NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1386: Aoi Yamamoto II
Looking around, I was in a cave of some sort where the water could still get in—almost like a beach cave, but aside from the fire running—cooking a couple of fish fillets on a stick—and those other passages further spread out, I can't see Aoi anywhere.
"Aoi—"
Then the mound of sand next to me suddenly spoke, "I'm here, you idiot—"
"WHAT THE FUCK?! Ack… My shoulder… What are you—"
"It's cold. So I buried myself in the sand."
"And the fire?"
"I hate the wind."
"Uh-huh… But… Where are we?"
"My secret spot— tell anyone and I'll really chop your arm off—"
"Didn't you aim for my shoulder?"
"Eh. I don't care."
"Uh-huh. But where are we exactly?"
"Below Ojii-san's Bonsai tree… It's a ways~ down."
"You carried me all the way?! I know you're strong but—"
"Psh. Idiot, I threw you in the water—"
"YOU WHAT?!"
"Sue me! I would've been the best swimmer here if it weren't for my— y-you know…"
"If you stopped massaging them every single time—"
"YOU— I-I WASN'T!"
"Riiight~"
"IT WAS JUST THAT ONE TIME AND WHY WERE YOU PEEKING AT ME?! PERV!"
"It was a shared hot spring, who told you to get naked and—"
"STOP! STOP! STOP! WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT NOW!"
"Then what are we supposed to talk about?"
"Well…"
"..."
"Well, you're still a fucking idiot!"
"I am. No qualms about that…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You…"
"..."
"Is… Are… Are they really… you know?"
"I do make dumb jokes but not about that, Aoi…"
"-san."
I rolled my eyes, "Sure, my bad. You don't look too bothered by my parents' death, huh? Don't miss your uncle and aunt that much?"
"You— I-It's not like that at all! I— I-I'm still… What's the word?"
"Processing?"
"T-That's it! Processing!"
"Speaking of that, what got you so triggered? You almost fucking killed me, you know?"
"Language! Why do you swear so much?!"
"It's fun, you should fucking try it! Weren't you the one who taught me?! Look who's talking?!"
"..."
"Aoi-neesan?"
"I… When… When y-you were shouting at me e-earlier… telling me how'd I understand, I— It just hurt because I was trying to understand you but… I dunno… Aren't we— F-First of all, have you forgotten that I don't even know my birth parents?
It's like they never existed and were dead from the get-go— Ojii-san wouldn't even tell me anything about them but… I… I should at least understand a b-bit of what you're g-going through, right? It just… R-Really hurt right here in my chest when you said those words r-right as I was really excited to see you back…"
"That's…"
"And hearing you say goodbye, that hurt a lot too…"
"What if it's breast cancer?"
"Huh?"
"Judging from your size you're probably prone to it at least five times as much— Ow!"
"You— Don't! Don't. I know you're trying to ease the tension and the drama but please, don't."
"...a'ight, my bad."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You have any food here?"
"I was cooking some fish— AH! Wawawah~ T-They're burning! THEY'RE BURNING! GET THEM OUT— GET ME OUT TOO! I'M S-STUCK! HELP!"
"Dumbass…"
After a few minutes of chaos, Aoi-san just brought us a few pots of water she stored in one of the caves she had a few things in while I fished for the replacement of the fish she burned.
It was easy enough to do it by hand but whilst looking for my tachi, it was then that I found out that not only was it slightly bent, but it also had several scratches and nicks wherein a normal repair wouldn't be possible.
"What… the fuck?! IS THIS MINE?!"
"GOMEN— I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! D-DON'T TELL OJII-SAN! H-HE'LL KILL US!"
"US?! WHY'D YOU MEAN US?! THAT WAS ALL YOU!"
"AREN'T WE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING CARE OF HIS WORKS?!"
"YEAH! BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT AND TAKE ALL THE FUCKING BLAME! I'LL ACCEPT YOUR NAGINATA AS COLLATERAL!"
"YOU— DON'T TAKE MY NAGINATA! IT'S THE ONLY ONE I HAVE!"
"YOU HAVE YOUR BOW!"
"I CAN'T EVEN USE THE STEEL TIPS IN THE MOUNTAIN! DO YOU KNOW HOW CRAZY IT IS HERE?!"
"Heh. Skill issue—"
"YOU—"
"Just remember those spots, that's it."
"That's totally not just it! There's a lot of other stuff to take into account too!"
"Then remember those too! Easy!"
"I told you, it's not! A-And I'm not like you! Y-You— Why did you go in the water?! I just put medicine on you!"
"You noticed just now? Just put more after it dried again—"
"So wasteful!"
"Say that to my tachi, we're fucking fucked, I tell you…"
"D-Don't— P-Promise me you won't throw me the bus when—"
"Sure, sure~"
"Really?!"
"Way~ to be an older, responsible sister, huh?"
"I was just— F-FINE! I-I'll take all the b-blame… Hngh… W-What would I e-even say?!"
"Just tell grandpa what you did and we'll be square—"
"I… I actually don't remember what I did…"
"What?"
"I just… I blacked out a-and… f-found myself chasing you by the cliff-edge and then I… I woke up?"
"Huh. Something similar actually happened to me…"
"What do you mean?"
"That time… That time when Mom and Dad… Y-You know… Shit fucking sucks after you wake up but… but I think I can control it or there's more to it or something, you know? It's kind of what grandpa does but— you get what I'm saying, right?"
"I-I dunno… I feel… I feel really icky after… I don't like it— I also don't want you messing around with it… It just feels… I-It's kind of the same thing, I'll admit, but—"
"I'll be fine~ It just happens when I'm really mad—"
"How are you now, though? You seem… o-okay?"
I dryly chuckled as I hung my head low, "If we talk about other stuff, I'm good. It's when I'm reminded or when it's really quiet, that's when it fucking sucks."
"I-I'm sorry—"
"Nah, you're good— great, Aoi-neesan. I was really happy to see your face earlier—what time is it anyway?"
"I-I don't have any idea but it's really late…"
"Ah, fuck— Did you forget about the ghosts— OW! I was just—"
"STOP TALKING! STOP TALKING! STOP TALKING! NOT ONE WORD, SORA, OR I'LL SMACK YOU REAL HARD!"
"Then I'll get knocked out and there'd be no one to—"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"