-san changed clothes and laid down. On top of the futon inside the walled-off half of the banquet hall was a single hedgehog. Instead of pyjamas, she wore her beloved costume. It had animal ears on the hood and a tail dangling from its back.
If you asked me the question if it looked good on her or not, I’d have to say that she looks really cute. This newlywed wife doesn’t look like a Mama of two. Maybe I should make her a Mama of three… Wait, this ain’t the time to be joking around.
“I’m sorry to trouble you when you are this tired.”
I carefully moved away from the Tsutsukakushi siblings without them noticing and sat down next to Tsukasa-san. Apparently, the two of them were going to take a bath, and Steel-san emphasized that she would take care of Tsukiko-chan.
No, I know what you’re going to say. Of course I would love to go peek at these young and healthy sisters during their sweet and precious bathtime romance with an accident completely out of my control, but there’s a different route I have to conquer first.
“Tsukasa-san, could you please open up the storehouse?” I said the words that would hopefully break us out of this deadlock.
The storehouse of this time period was locked shut. After pushing, pulling, jumping towards it, and kicking it, I had confirmed that the moment I came to the past.
“What do you plan on doing after getting in there?” The hedgehog’s back was towards me, and she let out a groan like she was still half asleep.
“I was planning on asking the Cat God some things—Eh?”
She suddenly turned around, facing me.
“Do you plan on directly contacting the Cat God? Idiot. Stop making bad jokes.”
“I wasn’t joking…”
“This is reality. There are no miracles here, no magic. Who cares about some monster who acts like a God?”
It sounded like she couldn’t care less. Maybe her mood took a turn for the worst.
“But I came here thanks to the Cat God.”
The reason I came to the past, and the means I took to come here to the past, were both the Cat God. It borrowed the body of Emi’s Papa to tell me about the Tsutsukakushi Household’s bloodline, and told me that Steel-san would die soon because of the curse.
“Huh?” The hedgehog half-turned on the futon.
Her eyes, opened wide, were looking at me in shock.
“Ah, well… I just happened to talk with the Cat God a few times. We’re pretty close, actually!”
“What did you say…?”
“Best friends!”
After all, we’ve kissed about 100 times by now. I can proudly declare that we have crossed the threshold of being friends.
“Huh…” Tsukasa-san looked away, letting out a heavy sigh. “Since you’re always joking around, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious. We’re talking about a God. There’s no way that’s possible.”
“Then why don’t I show you some proof? Let’s pray, and then your sickness might also—”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
In the end, it seemed like she decided against believing me. As the master of the family, she might have some kind of strong basis for feeling that way. Or the Cat God of this time might be entirely different from the one I know.
“Don’t rely on some suspicious God. Don’t go inside the storehouse. Think of a different plan.” The hedgehog sunk deeper into her blanket.
“That’s a lie…”
“On what basis are you accusing an adult of lying?” I heard a voice grumbling from the depths of the blanket.
The words I muttered in shock were laughed at. But I shook my head. I had heard it, after all.
‘Did you know? This house has a Cat God. One cat that draws things closer, and another that hands things over.’
At that point, it was proven that the Cat God existed. The younger me said so when I met him during our first time travel to the past.
‘—Tsukasa-san told me about it.’
She should know about the Cat God. And he, the past me, shouldn’t have had any reason to lie about it. He was an honest child back then. I might not be able to believe myself, but I can believe the me inside of me.
“…They’re both the same, you know.” She said.
“That’s true, but…”
“I’m gonna take a nap. Tell the other two brats.”
“………”
When I answered with silence, half of the hedgehog came back up, looking at me with annoyed eyes.
“You’re just being a bother if you stay there. Moron.”
“……”
“Leave. There’s nothing more to talk about.”
“………”
“Again, don’t make that kind of face.”
My eyebrows turned into a へ shape. The me inside of me knew how to win over Tsukasa-san better than me.
“Please, Tsukasa-san.”
“…You…”
When I used my young throat to generate a quivering voice, a weakened sigh came back. It was a sigh you would hear from a sumo wrestler pressed outside the ring and admitting his defeat. Oddly enough, unlike her daughter, Tsukasa-san was quite a weak sumo wrestler.
“…It’s inside the vase right in front of the hallway.” Tsukasa-san muttered. “The key.”
My, how cute. I think this hedgehog might be weak against assertive little boys. She really likes children, huh? As a man who likes children himself, I totally understand.
“Thanks, Tsukasa-san! I love you!”
“…Shut up, shitty brat.” She complained with a sharp tone and angry eyes, but nodded in the end.
An Onee-san who is weak against aggressive boys. This attribute hits right home for me! I love her! At the same time, I felt guilty.
“Um, I know I’m really pushing things here, so I’m sorr—”
“I’m tired. Let me sleep.”
When I tried to apologize, Tsukasa-san immediately turned around and got into a sleeping position. I guess she really hates it when children apologize to her. Maybe these are her parental instincts—Most likely? There’s still a lot of things that I don’t know.
“…You’re not the one to blame. I’m at fault here. Just like you said, I lied.” I heard a deep, self-ridiculing voice. “I actually know a lot about the Cat God.”
“…Yeah.”
“A long time ago, my husband’s friend was in a bit of trouble, so he begged me for help, and I asked a lot of that god.”
I imagined that scene. The kind Tsukasa-san forced against the wall, praying to the god. Seeing how she feels towards the storehouse now, I sort of know what the result was already.
“It ended in failure, right? The wish was granted in a form you didn’t want it to, and that person was met with misfortune. Something like that?”
“No, it worked out just fine. The friend was happy, from what I heard.”
“Huh…?”
That’s not what I expected. And I acted so arrogant. Yikes, I’m so embarrassed…
“…It went too well. Even if everything worked out, I felt like I would eventually regret it.” Tsukasa-san continued, ignoring my embarrassment.
She spoke it with a tone like she was making excuses, but was still acting tough for someone in particular. For whose sake? That was obvious.
“I didn’t want them to think that there was such an easy way to change their circumstances…”
“That’s why you locked the storehouse?”
“Yeah.”
As a parent who loves her children, someone who advocates self-control, Tsukasa-san wanted to deny them any possibility of ever secretly wishing for something on their own.
‘Then why don’t I show you some proof? Let’s pray, then your sickness might also—’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
Just as she had said, I was asking for the ridiculous. Without even knowing her real feelings, I had spoken so flippantly. It made me feel like punching myself.
“Really, adults and children are all idiots.” Tsukasa-san clicked her tongue.
“…Yeah.”
“It’s like we’re having some kind of meeting to reflect on it…”
When I realized that a faint giggle was deep inside that click of her tongue, I snickered myself.
Our classroom assembly ended, and Tsukasa-san seemed to have gotten sleepy for good. Now that I had gotten my response, I was about to walk away, which she had apparently waited for. She turned towards me.
“That reminds me, what person did you pray for?”
“Mm…” Tsukasa-san let out a groan. “Who was it…? He was some weird foreigner. Maybe all Italians are weird. I knew that all of them were crazy for women, but he seemed extreme. What was his name again…? Pol…”
I listened intently, then jumped involuntarily.
“Pol… Polla…”
My lips moved automatically. I spoke the name of the one weird Italian foreigner I knew, the one who apparently knew no sense of distance.
“—Pollarola.”
“…Yeah, that.” She gave immediate affirmation. “Seriously, what was that about…?”
What did she mean by that? Honestly, maybe I was just too underwhelmed with that name’s sudden appearance. Just what kind of impression did Mr Pollarola leave with Tsukasa-san, I wonder? How did the person I’m bad at dealing with plague the person I like? For some reason, I’m hung up more on the unimportant details. Fortune or misfortune. I couldn’t ask about her impression. Instead…
“Don’t get unnecessarily close to that Cat God. That thing curses people.” She muttered.
The curse of the Cat God.
Is this related to the old custom of the Tsutsukakushi Family after all? Did Steel-san’s sickness originate from that?
“What kind of curse…?” My question was answered with a yawn.
“If you really want to get inside the storehouse, then do it tomorrow. I’ll come with you. Don’t you go in there alone. You definitely have to call for me.”
“W-Well, if possible…”
“You’d better. Promise me, okay?”
“…Yes.” Losing against the pressure, I could only nod.
“Mm…” Tsukasa-san nodded, only to yawn yet again.
That was the end.
“…Tsukasa-san?”
No response came. Finally, I could only hear faint breathing escaping the small opening of her lips. It seems like she fully fell asleep. I guess I really was in the way of her sleep. Since Tsukasa-san is so kind, I just ended up being spoiled by her. Always, all the time…
“…Thank you… very much…” I muttered and gave a wry smile.
I looked down at the small fists atop of my lap. All I was left with was the small body of Yokodera-kun. When I’m like this, I want to be honest when I’m in front of her. I gently caressed Tsukasa-san’s fingertips poking out from beneath the blanket. After confirming that I wouldn’t wake her up, I just sat there.
*
Stepping outside the banquet hall, I picked up on a very faint scent drifting towards my nose.
“…What?”
It took only a moment after taking a breath for the turbines inside my body to start spinning at high speed. I can tell! I know this smell! The delicious one! The scent of freshly-washed hair, along with drops of sweat! Mmm! Woof, woof!
I dashed down the hallway on all fours. Hop! Step! Axel jump! I spun around a curve and spotted a girl walking down the hallway! There she is! Tsukiko-chan right out of her bath!
“Woof! Wohooo!”
I jumped at her to request a reward…
“…Sit.”
“Yes!”
Just being blocked with a palm of her hand was enough to make me slide to the ground and sit in front of her. This must be the work of friction. I could see warmth emitting from the small openings in her pajamas. She had a towel wrapped around her hair, and a bit of that wet hair peeked out.
“The smaller you get, the cuter you look, Tsukiko-chan!”
“…The smaller you get, the more dangerous your actions become, you pervert.”
I could see faint drops of water dripping down her reddish, fruit-like shoulders. Tsutsukakushi pushed them away with her slender fingers and let out a sigh. Is she saying that I was already dangerous before when I was an adult? Well, duh.
“So that means the smaller I get, the more I can do whatever I want, and it’ll still be safe, right?!”
“Your positivity amazes me.”
“And then, once you grow even smaller, the Miracle Ex emitting from your plain will be absorbed by me!? I can practically taste the happy end! I’ll make your Mama another mama!”
“I do not understand what you’re saying in the slightest, but I can tell that you’ve crossed the final line, you pervert.” Her gaze from above bit right into my chest.
I’m shocked that such a young girl can create a glare with such pressure. Maybe I should have her become the master of all sorts of different girls, and then all of them can glare at me like this. Ahh, I’m getting shivers just thinking about it.
“…Senpai.” Tsutsukakushi let out a sigh. You’re acting a bit weird. I mean, you’re always a bit touched in the head, so that’s fine, but…”
“So you’re forgiving me for that, huh…?”
“Either way, why did you suddenly turn into a puppy running down the hallway? You weren’t the type of person to assume Azu—other people’s weird character attributes, right?” She narrowed her eyes.
Maybe she’s worried about me? But, wait, did I hear some weird word in there? ‘Azu’, I wonder who she’s talking about? When I asked her about it, she gave me a public speaker-esque response, saying that there was no deeper meaning to it. Thank goodness. I was worried that she was thinking that little Ms. Earnest-chan was already puppy-like. I decided to be a bit more serious.
“I was talking with Tsukasa-san just now. Before she fell asleep, she told me how to open the storehouse.”
“…So you were this excited because you were with Mother?”
“I like her as a person, yeah.”
That hedgehog is right inside Yokodera-kun’s strikezone, after all.
“Is that so…? Thank you very much. As her daughter, I am really happy.”
“No, it might be the other way around…?”
I was suddenly reminded of the ancient problem of chicken and egg. Since I am in the body of the young Yokodera-kun, I might have been unduly influenced by his emotions, since I had been raised with her and lived with her at any given moment. It’s not that I liked her from the very beginning, but more that I longed for her, and that’s why things ended up like this. When you put it into words like that, it sounds kinda sad.
Well, it’s not like it matters! Reflecting on one’s first love and whatever would be better suited for some kind of serious love story. Maybe I should work on an invigorating youth love story with Tsukasa-san as the main heroine.
“Senpai, what are you thinking about?” Tsukiko-chan asked me, seeing that I had grown silent.
“…Well, I was just thinking about how love can save the world.” I smiled.
“Is that so… You’re probably thinking something perverted, right?”
“Don’t limit my entire mind to perversion! How was anything I just said perverted!?”
“You suddenly gave off a licentious scent.”
“You wouldn’t throw bombs at people in a game just because they seem a bit suspicious, would you?! Reality is the same way!”
I really wasn’t thinking about anything of that sort, and yet Number One-san’s developed scent picked something up. She was giving me a gaze of heightened suspicion. I feel like her future lover will go through a rough time thanks to that. Some fluffy A-chan will most likely ignore anything like that and accept your everything instead. It’s like the north wind and the sun. Both promise a fulfilling family life.
Just like in the Aesop’s Fables, I am soaked in a warm daydream. Thus, I will ignore the fact that Ms. North wind and Sun-chan are aiming for the same traveler.
*
Night arrived. Taking a roundabout path on the porch facing the garden, I put my face on the side of the sliding door, peeking inside the different rooms.
“What are you searching for, Senpai?”
“Steel-san. I was hoping that we could go to the storehouse together. This is about her, after all.”
“Hmm…”
“She took a bath with you, right? Do you know where she went afterwards? It looks like she’s not back in her own room…”
Just like in the current Tsutsukakushi Household, there’s a lot of rooms that aren’t used. There are a few banquet halls that are filled with darkness. There was only one room that was brimming with light—the part of the banquet hall where Tsukasa-san was sleeping. That’s bad. Did I forget to turn off the lights? Tsukiko-chan made her way there quickly.
“Steel-san is always reading books at this time of day. The other day, she was focused on ‘University: Doctrine of the Mean’.”
“University? Doctrine of the Mean? Is that for some university entry exam?”
“It is a guide about Confucianism. A book that will be translated by Iwanami Publishing.”
“Huh…”
A seven-year old girl is reading that. Is she a genius or something? Well, I’ve seen several similar peculiar videos myself. It was called something like…’University Student Emi: I want a change from my plain self…’, right?
“If you could split that up this easily, then this world would be a Utopia with no war and sadness.”
“Yeah. Will you participate in this Utopia as well?”
“My soul will be tainted, so I’ll give it a hard pass.” Tsukiko-chan gave me a cold glare.
I think a world without victory or loss sounds pretty good.
“Anyway, Steel-san is reading a weird book? Or I guess an old foreign one? She really likes that sort of stuff, huh?”
“I am making her read it.” For a moment, Tsukiko-chan’s eyes lit up.
“I ask her to read it to me at night, which is why she is trying her hardest to read it. I am ensuring that she gets some early education by reading books. It is the newly-reinstated ‘Steel Tsutsukakushi Tsukushi Reformation Plan’.”
I can see the sight of a true Mama within Tsukiko-chan. Maybe she’s a pro at those kinds of simulation games? She went through a lot of trouble back in the day, so I get where she’s coming from.
“Defeat the pervert early, shape the steel early. Same with slapping you to wake you up from your fantasy.”
“So you didn’t just want to slap me for no reason?”
“There are many valuable documents scattered in this house. For example, the ‘Taihei Public Records’ have depictions of the Cat God bloodline, so I wanted to get a better look at that.”
“—Hm?” I tilted my head.
Taihei Public Records… I feel like I’ve heard that title a long time ago. But what kind of situation did I hear it in?
“Senpai, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
It’s not like it matters.
“So what are you having Steel-san read today?”
“No, I feel like she might already be asleep. She’s been playing basically all day, so she must be tired. Especially after our love-filled bath.”
“I see! Bathed in water, bathed in love!”
“…What?”
“Nah, I just thought that you’re being pretty clever.”
“…Just because you liked my joke doesn’t allow you to touch me like that legally.”
“Such a law doesn’t exist in the Tsutsukakushi royal family, right?!”
“The death penalty is turned into a lifelong sentence.”
“What kind of crime conversion is that?!”
We arrived in front of the banquet hall which still had the lights on and took a peek inside.
“…I thought as much.”
“She sure is worn out, huh?”
Steel-san had holed up inside a smaller blanket right next to the big one with Tsukasa-san inside. She looks like a baby bear sleeping with her mother.
“She probably can’t fall asleep without her mother around. What a spoiled child.” Tsukiko-chan poked at her older sister’s cheek.
You couldn’t quite tell who the older and who the younger sister was.
“But aren’t there times when you can’t sleep without me either?”
“Wah, huh? You’re wrong. I just happened to do that yesterday. I got the rooms confused. I should have immediately left the futon. Also, no matter what I did, you didn’t wake up, so you’re the one to blame.”
“I mean, I was saying it as a joke. So, um, what did you do yesterday?”
“………”
Tsukiko-chan froze in place for a solid three seconds, and then covered her face with both her hands.
“You’re wrong… Repentance.” Her small toes tapped on the wood of the porch from embarrassment.
She probably doesn’t realize it herself, but ever since she became small again, she’s been making all sorts of actions. So cutesy cute. Yet her expression is mostly staying the same, probably out of habit since she lost her expressions for so long. A young girl has a lot to her. It’s a narrow path—And I didn’t mean that in a weird way.
*
We sat down on the porch next to each other and looked outside the garden, exchanging a few words.
“Pollarola-san, huh?”
“Right, right. Since that guy already has gotten into contact with the family at this point in time, I figured that barging into the storehouse might be our best bet.”
I don’t know what that baritone-voice cheesy Italian is thinking, and he might not be thinking anything at all. Knowing him and his spaghetti code, it wouldn’t be weird for him to have done something. How much was his responsibility, and how much was the responsibility of the Cat God? My memories won’t give me a clear answer. All I know is that I want to slurp up Emanuella-chan’s red hair like spaghetti. Seriously, how many times are you going to stand in my way, disregarding time and space, you damn Pollarola?!
That’s what I said in front of Tsukiko-chan, but she didn’t show any signs of being particularly surprised.
“Huh? I thought I sounded pretty cool there.”
“What’s going on in your head really doesn’t matter right now, but I’m quite worried about how you’re openly admitting to being interested in sexually harassing such a young girl.” She nodded in understanding. “For now, your memories should be fine. I figured something like this would happen.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve been rewriting the Senpai notes since we came to this world.”
“…Um, so how much did you put in there?”
“Everything, I suppose. All of it is Senpai-related. What you experienced with those eyes, those ears, and everything. I know you probably better than you do yourself, so feel free to ask anything.” Tsukiko-chan raised her thumb.
Yokodera-kun notes, crossing time and space, version two. How reliable, haha! Since she’s observing everything during my daily life, she sure is going far for this, huh? Then again, it’s not like that’s anything new. When I take a peek at Tsukiko-chan down from the abyss, then she crouches down and looks at me deep in the abyss. It’s always a supply and demand between the two of us.
“It’s not like we’re going to redo this past, so…”
“What… so all my efforts were for naught…?”
I feel bad for breaking Tsukiko-chan’s illusion, but everything in that direction isn’t fun at all. I want to think about fun stuff, like girls. And also girls.
“What you’re saying is always so simple yet also so complicated, Senpai.” Tsukiko-chan raised her gaze, like she was giving this some careful thought.
When I followed her gaze, I saw that darkness was creeping up around us. Beyond the wall protecting us, from the outside of this world, something was pressing against us. With the cedar tree and hill so close, the Tsutsukakushi Household stands closer to nature than anywhere else. And yet it doesn’t feel like that at all.
The round pond was filled with moonlight, almost sparkling. The wild grass was like glass shining in the darkness, dazzling my eyes no matter where I looked. It felt like I was watching some old French movie. The sight was abundant with both romance and an obtuse story. What kind of title should I give it? The world outside, the destroyed night, the flowers like glass…
“Ah!”
I have absolutely no idea why, but the idea of a vitreous flower and a destroyed world1 gave me a great idea. Honestly, my originality surprises me yet again. I can see this becoming an anime already. If only dear God Kantoku-sama would do the character designs, it’d be a hit for sure. Or rather, I know it was a hit.
“…I really can’t tell what you’re thinking, Senpai.”
“Yeah.”
“But this scenery looks beautiful.”
“Yeah.”
Tsutsukakushi muttered, and I nodded. We sat next to each other, observing this beauty. That’s why I was sure everything would work out. What’s important is that we work together.
“Let’s head to the storehouse tomorrow. All four of us.”
If all of us go, everything will go well. We can’t lose, I’m sure, not with the full Tsutsukakushi Household power. Rather than some complicated French movie, we’ll make a happy end. Hollywood style.
“Love can save the world.”
“Haaah…”
I smiled, and Tsutsukakushi didn’t. She apparently didn’t understand what I was trying to say. And yet she nodded.
However, the tomorrow when we were set to search through the storehouse never came. The following day, Tsukasa-san left with Steel-san—and was never allowed to return to the Tsutsukakushi Household.
1A reference to Garakowa: Restore the World
CClaw Translations 