Page 495

Setting aside those unrealistic thoughts for the moment, Narumi waited until the girl ran up to him before tentatively speaking:

"What's wrong? Didn't you go to get the keys?"

—Sure enough, I didn't recognize him!

With a hint of joy in her eyes, Misaka Chuka coughed twice as if nothing had happened, put her hands behind her back, and tried her best to imitate her older sister's tone and expression.

"Sorry, I only realized halfway there that the keys seemed to be in my pocket..."

"Oh, I see. You're so careless."

Narumi smiled, but only he himself knew how complex the meaning behind that smile was.

He gently placed his palm on her head and rubbed it back and forth as usual—her hair was indeed not as good as that of "Triangle Hatsuka".

The reactions also differed.

At first, she trembled slightly as if nervous, then slowly relaxed, her hesitant gaze casually drifting across the surrounding scenery.

She seemed to have never been so close to a boy before, so she could only pretend not to know how to react.

—To be honest, Narumi is also a little unsure how to deal with her right now.

Should we expose them directly? Or continue to test the waters?

As the mission progressed, his guesses became clearer—but he never considered how to face the real mission target.

To encounter something in such a bizarre situation on the very last day—if this were an animation script, he would definitely kick the writer and director's butts hard with his size 42 shoes.

...In short, let's ask the most important question first.

"Speaking of which, you have a younger sister named Chuhua, right?"

"Huh? Yeah." Misaka Hatsuka was slightly taken aback. Although she didn't know why he suddenly brought up her, she still nodded in response. "Hatsuka and I are only a year apart, but she's just as cute as me! What's up, do you want to get to know her?"

As she said this, she couldn't hide the smile on her lips, and the eager light in her eyes made Narumi chuckle, as if he were seeing a child proudly boasting.

"No, I was just suddenly curious about something..." he asked casually, "Does Chu Hua usually call you 'sister'? Or does she just call you by your real name?"

Misaka Hatsuka thought for a moment, without a trace of doubt, and answered directly, "I probably call you 'older sister' more often, but lately I feel like I'm losing my authority, and now people basically just call me Hatsune Miku!"

"Hatsune Miku? Oh, I see..."

Having received the answer he wanted, Narumi nodded in satisfaction.

Chapter Eleven: The Promised Kiss

She even said she "feels like she's losing her authority lately"...

If Misaki Miku knew that her sister talked about her like this in front of others, she would probably have mixed feelings.

Narumi casually remarked, then asked curiously:

"Do you sisters have a good relationship?"

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, Misaka Chuka fell into a brief silence with a subtle expression.

Under Narumi's slightly surprised gaze, she lowered her eyes to look at the ground, her originally lively and bright eyes seeming to have been tinged with a hint of gloom.

"I guess it's alright?"

The smile remained, but the tone of voice became somewhat strained, clearly indicating some unspeakable difficulty.

Not every little girl is like Miku Miku, with her precocious and reserved deep thoughts.

Wearing one's heart on one's sleeve and unable to hide one's thoughts—this is how a normal ten-year-old girl like Mikasa Misaki behaves.

"Should?" Without bothering to read the room, Narumi pressed on, "But haven't you been taking care of her these past few days? You've even helped her with all sorts of housework and work."

Misaka Hatsuka immediately looked up, hastily trying to explain, "That, that's because—"

I was sick and couldn't move, so my sister was told by Mom and Dad to do it!

If we really have a good relationship, why won't she tell me where you're meeting today?

—In those moments when words that are almost self-destructive are about to slip out.

She met the eyes of the boy who was squatting in front of her, so that their eyes were level.

Time seemed to stand still, and consciousness seemed to vanish.

Those obsidian-like, gentle, and bright eyes gazed at her calmly yet intently, taking away all her thoughts.

Even when you're out playing, you're always worried about your younger sister, who's lying in bed with a persistent fever...

“If I hadn’t dragged you around everywhere, you were planning to spend your entire precious summer vacation on your sister, right? You didn’t even think about what you would do after your sister recovered.”

"Hatsune, a sister who worries about her younger sister to this extent—can that really be considered a bad relationship?"

Sankaku Hatsuka stood there, speechless, her eyes wide with astonishment and shock.

"I……"

Without expecting an answer, Narumi simply patted the little head and smiled warmly again.

"Think about it carefully."

"Family members are very important."

The blinding sunset softened in his eyes, like a clear pond.

Sanko Chuka bit her lip, and after regaining her senses, nodded earnestly and forcefully to him.

Narumi smiled with satisfaction.

Unfortunately, this is a lie.

Aside from the day she confessed, Miku Miku during their date, as if afraid of spoiling his mood, had always deliberately avoided topics related to her sister.

There might be some worries, but they were definitely not as exaggerated as I made them out to be; in fact, they were mixed with a bit of inferiority, envy, and alienation.

Regardless of what Misaki Miku thinks, at least for her, the bond between the sisters...

Actually, it's not much better.

But Narumi really didn't want to be the spark that ignited the sisters' quarrel, and she certainly didn't want to have to deal with the girls' romantic entanglements before leaving.

Using lies to ease the tension between the two women was the most appropriate way he could handle the situation.

In retrospect, the results are indeed quite good.

I don't know if it's because children are easier to fool, or if people are just inherently easy to deceive.

Sanka Chuka had no doubt about his words. After carefully considering them, her expression and body gradually relaxed, and a naive and lovely smile returned to her lips.

"I see..."

"As expected, I knew my sister wasn't the kind of bad woman in TV dramas..."

"Luckily, she didn't realize I misunderstood her. I can still pretend I don't know anything..."

Narumi pretended not to hear her muttering: "What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing!"

She answered loudly as if trying to cover up her mistake, then quickly coughed twice, deliberately lowered her eyes and pursed her lips, putting on the melancholy expression that her older sister usually showed.

"But even if we had a very good relationship... I've done a lot of things that I'm sorry for."

Narumi was taken aback.

I never imagined that even after things had come to this point, she still hadn't let go of it.

...Could it be that the sisters' relationship is not good, and it's not just one side's opinion?

He tentatively asked, "About what you did wrong to her?"

"Yeah, leaving your feverish sister at home while you go on a date with a handsome guy and even brag about it for a whole week... Such outrageous behavior will definitely make her hate you! Even if she gets angry, you can't complain!"

As Sanjiao Chuhua spoke, she became more and more agitated and indignant.

Each word was spoken with such force and conviction, as if emphasizing one's grievances, that one's little fists unconsciously clenched.

Narumi couldn't help but retort, "Why do you talk like you're the victim?"

If you're going to pretend, can you at least go all the way? I'm already having a hard time pretending to be stupid...

"Ah, bad!"

Misaka Chuka's expression froze instantly, finally realizing that she had accidentally broken her composure. She hurriedly tried to salvage the situation, saying in a flustered manner, "Ah, no... well, it's just that we feel the same way! It's just sisterly empathy!"

"After all, if it were me, I wouldn't want to be treated like that either..."

The words that had slipped out of her mouth gradually fell silent, like rainwater seeping into the soil, and her flushed face turned pale.

Only at this moment did Mikasa Hatsuka truly understand—

Just a week ago, I wondered what terrible things I had done to my sister.

He neglects his important family, spends every day out having fun with new friends, and then brags about it to his family who are waiting for him to come home...

This behavior was clearly initiated by her towards Hatsune Miku!

And now that I think back on it, the expression on Hatsune Miku's face when she heard me excitedly sharing my experiences traveling around with Xiangzi was actually very similar to my own during that time, wasn't it?

In other words, she, like herself now, is filled with resentment and jealousy towards her...

They never complained, never protested.

Instead, he silently acknowledged her joy and anticipation with a gentle, helpless smile.

I keep saying I don't want to be treated like this—

Actually, they had already treated their only sister this way before.

In the silence, Misaka Hatsuka lowered her head, wiped away the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes, and bit her lip very hard.

She wasn't actually thinking that complicatedly; many of her feelings were still vague and unclear, and she couldn't quite pinpoint the true nature of the emotions surging in her chest.

No matter how innocent and carefree she may be, the ten-year-old girl named Sanjiao Chuhua understands one thing—

If you do something wrong, you should apologize; you shouldn't hurt your important family members.

...And then, we can't keep making the same mistakes.

We need to leave before my sister comes back.

If you don't want your friends to be stolen, you can't steal Hatsune's friends; if you don't want to share that happy time with others, you can't take her place and become 'Hatsune' in Narumi's eyes.

After returning Narumi to my sister, I still need to think about how to apologize to her...

"Hatsune, are you alright?"

Narumi's concerned voice pulled the girl back from her chaotic thoughts.

Misaka Chuka snapped out of her daze, took a deep breath, and forced a smile at him.

"Um, um! It's okay! I'm fine, big brother..."

"Big brother?" Narumi raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I mean, Narumi-nii-nii..."

The girl's gaze kept shifting, as if she was searching for an explanation.

But her brain was clearly not as sharp as her sister's. After failing to come up with a plausible excuse, she simply tilted her head back and shouted in a self-destructive manner.

"Oh right, I left something at the supermarket again! I have to hurry back to find it now. Narumi-nii, wait for me a little longer, I'll be right back!"

Her voice is lively, loud, and enthusiastic, and it also includes long passages of island dialect—it's completely unlike Hatsune Miku.

Narumi almost couldn't help but laugh, but he still nodded seriously.

"You're so careless. Go on your way, I'll wait for you here."

Sanko Chuka nodded, her face regaining its rosy hue, and turned to leave as if fleeing.

But before she could take a step toward the other side of the street, she stopped as if she had suddenly remembered something, and looked back at him hesitantly.

“Um… Narumi-nii.”

"what happened?"

"can I ask you something?"

Narumi cast a surprised look at him.