Wednesday was… strangely quiet.
Mei slept hugging Kuma-chan, breathing softly.Harumi, exhausted from work, had passed out on the tatami the moment she got home.And Takeru…
Takeru wasn't sleeping.
He sat in the dark living room, hands clasped together, staring at the floor like it might answer him if he waited long enough.
He had tried to give up on the idea of leaving.He had promised himself he'd stay.That he'd do it for Mei.
But that night…
He dreamed.
He dreamed of his mother.
His mother leaving.Then his mother saying, "Take care of your sister."And him—small, shaking—holding Mei's hand as the door closed.
He woke up with his chest tight.Sweating.And with one clear, painful, suffocating thought:
"I abandoned her."
Even though she had abandoned them first.Even though she never came back.
Still…It hurt.
He stood up quietly, trying not to make a sound, and went to the kitchen for some water.
And that's when he saw it.
An envelope on the table.Harumi had left it there earlier.
Electric bill.Water bill.
The numbers were high.Way too high.
Reality hit him like a punch to the gut.
This is our fault.She's tired because of us.She's working extra because of us.
He clenched the envelope in his hands.
In the bedroom, Mei slept peacefully.Harumi snored softly, defeated by the day—but her face was calm, as if she trusted that everything would be okay.
And Takeru thought:
If I leave… Mei stays with her.She can take care of one child.Of Mei.Mei will be happy.
The thought hurt so badly he almost gave up right there.
But he looked again.
At Mei.At Harumi.At the bills.
And he decided.
He decided he would leave that night.
The Goodbye That Never Happened
Takeru put on his jacket.Tied his sneakers.Picked up Mei's teddy bear—
Then gently put it back beside her.
— I'm sorry, Mei… — he whispered. — You'll be okay.
He looked at Harumi, sprawled awkwardly on the futon.
— It's not your fault… but I know I'm in the way.
And he left.
Quietly.
Without slamming the door.
As if he had never been there at all.
Hours later, Harumi woke up with a dry mouth.
— Takeru? — she called, walking into the kitchen. — I work tomorrow, where's my ala— hey… did you turn off all the lights?
Silence.
She sat down on the tatami and called louder.
— Takeru? Come eat something…?
Nothing.
She went to the bedroom.
Mei was sleeping.
Takeru wasn't.
Harumi froze.
— …Takeru?— Takeru??— TAKERU?!
She ran through the house, turning on every light, checking the bathroom, looking behind boxes.
Nothing.
Her heart jumped into her throat.
And then it came.
Fear.Guilt.And the thought she'd been avoiding all week:
He thought I was going to give up on them…Those comments… they really got to him.
Everything crashed down at once.
— I didn't go after him.— I never asked.— I don't even know anything about them.— I knew he wasn't okay.— And I thought videogames would fix it…— How stupid… God, how stupid…
Her voice trembled.
She went to Mei and gently woke her up.
— Mei… sweetheart… we need to start a mission, okay?
Mei blinked sleepily.
— …Takeru?
Harumi took a deep breath.Grabbed a large cloth.Tied it like a sling.Placed Mei there, clinging to her like a baby kangaroo.
— Let's go find him.
The Nighttime Hunt Through the City
Harumi ran.
She ran like she had never run before—hair a mess, wearing flip-flops, freezing cold.
Through dark streets.Alleys.The small park.Corner stores.
— TAKERU!!— TAKERUUU!!— PLEASE ANSWER!!
Mei trembled against her chest.
With every corner, Harumi's breathing grew shorter.With every empty street, the panic grew heavier.
She went to the station.Asked a man closing his shop.Ran near the lake, near the school, near the library.
Nothing.
No sign.
After hours…
She stopped.
In the middle of the street.Panting.Hands shaking.
Mei fell asleep against her again, exhausted.
Harumi smiled—a broken smile.
— Maybe I'm… crazy, huh? He… he'll come back… hahaha… he'll… come back…
But the street was empty.
And the silence hurt.
She staggered back home, her chest aching so badly it felt physical.
She put Mei in bed.Kissed her forehead gently.And whispered to herself:
— If he's not in the city… there's only one place left.
She took a deep breath.
Gathered her courage.
And decided:
"I'm going to the grandfather's house."
Maybe Takeru had gone there.Maybe there was a clue.An object.A memory.
Something.
Anything.
Because she wasn't going to lose him.
She wouldn't.
Not ever.