The red-haired girl suddenly got up, crossed her arms and shouted at the smiling little girl not far away. The angry shout made the air in the tennis court stand still for a few seconds, and for a moment dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on Nao's body.

She didn't know that she was anxious to ask her sister for verification, because of her eagerness, the "potential" she had gained from practicing karate for many years had unconsciously blended into the voice just now. Although her voice was not loud, her momentum like a mountain waterfall made everyone frightened. This kind of momentum used to intimidate opponents is bearable for those who have practiced martial arts, but the people standing in front of her are ordinary elementary school students without any training!

If the others were just startled, then Saotome Natsu, who was named, was really scared.

The little girl who had just passed her eleventh birthday looked back at her sister timidly with a racket, and she was obviously at a loss for what to do when she was yelled at by her sister for the first time in her memory, and the fog gradually rose in her round emerald eyes. The teenagers around her kept sweeping their eyes between her and Nao but didn't dare to make a sound, and her thin body couldn't help but tremble gently under the gaze of everyone.

(What's going on?)

Nao looked at the unexpected situation in front of him and couldn't help frowning slightly. But the roar just now, coupled with her casual frowning, looked at others with an extra sense of impatience.

Natsu looked at her sister with such eyes, tears instantly filled her eyes, and she walked to the sidelines tremblingly.

At this moment, the sturdy young man beside her looked at Nao on the sidelines, and then at Natsu, who was crying, and stretched out a calloused hand and pressed her shoulder. The frightened Natsu's figure shrank suddenly, and he looked up at the tall boy beside him.

"Birch, birch senior?"

"Still training, don't go. ”

The boy known as Birch looked at her sternly and conveyed the message of "that person is dangerous" to her with his eyes.

"If you don't go, she can't do it, she's ......"

Natsu bit her lower lip in embarrassment and hugged the racket on her chest. It was such a small action that was firmly watched by the observant birch. He tried to soften his facial expression a little, and reached out to pat the girl who was more than half a head lower than him.

"It doesn't matter. Although Birch still looked expressionless, there was a faint soothing touch in his voice, "So...... Go along. ”

Natsu blinked in surprise, but the tears that had just been filled with fright fell and hung brightly on her cheeks.

Regardless of the facts, this beautiful picture of a "gentle boy who is not good at words comforting a weak girl who is crying" is really imprinted in the eyes of others. Nao, who was on the sidelines, didn't hear their conversation and had no idea what she was doing to Natsu, and all that was in her eyes was the two glaring tears on her sister's cheeks, and everything else was nothing......

Now Nao only felt a ball of qi blocked in his chest, and even his fists clenched unconsciously. She narrowed her long, golden-green eyes viciously, and strode into the venue under the astonished gaze of everyone. Everywhere she went, both junior and elementary school students, they retreated to either side like a tide, instinctively making way for her, leaving Natsu and Birch in the middle.

Looking at the menacing Nao, Keigo Keibe, who was originally quietly watching the changes, couldn't sit still at this time. He tightened his coat over his shoulders and jumped out of the stands, following Nao into the pitch. However, Nao's steps were as fast as a ghost, and it seemed to him that she had only taken one step before standing in front of Birch.

By the time the trail approached, she had already grabbed Birch's collar so hard.

"You're not a little daring, Tokyo Boy!" Nao pulled the boy who was more than half her head taller to the point that half of her body tilted and bared out Bai Sensen's teeth at him, "Make me cry my sister, huh?"

"No, it's not!!"

Natsu on the side hurriedly grabbed his sister's hand holding the collar of the birch ground, and the racket fell to the ground with a loud thud, "Sister, let go, let go! It's the birch seniors who are ready to help me, it's not the senior's fault!"

"It's not his fault?" "Nao narrowed her eyes and looked at her sister, but the power in her hand did not diminish, "It's not his fault, why are you crying? Saotome Natsu, you'd better not lie to me!"

"I—I'm not lying!It's not my senior's fault!" Natsu cried again, his hands clasping his sister's fists constantly, "Really...... It's really not the fault of my predecessors! it's me...... Let go, sister, it's not the fault of the seniors!"

Nao frowned and looked at his sister's anxious face, and then at the tall boy who didn't resist even if he was pulled by the collar, and there was a faint doubt about his understanding of his talent. She knew that her sister, who had always been well-behaved, could not lie to her, and that she had no history of shielding others in Okinawa, and although Natsu was a little incoherent in her agitation, it was the first time she had vetoed something so veiled, which caused Nao's anger to subside and loosen her grip on Birche. But Natsu didn't notice her sister's movements, and still smashed her fists hard, leaving blood marks on the back of her hand in a panic.

"That's enough! How long do you want to make trouble at Uncle Ben's stadium, huh?"

Keigo Keibe's displeased voice came from behind Nao, causing Natsu's movements to come to an abrupt halt as if he had pressed the pause button.

"The tennis court is not a place for fighting, and those who don't play tennis will get out of here!"

The head of the Ice Emperor's men's tennis department walked in front of the three of them, and there seemed to be a magic in the metallic voice that people had to obey. His terrifying blue eyes swept over Nao, who had caused the riot, and his gaze was straight but as if looking down. Nao, who had already regained her senses, muttered for a moment in the cold light that seemed to reveal her true form, and let her sister pull her hands off the collar of the birch floor, and stand silently in place with her arm hanging from a few scratches.

She knew in her heart that it was very rude for her to disturb other people's practice, and it was also her fault to lose her mind indiscriminately when she saw Natsu crying, but her extreme self-esteem still made her stubbornly stalk her neck and look back at the young man who called the truce, unwilling to show the slightest sign of weakness.

"You just said ...... Fighting?" Nao raised the tail note and shook the lunch box that had never left his hand, "Delivering a bento to my sister who has been practicing hard, and I happened to see my sister crying on 'your' tennis court, don't I, as an older sister, have the right to suspend training to find out the facts?"

"Absolutely. The trail raised an eyebrow, spilling out a smile that made people feel angry, "But the fact I saw was that 'your' sister cried after you were sitting in the spectator seat suddenly made a noise, and then you entered without permission and wanted to beat up 'my' member." Isn't Uncle Ben, as a minister, qualified to get rid of false accusations for his ministers?"

"Framed?" Nao swept his gaze over the birch that had been expressionless, "Isn't it because of some of your actions that Natsu is crying?"

“USU。 Birch responded to Nao's words in a deep voice, affirming the truth of what she had said. But in her eyes that instantly became dangerous, another fact that made her heart tremble, "Saotome...... She was just scared. ”

"Harm...... Afraid?" Nao was stunned, and the momentum just now suddenly disappeared.

Keigo raised his eyebrows as he looked at Nao, who had suddenly changed her aura, and watched her next move with interest, his fingers rhythmically tapping the crook of his arm. I saw her looking back at her sister in a daze, even a little helpless, and there was a tremor in her voice that couldn't be hidden: "Natsu...... What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of me?"

Saotome Natsu looked at her sister's panicked expression and felt a huge sense of disgust for herself who had just felt scared because of her sister's sharp eyes. What was she afraid of? It was her sister! The sister who had taken care of her since she was a child and fought with delinquent teenagers to protect her; the sister who ran to the vegetable market early in the morning to get her to eat fresh bitter gourd fried meat and couldn't catch the school bus; the only sister who was beaten up by a delinquent teenager who was seeking revenge, had a broken left arm but didn't say a word, and still held hands to pick her up from school!

"That's not it!" Natsu shook his head violently, his thin palm tightly grasping the corner of Nao's clothes, "Sister, I ......"

"Well, I know. ”

The unusually familiar Okinawan dialect rang in her ears. Natsu only felt a darkness in front of him, and then he was held up by the clean aroma of a piece of laundry soap. Nao suddenly bent down and picked up his sister, let her sit in the crook of his arm, stood up straight and nodded to Keigo Tsube, "Minister of Trace, please allow Natsu to take leave from today's training." ”

"Uh-huh?" Rubbing a glance at her, his fingers brushing the tear mole at the corner of his eye, "What else?"

"What else?" Nao held up his arm and clung to his sister who was surprised but didn't let go, and a hint of playful annoyance flashed in his eyes, "I said I had the right to pause training to find out the facts. ”

“…… Whatever you want. ”

The trace looked at Nao, who had lost his suspicion and pursuit in an instant because of his sister's words, and a cross crossed faintly burst out under the sea. Although his friend was not finally treated by this easily angry guy, this crime of slandering the team and interrupting training cannot be forgiven. And he, the man of the Ice Emperor, didn't even receive the apology he deserved because of Nao's "right"!

"Saotome Natsu, go around the field for ten weeks before the next mentoring training begins!"

"When is the next training session?" Hearing the words of the trace, Nao asked his sister with his head sideways as he walked.

"Probably...... Next week's weekend......" Natsu replied, hugging her sister's neck, "Mr. Kibe seems to be the childhood friend of Kajiji-senpai, so he often comes to the elementary school to guide us in training." ”

"That's right. Nao smiled at her, "Then next time I'll come with you, save him from bullying you." ”

"Really!" Natsu rubbed his sister's shoulder like when he was a child, and his facial features wrinkled together with a smile, "Actually, Kaji-senpai is a good person, and the master of the valley who is often with him must also be a good person, and he won't bully me!"

"What kind of logic is this?" Nao couldn't help but laugh. She put Natsu on the ground, sat down on the bench by the side of the road, and opened the lunch box that she had been carrying in her hand, "Tell me about your tennis club, why don't you play the violin?"

"Natsu didn't play the violin!" Natsu took the sushi handed over by his sister, swallowed it in one gulp, chewed it slowly, and his cheeks bulged, "Hmm...... Actually, there is no tennis club in the elementary school, but the master of the department asked people who wanted to learn tennis to sign up, and then he gave guidance, so I don't know exactly how. Not...... So I still belong to the orchestra club and the home economics club. ”

"You also participate in the housekeeping club?" "Nao was a little embarrassed. She now knows what Matsuda Jinpei's sentence "I guessed you don't know anything" meant, she really doesn't know anything...... In her mind, her younger sister Natsu was still the little girl who was only interested in the violin.

"Well, it was Aiko Jian yì I participated. Natsu opened her round eyes and looked at the sushi in her hand adoringly, "I also want to make artistic food like my sister, and the cake made by Kaji-seni is also as artistic as my sister's sushi, Kaji-senpai is so good......"

"Artistic...... This must have been taught to you by your beloved grandmother. The corners of Nao's mouth twitched, and he thought of what Natsu had just said, "The birch you are talking about is the boy who taught you to play tennis just now?

"Said the birch senior......" Natsu remembered the riot just now, his thin eyelashes drooped down, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, "He thought that his sister was looking for trouble, and he was afraid that I would be bullied, so he said, 'It's okay, let's go together.'" ’。 ”

"I see...... "Nao suddenly realized.

No wonder Natsu cried, it turned out that she understood the feeling of someone silently supporting her behind her. Although there was Nao to teach those who didn't have long eyes in elementary school, no one dared to get too close to her because she had an older sister who resembled a bad girl. And for Natsu, who has lacked friends since childhood, the shock in his heart will be much greater than that of ordinary people. Nao seemed to think of the boy who approached him for the first time, and a smile mixed with nostalgia appeared on his lips, "Heh, he's a good person." ”

"Uh-huh!" Natsu nodded sharply, with a look of longing, "The predecessors of the biraki are very good, they know a lot, they are also very good at crafts and cooking, and they can also play tennis!

"If it's him......" Nao nodded knowingly as she remembered the tall boy who had been pulled by her collar but didn't have any negativity in her eyes. Unlike Rin Hirakoba, who likes to make Natsu happy, people like Kajichi can make her feel at peace just by standing silently by Natsu's side. If it was such a person, she would be able to rest assured about Natsu's life in the Ice Emperor.

"Alright," Nao exhaled and stood up with her hands on her knees, "I'm done eating, let's get ready to go home, right?"

"Okay!" Natsu clapped his hands, took out his handkerchief and waved his hand at Nao, "That sister, I'll go to the bathroom to wash my face first, and then we'll go, you wait for me here!"

"Bathroom?" Nao frowned, "Far away?"

"It's not far, it's just ahead!" Natsu shouted as he pointed to a building not far away, and ran away in a hurry, "Wait for me!"

"Hi hi. ”

Nao looked at her sister who had run away and smiled faintly.

Today was the first time she had spoken to her sister since coming to Tokyo, and although it didn't have much to say, she could see that Nazu was really happy. Matsuda Jinhei may be right, what Natsu needs is not her meticulous protection, but her own friends, her own interests and her own life, and she only shows up when she needs it as an older sister, and Natsu has her own life.

"You're yourself, Saotome Natsu. ”

Nao gently spat out this sentence that Jinpei used to say about himself before, and relayed it to her where Natsu couldn't see it. From now on, the sisters will start a new life in Tokyo, a place they are becoming more and more familiar with.

After figuring it out, Nao suddenly felt enlightened, stretched out greatly, and packed up the lunch box on the bench. However, just as she bent down, a terrible scream came from the building that Natsu had just walked in—

"Bang!"

The lunch box in Nao's hand fell to the ground and burst in half, and she herself looked up in shock at the place where the sound came from. In just a moment, only a cracked lunch box was left lying alone next to the bench, and Nao had already run twenty meters away like an arrow from a string.

"It's Natsu's voice!"

Her heart roared.