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Chapter 50: 6 years ago, Yui

I was lying in bed, and Mom was talking to me. "People may try to take it from you, but don\'t listen to them. You have to protect it."

Her voice and face were stricter than I\'d ever heard or seen them, but the hand she held out was gentle. Softly, she touched the bandages over my left eye.

"Do you mean I\'m soooo cute that all the world\'s kidnappers are after me?"

"You may be my daughter, but you\'re so tough no one would ever believe you\'d just come out of surgery." Mom laid a hand on my forehead and sighed.

What on earth was this about?

"Dear, say something to her." She turned to my dad. "Just look how adorable my daughter is."

"She grew up this way because of you, you know." Mom\'s head drooped again.

Yup, my dad spoils me rotten. If I say I want bread, he goes out and buys me an entire cake, and if I say I want a bicycle, he gives me a cruise ship. Thanks to that, I already know how to pilot a boat.

Well, it\'s a trade-off. I still can\'t ride a bike.

"But, Yui, you do know things can\'t go on like this, don\'t you?" Mom turned to me again. She didn\'t look angry—just sort of sad and uneasy. "Someday, you\'ll have to go outside."

I may have been young, but I knew that when Mom said "outside," she didn\'t mean it literally. It was a word she always used when she was trying to convince me.

"You\'ll need to make friends."

I didn\'t have a single friend. I hadn\'t even spent much time in school.

"...It\'s fine. Talking with lots of people isn\'t any fun." Kids always exclude anybody that isn\'t like them.

I was born blind in my left eye, so that was one thing that made me different. The fact that my family was rich might have been part of the problem too.

There was always an invisible line between me and the rest of the group, and I wasn\'t allowed to cross it. A wall of air barred my way.

"As long as you and Dad are here, I don\'t need anything else." I\'d told her so before, and I said it again today. Then I pulled the covers up over my head. "We won\'t be able to protect you forever, you know." Mom gave another big sigh; she sounded sort of tired. I\'m smart, though; I know how to handle

her at times like this.

"...You\'re going away?" I peeked out from under the futon, speaking in a little baby voice.

"D-don\'t turn those puppy eyes on me, Yui." Mom hugged me tightly.

Yeah, my mom is actually the one who spoils me the most. Still, it\'s hard to believe I could trick her this easily. I might have a knack for the idol life.

"Yui," Dad said. Setting a hand on Mom\'s shoulder, he separated us gently. "Let\'s take that bandage off, all right?"

I\'d secretly been avoiding this, but he was sharp, and he\'d seen right through me.

"...Okay."

I was a little tense, but his serious gaze pushed me to take the plunge. I reached up for the white fabric that was wrapped around my head, over my left eye, and slipped it off.

"All right. Take a look."

I peeked into the hand mirror my dad held out to me. "It\'s so pretty..."

The blue eye shone like a sapphire, and I caught myself sighing over it. My parents had gotten this false eye for me.

"That eye suits you better than anyone else, Yui. We want you to wear lovely dresses and light up the world. You\'ll shine like this jewel." As my father spoke, he looked more serious than I\'d ever seen him. "That eye will light your way and help you find what matters most to you. And so..." He gazed at me. "No matter what, you must never let anyone separate you from it."

He said the same thing Mom had.

"...Dear, don\'t steal the scene like that," Mom complained.

"If I didn\'t, I wouldn\'t get to be the cool dad at all." He nodded away, straight-faced.

My parents get along so well.

Someday, it would be great if I found people I could have this much fun talking with...

I\'m kidding. That was a joke. These two are all I need. And so—

"No, you still weren\'t very cool." " "Aww..." "

...I provided the punchline for them.

Still... Even so, someday...

If I take a flying leap into the outside world...if I find friends who\'ll accept me as I am, and I don\'t have to hide things or keep secrets...will life be more fun?

Heh-heh. For some reason, seeing this blue eye made me feel like giving it a whirl.

I\'ll go big this time.

I only thought of it a minute ago, but maybe I will work toward becoming an idol singer.