Character Story 7: Time Flies Like An Arrow

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Scene: Landsol, at night.

Rino
Zzz... zzz...

Rino
Yawn... Big brother... Hee hee...

Yuuki
1. Reply to her
2. Tell her to sleep a while longer

Option 1.

Rino
Hmm...?

Option 2.

Rino
Zzz, zzz...

End of branches.

Rino
(Huh...? What's happening here?)

Rino
(Did I... fall asleep? Falling asleep outside like this -- that really was too careless of me! I need to be more careful -- a stitch in time saves wine!) ^[1]

Rino
(Ah... The apron I'd been working on making for so long was finally finished, so I was going to bring it to the guild master...)

Rino
(Putting it together without a problem, and seeing her happy about it, I felt a lot more relaxed. Because all the pressure was off, and also because I haven't been getting a lot of sleep from working late...)

Rino
(I wanted to take a quick break, so I sat down on this bench in the plaza, and I fell right asleep like this.)

Rino
(This isn't good -- I need to take more care. Public safety in Landsol hasn't been the best these days. If I want to sleep, I ought to go back home.)

Rino
(Ahh, but I'm so sleepy... I put in so much work, and it's finally all ducky...) ^[2]

Rino
(I think it turned out really well. This sense of achievement and satisfaction, it's so nice...)

Rino
(Ah, just a little more... I want to doze off and enjoy a happy, puffy dream...)

Rino
(Hmm? Someone's patting my head...?)

Rino
(It feels so warm...?)

Rino
... Ah, huh? Whaa? Big brother?

Rino
Um, um, why are you letting me sleep on your lap? I'm happy you are, but if we do this in public, won't we look like a dumb-ple!? ^[3]

Rino
Eh? You saw me napping on the bench, and thought that I wouldn't be able to sleep well this way, so you let me lean on your lap? I-I mean, I did sleep really nicely because of it, but...

Rino
I'm not going to say that it was too much, but you could have just woken me up! I'm so embarrassed!

Rino
I, I'm getting up now! Uh, sorry for the trouble, big brother!

Rino
W-Whoa! I'm still dizzy, so I fell right back down on your lap! Is your lap like a magnet or something?

Rino
Ooh... You mean, you don't mind letting me sleep a little more? I do kind of want to let you dote on me a little, since I really am tired, ha ha...

Rino
Oh? You also feel at peace when I'm sleeping on your lap like this?

Rino
That's right, isn't it? You've always been all soft like this. I guess, even if your mind doesn't remember, the rest of you still does. That really makes me happy.

Rino
Yeah, You've forgotten now, but back when we were little, I'd often cling to you like this.

Rino
My mom writes picture books, and one of her books ended up being an unexpectedly a big hit...

Rino
She became really busy with writing a sequel, so she asked a nearby family -- your family -- to take care of me.

Rino
I missed my mom a lot... And I had a brash attitude about it. For a while, I didn't even say a single word to you.

Rino
But, big brother... You still kept trying to reach out to me. Back then, I was really emotional, and I'd start crying about the littlest things. But every time, you would always try to comfort me.

Rino
Even when my words would come out totally disorganized, you would always listen with a smile... And over time, without realizing it, I started to calm down. Over time, I started to think of you like my real family.

Rino
That's why... I started calling you "big brother."

Rino
After that, whenever I had the chance, I'd come over to your house to see you. I started to talk to you about every little thing.

Rino
Before I met you, big brother, I was a really closed-off sort of person.

Rino
But because I so enjoyed talking to you about anything, I became a lot happier.

Rino
Even right now, it's like I'm machine-gunning these words towards you! Ha ha.

Rino
... I'd really like to thank you. Because you helped me grow up to become the cheery person I am now, I ended up making so many friends. You really opened up my world, and made it all so much brighter.

Rino
Because you lost your memories, you're a lot quieter now than you were then. But I really hope that one day, you can be just as lively and talkative as you were back then.

Rino
That's why I'm going to go on talking to you about this and that. If I just shower you with a ton of words, then you'll absorb them and accumulate them... And, once you get to the point where you can say a lot of things back to me, it'll be something to celebrate.

Rino
I can make a lot of small talk. And I don't mind if you can't come up with a response that often. Even if you can't say much, as long as you're listening, things will work out.

Rino
Because even with just that, you've already given me so much.

Rino
Because of my parents' work, we ended up moving somewhere pretty far away... I'd been really looking forward to moving back, but by the time we did, you had already changed completely.

Rino
I felt like I was completely in the dark. But... In the end, you're still you, big brother.

Rino
Someone who, seeing me carelessly sleeping in public, couldn't help but lend me your lap.

Rino
A big brother who I really love. That's why, if we could get together again and talk like this, I'd be truly happy. That's what I'd ask of you.

Rino
Ha ha. You look pretty confused. I'm sorry -- my words are coming out totally disorganized, just like when we were little. But, just like then, you ended up listening to me all the way through.

Rino
Oh! We're going to be burning midnight ^[4] soon -- I ought to get going. You should head home too, big brother. You've really helped me out with a lot of things today.

Rino
I'll see you soon! Not just that -- I'll talk to you a whole bunch soon... Big brother!