"That girl... she's a little strange? I'm not sure if it's rude to say that."
Soyo set down her teacup and made a conscious effort not to look at Yoshiiro Chiose sitting across from her.
Chiose's outfit today was dangerously eye-catching.
A well-tailored dark women's suit paired with a white blouse, a dark pencil skirt below. The overall look was immaculate — but it was the sliver of bare instep peeking out above her heels that kept drawing Soyo's gaze back, again and again.
A full year of knowing this sophisticated city beauty of a big sister, and Soyo had noticed that certain things about herself were quietly shifting to follow Chiose's lead.
Her tastes, for instance.
Across from her, Yoshiiro Chiose sat with one leg crossed over the other, sipping her tea with practiced elegance. And as her mood lifted, that dangling foot swayed back and forth — sending a fresh wave of heat rushing to Soyo's cheeks.
This was getting ridiculous.
To be on friendly terms with a pair of ankles this beautiful had to be cause for a celebration banquet.
"Oh? Has little Soyo made a new friend who's a strange one? Would you like to tell Mama all about it?"
The warmth and mystery woven through Chiose's voice never failed to tug at Soyo's heartstrings.
"It's not that kind of strange, really."
Soyo's smile was a little awkward. She genuinely couldn't find the words to describe Haizuka Kyoumoto.
"She's very kind, actually — a good person. But she always gives me the feeling that there are two sets of eyes inside her. Like one pair is hiding behind the other."
Those forever-burning golden eyes were a one-way mirror — as if some creature from another dimension were watching the human world through a borrowed face.
"Ha ha, has little Soyo entered her chuunibyou phase? How adorable."
What a funny way to put it. So cute.
Chiose laughed so hard she shook, and — not content to laugh alone — she pulled Soyo into it with her, bouncing her gently.
Amid all that swaying, a certain part of Chiose was the blazing sun in Soyo's field of vision.
"It's not that. Maybe it's just — she feels very mysterious."
"Mysterious? Now that really is a dubious word."
Dubious?
But Chiose-mama, you're mysterious too.
Nagasaki Soyo took tiny, careful sips of her tea, the fragrance of the leaves blooming across her tongue.
Chiose-mama had always fascinated Soyo... perhaps it really was because of that mystery.
She would speak of herself often enough — little glimpses here and there — but Yoshiiro Chiose had never once given a clear, complete account of her own history.
Nagasaki Soyo found herself turning over the strangest questions in her head:
What expression did Chiose wear when she ate alone? What did she read before bed at night? Did she wander through shops picking out cosmetics? What did she think about in the quiet before sleep?
Did she use the bathroom? What did she look like in the bath? What would she look like with her hair in twin tails? What were her favourite foods?
Did she ever talk to herself? She'd mentioned a younger sister once — a sister who was no longer here. Was that true? Did they look alike?
Yoshiiro Chiose had woven herself through every part of Nagasaki Soyo's life. Soyo knew that Chiose was one of the people who understood her best.
And yet — when all was said and done — Soyo still didn't know Chiose.
In silence, Chiose was a statue overflowing with something divine; the golden light in her eyes seemed to remind Soyo that this woman did not quite belong to the human world.
What kind of person was she, really?
Her own mother rarely spoke of it. And Soyo had no way to find out for herself.
Chiose would share stories about her life readily enough, but most of them felt like... stories Chiose had decided Soyo should know, rather than ones Soyo actually wanted to know.
In a way, that was perfectly in keeping with what a mother was supposed to be.
Soyo had grown so completely used to her — used to being nourished by her — and yet, at the end of it all, Nagasaki Soyo did not know her.
Perhaps that was exactly what made Yoshiiro Chiose more interesting than any other woman Soyo had ever met. That mystery, layered over the magnetism of a woman fully in bloom... Nagasaki Soyo simply could not keep her composure.
"What is it? Are you thinking about me?"
Only now did Soyo realize that Chiose had been watching her the whole time.
"Ah... I was thinking about my middle school days. How was middle school for you, Chiose-mama?" In her flustered state, Soyo reached for the deflection she felt most satisfied with.
It was a Friday. The two of them were at the Nagasaki family's new apartment, enjoying the warm afternoon light before sundown alongside the tea Soyo had brewed herself.
"My middle school? That really does feel like a lifetime ago."
Yoshiiro Chiose leaned back against the sofa in mock distress, chin propped in one hand, brow faintly furrowed.
"Eh? But Chiose-mama isn't that old."
"Still, it was a very long time ago... ah, I remember now."
"Back in middle school, I went into battle alongside a little fool for two music festivals. That little fool had already made quite a name for herself by then — had actually accomplished something."
"And after that?"
"After that? Well..."
Chiose's eyes drifted, and the gentleness in her voice took on a shade of quiet sorrow.
"Our performance at the festival was sadly not chosen as the best act. There was a certain... incident. And after that, she fell apart."
Also because of that incident.
"She became a struggling office worker — I believe she even lost her job later on. A hollow shell of a person."
"What? How did it come to that!"
This was the first time Soyo had ever heard Yoshiiro Chiose tell this story. She felt the thrill of having lifted back the curtain on a side of Chiose no one was supposed to see.
"And the incident was — ?"
"I fell ill that day. But I've recovered now."
"You need to take better care of yourself, Mama... But why did that other person fall apart?"
"Because — she failed to cherish the person who was good to her. And in the end, when she lost that person, she discovered it wasn't just the person she had lost. She had lost everything that person had ever given her."
Things like achievement. Things like love.
She'd gained all of it, and then lost every single piece. What a shame.
Chiose's tone as she spoke was unhurried and even — not at all like someone recounting a story that had unfolded right beside her.
"Oh... I see."
Soyo's grip on her teacup trembled and trembled, until she finally managed to set it steadily back onto the saucer.
"That's how it is. Well — a lot of people have come through something like that."
"Only my friend was particularly unfortunate. The person she had was someone who was good to her and only her — one hundred percent devoted, caring for her, looking after her. That kind of person... you might go a whole lifetime and never meet one."
After all... aren't all human beings selfish, at the end of the day?
Chiose slipped around behind Soyo and gave her little face a gentle pinch.
She pressed a kiss to her own left index and middle fingers, right there in front of Soyo, then laid those two fingers lightly against Soyo's cheek.
A faint lipstick imprint bloomed against her skin like a streak of light — a small, bright mark on Soyo's cheek.
"Sweetheart, I'm going to make dinner for you — don't worry, I made a point of learning your favourite dishes. You worked hard today, getting through school."
No — honestly, it wasn't hard at all. Because just knowing I get to spend the weekend curled up beside you makes me so happy.
Soyo said nothing. She simply watched Chiose's retreating figure.
[A whole lifetime and never meet one? But why do I feel like... I already have?]
Soyo was certain of it. Chiose-mama was exactly that kind of person — the kind you might go your whole life without ever finding.
Whoever that poor nameless soul was — I will treasure the people who matter to me. I will never be like you, someone who couldn't see the value of what they held in their hands.
Nagasaki Soyo's eyes were filled with a quiet, iron resolve. She had made up her mind about something.
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