* * *
“Isn’t the house cleaner than before?”
“Yeah, we did a major renovation a year ago.”
When I came back to Ria’s house after a few years, it was nicer than before.
However, the interior was almost the same as it was back then, and with a feeling of nostalgia, Michiru climbed the stairs and entered Ria’s room.
Talk about future careers, family, and current high school friends.
As they talked and talked endlessly, Ria, looking worried, took Michiru’s hand and rubbed it against her cheek.
“Michiru, is there a strange man trying to get his hands on you? Tell me right away, because this is how I’ll deal with any bugs that come near you!”
“It’s okay, it’s okay…”
That question was one that Ria would ask Michiru every time she met her after they became high school students.
Ria was a very possessive person, and this extended to her best friend Michiru as well.
No, maybe he is the strongest towards Michiru after all.
He was used to Ria sometimes making extreme statements out of love, so when he replied, thinking “get rid of her,” Ria sighed in relief, but immediately straightened up.
It seems like he’s about to ask something important, so Michiru asks, “What happened?”
“By the way, Michiru… what do you think about older men? What type of men do you like?”
“Eh, why suddenly…? I hadn’t thought about it before, but it’s fine… isn’t it?”
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
At least right now, I don’t like older men.
Though shaken by the sudden question, Michiru thought as she replied.
She was nervous, wondering if she might have noticed that she was trying to talk about the person she liked, but that didn’t seem to be the case, as Ria fidgeted as she traced Michiru’s hand.
“And what color is your hair?”
“So what’s that question?”
“That’s fine! How about black?”
“Black hair? Well, I like it because it gives off a clean look.”
“Okay.”
This also seems to be clear.
I’m well aware of Ria’s stubborn personality.
Michiru quickly realized that at this point the questioning would not end until she was satisfied.
“Hmm, what about earrings?”
“It’s a bit scary.”
“Should I take it off…?”
After that, Ria asked Michiru a bunch of questions, and then groaned and said with a look of regret, “Is it mostly finished, or about 65%?”
Seizing the opportunity, Michiru finally brings up the thing she had been meaning to say to Ria today.
“So, um, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you today…”
“Ah, sorry it was always me! Now that I think about it, you said something, what was it?”
Ria suddenly looked up and leaned forward.
In response, Michiru looked down slightly in embarrassment, but slowly began to speak.
“Umm, well, you know, I’ve found someone I like…”
“Huh?”
While being surprised, Ria exclaims angrily, “To Michiru…?! Someone like that?!”, expecting her to ask questions like, “Who is that person?! Do you like her more than me?!”, but Michiru is shocked when she sees Ria’s face.
“I… I see… right, I see…”
”Well,” said Ria, her face turning pale and looking like a completely different person, as she looked at Michiru with a twitching mouth.
I can hear him muttering to himself, “That’s what I told you to do,” and “It was too late.”
Michiru was unsure how to continue as her best friend’s reaction was quite different from what she had expected, and at the moment she was about to call out to her timidly, “Ria-chan…?”, she heard a notification sound.
The message came from Ria’s smartphone, so Ria quickly picked up the phone to check it, then suddenly stood up and dashed for the door.
“Hey, big brother, big brother, big brother! Hey hey hey!”
I chased after Ria, who had hurried out the door, and from the top of the stairs where Michiru was standing, I saw Ria facing a man taking off his shoes in the entranceway.
“Big bro! Michiru’s here! It’s been a while, right? Say hello! Right now! Hey, hurry up!”
With a terrifying look on her face, Ria grabbed the man’s shoulders and shook him violently.
Thinking that it might be the case, Michiru went down the stairs towards the two of them, and her eyes met the man’s.
“Ah… Michiru-chan? It’s been a while.”
“Eh, big brother…?!”
The man there was incomparably sexier than the one I had met the last time.
The man was about ten centimeters taller than Ria, who had her long black hair in a half-up style.
She had grown up to look much more like her mother, and her face, with its light red lipstick, had a feminine beauty.
widow.
Those words instantly crossed Michiru’s mind.
Although she was a dancer and therefore slender, Michiru was well aware that her body was a man’s; however, her face was clearly that of a young, melancholic beauty who had lost her husband, and Michiru was horrified.
“It’s been a while… I’m Kishibe Michiru…”
“Ah, aren’t you greeting me the same as when we first met a long time ago?”
As Michiru greeted him hesitantly, Reo smiled nostalgically.
Although his appearance had changed a lot, Michiru felt a little relieved because his way of speaking and laughing was the same as before.
“Hey… You should take Michiru home, big brother. It’s already dark. You should definitely do that. Is that okay?”
“picture?”
“Yeah, but my mom is using the car today, so I only have my bike.”
“Hey, um…”
“Huh? Then I’ll go by bike.”
“Well, why should you decide that? It’s fine.”
“that……”
Michiru is completely out of the loop.
There was no opportunity for anyone to interrupt when the two suddenly started having this conversation like brother and sister.
The two of them stared at Michiru, who began to panic.
“Are you okay, Michiru? Even on a bike?”
“Eh, ah… yes…”
“Yeeeaah, Michiru! Why can’t three people ride on a motorcycle?”
“Because it’s dangerous, of course.”
Ria, who had been pouting in dissatisfaction after hearing her brother’s reply, immediately decided that it was decided and pushed Michiru’s back, saying, “I’ll go get my luggage,” and headed upstairs.
“Ria-chan…”
Michiru was about to reach out to touch his back, but could only panic when Reo said, “I’ve brought out my bike, so come out when you’re ready.”
–I was really looking forward to consulting you, but…
Considering Ria’s behavior earlier, I somehow realized that this was not a good thing for Ria, no, it was quite bad.
Ria has always been jealous, but this is the first time she’s reacted like that.
Michiru thought for a moment about what to do, but then decided it was okay and she would do it another time.
It’s summer vacation so you can come back again.
That’s right, maybe I should just confess and then tell her, Sae Michiru thought to herself.
“Michiru! Is that all you have? Do you have a smartphone?”
“Yeah, I keep it in my bag so it’s fine.”
When I received my bag from Ria and stepped out to the front door, Reo, already wearing a helmet, was sitting astride his motorcycle and beckoning me.
“Okay then, Michiru-chan, get on.”
“Nice to meet you, big brother.”
“Thank you very much.”
When I was in elementary and junior high school, I was usually taken to and from school by car, and Ria was almost always by my side at the time.
–After all, this is the first time we’ve been given a ride home just the two of us…
And two people on a bike.
Michiru approached nervously and suddenly stopped moving.
Under his helmet, Reo tilts his head.
“Michiru-chan?”
“degree,”
“Where should I grab hold of…?!”
As she awkwardly tries to straddle Reo, Michiru notices something.
There’s nothing to grab onto while riding the bike.
He asked Reo with a serious look on his face how he kept his balance, and after looking at his face closely, Reo burst out laughing loudly.
“Waist, waist. Grab my waist.”
Glancing over at her, Michiru saw Ria also looking her way with a grin, so she glared at her, as if to say, “Shut up!”
“You’re laughing too much.”
“Well, Michiru’s face just now was scary. I thought she was going to kill someone.”
“Such a face…?!”
Feeling a little annoyed, I forced myself onto Reo’s back, whose shoulders were still shaking, and put my arms around his waist as I was told.
Michiru felt nervous again at the man’s solid build, which was visible even through his clothes, but she tightened her grip to make sure he didn’t fall.
“Big bro, it’s okay if you’re late.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”
Michiru wonders what they’re trying so hard to do, but as the bike starts to move, she gets on and waves to Ria, who looks satisfied as she watches Michiru and Reo for some reason.
While riding their motorcycle down the road, Michiru heard various stories from Reo.
She usually lives alone in the city center, but when she has to perform at nearby venues as a dancer, she often returns to her parents’ house and stays there.
He said that he’s having more fun as he’s been approached by various artists and asked to choreograph more and more.
Michiru also told Reo what she was doing now and what she had been doing over the past few years.
He has been friends with Ria ever since graduating from junior high school, and even now in high school, he says he doesn’t have a better friend than Ria.
She wants to become a nutritionist, a job that helps improve people’s bodies, just like her mother, who is a nurse.
“Fufu, you haven’t changed at all, Michiru-chan.”
“Eh…Am I being praised?”
“Yup, very much.”
I was able to hear Reo’s voice, perhaps because he was driving a little slower out of consideration for Michiru.
Although she didn’t say it, Michiru thought that the nostalgic, heartfelt way he spoke made him seem just like an uncle.
When Michiru and Reo met, Reo was a high school student.
However, a lot of time has passed since then, and as I speak now I realize that Reo is now a truly “adult man.”
“You’ve grown so much.”
“Big Brother, what’s with that way of speaking…?”
“No, I was really glad.”
Michiru was surprised to hear those words.
I don’t know why, but I was curious as to what that meant.
Michiru raised her head, but from behind it was impossible to see Reo’s expression.
“That’s good, I mean…”
Michiru called out to his back.
The sound of the wind cutting through the air, the sound of other cars driving by, and the warmth of the man’s body through his clothes on my arm.
“Yeah, really.”
In the midst of all this, Reo’s voice resonated with Michiru’s ears more than anything else.
It was a voice that sounded as if it was reassuring her from the bottom of her heart.
“…I’m happy.”
There’s no way that could happen.
–It felt as if Michiru’s lifeline was being held by this man, here and now, in this place.
“I’m sure my house was around here. If I remember correctly…”
“Ah… turn right at that corner and it’s right there.”
“Okay.”
Michiru would always drop me off in the parking lot of the convenience store near her house.
Michiru felt like she had been skillfully evaded, but she also felt like she shouldn’t mention it, that it would be bad for her, so she couldn’t ask any more.
Michiru thanks him and gets off the bike, and Reo stops her, saying, “Yes, that’s right.”
“Can I have Michiru’s contact information?”
“my?”
“Yeah, I didn’t really care that much before, but I should probably be more concerned about whether she got home properly now, since I was the one who sent her off. Lia told me to ask her too.”
Michiru was puzzled for a moment, but assumed it was a safety concern, so she quickly took out her smartphone and gave Reo her contact information.
Come to think of it, Ria had never taught her brother how to use it, Michiru thought to herself, and even if she had, it’s unlikely he would have used it that often.
“Well, come visit us again. I’m not at home as often as I used to be, but I’ll be happy to help you out if you need anything.”
“Yes, thank you for sending me off. Good night.”
Michiru bowed deeply and left the place, and Reo watched her leave until her back was gone.