Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old

Time flew by, and before long it was the Moon-Viewing Festival.

It was the first Mid-Autumn Festival Tsushima Kagami had spent in this world.

According to the customs of this country, the day called for gazing at the moon, eating tsukimi dango, and giving thanks for the autumn harvest.

For him, though, the most important task of the day was the kindergarten community practicum.

At half past seven in the morning, Tsushima Kagami stood at the school gate.

"Morning."

A soft voice drifted to him from behind. He turned to find Shimizu Nayotake walking over at a quick, light pace.

October had brought the first real chill of autumn, and today Shimizu Nayotake had switched to her fall school uniform. Her long fringe still hung over most of her face, and whatever lay behind those half-hidden eyes remained, as always, a complete mystery.

Tsushima Kagami and Shimizu Nayotake had barely exchanged a few words when—

"Sorry, sorry! I'm late!"

Ijichi Seika came jogging up with her guitar case on her back, hair slightly dishevelled, clearly having rushed out the door.

"Did you sleep in?" Tsushima Kagami asked with a grin.

"No, no, I did not!" Ijichi Seika protested, trying to fix her hair at the same time.

"It's Nijika's fault. She absolutely had to braid my hair for me." She sighed. "Spent forever on it and couldn't get it right, so I ended up redoing the whole thing myself."

Only now did Tsushima Kagami notice that her hair really was a bit of a mess, a few loose strands framing her ears.

"You two are really close, huh."

"I mean, sort of. She can be pretty annoying sometimes." Ijichi Seika's mouth curved into a small smile. "But I have you to thank for that."

"Alright then, let's get moving," Tsushima Kagami said, and the three of them set off toward the kindergarten where Little Nijika attended.

Since the kindergarten was nearby and Ijichi Seika knew the way, it didn't take long before they arrived.

The head teacher was already waiting at the gate to greet them. After introductions were made, since it was still too early for the children to arrive, she gave them a tour of the facilities and ran through a long list of things to keep in mind.

All three of them committed the instructions to memory, and soon the children began trickling in, dropped off one by one by their parents.

When the time was right, the head teacher led the three of them to the classroom they'd be responsible for.

Inside, a dozen or so children were seated in a circle, listening to a teacher tell a story.

Little Nijika was sitting right in the front row, chin resting in her hands — but her eyes kept drifting toward the door.

The moment she spotted the three of them, she shot to her feet like a spring had been released.

"Kagami-nii-chan!"

"Honestly — your Kagami-nii-chan shows up and you've already forgotten your own sister?" Ijichi Seika put her hands on her hips and fixed Ijichi Nijika with a mock-stern glare.

Little Nijika peeled her cheek away from where she'd been pressing it against Tsushima Kagami's arm and looked over at Ijichi Seika.

"Oh. It's Sis."

Oh, it's Sis?

Just this morning she'd been so sweet, insisting on braiding her hair for her.

Ijichi Seika looked at the little girl who was now practically clinging to Tsushima Kagami like a little sister, balled her fist — and held it together.

"Nijika, you shouldn't treat your sister like that, okay?" Tsushima Kagami said gently.

"Okay, Nijika understands~" Little Nijika tilted her head up and gave him a sweet smile.

Tsushima Kagami smiled back and continued the introductions.

"And this is Nayotake-nee-chan."

"Nayotake-nee-chan, hello~"

"Hello, Nijika-chan." Shimizu Nayotake smiled and gave Little Nijika a small wave.

The classroom teacher came over, and Tsushima Kagami turned to her with an apologetic bow.

"Sorry for the disruption."

"Not at all," the teacher said warmly. "Now that all three of you are here, let's go over how the day will be structured."

The first activity of the morning was a talent showcase.

Ijichi Seika volunteered to go first. She pulled out her electric guitar, plugged it in, settled onto a small stool, and cleared her throat.

"I'm going to play some rock songs for everyone!"

The children watched with curious eyes.

Then Ijichi Seika's left hand flew into a wide barre chord, her right hand raked across the strings — and the distorted roar of the electric guitar exploded through the classroom.

The children immediately clapped their hands over their ears and scattered like it was a fire drill, ducking under the tables as far from her as they could get.

Ijichi Seika, completely in her own world, kept rocking out with full commitment.

"Big sis, what even is that?"

"I don't get it, I don't get it at all."

"It's so loud..."

The performance wasn't over yet, but Ijichi Seika finally noticed the children cowering with their hands over their ears as far away as they could manage.

She stopped, thoroughly flustered.

"You... don't like it?"

One little boy raised his hand. "Big sis, do you know 'Ultraman'?"

"Huh?"

A little girl chimed in. "I want to hear 'Oops, I Stepped on the Cat'!"

"I want to hear..."

The children erupted all at once, each shouting out their favourite songs.

The more Ijichi Seika listened, the more her confidence crumbled.

These kids' songs... she didn't know a single one.

"About that..." Ijichi Seika laughed sheepishly. "I don't actually know any of them..."

"Then let's teach big sis!" Little Nijika suddenly raised her hand with the proposal.

"Yeah!"

And so the session transformed into the children teaching Ijichi Seika children's songs.

Ijichi Seika sat there hugging her electric guitar — switched to clean mode — learning and strumming along as the children sang, her expression caught somewhere between exasperation and reluctant amusement.

Outdoor activity time.

Shimizu Nayotake was assigned to lead the children in games.

At first, Tsushima Kagami was a little worried. Nayotake was so quiet and reserved at the best of times — could she really handle this pack of high-energy kids?

He quickly discovered his concern was entirely unnecessary.

She was out there running circles around them — guiding the games with practised ease, handling every child that came her way without missing a beat.

"Shimizu-nee-chan is so cool!"

The sound of the children's laughter rang through the courtyard.

At the end of one round, Tsushima Kagami jogged over, slightly out of breath.

"Nayotake, how are you so good at this?"

Shimizu Nayotake tilted her head down slightly.

"I used to... work part-time as a childcare assistant."

"Huh?"

Tsushima Kagami's eyes went wide.

"You've done that too?"

He was at a loss for words.

A warrior of part-time jobs. Truly terrifying.

At noon, in honour of the Moon-Viewing Festival, a special activity had been arranged: the visiting students would join the children in making tsukimi dango together.

The kindergarten had prepared glutinous rice flour, water, sugar, and an assortment of moulds in various shapes.

The children gathered around the small tables, each given a little lump of dough.

Under the teacher's guidance, Tsushima Kagami and the others got stuck in alongside the kids.

Little Nijika carefully rolled her piece of dough into a ball, then held it up for Tsushima Kagami to inspect.

"Kagami-nii-chan, look what I made!"

"Not bad," Tsushima Kagami said approvingly. "Though it's a little big, don't you think?"

"Bigger means more to eat!"

"You know what, that's actually pretty solid logic." He grinned. "Let's make it even bigger, then."

With that, Tsushima Kagami combined his own ball of dough with Little Nijika's and kneaded them together. The already-oversized dango became noticeably larger still.

The children nearby watched what Tsushima Kagami and Little Nijika were doing and apparently thought it looked like tremendous fun — so they joined in.

"You can have mine too!"

"And mine, and mine!"

More and more children donated their dough to the cause, gathering around Tsushima Kagami and cheering him on as he kneaded the ever-growing ball.

Shimizu Nayotake and Ijichi Seika, busy with the other children on the far side, glanced over with curious eyes.

As the dango grew to a frankly ridiculous size, the children chanted in unison, voices bright with excitement:

"Bigger, bigger~"

Watching the enormous white ball of mochi growing under his hands, Tsushima Kagami suddenly recalled a certain GIF he'd seen online — two hands kneading a dough ball, set to some deeply unsettling chant.

Uh oh. This is getting a bit too on-the-nose.

He stopped abruptly.

The children all looked at him, confused.

Tsushima Kagami laughed it off.

"It's way too big to steam properly. So let's all make our own, yeah~"

He pulled the giant ball apart and redistributed the pieces to the children.

Everyone happily got back to work, pressing vegetable juice of various colours into their dough and shaping them into little animals.

Once all the dango were finished, the kindergarten teachers took them off to be steamed, ready to hand out as afternoon snacks after nap time.

After that, Tsushima Kagami and the others helped serve lunch to the children.

With lunch finished, it was time for the afternoon nap.

Except nobody wanted to nap.

"I don't wanna sleep!"

"I wanna play more!"

Tsushima Kagami was just opening his mouth when a little boy suddenly leapt up.

"Let's play Ultra-Realistic House!"

"House?"

Tsushima Kagami blinked.

"Yeah!" The boy pointed excitedly at Tsushima Kagami. "You're the dad!"

Then he pointed at Ijichi Seika and Shimizu Nayotake.

"You two are the moms! And we're the kids!"

"Hmm, one dad and two moms — isn't that bigamy?" came a voice from somewhere in the crowd.

"?"

"What's bigamy?"

"My dad says I have three moms," another child offered helpfully.

"My mom says it's only bigamy if you file the marriage certificate!" yet another chimed in.

Tsushima Kagami listened to the children's blissfully innocent — and deeply alarming — commentary.

Good grief. The parents at this kindergarten are something else.

And do gifted parents produce gifted children?

He felt a brief, genuine flicker of concern for the future of society.

Early childhood education really does carry the weight of the world.

May you all grow up healthy in body and sound in mind.

The other children quickly piled on, eager to join.

"Well..."

Ijichi Seika looked a little awkward.

Shimizu Nayotake's long fringe concealed whatever expression she was making.

"Nijika, Seika-nee-chan, and Nayotake-nee-chan are all very tired, you know."

"We can't keep troubling them, okay~"

Fortunately the teacher stepped in at just the right moment, declining on all three of their behalf.

With the teacher having spoken, the children reluctantly gave up, and one by one settled onto their floor mats, obediently getting ready to sleep.

Tsushima Kagami and the other two lay down alongside the children.

"Kagami-nii-chan." Little Nijika's voice came in a whisper from beside him.

"Let's play house too!"

"? Still want to play?"

"This one's different!" Little Nijika said with a grin. "This time you're the baby, and I'm the mom!"

"I want to be Kagami-nii-chan's mom too!"

The few little girls nearby had been listening in on their whispered conversation and now poked their heads out from under their blankets to get in on the action.

"Huh?"

Before Tsushima Kagami had a chance to react, Little Nijika and the girls dragged his blanket over and merged it with theirs.

Then they pressed him down, lying flat beside them.

Since some of the children had already fallen asleep, Tsushima Kagami didn't want to disturb them, so he went along with it and stayed put.

"Kagami-nii-chan, do you want a lap pillow?" Little Nijika whispered from beside him. "When I'm tired I always like lying on Mom's lap~"

"Thanks, Nijika, but the actual pillow is plenty good for me," Tsushima Kagami quickly declined.

"Okay then, I'm going to sleep now," he said.

The moment he did, all the little girls poked their heads out from under their blankets and stared at him.

"Wh-what is it?"

"Did Kagami-nii-chan forget to say something?"

"Say what?"

"You have to say I'm going to sleep, Mama!" Little Nijika and the girls chorused with matching cheeky grins.

Oh no.

This is nothing like Komoe-sensei — a perfectly legal loli-mama. These are actual loli mamas.

If he called out mama here, and a teacher — or worse, the head teacher — overheard him...

My social life would be over.

The little girls stared at him, unblinking.

Tsushima Kagami could feel it in his bones — if he didn't say something, they would stare at him all the way home.

He half sat up and peered around. Most of the children had fallen asleep; the remaining few were whispering quietly among themselves, not paying any attention to him.

He lay back down, looked at Little Nijika and the others, and very quietly said:

"I... I'm going to sleep..."

"...Mama..."

The word finally came out, and Tsushima Kagami felt his face go hot.

It really is true — in fiction, anyone can be Char. But in real life, becoming Char takes actual courage.

OK go, come on, come on~

OK go, come on, come on~

Hold fast to what we're feeling right now!

OK go, come on, come on~

OK go, come on, come on~

Courage — full burst!

Today's tally: courage points +1.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart, Mama's right here~"

One of the girls gave him gentle pats on the back.

"Do you want a lullaby?" another began humming an off-key melody.

Tsushima Kagami felt utterly mortified — and yet, inexplicably, surrounded by this many loli mamas, a genuine wave of drowsiness washed over him.

Am I already so deep in the bit that the atmosphere's pulling me under?

Surely it's true — with these things, it's either zero times or infinite times.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, warm and golden.

In his ears: the soft, childlike singing, and the gentle rhythm of small hands patting his back.

Tsushima Kagami closed his eyes.

And then, he actually fell asleep.

When he woke up, over an hour had passed — Shimizu Nayotake and Ijichi Seika had to shake him awake.

The afternoon was Tsushima Kagami's showcase — a kamishibai performance.

He'd come prepared. With theatrical mystery, he produced a stack of illustrated boards from his bag and arranged them in front of the children.

Then, deliberately dropping his voice to a low, gravelly rasp, he spread his arms wide as if to gather every child into an embrace.

"Mina-san... hajimaru yo~"

"The Dark Kamishibai is about to begin~"

He cleared his throat and held up the first board.

It depicted a rainy night — a figure in a straw raincoat, holding an umbrella, standing motionless by the roadside.

"This story is called... The God of the Umbrella."

He lowered his voice further, settling into an eerie, creeping cadence.

"One summer day, a boy named Kenta went to visit his friend Takeru..."

As Tsushima Kagami narrated, the boards changed one by one: a bus stop, a woman gripping an umbrella in her teeth, the warped cry of cicadas, children vanishing one by one...

The children had been excited at first, but their expressions shifted slowly. Eyes went wide. Hands crept up to cover mouths. Bodies edged quietly backward.

Then came the scene where the Umbrella God appeared at night — wearing Takeru's body.

One little girl burst into tears with a wail.

"I'm scared!"

The rest of the children broke into chaos.

"Stop! Don't tell any more!"

"I don't want to hear this!"

Even Ijichi Seika and Shimizu Nayotake, watching and listening from the side, had gone visibly pale.

Tsushima Kagami froze.

He looked at the board in his hand, then at the children clustered together in a trembling huddle.

"Huh? Don't kids love scary stories?"

"Not like this scary!" Ijichi Seika walked over and said.

Shimizu Nayotake slipped up beside him and murmured quietly, "Switch to a different story."

Tsushima Kagami put the Dark Kamishibai boards away with a sigh.

What a waste. I spent so much time carefully picking five stories and making these...

Oh well. I'll save them for Shizuku.

"Fine, fine. Good thing I came prepared."

He produced a second set of boards — these ones cheerful, colourful, and unmistakably sunny.

"Let's try a different story."

Hearing that there was a new story coming, the children's curiosity slowly drew them back in.

Tsushima Kagami set up the boards, cleared his throat, and launched in.

"Now then, everyone — this man here is called... Xiaoshuai..."

"Today he's going to meet a woman. Her name is... Xiaomei..."

"But Sangbiao is trying to stop him from seeing Xiaomei..."

With exaggerated flair, Tsushima Kagami narrated the plot of a comedy film in the style of a clickbait headline writer who'd had too much coffee.

As the story unfolded, the children gradually forgot all about their earlier fright and dissolved into laughter.

By the time he flipped to the final board, the classroom erupted in applause.

"Kagami-nii-chan, you're amazing!"

"Tell another one!"

"Yeah, another one!"

Tsushima Kagami checked the time, smiled, and shook his head.

"Next time. Everyone's parents are already waiting outside."

School was over.

Parents arrived one by one, collecting their children.

The three of them exchanged their farewells.

Little Nijika walked away holding Ijichi Seika's hand, but kept looking back over her shoulder at Tsushima Kagami every few steps.

"Kagami-nii-chan, you have to come over to our place next time!"

"I will."

"And tell us more stories!"

"Sure."

Little Nijika gave a satisfied nod and went off with Ijichi Seika.

Shimizu Nayotake prepared to leave as well — she had a part-time shift that evening.

"Good work today," Tsushima Kagami said to her.

"You too," she said softly. Then, after a pause, she added:

"The stories... were really good."

Tsushima Kagami blinked — and then smiled.

"Thanks."

Shimizu Nayotake gave a small nod, turned, and walked away.

By the time Tsushima Kagami made it back to the apartment, the sun had begun its descent toward the horizon.

Since the practicum had ended early and they could go straight home, and because kindergarten let out early, Shizuku and the others hadn't returned yet.

So Tsushima Kagami went to Hayase Kinue's room, thinking he'd have a chat.

Hayase Kinue welcomed him in with delighted surprise — and he discovered she was already in her apron, busy preparing sweets for the evening moon-viewing.

"Kinue-nee-san, let me help."

"Thank you so much, Kagami-kun~"

Hayase Kinue looked up with a warm smile.

"How was the kindergarten today?"

"Really good," Tsushima Kagami said, taking the snack prep from her hands.

"The kids were adorable."

"Weren't they~"

"Sometimes I think — wouldn't it be lovely to have my own child."

"Kinue-nee-san, you really love children, don't you?"

"Oh, it's more that sometimes being alone gets a little lonely, you know." She paused. "Having a little one around would make everything so much warmer, I'm sure."

"Ahaha, well, that's easy to say." She laughed softly. "But I haven't even had a boyfriend yet, so~"

Hayase Kinue kneaded the dough as she spoke, smiling to herself.

Tsushima Kagami glanced sideways at her, still no closer to being able to guess her age.

He settled for offering some reassurance.

"Kinue-nee-san is still so young, there's no need to rush."

"Easy for you to say~" She tilted her head. "But what if I really do reach the age where I need to worry — will you take responsibility, Kagami-kun?"

"Ah... well..."

"Pfft."

Watching his completely stumped expression, Hayase Kinue took the apron she normally reserved for when Tsushima Kagami helped her and tied it around him, then said with a laugh:

"I'll leave the sweets to you, Kagami-kun~"

"Dinner won't make itself — I'd better get started."

Dusk settled in, and a full, round moon rose slowly into the sky.

Yukinoshita Shizuku was the first to return. Finding the apartment empty, she came over to Hayase Kinue's place, found Tsushima Kagami there, and pitched in to help.

Before long, Tsukuyomi Komoe and Utage came back too.

The five of them spread out a large picnic mat in the courtyard — like a little camping trip right at home.

A low table was set up and covered with food, snacks, and drinks.

The evening was comfortably mild, the sky cloudless and clear — a perfect night for moon-gazing.

The five of them sat around the low table.

They sipped their drinks and shared stories, easy and unhurried.

The moonlight fell like water across the courtyard.

Now and then a light breeze drifted through, carrying the gentle chill of autumn.

Tsushima Kagami picked up a tsukimi dango and took a bite.

The soft, chewy sweetness bloomed across his tongue.

It was his first time eating tsukimi dango.

It brought to mind the mooncakes he'd never much liked back when he was small — every Mid-Autumn Festival, there they'd be, and there he'd be, not touching them.

A quiet pang of homesickness surfaced without warning.

It was the first time he'd ever felt this way.

Well, the old me was already a lone wolf who needed no one. One person was plenty.

Tsushima Kagami leaned back in his chair, looked up at the full moon overhead, and broke into a quiet smile.

Still being greedy. This right here isn't bad at all.

Beside him, Yukinoshita Shizuku had been refilling his drink when she caught the flicker of wistfulness in his eyes — that thin thread of melancholy.

Something in her chest tightened. She knew immediately what he was thinking.

I want to pull him into my arms right now and tell him — you're not alone anymore.

There's me. There's Mom.

But by the time she looked again, the expression was already gone — replaced by that easy, settled look of his.

She pressed her lips together and said nothing.

"Thank you."

Tsushima Kagami took the drink Yukinoshita Shizuku had poured for him, and then held a tsukimi dango out to her.

"Here, try one."

"We made them at Nijika's kindergarten this morning."

"First time I've made these."

Yukinoshita Shizuku took it from his hand.

She looked down at the dango, then up at the bright, easy smile on Tsushima Kagami's face.

She turned away and looked at the moon instead.

"Okay."

In the moonlight, the sweetness of the tsukimi dango dissolved slowly in her mouth.

And the person beside her shone brighter than the moon.

____

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