Wassup! New chapter! Have pleasure reading it and feel free to leave constructive criticism, I accept it because I accept that without it there will be no growth in writing skills.
Guys, sorry If I don't answer y'all here in Webnovel, It's just that the interface on the phone is a bit inconvenient for doing this, and on the laptop... well, I already said goodbye to the laptop a long time ago because of how old it has become and has met its own, quite fitting end.
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POV Isao Tsumugi
He sat in his new office, mulling over a few things—for instance, was it actually a good idea to send Yuriko and Kiriko off in different directions? But then he realized it was a solid decision. Sure, he might not get any "tickets" for saving people in those locations himself, but that was just a possibility; if he went there personally and told them they needed to evacuate to some distant island? They'd laugh in his face.
To the people there, he wouldn't be a savior or even an authority figure; he'd just be a teenager who somehow got superpowers and now imagined himself a god. They didn't understand the magnitude of the danger coming. I mean, even the zombies that mutated without a nudge from "Gacha" became horrific monsters; if a person didn't possess the powers he had, surviving that would be a nightmare.
But sending more mature people—one a candidate for Prime Minister, another his wife, and the third a police officer? And all of them possessing power thanks to some mysterious guy who is now their leader? That's where people's imagination comes into play. Even before meeting me, they'll be predisposed to like me because I saved people, wasn't stingy with these powers, and am generally seen as a "good person." This forces them to feel sympathy and gratitude toward me in advance, so when we finally meet, they'll be more inclined to listen—even if they see a young guy instead of a grown man.
So yes, it was the right move. No need to second-guess it…
The door swung open abruptly, making him look up to see his younger sister and mom walking toward him, glancing around the room. He smiled at their appearance.
"Hey there. How do you like my new office?" He spread his arms wide in a mock-grand gesture.
"You found a pretty good spot for an office, son." Mom chuckled, finally reaching him and placing a disposable plate of rice and tomatoes in front of him. She pulled a rolling chair closer and sat down. "But this place still needs some work, don't you think?"
Scanning the room, he saw empty white walls devoid of any decor except for a single wall clock. Around them were just desks, chairs, and a few mobile whiteboards.
"Yeah, you're right. But we're only staying here for a few days anyway—at least, we'll try to stay for just a few days." Sighing, he started eating, watching K-imoto sit opposite him. she playfully blew a kiss his way before digging into her own lunch.
"Why is that?" Mom's voice turned concerned, her gaze becoming nervous.
"Because there are several locations we need to extract people from. You know Takashi? His mom is at one of those spots, along with some other parents of my friends." Ugh, dammit, I hate tomatoes... "So we have to wait here while the people I sent go and get them..."
"Well… at least you'll be safe here." She gently stroked his head with her soft, smooth palm, making him blush slightly at the affection.
"Of course. I'd only trust a crowd of Awakened people—who won't be here today—or myself with your and K-imoto's safety." He smiled at her as he continued eating; she smiled back and kissed his forehead.
"Thank you, son, for being such a treasure. You've always been such a good boy; sometimes I'm amazed I managed to raise such a golden son when I'm so lazy and sometimes even irresponsible myself..." Her words made him set down his fork. He looked at his mother, who was slightly hunched over from insecurity as she stared into space. Across the table, K-imoto froze mid-chew.
"Aw, M-om..." He hugged her, and felt her arms wrap around him tightly, clutching him like he was the only life raft in the ocean.
She had always been like this… despite being literally the most hardworking, responsible, and kind person, she had low self-esteem.
If she made a single mistake, she'd beat herself up over it for a decade. She was simply incapable of noticing her own good traits and actions, and it frustrated him—mostly because it was likely the fault of his father, who had left her with two children...
He constantly told her how much he loved her, what a great mom she was, and praised her to try and fix her self-worth, but she literally didn't listen. For example, she'd say she was fat, but how could he explain that a little bit of softness around the stomach doesn't mean she's fat, and actually makes her look super beautiful? Exactly: he couldn't. His words of praise literally went in one ear and out the other.
"Mom, you're the best woman in the world, and you know it. Even if you make mistakes sometimes and fall, I'll love you no matter what, because you're my mom." He whispered these words into her ear, hugging her even tighter. He felt her squeeze back harder, and suddenly felt another pair of arms wrap around them both, knowing they belonged to K-imoto.
"Yeah, Ani-chan is right. You're the best, Mom." K-imoto kissed their mother's head, and both he and K-imoto felt her quietly beginning to cry.
His heart… it ached. He felt terrible when his mom cried because it reminded him of his mom from his past life… how she cried when she fought with his father, how she took slaps and hits, how she cried in the kitchen wailing like a wounded animal, the way she looked at him with a shattered gaze as if he wasn't even "him."
Every time Kyoko Tsumugi—his new mom, his beloved mom—cried, it made him feel sick. He wanted to tear out his heart and crush it because of the sharp pain he felt inside.
But in the end, he realized only one thing: the only way to stop his heart from aching was to comfort and love his mom, and never let her cry—or better yet, never be the cause of her sadness. It was selfish; honestly, it was the height of Egoism. But that was the kind of person he was.
An egoist who didn't want to see his mom cry because his own heart would hurt.
POV Saya Takagi
Saya sat in complete silence and solitude in the parking area, pushing her ability to check every conceivable and inconceivable limit.
She was forming a sticky liquid out of her ink—something ultra-adhesive meant to immobilize a victim—and was now trying to turn the ink into a fast-hardening liquid that could be used like a plaster cast.
Her focus was deep—so deep that she only noticed Saeko watching her out of the corner of her eye at the last second.
Wait, someone was watching her?!
"Ah!" She spun toward Saeko in shock.
"I'm surprised it took you so long to notice me, Saya-san." Saeko smiled as if nothing was wrong and walked over.
"What the hell? How long have you been standing there?!" she yelled indignantly at this… this cow! Who had the audacity to have sex with her boyfriend before she even got the chance! And judging by the way Saeko's smile sharpened, she knew exactly what Saya was thinking, which only made her more furious.
"Hm, definitely more than five minutes. Your idea about the sticky ink is quite interesting; I'm sure it will be useful." Saeko smiled at her blandly, making Saya growl.
"Oh, I know that. I don't need validation from anyone, especially not from you." Just as she started to turn back to her work, Saeko said one more thing.
"Not even from Isao-chan?" Saya snapped back toward her, but instead of a condescending smirk, she saw a warm expression. "Saya-san, I want to talk to you not just as girl-to-girl, but as… fiancées. Yes, that fits. As the fiancées of the same man. Know that I don't hate you, and I'm not jealous of Isao because of you. No, I'm simply happy that I have Isao."
"W-what… what the hell are you talking about..." Her face contorted as she looked at this fool!
"I know what it's like to be different. To have all your efforts ignored simply because you were born the "wrong" gender. But thinking about it, I realized… it was meant to be. If it weren't for that, neither you nor I would have ever received such warmth from anyone in our lives as we do from Isao. We wouldn't have found self-acceptance without him." She gave her a warm smile, making Saya's eyes go even wider at the sheer nonsense she was hearing.
"You're talking absolute rubbi—"
"And before I finish… didn't it feel good when Isao accepted you for exactly who you are? Didn't it feel good when he hugged you with such care? Or when he encourages you and is always there when it matters?"
She wanted to object. She wanted to scream at this… this… ugh!
"I just wanted to say that we aren't all that different. We both love Isao, so why should we ignore each other or be jealous? Wouldn't it be better to support, praise, and enjoy each other's company, accepting ourselves as we are? Just as Isao did?"
Saya just stared at her, bewildered. Any other girl in Saeko's shoes wouldn't be saying this. Jealousy is a basic instinct—"mine" versus "theirs." But looking into Saeko's eyes, she saw literally none of it. Not a drop of jealousy. And that was exactly what made her feel a slight unease around this girl; the whole thing was just so weird.
It was just so weird.
Feelings overwhelmed her, so she did the only thing she could: she sighed.
"I can't tell if you're an idiot or if you just got hit in the head too much as a kid." Her gaze toward the girl became dispassionate. Saeko wasn't offended; she just smiled, confirming Saya's suspicion that she wasn't all there.
"Considering I trained with my father as a child and often missed blocks or failed to dodge… yes, I was hit in the head quite often."
Those words made her feel a tiny bit of pity. In the end, Saeko was right; they were both born into families that deeply revered tradition. But while her own dad was just a Traditionalist, Saeko's father—according to her own father—was far more extreme. The kind of man who would happily speak in archaic dialects of Japanese, if not Ancient Japanese. God, that alone made her pity the poor girl.
"Hah… how is someone even supposed to be jealous of someone like you?" She raised an eyebrow. Saeko did the same.
"Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. I'm pregnant."
This hit Saya like a ton of bricks. She froze for a moment, and then…
"What the fuck?!" She rushed over to Saeko, grabbed her by the shoulders, and started shaking her back and forth. "What were you two thinking?! Huh?! What if we have massive problems on the island in 8 or 9 months? What if mutated zombies can cross water, huh?! Are you idiots?!" She let go of the "fool" and started pacing back and forth, thinking. "We need to pack so many things. God, why is my boyfriend such a moron?! Why can't he think ahead instead of just planning for the immediate future? Is it really so hard to think six months or a year in advance?!" By the end, she was literally pulling on her own pigtails.
"Ah…" Saeko just gasped, making Saya look her way.
"What is it, you idiot?!"
"I… I didn't expect that kind of reaction from you..."
"What did you expect? That I'd immediately run to Isao to have sex with him? That I'd be jealous of a baby that hasn't even been born yet? Are you stupid?! Why would I even do that when the reason the kid is being born is because of two dumb parents?!"
"..." Saeko raised a finger, wanting to say something else, but Saya didn't give her the chance.
"I don't think you're saying this just to piss me off. You aren't lying—and lying to provoke someone isn't your style anyway. Not yours, and not Isao's either..." She stared quietly at Saeko, weighing things in her mind, and finally came to a decision. "Fine. I'll try not to be too jealous. And I'll try to work with you. But I'm not promising anything..."
"Even your attempt is enough. Thank you, Saya-chan, for listening to me. I'm truly grateful we won't have to fight anymore." She smiled softly, sending a shiver down Saya's spine.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, I'm going to go back to trying to change the properties of this ink in my corner. Don't bother me." She was about to turn away, but Saeko spoke up.
"How about we get some lunch? They've organized the food court and are already serving meals. If you ask, they'll even give you dessert."
"Hm… well, I don't mind..."
"Then let's go, Saya-chan. Let's eat together."
And so Saya followed the strangest girl she would ever meet. Her only hope was that their child wouldn't inherit her weirdness… she was going to pray for that. Pray damn hard.
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