Page 498

Narumi stood up and extended his palm towards her.

“I don’t know why you care so much about this, to the point that you’ve broken down and hidden yourself in this corner, as if you’re thinking about something very ominous.”

It was as if he saw through everything.

Yet his eyes remained gentle, yet contained an unwavering will capable of shattering any despair.

—Like a star in the eternal night sky, illuminating the whole world for her.

"Triangle Emerging Flower, I only have one question for you—"

He asked seriously, "Who did I meet up with tonight? Who said they wanted to watch the stars with me?"

Mitsukasa opened her mouth, and a faint sound, as if yearning for something, became an uncontrollable echo.

"It's...me."

Narumi then asked, "So, who are you? Can you tell me your name?"

"I...I am..."

This moment.

The sounds of breathing and heartbeats became clear in my ears.

Miku Miku slowly opened her eyes, letting hot tears slide down her tender face, her reddened nose twitching as she gasped for breath.

With tears streaming down her face and a disheveled expression, she scrunched up her little face, clenched her fists, and cried out loudly:

"I am—Misumi Miku!"

"She's Mitsukasa's older sister, Mitsukasa Mitsu!"

"...Yes, it's nice to meet you. I'm Narumi."

The boy lowered his eyes, and instead of grasping anything with his outstretched hand, he simply touched her head again.

It was like petting a puppy, or comforting a younger sister who had been bullied, as she tried her best to transfer the warmth of her palm to her.

Standing at the entrance of the alleyway bathed in the gentle moonlight, he simply smiled casually.

And to the little girl who no longer suppressed her inner feelings and freely expressed her emotions, she extended an invitation that had never changed:

"The night is lovely tonight, with a bright moon and a gentle breeze; it's a perfect day to say goodbye."

"Hatsune...would you like to go stargazing with me?"

Chapter Thirteen: I'm not a lolicon, it just so happens that the person I like right now is a lily!

Following the dim yellow path paved by streetlights, Narumi slowly made his way to the top of the mountain.

On his back was Miku Miku, who had finally cried herself to sleep. The girl, as light as a feather, could not burden him. Even as the road to the mountaintop became increasingly steep and rugged, he continued to move forward steadily and without breaking a sweat.

"Um, you can put me down now..."

This is probably the third time Miku Miku has said this.

She carefully grasped the boy's shoulders, her cheeks as red as ripe apples, her tone tinged with shyness and timid guilt, yet her heart was pounding so fast that even Narumi could feel it.

"Let's talk about it when we get to the top of the mountain. You're not heavy anyway."

This was the third time Narumi had answered her in a different way.

The initial reason for memorizing the triangle version of Hatsune Miku was quite simple—

She sat in the alley until her legs went numb, she could barely walk, and her face showed signs of a good cry.

Being bullied by someone until she was in tears, and even her young body was injured... Anyone would see this as a terrible scene that would arouse the wrath of both gods and men, right?

And if the scene of him bringing her out of the dark corner were to be witnessed by some righteous resident on the street...

Narumi probably has to try and see if his candy threads can be like Spider-Man's white spit, pulling the two of them away from the town at top speed.

—There's no way around it, since carrying the conspicuous Miku Miku triangular bag automatically disables my [stealth] technique.

Narumi couldn't possibly leave her alone, so he split into two groups and met up at the stargazing location.

So, having no other choice, he could only carry her, who was still sobbing, out of the alley, while pretending to comfort her in a low voice.

Sure enough, as soon as they stepped out of the shadows, curious and surprised eyes were drawn to them.

Unfortunately, Narumi was prepared.

"Don't cry, little sister...it's just that you wet your pants, Mommy and Daddy will forgive you..."

"So they're a brother and sister with a very good relationship." — With this relief, they smiled knowingly and gently, and looked away from the two of them.

But for Misaki Misaki, who had regained her senses, the understanding and consideration of those people was undoubtedly a form of extremely humiliating torture.

"W-why did you say that!" She wiped away her tears and couldn't help but pout and complain, "Also, you can put me down now..."

Narumi gently lifted her body, expressing his refusal with his actions: "It's better than me being taken to the police station, isn't it? I don't want to become a prisoner looking up at the stars."

"That's not what I meant... There were clearly better reasons, why say I peed, wet my pants... It's so embarrassing!"

Her face was flushed red, and her slender legs unconsciously tightened around Narumi's waist. She would occasionally lower her head and bury her face to avoid being recognized by someone she knew.

"Shameful? That's right." Narumi snorted coldly, his tone unusually firm. "This is your punishment!"

"punish?"

The girl was stunned, her deep purple eyes fixed on his seemingly serious profile.

"Who told you to send a random message and then hide away and shut yourself off without asking a single question?" Narumi said mercilessly, like a yakuza collecting a debt. "Don't think that just because I comforted you, what you owe me will be wiped clean—so now, you do whatever I tell you to do, no resisting, understand?"

The silence lasted for a moment.

Without a trace of disgust or resistance, but instead overwhelmed by a sense of fulfilling happiness and satisfaction, the girl once again burst into tears, hugging his neck with all her might, regardless of his life or death.

His body trembled slightly, but no longer because of sadness.

Her small face, buried in his hair, seemed to resonate within him, offering a subtle yet profound response.

"Ok!"

"I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

"I will always, always, obey you—"

Even if it meant dying for you, I would do it willingly.

At this moment, the intense emotion of living for someone far outweighed the girl's fear of death.

If that is the direction guided by light, she would jump down without hesitation, no matter if it is a cliff or a deep sea in front of her—such a firm sense of mission fills her heart.

It completely distorted her already immature values ​​and became the meaning of her life that she firmly believed in.

Narumi vaguely sensed this, but did not intend to take remedial action now.

After all, the next time they meet will probably be six years later... She will forget her own story and live a normal six years until she grows into that intelligent and quiet teenage idol, and only then might she remember this past event due to some opportunity.

By then, Misaki Miku, who will have developed a mature worldview, might regard her words and determination at this moment as childish banter.

As for what she thinks now, that's not really important to Narumi, who will be leaving in an hour or two.

"In that case, you must answer any questions I ask you honestly."

Miku nodded, her hair falling onto his collarbone, tickling him slightly: "Okay, go ahead and ask."

Did you know beforehand that Chu Hua was coming to see me under your identity?

"...I don't know." The unpleasant memory resurfaced, and Misaki's voice inevitably lowered slightly, but she still obediently answered his question, "She did ask me yesterday where we were going to see the stars today, but I was afraid she'd bother us, so I didn't tell her..."

Unexpectedly, Chu Hua not only found them, but also did that kind of thing while she was away—

Unconsciously, he tightened his grip slightly, his fingertips digging into his shoulder.

Then, the girl, who had fallen into a depressed mood, was forcibly brought back to her senses by a loud slap from Narumi.

"ah!"

A scream of embarrassment and panic escaped her throat. Before anyone could look over curiously, she quickly buried her head back into his shoulder and neck, her face turning red from her ears to her neck. Like a cub, she whimpered softly and aggrievedly, "I'm sorry, I was just being too rough..."

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt. Just remember to stay calm."

Mitsukasa paused, then couldn't help but protest, "But... I don't care how you punish me, can you please not spank me like a little kid? I'm already ten years old..."

"Ten years old? Ha, wait until you graduate from elementary school before saying that."

With a disdainful sneer, Narumi adopted the attitude of an older brother disciplining his rebellious younger sister.

After all, this was how he disciplined those disobedient "younger brothers and sisters" when he was in the orphanage.

"No matter what you think, to me you're just a brat who deserves a spanking."

"Well……"

Misaki pouted somewhat dejectedly, regretting that she wasn't grown up enough to break free from his stereotypes: "At least, can you put me down? I can walk by myself now..."

“This makes it easier to talk.” This was the second time Narumi had rejected her. “Let’s continue—so, she just happened to see us, and that’s why she decided to pretend to be you and chat with me?”

"Probably." Misaki sighed, her voice becoming slightly soft. "Looking back now, perhaps it was precisely because we were sisters that we subconsciously made the same choice..."

Without Narumi pressing her for details, she spilled the beans, revealing her reasons for taking her sister's place, her feelings, and the past events that could be described as karmic retribution.

When she finished speaking, her voice became a little more relaxed, calm and quiet as if she had been relieved.

"It all started because of me. Although it was a huge blow, I know that even if she really took you away from me, I have no reason to resent or seek revenge on her..."

I'm not your property, so there's no question of stealing or robbing me—Narumi wouldn't say something so jarring.

He listened silently to the girl's confession and her sorrowful voice seeking forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, I actually wanted to confess everything to you while we were looking at the stars... If I had gained courage sooner, if I could have faced my feelings more honestly like Chu Hua, this wouldn't have happened, right?"

"Sorry……"

As she spoke, Mitsuko Mitsuko's sobbing voice became more pronounced again.

The tears I dared not shed all these years have finally found a place to be released freely today.

She then discovered that she seemed to be more fragile and immature than she had imagined.

She also cries more easily and acts much more spoiled.

"It's alright. It's understandable that someone so young would be so sentimental and do something like that." Narumi tried to comfort her objectively while subtly steer the conversation forward. "So that's why you reacted so strongly when you saw her kiss my cheek, turning around and running away, and even hiding in a place to wallow in self-pity without asking any questions?"

If he hadn't immediately spread a search network throughout the town, Narumi truly couldn't imagine what a melancholic little girl with a fickle mind and considerable drive would have ended up doing.

He simply didn't want to see what Su Shi had done back then repeating itself in front of him...

"Back then, I really didn't think too much... Don't worry, everything's alright now." Misaki Misaki said apologetically, "I also need to apologize to Hatsuka. For both the matter of Shoko-chan and the matter of impersonating her and hiding without permission..."

Narumi slightly opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but then silently closed it again.

He ultimately didn't tell Toyokawa Shoko that he was "very close" to her.

After all, the current Narumi has absolutely no connection to ten-year-old Shoko.

He can't exactly say she's his future girlfriend, can he?

I'm worried that Miku Miku might misunderstand after hearing this and say something like, "If it's okay, Shoko-chan, I'd like to be your girlfriend too!" which would be quite troubling...

Although I really want to kiss, hug, and lift Mr. Xiao Xiang up high when he was young, he's really not a lolicon!

It's just that the person I like happens to be a loli right now!

"By the way, Narumi-nii-san."

"Back then... what did Chu Hua say to you in my capacity?"

After a pause, Misaki Miku took the initiative to ask, her tone cautious as if afraid of offending him: "If it's something I can't say, it's okay if you don't tell me... but I really want to know what she said that made her suddenly do that to you?"

She didn't believe that Narumi would ask "Mitsubara Hatsuka" to kiss her cheek.

It's clear from any perspective that the younger sister acted rudely without permission, and her motive isn't hard to guess...

These sisters are probably thinking about the same thing, aren't they?

Listening to her stories every day and imagining her in my mind, I gradually developed a longing and expectation for her.

Until he met her in person and spent time with her, that hazy feeling completely transformed into affection, and he wanted to become closer to her as his own.

It's not hard to understand why Hatsune wouldn't do anything inappropriate to Shoko if they were of the same sex; and it's not hard to understand why Hatsuka, who is naturally bold and straightforward, couldn't help but attack Narumi when faced with such a charming member of the opposite sex for the first time.

Even now, Hatsune actually wanted to take advantage of Narumi's hands being behind her back and leaving him little room to resist, to cover the place where Hatsuka had kissed her with her own lips.

They might even make more intimate gestures that better express their feelings.