(Old)Meeting Asuka - Part1

In the late afternoon classroom, Sora stood by the window, watching students leaving for the day. Among them, she noticed Yuta hurriedly packing his bag, seeming in a particular rush.

"Hm? Yuta, are you leaving early again?" Sora asked with her characteristic innocence. A male classmate nearby answered, "Oh, he needs to take care of his sister. He goes home early every day."

"Sister?" As Sora tilted her head curiously, the classmate continued thoughtfully, "Yeah, I heard she's not very healthy. Yuta takes care of her. He helps out with household stuff too."

At these words, Sora watched Yuta's figure through the window as he headed toward the school gate. His back seemed to carry a weight that was never visible during school hours, a burden he never showed in class.

"I see..." Sora's expression clouded slightly. Unlike her usual carefree smile, her eyes held a deeper understanding, as if seeing through to the weight Yuta carried.

---

The next day. As Yuta was preparing to leave, Sora approached him with light steps. "Yuta, let's walk home together?" Her innocent smile caught him by surprise, but he quickly averted his gaze and replied, "No, I have to..."

"It's about your sister, right?" Yuta's eyes widened at Sora's words. He then gave a wry smile and looked away slightly. "...How did you know about that?"

Sora displayed a playful smile while answering, "Because Yuta, you always rush home, you know? That must mean you have someone important waiting for you, right?"

Those words made Yuta momentarily lose his voice. Sora continued with serious eyes, "That's why I want to meet them. The important person Yuta's protecting."

Her eyes held a deep resolve beneath their usual innocence. Yuta stared at her for a while before letting out a small sigh. Then, he quietly nodded.

"...Alright. But we need to hurry." "Okay! Leave it to me!"

Sora smiled brightly as she fell into step beside Yuta. Her natural presence brought an inexplicable sense of comfort to him.

---

Walking home together, Sora moved with light, bouncy steps beside Yuta, almost skipping with excitement.

"Hey hey, what's your sister's name?" At Sora's eager tone, Yuta answered somewhat hesitantly, "Asuka..."

"Wow, what a lovely name! How old is she?" "She's in second year of middle school..." Yuta's expression turned thoughtful as he continued, "But because of her health... she can't go to school much."

Sora stopped for a moment, studying Yuta's face intently. "I see. But don't worry!" "...What do you mean?" Yuta responded with slight surprise, and Sora broke into a bright smile. "I just know we'll become good friends!"

At those innocent words, Yuta couldn't help but stare at her. In her eyes was a warm, hope-filled light that somehow made him believe everything would be alright. Her words inexplicably loosened something in his heart, and he found himself nodding slightly.

---

Eventually, they stopped in front of a small bakery in the residential area. The sign read "Minami Bakery."

The warm aroma of freshly baked bread wafted from the shop front, enveloping them in a cozy atmosphere. "I'm home," Yuta called out, and a gentle voice responded from inside, "Welcome back, Yuta."

Inside, they found a woman with blonde hair in a ponytail busily working in front of a large oven, arranging freshly baked bread. Seeing her, Sora exclaimed with slight surprise, "Oh? Is this your sister?"

The woman turned around, showing a surprised smile. "My, thank you. But no, I'm Yuta's mother."

"Eh! Mother? You look so young!" At Sora's straightforward words, Haruka chuckled. "Fu fu, that's sweet of you. Welcome, Sora-chan. I've heard about you from Yuta."

"Yes! Nice to meet you, I'm Sora!" Sora energetically bowed.

"My, what a lovely girl. I'm a bit busy right now, but please make yourself comfortable." Haruka said this as she turned back to the oven, resuming her work. Looking at her busy figure, there was a hint of fatigue visible, but her expression remained soft, emanating a warm atmosphere.

Sora watched her work for a while before turning to Yuta with a bright smile. "Yuta, how wonderful to have such a lovely mother!" Yuta responded with slight embarrassment, "Well, yeah. Though they say she used to be scarier in the past," he mumbled quietly.

At that moment, Haruka spun around with sharp eyes, fixing Yuta with an intense stare. "Did you say something?" Her voice had lost its usual gentleness, carrying an underlying intimidating tone. Yuta hurriedly waved his hands, "No, nothing!" forcing an awkward smile.

Seeing this, Sora looked at Haruka with surprise and delight. "Haruka-san, you're a bit scary! But that's wonderful too!" Haruka showed a moment of surprise at these words, but then chuckled, "It's been a while since anyone called me scary," she said with a shrug.

Yuta sighed and pointed toward the stairs, "Come on, Sora, let's go up." "Okay!" Sora cheerfully responded, and they began climbing the stairs leading to the back of the bakery.

They said their thanks and headed up the stairs that led to the entrance of their home. This was the entrance to Yuta's house.

Sora muttered while looking at her feet, "Yuta's mother is kind, but... she has quite the presence!" Yuta gave a wry smile and replied, "Yeah, they say she used to be even more intense in the past."

During this light exchange, they opened the door to the second floor. A soft voice could be heard from inside. "Welcome home, big brother..." Yuta answered with a short "I'm home" as he climbed the stairs and called out.

"Asuka, I brought a friend today." That voice received a slightly surprised response. "Eh...?"