NĒCHAN

Episode 03

With her head drooping so low and her voice dropping to a quiet, somewhat nasally whine, Tzuyu gave off the impression that she had been grievously wronged. It was only then that sana realized what kind of book she had brought with her. Right on the cover, it said:

Suitable for ages 13 to 14.

Even Sana herself struggled a little to understand every word.

She didn't know exactly how old Tzuyu was, but the kid looked around four or five years old. Tzuyu fidgeted like she was getting more and more nervous. Her little hands continued to scratch guiltily over the pages of the book.

The book was precious to Sana, so she quickly pulled it away from Tzuyu's hands.

That made Tzuyu's anxiety spike even higher. She kept her head bowed, but she snuck a peek at Sana and let out a panicky little whimper.

It wasn't a strange thing for a child of Tzuyu's age to whimper or whine once in a while, but the Minatozaki family's children had never made those sorts of noises. If they wanted to cry, they cried. If they wanted to scream, they screamed their heads off. Sana had no experience with this kind of whimper. As soon as she heard it, she thought she was in deep trouble. She thought she had done something to drive the little girl to tears.

"You…"

For a moment, Sana felt helpless. Then she set aside her precious book and picked Tzuyu up again, setting her down to sit on the wooden railing that lined the promenade.

Tzuyu looked at the book that had been set aside, then looked at Sana and whispered, "Nē-chan."

Sana had meant to reassure the kid a bit, but an urgent question flew to the forefront of her mind. "How old are you?"

Tzuyu was short. When she sat up on the railing, her legs didn't reach the ground. She swung them a little as she proudly held up one hand, all five fingers unfurled. "I'm five!"

Sana could detect a boastful note in Tzuyu's declaration, but she couldn't figure out why being five years old was something to boast about. After all, Sana was already eleven.

"Grandfather says, when I grow one more year older, I can start going to school!" Tzuyu explained, just as Sana was wondering what she should say next. "I get to start next fall!"

Sana stared at Tzuyu, baffled. Was going to school something to be so excited about? Sana didn't really mind school, but she could still vividly remember Saku-chan's reaction when she had been sent off to first grade. Saku-chan had bawled like crazy, clinging to their grandpa's legs and refusing to let go. Any passersby who didn't know what was happening may have thought the Minatozaki family was butchering a pig.

In the end, Sana and Momo had had to each hold one of Saku-chan's hands and drag the poor thing off to school.

"You're really that excited about going to school?" Sana asked. She sat up on the wooden railing as well, with the book slotted between them. The scent of jasmine was heavy in the air.

Tzuyu nodded vigorously.

Sana thought about the way Tzuyu had scratched and prodded at the book earlier. "You're excited to learn how to read?"

Tzuyu shook her head first, then seemed to think of something and changed her mind. She nodded again instead.

Sana wasn't sure what to make of that. "You don't want to learn how to read?"

"I guess I do," Tzuyu said. She was a clingy, tactile child by nature. She liked to be close to people. With the book between them, she couldn't get too close to Sana. That made her feel restless, and she kept shifting closer and closer, bit by bit, until her arm touched Sana's. It was only then that she could relax.