Etsudo Tatchibana: It's weird, you know? Looking back at everything. A year ago I was just... a girl with a cat and one best friend.
Kittysamma: Dont forget the adventure before that. How i showed the stars and what lies beyond. But you chose this, this life. And for me to be just a cat.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Yeah, yeah, you're not 'just a cat.' I know. But the point is... so much happened. And I don't think I've ever really sat down and thought about all of it at once.
Kittysamma: Then talk. I'm listening.
Etsudo Tatchibana: ...Okay. From the beginning, then.
Etsudo Tatchibana: First grade. I remember this girl sitting by herself, holding this plain boring eraser while everyone else had the cute animal ones. And she looked so... small.
Etsudo Tatchibana: So I walked up and put my carrot eraser on her desk. Didn't even say anything. Just... here. Take it.
Kittysamma: And she cried.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She SOBBED. Over a carrot eraser. And then she followed me home. And she just... never left. That was Tiana. That's how it started.
Etsudo Tatchibana: From that day on, it was always us two. Walking to school, walking home. Every single day for ten years. She's the most genuine person I've ever met.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Then high school happened. And suddenly our little world got bigger. Kana showed up first. New transfer, big smile, cracking jokes before she even sat down.
Kittysamma: You liked her immediately.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Everyone did. She was funny, loud, always deflecting. I didn't know yet what she was deflecting from. But yeah... she slotted in like she'd always been there.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And Kintsugi... my little sister. She found her own people at elementary school. Gen and Oyuki. Those three are inseparable now.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Zachary came later. Woke up in a rice field with no idea where she was. Different story for a different time, but... she found us. Or maybe you found her.
Kittysamma: She needed somewhere to land.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Late fall. New transfer student walks in. Morie Uratsagi. And I just... wow. Okay. Heart doing backflips. The whole thing.
Kittysamma: You were staring.
Etsudo Tatchibana: I was NOT... okay, I was. He was cool and composed and I was a mess about it. Tiana thought he was nice. Normal. She just waved and said hi like she does with everyone.
Etsudo Tatchibana: But I noticed something. The way his eyes scanned the room and stopped on Kana. Just for a second. And Kana noticed too. She looked away so fast.
Etsudo Tatchibana: I didn't think anything of it then. I was too busy being an idiot with a crush.
Etsudo Tatchibana: What I didn't know... was that Morie cornered Kana one evening. In an alley behind the school.
Kittysamma: He could see what she was.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Yeah. He has this... sight. He could see that her soul didn't match her body. That she was an alternate. Someone placed into a life that wasn't originally hers.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Kana was terrified. She thought he was going to take her away. Erase her. Report her. I don't know what she expected, but she was begging on her knees.
Etsudo Tatchibana: But Morie didn't do any of that. He made her his assistant instead. Said she owed him. And Kana... agreed. Because what else could she do?
Kittysamma: She was afraid of losing everything she'd built.
Etsudo Tatchibana: I found all this out later. Way too late.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Here's where it gets ugly. I had this crush on Morie, right? And Kana knew. She saw it.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And something about that... broke something in her. She started pushing Morie toward Tiana. Texting him behind my back. Setting up 'coincidental' hangouts between them.
Kittysamma: You didn't notice.
Etsudo Tatchibana: No. Because I trusted her. Every time I'd ask why Morie and Tiana were together so much, Kana would just say 'oh they're just friends, don't worry about it.' And I believed her.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Meanwhile Morie... he actually started falling for Tiana. For real. Because Tiana is Tiana. She's kind and warm and genuine and anyone would...
Etsudo Tatchibana: ...I don't blame him for that part. I blame what came next.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Christmas Eve. Morie confessed to Tiana. Told her he loved her.
Kittysamma: And Tiana...
Etsudo Tatchibana: Rejected him. She didn't understand. She's never felt that way about anyone. She tried to be gentle about it but you could see she was confused. Scared, even. Like she thought something was wrong with her.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Then I found out everything. On the rooftop, Morie told me the truth. That Kana had been pushing them together. That she'd been lying to me for weeks. And when I turned to Kana for an answer...
Etsudo Tatchibana: She had nothing. She just stood there with this look like... like she knew it was over.
Etsudo Tatchibana: I grabbed Tiana and walked away. I didn't say another word to Kana. Morie left on his own. And Christmas was ruined.
Kittysamma: That was the coldest night that year.
Etsudo Tatchibana: After that... everything fell apart. I stopped answering Kana's texts. Stopped looking at her in class. Morie disappeared into himself, wouldn't talk to any of us.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And Tiana... Tiana was stuck in the middle. Her two best friends wouldn't talk to each other, and the boy who confessed to her wouldn't even make eye contact anymore.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She broke down. Sat on her living room floor crying, asking her mom... 'Am I the problem? Is it because of me?'
Kittysamma: It was never about her.
Etsudo Tatchibana: I know that. But she didn't. She's the kind of person who thinks everything is her fault. And we let her think that. I let her think that because I was too angry to pick up the phone.
Etsudo Tatchibana: ...That's the part I can't forgive myself for.
Etsudo Tatchibana: But life doesn't stop just because you're hurting. Around that same time, Tiana's Sister... Amea... had her own thing going on.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Tiechi found a pregnancy test. Amea tried to hide it, panicked, but he wouldn't leave. He stayed. Told her he wasn't going anywhere.
Kittysamma: And Tiana?
Etsudo Tatchibana: Tiana was on the other side of the door. Confused. Scared. Didn't understand what was happening. But the next morning, Amea told her everything. And they cried together.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And you know what? That's what saved Tiana. Amea always there, and becoming an aunt. Having something to look forward to. She held onto that.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She texted me and Kana the same day. Said she wasn't going to lose us. Said we needed to talk. All three of us.
Kittysamma: She pulled you back together.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She did. Because that's who she is.
Etsudo Tatchibana: We met at the park. Sunday afternoon. Kana was already there when I showed up. She couldn't even look at me.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She bowed her head and apologized. Said she was wrong. Said she had no excuse. No 'but.' Just... 'I'm sorry. I hurt you and I'm sorry.'
Etsudo Tatchibana: And I... I was still angry. But I took her hand anyway. Because Tiana was standing right there with tears running down her face, and I couldn't do that to her again.
Kittysamma: Was it just for Tiana?
Etsudo Tatchibana: ...No. I missed her. I missed my friend. Even though I was still hurt, I missed having her around. The jokes, the energy, all of it.
Etsudo Tatchibana: It wasn't perfect. Trust doesn't come back overnight. But it was a start.
Etsudo Tatchibana: But Kana wasn't done. She still had one more person to face.
Etsudo Tatchibana: One morning she just... ran up to Morie in the middle of the hallway. Full crowd. Everyone watching. And bowed so deep I thought she'd hit the floor.
Kittysamma: Public apology.
Etsudo Tatchibana: In front of everyone. Morie turned bright red and dragged her to an empty classroom before she could make more of a scene.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She apologized properly. Told him she used him. That she was wrong. And then she hit him with one of her stupid jokes, and he... he laughed. Just a little. But he laughed.
Etsudo Tatchibana: He took her back as his assistant. Said he'd give her one more chance. And she took it. They started working together again, properly this time.
Kittysamma: She grew up.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Yeah. She did.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And then... Tiana. The last piece.
Etsudo Tatchibana: Morie was leaving school one day, walking alone like always. And Tiana ran after him. Down the steps, calling his name.
Etsudo Tatchibana: She told him... she doesn't understand love. Not the romantic kind. She might never understand it. But she doesn't want that to mean they can't be friends.
Kittysamma: What did he say?
Etsudo Tatchibana: He took her hand. Shook it. And smiled like... like it was the first time anyone had ever just offered him friendship without wanting something back.
Etsudo Tatchibana: And now he's part of us. The group. All of us. Kana, Tiana, Zachary, Morie, me. We're all... here.
Kittysamma: And where is 'here'?
Etsudo Tatchibana: Right here. This porch. This sky. Everyone's a little broken, everyone's a little better. And life goes on.
Kittysamma: And you would still choose this over the multiverse. You are truly one in a million.
Etsudo Tatchibana: ...Yeah. And I wouldn't choose anything else.