[Brother Wars] Thorns

"...Nanoha, I'm so sorry..."

Julie's shrill voice came from in front of him cautiously with a bit of self-blame and guilty conscience. Even if she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, Naye could still imagine that Julie must be lying on the quilt timidly, his body almost curled up. A ball with wet blue eyes looking at her.

Slightly tilting her head towards the direction of Zhu Li's voice, Naiye lowered her eyes halfway, and the corners of her mouth tried to draw a curve and said: "Forget it, you didn't mean it."

"But it's all my fault that hurt you..."

Not to mention that the relationship between you two sisters has become stiff again, and the atmosphere is almost stiffer than before...

Zhu Li lay on Naiye's chest and couldn't help shrinking more and more, and a look of unbearableness flashed across his eyes.

Every time he saw Xiao Qian, he wanted to stop her and talk to her, but Xiao Qian even blamed him, and every time he hadn't said anything, Xiao Qian would avoid him and walk away.

Even he has been treated like this, so there is no need to talk about Naiye's situation.I heard from Liu Sheng that Xiaoqian hadn't visited her once when she was in Naye's hospital, and now it's been several days since Naye came back from the hospital, but Xiaoqian hasn't even visited her yet.

"Nanoha..."

"Julie." Juliet naturally listened to her annoyance and self-blame, but the thing had already happened, and it would be unwise to blame anyone. Besides, this matter was originally due to her improper thinking and her fault.

Naye spread her palm forward, let Julie climb onto her hand, and with the other hand groped and gently stroked the lonely squirrel, and said comfortingly: "Even if it wasn't you, Ema would always know if you knew it, you do it, but It's just for us sisters to completely lift the veil that covers us behind the scenes."

"But Naye, if you were the one to speak, you would definitely be able to handle it more satisfactorily!" He wouldn't mess up everything like he did this time!

Naye caressed Julie's hands and stiffened, with a somewhat bitter smile on her face, she said faintly, "Not necessarily."

Yes, even if she told Ema about it after careful consideration, it might not be as satisfactory as the result.

Because it is very important, no matter how careful you are, you will feel that there are omissions.Uneasy, restless, hesitant, no matter what it is, it may cause adverse effects on Ema, and Ema's excited reaction that day may be considered mild.

Thinking of this, Naye couldn't help but gently raised her hand to caress the upper eyelid, and her thoughts drifted away.

"...Nanoha?" Thinking about this again?

Julie climbed down from Naye's hand and climbed in front of her, with his little paws comfortingly on Naye's hand.

Sensing Zhu Li's slightly cool touch, Naye suddenly came back to her senses, and smiled to the front: "I'm fine."

How can there be nothing!Zhu Li couldn't help but wanted to shout this sentence, but he held back at the nick of time.

The squirrel made a series of antics on his face, and when he saw the girl in front of him, he didn't respond at all, and then returned to being lonely again in embarrassment.

Zhu Li retracted his paws, retracted them again, and finally retracted them, his thin and high-pitched voice slowly sharpened in the air: "You have a good rest, I will watch you from the side."

"knock knock"

The sudden knock on the door made Naye's nerves tense up instantly. She handed her hand to Zhu Li and hugged him on her shoulder, and then let go of half of her nervousness and shouted: "Please come in."

The sound of footsteps was steady and subtle, not like a girl's footsteps, but somewhat familiar.

"It's a popular public product, Shinan Qizhi."

The gentle explanation in Zhu Li's ear made Naye let go of his vigilance, and smiled in the direction of the visitor and said, "Qizhi-kun, you are here."

"Ah."

The other party's answer was quite concise. Naye heard him walking to the bedside and then stopped, followed by the sound of tableware and utensils, so she said clearly, "I'm really sorry, I have to trouble you again."

"fine."

With a clear voice, he spoke concisely, and fed the good meal into Naye's mouth. Because of his habits these days, Naye also accepted Kiori's feeding quite naturally, but just after swallowing a mouthful, Naye felt a little The depressed voice said to this person who has been very affectionate since the car accident: "...Kizhi-kun, thank you for the day of the car accident."

On the day of the car accident, before her consciousness fell into a deep sleep, besides hearing Ema screaming in panic, she also heard the sound of hurriedly running footsteps.

Later, I learned from Mr. Yachen that Qizhi happened to send her to the hospital after school that day, and it was Mr. Yachen who took care of her until they arrived.

So, in various senses, this person was troubled.

"No, in that situation, no matter who it is, I will help."

Asahina Kiori didn't say it was, she witnessed another car accident happened in front of her that day, and the accident happened to her own family members.

and……

Slightly retracting his thoughts, Asahina Kiori changed the subject lightly and said: "It's you, how long will this matter be kept secret?"

The amber eyes stared at Naye's slightly dull pupils, and although there was no questioning in his tone, there was no lack of inquiry.

Naye subconsciously stroked her eyes again, but realized that her movements were a little unfavorable and retracted, and said uncertainly: "Let's hide it until you can no longer hide it."

"But after all, this kind of thing can't be hidden for long, she will always find out."

"Maybe I'll be fine by that time, but I'm not sure," Naye said optimistically, "After all, didn't the doctor say it was only temporary?"

Blinking twice heavily, although there is still nearly the same darkness in front of his eyes, after these days of restlessness, struggle and self-comfort, Naye finally managed to get used to it.

"Then are you going to stay in the room as a turtle? Just sit there and wait until someday good luck will come?" Qizhi pointed out sharply, "Even if you try to avoid the opportunity to meet her, it is impossible for you to meet her every time. There are no omissions, right?"

"...Don't break my fantasies one by one so mercilessly." The truth always hurts people, she doesn't want to face it, and she doesn't want Ema to feel bad because of it.

"I just don't like cheating."

That's right, how could she have forgotten that the boy in front of him hates lies and deceit, and he was willing to act with her for so long and take care of her for so long, which is unprecedented.

"...But, if Ema wants to forgive me because of guilt, then I'd rather Ema never know."

"that is it?"

"that is it."

Because she loves her sister dearly, she doesn't want to force her to do anything against her will because of her.

Even if she wanted to, she hated her and wanted to escape from her.

It's just..."I'm sorry, Kiori-kun."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"In the hospital, I forced you to say that you don't like lies."

On the day of admission, Ema was actually outside, helping her collect medical expenses and other things, and she left quietly after she woke up and Ema saw that she was fine.

And Ema didn't know it was, she woke up that day, and heard the doctor explain her condition, saying that her physical injury was fine, but she needed more rest, but her eyes would face temporary blindness, after the doctor left, she panicked for the first time The first reaction was to hold Qizhi beside him and shout out!

Come to think of it, Kiori-kun must have sympathized with what happened to her at that time, so he had to accompany her in the play in front of Ema and took care of her for so long.

The person in front of him was silent, and because Naiye couldn't see his expression, she couldn't guess what he was thinking now, so she couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive, and licked her dry lips awkwardly, Naye's voice sounded self-deprecating in the quiet room.

"Speaking of which, Qizhi-kun, you were right in what you said that day. Lies, there is really no way to keep me from wanting to see her smile."

"It's a pity that I talked to you just and sternly like a defender of morality that day, but now I have fallen into such a situation, it is really a wonderful irony, isn't it—"

Suddenly being stuffed into a mouthful of food, Naye hesitated for a while, and could only choose to swallow the food first.

"talk less."

Knowing that the other party thought she was noisy, Naiye would have kept her mouth shut no matter what, not to mention that she had nothing to say to this guy who had always had a bad relationship with her. However, Naiye was not like this today.

I don’t know if it’s because I have to take care of Lai Qizhi these days, and the relationship is so close, or because only Qizhi can find the resonance of “lie” in this matter, Naye just wants to say something inexplicably It doesn't matter even if the boy is sarcasm after she finished saying these words, she just can't help but want to confide in the things that have been buried in her heart for many years——

"Hey, Kiori-kun, do you want to hear it? Is there a story about the lie I told Emasa?"

Although it was a question, Naye obviously didn't want to get the other party's answer. She turned her dull eyes to the unknown void. Naye was completely lost in memory, and even her voice had a hint of emptiness.

"When I was young, I was very selfish and didn't care about other people's feelings. Because of this, Ema suffered a lot of grievances."

This is the beginning of the chapter. Asahina Kiori was about to stop Naiye's words with another spoonful, and slowly retracted her hand, which was regarded as a listening posture.

"I'm not boasting. I was very smart when I was young. Rintaro once said that I was a very early child, smart, cute and lovable-I think you should have guessed what I mean. Even if they are identical twins, one of them Those who stand out will always get more attention and love, and over time, even if those people don’t mean it, they always ignore another child unconsciously.”

"Remember? As I said just now, I was very selfish when I was a child. At that time, I didn't notice Ema's sadness and grievances at all. I only knew that adults liked me very much, and children were very willing to be with me. Playing, I only care about being happy every day, but I never noticed that Ema hugged Aoko in the corner and looked at us lonely—by the way, Aoko is an Ema toy, a very cute one Teddy bear, when she first fell down and learned to get up by herself, Rintaro gave her a gift, she cherishes it very much, so she named it Aoko herself.”

"Ema has always been a very gentle and soft child. Even if she is wronged or sad, she will not show it on her face. She always smiles sweetly and happily when facing us, so I and the others joined forces. I won’t notice, it turns out that she will be unhappy when we ignore her. Ema only hides in her room where we can’t see her, and cries secretly by herself with Aoko in her arms—it’s a very quiet way of crying, sobbing The cry was very small and thin, and then the tears kept falling..."

"I noticed this when I went to an amusement park. That time, Ema and I were with Rintaro. I quickly got acquainted with the adults and children around me and played together. Then I forgot about Ema. When I think about it At that time, Ema didn't know where she was... Later, I found her in a dark winter entertainment facility. At that time, Ema showed me a bright and sweet smile, which I will never forget in my life. She gave me a sweet smile Said 'Oh pinch sauce, you come to me, I'm not afraid at all'!"

"At that time, I thought she was really not afraid at all, so after I found her, I went to play on my own, but when I delivered milk to her room at night, I saw her crying through the crack of the door—that's what This is a very quiet but sad way of crying. I was careful and didn't dare to speak loudly. I listened to her whispering over and over again, 'I'm so scared', 'Dad, I'm so scared', 'Oh pinch sauce, don't leave me',' Ema is not a transparent person'..."

"Until that time, I didn't know how wrong I was. Ema didn't just laugh at children, she also cried and was afraid. Moreover, she cried so hard that I felt sad and guilty. I think She will be ignored by adults and children because of me, I deprived her of the right to attention, I am the guilty person."

"...Stupid, isn't it? But this kind of thinking, I really had it at that time, and at that time I thought I was smart, but I foolishly made another decision, that is-to make myself annoying."

"Make yourself annoying?" Hearing this, Kiori finally couldn't help asking.

"Well, make yourself annoying." Naiye nodded lightly, with a self-deprecating look on her face all the time.

"As long as she becomes disliked by others, Ema will be liked! Ema will no longer be a transparent person! She will never be left behind!"

"—It's a very, very stupid way, right? But at that time, I used such a stupid way, which really attracted everyone's attention to Ema, and Ema never hid herself and cried again. Although I also later Realized that this method is not a long-term solution after all, but..."

"but what?"

Naye shook her head, but she didn't intend to say any more, she just said: "You saw it too, it's just like what you said, the smiles made out of lies are always illusory, and the precarious foundation will collapse at any time, so I just fell terribly now ?”

"It turns out that it's really impossible to protect someone's smile with lies..."

After Naye finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence, so long that she thought Asahina Kiori would not speak anymore, but unexpectedly, she heard his voice, whispering with rare uncertainty.

"I thought, maybe, I can start to embrace this cross."

"what?"

A cold object was suddenly placed in the palm of his hand. Naiye groped carefully with his feeling, and could vaguely detect that this was the cross necklace that Kiori had been wearing around his neck.

Before she could comprehend the meaning of Qizhi's puzzled words just now, and what it meant to put the cross in her hand, Naye heard again, the clear and youthful voice with a bit of sadness and vicissitudes, softly sounded—— —

"This time, let me tell you a story."

"One, about love and death, and stories of lies."