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“Big sis Akane! Your okonomiyaki is so good!”
“Can you teach me how to play volleyball, bis sis Akane?”
“You’re amazing, big sis Akane!”
“Yeah, I know! I’m great! Much better than your lame old big sis Nao, right?”
Nao Midorikawa gently rocked the baby in her arms, sighing. “Geez, Akane…” Though she was in the nursery on the other side of the house, her younger siblings- and her girlfriend- were incredibly loud and easy to hear. “They’re going to wake up Yui…” As she looked down at her baby sister, a softness came to her eyes. Warm in her arms, the infant provided a sense of security to Nao. She was sound asleep, safe. Her siblings were safe. She was safe. “I should probably read them a story and quiet them down,” she said to herself, gently putting Yui in her cradle and turning the lights out, looking at the room one last time to reassure herself that everything was fine.
Akane stretched her arms over her head, letting the weight of her winter jacket shift itself onto her body more as she walked ahead, looking at the street lights above. “Geez, that was exhausting! I always had a hard time just watching Genki when we were younger, but six younger brothers and sisters?” She stopped and turned to face her girlfriend. “Nao, you’re amazing!”
“Really, it’s nothing.” Nao responded, her cheeks reddening as she smiled. Legitimate praise from Akane was rare. “Reika always helped me out with watching them when we were younger. Besides,” Nao stopped where she was in the street, her stance shifting slightly. “I love my family. Watching over my siblings doesn’t feel like work to me at all.” Trailing off as she finished the statement, there was something clearly upsetting her.
Akane leaned in and put a hand on Nao’s shoulder. Though she appeared happy on the surface, the Nao was trembling beneath her knit poncho. “Nao… Are you okay? If something’s bothering you, please tell me. I want to be here for you.”
Nao looked up at Akane. The normally easygoing girl’s face was filled with concern. As the two girls locked eyes in the cold winter air, the entire world seemed to vanish for a second.
Then the tears came.
All at once, Nao was a sobbing mess. “I was so scared,” she got out between gasps. “When Majorina attacked Keita, Haru, and Kouta, I was so scared. I-”
“Nao…” Akane came in and held Nao in a firm embrace, letting her cry in silence.
“If you and Miyuki didn’t come at the perfect time, they would have-” She dug her face into Akane’s shoulder, her increasingly frantic sobs getting muffled by the fleece of Akane’s hood.
Akane rubbed the back of Nao’s head gently, holding her closer. “They didn’t, though. Miyuki and I did save them. They’re safe.”
Nao lifted her face up, opening some distance between them. “I know. I keep telling myself and telling myself that- but I’m still so scared.” She wiped some tears from her eyes, trembling. “...I wake up crying in the middle of the night sometimes. I think something’s happened to them and I wasn’t there to save them again. I go into all of their rooms and see them sleeping peacefully, but it still isn’t enough to help reassure me.” She fell into another fit of sobbing. “My family is everything to me, and I couldn’t protect them. I felt so hopeless. I’ve never felt so alone as I did then in my entire life.”
Akane hugged Nao again, rubbing her fingers on the side of Nao’s face. “I know it’s hard, and you’re scared. But you’re not alone. You have me and Reika. And Miyuki. And Yayoi!” She pulled apart and grinned. “You don’t have to go through this alone. We’re here and we love you. We’ll support you through everything. That’s what friends are for!”
Nao looked at Akane, trembling again. “Akane…” She gave her girlfriend a final, passionate embrace. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” the girl replied, grabbing Nao’s hand. “But we better start walking again. My parents are going to get worried if I’m out too late.” Nao nodded, and the two picked up their pace walking through the city.
They arrived at the Hino residence shortly after, taking a moment to face each other before Akane went in. “Well, this is it,” Akane said, looking at her girlfriend. “Will you be okay? Like, with what we talked about earlier.” She averted her eyes from Nao, blushing. “Don’t be afraid to talk to me about that kind of stuff, okay? I want to be there for you.”
Nao looked at Akane, her expression softening as a warm smile came to her face. “The same goes for you. I want to help and support you with anything that you’re having problems with, too.” Nao leaned in close, her face almost touching Akane’s. “Thank you,” she whispered in her ear, giving her a sweet and warm kiss on the cheek before splitting apart.
In a flash, Akane’s face was as red as her hair. “Wh-What the heck was that!?” She shouted, flustered.
“We are dating, is it so wrong for me to kiss my girlfriend goodnight?” Nao retorted defensively, getting a little flustered herself.
“But it was so out of nowhere! It caught me totally off guard!” Suddenly, a flirty smile crept onto Akane’s lips. “But you know, I could get used to things like that…”
It was Nao’s turn for her face to go completely red. “W-Well, I’m glad to hear it! I’ll be sure to kiss you more often, then!”
“Great! I’ll kiss you more, too! Don’t get too upset when I’m better at it than you!”
“Fine! I look forward to it!”
Nao Midorikawa walked through winter night, sighing. “Geez, Akane…” There wasn’t anything- even basic shows of affection like kissing- that couldn’t become a competition between the two of them. A small smile made its way to Nao’s face. Even if Akane’s hot blooded nature was overwhelming at times, there was a soft side to her, too. As Nao made her way back to the Midorikawa residence, her step felt lighter.
She was excited to sleep well that night, feeling a newer, safer sense of security.