Chapter Sixteen: Chatting with Shiina Hiyori

At such close range, I could see that there wasn't a trace of tears in Emi Eura's eyes.

They were so dry that it was hard to imagine she had just lost a loved one.

"Even though people always avoid talking about life and death, when faced with it, they tell me I should be sad."

Emi Eura crouched down and spoke softly:

"It's always been like this. I don't understand those things. I know I have to understand them, and everyone else seems to, but I still don't. I've learned so much over the years, trying to understand, but no matter how hard I try, I still don't understand... why people want to keep living."

Her mother felt sorry for her daughter. Her father was a gambling addict who had run up a huge debt, and when he came home, all he did was beat her. As a result, neither she nor her daughter had ever had a stable home, let alone any kind of family education.

Emi Eura always smiled at others and never took off that mask. By wearing it to conceal herself, she hid the fact that she was different from everyone else.

But when she was with her mother, Emi Eura sometimes became talkative. At times, she would even ask questions with great urgency.

This was the cry she made as she ground against the world. Like a broken gear, she was stuck, turning with difficulty.

Realizing this made her mother sad.

She thought it was a tragic thing.

And yet, she still loved her daughter.

So—

"One day, I bullied a girl from a lower grade with my classmates."

One day, Emi Eura set down her schoolbag and threw herself into her mother's arms. Her mother was wearing an apron, and Emi looked like a good girl happily telling her about her day at school.

She raised her head and smiled.

"I don't know why, but I was so happy. Especially when I saw her trying to bear the pain while apologizing to us."

"It was so funny."

Emi Eura stroked the obvious bruise on her mother's arm.

"Mom."

"Hmm?"

"Was what I did right?"

"If it made you happy, then it was right."

Her mother bent down as she hugged her daughter and stroked her head.

"There's nothing wrong with that. If there really is such a thing as karma in this world..."

"Then your father should die first, then me, and you last."

[The next day: In the afternoon, you gave "Hotaru" to Karuizawa Kei. In fact, "Hotaru" was a cat you'd been raising in the United Kingdom for half a year. You'd arrived in a foreign country all alone, and Mr. Izaki was afraid you'd get lonely, so he brought the white cat home for you.

Of course, you loved "Hotaru." Over the past six months, you and the little cat had grown very close. You could even say that "Hotaru" had helped you through a very difficult time. Perhaps that was why you chose to give it to Karuizawa Kei. You hoped "Hotaru" could comfort her, just as it had comforted you, and keep her company while you were away—or, in a way, take your place.]

["I think this is supposed to be a cat that Ryo and I raise together."

Karuizawa Kei lifted Hotaru's little paw and hid her face behind the cat's head, making her expression impossible to see. She playfully waved her hand and Hotaru's paw in front of Kitagawa Ryo.

"Isn't it?"

By the time you came back to your senses, you were looking at Karuizawa Kei's rather childish gesture. Her face suddenly peeked out from beside the cat's head.

"Meow, meow, meow?"

You burst out laughing. Karuizawa Kei pouted in displeasure and rubbed "Hotaru's" paw against your face.

In this comforting, peaceful atmosphere, you didn't even bring up Emi Eura. You watched Karuizawa Kei, who seemed to have escaped the shadow of her past school bullying, romping around with "Hotaru" like a lively little bird.]

[The two of you played together from afternoon until evening. Neither of you brought up anyone or anything else. Maybe at first you were both forcing yourselves to forget everything else and focus on the moment, but little by little, it seemed you really did forget it all. There was nothing in your eyes but each other.

At around seven that evening, you went into a cake-decorating shop.

Since pets weren't allowed in the kitchen, you and Karuizawa Kei left Hotaru at the front desk. Hotaru could only watch with a resentful look as its owner abandoned it without a second thought, then sprawl on the sofa by the counter while one child after another came over to pat its head. It seemed to have become the shop's mascot.]

[By then, you and Karuizawa Kei had already entered the kitchen, so you couldn't see any of this. DIY meant "Do It Yourself," but the shop wouldn't simply stand by and let customers with little or no cooking experience do whatever they pleased. A staff member immediately came over to ask if you needed any basic help. After all, making a cake wasn't easy, whether it looked that way or not.

You'd actually planned to make Karuizawa Kei a cake yourself someday, as far back as a year ago. It didn't have to be for her birthday; the surprise was what mattered. So you'd already made all sorts of failed attempts at home. Mr. Izaki had ended up eating every last one through tears, but you were still fairly confident about making a cake now.

Karuizawa Kei had barely done anything like this before, so you split up the work and had her help you. The shop had a decent selection of ingredients. You glanced through the fridge and cupboards, then decided to make a mousse cake.]

[You cracked open four eggs and separated the yolks from the whites. You'd practiced that one step for a full six months. You remembered the frantic mess you'd made back then, throwing the shells into the bowl and the yolks into the trash. Now you handled it with ease. Karuizawa Kei seemed to be misled by your skillful movements and tried cracking an egg herself. She ended up with egg white all over her hand and had to run off to wash it, feeling sticky and miserable.

You set out the right amounts of cake flour, cornstarch, white sugar, milk, corn oil, and black sesame paste. Then you started on the cake base. You added sugar to the yolks and beat them until smooth, then poured in the milk and black sesame paste. After mixing everything together, you sifted in the cake flour and cornstarch.

You handed the bowl to Karuizawa Kei and asked her to stir it. Meanwhile, you worked on the egg whites. After beating them until they were full of bubbles, you added a few drops of lemon juice and half the sugar. Once the mixture had become a fine white foam, you added the rest of the sugar. After mixing it well, you folded the egg whites into Karuizawa Kei's yolk batter.]

[In a way, stirring like this was much like the way boys imagined shaking reagent bottles in a lab. It was strangely soothing. As Karuizawa Kei mixed the batter, she glanced at you licking your finger to check the sweetness, and a wonderful feeling came over her: it was as if the two of you were cooking together.

"Ryo, I'm done!"

Karuizawa Kei put on gloves and set the large bowl in front of you. She was wearing a pink apron and bent over to look at you as you studied the oven. For some reason, she seemed like the perfect girlfriend.

But you were busy calculating the cooking time and didn't notice. You took the batter and preheated the oven to 135 degrees for thirty minutes. To keep the bottom of the cake from getting too hot, you placed another baking tray underneath the one holding the cake.

While you waited for it to bake, you also got started on the mousse layer.

You mixed cream with cheese and added a little sugar and chocolate sauce. You were supposed to add a little rum after mixing it all together, but since you were both underage, you skipped that step and poured in milk instead.

You asked Karuizawa Kei to bring over a mousse mold while mixing in the whipped cream, which you'd beaten until it was about seventy percent stiff. When the cake base was done, you took it out of the oven, peeled off the parchment paper, and put it in the fridge to cool.

After waiting a little, you poured the mousse mixture into the mold, set it on top of the cake base, and put it in the freezer for half an hour.]

["When did you learn how to do this, Ryo?"

As you waited, Karuizawa Kei took off her apron and gloves, leaned against you, and asked curiously.

"About a year ago, I guess. But it probably only just barely tasted okay."

"No way. You were so skilled just now. Judging by how you made it, it must taste good."

Karuizawa Kei quickly pressed her right index finger against your lips.

"If it really doesn't taste good, I... I'll still try my best to finish it."

"It won't come to that. I did practice before, after all."

You figured it was about ready, so you stood up and grabbed a hundred grams of heavy cream. You whipped it until stiff, put it in a piping bag, and set it in the fridge.]

["What design do you want, Kei?"

You closed the fridge and turned to ask her.

"Or should I write a line of well wishes?"

"There isn't much room, though. I can probably only fit a few words."

"Oh..."

Karuizawa Kei hadn't expected them to offer that, and she hesitated, tapping her lips as she thought.

"Would a heart be too cliché? A star? An origami crane?"

She suggested one thing after another, only to dismiss each one. You chuckled as you stood with your hands on your hips, waiting for Karuizawa Kei to decide.]

["Draw a rose."

Karuizawa Kei finally said. It seemed she'd made up her mind after seeing the cover of a book on the shelf nearby.

"As you wish."

You took out the finished mousse cake and gently lifted the mold. Then, with a steady hand, you piped a rose out of cream onto the small space.

A cake didn't have to be for a birthday. You brought the mousse cake over to Karuizawa Kei.

Thankfully, the mousse cake the two of you had made together tasted good—very good, in fact. Karuizawa Kei had said she'd finish it even if it didn't taste good, but of course, both of you wanted it to be sweet.

"Is it good?"

"Mm, hmm? Mm."

Karuizawa Kei put another small piece of cake into her mouth. The cool, sweet flavor spread across her tongue, and she couldn't help closing her eyes. The corners of her mouth lifted on their own. She'd been so caught off guard by your teasing question that it took her a moment to answer.

There was no denying that eating something you'd made yourself was a small joy—a tiny but real and lovely happiness.

Seeing Karuizawa Kei's smiling face and slightly puffed cheeks, you casually picked up a piece from your own plate and offered it to her.

The gesture of feeding her took Karuizawa Kei by surprise. She lowered her eyes, a little bashful, but in the end she stuck out her tongue and took the cake into her mouth.

You paid little attention to Karuizawa Kei licking her lips as though she wanted more, and simply continued feeding her.

By the end, Karuizawa Kei had eaten a full two-thirds of the mousse cake.]

[After eating, Karuizawa Kei eagerly pulled a thin, colorful book from the shelf nearby.

"The Little Prince?"

You leaned over for a look.

"Have you read this before, Kei? I highly recommend it."

Karuizawa Kei gave a little hum and retorted:

"Of course I've read it."

Her slender, fair fingers ran across the pages as she flipped straight to Chapter Nine in the table of contents.

"The Little Prince had a rose, too."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to have only just noticed that. She read aloud from the book:

"The Little Prince was going to leave his planet. He was very sad when he left, thinking he would never come back. When he watered the flower one last time and prepared to cover her with the glass globe, he almost started to cry.

'Goodbye,' he said.

The flower didn't answer.

'Goodbye,' he said again.

She said, 'How silly I was. Please forgive me. I hope you'll be happy. I want to tell you that I love you. You never knew that. It was all my fault. It doesn't matter now. Well, I can only wish you happiness. I don't need the glass globe anymore.'

Karuizawa Kei paused briefly here, seeming to have a lump in her throat. You leaned against her shoulder and continued reading:

'But what if the wind comes...'

'That's all right. I'm a flower, after all.'

'What if there are insects and wild animals?'

'Caterpillars turning into butterflies is beautiful. As for wild animals, I'm not afraid of them. I have claws, too, and I can protect myself.'

She showed the Little Prince the four little thorns on her stem. She looked so innocent and lovely.

'Don't look so sad. It makes me feel terrible. Since you've decided to leave, just go already.'

The flower didn't want the Little Prince to see her cry. What a proud flower she was."]

[Karuizawa Kei leaned against your shoulder and gently closed The Little Prince. She placed her hand in your palm.

"I'll be okay someday."

She whispered in your ear.

"I... I'll definitely be okay someday."

Karuizawa Kei's lips still carried the scent of the mousse cake she'd just eaten. She almost kissed you, but in the end she didn't. She only pressed her lips together and pleaded:

"So, so don't leave, okay, Ryo?"]

[Unlocked story CG: The Little Prince and the Rose]

[The Little Prince and the Rose: "I think I understand now. I think I've been tamed by a flower."]

[Read this story CG? (It may help you with your upcoming game progress.)]

Chapter Sixteen: Chatting with Shiina Hiyori

"Have you read The Little Prince, Hiyori?"

Kitagawa Ryo tapped Shiina Hiyori's profile picture in the social app. Her profile picture was a white cat—specifically, "Hotaru."

As one of the two friends Kitagawa Ryo had made in the United Kingdom, Shiina Hiyori also knew that he had a white cat. Every week, she liked the cat photos he posted. Later, she seemed to especially like one of them, and made that picture her profile image.

It was around five in the morning in Tokyo, which meant it was about ten in the evening in London. Judging by what Kitagawa Ryo knew of Shiina Hiyori's routine, she had probably just taken a shower and was leaning against her headboard, planning to read for a while before going to sleep in half an hour.