After the three of them slowly walked away, a young woman arrived at their previous spot, holding the hand of a little green-haired girl. The girl stared longingly at their retreating backs, her eyes filled with admiration and envy.
—
When they finished buying all the kite-making materials and returned home, they found Nishimiya Yaeko and Nishimiya Yuzuru already back. In fact, Yuzuru was waiting right at the Miyamura family doorstep.
Akira raised a brow curiously, but the black-haired loli gave him a blunt answer:
"Don't flatter yourself, Akira. I'm here for Hachiko."
The moment the door opened, she scooped up the family dog and returned to her house next door, cool as ever.
Miyamura Shizuka headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch, leaving the two kids watching TV in the living room. Halfway through the program, Shouko suddenly grew a bit restless.
"Akira… how about we make the kite this afternoon?" she asked hopefully.
She was met with a gentle shake of the head.
Later that day, Shizuka went grocery shopping—and unexpectedly, she returned with Daiki in tow. He was carrying two big, fresh fish, practically glowing with joy.
He handed the catch to Shizuka to prep in the kitchen and then strolled into the living room, planting a kiss on Akira's cheek.
"…Why are you in such a good mood?" Akira asked, raising a brow.
Daiki flashed a smug grin. "Heh! Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
"…Okay then." Akira rolled his eyes. What kind of nonsense is that?
—
That evening, both families sat together in front of the TV to watch footage from Nishimiya Yuzuru's graduation ceremony. It had been recorded by Yaeko, of course. As the kids watched, Shouko's eyes sparkled with memories when she spotted Ms. Ueo on the screen.
She turned and whispered softly to Akira, "Let's visit Ms. Ueo during summer break."
Akira smiled and met her gaze with warmth. "Sure, let's do that."
—
The next morning…
"Akira~ It's time to make kites~"
Shouko stood by his bedside, rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning. She hadn't been able to fall asleep last night from the excitement, and her mom had woken her up early. Despite the drowsiness, she had rushed over to wake him first.
—
"Why's Shouko still upstairs?" Miyamura Shizuka asked, glancing at the clock as she and Daiki ate breakfast at the table.
Daiki didn't even lower his newspaper. "Maybe Akira's just being lazy again."
Shizuka hummed thoughtfully, sipping her tea. But when nearly an hour passed with no sign of either child, she began to grow suspicious.
"…Something's off."
She paused the TV, drawing an annoyed sigh from Daiki, who had just reached the climax of the show. Still, he wisely said nothing.
"I'll go check on them," Shizuka whispered as she stood.
The moment she disappeared, Daiki reached for the remote again—
"Don't press play! Wait for me!" came Shizuka's voice from the hallway.
Daiki: "...…"
—
As soon as she stepped into the bedroom, Shizuka noticed something odd. Shouko was nowhere in sight, and Akira's blanket looked unusually puffy.
She walked over quietly and lifted a corner of the blanket—and just as she suspected, the two were snuggled together.
Rather than wake them, she pulled out her phone, switched to video mode, and aimed it at the adorable scene.
Shouko, feeling cold, mumbled sleepily, "Don't steal my blanket, Akira… you're mean…" She squirmed closer to the warm body beside her.
"Huh…?" Akira was dreaming of a pink pig nudging him and someone calling his name.
He cracked open his eyes groggily… and spotted his mother grinning with her phone in hand.
"Mom… what are you doing?"
"Recording," she replied calmly, covering her mouth to suppress a laugh.
"…Why?"
"I'm saving this for your wedding slideshow, of course."
Akira sighed and rolled his eyes. That's over ten years away… she probably won't even keep the video that long.
He turned to nudge the girl beside him. "Shouko, wake up."
But she didn't stir.
Miyamura Shizuka reached over and gently stopped him. "Let her sleep a bit more. You go wash up and have breakfast first."
With no other choice, Akira carefully untangled himself and slipped out of bed. Before leaving, he pulled the blanket up to cover Shouko again.
—
A while later, Shouko finally came downstairs. Not seeing Akira at the dining table, she peeked into the living room.
"Akira! Why didn't you wake me up?" she pouted, walking over.
He looked up and smiled. "Morning. I just wanted to let you sleep a little longer."
She yawned and sat beside him on the tatami mat, leaning against his shoulder with her eyes closed again.
He raised a brow. "What were you doing last night? Why are you so sleepy?"
Then he held out a slice of orange. "Here. Open up."
Still half-asleep, Shouko obediently opened her mouth. Only after she swallowed did she mumble:
"This is all your fault…"
"…Huh?" Akira blinked.
She yawned again. "I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited about the kite you're gonna make… So it's your fault I'm sleepy…"
Despite her complaint, her voice was gentle and full of affection.
Akira chuckled and nodded. "Alright, alright, it's all my fault. I'll make you a beautiful kite later, okay?"
"Hmph. Good that you know." She nudged him lightly with her head.
"Did you eat anything yet?"
She shook her head slightly.
"There are sandwiches on the table. I'll call Mom and Yuzuru over. Let's get started soon."
Once Shouko stopped leaning on him, Akira stood and left the room.
—
A few minutes later, Akira returned with Shizuka and Yuzuru in tow. He spread the materials out on the floor, and the four of them sat together around the supplies.
Yuzuru looked at everything in disbelief.
"…Wait, Akira you actually know how to make kites?"
She had heard her sister going on about it for days, but she didn't expect it to be real. But now that she saw all the proper materials, she had no choice but to believe it.
"I learned it from TV. But I only know how to make rhombus-shaped ones," Akira said, waving it off.
Yuzuru squinted at him. "Since when do TV shows teach how to make kites?"
"They do," Akira replied vaguely. "I forgot the name of the show… Something like Uncle Neil? At the end of each episode, he'd always say, 'Next, you try it yourself!'"
"…There's no such show."
"Exactly." Akira smirked. "Which is why you can't find it here."
------------
POWER STONE!!!
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