Nothing to say for the day.
"Too much… This is too much…"
Juju hugged her knees, sitting in the bathtub, her hair disheveled, tears welling up in her eyes, and even her voice was noticeably much hoarser.
Juju completely refused to recall what happened in the bathroom for those two hours earlier, but the memories in her mind were exceptionally vivid and simply unforgettable.
What bothered Juju the most was that the hand that reached out from the bathroom earlier did not belong to Natsuki, but to Sayu.
Knowing she was outside the door, not stopping was bad enough, but she even actively pulled her in… What on earth was Sayu thinking!
Didn't she feel any shame or embarrassment at all!
And… why was she so foolishly closing her eyes at the time, not resisting at all!
Juju sniffled, feeling more and more ashamed the more she thought about it.
Being with Sayu alone was already bad enough, but then there were even more shameful things later on.
These were things that happened in a daze.
Juju no longer remembered the time, only vaguely heard the bathroom door being gently pushed open with a 'bang', and then Marin's shocked voice:
"You… what are you doing behind my back?!"
"Ugh…"
Recalling the terrible scene at the time, a feeling of shame so intense she wished she could die surged into her heart again, making Juju let out a mournful cry.
In her best best friend's house, hiding in the bathroom with her best friend's boyfriend, no matter how she thought about it, it was too terrible. The ship of friendship would definitely capsize!
"Oh no, Marin-chan is angry…" Sayu's voice was tense, "There's only one way to make Marin-chan forgive us now… Juju, quickly come and hold Marin-chan's hands!"
"Eh, eh, eh?"
"No time, come over quickly!"
"…"
Juju could no longer remember what kind of mindset she had at the time to obey Sayu's words and obediently go to help hold Marin's hands, allowing her best best friend to be taken advantage of by Stupid Natsuki.
Betrayal!
This was betrayal!
She had not only betrayed her best best friend but also aided and abetted… She was truly too much!
"Ugh… So, so mean…"
Marin sat at the other end of the bathtub, covering her face with her hands, her shoulders occasionally shrugging slightly, as if she was silently crying.
Unfortunately, Natsuki saw clearly from the side that this Marin's lips were clearly curving upwards, obviously secretly enjoying herself.
"Girls are indeed all actors."
Natsuki complained in his heart.
In fact.
Making Juju hold Marin's hands just now was a plan Sayu had temporarily changed.
Twin Telepathy made Juju unable to control herself, but after she sobered up and recalled the various details from that period, she might discover the truth, and Juju would definitely be very angry then.
But the current situation was completely different.
Juju had already gone from being a victim to an accomplice who aided and abetted. Marin was the real victim, completely capable of escaping the bathroom alone, or even hiding in a corner and not helping either of them. Yet, she obediently listened and helped hold Marin's hands. If that's not an accomplice, what is?
So… the future trouble has been eliminated!
"Natsuki, you go out first."
Among the three girls, only Sayu behaved the most normally. At this point, her body had recovered, and she said seriously:
"I'll take care of Juju and Marin-chan."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Natsuki nodded, his expression unchanged, "I'll go to the living room for a drink of water first."
Their eyes met.
Everything was understood without words.
Natsuki didn't need to worry about what happened next.
Marin, as the 'victim,' once successfully 'comforted' by Sayu, Juju, the accomplice, could naturally be easily appeased.
"My sins seem to be getting deeper and deeper..."
Natsuki sighed to himself, then closed the bathroom door and walked downstairs.
Half an hour later.
Thump-thump-thump.
Footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Sayu, Marin, and Juju, the three girls, came down together.
"Natsuki, you were really too much just now!"
Marin walked over, stopped in front of Natsuki, hands on her hips, verbally attacking him.
Juju had been temporarily appeased, but an attitude was necessary; the identity of 'victim' absolutely could not be dropped.
Sayu stood behind Juju, quietly raising her hands, giggling while making a peace sign.
"It's all my fault, I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me."
Natsuki's attitude was sincere as he apologized earnestly.
"Hmph." Marin raised her chin, "If apologies worked, what would we need laws for?"
Natsuki cleared his throat and said:
"You all agreed to date together..."
"Dating together doesn't mean agreeing to do that kind of thing with you!" Marin raised her voice, "You even made Juju hold my hands, that's too much!"
Hearing this, Juju uncomfortably averted her gaze.
That's right.
She was a victim at first, but she accidentally became an accomplice during the process, and now she didn't even have the right to question Stupid Natsuki.
"I'm terribly sorry." Natsuki took out a pad of sticky notes, tore off nine in one go, gave three to each girl, and sincerely said, "These are 'Any Command' tickets, three for each person, you can make me do anything."
"Eh?"
Upon receiving the 'Any Command' tickets, Marin's eyes lit up, and a bright smile involuntarily appeared on her pretty face.
"Poke, poke—"
Sayu extended a finger and quietly poked Marin's lower back.
Marin!
One hundred miles is ninety percent done; Juju is still here, now is not the time to get carried away!
"Ahem..." Marin quickly reined in her smile, reached out to take the 'Any Command' tickets, and said, "Considering Natsuki's sincere attitude in admitting his mistake, I'll reluctantly forgive you for now... But there won't be a next time!"
Natsuki: "..."
You say there won't be a next time, but why are you looking so eager?
You're clearly already thinking about how to take advantage of Juju next time!
"Juju, these are your command tickets."
Natsuki handed the other three command tickets to Juju with both hands.
"Hmph..."
Juju snorted lightly, biting her silver teeth as she took the command tickets.
No choice.
Marin, as the 'victim,' had already forgiven Stupid Natsuki; she was just an accomplice, did she have any reason to refuse?
Of course not.
Even if she wanted to bite him, she'd have to wait until they were alone.
Natsuki treated them all equally, giving Sayu three 'Any Command' tickets as well.
"Natsuki, you can leave now." Marin put her right hand on her hip and waved him away, "Go, go, I don't want to see you again today."
They had just played a game of Tetris in the bathroom; anyone would feel embarrassed and want to calm down, so there was no choice but to let Natsuki leave.
"Yes, I'll leave immediately."
Natsuki's attitude was sincere as he got up and walked out.
Leaving Juju's house, the sky had unconsciously darkened.
Streetlights illuminated the streets, countless Japan lights intertwined.
Natsuki found a simple ramen shop, ate a bowl of ramen, then slowly made his way home.
In the blink of an eye, it was past ten in the evening.
Natsuki had already showered and was playing a game when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He picked it up and saw it was a message from Miko.
"Natsuki... you're home, right?"
"I'm home." Natsuki put down his game controller and focused on replying to Miko's message, "What's wrong?"
Miko: "Um... Mom hasn't come home yet..."
Natsuki: "Auntie should be off work by now, right?"
Miko: "She gets off at nine o'clock, and usually gets home around nine-thirty, but it's already ten o'clock, and she's not replying to messages, and her phone's not getting through."
Natsuki stood up and said:
"Get dressed, we'll go look for Auntie."
"..."
After changing, Natsuki pushed open the door and walked out, only to see a girl with long black hair standing outside the door—who else could it be but Miko?
Clearly, Miko had likely sent the message from the yard just now.
"Natsuki..."
Miko bit her lip and called out softly.
"Tokyo's public safety is very good, and Auntie doesn't usually walk alone in secluded places, so don't worry." Natsuki reached out and stroked Miko's head, saying gently, "Auntie will definitely be fine, she's probably just delayed by something else."
"I know." Miko nodded lightly, "Those messages you sent yesterday, saying that Strange Tales had appeared in Tokyo again, and in our district too... I, I'm worried..."
Natsuki straightened his face and said:
"Don't be a jinx."
"Mmm-hmm."
Miko quickly covered her mouth and nodded earnestly.
When it comes to jinxing, it's better to believe it than not, so of course, you can't speak carelessly.
Natsuki held Miko's right hand, feeling the girl's fingers were exceptionally cold, and said softly:
"After Auntie gets off work, she usually takes the train home; we'll retrace her route."
"Okay!"
The two talked as they quickly walked towards the train station.
The night was like water.
The long street was quiet.
As summer vacation neared its end, the night temperature quietly dropped, and occasionally a cool breeze would blow, making it quite pleasant for a walk.
Unfortunately, neither of them was in the mood for a stroll at the moment; they walked towards the train station while carefully observing their surroundings.
A moment later.
The two had already reached the train station.
At past ten at night, the number of office workers on the train wasn't very high. When the train stopped, only a few office workers came out, occasionally accompanied by evil spirits resembling office workers. However, even after all the passengers had dispersed and the train restarted, there was still no sign of Miko's mother.
"Mom's not on the train..."
Watching the gradually departing train, Miko's expression grew even more worried.
"Stay calm, don't panic." Natsuki squeezed Miko's fingers, his voice steady, "Auntie is only an hour late, not a day, don't scare yourself."
"Whew..."
Miko took a deep breath to calm herself, tightly gripped Natsuki's right hand, and looked up, saying:
"What do we do now?"
Kyosuke was just a the child and knew nothing; he was already asleep. Mom was an hour late for no reason, with no messages and no answer to her phone calls. If Natsuki hadn't been there, Miko wouldn't have known what to do at all.
"I'll ask Mitsui-san for help."
Natsuki took out his phone and dialed a number.
Two people aimlessly searching the streets was too inefficient; the best way was naturally to ask official forces to check surveillance.
"Natsuki-kun?"
The call quickly connected, and Mitsui's voice came from the phone.
"There's something I want to ask you..."
Natsuki briefly recounted what had happened.
"Leave it to me." Mitsui naturally wouldn't refuse, "I'll arrange for people to investigate."
"Thank you."
Natsuki put away his phone, pulled Miko to a bench at the train station, and began to wait patiently.
Time passed minute by minute.
The power of the authorities was indeed strong; in just ten minutes, his phone vibrated.
Miko quickly turned, looking expectantly at Natsuki.
"Mitsui-san?"
Natsuki answered the phone.
"It's been investigated." Mitsui's voice came through, "Yotsuya Touko is currently at the hospital..."
"Eh?" Miko's voice involuntarily rose upon hearing this, "Mom's at the hospital?!"
"Miko-san, don't worry, your mother is not in life-threatening danger." Mitsui replied softly, "Yotsuya Touko collided with a fast-cycling junior high student on her way back, so she's currently undergoing a check-up at the hospital. The reason she hasn't contacted you might be that her phone was broken."
Upon hearing this news, Miko immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest and saying:
"That's good, that's good."
Natsuki asked:
"Which hospital is Auntie in?"
Mitsui: "Natsuki-kun, please wait, I'll send you the information right away."
"..."
After receiving the message, Natsuki checked the hospital address and found that it wasn't far, reachable by train in ten minutes.
"Let's wait for the train first." Natsuki put away his phone and said, "Auntie's location is confirmed, we'll see her in ten minutes."
"Okay." Miko exhaled, looked up, and whispered, "Thank you."
Natsuki played with Miko's fingers, whispering:
"Have you heard a saying…?"
"What saying?"
Miko tilted her head.
Natsuki whispered:
"When you thank someone, you should show sincerity."
Miko: "…"
What sincerity? He was clearly trying to take advantage of her kindness!
Natsuki pointed to his cheek and smiled:
"Kiss me, as a thank you."
Miko's cheeks puffed out, and she couldn't help but reach out her right hand and pinch Natsuki's waist:
"Mom is still in the hospital! How could I be in the mood to do such a thing… At least wait until Mom's condition is confirmed."
Natsuki held Miko's right hand and said:
"After Auntie's condition is confirmed, the thank-you gift won't be as simple as a kiss on the cheek."
Miko: "…"
Shameless!
He even wanted to raise the price!
As they spoke, the train station slowly approached and stopped in front of them.
Natsuki and Miko got on the train station and headed to the hospital.
There was no conversation along the way.
They arrived at the hospital, and after asking a nurse, they quickly found Yotsuya Touko.
"Mom!"
Seeing Yotsuya Touko lying on the hospital bed, Miko's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she ran to Yotsuya Touko's bedside.
Natsuki followed her into the ward and closed the door behind him.
Yotsuya Touko heard the movement, first froze, then quickly sat up:
"Why are you two at the hospital?"