Chapter 46: Excuse me for intruding

Translator: Soafp

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　Haruka was sitting down, dressed the same way she had been at home, only with a small bag beside her. She didn’t look wet from the rain, and it looked like she had gotten here earlier than it started raining. I don’t know how long it had been raining, but if she said she was going to chase me, she must have been here for quite some time.

Well, I’m glad to see that she doesn’t have a cold……I think I’m going to be the one who gets sick if this keeps up, and I need to get into the house and get dressed as soon as possible.

“…… Haruka.”

“!”

　I just called her name, but Haruka reacted as if she was scared. Then she stood up with her face down.

……Even if she reacts that way……. I guess I’m the one who’s rather scared when she suddenly shows up at my house.

“Mom was worried. She said she couldn’t get in touch with you.”

“Eh?”

　Haruka makes a surprised voice. And when I unlocked the house, she took out her cell phone and let out a voice, “Ah…..”

” The battery had run out of power…….”

　Well, as expected …….

So, why don’t I just call my mom and ask Haruka to come in and charge her phone for a bit before going home?

“Anyway, come on in.”

“S-sorry……”

“No, I’m glad you’re all right.”

　Saying that, I opened the door and let Haruka in the house.

“E-Excuse me for intruding”

　Listening to Haruka’s voice, I took off my soaking wet socks and went to the bathroom.

Then I wiped my hair with a towel and also my clothes to the extent that they were not dripping with water.

　…… I’ve got to get dressed quickly.

　When I left the washroom to get a change of clothes, Haruka was still in the doorway.

“……Is there something wrong?”

“No, its …….”

Ah ……She was suddenly put in my house for the first time and she doesn’t know what to do……is that it? Was she the type to worry about such things?

　…… No, that’s normal considering the distance between us now.

“There’s a charger inside, so you can charge your phone with that.”

“Yes……”

　……I think we used to be pretty close siblings. When Haruka was in her first year of middle school, we started to fight …… or rather Haruka started to rebel a lot. In the summer of that year, there was the case of that incident, and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve never talked about it.

When I think of the time when we were close, I feel a little sad about the way things are going now.

　…… Ah, I have to call my mom.

When Haruka went into the room and connected her phone to the charger, I called my mother.

“Hello! Shota, is Haruka there⁉”

The ringing soon ends and I hear my mom’s concerned voice. It’s a voice I’ve heard a lot in the past when it comes to far-reaching matters.

” Don’t worry. She was at my house.”

“Well, thank goodness……”

　The words, uttered in a loud exhale, convey a sense of heartfelt relief.

“….So, should I take care of Haruka then?”

“Ah right. Can you do that for me?”

　I looked at Haruka and she was looking at me apologetically.

“Yes.”

　I held out my cell phone to Haruka and told her it was mom, and she took the phone and started apologizing to mom over the phone.

………Shall I change?

　I changed in the bathroom and when I returned to my room, the call was already over.

“Hey, Onii-chan, thanks for this.”

“Aah, yeah.”

I took my cell phone.

The time shown on the phone was just before 18:00. Probably if I were at my parents’ house, it would be around the time I would have had dinner. …… No, if I were to have dinner with my father, it would be around 6:30pm.

　When I thought about that, that scene came to my mind. That scene of my father and mother sitting in front of me, looking at me accusingly.

　I felt a little sick and my head felt heavy.

　After shaking my head lightly to shake it off, I looked up and met Haruka’s eyes. And then, poof, I look away.

　It’s awkward ……. Uhm,…… should I offer her something to drink ……? I just got home and I don’t even have tea.

“Aah, just sit down. Do you want some water? I can offer you some tea if you’ll wait a bit.”

“Oh no…… un, I’d like to drink some water, I guess…….”

　I filled a glass with water and brought it to her, and Haruka sat on the floor. It was like this when Miyamoto-san came over. Well, there’s no seat to sit on, so it’s bound to happen…….

“I’ll put the water here.”

“Thank you. ……”

　I put the cup on the study desk and asked about Haruka, and there she was, sitting on the floor.

“Onii-chan”

“.,,. what is it?”

“Well, ……, I need to talk to you about something. ……”

I guess that means that’s why she came to me. But……there are things I should tell her, but what is it that Haruka wants to tell me?

To be honest, I don’t like to talk much. When I talked at home, I was going to talk mainly with my parents. It was hard to talk to my sister because of the content.

“As I thought, as for me, next time, let’s make it so that she can be present when I talk to my parents. If that’s what you want to talk about…

“Onii-chan!”

　Haruka, who called out to me once again, had the most serious expression I’ve ever seen on her face.

…….

“…… okay. Let’s talk a little.”

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