Chapter 46Surprised by How Dark It Was
Natsukawa put Airi-chan down with a worried face while saying, 'Are you sure...?', so I gave her a thumbs up in response 'Okay'. Airi-chan walked towards me, opening her arms wide as she said 'One more time~'. I squatted down to match her point of view.
"Okay, this is it!!! ─ Oryaー!! Oh, welcome!!!"
"Kya~♪!"
"Stop it, you're not a part-time worker at some ramen shop..."
Airi-chan seemed to have forgotten about her sleepiness, and raised a loud cheer of joy. All of this was indeed a new experience for me, so when I saw how fragile her existence was, I felt the urge to 'protect' her that was inside me.
So, this is what it's like to be a father...?
"Huft..."
"Oh, she's running out of strength."
After about eight seconds, Young Lady Airi began to lose her strength.
Perhaps this last 'dynamic carry', was far more out of loneliness than actual pleasure. It was exactly like when you are enjoying something and suddenly feel, 'I want to do it one more time for the last time'.
And also, it seems that humans really do get heavier after being exhausted. Just because I relaxed my arm, Airi-chan started to bend over. The pressure I suddenly felt in my chest scared me. I can't move freely...
"Well, you can treat her a bit rougher, no need to worry. Only, I won't forgive you if you drop her."
"A-ha-ha-ha, I'm just a robot, and I think there's a bug in my system."
"Just because she's asleep, doesn't mean it's okay to drop her. Airi is not a baby, but a toddler. She won't cry because it's suddenly hot or cold, and she won't cry even if you disturb her sleep."
"Fueh!"
"That doesn't mean you can cry! And don't imitate her!"
Oops, this is not good. Natsukawa's maternal aura is attacking me.
But... ...I guessed it, a girl who has a little sis who is still a toddler is amazing. Just by taking care of her little sis every day, her future as a good mother is assured.
I kept calling her a Goddess before, but I think the way I saw her was still too naive. I mean, right now she's getting closer to a Goddess. No wait, how about you call her... ...a divine being?
Anyway, I'm still too far away to be able to take care of someone like her. At least not for the current me.
♦
Normally I would have excused myself like usual, but Natsukawa... ...insisted on taking me home.
For her to have gone that far, it somehow made me feel embarrassed...
"Yeah, well... ...I just realized that your girly power... ...is feminine? It's quite amazing. Apparently, I don't mind if you become my mother."
"Hey, stop it. I don't know why it sounds disgusting."
"Thank you very much."
"I'm not complimenting you!"
It was the same before, but... ...no matter what I said upset her or not, Natsukawa would always answer that way. I'm sure that's one of the biggest reasons why she didn't just leave me alone for a long time... ...Normally, you would just ignore her, right...? Oh... ...what a goddess...
"Nothing to do with Airi, how about you do something to your head? I remember that you were much more worried about this before."
"Sorry, but the only thing that can make my head evolve is getting intelligent syndrome. Wait a minute, let me get struck by lightning once."
"I'm not talking about the contents of your head... ...I'm talking about the color of your hair!"
"Oh, this?"
Brown hair color with black-looking roots, I said that I 'put two colors' just because it sounds much cooler, but I already guessed that it might not be pleasing to the eyes. Especially during the summer when the heat is quite annoying, seeing something half-assed like this, will only make you more annoyed, in my opinion.
"In the end, I'll do something about it."
"Mmm... ...Yeah, I won't force you, but it's better to do it as soon as possible, isn't it? I feel like it will change your impression a bit."
"I'll take a detour to the pharmacy on my way home."
I really don't know why, but it seemed like Natsukawa was quite persistent in many ways today. I couldn't help but say yes to her words... ...I seemed to be able to sense, 'Do something immediately, or something bad will happen to you', a kind of pressure coming from her. And since she's said that so far, if I don't come to school tomorrow with a new hair color, I'll get negative points from her.
"By the way, between brown hair and black hair, which one do you prefer, Natsukawa?"
"Eh, but just now..."
"Yeah, it is indeed the one that Airi-chan prefers."
"H-Hmm..."
"Oh... ...so?!"
I only asked idly, but Natsukawa seemed to take it seriously, and approached me with a sharp gaze.
What am I, some kind of mannequin? Is there something that stands out about me?
Natsukawa also didn't think about the distance between us and continued to stare at me.
...Yeah, I'm really just an ordinary person, as you can see right now, Natsukawa-san. Oh, your scent... ...was...
After much thought, she answered me without changing her expression.
"─I think anything in between is fine..."
"You can't do that to me."
"Oh... ...b-but..."
"Hmm...?"
Natsukawa's gaze wandered everywhere, and she continued after a slight hesitation.
"If you had brown hair back then, hmm... ...I might not have called you out back then."
"What...?"
'Back then'─ ─Is she talking about the first time we met two and a half years ago? Oh, come to think of it... ...a while after we met, she said something like 'I thought you were a much more serious boy'. Yeah, no one would say that to a boy with hair like this.
"...So, I'll dye it, the color you like better, black."
"I-It's not like this is what I prefer or anything..."
"Yeah, I don't really care either, so I'll choose one of the colors that leaves a better impression on you. Anyway, see you tomorrow..."
"Wa-..."
I waved my hand at Natsukawa, turning my back to her and ready to go home, but she stopped me. When I turned around, she showed a different expression from when Airi-chan was with us, grabbing the sleeve of my school uniform shirt, maybe it was starting to become a habit for her.
Okay, let me put it this way... ...can you stop giving me 'direct attack' with gestures like this? Are you planning to kill me? Do you really want me to die a virgin...?
"─Th-Thank you very much for today, okay..."
"So..."
So cute...! Oops, this is bad, I almost revealed my feelings. If I said so right now, it would definitely ruin the atmosphere. Thankfully... ...my throat was able to control itself.
"N-No need to worry about that. I've already met the legendary Airi-chan after all."
"L-Legendary..."
Natsukawa showed an annoyed expression.
Gosh, it might sound bad for her. But, since I've only seen her in pictures before, I can't help but think 'Is she really there?', you know. Yeah, I understand the reason why she didn't want me to meet Airi-chan until now... ...If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't want to show my cute little sis to a stalker (like me) either. The only reason I'm allowed today is because we've known each other for more than two years, and probably also because she can think of me as her 'friend'.
Although I felt the urge to tease her, because the distance between us was already so bad for my heart, I didn't do it.
So, just like I told Natsukawa, instead of going straight home, I went to the pharmacy to buy some hair dye.
♦
"─Yeah, it really does stink."
"We already finished dinner, so it's okay, right? I got permission from Mom too."
"At least close the laundry room door..."
I wonder why hair dye smells so foul like this. Couldn't they make it smell better like from fruit? I couldn't pinch my nose because of the vinyl gloves on my hands. And now I have to stay like this for twenty minutes, huh...
While taking out the brushes, Big Sis looked at the instruction paper I had placed next to the sink, reading the words there.
"Hmm? Dark brown? You want to change it to black?"
"...It's really black, isn't it? I wouldn't mind turning it back to black, but they don't have that... ...I-It's not like I want to buy it because 'dark brown' sounds cool."
"It's quite dark, especially at first, it will seem pitch black."
"...?"
Hmm? Black is just black, right? So, there's another color darker than black...? That sounds cool. My chuunibyou soul felt like it was on fire, as Big Sis walked in circles around me and frowned.
(TL Note: 'Chuunibyou' is basically when you like to fantasize about having special powers, this mostly happens to middle schoolers hence it's also called '8th grade syndrome')
"You're so lame. It's not going to be equal."
"Eh...?"
"Move. And move aside."
Big Sis walked between me and the mirror, took out a glove from the drawer, and ─Wait, Rubber Gloves...? I have a bad feeling about this... ...Is it just my imagination─ ─Oh, hey...!
"The roots of your hair are black, so don't do this carelessly."
"Oh! Ouch, ouch! Hey, you're too rough, Big Sis! You'll ruin my hair!"
"It's okay, as long as you don't go bald, right? Everything in this world is hereditary, you won't have a problem. Those who are bald will stay bald, even if you try to prevent it or try some treatments to grow it back, something that won't work will never work."
Oh, hey, my dear Big Sis? You say that like you don't really care at all, don't you?! More than bald or not, it really hurts, you know! It's going to be okay, right?! Right?! Hey!? I don't want to be bald even if it's just for a little while!!
A little time passed so, when I saw a few strands of hair stuck in her glove, which I saw through the mirror, I felt sorry for my hair that fell out.
"─See?"
"Y-Yeah, you're right, Big Sis, the color is indeed black... ...Isn't it too black?"
"I told you, didn't I? Yeah, it will stay like this for a week. Although it will return to normal after two days if you scrub it thoroughly."
The hair dying ended, and after shampooing and drying, my hair actually looked black. However, it was indeed an irregular kind of black. To a degree where it probably wouldn't reflect light. I imagined it to be somewhat more of a regular black... ...Yeah, as far as I touched, my hair still felt exactly the same as when I had previously dyed it brown.
The next day, Natsukawa said, 'Oh, you dyed your hair', and I died. *Actually not.
Author's Note:
"Oh, you dyed your hair."
"What do you think? It looks good on me, doesn't it?"
"...I didn't say that."
(Oh, so cute!!)
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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