Upon receiving the news that his parents were coming back, Renji Yanagi had been waiting at home, occasionally checking the time or looking out the window.
Hearing a sound outside, he opened his eyes and strode right out the door.
The moment he saw the girl, he let out a sigh of relief, only to realize immediately that he had relaxed too soon.
According to last year's data, her height was 155.81 cm and her weight 37.43 kg. Now her height was 160.34 cm, yet her frame looked even more slender. About the only thing that had grown was her hair, which was longer by roughly 5.8 centimeters.
As he calculated these figures in his mind, he began mapping out a plan for her diet and exercise over the coming period.
Staring fixedly at the girl, he reached out to cup her small face, examining her from left to right, but felt it wasn't enough. He grabbed her by her slender waist and simply hoisted her away in one smooth motion.
Standing off to the side, loaded down with bags of all sizes, Mr. and Mrs. Yanagi: "..."
Wait, did he seriously not see two living, breathing people right in front of him?
Did he really just pick her up and carry her off like that?
Wasn't he going to say a word to them?
The couple was utterly speechless.
Normally, Renji was always calm, composed, and unruffled by anything life threw at him. When had they ever seen him lose his composure like this?Yanagi Koushouu gave a light cough to smooth things over for his son. "Renji is very worried about Youyou. It's understandable, perfectly understandable."
"Didn't you want Renji to comfort Youyou? How can he do that if they aren't alone together? Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
"You're right about that." Kaoriko Yanagi nodded.
"Well, let's not dwell on it anymore. I'm going to go tidy up the room for my precious Youyou." With that, she turned, picked up two large suitcases, and walked with brisk, gliding strides, slipping like a fish into the bedroom that had been prepared ahead of time.
Yanagi Koushouu rubbed his forehead, his eyes full of doting affection as he watched his wife humming a tune while unpacking for the girl.
He went to put the rest of the luggage away in the bedroom and got it all in order. When he came out, he glanced at his wife, who was still tidying up, and his son's bedroom door, which remained tightly closed.
He checked the time. Ah, it was time for dinner.
He headed to the kitchen, put on an apron, and set about making dinner.
He remembered that his wife's favorite dish was deep-fried tempura.Youyou loves tamagoyaki and chawanmushi.
Make a little extra tonight so she and her mother can have something nourishing.
As for Renji...
He eats anything.
As soon as they entered the room, Renji Yanagi set the little girl he had been longing for so dearly down by the edge of the bed. Eyes that he usually couldn't bear to open were now unable to bear closing.
He hadn't seen Youyou for a whole year. Although they had exchanged text messages from time to time, it was never as intense as meeting face-to-face.
"Youyou..."
Renji Yanagi gently stroked the girl's face, his eyes rimmed with red as he said in a hoarse voice, "You've lost weight."
People are strange creatures. When you are by yourself, nothing seems to matter, but just a couple of words from someone close to you can make the tears flow uncontrollably from grievance.
Asuka Youyou pursed her lips, letting out a whimper like a small beast, "Brother Renji, I don't have a mom and dad anymore."
"That day, they promised they would get off work early and take me out to play, but after they went out, they never came back."
"If I hadn't been so willful and insisted on going out to play, would they have been okay? I'm the one who should have died, aren't I?"
The girl's tearful words pierced his heart like a sharp sword, hurting him so much he couldn't breathe.
He wanted to tell her that she still had him, but he knew too well that the departure of one's parents is a fissure that nothing can mend, something that can only slowly heal under the erosion of time, yet still aches faintly whenever it is remembered, leaving an eternal scar.
With a heart full of ache, he pressed his forehead against hers and said softly, "That's not true. The car accident was just an accident, and it has nothing to do with you."
"Don't take groundless blame upon yourself. If Uncle Asuka and Aunt Yukie know in heaven, it will break their hearts."
"They loved you so much; they would never bear to see you this sad. Do you want them to keep worrying about you?"
Hearing this, the girl subconsciously shook her head.
How could she ever bear to let her parents worry?"So please don't be so sad, okay? I know it's hard for you to accept this fact all at once, but we can't keep drowning in it. We have to pull ourselves together slowly."
"You still have me... have us. We'll get through this together, okay?"
"Okay."
Perhaps she was exhausted from crying, or perhaps the boy's voice was too gentle, but a wave of sleepiness washed over her, and she couldn't help falling asleep in his arms.
When Renji Yanagi came out, his father had already finished making two dishes. He washed his hands and went over to help.
"Where is Youyou?"
Noticing that the little tail that usually followed his son wasn't there, his father asked out of curiosity while arranging broccoli as a garnish on a plate.
Renji Yanagi took the vegetables out of the draining basket, and with swift strokes of the knife, sliced them into uniformly sized pieces. Incredibly, he didn't open his eyes even once the entire time.
"She fell asleep."
As soon as they arrived home, he had noticed the heavy dark circles under the little girl's pale, delicate face, and her chubby cheeks—his favorite—had lost all their flesh, making his heart ache terribly.
That was why he had lured her into the bedroom right away to coax her to sleep. Then he stood up and took the fish and pork they had just bought today out of the refrigerator.
Just eating vegetables wouldn't do; she still needed plenty of meat. Thinking for a moment, he said to his father, "Dad, you keep cooking. I'm going out to buy a chicken to stew soup for Youyou."
Mr. Yanagi, utterly engrossed in his cooking, hummed an offhanded agreement while anxiously instructing, "Get a black-bone chicken, it's more nourishing. Both your mother and Youyou love black chicken soup."
"Mhm."
At the entryway, Renji Yanagi looked at the large and small black sneakers placed together next to the little red lambskin shoes (automatically ignoring his parents'), and the corners of his mouth curved up unconsciously. He still thought the two pairs of shoes looked best placed together, and today wasn't the right day to wear that pair out.
He bent down, chose another pair of shoes from the nearby shoe cabinet, put them on, and went out.When Asuka Youyou opened her eyes, the room was pitch black, not a hand in front of her face. Fortunately, she was very familiar with Brother Renji's room, so she groped around and turned on the light.
The glare of the light suddenly pierced into her eyes, stinging them and making tears well up uncontrollably. Her long, curled eyelashes were moistened by the tears, sticking together softly under the rub of her fingers, while her deep pink doe-like eyes were misted with a thin layer of vapor.
Her light brown locks refused to yield to one another, twisting together in a messy tangle. She looked like a ruffled little puppy, innocent and adorable.
Nearly two hours of deep sleep had restored much of her energy, sweeping away her fatigue as she gave a lazy stretch.
When Renji Yanagi walked in, he saw the girl's shockingly exquisite little face exposed in the light for all to see—a face that made one marvel at the Creator's partiality no matter how many times it was seen. Paired with her dazed and endearing little expression, it could melt anyone's heart.
"Brother Renji, hug."
Perhaps because she had just woken up and her mind was not yet fully clear, seeing the boy walk in, she instinctively acted spoiled and wanted a hug.One, two, three, and many more seconds passed without her receiving the hug she wanted.
Thinking he didn't want to hug her, she awkwardly curled her open hands into little fists, intending to pull them back. She didn't know that the boy had simply been charmed by her cuteness and was momentarily caught off guard.
Then, with a gentle pull from the boy, she tumbled right into his arms. Her nose was greeted by his clean, lotus-like scent.
"There, a hug for you. You can hug me for as long as you want."
A low, magnetic chuckle sounded by her ear, feeling like a soft feather gently brushing against her sensitive auricle, sending an indescribably pleasant tingling sensation through her.
She touched her ear with a small hand, then gave the boy's chest a smack, complaining, "Stop laughing, it's hurting my ears!"
Though his laugh really was quite nice to listen to.
The boy wasn't angry at being hit. His brow remained as clear and open as a bright moon, and a faint smile, like a lotus flower, lingered at the corners of his lips.