Chapter 14 - A Worrying Sudden Sleepover

"WHY ARE YOU—"

"Shh... You're being too loud, Yuuto."

"Also, It's rare to see you come home this late," she added before letting me say anything.

It was past 6pm when I got home, and according to my plan, I will laze around while reading some fantasy manga, or play my favorite game for the umpteenth time.

But it seems like I need to delay it, because she, Hoshino Yuuko are in my room. She lay on my bed, with her phone in between her hands, wearing bunny pajamas.

"Yeah, I need to go to some places earlier— hey! Don't change the topic!"

"Bwah-ha... Alright, you got me, I'll tell you everything you need to know," she said while raising both of her hands.

I let out a small sigh, and asked her, "So, what are you doing in my room?"

"Nothing in particular, Kumiko asked me if I wanted to come over, and of course I won't reject it," she said, while reaching for a big bunny doll that's not too far from her.

"Oh, I see. But why my room? You can play with her in her own room right?"

"Ah, about that, Kumiko said we should use your room instead of hers."

"And why is that?"

"Because she said her room is still messy," she said while squeezing the bunny's hand.

"That's such nonsense, since when was her room messy…?" I said, holding my head.

Moreover, where is she? Why is she not here when she already invited Yuuko? Ugh... That old sis...

"By the way, where is she?"

"Eh? You didn't walk past each other?" She tilted her head.

"Did she go outside?"

"Of course she is, duh... She said she needed to go to the convenience store, how come you didn't walk past her?"

"How should I know?"

We both let out a big sigh together, and looked at each other with a deadpan face.

If I didn't walk past her, that can only mean 2 things: First she walked the long way; or she went out earlier before I went home.

Haa... Whatever.

Now that there's only me and Yuuko in this room, what should I do...?

Remembering the heavy bag on my shoulder, I put it beside the bed. I walk towards the wardrobe to get some change clothes, then start to exit the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yuuko asked without looking at my direction, stopping me from opening the door.

"Can't you see? I'm going to change my clothes." I turned to look at her flatly.

"Hee..., you can change it here though." She said while banging her legs on the bed.

"What the heck are you talking about? I will never do that."

"But you used to do that when we were kids," she said, looking at me playfully.

"That's a different story!" I rushed out of the room.

What the... ugghhh...!! She's so annoying, darn it!

Now that she said that, it sent a rush of nostalgia to my mind. It was indeed we used to do that when we were kids. But that is when we were kids, the present is a different story.

Back then, before I had any friends besides Yuuko, we used to spend a lot of time together. Eating, playing, taking bath, we even sleep together. But of course, I sleep on the futon, and she sleeps on my bed with my sister (that is also the situation with taking bath together, by the way).

How old were we at that time? Before kindergarten... was it? I don't know, I have a faint memory of it.

It's actually normal to see her around my house, in fact, it was as if she's my little sister. We've been friends for 15 years, and despite that, despite us being so close, I couldn't think of her other than a noisy, energetic, and caring little sister.

But, the reason why she is so often in my house is kind of complicated.

I'm not going to talk about it, I don't have any permission to do so.

Alright, time to change my clothes in the bathroom.

———

[18:36] Yuuto : Where are you? You can't leave Yuuko alone líke this when you're the one who invited her?

[18:45] Yuuto : Hey, are you there?

[18:46] Yuuto : Why are you taking so long to respond?

[18:48] Yuuto : Hey, don't joke like this, please?

That's what I messaged her, but until now, nearly half an hour later, she still didn't respond to my message.

I was playing with my phone on my desk, and on the other side, Yuuko was reading my fantasy manga while rolling around a few times.

Haa... Where's that stupid old sis going to? Why is she taking so long?

"Hey, Yuuko."

"Hm? What is it?" She closed the book, and started to sit on the bed.

"Are you sure you heard her right?"

"Yeah, she said, 'Wait a second okay? I forgot I needed to go to the convenience store to buy something for our sleepover.' yeah, like that."

She tried to imitate the way my sister talked, she was very close.

Also, a sleepover? Excuse me, but I just heard about that now. Well... it's not like I really care, I just hope they didn't invade my bed again.

"I see."

"Are you worried?"

"Of course I'm worried, I would be terrified to death if something happened to her."

"Then why don't you go get her?"

"I was planning to."

"Then I'm going to!" She said, getting off from the bed.

"With that pajamas?" I said, pointing at her.

She fell silent afterwards. I know she was also worried about my sister, her face was really obvious. But she needs to change her clothes first.

"You can use my hoodie, let me get it for you."

She nodded and started to take off her pajamas. No worries, she wears an undershirt and short pants. And since it's chilly outside, I also lent her my training pants. 

After a while, she finished changing her clothes.

"Alright, let's get going."

She quickly nodded and with a serious face, she said, "Yeah, let's go!"

We walked downstairs towards the exit door, and before leaving, I asked my mom if she saw her.

"Hey, mom, did you message sis Kumiko?"

Comfortably adjusting her position on the sofa, my mom replied, "Oh, I didn't. Why is that?"

"I was wondering why is she taking so long to go back from the convenience store."

"Aahh, now that you mentioned it, I just realized she hasn't come back yet. I also asked her to buy me some egg and meat too before, but the TV program was so entertaining that I forgot about that."

Mom, please tell me that the last sentence was just a joke. It's a joke right? Okay, no, your face says you're serious.

Well, I'm not going to blame her for that. She just got home from work an hour ago, the time I also got home too. So she just wanted to rest for a while before making dinner.

And also, I believe she trusted my sister to go out alone at this hour. But still, why didn't this girl over here go with her?

I glanced at Yuuko tiredly. She gave me a sour smile.

"Alright, Yuuko and I will go get her." We started to walk towards the exit door.

"Okay~ oh, and also, don't forget to buy soy sauce too, okay?"

"Got it," I said while wearing my shoes. "Shall we go?" I asked Yuuko, who just finished wearing her shoes too.

She nodded.

Alright, time to search for her. Wait, maybe not search for her. To go get her? But is she really still at the convenience store...? I hope so.

Wait for us, sis Kumiko.