Should I really be okay with this? While thinking that, Sota added a sugar cube to Kurosawa’s green tea and stirred it with a teaspoon.
Seeing Sota’s actions, Kurosawa’s gaze returned to Sota’s face.
It was such a sluggish motion that it made one wonder if there was a faster way to move. To be honest, in a somewhat urgent situation, it could feel a bit frustrating.
Of course, Sota thought it wasn’t Kurosawa’s fault. After everything that had happened up until now, she had simply become numb to stimulation.
Given her lack of enthusiasm in almost all her actions, it reminded Sota of when he met Shii again and felt a bit sad.
“Try it,” Sota said.
“It might be a bit sweet.”
Upon hearing that, Kurosawa slowly lowered her gaze again, staring silently at the green tea with the sugar cube. Then, she lifted the cup and took a slow sip.
“How is it? Is it good?”
In response to Sota’s question, Kurosawa tilted her head.
Sota added another sugar cube.
Kurosawa took another sip after that, tilting her head once more.
“Do you want to add as much as you like?”
As Sota said this and placed the sugar container on the table, Kurosawa stared at Sota again and slowly moved to pick up a sugar cube with the tongs and dropped it into the green tea.
That action seemed somewhat awkward, as if she were doing it for the first time.
As the sugar cube made plop sounds while sinking into the green tea, Kurosawa stopped her actions when it felt like the situation was getting a bit out of hand.
And just like Sota did, she stirred the tea with a teaspoon. However, Sota wondered if there was much significance to that action. Although the tea was still warm, the amount of sugar seemed questionable for it to fully dissolve in the green tea.
When Sota glanced back, he saw Shii watching the scene anxiously with a worried expression.
The fact that even Shii showed such a demeanor meant that Kurosawa appeared precarious in some way.
Kurosawa set down the teaspoon and slowly lifted the cup to pour the green tea into her mouth. At that point, Sota started to think maybe he should have offered some milk, but it was already too late as the green tea had gone into Kurosawa’s mouth.
“How is it? Are you okay?”
In response to Sota’s words, Kurosawa slowly swallowed the green tea in her mouth, then stared straight at Sota again.
“…Yeah.”
She really does like sweet things, huh?
Sota nodded at Kurosawa.
Whether she truly enjoyed the heavily sugared tea, Kurosawa slowly but surely continued to drink it.
“By the way, Kurosawa.”
Nanami opened a discussion.
“Is it okay to go out and sleep outside? What might they say at home?”
After a moment of silence in response to Nanami’s words, Kurosawa shook her head.
“…I don’t know.”
“Is that so~?”
It seemed Nanami sighed as if she had expected that.
“Can you ask?”
“……”
In response to that, Kurosawa fell silent for quite a while.
Then, she nodded.
“Yeah.”
For some reason, everyone else gathered in the living room let out a sigh of relief at her answer.
“Then, how about today? Is it okay if we come back a bit late? We have to tell your family, right?”
Shii looked at Nanami with a bewildered expression, but Nanami seemed to have decided to boldly go forward with her inquiry.
Kurosawa pondered for a moment. This time, she took less time to think than before.
“No.”
However, the answer that came back was negative.
Maybe because it was a decisive rejection, it allowed them to conclude faster than expected?
“Ah… Is it perhaps that staying out overnight is forbidden?”
At that question from Nanami, Sota felt a bit of a contradiction. Just a moment ago, she had said, “I don’t know,” and this time she had answered so definitively with a “no.”
Ah, maybe asking for permission on the same day is difficult.
Well, depending on the parents, they might think it rude to go off doing such things without prior notice.
…Well, generally speaking, it would indeed be considered rude. Unless you’re really close, I guess.
“No.”
This time the answer was even shorter than before.
“Yeah?”
Nanami made that sound.
“Uh, so… is it that asking is hard? Or is staying out hard?”
“…Asking.”
“Ah, I see.”
Nanami tilted her head, as if trying to get a grasp of Kurosawa’s situation, and after some thought, she spoke.
“So… do you dislike such things?”
Kurosawa hesitated for a moment before opening up.
“I don’t have a phone.”
“……”
Everyone momentarily gasped, unable to say anything in response to that.
“Uh, wait a minute,”
Yuka, who was listening to the conversation, raised her hand slightly and spoke.
“Kurosawa, don’t you carry a cellphone?”
That’s right. Sota was pretty sure he had seen Kurosawa before. While he had never witnessed her ‘using’ a cellphone, they had exchanged contacts, so it made sense.
But Kurosawa shook her head, saying, “I don’t have it at home.”
“Ah.”
At Kurosawa’s words, Yuka fell silent and lowered her hand.
The atmosphere among the kids had become awkward.
Sota took a moment to organize his thoughts.
Kurosawa didn’t have a landline, but her parents definitely had given her a cellphone.
Even though it was so far away, her parents were sending her to the best school she could attend.
And her parents always gave her allowance regularly.
Now that he thought about it, he had a certain image of her family. If they were poor but loved their daughter, things could be like this.
It seemed everyone thought the same, as Nanami bit her lip and slightly bowed her head. Even Yuka, who had been suspicious of Kurosawa all this time, seemed unable to say anything this time.
Shii looked utterly lost for words in this situation, while Fukuda was practically just keeping his eyes shut.
“…We have to go for sure.”
Nanami said with determination while looking at Kurosawa.
“This summer, we’ll create unforgettable memories together.”
Everyone nodded at Nanami’s words. Denying such a thing in this situation would have been difficult.
And to listen to Kurosawa’s words, nobody spent the night at Sota’s house that day.
Eventually, they’d have to ask Kurosawa’s family, but even so, it seemed like everyone didn’t quite have the confidence to get that close.
Although they called themselves friends… still, wouldn’t it be proper to let their parents know before visiting a friend’s house?
However, it seemed that Nanami also felt guilty sending only Kurosawa home.
“I’ll contact you!”
Nanami said to Kurosawa.
Yuka, though showing a somewhat hesitant expression, nodded along, while Fukuda remained silent till the end.
“And everyone, please be sure to contact me in advance next time you come over.”
Shii said with a smile.
In fact, she had only been smiling, but her voice had hints of annoyance, yet Nanami didn’t seem too scared.
If one had to say, Sota was probably the only one feeling frightened among those present.
As he witnessed Shii’s piercing gaze aimed at him, Sota could only scratch his head.
*
And so summer vacation began.
The summer was as hot as last year, and Tokyo was humid as always.
Usually, Sota and Shii, who tried to save money as much as possible, couldn’t bear the heat in this weather any longer and turned on the air conditioning.
The notion that it wasn’t hot as long as they kept the windows open would change the moment they experienced the burning sunlight seeping through.
“…By the way, Onii-chan.”
“Yeah?”
“Going out, we still haven’t set the date or place, have we?”
“…That’s right.”
Sota was startled to realize that fact.
Now that he thought back, when they had gathered last time, everyone left immediately as the atmosphere got too heavy while they talked to Kurosawa.
Consequently, they had only come up with the idea of “let’s meet” without establishing any proper plans.
Still, the fact that they all had each other’s contacts made chatting during summer vacation not such a big issue.
“But you don’t need to worry. Nanami will surely take care of it.”
“Onii-chan… You know Nanami-senpai is really someone you can’t rely on, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Haah, you really don’t get it at all.”
In response to Sota’s question, Shii let out a deep sigh, still refusing to clarify what made her unreliable.
Sota thought it wasn’t such a huge problem.
Shii, too, had gone through a lot. If anything, it was admirable that Nanami, who could be cheerful despite all the different situations, was more impressive than Shii, who had become suspicious of others.
No, one could even say she was strong. Having faced threats to her life, Shii was still trying to carry on with her normal life.
Thinking like that made Sota feel a bit silly for being so concerned about Shii’s well-being, leading to a sad expression.
“Onii-chan, even if you look at it that way, my thoughts won’t change.”
No, that’s not what I meant.
While Sota was deep in thought, his cellphone vibrated.
Picking up the phone that was sitting on the table, he saw the name ‘Nanami’ lighting up the screen.
“Oh, it’s a mail from Nanami.”
“…You’re not watching from outside, are you?”
Shii, who had said this, peered towards the living room window with a smirk as Sota opened up the phone.
[Is today your day off? Do you have any plans?]
It looked like she was trying to figure out where to go for a bit of fun.
