Children Reason (7 page)

For the current moment those who were still awake were only me, Kido and Ene. Konoha who just dropped off, was softly lying on the sofa beside Kido, with both his arms lazily stretched out.

"Arara, looks like Mr. Impostor is already sleeping~. how willful"

Ene sneaked into her blanket, with only her face uncovered, and muttered while she glanced at Konoha’s face.

"What’s with ‘Mr. Impostor’?"

"Erm. It’s a nickname for that guy. It’ll be easily mixed up so I decided to call him that."

"Ah, about him looking the same as your friend right. Speaking of it actually your friend………."

Just when I almost spill out my question, Ene suddenly glared at me sharply.

"W-what the….. Ah~ I know I know. As long as I don’t ask right……?"

As I said that, Ene gave a satisfied smile.

"Good for you to know that. Hey, the one being confused here is me. but I’ll explain to master kay. Next time"

And this time she looked a lil bit sad.

She completely prevaricated it as usual, but to hear something like “I’ll tell you later” from her, I guess it was the first time.

wait no, this brat is herself. Perhaps she was just saying it for fun.

"Well, everyone has their own situations. Say,  I was thinking if I should say about those things so I brought him over………"

Kido looked beside her, Konoha was completely deep in his sleep. What’s with all the struggles for trying not to sleep. It’s a failure no matter what. “Haa….” Along with Kido’s sigh, Konoha eventually fell from the sofa to the floor.

"Can’t help with that now. Well actually we can’t do anything right now anyway."

Kido heavily leaned on the sofa, put her hands on it, and crossed her legs. 

"Tomorrow…… huh. That child, how’s he doing"

"Hmm? Ah. You mean Hibiya right, The thing that appeared in his eyes, I’m afraid it’s a symptom of a "power" like ours"

Kido said as she stared at the ceiling.

Apparently Hibiya had never wake up, but it seems that he’s not in an unstable condition, Seto who had understood the situation volunteered to guard him just for in case. That’s the current situation.

"I see…… well, since it’s Seto taking care of him, there’s nothing to worry about"

I unconsciously stared at one of the naked bulbs on the ceiling as I said that, but Kido quietly laughed.

"nopenope, that guy sure is reliable, but he also has a weak spot. Perhaps, he might be sleeping now."

From the first time I met Seto, he gave me a “reliable” impression, but there’s also something that someone like Kido who had knew him way longer  will feel about.

Can’t be blamed, I just met him this morning, so there’s no way I can deeply understand him.

.

"Nee, say you all…….."

"Hmm? what"

Kido gave a dazed look, and looked at me who stopped my words half way. Is it okay to question something like this. Is there any way to turn back if I ask. As I was thinking, I started feeling sleepy, that made my mouth slowly opened.

"Those eyes of yours…….. To be honest  I don’t know if I can ask this but, that is unusual isn’t it. Same goes to Momo’s condition. She said she didn’t remember since when she became like that, but I don’t think this is totally unrelated to you all."

Facing my straight-forward question, Kido still had the dazed look while listening, but after I finished saying, she gave a warm smile. 

"…….. I should have told you earlier before this kid. sorry"

Kido bent her body forward, and crossed her fingers of both her hands between her knees.

"Eh, no. It’s okay. I just think that I’m concerned about it…"

I suddenly blushed, and moved my sight.

"No, I should have explain it to you……. just that, like what you said it’s not some common topic, not something you can freely discuss about. Because of this power we even got abused. Therefore, to protect ourselves, we cannot say it immediately"

As I heard what Kido said I lifted my head.

She didn’t look sad, just that her eyes had no darkness, as if there was a strong awareness in it.

"T-that’s also right. Also something that I don’t know. That also….. yea."

That’s right. After knowing about their matters, what can I even do. That’s right, that’s the reason why I stopped my question half way.

Why am I interested in listening to this?

What can I even do?

That “incident” Hibiya was involved, according to him it might cause death.

Perhaps even the cops cannot solve it.

Hibiya will awaken his power like Kido and the others do, while Kido and the others will protect that power and help him.

What else can I do anyway?

Is it really okay to just ask.

If I don’t ask anything here, tomorrow morning I’ll just go back home like nothing happened, and just get back to my own usual life, perhaps there’s also that kind of choice.

That’s right, this has nothing to do with me. I’m……….

"TRYING TO ESCAPE AGAIN?" 

That moment, I had a chill on my spine. My heart ached as if it was grabbed by something, and my forehead slowly oozed cold sweat.

.

.

"Shintaro? Oi, are you okay. You don’t look well to me…….."

"Ah, ahh. no no nothing. I’m okay. sorry"

"…… I see. Perhaps you’re tired too. Let’s continue tomorrow okay?"

Tomorrow, will I still be here tomorrow. Ene even said “Let’s go home” earlier. Perhaps no, but she might be worried about me.

However, but…………….

"……….. no, a little is also fine, tell me then."

If I go back to that room again, what can I even do too.

Maybe, it was because I don’t want to leave these guys. Maybe I was afraid to be alone again.

"I understand. I’ll say it then. This is how I got my power"

Kido, as if understood something, she smiled again, and blinked her eyes, to make her eyes red.

"Eye concealing power….. that’s what Kano called, it’s basically to reduce the existence of myself and my surroundings"

While saying, Kido took a magazine from the side of the table. Kido handed it towards me, the magazine started to become transparent from  its edges, and eventually disappeared without a single trace.

As I stared at it, once again I understood that it is an incredible power. It’s reasonable that Kido couldn’t tell it straight forwardly.

This power,  if it is known by the public, it’d be busy for the media for days. Eventually she’ll be brought to some research center or whatever, and perhaps might be the worst ending ever.

"Before getting ‘this’, I also had parents. Although I don’t have any blood relation with my mother. My father was a cruel person. Because he was a womanizer his company bankrupted. Before he died he even burnt the whole house."

"W-what the heck………"

It was really extreme to hear Kido’s past within only a few seconds. However Kido didn’t look like she’s in a pain because of these memories, she was just like “yeah that happened before”, saying so calmly as if she was talking about her elementary school memories.

"Hahah. Cruel story right? However, the real topic begins here"

"Oh, oh………"

"When my father set fire, my family and I were all in the house. In the end me and my sister couldn’t escape the house"

"T-that’ll cause death……"

To be honest I was quite scared when I listened to her, Kido kinda  realized that, she made a slightly nasty smirk and continued.

"Ahh, of course I died. Bit by bit I couldn’t breathe, even my body was burning"

"EEK…………….."

"And then, that moment I saw it. The wall twisted and separated, LIKE A BIG MOUTH WITH SHARP TEETH WIDELY OPENED!!"

"UWAAAHH!!!"

Kido excitedly said as if she was telling a precious horror story.

And perhaps it was a good timing, she successfully picked up my fearful heart.

Being freaked out by this person who showed embarrassing poses in the haunted house today, made me regret a lot.

However, after picking up my curiosity Kido didn’t continue her story, she just folded her arms and made a happy look, as if she was asking how was the story.

"t-then?"

I finally asked, Kido remained her pose, and happily replied.

"Hmm? The End" 

"HUH?"

As if I’ve been trolled, I shut my mouth as I couldn’t say anything.

According to the story the protagonist should have burns all over her body, after that she almost got eaten by a mysterious huge creature, but this girl right now doesn’t look like she was being digested, no matter what I couldn’t even connect the point here.

"T-THEN WHAT’S WITH THE POWER?!"

"Ahh, I got that after I woke up from the debris of my house. In some way the burns that I should have had disappeared, how unbelievable."

"T-then what’s with the big mouth thingy"

"I only saw it, my memories after that were totally gone. Maybe I was swallowed, the only one who was saved was only me, about how it happened, I have no idea too"

Kido lifted her hands and made a gesture saying “nope can’t help with it”.

At the end although I had listened to the whole story, she herself also has a lot of parts she couldn’t understand, and this mystery just got deeper than before. 

"I see…… That means surprisingly you don’t know too"

"Ahh. Of course, I planned to investigate anything that can be investigated……. it’s on progress  now. Back then I also tried to explain to the police, but at the end there wasn’t any progression at all."

Sure, if this story is immediately told, not only no one will believe it, it’ll even become more troublesome.

I see, if Hibiya’s incident is similar to Kido and the others, that means it really isn’t a good idea to tell the police about it. Kido brought him here, saying that she’ll help him, is because he’s similar to her old self in the past.

"Unable to let the police believe". That’s right, it’s something really unforgettable.

Anyway the most unusual part in the conversation, perhaps is the “huge mouth” that swallowed Kido. Other than that the story was really miserable, but it wasn’t something that’ll happen in reality. That’s the only thing that can connect with these guy’s “abnormal trait”.

"How about the others? Did Kano and Seto got swallowed by the ‘huge mouth’?"

"Kano said ‘I saw the same thing too’, but he lost his memory after that like me. As for Seto he got his power after he drowned into the river, so he’s not sure whether he saw it or not"

When Kido said “drowned”, I suddenly recalled those youth memories like a fog. It was a memory that I could recalled it sometimes, but after listening to Kido, that memory had covered a different scary atmosphere than before.

"……… Momo becoming like this, perhaps is after she drowned into the sea"

"You mean Kisaragi?"

"Ahh, that’s right…… but I hope you don’t mention this in front of her. At that time……. even my father who tried to save her……."

That time, Dad who tried to save Momo, was seen by a lot of people. However when Dad swam towards Momo, both of them were swallowed by the waves. 

At that time I got the news from Mom when I was at tuition, and after all the hard work trying to find them, Dad was nowhere to be found, the second day, Momo was found on the beach, and was saved.

"I see…….. I understand. This sure is something better not to mention in front of Kisaragi."

"Thanks for the help. Just that, I thought about something after listening to your story."

That’s right,  from the part where Momo drowned, there was something similar to Kido’s story.

Momo was found the next day. If it’s to say about Momo, she was in the sea all along at that time.

To simply consider that, will a human actually survive in that kind of situation?

nope, impossible. Like a miracle, perhaps it’s possible, but for this, to use the word miracle as an explanation is just meaningless.

To say why, it’s because if we consider the “huge mouth” Kido mentioned, then everything seems to be clear enough.

The moment when Kido was burnt, the moment when Momo suffocated, both were swallowed by the “huge mouth”, how’s with that explanation. If between that time, both were trapped inside it, until before they were found then only they were spitted out from it.

It IS a bizarre hypothesis, but aren’t Kido’s and Momo’s  ”eye powers” the best evidences to proof this hypothesis.

"Those eye powers of yours’, if it’s because you had seen the "huge mouth", the perhaps Momo was swallowed by it too…… no, although it’s a bizarre hypothesis"

It IS a bizarre hypothesis, but even logic is weakened when it comes to these guys’s “eye powers”.

Comparing to the stories that happened to them, I just think that the key of this matter is that “certain thing”.

The unbelievable existence that is the source of those unbelievable powers……..