Hayato was in the living room checking out Himekoâs outfits.
âWhat do you think of this? Isnât it a little too childish?â
In front of the sofa, Himeko spun around and flipped the hem of her dress. Itâs sleeveless, floral, and sweetly designed for a girl. Himeko groaned, somewhat unconvinced.
âUh-huh, it looks nice, I guess?â
âMou~, Onii, youâve got to be serious!â
âThatâs exactly what I saidâŠâ
Incidentally, this was the third time Himeko had asked Hayato for his opinion.
The first one was a little more mature, with a cutaway dress and a mimole-length tulle skirt, and the one before that was an age-appropriate outfit that she wore to a convenience store the other night.
(They all look good on her, and I think any of them would be fine.)
Himeko has a lot of clothes.
And she seems to be very particular about what she wears depending on the situation.
However, Hayato didnât know what her little sisterâs style was, and he didnât want to be asked.
This thought showed on Hayatoâs face, causing Himekoâs cheeks to puff up even more.
Just as Himeko was about to close in on Hayato with a frustrated look on her face, she caught sight of the clock and started to panic.
âAh, itâs already time! Mou~, I canât help it, this outfit is fine I guess, Haru-chan is older than me, after all.â
âOh, youâre leaving already? Itâs not even nine oâclock yet.â
âFufu~, it will take some time if I have to stop by Haru-chanâs house to help her get dressed.â
âO-OhhâŠâ
With that, Himeko put on her favorite sandals and ran off. She was probably going to barge into Harukiâs house with that kind of energy.
After seeing Himeko off, Hayato let out a big sigh of relief and sat down on the sofa to stretch.
Looking around, he saw a clean living room with most of the unpacking done, and Hayatoâs room was similarly clean, with more than half of Himekoâs room still left to be done, but he wouldnât be able to do it.
But that doesnât mean thereâs nothing else to do.
âWell then, letâs do it. Letâs see, the burnable trash is on Monday hereââ
He had to sort out the garbage and clean the common areas such as the bathrooms and living room hallways. In addition to the laundry that had accumulated, he also washed the sheets of the futon.
His handiwork is very skillful and thorough, and he does it quickly and efficiently.
As expected, the only time he wrinkles his brow is when drying Himekoâs underwear. Itâs not that heâs dissatisfied. Even though she was his sister, he was still a little uncomfortable about touching the underwear of the opposite sex.
In the meantime, the housework was done. The house was small compared to Tsukinoseâs, so it was quicker than expected.
The time was just before eleven oâclock.
It was still too early for lunch, and he didnât feel like cooking for one person. He looked in the refrigerator to see if there was anything, but it was completely empty. Either way, he needed to go outside.
ââŠLetâs just go then.â
Hayato muttered to himself, and took out an envelope from the shelf in the living room. He turned on his laptop and checked the address on the envelope.
His face had a mysterious expression on it.
âââ
Hayato left his apartment and headed for the nearest station. It was an ordinary station building with nothing to say.
He was surprised to find out that it really takes about 10 minutes to get to the station, and that there are 10 trains an hour. Then again, he was surprised to hear, âOh, one station is so short!â. He got off the train and headed for a large white building that could be seen from there.
Located in what could be called a suburban area, it had an inordinately large parking lot and lawns and flowerbeds that looked like a place for relaxation, giving the impression of being somewhat inorganic despite the abundance of greenery.
After entering the unusually wide lobby and completing the reception, he headed for a room on the sixth floor.
The room marked â617â was the hospital room where his mother was staying.
âOh, Hayato?â
âMom.â
His mother, who had lost some weight and had become thinner, was peeling a pear with a fruit knife in her six-mat studio room.
âDo you want some? I was peeling them for rehabilitation, but I overdid it.â
âOh, yeah⊠Wait, thatâs a lot!?â
âAhaha~, thereâs enough for three!â
âCan you eat all this? What in the world are you doingâŠâ
âDonât worry. If thereâs any left, Iâll feed it to your father tonight.â
âDadâŠâ
Hayato took the pears from his mother, who was smiling cheerfully, and carefully cut them into leaves and rabbits. The crunchy texture and sweet and sour aroma spread in his mouth.
When he noticed her gaze, Hayato felt embarrassed and turned away from her, and then asked her something that had been bothering him.
âAh, that, did that⊠go well?â
âThe surgery went well, of course. I have some numbness in my fingers, but Iâm going to be moved to a rehabilitation ward soon⊠More importantly, whereâs Himeko? Is she crying?â
âSheâs fine. She went out with her friends again today.â
âI see.â
Hayato, too, breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his motherâs apparent good health.
âWell then, Iâm going home now.â
âOh, why donât you take your time?â
âIâm good.â
After eating three pears, Hayato quickly left the room with his mother at his back.
He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
It was the second time that his mother had collapsed in front of HimekoâŠ
He had heard from his father that she was going to be fine, but seeing her in person was a relief, as she seemed to be in better condition than he had expected.
Hayato was not fond of hospitals.
It was a place far removed from everyday life, a space where abnormal situations were embodied.
The white, clean space, which was intended to be clean, was scented with the smell of antiseptic and decorated with colorful flowers that had been cut everywhere, as if they were bleached heads.
Such a place with a sense of distortionâ that was the hospital for Hayato.
âAh.â
âEh?â
So when he saw it, he was terribly surprised.
The person holding it was a small girl with curly hair, resembling a sheep. She was a peculiar girl who planted vegetables in the flower bed of the school building.
âMi-Mitake-san!?â
âKirishima-sanâŠ?â
It was a somewhat familiar bouquet of bright white, yellow and purple flowersâ a bouquet of vegetable flowers.