Monday, off work at ten—her daughter had fallen asleep at the dining table.
The next morning Chiose did not blame Soyo.
Tuesday, off work at eleven—her daughter had hidden in the closet and fallen asleep.
Chiose offered not a single complaint.
Wednesday, Soyo got off at nine—her daughter was drowsy on the sofa.
Seeing that she had come home early, Chiose smiled so very happily.
Thursday, home at one in the morning—Chiose had fallen asleep on the bed by herself first.
The next morning, though Chiose was in low spirits... she looked alright.
Friday, Saturday, the following week's Monday...
Nagasaki Soyo came home late on basically every single day, but Chiose never once cried or made a fuss.
She was simply obedient, doing her utmost not to cause Soyo any more trouble.
This seemed like some kind of omen; it always felt as though Chiose were holding something back.
"Phew..."
Time passed at an absurd pace. By the time Nagasaki Soyo had finally finished up the company's affairs, big and small, and resolved every last business problem, Chiose had already been in school for a whole month.
Her mother would soon be discharged, too. It was only that lately she had been so busy she was practically about to take off, and hadn't paid much attention to Chiose's studies—
Little Chiose was so well-behaved, surely she'd been studying properly? Then again, she was only in first grade; being a bit playful wouldn't do any harm.
Soyo could no longer remember what she herself had been doing back in first grade.
As the fingerprint lock gave its trifling little electronic beep, Soyo cleared her throat and called out to her little darling.
But no response came from inside the house.
"That's not right... could she have fallen asleep?"
[Or maybe Little Chiose wants to hide behind the door and give me a surprise.]
Perhaps that little angel was only a single door away from her—covering her mouth and snickering, wanting to scare the grown-up just like every other child.
"Pfft."
Soyo was tickled by her own imagination. She pushed the door open ever so carefully, to keep from actually slamming it into Chiose if she truly was behind it.
Today she had come home early—a very, very rare occasion—and she absolutely had to enjoy this quiet night together with Little Chiose.
But just as Soyo was about to step inside, that annoying phone in her pocket started clamoring again.
"This is Nagasaki. Haizuka, what is it?"
Soyo was forced to break off what she was doing and retreated into the yard to take the call.
"Ms. Nagasaki! Kushiko Togawa, who ran off with the funds, has been captured! Our money is back!"
"What? You say she's been caught? Where are you right now? I'll be there at once."
Wonderful! Today truly was a double blessing!
Not only was the company stable and its business no longer precarious—even the earlier losses had all been recovered in one stroke!
Without thinking too much, Soyo opened the door, glanced around, and after confirming that Chiose's school bag was indeed sitting on the dining table, she called out into the house:
"Stop playing hide-and-seek with Mama, Little Chiose. You start on your homework first—Mama's stepping out for a bit and will be back soon, okay?"
Soyo faintly heard Chiose's voice come from inside the house; she figured Chiose was probably upstairs or in the bathroom, and didn't dwell on it.
But as she locked the door and left, walking down the road, a not-so-good feeling suddenly welled up in her mind.
"Mm... it's fine, I'll be back in a little while anyway."
She shrugged her shoulders; after all, the matter she had to attend to now was the troublesome business that had weighed on her heart for several weeks.
Today this whole affair was finally coming to an end. How nice.
Oh no—it seemed it really wasn't going to be wrapped up anytime soon.
By the time Soyo returned to her front door once more, night had already fallen. A little sheepishly, she twirled a lock of hair around her finger, seemingly composing in her mind how to explain things to Little Chiose.
But Little Chiose wouldn't blame her... ah, how could she be so obedient—every single time, it only deepened Soyo's sense of guilt.
"Mama's home, and I even brought Little Chiose's favorite ginseng chicken soup."
Upon entering the house, she was not greeted by the imagined welcome of a little angel throwing herself into her arms.
After Soyo pushed the door open, her brows knit together—there was no light at all inside the house—
[Why hasn't Chiose turned on the lights? Did she fall asleep again?]
"Little Chiose? Little Chiose?"
Vaguely sensing that something was wrong, Nagasaki Soyo made her way through the living room and up the stairs, but neither in the bedroom nor on the terrace did Chiose's figure appear.
The child seemed to have vanished into thin air, but...
"That's impossible—her school bag is right there on the chair, she must have come home,"
Hurrying back downstairs, Soyo didn't even have time to put on her slippers; she clearly remembered that when she'd left earlier, Chiose had indeed answered her aloud.
"Chiose, Chiose? Don't scare Mama, okay? Mama brought your favorite food today—let's have dinner together, all right?"
No one in the empty villa answered her calls. Soyo suddenly felt as if she were a lone canoe adrift in a vast, boundless sea, as though the very next moment a storm and waves too great to withstand would sink her.
The unease within her deepened with the mounting urgency of her cries, and the bad premonition in Soyo's heart reached its peak.
[Where did she go...]
[The closet!]
That place which had left such a deep impression on Soyo surfaced in her mind. Not daring to delay in the slightest, she rushed toward the walk-in closet on the first floor.
The heavy white wooden door, the thick piles of clothing—sure enough, as Soyo pulled the wardrobe door open, Chiose really was curled up inside.
Only, Chiose's condition looked dreadful.
This time her whole body was soaked through with sweat, her pretty eyebrows had crumpled into a furrow, and there wasn't the faintest trace of color on her face.
Her complexion... was even ghastlier and paler than her silver hair.
Chiose's lips had turned purple, her body trembling unconsciously, the opening and closing of her little mouth nothing but a craving for oxygen.
"Little Chiose? Little Chiose? Are you still..." Soyo reached out to hold Chiose, and when her hand touched the girl's school uniform, the astonishing heat scalded her palm even through the layer of fabric.
Little Chiose was burning hot, yet Soyo's heart was going cold.
"Chiose! Are you okay? Say something to Mama... weren't you perfectly fine last night? How is it that today, again..."
In her panic she scooped up Chiose and bolted for the door; passing the dining table, she carelessly knocked into its corner. The ginseng chicken soup tipped over, its broth splashing all over both Nagasaki mother and daughter.
But Soyo had no mind to deal with it; her pace did not slow in the least.
"Nothing's going to happen. The previous times were all fine—this time will be fine too."
On the drive to the hospital, Soyo strung together the number of times Chiose had fallen ill lately, and all at once she realized something.
The frequent illnesses and fevers, with the symptoms and severity worsening each and every time—could this be something other than an ordinary fever?
Could it be...
A jolt of fright shot through her!
"No, no, Nagasaki Soyo, you really are damnable—what on earth is filling your head right now? This is no time to be scaring yourself!"
Gripping the steering wheel hard, the unease in her heart and the exhaustion of her body both relentlessly tormented Soyo's very soul.
She turned her head to look at Chiose—the girl had already burned her way into delirium...
"Damn it, how did it come to this?!"
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