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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 10, Chapter 4: A Grown-Up Date
Volume 10, Chapter 4: A Grown-Up Date
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
When Kii woke up today, she rushed towards the kitchen and began talking to Koutarou about what had happened last night while he was preparing breakfast.
“Why was Onii-chan asleep when mom came... geez.”
“Sorry, I've been a bit tired recently.”
“Mom wanted to meet you when I told her about you.”
“It's a shame I was asleep. I'll make sure to at least greet her if she comes by again.”
“She can't come often, but she said she would come again. So I'm sure you'll meet her.”
“I'm a terrible sleeper, so make sure you wake me up me when she does, okay?”
“Okay! I will!”
Kii had believed yesterday's events to be reality, rather than a dream. Of course, Koutarou never pointed that out. She would eventually understand it by herself that as she grew up.
This is like telling someone Santa Claus is real...
There were plenty of times when one would be better off saying that something existed, regardless of if really did or not. Kii's mother was one such thing. That was how Koutarou felt, and he continued preparing the breakfast while listening to Kii's story, accepting that fact as truth.
“So what did you tell your mom about me?”
“I said you were good at cooking.”
“I'm not that good though.”
“You are. Kii knows. Fufufu.”
Kii had been talking cheerfully ever since she came flying into the kitchen. She was happy that she had met her mother and that she had someone to talk to about it. She was also happy that that someone was Koutarou. But she couldn’t help but feel a little sad that she couldn't tell her father. Her complex emotions regarding her father were beginning to sort themselves out after meeting with her mother.
“When I told her more things about you, she said that I should give you that.”
“What is 'that'?”
“Ehehehe... that's a secret♪”
“Another one, huh. You have plenty of secrets.”
“Maybe. But, I'll tell you everything sooner or later. Fufufufu.”
“Then I'll look forward to it.”
Kii was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, and with both of her elbows on the table, she gazed at Koutarou's back as he continued cooking. Her expression shone with joy. Yesterday's events had completely revived her original personality.
This is what children should be like...
Even though he couldn't directly see her, the sound of her voice and the tapping when her feet hit the floor as she swung her legs let him know how she must have appeared like. Thanks to that, Koutarou was also in a cheerful mood.
Part 2
Some time had passed after that; Koutarou had finished cooking and was now placing the breakfast on the table. Still swinging her legs, Kii called out to Koutarou.
“By the way, Onii-chan?”
“Yes?”
Koutarou stopped what he was doing and looked at Kii. That was when he noticed that the atmosphere around her was a little different from normal. Her cheeks were lightly blushed and her smile was reserved.
“Uhm, Uhm, you see...”
“Just go ahead and say it.”
Kii seemed to be hesitating so Koutarou smiled and urged her on ahead.
“Y-You see? If you're not too busy... uhm, would you go on a date with Kii?”
“A date?”
“Y-yeah...”
Kii blushed even more, and she very lightly nodded.
I see, so that's how it is...
Koutarou realized why Kii was blushing. The word date was embarrassing for her, but she held admiration for the word, so she wanted to use it. One could say that though she was young, Kii was still a girl.
“You see, I made a promised with mom! I promised that I would go see the Kabutonga movie and tell her about it! S-So, uhm...”
Kii hurriedly explained the situation, and Koutarou found her different-from-normal appearance to be heartwarming.
“But... if Onii-chan is too busy, that's okay...”
But as she was reaching the end, she lost momentum. At the same time, she looked up at Koutarou with longing eyes. That was when Koutarou noticed that she was worried about something else as well.
I see... not only is the word date embarrassing for her, but she's always worried about my circumstances...
Yesterday, Kii's mind had been too occupied with her fight with her father and the feelings for her mother that she hadn't considered that she might be causing any problems for Koutarou. However, once the night had passed, she had been able to meet with her mother and had begun to settle down. Because of that, she began thinking about what her presence might mean for Koutarou; she didn't want to cause him any troubles. That's why she had put it like that. Understanding that, Koutarou nodded at her words.
“Alright, then let's go on a date.”
“Really!? Are you sure!?”
Upon hearing Koutarou's answer, Kii expression instantly turned into that of a bright, childish smile.
That's it, a good girl like you should act like a child, Kii-chan...
Since Koutarou had already promised to take her to the movie, he had no reason to refuse. He also felt like fulfilling anything Kii wished for right now. It was a natural reaction for people to listen more to considerate children, rather than reckless ones.
“It's fine. But I have something to do today, so I hope tomorrow is okay with you.”
Koutarou had to pawn the platinum he had gotten from Clan and buy food and miscellaneous goods. Since Clan couldn't leave the laboratory, that was his job.
“Then I will help you!”
Kii offered her help, thinking that if Koutarou would take her on a date tomorrow, it was only obvious for her to work today.
“Thank you, Kii-chan.”
In reality, there wasn't a lot that Kii could do. But since Koutarou believed that her willingness to help was important, he honestly thanked her and patted her head.
“Fufufu, alright! Tomorrow's a date!”
“Even if you say that, I don't have a lot of experience with going out to play with girls, so don't get your hopes up.”
“Ehehehe, it doesn't have to be a grown-up date. That's because you don't do what I like doing on a grown-up date.”
Unlike his best friend, Kenji, Koutarou had almost no experience with going on dates with girls. That's why he believed that the date might not turn out the way Kii was expecting.
However, Kii wasn't expecting what she called a grown-up date. Though she wanted to use the word date, she was fine with going to play in a park, or eating ice cream.
“If it's something childish, you can leave it to me.”
“Onii-chan and I should just have fun.”
“...That's quite a grown-up idea.”
Koutarou reached out and patted Kii's head again. And in response, she happily smiled.
“So it is a grown-up date?”
“It's a mental attitude thing.”
The two laughed together.
Thus, Koutarou and Kii promised to go out and play.
Part 3
After exchanging the platinum for money at a pawn shop, Koutarou and Kii went shopping.
Food and various other goods; there was a lot of things he wanted to gather. After the next time freeze, Koutarou would be getting off the Cradle, but Clan would remain. And since Clan couldn't move herself, he had to make those preparations for her. He also believed it was best to be prepared in case anything irregular were to happen. After his long time on the battlefield in Forthorthe, Koutarou had acquired such carefulness.
Because of that, Koutarou and Kii were walking around large supermarkets and department stores. Eventually the acquired goods took up about as much space as three cardboard boxes and a cart was needed to move it around. By the time they were done shopping, both Koutarou and Kii were exhausted.
“Good work.”
“Fueee~~~, we bought so much~~~”
The two sat down on a bench in a park and took a break. After this, they still needed to push the cart all the way to the Cradle. Since the Cradle was in the middle of a mountain, it would be quite a tough job. They decided to take a little break before that.
“Here, Kii-chan. You can open it.”
“Really!?”
Koutarou pulled out a wrapped candy from the cart. After receiving it, Kii put a big smile on her face. Koutarou looked at her smile in his peripheral vision while pulling out two plastic bottles so that they would have something to drink.
“I hope something good comes out...”
Kii carefully unwrapped the candy. The candy was a snack from her favorite Kabutonga series which also contained a trading card with one of the characters on it. Koutarou had noticed that Kii was staring at this particular candy earlier, and so he had bought it for her.
“Aww, it was just King Scarab...”
After a quick glance on the bonus card, Kii slightly dropped her shoulders. The card she had gotten was pictured one of the villains, and had a malicious looking background color. Kii wanted Kabutonga, or at least another hero. Since she had built her hopes up, her disappointment was much bigger than she showed.
“Let's get another one on our way back.”
Seeing Kii drop her shoulders, Koutarou felt bad for her. He called out to Kii while handing her a juice bottle.
He still had a lot of the money he had gotten from exchanging the platinum. He had plenty to spare to buy some candy, so he suggested that they stop by a nearby convenience store on the way back and buy another one.
“No, that's okay. I can't get another one until I finish this candy.”
Kii's smile returned and she brought the snack to her mouth. She loved this taste. But with that said, she wouldn't be able to finish off two or three. She was sad about the card, but she was going to endure it.
She should just be more childish when it comes to things like that...
Kii was never very selfish., and that made Koutarou want to do something for her. Simply put, he wanted to see her smile.
Huh? Now that I think about it, this card...
Peeking at the card together with Kii, Koutarou realized that he had seen its layout before. Though the color was wrong, he had seen the frame's drawing style and the flavor text's design before.
“I see!”
“What is it, Onii-chan?”
“Just wait a minute, Kii-chan, I have something nice for you.”
Koutarou smiled at Kii and put his hand into the pocket on his chest.
“What?”
“Here, look.”
Koutarou pulled out what was in his pocket and showed it to Kii.
“It's Kabutonga!”
The next moment, Kii's eyes opened up as wide as possible. What she was looking at was a trading card. It depicted her beloved Kabutonga, and what's more, it was a rare card with a metallic sheen.
“Wow, how did you get this!?”
“I got it a while back ago.”
It was the card that Koutarou had used as a bookmark during the play. It was a recreation of the cards available in this age, as a promotion for the re-showing of the Kabutonga movie. As such, it had the same design as the cards of this era.
“I'll give it to you, Kii-chan.”
“Really!? It's a sparkling card you know!?”
“Yeah. You wanted one, right?”
Koutarou was planning on giving the card to Kii. It was hard for him to throw it away because of the way he had gotten it. So handing it over to someone who needed it was best.
“Yes!! Thank you, Onii-chan!!”
Kii took the card from Koutarou and held it above her head with both hands. It was a gesture as if she was trying to see through it using the sunlight, but of course, since the card was so thick she couldn't see anything. It was simply an expression of her joy.
“Alright!! It's a sparkling Kabutonga!!”
“Make sure you take good care of it.”
“Yeah, of course!!”
Truth be told, it was a bonus he had gotten when buying a pamphlet, and everyone who bought the pamphlet got the same card. However, there was no need to tell her that. Like the opposite of Santa Claus, it is sometimes good to not point out the existence of something.
That's right. If we go to the amusement park, we might be able to see the Kabutonga movie...
Thanks to the card, Koutarou remembered the movie theater in the amusement park. He had been planning on taking Kii to the amusement park tomorrow, so if things went well they might be able to go see the movie at the same time.
“Nfufu, I'll make sure to write my name on it later!”
Kii was in her own world as she looked at the card. Koutarou felt like he wanted to see her childish appearance even more as he looked at her.
I'll check it out when we get to the amusement park tomorrow...
That's why he quietly made up his mind as he looked at Kii who was in high spirits.
Part 4
Up until now, Koutarou had only had one date-like experience. Using that experience as reference, he decided on what to do today. In the morning, they would take a stroll through the park. Then, after eating lunch at a restaurant near the station, they would travel by train in the afternoon to the zoo and amusement park.
Just like Koutarou had hoped, the Kabutonga movie was being played in the amusement park’s movie theater. Though the seating capacity in the theater was limited, thanks to it being an amusement park, it had a rather large-scale promotion where goods were sold and presents were given to movie watchers, so it was filled with stuff that Kii would love.
“Wow... amazing...”
Kii ran in and out of the movie theater, completely fascinated with the sights she saw. There was so much that she didn't want to overlook, such as the large sign for the movie, information of presents and more.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Kii-chan. Here's a pamphlet.”
“Thank you, Onii-chan!”
However, her interest soon switched over to the ticket and pamphlet that Koutarou had bought. This pamphlet was also something only for this amusement park, and the deluxe edition had a bonus small figure attached to it.
“Alright!”
After receiving the pamphlet from Koutarou, Kii flipped through the pages with her eyes opened wide.
“You're better off not looking any further.”
“Eh? Why?”
Hearing Koutarou's warning, Kii stopped flipping through the pages. Koutarou smiled at her and pointed at the pamphlet.
“This spoils part of the story. So if you look at it first, you'll not enjoy the movie as much.”
“Oh, I see! Then I'll look in it later!”
Kii shut the pamphlet without hesitation, and showed a bright smile.
“Ehehehe~”
And when Koutarou patted her on the head, she happily narrowed her eyes. She then began gazing at the figure she had gotten.
“Aren't you glad you came?”
“Yeah!”
Kii was in a very cheerful mood today. She had seen so many things for the first time since this morning, and the movie she had been dying to see was about to start. But what made her the happiest was that someone was spending that time together with her. That person understood her feelings and treasured her, so her happiness and joy increased tenfold.
Everyone should just come over here and make friends with the people. Just like me and Onii-chan...
Recently, the people around Kii had been talking about complicated things. They were arguing if they should be getting along with the people in Harukaze city or not. That was too complicated of a topic for a six-year-old, but she now understood one thing: getting along with Koutarou was very fun. Because of that, she couldn't help but think of the adults arguing as strange.
Kabutonga says so too. Bravery comes from people supporting each other. When I grow up, I'll support Onii-chan!
That kind of feeling began budding in her small chest. It was something that she had been thinking about ever since yesterday.
Koutarou had treated a complete stranger like her well. But should she just rely on him? Like Kabutonga said, Kii wanted to do something for Koutarou as well. That was the kind of thoughts she had started to have.
On the other hand, Kii had begun understanding her own immaturity. She was still a child, and she didn't have the power to be of help. That's why she prayed that she would become a fine adult and be able to support Koutarou.
In other words, though young, Kii had fallen in love. Because of her age she still hadn't realized it, but this was her first love.
Part 5
After the movie had ended, the two began riding the attractions in the amusement park. Since it was almost evening, Koutarou began worrying about Kii's stamina, but she was full of energy even now. Kii had gotten really pumped up when she watched the movie, and she had been that way ever since.
“Uwaaa...”
Up close, the Ferris wheel was very big. From a six-year-old's point of view, though it didn't reach the sky, it was still huge. Kii spaced out as she stared up at the Ferris wheel.
“Kii-chan.”
Koutarou called for Kii since it was their turn to get on. The person in charge opened the door and waited for Koutarou and Kii. Since they couldn't ride until Kii got there, Koutarou and the clerk had wry smiles.
“I'm sorry, I'll be right there!”
Finally returning to herself after hearing her name, Kii began running towards Koutarou. And when she reached him, she firmly grasped his hand.
“Eii!”
Even though she caught up to Koutarou she didn't slow down. While holding onto his hand, she jumped into the gondola.
“That's dangerous.”
“Ehehe, sorry.”
As if pulled in by Kii, Koutarou entered the gondola as well and began scolding her. While she apologized, she smiled and didn't show any signs of reflecting on what she had done. Meanwhile the clerk closed the gondola’s door and the gondola rose without making a sound.
“If you do it again, I'll punish you.”
“Ehehe, it will be fine. When we meet again, Kii will probably be more adult.”
“Eh?”
“I met with mom, and I got to see the movie. Since I promised it's almost time to go home.”
“I see, that's true...”
Koutarou had forgotten part ways through, but Kii was in the middle of running away from home. And she had promised to go home after finding her mother and seeing the movie.
“But I think everyone is going to be very angry. So... I don't think I can see Onii-chan for a while.”
Kii was aware that she had caused problems for a lot of people. It would be hard for her to return for a while, that was why she was doing her best to enjoy today.
“That's great. I'm glad you've made up your mind.”
Koutarou, who understood Kii's feelings, stopped scolding her. She already understood everything.
“I heard on the TV that travelling on your own makes you grow up.”
“Haha, you're not on your own though.”
“Yeah. I only travelled on my own for a little while. Hehehe.”
A few hours after running away from home, she had met Koutarou. And today was the third day. Though it had only been a few days, she had grown up a little and experienced her first love. These three days had become her treasure.
“Alright! With that out of the way, let's enjoy today to our fullest!”
“Yeah!”
Kii would go home and Koutarou would go to sleep for ten years. Though it was sad, they would probably never meet again. With that in mind, Koutarou believed that in that case, they probably wouldn't be punished for having as much fun as possible during their last time together.
“Kii-chan, what do you want to ride next?”
“Uhm...”
The gondola the two were on was just about to reach the top. The setting sun's light lit up Kii's expression as she was looking outside the window. And that gave her cheerful smile a gentle atmosphere.
Ah...
Looking at Kii's profile, Koutarou saw the face of another person from his memories overlapping with Kii's.
“I've decided! Onii-chan, let's ride on that next!”
However, when Kii cheerfully pointed at something, the overlapping face of the other person vanished without a trace left. Because of that, he couldn't confirm just who that was.
“That thing spinning round and round and zooming by!”
“The roller coaster huh. That sounds good, let's ride that next.”
However, Koutarou didn't let that bother him. Right now, rather than being concerned about who Kii looked like, he should be valuing his time with Kii.
After getting off the Ferris wheel, the two walked towards the roller coaster, side by side. The setting sun lit them up and created long shadows. Their surroundings were wrapped in the red light and it was almost as if it was burning.'
“Hey, Onii-chan.”
Kii reached her hand out to Koutarou, and realizing what she wanted, he reached his hand out to her as well.
“Hehehe.”
Kii took Koutarou's hand and they wrapped their fingers around each other’s hand. And they continued walking towards the roller coaster while holding hands.
“Onii-chan.”
When Kii began speaking, she strongly squeezed Koutarou's hand. Because of that, though vague, Koutarou understood that she was about to say something important.
“When I come home, I will apologize to dad.”
“Why do you feel that way?”
Kii had run away from home because their feelings had missed one another. Koutarou wanted to know why her feelings had changed.
“I actually shouldn't have run away from home... Instead, I believe I should have held hands with dad.”
“Hmm...”
Instead of answering, Koutarou squeezed Kii's hand back. He felt like that was the best way to convey his feelings.
“I also think I've made him worry. That's why I am going to apologize to dad.”
“That's good. I'm sure he'll be really mad, but you should get along with your dad.”
“Yeah.”
Kii nodded and smiled. She was happy that Koutarou had understood.
“But I also think it's a good thing that I ran away from home.”
“It's not good.”
“Yeah. It's not good, but, how can I say it...”
Kii smiled wryly and put her hand on her cheek and began thinking. However, she quickly began to smile again and called out to Koutarou.
“That's right. I became friends with Onii-chan, right? That's not bad.”
“We probably wouldn't have met if you didn't run away from home.”
Koutarou smiled and dropped his shoulders a little at the same time.
When he had first met Kii, he had been worried about what would happen next, but in the end everything worked out. He became friends with her, the police hadn't gotten involved, and she was going to go back home.
Like Kii had said, it wasn't a bad end.
“Right?”
“Well, the balance is a little bad.”
“You're strict.”
“That's what the adult world is like.”
“I think you're still a kid too, Onii-chan.”
“Alright, then it's a good thing you ran away from home.”
“Ahahaha.”
As the two laughed, they reached the entrance to the roller coaster.
At that time, a coaster passed by them.
The top of the roller coaster was at around 70 meters, and from that point. there was a 65-meter free fall. At this moment, it was the largest roller coaster in the country, and its speed was terrific.
“Amazing...”
Kii looked at the coaster passing by her at extreme speed with her eyes opened wide. Her impression of the roller coaster was completely different from when she had seen it from the Ferris wheel.
“Are you scared?”
“Nope. I wanna ride it!”
However, Kii's eyes weren't open wide because of fear, but because she had been surprised by the speed. Getting a sense of the speed up close and personal, her interest piqued.
“Let's go!”
Her eyes were sparkling as she excitedly grabbed Koutarou and passed through the entrance to the roller coaster.
This roller coaster had been made very recently, and since it was the largest in the country, it had a long line during the weekends. However, since today was a weekday, there was no long line and they didn't have to wait long.
“Excuse me, may I have a minute?”
Before the two reached the terminal they were stopped by a clerk.
“Yes, what is it?”
“I am very sorry, but this lady cannot get on the ride.”
The clerk said to Koutarou.
“Eeee~~~h!? Why~~~!?”
Hearing that she wouldn't be allowed to ride all of a sudden, Kii was upset. She pressed up to the clerk and began protesting while making large gestures.
“Kii won't do anything dangerous!! I'll sit still in the ride, okay!?”
“N-No, it's not that you are in the wrong...”
Pressured by Kii's protest, the clerk pointed to a nearby signboard.
“This roller coaster does not have the safety measures to accommodate someone of your height. If you were to ride on the roller coaster, you might be thrown out of your seat.”
This was written on the signboard that the clerk had pointed at.
'To ride on this attraction you need to be at least 140 centimeters'
Kii had only recently grown past 110 centimeters, so she was a whole 30 centimeters shorter than what was shown on the signboard.
Roller coasters normally had a safety bar that lowered on top of the passengers and secured their bodies. However, Kii was too small and a gap would form in that safety measure. With a gap, there was a high chance that Kii would be thrown off the roller coaster during curves of free falls. And of course, the clerk couldn't allow her to get on the ride.
“I am truly sorry, but could you please give up on boarding this attraction?”
“B-But...”
Disappointed, Kii dropped her shoulders. Kii understood the reasons and didn't complain any more. However, since she had gotten her hopes up, she was greatly disappointed and was on the verge of crying.
“I can’t grow big all of a sudden!”
“That's too bad.”
“Aauuu~~”
“I am very sorry, we will await your arrival next time.”
The two separated from the clerk and returned down the path they had come. During that time, they passed by people who were going to ride on the roller coaster. As they walked, Kii glanced at the people they passed by with envy.
How do I put it, it's like...
Looking at Kii all depressed, Koutarou felt bad for her, but at the same time it was heartwarming. It was a complex emotion. He felt bad for her since she didn't get to ride the roller coaster, but when he looked at her now he felt nostalgic.
“...It's unfair that grown-ups get to have all the fun... geez...”
The feelings of 'why is it only the adults' was something that Koutarou understood very well. When he was young, he had felt the same way on many occasions. When he looked at Kii, it was like he was looking at himself from that time, and he was overcome with a heartwarming feeling. Because of that, although he felt bad for her, a smile appeared on his face.
“You'll become a grown-up soon too.”
“But I wanted to ride it today.”
Kii said that and squeezed on Koutarou's hand.
“...Together with Onii-chan...”
Kii was still looking at the roller coaster, filled with people waiting in line to get on. She wanted a memory of her and Koutarou riding it together. That's because she knew that it would be difficult for her to come back here with him again.
Really... she is such a good girl...
When Koutarou got a faint idea of what Kii was thinking, he felt like something was gripping at his chest. And he began thinking that he wanted to see her smile again.
“Then let's ride something that we can only ride today.”
Fortunately, he managed to find something that could comfort her right away. This was an amusement park, and there were plenty of things like that around.
“Only today?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Koutarou pointed at something when Kii looked up, still on the verge of crying. In the direction where he was pointing was a large merry-go-round.
“Why?”
When Kii saw the merry-go-round she rubbed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. It didn't look like something that they could only ride today to her.
“If I'm not with a small girl like you, it's far too embarrassing for a guy like me to get on.”
“Ah!”
Kii looked like she understood. The merry-go-round was full of children and their parents. There were also young couples riding, but the men seemed to be uncomfortable. In the end, it was hard to ride without using children as an excuse.
“Onii-chan, you want to ride something like that?”
A slight smile appeared on Kii's lips. Seeing that, Koutarou gave her a large nod and a mischievous smile.
“Yeah. Can't I?”
“No, that's okay!”
After shaking her head once, Kii showed a big smile and her expression changed into a gentler one.
“...Are you just enduring the embarrassment for Kii's sake?”
“No. I want to ride it for myself. Isn't that horse cool?”
“Hmm. Then I'll leave it at that.”
Kii understood what Koutarou was thinking. She was a clever child after all.
“Despite my looks, I'm confident in my ability to ride horses.”
“I see. Then let's ride it together!”
And just like that, Kii didn't mind if she was riding the merry-go-round. What she was after wasn't the fact of having ridden the roller coaster.
Part 6
After playing until the sun set, Koutarou and Kii headed for home. They took a train to the city and headed for the mountain where the Cradle was on foot. It would only take about 30 minutes from the station to the Cradle.
“We're back...”
Holding hands with Koutarou, Kii looked at the mountain growing larger in front of her. Koutarou had fulfilled everything he had promised. Now it was her turn. It was finally time for her to go back home.
“I was never planning on returning home...”
“That's just how it is. You don't run away from home for long. After growing up a little, it usually ends.”
Excluding special cases involving things such as abuse, the reason for running away from home usually involves immaturity. In other words, running away from home usually ends when you grow up.
Kii had also grown up. She had run away because of the friction between her and her father after her mother's death. However, after calming down, she realized her own immaturity and forgave her father. She realized that she's not the only one in grief,and that her father was suffering too. As a result, she had considerably matured.
“I'm sorry for causing you trouble for several days, Onii-chan...”
“It's alright. I think it's a good thing that I met you.”
Koutarou believed it was a good thing that the two had met.
Kii was a very gentle girl. Though he had been troubled at first, he felt that they had now become friends.
And if she hadn't met Koutarou, what would have happened to Kii? Would she wander the city on her own? What then? Thinking about it like that, Koutarou believed it was a good thing to have met her.
What can I say... I get a strange feeling from this girl...
Koutarou had felt a sense of deja vu several times after meeting Kii. The face of a familiar person would sometimes overlap with hers. He had felt something similar back in Forthorthe, but this time it was even clearer.
“Oh and thank you for the card.”
Kii pulled out the metallic card and showed it to Koutarou.
“I made sure to write my name on it to not lose it. Look!”
Characters had been written on the card using a permanent marker. That was supposed to be Kii's name, but since she was a six year old, it only looked like scribbles.
“Ah...”
Deja vu.
That's impossible!? I know this card!?
Koutarou had seen a card like this before. In the past, he had seen a card with scribbles just like these. However that card was old and the metallic color had lost its sheen. As if ten years or more had passed.
Then, this girl is... no, wait, can such a coincidence really happen!? Isn't it just that the scribbles look similar!?
Koutarou was getting confused. If he were to believe his intuition, he would have to accept a hard-to-believe coincidence. Compared to that, he felt it was more natural for the scribbles to just look similar.
“Kii-chan... could your name be...”
He could just confirm her name. Doing that would make everything clear. If Kii was just a nickname, and her real name was something else, then...
“Could it be, Kiri―”
However, just as Koutarou was about to ask her name, a video billboard that had been installed on the outside of a nearby building caught his eye.
“The time is 6:06PM. Here is the weather report for today, April 16 1999. The skies will be clear over the entirety of Harukaze city―”
The moment he saw that large billboard, the date displayed there filled his head. What he had been thinking of before completely left his mind.
“I-Impossible. It's April 16, 1999!?”
“What's wrong, Onii-chan?”
Noticing that the atmosphere around Koutarou had changed, Kii looked up with a worried expression. And since he had a pale face, Kii squeezed his hand.
“Which means that the accident happens today!? And there's less than one hour!!”
“Onii-chan what are you talking about!?”
Seeing how Koutarou was behaving, Kii sensed that something serious was happening. So her expression changed to a serious one.
“My mom will die soon!!”
On April 16, 1999 Koutarou's mother died in an accident. It had happened, no, it will happen at 7PM. An event that would forever change Koutarou's life was about to occur in less than an hour.
