Tsukiyuki Senju was riding in a car outside the Imperial Bank. Earlier today, her father had an appointment to discuss a business deal with Citibank, but when the time came to greet the esteemed guests, her father still hadn’t shown up.
Honored Father had never before been absent from an appointment without reason. The man possessed an extraordinary persistent streak in his work. Tsukiyuki Senju immediately suspected he might be ill and promptly dialed Kyoichi’s number. Unfortunately, no one answered.
She then called the butler:
“Is Father sick?”
“Yes, Miss Senju. Usually, Lord Kyoichi wakes at five in the morning, but today he was still asleep at seven. I thought perhaps the master was overly exhausted from yesterday’s work and needed proper rest, so I planned to wake him around seven-thirty. But the moment I entered the master’s room, I noticed he seemed off.”
“Off how?”
“Like he has Alzheimer’s. The master was lying in bed, mumbling to himself, saying many names I’ve never heard before.” The butler paused, then continued, “However, I just contacted the master’s private doctor. He’ll arrive in about fifteen minutes to examine the master’s condition.”
“Alright, I understand. I’ll delegate the work matters here to someone else. Let Father rest well. I’ll arrive at his side within thirty minutes. Thank you for handling this, Mr. Umemura.”
“It’s no trouble at all. It’s my duty. Please, try not to worry.”
Hanging up the phone, Tsukiyuki Senju’s tears rolled uncontrollably from her eyes, hot and searing.
Her daughter, Rio, had once said that Kyoichi would die this year. Senju had long been mentally prepared for this.
But just now, upon learning her father was suspected of having Alzheimer’s, Senju still couldn’t contain the wave of sorrow.
She had thought of herself as the brilliant, strong woman of the family, participating in the Tsukiyuki Zaibatsu’s strategic expansion, capable of fighting like a man. But all of it crumbled to dust the moment she heard of her father’s failing health.
“Drive faster. I need to return to my father immediately,” Tsukiyuki Senju urged the driver, her heart ablaze with anxiety.
…
…
Tsukiyuki Kyoichi and the young girl were together in the elevator, gasping for breath. From the distant long corridor, those faceless creatures with semi-automatic rifles opened fire at the elevator.
Madness. Utter madness.
“Where exactly is this place? And what is your name?”
Tsukiyuki Kyoichi studied the girl beside him. She had stepped into the elevator on the 17th floor earlier, gotten off on the 72nd, and now here she was again on the 53rd floor. This place was simply too bizarre. Not just the faceless monsters, but even this girl before him struck Kyoichi as strange. Yet, he could tell she held no malice.
“Kyoichi… I told you, you would remember my name. I want you to say it yourself.”
The girl affectionately called him by his first name, “Kyoichi.” This caused Tsukiyuki Kyoichi’s weary old heart to unexpectedly start beating faster once more.
“You resemble…”
“Resemble who?”
“My daughter… my granddaughter… and my wife.”
The elevator doors slid shut and began its slow descent from the 53rd floor. In the private confines, only Tsukiyuki Kyoichi and the nameless girl remained. Kyoichi, knowing he was an eighty-two-year-old man, felt shame for his racing heart. To feel a fondness for this girl… it was utterly shameless.
If word got out, it would be a scandal ruining his family’s reputation.
“Do you like me?”
The girl tilted her head, looking at Kyoichi.
“As an elder, you seem like a very lovely girl,” Kyoichi said in a roundabout way.
“Kyoichi, you’re still the same as ever.”
“Don’t call me Kyoichi. You should address me as Tsukiyuki-san.” Kyoichi tried his best to feign authority. “And what, exactly, is your name? Why do you resemble my family members so much?”
“Why do I resemble your family? That’s a good question.” The young girl, wearing a light green kimono, flashed a sly smile. “What does Tsukiyuki-san think?”
“There are many people in the world who look alike. Thank you for helping me just now. What floor are we going to now?”
“The 32th floor.” The girl’s gaze seemed steeped in the past, her expression heavy with emotion. “Tsukiyuki-san, let me ask you a question. Do you still clearly remember the names of your daughter, your granddaughter, and your wife?”
“Of course, I remember them. I will remember their names for all eternity.”
“Then what are their names?”
Tsukiyuki Kyoichi furrowed his brow, about to speak but then hesitating. The harder he tried to think, the more his head hurt. If memory was a blank sheet of paper, then right now, it felt like an eraser was inside his hippocampus, wiping away his past.
He loved them so dearly. Especially his wife. Though they had their quarrels, every afternoon spent with her had been so utterly pleasant.
What was his gentle wife’s name exactly? And his daughter, and granddaughter… what were their names?
Ding!
“The 32nd floor. Tsukiyuki-san, let’s go.”
The girl naturally linked her arm with Kyoichi’s and pulled him out of the elevator car, with intimate familiarity.
The decor style of the 32nd floor was completely different from the 53rd. The walls were plastered with Doraemon posters. Arriving in such a place was truly embarrassing.
“Back then, Doraemon had just been published not long ago. I remember Tsukiyuki-san absolutely loved reading Doraemon back then. But you were always worried others would laugh at you, so you didn’t dare let on. Yet, every time you passed the bookstore, you still bought copies of ‘Shogakukan’.”
“Absolute nonsense.”
If it ever got out that the Patriarch of the Tsukiyuki Family had once loved reading Doraemon, it would certainly damage the family’s reputation. That was something only children read.
“So, you didn’t like Doraemon in the past?”
“No, I didn’t. I never read that sort of thing. Now, what exactly is this place?”
“You still don’t understand, Tsukiyuki-san?”
The girl led Kyoichi before a mirror.
“Tsukiyuki-san is truly handsome.”
The image of the elderly man was gone. In its place was a young, dashing, and spirited man in his prime. His gaze was resolute, his features refined and pleasing. Tsukiyuki Kyoichi was so shocked he couldn’t speak.
If this was a mirror, standing before it, you should see your own reflection bouncing back.
“How is this possible?”
He was eighty-two years old, without a doubt. Why was this happening?
The sound of a baby’s sobbing drifted in intermittently. Walking through the hotel corridor, Tsukiyuki Kyoichi still saw a multitude of guest rooms bearing “Under Maintenance” signs. However, one room’s door was half-open.
“Come, Tsukiyuki-san.”
“We’re going inside?”
“Naturally.”
The room’s interior was arranged much like a hospital maternity ward. A nurse, whose face was utterly blurred, was holding a newborn baby girl, carefully soothing her. Tsukiyuki Kyoichi felt a powerful sense of familiarity with this scene. In his long life, he had experienced an identical moment.
“That’s…”
“Kyoichi… do you remember now?”
“She is… Senju?”
…
…
“Honored Father, please, look at me!”
Tsukiyuki Kyoichi slightly opened his cloudy, aged eyes. He saw a woman in formal attire with a beauty mark under her eye, but all he felt was a sense of alienation. She tightly grasped Kyoichi’s hand, weeping bitterly.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Senju! Father… it’s me, Senju!”
The stern light in his eyes had completely dissipated. He stared dumbly at Tsukiyuki Senju, yet his thoughts had already drifted far, far away.
Senju was still just a baby girl, and he, Tsukiyuki Kyoichi, had only just turned thirty-two.
The private doctor standing to the side adjusted his glasses and spoke:
“Miss Senju, your father is exhibiting clear signs of cognitive impairment.”
