[After her mother fell ill, Chiose was taken in by her to live together.]
From that point on, Soyo's life took a turn.
On the day she found Chiose, the girl hadn't eaten a proper meal in a whole week.
She only fed Chiose the foods that she herself liked.
That day she was in a terrible mood, and even shouted at this little angel a few times.
Mm...
She picked out toys for her daughter however she pleased, and the trips she took her daughter on weren't perfect either—just casual outings to clear her own head.
She also constantly broke her word; as a mother she never kept a single promise—she was Nagasaki Broken-Vow.
Those vows—like coming home early, drinking samgyetang together, attending the opening ceremony—she had flaked on every one of them.
She was a handful too, needing her daughter to act as a go-between just to repair her relationship with her own mother.
She...
Nagasaki Soyo sat outside the operating room. This time the emergency rescue dragged on unusually long—so long that Soyo felt she could hardly breathe.
Every second that slipped away was an immense trial for Soyo's heart.
Little Chiose had collapsed—with the same symptoms as her mother, except Little Chiose's were even more severe.
Many emergency specialists came. There were also plenty of old scholars with thick eyeglass lenses.
Countless experts walked past Ms. Nagasaki, but Soyo made no movement at all.
She just sat there, sitting quietly, like a statue.
"Ms. Nagasaki, is now a convenient time? There's something I need to tell you. It's about Miss Nagasaki."
Director Haizuka, wearing a thick mask, walked over to Nagasaki Soyo's side, her tone carrying a trace of... sympathy?
Huh? That tone of yours! What is that supposed to mean! Why are you speaking to me in this pitying voice!
Soyo clenched her fists, furious at her own powerlessness.
"Alright, may I ask—is Little Chiose now..."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Nagasaki. We were unable to determine the cause. The patient's condition is not optimistic, and the illness will keep recurring."
The moment she heard the doctor say 'I'm sorry,' Soyo's heart had already sunk halfway. She opened her mouth to speak.
Even though she had a thousand words in her heart, in the end all she could manage was a dry "thank you."
Nagasaki Soyo's heart ached beyond measure, but she never expected...
She never expected that a week, two weeks, even a whole month would pass, yet this time Chiose's fever still would not break.
Forget enjoying the experience of dropping her daughter off at school—Nagasaki Chiose couldn't even leave the hospital.
Today was the day Soyo was bringing Chiose home from the hospital, but Chiose had not recovered.
She had brought in the finest medical resources in all of Tokyo, indeed in the entire country, yet no one could uncover the cause of Chiose's illness.
[Since even being in the hospital can't cure her, then what is the point of staying hospitalized?]
This was what Dr. Haizuka and... Chiose had suggested. Soyo couldn't refute them, yet she still couldn't accept it.
It wasn't that she couldn't accept having spent such an enormous fortune and still failing to cure Chiose—it was that she couldn't accept being able to do absolutely nothing herself.
"I was completely out of my mind back then... I'd get home so late... Little Chiose was always staying up late with me... so maybe that's part of why she got sick too?"
It has to be part of it, surely it does...
Her fingernails dug into her flesh, blood seeping out, but Soyo paid it no mind at all.
A scene from a few days ago surfaced in her mind. That day Chiose had tugged at her hand and said, in a voice as faint as a mosquito's whine:
[Mama, let's stop the treatment, okay? Let's go home, okay...]
Little Chiose grew weaker and weaker, until she could no longer even change her own clothes, and could only eat soft foods.
Only now did Soyo realize that those calm, peaceful days seemed like they would never return.
"You've got to be kidding, why all of a sudden... I..."
"Actually..." Dr. Haizuka suddenly spoke up, her icy voice drawing all of Soyo's attention.
"If Miss Nagasaki had undergone a full-body examination the first time she was admitted, the situation would be far more hopeful. Mm, but it's a pity—there are no 'ifs.'"
"You've got to be kidding! I—" Nagasaki Soyo choked out. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I need to calm down—could you give me a little space..."
"I understand. Please take your time to compose yourself. Goodbye."
Goodbye?
We'll probably never meet again.
Standing outside the hospital room, wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Soyo realized just how cowardly she truly was—the moment she came face to face with life, aging, sickness, and death, she would crumple into grief.
She felt as though the little family she had worked so hard to build was truly...
[Collapsing.]
Collapsing, huh... She remembered how the chicken in the samgyetang looked as it sank into the broth—just like an iceberg crumbling.
"Mama."
The call from inside the hospital room was very faint, but Soyo knew this was already the sound Chiose had summoned with all her strength.
Soyo didn't dare delay, pushing open the door as fast as she possibly could—so fast that she hadn't even had time to wipe the tear stains from her face clean.
How wretched I look, she thought.
That little girl lying frail on the hospital bed was her daughter.
In all the girl's life, only the very last stretch had her mother by her side. This child had taken care of her immature mother, and only now did Soyo finally have the chance to turn around and care for her in return———
After this, there might truly be no more chances.
"Little Chiose, do you really not want the treatment? Even though there are no results yet, Mama will..."
"Mama... it hurts so much... the injections... the blood draws... all the procedures, and my body... everything hurts so much... Little Chiose... doesn't want... this much pain anymore..."
"I! I... ugh..."
Soyo covered her mouth, not knowing how to go on. She wanted to step forward and hug Chiose, but feared she might crush this fragile little thing.
"Is there anything you want, Little Chiose? Mama will definitely make it up to you as much as she can. A Space Marine? A teddy bear? Anything at all... as long as you like it."
"Really?"
Chiose's voice carried a note of yearning. Even at a time like this, was she still speaking to her so cautiously?
How awful. Nagasaki Soyo, you're so awful.
"Really."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her mouth—a smile Soyo forced out just to make Chiose happy.
"Then I want Mama to be with me... let's go traveling again, okay? That same... beach. Last time we went, we didn't actually get to play at all..."
[We didn't actually get to play at all.]
As much as she didn't want to admit it, those words made Soyo feel utterly miserable.
Once again she realized just how aloof she had been—she called it going out to play with Chiose, but most of the time she was only clearing her own head.
And Chiose had fallen ill the last time they went to the beach too—no one could say for certain that her current relentless fever wasn't connected to it.
"Ugh... okay, okay, let's go to the beach."
"Yay."
Nagasaki Chiose was trying hard to cheer Soyo up, but it only had the opposite effect, making Soyo's expression even more pained and dejected.
[She looks like she's about to break.]
Chiose thought to herself, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
[You're definitely going to lose me, so let me pick out my own grave right now. After all, these past few months, Mama, your performance has been pretty terrible!]
[My adorable mother, my adorable daughter... cry a little less; there will be plenty of chances to cry later.]
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