The two got out of the car.
Izumi shut the door, took two steps…
…and stopped.
She looked.
Looked again.
Then opened the back door of Harumi's car.
— …why do you have AN ENTIRE LIFE in here?
Harumi looked at her like this was the most normal thing in the world.
— Because the car's basically abandoned already.
— Harumi. — Izumi pointed. — There's a backpack, a jacket, toys, a pot, a broken umbrella, a bag with… is that rice?
— Oh, that's for emergencies.
— Emergencies like WHAT?? A war??
— What if someone gets hungry? — Harumi shrugged. — Besides, if I bring it home, it'll just take up space in the bedrooms.
— …and what's wrong with that?
— It already looks messy enough.
Izumi stood there in silence for a second.
Then slammed the door shut and stared at her sister with a look that clearly said:
This changes absolutely nothing.
— You are a social phenomenon.
— Thank you.
They started walking toward the stores, and Izumi immediately brought up the topic that actually mattered.
— So. Mom's birthday. Two days from now. September ninth.
— NINE NINE — Harumi repeated dramatically. — Such a pretty date and I almost forgot.
— Let's think calmly — Izumi said. — Clothes?
— She complains she already has too many.
— Kitchen stuff?
— She'll say, "You shouldn't have."
— Perfume?
— She's worn the exact same one for twenty years.
— Jewelry?
Harumi thought for a second.
— She'll call it too much… and then secretly wear it.
— So we're at a dead end — Izumi concluded.
They went into one store.
Then another.
Then another.
They commented on EVERYTHING.
— This looks too young.
— This looks too old.
— This looks like a mother-in-law gift.
In the end…
absolutely no decisions.
— We decided NOTHING — Harumi said, dropping onto a bench.
— But we spent emotional energy — Izumi replied. — That counts for something.
They sighed at the exact same time.
— Mom is impossible — Izumi declared.
— Genetics — Harumi replied without thinking.
First store: nothing.
Second store: argument.
Third store: almost.
— We'll decide later — Izumi said. — Right now, we have a real problem.
Harumi froze.
— What real problem?
— Mei's birthday party.
— Mei's birthday party.
Harumi needed a full system reboot to process that.
— I DON'T KNOW HOW TO THROW A KID'S PARTY — Harumi panicked. — What do kids even like? Clowns? Candy? Loud music? I was a weird child!
— Kids like colorful stuff!
— Not enough.
— Water?
— Better.
— Games?
— NOW we're talking.
Izumi stopped in the middle of the hallway.
— Themed party.
— Theme of what?
— The cartoon she LOVES.
Harumi's eyes widened.
— PIPO & THE GELATIN PLANET?!
Izumi smiled.
— Exactly.
Pipo & the Gelatin Planet:
a slightly chaotic cartoon about a round, colorful little creature who kept landing on the wrong planets and somehow solved everything with friendship, snacks, and deeply questionable decisions.
Mei was OBSESSED.
— Mei would absolutely LOSE HER MIND — Harumi whispered, emotional.
— We'll buy colorful decorations, balloons, cups… — Izumi started listing things.
— And costumes!
Izumi narrowed her eyes.
— Costumes for the kids.
— …obviously.
Quick cut:
Shopping cart full.
Balloons.
Cups.
Plates.
Decorations.
Things that might be useful.
Things that definitely wouldn't be useful but were simply too cute to leave behind.
— How many installments can we split this into? — Harumi asked at checkout.
— Five.
— That works.
— Harumi… — Izumi tried.
— That works.
Result:
Harumi was now officially extremely broke, but smiling like she'd just won the emotional lottery.
On the way back, Izumi led the way.
— If I wasn't here, you'd already be lost.
— I do NOT get lost!
— You walked into the wrong store thinking it was another one.
— Technical details.
Somewhere between all the shopping bags, Harumi suddenly exploded with excitement:
— Izumi, you will NOT believe this… Takeru made amazing friends!
— Seriously?!
— SERIOUSLY! And he didn't even correct one of them when they called me his mom!
Both of them froze in the middle of the street.
— AAAAAAAH — Izumi whisper-screamed. — THAT IS SO CUTE.
— I KNOW!!
Tiny jumps.
Laughter.
A brief public disturbance.
— Anyway — Izumi returned to normal in exactly three seconds.
They reached the car.
Harumi opened the door.
— Good thing you paid for everything — Izumi commented. — I think I forgot my wallet.
— Of course you did.
Harumi was about to get in when Izumi suddenly froze.
— Harumi.
— What?
— …don't get in yet.
Izumi pointed.
The tire.
Dead.
Defeated.
Humiliated.
Silence.
— …was it always like that? — Harumi asked.
— No.
— Oh.
Izumi crossed her arms.
— Good to know chaos runs in the family.
And somewhere in the very near future, two inflatable Pipo from Gelatin Planet costumes were already destined to exist.