Lonely Rock for the Blind.

"At first, yes, but now I'm used to it."

Nekoyashiki Haru smiled once again.

"If I don't run into the stairs, it's a piece of cake for someone as skilled in staff fighting as me!"

"You're still joking with me now, so it seems like you're really okay."

Ijichi Seika stood up.

"But you actually became a band member... and joined Hiroi's band..."

"It's not joining, it's just being a mercenary."

"...Well, whatever you want."

Ijichi Hoshika walked behind the counter.

"You can work at Fanxing Bar from now on, doing odd jobs. Sometimes you can fill in for the band when they need someone, and you won't be shortchanged."

"Sister Xingge, you're really quite carefree these days."

"How to say?"

Ichi Hoshika raised her dead fish eyes.

“After all, you used to be quite irritable when you were in a band, but now you’re completely unrecognizable… Ah! Not entirely, the other day when you found me, you almost punched me in the face.”

"Nonsense! You didn't even tell us you were coming back. We definitely wanted to beat you up!"

"Hehe...sorry..."

"…never mind."

Ichi Hoshika sighed.

"Fanxing will be closed today, you can go home now."

“Hongxia, she…”

"I'll be more careful. You can talk to her about it slowly tomorrow."

Ijichi Seika took Nekoyashiki Haru's cane and then stretched out a hand in front of him.

"Hold on, I'll take you back to where you used to live, right?"

"Yes, thank you, Sister Xingge."

"You're welcome…"

Supporting Nekoyashiki Haru, Ijichi Seika felt the other's excessively light weight and sighed.

"Eat properly from now on."

I'll try my best.

Chapter Four: Single Life

In my memory, I was always crying in my small room when I was a child.

I cried in the morning, I cried at noon, and I cried at night.

She cried at home and she cried at school.

Then I didn't want to go anywhere anymore.

I just want to stay at home, in my own room, where I can still see traces of my mother.

I threw down my schoolbag and tossed the ribbon on the ground. My father anxiously tried to stop me, while the boy with light purple eyes watched quietly from the side.

No, no! I don't want to go to school!

I shouted this stubbornly, as if that would express my determination, and that would allow me to wait for my mother to come home.

The boy picked up the ribbon from the ground and stepped forward, intending to gently hand it to me.

I pushed him away.

He maintained his gentle expression and continued forward.

I continued to push him away, and his expression seemed to freeze slightly for a moment before he spoke.

I know... Auntie left. Hongxia held on for a very long time, and now she just wants to rest for a while. Tomorrow, let's go to school together...

I interrupted him before he finished speaking.

The kitten doesn't know anything! It wasn't your mother who died! You know absolutely nothing!!!

"Everything!!!"

Ichi Nijika sat bolt upright in bed, her back soaked with cold sweat. Her red eyes could see the dark wall in front of her, an inconspicuous object that pulled her thoughts back to reality.

"...It was a dream..."

Glug glug~

My stomach is growling... Come to think of it, I didn't even have dinner... I just ran back and fell asleep...

As Ichi Nijika got out of bed, she suddenly realized something.

"...Is my sister also hungry?"

I picked up my phone and checked the time; it was already 11 p.m.

"... "

Cold sweat ran down his forehead.

...

……

.........

"Ah...ah ah..."

Lying on the sofa, Ijichi Seika's red eyes had begun to lose focus.

"I'm...I'm starving to death..."

"Then go find something to eat! Are you planning to keep starving like this if I don't wake up?!"

The voice of Ijichi Nijika beside her pulled Ijichi Seika back from the brink of death, and she sat up abruptly.

"Because we're waiting for Hongxia to eat together..."

"...That sounds weird coming from you...Wait a minute, I'll go cook now, but for now, just grab something quick and easy."

As Ijichi Nigatsu walked toward the kitchen, Ijichi Seika suddenly called out to her from behind.

"Wait a moment."

"what happened?"

Ijichi Nijika looked at Ijichi Seika with a strange expression.

"Qing will work at Fanxing from now on, and her home will be in the same place as before."

"...What do you mean by 'working at Starry Sky in the future'...not just a temporary job?"

"He's not going to school anymore."

"... "

Ichi Nijika pursed her lips.

"Ah."

Ijichi Hoshika continued.

"I'm acting like I don't care today mainly because I don't want you to worry."

"All I know is..."

Ichi Nijika returned to the sofa and sat down.

"I was just thinking about when he would come back, but when he came back, I couldn't see him anymore. It was really hard to accept when he suddenly told me this."

"...Uh...Life is always full of surprises..."

"Sister, you don't need to lecture me with these grand principles."

"That's good, I'm not good at speaking either."

Ichi Nijika smiled.

"Then I'll apologize to him properly tomorrow for suddenly running away."

"Ichi Nijika said, looking at the ceiling."

"……OK…"

The voice of Ijichi Seika next to her was so soft that it was almost inaudible, which made Ijichi Nijika look at Ijichi Seika strangely. She was lying on the sofa like a piece of paper.

"Ah! What's wrong, sister?!"

"I'm...I'm starving to death..."

"Several hours shouldn't make you starve to the point of being as thin as a sheet of paper! Why did you suddenly transform like Ichiri?!"

"I'm the kind of person who will die if I don't eat for even a short while..."

"Hungry Shark?! I've been your sister for 17 years and I've never heard of such a thing!"

Nijika Ichi jumped up from the sofa and ran to the kitchen.

"Hang in there a little longer! Don't starve to death!"

Then he went into the kitchen and started cooking, making a lot of noise.

...

……

.........

Good morning!