Lenks accepted me without saying a word. I, who was supposed to be comforting him, was conversely wrapped up as if being cherished.

  We stayed huddled together quietly for a while like that. Along with the body heat I felt from him, my heart seemed to be filled with something warm too. While touching him, my wariness toward him had disappeared again within me.

  Eventually, the strength in his arms loosened. When I gently pulled my face away, his face had already returned to normal.

  "I showed you something unsightly."

  To him muttering shyly, I conveyed that I didn't mind.

  "It's fine. I don't know the reason, but when you want to cry, crying is the best thing to do."

  I knew well from watching the other Yu that crying makes you feel refreshed.

  "Adults often can't cry even when they want to, you know."

  "Is that so?"

  "That's how it is. But, thanks."

  "Yeah. You're welcome."

  He seemed to have recovered reasonably. Although sadness was still visible, he had a somewhat refreshed face.

  "Still, to think I'd be comforted by a child."

  At those casual words, I felt a little annoyed.

  "Don't treat me like a child too much. My body is small, but I properly know various things."

  His rebuttal was calm. He said in a teasing tone.

  "No matter how much knowledge you have, as long as your experience hasn't caught up, you're still a child."

  He hit a sore spot. Certainly, in terms of experience, I only had what was appropriate for my age.

  "Muu. Is that so after all?"

  To me tilting my head, Lenks laughed as if amused.

  "Haha. You're quite precocious (Omase-chan), aren't you?"

  Precocious. I felt like my personality was guessed in one word, and it pierced my heart.

  "What do you mean precocious."

  Seeing me puffing out my cheeks in frustration, he was grinning more and more amusedly. That was irritating again. Anyway, I was in a bad mood.

  "Oh, did you sulk? You're cute."

  "I don't care even if you say I'm cute. I hate Lenks."

  These words I threw curtly seemed to have gouged his heart surprisingly deeply.

  "Gah! That's harsh!"

  "Hmph."

  "I'm beaten. Cheer up, will you~"

  "I don't caaare."

  "I said my bad. Look, like this!"

  He bowed his head, but his face was still grinning happily as usual. Rather than apologizing, it felt like I was being mocked. Is he looking down on me?

  "You're not apologizing properly. Besides, why are you grinning. Creepy."

  "No, this is, because you're so cute, I just couldn't help it! Please don't hate me~!"

  "Like I said, I don't care anymore."

  This silly exchange continued for a while. Because he persisted too tenaciously, I gradually stopped caring and eventually forgave him.

  Judging that Lenks had mostly returned to his original state, I decided to ask what I had shelved.

  "Can I ask something?"

  "Sure."

  "What on earth happened while I was unconscious? You said there was a person deep inside me, but who is that?"

  He must have known this question would come. He answered without moving an eyebrow. That answer was unexpected.

  "I met your mother."

  I received a shock enough to make me keel over.

  "Mom!?"

  Unbelievable. Because Mom shouldn't be here anymore, right? Ignoring my surprise, Lenks nodded and continued.

  "Yeah. To be precise, your memories about your mother gathered and took form."

  "Umm. That means...!"

  Told so, I realized.

  "Your mother formed a significant part of the existence called female you. I called that out with [Rebellion]."

  "I didn't notice. Come to think of it, there should be memories of Mom too."

  I see. Mom is inside me. When I placed my hand on my chest and closed my eyes, I felt like I faintly sensed Mom's presence.

  "I was close friends with your mother. I wanted to talk a little. Sorry for the time, but I had you sleep in the back."

  "So that was it."

  Even if it's just memories, Mom is here. Knowing that, the wish I had given up long ago, which should never come true, revived in my heart. I want to see Mom again.

  "Hey. Can I and the other Yu see Mom too?"

  But that was a wish that wouldn't come true after all. Lenks said with heartfelt apology.

  "Sorry, but. Calling out your mother is a one-time thing. Besides, since she is inside you, it's theoretically impossible for you to meet."

  "I see. Too bad."

  "For saying that, you don't look very sad."

  He made a surprised face. He must have thought I would be more depressed. Certainly, there was disappointment about not being able to meet, but I wasn't sad.

  "Because I thought she was gone. I'm happy just knowing Mom is with me."

  "Is that so. You're strong."

  I don't think I'm particularly strong. I just sorted out my feelings a bit because there was a two-year gap. There are still times when I'm uncontrollably lonely. Then, I realized that for him, he had just learned about Mom's death. I finally understood the reason why he was crying.

  "Lenks was crying because you can't see Mom anymore, right?"

  "Yeah. But I'm glad I could say goodbye properly at the end."

  His face looked satisfied as if a burden had been lifted.

  "What was Mom saying?"

  Being Mom, she must have talked chatteringly in her usual triumphant tone. Although there were times I couldn't keep up (for example, talking about automatic guns for an hour to me who was five years old... Mom?), I always loved my bright, kind, and cool Mom. I still think it would be nice if I could be even a little like that.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  While I was fidgeting wondering what words I could hear, for some reason he made a slightly awkward face.

  "Well, various things."

  "Various things? For example?"

  "That's a secret."

  "Ehh. I'm curious~."

  Did she talk about something difficult to tell me? My intuition as a woman told me it was suspicious seeing him prevaricate guiltily.

  "Did she say something she couldn't say? Were you really just close friends with Mom?"

  A random guess I threw made him startle just a little bit. I didn't miss that reaction. I see. That line, huh. When I tried to corner him, he gave up first.

  "Ah. Okay. I surrender. As expected of Yuna's daughter. You have sharp points too."

  "Well yeah."

  He sighed once and confessed.

  "I... liked your mother. But I couldn't say that for a long time. Today I finally said it. Of course, knowing it was no good, though. I just really wanted to sort out my feelings."

  Heeh. Lenks liked Mom. Certainly, this would be hard to say. Because I would be, so to speak, the child of his love rival. Well, Mom is charming. Can't help falling in love. I see. Maybe the person Mom was talking about was this person.

  "Come to think of it, Mom was talking. That there was a coward of a man who wouldn't confess at all even though he liked me. Oh, that was Lenks."

  "Shut up. Calling people a coward. I couldn't say it because we always parted at crucial moments, dammit!"

  "Fufu. That's uncool. My dad is a hundred times cooler."

  "True. I'm uncool. A pathetic guy who made various excuses and couldn't say anything until the very end."

  Seeing him lightly depressed, I thought he was a bit pitiable. I felt like following up for him.

  "But, Mom said. If you had summoned up courage sooner, she would have considered it."

  Then he made a face quite taken aback. Funny enough.

  "Seriously? Even though she said she'd reject me because I wasn't her type."

  "I think Mom didn't think badly of Lenks either. She looked very happy when talking about you."

  "Geez, not honest. She too."

  Sighing 'good grief', he looked very happy.

  "But I'm glad Mom and Dad got together. Because both Mom and Dad looked the happiest in the world. Besides, otherwise I wouldn't be born."

  "Yeah. I think this was good too. Seeing her face looking super happy when talking about you, I became happy too. I could think that as long as she's happy, it doesn't have to be me."

  Saying so, he had a refreshed face. Normally, I think people would be more frustrated or jealous of the partner if they lost in love. I thought it was wonderful to be able to wish for the happiness of the person you like from the bottom of your heart.

  "Did she say anything to me too?"

  "Ah. She said she loves you. That she'll be watching over you forever."

  I knew well that Mom loved me, but hearing it again makes me happy after all.

  "Ehehe. I'm happy."

  I wanted to share this happiness with the other Yu too.

  "Hey. Lenks."

  "What."

  "Tell this to the other Yu too. He'll definitely be happy."

  "You don't share memories?"

  "For now."

  "I see. Alright, fine. Since he'll be confused if I tell everything, I'll convey it indirectly."

  Certainly, since I'm sealing the other Yu's memory so that inconvenience doesn't arise from knowing strange things, it's bad to tell everything.

  "Yeah. Please do that."

  "Leave it to me."

  Pausing a little there, he changed the subject.

  "By the way, I have business with you too."

  "What?"

  "I want to grasp it as a comrade just in case. Do you know anything about your own ability? The boy Yu probably knows nothing given that state, right?"

  It's unclear what he means by comrade, but I had an idea about the ability. Besides, I felt he was skillful to see through that the other Yu knew nothing and decide to ask me.

  "Certainly the other Yu knows nothing. It seems some great power is sleeping inside me, is the ability about that?"

  "Probably that."

  Lenks nodded knowingly. I know almost nothing, and rather I felt like asking him various things.

  "What is that? Who am I really?"

  "From that way of speaking, seems you don't understand well either. Simply put, both I and you are humans with special powers. Called FabL."

  "FabL..."

  So it was a word with that meaning. Then does that mean I'm a special human? Somehow, I suddenly became curious about myself.

  "Anything is fine, could you tell me what you know about the ability?"

  As told, if I tell Lenks, I might understand something. I decided to trust him who said he was Mom's close friend and talk. Because I somehow know he's a good person.

  "Okay. Umm you see, I have an incredibly huge vessel."

  "Vessel?"

  "Yeah. It's about our 'World of Heart'. I'm usually there. It's pitch black, endlessly vast just like the universe. Everything Yu experiences accumulates there."

  "What did you say!?"

  Hearing that far, he looked away from me and started making a difficult face. I could hear him muttering things I didn't understand, and occasionally saying 'no way'. Seeing him suddenly having a grim face, I became anxious if there was something bad. I watched him with bated breath.

  Eventually, he opened his mouth heavily.

  "Experiences accumulate without exception, right?"

  "That's right."

  "Even the experience of being hit by my ability [Rebellion]?"

  I don't really grasp what his ability called [Rebellion] is, but if it was used, it should remain properly as an experience inside me. I nodded honestly.

  "Probably."

  "Maybe... I want to try something a little. Please stand comfortably relaxing your body strength."

  It seemed he intended to do something to me. Remembering the experience of almost fainting because of him earlier, I felt a little scared.

  "I don't want to lose consciousness again."

  "That's okay so don't worry."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah."

  Believing his words, I decided to cooperate quietly. Standing comfortably as told, he looked straight at me. Then, an unbelievable thing happened to my body.

  Just a little, but defying gravity, my body floated softly for an instant. While I couldn't even voice my surprise, it ended, and I landed as if nothing happened.

  "Seriously..."

  Leaving me half-dumbfounded by the event, Lenks seemed to have grasped something definitive with this strange experiment. His face was pale.

  "I thought it was too weak for a FabL... I knew it. It wasn't something lukewarm like transformation ability. If my guess is correct, it's an outrageous ability."

  "What did you do to me? What was the ability after all?"

  I, who couldn't overlook the words 'outrageous ability', pressed him with a strong tone. But Lenks didn't answer.

  "Sorry but I can't talk. No, I became unable to talk. It's better not to know anything about this power yet. That is for your sake."

  "But, I'm curious. Don't dodge it again like that!"

  Even though I cooperated, saying things that fuel anxiety and not telling me anything. Clearly treating me like a child. I felt indignation. Knowing my feelings undoubtedly, he said to me as if admonishing, but strengthening his tone.

  "It's a promise. I'll definitely tell you when you get bigger. So, endure it for now."

  Feeling an intensity that allowed no argument from Lenks, I involuntarily flinched. The anger that had begun to burn melted away. He had a very serious expression. Enough to easily read that he wouldn't open his mouth no matter how much I persisted.

  He said it was for my sake. If he says he'll tell me someday, maybe I have no choice but to compromise with that. Although I'm not convinced at all.

  "Okay. It's a promise, okay?"

  "Yeah."

  At that moment, my consciousness almost flew away. While wondering what it was, Lenks said as if realizing.

  "Oops. Seems it's about time here too. The boy Yu will return soon."

  —I see. It's almost over.

  I looked up at the sky with a feeling of reluctance. Unlike the pitch-black world where I am, it was clear blue endlessly. The comfort of the wind hitting this body, although I knew it as a memory, it was the first time I actually experienced it. The surface world was fresh. I don't think returning the body to the other Yu is disagreeable. I have my role, and I'm satisfied enough with being backstage.

  Just, because I was purely curious, I decided to ask.

  "Will I never come out to the surface again like Mom?"

  "No. If it's just calling you out, it's not that hard. It should be possible any number of times."

  "Is that so."

  Then, he suddenly started floating a grin. The smile directed from his handsome face had a good impression until now, but this time I thought it was strangely creepy. I understood the reason immediately after.

  "That's right. I love you, you see."

  "Hah!?"

  To the excessive bombshell statement that suddenly flew out, I involuntarily stepped back while protecting myself.

  "Why are you recoiling so much."

  To him tilting his head wonderingly, I said with a scornful voice while thinking it was natural.

  "Obviously. Saying such a thing to 8-year-old me out of the blue, what are you thinking?"

  "I don't particularly have guilty feelings."

  If that's really true, I wouldn't think anything. Because it's common for big people to say they love children. But his expression contained guilt no matter how I thought about it. It's clear it's not love in a pure sense directed simply at a child. I understand the reason somewhat from the story I heard.

  This guy is trying to love me as a substitute for Mom.

  "I'm not Mom's substitute."

  "I know that. But, I just thought Yuna's daughter is cute after all."

  Physiological disgust welled up at him relaxing his cheeks while directing lukewarm eyes at me. Before I knew it, I was cursing him loudly.

  "Lolicon! Pervert (Hentai)! Super creepy!"

  "Ugh. You say that much."

  "Unbelievable!"

  However, he rejoiced as if insults were compliments, and didn't know how to flinch at all. Exasperated, I played my last trump card.

  "My main body is a boy, you know? Do you still like me? Isn't various things over for you?"

  Normally, I think one would be hurt if told this much. But even this trump card didn't seem to be any damage to him at all.

  "What. No worries. Boy or girl, you're Yuna's child. There is only love."

  "Uwah."

  "Besides, you'll become a girl properly eventually."

  "What do you mean?"

  Curious, I asked back putting aside emotions like contempt for him for a moment.

  "Exactly what it means. That body should remain in your guys' 'World of Heart' forever and continue to grow together. When the ability awakens, I think female you will also officially see the light of day."

  "Me?"

  "Yeah. Although I don't know if your spirit, which seems to be doing backstage usually, will also come out to the surface."

  I see. Yu will be able to become a girl too. He'll surely be very confused. At that time, I have to support him firmly.

  Even though I was thinking about such things seriously, Lenks, who couldn't read the room, launched an approach that made my body freeze.

  "Therefore, there is no problem. I love you, Yu!"

  Trying to hug me, he approached while laughing frivolously. When I harbored the worst emotion toward him, my body moved instantly. Before I knew it, my small body had jumped up like a prancing horse.

  A powerful kick with a twist pierced his face.

  "Die. You pervert bastard."

  "Ouch. What a sharp kick. Yuna came out for a second just now. Definitely."

  While holding his nose, he continued to laugh as if impressed. He looks very happy even though he was kicked. Creepy. Super creepy. I completely revised my evaluation of him.

  Certainly I think he's a good person. I think he has wonderful points too. But, I absolutely must not let my guard down only with this guy.

  "Mom. It was good you didn't marry a guy like this."

  Inhaling deeply, I slammed it at him.

  "I haaate Lenks!"

  "Interesting. I'll turn that hate into love!"

  This was the first encounter between me and Lenks, the best and worst partner with whom I would travel many times later.