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Chapter 61
The Girl in the Picture
Translated by LyraDhani
Edited by LyraDhani
Tsugumi sat on the swing and blew on his cold hands. A February night was so cold that it made him shiver. The starry sky seen through the trees in the park was beautiful, but he still didn’t want to stay too long.
–Just why had Yukitaka chosen such a place? It was also strange that the meeting was at night.
As he pondered this, Yukitaka leaned on the chain of the swing and looked into his face. Unexpected words spun from those shapely lips.
“Hey, Tsugumi-chan. –Did you have fun at the Amusement Park?”
The sudden words made his cheeks twitch. He wondered if Yukitaka knew what those words meant. By all means, it could only be taken as a provocation to fight.
-A lot of people got hurt and almost died, and Chidori became a Magical Girl. There was no way it was fun.
Tsugumi clutched the chain and tried to lift his hips to stand up. But the chain in his hand was colder than he had imagined, and his angry thoughts were overwhelming. Slightly, he hesitated on using violence.
Then he glared at Yukitaka, clicked his tongue, and slowly sat down. The burning anger was still there, but it was not enough to hit him.
Clenching his fists tightly, Tsugumi grunted.
“…I’m glad it’s night.”
“Heh, why?”
“If it had been the morning, when I was so frustrated, I probably would have punched you as hard as I could.”
He exhaled to suppress the anger. Yukitaka might have meant it as his usual light-hearted remark, but as someone who had actually almost died, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
–In the first place, if Yukitaka had never introduced that Amusement Park, he wouldn’t have been involved in such an accident. Such thoughts popped into his mind, but Tsugumi shook his head.
It was true that following the Hakone incident, an unfortunate accident occurred at a location suggested by Yukitaka, but it is wrong to blame Yukitaka for that.
Unless, of course, he had known in advance that the accident was going to happen, but that would be too much of a stretch. It was impossible for an ordinary person to know in advance what even God couldn’t predict.
Regaining his composure, Tsugumi asked Yukitaka.
“So? Did you bother to call me out just to piss me off?”
“Hm, I guess it’s not too far off the mark. You know, it seems like you’ve been through a lot, and I thought that getting angry once would clear things up a little.”
Yukitaka said this while laughing deliberately.
“…Well, I’ve certainly calmed down, but you should think about how you do it.”
Yukitaka’s provocative words had made his blood boil a moment ago, but now he felt much better. Some of the haze that had been smoldering in his mind seemed to have gotten ridden off.
But this and that was another matter. To provoke him like he wanted to get punched in the face, he must be out of his mind.
When Tsugumi said this with a jittery look, Yukitaka smiled, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
“I think it would have been better to let go of your emotion a little bit. I can forgive you for hitting me once. In the first place, you are too patient. Can’t you be more selfish? –For example, like me.”
“That’s difficult…”
Tsugumi responded, his shoulder cowering.
It was not possible for a person with ordinary sensibilities like Tsugumi to act selfishly like Yukitaka. It would require a very strong mentality to not care about what others think.
And it wasn’t as if he was holding back. But to Yukitaka, it might have looked like he was pushing himself too hard.
He could think of a few reasons. Although Yukitaka had given him a lot of trouble since he was in middle school until now, he never once had been so angry that he lost his cool. Yukitaka might have thought it was because he was holding back.
“Aah, I’d like to have had a real fight with Tsugumi-chan at least once. I called you out late at night when no one was around, but it was all for nothing.”
“…So that’s why you called me out at night?”
When Tsugumi said so in dissatisfaction, Yukitaka opened his mouth without a hint of offense.
“Well, it’s not my fault that you went to the Amusement Park, but since I invited you, I have some responsibility for it, don’t I? I don’t want things to get awkward over something as trivial as this, so I thought I’d have you quickly resolve your dissatisfaction.”
“How does that get to the idea of a late-night fight? I don’t understand…”
“Ah, I was just wondering what it’s actually like to fight with a friend. It could solve some problems, kill two birds with one stone, right?”
“Don’t get me involved in that nonsense!! –Oh, but you don’t have any friends besides me…”
Indeed, if Yukitaka wanted to try that, the only way was to pick a fight with Tsugumi. …He was provoked so badly for such a silly reason. Thinking about it, he could only sigh.
Tsugumi sighed tiredly and brushed his bangs back.
“I didn’t intend to blame Yukitaka for this incident. It is true that you introduced me to that Amusement Park, but I can’t blame others for accidental accidents.”
“Hmmm, that’s fine with Tsugumi-chan.”
“If you tell me that was your doing, I’ll punch you in your pretty face with all my might. Well, I don’t think you could do such a God-like awful thing.”
“Now, how about that?”
“I’ve had enough of your flippant remarks. I won’t be offended if you stir things up anymore.”
Everything that went wrong is Yukitaka’s fault. It was easy to think so, but it was a little unrealistic.
Even Tsugumi knew that Yukitaka had a very troublesome personality. It was Yukitaka’s usual practice to act as if he was responsible for something he did not do and confuse the situation. Tsugumi couldn’t take care of himself if he had to worry about every single thing Yukitaka said or did.
To Yukitaka who laughed mischievously, Tsugumi poked his head lightly.
“I don’t care, we can fight anytime in the future. …Well, it’s probably best if nothing really happens.”
The relationship between Tsugumi and Yukitaka could be described as rotten. They probably would still stay together in the future anyway. There would be a lot of fights in the future, too. Well, it would be safer for Tsugumi if such a thing did not happen.
When Tsugumi replied, Yukitaka turned his head and stared at the ground. His expression was hidden by his hair.
“…That’s right. There’s always an opportunity.”
His voice sounded rougher than usual. Tsugumi felt a little uneasy, and asked Yukitaka.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. –Ah, that’s right. I forgot I had something for Tsugumi-chan.”
Yukitaka answered Tsugum’s question in a coarse manner, then quickly looked up and smiled beautifully.
“You want to give me something?”
“Yeah. My acquaintance saw a picture of me and Tsugumi-chan on SNS and contacted me. He sent this.”
Yukitaka pulled out a small envelope from his coat pocket. When Tsugumi received the envelope, he opened the envelope and took out the contents.
“…Photographs?”
It contained several sooty photographs. They showed a lot of people, all wearing the same strange white clothes. They looked like some kind of religious group. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there were only two people in the picture who dressed like Miko.
–Looking at their faces, Tsugumi forgot to breathe.
“This. –Who is this?”
The two people in the picture were a young boy who looked just like Tsugumi, and a middle-school-aged girl. The girl looked like a younger version of Hagakure Sakura.
“The photo belonged to the uncle of the guy who sent it to me. From what I’ve heard, his uncle died ten years ago – his body was found in the center of that disaster, the one that affected Tsugumi-chan.”
As he listened to Yukitaka’s words, he looked at the other photos. In each photo, the young girl in Miko’s robe was seen cuddled up with a young boy.
The date printed in the lower right corner was about 11 years ago. Which meant that this young boy might be the past figure of Tsugumi.
Staring at the photo in dismay, Tsugumi traced the image of the little girl with a trembling hand. The white girl nestled in Tsugumi’s soul. She must be the girl in the photo.
–I can’t believe I get this important information so quickly.
“Hey, Yukitaka. Can I meet the person who sent this picture?”
When Tsugumi asked, Yukitaka shook his head slightly.
“I don’t think it’s worth it. His uncle had been missing for many years before he died, and his bag of belongings was delivered ten years ago and he never saw him again. There’s not much point in talking to him.”
“I see…”
The person who sent the photo did not seem to be able to provide any more information. However, it was certainly a step forward in finding out the identity of the girl.
–But there was one thing that really bothered him.
“Hey, Yukitaka. –Is there any photo with Chidori together?”
In the photo handed to him, Chidori was nowhere to be seen. When Tsugumi asked, Yukitaka said no as he thought about it.
“I asked him to show me a photo of Chidori-chan just in case, but he couldn’t find any that looked like her. –Hey, Tsugumi-chan.”
“…What.”
“Are you and Chidori-chan really siblings?”
At Yukitaka’s words, Tsugumi furrowed his brow.
“Of course, we are. Don’t say strange things.”
“How can you be so sure? With no memory of the past, no evidence of anything?”
“That…”
–How can I?
Until now, he was convinced that Chidori was his sister with firm confidence. It was not because of logic, but just because he thought that was how it should be.
However, from this photo given by Yukitaka, he could not find any trace of Chidori. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that she wasn’t in the picture, but his suspicions deepened as if a black stain had formed on a white piece of paper.
When Mebuki had asked the same question in the hospital before, he had been able to deny it with a smile, but for some reason, he couldn’t do so now.
Yukitaka looked sideways at Tsugumi, who had fallen silent with a mysterious look on his face, and said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t really care. You can do whatever you want, whether you want to look into it or not.”
“…Have you told Chidori about this yet?”
“No, it’s only for Tsugumi-chan.”
“Then, if you can, please don’t tell Chidori about this yet. –I’m begging you.”
With that, Tsugumi bowed his head to Yukitaka
-He knew that it was better to discuss this with Chidori alone. But right now, he still couldn’t sort out his feelings.
This photo was like a bomb.
If he talked to Chidori and find out that they were not siblings. Just the thought of that made his chest tighten and he could hardly breathe.
It was an instinctive fear that made him feel as if his feet were about to fall off the ground. He wasn’t confident he could face it right now.
Yukitaka told Tsugumi to raise his head and said in a gentle voice.
“I don’t mean to say unnecessary things. I’m not that close to Chidori-chan, to begin with. Even if I told her, she wouldn’t believe me.”
Yukitaka laughed, but Tsugumi didn’t feel like laughing with him.
“Well. Now that I’ve finished my side business, I’m going home for the day. See you at school tomorrow.”
“…Ah. –See you tomorrow.”
Yukitaka then stood up from the swing and stretched lightly, turning his back to Tsugumi. There were other questions that he wanted to ask Yukitaka, but he couldn’t think straight. In this state, no matter what he asked, he would never get a satisfactory answer.
His mind was a jumbled mess, and he didn’t know who to prioritize. The unidentified girl or Chidori. There was no way he could prioritize.
When Yukitaka left the park and  Tsugumi was all alone, he sat on the swing and looked up at the starry sky.
“–What in the world happened ten years ago?”
He asked the sky, but of course, no one answered. He then carefully tucked the photo into an envelope and cast down his eyes with a somber look on his face.
“In the end, that disaster holds the key to everything…”
–What was waiting for him beyond the truth that he had discovered? For Tsugumi, it was unbearably scary.