Chapter 13

TL: Chaos

ED: Mateo

Even under the blazing sun, the clay pipe in the shade of the park was a little cool and pleasant to touch.

Erika-chan was sweating a little, her face was bright red but she didn’t look like she was about to collapse.

“I’ll go get a drink now, so wait there.”

I said that and headed for the vending machine in the park. I bought two bottles of drinking water for the two of us and quickly returned to the clay pipe.

“Here you go.”

I put the bottle inside the pipe and Erika-chan took it.

With Erika-chan inside the clay pipe, I stayed outside and leaned against the tube to rehydrate. Then I called out to Erika.

“Mana and I were looking for you. I’ll let her know that I found you.”

As I fiddled on my phone, I heard a voice from inside.

“It’s okay to tell her that but… don’t tell her where we are.”

“…Alright.”

I replied and called Mana.

“Ah, Mana? Yeah, I found Erika-chan… yeah. Right. So I’m gonna talk a bit more with Erika-chan, then I’ll take her home, so just wait at home… Yeah. My bad. Then…”

As I hung up the phone, Erika spoke to me.

“Did Mana tell you? About what happened today?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

That was the end of the conversation.

How should I start the conversation? I was a little lost.

Even though our conversation stopped, the chattering cicada’s voice didn’t stop. I wondered what the heck they were screaming about. I listened to the cicada’s conversation for a while, but then I decided that it was no use being like that so I started talking to Erika-chan.

“…Hey, Erika-chan. Why did you become a yankee?”

“…Eh?”

“Ah, no… I don’t really know much about Erika-chan so… I was wondering what your motivation was to become a yankee.”

“Hee~, you’re interested in my history?”

I thought Erika-chan laughed a little inside the clay pipe.

“I am.”

I answered clearly.

Silence fell.

But after a while, Erika-chan spoke up in a quiet voice.

“In order to talk about it, I’ll have to start with my background…”

“Is it okay to ask about it?”

“Umm… Well, whatever. It’s Onii-san after all.”

She seemed to be a little hesitant, but Erika-chan agreed. Then she began to speak in an indifferent manner.

“My mom used to work in a hostess club when she was young, and she was popular in her own way. So she moved from one man to another and accidentally gave birth to me.”

Erika-chan’s tone was light, as if she was talking about the TV show she watched last night.

“So my mom doesn’t know who my father is, but she doesn’t want to do a DNA test. She has zero interest in me from the beginning. She doesn’t think I’m cute, and she wishes she never had me. I’m sure… that she has no reason for giving birth to me.”

“I see…”

“I think she was waiting for me to die in the wild. But I was lucky, and a neighbor auntie took good care of me, so I was able to live without any problems. The worst was… when I was 10 and had a high fever…”

“Go on…”

Indicating that I was still paying attention, I urged her to go on with her story.

“When my mom found out I had a fever, she didn’t come home for three days. I guess she was waiting for me to die. I was so disappointed at that time, and… frustrated. I was so frustrated that I was determined to live. I decided that I would survive and be so happy that she would envy me.”

After her miraculous recovery, Erika-chan stopped staying at home quietly and started to roam around outside. Then she talked about how she started hanging around with some older Onee-sans.

“Those Onee-sans, were they yankees?”

I asked, and Erika gave a small laugh.

“I didn’t know they were Yankees at the time, I just thought of them as cool Onee-sans. But I became a yankee while I was hanging out with them, so I guess they were yankees.”

“I see… Erika-chan, you’ve met some good people.”

When I said that, Erika-chan asked me after a short pause.

“Onii-san, you’re serious yet you’re not repulsed by the yankees. Why?”

“Umm… if you ask me why…”

I looked up at the trees and answered.

“To be honest, I am a little scared of yankees. If someone who looked like a yankee came to my house, I’d get nervous and get scared when they talk to me. But I can accept Mana’s friends, regardless of whether they are yankees or not, and if they are yankees who gave Erika-chan a place to belong, I think they must be good people.”

“That’s why I… like Onii-san.”

Her voice sounded a little like she was crying, and I rushed to look inside the clay pipe.

“Erika-chan…”

“Onii-san.”

The timing of my call to Erika-chan and her attempt to talk to me coincided. I held my tongue, trying to listen to what Erika-chan had to say.

I kept my mouth shut and peered into the earthen pipe, and Erika-chan stared at me.

“About earlier, I’m sorry. Even though Onii-san invited me to go to the aquarium again… I must’ve made you feel bad.”

She looked at me with anxious eyes. I smiled at Erika-chan to reassure her.

“It’s fine. I should be the one to be sorry. Did I say something to upset you?”

“No, it’s not Onii-san’s fault… It’s my… It’s my fault…”

Tears fell from Erika-chan’s eyes.

“The stuffed penguin that Onii-san bought me… that guy threw it away. Even though I said I’d cherish it… Even though I said I’d cherish it more than anything! But, I couldn’t cherish it properly. I should’ve taken more care of it, so that guy wouldn’t have thrown it away…!” [TLN: I’m gonna throw hands] [ED: So you’ve chosen death…]

Large drops of tears were falling from her eyes.

“That guy… your mom’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah… that guy… on his own…”

I remembered the day when Erika-chan and I went to the aquarium. And how she was hugging her stuffed penguin with love and care.

The stuffed penguin was a special one that Erika-chan had picked out at the gift shop. She chose it from among the many different kinds of penguin goods, and also from the crowd of stuffed animals with the same face, after much deliberation.

She must have cherished it even after she got home.

“I slept with it everyday. That stuffed penguin was so warm, that I could even bear with that guy’s unbearable presence! I thought that I would never lose to his disgusting gaze! I’m sorry… Onii-san. I’m so sorry…”

The cause of this morning’s quarrel was apparently because her mom’s boyfriend had arbitrarily thrown away Erika-chan’s precious stuffed penguin. The reason why she wouldn’t make eye contact with me when I came home, and the reason why Erika’s demeanor changed when I mentioned the aquarium, was because she felt bad for me. Finally, I understood everything.

I could feel something welling up in my chest.

I want to give Erika a hug right now. I wanted to hug Erika right now, but I felt like I shouldn’t go that far with her yet, so I held back.

Then, I calmly suggested.

“Let’s go shopping again. You can look at all the penguins and choose another stuffed one.”

“But they don’t have the same stuffed animal. That was the only penguin that I bought when I went to the aquarium for the first time with Onii-san…”

“…You cherished it that much, didn’t you? Thank you. Next time we go to the aquarium, I’ll buy you a second one. We’ll find another one who can be of help to Erika-chan.”

“…Is that really okay?”

“Of course it is.”

I reached out my hand to Erika-chan.

Erika, who had been crying, took my hand in her thin hand.

It was a delicate, soft hand. I felt like I might break it if I held it too tightly, so I gently and slowly led her outside.

“Let’s go home for now. Mana is worried about you. Then we’ll eat and calm down. I’m actually quite hungry.”

When I said that, Erika-chan giggled.

“Sorry… I ran out immediately after Onii-san came home didn’t I? Did you come looking for me without eating first?”

“There’s no way I would be able to swallow my meals while worrying about my precious Erika-chan… Seriously, I was really worried, you know.”

I patted Erika-chan’s head. As I continued to lightly stroke her head, I felt the temperature of her head suddenly rise.

When I looked at her, I saw that Erika-chan’s face was bright red.

“Nn!? Erika-chan!? Your face is bright red, are you okay!?”

I panicked.

“It might be a heat stroke!”

“Haa!? I’m fine!  It’s definitely not a heatstroke! My face can turn red even without a heat stroke! It’s fine so let’s go home! Mana’s waiting for us!”

Erika-chan left me behind and strolled out of the park. Judging by the way she walked so briskly, she might not really have heat stroke.

I chased after Erika-chan, and soon we were side by side.

“And so… Erika-chan.”

“What? Is something still wrong?”

When I spoke to her, Erika-chan glared at me. It felt like she had ‘Don’t worry about me too much’ written on her face.

“It’s not that…”

“So what is it?”

“You should stay over at our place for a while. I’ll talk to your mom for you.”

Erika-chan stopped in her tracks.

“Are you going to meet my mother?”

Erika-chan’s eyebrows were furrowed as she looked at me with concern.

“Yeah. I’ll talk to her properly so you can stay over for summer vacation. I’m sure Mana would be happy, and my parents would agree as well.”

“I… I’ll go with you.”

“Is that fine?”

“It’s okay… Onii-san, you’re doing your best for me. So I want to do my best together with you.”

“Alright. Then, let’s go together.”

Erika-chan squeezed my hand as we began to walk. It may not be normal for two people who are not lovers to hold hands. But today, I felt like holding hands with her.