During Hide and Seek
One day in the spirit folk village…
Around here should do.
Rio was playing hide and seek with the village children in the square. He sat behind a random tree and made himself as small as possible, then controlled his breathing so that he wouldn’t be discovered easily. That being said, there were werebeast children who had strong senses of smell. Rio could technically use spirit arts to befuddle the noses of werebeasts, but they were just children, and it wouldn’t be mature of him to go all-out against them. It would only be a matter of time until he was discovered —
“Found you, Onii-chan.”
Latifa appeared out of nowhere and sat down beside Rio, then hugged him tightly to prevent him from running away.
“You’re not the one looking, Latifa.”
“Ehehe, I wanted to hide together with Onii-chan,” Latifa confessed earnestly.
“I see. Then let’s hope they don’t find us.” “Yup.”
Rio laughed gently and hugged Latifa softly by the shoulder. Latifa nodded happily in return and tightened her hold around him.
“Being together outside like this reminds me of when we used to travel together, heading for the village,” Latifa suddenly said.
“Yeah,” Rio nodded with a chuckle.
Back then, whenever they had a break or stopped for food, Latifa would stick closely to Rio just like this. She would take every chance she got to do so — not that she was any different now, but still.
“Fufu, Onii-chan’s scent makes me feel safe. I love it!” Latifa buried her face into Rio’s chest, rubbing her cheek against him.
She’s grown bigger, but she’s still affectionately spoiled, huh? Rio patted Latifa’s head gently with an amused smile on his face.
Little Witch Rikka’s Invitation?!
The high school Amakawa Haruto attended was a prep school that had both middle school and high school divisions. The high school division consisted of those who moved up from the middle school division, as well as those who tested in from outside.
One day in the middle of fall, the middle school division held their school festival ahead of the high school division. All kinds of events and stalls were taking place in the middle school grounds, attracting many visitors from both schools, as well as residents nearby; it was bustling with activity.
However, there was one female student who had slipped over to the high school side, seeking a moment of peace. The girl’s name was Minamoto Rikka, a third-year middle school student.
“Phew, I’m beat.” Rikka sat down on a bench and stretched her arms with a light sigh. She had been working as a waitress for her class’s Halloween-themed cafe.
In the spirit of the cafe’s theme, Rikka wore a light blue wig and a witch outfit. The skirt was rather short and the shirt emphasized her chest a little, attracting curious gazes from people while she walked to her current location.
“Huh, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?”
Two older boys appeared out of nowhere, and one of them called out to Rikka.
“…Who are you? You’re not students from here, right?” Rikka replied to the boys rather cautiously.
“Oh, there’s no need to be so wary. We were at your store as customers, and we spotted you by chance just now,” one of the boys said smoothly, as though he had prepared those words in advance. But they were quite far from the middle school grounds; it wasn’t a place that was so easy to wander to by coincidence.
Did they follow me? Rikka wondered.
“I see. Bye, then.” Rikka immediately stood up from the bench and strode off. Without missing a beat, the boys began to walk along with her, sandwiching her between them.
“Hold up. We just wanted to be friends with you. What’s your number? Ah, you should show us around the festival if you have time. The name’s Sakata, by the way.”
“Sorry. I have things to deal with.” Rikka quickened her pace in an attempt to leave the boys behind.
“But you were sitting on the bench just now, right?” the boy said, having observed Rikka’s actions before.
Ugh, how annoying.
Just as Rikka was getting fed up —
“Ah, there you are. I was looking for you.”
From a slight distance away, a male student from the high school division called out to Rikka.
“Ah? And who are you?” Unhappy, the boys spoke menacingly to the newcomer.
“I’m a student from the high school division, and I was searching for her. …Do you know these people? The teacher will be here soon, so if there’s any trouble, I’ll speak up as a witness,” the male student replied undauntedly, hinting at the presence of a teacher.
“Wha? N-No, we were just asking for directions.” The boy seemed to be intimidated, as his voice cracked when he answered.
“The middle school building is that way.” The male student smiled and pointed at the path that led back to the middle school division.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” The boys promptly retreated towards the middle school grounds, leaving Rikka alone with the male student who had appeared.
“T-Thank you very much, Amakawa-senpai,” Rikka sighed in relief and thanked the boy — Amakawa Haruto.
“…Sorry, have we met before?” Haruto tilted his head curiously. He didn’t recall ever meeting Rikka before.
“Ah! N-No, you’re just famous among the middle schoolers! That’s why I know your name, s-sorry!” Rikka apologized in a panic.
“It’s nothing to apologize for… But, am I really famous?” Haruto’s eyes widened.
“U-Umm, it’s just that one of my friends likes you, so…” Rikka explained rather awkwardly.
“…O-Oh. I see. Sorry for asking,” Haruto apologized hesitantly.
“N-No! I’m the one who’s sorry!” said Rikka.
An awkward silence fell between the two of them. Then, after a beat…
“…Shall I walk you back to the middle school?” Haruto suggested. “You might run into those people again on your way back.”
“Thank you very much. I-If you don’t mind, then please. Ah, our class is doing a cafe, so please come visit! I’d like to thank you for your help just now anyway!” Rikka bowed her head shyly.
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