So hot.
Another scorching dream.
This time it wasn't just wrapped in a padded cotton coat, shuttling through the magma—it was wrapped in magma itself, spinning and tap-dancing across the surface of the sun.
The falling molten lava was her dancing shoes.
[Wrong... something's wrong!]
A familiar feeling jolted Soyo awake from the dream in an instant.
The last time she'd had the same dream was when Chiose had a fever—so what about this time?
She threw off the covers so fast that her own brain didn't have time to react.
Just as she feared, the burning heat against her chest was coming from Chiose.
The little angel's lips parted and closed with difficulty, like a sea fish pressed down on a cutting board.
Her pretty eyebrows were knotted tight too, but what frightened Soyo most was the other's cheeks.
They were so utterly... drained of color.
"Little Chiose? Little Chiose! Are you okay? Don't scare Mama like this."
No response, except for Chiose's labored mumbling.
Realizing something was terribly wrong, Nagasaki Soyo made a whole series of decisions in her head within a very short time.
Grab a coat and throw it on, cover Chiose with a blanket, snatch up her phone, power bank, and wallet—and then she rushed out the door.
Damn it... why was Little Chiose sick again... it was because of me, wasn't it?
Leaving the child home alone without even preparing food, dressed so lightly—and because little kids crave the cool, she'd worn even less... left all by herself, waiting in the chilly air of the living room for who knows how long...
Nagasaki Soyo wanted to slap herself a few times; she'd known all along that her string of negligence would bring about consequences like this.
Her heart ached, truly.
Chiose's illness pained Soyo more than her own ailments ever could.
It was still early morning; the light traffic showed it wasn't yet even six o'clock. The bustling city of Tokyo was a never-tiring behemoth, one that would brazenly equip the Zhuge Crossbow and then draw its cards.
The familiar hospital, the familiar calling for a doctor—Soyo felt that all the times she'd come to the hospital in her whole life didn't add up to as many as this year alone.
It wasn't until Chiose was wheeled into the emergency room that she managed to breathe a small sigh of relief.
"Hurt again because of me... I really am... such a failure of a parent."
The director of this private hospital was an old acquaintance of Soyo's; after entrusting him to take care of Chiose, Soyo left the hospital.
Since she was already up, she might as well go and throw herself into work.
She hoped she could come see Chiose earlier today.
On the drive toward the company, pedestrians and office workers grew more numerous.
Unable to put Chiose out of her mind, Soyo deliberated for a long while, then dialed a phone number both familiar and unfamiliar to her.
"Tomori? How have you been lately? Do you have time? I really need you right now."
"Eh?"
A cute, penguin-like voice came through the receiver, carrying the haze and fog of early morning.
One more day and it would be a workday again, but even on weekends, plenty of people couldn't stop to rest.
Clutching her head, Soyo figured her low blood sugar was acting up. When she stepped into a roadside convenience store to buy a cup of vegetable-and-fruit juice, the shelf beside the cash register caught her eye.
"How much is this little toy bear?" Soyo pressed her lips together.
"Hello, ma'am, that one's a free gift with mint candy—buy five mints and you can redeem a little teddy bear. Would you like to..."
"Yes. Please ring it up together with the juice."
If she gave the toy bear to Little Chiose, she'd surely love it.
Getting back in the car, Soyo thought back on the call from earlier that day.
Takamatsu Tomori—the one she'd turned to for help was Takamatsu Tomori.
Though they hadn't been in touch for a long stretch after middle school, she had to admit their bond... was the best among all of Soyo's friends.
So funny...
Tomori was a good person—from a child's point of view, the kind, gentle older sister who lived next door.
On top of that, whenever work wasn't busy, this band of Crychic old-timers would gather to chat and ease the stresses of their lives—mm... it seemed she was troubling Tomori a bit too much again.
After all, Tomori had worked so long only to finally earn a day off in lieu.
Hospital, elevator, ward—Soyo's gait was mechanical and stiff.
Outside the ward, she took a deep breath and pushed all the unpleasantness of work behind her.
She couldn't let her negative emotions frighten Little Chiose again!
She heard laughter from inside the door—it was Chiose, laughing so happily.
Soyo's heart turned sour. She certainly wasn't jealous that the one making Little Chiose happy wasn't her... that would be far too strange, wouldn't it.
"Tomori, thank you for all your trouble," Soyo said politely as she came in, hiding the little toy bear behind her back, ready to surprise Chiose.
"I... Soyo, you're here."
With cat-ear ornaments perched on her head, Tomori's little face flushed red, and she quickly pulled off the accessory along with the cat-paw gloves on her hands.
"Hm? Tomori, what's with this getup?"
"Ah... it's just for amusing the kid, cough cough."
"Mama!"
On the hospital bed, Chiose's voice was far weaker than usual; she barely managed to stretch out her hand and wave it at Soyo.
"Is Little Chiose feeling better today?"
"Much better—her temperature's stopped rising and has started slowly coming down. The doctor said she caught a chill, and asked whether she'd been anywhere with high humidity," Takamatsu Tomori put in.
"Ah..."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Soyo forcibly swallowed back all the words she'd prepared in her head.
What... could it be the lingering ailment from going to the beach...? If she'd been careful, there shouldn't have been any problem, so...
[So it was caused by my negligence after all!]
What kind of mother am I, really.
Guilty and bitter, Soyo felt that the smile on her face right now must look rather ugly.
Afraid of scaring Chiose, she hurriedly turned her head to look toward the corner.
"Mama... why are you ignoring Little Chiose... is it... do you not like Little Chiose anymore?"
Feeling the hem of her clothes being tugged, Soyo, eyes rimmed red, carefully gathered Chiose into her arms.
Damn it—why was she about to cry again? She hadn't cried this many times in her whole life as she had this past month.
What a shameful, failure of a mother she was.
"No, I... I'm just feeling a little unwell. As long as Little Chiose is better, that's all that matters."
"Tonight Mama will stay here at the hospital with you, okay? Mama will go pack some ginseng chicken soup for you to drink—does that sound good?"
"Mm! I love Mama! And I love Auntie Tomori too!"
Now is really not the time to bring up other people's names—it feels super weird!
"To think Soyo became a mother too. Out of our whole group, only Soyo has a child—it's really something to marvel at."
Tomori tilted her head. Actually, she remembered that Soyo already had a strong motherly air about her back in middle school; she never expected that after actually becoming a mother, Soyo would instead seem like a little daughter.
"Thank you for today—I dragged you out on your rare day off to look after Little Chiose... When I have some free time later, let me treat you to a meal."
"Oh, there's no need for that, sigh."
Takamatsu Tomori gathered up her belongings, preparing to leave, but Soyo noticed that Tomori's expression and tone of voice were both very strange.
As if she were holding back tears.
"Just being able to take care of Little Chiose this one time... already makes me so happy. Thank you, Soyo... truly, thank you so very much."
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