When Sen Getsusa returned, Hayami Mari was the only one in the classroom.
She looked at the other girl in surprise.
A blackish-red color covered the corners of her eyes and mouth, running in a straight line from her forehead across the bridge of her nose to her chin.
Hayami Mari's face looked as if it had been graffitied by some passing artist—there were even two circles on her cheeks.
"What are you doing?" Sen Getsusa walked over quickly. "Did you draw this yourself, or who? Who touched you?"
Hayami Mari looked up, her face covered in blood. "Is Mari pretty?"
Sen Getsusa let out a heavy breath and spoke more forcefully: "Who drew this?"
The girl's unfocused pupils darted around randomly. She didn't get an answer to her question, and she couldn't give Sen Getsusa the answer she wanted.
The two of them just stared at each other in the quiet classroom.
"I don't know, forgot. Kind, it was a kind sister!"
Sen Getsusa grabbed Hayami Mari's hand and headed for the restroom.
She messed up the other's hair as much as possible to cover the upper part of her face, then took out a tissue for her to cover the lower part.
"Come with me, Mari."
Fortunately, there was no one in the restroom at this time.
Sen Getsusa had Hayami Mari lean over the sink—perhaps because it had been too long, the blood on Hayami Mari's face had gradually coagulated into thin, hard scabs. If she used force, it would hurt.
Sen Getsusa had to cup some water, dampen a tissue, and gently wipe it away for the girl bit by bit.
The large blood scabs were easily cleared away, leaving only a few faint marks.
"Stand up straight. Yes, don't move."
Straightening Hayami Mari up, face-to-face, she carefully continued the cleaning work.
In Hayami Mari's field of vision, this gentle girl was looking at her intently and with full tenderness.
Her black hair fell on both sides, having been tucked behind her ears by the girl earlier.
A thin silver chain hung from her left ear, with a green pendant at the bottom.
Hayami Mari was stunned. She stared into Sen Getsusa's eyes and opened her mouth.
"Ma... Mama?"
Sen Getsusa's hand paused, her face full of surprise.
"What did you say?"
Waves suddenly rose in Hayami Mari's dead-water-like pupils. For a moment, Sen Getsusa almost thought she was a normal person.
"Ma, Mama..."
She called out, and she couldn't stop. Tears emerged one by one from the corners of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and onto Sen Getsusa's tissue.
"Mama?"
Sen Getsusa looked at the girl for a long while, then suddenly smiled and reached out to pat her head. "It's me."
...The matter ended up being dropped.
Sen Getsusa went to see Hiratsuka Shizuka, but the surveillance equipment in the classroom had been broken for a long time, so that path was blocked.
Next, she quietly had Hayami Mari look at every girl in the class... but she had forgotten who the person was.
Sigh.
Sen Getsusa felt a bit helpless and had no choice but to tell her forcefully, "From tomorrow on, eat lunch with me every day."
The girl opened her mouth blankly. "Eat... food. Mama?"
"That's right, Baby. Eat with Mama every day, understand? You have to stay by my side at all times."
Hayami Mari didn't know if she understood or not, she only knew how to nod foolishly.
"Don't let me find out which bastard it was..."
"Hmm, that looks much better."
"Keep the gift with you."
Hayami Mari was the type of Child who wasn't very rowdy; some patients with the same symptoms were usually accompanied by mania, shouting, and even varying degrees of aggression.
This girl, however, was quite capable of sitting still.
No matter who the teacher on the podium was or what they said, she always kept her head down, staring blankly at Sen Getsusa in front of her... After school, after seeing Hayami Mari off, Sen Getsusa and Yuno went to buy ingredients for dinner on their way back.
Speaking of which, since Miss Yuno Gasai moved in, Sen Getsusa's familiarity with the supermarket had been decreasing visibly every day. A while ago, she could still vaguely remember the specific locations of meat and vegetables, but later, she could only remember the direction of the checkout counter.
—And then later, she was like a soulless mannequin, being dragged around the supermarket by Yuno Gasai.
On the contrary, the other party seemed to have absorbed the part of the soul Sen Getsusa had lost; after quickly becoming familiar with the environment, she began to take charge of the household, leading the girl around with ease, truly looking after her like a Child who couldn't take care of herself.
Sen Getsusa, a strong and independent woman of the new era who had come out of an orphanage, had been raised by Yuno Gasai in the name of family (husband?) into a 'feed-me monster' who just opened her mouth for food within a short month or two, and she didn't resist in the slightest.
Looking at it this way, both of them were quite enjoying themselves.
"Radish, radish, radish..."
Fresh vegetables of the day were displayed on four or five rows of wooden counters.
There were also small cards indicating the prices.
It was hard to call the prices affordable.
After all, land in this area was worth its weight in gold, and every shop opened here served a certain class of people.
Price was not the focus of their concern.
Of course, it wasn't the focus of Sen Getsusa's concern either.
Just as Yuno Gasai put a few cucumbers into the cart, a familiar figure appeared in Sen Getsusa's line of sight.
—Golden ponytail, and unusually, she was wearing a pair of black stockings under her skirt.
The girl was looking down with a solemn expression, and in her hand was a massive eggplant.
The air pressure around her seemed very low.
The surrounding shoppers were all quietly glancing at this beautiful girl from the corners of their eyes.
However... the subject of the incident was still dazing off, completely unaware.
Sen Getsusa looked around.
Oh, she didn't see Sayuri...?
Did she come out by herself?
She tapped Yuno Gasai and pointed at Eriri.
"Sawamura?"
"I don't know, I'll go over and say hello. If I don't call her, she's about to be photographed."
Sen Getsusa walked over in a few steps and snatched the eggplant from Eriri's hand.
"Hey! Miss Sparkling, out at the supermarket for inspiration?"
Eh, EH?!
"Sen, Sen Getsusa!" Eriri's eyes widened, startled.
What's with that 'caught red-handed' expression on your face?
"I... I'm just passing by... You're passing by too, hahahaha."
Yeah, what a coincidence (???)... Seeing the other party waving her hands incoherently, Sen Getsusa grinned and shook the eggplant in her hand: "Want to buy ingredients?"
"No way!" Eriri denied decisively, "Passing by! I'm just passing by! I was just curious about this eggplant..."
Racking her brains, the girl thought of a reason: "Why is it... so purple...?"
Who are you asking...?
Eriri nodded, her expression conveying 'it's all the eggplant's fault' as she said to Sen Getsusa: "I was passing by the supermarket, so I came in to take a look. As a result, I found this eggplant... particularly purple, and out of curiosity, I picked it up to look."
That's it.
"Finished explaining?" Sen Getsusa said with a half-smile.
Eriri was at a loss for words.
Sen Getsusa leaned in slightly, looking into the other's cornflower-blue, brilliant eyes, her thin lips parting slightly: "Let me guess, Miss Sparkling, you came specifically to buy ingredients, didn't you?"
"N-no!" Eriri lowered her head, and at some point, a faint layer of crimson had stained her cheeks.
She stole a glance at Sen Getsusa and then quickly looked down again.
"Eh, what's there that can't be said?" Sen Getsusa felt victory in her grasp, their faces getting closer and closer: "It's so obvious, one look and I know. Sigh, Eriri has grown up!"
A somewhat gratified Sen Getsusa looked at the blonde cub, "You want to personally cook a meal for..."
You've finally seen the light, Eriri.
Eriri became visibly more and more nervous, her two hands twisting together in front of her belly: "You know? Then, then you..."
"That guy Aki Tomoya can't taste the difference between good and bad anyway, just cooking something casually will do!"
Amidst the other's strange expression, Sen Getsusa picked out an eggplant and put it into her shopping cart.
"Good luck, Miss Sparkling."
Eriri:...(???)
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!