Cat's Cradle 4

“Good luck with the alibis,” Kiyoko greeted us with a huge smile when we returned tomorrow morning.

We wordlessly sat on the couch and waited for her wrath to descend. I've no regrets. I did what I thought was best for Senna and, judging by the looks of it, the fog obscuring her memories had been lifted a little so I guess it's fine.

“Akito, anything to say?”

The lady picked up Senna's walking stick and tapped it on her palm waiting for my response. As usual, I did what I do best.

“We visited Madam Asako to learn about Yukina, stayed way too late to catch the last train. I've got little left in my wallet so we slept at an internet—OW!”

I never thought she'd actually do it. Kiyoko just bonked my head with the cane.

“Senna,” she squatted down and met her niece in the eye. “Are you really fine with this guy? He's only good as stress relief. See?”

DON'T REPEATEDLY HIT MY HEAD TO PROVE YOUR POINT!

Kiyoko, keeping that sinister smile, then held my head close to her and whispered, “If I ever get a whiff of you laying your filthy hands on Yukina's daughter, you're in for a world of unimaginable pain. Even if you're into that kind of thing I swear in my ancestor's name I'd make it so you'd never, ever like it.”

Just to clear things up, I have never laid my hands on Senna… I think.

Then, as with the typical Kiyoko, she instantly switched gears and went back to normal. “Understood? Great! Let's eat then!”

She picked up a tray of food at the cafe counter. It's supposedly yesterday's dinner but thanks to us getting carried away, it turned into a reheated breakfast.

“So,” she said, fingers crossed. “Have you learned anything useful?”

“Yeah,” I responded. “That you've been a bad guardian.”

“Oh? What do you propose I do then?”

“Nothing. In fact, I don't expect either of us to do anything anymore.”

“Um…”

We looked at Senna who meekly raised her chopsticks.

“I don't think it's fair for Miss Kiyoko to take all the blame. Didn't I say before? She took care of me. I've become this way mainly because of her.” She took a sip of water before continuing. “Akito, you find me likeable right?”

“Eh? Ah, uh…”

Her puppy eyes were begging for me to say it. Of course, I found getting all flustered around Kiyoko wouldn't be cool after everything I just said.

“Go on, say it,” Even Kiyoko was waiting for me get embarrassed. Now I have every bit of reason to say it with a straight face. I'm sure Senna wouldn't mind (nor would she care anyway).

“Yeah…” I exhaled the words in a sigh of defeat.

Seriously, hanging around these two who make me crazy. The mood shifts were faster than a ping-pong rally. One second, we're throwing menacing glares at each other, the next we're back to the usual teasing.

Senna's face brightened up. As if she even needed to hear that, sheesh. “Then, it's mostly thanks to my aunt.”

Now I kinda get it why Kiyoko's been raising Senna like her pet. The sheltered girl was Yukina's only daughter and it's natural to be overprotective. However, there's still the need to interact with others—due to work or simply to live, and she needed to teach her that, but her inability to see the girl fail and get hurt forced Kiyoko to throw Senna to the open to learn how to fend for herself. Maybe that's why I've been hired as an errand boy and Senna's assistant; to watch over her.

On the other hand, I got this nagging feeling that she had been forced to it, like how she (the way I see it by the way) sometimes projected that she cared when it’s clear she’s not. In the defense, she wouldn’t be Kiyoko unless she’s hard to read anyway.

All in all, her methods were too convoluted to the point I even wondered why I bothered trying to understand. It's like, raising her niece was a chore yet she still had to put up with it. The way she treated Senna could be interpreted as care or neglect, all depending on the observer's inclination at the time.

I stabbed my tomato slice with my chopsticks. The taste would've been way better had we just headed home and not risk my head having a huge bump right now.

“My argument remains,” I said. “Your being too untrue with yourself that's why you don't even know what to do with your sister's kid.”

“You may be right with her lying about her feelings but,” Senna shook her head. “No, Akito. She's a Hoshii—mom's sister. If mother truly was as perfect as Madam Asako depicted, then she might've left instructions for the worst. I'm sure it's only accessible for my aunt though… or someone who knew how to decipher the code.”

Kiyoko nodded, pleased with Senna's deduction. “To think I'd finally see you do something without being told… ah, I'm so—”

The life literally drained out of her face. For a second, I thought she's wearing a mask.

Then, she added, in a tone devoid of emotion. “Nothing. Good for you, I guess.”

I swear I wasn't a Hoshii nor do I possess an aptitude for getting into the psyche of people, but right at that moment, for the first time, like when I thought I also saw it from Senna…

I got to steal a glimpse of the true Kiyoko.

***

And now, I saw myself back at it. The place where it all began.

Senna slid open the door and the myriad red strings immediately came into view.

“She forbade me from going here,” Senna said. “Out of curiosity, I still snuck in and tried decoding the mystery of this room. I had my suspicions, given that this was a part of the house I have no clear memory of,” She turned towards Kiyoko. “This is her last will, right?”

“…”

“To think I've forgotten the things that mattered most,” She ran a finger on a string. “I'm here now, mother…”

Senna entered deep into the web of red strings. Kiyoko tried reaching out to stop her. Of course, I held her wrist to prevent her from interfering.

“Let her have some space.”

“Yukina's message is undecipherable,” she said, in a voice so weak and weary I doubt if it's still Kiyoko I'm talking to.

“But you can make out anything from it? A bit weak coming from you. Just let her do her thing.”

I looked at Senna weaving her way deeper into the room. I swear if she got tangled up again, I won't hesitate to destroy that… whatever that was.

“Hey, Yukina might be perfect but this was her daughter—her own blood. Even I believe in that sort of magic.”

“The connection of people to people and people to things, huh…”

“Nope,” I said. “Red string of fate or no, I believe it's more like just being a person who takes care of those precious to her. Like a decent living being.”

“…”

Despite saying only what I meant, I honestly felt cool—like I'm some protagonist of some story ‘cool’, that kind of thing. Still, the point remained. No matter how tightly the gods knotted one's strings of fate, it's ultimately up for the humans to be decent people and fulfill their destiny.

“Honey, you don't understand,” Kiyoko said. “What I meant by ‘undecipherable’ wasn't the message she left.”

KRRRIIIINNNGG—

The shop telephone rang all the way to the main house. It might be because it's deathly quiet here, but someone's got to pick it up nevertheless.

I checked up on Kiyoko to see her getting paler. She only had her eyes wide with worry as she covered her mouth with her hands. I took off thinking nothing of it.

“Musubi Antiques,” I greeted as I picked up the receiver.

“Miss Kiyoko?” Fuyumi's voice cracked through the other end of the line. She sounded troubled.

“It's Akito, Fuyumi. What's the—”

“You've got to get Miss Kiyoko quick!” She started sobbing.

It was then that a pang of dread hit me.

“Please… dad…”

The line cut off.