Chapter 155: Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (7)

“Jaja and the bear cub are good friends, aren’t they?”

“Dah!”

“Kyu?”

When Aoi sat Nana down on her lap, Jaja responded cheerfully and the bear cub responded curiously.

“They’re already friends now, right?”

Rouge, who was supporting their backs, looked proud for some reason.

The girls had all finished dinner and were relaxing on the living room floor with the kids.

I had just finished washing the dishes used for dinner and was wiping off the water with a towel.

It’s my way of showing my gratitude to the people who cooked for me with labor. That’s my style.

I piled up the plates with a practiced hand while looking at the girls from a distance. Although I can’t quite match Shouhei’s housekeeping skills, it looks like I’m a pretty good housekeeper myself.

Officers Doggy, Yuri-san, and Officer Inoue were dragged by my father to the wooden deck for a drink.

All of us were here, except for Koji and Shouhei, who fell asleep earlier after getting tired from playing.

“You’re so fluffy, how cute.”

“Kyuu!”

The little bear tickled by Mikuma looked ticklish, but sounded happy.

She’s such a friendly little guy. We’ve only known her for about half a day, but she’s already acting spoiled to all the members in this place.

“Look, Jaja too! So cute, so cute!”

“Kyu!”

Jaja smiled happily as Saeki stroked her belly dynamically with both hands.

Like the little bear, Jaja is not afraid of anything.

I think my daughter may be a devilish girl who can win people over with her smiling face, whether they’ve never met her before or not.

Her younger sister Nana was like how Aoi was before, she’s shy and doesn’t open up easily to people she meets for the first time. Whenever we go out, she usually hugs Aoi tightly and won’t leave her side.

If Aoi is not around, it’s me. When I’m not around, it’s Rouge, Shouhei, Yuri-san, or my dad.

Mikuma, Saeki and Officer Doggy are already familiar faces, so it’s a little better, but she never tries to get close to Officer Inoue or Koji, and when he does, she looks blatantly uncomfortable.

“Kyuu!”

“Uda!”

Jaja and the little bear started to play with each other, clapping their hands, and Nana was staring at them on Aoi’s lap.

She was sucking on her right thumb, her back was resting against Aoi’s while blinking her eyes.

“Nana too, together with your friends.”

“Ua?”

She tilted her head at Aoi’s words.

“Let’s play with the little bear, shall we?”

She put her hands on Nana’s sides and slowly lowered her to the living room floor.

“Dah! Uda!”

“Kyu! Kyu!”

Jaja and the little bear played with each other, clapping their hands and shaking their bodies in a strange rhythm.

Nana watched them for a while, then slowly rolled over and laid down on her stomach.

“Uah.”

Nana kicked the floor with her short tail and waddled awkwardly with her hands as she slowly approached Jaja and the little bear.

She’s about to learn how to crawl. I wonder if we should build a fence or something, because then they will go everywhere in the house.

“Oh? Nana-chan is going to jump in too?”

“Hmm. Come here, Nana.”

Ignoring Saeki and Rouge’s words, Nana pushed her way between Jaja and the little bear.

She forcefully sat up and flattened her buttocks on the floor, trying her best to stabilize her dizzying body.

“Huh? Nana?”

“Huh? Nana-chan?”

I heard Aoi and Mikuma’s confused voices.

What?

From where I am in the kitchen, it’s hard to see them past Rouge’s back, so I can’t see what they’re doing.

“Nnngh! Niiii!”

“Kyu?”

“Dah?”

“Nana. Watch out.”

“Hmm. Nana, why are you doing this?”

What is she doing?

It looks like Aoi and Rouge are blaming Nana. I’ll go have a look.

I finished wiping some of the dishes, put the folded towel on the kitchen table and headed for the living room.

“Hmmm! Yaa!”

“Kyu! Kyu!”

“Nyeeh, udah!”

What is this?

Nana spreads her arms wide between Jaja and Little Bear and pushed them.

The two being pushed didn’t like it and pushed it back. If Rouge hadn’t been supporting their backs, they would have fallen over.

There’s no carpet on the floor here. It would have been terrible if they had fallen and hit their heads.

Good job, Rouge.

“Don’t be naughty, Nana. Let’s play nicely with your older sister and her friend, okay?”

Aoi, who couldn’t bear to just continue watching, picked Nana up.

“Yaah! Nii!”

Nana struggled to shake off Aoi’s hand.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Nana refuse to be held by Aoi.

“What’s wrong, Nana?”

“Ah, Kunpei-san.”

“Fuaaaaaaah!”

Oops, she finally started to cry.

She flapped her legs, trying to get Aoi’s hand off her stomach, and desperately pointed at Jaja.

“Nana, what’s wrong? Are you already sleepy?”

“Niiiiiiii! Fueeeeeeeeeh!”

Aoi spun Nana’s body around and held her from the front.

She bounced her body up and down while patting her gently on the back, and spoke to her in a calm tone, but Nana still tried to push Aoi’s chest away.

“Well, the diaper… seems to be okay. She was nursed earlier, so I don’t think she’s hungry.”

“You were fine until a while ago, Nana-chan. Do you have a fever?”

After touching Nana’s bottom to make sure her diaper was not wet, Mikuma looked at me.

Saeki put her hand around Nana’s to check if she had a fever. She’s got a younger brother named Koji, so she’s used to taking care of kids.

“No, she doesn’t seem to have a fever.”

Aoi put her hand on Nana’s forehead to check.

The twins have never been very sick. I’m sure Alba said that they wouldn’t get sick like humans.

I don’t know what kind of illnesses dragons get, but she hasn’t shown any noticeable symptoms, and my hunch is that she’s probably not sick.

Hmmm, I wonder what’s wrong.

She doesn’t seem to want to be pampered by Aoi, so it’s not like she wants to sleep.

“Dah.”

“Kyu?”

When I looked next to her, I saw that Jaja and the little bear had picked up musical instruments toys and were already playing something else.

Rouge who was supporting their backs was looking at Nana with concern.

“Aaahhhh! Daaah!”

Nana twisted her body as hard as she could and reached out towards Jaja and the little bear.

Ah, perhaps.

“Nana, are you jealous?”

Jaja is playing with another kid, and you don’t like it?

Hmm, but… when we were living in the community center, she was playing with the other children of the evacuees that Yuri-san was taking care of.

It didn’t seem to be a problem at that time.

“Dah! Dah!”

“Kyu! Kyu!”

We brought a series of animal instruments from home.

Jaja was happily shaking the monkey tambourine, her favorite among them.

The little bear was playing with a rabbit trumpet that she took a liking to.

The two of them were smiling together and even singing together.

“…They’re really getting along well.”

Aren’t they getting along a little too well?

I’ve heard that children can make friends quickly, but can they really get along this well in just half a day?

“Jaja, do you really think this kid is Pongoro?”

The Pongoro that she always sees on TV.

She watches it over and over again every day, so maybe in Jaja’s mind, she’s as familiar with her as she is with family.

Nana senses this and is jealous?

“Nyeeeeeee! Yaaaah!”

“Whoa! Nana, watch out! You’re falling, you’re falling!”

Aoi soothed Nana, who was flailing around in her arms.

She really doesn’t want to lose her big sister.

Nana loves Jaja, doesn’t she?

“Come here, Nana.”

I opened my arms and held them out to Nana.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Jaja will always be your big sister. Come on.”

“Fueeh! Kyaaah!”

Nana stopped flailing and concentrated on crying, not even listening to my words.

“Kunpei-san. Please…”

“Alright.”

Aoi, with a troubled look on her face, took Nana in both hands and handed her to me.

I took Nana, hugged her tightly, and stood up.

“Come on, come on. Jaja and the others will laugh at you if you cry too much.”

“Fueh, funiii.”

I pushed her head gently against my right shoulder and patted her on the back.

When she finally recognized that I was holding her, she squeezed the shoulders of my clothes and rubbed her face against them.

She’s just like Jaja in this way. You two are so close.

I move my body up and down in a rhythmic pattern to soothe Nana.

Nana’s body temperature had risen after crying so hard, and it was very comfortable.

Her hair tickled my cheeks, and a smell distinct to babies, a mixture of milk and baby powder, tickled my nostrils.

Oh, man. I’m starting to feel sleepy.

This is the smell that I smell when I go to sleep, and it gives me a sense of security.

The twins are sandwiched between me and Aoi so that they don’t fall out of bed when they sleep.

Jaja is next to me and Nana is next to Aoi.

I love the smell of the twins as I doze off.

Maybe that’s why my body naturally feels sleepy when I smell Jaja and Nana in close proximity like this.

Habits are a scary thing.

“Dah?”

“Oh?”

I noticed that Jaja was right next to my face.

She was floating in the air with her small wings flapping slowly on her back.

She was looking at Nana curiously with her sparkling eyes, as if to say, “Why is Nana crying?”

“Kyu?”

“Hmm?”

Something was leaning against my right leg.

When I looked down, I saw the little bear wobbling and clinging to my leg. Her round and cute eyes were fixed on Nana.

Oh, you guys. You’re worried about Nana, aren’t you?

They’re really good kids, aren’t they?

“Look, Nana? Jaja and the little bear are here for you.”

Nana rubbed her head against my shoulder, not wanting to look up.

“Dah.”

“Hmm? Jaja?”

Jaja placed her small hand on my shoulder and moved closer to Nana.

She put her other hand on Nana’s head and stroked it gently.

“Dah.”

“Nyee…”

Nana finally looked up after being stroked.

“Nihee.”

Jaja’s carefree, dazzling smile.

She couldn’t overlook her sister’s crying.

In an attempt to make her stop crying, she probably mimicked what Aoi and I usually do.

She’s a sweet girl.

“…Ah.”

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Nana reached out her hands to Jaja.

“Ah.”

Jaja took her hand and began a slow descent.

“…Good girl.”

I’m so proud to see that.

Jaja, who was kind and caring, and Nana, who stopped crying.

And the little bear who quietly watched over them.

I was even moved by the sight of the little ones.

As Jaja descended, I slowly lowered Nana.

Jaja sat down in front of Nana, who was sitting with her butt on the floor, and the little bear sat down next to her.

“Come on, we’re going to play together, okay?”

“Dah!”

Jaja replied cheerfully to my words.

“Kyu!”

“Au!”

The little bear grabbed a stuffed cat from the floor and handed it to Nana.

Nana gently grabbed the stuffed animal that was offered to her and shook her head.

Oh, are you saying thank you?

It looks like they’ve made up.

“So cute…”

Saeki, who was watching the scene, was enraptured, her cheeks dyed red.

“That’s great, Jaja. You too, little bear. What good girls.”

Mikuma also smiled and patted Jaja and the little bear on the head.

“Nana? Play nice with your friends, okay?”

Aoi smiled gently as she stroked Nana’s head.

“Hmn, they’re really good kids.”

Rouge seemed proud for some reason.

Phew. It looks like the little guys are going to get along just fine. I’m a little relieved.

I hope we can find the little bear’s parents tomorrow.

She doesn’t seem to miss her parents too much, but it’s not good to be separated from them for too long.

“Here we go.”

Rouge is the one I’m worried about.

When we found the baby bear by the river, I felt that she was a little too attached to it.

That’s not a bad thing at all, but she’s still patting the bear cub’s back and looking after it with a very gentle expression. Just like a mother.

She really likes kids.

At the end of the evacuation period at the community center, she was sadly watching over the children as they each went home.

We are in the same town, and we can meet each other as soon as we want to, but still, she was so depressed.

…I don’t think so, but you’re not going to tell me you’re going to take the baby bear back if you can’t find her parents, are you?

Or that you’ll cry…

“Hm, Plushie wants to play with you.”

The little bear was playing with a stuffed animal with Nana. Rouge tries to join it with another stuffed dog.

With a strange feeling of uneasiness, I went back to the kitchen to do the dishes.

“Hmm. Are you going to let Nana use it? What a good girl.”

Really, it’s okay, isn’t it? Rouge?