Although she hadn't shown it outwardly, Seika was actually quite looking forward to this trip to Sapporo.
Flipping back through the chapters of her life made it easy to understand why.
After their mother passed away, as the eldest daughter she naturally took on the responsibility of caring for the still-young Nijika.
She had to find ways to earn money to support their household, while also keeping an eye on Nijika to make sure she stayed on the right path.
That experience couldn't simply be described as "tough."
Along the way, the time that truly belonged to her alone was incredibly rare—let alone something like this, where she could fully relax and go on a trip without thinking about anything else.
As for similar memories, her recollection was so distant and hazy that she wasn't even sure they were real.
If she remembered correctly, that kind of thing hadn't happened since over a decade ago—back when their mother was still alive…
"…Sis?"
In the taxi on the way to the airport, Seika snapped out of her daze at the sound of her younger sister's voice and turned her head away from the window.
"You spaced out all of a sudden. Don't tell me you couldn't sleep because you were too excited last night?"
Nijika poked her sister's soft side teasingly.
She was wearing a hat and a face mask, so her expression couldn't be seen, but Seika could still tell from her overly cheerful tone that she was chuckling.
That whole "sisters perfectly in sync" idea always seemed too far-fetched to Seika.
She never really believed in it.
But after living together for so long, the mutual understanding between them had definitely deepened—so much so that they could pick up on each other's thoughts from the subtlest of cues.
Right now, Nijika was probably just like her—feeling genuine joy and excitement for the first time in a long while.
Thinking about it, after their mother passed away, their father had started working away from home to earn more money.
Sometimes he even traveled overseas for business and only came back rarely. Most of the time, it had just been her and Nijika, relying on each other to get by.
Because she had to manage the shop, Seika had almost never taken Nijika out to have fun over all these years.
Looking back, Nijika had seemed to mature overnight after their mother's death.
Ever since then, she had never once made any difficult requests of Seika—not even the selfish little demands that should have been natural for a child.
While other kids joined various afterschool clubs, Nijika had been a loyal "Go-Home Club" member for years.
Because she knew there was an older sister at home who wouldn't eat properly unless someone watched over her.
At some point, Nijika had even taken over hanging and washing the laundry and bedclothes.
Thinking about it now… Seika realized just how much she owed Nijika, as her guardian.
Seriously, if you think about it carefully—who was really taking care of whom all these years?
Seika smiled—a rare, gentle smile. She reached out and rubbed Nijika's hat softly with her palm.
"…Yeah, I guess so."
"Uh."
Nijika looked a bit uncomfortable with her sister's unusual display of emotion. In her eyes, Seika had always been the type to put on a front and rarely showed what she was truly feeling.
Truly, so many things had quietly changed without them even noticing.
Nijika couldn't help but think.
"I did some research online yesterday. The hotel we're staying at this time has a hot spring, and they even offer a scrubbing service. You should come and try it with us, Sis."
"You really thought of hot springs first? Your itinerary is ridiculously Showa-style."
"Because hot springs feel really good, don't they?"
"Whatever you want."
Seika shrugged, casually leaving the plans to her younger sister.
The roar of airplanes taking off and landing could now be heard clearly, and through the car window, they could already see the airport looming just ahead.
Ah, she's back to her usual self.
Nijika watched her sister, who was humming a tune, taking off her hat and tidying her hair, which had just been messed up.
…
The group had agreed beforehand to meet directly at the airport.
Chisato had already met up with the other three members of Kesshoku Band—only the Ijichi sisters were missing.
But despite sitting together and waiting, there was an unusual silence between them, lacking the liveliness of their usual interactions.
Eriri and Utaha sat to the left of Chisato, while the three members of Kesshoku Band sat to his right.
He, sitting in the center, formed an invisible dividing line, subtly indicating that the two groups belonged to different camps.
After bringing Utaha and Eriri to meet the members of Kesshoku Band, Chisato had briefly explained why he brought the two extra guests and introduced everyone.
Other than Hitori's timid but polite greeting, both Ikuyo and Ryo gave slightly awkward responses.
Ikuyo was simply surprised by the last-minute additions to the trip.
On top of that, seeing that both Eriri and Utaha possessed a level of beauty and presence far above that of ordinary women—especially when her eyes met Utaha's confident posture and impressive figure—triggered a faint but undeniable sense of inferiority.
As a result, her greeting came off stiff and forced, her smile clearly a strained formality.
Ryo, on the other hand, casually reached out a hand and gave the two a flat "hello."
At least Ikuyo took off her mask when she greeted them, putting it back on afterward.
Ryo didn't bother. She skipped the formalities, sat down next to Ikuyo after her simple greeting, put on her headphones, and started tapping away at her screen to play a game, as if no one else were there.
Chisato and the rest of Kesshoku Band were used to this behavior from her. Unless something piqued her interest or involved food, she rarely showed any enthusiasm.
But Eriri and Utaha didn't know this.
Though Chisato leaned over and whispered an explanation to them, telling them not to think too much about it.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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