I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

Lenai had watched TV dramas, and usually in situations like this, people would roar hysterically.

But Noshiro Chitose's tone when speaking was unusually calm.

She took a deep breath and gave a smile that Kaname was most familiar with.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sorry to have made you worry, but it's actually not a big deal! It's all over now!"

Kaname Rakuna was picked up by Chitose Noshiro, and she did not notice Chitose Noshiro's effort and trembling.

Perhaps, my perception was clouded by the rain.

"Hey! Are you really... okay?"

The confident and cheerful Chitose Noshiro is back! That's great!

What exactly is the cause of the shattered dreams?

It doesn’t seem to be that serious. Sister Chitose managed to make it through!

As expected, she is Sister Chitose!

"Little Lenai, you want so many things at such a young age. What kind of person will you become when you grow up?"

"grow up?"

"Ah."

Being lifted up, Kaname Rakuna couldn't understand the look in Noshiro Chitose's eyes.

Is that sadness? But why is it so bland?

"When I grow up, I want to be Chitose-nee. I want to be like you."

"Ah...hahaha, really? That should be pretty simple, right?" Noshiro Chitose obviously didn't want to delve into this topic anymore. She picked up Lena and walked into the house. "How much have you learned from what I taught you?"

"I've only learned the basics, there's still a lot I don't know."

"I've written down some of my unique opinions in my notebook these days. Please read them more often in the future."

"Ok?"

"I think your grandmother, Lady Tsuzuki Shifune, could teach you a lot of things. I'm not as important to you as you think."

[Some more incomprehensible words. It seems that Chitose-sister hasn't fully recovered yet.]

"Have a good rest! Chitose-sister."

"Ah...hahaha, okay, okay."

Alright alright.

There's really nothing I can do about you.

Precocious little Lenai, let me take one last look at you.

Chitose stared at Lenai's chubby little face for a long time.

[Next time we meet, I guess I won't be able to see your lively six-year-old self.]

That's the way it is.

……

On a rainy night, the two white-haired cats, soaked like drowned rats, snuggled up to each other and returned to the room.

The rain left marks on the floor, even diluting the bloodstains.

"Is it cold?"

"Yeah, it's freezing."

"You're freezing to death, yet you still come out to hug me?" Chitose was amused, twisting her hair while feeding Lenai candy.

Chitose wrapped the rain-soaked Rakuna in a white yukata.

They curled up on the bed, not caring how wet each other was.

Everything seemed rotten, and nothing seemed to matter anymore.

Chitose Noshiro hummed impromptu as she listened to the rhythm of raindrops hitting the ground.

"It sounds great, what song is it?"

"It's not finished yet. There's no name, only the melody."

"What a pity...when will it be finished?"

"Good question. I don't know... The sheet music is on the table. Whenever I want to sit down and work on it... I can finish it then."

In the dim light, Le Nai saw the light blue veins on Chitose's collarbone.

They are like unfinished musical notations.

Chitose Noshiro's fingertips, scented with cherry blossoms, were tapping the palm of Lena's hand to keep the rhythm.

But Lenai always felt that Chitose's heartbeat was more contagious.

The song reminded Kaname of the brilliant but short-lived soap bubbles.

[Is Chitose, who was so brilliant on the stage that day, just a bubble?]

"Chitose-sister, if I were a bubble, what would you be?"

Faced with Lena's nonsensical question, Noshiro Chitose was silent for a moment:

"Tobacco, actually I wanted to say alcohol, but since I've never smoked tobacco, I'm more drawn to it."

"After all, I've long been disenchanted with alcohol."

So unpalatable!

Ch361.Finally, she said: "Goodbye"

Children always ask strange questions.

When the curtain fell, only Kaname Rakuna was left by the down-and-out hero Chitose Noshiro's side.

How noisy it was on the stage in the past, how desolate it is now after stepping down.

The rain soaked them.

Lenai asked:

If I am a bubble, then what are you, Chitose-sister?

Chitose replied:

【I am tobacco.】

Tobacco and foam... they don't go together at all.

Why would someone choose to say this when it's obvious that soapy water and foam are better?

But that's not the case.

"Are you hungry, little one?"

"Not hungry, just a little tired and sleepy."

Tobacco and foam are ordinary in themselves, but they become very unusual when they meet each other.

Just like a six-year-old girl and a twenty-two-year-old girl, two people who should not have met each other met each other at this stage of life.

When tobacco burns and turns into tiny flames... it is destined to be soaked by foam and extinguished bit by bit.

The bubble should have floated away freely in the wind when it was born, but it encountered burning tobacco, and inevitably ended up with a heavy and turbid end that was stained with smoke.

"Go to sleep, Lenai-chan."

Lenai's consciousness fell into a daze. For a child, the physical energy consumption today was a bit too much.

"But, sister, I fell asleep, what will you do?"

Lenai could no longer see Chitose Noshiro's face.

The room was dark, much darker than any night Lenai could remember.

"Me?"

Chitose was clearly right beside her, but she felt like she was already far away from him.

But Lenai just arched to the side and found the warm embrace again.

When she started snoring, her eyes were completely closed.

"I will always be with you, Lenai...for the rest of my life."

"Go to sleep, Lenai, go to sleep."

Tobacco and foam. When their existences aren't meant to connect, even every breath they take feels wrong.

"When you open your eyes again, your life will return to normal."

Is that so?

Lenai fell asleep with the words unspoken.

……

Yes, that’s right.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already daytime.

【A familiar ceiling.】

Rakuna rolled over and didn't find Noshiro Chitose anymore.

She glanced at the ceiling again, only to find she was already home.

Back to...Grandma.

"Are you awake, little Lenai?"

Tsuzuki Shisen's voice came from the foot of the bed, but Kaname Rakuna didn't get up to greet her grandmother.

Her eyelashes trembled a few times, flicking away the crystal clear tears curled up on her eyelashes.

"Where's Chitose-sister?"

"She left after she brought you back. It was raining so hard yesterday and she was wearing so little that she dumped her raincoat and umbrella all over you."

[Ah…Is that so?]

His limbs were so limp that Lenai felt his forehead burning hot.

She turned her head to look out the window. It was so bright that she couldn't open her eyes.

"Is the sky clear?"

"Yeah, it's cleared up early in the morning. Do you want to go out for a walk today?"

"..."

Tsuzuki Shichuan walked to the window and opened it. The blue sky was as blue as the Mediterranean Sea.

Although Lenai has never seen the Mediterranean Sea, it is always mentioned on TV programs.

"Sister...Grandma, I'm hungry."

The rain stopped and the sky cleared up, and Chitose Noshiro also disappeared, even though they had agreed to let her heal her.

"Am I too much of a burden? Just like...my parents won't take me away."

"I'll make you lunch. Would you like dessert afterward? Matcha parfait?"

Matcha parfait?

"Forget it. I don't feel like eating lately."

……

Matcha parfait is time-limited.

It may be a little hard to understand, but Lenai just had no interest in this.

A month has passed since Chitose Noshiro sent me home.