"You're leaving? Already?"

Harumi said with a hint of disappointment.

Yuka wasn't sure how long one should stay when sleeping over at a friend's house, or when to go home the next day. Actually, she wasn't even sure if there was a "normal" way to do these things. Just like every family has their own way of making curry, friends probably experience time differently too.

In her faint, gradually emerging memories, Yuka had been somewhat willful.

Whether bringing Kotone to her house, or visiting other friends' homes. Sometimes she'd leave early in the morning, sometimes late in the evening, and sometimes she'd even stay an extra day.

Nobody seemed to mind much. Even though, objectively speaking, it was probably inconsiderate.

Perhaps that too was because of these friends' personalities.

Harumi was holding Koko's hand. Maybe she wanted to treat her like a little sister.

"..."

Harumi, and Mako and Yuu.

They were all Kotone's friends. There seemed to have been other friends in the same class too. Even now, Yuka had several classmates she was fairly close with, and in those memories, Kotone probably had such friends too.

Should she tell all of them as well? No, that didn't seem right, Yuka thought.

But somehow.

These children who appeared frequently in her memories with Kotone. These children who seemed particularly close to Kotone—Yuka felt it would be wrong not to tell them.

Looking at the toy Harumi was holding—clutching it unconsciously as if afraid to put it down and leave it behind—Yuka let out a small sigh.

"Harumi. Mako. Yuu."

"Hm?"

When she called Mako and Yuu's names too, they both reacted.

Mako's eyes grew round. Even without glasses, Mako already had a gentle impression, but with those thick-framed glasses, she looked even more gentle now.

But strangely, Yuka felt like she'd seen this same Mako being quite determined before. She didn't think it was just her imagination.

Yuu, on the contrary, usually gave off a cold impression, as if she had little interest in the world itself.

But even Yuu would sometimes give Kotone small smiles. She would stay still when Kotone or Koko hugged her, and though she would grumble, she always played along with the two of them.

It wasn't simply because they were close.

Rather.

"...Koko."

Yuka called to Koko.

"Yes?"

Koko tilted her head.

"Would it be okay if they came along too?"

Yuka decided to just act on her impulse.

She didn't know why. The "usual" Yuka would never have done this. She would have always tried to move carefully, according to plan.

"Whoa?"

Koko's eyes widened at Yuka's question.

Then she broke into a bright smile and raised both arms high above her head.

"Yes!"

Yuka had seen this many times already. Many times since meeting Koko.

Despite having a strange wariness, Koko still loved people.

And though the memory was faint, Yuka somehow felt that Kotone had been the same way.

*

Though Harumi, Mako, and Yuu were bewildered by Yuka's sudden invitation and looked at each other in confusion, they ended up following her.

"Is this really okay?" Mako worried along the way.

When visiting a friend's house, the parents' permission matters more than the friend's. Harumi could stay overnight because no one was at her home, but Kagami-san was definitely at Koko's house.

Yuka was a bit worried too.

"..."

Yuu didn't say anything. The fact that she didn't refuse suggested she wasn't completely against it, but she didn't seem entirely convinced either.

"Hmm hmm hmm~"

In contrast, Koko was humming happily on the swaying train, clearly excited.

How would Koko react if she heard the name Kotone?

...

Perhaps Yuka wanted to bring others along because she was afraid she couldn't handle those emotions alone, and wanted people who could share the burden.

While she was lost in these thoughts, the train arrived at their destination. Yuka, Koko, Harumi, Mako, and Yuu all piled out of the train.

Though Yuka had been here several times, the others hadn't. After all, they'd only been friends for less than a month. They probably hadn't even met Kagami-san before.

And the same went for Kagami-san.

"Yuka, welcome— oh."

In front of Koko's house.

Opening the front door, Kagami-san's eyes widened when she saw the children behind Yuka and Koko.

Yuka worried about how she might react—

But Kagami-san smiled.

A gentle smile spread across her lips. That smile seemed too genuine to be an act.

"I'm sorry for bringing them without telling you," Yuka said.

Yes.

Honestly, she had been scared.

Kagami's voice over the phone had been serious. Dad and Grandfather often used serious voices on the phone too, but this feeling was somewhat different.

It made no sense. If they were going somewhere to be scolded, bringing friends along would be too strange.

"It's fine," Kagami-san reassured her.

"Actually, this works out well."

Kagami-san greeted the other children warmly.

"Harumi, Mako. Yuu. Right?"

Just their names, without family names or honorifics.

The children, who had been staring at Kagami with somewhat blank expressions, blinked.

"I've heard a lot about you from Koko. She's taken many photos on her phone, right? So I already know all your faces."

"Ah, um! Yes, hello!?" Mako belatedly greeted her loudly.

Then Harumi hurriedly bowed, and Yuu, with a somewhat complicated expression, looked at Kagami before bowing as well.

"Come in, please. I have something I want to talk about."

It was a bit strange to say this to children she was meeting for the first time.

But perhaps overwhelmed by Kagami-san's appearance, the children seemed too busy hurrying inside to properly hear what she said.

As she crossed the threshold, Yuka briefly brushed past Kagami.

For just a moment, Kagami's face looked like she might cry as she gazed at Yuka.

Yuka didn't know why.

*

A slightly frightened Yuka, an oblivious Koko, and friends who had followed them on impulse.

Inside, Souta and Shii were already there.

Though they had greeted Yuka as a classmate, everyone was meeting Shii for the first time, making the atmosphere even more awkward.

Shii herself didn't seem uncomfortable seeing the children.

Had Shii heard those names too?

At this point, it was starting to feel like some kind of ghost story. Was this world really being manipulated by something? Memories being imprinted like an infection with the name Kotone, making everyone search for that child, like some kind of yokai.

If thinking that Kotone was a common name was also part of this phenomenon—

"..."

No, could that really be true?

Those memories were painful every time she recalled them. Her head would throb, and her chest would ache.

But somehow, Yuka didn't want to give up on those memories.

Because the recollections that emerged between those pains were exactly the kind of salvation Yuka had longed for in her childhood.

She held back a bitter laugh.

Thinking about it that way, it really did seem like someone might be setting a trap.

"...I called you here today because I wanted to tell you about a certain child."

At Kagami's words, Koko, Harumi, Mako, and Yuu tilted their heads in confusion.

Not just Koko who had "spent her whole life with" Kagami, but also Harumi, Mako, and Yuu who were meeting Kagami for the first time today.

They couldn't possibly understand what this person was suddenly talking about.

"Actually, I had another daughter."

At those words, the children's expressions changed in various ways.

No, not just the children—Yuka's must have too.

Because Yuka was already beginning to recall who this other daughter might be.

"She was very bright, and never gave up. A beautiful, kind child who always tried to protect those around her."

"Whoa?"

Koko blinked.

"I don't know if you'll remember her or not. Even if you don't, I can't blame you. It's all... my fault for not understanding the situation properly."

The children's expressions grew even more confused at Kagami's words—

"So, at the very least, I want to tell you about her. Because you were all so precious to her. And if circumstances had been different, I'm sure she would have wanted you to remember her."

The fear that had been occupying Yuka's heart rose up.

As if warning her not to listen to this story.

That deep emotion in Yuka's heart that she felt whenever she recalled the name "Kotone" was running wild, warning her.

You'll get hurt if you listen, it seemed to say—

No.

I want to hear it.

But Yuka couldn't resist that impulse.

She was curious about those flickering memories between the fear. She wanted to fully possess those memories that seemed just within reach.

Even if it was frightening and painful.

She wanted to dive into them.