29-Talking: Tears at the Light




 Because I couldn't even speak to her that day.
 The last thing I saw of Nana was her expressionless crying face.


☆


 Ever since I was a child, I was an excellent child.
 He is a child who always meets the expectations of his peers. I've always been praised for my athleticism, my studies, my lessons, my excellence in everything I've done.

 I had an older sister who I loved more than anyone else.
 Butane Takashou. My cousin who is one year older than me and the daughter of the general manager of the Takashou Group.
 She is a kind person who always listens to me and praises me as if I were her own.

 Not only was she kind, but she was even more of a genius than I was.
 All she did was listen to her lessons. I've never seen her make any effort in any way, whether it's playing a musical instrument or learning manners.
 Her fatal weakness in athleticism was just one of her charms.

 Linnaeus was more successful than I was, but he always did what he wanted to do, and followed his own path.
 Her interest was always in games. She spent her free time playing games and was always happy or sad, such a strange person.

 Whenever she heard me talking, she would laugh at me and pat me on the head, saying 'you stupid child'.
 She was more reliable to me than my parents, and there was always a girl by her side.

 'Nana'. She was a very quiet and quiet child, always without expression and never spoke voluntarily.

'Nana, this is the light.

'I'm Takashou Touki, nice to meet you.'

'......'.

 I wonder if our first conversation went something like this.
 He looked at me for a moment, and then his gaze just wandered aimlessly.
 It's not that he's wary of me, he's just not interested.
 It was the first time I had ever been treated that way, and I remember being stunned.

 I didn't want to ask Rin directly, so I had someone from home look into Nana.
 Although she was good-looking, she was not as good as Rinne, and she came from an ordinary middle-class family.
 Her parents are friends with each other.
 When Rinne was attacked by a dog, she saved it and was seriously injured.
 And above all, he is her favorite.

 Before I felt any envy or jealousy, I felt the question, 'Why? before I felt envy or jealousy.
 I was an excellent child who was praised by everyone. But 'Nana' was ordinary to a fault.
 Aside from being excessively quiet, she scored about as well on tests as a person with a little effort could, and she wasn't good at singing or playing an instrument.
 If I had to pick one characteristic, it would be that she always brought two lunch boxes with her, which gave me the impression that she was a big eater.

 To me at that time, Nana was just an ordinary girl.

 So I envied her.
 I was jealous that a mere ordinary girl could stand next to the person of her dreams.


 The fact that someone who can't do anything is monopolizing Linn's attention.

 That's why I tried to provoke her in any way I could.
 Test scores, school grades, results of lessons, etc. I would try to kick Nana down, and the only response I got was a blank stare.
 Sometimes she would pat me on the head or give me a big hug, and it was obvious that she was treating me like a child, but I was happy that she was responding to me. When I think about it now, I must have been pretty stupid to be so happy.

 My original intention had completely changed, and I began to actively get involved with 'Nana' because I didn't want her to ignore me.
 My doubts turned into jealousy, and as I was mocked, I felt at ease with her, and I found myself happy to be with them.
 Nana was still salty towards me, but we were still like three close sisters, and we were almost always together.


 Towards the end of elementary school.
 The three of us were strolling through the city.
 As we were waiting at a traffic light, a large truck drove into us.
 The truck was running at a speed that was clearly capable of killing someone, and it was driving at a speed that was more ...... accurate to the three of us, with me and Lynne in the center.

 I thought we were dead.
 I cowered in front of the roaring truck, unable to move.
 The moment I closed my eyes, thinking I was going to die, my body suddenly lifted off the ground.
 After a few seconds of floating, I heard a roar behind me and felt a strong shock in my stomach.
 When I opened my eyes, I was being carried on my Nana's small left shoulder, and on my right shoulder, Rinne was being carried with a fed up look on her face.

'Gee, ...... Nana, couldn't you have been a little more gentle with her?

'I can't carry both of you.'

'Well, okay, thanks ...... Nana, are you crying? Is your leg broken?'

'It's broken.'

'You know, ....... Come on, you don't have to stand, just sit down. Let's call the police and an ambulance.'

 It was the first time I'd seen 'Nana' with tears in her eyes, and it wasn't until the ambulance arrived that I realized it was due to the broken bones in both legs.

 What happened? I can't believe I'm telling you this now, but she immediately jumped as hard as she could with both of us in her arms.
 She jumped so high and for such a long time that a big truck passed by, and with such force that she broke both her legs.
 The fact that he landed with the weight of three people on his back should have brought tears to my eyes.

 I heard later that the footprints of that time were left on the concrete or not.
 It's unclear whether it's true or not because it's been reburied, but as it turns out, the accident miraculously ended with only the driver being injured.

 Nana was taken by ambulance to a specialized medical institution of the Takashimaya Group, and returned home fully recovered in about half a month.
 At that time, I learned more about 'Nana' from Rinne.

 Nanaka Nishuku has a disease in which her muscle mass is incomparably greater than that of normal people, but it does not show in her appearance. She was born with such a super human quality.
 In addition, she has the innate motor skills to control all of them at will, as well as five senses that are too sharp.
 Yes, Nana was so far from normal that she was more than special, she was 'abnormal'.

 If it had been me in the past, I would have probably thought something silly like, "I'm special after all, and that's why I can stay close to Rin.
 But I already knew that. I already knew the feeling of Nana gently stroking my head, and the strength of her hug.
 I was bewildered by her persistent attempts to get involved with me, and she laughed at me when I asked for help.



 Lynne said. 'Nana' has an extreme aversion to wielding her power.
 She can adjust her power now, but when she was young, she couldn't, and she remembers hurting her parents many times.
 I was a little surprised when I heard that she was hesitant to even touch Rin at first.
 So, the only thing she asked me to do was to tell her 'thank you'.

 And for the first time, I got an awkward smile from Nana.


☆☆


 It was a rare day when it was snowing.
 It was a rare day when Nanae, who is usually with Rin, was walking alone in the city.
 Her gait was sluggish, and she didn't even seem to notice me in front of her.
 Without an umbrella, she was walking under the snowy sky.

 Her face was expressionless as usual, but on that day, she looked like I had never seen her before.
 She was walking with tears streaming down her cheeks and a blank look on her face.
 Nana, who rarely wavers in her emotions, was shedding tears without batting an eye.
 When I saw her, I couldn't even speak to her, but stood there cowering.
 My mind was whirling, and when I realized I had lost her, I hurriedly called Rin.


--She told me that her parents had died.


 When I heard the words in a trembling voice, perhaps because I was suppressing my grief, I ran out to look for Nana.
 I looked, and looked, and looked, but I couldn't find her.

 And so, Nana disappeared from my sight.