Hearing the sound of the door opening, Mika Igarashi, who was sleeping on the sofa, immediately woke up.
When she saw that the person walking out of the door was Jinguji Kiyohime, her heart suddenly sank.
Did it fail?
Or……
[Jinguji Kiyohime] put her index finger up to her lips and smiled at her.
A smile blooms like a cherry blossom.
Mika Igarashi understood.
The person in front of me is not Jinguji Kiyohime.
[Jinguji Kiyohime] walked up to her, looked at her slightly haggard face, and asked with concern: "Ohana, did you not sleep yesterday?"
"Yes, there was too much noise, how could I possibly sleep!" As she said that, Mika Igarashi took [her] hand.
Even the skin temperature is the same low.
She became more confident in Izumi Toru's plan.
"Sorry, I won't do it next time." [Jinguji Kiyohime] smiled sheepishly.
next time……
When exactly is it?
Igarashi Mika didn't know the answer.
However, only at this moment, she could hold [her] hand openly without looking for any reason.
"Let's go."
After crossing the threshold, Mika Igarashi paused.
The person next to me did not look back.
The two walked out of the house and closed the door.
The footprints trampled by three people last night were covered with fresh snow, but their outlines were vaguely visible.
There is a row of footprints from the gate to the ginkgo tree. At the end of the footprints, Igarashi Shizuri is repairing the snowman's nose that was scratched by a falling branch.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, the woman turned around, and Mika Igarashi and [Jinguji Kiyohime] were standing behind her.
She clapped her hands, pointed at the snowman's nose, and said proudly: "Come over and see how my repair went?"
Igarashi Mika looked at the crooked nose and hesitated to speak.
[Jinguji Kiyohime] nodded vigorously: "It's very beautiful."
Igarashi Shizuri glared hard at her daughter, then grabbed [Jinguji Kiyohime]'s hand and said, "Sure enough, Kiyohime's words are true."
She also confirmed who the person in front of her was wearing the witch costume.
Although Mika Igarashi had assured her, she still had some doubts before seeing it.
Now I can let go of half of my heart.
She asked [Jinguji Kiyohime] in a confused manner:
"How long until you wake up?"
"tomorrow."
"In other words, when (she) wakes up, will everything be settled?"
"yes."
"How to deal with (her) anger?"
"Aunt Jingli will take care of it." [Jinguji Kiyohime] smiled.
Igarashi Shizuri sighed forcefully.
"You two really gave me a big problem."
[Jinguji Kiyohime] winked at her.
"Who told me to be so willful?"
The woman suddenly showed a helpless smile.
"Alas~"
Igarashi Mika looked at [her] who even raised the corners of her mouth in the same arc as Jinguji Kiyohime, and suddenly had an illusion: the friend in front of her was not Izumi Tetsu pretending to be, and the unconscious person in the room was actually Izumi Tetsu
.
However, this feeling disappeared without a trace the next second.
Because [Jinguji Kiyohime] took off the blue scarf wrapped around the neck of a certain snowman, then shook the snow on it vigorously, and wrapped it around her own neck.
The expression on [her] face was very familiar to Mika Igarashi.
In the past few days, she had seen Izumi Teru spend time with him many times.
"Is it a good fit?" [Jinguji Kiyohime] asked them.
Although the red and white scarf around the other snowman's neck was more suitable, both Igarashi and her daughter nodded.
So, [Jinguji Kiyohime] took one last look at the closed window of the bedroom.
"Mika, let's go."
Igarashi Mika said "hmm".
As soon as the three of them walked out of the courtyard, Mika Igarashi turned back and looked at Shizuri Igarashi.
"Mother, this time, I will go with Qingji."
Knowing that her daughter wanted to tell [her] something, Igarashi Shizuri did not insist. She looked at [Jinguji Kiyohime] and said: "No matter what time, the Igarashi family will always stand behind you.
.”
[Jinguji Kiyohime] bowed slightly.
"yes."
The two got into the back seat of the car.
The driver started the vehicle and drove slowly into the distance.
Looking out through the car window, the roofs, treetops, and ground were all covered with snow, and the world was completely white. After living in Tokyo for so long, this was the first time [she] saw such a scene.
"Qing Ji~"
Hearing Igarashi Mika calling [her], [Jinguji Kiyohime] turned around.
The next moment, Mika Igarashi held [her] arm and rested his face on [her] shoulder.
"I'm sleepy, let me lend you a shoulder to sleep for a while."
[Jinguji Kiyohime] relaxed her body after being stiff for a second.
"Well, go to sleep."
It is no longer the Izumi Toru who suppressed his emotions before saying goodbye to avoid delaying the other party. Now that he is [Jinguji Kiyohime], he has long been accustomed to such intimacy with Igarashi Mika.
That's it......
She said she was sleeping, but Mika Igarashi's sleepiness disappeared without a trace.
The shoulders I rest on now are slender and thin, completely different from what I felt on the Shinkansen a few days ago.
At first, the arms in my arms were strong and my shoulders were broad and stable. Even if I slept for a few hours, I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable.
But now, she seems to be so fragile that she can break easily, as if she is pillowed in the air, unable to bear any force.
"Izumi Tetsu~"
Hearing the girl's soft murmur, [Jinguji Kiyohime] turned her face sideways and watched her snow-colored hair fall down on her shoulders.
"Ohana, Izumi-kun is not here."
"oh......"
Igarashi Mika hugged [her] arm harder.
Her arms fell into a world that was softer than cotton and more elastic than jelly, but [she] did not feel too charming.
"Aren't you tired? Go to sleep. I will call you when you get there. Go to sleep."
"Um."
Igarashi Mika closed her eyes.
Leaving the city, there are gradually more pine trees outside the car window.
The dazzling sunlight passed through the thick snow and lowered the treetops, illuminating the dark brown thick trunk.
The rows of steel buildings in the distance were getting farther and farther away from me. The breathing of the girl on my shoulder became calmer, and my heart became more and more peaceful.
Since he was calling Izumi Toru, the current [Jinguji Kiyohime] was naturally unable to respond.
"You...really have no regrets?"
[Jinguji Kiyohime] remains silent.
Igarashi Mika raised her head and stared into [her] eyes.
The latter looked away and finally spoke: "Yuhua, you're not asleep yet."
"Your guilty conscience will reduce the success rate of the plan. Qingji will not avoid my sight."
Hearing Igarashi Mika say this, [Jinguji Kiyohime] frowned.
[She] turned back and looked at her with calm eyes.
Igarashi Mika instead looked away.
"The opportunity has been given to you. If you don't cherish it, don't blame me." She looked out the window and said.
"Hmm~"
[She] is now [Jinguji Kiyohime], and of course she has no regrets.
But if it's Izumi Tetsu...
There are too many regrets.
The two didn't talk anymore until the car stopped at the foot of a mountain somewhere.
Behind the red torii gate, the slanting stone steps extend and circle, and the dense flames of stone lanterns on both sides are warm and bright, dispelling the darkness of the forest.
[Jinguji Kiyohime] breathed a long sigh of relief, and then climbed up the stairs.