Episode 13

The young girl spun around, her eyes wide open. As I looked at those bright golden eyes and deep blue bangs, something popped in my head.

(Wait... Doesn't she look a bit like... Nagi...?)

"...N-Nagi...?!" She suddenly shrieked.

"Umm... Do you two know each other?" I questioned.

"Please wait, I-I can explain-" Just as the little girl began to explain, she got cut off with an infuriated Nagi, "Save it! I don't have anything to talk about with you! I-I don't even wanna see your face anymore, just go away!"

Even though he shouted like that, it seemed like there was a slight hesitation in his words. The girl's face looked hurt as tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, and the next thing I knew was that she turned away and took her leave. Nagi, on the other hand, looked stunned but at the same time, you could see the hatred burning in his eyes.

"Nagi, are you okay, who was that girl?" Momoi asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

Nagi gave no response, instead, he just walked in the other direction while leaving us behind.

"Who was she...? It looked like Nagi really disliked her..."

"We should just leave him alone." Tokiya said, looking like he had no interest in this matter whatsoever.

"Yeah, he's still a kid. He'll probably be okay if we just give him some space for now." Momoi agreed.

"Yeah, maybe you guys are right..." I accepted it as well, but I was still really perplexed and hoping that Nagi would eventually tell us who that mysterious girl was.

Nagi's POV

(... I can't believe it, so it looks like she died too, huh? It's been just a few weeks and I actually met her. She, the girl who committed that unforgivable deed actually came to this world too...)

All these thoughts kept circling around in my head as I kept wandering with nowhere to go. Then, one by one, all those memories flashed through my head.

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"*Sob, Sob*"

"Hey, it's okay. I just need to put a bandage on it and it will become just fine! There you go, good as new!"

"*Sniff* Thanks, Nagi. You're the best brother a girl could ever have."

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"I'm sorry Nagi... But this is the only way I could save myself... I'm really sorry but... I have to do this..."

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Tears started to form in my eyes as all those pictures came flooding back to me.

(She was an amazing person but... I can't forgive her for what she did to me. Not now, not ever...)

I kept walking but soon, I decided to go back to the others since they were probably worried sick about me. So I turned around and went back to where I was coming from.

Back to Haruka's POV

It's been a while and Nagi still didn't come back. We all started to worry until we saw a small silhouette in the distance.

"Nagi...?"

"You finally came back! We were all so worried about you." Momoi said with relief as she ran to meet him.

"Sorry I did that... I was just angry and confused at the same time so I felt like being alone for a while. I'm sorry to make you guys worry..."

"It's okay but about that girl. I know it's personal, but I really want to know who she was..." I spoke.

"Yeah, 'bout her... Well, I know that I've never mentioned this and I should have told you guys sooner, but I know how I died..."

"Really?! I'm guessing your death probably has something related to her..."

Nagi nodded his head and continued, "But it wasn't related to her. It was her, she's the one who killed me... She's my younger twin sister, Naomi... And ever since I remembered a few weeks ago, I've had this grudge against her. Who would have thought, my own sister, is the one who would murder me with her own hands? And the thing that pained me the most was the fact that she actually used to love me as her brother...but..." Nagi explained, trembling as to hold back the tears that were going to flow out any second.

"Nagi..." I comfortingly put my hand on his shoulder.

We all just listened, not knowing what to say. Even Tokiya for once actually looked kind of down.

(So she was his sister, huh? No wonder they had such a resemblance.)

Momoi was the first to break the silence as she spoke in a positive mood, "It's okay Nagi. All that stuff is in the past and we can't keep dreading over it. Besides, we have plenty more to think of now. We already completed our mission, remember? Now we have some spare time to do whatever we want."

"Oh yeah! So, what are we going to do now since we completed the mission and all?"

"Hmm, that's a good question... Hey, how about we explore the city for the time being. We might even find some nice stuff we could get." Momoi recommended.

"Oh, that's a great idea. I'm not sure about you guys but I'm starving! It's been a while since we last had something to eat!" I said as my stomach let out a loud growl.

"Fine... If your stomach wants to go so badly then let's just go." Tokiya agreed, still sounding kind of annoyed.

"Ugh..."

(Seriously, what pleases that guy?!)

As we headed into Lunalia, Nagi still hadn't spoken a word. Ever since that occurrence, he was completely silent, just following us from the back with his head hung down.

(Wow, he really can't get over it, huh? I wonder what's going on in his head right now...)

I thought as I glanced back at him. But I had to stop thinking about it, I mean, we were finally going to have some fun right now!

"Wow! I know we just went through here, but now that I think about it, their streets are huge!" I exclaimed, staring in amazement at all the street food and markets.

"Yeah, it is Lunalia after all." Momoi replied.

"Come on, let's check this place out!" I shouted as I ran towards the nearest restaurant.

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"She's acting like such a kid..." Tokiya muttered.

"It's okay. Maybe she's never experienced such fun before, I mean, you never know." Momoi smiled as she looked at Haruka.

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"Hmm... I should try finding something Nagi would like, at least to make him happy right now..." I murmured to myself as I looked at all the things a fourteen-year-old would like.

"I know!"

"Hey, Nagi! Look what I got!" I shouted, running towards him.

"Huh...?" Nagi looked up, looking really bewildered.

"An ice cream sandwich! I was thinking if this would make you happy!"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Tokiya's face, his eyes wide open.

"Umm, Tokiya, is something wrong?" I asked as I looked towards him.

"Oh... umm... It's nothing." He replied but his gaze was noticeably fixed on the ice cream sandwich.

"Hey, I know what's going on here! Do you by chance like ice cream sandwiches?" I asked with a grin.

The moment I said that, Tokiya's face turned bright red as he quickly averted his gaze to the side.

"*Chuckle* Tokiya, why are you being embarrassed? It's just an ice cream sandwich." Momoi spoke with a smile.

That's when I burst out laughing, "Hahaha! I finally found something that satisfies you! Who would have thought, an ice cream sandwich? Honestly, it's pretty hilarious that a guy like you would like such a simple dessert."

Tokiya just facepalmed, trying to hide his embarrassed expression.

"So Nagi, do you want it?"

"Oh, uh... It's okay, I'm not really a dessert person."

"What? I never knew that there was such a person who doesn't like dessert!"

"No, I mean, I'm fine with deserts. It's just that I prefer savory food over sweet."

"Oh, okay. But it looks like I bought this for no reason, huh? Unless... Tokiya, you could have this if you want!" I turned in his direction and held out the ice cream sandwich.

"Umm..."

He then reluctantly took the dessert from my hand.

"*Chuckle* Like Momoi said, you don't need to get so flustered. We're all friends here, we're not going to judge you for liking such things."

"Friends?" Tokiya questioned.

"We are friends, right? I mean, I know you can be really annoying sometimes, but you've still done a lot for me. That does mean we're friends, right?"

He didn't reply and instead, he took a bite of the ice cream sandwich while turning his head away.

(Urgh, there he goes again! Ignoring whatever I say. *Sigh* I guess it's just who he is, huh?)

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