SCPK 10

Chapter 10

Lost Child

I’m honestly not a kind person.

I avoid crowds whenever I can, and I don’t even help kittens abandoned in cardboard boxes. I’ve learned to draw a line between what I can do and what I can’t.

So even if a little girl is crying right in front of me, I have to carefully judge whether or not I should step in. If I can handle it, I’ll help her myself; if I can’t, I’ll call the police and have them take her into protective custody.
I’m aware of how I look—if I’m not careful, I could easily give people the wrong impression, and things might end badly. That wouldn’t make anyone happy.
So I decided to call the only person I could rely on.

It wouldn’t be a problem if she refused; I was expecting a refusal anyway.
I dialed the number on my phone.

“Hello!”

She picked up on the very first ring.
Well, it probably wasn’t because of kindness… more like she was already on her phone. We’re both smartphone addicts.

“Um, if you have time, could you—”
“Tell me where you are. I’ll come right away.”

Not even ten minutes later, my best friend’s little sister, Tsukiyo Kaminagi, arrived.
Today she was wearing a casual pink shirt and a skirt… She looks cute no matter what she wears—seriously amazing. The clothes themselves are nothing special, but… beauty is powerful. I wish I’d brought my camera. Maybe my phone will have to do.
She was out of breath, probably from running. The sight of her sweaty face was beautiful, but it also made me feel guilty.

“Sorry for calling you out like this.”
“I wasn’t busy! So, this is the girl, right?”

It had already been close to twenty minutes since I found the crying little girl. If I looked like Tsukiyo’s brother—handsome enough—I probably could’ve approached her myself without any issue… but no, not me.
Tsukiyo crouched down and spoke gently to the child. After a bit of back-and-forth, I joined in.

“She says she doesn’t know where her home is.”

As I suspected, she was a lost child, about three years old. We got her name but of course she didn’t know her address.

“It’s okay. Big sister and big brother will take you home.”

As expected, Tsukiyo was great with kids. Her part-time job and her love of children probably combine to make her really good at this.
I chimed in from time to time, trying to gather information. Hopefully we could find her parents before heading to the police box.

“Hey, she’s on social media! This must be her!”
“Really!?”

While scrolling on my phone, I came across a post about a missing child. Information really does spread fast. I contacted the mother who posted it and arranged to meet in front of the police box just to be safe.

“Mama!”

At the police box, under the officer’s supervision, the little girl leapt into her mother’s arms. Phew, case closed.
The mother bowed deeply to us.

“Thank you both so much. Sorry to interrupt your date.”
“Date!?”

Tsukiyo’s eyes went wide and she flailed in panic. Cute reaction, but I should clarify before she gets embarrassed.

“She and I are just friends. Nothing like that.”
“Eek! Big sister’s scary.”
“Huh?”

The girl’s face went pale like she’d seen a demon. I turned to look but… all I saw was Tsukiyo’s usual sweet smile. What did she see just now?

After parting ways with the girl and her mother, we started heading home.
Everything was normal, except… Tsukiyo seemed a little grumpy.

“Are you… mad at me?”
“I’m not mad. We’re not anything special, after all.”

That was a loaded way of saying it. It’s true we’re not more than friends, but still…
Oh well. At least I should thank her.

“But seriously, thank you for coming. You saved me.”
“Eh? Ah, sure.”
“Since it was a little girl, I couldn’t exactly call your brother… You’re probably the girl I can rely on the most, Tsukiyo. You really helped.”

Tsukiyo suddenly stopped walking. I stopped too. Wondering why, I kept talking.

“I’m really bad at talking to girls, so I can’t ask just anyone. That’s why you’re special. You picked up on the first ring… really, thank you.”
“…”

No response. Maybe I overstepped?
For someone as popular with guys as Tsukiyo, being called “special” probably doesn’t mean much.
It might even sound like harassment… Did I just creep her out? Feeling uneasy, I nervously peeked at her face.

“Hehehe… special. I’m special, huh, ehehe…”

It was a smile I’d never seen before. She pressed both hands to her cheeks and started squirming.
That kind of reaction—if anything it made me blush. No way. No… way.

I think… I might be falling for you, Taiyo-san.

No, no, that can’t be it.
But do people make a face like that when it’s just affection…?

Even if Tsukiyo does like me, it can’t be romantic… it just can’t…

“I’ll, uh, repay you somehow! What do you want?”
“Eh?”

This wasn’t going anywhere.
I hurriedly changed the subject. Tsukiyo’s expression returned to normal and she thought for a moment.

“Then…”
“Yeah?”
“Go on a date with me right now.”
“Yeah… Wait, what!?”