Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 8 - Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.2. – Yachii the Visitor

The first thing I saw when coming home from school was Yachii's round back. For whatever reason, she appeared to be sitting in the middle of the hallway. What was she doing there? Curious, I took off my shoes and went to have a look. 
Yachii didn't lift her head even when my shadow extended over her, leaving me to assume that she was too busy to notice me. 
I went ahead and gave the ribbon of hair—the one that looked like a butterfly had landed on her head—a quick pull. 
"Hmm?" 
A look of puzzlement could be seen on her face as she shifted her gaze into my direction. 
"Ah, if it isn't Shou." 
"You're reading a picture book?" 
That's what it looked like to me; the pages of the book spread out in front of her were filled with all sorts of colourful birds. One of them I recognized as being a parrot. 
"I received this from Shimamura." 
"Oh, right. Yeah. I remember her having this." 
Our dad had bought it for her back in the day. Though the bird book was the one that Yachii was currently looking at, I was pretty sure that the series also contained similar entries that had to do with fish and reptiles. There existed an insect book too, but because Sis hated bugs, she'd never opened that one. 
"I must get to know the planet I'm visiting, you see." 
She followed this statement with a strange laugh, almost as if she was making a promise of some sort. Personally, I was of the opinion that there were plenty of other matters she should look into fixing first. Like her hair, for example. 
"Why are you reading a picture book in the middle of the hallway?" 
"Why not? The contents are the same regardless of where I read it", Yachii replied, sounding like she didn't find it to be all that big of a deal. I suppose there was a certain bit of truth to what she was saying. 
Putting aside whether they were correct or not, there was no denying the fact that her viewpoints managed to always be unique to her. 
Yachii continued staring hard at the pictures of birds before her. Given her usual self, she sure was being motionless here. It was only the butterfly on the back of her head that slowly flapped from side to side. For whatever reason, I decided it would be a good idea to stick my finger in the hole found in the middle of said butterfly. 
"You having fun?" 
No reply came. 
"You like birds?" 
"I'm studying." 
This time, I was given a reply. A cold one. 
"Hmm..." 
This wasn't fun at all. Carrying my backpack with me, I began making my way towards the kitchen. 
The person I found there was none other than Mom. She was currently refilling the pepper jar. As indicated by the bag from the supermarket next to her, she'd just gotten back home after buying groceries. 
"I'm home." 
"Ah, welcome back." 
"Give me something sweet." 
This sudden request of mine prompted Mom to turn my way. 
"Sweet, huh? Sure thing. Palms up", she stated after a quick glance at the shelf. Curious as to what she was going to give me, I held out my hand, only for her to add: "Both of them." 
Really? She was going to give me that much? Feeling ever more curious, I did as I was told. However, as it turned out, I'd had the slightly wrong idea. 
"Here you go." 
Without a sound, my palms were painted white. 
"...This is sugar." 
"Yes? It's sweet." 
A satisfied grin formed on Mom's face as she licked her own finger clean. 
I'd expected candy, but no. This was what I got. Plain sugar. 
"Hmm, I wonder. What about Yachii..." 
Looking to make the best out of this bad situation, I quickly turned around. I then called out to Yachii, still sitting exactly where I'd left her. 
"Yachii! Come have sugar!" 
...Was this going to work? 
"Hooray!" 
Just like that, Yachii jumped up. So, it did work. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit surprised. 
Yachii came running at me head first. With large, long licks, she proceeded to run her tongue up and down my palms. It kinda tickled me when her cold tongue touched the gaps between my fingers. A few moments later, my palms had been rendered completely sugarless. Not even a single grain of it remained. It had all been sucked away by Yachii. 
A layer of sugar could be seen covering the sides of her mouth as she lifted her head. 
"Hmph. Just a second." 
I placed my backpack on the floor and pulled out a tissue. Right as I'd started wiping Yachii's face clean, Sis walked out from our room. She was carrying a bag—two in fact—which she hauled near the front door. 
"Oh, you're home", she greeted me on the way back before once again disappearing into our room. 
It didn't seem like things were going easy for her. 
"She's leaving on a trip tomorrow, if you didn't know." 
"I see, I see." 
Between licking up the remaining sugar, viewing the picture book, and responding to me, Yachii sure had a lot on her plate. It almost seemed as if her eyes, mouth, and ears were all moving separate from one another. Well, not that they didn't always do that. 
For her, those things appeared barely connected. 

"Say, Yachii. Have you ever travelled anywhere?" 
I only thought about it after I'd asked the question, but her being here right now was pretty close to that, wasn't it? 
"You could say that I am travelling right now." 
"Right..." 
"I come from the west. Far, far from the west", she stated before pointing her finger at the wall to our left. Was that way west? I honestly had no clue. 
"Far? As in, how far?" 
"So far it'd take you around seven million years to get there by walking." 
"R-Really?" 
No way could I even begin imagining such a distance. 
"I wonder, if I were to travel somewhere that far away, would I find others like you?" 
"You can find them far closer as well." 
"Umm, no, I don't think so." 
"Would you like to study with me, Shou?" 
Come, she gestured, having now returned to the picture book she'd left on the floor. 
"Hmm. Well, why not." 
As long as we were together. 
"Personally, I prefer fish to birds, though." 
This remark of mine earned a strong reaction from Yachii. 
"Just a moment, please", she stated before picking up the book and running off with it. Where was she heading? To the room Sis and I shared. A short moment passed, after which Yachii returned. The one difference was that the book she was holding was now blue. 
"I had it changed." 
"How considerate of you. Thanks." 
For whatever reason, I said that in the same way that Yachii spoke. That was something that'd been happening to me lately; whenever I let my guard down, I'd more often than not end up assuming some of her mannerisms. 
Not good. Not good at all. 
Yachii sat down where she'd been sitting earlier—that being the middle of the hallway—before spreading the book open. 
Myself, I sat down behind her, only to find that her shoulders blocked me from seeing anything. 
"I can't see, Yachii." 
"Ohh." 
I'd just been about to squeeze myself next to her when without a warning, Yachii leapt up. 
"In that case, you sit here, Shou", she stated, all the while pressing my shoulders down and pushing me into the spot where she'd been sitting just moments earlier. Wasn't this exactly the same situation, just with our roles reversed? I had no time to think about that as soon enough, Yachii climbed onto my back. Those same particles of light that usually floated around her head now filled my field of vision. 
Interesting thing about Yachii: Her body always felt cool to the touch. 
"Now, let us begin studying." 
"Before that, are you sure you can see the book?" 
"No need to worry about me. I don't actually use my eyes to see." 
"Huh? What?" 
I quickly turned around, prompting Yachii to point at one of her eyes and offer me an explanation: 
"I built these eyes only to match those of earthlings. They have no practical use outside of letting me blend in." 
Hahaha, she laughed. What did she mean by that? I had no idea. 
Apparently, these eyes that stared back at me were only there for show. 
Every now and then, she'd blink. Not only that, behind my reflection, you could see an opaque layer of moisture. Hmm... I just didn't get it. 
"In that case, where do you see from then?" 
The book, the sugar. Me. How did she see those? 
A grin appeared on Yachii's face. 
"Right here", she stated, all the while tapping her head. It was as if she was pointing at its very centre. 
"Really..." 
"Yep." 
It seemed that was all the explanation I was going to get. 
Not that it helped me understand the situation one bit. 
"......" 
I was having a really hard time focusing on the book. 
Yachii's appearance wasn't the only strange thing about her. Far from it. 
My mind drew a blank when I tried thinking about that. I was plunged into darkness. It was honestly a little scary. 
And yet, all it took from her was a single smile, and I forgot about everything else. I was sure that other people felt the same way as well. 
Throughout the world and its many animals, you could not find the most adorable of them all in any book. 
No, she was right here behind my back.