V1 - Chapter 20

Volume 1 - The Abandoned Kitten, Her, and Me.

Chapter 20

Minamino Chinatsu listened in silence as Satou Hajime recounted his story while stammering.

She wanted to cry even at this moment.

She wanted to hug the person in front of her.

But Satou was speaking without tears, and so she couldn't cry. She held her emotions in, clenching her teeth, making sure nothing overflowed. She didn't avert her eyes, intent on not missing a single thing he said.

Besides, this was surely only the beginning, not the entirety of it. Once he finished—once he finished everything, I'll… Chinatsu thought before sitting in her chair, as if to tie herself down.

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"To be honest, when I was left alone like that... I think I must have been desperate. I remember it clearly, yet it feels like a memory of something distant, like I'm watching it from the other side of a television screen."

Facing Chinatsu, who was listening without a word, I was talking about what had happened to "Satou Hajime." Strangely, I felt like I was able to arrange everything I'd experienced in chronological order.

"And there's a bit more to the story. Next, I need to tell you about my uncle."

The first thing I learned after losing my family was that when someone dies, there's a lot of paperwork and procedures involved, and sometimes adults are needed for those.

There were so many things to do. That's why I could say that I wasn't swallowed by despair. From the first day of summer vacation, with the support of kind adults around me, I did various things. My parents' colleagues, a middle-aged man from the city office, doctors and nurses at the hospital, the people at the temple I was introduced to—surprisingly, everyone was kind, caring, sympathetic.

For the first time in my life, I became the chief mourner at a funeral. For the first time in my life, I learned that there were plans for funerals and that there was a cost to a grave. I learned that there were inheritance issues and various procedures involved in withdrawing money from a bank account under the name of a deceased person. It was knowledge I acquired while dealing with everything in front of me.

My parents were ordinary office workers, not wealthy. Furthermore, there were no other family members besides me, and the only relative I knew about was an uncle whose whereabouts were unknown.

In the end, what remained for me were the rights to the life insurance policies my parents had, the compensation rights from the accident—apparently involving a collision with a drowsy truck driver—the fully paid-off new house whose loan was cleared due to my parents' passing, and my father's smartphone that miraculously survived the major accident.

After completing the necessary procedures on my own, I began taking action to contact my only surviving blood relative, my uncle.

There were no notes with his contact information on the fridge or in the places where documents were kept. Moreover, the only thing I knew about my uncle was that he would appear out of nowhere, bringing souvenirs from various countries or giving me pocket money. I had heard he was a peculiar person who conducted various businesses with just a smartphone. He was a man who always dressed immaculately despite living in hotels all over due to not having a permanent address.

Unfortunately, I hadn't seen him since I started using a smartphone, and I didn't even know how to contact him.

Charging my father's smartphone, I unlocked it to check if there were any contact details for relatives. After charging, notifications started flooding in after the Apple logo appeared. Even if I couldn't unlock it, I could still see the contents of the notifications. When I realized that the most recent notification was just moments ago, the intercom at the entrance rang.

When I opened the door, there stood the uncle I'd been searching for. He looked at me with an unfamiliar expression, his hair disheveled, dressed in untidy clothes.

"Kakeru."

That was the name displayed in the numerous notifications from earlier. The uncle who had become my only living blood relative, standing right in front of me in a state of bewilderment.

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"I'm sorry."

At the family altar, my uncle, who had been praying for a long time, turned to face me and uttered those words. He was apologizing for not being there when it mattered the most. Not being around during the critical time, being abroad and realizing the contact from our mutual acquaintance too late. Finding out that I was the sole survivor and desperately calling my father's phone repeatedly. Managing to return to the country, relying on the address that had been given to him right after he arrived at the airport. He was truly, deeply regretful.

Having spoken up to that point, he cut off his words and began to cry as he looked at me. He was sobbing, the first time I had seen an adult man openly weeping.

After crying his heart out, my uncle sprang into action with great determination. He made numerous phone calls, contacting acquaintances such as tax accountants and lawyers, and together they completed various procedures that had been stalled when I was alone.

My uncle had cared deeply for me. My father and he were truly close brothers.

"You know, how do I put it, my older brother was the only one who stood by me, supporting my desire for freedom and aversion to rules. He stood between our parents, your grandparents, and even stood by me through the passing of our mother from an unexpected illness while I was wandering overseas, as well as shortly thereafter, our father's passing. He fulfilled the role of providing security by working for a stable company, but also the role of setting me free. He fulfilled all of that, even though he must have had his own desires and ambitions."

Perhaps it wasn't just his luck, but his talent as well. Amidst having only my father as an ally, my uncle, who dropped out of what could be considered the best university in Japan to start his own business, overcame various obstacles and eventually achieved financial success. However, my father never asked for anything in return even after his success. He never relied on my uncle financially. At most, he would ask for landscape scenery of the countries he visited or souvenirs when my uncle went on trips.

"...I wanted to give something back. But now, both my older brother and Kanae-san are gone. Even Miho-chan."

So, let me start by returning that favor to you. Saying this, my uncle began to teach me various things. In a way, he was unexpectedly skilled in doing almost everything necessary for life despite his claim to valuing freedom above all else.

Later, I realized that my uncle's time was extremely valuable. Running multiple businesses, he was needed in various places. Despite this, my uncle invested half a year of his time into helping me survive.

Cleaning, laundry, cooking, researching various essential household matters. 

I had the impression that the significance of my parents' lives was somehow linked to it, and the education about money, which I had been avoiding, continued rigorously until I completed middle school. The knowledge about investing the money I had received, the ins and outs of accumulation and ETFs, the distinction between investment and speculation. 

Money was merely a tool to provide you with choices. The money I had received wasn't a replacement for my parents' lives; rather, it was part of the risk management strategy they had set up for situations like this. He even taught me how to earn money through video editing, something even a student could do.

Perhaps to ensure that I wouldn't struggle financially in a life without parents, my uncle hammered into me the means to survive. At the same time as entering high school, my uncle returned to his original job.

It was undoubtedly thanks to my uncle that I didn't stray or lose my way during the last season of middle school. We kept in touch, meeting every three months. He was my invaluable teacher.

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