Back at Hikari Horaki's shop, Black Rei saw a little girl running down the hallway and shifted slightly aside to avoid her.
"Mommy, Mommy!"
The tender childish voice made Black Rei turn to look. A mother had just returned from work to pick up the child she had left in their care.
The mother happily hugged her daughter, then bowed slightly to Hikari Horaki as she came out. "Thank you so much for always looking after her, Hikari."
Hikari Horaki responded with a smile. "It's no trouble. That's what helping each other is all about."
Feeling her daughter tug hard at her sleeve, the mother soothed the child and gave Hikari Horaki a slightly apologetic nod, then took her daughter's hand and left.
"All right, let's go home. Say goodbye to them."
"Okay! Goodbye!"
Hikari Horaki raised her arm and waved gently. "All right, goodbye."
Black Rei's curiosity kicked in, and she turned to Hikari Horaki. "Goodbye... what does that mean?"
A small smile touched Hikari Horaki's lips as she explained, "Well... it's a [spell] you say so you can meet again. Hehehe."
At the end of the hallway, mother and daughter held hands, the large hand clasping the small one, the small one gripping the large one tightly.
Watching what they were doing, Black Rei asked again, "What... is that?"
Hikari Horaki never tired of explaining things to Black Rei. "Well, that's a [spell] that helps people grow closer."
With that, Hikari Horaki held out her hand, inviting her to hold it just as the mother and daughter had.
Black Rei stared absently at the offered palm for a moment, but gently placed her hand in Hikari Horaki's and clasped it.
On the hill.
Huang Zhetian looked back at Shinji Ikari, who was wearing a tracksuit. "Next, you have