3

She hurriedly left with her head lowered, wandering around the counters. Staying too long would arouse suspicion.

Even at this time, Ichinose Honami was still thinking rationally, which made her feel disgusted and wanted to vomit.

She mingled among the chaotic crowd. When she was in school, Ichinose Honami had faced the eyes of hundreds of students countless times and confidently delivered speeches with her chest raised, but now she instinctively longed for herself. Being able to have the ability of invisibility can minimize the sense of presence bit by bit.

In these short few minutes, it seemed that other people's casual conversations were like thunder in Ichinose Honami's ears. As long as someone glanced at her even slightly, Ichinose Honami would be frightened from head to toe. Take a look at yourself.

In every minute and every second of the past fifteen years, Ichinose Honami would not associate himself with the term criminal.

She was not committing a crime, but doing it for her sister.

At a certain moment, such an idea suddenly came to my mind.

It's not a big deal to do bad things for your sister. There are so many bad people in the world. Compared with them, I should be forgiven the most.

This thought occupied her thoughts, and Ichinose Honami's hand suddenly became much steadier, and a strange and strange sense of relief slowly arose from the depths of her soul.

Ichinose Honami needed this ethereal self-comfort, as if by doing so, her actions would not appear too shameless.

She held the hairpin with an extremely natural posture. A girl like her standing in front of this counter to select products would not be suspected.

At this moment, my sister's smile had solidified into this small hairpin, which was firmly held in Hanami Ichinose's hand. Her beautiful figure seemed to have calmed down all of a sudden, as if she had gained dozens of weights all over her body. With a heavy weight of 5 pounds, his feet were almost hammered down onto the smooth and new floor tiles.

Ichinose Honami's heart was frozen in the air, but his hand uncontrollably put the hairpin into the compartment of the bag he was holding in his right hand.

She turned around with difficulty and walked into the bathroom not far away, almost without looking back.

In the bathroom stall, in order to reduce the size, Honami Ichinose was a little embarrassed or roughly tore open the outer packaging box of this small thing. After flushing the shell into the toilet, the small hairpin was inconspicuous. placed it into her lining pocket.

Of course, Ichinose Honami felt ashamed and guilty about carrying stolen goods on his body, but there were more things weighing on this feeling.

When she walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the exit, Ichinose Honami felt that something in her heart was missing, as if the full moon had been bitten by the mythical Tengu. Every step she took seemed to be stabbed in the heart. With one shot, Ichinose Honami desperately endured this torture and at the same time astonishedly selected a chewing gum at the checkout counter that he would never even look at.

Ichinose Honami's body was still there, smiling at the salesperson and handing out the coins, but her soul seemed to be wandering away. It wasn't until she stood on the street again, under the scorching sun, that she finally Come to your senses.

Honami Ichinose.

An act of theft was committed.

She stood blankly under the shadow of the tree for a while. The sunlight slanted down from the top of Ichinose Honami's head through the crisscrossing branches and leaves, dragging her shadow into a long section. Then she dragged this section The long shadow, as if it had just come off some battlefield, was walking towards home.

Honami Ichinose walked numbly for a long time on the way home, so long that she felt strange.

So she raised her head and looked around for the first time in a long time. The road on the right was still busy with traffic, and her hazy shadow was reflected in the glass window of the clothing store on the left.

Although he had walked all the way just now, Ichinose Honami seemed to have realized what he had done now. It was as if the effect of some kind of anesthetic suddenly passed, like a nightmare suddenly woke up. Ichinose Honami stared at The blurry reflection on the glass window suddenly felt burning pain.

She reached out and touched the glass.

From the perspective of passers-by, this girl must be admiring the gorgeous dress displayed high in the cupboard.

Ichinose Honami pinched her neck. In her field of vision, the person in the mirror was not herself, but a nightmare from a previous nightmare. Suddenly, she came out clearly from the darkness, leaving her momentarily Feeling frightened in a daze.

She suddenly had the idea of ​​returning the hairpin.

But Ichinose thought of her sister and mother again. She imagined the scene when she handed the hairpin to her sister. A huge pride suddenly surged in her heart, and all the blood in her body rushed to the top of her head. She fell into a kind of A brief and illusory pleasure.

In this dreamlike feeling, Ichinose Honami quickened his pace.

It was like escaping from a murder scene.

Under the dazzling blue sky, the girl ran back home.

Ichinose Honami's Summer Returns: Chapter 4: The Guilty (Part 2)

The door to Kitagawa's house opposite was open. Kitagawa Ryo leaned lazily on the wall outside the door. The white cat on his shoulder opened his eyes slightly. The pure and bright colors of fluorite were extremely beautiful, but he was not interested. Close your eyes and curl up into a soft white ball.

"good afternoon."

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the panting Ichinose Honami.

"You seem to be in trouble, Ichinose-san."

Kitagawa Ryo, a somewhat strange neighbor who moved here at the beginning of this month.

Ichinose Honami doesn't like to label people, but for Kitagawa Ryo, she can only make such a definition without permission.

Except for the courtesy visit when he first arrived and the casual encounters and customary greetings in daily life, this young man who is only one year older than Ichinose Honami has always seemed to be reclusive. Ichinose Honami and The conversation with the other party is limited to the initial period.

"Thank you Kitagawa-kun for your concern. Nothing is wrong."

Without thinking for a long time, Ichinose Honami subconsciously rejected the other party's inquiry.

She took out the key awkwardly. Since the last time her sister and mother quarreled, Ichinose Maki has been shutting herself in the room. It's okay now that it's summer vacation. Ichinose Honami is more afraid that her sister will It was awkward until school started.

Therefore, she had to quickly hand the hairpin into Ichinose Maki's hands as a belated birthday gift.

"Well, Ichinose-san's sister is in my living room right now. She was tired from playing with Hotaru and just fell asleep."

Kitagawa Ryo turned sideways, and Ichinose, who was standing outside the door, poked his head in. He soon saw his sister sleeping on the big sofa in the other party's living room, covered with a thin layer. Thin air conditioning quilt.

Ichinose Honami naturally knew that his sister liked Kitagawa Ryo's white cat named "Hotata". It seemed that after the past two days, her sister liked to stick to Hotaru more, and every time Ichinose Maki came over When he was a cat, Kitagawa Ryo would open the door generously.

"Excuse me..."

Ichinose Honami gathered his thoughts and mood, and his somewhat rapid breathing gradually returned to normal, and he bowed and apologized to Kitagawa Ryo.

"fine."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head in silence. When he first came into contact, he would have thought that the other person was a cold type. Although according to Ichinose Maki, "Kitagawa Ryo is a very kind brother", in fact, he did not mean to blame the other person. , Ichinose Honami also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ichinose-san's sister has been a little strange these past two days. Although it's very presumptuous, can you let me hear what happened?"

The mood that had just soothed suddenly rose again, and Ichinose spoke almost subconsciously:

"No, nothing happened."

Because his tone was too direct, Ichinose Honami quickly apologized with a wry smile:

"Thank you Kitagawa-kun for taking care of Maki during this period. In short, I will handle it as soon as possible."

Since the other party had already reached this point, Kitagawa Ryo didn't ask any more questions. Ichinose Honami thanked her softly and woke up her sister. The two sisters said goodbye to Kitagawa Ryo before closing the door.

Because she had to deliver food to her mother, Honami Ichinose was also processing the ingredients in a hurry. Maki Ichinose, who was yawning, had no intention of communicating with her sister and went back to the room.

After putting the prepared dinner on the table and leaving a note for his sister, Ichinose Honami packed his mother's portion in a lunch box and returned to the hospital again.

Before leaving, Ichinose Honami put the hairpin in his textbook, thinking that he would give his sister a surprise when he came back in the evening.

She no longer thought about the origin of the hairpin. Ichinose Hanami had already made the decision to suppress this matter deep in her heart. Her steps became inexplicably brisk and her mood became lighter.

On the way to the hospital, Ichinose Honami looked up and saw the setting sun. It fell heavily on the branches like a blood-red fruit. The irises in the green belt were as bright as spring and smiled strangely at her.

Ichinose Honami had dinner with her mother. Her mother was sitting on the bed. She had been clamoring to be discharged since her health had improved. Ichinose Honami could only coax her like a child. She knew that her mother She sat on the edge of the bed and held her mother's hand and said:

"Maki...it will be fine in two days."

It was like comfort, like a promise, but when it came out of Ichinose Honami's mouth, it became an unshakable fact.

So the mother finally felt relieved. She believed in her daughter. This trust was accumulated every minute and every second in the past fifteen years.

They laughed and started eating. The mother and daughter ate one bite at a time, and the two silhouettes illuminated by the lights on the glass window also repeated the same movements. It seemed like a feast for four people.

When her mother saw the corners of Ichinose Honami's mouth stained with oil, she put a handkerchief up and wiped it carefully:

"Like a little kid."

Ichinose Honami's face was a little red. He lowered his head and poked the corner of his mouth with the fingertips of his right hand, as if he was afraid that there was still oil there.

When Honami Ichinose walked out of the hospital, the silvery moonlight had already filled the earth. The streets at night were not much less lively than during the day. Several groups of social animals who came out of an unknown izakaya were drunk. , noisy and shouting, there is a Shibuya woman wearing high heels and heavy makeup on the roadside, smoking cigarettes and waiting for someone, and couples of similar age to her are leaning against each other and whispering.

But her heart seemed to have calmed down, and Honami Ichinose walked toward home along the lines of the moonlight without any hindrance.

Several hours had passed, and there was no rumor of missing items. When Honami Ichinose passed by the department store, the lights were still bright inside, and the huge flow of people was still the same as during the day. On the shelves and shelves shuttle back and forth in the gaps.

Honami Ichinose was just one of them, and the hairpin was just one of many products.

Right?

Ichinose Honami held a flyer he had just received in his hand. The midsummer fireworks display was about to be held at the end of the month.

She raised her head and waited for the rising fireworks among the crowds on the street and in the moonlit night sky.

When Ichinose Honami returned home, his sister had turned out the lights and the plates on the table were missing. Ichinose Honami opened the cupboard and found that they were washed and stacked there. It seemed that her sister was still there after eating. I washed the dishes as a habit.

She once again confirmed the fact that her sister was not a bad child.

The mother is a mother who is not at fault, and the sister is also a sister who is not at fault. In fact, their reconciliation only needs that small opportunity. The current cold war is just a child's temper.

Feeling the heat of the water in the lotus pod touching his skin, Ichinose Honami shivered subconsciously, and then quietly closed his eyes, feeling the wash of hot water.

If I give the card to my sister tomorrow morning, she will be happy, and then it will be logical for her to ask her to visit her mother...

With this thought in mind, Ichinose Honami raised her clear eyes. It was a vast white ceiling, and her wet hair stuck to her face. She stood up and squeezed aside the shelves on the side. Shower gel lying around.

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The morning dewdrops were held up by the leaves. At that moment, they were so beautiful, reflecting the brilliance of the sun crystal clear, as if they themselves were also shining with golden light. The proud dewdrops became fuller little by little, and lifted the leaves heavily. Bending.

Until the next moment when he is shattered to pieces.

Ichinose Honami knelt in front of his mother's hospital bed in a daze. The woman in front of him had stopped crying, but her cries still seemed to be echoing in his ears. Those cries were like dust floating in the air, like swimming fish. It usually gets in through her ears, gets into her brain, and stays there for a long time.

An hour ago, Ichinose Honami had seen her relatives at their happiest, and the joy that came from her heart was like the spring breeze blowing on her face, almost taking away the guilt in her heart, but an hour later Now, she was faced with the most angry appearance of her relatives.

Naturally, Ichinose Maki would not have thought that this hairpin was stolen from her sister. She did indeed agree to visit her mother after getting the hairpin as Ichinose Honami expected. It was clear that Hanami had just made an agreement with her to keep this secret. secret.

But my sister obviously didn't care. For her now, she couldn't wait to show that hairpin to the whole world.

Except for one person.

The mother bit her lip and stared at Ichinose Honami. The hairpin was placed on the bedside table nearby. Her face suddenly became stiff:

"Where did it come from?"

"...got it from the mall."

"Where did the money come from?"

Not sure if she still wanted to struggle with the truth for a while, or if she really didn't want to believe that the daughter in front of her would commit such a behavior as stealing, the mother asked an unnecessary question with trembling lips.

"I stole the card."

Honami Ichinose spoke frankly, she closed her eyes and waited for the trial.

Her mother had never hit her or Maki. Even the last time Maki got angry and cursed her with the most unreasonable words, her mother just apologized desperately.

But this time Ichinose Honami received a real slap in the face.

Not knowing where his mother's strength came from, or that he had given up control of the body, Ichinose Honami's body trembled and fell to the ground.

The entire ward was unusually quiet, as if time had paused at this moment. Honami Ichinose sat on the ground in that fallen position for a long time. The person who pulled her up was her mother who stood up from the hospital bed with a sullen face.

The mother, who was clearly still sick, suddenly exuded an unquestionable aura. She took Ichinose Honami's hand and pulled her out.

Honami Ichinose knew what her mother wanted to do, and she knew her mother's education methods, but now she didn't have the courage to speak, and she had no reason to refuse.

She felt as if she was already standing on the edge of a cliff, her whole body being lifted up in the air. The omnipotent Honami Ichinose showed a helpless look for the first time, but this happened to meet her mother's gaze. She felt cold all over.

Honami Ichinose committed a theft that went against his philosophy of life for the past fifteen years.

Her mother wants her to burn everything she has spent the past fifteen years.

The paranoid mother dragged Ichinose Honami to the department store, where there was an equally paranoid girl yesterday.

The mother disclosed her daughter's crime in front of the public, and she determined that only such tragic consequences could make Ichinose truly reflect.

Honami Ichinose knelt on the ground in a Dogeza position, and beside her, her mother knelt down together.

Looking around, there were people from society in suits and leather shoes, students in uniforms from the same junior high school as Ichinose, and most of them were housewives who were out shopping.

Ichinose Honami suddenly realized that the individual "Ichinose Honami" she had built over the past few years was burning. All the memories, events, and relationships were like piles of firewood. She did something special. Well, they are piled extremely high.

As a result, the fire burned frighteningly, crackling, and the thing called trust turned into ashes and dispersed.

Honami Ichinose was being visited like a sculpture. The onlookers' gazes were like knives, cutting off all dignity, and their lips were grinding, crushing the truth into sticky pieces before whispering it to another circle of people gathered around him.

Ichinose Honami is a strong and brave girl. Although the above made her heart extremely shaken, she knew that this was a sin she had committed, although she pursed her lips and endured it.

What really destroyed her was her mother who knelt next to Ichinose Honami.

Perhaps this is the mother's punishment for her incompetent education.

But this action will only make Ichinose Honami realize one reality:

It was her mistake, her failure, her sin that caused the people around her to be hurt.