Chapter 35: Daily Life and a Chance Encounter
Walking down the main street, Haruka's pace was very slow.
"Onii-chan."
A crisp, sweet voice rang out beside him.
"Alright," Haruka agreed helplessly.
He walked over to a stall and bought a skewer of takoyaki—mm, the kind topped with honey.
He handed it to Sora, who was waiting nearby.
With her silver hair, Sora looked incredibly well-behaved right now. There was a faint flush on her pale cheeks. She wore a white one-piece dress, her long hair tied up with a black ribbon, shining brilliantly under the sunlight. Her limbs were slender and delicate.
A single ahoge stood stubbornly upright on the top of her head.
She looked just like an exquisite doll.
She opened her pink lips slightly and bit into a takoyaki ball.
Haruka ruffled her hair.
Sora didn't resist the action like she usually did at home.
Maybe, this was his reward for taking her out shopping? He chuckled inwardly.
Not long after.
Another sweet "Onii-chan."
Haruka pulled out his wallet, accustomed to the routine.
This time it was a small cake dusted with dark chocolate powder. It looked quite good.
Then Haruka took the skewer with the last takoyaki ball remaining on it and ate it in one bite.
A moment later.
The familiar "Onii-chan" rang out again.
This time.
It was rolled ice cream.
Haruka finished the remaining half of the small cake in one bite.
Time passed slowly; the sun rose in the east and set in the west.
The sun gradually grew hotter.
Haruka let out a burp as he handed a tissue to Sora.
At this moment, a layer of fine sweat covered Sora's forehead.
A flash of heartache crossed Haruka's eyes.
Sora's health had been poor since childhood.
She needed to take medicine from time to time. It wasn't overly expensive, but it was frequent, which naturally cost a lot of money. The fact that his parents had to work away from home year-round was related to this matter.
"Let's find a place to sit for a while. The sun is too strong."
"Oh."
Sora hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
She actually wanted to walk around some more. The feeling of dragging her brother around everywhere was just too good.
Her brother wouldn't refuse any of her requests.
Only when he took her out to hang out like this would he stop making so many demands of her and instead listen to whatever she said.
But, whatever Onii-chan said, went.
A small arc curved up on Sora's smooth, pale cheek.
***
Approaching noon.
Convenience store.
"It's getting late. After we buy these, let's go eat, okay?"
Haruka asked Sora.
At this moment, Sora was procuring snacks.
Of course, she didn't dare to take too many.
Otherwise, even if her brother didn't say anything now, he would definitely confiscate them once they got home.
"Mm."
"What do you want to eat?! I remember on this street..."
Haruka paid the bill, asking as he picked up the bags and walked out.
But he saw someone walking in from the outside.
"Nishimiya?"
The newcomer was indeed Shoko Nishimiya.
She was accompanied by a girl who looked like a tomboy.
She seemed not to have expected to run into Haruka here, or perhaps she hadn't experienced running into an acquaintance like this before.
Shoko looked at Haruka with pleasant surprise, but her hands and feet were a bit flustered, signing something unintelligible.
The tomboy beside her looked at Haruka, then at Sora, and finally at Shoko, her expression seeming somewhat helpless.
She tugged on Shoko's sleeve and took a communication notebook out of her bag.
'Right, Kasugano-san can't understand what I'm saying!'
Shoko's face turned red instantly.
She pursed her lips and lowered her gaze, not daring to look into Haruka's eyes.
The moment her finger touched the notebook.
"No need. I understand."
"Hello, Shoko."
Shoko opened her mouth slightly, looking at Haruka in surprise.
Even the tomboy beside her looked a bit strange.
Shoko made a few more hand gestures, looking at Haruka with expectant eyes.
"Mm, I came out to buy some things too. And you?"
"Oh, you came out to buy notebooks."
"Haha, no need to say thank you. They were just notes; it was nothing."
"On Monday..."
"..."
"My house is on XX Street... You're on XX Street? That's not too far away..."
"..."
Beside them.
Yuzuru Nishimiya and Sora Kasugano watched the two chatting happily, seemingly having forgotten their existence, and both felt a little strange.
Sora's gaze became somewhat dangerous, and her expression turned cold, with absolutely no intention of hiding it.
Yuzuru's reaction was a bit more varied: first surprise, then relief, followed immediately by wariness.
Only after the two had chatted for a while did these two "accessories" remind each other of their presence.
"By the way, this is my sister, Sora Kasugano. She's a second-year in middle school this year," Haruka introduced.
Seeing Haruka introducing her, Sora nodded with a stiff face.
Shoko looked at Sora, feeling a bit strange. Being exceptionally sensitive to people's goodwill and malice, she sensed that her friend's sister seemed somewhat dissatisfied with her?
She smiled at Sora with a hint of ingratiation, greeting her.
Under her brother's gaze, Sora stiffly pulled up the corners of her mouth and waved.
Beside them, Yuzuru had watched everything. Before Shoko could introduce her, she spoke up directly.
"I am Yuzuru Nishimiya, Shoko Nishimiya's younger sister. Who are you?"
"I am Haruka Kasugano, your sister's classmate," Haruka said with a smile.
"Oh? A friend?"
"Of course."
"Oh." Yuzuru let out an "oh," kept a flat face, and said nothing more.
"Onii-chan, I'm hungry," Sora suddenly spoke up.
"Alright. Then let's eat out for lunch today."
After both sides said their goodbyes.
Haruka left with Sora.
Shoko gently waved her hand in farewell.
Her face carried a flush of excitement from the novel and anticipated event of randomly encountering and chatting with a friend.
Watching the backs of Haruka and Sora disappear at the end of the road.
Shoko's hand was still waving.
Yuzuru's mouth twitched, and she grabbed Shoko's hand.
"Stop waving. They're already far gone."
"I can't believe it. You actually made a friend."
Shoko signed: Of course, I am the big sister.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the big sister, you're the big sister."
Yuzuru responded absentmindedly.
At the same time, she was pondering in her heart: Was this Haruka guy she met today actually a good person?
Could he be playing tricks on her sister?
Thinking of some of the terrible things that had happened in the past, Yuzuru's gaze deepened.
She decided to investigate thoroughly.
Glancing at her sister, who was still excited and happy even now.
Yuzuru couldn't help but smile.
'Forget it.'
'Before I find any results, I won't tell the family.'
'You... dummy sister...'
***
On the road.
Haruka looked at Sora, who was sulking a bit.
"Alright, alright. I'll increase your snack quota for today by one-third."
"Hmph." Sora flicked her ponytail somewhat willfully and didn't speak.
"Increase by half."
"..."
Haruka narrowed his eyes.
"One-third."
?
Why did it go down?
"Half is half! Dummy Onii-chan!"
"Mm-hmm, I'm a dummy. By the way, it's one-third."
"..."
The sun was brilliant.
Two figures, one tall and one short, walked down the road.
Their two stretching shadows merged into one.
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