002- Misaki

"Huh?"

Breathing heavily, I open my eyes which are still full of terror, getting blinded by the sun in an instant.

As my eyes adjust to the light, I see a familiar white ceiling above my face.

Dumfounded, I look down under my blanket trying to move my legs, then reach up to touch my neck, the wound seems to be gone tho my throat is dry like I've not drunk in a week.

I slowly sit up on the bed as my breathing calms down. A drop of sweat drops from my chin.

"Was that just a dream?"

I look over at the small clock that's standing on the nightstand right next to my phone.

"Huh? 7:43?! I will be late to school!"

I slowly stand up from my bed, my legs shaking horribly as I start walking towards the door.

"What the hell is going on... I feel bad..."

I stumble onto the door with a loud thud, tho I managed to not collapse by grabbing onto the handle at the last moment.

I softly open the door, walking out of the room very slowly, looking down at the ground.

I hear footsteps getting louder and louder so I look up to see my younger sister. She's looking at me with an expression that I would describe as a mix of relief and frustration, puffing out her cheeks.

"Why is she lookin' at me like that?"

"Not gonna lie, she looks like a tomato while puffing out them cheeks~"

"What's wrong Kaori~? Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for school?"

I reach my hand up to cover my mouth in a feigned worry.

"No... you aren't skipping, aren't you~?!"

I look down, my feigned worry turning into a dramatic sadness like in some romance drama.

"Those kids... growing up so fast...~"

Kaori then takes a huge step towards me, grabbing the collar of my striped pajama. It looks goofy because she's like 147 cm tall.

"Shojii!!! I've been worried, y'know?!"

I look down at her in confusion. Her grip on my collar loosens until she lets go of it.

"Worried?"

"You've been asleep for two whole days! I didn't know what to do!" Her voice is frustrated and sad.

Her statement confused me, but as soon as I see tears forming in the corners of her eyes I get even more confused.

"Whatcha mean sis?" I ask confused, but then I just shake my head dismissingly.

"Eh... you're just yappin' to confuse me again aren't you~?" I ask her jokingly, pinching her nose softly.

I look down at her face and my eyes meet her glare.

"Why you lookin' at me like dat, Kaori?"

"You should be getting ready for school y'know~?"

Suddenly my hand is slapped away by her.

"Shoji! You shouldn't be making jokes after such a situation! Are you drunk or something?! Did you start drinking?!" She asks her voice angry and protective, her gaze falling on the ground, along with some tears dropping from her cheeks.

"Huh? No... wait..."

My eyes widen and I reach my hand to cover my mouth.

"...What day is it?"

"Saturday... 14th..." She says, her voice muffled as she's crying into her hands quietly.

My body starts shaking in fear and confusion at the same time, it's a kinda weird feeling to experience.

"Maybe she is right? Maybe I was asleep for two whole days? But it felt so real... everything that happened... The Shrine... the yokai that killed me... I can't help but shake when thinking about that yokai..."

I reach my arms down and wrap them around her thin neck, pulling her into a tight but soft embrace.

"Hey, it's okay... I'm sorry... y'know Kaori... I probably haven't slept enough and I just needed a longer rest..."

I feel her arms wrap around my torso, her hug is very tight, as if she wants to squeeze me to death.

"Maybe I was asleep? Hmm... I guess yeah... that explains the wild dream..."

She looks up at me and I immediately see a mischievous smile, no longer crying. I instantly understand that she's got an idea that I cannot possibly reject.

"Brother... take me shopping today!" She says with an excited voice, proud of herself.

"Why would I, you little sneaky kid~?" I ruffle her hair, my hands no longer shaking.

"I was worried... soo... you owe me a compensation~!" She giggles cutely at the end.

"I guess she's right, isn't she?"

I break the hug and take a step back, smiling at her slightly and sighing softly.

"Fine fine... go get yourself ready then kiddo~."

As I say that she's already gone to her room.

"Oh my god, I can finally go drink some water! I'm so dry inside!"

I walk towards the kitchen, where I open a cabinet, and take a glass out of it. I fill it with cold tap water and drink it in one go.

"Ehhh..."

"Oh yeah, my phone. I forgot to check the notifications!"

I start walking back to my room.

I grab my phone off the nightstand and turn it on.

"Huh?"

"Haruki sent me something?"

"Hey, man! Why aren't you at school today? I'm bored!"

"Can you visit me after school? I have something interesting to show you."

"Hey?! Why aren't you responding?!"

"Okay fine! I will tell you everything on Monday, and you'll be jealous of me!"

I frown and turn off my phone, rolling my eyes.

"Pft... what's his deal duh?"

"I guess I need to go get ready because Kaori will bother my ass with "Why aren't you ready yet!?" Etc."

Later we both went to a mall and a lot of shops around us.

I'm dressed in some casual clothes- a black t-shirt, white sweatpants, and a gray zip-up hoodie. Kaori is wearing some kind of cyan button-up shirt and a light purple skirt that's pulled up very high.

I look at her over my shoulder, glaring right into her eyes. She looks at me with a confused look.

"Wut?" She says with a confused voice.

"Lower down that skirt of yours, brat." I say like a commander, not accepting any "no" or "but" as an answer.

"No~"

"Yes."

"No~"

"Yes."

"Fine ~! Stupid Shoji~." She giggles softly and lowers her skirt to a level that's acceptable for a girl her age.

"That's what I thought." I roll my eyes at her, making her pout.

Kaori points at the nearby shoe store. She takes my hand and starts dragging me towards it.

"Let's go there first, brother! I want nice high heels!"

"What do you need high heels for? Even in high heels, you'll be short as hell~" I say, mocking her height.

I see her ears slightly reddening, which makes me giggle in amusement.

"...Shut up..." She mutters under her nose.

I follow her in between all the shelves with the shoes. Her face shows so much excitement, but for me, it's boring as hell.

"Pick something quick, I'm not gonna stand here all day y'know?"

"You're borrrinnng~! You will never understand me brother because you are..."

She then leans towards me with a playful smile on her face, looking up at me.

"Ve-ry Bo-ring~!"

I put my hand on her face, pulling it away while rolling my eyes.

"Stupid Brat."

I sit down on some leather couch, putting my ankle on the knee and lying my cheek against my hand.

I think to myself as I look at Kaori walking around, trying shoes.

"Mhmm... Maybe after this, I should take her to the amusement park? I wonder if she will like it or not"

I look down at the ground until someone taps my head softly.

I look up to see two big familiar blue eyes staring into my soul.

"Uhh... Hadeka Harumi?"

"Yes, hubby! It's me indeed! Have you missed me, Shoji?! We haven't met in such a loooong timeee~!"

I see her mother walk towards us slowly from the other side of the store.

"And today Kaori told me that you will be with her! She also wants you to marry me, I'm sure of it! So why keep waiting?! Just let's do it today! Okay, Shoji?!" She says, her eyes gleaming with excitement and her voice happy. I feel her fingernails digging into my hand as she grips it, tho my attention is on Mrs. Hadeka.

"Oh my god... Haruki's father is so lucky to get a woman like that! That beautiful hair... those majestic eyes... the perfect figure... and a voice that can warm up my heart, no matter in what situation I'm in..."

I look at Harumi who's looking at me with excited eyes.

"Maybe I should invest in her? The genetics could always hit in. She's about Kaori's age meaning that she's like... Hm... one to two years younger so that wouldn't be inappropriate if I would wait till she turns eighteen..."

I close my eyes, nodding and huffing a couple of times.

"Just the thought of myself having a nice wife... oh my god! It makes me think that fulfilling my beautiful dream is possible after all!"

As I open my eyes, I instinctively look up. I meet Mrs. Hadeka's warm eyes that make my heart flutter.

"Oh god..."

She gives me a warm smile and pulls Harumi away, giving her a scolding look.

"Harumi, give him some space. I'm sure Haruki wouldn't be happy if he was there with us." Says Mrs. Hadeka, her voice like honey to my ears.

Mrs. Hadeka then sits down next to me. Harumi pouts and starts to walk towards Kaori.

"Good morning Mrs. Hadeka."

"No no no no. Stop with that "Mrs." crap! It makes me feel like I'm some kind of old lady! You can call me by my name, Shoji. After all,l you seem like a very mature boy. Call me Misaki." She says as her beautiful smile widens. I just can't get enough of this woman.

I swallow my saliva in surprise. I wasn't expecting this turn of events.

"O-Okay... Misaki." I say while looking away in embarrassment.

"What the hell is going on with me?! This woman is making me embarrassed like in some cheap vampire romance from Wutpod!"

I'm lost in thought, thinking about the woman who is sitting next to me in every way possible. Thinking what if I was older... what if I married her before her current husband?

"Fuck... I'm a scumbag for having such thoughts about my friend's mother, aren't I haha...?"

Suddenly I'm broken free from the trance as she starts to speak again, her gaze on the two girls who are trying on new shoes.

"Shoji, have you ever wondered about why my daughter is so clingy towards you?" Her voice is still very kind, but it also turns slightly serious. She leans her chin onto her hand.

I think about it for a moment, surprised that I never thought about it, as it has always been like that since the day I saw Harumi for the first time.

"I have no idea..."

She then turns to look at me once again.

"Very well, then I will tell you the reason that's behind her behavior."

I respond with a slight nod.

"Well you see when Haruki was seven and Harumi was six, we were living in another city. Haruki had a lot of friends, but Harumi had none so she only played with her brother. Not convincing Harumi to make her own friends was the biggest mistake of my life, but I've realized it too late."

"She was growing so fond of her big brother that she started to follow him all the time, even if he was playing with his friends."

"Haruki had a small group of friends which he was never outside of, talking to anyone else. Which led to him being unable to make friends with anyone else."

"Their father, my husband was offered the transfer to this city. Money was tight back then, and here, despite it being a smaller city, he's earning three times more money."

"When we moved here, Haruki was lonely, unable to make friends with anyone in the elementary school."

"He was so sad that he pushed Harumi away, not playing with her anymore. It made Harumi suffer and cry all day, but she was suffering not because he didn't want to play with her, but rather because of seeing how he was suffering."

Tears start to build up in the corners of her eyes and she sniffs a couple of times.

"And then you, Nakamura Shoji, appeared out of thin air. I still remember how happy Haruki was when he told me that he befriended someone. His smile was so wide, making me tear up to this day know?"

"He was telling me what kind of person you are, and at first I wasn't proud that my son is playing with a troublemaker, but now after all those years I don't see you as a troublemaker, but my son's best friend."

I look away nervously, muttering under my nose in shame.

"I don't think it was like I wanted to help him, it was more of me being bored and craving a new friend here... I was just selfish, nothing more..."

Misaki pinches my ears, making me squeak in surprise.

"You can say whatever you want, but I won't change my mind and perspective, Shoji."

I look at her in surprise, my eyes wide and my expression dumbfounded.

"...Okay..."

I look over at Kaori and Harumi who are still trying new shoes all around the store, as Misaki continues speaking.

"About a week later Harumi noticed how her brother started to act, it made her happy seeing how he was no longer gloomy all day. She was asking me what happened, over and over again, so I told her that Haruki had gotten himself a friend."

"The smile that appeared on her face is something I'll never forget, even if I die I'll remember it..."

"...It was the most beautiful out of the most beautiful smiles..."

"I don't know why, but her obsession towards her brother has intensified into an obsession towards the person who saved him- It was you Shoji."

I just stare at her for a moment, but for me, it feels like an eternity. My eyes are wide, but my gaze falls on the ground, because I know that I'm not a real savior, nor anything like that.

I feel a soft hand being placed on top of my head, caressing my hair softly.

"I know it'll happen sooner or later, but promise me one thing, okay?"

I look up from the ground, right into her eyes.

"Promise what?"

"Just wait until she's sixteen, right?"

"Huh?"

"Wait no! I don't mean to do it!"

Suddenly she pulls me into a tight hug. My head is pressed by her breasts from both sides.

"I'm in heaven."

As she strokes my hair, she suddenly rips my hair out.

"Ouch!"

I lean away from her chest, looking into her eyes.

"What was that for?!"

"Wait... why am I talking to her like to a friend? She's my friend's mother!"

She looks at me with a worried expression, her motherly smile slightly fading.

"Hmm... why is your hair starting to turn grey, Shoji?" She says, her voice filled with worry and confusion.

I look at the gray strand of hair that's in her hand.