But even though they had once been so familiar, during this recent period, the two sides had been in different places.
Tsubakihara Nina and Tsubakihara Yuna had gone to stay for quite a while at the home of Miss Mira's close friend, Aunt Takamine Kasumi, a place the group had all been very familiar with before.
And Hikari had also gone to the countryside for quite some time.
So when the three of them chatted, it felt like they had endless things to talk about.
Listening to Tsubakihara Nina and Tsubakihara Yuna talk about life at the Takamine household, Hikari smiled and asked, "From the way you're describing it, it sounds like you had a great time at the Takamine house."
"Yeah, it was great. It's just that we didn't see you for so long, so we kind of missed you. It would've been nice if you came with us," Tsubakihara Nina said with a grin.
"I'm already this old, going to the Takamine house would be a bit inconvenient, right? By the way, how are Aunt Kasumi, Ayame-nee, and Sayuri-nee doing now?", Hikari smiled and shook his head, then asked curiously.
"Aunt Takamine still looks super young. I'll tell you a secret, it feels like she's even a bit younger than Mom. And she's still incredibly pretty," Tsubakihara Yuna leaned in close to Hikari's ear and whispered. The warm breath tickled his ear, and she thought she had spoken very quietly.
But the next second, she got a sharp knock on the head.
"Hmph! Talking behind my back like that. Do you think your mom is deaf?", Miss Mira stood with her hands on her hips, scolding Tsubakihara Yuna fiercely.
Tsubakihara Yuna held her aching head with both hands and looked at Miss Mira with a pitiful expression, "Mom, weren't you in the kitchen washing dishes? How did you suddenly come over here?"
"I have a superpower that lets me hear anyone talking bad about me perfectly. Got a problem with that?"
"By the way, what did you just say? Say it again, let me hear it," Miss Mira smiled at Tsubakihara Yuna.
"I… I said Aunt Kasumi is as young as you… no, that's not right! Mom, you're even younger than her! I feel like you're younger than Aunt Kasumi, yeah, that's right!"
Although Tsubakihara Yuna didn't have particularly high emotional intelligence and could be a bit airheaded, she could clearly feel the terrifying pressure in the air and immediately backed down.
Miss Mira smiled, then turned her head and looked at Tsubakihara Nina.
"I've always felt that Mom is younger and prettier than Aunt Kasumi," Tsubakihara Nina said calmly, pushing up her glasses.
"And what about you, Hikari-kun?", Finally, the most important one. Miss Mira turned her head and looked at Hikari with a gentle smile.
"Well… I didn't go to the Takamine house, so how would I know how Aunt Kasumi is doing now?"
"But in my heart, Miss Mira, you will always be the most beautiful, cutest, most charming, and most attractive woman. There's no one else like you," Hikari replied, sticking to the truth while also going beyond it.
"Hmm! Today's answer is acceptable. I'll give you seventy points," Miss Mira's lips curved slightly upward as she nodded.
"Wow! That's so strict. You only get seventy points for that?", Tsubakihara Yuna couldn't help but interrupt.
Thump!
Another knock landed on her forehead, and Tsubakihara Yuna immediately behaved.
After Miss Mira, now satisfied and refreshed, returned to the kitchen, Hikari and the Tsubakihara sisters continued their discussion.
"What about Ayame-nee and Sayuri-nee? Have they changed much?", Hikari asked again.
Takamine Ayame and Takamine Sayuri were Takamine Kasumi's two daughters.
Although they weren't twins like Tsubakihara Yuna and Tsubakihara Nina, they were close in age.
When they were younger, Hikari, the Tsubakihara sisters, and the Takamine sisters had all gotten along very well. The five of them often played together.
This time, Tsubakihara Nina answered him.
"It feels like both Ayame-nee and Sayuri-nee have grown up. Sayuri-nee is very gentle and capable, while Ayame-nee is… more lively."
Tsubakihara Yuna, rubbing her head as she recovered, added, "Yeah, Ayame-nee is really lively. And now she's super pretty too. I heard she can even be crowned a beauty queen at school."
"But she's a bit… eccentric. At home she always wears a swimsuit… it feels kind of weird."
Hearing Tsubakihara Yuna's words, Hikari recalled some childhood memories and smiled, "Ayame-nee still likes swimming that much, huh?"
Back then, the Tsubakihara and Takamine families had lived very close to each other, practically neighbors.
The house Hikari stayed in wasn't just the Tsubakihara household; he had also stayed at the Takamine household.
When they were kids, his relationship with Takamine Ayame and Takamine Sayuri was no worse than with Tsubakihara Yuna and Tsubakihara Nina.
They all used to play together.
He remembered that among the five of them, Takamine Ayame, the oldest, had always been a bit carefree and really loved swimming.
Even when she couldn't go to the beach or a pool, she would still wear a swimsuit and swim in the bathtub at home, or even pretend to swim in the air.
He hadn't expected that after all these years, she still hadn't changed.
You could say she had stayed true to herself.
Seeing Hikari's smile, Tsubakihara Nina roughly understood that he was recalling their childhood.
Feeling a bit nostalgic herself, she smiled too and continued explaining, "As for Sayuri-nee, her personality has become even more introverted than before. She's a bit cold, like Sister Yuna when she's around strangers."
"Hey! Can you not use me as an example," Tsubakihara Yuna glared at Tsubakihara Nina unhappily.
Tsubakihara Nina ignored her and continued, "But even though Sayuri-nee seems cold, she's actually very kind and good at taking care of people."
"The food she cooks is really delicious. Compared to Mom's… well, it's not just a little bit worse. Yeah."
"She's also very good at housework, and she's quite skilled in gymnastics too, not worse than me."
Hearing Tsubakihara Nina, Tsubakihara Yuna quickly chimed in, forgetting her annoyance, "Yeah, yeah! Sayuri-nee's body is really flexible. She can casually do the splits! If I want to do it, I have to prepare for ages."
Listening to their descriptions, Hikari smiled, forming a general picture of the current life of the Takamine family.
Then Tsubakihara Nina showed him a group photo of the four of them.
In the photo, Tsubakihara Yuna and Tsubakihara Nina were both smiling, looking as beautiful and charming as in real life.
When Hikari saw Takamine Ayame and Takamine Sayuri in the picture, he was a bit surprised, even slightly amazed.
Because compared to the scruffy little girls he remembered from childhood, the ones in the photo were now two exceptionally beautiful young women.
Standing alongside Yuna and Nina, who had inherited Miss Mira's perfect genes, the Takamine sisters were not inferior at all.
They could truly be called flowers on a high peak.
The photo, each with their own charm, was as beautiful as a painting.
"Alright, alright! Stop looking. Are they really that pretty," Seeing Hikari staring at the Takamine sisters in the photo, Tsubakihara Yuna felt a bit annoyed for some reason.
She took back her phone and waved her hand in front of him.
Tsubakihara Nina, on the other hand, said, "By the way, Hikari-kun, Ayame-nee and Sayuri-nee miss you too."
"These are their Line contacts. They asked us to tell you to add them when we got back."
Tsubakihara Yuna also nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, yeah! Aunt Kasumi also said she hasn't seen you in a long time and misses you a lot. If you're free this weekend, come with us to the Takamine house."
Seeing both sisters looking at him expectantly, Hikari nodded, "Alright, if I'm free, we'll go together to the Takamine house."
"Oh right! Forget that for now. Hikari-kun, did anything interesting happen when you went to the countryside?", Tsubakihara Yuna asked eagerly, full of curiosity.
Looking at her pretty face that practically spelled out "I'm curious," Hikari smiled, "Yeah, I ran into a lot of exciting things."
"What things, what things?", Hearing that, Tsubakihara Yuna became even more excited.
She grabbed Hikari's arm and shook it vigorously, "Tell me, tell me! Hikari-kun, tell your big sister. I'll do anything!"
Seeing how Tsubakihara Yuna had already latched onto Hikari's arm in an overly intimate way, Tsubakihara Nina couldn't help but shake her head.
Even though they were siblings, Sister Yuna was always a bit too unrestrained with Hikari-kun.
Muttering that slightly dissatisfied thought to herself, Tsubakihara Nina lowered her head and prepared to continue reading.
At first, she assumed Hikari would just share ordinary countryside scenery and daily interactions.
That kind of simple local life would already be enough to make Tsubakihara Yuna excited.
So she planned to read while quietly listening.
But the moment Hikari started speaking, her attention was immediately drawn in.
"This trip back to the countryside, I ran into more than just one or two exciting things."
"Have you heard of the urban legend 'Yamanoke'? And 'Kunekune'?"
"Oh, and this one you definitely know, 'Hachishaku-sama.'"
Hearing this, Tsubakihara Yuna's eyes widened instantly.
She tightly clung to Hikari's arm, leaning against him nervously and fearfully, yet full of anticipation.
"I haven't really heard of Yamanoke, I think I've vaguely heard of the Kunekune, but of course I know Hachishaku-sama! What happened? Did you actually run into those urban legends? Hurry, tell me!"
Not just Tsubakihara Yuna, even Tsubakihara Nina set down her book and looked at Hikari with curiosity.
Clearly, as girls, they were both very interested in these kinds of legendary ghost stories.
Seeing the sisters' eager expressions, Hikari smiled and began describing the scenes he had encountered.
His storytelling was vivid, almost lifelike, making it sound as if these things had truly happened.
The two sisters listened with complete focus.
Of course, these events were indeed things Hikari had personally experienced, not stories he made up.
He had even beaten the Yamanoke and the Kunekune, and transformed into a colossal form to take down Hachishaku-sama in one go.
But naturally, he couldn't tell the Tsubakihara sisters everything exactly as it happened.
Even so, although he toned it down a bit.
Because he had truly experienced it, his storytelling carried a sense of immersion that completely captivated Tsubakihara Yuna and Tsubakihara Nina.
As they listened to these seemingly real stories, their fair faces gradually flushed, their breathing quickened, and their emotions changed.
Tsubakihara Nina, being more intelligent and well-read, handled it better.
Though she was a bit nervous and subconsciously gripped the sofa, her legs pressed together and toes curled.
Compared to Tsubakihara Yuna, she was much more composed.
Despite being the oldest among the three.
Tsubakihara Yuna had the biggest reaction.
As she listened to the thrilling, eerie, and somewhat frightening stories, she not only clung tightly to Hikari, at some point, she had even buried herself in his arms.
Her delicate body trembled, looking less like a beautiful girl and more like a frightened little rabbit.
Seeing her like this, Hikari felt helpless.
"Sister Yuna, can you get off me? My legs are going numb from you sitting on them."
Feeling the soft weight pressing against his thigh, Hikari said helplessly.
"My legs are numb from being scared by your stories too! Who told you to make such scary stories to frighten me!", Tsubakihara Yuna trembled, clinging to him tightly.
It seemed only by pressing close and feeling his warmth could she calm down.
"They're not stories. They're real experiences," Hikari corrected.
"Ah! You're still trying to scare me. I'm going to pee on you!", Tsubakihara Yuna refused to let go, trembling.
"Alright, alright, stop messing around. Get down already!"
Seeing Tsubakihara Yuna sitting on Hikari's lap in a very improper posture.
Tsubakihara Nina finally couldn't take it anymore.
She reached out and pulled Tsubakihara Yuna off him.
Still shaken, Tsubakihara Yuna sat on the sofa, breathing heavily for a while before calming down.
"Phew… that was really terrifying."
"I'm not listening anymore. I want to go take a bath."
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