Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (カケラ)

Kakera: A Piece Of Our Life

Hey, I’ve got to get going.

I’m seeing her today. So let’s talk tomorrow.

Good morning, Haru. First period is cancelled.

Wow.

Is that cocoa?

Taste good?

Hello. My name is Riko Sakata.

You had a cocoa moustache.

Thank you… Sorry, I’m kind of sloppy.

Why "sorry"? Can I sit here?

Excuse me.

An iced cocoa with no ice, and a slice of cheesecake, please.

Make it a big slice, if possible.

Do you like cheesecake?

It’s OK.

Baked ones are better, right? They’re dense and rich.

I like the unbaked ones too. They’re fluffy.

Here’s your order.

That really is big.

Thank you.

This is surprisingly good.

Hey, try it.

What’s that look on your face?

Do you do this kind of thing often?

What do you mean?

Well…

Talk to strangers, like you are now.

Oh, no. I’m perspiring.

Look, I’m not recruiting for a cult. I’m not religious.

Nor am I a sex industry recruiter. I have a respectable job.

I’m interested in you.

Because you are cute.

I don’t always do this.

I just find you attractive so I came over.

If I let this moment pass, I’d never see you again.

Haven’t you ever felt that way about someone?

- Yes, I have. - Right?

I wouldn’t waste such a chance.

I said hello and now we’re talking.

Are you only interested in girls?

I like how girls feel.

I love to touch and I love being touched.

Girls feel soft and smell nice.

What’s your name?

My name’s Haru.

It’s not about if you’re a man or a woman.

You should have someone who you think feels good.

Right.

“To Haru"

Call me any time.

Call me any time.

Haru.

Why are you here?

I told you to call before you come over, didn’t I?

That was close.

We should stop seeing each other.

What are you talking about?

Hey, you have hair on your upper lip!

I’ve got to go to work. Want to walk with me?

Well, well…

How’s Minoru’s ear coming along?

Put your heart into it. Your work is unsteady.

You have to learn to sculpt with your heart.

Yes, Sir.

Well, well…

That’s your phone.

Oh, so it is.

Hello?

Hi, Haru!

Oh, my God, I’m so happy!

Oh, you did?

Hello.

- Sorry, I must go. - She’ll be right with you.

Riko, Ms. Yamashiro is here.

Sorry, right away.

Where are you now?

My lunch break is at 12:30.

Call from the cafe where we met.

It’s close to where I work.

See you soon.

Thank you for waiting.

I’m Sakata, your prosthetist. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. I’m Tohko Yamashiro.

We’ll begin with a consultation. Follow me.

“Tanaka Prosthetics"

You can pick them up if you want.

These are the ones I made.

Each one’s unique… that’s pretty obvious, I guess.

I’m so impressed that you made these…

Amazing…

- It’s so light. - It’s a new material.

As airy as a balloon.

Try this one.

It’s heavy.

It’s lighter than the real thing. No wonder boobs cause back pain.

I’m lucky I don’t have back pain…

I’m so happy. I never expected you to contact me.

I bet you thought I was crazy insane.

No, I didn’t, but it was kind of shocking.

I felt like I wanted to speak with you again.

Really? That’s great.

We’ll make good friends.

Riko, what do you do about unwanted facial hair?

Look.

I leave it to grow. Shaving stings so I hate it.

This way I can still get a milk moustache.

You’re right.

See?

You’re so lovely.

Haru.

You smell like an animal…

I want to know how you usually smell.

What’s wrong?

Whoops…

I got some.

Put your knickers in this.

Thank you.

Hey.

Let’s have a date now.

Okay?

But…how about your work?

No problem, I’m done for the day.

The world’s greatest animal… It’s great!

Of course it is! I want to ride one.

And then go around the world.

Yeah, let’s!

Elephant tusks never stop growing.

I could be a dental prosthetist and make elephant crowns.

You’d become world famous.

The Americans would put you in the Guinness World Records.

And in India they’d make a statue of you. How cool!

Aren’t those records British?

Look at the goat hair!

You’re lucky. I’d love to wear a skirt like that.

Skirts are so easy. You’d look great in one.

I can’t wear skirts…

They don’t suit me.

Don’t be silly, you’d look great in one, really!

- You’d look great! - No, I wouldn’t.

Really, really great.

- No! - Great!

That was a lot of fun.

Hey, goat-hair girl.

Goats are my friends.

They’re cute.

You want to marry one?

Marry a goat?

Where are we going?

“Sakata Dry-cleaners"

Here.

What can I do for you?

Oh, it’s you, Riko.

This is my friend.

- Hello, sir. - Hi there.

- Dad, where’s Mum? - She’s inside.

She’s eating with us tonight.

I’m Haru Kitagawa. Nice to meet you.

Likewise. I’m Riko’s father.

She knows that already, Dad.

Let’s go in the house.

Welcome. Round the back.

See you later.

Mum.

- Mum. - Riko, don’t shout.

Oh, hello there.

This is a friend. She’s eating here.

Nice to—

Don’t be formal. Come upstairs.

Your parents seem nice.

They are. There’s one more of us.

Come in.

Don’t just stand there.

Come and sit down, Haru.

This seems kind of strange…

What?

Do you really, really like girls?

It’s not that I like girls. It’s you I like, Haru.

It smells nice in here.

Men and women are all humans.

It’s only hard when we categorise ourselves.

Homo sapiens have 23 pairs of nuclear chromosomes per cell.

Among those pairs, there are sex chromosomes.

XX makes a female and XY makes a male.

So it comes down to this, “Do you have a Y chromosome?"

Answering “No" will determine if you are a man or a woman.

Women have a field where the crop grows.

It’s a crop field of X chromosomes.

In this field a seed is sowed called sperm, with X and Y chromosomes.

As the seed copulates with the field, conception occurs.

This may suggest that

the difference between a man and a woman depends on the sperm.

But I doubt that myself.

Maybe we don’t need to define ourselves as man or woman.

Maybe it’s as arbitrary as whether the zoo was open or not.

What we do know is that in the beginning

all humans start out being women.

Grandma.

I see you two are very comfortable.

Oh, my God, what should I do?