Saki (サキ)

"Like a coin has a front and a back..."

"...there are two faces to both things and people as well."

"Which face they happen to catch sight of..."

"...varies depending upon how the person sees it."

"There are people who would think this abalone looks delicious..."

"...and people who would think it grotesque."

"Depending upon your perspective, the truth that shows itself can be different."

"If it was a poison, could you see it as beautiful?"

"Or would you see it as beautiful because it was poison?"

Saki-chan.

Do you think this is a good color?

Any color is fine. Just paint using your favorite colors.

Ah Saki-san, I'm going to Kota-kun's hospital room.

What's the matter?

He hasn't been hooked up to his IV.

Ah...

- I did that already. - Eh?

Ah... thank you.

Hey, hey, Saki-chan.

Huh?

Do you think I did good at this?

Yeah!

It's very well done.

Kota-kun.

You really can't find your toy airplane anywhere?

It's gone. I've looked for it though.

I see.

I wonder if someone has taken it?

Who?

Who, I wonder?

Still, Kota-kun.

Don't you think you've been a tad boastful over it?

Eh?

"Even though it's not my birthday or Christmas..."

"...only I got a present."

"My older sister didn't; just me especially."

Such a thing is called arrogance.

"Nitta Family Grave"

Ta-dah! Here's your son's first magazine article.

Splendid, isn't it?

Even if he did have to write it in a rush to fill in an opening.

She said one word too many.

I hope it catches her eye.

The one you want to read it the most.

That's true.

Say.

Is it okay for us to go like this today, Hayato?

Yeah, it's fine.

Then... maybe we should have nabe.

Yeah.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

"The other day in a Shibuya locker, the remains of an abandoned baby were found."

"From an analysis of security cameras..."

"...the culprit was found to be a high school girl living in Tokyo."

"The Light and Darkness Of Baby Drop-off Boxes"

"The existence of baby drop-off boxes is currently causing controversy."

"There are worried voices saying it promotes

child-care neglect and abandonment."

"There are voices saying their very existence saves lives."

"It is very controversial."

"From here forward, this will be a personal story of the author."

"I have an older sister."

"But, I have not met this sister."

"On the contrary, I only became aware of her existence..."

"...upon the occasion of my mother's funeral, when she died 6 years ago."

"Before I was born..."

"...my parents, who had made a blunder while managing their factory..."

"...gave birth to a baby while suffering the trials of life..."

"...and so left it at the entrance to a certain hospital."

"They had left behind my older sister."

"I wonder just how much time she spent living..."

"...enduring the flickering snow on the asphalt?"

"A few years later, my parents, who had rebuilt their factory somehow..."

"...searched for my sister."

"However, in the end they couldn't meet her."

"From the moment I learned of my older sister's existence..."

"...I have been looking for her ever since."

"But..."

"...I haven't been able to find her up till now."

"If there had been a baby drop-off box back

when my parents abandoned my older sister..."

"Editorial Department - Nitta Hayato"

"Nitta Hayato" "I can't help but thinking about that."

"Hayato"

Nitta Hayato...

Hayato...

Even so, they write so resolutely, don't they?

Here, love letters from your self-proclaimed sisters.

Again, huh?

They come 'cause you wrote that kind of article. Your writing was too naive.

Nitta, just how were you brought up?

"Just how..."? Happily, like normal.

- Like normal? - Yes.

By the time I was born, the factory had been reorganized...

and I was able to get through to a University without any inconveniences.

Up until your parent's death, you didn't think there was anything strange?

Hmm...

I certainly didn't think there was this sort of secret within my family.

You could say kept it from me perfectly.

I didn't think it was just right there in front of me.

That's why it's too much just to say I'm sorry.

She had just been born at the wrong time and, even though we had the same parents...

only I had the normal happiness.

But what sort of life you lead ultimately depends upon yourself.

Because it's your life.

Please be careful.

With articles like this, there's a high risk of privacy exposure.

All sorts of people will call on you, after all.

I know.

Don't let yourself be deceived by these self-proclaimed "sisters."

I'll be fine. I'll make sure they take a verification test.*

Verification test?*

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad...

What's the matter, Rock King? (A pun on Iwaki's

name; "Iwa" means "rock," "ki" means "castle")

- It's being born. - Ah, your child.

Oi, Nitta! This, this and this.

- Please do a galley check on these. - Eh?!

Don't give me that, you! We're the same age,

but I'm the one having a child, aren't I?

All right.

- So long, I'm off. - Yes. Papa, get going.

Get going.

Ah. By the way, a guest has come for you, Nitta.

A guest?

They saw the article and seem to have come all the way from Osaka.

Um... I'm Nitta.

Hayato-kun?

I read this article...

and thought, "couldn't this be me"?

Ah, how'd your verification test go?

She was...

far and away younger than I am.

Well, it wouldn't be that simple, now would it?

That's true.

Well, I have been searching all this time without having found her yet.

Nitta Hayato-kun?

I...

am Saki.

Amihama Saki.

Your older sister.

"People remember pain far more than they do happiness."

"They remember the hurt far more than they do the injury."

"I'm sure those people don't remember, do they?"

"That they were meeting me..."

"...for the second time."

Heiwa Fansubs Presents: "Saki"

"Episode 1 "Drawing Near"

As soon as I read that weekly magazine article, I knew it must be me.

The birthday entered into my family register...

was probably the day I was abandoned.

When is it?

January 23, 1980.

I was abandoned at a hospital entrance in Shizuoka Prefecture on that day.

Shizuoka Prefecture?

Neither my Father or Mother came from there. Why Shizuoka?

I'm sure they just didn't want to abandon me on the borders of their own city.

I was picked up and placed into an institution right away.

My current parents were the ones who took care of me.

When I was a college student, I just happened to overhear them talking about it.

I have a question.

Did my Father and Mother leave you anything?

Yes.

What... did they leave you?

A charm.

Inside the charm...

two 10,000 yen bills were folded into a tiny ball and tucked inside.

I'm sure it was all the wealth they had then.

That's bingo!

Still...

Eh?

Well...

I wonder if it's genuine.

After all, the birthday fits...

she not only knew your parents but your uncle

had died and about the charm, too, right?

Well, that's true, but...

What wrong?

How do I put it? It's like there was no inspiration...

Or even a feeling of nostalgia from her...

There were no real feelings.

Well, even if we could say you're brother and sister...

that'd only be natural given it was the first time you'd met, wouldn't it?

Well, weren't you yourself bewildered at meeting her so suddenly?

Maybe so...

She knew Hayato himself was looking for her and she came to meet you.

Yeah.

For my next feature, I'd like to get Nomura-sensei's

views and opinions in there again as well.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind.

Yes.

Ah, about that case, huh?

Ah, let's see.

Ah, then...

Would it be fine if I sent them to you in an e-mail?

Yes.

Then, by next week.

What sort of people are they?

The parents who took care of you.