Kei: It’s true that I’m no help in a time like this, but……
Kei: But, there are things even I can do! There are things that only I can do!
Sakuya: ……What are you planning?
Kei: I’ll give blood… to Yumei-san.
Kei: I might be weak by myself, but if I give her blood, Yumei-san’s power will grow stronger.
Sakuya: You think you’ll make anyone happy by shedding your life, just to make a difference!?
Sakuya: What about Emiko-san, who fawned over you when you were young? Or Mayumi, who raised you alone on a woman’s paycheck? And then…
Sakuya: …How about that very person you’re trying to give your blood!?
In my mind’s eye, I see Yumei-san’s eyes and hear her voice, from when I first met her, telling me to forget.
But, regardless……
Kei: I don’t remember anything about my grandmother, but…
Kei: In mom’s case, she wouldn’t want me to be the kind of girl who’d run away when she can do something. Even if I die, I’m sure she’ll forgive me.
Kei: And Yumei-san……
It might have been Yumei-san’s wish for me to live carelessly in a far off place, piling on the years and rotting away.
But, you know what, Yumei-san?…
Kei: Yumei-san is shedding her own power to try to save me, you know! Do you think it makes me happy to be saved that way, when I can’t give anything back!?
Sakuya: Kei……
Kei: I won’t back away when I don’t think I’m wrong, okay!? I’m stubborn! I got that from mom!
For several moments, Sakuya-san’s stare and mine collide.
When she’s serious, her eyes are frightening.
But I get the feeling, if I avert my eyes now, I lose. I probably won’t be able to bear the terror that lies ahead.
Which is why, without averting my eyes, I gather power in these lips, ready to tremble at any moment, and wait for Sakuya-san to relent.
Sakuya: ……Hmph! Don’t expect me to save your ass!
After gobbling up her remaining food, Sakuya-san’s wild footsteps storm from the hall.
Hostess: Hatou-san, where could Asama-san be?
Kei: Ah… she said she was finished……
Hostess: Oh my, that’s a shame……
In her hands, the okami-san holds the requested second helping.
Hostess: Hatou-san, would you care to eat this?
Kei: ……No.
Unsurprisingly, I just can’t eat that much this early in the morning.
On the way back, I stop by Sakuya-san’s room, but she’s already long gone.
Her plans to go her separate ways are made more than clear when I check the parking lot, her SUV being nowhere in sight.
……Well, have it your way. I can do this just fine on my own.
On the other hand, what should I be doing?
If I’m waiting for Yumei-san to come, like last night, then there’s nothing to do in the afternoon.
Yumei-san said that, for an entity with no corporeal body to appear during the day, an incredible amount of power must be exhausted in exchange.
Nozomi-chan and Mikage-chan are surely the same, so I’m perfectly safe in the afternoon. If I’m going to move around, it’s best to do so while the sun is up.
After much deliberation, I decide to visit the Ohashirasama sacred tree.
I’ve already gone once, so it’s no place I can’t reach with my own two feet, and if I go there, I might be able to contact Yumei-san.
Shutting the needed items into a miniature backpack, I heft it upon my shoulders and set out for the station front.
Right, right. I’d better stop by the convenience store to secure some emergency rations and beverages.