Chapter 61: Decide for Yourself
Weekend.
Mana arrived at the park near her home.
But she had nothing to do; she just didn’t want to stay at home.
Recently, Nagi had been coming to practice with her mother every day to take Mana’s place in the stage play.
It felt as if she had returned to those years.
Back then, the tragedy had not yet occurred; everything was so peaceful and stable.
She didn’t know what kind of expression she should show Nagi now.
As she sat on the swing, zoning out while looking at the blue sky, a cold voice came from beside her.
“Spacing out in the park early in the morning, have you finally lost your touch?”
Mana turned her head toward the sound.
Standing there was Renji, carrying a shoulder bag.
“Why are you…”
“On my way to the cram school, I suddenly saw someone familiar in the park, so I came to check it out.”
Renji displayed his shoulder bag as he spoke.
“… cram school? Aren’t your grades pretty good?”
“I’m already studying high school senior material; it’s all for the sake of getting into a top-tier university in the future.”
“So that line from back then was serious…”
“A man keeps his word.” Renji pushed up his glasses.
Since that incident, Mana had forgotten how long it had been since she chatted with Renji like this.
No, to be precise, her relationship with Renji didn’t start to decline after Nagi’s accident.
It started when Kanade helped Nagi out of her shadow.
When she planned to carry the burden of Nagi’s share and work hard—
“Your expression has finally changed.” Renji suddenly said.
“Eh?”
“You’ve become willing to look ahead.”
As he spoke, Renji handed Mana a can of coffee.
When Mana took it, she found it was hot, likely just bought from a vending machine.
“…… Thanks?”
“Why the questioning tone?”
“None of your business—” Mana pouted and pulled open the can.
It was very cheap coffee, so weak that Mana almost couldn’t taste the coffee flavor at all.
But it could warm her heart at this moment, giving her courage.
“That night, Nagi told me.”
“She hopes I can let go of the past and not deliberately imitate her past self…”
“…..”
Renji quietly turned his head, leaning against the swing’s railing.
He had his back to Mana, so he couldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
…..
That night.
Nagi hugged the sobbing Mana.
“I’m sorry, Mana-chan, I never paid attention to you…”
This made Mana recall the days of the past.
Whenever she was sad about something, Nagi would gently hug her like this.
Despite their similar ages, Nagi always felt very mature and reliable then, almost like an older sister.
“I’m sorry… it’s all my fault; Nagi-chan, you…”
“That’s not true—”
Nagi gently stroked Mana’s head and said softly:
“Although since then, Mana-chan has apologized to me countless times, what I want to hear is not that.”
“….. Thank you.”
“Yeah, no need to be polite~”
“Because I’m Mana-chan’s friend, helping friends is the most normal thing—”
“So, if Mana-chan is willing to consider me a friend, please don’t apologize anymore.”
“This is not your fault, so there’s no need to feel guilty.”
“Mana-chan doesn’t need to imitate me; you’re not trapped in the past—”
“You have your own life.”
“What you truly need to be responsible for is your own life.”
…..
“What should I do…?”
Mana held the coffee can with both hands, murmuring in confusion.
Since that incident, she had never thought about her life, her future; she had only been replaying the memories of Nagi.
engraving her every move in her mind, wholeheartedly wanting to become another Star Palace Nagi.
“Your own future should be decided by you.” Renji’s calm voice contained inspiring strength.
“But anyway, I’m glad you’re back, Mana.”
“Ren… can I really continue to be Nagi-chan’s friend?”
“You really aren’t being straightforward.” After leaving that sentence, Renji turned and walked away without looking back.
“….. Who is truly the one not being straightforward?”
Mana felt the temperature of the canned coffee in her hands.
A faint smile appeared on her face: “There’s no cram school nearby after all…”
Her final whisper mixed with a crisp bell-like sound, dissipating into the gentle breeze.
…..
…..
Tsukimi Family.
Kanade stepped out of her room.
Since it was the weekend.
Her aunt had taken her cousin Yukino out.
Only her uncle, who was home on vacation, remained.
He was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.
He was quite a strange person.
Even though it was the age of smartphones, he was always keen on reading print newspapers.
Even when he had no other relatives willing to adopt him after being abandoned by his parents, he stepped up.
For that, he received quite a bit of scorn from her aunt.
Even though he usually appeared indifferent towards her, he would help pay for her tuition and other expenses.
He was an uncle who was hard to understand.
If it were him—
Kanade slowly walked to the living room and took a seat in front of her uncle.
This was an action she wouldn’t normally take, which piqued her uncle’s curiosity enough to put down his newspaper.
“Uncle, do you remember what I was like as a kid?”
Upon hearing this, her uncle seemed to lose interest and picked the newspaper back up.
“Why ask that?”
“When I was younger—”
“—Though I don’t know what illness you’ve suddenly caught.”
Her uncle rudely interrupted Kanade’s downcast words.
“You were just a little kid. Do you know about the Minor Protection Law?”
“It’s not your past that defines who you are, but your present and future.”
“How you want to be is up to you to decide.”
“Even if I say you were a kid who laughed all the time, would you believe it? Would that make you become that kind of person?”
As he spoke, her uncle took out a ten-thousand-yen bill from his pocket and handed it to Kanade.
“This is…”
“I heard you’re going to perform at the cultural festival? Seems like it’s being talked about everywhere lately.”
“So go get that messy hairstyle sorted out, don’t bring shame to the Tsukimi family.”
…..
…..
As the sun set.
Nagi finished training for the day.
She returned home, tugging at her skirt with both hands.
“I’m back~”
“Nagi, welcome back~” Nagi’s mother walked out from the living room to greet her.
From her mother’s expression, Nagi sensed she seemed to have something to say.
But before she could ask, her mother stepped forward and gently hugged her.
“Mom?”
“I heard you plan to perform again…”
In an instant, Nagi understood why her mother suddenly showed that expression.
To her family, she was a child harmed by performance…
“….. I’m sorry, but I…”
“No need to apologize, and I’m not trying to stop you—”
Nagi felt her mother gently caressing her hair.
“Nagi is a sensible child. If it’s something you’ve decided to do, there must be a reason for it—”
“I just want you to know—”
“You will always be my, no, our most beloved treasure—”
“No matter what happens—”
“We will always be on your side, never leaving you—”
“We will forever love you—”
“Forever—”
Her bangs obscured Nagi’s eyes, hiding her expression.
But she hugged back tightly.
“Yeah, I will always love you too, Mom…”
