It was after 7 p.m. when Wa finished work.
　He was able to finish early because he had been engaged in the early morning shift.

　We quickly finished dinner with onigiri (rice balls) that we bought at a convenience store and headed to pick up Tenri.
　Partly because I had contacted her in advance, Tenashi was waiting for me in the parking lot of her apartment.　

"...Good evening, Hayakawa-san.
Good evening, Amani. You look like you're ready to go?
Yes. I'm ready to go.

　Between Saturday's talk and Sunday, Tenashi was determined to tell Tenna everything without hiding it.　
　Wa could tell that from her expression and urged her to get into the passenger seat of the car without stepping in further.
　She complied without refusal, and after making sure her seatbelt was fastened, Wa stepped on the accelerator to start the car.

'How's Tenna?'
'As I reported in my message on Sunday, I'm cool with it, for one thing. I asked the black sound at noon how he was doing and it was the same.
Well....

　Wa returned Amari's question politely, as if to reassure her.
　She heard those words and let out a breath of relief.

　She was worried about Tenna's condition even while she was at work, but from Wa's point of view, she felt the same way about Tenri.　
　She was greatly distraught on Saturday, and she had confirmed that she had recovered somewhat from the conversation with herself.

　However, I was worried that she would get herself into a corner with her thoughts afterwards, but I was relieved to learn that she was able to handle the blurriness in her mind well.

　The conversation was in moderation when the car arrived at the apartment where Wa was renting a room.

　From now on, Tenashi is going to meet and talk with Tenna inside the room, but when she puts her hand on the doorknob at the entrance to the room, she stops moving.
　Her mouth was cupped shut tightly and her hand seemed to be trembling slightly as well.　　

''........''
Are you nervous?
'Of course I don't like the thought of being rejected again.

　I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I'm not going to tell you what to do.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

　In other words, the reason why she is hesitant to talk about it in such a situation is that she is not sure if it is right to start a unilateral conversation.

　Of course, Naturally, Kazu also sensed that concern.

''It's okay. Amana-chan will listen to Amari properly.''
.....

　That's why I push Amari back.
　It was a word because he believed in the bond the two had spent as parents and children.

　At his words, which were not anyone else's, Amari opens the door with a sure heart that had been wavering.　

''Ah, it looks like Aniki is back.''
"I'm going to see my brother back in town.

　Along with the faint sound of talking from the living room, Tenna came out into the hallway.
　As soon as she turned her gaze to the doorway to greet Wa and saw Tenashi's figure, her eyes widened for a moment and she stiffened.

''Tenna........''
Ma..........ah......

　In response to Tenashi's call, she said 'Mama' as usual, and Tenna held her tongue.
　She was unsure if she should call them that because she knew that they weren't really father and son.
　At least he doesn't seem to be unable to listen to her as he doesn't try to run away from this place.

　For that reason alone, Amari let out a breath of relief.

　===.

　Since they couldn't talk in the entrance or hallway, they decided to move the place to the living room to start talking.
　The seating arrangement was that Kazu would sit next to Tenna, with Tenashi and Kuroone-sitting across from her.

　

''──I'm sorry.''
Eh....

　The apology made Tenna's rurid eyes widen and she was immensely disappointed by the apology.
　She hadn't the faintest idea that Tenashi would apologize to her.

''While I told you that lying is wrong, it is true that I myself lied to Tenna that I was her mother.
I...

　Tenna's expression is distorted with sadness at the fact that she is once again confronted with this fact.

''Hey...''

　As soon as she did, Kurone tried to open her mouth, but Wa stopped her from doing so by pointing his palm at her.
　When her sister glares at her, wondering why she doesn't stop, Wa just shakes her head silently and doesn't try to say anything.　
　In the meantime, Tenashi's words continued unhurriedly.

'From Tenna's point of view, it's as good as a betrayal. It's only natural for you to blame me for such a thing and hate me.''
....

　In contrast, Tenna was unable to say anything.
　She has the same desire to apologize.
　But what Tenna said is also her own unmistakable state of mind, so she can't deny it.

　Tenna's stagnant state of mind makes Tenashi continue with a painful feeling in her heart.

''So........''
?
I'll at least tell you the truth.

　As she said this, Amari took something out of her bag and gently placed it on the table.
　The three of them leaned forward to check it so they could see it better.

''This is........''
Photo?

　It was a single picture, as Blacktone muttered.

'My dad and...eh?'

　The number of people in the picture was three, with two women standing between one man - Tenna's father.
　And the moment they saw the latter two, all of them, except Tenashi, were speechless.

　One of the women in the picture was Tenashi.
　And the person on the other side of her was Tenna's real mother........

　''──So that's what you mean........''

　Wa frowns and utters an inexplicable conviction.
　Not only who was Tenna's real mother, but why did she interact with her father?
　Why was Tenashi taking her in and raising her... because the answer to that question was shown in this one picture.

"...I'm not Tenna's real mother, but I don't have a blood connection...

　To the three who could not hide their uneasiness, Amanashi slowly tells them the details of the photo.



















''──Heart(──)mother(──)and(──niece(──)and (──)niece(──)and (──)niece(──)and (──...)

　The aunt - in other words, Amari is the other woman's sister.
　However, that's not the only thing that surprised Wa and the others.
　They couldn't hide their astonishment at the woman's appearance.

　After all.....












　It's a good thing that you can't get away from the fact that you can't get away from the fact that you can't get away from the fact that you can't get away from the fact that you can't get away from the fact that you can't get away with it.