Shade [Most recent episode] : Excursion

Coming onto the road, I pick up a rhythmic tapping sound and a second later, recognize its point of origin as a familiar blonde head.
"Hey Lilly."
The dainty girl stops at my greeting and pivots, tilting her head with a calm smile as she mentally places the voice.
Given that we've known each other for less than a week, she does so surprisingly quickly.
"Hisao?"
"Yup."
She breathes a satisfied exhale at her correctness and courtesies slightly in greeting.
I'd like to reciprocate with a small bow if not for the fact it would be utterly pointless.



"Heading into town?" I ask.
She nods. "I was to go yesterday, but, well, we got distracted."
"Oh... I'm really sorry about that."
She shakes her head in response. "Don't apologize, Hisao. It wasn't your fault."
"Alright. But my matchless sense of chivalry dictates that I should give you a hand today, at least."
The blind girl giggles at this. "Alright, I shan't say no to that."
I take position alongside her and together we descend the mountain.



The town at the base of Yamaku is a small one which mostly serves as kind of a meeting ground for people living this far out in the boondocks.
And for catering to sideshow acts like us, of course.
Using surprisingly accurate landmark-guidance from my companion, we make our way to the convenience store in good time.
As we draw closer, though, we're greeted by a somewhat odd sight.
On the bench along the sidewalk leading to a small park, I spot a slender young man wearing a fitted pinstriped suit.



Foreign, like Lilly, his randomly-layered blonde hair flickers about in the breeze as he tilts his head back, drinking from a hip-flask.
It's an anomaly for more than one reason.
The person is way too well-presented to be a drunk, actually too much so even for a normal town resident here, to say nothing of his physical appearance.
Still, I try not to let it affect my walking pace.
It'd probably bother Lilly if I suddenly leapt to investigate something she couldn't percieve.
However, as we draw past him he cranes his head over towards us cracking a broad smile.
"Wo-ho. Wasn't expecting to run into you this early, Lils." He casually addresses us. "Are you on a date?"
Lilly freezes.
So do I, though probably for slightly different reasons.



"Akira?" She exclaims tentatively, a startled expression coming over her face.
"Hehe. Who else?"
At this, Lilly's startlement gives way to a much more peaceful smile than I've ever seen on her.
Huh.
Well, I guess it's not that strange that they'd know each other.
You wouldn't see that many foreigners this far out in the country and they actually look like they could be related.
He's thinner than Lilly so his bone structure is much more noticeable, giving him more angular features.
But the tone of their skin and hair is practically identical...
They look to be at least fairly close in age, too.



"Fancy meeting you down here." He emotes, slipping the flask away.
There's a catlike air of ease to his movements as he rises up and closes the meager distance between us at a casual saunter.
"Really, Akira, I doubt you just randomly popped into Yamaku out of the blue."
"I need a reason? Ya sayin' I go back?"
Lilly makes a pouting expression while the other person grins.
Yeah. They're related.



"So... is this your brother, then?" I ask, taking a guess.
Unexpectedly, my question freezes them both in their tracks.
"Um... Am I wrong?" I stammer out, trying to avoid making too bad a first impressio-
"She's... My sister."
...
"EH?!?"