After Being Betrayed by My Girlfriend, I Kiss Her Little Sister - Chapter 37

Awareness (4)

In the infirmary. I stay quietly by Hina’s side until she wakes up.

To think that he would hit a girl that hard…is he insane? Hina has been a frail girl since she was a little child, so I’m always worried about her. If I wasn’t by her side, she would collapse so easily. I still haven’t forgotten that.

That aside, I wonder what’s going to happen to that guy from now on.

“Ara, are you skipping class, Kanata-senpai?”

“I’m not skipping class…hmm? Wait, how do you know my name…?”

“You still haven’t notice, have you, Miyauchi-san!?”

“Hmm? That voice…could it be Kikuchi-san?”

“That’s right! It’s Rio Kikuchi! Nice to meet you! Ah, Hina-senpai is still not awake. I’m sorry…”

No way, she wears glasses at school…? I had no idea.

More importantly, her image is completely different from when she’s at the shop. Girls are seriously scary in so many ways.

“Ah…umm, why did you come here?”

“Ahaha, it’s okay to speak casually with me, you know? I’m younger than you anyway. Come to think of it…I have never actually told you anything about myself, have I?”

“Ah…yeah.”

“Now that I think about it, Kanata-senpai never asked me how old I am or what school I go to. Kanata-senpai, you’re always so focused on work~”

“T-That’s true…”

Because of Umi, I didn’t really talk to any girls besides Kisaragi…

We are just part-time coworkers, I thought it would be rude to suddenly ask about her age, so I just continued working without bringing it up. But does Kikuchi know Hina? She called her ‘Hina-senpai’ earlier. It’s only been a month since she moved to the city, it’s kind of strange.

I wonder what kind of relationship these two have.

“Ah, that look on your face~ You’re wondering how Hina-senpai and I know each other, right? Kanata-senpai.”

“Eh? You figured it out…”

“Ehehe. Kanata-senpai is…how do I put it~ Very easy to read!”

“What!? R-Really?”

“Yes! Totally! I used to be pretty close with Hina-senpai back in middle school. Sometimes she’d talk about you too, Kanata-senpai…but since I didn’t really know you at that time, I couldn’t say much. Ahaha…”

So she’s one of my juniors in middle school. We went to the same school, and yet…I had no idea.

I guess that’s only natural—

Still, I can’t believe she attends this school too…isn’t that great, Hina.

“Now that I think about it, Kikuchi…how did you know where the two of them went?”

“I was just about to go to the staff room when I saw Hina-senpai with that guy, so I secretly followed them! After that, I was planning to quietly tell Kanata-senpai where they were…but then I happened to bump into you at the perfect moment. Ahaha…what a coincidence!”

“Thanks to you, Kikuchi…I was able to find Hina right away.”

“Hehe…But I couldn’t do anything. I never expected something like that would happen, and if I’d known, I could’ve prevented it beforehand…”

“Don’t blame yourself. You did the right thing, Kikuchi. He’s the one at fault.”

“Senpai…you’re as kind as always…”

“As always, huh…”

Then, Kikuchi looks at me intently. I wonder what’s going on in her mind?

“Ara ara, if I talk any more, Hina-senpai might get angry at me, so I’m heading back to class!”

“Eh?”

“Ah, Kanata-senpai, I’ll cover your shift today!”

With that, Kikuchi quickly leaves the infirmary.

Then suddenly, I flinch as Hina grabs my hand. When did she wake up?

“Kanata…”

“Hina, are you okay? Are you feeling okay!?”

“Yeah, I just fainted for a bit. I’m okay…”

“Did that guy do something weird to you?”

“Right after he hit me in the stomach…Kanata came right away…thank you…”

“I see. But hey, why did you go to a place like that with him? You could’ve just ignored him.”

“Sorry…I couldn’t ignore him. Also, even though you let me borrow it…your sweater, Kanata…”

“Don’t worry about it. You are more important than that sweater, Hina.”

“Yeah…h-hey, Kanata…”

“Hmm?”

“Today…I want to be with you. Just now…Rio said she’d cover your shift, right?”

“Y-Yeah, but…”

So that’s what she meant…

“I just want to be with you…”

“Okay. How about we go home together today for the first time in a while?”

“Yeah!”

“Can you walk, Hina?”

“Yeah, I can walk…it still hurts where I got hit, but not so much that I can’t walk.”

“Okay…don’t leave my side anymore, Hina…”

“…okay.”

Hina is looking at me intently, and for some reason, I find myself looking away.

I’m worried. What if this incident turns into a trauma for her?

Of course, I plan to stay by her side so that won’t happen. I won’t leave her alone again.

We’ll be together, Hina. Always.

“Kanata, Kanata…”

“Hmm? What is it, Hina?”

“I…had a bad dream.”

“A bad dream?”

“Yeah…I had a dream where you left me…it made me so sad.”

“That’s…I…”

I can’t deny Hina’s words.

“That’s why, stay by my side forever. Like now.”

“O-Okay.”

“Let’s go back to class.”

“Yeah.”

“Ah…but before that, there’s something I want you to do.”

“What is it…?”

“Will you hold me tight? I feel like when you hug me, all this fear will just fade away.”

“…okay.”

In the quiet infirmary, I gently wrap my arms around Hina.

“So warm and comforting…”

“Yeah…”

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“They look the happiest when they’re together.”

Rio quietly peeks into the infirmary from the hallway.

“Umm…is it okay if I come in now, Rio?”

“Just a little longer, Sensei!”

“Ehh…”