There was someone that I loved very much.
There is someone that I love very much.
If I were to lose my beloved person...
...I...
11. Bonds
[The frying pan sizzles in the kitchen as Asami, with Kozue watching close by, carefully tosses its contents.]
Asami: Yeeeeah!
[...or not so carefully. Nothing's spilling, so it's all good.]
Shiratori: ...
[At the table, Shiratori watches as Sayoko holds an egg and a bowl with a gloomy expression.]
Shiratori: ...
It was sudden, but today I've been invited by the Kurosakis to dinner.
[Sayoko breaks open the egg on the edge of the bowl--but the yolk falls to the outside, splattering on the table...joining four other yolks already there.]
Sayoko: Ah...
Shiratori: ...
More accurately, I'm here to sample the fruits of Kozue-chan's cooking lessons.
Asami: AAAAAH! Mom, how many eggs are you wasting?!
[Sayoko holds up an egg in one hand, and the empty bowl--turned sideways, so even if there'd been anything inside, it would have spilled out--in the other.]
Sayoko: Cooking--kiai...
Shiratori: ...
Kozue: Asami-chan, eyes forward... (It's going to burn!)
...It's awfully noisy...and more than whether the food turns out all right...
Asami: UWAAAAA! BIG TROUBLE!!
[Sayoko breaks another egg, and another yolk splatters on the table.]
Sayoko: Cooking--kiai...
I'm worried whether it will end safely...
Shiratori: Um...hey...shall I help with something, too?
Asami: Ah...then, please peel the potatoes with Mom!
Shiratori: Uh...okay...
Kozue: Asami-chan, eyes forward...eyes forward!
Asami: UWAWAAA!!
Sayoko: ...
[Sayoko looks at her peeler in puzzlement as Shiratori gets started on his share of the potatoes. She looks at Shiratori, then at the peeler, then back at Shiratori--then smiles and pounds her fist in realization.]
Shiratori: ...?
[Back at the stove, Asami wipes the sweat from her brow.]
Asami: Phew...for the moment, I need a break!
Kozue: All right!
Asami: [looking back] Are the potatoes peeled yet?
Sayoko: Cooking--kiai...
Shiratori: Ah...
[Sayoko, having finally realized how to use the peeler, is hard at work--peeling, and peeling, and peeling, and peeling, and peeling, and...]
Asami: AAAAAAH?!
Sayoko: It's a convenient tool, isn't it? (Here, look.)
[She holds up the skin she's peeled in both hands, while Asami holds what's left of the potato--between her thumb and forefinger.]
[Box pointing to Sayoko's hands: "Skin"]
[Box pointing to Asami's fingers: "Seed"]
Asami: WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO AFTER YOU PEELED IT THIS SMALL?!
[She throws her hands in the air.]
Asami: Mom, would you get a grip already!
Kozue: It's all right, Asami-chan. If we fry it, we can make potato chips!
Sayoko: ...
[Sayoko stares at the potato peeler...then, trembling, tries to bring the peeler to her wrist.]
Sayoko: ...I'll die...
Asami: M-MOM?!!
Shiratori: [thinking] Isn't that impossible...?
[A few minutes later, after Asami has confiscated the peeler...]
Asami: ...So--what's next, onee-chan?
Kozue: Um, let's see...
[She leans down to open a cupboard.]
Kozue: Next, we get the bread crumbs and...
[As she reaches for the bag, her eyes alight on a nearby jar.]
Kozue: ...
[Rather than the bag, she pulls out the jar, opens it, and reaches inside.]
Kozue: ...Dried plums...
Asami: Eh...?
[She pulls out a plum. She holds it in her hand for a moment, then, as Shiratori and Asami watch, pops it in her mouth. Her lips purse, and her eyes scrunch shut--then, her eyes open wide, her hands go to her cheeks, and her face dissolves into an expression of pure bliss.]
Asami: Um...onee-chan has a weakness for dried plums, so...
Shiratori: I...I see...
Kozue: Huh? [blinks] I...just now, what was I...?
Shiratori: [thinking] She likes dried plums so much, she loses herself...
[Kozue hurriedly goes back to the cupboard and retrieves the bread crums.]
Kozue: I...I'm sorry...
Asami: Don't worry about it!
Shiratori: ... [thinking] But still...it looks like we'll get through without things getting as bad as I'd been afraid of...
[He heaves a relieved sigh.]
Shiratori: [thinking] Thank goodness... [out loud] Hn...?
Sayoko: ...
[Sayoko has been hard at work. With a tomato for the body, cherry tomatoes for the eyes, eggshells for the claws, and matches for the legs and eye stalks--it's indisputably a crab.]
Sayoko: [satisfied smile] ...
Shiratori: [thinking] A...an unexpected ability...?!
Asami: Ah, a crab! You did a great job on it!
Sayoko: ...didn't I?
[Asami picks up the crab, and snatches out the eyes.]
Asami: But I'm using these, so...
Sayoko: Aaah...
[She trails after Asami despondently.]
Shiratori: [thinking] This person...
[A little later...]
Asami: IT'S DONE!!
["Mixed Chinese-style fried rice: 506 kcal"]
["Salmon Croquet: 291 kcal"]
Asami: Go on, eat up!
Shiratori: Wow, it looks good!
Sayoko: ...
[Sayoko picks up one of her croquets with her chopsticks.]
Sayoko: Itadakima--Ah...
[The croquet slips out of her chopsticks and falls to the floor.]
Sayoko: ...
[She picks up her other croquet with her chopsticks.]
Sayoko: Itadakima--Ah...
[The croquet slips out of her chopsticks and falls to the floor, alongside the first.]
[Sayoko stares. Asami stares. Shiratori and Kozue stare. And then...]
Asami: M...MOM?!
[Sayoko makes a beeline for the courtyard and her hangman's noose, while Asami yells at her from the doorway.]
Asami: STOP! STOP IT!!
Shiratori: ... [thinking] Asami-chan has it rough, too, doesn't she...
[A little later...]
Shiratori: Phew...Gochisousama! (3)
[Shiratori leans back in his chair, resting both hands on his stomach, and gives a satisfied sigh.]
Shiratori: It was delicious, Asami-chan.
Asami: Th...thank you!
Kozue: That's great, isn't it?
Asami: Yeah!
[Kozue gathers up the plates.]
Kozue: Well, then, I'll make tea, all right?
Asami: ...
[Shiratori glances over, and sees Asami frowning despondently.]
Shiratori: ...?
[Later...]
[Shiratori exits the men's bath.]
Shiratori: Ah...that was a good bath! (4) The evening breeze feels great...huh? That's...
[Asami sits alone on the walkway, looking out into the courtyard.]
Shiratori: Asami-chan!
Asami: Ah...onii-chan.
Shiratori: Hi. Thanks for the food earlier!
[He looks around.]
Shiratori: Huh? Kurosaki-san...Sayoko-san isn't with you?
Asami: Ah...Mom staggered off somewhere again.
Shiratori: I see.
[He looks down at Asami for a moment, then takes a seat next to her.]
Shiratori: ...Asami-chan, for some reason, you haven't been very cheerful since earlier, have you?
Asami: Eh...?
[She looks away again.]
Asami: ...
Shiratori: ...What's wrong? Did something happen?
Asami: ...
[There is a long pause...then, without looking over at Shiratori, Asami begins to speak.]
Asami: Hey...Me and...and Mom...We don't resemble each other at all, do we?
Shiratori: Eh? Ah...well...
Asami: That's because...we're not really mother and child.
Shiratori: ...Eh?...
[He blinks, then realizes what she said.]
Shiratori: [thinking] EEEEEH?!
Asami: ...My real mother died soon after I was born.
After that, Dad raised me while he worked...and, when I was about three years old, he remarried. His new spouse was my present-day Mom.
Shiratori: ...
Asami: Dad and Mom...my Mom Sayoko, I mean. They were madly in love with each other.
When they married, it was like they eloped. Because of that, I still haven't met my grandparents yet. They wanted to be together so much that they faced down her parents' disapproval...They really, really...
Asami: They really loved each other, didn't they...
Shiratori: ...
Asami: ...But...soon after they were married, Dad died in an accident.
Shiratori: ...!
He left behind Mom, and three-year-old me. Dad came from an orphanage, so he had no relatives, and Mom had broken off relations with her parents... with no one to rely on, at that time it must have seemed hopeless...Even so, Mom raised me, alone, until I could think for myself.
I know...Mom? It must have been terrible for her...I'm sure she must have worked so hard.
Asami: That's why I'm so thankful to her...and respect her. She didn't succumb to the sadness of losing someone so dear to her, and raised me. I was very small, so I don't remember Dad, or losing him, very well...
[She looks over at Shiratori and smiles.]
Asami: But Mom had all of that, and she's still managed to live up to today. I think she's an incredible person.
[She looks back up at the sky.]
Asami: ...I'm alive today because of Mom. She's the benefactor of my life, and the person I respect the most...and...even if we're not linked by blood...even if no one appreciates it...to me, Mom is...
[Asami begins to tear up.]
Asami: She's my only precious family in this world...she's my...she's my Mom...!
Shiratori: ...Asami-chan...
Asami: ...But Mom...Mom doesn't think that way, does she? She doesn't think of me as her daughter, does she...?
[Shiratori's eyes widen.]
Asami: She doesn't really care about me, one way or the other, does she...?
Shiratori: Of...of course she does!! Asami-chan, Sayoko-san definitely thinks of you as someone special!!
Asami: THAT'S BULL!!
Shiratori: ?!
Asami: ...If she does...then why does she try to kill herself...?
[She stands up and takes a few steps into the courtyard.]
Asami: Doesn't that mean that for Mom, there's no value in living in this world anymore...? Doesn't it mean that I'm not enough reason for her to continue living...? (5)
[She begins to cry in earnest.]
Asami: I...I...even though I enjoy being with Mom so much...even though, because of her, I can do my best...! Mom...Mom doesn't...
Shiratori: ...
[Then, he heaves a relieved sigh.]
Shiratori: ...So that's it...you were worried about something like that?
[Asami whips around, outraged.]
Asami: ?! Something like that...?!
Shiratori: How should I say...it's an extremely weird thing to be worried about.
Asami: Th--that's cruel, onii-chan! Even though I poured out my heart to...!! That's...
[Shiratori rests a hand on Asami's head, cutting her off.]
Shiratori: Look, Asami-chan. To Sayoko-san, you are essential! You're amply loved!
Asami: ...
Shiratori: ...It hasn't been long since I came here, but with what I've seen up to now, I've seen more than enough to understand that. To begin with, for Sayoko-san to have been able to raise you, she has to think that you're important.
Asami: But...but then, why the suicides...
Shiratori: That's her childish side showing. She just wants people to be concerned about her. She doesn't seriously intend to die--because she's definitely not going to leave behind a good child like you, Asami-chan.
Asami: ...
Shiratori: This is what I think--you're too level-headed, Asami-chan. That's why she does such unnecessary things to get your attention. I bet she wishes you'd play around like that and depend on her more, don't you think?
Asami: ...
[They sit back down on the edge of the walkway.]
Shiratori: I understand why you think, "I have to be reliable," but...isn't it all right to unload a little of that onto her shoulders? You're still a child--and you're Sayoko-san's daughter.
[He smiles.]
Shiratori: Just like you talked to me about your worries now--isn't it all right to rely on your mother like that once in a while? Sayoko-san might well be waiting for that as well.
Asami: ...
[Shiratori slowly turns red.]
Shiratori: Er...that is...that might have been a little self-important of me. Did I go and say too much...? Well, anyway, that's how I feel...
Asami: ...
Shiratori: Well...at any rate, cheer up, Asami-chan! A smile definitely suits you much better.
Asami: Yeah...
[She looks up, and smiles.]
Asami: Thank you, onii-chan! Somehow, I feel much better!
Shiratori: Yeah! That's the spirit!!
Momono: ...
[Yep. Hidden behind a nearby support pillar are four eavesdroppers.]
Momono: [thinking] Where the heck did he let that loose from?
Kozue: [thinking] What a moving conversation Asami-chan and Shiratori-san had...!
Johnny: [thinking] That was more like a bodhisattva (6) than a man, there.Tamami: [thinking] He's gained a few points, hasn't he~
[And, hidden behind a tree in the courtyard...]
Sayoko: ...
[Later, back in the Kurosakis' room...]
Asami: Ah--oh, Mom. Where did you go? There's still this month's work left!
Sayoko: ...
Asami: Come on, if we don't hurry this won't get done! [thinking] "Rely on her," huh...
[She sighs as she wraps the stem of a flower.]
Asami: [thinking] No...if I suddenly tried that, who knows what would happen...? (I can't remember ever...) What should I do...?
Sayoko: ...
[Suddenly, Sayoko wraps her arms around Asami from behind.]
Asami: ...? M-Mom...?
Sayoko: ...
Asami: You're...you're holding me a little tight...
Sayoko: ...I'm sorry...
[Asami's eyes widen.]
Sayoko: I'll...try harder, okay...
Asami: ...Mom...
[Asami turns in the embrace to look up at Sayoko. Sayoko smiles down at her...and Asami's eyes begin to water.]
Asami: M...MOOOOOM!!
Sayoko: ...Why are you crying...?
From that day on, Mom and I changed a little.
[Some days later...]
Asami: Ack! MOM!!
[Inside the Kurosakis' room, Asami is on her hands and knees, staring in horror at two shattered plates.]
Asami: You broke the dishes again!
Sayoko: ...
Asami: Do you think we can just glue these back together?! How many dishes are you going to break before you're satisfied?!!
[As an upset Asami sets to cleaning up the broken dishes, Sayoko, in tears, flees the room.]
It's only a little change, but...
[Sayoko comes to a stop in front of her noose.]
Sayoko: ...
[She stares at it for a moment.]
But...
Sayoko: ...I'll help you pick up...
Asami: Ah--be careful not to get hurt from the shards...!
Sayoko: ...Asami? Your warning was a little late... (Ouch...)
Asami: AAAAH! Liquid bandages--WHERE ARE THE LIQUID BANDAGES?!
[Outside, the noose hangs from its branch...empty.]
Definitely...
Front cover: ~Parting~
[The woman from "Akandou" waves to the readers.]
Woman: Hello, everyone! Have you been doing well? It's time for Subcharacters Heaven!
[Minature versions of the maid from Chapter 4, the kyuudou girl from Chapter 6, and the over-aggressive saleswoman from Chapter 8 cheer wildly.]
Woman: Now, today we'll be in high spirits--hey, you guys too!
[A short ways away, Ponytailed Boy shrugs.]
Ponytailed Boy: Sorry, but...we've really been active in Volume 2. I'm thinking it's about time we graduated from Subcharacters Heaven, isn't it?
[He turns his back and waves dismissively.]
Ponytailed Boy: Well, in other words--I'll allow you all to keep having fun here, all right? Later!
Short-Haired Girl: Hey, stop it!
Long-Haired Girl: You said too much!
[The woman from "Akandou" scowls. Then...]
Woman: Even though they haven't said your name once yet.
[The arrow from that speech bubble pierces Ponytailed Boy like a spear (literally).]
Woman: Moreover, your actions have all been perverted.
[A second spear, sending him toppling to the ground.]
Woman: No matter how many times you appear, you're never popular, only disliked.
[The spears plunge into his prone body.]
Ponytailed Boy: Ooooooh...
[Captions: "Dead" "Corpse" "No One to Pick Him Up"]
Short-Haired Girl: That's why I said...
On the spine
Short-Haired Girl: No one noticed us, did they...
Long-Haired Girl: No...
Back cover: ~An end~
[Box: "Onee-san's Question Corner"]
Mini-kyuudou Girl: Hey, hey, onee-san! I have a question!
Woman: Hn? What is it, new entrant Kyuudou-chan?
Mini-kyuudou Girl: Well, during the date, when Saki-chan noogied those grade-school kids--it was a Sunday, so why were they wearing backpacks?
Woman: That's because on that day, there was a class trip.
Mini-kyuudou Girl: Eeeh? But that's kind of--
[She's cut off, and blood spurts from her body as the woman from "Akandou" wraps her hands around her and squeezes.]
Woman: [still smiling] Are there any other questions:
Saleswoman: I have one, yo! Why was the shape of Narutakisou different in Volume 1, yo?
Woman: That's just an optical illusion.
Saleswoman: Eeeh? But that shouldn't be, yo--
[She's cut off, and blood spurts from her mouth as the woman from "Akandou" snaps her neck.]
Woman: [still smiling] Are there any other questions:
Maid: Onee-san, you're scary...
~Nothing to see here, folks...~
1 料理は気合 ("Ryouri wa kiai"): Lit. "As for cooking, fighting spirit." "Kiai" in martial arts is a brief yell, used to affect your enemy and/or, as here, to focus your concentration and energy. Of course, Sayoko being Sayoko, the focus and energy are nonexistent, and rather than give a brief yell, she actually said "kiai." BACK
2 いただきます ("Itadakimasu"): Lit. "I will humbly receive." Ritual expression, said before a meal. BACK
3 ごちそうさま ("Gochisousama"): Short for "Gochisousama deshita," a ritual expression said after a meal. BACK
4 いい湯だった ("Ii yu datta"): Lit. "That was good hot water." BACK
5 生きる糧 ("Ikiru kate"): Lit. "Food/provisions for living." BACK
6 Bodhisattva: The ultimate saints in Buddhist theology--people who reach enlightenment, but vow to save all other beings before becoming Buddhas themselves. BACK