Mirai woke up, startled as she didn’t remember going to sleep last night. Trying to recall her memory, the last thing she remember was she was heading home in a taxi with Yamada Ryosuke. Fear suddenly emerged. She searched for her body and was extremely relieved when she still wore last night’s dress properly. After calming down, she somehow felt guilty for, even just for a brief moment, thinking that Yamada Ryosuke might do something bad when she was unconscious. By now she did not doubt that he was a good person.

All of a sudden her face warmed. She remembered a particular moment: Yamada Ryosuke had caressed her cheek and gently brushed her tears last night. Being embarrassed, she covered her face with both her hands. Her heart thumped, but aside from the sweet shyness, she also felt bitter.

When she was drown in her mind, she was jolted awake by the sudden entrance of her little sister.

“Ah, Nee-chan is already awake? Good then I don’t need to wake you up,” Miyu bounced to the direction of her bed, plopping carelessly on the mattress.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty-neechan~”, Miyu teased, grinning from ear to ear.

She couldn’t help but chuckle seeing Miyu’s adorable face, “What’s with that? Sleeping Beauty?”

“Uh-huh,” Miyu nodded eagerly, grabbing the alarm clock at the bedside table to show her. “See what time is it now?”

Her eyes widened to see it was already 9 a.m., “Why did you not wake me up? Has the restaurant been opened? Are Dad and Mom asking for help?”

“Calm down, Nee-chan,” Miyu smiled in amusement. “Mom told us not to disturb your rest because Yamada-niichan said you didn’t feel well last night so the two of you returned from the party earlier than planned.”

She caught something amiss, “Yamada... niichan? Since when you call him that?”

“Eh? Um... well, even though he didn’t mind, I thought it would be impolite to call him Yamada-kun,” Miyu grinned innocently. “Moreover, he is eight years older than me. So, that’s why,” Miyu nonchalantly shrugged off.

“Anyway, Nee-chan should hurry. Take a bath and eat breakfast. We will be waiting,” Miyu added.

“Huh? Waiting for what?” she couldn’t really understand.

Miyu’s face darkened, her expression turning gloomy and obviously sad. “Yamada-niichan told us this morning that he will go home tomorrow. Today he invites us to go to an amusement park.”

Mirai lost word for a moment. So, he had told her family. He would leave tomorrow morning. Today was his last day with her family. She couldn’t shake the pain clenching her chest.

“You don’t need to be that sad, Miyu,” she advised nonetheless.

Miyu stared at her, and a frown formed on her little sister’s face.

“You don’t look surprised at all,” Miyu observed her, brows knotted. “You already knew about it, Nee-chan?”

Mirai couldn’t lie, so after letting out a sigh, she answered, “He told me the day before yesterday.”

Miyu’s eyes widened, then pouting and complaining, “Nee-chan is so mean. You didn’t tell us about it. If I knew beforehand, I would have prepared something as a farewell gift for Yamada-niichan.”

“You can just buy him something later. There is still a whole day for that,” she defended.

“But it would be less meaningful. I want to give Yamada-niichan a gift so that he won’t forget us, so it should be special. However, now there’s no time to look for that kind of gift.”

“Miyu, you don’t need to be that serious. After all, we only know him for these two months,” Mirai tried comforting her little sister.

Miyu stared at her for a moment before heaving a big sigh, looked so sad when saying, “I know that he is a nobody for us, Nee-chan, but Dad and Mom have thought of him as if their own son, and I, too... has got used to see him as my big brother. It’s so sad that he suddenly told us that he would leave. Don’t you feel sad even just a little Nee-chan?”

“He has his own family to take care of,” she evaded the question.

“Yeah, still...,” Miyu kept sulking. “I wish he could stay longer, at least until I start my highschool next week.”

Not wanting to see the reluctance in Miyu’s face, Mirai got up from the bed and grabbed her towel, announcing that she was going to prepare.

An hour later, they were all ready to leave. Instead of walking to the bust stop, they got surprised when Yamada Ryosuke pointed at two cabs that had been waiting for them. Since there were five persons, they divided the group into two. Initially it should be her parents in one car, then she, Miyu, and Yamada Ryosuke in another car. However, at the last seconds before the cab drove away, Miyu jumped out and moved to join their parents, leaving her alone with Yamada Ryosuke.

She was speecless.

“How are you feeling?” He started a talk after a time. The car they were in was behind the one which brought her family.

“I’m fine,” she answered, trying to stay as calm as possible. “Thanks for not telling my family about the party.”

“That’s not a big deal, but after this you should be more careful. That girl seems to be one who hold a grudge.”

Recalling Suzuki Nana’s attitude, she nodded, “Yeah, indeed.”

“And I should apologize to you,” he surprised her.

“Huh? What for?”

“Since I won’t be here for her to get revenge from, she might shift the blame on you. My provocation last night may add more fuel to her hatred towards you. That’s why, I’m sorry.”

She was stunned. For a moment she stared at his side profile before casting her gaze away.

“You don’t need to think about that,” she replied.

From her peripheral vision, she caught his mouth curving up slightly. She was expecting him to say something, but he didn’t. The silence stretched until they arrived at the amusement park.

After passing the gate, Miyu jumped around excitedly while her parents laughed at her little sister. She mustered a smile, did not want to ruin the mood.

“This is the pass,” Yamada Ryosuke handed out a golden card contained a series of numbers to each of them. “You could use it for any free ride and food.”

“Eh? Even the food will be free if we have this card?” her father widened his eyes.

Yamada Ryosuke nodded, a smile on his face, “Yes, but it’s only valid for today.”

“Woah, cool!” Miyu stared at the card in awe. “There is no limit, right?”

He ruffled Miyu’s hair, answering, “No. You can play and eat as much as you want, Little Birdy.”

“Yeay~! Yamada-niichan is the best!” Miyu couldn’t contain her excitement, making even her laughing.

“Then let’s go!” Miyu pulled Yamada Ryosuke away before halting and turning back, shouting. “Nee-chan, Dad, Mom, hurry up!”

They could only shake their head helplessly. However, Mirai knew her little sister well. Miyu was sad, but since it was a gift from someone she respected, Miyu would undoubtedly hide her sadness, and show that she enjoy this time in the amusement park so that Yamada Ryosuke would feel glad.

Mirai inwardly inhaled a deep breath.

It’s been a while since she went out for refreshing with her family like that. Noticing the joyous atmosphere around them, she finally let herself merge with the merry, having fun with everyone. Miyu led them from one ride to another. At the roller coaster site, Yamada Ryosuke firmly refused to take a part, paling as he told them he had issue with fast ride. His embarrassed face was truly amusing that she couldn’t help not to laugh with the rest of them.

Watching her family this happy, she felt grateful to Yamada Ryosuke despite hiding it in her heart. Perhaps she would say it directly to him later when they parted. Resolutely making the decision, she delightfully followed after her family.

**********

“Huff!”

Trotting down the path to an ice cream parlour, Yamada Ryosuke heaved a deep sigh. He had just freed himself from Miyu’s torture by offering to buy them ice cream. He felt unexpectedly worn out. He used to do mountain-hiking and cliff-climbing, yet those didn’t compare to being dragged around this huge amusement park by Miyu and forced to ride those scary things. However, despite exhausting, he didn’t dislike it. He enjoyed every second with Shida family instead... as if he was part of the family... having people to laugh and complain with.

Shrugging his shoulders as though waking himself up, he smiled rather bitterly. Dream would end soon, and reality would come replace it. He should be able to let go.

Arriving at the parlour, he ordered five cones of ice cream, each with different flavor per their request. Yet, before he finished making the order, Miyu came with worried face, causing him to halt and postpone the order.

“What’s wrong Miyu-chan?”

Miyu sat on a bench near the parlour, and he followed. He waited until she spoke.

Looking up, she showed him her sadness, asking, “Do you really have to go so soon, Niichan? Not waiting until I start highschool?”

She had been calling him big brother for a while, and he did not mind at all.

“I have been away for too long, so I really should return as soon as possible. I’m sorry.”

“Would you drop by some times? Or can we visit you?”

He wanted to grant her wish, but...

“It will be difficult, Miyu-chan, since we will be living so far from each other.”

“But,” Miyu has this persistent glint in her eyes. “If you don’t come to visit sometimes, won’t you miss Mirai-neechan?”

This caught him off guard. Maintaining his composure, he didn’t reveal his true feeling. “I will miss everyone definitely.”

“Still, you will miss Nee-chan the most, right?” The frown on Miyu’s face had changed into a mischievous grin.

Since he couldn’t keep evading the question, he chose to distract her. He stood up, saying that the others must have been waiting for them before buying the ice cream from the parlour. Arriving at the place where the others were waiting, Miyu was back to be cheerful. While distributing the ice cream, he couldn’t help but being super aware of Mirai smiling while thanking him.

They continued strolling around after that, but this time he didn’t ride any arcade. They were heading to the third arcade when suddenly Mirai excused herself to buy something. She looked in a hurry while Mrs. Shida gave an understanding look. They had waited for fifteen minutes but Mirai had not returned yet. Miyu and Mr. Shida started getting anxious, and urged them to fetch Mirai, but in the end, Miyu came with an idea that he would be the one to get Mirai while they were waiting in line for the ticket.

Walking to the nearest shop where Mirai said want to buy something from, he saw her emerge from the door. She was stuffing something into her bag when he called out to her.

“What took you so long?” He asked with a smile.

Unexpectedly, she was blushing when answering, “No-nothing.”

“Then let’s go. Your family have been waiting.”

Just as he turned around, her phone rang. She received a mail, and her expression changed once she read it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait a moment,” she replied, making a call.

“Miyu, where are you?” she said on the phone. “Why don’t we all go together?”

After such lines, she ended the call.

“What’s wrong?” He asked once again.

For a moment Mirai was hesitating, then answered, “Miyu said they’re in the water park, that’s why rather than waiting she told me to just stroll around with you.”

He understood that she felt uncomfortable to be with only him in this kind of place, so he patiently suggested, “The waterpark is not far, just in the north corner of this place. So, let’s just follow them there.”

“Even if I go there, I wouldn’t be able to have fun, so...you just join them. I’ll be fine by myself.”

His brows knotted in wonder, “Do you have water phobia?”

“No.”

“Then why can’t you have fun in the waterpark?”

Unexpectedly her face reddened, “I just can’t.