Now that Yui was finally awake, Yuuki stood up from the bench and stretched. It was just about time for them to head home. The pair enjoyed another leisurely stroll down the boardwalk, this time with a colorful sunset for a backdrop. Before long, they were on the bus back to the train station where they’d originally met.
“What’s your plan now?” Yui asked, meeting eyes with Yuuki as the bus drove up to the station. Yuuki checked the time; it was right around five o’clock.
“I think Mina will probably be home soon. Hence I was thinking of grabbing us dinner before heading back myself.”
“Ah... I see,” she said.
Yui would most likely be taking the train home, so they were each heading their own separate ways once they got off the bus. Yuuki felt bad for dictating all of their plans based on what was convenient for him, now that he thought about it. Moreover, Yui looked like she wanted to say something.
“You fine with that?” Yuuki asked.
“Who, me? Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Yui answered. She was being surprisingly passive, and her refusal to make herself clear made it slightly challenging for Yuuki to deal with her.
She’s kinda like Mina in that respect. Speaking of, Yuuki began to recall how Mina had forcibly led Yui by the hand when she’d visited that one time. He began to feel more and more reluctant about parting ways for the day, so he made up his mind.
“Hey, Yui, how would you like to come over and have dinner? If you have the time, I mean. Mina rarely hits it off with strangers, so I think she’d be really happy if you visited again.”
“Wha—?” She was definitely surprised, but she appeared to consider it for a moment. “W-Well I, uh, if you insist!”
Yuuki then texted Mina to let her know about his plans to grab dinner. The fake couple got off the bus and made their way to the beef bowl shop near the station. Mina had enjoyed the food from there quite a lot last time, which made it an easy decision for him to pick up more.
When they arrived at the shop, he called Mina to find out what exactly she’d like to have. Interestingly, he couldn’t reach her at all and kept getting redirected to her voicemail. The text he’d sent also remained unread. He figured there was a decently high chance that she was asleep, so he decided to just pick for her. He bought three portions of food and went off in the direction of his apartment with Yui.
“Let’s get our story straight this time,” Yui suggested. Together, they agreed on the key details as they got closer and closer to Yuuki’s apartment. When Yuuki unlocked the door, he was surprised to find that the lights in the living room were off.
So she’s asleep after all, huh? he thought to himself. One little detail debunked that assumption, however. He quickly realized that her shoes weren’t by the door as they normally were.
“Mina isn’t home yet?” Yui asked.
“Looks that way,” Yuuki responded.
He warily entered the living room and set the bags of food down. He again tried calling Mina’s number, and once again got sent to her voicemail. Just as he was about to check if she’d at least read his message, his phone vibrated.
“I’m still out with my friend, so I’ll be coming home late,” read Mina’s text. Since no more messages appeared to be coming, he put his phone away and faced Yui.
“Sorry, I have to go,” Yuuki said.
“Huh? Go where?”
“I know I’m asking too much, but could you hold down the fort for me? Call me if Mina comes home. Oh, and you can go ahead and eat if you’re hungry,” he told her without waiting for a reply and left the apartment as a bewildered Yui watched him go.
The sun had already settled beneath the horizon when he stepped outside the apartment. It was completely dark outside, and the streetlights began to light up one by one. Yuuki’s brisk footsteps soon turned into a half-run as he frantically searched for his sister.
First, he headed to the neighbouring park he and Mina used to frequent a lot when they were children. Although the park was a bit small and boring, with only a single swing, a slide, and a sandbox, Mina always used to pester him to take her there.
Their daily routine would consist of proving and re-proving to their mother that they could use the swing just fine on their own, and then they would show off their sand sculptures that they’d built when she came by to pick them up at night. The siblings would always hold their mother’s hand when they walked back home.
Neither one of them wanted to return to the park after their mother had passed away. Despite that, Yuuki recalled seeing Mina sitting on the swings by herself a few times in the past. She’d looked like she was waiting for someone to come push her. When he got to the park, he thought maybe he saw her silhouette on the swings once more. Unfortunately, it was quite obvious that there wasn’t a soul in the dim and gloomy park right now.
He sprinted past the park and arrived at a nearby supermarket. This specific store was pretty much the only place that Mina was able to shop at on her own, since she was so used to the place from her numerous past visits with their mother. Yuuki remembered how happy Mina got when their mother praised her for being able to go to the supermarket all on her own for the very first time.
Yuuki rushed into the store, and the complete lack of customers helped clue him in that it was truly past the peak time of the day. He checked every corner for Mina, but she continued to elude him. Now at a complete loss, he struggled to think of any other place that Mina would go to on her own.
It’s possible she could have gone to that movie theater we went to the other day, or maybe that anime merch mall, he contemplated. But that’s still kind of far for her, and more importantly, I don’t think she’s ever stayed out this late on her own before.
His mind made up, Yuuki sprinted down the road that he’d just strolled down with Yui. By the time he reached the train station, he was struggling for air. Nevertheless, he searched high and low for MIna amidst the masses still walking around the station. It was more crowded than usual, which wasn’t unexpected considering that it was the weekend.