Chapter 180 – Ichinose family

"Sister, is it really you? How did you call back? Didn't you say Advanced Nurturing doesn't allow you to contact the outside world?!" Kosaki asked first, genuinely curious about how her sister managed to make the call.

Advanced Nurturing High School is well-known in Japan, and many people are aware of its isolation mechanisms. So, receiving a call from Ichinose was especially surprising for Kosaki.

Even though they had been in a prolonged cold war because of last year's butterfly hairpin incident.

But it had been more than half a year since her sister left home. Sisters who depended on each other couldn't truly remain estranged forever.

The more she missed and loved her sister, the more Kosaki understood how hard things were for her.

Moreover, she had grown this year and fully understood that, in the whole incident, was her sister really the only one who did something wrong? Wasn't she, the sister who threw a tantrum when their mother was sick, also at fault?

After slowly realizing the whole situation, Kosaki could no longer blame her sister. She often whispered apologies in the quiet of the night, apologies that were late by more than half a year.

Now, suddenly receiving a call from her sister, Kosaki was overjoyed. So, her tone was filled with eagerness.

Ichinose was also visibly happy. Her sister's tone... could it mean she had forgiven her? She leaned closer to the phone, wishing she could crawl into the screen: "Well, sometimes the school allows us to make a call."

Fortunately, Ichinose retained some rationality and didn't reveal Yukio, the biggest secret, making Yukio's gaze even softer.

"Is that so!" Kosaki didn't think too much about it. Being isolated from the world, ordinary people really don't know what's happening inside. Since her sister said so, Kosaki believed it: "How are you doing at school?"

"Good, very good." Ichinose could feel the concern in her sister's words. The sadness she had felt seemed to be washed away, like a rice field nourished by spring rain, filled with the joy of renewal: "Sister has good and united friends here, and a lot of interesting experiences. And..." She glanced at Yukio: "Someone who takes special care and concern for me."

On the other end, Kosaki's relieved voice came through: "That's good, really good."

After that, there was a moment of warm silence. The sisters, who hadn't spoken for so long, found themselves at a loss for words after the initial excitement.

Once close sisters who could talk for hours even about finding a 5 yen coin while cleaning, now found themselves unsure of what to say.

Ichinose first felt happy, then anxious. Could it be that her sister still hadn't forgiven her? With this anxiety, she slowly spoke: "Ko... Kosaki."

"Sister." Perhaps this is the bond between sisters, as Kosaki also happened to speak up at the same time.

"You... you go first, Kosaki," Ichinose, always letting her sister go first, instinctively allowed her to speak first.

Kosaki didn't bother with pleasantries, and after a few seconds of strange silence, she quietly began: "Sister, I'm sorry. Last year's birthday incident... it was clearly my fault, but in the end, I got angry at you. I'm sorry..."

This was something Ichinose never expected. She was seeking her sister's forgiveness, but who knew her sister would apologize instead? Ichinose was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Sis... Sister? Can you forgive me?" Kosaki, hearing Ichinose's prolonged silence, spoke with an even more nervous and tender tone, making her sound even more pitiable.

"It's me who needs your forgiveness!" Ichinose responded without hesitation: "It was wrong of me to steal. Kosaki, you did nothing wrong. You don't need to apologize. It was my fault!"

"What are you talking about! It was my fault. If I hadn't pestered Mom, if I hadn't made her suffer so much, you wouldn't have... you wouldn't have... waaah!"

Yukio listened with great interest. This heartwarming argument between sisters over who was at fault was a familial warmth he had never experienced.

Coming from a large family in this life, with numerous cousins and siblings, there was never such a thing as taking the blame for each other.

Whenever Yukio did something wrong as a child, he always managed to push the blame onto his cousins, making him the typical "perfect child" in the eyes of his elders.

Seeing this scene, Yukio couldn't help but sigh. If his cousins had been as understanding when he was young, he wouldn't have had to expend so much mental energy avoiding blame. It would have been great if they had fought to take the blame.

As he reminisced about the past, Ichinose reluctantly ended the call with her sister, surprising Yukio: "You've finally got the chance to talk. Why not chat a bit longer?"

"Compared to Kosaki..." Ichinose's previously bright expression turned conflicted once again. "There is someone else I need to contact even more."

Yukio nodded, indicating for Ichinose to dial the number. There was no need to ask; this person was undoubtedly Ichinose's mother.

In the butterfly hairpin incident, both Ichinose sisters had significant issues, but their mother was truly blameless and was the one who suffered the most.

Perhaps encouraged by Yukio, the store manager, and her sister's forgiveness, Ichinose found more courage and resolutely dialed her mother's number.

Soon, a slightly tired voice answered: "Hello?"

Although Ichinose had stopped crying, just hearing her mother's voice caused a surge of guilt, self-blame, gratitude, and nostalgia to well up, making her tears flow once again.

Simply hearing her mother's voice made her cry silently, unable to say anything!

"Honami? Is that you, Honami?" Maybe it was the greatness of maternal love or a keen sixth sense, but even though Ichinose hadn't said a word, her mother sensed it was her.

"Yes, it's me," Ichinose said, wiping her tears with the backs of her hands, looking particularly disheveled, a sign of her deep guilt towards her mother.

This time, there was no silence or hesitation. Having experienced so much in one night, Ichinose was eager to pour out her heartfelt apology: "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry!"

"Last year, I really shouldn't have stolen the hairpin for Kosaki. It was my fault that made you go out and apologize while sick and caused you to collapse from exhaustion."

Ichinose's heartfelt confession caught her mother off guard: "Honami, don't cry, don't cry."

After a moment of comforting, her mother seemed to regain her composure: "Honami, I thought you chose to enter Advanced Nurturing High School because you had already moved past this incident."

"Sigh, I am your mother; I should have known better. If you could let go that easily, you wouldn't be you. Of course, you would still feel guilty about it. My good child, in fact, it is I who owe you an apology."

Perhaps moved by Ichinose's genuine emotions, her mother's voice also became choked with emotion: "I was really out of my mind then, not considering your feelings. I should not have made such a big fuss about apologizing."

"If it left a psychological shadow on you, it's all my fault. During the half-year you stayed at home, I wanted to apologize countless times, but seeing your haggard expression, I couldn't bring myself to say it. I'm sorry, Honami, I'm sorry!"

"No, it's not like that!" The Ichinose family seemed to have a tradition of fighting over who was at fault. Ichinose interrupted her mother's apology again: "It was my fault. If I hadn't done that, none of this would have happened!"

Mother and daughter, separated by the phone, cried together, deeply connected. Perhaps it was her mother's inner strength that helped her stop crying first: "Honami, can you forgive Mom? I really shouldn't have done that."

"I should have found that store manager privately and taken you to apologize. That would have been much better. I was too inconsiderate."

"No, Mom, you did nothing wrong." Tears rolled down Ichinose's face: "At that time, how could you have thought so clearly? Finding out I stole something, you couldn't have thought of everything! It was my fault!"

The crying contest seemed to pause, and Ichinose's mother didn't dwell on it any longer, choosing to move on: "Let's not talk about whose fault it was, okay?"

"When I disciplined you back then, it was to prevent you from making mistakes in the future, not to make you torture yourself with guilt forever."

"Do you remember what I always told you and Kosaki since you were little? Be a gentle person."

"A gentle person needs to be gentle not only to others but also to themselves. Whether or not you can forgive Mom, I just want you to be happy."

"Don't let that incident torment you for the rest of your life."

Her mother's gentle, soothing tone was like a ray of light, shattering all of Ichinose's negative emotions.

It felt as if she was back in her childhood, held in her mother's arms, listening to lullabies. It was so warm, so happy, enveloping her in kindness and acceptance.

She found the most heartfelt redemption, repeatedly whispering "Mom," crying until she was utterly exhausted.

***

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