It’s too late.
As Kagami looked down at the still body of Koto Ne, a thought crossed his mind.
What on earth could have caused this delay? If he had run a little faster… No, if he could’ve prevented that child over there from pulling Koto Ne’s hand in the first place…
No, from the very beginning, if he could have stopped Koto Ne from coming to a place like this—
—If only they had lived in the same place from the start.
If he had welcomed Koto Ne warmly when she first opened her eyes without any caution… If he had treated her more like a ‘mother,’ then perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.
It’s strange. Just a moment ago, Koto Ne never looked like a person to him, despite speaking like one.
Even when she took on a human form, Kagami had never thought of her as a person while gazing at the sleeping girl.
That’s why it took a long time for him to think of her as his daughter when he saw her awake.
It was just a short while ago that he had received a present. It had only been about ten days.
“Don’t come!”
It was only after he heard Koko scream that Kagami blinked.
It felt like his breath had temporarily stopped.
When he glanced up, he saw Yuuki Yuka standing a few steps away and hesitating, as if it was hard to keep still after having just yelled loudly in his father’s arms moments before.
A knife lay haphazardly on the ground nearby. Even though it was a precious item that should have been treated with care, now it was as if no one cared.
Koko was yelling at Yuka.
“Don’t come! Stay away!”
It was a voice that could only be described as a wail.
A cry of a young child who didn’t know what to say.
Her hands were stained with bright red blood.
Blood continued to seep slowly from Koto Ne’s chest.
Kagami walked.
He neither staggered nor purposely walked slowly or quickly. At least, he seemed to look perfectly fine from the outside.
“Koko…”
Yuka pleaded.
“Koko, I—”
“Go away!”
Koko didn’t even listen to that and shouted.
“Get away! Koto Ne is hurting!”
As if her previously learned language skills had devolved in an instant, Koko only spoke childishly.
“……”
At Koko’s words, Yuka wore a blank expression.
Her arms drooped, and she seemed to lose strength in her legs.
Yuka knelt on the ground, staring blankly at Koto Ne.
Her face indicated that she couldn’t even comprehend the situation.
At least, Kagami could objectively understand the situation. Thankfully.
“Koko.”
“Don’t come!”
Koko shouted at Kagami’s voice.
Ignoring her, Kagami slowly went over and knelt beside her.
He reached out a hand and touched Koto Ne’s face, which lay with eyes closed.
……It was cold. It was hard to believe that she had been alive just moments ago. Did the body of a dead person cool down this quickly?
Ah, that’s right.
The day was cold. Koto Ne was lying on the bare ground in such cold weather without anything to lay on.
Even after opening her eyes, it must have remained that way for a while. Since there were no blankets or beds in that house, it had probably been very hot when the weather was sweltering.
Slowly, slowly.
Such thoughts seeped into Kagami’s mind.
Not long after opening her eyes, she began working for survival, cooking rice using a pot she had received for free where she was working.
Seeing such a child, Kagami never viewed her with fondness. Instead, he had thought it odd.
He did nothing for such a child.
“……”
Gently moving his hand, he closed Koto Ne’s eyes.
She looked peaceful with her eyes closed.
She had lived a life of suffering.
And that suffering was probably due to Kagami giving birth to Koto Ne.
An oddly innocent child, born in the wrong place. A child so good that it was difficult to even think of her as part of the family of Kosuzu or Kagami.
Only then did Kagami’s hand tremble.
“I, I……”
He knew.
This was someone’s scheme. He didn’t know exactly what they desired, but at least he understood that there was a great malice mixed in—
If Koto Ne were to wake up now, she would probably say ‘It’s okay.’ Even if it was this child who had stabbed her on purpose.
But even while thinking that—
“Wait a moment.”
Kagami blurted that out.
Knowing he was being highly emotional, he couldn’t help but let his voice turn cold.
“Just a moment, please give me time.”
“……”
He heard a trembling breath.
Yuuki Yuka’s hands were stained red with Koto Ne’s blood.
Kagami worked hard not to raise his gaze.
“……Koko.”
“……No.”
Koko responded as if she understood what Kagami was about to say.
“No! No! Koto Ne!”
“……”
Kagami reached out and placed his hand on Koko’s hand.
It was the first time.
In that moment, even Koko seemed taken aback enough to stop screaming.
What could he say?
No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with a comforting way to do it. Kagami had lived in a world like that.
He had seen people die numerous times. Being someone who helped create Koko, it was obvious he knew what she really was.
So.
Pretending to be a mother now must surely be revolting.
But.
He couldn’t just leave her lying there like this.
Though he still didn’t understand his emotions well, he felt he couldn’t allow that.
“……Koto Ne……?”
He heard a voice coming from behind that barely came out, but Kagami didn’t look back.
Slowly he raised Koko’s hand.
The wound beneath her hand showed no bleeding now. The coagulated blood inside the knife-shaped cut was slowly receding. The ground behind Koto Ne was stained red.
Kagami took Koto Ne’s hand, which lay carelessly on the floor.
Before her body stiffened, he gently placed her hand on Koto Ne’s belly.
Then he placed his hand on top of hers and gazed at Koto Ne’s face for a while.
She was pale. Looking back now, Koto Ne had always been pale.
There shouldn’t have been any reason for this child to suffer just because he had suffered.
Only after that thought did it feel like he had received a blow to the head.
He heard footsteps as people rushed in from the surroundings. Among them, only Yuuki Yuka couldn’t approach them—
……And there were military boots among those footsteps.
Kagami raised his head. For a brief moment, his eyes met Yuuki Yuka’s. Her shoulder trembled.
But soon, Kagami turned his gaze toward the back.
People were coming. Most of them were burly men.
They were dressed in black military uniforms, with pockets full of what looked like ammunition hanging from their vests.
None of them were armed, yet they were fully prepared. No, perhaps what they wore wasn’t bulletproof but blade-proof armor.
“What happened here?”
Yuka’s grandfather stepped forward and asked.
As if guarding the space where Koto Ne lay on the ground.
But the soldiers moved in an orderly manner and surrounded the area.
Among the soldiers, a gray-haired old man appeared, whom Kagami had seen earlier at the hotel.
Dressed in a brown suit and a top hat, holding a cane, he resembled a picture of a shrine.
Only, what he said was far from honorable.
After glancing around once, the old man looked at the collapsed Koto Ne. Then he raised his gaze to Yuka and looked at Yuka’s father beside her.
“There’s no need for you to worry. You have simply resolved the current situation.”
“……What?”
Yuka murmured, slightly dazed.
“We will consider this hunt complete.”
“Hunt? What do you mean by that?”
Yuka agitatedly questioned, but the old man seemed undaunted.
“Though my research on the phenomenon isn’t yet complete, thankfully we have a subject left.”
“Excuse me, what are you saying right now—”
“Yuka.”
Yuka’s grandfather interrupted those words and spoke again to the old man.
“Are you saying that Koto Ne caused this phenomenon?”
“Circumstantially, yes.”
The old man answered.
“Therefore, for the time being, securing the specimen takes priority. I trust you understand. Otherworldly beings’ bodies begin to disintegrate immediately after dying in this world.”
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly.
“And the ‘possibility’ hasn’t ended yet, either.”
At the end of his gaze was Koko, who sat beside Koto Ne.
“……I refuse.”
Kagami spoke.
“This child is my daughter. I will… properly give her a funeral.”
He felt Koko’s head whip around. Kagami didn’t look at her face; he just glared at the old man.
“I have the right to do so.”
“You are the registered parent, so you claim the body?”
“……”
“I’m sorry, but any bodies that might be carrying a serious infectious disease will be taken over for research by the government. Until we determine that the body is safe, we will handle it. The same goes for everyone here.”
The old man spoke while looking around.
“Since you were near the body, there’s a possibility of infection, and you’re almost certainly carriers. After a survey, if there are no issues, we will return her.”
“What kind of bacteria are you talking about?”
Kagami asked, but the old man shook his head.
“We don’t know yet, so we must investigate, don’t we? If no problems are found, we will surely let you return her to your mother’s arms.”
“Are you saying you will dissect her?”
“I will treat her with the utmost respect, I assure you.”
Only after hearing that did Kagami turn his gaze away.
Click.
He heard the sound of a gun being cocked.
Kagami scoffed. They could kill him with that gun, but they would never be able to kill the other side they were targeting.
Even if they used ‘the branch.’
“……Koko.”
Kagami whispered to Koko, who looked like she would chop off the old man’s neck at any moment.
“You don’t want Koto Ne to suffer anymore, right?”
“……”
Koko looked at Kagami for a moment.
Her eyes were slightly trembling.
“Can you stay hidden with Koto Ne for a while?”
Or perhaps forever.
To hide in a place even Kagami didn’t know, away from anyone’s interference.
“……”
Koko stared at Kagami for a while.
Then, without any warning, she vanished with Koto Ne.
“Hey!”
Someone shouted. They heard the rush of people coming in. Click, click, the sound of various parts of a gun moving echoed.
Kagami raised both hands behind his head.
*
“……No one follows what I say.”
“Which insane person in this world would do what you say?”
Hagiwara Hana, who had positioned herself between Kosuzu and Sasaki while wielding a knife, said.
“……”
Kosuzu tilted her head slightly, moving just a bit sideways.
“You’re saying something strange. If you hadn’t lost your mind, you wouldn’t be able to show up here.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve eliminated plenty of your loyal servants. All of your faithful ones must be dead in the netherworld, so how did you get here?”
At Kosuzu’s words, Hagiwara’s eyes widened slightly.
“I—I—”
“Are you secretly watching from afar? It was because you had been keeping an eye on that person that you could come here without information, wasn’t it?”
“No!”
Hagiwara urgently shouted at that.
Kosuzu shrugged.
“Well, that’s probably the case. If necessary, I would have to do that. I like thinking that way.”
“Shut up!”
Hagiwara threw her knife at Kosuzu again. This time, Kosuzu did not dodge.
Whack!
The knife hit something in the air and spun down, clattering as it fell to the ground, making a feeble sound.
From within Kosuzu’s coat, a long tentacle shot out.
“Guh!”
Hagiwara immediately turned and dashed towards Sasaki and Shii.
“Wah, Senpai!?”
“Eek!”
While toppling over both of them, a chilling sensation whooshed past Hagiwara’s head, and some of her hair was cut away in the wind.
“……”
Hagiwara took out another knife from her waist. It was the last of the three knives she carried.
“……Sota.”
Hagiwara said softly, and Sota nodded. He looked completely unfazed by what they had just heard, which eased Hagiwara’s worries just a bit.
Sota extended his hand. Shii closed her eyes. Hagiwara moved her knife.
“Ugh.”
Kosuzu approached with the sounds of her footsteps tap, tap.
“Is that all you think you can use to fight me? Don’t you remember that you would have been wiped out right from that spot without that child?”
“……”
Hagiwara didn’t respond there.
She stood up, gripping the knife stained with Sota’s blood, and glared at Kosuzu.
Kosuzu shrugged and approached Hagiwara without hesitation.
“What do you want?”
Kosuzu didn’t answer. She acted as if there was no need to explain.
With a song on her lips, celebrating her good fortune, she swung the tentacle that had emerged from underneath her coat.
Swish!
This time, the knife didn’t bounce off or anything. The knife stained with Sota’s blood could resist the tentacle, but—
“Guh…!”
Hagiwara’s body was pushed to the side. Wobbling on her feet, she struggled to maintain her balance as she swung the knife again.
Thud!
She hit it, but held her ground. If she fell back here, the two people behind her would genuinely be in danger.
What’s more, she couldn’t die here. Hagiwara had something she wanted to convey. The words from earlier had been misunderstood. If she couldn’t clear that up, it felt like she would never be able to look anyone in the eye again.
Her right arm ached.
Hagiwara rummaged through her pockets. She took out a vial and threw it at Kosuzu.
Clang!
Kosuzu showed no signs of wanting to dodge the vial, breaking it in mid-air.
Hiss.
The holy water was blocked by the tentacles. A slight burn mark had been left on its surface, but that was all.
Slowly, the tentacles retreated and revealed the hidden face behind them.
That face stared at Hagiwara.
It didn’t appear exceedingly angry; it felt more like she had simply encountered a bothersome obstacle.
Kosuzu let out a small breath and raised her hand again.
In that hand was a small drop.
Kosuzu moved that drop—
—But couldn’t make a sound.
Hiss.
The sound of an angry cat echoed.
Kuro stood, fur bristling, looking up at Kosuzu. Her tail stood straight up, clearly displaying her irritation.
The drop made no noise.
“……”
Kosuzu stared down at Kuro silently.
“Honestly—”
Kosuzu’s tentacle moved.
That tip was aimed directly at Kuro.
And the moment the tentacle was about to move—
“……”
Kosuzu’s movements stopped.
With her eyes wide open and standing still for a while, Kosuzu’s face slowly turned toward the back.
As she gazed into nothingness, Hagiwara didn’t miss the chance.
Thud.
“Gah!?”
As Hagiwara’s knife stabbed deep into the tentacle, Kosuzu finally screamed.
“You—”
But it wasn’t just Hagiwara moving.
Red liquid gradually touched Kosuzu’s face.
“……!”
“Where do you think this is,”
And then, onto the blood-stained face of Kosuzu,
“Get out!”
Hagiwara’s fist slammed into her.
Thud, something broke. Whether it was from the fist or the face was unclear.
But one thing was certain, Kosuzu, with a fist to her face, staggered back.
Hagiwara yanked the knife embedded in the tentacle back. With a squirt, yellow blood gushed, leaving a long wound on the tentacle. Kosuzu grimaced in pain.
Hagiwara’s body was thrown sideways. The tentacle swung, as if it didn’t care about even that amount of injury, and Hagiwara was launched away. Thud, she hit the wall and fell down without even having time to scream.
“You guys—”
But before Kosuzu could say anything, blood was splattered again.
Sota was swinging his hand, which was oozing with blood.
Instinctively raising her tentacles to block the blood, Kosuzu flinched as it touched the wound in her tentacle, pulling a face of disgust.
She hesitated to swing her tentacles again, then stopped, staring blankly at her own hands.
“……What on earth happened……? That person…….”
“Guh…”
Hagiwara managed to rise, propping herself against the wall. Miraculously, she hadn’t dropped her knife. She looked as if she might collapse at any moment, but her expression didn’t suggest she was giving up her fight.
Hiss.
Kuro inched closer to Kosuzu.
“……”
Kosuzu looked at her hands, then lifted her gaze and glared at Kuro, then turned to leave.
No one felt like chasing after her.
“Meow.”
Kuro, noticing that Kosuzu was leaving, seemed to relax and lowered her bristled fur.
“Haah…”
Hagiwara slid down to the ground.
“……Senpai.”
Sota approached Hagiwara. Blood was still flowing from his hands.
“Brother…”
“……Shii. Are both of you okay?”
“……”
Hagiwara merely sighed lightly.
“Brother, first your hand…”
“Ah, right. And you too, Senpai.”
“Yes.”
Shii seemed to nod, desperately trying to regain her composure, tears filling her eyes.
Sota placed his hand on Shii’s shoulder, the hand that wasn’t bleeding.
Feeling like she might burst into tears for no reason, Shii thought to quickly sort out the situation and contact her senpai.
If it’s Koto Ne-senpai, she would know at least a little bit about this situation.
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