Soul for a Girlfriend?

It was the last day of the week and our exams were just in two days. It was also the day Shiraishi fixed for both of us to study together. I was looking forward to it since it was a good opportunity for me to have personal time with her.

After all, we haven\'t interacted much since we started dating.

My friends already knew that I waa going over to her house and as usual, Tsūmen warned me about her and told me to be careful. I didn\'t understand why he didn\'t trust her, or even bigger question, how does he know so much about her?

I was standing near the gate of our campus while fiddling with my mobile. My friends were already gone since they had to study and I told them about my plan to which I received a few eyebrows from Tsūmen and Gaisen.

What a piece of shit they were.

No wonder they\'re my friends.

Since it was the middle of November, it was getting dark relatively early now. Quite a few students were walking past me every now and then. I put my hands back in my pocket as a cold wind blew past me.

"Oh, he\'s there!" I heard Shiraishi\'s voice from the distance as I looked up and noticed her walking towards me with Moriko along her side. She walked up to me and gave me a nod, "Let\'s go."

"She is coming along?" I asked looking at Moriko who rolled her eyes at me, "Wha… why would I? You dumb?"

"She\'ll go on her own." Shiraishi laughed at Moriko\'s reaction and I shook my head slowly, "Oh, I see."

"We usually go together…" Shiraishi said, taking a hold of my hand. Moriko was clearly feeling like a third wheel between us. My eyes gazed around for a moment as I replied, "It\'s getting quite dark, why not walk her home?"

"Ah… I… don\'t mind." Shiraishi answered in a hesitant voice. I could tell that she wasn\'t really delighted by my proposal but Moriko declined it from her side, "It\'s alright. I\'m not a kid."

"No shit." I replied in a sarcastic tone as she glared at me and I decided to shut up and avert my eyes from her.

Shiraishi and I walked off towards her home as Moriko waved at her and walked towards her own direction. Shiraishi remained silent during the whole walk but I knew that she was quite offended at me.

I decided not to ask her about it since stirring up latent concerns are nothing but a waste of time and energy.

We reached her home, and she rang the bell. I heard fast paced footsteps approaching the door and the doorknob turning as the door slightly creaked open but there was no one to be seen.

Shiraishi gave me an awkward smile and opened the door wider as I noticed a small kid standing near the door while staring at her with big round, amber eyes. He had ginger hair like her, so I assumed it was her brother.

"Wel...come Hom!" The small boy said in a quite excited tone. He still couldn\'t pronounce it properly, but he was definitely delighted to see his elder sister. Shiraishi took off her shoes and smiled at him, "I\'m home, Tomio."

"Nee...chan! Did you bring something for me?" He said with eyes full of anticipation. A kid\'s eyes like that are the most difficult thing to ignore in the world. 

As soon as he said that, Shiraishi\'s eyes widened up and there was a look of dread on her face. She stared at him and said in a hesitant voice, "Oh… I\'m really sorry, Tomio…"

"Bu...but you sai…\'\' He replied in shivering voice, as I could tell he on the verge of mustering up tears as Shiraishi patted his hair and apologised again, "I\'m sorry, I forgot."

 "Okay…" He said in a hard tone. I was quite amused at how quickly he accepted his situation. 

I rummaged through my bag and fortunately found a pack of gum. Taking it out, I leaned down a bit and took one out while asking, "Will a gum do?"

"Gum?" He turned towards me, while wiping his eyes, as I again showed him the gum, "See…"

He looked at it with sparkles in his eyes and said, "Ooo… I want th… No. I\'m fine."

"Wha… do you not like that colour?" I said in a confused tone looking at the green coloured gum I was holding from the packet. Tomio shook his head and answered in a prompt manner, "No, I don\'t know you! Mom said to not take things from strangers."

"But I\'m Nee-chan\'s friend." I replied, as it seemed to catch his interest. He looked at me and thought for a while before answering, "Ohw… you\'re Nee-chan\'s friend. I guess… I can… No."

"Now what happened?" I asked him again, trying to sound a bit tired to tease him as he looked troubled and answered, "Nee-chan will be mad for troubling her friends."

"Nee-chan you\'ll be mad at him?" I asked looking towards Shiraishi who had this soft smile on her face, as she replied, "I won\'t be. Tomio… come on."

"Owlrigh… I\'ll take the blue one." He said as soon as his sister gave him the approval. I found him quite amusing, as I stood up and handed him the whole pack, "You can have the whole pack."

"Really?" He looked at me with disbelief and joy in his eyes as I gave him a small nod, "Yes."

Tomio bowed to me with a huge smile on his face. I couldn\'t help but let out a chuckle at the sight of his innocence. Shiraishi glanced at me and I knew she wasn\'t expecting me to be the kind of person to be good with kids.

"I didn\'t know you had a sibling." I said, as we\'re walking up the stairs while Tomio went to watch the TV in the other room.. Shiraishi nodded and replied, "Now you do."