As soon as I stepped into the house, the smell of mom's cooking hit me like a warm hug.
"Hey, Mom. What's for dinner?" I asked, kicking off my shoes by the door.
"Ara, welcome back, Haru. I'm making karaage tonight," she said, smiling as she peeked out from the kitchen.
Karaage? Jackpot.
But something felt off. I glanced toward the living room, expecting to see Nishi lounging around, probably with one of her stuffed animals.
She wasn't there.
Sigh... She was supposed to pop out and yell, "Welcome back, Onii-chan!" like she always does.
Aunt's not here too. Are they playing SFO already?
"Mom, where's Nishi? And aunt too?" I called out, plopping my bag onto the couch.
"Oh, she and your Aunt Marika were together" Mom replied. "They went to Tokyo to pick up some things and grab stuff for Marika's room."
Right, Aunt Marika was moving in. I'm the one who suggested that because I felt that she's not safe. But
