Chapter 89: The Lost Kitten
Normally, I wouldn’t be out of breath in a short dash like this, but my breathing was erratic due to my impatience as I ran frantically, bobbing my shoulders up and down.
“Rika-chan…! Rika-chan…!”
Kaede, who was running alongside me, muttered her name as if in prayer. The fact that she was normally not running as fast as I could, but could still keep up, showed how worried she was about Rika-chan. You wouldn’t believe the power that people possessed when they were cornered.
“Please, please, please stay safe…!”
Kaede accelerated her run, with the movie theater in front of her. In the event space set up in the lobby in front of the theater, a handshake session and photo session with a stuffed yellow mouse, a very popular character, was still going on. [TL: The pikachu.]
“Haa…haa… Rika-chan, where are you…!”
Kaede and I looked around the area. The waiting line for the event was only for parents and children, not children only. If that was the case, I widened my field of vision to see if she was watching from a distance, but she wasn’t.
Wasn’t she here after all? Just when I started to fear that…
“Is there any companion of Rika Omichi-channnn—?”
“…Eh? Rika-chan!?”
I saw the female staff of the movie theater shouting at the top of their lungs as she pulled Rika-chan’s hand. Kaede reacted faster than I did and started running. I hurriedly followed her.
“— Ah! It’s Kaede-onee-chan!”
“—Rika-chan!”
Rika left the staff and ran to Kaede with a smile. Kaede hugged the innocent-looking girl tightly, unaware of the worries of others. Forgetting that she was holding a crepe in one hand, she hugged her tightly. In surprise at her sudden action, the staff member shouted, ‘Ah!’
“Hey, hey, Kaede-onee-chan! Let’s get our picture taken with that Pikachu over there! He’s only coming today! Huh? What’s wrong, Kaede-onee-chan? Are you crying?”
Rika pointed to a stuffed animal on a simple stage happily taking pictures with children, not caring about her situation. However, her expression turned suspicious when she noticed that Kaede, who was hugging her, was crying.
“You were already… gone on your own… and I was so worried! I was wondering if something happened to Rika-chan…”
Kaede spilled tears. Rika-chan was confused as to why Kaede-san was crying, and turned her gaze to me as if asking for help.
“I was also really worried when Rika-chan disappeared, okay? Why couldn’t you have waited until I or Kaede came back?”
“B-because… when I thought that I might not see the Pikachu again, my body started to move…”
“I see. I get it. But you know, Rika-chan. Kaede and I were really worried that we wouldn’t be able to see you again after you suddenly disappeared. So from now on, don’t disappear without permission, okay?”
It was no use yelling at her. Rika was still a child compared to us. Her curiosity might get the better of her at times. That was why I told her gently. I tried to make her understand that if she did something like this, the people loving her would be sad.
“I’m sorry… for disappearing without permission… I’m sorry, Kaede-onee-chan, Yuya-onii-chan…”
“…It’s fine. We were able to see Rika-chan again like this. If we keep hugging forever, the event will be over. We can get a picture, so let’s have it taken!”
“Yeah! Let’s go quickly, Kaede-onee-chan!”
The two of them looked very close, like a real parent and child, and held hands as they trotted off to the event booth. I bowed politely to the cinema staff who had protected Rika-chan and followed her with a wry smile on my face. Then I realized one important thing.
“Look, look, Yuya-kun! Hurry up! We’re the last of us!”
“Yuya-onii-chan, hurry up!”
Let’s first move to the two people who beckoned me to hurry. But I don’t know if you had noticed, Rika-chan.
I handed my phone to the staff member in charge of taking pictures and went up to the stage. With Rika-chan in the center, Kaede and I bent down to get in front of the stuffed animals.
“Is the camera for your brother? Yes? I’ll take a picture then, right? Oh, please get closer! That’s right! Okay, here we go. Yes, cheese.”
A crisp sound was heard and the photo shoot was successfully completed. At the end, Rika shook hands with the national electric mouse and exchanged high-fives.
“Yuya-kun, please send that picture you just took to my phone, okay? Okay?”
“Ah! I want a picture too! But I don’t have a phone… what should I do?”
“Rika, don’t worry. We can develop the film at a photo shop now. Let’s go together soon.”
Rika nodded with a smile, ‘Yes’. Looking at these two, they looked like a real parent and child. If Kaede and I had a child, she would definitely make a good mother. And we would be able to create a happy family.
“Oh, both of you. If you want to develop the film, I’ll go ahead and do it now, and you’d better go buy some clothes.”
“Eh? Clothes? Why?”
An illusory question mark could be seen above Kaede’s head. But Rika-chan, the person concerned, seemed to have noticed.
“It’s for Rika-chan. Didn’t you notice? There’s crepe whipped cream all over her back.”
When she was hugged, Rika’s back was covered with the uneaten crepe that Kaede had been holding. It wasn’t a noticeable amount, but it was definitely stained.
“A-ah…? I’m sorry, Rika-chan!”
“I-it’s okay, Kaede-onee-chan. You don’t have to worry about that!”
“No! Yuya-kun, I’m going to go buy some clothes that will look good on Rika-chan now! I’ll leave the pictures to you!”
Before I could answer, Kaede pulled Rika-chan’s hand and ran off in a mad dash. Left alone, I took a bite of the untouched crepe and decided to head for the photo development.
You’re not going to claim that all the clothes in front of you look good on her, and buy an entire shelf, are you, Kaede?
—
Chapter 89: The Lost Kitten
Normally, I wouldn’t be out of breath in a short dash like this, but my breathing was erratic due to my impatience as I ran frantically, bobbing my shoulders up and down.
“Rika-chan…! Rika-chan…!”
Kaede, who was running alongside me, muttered her name as if in prayer. The fact that she was normally not running as fast as I could, but could still keep up, showed how worried she was about Rika-chan. You wouldn’t believe the power that people possessed when they were cornered.
“Please, please, please stay safe…!”
Kaede accelerated her run, with the movie theater in front of her. In the event space set up in the lobby in front of the theater, a handshake session and photo session with a stuffed yellow mouse, a very popular character, was still going on. [TL: The pikachu.]
“Haa…haa… Rika-chan, where are you…!”
Kaede and I looked around the area. The waiting line for the event was only for parents and children, not children only. If that was the case, I widened my field of vision to see if she was watching from a distance, but she wasn’t.
Wasn’t she here after all? Just when I started to fear that…
“Is there any companion of Rika Omichi-channnn—?”
“…Eh? Rika-chan!?”
I saw the female staff of the movie theater shouting at the top of their lungs as she pulled Rika-chan’s hand. Kaede reacted faster than I did and started running. I hurriedly followed her.
“— Ah! It’s Kaede-onee-chan!”
“—Rika-chan!”
Rika left the staff and ran to Kaede with a smile. Kaede hugged the innocent-looking girl tightly, unaware of the worries of others. Forgetting that she was holding a crepe in one hand, she hugged her tightly. In surprise at her sudden action, the staff member shouted, ‘Ah!’
“Hey, hey, Kaede-onee-chan! Let’s get our picture taken with that Pikachu over there! He’s only coming today! Huh? What’s wrong, Kaede-onee-chan? Are you crying?”
Rika pointed to a stuffed animal on a simple stage happily taking pictures with children, not caring about her situation. However, her expression turned suspicious when she noticed that Kaede, who was hugging her, was crying.
“You were already… gone on your own… and I was so worried! I was wondering if something happened to Rika-chan…”
Kaede spilled tears. Rika-chan was confused as to why Kaede-san was crying, and turned her gaze to me as if asking for help.
“I was also really worried when Rika-chan disappeared, okay? Why couldn’t you have waited until I or Kaede came back?”
“B-because… when I thought that I might not see the Pikachu again, my body started to move…”
“I see. I get it. But you know, Rika-chan. Kaede and I were really worried that we wouldn’t be able to see you again after you suddenly disappeared. So from now on, don’t disappear without permission, okay?”
It was no use yelling at her. Rika was still a child compared to us. Her curiosity might get the better of her at times. That was why I told her gently. I tried to make her understand that if she did something like this, the people loving her would be sad.
“I’m sorry… for disappearing without permission… I’m sorry, Kaede-onee-chan, Yuya-onii-chan…”
“…It’s fine. We were able to see Rika-chan again like this. If we keep hugging forever, the event will be over. We can get a picture, so let’s have it taken!”
“Yeah! Let’s go quickly, Kaede-onee-chan!”
The two of them looked very close, like a real parent and child, and held hands as they trotted off to the event booth. I bowed politely to the cinema staff who had protected Rika-chan and followed her with a wry smile on my face. Then I realized one important thing.
“Look, look, Yuya-kun! Hurry up! We’re the last of us!”
“Yuya-onii-chan, hurry up!”
Let’s first move to the two people who beckoned me to hurry. But I don’t know if you had noticed, Rika-chan.
I handed my phone to the staff member in charge of taking pictures and went up to the stage. With Rika-chan in the center, Kaede and I bent down to get in front of the stuffed animals.
“Is the camera for your brother? Yes? I’ll take a picture then, right? Oh, please get closer! That’s right! Okay, here we go. Yes, cheese.”
A crisp sound was heard and the photo shoot was successfully completed. At the end, Rika shook hands with the national electric mouse and exchanged high-fives.
“Yuya-kun, please send that picture you just took to my phone, okay? Okay?”
“Ah! I want a picture too! But I don’t have a phone… what should I do?”
“Rika, don’t worry. We can develop the film at a photo shop now. Let’s go together soon.”
Rika nodded with a smile, ‘Yes’. Looking at these two, they looked like a real parent and child. If Kaede and I had a child, she would definitely make a good mother. And we would be able to create a happy family.
“Oh, both of you. If you want to develop the film, I’ll go ahead and do it now, and you’d better go buy some clothes.”
“Eh? Clothes? Why?”
An illusory question mark could be seen above Kaede’s head. But Rika-chan, the person concerned, seemed to have noticed.
“It’s for Rika-chan. Didn’t you notice? There’s crepe whipped cream all over her back.”
When she was hugged, Rika’s back was covered with the uneaten crepe that Kaede had been holding. It wasn’t a noticeable amount, but it was definitely stained.
“A-ah…? I’m sorry, Rika-chan!”
“I-it’s okay, Kaede-onee-chan. You don’t have to worry about that!”
“No! Yuya-kun, I’m going to go buy some clothes that will look good on Rika-chan now! I’ll leave the pictures to you!”
Before I could answer, Kaede pulled Rika-chan’s hand and ran off in a mad dash. Left alone, I took a bite of the untouched crepe and decided to head for the photo development.
You’re not going to claim that all the clothes in front of you look good on her, and buy an entire shelf, are you, Kaede?
—
