[Kurokawa] Mother’s home

"Hey, W-Kurokawa, Rachel. Could I ask you something?" Interestingly, that person was Han. I was half-expecting Blondie to break the silence.

"Go ahead." Not looking up from cutting my vegetables, I responded.

"Firstly, I don't mean this to be rude, but why are you all so fascinated by C? And don't take what I said wrongly, please. I know he's a great guy and all. I'm just curious what you think about him to...you know...learn from him."

"Hmm..." Rachel and I both stopped what we were doing to look at him in surprise.

Sensing the sudden spotlight dawned upon him, Han quickly continued: "Look, I'm not asking you to go on and on about your love life, but if you could answer that question, I would appreciate it a lot. I mean, everyone here has their own opinion. And there's no such thing as a wrong opinion in this case. But I'd like to hear yours. Please understand that I'm not trying to butt in or anything. I'm just trying to improve by imitating the Master."

"Well, well, well. Look at you, Han!" Rachel nodded her head like a mother seeing her child growing up. "You're finally learning! That's very good! Commendable!"

"U-Uh-huh." Han smiled awkwardly.

"So, let's see, Wawa. Do you want to go first? Or shall I have the honor?" Rachel looked over at my side.

"He's willing to do anything to make me happy." I shrugged my shoulders lightly while returning to slicing the onions. "If there's one thing I've noticed with him, it is that he cares about me. He notices if I'm sad or angry and tries to cheer me up."

"Yep. I agree with Wawa. C is kind. He's kind to a fault. Sometimes a little bit too much and to so many people. He definitely needs rest." Rachel sighed. She was right. C should not be waving his kindness like some magic, ready to be cast at one's notice. Doing so consistently had evidently worn him out and dealt devastating blows when it did not work in his favor. Unfortunately, most of the time, his kindness was in vain.

"Okay, kindness. Noted." Han mumbled to himself. "What about you, Rachel? Which part of C makes you fall for him?"

"It's his attention to detail." Rachel's aquamarine eyes began to waver.

"Huh... What does that even mean?"

"Like I said, he's kind. Very kind. But that means he's also very attentive. He'll remember everything you say and do and take it to his heart, never letting them go."

Even when Rachel was not completely focused, I still could not do anything but admire her knife work once taken a glance. Since our household did not have much money for anything too fancy, the protein I could get had to be skinned and deboned before consumption. Plus, to save myself from walking outside our house many times a week, usually, we had the whole piece to dissect later, making the workload even more strenuous than it should. Honestly, I did not find that troubling, but preparing the meat was too time-consuming. Yet, Rachel made everything seem like child's play.

"C's... circumstances have given him the trait of paying attention to details. He knows what should be and should not, then acts accordingly." Even with hazy eyes, seemingly in a dream, Rachel could masterfully handle the knife. As the tip of the kitchenware pierced precisely between the skin and a layer of white meat, with one swift motion, everything was separated as though that was its original status. Placing the skin on one side and the rest under her hand, the blond-haired girl severed all the tendons and pulled the bones out like a surgeon who had countless operations. There was no unnecessary movement in how Rachel moved. She was not just efficient. She performed a dance, a knife dance, beautifully and elegantly.

"It gives me a sense of being looked after."

Eyes filled with reminiscence, Rachel gently put the knife down at the end of her sentence. The chicken I entrusted to her was processed into even chunks of meat with precisions that exceeded my capabilities. Each chicken cube was beautifully cleaned, with no skin or connective tissues attached, and shared the same shape and size all throughout. I wonder if she butchered human meat the same way.

"Here you go, Wawa! All done! Check how well I can do!" Rachel curved upwards.

What a terrifying monster. That Blondie was definitely showing off.

"Attention to detail, huh? Well, that's what I'm lacking. I can hardly remember what's going on!" Han sighed while continuing to set up the table. "Man, I don't even know when I'll get someone to like me, let alone hold hands and kiss. I heard that the first kiss would be very light and sweet. One day, for sure."

Kiss... That reminded me of something.

"Rachel, how was your first kiss?" Hiding my true intentions behind words, I looked at Rachel once again. Han was near, and I did not need him to understand our conversation. A little misdirection was all it took.

"Hold on! Hold your damn horses! You guys kissed?!" Immediately, could not hide his emotion, Han jumped. "When? How? Isn't it a bit too early?!"

Luckily, no plates were harmed during his tantrum.

"To answer your question, Wawa, I'd say it was... out of this world... if you catch my drift." Blondie winked. "As if the world was coming to a close, and there were only the two of us. It was intimate and sensational!"

"So that is how you felt. Interesting. And you're comfortable sharing that with me?" I looked into her eyes, trying to read whatever was coming from Rachel's aquamarine iris.

"Of course!"

That was a lie. No matter how cutesy Rachel smiled, I did not see the truth in her answer. Weirdly enough, for someone who had always relied on reasons and logic, there was no logic behind my hunch. It was a simple yet instinctual sensation telling me Rachel's words were untrue. When our eyes did not meet, such a feeling never formed. However, once she decided to gaze back at me, it was as though her thoughts were laid bare in my heart.

Perhaps that was my ability, the same kind of abnormal power similar to Rachel's inhuman strength and Laura's weapon manifestation. Although it was not combat-related, there were a lot of use cases of this ability in my situation. From the beginning, I was never one for battles, anyway. Remaining in the dark while being able to strategize was a much better way to progress than to actually fight.

"And what about you, Wawa? What did you see?"

Interestingly, Blondie asked me for what I saw, not how I felt. I knew the girl was more brilliant than her demeanor showed.

Putting on a shocked expression, once again, the protagonist of this world yelled before I could answer Rachel: "Hang on a minute?! Kurokawa, too? Don't tell me you also kissed C?! How is this possible? I mean... I had no doubt Master would be able to pull something like that, but hearing it and thinking about it are two different things. It's outstanding, I tell you! Outstanding!"

"First of all, yes, I did kiss C. There's nothing wrong with kissing someone you love who also loves you back." Turning my face away from Blondie, I bluntly replied. "As for what you just asked, Rachel, I believe we did have the same experience. Mine was also world-breaking. Everything was dyed in a pink hue similar to the sakura petals, and the sky was booming loudly, sending down its regards."

"True. Very true. I also got the same thing." Rachel nodded again and again, seemingly in deep thought.

At this point, everything was clear. Touching C and kissing him would have different effects. While getting a touch from C would free a character in this iteration from their fate, a kiss was a gateway that opened memories from a previous iteration where we were together. From how Rachel reacted last night at Han's mansion, albeit vague, I thought something was amiss. Nonetheless, Rachel's answers just now confirmed my thinking to be correct.

More importantly, there were similarities in how we viewed the world. In both cases, between Rachel's and mine, our final moments with C were apocalyptic events where nothingness was trying to consume everything. It was distinct from a reset where all would suddenly collapse. The event happened over time until there was nothing left. In our final moments, there was no one besides us. No Han, no rivals.

"It was... bittersweet..." The taste of our past lingered on the tip of my tongue.

In my past, C explained that the apocalypse we were seeing was another ending where I would still have my memories wiped. It happened when no one got Han to themself, a typical Bad Ending according to this game world logic. Still, even when he kind of shrugged it off his back like something uninteresting, I could not help feeling C did not mention something crucial. Dear husband was trying to hide it from me, his wife, a piece of information that would foil his plan. And I knew my husband well. His reason was singular: to give us a future. He never said anything. I understood his heart regardless.

I needed to find out what C was hiding.

And I needed to find that out fast.

In order to do that...C would need to have his memories returned.

Dropping his shoulders, Han continued to look exacerbated: "Honestly, hearing you two saying things like this really makes me envious of C. I have no idea how he could woo everyone in such a short time, but I guess that is why he is the Master and not me."

I chose to ignore Han to focus on what was coming next. Now that I could confirm Rachel had memories of her relationship with C, it was not farfetched to say she knew who was about to appear in this story. Even more so, from this point onward, we shared information about the main storyline.

"Hey, Rachel. Just a quick question. It is unrelated to the kiss, though."

"Sure."

"You know who's coming next, right?"

"Of course. It's A's little sister. The little devil An."

Knock-knock

At the same time as Rachel's answer, my heart sank.

Mother was home.