As the two of us walked out of the store, the setting sun followed behind us over the treetops a little farther away, matching the fallen leaves at our feet. Overhead, cumulonimbus clouds are slowly moving towards the southwest sky. The sunset also moved slowly from that side.

"It shouldn't rain, right?"

Looking at such a view, Shion couldn't help but muttered as she walked down the steps.

"Didn't the weather forecast say it was sunny this morning?"

"Yes."

She turned her face to me and said casually.

"Where next?"

I asked Aster.

"Do you have a good idea?"

I hesitated, narrowed my eyes and thought for a moment, then looked at her again. He shook his head with an embarrassed expression.

"Nope."

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, she sighed. His voice sounded a little depressed, and his expression was a little disappointed.

"Where do you and Chihiro usually go to play?"

"Bookstores, cinemas, aquariums."

"Isn't that new?"

"It's gone—"

Suddenly, I couldn't help but leak a very sorry voice out of my throat.

"That guy is a bookworm......"

However, Shion immediately overshadowed my voice with such an emotion. And it is deliberately said very heavily in the word bookworm.

Then, I peeked into my expression from the side.

"Why not let him stay? I think if you ask, he'll agree. ”

"I know, because of that, I wouldn't say anything like that."

"You......"

At this time, Shion narrowed her eyes a little helplessly, and then said to me with a very serious expression—

"Aren't you worried about him coming back?"

"No, it won't."

"Why?"

Aster, who was a little surprised, couldn't help but blink her eyes several times.

"Chihiro is not that kind of person. You know that well, right? —”

At this point, I curled the corners of my mouth slightly.

"That's what I said."

Shion, who suddenly felt that she wanted to laugh, narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"And, he told me he would come back."

"Really?"

At this time, Shion asked with a somewhat surprised expression.

"Well, we talked about it last night."

And just like that, we turned around and walked back as we talked. Occasionally, children wave at us, even if it's just a few times a few times. A little farther away is the fisherman who has returned from the day's work. But judging by their faces, there shouldn't be much to gain today.

When I walked to the second intersection, I suddenly saw Izumi's figure, which was in the supermarket across the street. She was walking between the rows of shelves with a shopping bag in her hand, her expression looking a little troubled.

"Izumi!"

With that, I reached out and pressed the button for the signal light, and quickly crossed the zebra crossing to the other side of the street. Shouted her name a little distance from that supermarket.

"Lola? Aster? How do you ......? ”

She turned her head and saw us, and immediately ran this way. The shopping bag he was carrying was also full at this time. If you feel that the angle is slightly tilted, the apple on top will fall out.

"I just asked Shion to come out and say something, what about you?"

"As you can see – I don't have enough ingredients at home, and I want to come out and buy some."

"You're talking about Chihiro, right?"

Suddenly, I was stunned for a moment, a little unresponsive. The sound was a little strange as if it was stuck in my throat.

"Do you already know?"

"Hmm."

Izumi nodded, his expression suddenly becoming very serious.

"What about others?"

Then, look around to find Chihiro.

"He's gone back."

At this time, Shion reached out and gently patted Izumi's shoulder and told her. "Don't look for it, he's not here anymore."

Suddenly, Izumi, who had raised his head again after a while, lowered his shoulders and arms together. The look in his eyes was like death......

"At least let me see you before you go!"

Then, her voice sounded like something awkward. At the same time, we're desperately trying not to laugh out loud. Otherwise, I always feel that I am not very polite to her. However, in the end, she still couldn't hold back, so she glared at her mercilessly.

After that, we went back to my current apartment. Going to prepare dinner......

"Sorry, the room is a bit small."

With that, I took two steps back and let them both into the hallway. Then, while the two of them bent down to change their shoes, he reached for the switch on the wall. It didn't take long for the lights on the ceiling to finally stabilize after a few flashes.

Then slowly light up the whole room.

Izumi threw the shopping bag on the table, put on his sandals, and sat down on the sofa.

I walked over to the table and grabbed some of the ingredients from my shopping bag and set them up neatly by the sink.

"Wait a minute, it might take a little time—"

With that, I turned on the faucet. Start cleaning...... But on the way, I realized what I was cleaning. — It turned out that he was holding a shrimp in his hand, and he was also in a basin next to it.

"It's okay, you just take your time. It's still early—"

Shion walked to the refrigerator in the corner and opened it as if it were her own home. Took two cans of beer from inside......

"Thank you."

"What do you mean?"

"This—"

At that moment, she shook the beer she was holding at me. Then, squinting his eyes, he laughed naturally after a while. Suddenly, I was stunned, smiled at her and shook my head.

"No, it's just beer anyway."

As soon as the words ended, Shion had already returned to the sofa and handed one of the cans of beer to Izumi, who was about to lie down at a distance. Then, with his own hands, he opened the tab. After looking at it for a while, he took a small sip.

Unexpectedly, the sweetness mixed with a slight bitterness on top of it immediately spread between the taste buds. Instantly made Aster show a somewhat tangled and embarrassed expression. But in the end, it was allowed to pass through the throat.

"Are you alright?"

I walked over and asked, a little worried. At this point, she coughed lightly and smiled at me. He looked a little disappointed in himself, and then shook his head as if he was stubborn.

"Really, don't drink if you can't get used to it......"

In an instant, Izumi's disgusted voice came from the other side. Shion ignored ......

"You eat first, I'll go and wake up Xiaokui."

With that, I passed by the two of them and went up to the second floor. Towards the end of the hallway, he stopped. It took about 3 seconds before I realized that I had gone too far, so I took two or three steps back before stopping.

Then he reached out and knocked lightly on the door.

"Mom?"

"Well, can I come in?"

"The door is unlocked."

After a brief conversation, I pushed the door open and walked in. But because I didn't wear shoes, I didn't make a footstep sound. So it wasn't until I sat down on the edge of the bed that Aoi noticed that I was coming in. Now, as if she had just woken up, she pulled the quilt below her nose and covered most of her face.

"Dinner is ready."

As I spoke, I bent down to pick up my coat that had fallen on the floor, and the sock next to it.

"Didn't you say you can't throw your clothes around?"

"I'm sorry ......"

I always feel that since Chihiro left, Aoi has become very well-behaved - she will accept everything I say; If you do something wrong, you will apologize immediately. Became so obedient that we couldn't even quarrel. To be honest, it always made me feel like something was missing. It felt like I wasn't in front of my daughter, but someone else.

This subtle change is impossible for Chihiro, who has returned to her sister, to know.

So, he spent a week in the company of Natsume with this state of "knowing nothing". Of course, every day was very happy. The two of them went to the places they wanted to go before, but they couldn't always find time to go.

Even the seaside......

"Natsume—"

On the beach, I called my sister's name, but I was immediately overwhelmed by the waves. So, I shouted again. This time she heard it, so she leaned forward slightly and leaned her face over.

"Brother?"

"Thank you."

"What? Anyway, do we still need to talk about this between us today? ”

As she spoke, she gently pressed her hair with her hand; He squinted at me with a smirk.

"I thank you for not just referring to this!"

Suddenly, my voice couldn't help but be a little shy, and I quietly looked away from her face. Then he hung down slightly......

"I know!"

Suddenly, Natsume nodded confidently with an expression that seemed to be showing off to me. At this time, the voice that leaked out of her throat was a little fluttery. I couldn't help but laugh.

She curled the corners of her mouth slightly, which is very cute. If I had a camera, I don't think I would hesitate to take a picture of it. — Chihiro couldn't help but think so. Thinking about it, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing."

"Huh?"

Natsume, who couldn't help but be curious, sighed as I poured cold water on it again. The voice seemed a little disappointed. However, after only a while, his expression became bright again.

"In the future, as long as it is where you want to go, brother, I will accompany you."

Then, he said to me with a very serious expression.

"Well, thanks—"

"So, this kind of needless to say......"

After that, we chatted about the topic of non-nutrition; While walking in the direction of home. So, the light of the setting sun wrapped us in the slightest.

That night, just as I thought the day was coming to an end as usual, the phone rang in the hallway—

"Brother, can you please pick it up? I'm washing the dishes right now, and I can't keep my hands off. ”

As she spoke, Natsume placed a dry bowl in the cabinet next to the drain rack. I nodded and went into the hallway. Instantly, the sound of the wheelchair touching the floor drowned out the sound of water from the kitchen faucet.

"Who's it?"

“...... The person who is very important to you is now in my hands, if you want her to be safe and sound, do what I say! ”

Suddenly, I didn't react for a long time! Until another very anxious, desperate voice came out of the earpiece—

"Chihiro! Listen, don't listen to him! Either way...... So, don't come! ”

"Lola...... Is that you? Where are you now!? ”

Now that I heard Lola's voice, I was nervous too. The right hand holding the earpiece trembled slightly uncontrollably. The sound that comes out of the throat is also ......

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry—"

After saying that, Lola's mother laughed a few times. But the laughter made me more and more uneasy...... A voice sounded somewhere in my head—

"If you don't go, you can't! If we do what she says, maybe we will never see each other again......