Harumi's father... hmm, for convenience, should I call him Mr. Fukuda?

It might not be right to judge people solely by their atmosphere or first impression, but this man definitely seems like an acquaintance of Mr. Yamashita. If I had to compare, Mr. Yamashita's attire was much more subdued than this man's, though honestly, a "white suit" isn't exactly what you'd call "subdued" clothing in the first place.

If I were to extend this speculation a bit further, perhaps he dressed so flashily to try and offset Kagami's somber atmosphere.

"Kot-chan!"

Mr. Fukuda grabbed Harumi by the waist with both hands and lowered her to the ground. Harumi landed in perfect form with both hands raised high above her head, as if she had descended from the sky herself.

"Ta-da!"

I was momentarily distracted by Mr. Fukuda and almost failed to react, but I quickly clapped my hands in response. Harumi loved this kind of reaction the most.

"Daddy, this is Kot-chan!"

I wonder if introducing someone by their nickname might be confusing to the person being introduced.

Well, Mr. Fukuda had properly called me "Kotone" when greeting me earlier, so he must have heard my actual name at some point.

I could clearly picture Harumi saying something like, "Oh my! Kot-chan, I mean Kot-chan! Daddy, don't you know Kotone?"

I bowed politely to Mr. Fukuda.

"I'm Kagawa Kotone. Pleased to meet you."

That was my name now.

I couldn't keep using the Kurosawa surname. What Kagami had asked Mr. Yamashita for was specifically to change this "surname" part, and so we've been using the "Kagawa" surname since then.

For reference, in Kagami's case, she changed not just her surname but her given name as well, and now goes by "Kagawa Kyoka."

Well, there's no need to go into detail about that. After all, I call Kagami "Mom," and there's no reason for me to use her alias when thinking about her.

Though when Kagami talks with other people, she'll likely be called "Ms. Kagawa."

"Hmm."

After seeing me greet him politely, Mr. Fukuda stroked his chin with a hint of admiration, then shrugged slightly with a smile.

"Yes, I think we'll be seeing each other often from now on, so I look forward to it."

Then Mr. Fukuda turned his gaze and made eye contact with Kagami.

I'm not sure if he recognized Kagami, or if it was just because Kagami was carefully observing the interaction between me and Mr. Fukuda, but either way, Mr. Fukuda gave a slight nod toward Kagami with a gentle smile.

Just for a moment, he looked not like a yakuza but like a kind-hearted man with unusual fashion sense.

Kagami also bowed slightly without exchanging introductions or greetings with Mr. Fukuda.

Adult conversations still don't reach my ears. Especially since Kagami doesn't like me worrying about things, she doesn't tell me about money matters, whether we have too little or too much.

I haven't met Mr. Yamashita even once since that time.

"Kot-chan, Kot-chan."

As I was looking up at Mr. Fukuda and Kagami, Harumi called me while tugging at my sleeve.

"Let's do our best today!"

Can children this young even say things like that?

...In my previous life, I was at an age where I might have had children if I'd gotten married, but unfortunately, I died before getting married, so I didn't have any children.

Sometimes there are children who say surprisingly mature things, making you wonder how they came up with such thoughts, but I wasn't a kindergarten teacher, so I've never seen it myself.

"...Okay."

In the end, I nodded and answered like that.

Well, she might have learned it from her father. Children grow up imitating their parents, after all.

*

There were other children from different classes at the kindergarten, not just us.

Unlike elementary school, there wasn't a concept of "grades," but children were classified by age, so while it wasn't as large as a school, the total number of students was quite substantial. I hadn't counted them one by one, so I wasn't exactly sure.

Because of this, it was rare for just one child to perform alone; instead, they would gather in groups of at least a few to sing songs and dance.

There were plays too, but it seemed a bit much to expect children to memorize lines, so except for those entering elementary school next year, they didn't do "plays." Well, forcing them would be a bit much anyway.

Our group of three-year-olds was scheduled early in the overall program.

First came the group presentations, which weren't whole-class performances but smaller groups.

Though called presentations, they were simply singing nursery songs with simple movements.

Harumi seemed to instinctively sense it was our turn and pulled me by the arm as she climbed onto the stage.

"Hello everyone!"

When Harumi greeted everyone energetically, laughter erupted from the adults watching us. I had seen Mr. Fukuda earlier, but there was no reason for anyone to discriminate against children in a place like this.

Besides, there were two other young children standing with Harumi and me.

While Harumi was capturing the adults' attention with various introductions, I quickly turned my head to look for Kagami.

Kagami wasn't among the adults but was sitting in a chair in a somewhat secluded corner. She seemed a bit intimidated being around adults who were much older than her. Well, Kagami is still just a child herself.

Her being there was probably less about work and more about being naturally pushed out from among the adults.

But Kagami's face didn't show any shadow of such reasons.

She was just staring at me with a dazed expression, as if seeing me standing here was deeply moving to her.

"..."

I don't remember much about my kindergarten days in my previous life. But in my faint memories, I recall waving to my parents sitting far away.

Both of them smiled brightly and waved back at me.

I stared at Kagami for a while, then slightly raised my hand toward her. Just like all the other children on stage were doing.

Kagami blinked then and smiled brightly in my direction.

Then she raised one hand and waved it enthusiastically.

When I saw her rummaging through her bag and pulling out a large camera, I couldn't help but smile a little.

It didn't seem new; she probably bought it as cheaply as possible from some secondhand store. Strictly speaking, it might be an unnecessary luxury for us.

But Kagami couldn't back down on this.

Because to Kagami, I am her entire reason for living.

The photos captured by that camera will become evidence of our lives. Even though we can't see clearly ahead, and don't know how it will end—even if that time isn't long, it will remain as beautiful memories until the very end.

Toward Kagami, who was bringing the large old-fashioned film camera with its huge flash attachment to her eye, I made a V-sign with my hand.

Hoping that the smile I was making was the brightest one I'd ever made while looking at Kagami.

*

At first—she thought it was a curse.

No, in some sense, it might actually have been a "curse."

Considering the beings Kagami had given birth to before Kotone, it was.

Even when she gave birth to Kotone, Kagami thought so.

Carrying something in her womb for ten months with such a small body was excruciating pain.

Pushing the newborn out of her body was also a terrible memory.

Kagami wasn't even able to hold the child she had given birth to right away.

Kosuzu held Kotone in her arms as if the child were her own, gazing at her for a while, then with a bright smile, belatedly handed the child to Kagami.

Along with the words, "The vessel you have birthed."

Would she be free now?

Would she no longer need to fulfill such obligations?

When Kagami first held Kotone, those were her only thoughts.

For a very brief moment.

She even imagined what expression Kosuzu would make if she threw the child to the floor right then. Of course, if she did that, Kagami would end up in a fate worse than death—

And then, she felt it.

The child's body heat.

Even though the baby was wrapped tightly in blankets, the unique warmth of a newborn slowly seeped through.

The wrinkled child, soaked as if drenched in water, couldn't even open her eyes properly and remained quiet without crying.

But she was breathing. The child's chest was rising and falling slightly.

The tips of her tiny clenched fingers wiggled. It was amazing that they were human hands, so small yet with all ten fingers properly attached—red hands that seemed miraculous.

"..."

Completely different from the beings she had given birth to until now.

But before Kagami could feel anything while looking at that child, she lost the baby to Kosuzu again.

"Give her—"

The word "back" was cut off by Kosuzu's gaze, which stared at her intently.

"I hope you don't think of this being as your 'child.'"

Kosuzu said.

"This being will eventually become the one we serve."

At those words, Kagami had no choice but to withdraw her outstretched hand.

*

After that, Kagami received lavish treatment.

Was it because she was the mother who had given birth to a being that would become a vessel for a god?

Kosuzu treated the child as if it were her own, yet always kept the baby near Kagami.

Whether that meant she wouldn't take responsibility as the child's parent, or whether she intended to use Kagami as a symbolic figure as well.

Maybe both.

Next to Kagami, who sat formally in a black kimono, Kotone was always lying in a basket, wrapped in a golden cloth.

One day.

By chance, Kagami found herself alone in a room with the child.

Perhaps it was because of preparations for a ritual. In fact, Kagami had never been directly involved in such matters, so she didn't know exactly how things worked.

"Puu."

Such a sound came from beside Kagami, who was sitting in a daze, passing time.

When she turned her head, Kotone was making that sound with both hands raised.

"Utteh."

As if trying to speak. But she was still too young to do so.

Kagami felt curious.

She had briefly felt the child was hers at the moment of birth, but Kagami had never raised the child with her own hands. So, in the end, she didn't feel much of a maternal bond.

"Well, I should at least thank you."

Kagami muttered, feeling somewhat awkward about the being, as she leaned slightly toward it.

"Ttuu?"

"Thanks to you, I was able to escape from that position—"

Kagami raised a finger and brought it close, as if teasing the young child.

Even now, she couldn't understand why she had done that, but.

The young child grabbed Kagami's finger.

A hand so small and warm it was amazing.

"Mya— Mya—"

A child still too young to speak.

So those words surely had no meaning.

But Kagami's face, reflected in those round black pupils, showed surprise with wide-open eyes.

Ironically, despite being such a newborn—that appearance seemed strangely familiar, Kagami thought.

A gentle pressure was applied to her finger again.

As if pulling toward itself, the child was tugging at Kagami's hand.

"Mya— Mya—"

Perhaps it was at that moment that Kagami felt the urge to run away.

*

It was still a small hand. One that still had a long way to grow.

That small hand was making a V-sign with two fingers raised.

The face that rarely smiled was beaming a bright smile toward Kagami.

With trembling hands, Kagami thought that probably a few of the photos would be blurry.

"..."

Until now, she had been wondering.

If she hadn't run away, could she have raised the child better? The Kurosawa family wasn't short on money, after all.

Rather than coming out alone and struggling to raise her like this, wouldn't it have been better to leave her with Kosuzu—

That might have been true.

Perhaps Kagami had really made the wrong choice. Maybe it was too selfish a decision.

...They called her a vessel, and said she would someday become a god. Though Kagami knew it wasn't a god in the normal sense.

Still, until then, they might have lived much better than they do now—

But—

...

But, even so.

Just for having seen and remembered this moment, Kagami thought she would probably never regret that choice for the rest of her life.