"Little Soyo really is growing up," Chiose said, having caught exactly what Soyo was hoping to hear. She let the praise come freely, with all the warmth it deserved.
She really did adore children like this. And why wouldn't she? This little flower had been tended by Yoshiiro Chiose's own hands for two or three years now — of course she'd turned out well.
That said… shaping the daughter of the elder Miss Nagasaki into her own image… wasn't that just a little bit wicked?
A corner of Chiose's mouth twitched as she continued ruffling Soyo's hair.
[Oh well. It's not like Miss Nagasaki was going to raise her herself.]
You bring a child into the world and then abandon her — how could anyone blame a kind-hearted foster mother like herself for what happened next!
To have stumbled into raising such a wonderfully sensitive little girl entirely by chance. What extraordinary luck.
"You two are so close — I really shouldn't impose! Have a lovely evening, both of you. See you tomorrow, Soyo!" Sakiko said, ever the picture of decorum.
She rose and bowed — exactly as her elders had taught her to.
"Won't you stay for dinner? I just made a vegetable macaroni soup and a samgyetang."
"Oh, that's all right, thank you, Chiose-nee, I —"
"What a shame. After all, little Sakiko is the very first classmate to visit little Soyo at home. And she still can't stay to have dinner with her?" Chiose clicked her tongue in theatrical dismay, propping her chin in one hand while the other idly wound Soyo's hair around her fingers.
"Mama!"
Soyo would admit it — setting aside a great many other considerations, she did genuinely think of this warm-hearted, eager-to-help classmate Sakiko Togawa as a friend.
And Sakiko really was the first classmate who'd ever come to visit her at home.
But that didn't mean the other girl had any right to eat into the time Chiose spent with her!
Nagasaki Soyo would also admit that she was, in fact, having a bit of a stress response.
She'd only just gotten hold of this hard-won mother's love. If the time she had with Chiose got cut shorter, she really would feel out of sorts about it!
"Oh."
Sakiko caught a glimpse of Soyo's agitation, and something in her softened.
[So Soyo… doesn't have any friends? No wonder she was getting picked on at school. The mere possibility of having dinner with a friend made her shriek with joy.]
Seeing Soyo flushed with such obvious happiness, Sakiko stopped pushing back.
"All right then! I'll gladly intrude on your dinner. But please, Chiose-nee, let me handle the dishes tonight. I want to do my share."
Chiose wasn't sure what it was that made this girl insist on contributing something.
Or perhaps she had already guessed — but she couldn't quite believe that a child this young already had such fiercely developed pride.
Was it the way Sakiko Togawa had been raised? Hard to say. She'd never know without asking.
Chiose didn't refuse again. She gave Soyo one last look, then turned and gave Sakiko's small head the same gentle ruffle she'd just given Soyo's.
"Then be a good girl for me," she said — and then Chiose leaned in, dipping close to Sakiko's ear.
"Thank you for your help today. And if you can, please look after Soyo at school from now on. She can be a little sensitive sometimes, a little easy to push around… but you're a good kid. You wouldn't stand by and do nothing, would you."
"Y-yes! Of course!"
Sakiko's voice stumbled over itself — she'd meant to sound firm, but shyness kept cutting her off mid-breath.
The warm scent of a mature older woman at close range — how was a fourteen-year-old possibly supposed to hold herself together against that!
Chiose's smile didn't waver.
She could feel it — Sakiko Togawa was absolutely trembling.
Leaving the two children to themselves, Yoshiiro Chiose made her way alone to the kitchen to cook.
She would prepare the meal herself, in exchange for giving these two a proper dinner!
Behind them, Nagasaki Soyo had taken in every last moment of that exchange.
The teacup in her hand somehow went ungripped — and a little of the red tea crept silently over the rim, tracing a thin line down the tilted cup wall.
The tea spilled right onto Soyo's slippers, turning the adorable fluffy little rabbit into a thoroughly soaked, bedraggled bunny.
"…"
That was… no, that was just a normal adult handling a child… so why did watching it feel so awful?
Soyo's smile stayed in place, but only she knew just how much effort it cost her to keep it there.
[Am I losing my mind?]
She startled at her own thought.
But then — a normal person shouldn't mind seeing their mother treat another child with warmth, right? Maybe her possessiveness was just too strong… that wasn't a good sign at all…
Why was she feeling so out of sorts?
Sakiko hadn't noticed anything off about Nagasaki Soyo — or perhaps she was simply too young yet to distinguish such fine gradations of feeling.
She settled in beside Soyo and raised her teacup for a small, careful sip.
"Did you brew this yourself, Soyo? It's really good."
"Ah… haha, yeah."
The expression on Soyo's face went even stiffer.
Because that cup of tea had originally been made for Chiose.
Haah… fine. Getting petty about it would only make her seem like a bad child, and no mother wanted a bad child.
Soyo had never experienced a mother's love in any concrete way. Sometimes she wasn't sure whether the kind of mother from TV dramas — the ones who forgave their children everything — was the sort of mother she had found.
Sakiko, trying her best to keep Soyo company, lobbed one topic after another into the air between them.
Soyo didn't let her down — she kept up her end of the conversation, doing her best not to think about how Chiose had just been so tender with the other girl.
After all, setting everything else aside… Sakiko was genuinely easy to be around.
Through the small talk, Soyo kept drifting her gaze toward the kitchen, until Chiose's silhouette swam in and out of focus at the edge of her vision.
Just watching from a distance like that was enough to put her at ease. Someone making dinner for her — on a weeknight of all days — that was something she hadn't even dared imagine.
But that figure was so hazy. As if it had never truly belonged to her, never truly belonged to this world.
"Soyo? Soyo? Are you all right?"
Sakiko was right beside her, but Soyo's attention had gone entirely elsewhere — and Soyo's habit of glancing away made Sakiko think she might be feeling unwell.
"Is it still because of what happened earlier?"
"No. Not at all."
Soyo blinked, and her eyes held only that one figure.
"I'm completely done caring about anyone else."
— — —
Through the long, simulated years, Chiose had picked up new skills from time to time. By now she couldn't recall with perfect clarity the contents of every book she'd read during her first run.
But all of it had settled into her as accumulated knowledge — laying the groundwork for the countless abilities she would go on to master.
Dish after dish had come under her command. Both Nagasaki mother and daughter had always loved Chiose's cooking.
In its own way, this too was a complete collection — a full album of a mother and daughter.
Chiose shook a measure of seasoning into the pot and settled the lid into place.
"Almost time for the most important part, isn't it… little Soyo."
Enjoy this as long as you possibly can.
Stay just like this — lost in it, for as long as you can manage.
That little reaction of yours just now — I saw every bit of it. You looked so terribly adorable.
Watching you feel uncomfortable like that…
I… mm… I'm sorry… it makes me feel so very, very good…
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