Tomiko pulled back slightly, her hands still on Kasumi's shoulders, her eyes searching her sister's face. "Sister… tell me the truth…" she pleaded, her voice soft but insistent. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Kasumi's body trembled, her mind racing for an answer, for a way out. The truth was too shameful, too forbidden to speak aloud. But the lie felt just as heavy on her tongue.
"I… I just…" she stammered, her voice breaking. "I just had a bad dream… That's all…"
Tomiko nodded slowly, but her gaze lingered, her concern unwavering. She didn't know the truth, but she knew something was wrong. And as she held her sister, her own body pressing against Kasumi's, the tension in the air was palpable.
Kasumi's breathing slowly steadied, though her heart still raced like a drum in her chest. Tomiko's concerned gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, as if searching for the truth in her sister's flustered expression.
