"Well, that should pretty much do it. There's no sign of any infection. The cut looks to have healed quite nicely as well, although do expect some scarring. The antibiotics that I gave you should be enough in case you want to be safe, and actually I'd suggest taking it for about five more days."
After Mei finished bandaging my wound, I felt a massive sense of relief hearing that my wound has healed as much as it has. Even with Mei's examination, I could tell just how gentle of a person she was, even up to the very end when applying the bandage as well. Sure Kanon is quite skilled, but I could tell that Mei was the real deal. I even thought that I was in a hospital a few times with how professional she was about it.
"Uhm. I don't think I have enough for five days."
"How much do you have?"
"Three capsules."
"School will be starting soon. Come to the nurses office first thing on Monday and I'll get you some more. Take one capsule today and two tomorrow."
"Got it."
"Th-thank you, Miss."
"Ah, just call me Mei. I'll probably be coming around often now that your brother is away so don't worry about formalities."
"Okay."
Not too long after, Mei eventually left, leaving sis and I to ourselves once more. I ended up taking one capsule like instructed. I'm happy to know that my wound is a lot better, but it gives me a lot more reassurance now that I'm actually taking proper pills.
"So what time did you say Kanon would come around?"
"Uhm, they just said the morning, before work."
"What time would that be?"
"Like maybe 6am?"
"...I guess we can't really stay up too late then, hehe."
"Mm..."
As if we're both in sync with one another, we both leaned up against eachother on the couch, knowing that we'd have to sleep earlier than usual. Well I guess for me I'm a bit used to waking up that early, but even still I can't help but feel groggy when I first start work.
"Did you maybe want to go out somewhere together?"
"...Could we maybe stay like this instead?"
I'm not really in the mood to go out if I'm honest. Sure I'll still be with sis, but I want today to be just about us, not going out to shop or something.
"Sounds perfect."
"But maybe we could go out tomorrow after everything is sorted out?"
"Nn. Heh, I'm sure Nicole wouldn't like to be holed up inside a room all day anyways."
"Fufufu. I'm looking forward to it."
Unlike before, I feel happy with the idea of meeting sis' friends, especially now that we've decided to live here together from now on. It's not like they're going to be stealing sis away from me. We'll even be spending the nights together... like old times...
"Mmm..."
"Hmm? Reina?"
"Mm?"
"Hehe. Getting sleepy?"
"Just a bit..."
Thinking about sleeping together somewhat put me in the mood already despite the sun still being out. We have maybe a couple hours left until nightfall, but still... Maybe it could be the pill I took earlier?
"Well don't sleep just yet. You'll mess up your sleep schedule."
"I know. I'm just... so comfortable right now... It's tempting."
I end up resting my head on sis' shoulder once again as I feel my eyes growing heavier.
"Then lets head to the bed. We can't both sleep on the couch."
"Wait, but didn't you say it's bad to sleep just now?"
"Yeah, but you've also put me in the mood... Either way, it'll be even more comfortable on the bed."
"T-true..."
And so, after brushing our teeth and getting changed once again into more comofrtable sleep wear, we slowly made our way inside the bed, with the only lights illuminating the room being from the sun leaking through the balcony's curtain.
"Hehe."
"Fufufu."
But depsite thinking that we'd both fall asleep upon entering the bed, we just stared at eachother, giggling away as we both realize that neither of us isn't that tired now.
"At times like these, I wonder whether I'm actually fun to be around."
"Eh?"
Wait, what's sis on about?
"Well it's not like we have much to do here, right? It never really bothered me, but now that we're going to be living together, maybe I should look into livening up the place."
Ahh~ That's what she meant...
"Did you have any ideas?"
"Hmmm~ Midori did have quite a few plushies at her place. She also had a bunch of movies on the shelves as well. So maybe movies? Ah, but then I guess I'd need to buy some sort of player, huh."
"Oh, you can just use a game console to do that!"
"Huh?"
"Mhmm! Anna showed me how to play video games you see. She taught me a bunch of stuff and we even watched a movie on it as well."
"Wait. You play video games, Reina?"
"Ah- well, kinda? Fufu, I forgot which games were which, but I remember one of them had something to do with portals and puzzle solving."
It only comes to mind now that sis and I have lived different lives until now. With sis working hard to better herself, working out and stuff, I wound up learning about video games. Sis learnt how to cook whereas I learnt how to bake. A part of me feels a bit weird about it all... It's like our bond is being challenged in a way.
"Hmmm, then maybe when we go out tomorrow, we could pick up that video game console that you used?"
"Eh?"
However, it seems like sis is unphased about it and instead seems interested in the idea of video games, as if she herself is trying to keep our bond from breaking too thin. Does she feel the same way perhaps?
"U-uhm, sure! But I heard from Anna that it's quite expensive."
"Oh don't worry about money. I have plenty saved up."
"You sure?"
"I promise. I honestly have enough money to travel around the whole country multiple times around, hehe."
"Huh?! Wait, just how long have you been working?"
"Hmmm~ Ever since I turned 16?"
Wow... Sis is-
"...Amazing."
"Hehe. Well I hardly spent any of the money. I saved all my money to look for you when I finished school."
"S-seriously?"
"Nn... All of it."
To think sis was that serious about all of this...It makes me incredibly happy to hear that. I almost feel guilty in a way, like I didn't try hard enough...
"Hey, don't worry."
But before I could even delve into my thoughts, sis wraps her arms around me, pulling my head directly into her chest as I quickly begin to hear her heartbeat through her shirt. Sis's warmth... Hah~ I can't help but want to sink deeper into this feeling. Thinking so, I found myself also wrapping my arms around her, as if actually trying to make that become a reality.
"Mmm~ Sis is so warm."
"Hehe, Reina's even warmer."
She tightens her hold around me enough so that I won't be able to leave her chest; not that I planned to anyways.
"...Having you like this is a bit scary though."
"Mm... It's like many of the dreams I've had."
"So you had ones like this too?"
"Mhmm... But it's okay now. This isn't a dream... right?"
"I should be the one saying that, hehe."
"Fufu."
No... Sis's heart beat, warmth, touch. It all feels too real to be a dream. It's a bit silly to worry about this, but I guess we've both suffered for a long time. Even now I can hear sis' heartbeat slowly increasing as if she's nervous about the idea of this actually being a dream.
"...Sis."
"M-mm."
So, I try and calm her down with a soft peck on her lips before nestling myself infront of her. Our eyes now staring into one another.
"I'm home."
"Nn...hehe. Welcome home, Reina."
Before we knew it, we both passed out in eachother's arms, the sun gently setting beside us.
Meanwhile with Midori-
"Hahhh~ I think that's it?"
"Yup! Looks good!"
After hearing that it's okay to meet Luna's sister tomorrow, I figured in order to make a good impression, I dragged Nicole over to my dad's place. I know that Nicole actually prefers to come over when I'm at my mom's, but with how big of an event this is, I practically forced her.
"I think baking might be easier, right?"
"I wouldn't say that. What we made is quite easy compared to many other things you can bake. Cooking is much easier."
"Hmmm. So this is easy?"
I look over my muffins once more as I feel like maybe it's not good enough now. For someone like Luna and her sister, they should be eating something special...
"Hey, don't you even start."
"Eh?"
"I know what you were thinking. 'These are no good~! Luna requires only the best food, not something like this~' Am I right?"
"..."
"Bullseye. Hehe, but I'm serious, these look good. Try one-"
Nicole once again picks one of them up and begins to devour it within seconds.
"It's okay. If you say it's good then I'll wait until tomorrow."
Nicole is actually a picky eater, so for her to praise my food and even go in for seconds, I'm sure the taste is great.
"Ah-! Hey! Don't go for a third!"
"Ehhh~ But I'm hungry~"
"Wait till tomorrow!"
I end up snatching the tray away from her before she could grab a third. I did make a bunch, sure, but I want to save these...
"Fine~ Then are we done?"
"...I still think I want to make them a little more special though."
"Then why not write down something with the spare icing we have? You got some food coloring laying around, right?"
"Ah! Good idea!"
"Heh. What would you do without me."
"Thanks, Nicole."
And so, we both spent time decorating each individual muffin, shaping the colored icing into different shapes for each one. I'm just glad that we managed to succeed in baking these first try. God knows how long this would've taken if I had to actually cook something instead...
The following morning-
"Ah! So you must be Luna, right?"
"Nn...Yeah."
Man, I'm so tired. Reina said they'd come around 6am, so why are they here at quarter passed 5? Even Reina who said she was fine waking up at this time looks to be dead inside as she makes her way towards me. Meanwhile this ball of energy-
"My name's Kanon! And this here is-"
"I'm Kanon's father! N-nice to meet you!"
Eh? Wait, why do I feel like I'm getting weird vibes from him? Am I just that sleepy? No, he's seriously staring at me... quite intensely at that. Ah, wait could it just be 'cause Reina and I look so much alike? I guess that makes sense. Hahh~ I wanna go back to bed...
"Dad. Could you not weird her out like that? Sorry, hehe. He kinda did the same thing back when he first met Reina. He's a bit of a fan of white hair you see."
Oh... So I wasn't mistaken. Wait...
"That's strange."
"Fufuu. I thought the same thing too, sis."
"R-Reina!"
Oops. Looks like Reina's words were a gut punch to Kanon's father.
"I-it's okay. Sorry. It's just that Reina and I have been bullied because of how different we look, so."
"What?! You two were bullied?!"
And now he seems to look like he's about to go back out in search for blood.
"Yeah, but we're well passed that. Sorry, hehe."
After our greetings, Kanon's father helped move the few boxes of Reina's stuff inside. Besides a few things like Reina's phone charger, we left everything in the boxes as I could tell that Reina also wanted to go back to sleep as soon as possible; maybe even more so than me as her eyes are now barely even open at this point.
"Sorry again for coming so early, but I just really wanted to meet you."
"Nn. It's okay. I was also curious."
Kanon looks quite apologetic, but after walking around and talking with them, my brain is at least awake enough. Reina however-
"Mmmm~"
She looks about ready to pass out as I'm left holding her up by her waist, making sure she doesn't accidentally topple over. She talked such a big game about being able to wake up early, but here we are.
"Hehe. Reina's cute isn't she."
"Nn."
"You should see her in her uniform though! I packed her uniform in the box over there with the rest of her clothes."
"Oh?"
Now that she mentions it, I do see some frilly piece of clothing folded up in one of the boxes. Reina however still has her eyes shut, seemingly oblivious to our conversation.
"Ah, but we shouldn't keep you two up, hehe. Dad, is that everything?"
"Oh! Uhm, there's this too."
He comes back inside with a fourth box before placing it together with the other three. It was easy to figure out that it looked to be school stuff, including text books and stuff.
"And this too."
However, he then hands me a sealed envelope.
"It's Reina's pay for the week, but it seems like she's already asleep, haha."
Just like he said, it does seem like Reina has already passed out while standing. What kind of skill even is that? I then recall the time when I was in "that" apartment as I recall the grotesque living conditions she was in. I guess maybe she developed a weird skill like this because of that?
"Well, Reina~ We'll be off now okay?"
"Mmmm... B-byeee Kanon~"
Oh? A response?
"Hehe. Look after her okay?"
"Nn. I will."
I might've only met these people but I can already tell just how caring this family is. It's strange but it felt like they were sending off their own child just now. I won't lie that a small part of me is a bit irritated about that, but it's pretty much drowned out by how thankful I am to them for helping Reina out of such a shitty situation she was in.
"Th-thank you as well, for looking after her."
"No problem~"
"Be sure to come by our cafe sometime!"
"Nn. I will. Feel free to come by anytime as well."
We all smile as I wave them off as they leave, Reina practically dragging her feet as she follows me and she barely gathered enough strength to give Kanon a hug goodbye.
Closing the door, both of us collapse back down on the bed as Reina quickly falls into a deep sleep as I hold her close to me. However after all of that, I feel like I won't be able to get back to sleep. Ah... I guess this is also pretty good though as well.
"Mmmm~"
I end up playing around with Reina's hair in between my fingers as she lets out some soft, cute noises, cluctching onto my shirt as she does so.
"So cute..."
Words spill from my mouth as I end up gently patting her on the head, a smile quickly growing on my face. I still can't believe that this is all real... To have Reina, someone who's my other half, finally with me once more... It feels like all of that void inside me has suddenly been filled, like I've finally become whole once more as I once again recall our past together as kids. Of course we're not kids anymore, but at least on the inside, I feel like I'm back during those time once more. Only-
"Papa... Mama..."
Reina's words sink deep inside me as she speaks exactly what I was thinking. That's the only thing that we cannot fix... It's depressing to think about, but I've lived with this feeling for all my life. I've gotten used to it. I'm sure Reina also feels the same way, with her pain only coming out in her dreams... Wait. Did Reina sleep talk before when we were kids? Wait, now that I think about it, maybe I do the same? It's kinda hard to know since I don't have anyone around me when I sleep. Ah.
"Hehe."
But I guess that's not the case anymore, huh.