Vol.3 Ch.2: Eli's Familia ③

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“Huh? A missing student?”

It was around noon when the usual lunch break began, and Yuko had met up with Chisa to get some food from the cafeteria. Knowing Chisa to be one of her go-to sources of recent news and gossip, Yuko began by asking if she’d heard anything about any students going missing.

“Yeah. Maybe one of the middle school students?” Yuko asked, narrowing down the specifics even further.

“Hmm… I don’t think so.” Chisa replied, with a finger to her chin. “Why do you ask? Do you know a middle schooler who’s gone missing?”

“Oh, no! It’s nothing like that!” Yuko waved her hands around. “I just felt like I may have heard something like that in passing, is all.”

Yuko came up with an excuse for her question. Deep down, she felt a bit guilty about it. During the incident in April, Chisa had ended up getting involved in the bizarre circumstances Yuko was dealing with, and ever since then Yuko knew that Chisa had been waiting for Yuko to come clean with her about the whole truth. And yet, even now Yuko still hesitated. It’s not as though she didn’t trust Chisa, she just didn’t want her to worry. Even after gaining some resolve to finally speak with her in the month prior, Yuko still hadn’t found a good opportunity to broach the subject.

Well, the current situation was a little different in the first place.

I can’t just go telling anyone that Murakami and I are taking care of an amnesiac lost girl who we secretly have in hiding…

Yuko sighed, beginning to wonder how these situations kept happening around her. It was like she’d been surrounded by some bizarre bad luck ever since the new school term began.

“Are you seriously not gonna tell me the truth?” Chisa gave Yuko a rather annoyed look.

“N-no! I mean, it’s really not a big deal! It could be nothing at all! I just wanted to ask you to make sure!” Yuko frantically waved her arms around.

“Well, I guess that’s that.” sighed Chisa. “It feels like you’re always keeping some kind of secret, so no use being surprised now.”

Despite Yuko’s attempt at an excuse, Chisa saw right through her.

“No, seriously! I’m not trying to hide anything from you specifically!” Yuko pleaded. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the other stuff, okay?”

“Look, it’s fine, alright?” Chisa gave Yuko a pat on the head. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s get our lunch.”

“R-right…” Yuko nodded.

The two had arrived at the cafeteria, and swiftly took their place in line.

Oh right, Eli probably still hasn’t gotten anything to eat today…

Yuko couldn’t help but worry about the amnesiac girl they’d left alone in that shed in the park.

I know we promised to return to her as soon as possible… But she’s probably been very lonely in there all by herself…

Yuko may have felt bad, but she knew there was really nothing she could do considering how much of her day was taken up by school. The bright side was that her afternoon was free, and she’d have plenty of time to spend with Eli then, since she didn’t have a shift at the café today.

“Looks like there are some seats free over there.” Chisa pointed to an open corner of a table by the window. The two of them had just received their food and were now looking to find somewhere to sit.

“Works for me. Let’s go.” Yuko nodded.

The two began to make their way over to the seat when Yuko caught a glimpse of someone on the other side of the cafeteria.

“Ah, Kanna…” she muttered to herself.

Across the crowd on the opposite end of the room, Yuko laid eyes on Kanna. Yuko had been meaning to speak with her more recently as well, especially since discovering the amnesiac Eli. However, Eli didn’t want anything to do with the student council, leaving Yuko unsure of what to do.

I’d been meaning to speak with her again… But Eli said…

Yuko stood still, unsure of what to do.

“Yuko? You okay?” Chisa asked, looking worried.

“Oh, it’s just…” Yuko glanced back over.

“Ah, the prez, right?” Chisa said after noticing Kanna. “Didn’t you wanna go talk to her?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Yuko sighed.

Yuko noticed that Kanna was with a group of other people. Considering they all wore the same armbands it was safe to assume they were all student council members. After taking a closer look, Yuko even saw Makoto Ishigami was among the group too. The small confrontation she’d had with him earlier that morning still left her feeling troubled.

“I think I’ll talk with her another time.” Yuko answered, before passing by Chisa and heading towards the seats they chose.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Chisa gave her friend a wry smile before following her to the table herself.

Putting her troubles out of her mind, Yuko enjoyed the usual lunchtime small talk she shared with Chisa as they both enjoyed their meals. Before long, it was back to class to finish up the rest of the school day.

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“Here, take this.”

It was now after school, and in front of the school gates Tanabe was handing Yuko a wrapped lunchbox. Yuko graciously took it with a smile.

“Wow! Did you make this for Eli?” she asked, impressed.

“Oh, well, kinda. It’s more like my leftovers, haha. I did make a bit extra on purpose though.” Tanabe confessed with a light chuckle.

“Even so, that was very thoughtful of you.” Yuko grinned.

Originally, Yuko had planned to get food from elsewhere and have that make do for what she brought to Eli. Having Tanabe’s own cooking was quite unexpected.

“It’s really no big deal. They’re just a few extra sandwiches.” Tanabe waved off the compliment. “Anyway, I’m off to the dojo. Take care of her.”

“Right!” Yuko nodded resolutely.

The two said their goodbyes and parted ways. It was still mid-afternoon but Yuko was sure Eli must’ve been extremely hungry by now. In fact, she had no idea when Eli last even had a meal.

Still, I’m sure she’ll love these…!

After reaffirming that with herself, Yuko broke into a jog and made her way to Rigel Park.

Since it was the middle of the day, there were a handful of students around all relaxing or hanging out in the park. Of course, this is the natural sight of Rigel Park during the day. It took this sight for Yuko to really think about how bizarre it was that most of her recent visits to the place were in the middle of the night when no one was around.

Putting aside those thoughts, she reached the lake, and walked casually around to the opposite shore. She couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder to check her surroundings, but luckily the nearby students weren’t really paying her any attention.

“Good…”

After whispering that to herself, she made her way toward the storage shed. It really was in a good spot. It wasn’t particularly hidden, but just from looking at the outside, it isn’t really the kind of place you’d expect anyone to want to enter without a good reason.

Keeping Eli here isn’t quite ‘hiding in plain sight’ since it is a bit out of the way, but it’s a concept that fit rather well, since most students wouldn’t really have any reason to go inside.

“Eli? I’m back! Sorry it’s been so long…” Yuko spoke quietly as she slowly opened the creaking door and stepped inside.

“Eli?” Yuko repeated, glancing around the inside of the shed.

“Fwmu mu mu…”

And there curled up in a ball on the couch was Eli, her long blond hair curled around her back almost like a blanket. Cute mumbles escaped from her lips as she sailed through her dreams, totally asleep.

“So cute…” Yuko couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the sight. The idea of a sleeping girl being so cute had never occurred to Yuko before.

After a moment, Yuko shook her head, focusing back on the task at hand.

“Hey, Eli? It’s time to wake up! I brought food!” Yuko spoke in a gentle voice next to the girl’s sleeping face.

“Mnnh…” with a muffled grumble, Eli slowly opened her eyes.

“Good morning! Well, it’s actually the middle of the day, but still… Haha.” Yuko chuckled to herself. “Were you sleeping all day?”

“Mn… Yeah.” Eli yawned, rubbing her eyes as she rose to sit up.

“You’re probably really hungry, but don’t worry, I brought some food!” Yuko smiled as she lifted up the lunch Tanabe had given her.

“Ooh…!” Eli looked on, seemingly impressed.

As afternoon passed into evening, Yuko and Eli enjoyed spending some quiet time together. While Eli partook in Tanabe’s sandwiches, Yuko had decided to help brush Eli’s hair. It was still rather messy after the night before, but it was still clean enough that some good brushing helped it look rather nice.

“You know, you have some really gorgeous hair, Eli.” Yuko commented. It’s not like blond girls were rare at Starlight Academy, but it was rare to see a girl with such long, pristine golden blond hair like Eli.

“Mm…” Eli mumbled with her mouth full of food.

“All done!” Yuko smiled as she set the brush down, and pulled a small mirror from her bag. “Here, look good to you?”

Yuko handed the mirror to Eli, who took it in hand and glanced at herself in the reflection.

“Ngh…” for some reason, Eli’s expression tightened, and she casually tossed the mirror aside.

“Ah, hey!” Yuko fumbled around trying to catch it, before falling onto the floor herself.

“Owie…” Yuko groaned, rubbing the part of her butt that had hit the floor. “What was that all about, Eli?”

“Dunno… Seeing self in reflection… Uncomfortable.” Eli mumbled, looking a bit apologetic after seeing Yuko on the floor with the mirror.

“Ah… Well, it’s not broken, so I guess it’s fine.” Yuko shrugged it off and placed the mirror back in her bag.

How odd. Does Eli have a complex about her appearance? Even though she’s such a beautiful girl… Well, I guess everyone’s different.

Yuko couldn’t help but wonder what went through Eli’s mind. Before long, Eli finished up the last of the sandwiches, leaving the two unsure of what to do or talk about next. After Yuko packed away the now-empty lunchbox, a few quiet moments passed before Yuko decided to break the silence.

“So, um… Have you remembered anything else about yourself?” Yuko hesitantly asked.

“Hmm…” Eli glanced up at the ceiling, as if deep in thought. “All I remember… is Familia.”

“Familia again…” Yuko muttered. “That means family, doesn’t it? You said Murakami and I were like family to you?”

Remembering that comment caused Yuko to blush a bit.

“What is… family?” Eli asked with a tilt of her head.

“Hmm… Well, I suppose it’s like a bond between people. If you consider someone family, it’s like you’re always connected.” Yuko explained after giving it a bit of thought.

The concept of ‘family’ had always been vague for Starlight Academy students, since most everyone here would have grown up without one. The idea of parents or siblings became more foreign the older one got. Yuko couldn’t help but think back to Tsukiko, the young girl she met in Central who wished to see her family again.

“A bond…” Eli quietly contemplated. “Like… a servant?”

“Huh?” Yuko was so thrown off by that comparison that she almost fell to the floor again.

“Nn?” Eli tilted her head at Yuko’s goofy reaction.

“I-I don’t think that’s quite right, haha.” Yuko laughed awkwardly. “Though, I guess there might be some families out there who treat each other like servants? Wait, is that really possible, though? Um… I really dunno.”

Yuko’s eyes swirled as several logic loops on what a family could be all spun around in her head. Seeing Yuko like this caused Eli to let out a light chuckle.

“Ah! You laughed at me again!” Yuko gave a pretend pout before smiling and giving Eli a pat on the head.

“You’re really funny, Yuko.” Eli smiled. “Like when you sat in the mud sticking your butt out.”

“O-oh, come on! Don’t remember that!” Yuko was now completely flustered.

The casual chatter between the two continued on as the sun dipped into the horizon, as day slowly gave way to night. As Yuko lost herself in the fun chatter she had with Eli, in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but wonder how much longer this could go on for.

After all, just who is Eli…?