The night passed.
Nanako opened her eyes, staring blankly at an unfamiliar ceiling.
She was still sleepy and wanted to sleep more.
Happily, she snuggled into her blanket, closed her eyes, and soon her breathing became steady again.
Haruto opened the door, his gaze falling on the girl wrapped up like a cocoon, and said, "Nanako, get up already."
"Hmm~"
"That's Onii-chan's voice~"
Nanako sleepily opened her eyes, then sat up and absentmindedly said, "Onii-chan, good morning..."
The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and golden rays poured into the room, illuminating the girl as she rubbed her eyes, making her skin look pale.
Haruto glanced at her, feeling a sense of calm.
Nanako was about to enter Sobu High School, yet she was still the same as when she was little, wearing childish pajamas.
The daily dose of milk was wasted!
Haruto turned around and said, "Breakfast is ready, your favorite curry rice."
"Curry rice?"
Nanako's eyes sparkled, and she immediately threw off the blanket and stood up. Suddenly, a cold sensation hit her. She instinctively looked down at herself, and her eyes widened...
Her clothes? Where were her clothes?
Did she accidentally take them off last night?
Her eyes went blank, but her movements were quick as she grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself in it.
Seeing that Haruto wasn't looking, Nanako sighed in relief.
Luckily, Onii-chan didn't see anything.
Nanako suddenly realized something. Why was she in bed? She hadn't planned on sleeping.
And she felt... strange.
Nanako looked at her hand curiously. It was small but smooth.
So warm.
This warm feeling...
Nanako touched her hand, her face filled with curiosity.
"Ahh~ I slept well…"
At that moment, a soft, gentle voice echoed, and Nanako quickly asked, "Ghost-san, where are you?"
Nanako looked around the empty room.
"Eh?"
Her voice halted, and she cried out, "Ghost-san, you really took over my body…"
"Eh—"
After a few moments, she realized something.
Ruka had entered her body, and they were sharing the same body.
More importantly, Ruka couldn't separate from her body.
"What should I do?"
Ruka spoke in a panic, "Nana-chan, I didn't do it on purpose."
However, Nanako didn't panic at all. After a while, she calmed down completely and began to enjoy it!
"This feeling is so strange. Ghost-san, I'll leave my body to you. I'm going to sleep a little longer."
"Eh?"
"Don't worry, this might be some puberty syndrome. I'll probably be fine in two days."
Nanako spoke seriously, "So for these two days, school, homework, and PE are all up to you. By the way, I planned to do yesterday's homework later, so I'll leave that to you too."
Ruka's body tensed up, and she seemed about to cry: "Nana-chan, I can't do it…"
"Stop talking, I'm going back to sleep."
"..."
In the living room, Haruto watched Nanako nervously fidget with the hem of her shirt as she slowly walked out of the bedroom.
'What should I do? If Onii-chan finds out, he'll definitely be angry and kick me out, right?'
Just as Nanako felt uneasy and confused, Haruto said, "Nanako, come here and have breakfast."
"Ah... Yes."
Nanako's delicate body trembled, and she quickly stood up straight, looking at Haruto timidly.
Seeing his expression remain unchanged, she silently felt relieved.
'I'll just hide it from Onii-chan for now. I've already caused him enough trouble, I don't want him to hate me...'
Ruka took a deep breath, then sat down at the table, picked up a spoon, and looked at the curry rice in front of her. She swallowed, her bright eyes immediately sparkling.
Haruto took a sip of the broth and said, "Stop staring and eat already."
"Uh…"
Ruka quickly nodded, sneaking glances at Haruto before carefully taking a small bite.
Her eyes instantly lit up, and she focused on eating the curry.
After finishing her meal, she stared blankly at the empty plate, and suddenly, tears began to fall.
Seeing the girl suddenly cry, Haruto said, speechless, "Why are you crying?"
"Eh?"
Ruka instinctively wiped the corners of her eyes: "Am I crying?"
She quickly wiped away her tears with an embarrassed smile on her face: "The curry rice was so delicious. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten curry this good in so long…"
Suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be Nanako, Ruka tilted her head, a silly smile appearing on her face as she stuck out her pink tongue, playfully acting cute to avoid the situation.
"Onii-chan's curry rice is the best!"
Haruto glanced at Nanako, who was giggling, stood up, cleared the dishes, and said casually, "You can eat as much as you want."
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher and tidying up the kitchen, Haruto returned to the living room and saw Nanako sitting on the couch, looking slightly embarrassed.
Compared to her usual self, Nanako now seemed much more dignified.
Haruto couldn't help but rub his forehead.
A miscalculation.
He had thought he could teach Nanako a lesson, but instead, his little sister had taken it as an opportunity to become even lazier!
At that moment, Ruka suddenly floated out of Nanako's body, and Nanako immediately took back control.
It was time.
Nanako looked disappointed: "I wanted to sleep a bit longer, such a shame."
She sighed, patting her chest: "It's okay, we finally separated…"
"Ruka..."
"Onii-chan?"
Seeing the ghost girl curiously watching him, Haruto pulled out a red string and said, "Take this. As long as you have a strong enough bond and will, you'll be able to find the person you're looking for."
"..."
Ruka was stunned, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. She hurriedly wiped them away, stood up, and bowed: "Thank you, Onii-chan, really…"
She lifted her small face, smiling brightly: "I'm so happy I got to meet you, Onii-chan. And also, Onii-chan's curry rice was amazing."
"..."
Ruka took the red string and left.
This time, the red string would guide her path.
The foolish ghost wouldn't get lost anymore.
To this day, Haruto still didn't know the ghost girl's real name, like an unknown wildflower by the roadside.
Perhaps after this, they would never meet again, right?
"You idiot Nii-san, stop staring at the sky and walk faster. You're going to be late."
"..."
After walking for a while, Haruto suddenly stopped and looked up at a gap in the sky. He saw a red light shining through the crack.
There was no mistake.
Another ghost had been absorbed by the crack in the sky.
But what truly made him stop was that he felt a strong will and familiar energy.
That was her aura.
The one who currently carried that energy was the ghost girl who had just left and Mafuyu.