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After having breakfast with the three of us, we all decided to go to 1Shibuya.
We thought about taking the train to the city, but then we couldn’t get off until we reached the next station in case Saki got sick.
So I decided to call a taxi which would drop me off immediately and go to Shibuya.
“Saki, what’s that?”
“Biridingu.”
“Oh, yes! It’s a tall building.”
“I want to go there.”
“Oh, you see that guy walking his dog?”
“Doggie!”
“Saki, which do you like better, a dog or a cat?”
“Doggie!”
“I like them both. Both dogs and cats are cute!”
“Ai!”
Yuki’s technique was amazing, she didn’t let Saki think that a car was a scary thing, and she kept on talking about other things.
As I recalled, when our little angel got into a taxi, she would stare at the back of the seat where the driver was sitting.
(I should have realized this sooner…)
It was too late to regret it now, but at the time she was silently staring at a commercial playing on a small monitor and I thought she was absorbed in it.
But I think the truth was that Saki was scared of being in a taxi and was concentrating on the monitor to hide it.
Before, I thought she just didn’t have time to look out of the window, and I felt terrible for not realising it.
“Ha…”
“Mika, what’s with the sighing?”
“No, I’m just feeling down…”
“Huh? You’re starting to cook, and it seems Saki likes you. So why are you down?”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes. And you’ve been looking at Saki with a worried look on your face. You look more like a father than a mother.”
“Uh, t-that’s not true.”
“What are you so upset about? I was joking.”
Yuki told me I looked like a man and I denied it, a little flustered.
And I had rather be called Dad than Mum, but even though we lived in a tolerant world, wouldn’t that make the world look at me a lot colder? I thought so.
“I mean, Mika, why are you wearing no make-up and a sweatshirt? How is that for a woman? Oh, Saki, there’s a cat!”
“Neko! It’s white!”
“Yes, you’re all white, too. And your hair is getting darker at the roots, so why don’t you go to the hairdresser?”
It was great to see Yuki talking to Saki while keeping her occupied as well.
“Then you have to buy some clothes, get dressed up, and get a good husband!”
“…….”
I was amazed at how much communicative power the black gyaru had, but then she said something outrageous to me.
I was a woman now, but I used to be a man, so I definitely didn’t want to have a husband, but she was right, I should probably dye my hair.
If Mika came back to this body, if she had changed and was not happy, I was afraid that she would follow me back to heaven or hell.
“We’re here, sisters.”
The taxi driver told us to pay the fare, and when we got off near Shibuya station, Saki suddenly started running, so we rushed after her.
“Hey, Saki! Where are you going?”
“Oh, my God!”
“Oh, Hachiko.”
“Hey! Mika and Saki, don’t run so fast!”
2I could see the bronze statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, near Shibuya station from inside the car, so maybe she had been thinking about it for a while and just started running.
“Come on, Saki, let’s hold hands.”
“Ai!”
I caught up with Saki, who had started running on impulse, and held her hand. I waited a little for Yuki, who was behind me, and when we were all together. We walked together to the statue of Hachiko.
“Oh my!”
Standing in front of the statue, Saki reached out to touch Hachiko, but the dog, who was sitting on a high pedestal, didn’t quite reach it.
“Do you want to stroke it? Here, come here.”
I tried to carry Saki, but she still couldn’t reach it, so I tried to carry her on my shoulders and she seemed to touch it’s feet.
“Oh, my God…”
“Mika, let’s switch.”
Saki wanted to stroke Hachiko’s head somehow, but this time Yuki carried her on her shoulders.
This black gal was 165cm tall, which was not too tall for a woman, and she was wearing black thick-soled boots that made her look 10cm taller, so she was now 175cm tall.
But it would be dangerous if she fell, so I decided to support Yuki from behind, keeping an eye on Saki.
“Good boy, good boy~”
Saki seemed to be satisfied with stroking Hachiko’s head, saying ‘good boy, good boy,’ but Yuki and I were at the limit and our legs are giving out.
What on earth were the three of us doing in Shibuya?
“Good boy, good boy~”
“I can’t carry you anymore.”
“You know, it’s hard for me to support you…”
I was sure it was just my imagination, but the way people were looking at the three of us was painful.
But Saki seemed to be happy, so it was okay.
1
Shibuya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station and Shibuya Station.
2
Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno’s death.