Be Careful, Onee-san ch16

p1
>Oh.
>And who might this be...?
>My granddaughter, Yuki.
>Say hello, Yuki.

>...Nice to meet you.
>I'm Houjou Yuki.
>Oh my.

>What a cute girl.
>She has your eyes.
>...

>Ah.
>Also,
>this is my friend...
>By the way, Sensei.

>About what we were discussing the other day...
>I'll be in your care, Sensei.
>Sensei.

p3
>Who
>...are you?

>It's all over...

p4
>I'm gonna get arrested for trespassing into an elementary school.
>I'll get fired from my job.
>The news will label me as a criminal who's interested in children...

>I won't be able to spend any more time
>with Mai-chan...!

>Ah, Sensei!
>You've got it all wrong!
>This lady is my cousin...

>She came with me to pick up something I had left behind!
>So...
>Wait...

p5
>Could you be...
>Ta-chan?

>...
>Heh...?

>I knew it! That tearful expression!
>It is you, Ta-chan!

>Don't you remember me?
>It's me, Madoka! We went to elementary school together!

p6
>Mado...

>Aah!?
>Mado-chan!?
>You remember me!? Thank goodness~

>No way! Why are you...
>I'm a teacher here!
>How nostalgic~! I haven't seen you since elementary!

>Sensei...
>You know Onee-san?
>Yeah!
>We're friends from way back!

p7
>I was clumsy back in elementary school, so she looked after me.
>Ta-chan was so scatterbrained back then that I couldn't take my eye off of her~
>Heh~...

>That aside,
>what are you doing here?
>Urk...
>Erm.
>That's...

>...
>Since we have the opportunity, let's chat for a bit.
>Ah... sure.

>Ah.
>You two wait here until we're done talking.
>We'll be right back.
>...
>Okay~

p8
>You really spooked us just now.
>What are you doing at school at this hour?
>No reason.
>I always do this.

>What about you?
>What were you thinking? Bringing that woman here with you this late.

>I can't believe you.
>...

>...What happened to you?
>You weren't like this before.

p9
>You sometimes played with us, and even when we thought, you never thoughtlessly rushed in
>or got angry all of a sudden.
>Is it something I did, Houjou-san?

>...

>It's got nothing to do with you.

>Yuki-chan...
>To think I'd run into her again here of all places.

p10
>So that's what it was.
>To think you were acquainted with Igarashi-san and Houjou-san, Ta-chan. What a surprise~

>Small world, huh?
>Ahaha.
>I wouldn't say I'm that acquainted with Yuki-chan...

>I can't exactly tell her...
>that she came to warn me
>because she was worried about Mai-chan...

>And I never expected
>that you'd become an elemetary school teacher,
>let alone Mai-chan's homeroom teacher, Mado-chan.
>We kinda drifted apart
>after graduating elementary school, after all...

p11
>But
>you've always been good at looking after others, so I can see why.

>I loved watching over others.
>I used to comfort you whenever you were crying, Ta-chan...

>...Although now that I'm a teacher, I know that alone isn't enough.

>Even now, I'm not sure how to deal with kids like Houjou-san.

>...You mean...
>That's why

>I'm kinda relieved to see that Houjou-san...
>getting along with an adult.

p12
>That girl
>hates adults, after all.

>I don't know if you're aware or not, but Houjou-san
>is the granddaughter of Momohana City's mayor.
>Eh!?
>Really?

>Maybe that's why~
>she's so strangely farsighted.
>Now matter what we teachers say to her, she just acts indifferent and ignores us.

p13
>She seemed like a good girl who thought about her friends...
>She always brags about adults to her friends,
>so I thought it might just be the teachers she looks down on.

>She's well-behaved, so the other teachers aren't particularly worried,

>I was still bothered.
>I've tried asking her about it several times
>and when I did...

>My neck
>really hurts.

p14
>No matter how much I look up,
>no matter how far I stretch,

>I couldn't see any of the adults' faces.

p15
>...I'm of no interest or worth to those adults.

>I don't care
>as long as I have close friends.

>Please leave me alone.

>Poor girl.
>On top of having more opportunities to interact with adults than normal kids,
>her parents always come home late because of their work.

p16
>Not only that, but talking about the adults she hates is turning off her friends,
>which might be making her even lonelier.
>...

>That day,

>when she went as far as to lie to get me to distance myself from Mai-chan,
>I thought it was because she was worried about a stranger being around Mai-chan.

>But
>in actuality...

p17
>...If I back away from Mai-chan,
>it might put Yuki-chan at ease.

>...But

>that alone
>Sorry for just talking about gloomy stuff...
>won't rid Yuki-chan of her loneliness...

>I've got it!

p18
>The following week.
>...Why on Earth
>are you bring me here...?

>Onee-san told me
>to bring you along.

>!?
>Actually,

p19
>since when have you two known each other?
>That's...
>...

>What is that woman playing at?
>Don't tell me,

>she's gonna tell everyone about what I said to her the other day...?

>I should really...
>Ah!

>You're here!
>?
>Thank goodness~

p20
>...!

>Oh my~!?

>Who's this girl!?
>A friend of Hitomi-chan's!?

>Those big round eyes and that silky perm!

>Cute...
>Wh-
>Who is this woman...?
>Our friend Shino-san.

>Friend...!?

>Hmmm...
>She seems... cautious.

p21
>Oh? Hitomi-chan?
>What's wrong?

>Mai-chan.
>Hm?

>I want to speak with Yuki-chan alone for a bit.
>Is that okay?
>!

>...?
>Alright...

>Don't take too long!
>Okay!

p22
>...What's the meaning of this?
>Eh?

>I was certain
>that you were gonna tell Mai-san and Hitomi-san about when we met up that day...
>I wouldn't do that!

>I heard from Mado... your teacher
>that you're always by yourself until later after school.

>So I figured you could spend one day a week with us...
>Nobody asked you.

p23
>I bet you wanna show off how close you are with those two
>and say you have no intention of backing off, right?
>That's not...

>Why...
>Why did it have to be them?
>You're an adult, right?
>You can spend time with other adults.

>It's fine if you keep your distance from a grade schooler
>who you only see at the pool every now and then.

>Those two
>are all I have.

p24
>Don't take my friends from me.

p25
>This place

>is somewhere where people of all ages gather,
>from grade schoolers to the elderly.
>Whether you're student or teacher,
>child or adult, it doesn't matter.
>Everyone comes to this place to swim.

>That's how I became friends with Mai-chan.

p26
>I
>want to be your friend too, Yuki-chan.

p27
>Shall we
>swim together?

>...
>No way.

>Eeh!?

p28
>I...
>can't swim.

>That was...
>unexpected.

>However...

p29
>If you
>could teach me how to swim, then...

>....!
>Of co-

p30
>I can teach you how to swim.

>!?

>Mai-chan!?
>You two were taking so long, so I went to fetch you!

p31
>What's this all of a sudden!?
>Eh?
>You can't swim, right, Houjou-san?

>In that case, I'll teach you.
>~~~

>I'd rather have Onee-sama teach me!!
>Onee...!?
>Oh.

>You're back to the usual Houjou-san.

>Thank goodness!
>I was worried~
>...

p32
>But
>you musn't go stealing my swim time with Onee-san.

>...!
>Hrm
>I wasn't sure how things were gonna turn out at first,

>but it looks like
>That's not for you to decide, Mai-san!
>You can just let me teach you.
>I get to stay with Mai-chan and the others for a little longer.

>I've made a new friend, too.
>Things are getting more lively...
>Onee-sama doesn't belong to you!
>You sure about that?
>...Hm?

p33
>I won't let you
>have Onee-sama.
>have Onee-san.

>...
>Hmm?