The kitchen air grew dense, the light from the overhead lamps humming with the static of a reality that was finally "real" and, therefore, fragile. Agung pulled a notebook from his pocket, his hand steady despite the confession he was about to make. He began to list them—the names that represented the scope of his mission.
"It's not just a neighborhood trip, Maki," Agung said, his voice quiet. He read the list: *Ohara Mari, Matsuura Kanan, Kurosawa Dia, Sakurauchi Riko, Tsushima Yoshiko, Kurosawa Ruby, Emma Verde, Asaka Karin, Konoe Kanata, Lanzhu Zhong, Nakagawa Nana (Setsuna Yuki), Osaka Shizuku, Tennouji Rina, Mifune Shioriko, Mia Taylor.*
He paused, a shadow crossing his face. "Emma and Lanzhu, Mia... they're scattered across the globe. Emma is likely in Lugano, Switzerland. And the thought of that... it's my personal nightmare. My lungs can't handle the cold, and a stray bit of rain in a drafty Swiss winter is enough to trigger a full-blown asthma attack." He looked at the three children—Hime, Aoi, and Yuki—who were sitting together, blissfully unaware of the medical history he was dreading. "Tell me, medically, they're clear? It's hereditary, and I don't want to pass this suffocating cage onto them."
Maki, ever the doctor's daughter, moved to the children, checking their breathing with a professional, practiced grace. After a moment, she let out a breath she'd been holding. "They seem fine, Agung. Their lungs are clear, and there's no indication of the sensitivity you have. They're stronger than you think."
Agung slumped against the counter, relief washing over him. "Good. That's... that's the best news I've had in years." He stood up, his face hardening. "We go to Odaiba first. It's the closest, and I'm terrified for Kanata."
He began to recount what he knew of her—the girl who spent her life fighting exhaustion, the girl who dreamed of being an idol while carrying the weight of being the primary caregiver for her sister, Haruka.
"In the story I saw, she was a fighter," Agung said, his voice dropping. "But the 'deadbeat' version of me... he wasn't looking at her strength. He saw her sleepiness as laziness. I saw the records in the system before I severed it. He told her she was 'wasting time' sleeping when she could be performing. He cut off the funding for Haruka's school programs, knowing that would force Kanata to stay awake and work more, just so he wouldn't have to deal with the 'inconvenience' of her being tired."
Agung's eyes burned with shame. "He wanted to break her spirit so she'd be easier to manage. He treated her fatigue like a defect."
*SMACK.*
The sound echoed like a gunshot against the tile walls.
Agung's head snapped to the side. Kotori stood before him, her hand still raised, her face flushed with a mixture of heartbreak and white-hot fury. She wasn't just crying; she was shaking.
"You absolute, irredeemable fool," Kotori hissed, her voice trembling with a level of anger he had never seen from her. "You talk about her like she's a project to be fixed! Do you have any idea what that does to a girl who is already holding up the sky for her sister? You didn't just 'neglect' her, you weaponized her love against her!"
The other women stood frozen. Umi's hand moved instinctively to her own fan, her expression unreadable, while Nozomi's normally playful demeanor had vanished, replaced by a cold, protective glare aimed directly at Agung's chest.
"I know," Agung whispered, not even touching his reddening cheek. "I know. That's why we're going to Odaiba. I don't expect her to forgive me. I just need to be there to pick up the pieces, even if she hits me harder than you just did."
He looked at the map again, his finger hovering over the location of the Nijigasaki club.
"Pack the bags," he said to the room, his voice unwavering. "We leave for Odaiba within the hour. If we're going to be a family, we start by fixing the ones who have been suffering the most."