Chapter 10

Shopping date with the little brats.

Brought to you by Noir

1

(POV: PAST)

“Remember~? You must listen to whatever Yuu-kun says. If you get lost in the crowd then don’t ask strangers for directions instead simply go to the lost child centre. Do you understand me, Mahiru-chan and Asaka-chan?”

The little runts reply to the mother of Miya-chan, Haruyama Miku.

“ok~.”

“ok~.”

“ok~.”

“Well, Yuu, take care of them.”

“Of course, I’ll take care of these three girls.”

I had planned to waste time at home doing nothing for the day, but then I had to unwillingly agree to accompany these little brats for their shopping.

Because it is worrying to leave these girls studying in the lower grades of middle school by themselves. Miku-san had planned to accompany them to the shopping mall.  However, she was requested with a sudden appointment and couldn’t accompany them to their shopping. Unfortunately, my mother heard about their situation and now I have to be their guardian at the shopping mall on my mother’s request.

I am not exaggerating when I say that in the countryside large shopping malls are a sanctuary for entertainment.

The ‘tenants’ in the shopping mall, the specialty stores, movie theatre, the food courts and the game centres get overly crowded with families and couples on holidays.

After walking for about 10 minutes or so I reached my destination. As I had expected, the place was packed with people.

“Listen, you guys, if you get lost in the mountain full of people, I’ll have a hard time finding you guys. So please don’t, never run around too much or try to do anything by yourself. ok”

When I warned them seriously about losing themselves in the crowd as an adult, Miya-chan shrugged her shoulders and looked at me impatiently.

“Yuu-nii especially, don’t get lost. ok”

“As if I will.”

“It’s not a date so kindly don’t get ahead of yourself.” Mahiru said.

“As if I would.”

“Say, say~, where do we head first?”

I’m sure they have visited here, shopping with their parents on a daily basis but somehow they look a little over excited. It’s as if they have come here for the first time. 

I guess these little kids are — Even when I am still here — quite excited to be able to come to this shopping mall.

Especially Asaka’s eyes looks twinkling.  

“Let’s see… let’s go over there.”

Asaka points to the escalator. She leads the way to the second floor, dressed in a large straw hat and loose-fitted dress.

The first place we visited was a general merchandise store which had a fairy-tale-like interior. The store had its merchandise probably targeted towards middle-grade and junior high-school students. As expected, the crowd was filled with girls of those age.

“Oh, this looks so cute.”

“Miya, isn’t this one cute too?”

“Fu~ah, they’re all so cute~.”

Looking at those little runts frolic around in the anime-stationary section for young girls. Normally they are usually cheeky but looking at them being lively, acting appropriately of their age is kind of adorable.

Be that as it may.

“…”

Being the only man in this shop I am really worried about the gaze of people fixated over me.

I just wish that I don’t run into someone I know at a place like this…

I am actually old enough to be concerned on such matters.

“Next, let’s go to the arcade centre.”

This time, Mahiru takes the lead.

“Hey, don’t be in such a hurry else you’ll get separated from the rest of us.”

The arcade was decorated with bright lights and lined with a variety of games. Games such as: medal games, rhythm games and light first-person shooting type games were lined next to one another. Next to the arcade was a food court, where people of all ages, from children to adults were gathered in a crowd.

“Uh-wah, Asaka is way too fast.”

“I can’t see the bee’s movement.”

“So that’s the full combo attack, woah.”

“The side, shoot the one in the side.”

“Medic! Medic!”

“I’m saying, the shot just now went in.”

“This gorilla’s really got some skills.”

“I’ve run out of medals.”

“Who is the one to drop the bananas here?”

“Yuu-nii was the last!”

“Hmm, small fry.”

After enjoying a round of games together, it was time for lunch at the food court.

“Ugh, I’m so full. I’ll give the rest to Yuu-nii.”

“Me too.”

“You guys sure have the guts to give me your leftovers with only the white rice remaining.”

“Yuu-nii, I’ll give you some of my hamburger.”

After our tummies were satisfied with the food, we headed next to the bookstore.

Probably it was because it was still lunchtime or probably because it just so happened that to be a good time for customers to enter the premises, the inside of the shopping mall was getting more and more crowded by every passing minute.

*Don!

“Ouch!”

“Oh, I’m really sorry.”

“A~h no, me as well, for looking the other way.”

I bumped into an aunty who came in from my blind spot. I would have avoided that easily, but couldn’t as it was so crowded that there was almost no free space to move about.

“I’m really – so very sorry, boy.”

Once the lady was gone, I turned my gaze back forward…

and when I did

“A~h really, what a trouble, what a trouble. But… Eh?”

In front of my sight were all but unknown shops.

“Where… where are the kids?”

2

It was as if the blood in my body got almost drained.

Those insolent brats. 

Even after I warned them repeatedly to not get lost. No. I guess this was my mistake. It’s because I took my eyes off them…. 

I looked around, but there were no signs of those insolent brats. I guess they didn’t notice that I bumped into an auntie and went on ahead of me.

I hurried through the crowd to the bookstore.

“Please, Please.”

[TL note: praying they are there.]

Since the destination to the bookstore wasn’t changed they might be still there waiting for me.

But,

“… They’re not even here. Damn it.”

I searched every nook and cranny of the bookstore, but I could neither find Miya, nor Mahiru, nor even Asaka.

My mind starts to imagine ominous things that can have happened to them by now.

Wh–what should I do now?!

If they had been taken by some suspicious person by any chance then…

Ohh… It was all because I wasn’t being firm enough…

“ping-pong, ping-pong.”

The broadcast is heard throughout the restaurant.

“We would like you to inform you about a lost child.”

I suddenly came back to my senses when I heard the broadcast play in the restaurant.

That’s right. Let’s go to the Lost and Found Centre and have them broadcast about those brats gone missing.

It’s much better than moving around from store to store searching for them aimlessly. 

With that thought in mind, I hurried to the service counter—

“From the city, Arizuki Yuu-kun.”

Ha~ah?

“If anyone sees Arizuki Yuu-kun, a person wearing white shirt and tea-coloured short trousers, please contact immediately to the service counter upstairs.”

Hold on a minute.

Ha~ah?

“Repeating this broadcast for a lost child. He is Arizuki Yuu-kun, who has come from the city. Your friend is looking out for you. If anyone know where he might be—-“

“ARGH, THOSE DAMNED KIDS!”

No, it’s true that it’s my fault that they got lost, and they even got told by Miku-san to go to the lost child centre in the shopping mall if they got lost,

But…

To think that they made the call centre call me as the one being the ‘lost child’……

******

“Really, he is such a pain in the ass.”

“To think he got lost even after being an adult. Really he is such a small fry.’

“Oh, here he comes.”

“Oi, you brats…”

“Uwaaa. He somehow looks really mad.”

“Run!”

“Wait there for a minute, you insolent runts!”

It was needless to say that, the classmates who happened to hear the broadcast all by coincidence teased him after the summer break, remembering this as “The lost-kid Arizuki-kun” incident.

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