Taking care of my younger sister's too naive of a beautiful yankee high schooler, then falling in love - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
TL: Chaos
ED: Mateo
A certain day in August. The city I live in, was experiencing sweltering heat day after day.
Students were now on summer vacation. I was busy with my part-time job as a private tutor, so I was working from morning till night most days.
Sometimes when I was at home, Erika-chan would ask me to teach her something. I had been dodging Erika-chan’s approach and teaching her things that would help her in her daily life.
No matter how much I rejected, fled, or dodged, Erika-chan never stopped approaching me. Erika-chan seemed to be enjoying the whole series of communications.
One day after a long day like that.
I had a day off from my part-time job and I was unusually home for lunch when I saw Mana and Erika-chan in the living room.
“I’m home.”
“Ah, welcome back. Aniki.”
“……”
Mana said, “Welcome home,” but Erika didn’t say anything. And on top of that, she didn’t even make eye contact with me.
“…What happened?”
When I asked Mana, she replied dully, “Yeah…wait,” and glanced towards Erika-chan. It seems that she was worried about whether or not it was fine to say it.
But Erika-chan kept quiet and didn’t say anything.
Something seemed to have happened, but perhaps it was best not to mention it. With that in mind, I tried to talk about something cheerful.
“Oh yeah, Erika-chan. Since it’s summer vacation, do you want to go to the aquarium again?”
Erika-chan reacted with a twitch.
“Now that you say it, Erika and you went to the aquarium together before didn’t you? I would like to go too though~.”
Mana said sulkingly.
“Okay, okay. Then let’s all go together, and invite Runa-chan and Arisa-chan too!”
I said generously.
And then suddenly, Erika-chan stood up.
“Sorry… Mana, as expected I’ll just go home.”
“Eh? Erika? Perhaps, did you want to go alone with Aniki?”
“That’s not it!!”
Unusually, Erika-chan raised her voice.
I didn’t expect her to deny it so strongly. Even Mana had a surprised expression.
“Sorry…”
Erika-chan said awkwardly, and left the living room.
Mana and I were frozen in the living room. We heard the sound of a door opening and then closing at the front door. The sound of footsteps pitter-pattering outside soon faded from my ears.
I apologized to Mana.
“Sorry… Somehow, maybe I brought up the wrong topic?”
“…I don’t really understand, but perhaps, she was at her breaking point…”
Mana’s expression was dark and somber.
“What happened to Erika-chan?”
“…During summer vacation, there’s no school, right? That’s why, the time you spend at home also increases, right?”
“Yeah…”
Earlier, Mana had been wondering if she should say it in front of Erika-chan, but now she started explaining to me without hesitation.
“Her mom’s boyfriend stays at home all day long, so it’s hard for her to stay at home. Her mom has work at night, and just sleeps alone during the day. That’s why, while Erika was alone with her mom’s boyfriend during the day, her stress accumulated… This morning, she had a big quarrel with her mom’s boyfriend.”
“I see… so that’s why she came to our house?”
“Yeah. She was in a horrible mood, so I was trying to calm her down. Then Aniki came home but…”
“You mean Erika-chan’s mood got worse when I came back?”
Erika-chan usually takes the initiative to get involved with me. We had a good relationship on a day to day basis, although it was a little chaotic with the fact that we didn’t go out with each other.
It was the first time that she hadn’t looked at me, and simply avoided any contact with me.
“It was the first time I heard Erika talk like that…”
It seemed that Mana was also shocked to see that sort of reaction from her for the first time.
There were tears in Mana’s eyes, and her lips were trembling a little.
“Aniki… what, what should I do? I–I want to be helpful to Erika…”
“Mana…”
“Even now, I still remember it vividly. During junior high, the day that Erika first talked to me…”
Mana cried a little and told me about the day she first met Erika-chan.
It was the day when her classmates were scribbling insulting abuse on her desk, teasing the plain and docile Mana. When a shocked Mana went to the rooftop to jump off, she found Erika-chan, who looked like a blonde angel. Erika tossed a piece of chocolate from her pocket into Mana’s crying mouth…
It was the first time I heard Mana talk about the day she met Erika-chan, and my chest tightened.
“I was surprised that she brought chocolate to school, but I was even more surprised that it tasted so weird. And when I said, ‘It doesn’t taste good,’ Erika burst out laughing… I even started laughing so hard, that I forgot I was going to jump off the roof…”
While crying, Mana suddenly laughed as if she remembered.
“She invited me and said, ‘You, you don’t enjoy school, do you? Wanna skip with me?’… Aah, that’s when I realized that I didn’t have to put up with what happened in the classroom, and there were other places I could stay in. If Erika wasn’t there at that time… maybe, if she didn’t talk to me back then… I probably wouldn’t be here today.”
“…I’m grateful to Erika-chan. She saved Mana’s life. She gave you the strength to change yourself.”
“That’s right. Even if I didn’t die, I don’t think I’d have gone to high school. I would just hole myself up at home forever…”
Mana wiped her own tears with her hand.
Then, with a strong look, she pleaded with me.
“That’s why, if Erika is in trouble, I want to help her. This time, I want to be the one who saves Erika! Aniki! Please lend me your strength!”
I had no reason to refuse.
I immediately nodded vigorously.
“Alright. I want to help Erika-chan too. I’ll cooperate.”
“Thank you… Aniki.”
It’s thanks to Erika-chan that Mana and I are able to talk face to face like this. If it’s for the sake of my sister’s beloved friend, I’ll gladly lend my strength.
——No, that’s not all. Erika-chan is very important to me, and I want to help her too.
I clenched my fists tightly.
“So, for now let’s split up and look for Erika-chan. If she’s in trouble at home, she won’t return home.”
“That’s right. I’m going to look for her in the city, around the places where people often hang out.”
“Alright. Then, I’ll start looking for her in vacant lots and parks around here.”
“OK. I’ll leave it to you.”
Mana grabbed her phone and headed for the door. I made sure my phone was in my bag too, and headed for the door.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon. I had missed lunch, but that didn’t matter. I was so worried about Erika-chan that I couldn’t afford to go eat lunch.
When we both opened the front door, the hot air rushed into the house.
“Hot…”
An irritated murmur escaped from my mouth as I stepped outside.
The August sunlight mercilessly shone on me.
I’m dizzy. I feel like I’m going to be drenched in sweat soon.
But I can’t let something as trivial as that stop me.
“Mana. Make sure to rehydrate properly and be careful of heat stroke. If you get sick, call me right away.”
“Roger. Erika… I hope you’re somewhere cool…”
“Yeah…”
If someone is wandering around in such hot weather because there is no place to stay, they will get sick even if they are young. There is even a risk of losing your life.
Mana and I ran off in different directions. Mana went towards the station. I headed toward the residential area.
In the direction I was heading, there were a few small vacant lots and a large public park.
When I was little, I had fights with my parents and ran away from home many times. So I had several candidates in mind for a place where she would go to be alone and calm herself down.
——I wish you’d be around here…
I really wanted to be the first to find her. I want to find her and listen to her. I want to ask her why she’s angry.
I ran down the road under the blazing sun, praying that I would find Erika-chan.
The first lot… she’s not there. The next one… she’s not there either.
Eventually, as I approached the park, the sound of cicadas became louder.
The cicadas were chirping so loudly and I couldn’t understand what they were trying to say. It sounded like they were trying to invite me there, but it also sounded like they were refusing to let me come here.
But it didn’t matter what the cicadas were saying to me.
Without hesitation, I stepped into the park and entered the shade of a tree.
It was cool.
There were several large trees in the park, which blocked the direct sunlight. That alone made a huge difference in the temperature I felt.
I wiped the sweat off my face with the sleeve of my shirt and checked to see if Erika-chan was there.
The swings. A slide. A seesaw. A jungle gym.
There were no children playing because of the heat, and the playground equipment looked lonely.
Benches. Water fountain. A toilet.
There was no sign of people anywhere.
——Ah, that’s right. The clay pipe that I used to hide in, must be at the outskirts of the park.
A large clay pipe in the shade of a tree. On the other side of the fence, there is an old, tattered house, and the area has an ominous atmosphere that keeps kids away.
But the clay pipe was my favorite hiding place.
I could even hide inside there from the rain and wind most of the time. In winter, my bottom got a little cold, but it was warmer than being in the open air. In summer, the coldness of the clay pipe was so comfortable that I sometimes fell asleep while hiding there. It is a place filled with many memories.
I peeked inside and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Erika-chan…”
I called out. Then a shadow moved in the dimly lit hole.
Then a beautiful blonde girl looked up at me.
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