The story begins on Sunday evening.
Miyajima Sakura was, as usual, taking an afternoon nap at home. Although she still harbored thoughts of seeing Hayato or going somewhere to play with him, Miyajima Sakura had always been a steady and good girl, knowing that Hayato was busy with many important things and couldn't always keep her in his thoughts.
Presumably, at this very moment, he was "doing something important"…so she didn't want to disturb him.
This sleep was quite peaceful; she wasn't woken up.
When she opened her eyes, rubbing them and looking out the window, all she could see was the quiet street and the picturesque flame-red clouds in the distance.
She checked the time; it was already late.
Dinner would be in half an hour.
Miyajima Sakura got up, tidied her slightly disheveled skirt and hair, and then walked out.
Before she even walked down the stairs, she heard footsteps in the corridor, and then saw Miyajima Kiichiro pacing anxiously. He looked up, saw his granddaughter on the stairs, and immediately calmed down, forcing a smile—at least, to Miyajima Tsubaki, her grandfather's smile at that moment was quite forced.
"You're awake…Your mother seems to have gone out…" Miyajima Kiichiro said, "But you don't have to worry, she should be back soon…should."
Miyajima Kiichiro's second "should" sounded somewhat lacking in confidence.
Going out under such special circumstances made it hard not to suspect if his good-for-nothing son had done something. Although Miyajima Kiichiro had repeatedly reassured himself that even if that good-for-nothing was utterly inhuman, he wouldn't lay a hand on his own sister, this reassurance not only failed to work but made him even more agitated—he knew perfectly well what kind of person that good-for-nothing was.
But in front of his granddaughter, he still had to pretend that nothing had happened.
Miyajima Sakura was stunned, then her expression changed. She naturally understood her grandfather's worries, and quickly pulled out her phone to call her mother. Miyajima Kiichiro, however, added:
"…Maybe her phone ran out of battery."
"…"
Miyajima Sakura grew more anxious. That meant her grandfather had already called, and her mother was unreachable?
This situation seemed even worse.
Miyajima Sakura still held onto a sliver of hope and pressed the dial button. Before the electronic prompt could even sound from the microphone,
The front door opened.
Miyajima Tsubaki walked in from outside, her face tired. Seeing the grandfather and granddaughter looking at her, she finally managed to lift the corners of her mouth slightly:
"Sorry, I'm back a bit late. I'll go make dinner now…"
"Hey!" Miyajima Kiichiro's suspended heart immediately eased, but once his worry subsided, anger surged: "Where did you go? Do you know how much we were—", the word "worried" couldn't be uttered. Miyajima Kiichiro thoughtfully glanced at his granddaughter, then let out a sigh. Questioning his daughter now would probably make his granddaughter even more concerned.
So, after a sigh of "Hmph," he put his hands behind his back and walked out, not saying anything more.
Miyajima Tsubaki just smiled, watching her father's retreating back.
She felt that her father had truly aged a lot.
Miyajima Sakura, on the other hand, immediately walked up to her and asked:
"Mom, where did you go?"
Miyajima Tsubaki walked towards the kitchen, answering: "I just went out for a short walk. I'm sorry I made you two worry."
"Then why was your phone turned off?" Miyajima Sakura asked.
Miyajima Tsubaki smiled gently: "It just happened to run out of battery."
In fact, it hadn't run out of battery. When Miyajima Tsubaki received Hayato's message "Text me when you get home" on the subway, she felt a strange sense of danger. If she continued to stare at their chat interface and review their chat history—even though it was just casual conversation—she felt she might still be unable to control herself and want to reply.
Reply to him.
Reply to him.
Reply to him.
These words filled Miyajima Tsubaki's mind. She was in a struggle with herself. Her rationality told her, "Contacting Hayato would absolutely not be good for either of them," but emotionally, she was eager to communicate with Hayato. No matter what she said, even just sending a "." would satisfy her.
To block out these dangerous thoughts,
Miyajima Tsubaki immediately chose to turn off her phone, forgetting that it would make her family worry.
"I see…" Miyajima Sakura nodded, not thinking too much about it.
"By the way, Sakura, I bought you—"
After Miyajima Tsubaki placed her bag on the table, she reached inside and pulled out the "cherry blossom hairpin" that Hayato had given her earlier.
However, from Miyajima Tsubaki's perspective at her age, the hairpin's design was quite youthful, so she decided to give it to her daughter.
"How cute," Miyajima Sakura said, her eyes curving into crescents.
"Isn't it?" Miyajima Tsubaki smiled. "And the design of this hairpin matches your name so well."
She handed the hairpin over.
Miyajima Sakura's slender, pale fingertips touched it. She wanted to take the hairpin and try to gather her side hair with it.
But…
She tugged at the hairpin, but Miyajima Tsubaki showed no intention of letting go; in fact, she gripped it so tightly that her fingertips turned a little white.
She stared at the cherry blossom on the hairpin, her eyes full of emotion.
Miyajima Sakura found it a bit strange.
She couldn't read the meaning of the "emotion":
"…Mom?"
Miyajima Tsubaki was silent, then after a long moment, she spoke: "I'm sorry, Sakura. I really like this hairpin too. I'll buy you an identical one next time."
Miyajima Sakura was speechless, then chuckled.
Her mother had always been synonymous with maturity and simplicity in her mind, rarely using such flashy ornaments.
But rarely using them didn't mean they weren't suitable in Miyajima Sakura's eyes.
She was just a bit curious why her mother would suddenly like such a cherry blossom hairpin—perhaps because it was truly beautiful.
"I'll put it on you," Miyajima Sakura said, then gently clipped the hairpin into her mother's gathered side hair. Her mother's hair was smooth, and her skin was incredibly delicate, showing almost no signs of age. Coupled with her youthful attire today, standing in front of her, she looked just like an older sister cast from the same mold.
"It suits you well," Miyajima Sakura said with a smile.
Miyajima Tsubaki was startled, then remembered the young man who gave her the hairpin had made a similar comment.
She smiled sweetly, a little proud: "Right?"
"Yes, indeed~~~"
Miyajima Tsubaki reached out to touch the hairpin, then resolved to bury this memory deep within her heart.
After all, she had promised herself that she would never have any further entanglement with that young man, not even meeting him, nor replying to his messages.
A clean break.
Each going their separate ways.
"By the way, Sakura," Miyajima Tsubaki said, "Next time, invite your friend over for dinner. The new friend you went to see a movie with before."
----------------------------------
I've already posted 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"