Shiba and Tsugi returned after sundown.
“Sorry! And thank you, Mitsuri.”
With a brotherly protectiveness that Mitsuri hadn’t seen before, the two turned their stern attention to Jewel, who was reclining on the sofa.
“Listen, now. We were at our wit’s end searching for you.”
“I’m sorry…” Jewel hung her head and the two of them both sighed.
“Do you know how worried we were? This had better not happen again,” said Tsugi.
“I won’t do it again,” Jewel said with resolve. “I understand that I caused a lot of trouble for everyone.”
Shiba’s expression softened. “Well, obviously, you had your reasons, right? And we’ll talk about all of that, but, uh—why is Mr. Kiriyama here?”
At some point, Kiriyama seemed to have joined the four of them in the meeting room. “Clearly, I’ve come at a difficult time. Forgive me.” He bowed his head in apology. “A friend gave me some delicious duck meat, and I thought I’d bring it here, to thank you all for everything you’ve done for me.”
Kiriyama had come on the train from Ōita with a large cooler bag. At this point, he had stayed at Shiba’s place so often it had become a regular part of their friendship, so Mitsuri didn’t think it would be a problem and had let him in.
“Hey, hey, Yoshirō!” Tsugi said gleefully. “You remembered that duck was my favorite, didn’t you?”
Kiriyama smiled affably. “I brought a lot of green onions and grilled tofu, too. We can make a duck hotpot. I asked your sister, and apparently she likes duck, too. Also, I think the green onions might be good for her cold.”
“Ah, that reminds me,” Shiba said. “How are you doing, Jewel? Your color seems good.”
The trip to the clinic and the medication seemed to have helped. Jewel’s fever had dissipated completely. She had a lingering cough, but according to Mrs. Sakuma, it wouldn’t be a problem, as long as the room stayed humid and the girl continued to rest.
“Good, good. But deepest thanks to all of you. I’m in your debt, really.”
“Manager, the fridge is about to burst, it’s so full,” Mitsuri piped up. “Somehow the news got out that your little sister was convalescing here, and it spread like wildfire. We received piles of sympathy gifts on top of the Christmas gifts, and we’re getting a little snowed under.”
It wasn’t just the women in the Golden Villa Apartments, but also the building’s men and a number of other area residents who all joined forces and put together a care package. Fruits and jellies, puddings and more. It was far too much to fit in the one fridge, so extra items had been temporarily distributed to the households of the Ladies’ Association members.
“Is that so? I guess it was a lot of trouble for everyone, wasn’t it? Now, what’s this?”
Shiba had noticed a plate sitting on the sofa end table.
On the plate was a cookie shaped like a bear wearing a Santa Claus hat. The bear was adorable, carefully colored with sugar icing, with a mischievous expression on its face. “That one’s cute,” Shiba said. “Which store did it come from?”
“It’s handmade,” Mitsuri replied. “You see, there’s this girl who comes to buy sweets on Tuesday evenings.”
“Ah, you mean Azusa?” Tsugi said.
“Right. She said that a friend of hers who had moved to Nagasaki had come to visit. So apparently the two of them made cookies.”
The girls had brought one to the store for the manager and Tsugi, but when they learned that Jewel was here, they said they wanted her to have it instead.
“It was so cute I couldn’t eat it. So I was just looking at it.”
“Wow. She did say she wanted to be the Tenderness pâtissière. It’s impressive.”
The two brothers peered at the cookie in the dish, all gentle smiles. Watching them, Jewel said, “My brothers are awesome.” You could tell she meant it with all her heart. “When everyone here found out I was their younger sister, they all took such good care of me. They said they were so grateful to my brothers, they wanted to do all these things for me. It made me really happy. That everyone likes you both so much.” Jewel sighed.
“You found what you loved and left home, and now everyone loves you, too. Obviously, you’re both awesome. I can’t do that. I can’t do anything.”
At the sound of that lonely voice, her two brothers exchanged glances. Then they sat down next to her, softly stroking her head.
“Mother was telling us you’ve been worrying about your life to come,” said Tsugi. “I’m sorry we arrived late.”
“Worrying a little is okay,” Shiba added. “It’s even important, as long as you don’t get too discouraged. We’ve both lost our bearings many times along the way, and here we are.”
“Really? But I don’t have the slightest idea what I want next. What should I do?”
Mitsuri glanced at Kiriyama, and the two of them quietly returned to the main meeting room. Jewel deserved some time alone with her brothers.
“It’s a wonder that their sister is that cute,” Kiriyama said, sinking into the sofa with a sigh. “Isn’t that in itself an exceptional quality?”
Mitsuri sat down opposite him and nodded. That kind of beauty was certainly an asset. “I feel as though if I don’t create a storyline right now, I’m going to explode. You know what I mean? How much valuable information do you think I’ve acquired, just in this one day? Both Phero-Manager and Big Brother Furball are in desperate need of updates.”
“Ha ha! I’m looking forward to them.”
“Right, shall we make some coffee? The story of those three will be a long one.”
Mrs. Nosé had told her to help herself to anything in the room, so Mitsuri brewed coffee for herself and Kiriyama, and they slowly drank it together. When her absentminded gaze happened to meet the gaze of one of the panel-portrait Shibas, Mitsuri gave a wry smile. “The love is so thick in this room you’d think a stalker or someone had built it, wouldn’t you? It makes me wonder if they watch video slide shows of the store manager in the projection room next door.”
“They might. Mr. Shiba seems to be fairly comfortable in front of the camera.”
“Maybe we should develop a line of products to sell at the store. Shiba key chains?”
“Oh, I think those would sell. You should do Tsugi, too. He’s also fairly popular.” Kiriyama chuckled to himself as if he’d just remembered something, and Mitsuri looked at him questioningly.
“Sometimes Tsugi lets me stay at his place, too,” he said. “It feels like a secret men’s hideout, with all sorts of people coming and going. I was there recently, and in the middle of the night, a guy comes in. He’s a professional chef, and he’s carrying wine and a huge hunk of dry-aged beef. Tsugi was out cold, snoring, but the guy just starts cooking in the kitchen on his own, without asking anyone. As if it were his own kitchen. Then he goes over to Tsugi, who’s still sleeping, shakes him awake, and says, ‘Eat while it’s hot!’ He gave me some, too, and it was really delicious. But I still haven’t the faintest idea who he was.”
“Wait, Kiriyama,” cried Mitsuri, “don’t tell me all that now! It’s too much—I don’t want to miss any of it, but I can’t possibly process any more material at the moment.” Jewel’s entrance on the scene today had been so spectacular, she felt she needed to stick to the essentials.
Kiriyama looked around the room. “They’re interesting people, aren’t they?” he said to Mitsuri. Piles of gifts had been placed here and there throughout the room, and a faint fragrance still emanated from the roses in front of them. Inspecting the gold lettering on the flowers, Kiriyama continued. “They’re loved and needed by all these people. It’s hard to put into words, but they have a strange charm.”
Kiriyama paused. “I’m so lucky to have met them,” he said sincerely. Mitsuri looked at his kind face and felt a heartwarming glow spread through her. Then suddenly she realized something.
Starting with Kiriyama, the lives of almost all the people surrounding the brothers had run through the convenience store, which was where they had met. Some were regulars, others just passing through. There was something special there—what Shiba had called “joys and sorrows.” Perhaps that was what bound them all together. Mitsuri, too, had met them the same way—through the convenience store—and thinking about that, she was deeply moved.
“Oh. Are these the presents for Jewel from the two of them?” Kiriyama had noticed a couple of parcels lying on the floor next to the couch and lifted one up.
“Hmm? Oh, they might be. They weren’t there before.”
“Oh, this one’s from the manager. Here, take a look.”
A card had been inserted under a broad ribbon, and they could see “From Mitsuhiko” written in Shiba’s beautiful, flowing hand. What had Shiba gotten for his little sister? Mitsuri wanted to know, and as usual, the curious devil on her shoulder was getting the better of her.
“Aha, so that means this one must be from Tsugi. And what would he give to a teenage girl? Hmm…”
Mitsuri picked up the second package and was rendered speechless by what she saw.
The second card, nearly illegible, read: “From Nihiko.”
“H-hey, Kiriyama. Can you read this?
“Huh? What’s that? Oh, um…Nise…ko? Niseko?”
In Tsugi’s rough scrawl, the “hi” (ヒ) in his nickname “Nihiko” was indistinguishable from the “se” (セ) in “Niseko.” And the latter was a name she knew all too well.
“Impossible!” Mitsuri said slowly in wonder. “Could the mysterious counselor Niseko be…?”
“Sorry, sorry, you two! It’s time for some duck hotpot!” The door to the screening room swung violently open, and Tsugi emerged, howling pitifully, “I’m so hungry! With all the commotion over our vanishing Jewel, I haven’t eaten since this morning. Let’s have a duck hotpot. A duck hotpot! Mitsuri, will you join us?”
“What? But, Jewel’s condition…?” asked Kiriyama.
“They say green onions help you heal. Anyway, that one, she gets sick at the drop of a hat. She’s susceptible to cold, so she needs a haramaki to wrap her tummy, but she takes it off when she goes outside so it doesn’t cramp her style. She did the same thing this time, and—ouch!”
A cushion came flying through the air—thrown by Jewel, no doubt—and struck Tsugi with a thump on the side of his head. Then a voice yelled loudly, “Don’t say that, Tsugi, you dummy!”
“Huh? I guess she’s feeling stronger. Well, I’d like to thank everyone, one by one, but first, let’s all have a nice duck hotpot. Mitsuri, will you call Kōsei?”