Disclaimers: I do not own the original story or the characters. They all belong to Kyoto Animation.
A number of clouds passed by on what would people normally call a pretty, blue sky. They hover above all souls living beneath, each oblivious of one another. Only one person seem to be taking notice of this beautiful scenery. She gazed up at the sky, and took notice of one particular cloud.
"Dera! Look up there! There's a cloud that looks like you!"
Upon hearing that name, a plump bird with predominantly white feathers with a touch of pink in the center fluttered down from the roof. Its eyes were affixed to the cloud that she pointed at.
"Hah?!" Dera squawked. "How is that supposed to look like me? I am not a big ball! This is a disgrace to me!"
"Eeeh... But you're big and fat, just like that!" She chuckled. "Haven't you looked in the mirror? You've gained weight again, Dera!"
Dera covered its mouth in its usual majestic manner and slowly attempted to fly away. "Ohohohoh young lady. What nonsense are you talking about. I am still the same. Healthy as always, even. Anyways, I'm off for my exercise routine. I'm still exercising, yes I am. See you later, young lady."
The black-haired female with twintails chuckled. Her delighted face, albeit slightly mature than before—was unexceptionally sweet. It was the face that everyone in the Usagiyama shopping district adored. Not only that, she has an extremely kind and caring personality. This might be a few reasons that Dera, the peculiar bird from a distant land chose her household as its temporary sanctuary during its search for a befitting bride for his master. Even though his master was already married for 2 years now, Dera was still a permanent resident in the Kitashirakawa household.
"Tamako, do you mind if grandpa join you?" An old man wearing a dark blue hakama called from behind. The grandpa with a humped back slowly approached Tamako with a plate of watermelons.
"Of course not! Come here, grandpa!"
Her grandpa sat beside her with his legs crossed, and later placed the plate in front of Tamako. She instantly snatched a watermelon and began chowing it down. Grandpa smiled at the sight of her happy granddaughter.
"Haha, you can slow down a bit, Tamako! The watermelons are not going to go anywhere!"
"Hehe..."
There was a silence between the two, and only the sound of Tamako viciously gulping down one watermelon after the next was audible. Out of the blue, grandpa reminded Tamako of something important.
"Tamako, you do remember that today is Hinako's passing anniversary?"
She nodded silently. "Yeah, of course I do. It's been 20 years, eh? Time sure flies by, gramps!"
"It sure does. Asides from Hinako, look at you now, Tamako! Already all grown-up! How old are you?"
"I'm 26, gramps! I'm 27 this December though!"
"Wow, you're so big now..." Grandpa replied in awe, as he scanned his granddaughter. Indeed, she looked so much different after a decade passed by. Her face had already matured and her eyes seem to reflect calmness. Even though her hairstyle remained the same for years, there was a big change between high-school Tamako and shop owner Tamako. Recently, she's not just the owner for a mochi shop. Tamako had became a mother of a pair of beautiful twins. Both of them were still a few months old. Since today the shop was closed, Tamako decided to take a half day off from her daily schedule and left her young 'uns in the care of her husband and his parents. She could find them in her in-law's house nearby.
For Grandpa Fuku, who witnessed this girl grew up from such a feeble baby, an innocent young girl to an independent wife and entrepreneur—this sight was unbelieavable. He could not imagine that someone as innocent and sweet as Tamako would eventually break free of her coccoon and became someone different. It's a good change, it really is.
"Grandpa?"
"Hmm?"
"Where's Anko and daddy? I've finally decided to close the shop for half a day and spend time with everyone, but I don't see them anywhere..."
"Ah! Mamedai is going to town to do some extra shopping. As for Anko, I'm not sure where she is now..."
"Hmm, that's strange." Tamako frowned. "Anko said that her train arrives at 1:30 pm, so she should be here around 2:00 pm. I hope nothing's wrong..."
Grandpa nodded in agreement. He turned around to see the numbers "15:10" on the wall digital clock. As each minute passed by, Tamako started to get bored. She began to take notice of the summer wind caressed her face softly, and gradually fell asleep.
*RRRRINNNGGGG!*
"Hoah!" Tamako sprang from the tatami mat she slept on. That sound was the ringtone of her cellphone. She flipped it open to see 5 missed calls from her dear little sister, Anko. Not long, the 6th call came ringing in, as if it was screaming at Tamako.
"Hello?"
"YEAH, HELLO THERE SIS! HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO CALL YOU BEFORE YOU PICK IT UP? YOU MEAN SISTER!"
"Hehehe, I'm sorry, Anko! I overslept! By the way, where are you now?"
"Overslept? O-oh well. You silly sis. That's why I called you, I wanted to tell you I'm running late! I had to take the train after my scheduled one because of work. Don't worry because I'm..."
"I'm...?"
"Look ahead, onee-chan!" Upon reflex, Tamako instantly looked at the main road ahead of her, and there she saw a stunning, young woman in a bright amber, long dress. That was no other than the adult Anko, 20 years old and is a student at college and a part-time model. Her sweet complexion stayed even after a decade, but perhaps she looked a lot more mature now.
"Anko! You look different since I last saw you! Did you cut your hair short?"
Anko, whom now had a similar hairstyle to Tamako's friend Kanna during highschool, grinned from ear to ear. "Do you like it? My manager said that it looks fresh on me, and it's really good for a summer look!"
Tamako nodded furiously in agreement and gave Anko a thumbs-up. "It's sooooo cute! I'm so jealous of you, now I want to have short hair too..."
"Nee-chan, no! Keep your hair the way it is! I...well... l-l..."
"What is it, Anko?"
"N-nevermind! Anyways, aren't we supposed to visit mom today? I already brought some the usual flowers in my bag. Is daddy coming with us?"
"Not sure," Tamako shrugged. "Grandpa said he's going for a shopping trip, and isn't that going to take some time? Ahahahah..."
Her little sister led out a sigh. "Oh well. Let us go by ourselves. Have you prepared the special mochi for her?"
"Sure did! Let me go grab them from the kitchen!" Tamako replied with a huge grin on her face, before running to the kitchen at the back of her small, traditional house. Seconds later she came back with a plastic bag, and within the bag was a small, pink box.
"Alright then, let's go, nee-chan. Grandpaaa! We're going first!"
"Be careful, girls! And Tamako, don't forget to wrap the mochi first before giving it to Hinako!" Their grandpa answered with a coarse voice heard from the living room.
The sisters headed out together, and thus their 15-minute walk to their mother's grave begins. Outside, the weather was hot and humid. A typical summer day in this part of the country. Sweat began to trickle down Tamako's forehead, then to her cheeks. Her eyelids were wet too in the process. She reached for a pack of tissues from the pocket of her knee-length kakhi pants, and took a sheet for herself. Of course, Tamako was not only the one being drenched with sweat and exposed to the summer heat. Anko was constantly fanning herself with a pink uchiwa with strawberry prints on it. The owner of Bunny Baths, which she just passed—was eating watermelons together with other elderlies. When they caught a glimpse of Anko, all of them waved at her with smiles on their faces. "Welcome back, An-chan!"
Anko smiled back to them in return. "Thank you very much!"
"Anko, now I want watermelons!" Tamako's wail interrupted the happy mood. "It's sooo hot out here!"
"Didn't you just had some?! And don't complain, nee-chan! I'm also sweating real bad here!"
"Okay, okay..." The big sister pouted. "Oh, by the way, have you bought some flowers?"
"Ahh!" Anko exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I was in such a hurry to go home, so I forgot! Let's just drop by at the usual, then?"
"Yeah, that'll do! It's been a long time since you saw him, and he missed you a lot!"
"Nee-chan, I'm only out of Usagiyama for 2 years now... But anyhow, I do miss him too!" Anko replied with enthusiasm.
"Who do you miss, Anko-chan?" A cheeky voice from behind said to her out of the blue.
Anko grinned from ear to ear. "Aaaahh! Kaoru-san! It's been a while!" She sprang into his arms, hugging him tightly. Hanase Kaoru, the androgynous in his mid-30s with wavy, blonde hair winced a little and let himself go from her arms.
"Owie Anko-chan! It hurts! You're such a big girl now, aren't you? You're so much powerful than I am now! How time flies, my my..."
"S-sorry..." Anko blushed, and fiddled with her fingers."A-a-anyways! Kaoru-san, can I buy some flowers? It's my mom's birthday today, so..."
His eyes turned slightly gloomy, but he managed to counter that with an upward curve on his bright, cherry lips. He hand-picked a bouquet of fresh, white lilies tied together with a red ribbon from a basket displayed in front of his flower shop. "Of course! In fact, I'll give them for free! It's a gift for you, Anko-chan and you too, Tamako-chan!"
Tamako smiled at him, flashing her rows of shiny, perfect teeth. "Thank you so much, Kaoru-san! I'm sure mom will love these!"
"Well well, you two better get going! It's almost sunset in an hour!" He said as he patted the heads of two grown-up ladies. It felt awkward at first, but to him, these two girls will always be kids in his heart.
"Alright then! Thank you so much, Kaoru-san!" Anko waved at him, followed by Tamako. Both of them then walked away happily, with an extra gift for their precious mother beyond the skies. As they approached the colorful, arched signboard up above that said "Please come again to Usagiyama shopping district!", more and more familiar faces greeted them. Most of them handed them snacks, which they gladly excepted. Their stomachs were filled even before reaching the exit.
Anko gazed at the signboard looming over her, and unconciously a smile was drawn on her face. She took a deep breath and said, "Nee-chan, I'm not trying to be cheesy or anything... But just walking past the shops in Usagiyama again makes me feel that time has not passed at all. Feels like it actually stopped here, really."
"Like a broken clock?" Tamako blurted out. Anko can't help but snort at her sister's stupid reaction.
"A broken clock? Really? Of course not! You stupid nee-chan. What I mean is that nothing has changed even one bit after all these years. Look at us, nee-chan! We're already in our 20s!"
Tamako pouted. "At least you're still in your early 20s, bhuu. I'm 26 and I have two kids already! Makes me feel like a grandma..." Then she turned a sharp right to the sidewalk of the main road, and Anko tagged along. If they continued for a couple of minutes, the graveyard should be on their right.
The little sister glanced at her in amusement. "Hee... It's unusual to see you complain about these things, nee-chan. Last time I checked, you're so carefree during your wedding day. How can you seriously run away from your grooming session to watch anime? I have to say, nee-chan, that was really hilarious! Ahahahah!"
"Heehee!" Tamako stuck her tongue out, and tapped the side of her forehead lightly.
There was a traffic light ahead, and the sisters stopped behind a group of high school students chatting gleefully. At one point in time, Tamako and Anko were like them. A group of happy, carefree and youthful students. Their only worries were their homeworks, chores, and occasionally trivial matters. Boys, friends, fashion, you name it. Of course, as this was a common knowledge to everyone—that Tamako did not experience romance or even cared about fashion until her twenties. She was lucky enough that her boyfriend, now her husband—was always in love with her since they were kids and patiently waited for Tamako until she finally realized his feelings.
"Hey, nee-chan, how's your life? Are your kids okay?" Anko asked, just before the lights turned green. Both of the girls then resumed on walking, keeping a distance behind the students.
"Yeah, all's good! Hima-chan and Go-kun are really healthy babies, so that makes me happy. Even though they wake me up at night, so me and Mocchi have to take care of them. Leaves us with very little sleep, eheheh..." Tamako laughed dryly. Indeed, after Anko inspected her sister's face, she did have a bit of eyebags beneath her marine-blue eyes.
"That sounds really tiring... Oh, and what are their full names again? I only remember their nicknames because you keep on mentioning them in your mails, but not their full names..."
"Himawari(1) and Gomasuke(2)! Ooji Himawari and Ooji Gomasuke!" She said with great enthusiasm. Mothers should usually be proud of their children, and Tamako was unexceptionally one of them.
"Woah! Those are quite pretty names. Despite being so mochi-oriented again." Anko replied, before suddenly smirking at her sister. "Heee... Now it's Ooji, I see... Cannot believe you're currently an Ooji too, nee-chan!"
Tamako gasped out of nowhere. "How come I'm a prince(3)? Anko, I'm a real girl!"
Her little sister's jaw dropped at her. Stupidity does run in every single vein inside Tamako, probably. "Nee-chan, please! That's like a really lame pun—wait it is not even a pun! The pronounciation and kanji for your surname now and prince is different(4) ! Oh my gosh, you stupid nee-chan..."
"Hehe, I'm sorry!" Tamako chuckled. "Anyways, we're here! Anko, can you hold the flowers for a while? I need to prepare the mochis for mom."
"Alright then." She nodded. The two of them entered the graveyard premises, and stopped at a tombstone with the name 'Kitashirakawa Hinako' engaved on it. Normally, people around here would incinerate the dead, store them in a box and place them in their houses, but some prefer to bury the bodies in these premises. Thus, there were no family graves as this burial method was not popular amongst everyone in this area.
Anko knelt down in front of the tombstone and rested the flowers on it. She lighted up a few incense, which filled the air with its unique sweet odor. Her eyes were shut as she paid her respects to her mom, while slowly moving the incense back and forth. Beside her, Tamako carefully scooped out two pink-colored mochis from the box she brought earlier. Her hand reached for two sheets of leaves inside the box. The leaves were used to keep the mochis clean for their mother's soul. After she placed the pink mochis adjacent to the tombstone, Tamako paid her respects too. There was a moment of silence between the two, until Tamako's slippers grinded the grounded as she stood up. Anko was up on her feet not long after. A tear slid down her cheeks, barely visible as it was camouflaged by droplets of sweat.
"I hope you like the mochi, mom! I made these together with Mochizou! Even though it's summer already(5), but dad told me that you really liked sakura mochis. So I insisted in making them this year!"
Tamako led out a sigh and smile compassionately at the tombstone. "Hey mom, this year has been really awesome! I know I said the same thing last year too, but it truly has been incredible! Well technically it's only 8 months down this year... Eheheh well, let's just not think about that! On April, I gave birth to your grandson and granddaughter. Yes, I do have twins, and their names are Himawari and Gomasuke. They're really cute! Himawari has Mochizou's hair color, and Gomasuke has my hair color! Then..."
Anko watched her sister closely as she continued to drabble about her life in these past 8 months. It was tiring waiting for her turn to talk under the blazing sun. Her heels started to ache and her dress felt heavy already. She had the urge to interrupt, but the intention finally was kept in the back of her head. Amidst the heat and the words constantly produced by Tamako, she came to realize something. Her eyes enlarged and she muttered,
"Thank you, mom."
"What did you say?" Tamako asked, turning her head towards Anko.
"No, it's just that... I never realized how she always connects all of us. I know, I did miss her anniversary last year due to college and never really appreciated her anniversary in the past years. But now after two years in Tokyo and finally coming back here... I never realized how precious this moment is."
"I understand, Anko." Tamako replied with a soft tone. "You're happy because you are reunited with us again right? Because it was mom's anniversary?"
Anko nodded sheepishly. It was unusual for her to say something like this, and as airheaded Tamako was, she was still able to appreciate her little sister's efforts. They're all full-grown women, anyways.
"Anko," She said, patting her head. "What reunites the Kitashirakawas and me, the former Kitashirakawa is not mom's anniversary. It is your conscience that does. You still have your love for our family, despite the distance right? I know Tokyo might be a glamorous place and all, but in the end, Usagiyama will always be your home and the Kitashirakawa name will always be with you! I know you miss our mochi too, hehe!"
Her little sister blushed. "A-actually, yes I do... Mochi in Tokyo is not as good as ours, even though I used to feel sick eating mochi daily... And woah that is big, coming from you, nee-chan. Didn't expect that at al!"
"Heehee!" Tamako cheekily giggled. "Maybe college made me a little bit smarter! Anyhow, never forget about us even though you're in Tokyo, ok? Me, daddy and grandpa are always going to be there for you, no matter what! If you want mochi, I can always hop on the train early in the morning and send you some!"
"Well, if you want to!" Anko replied at her, giggling at the end of her words. "Really, I can't believe how I've been infected by your love for mochi. Thanks a lot, nee-chan! I will only say this once but... I-I l-love you!"
Tamako bursted out in laugher upon hearing her sister's 'confession'. "And as always, I always love you too! And Dera too! And Mocchi too! And Grandpa and Dad! Of course Himawari and Gomasuke, also Choi, and the rest of Usagiyama shopping district will always love you!"
Notes
(1)Himawari means 'sunflower' in Japanese.
(2)Gomasuke is derived from goma, which means 'black sesame' in Japanese.
(3)Both pronounciation for the word 'prince' (Ouji) and Mochizou's last name (Ooji) are quite similar, so Tamako somehow confuses them up and concludes that Anko means that she is now a prince.
(4)The kanji for prince is 王子 and for Tamako's last name now (because she is married to Mochizou) is 大路.
(5)Sakura mochi is usually eaten in spring, especially during hanami.
Author's Comments
Hello you guys ewe;; I'm here with a family-themed fanfic! (plus cheesy stuff whatnot lol)
I know it might be a bit boring and all, but I just really want to get to explore a bit on Anko and Tamako. They are such loveable characters!
I'm a bit sorry for the lame Japanese pun I tried to use orz;; I-it might or might not make sense but it's up to y'all to decide! Have a good day, and I hope you enjoy this oneshot fanfic :D