It was evening and she hurried home. Today, her father would be coming home early from work. She had to hurry back and prepare dinner. But when she got to the house, the lights were not on yet.
Huh? He’s not here yet? she thought, puzzled.
Placing her hand on the doorknob, she noticed the door was unlocked.
“…?”
She felt suspicious and opened the door slowly. Cautiously, she peered inside.
Thump.
A strange sound came from the living room.
“…Daddy…” she whispered. “Are you home?”
Despite having a bad feeling and all her senses screaming out in silent alarm, she went into the house. Fearfully, she arrived in the living room. There she saw a silhouette.
“D-Daddy…?”
The curtains were drawn. The light of the setting sun seeped through, tinting the room red. Then she saw him. He was sitting listlessly on the floor.
“Daddy…?”
The person did not respond, but there seemed to be no doubt that it was her father. Seeing what was in his hand, she shuddered.
“Daddy!”
Stifling a scream, she ran to her father. The terrible smell of alcohol filled the room.
“Daddy! You promised me you wouldn’t drink anymore!”
She shook her father’s shoulders, but got no response. She scanned the room and made another alarming discovery. In addition to what was in his hand, several bottles and cans of alcohol were scattered about the room.
Oh no.
It appeared he had drunk more than he ever had before. There was no telling what he might do now.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Finally, in response to his daughter’s desperate cries, the father came to.
“Where were you…?” he asked in a shaky voice, his eyes unfocused.
“Daddy?”
“I was lonely, you went out… Where the hell did you go?”
“What are you talking about, Daddy…?!”
“Don’t leave me ever again. Stay with me… forever… forever…”
Oh no, she thought in alarm.
She sensed it instinctively. Her father was so intoxicated he couldn’t tell her apart from her mother.
“Daddy! It’s me! It’s Toiro!”
“Don’t leave me again.”
His mind was not there. His eyes were unfocused and his words were slurred. She thought to call the emergency center and turned to reach for the telephone.
“Waaaaaaggggghhhhhhhh!”
Without warning, her father let out a bloodcurdling scream. She felt pain bolt through her neck. Helplessly, she collapsed on the floor. Struggling against the pain, she looked up and saw her father standing over her. Having lost his senses, he held an empty liquor bottle and was poised to hit her with it again.
“Help!” she wanted to scream. “Help! Help me, Makoto-kun!!”
—Ring.
“Makoto! Don’t you think that’s too much?”
While the table was being set, Nobu suspiciously took note of the plates Makoto brought over.
“It’s fine. I’m a growing boy!” said Makoto, making a face and sticking his tongue out at Nobu.
He deliberately shoved a heaping plate piled high with rice and curry right under Nobu’s nose.
“Well, I’m a growing boy too!” Nobu retorted.
“Hmm? What grade are you in now?” Makoto asked.
“Fifth grade!”
“Yeah, how tall are you?”
“142 centimeters! Or thereabouts!”
Makoto teased Nobu and rubbed his chestnut-shaped head. “Whaddaya mean ‘thereabouts’? You’ve still got a ways to go. I’m in high school, and I stand at 180 cm.”
“Nghhhh!” Nobu reacted angrily. “You blockhead!”
Though he barked like an insulted puppy, Nobu sat back down next to Makoto. Several children also sat down at the table. Finally, the orphanage director took her seat.
Saying that today would be more fun than usual since Makoto-kun was back, she led the pre-meal prayer. Nanoha-en was a Catholic institution. The slightly rotund, gentle old lady whom Makoto and the other kids knew as the orphanage director, was also a full-fledged nun. But since she always wore sweatshirts and acted like a regular old lady, gradually she went from being called “Sister” to “Director.”
While Makoto prayed for the first time in a long while with the director and the kids, he felt someone poking him in the side.
“Hey, hey, Makoto…”
It was Nobu.
“What? Say your prayers,” Makoto told him.
“I will. But hey…”
Nobu seemed to have no intention of praying. Reluctantly, Makoto decided to deal with the boy.
“What is it?”
“Do you still see things?” Nobu asked.
“Things? Like what?”
“You know, you used to say you could see ghosts and stuff.”
“Ah, maybe I did say that.”
“So, can you still see them?” Nobu asked again.
Nobu’s eyes were filled with curiosity. But when he first came here, his eyes had been dimly clouded. Now, they sparkled. Just as Makoto’s eyes did after he had found a place where his wounds could heal.
“Found…?”
—Ring.
He heard the sound of a bell.
Throb.
“Hey, what’s the matter, Makoto?” Nobu asked.
“Uh, nothing, I just… Ow!”
“A-are you all right, Makoto?!”
“Y-yeah…”
Throb!
He was having another headache. And a terribly strong one. It felt like his head was about to crack in two. Each time his head throbbed, something flashed in his mind.
“Gwahhh!”
What was he seeing?
Throb!
“What is it?!” Nobu asked innocently. “Hey, is it that thing I just said? Are you seeing something?!”
“Aggh! Shut up, you idiot!” he wanted to say.
This was the first time he had experienced anything like this. Each time he saw these visions, he experienced a headache. But those visions were all things he could see with his own eyes.
This time…
Throb!
The vision was something he saw with his mind’s eye and burned itself into his brain.
“What was that just now?!” he asked himself. “A house? A house somewhere. It’s painted orange. Is it the color of a sunset?”
The visions began to fit into a pattern and became clearer.
“It’s a fire!” he realized. “It’s burning! A fire!”
He didn’t know why he was seeing these things.
Throb!
“Gaaaaghh!” he screamed. “It hurts!”
Now, everyone in the room became aware of Makoto’s condition.
“It’s Makoto’s E.S.P.!” Nobu announced.
All of the children looked at him with curiosity. He wanted to scream at Nobu. The boy was getting on his nerves.
He wanted to say, “I’m gonna give you a noogie later, just you wait,” but the pain engulfed him.
“What is this?!” he asked himself. “Ngghh! There’s somebody in the fire?!”
Throb… throb… throb, throb.
“Hey… Oh my God… You can’t be serious…”
The vision flashed in his brain. And now, he could see everything clearly.
“…Hiura…” he murmured.
In the burning fire, he could see Toiro lying there, unconscious.
“What is this?” he asked again. “What’s going on?! Why am I seeing this?! Am I hallucinating? I’m hallucinating, right?! What’s happening? What’s going on?! What do you want me to do?! Why am I seeing this?!!”
—Ring.
“Huh…?”
So that’s what it means, I can see things that cannot be seen. It’s that precious thing the girl was talking about. The thing that’s most precious to me.
“Protect it… Or lose it…”
Makoto suddenly understood this power, which he had previously believed useless. The reason for his having it was finally making itself clear now.
“Yeah, it has to be!” he realized. “Then, i-it was… It was this very day that I…”
“Director!” he said out loud. “I have to go! Please keep my curry warm until I get back!”
Makoto dashed out of the orphanage.
Nobu watched Makoto leave, his eyes filled with awe. “Makoto’s kinda cool… He’s like a superhero.”