On the final night of summer vacation, August 31st, Tsubasa falls asleep feeling a little sad that the fun is ending. But when he wakes up, his sister Riel tells him something impossible: 'Today is August 32nd.' His brothers, sister, and even his brother's girlfriend all accept this non-existent date as perfectly normal.
At first, Tsubasa is thrilled that summer vacation has been extended. But soon, he's the only one who notices the strange changes creeping into his home. Riel's cooking gradual
August 32nd - August 36th — The Youngest Sister's Tears and the Mask of Madness
In the darkness, Tsubasa awoke.
He could hear something.
He looked at the clock by his pillow. It was two in the morning. The room was utterly silent, and from the lower bunk, he could still hear Fuuto's sleeping breaths. The only reality in this room was the sound of that steady breathing.
And yet.
From beyond the hallway, a faint crying voice reached him.
A child's voice. A girl's voice.
I'm sorry... I'm sorry...
Tsubasa leaped out of bed. The cold sensation of the floor seeped into the soles of his feet. Careful not to wake Fuuto, he cautiously opened the room door.
The hallway was submerged in darkness.
Normally, even at night, moonlight would stream in, but tonight, every single window seemed painted black, letting in no light. The air was chilly, and despite it being a summer night, it was cold enough to raise goosebumps.
The crying was coming from Hanyii's room.
Tsubasa advanced down the hallway. Killing his footsteps, one step at a time.
He stood before Hanyii's door.
The crying could be heard clearly from the other side.
" I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
There was no mistake. It was Hanyii's voice.
Taking a small breath, Tsubasa gently placed his hand on the doorknob and quietly pushed the door open.
The room was dim.
A small study desk, pink curtains, a shelf lined with twelve stuffed animals. Outside the window was, as expected, pitch black, without a single star's light.
Hanyii was on her bed, asleep, clutching a stuffed animal.
Her blonde twintails spread across the pillow, her small body quietly rising and falling. The flame-shaped ribbon tied to her left twintail seemed to flicker faintly in the darkness.
She was asleep.
She was definitely asleep.
But the crying wouldn't stop.
" I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Tsubasa felt a chill run down his spine.
The voice wasn't coming from Hanyii's mouth.
Hanyii's lips remained closed, her face even looked peaceful. And yet, her crying voice filled the entire room. It overflowed, seeping out from the walls, the ceiling, the floor.
A cold sensation crawled down from the back of his neck to his waist.
"Hanyii..."
The moment Tsubasa quietly called her name, the crying stopped dead.
Abruptly, as if severed.
The room fell silent once more.
Hanyii was still asleep. But on her cheeks alone, the traces of tears glistened.
――――
Morning came.
August 36th.
Tsubasa, having barely slept a wink, had been staring at the ceiling from his bed. He heard Fuuto tossing and turning in the bunk below, but in the end, he couldn't sleep properly until morning.
(What was that?)
He couldn't get last night's crying out of his head.
Shaking his head, Tsubasa went down the stairs.
From the kitchen on the first floor, he could faintly hear the sound of a kitchen knife. Rieru was probably preparing breakfast.
Tsubasa passed through the living room and stood at the kitchen entrance.
" Oh my, good morning, Tsubasa."
Rieru turned around.
Today, she was holding back her bangs with a yellow headband, her white apron tied tightly. Several tomatoes lay cut on the cutting board.
" Sis, I need to talk to you."
" What's the matter, so formal?"
Rieru smiled. It was her usual, kind older sister face.
" Last night, I heard crying coming from Hanyii's room. A really pained voice, saying 'I'm sorry'... over and over."
That was the moment.
Rieru's movements stopped completely.
Her hand holding the cooking chopsticks froze in mid-air.
" ...What are you talking about?"
The temperature of her voice changed.
Tsubasa involuntarily took a step back.
Rieru slowly turned to face Tsubasa. Her light brown eyes were cold and clouded. Her mouth was smiling, but deep in her eyes, it was as if a completely different creature was residing there.
" I'm telling you, Hanyii was..."
" I can't hear any voice like that. You're just imagining it."
Rieru's voice was flat, without a waver.
" I'm not imagining it! I definitely heard it! When I went to Hanyii's room, she was asleep, but her voice was echoing all over the room—"
" Tsubasa."
Rieru put down the kitchen knife.
Her fingers were surprisingly white and slender, like a doll's fingers.
" Hanyii is sleeping soundly. There's no problem at all."
She approached Tsubasa and placed a hand on his head.
It was a gentle touch.
But her fingertips were cold.
" It's a fun summer vacation, right? There's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all."
Tsubasa looked up into Rieru's eyes.
A perfect smile.
But behind it, he saw clearly for the first time the madness clinging there—a refusal to acknowledge the world's abnormality.
(Sis knows.)
(She knows everything, and even so, she's protecting this distortion for my sake.)
Rieru's kindness felt like a prison.
――――
That afternoon of the same day.
Tsubasa went up to the second floor and opened the door to his and Fuuto's room.
The room was filled with the smell of paint.
Fuuto sat facing away, in front of his easel. His blue hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. He held a paintbrush in his left hand, continuing to draw something in his sketchbook.
Five pictures were pinned to the wall.
All of them were sunflowers.
The first picture had seventeen petals. The second had seven. The third also had seven. The fourth had seven as well.
And then, the fifth.
Tsubasa stepped closer and looked at the fifth picture.
The petals numbered only three.
Moreover, those three petals looked ready to scatter at any moment, their tips so thin they seemed transparent. As if the flower was dying.
" Fuuto..."
Fuuto didn't turn around.
His hand moving the brush wouldn't stop.
Looking at his fingertips, Tsubasa gasped.
The yellow of the paint, and then—the red of blood, were caked onto his fingers. Dried blood had blackened and hardened in the cracks of his skin, yet his fingers continued to move.
" Fuuto! Can you hear me?!"
Tsubasa placed a hand on Fuuto's shoulder.
At that moment, Fuuto's hand stopped.
Slowly, his face turned towards him.
Tsubasa looked into his younger brother's eyes.
Blue eyes—eyes that were usually filled with composure were now completely hollow. It was as if his soul had fallen out and doll's eyeballs had been inserted in their place.
Fuuto said nothing.
He just stared at Tsubasa's face for a few seconds, then turned back to the canvas.
He started moving the brush again.
Tracing the outline of a sunflower with no petals, just a stem.
" Stop it... please stop..."
Tsubasa crouched down on the spot.
His younger brother had already lost his words.
――――
August 37th.
Dinnertime arrived.
On the dining table in the living room, the food Rieru had prepared was laid out. It seemed to be soup today. Steam rose, covering the table in white.
Tsubasa took his seat.
Tableware for four was arranged on the table. A small pink spoon at Hanyii's seat. Chopsticks at Fuuto's seat. A ladle at Rieru's seat.
Fuuto sat down in his seat wordlessly, staring at the soup with hollow eyes. Hanyii was also at her seat, but she kept her head down, never once looking up.
Rieru smiled brightly.
" Tonight's soup is special. Here, eat up."
Tsubasa picked up his spoon.
The soup was white.
It was a cloudy white, with no vegetables or meat in it. Just a liquid. And yet, steam was rising from it, which made it all the more eerie.
He scooped some up with his spoon and put it in his mouth.
"...It has no taste."
Tsubasa said it with a trembling voice.
It was tasteless. Odorless.
Even as it entered his mouth, he could only feel its temperature; there was no flavor at all. It was like drinking plain lukewarm water.
" It's delicious, right? It's my proud specialty soup."
Rieru said it with a doll-like smile.
She also brought the soup to her mouth with her own spoon. But on her expression, there was no sign of tasting anything, nor any confusion at not tasting anything. Nothing surfaced.
It was just a fabricated face.
The spoon fell from Tsubasa's hand.
With a clatter, the soup soaked into the white tablecloth.
" Sis... you can't taste it anymore, can you..."
Rieru didn't answer.
She just kept smiling.
Fuuto continued to stare at the soup with hollow eyes, not even picking up his spoon. Hanyii kept her head down, trembling slightly.
Tsubasa stood up.
His chair fell over, a loud noise echoing through the living room.
" What is this... what the hell is this!"
Even when he shouted, no one reacted.
Rieru kept smiling, Fuuto remained hollow, Hanyii kept trembling.
His family were already dolls.
Tsubasa's wish had turned his family into dolls.
――――
August 38th. Late at night.
Tsubasa lay on his bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling.
From the lower bunk next to him, he could hear Fuuto's sleeping breaths. But it sounded mechanical, like the mere intake and output of air.
He couldn't sleep.
He had barely slept for three days.
His head was hazy, his vision blurred, but he couldn't sleep. When he closed his eyes, Rieru's unsmiling eyes, Fuuto's hollow eyes, and Hanyii's crying voice kept spinning round and round in his head.
That's when it happened.
He heard it.
" Big brother Tsubasa..."
Tsubasa sprang up.
" Because of me... the world... is steadily..."
It was Hanyii's voice.
But the words were much clearer than last night.
Tsubasa leaped out of bed, burst out of the room, and ran down the hallway. He practically tumbled down the stairs and arrived in front of Hanyii's room.
He opened the door.
Hanyii was curled up on the bed, trembling.
She was asleep.
And yet, the voice wasn't coming from her mouth.
From the walls. From the ceiling. From the floor.
The voice echoed, as if seeping out.
" Big brother Tsubasa's wish... I... wanted to stop it..."
" But... I couldn't... I'm sorry..."
Tsubasa collapsed to his knees.
Only Hanyii had known.
The true nature of the world's abnormality. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she had agonized over it, believing it was her fault, and had continued to cry night after night.
(It's my fault.)
Because I wished, "I wish summer vacation could last forever."
That unconscious ego is tormenting my little sister this much.
" Hanyii... no... it's not your fault... it's my fault..."
Tsubasa murmured in a trembling voice.
But he didn't know if Hanyii could hear him.
The crying still wouldn't stop.
" Big brother Tsubasa... I... don't want to disappear..."
Careful not to wake Hanyii, Tsubasa quietly left the room.
The hallway was shrouded in darkness.
And yet, he could see someone standing at the far end of the hallway.
It was Rieru.
She was in white sleepwear, her hair down. No headband. He couldn't see her expression in the darkness, but he could tell she was facing his way.
" It's a fun summer vacation, isn't it."
Murmuring that, Rieru, expressionless, disappeared behind the door of her own room.
Tsubasa was left alone in the middle of the hallway.
He couldn't share this abnormality with anyone.
Rieru wore a mask of madness, Fuuto had lost his words, and Hanyii kept crying.
And the one at the center of this distorted world—was himself.
" I... I destroyed everything..."
Tsubasa put a hand against the wall and slowly crouched down.
The center of his chest grew hot and painful, throbbing.
Guilt gouged at his heart like the blade of a scythe.
(I turned my family into dolls.)
(My wish is trapping everyone, tormenting them, breaking them.)
Hanyii's crying could still be heard from beyond the wall.
" I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry" were the words meant to come from him.
Tsubasa cried, stifling his voice.
He could no longer bring himself to say, "It'll work out somehow."
In a corner of the dark hallway, Tsubasa's long, long night continued on.
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