Grasping the future

Sachiko and Tanktop Girl chatted as they worked.

Most of the time, Tanktop Girl told Sachiko stories about fighting monsters. Eventually, she drifted into the story of how she had met Mizuki.

Before meeting Mizuki, she had always trained alone.

She disliked the restless, impetuous atmosphere in the Tank-Top Organization, and she disapproved of some of the things Tank-Top Tiger, Tank-Top Black Hole, and their crowd did.

But Tank-Top Master focused almost exclusively on training and never managed the organization's affairs. There was little she could do, so she usually just kept her distance from them.

During a mission to defeat a Tiger-level monster, she had met Mizuki, who had been injured protecting another hero.

The two had hit it off right away.

Mizuki's energetic yet airheaded personality had helped them become fast friends. They ate together, went shopping, trained, and so on.

Though now there was one more person joining their training sessions.

Tanktop Girl went on to recount some of the funny mishaps Mizuki had caused while carrying out requests.

To rescue a cat stuck up a tree, she had kicked the tree down and ended up sending the cat to a veterinary hospital. To save a child in the middle of the road, she had run over and tossed the child into the sky. Fortunately, Tanktop Girl had been there to catch them.

Sachiko listened quietly, her eyes full of envy and longing.

"Then how did you meet Mr. Baicang? Do you know how Miss Mizuki met him, too?"

Sachiko remembered Mizuki's strange reaction when they were shopping and wondered whether Tanktop Girl, her close friend, knew anything about it.

She simply couldn't stop wondering why Mizuki had blushed.

"Mizuki? She never told me. As for me..."

Remembering Baicang's shameless face, Tanktop Girl couldn't help laughing. "He was so shameless back then. A grown man squeezing in between Mizuki and me-he really had some nerve. But he was a pretty good guy..."

"Later, I nearly fell off the vehicle, and he caught me. I also accidentally grabbed..."

Tanktop Girl's laughter grew quieter and quieter, and her head sank lower and lower.

Puzzled, Sachiko asked, "Grabbed? What did you grab?"

The question made Tanktop Girl shudder. Startled, she immediately raised her head, shaking it and waving both hands in front of her as she explained, "I... I... I didn't grab it! That was just his waist!"

Tanktop Girl's agitation gave Sachiko a fright.

Noticing how alarmingly red her face had become, Sachiko was just about to speak when Tanktop Girl ran away, blushing furiously.

What...?

What on earth did Mr. Baicang do to Miss Mizuki and Miss Tanktop Girl? Why did they both act like this when talking about their first meeting?

Grabbed? What exactly did she grab?

"I'm here!"

Baicang had finally made it home before dark, then brought a somewhat reluctant Runo over to Sachiko's house.

"Mr. Baicang!" Hearing his voice, Sachiko opened the door before he could even ring the bell. A smile spread across her face as she quietly gazed at him.

Noticing the stunning white-haired girl beside him, she exclaimed delightedly, "You must be Miss Runo. You're so beautiful."

"Hello, my name is Runo. I'm Baicang's younger sister."

Runo still had to let her brother save face in front of others, so she smiled and greeted Sachiko.

After bringing Runo inside, Baicang introduced her to Mizuki and Tanktop Girl. Tanktop Girl acted perfectly normally, while Mizuki immediately made herself at home with Runo, pulling the bewildered girl aside and asking question after question, practically tracing her entire family tree.

Ignoring Runo's pleading look, Baicang decided it was time she worked on her social skills and steeled himself to leave her alone.

Baicang was about to ask what he could help with when he noticed Tanktop Girl sneaking glances at him. Puzzled, he asked, "Is something wrong with me?"

Caught peeking, Tanktop Girl jolted, hastily said no, and ran over to Mizuki and Runo.

Baicang simply assumed she had been captivated by his handsome looks. He approached Sachiko, who was busy in the kitchen. "Let me help. I cook for Runo every day, so I know my way around a kitchen."

"Mr. Baicang, do you look after your sister all by yourself? What about your family?"

Sachiko was puzzled. Wasn't Runo a high school student? Why was she still living with Baicang? Could it be...?

"I don't have parents." Baicang had lost track of how many times he had said that, and his tone was relaxed.

"Oh my goodness! How could that be?" Shocked, Sachiko covered her mouth.

Seeing the sympathy and pity in Sachiko's eyes, Baicang had no choice but to explain his and Runo's circumstances.

No parents, but I have a house and a little sister. Feels pretty good.

After hearing his explanation, Sachiko was even more moved. In her mind, he had become an extraordinarily good man: an orphan who never stopped striving, who had struggled to make his way in society and become a Professional Hero through his own efforts, all while continuing to care for his little sister.

"Mr. Baicang, you're a good brother," Sachiko told him earnestly.

"I do all right."

Secretly delighted, Baicang marveled that someone had finally noticed one shining example of his many virtues. The corners of his mouth kept climbing.

Meanwhile, Runo was having much the same experience as Baicang.

After she explained her and her brother's circumstances, Tanktop Girl looked at Baicang's back with a little more sympathy, while Mizuki immediately pulled Runo into her arms.

Through tearful cries, Mizuki promised to treat her like her own little sister. Runo, meanwhile, remained perfectly quiet, because her entire little face was buried in the upper curves of Mizuki's breasts.

In the end, Tanktop Girl noticed that Runo was about to suffocate and rescued her from Mizuki's embrace.

A little over ten minutes after Runo's rescue, a call came from Ling Ling's house. Harano said he would be staying there for dinner and spending the night instead of coming home.

Sachiko found that a little odd, but she didn't ask any further questions.

Before long, dinner was ready.

Looking at the rich assortment of dishes, Mizuki's eyes lit up. She picked up the biggest piece of meat and placed it in Runo's bowl. "Runo, this is the tastiest one. Try it!"

"Okay. Thank you, Mizuki."

Runo's initial reluctance had already disappeared. People with Mizuki's personality were the ones she had the hardest time dealing with-not because she disliked them, but because she always found it difficult to refuse that kindness which asked for nothing in return, and those simple, wholehearted feelings.

"Hehe, no need to thank me." Whenever Mizuki tasted a dish she liked, she insisted on giving Runo a piece.

Runo could only keep thanking her as she held her bowl, its contents piling higher and higher. Tanktop Girl stepped in just in time and promptly rapped Mizuki on the head.

Watching Mizuki clutch her head with a wounded expression, Tanktop Girl said exasperatedly, "At least wait until Runo finishes eating before giving her more."

With Mizuki getting things started, the atmosphere soon grew lively.

Beneath the warm light, around the small dining table.

Mizuki and Tanktop Girl fought over the last piece of tofu, until Tanktop Girl's cry of defeat rang out.

Runo secretly transferred all the food she couldn't finish into Baicang's bowl. When caught, she winked mischievously and stuck out her little tongue, hoping to get away with it by looking cute.

An "angry" Baicang pinched Runo's little cheeks as punishment, leaving her to whimper and beg for mercy.

Sachiko quietly watched Baicang from the side, sometimes blushing, sometimes growing shy.

After Tanktop Girl took revenge by stealing her chicken drumstick, Mizuki had been watching for a chance to retaliate.

Then she suddenly remembered something and turned excitedly toward Sachiko. "Sachiko, didn't you buy some alcohol? I want to try it!"

Everyone froze. "Alcohol?"