When I asked Rika-chan, she said Satoko might have possibly gone up to the mountain behind the shrine.

She's fond of going there.

That mountain is covered in with trees, vines, and fallen logs, and she really likes the area.

Any child would dream of having a secret base.

...And to Satoko, her secret base is the whole mountain.

However, the mountains were undeveloped territory, making them a dangerous place that was easy to get lost in.

As her brother, I'm a little concerned that she spends so much time on it,

but maybe I should worry more about myself getting lost since I rarely come here.

The mountain gets dark quickly when evening falls.

If I still can't find her, I should look for her somewhere else.

"Satoko!!

Satoko!!"

I'm yelling as loud as I can, but in the woods, my voice doesn't carry that well.

According to Rika-chan, she has been making her secret base in this area. She goes up there alone to expand it.

What does she mean by 'expand it'...?

If it's a secret base, she must not want anyone to find it.

Does that mean she's set up some traps......?

...Considering that, I should have noticed the traps on the mountain before one got me.

"W-Waaaaaah!!!"

Suddenly my foot sunk into the ground and snagged on something like a jumprope tied beneath dried leaves.

I heard some noise from up above, and then a big ball made of branches fell right next to me.

...It had to be one of the playful traps Satoko loved.

If I wasn't so lucky, I'm sure the ball would have hit my head.

"...Oh my!

Look who's here!

It's you, Nii-nii."

"Satoko...!!

No! This kind of horseplay is dangerous...!"

"Did you not see the sign put up by the forestry service? It clearly states it's dangerous to come into these woods.

My wonderful traps will welcome anyone who ignores that warning.

Oh ho ho ho!!"

As her brother, I should stop her from doing things like this.

But when I see her brilliant smile, I can't say anything else. I haven't seen that smile in some time.

"By the way, Satoko,

weren't you told to come home by evening, since we're going out for dinner tonight?"

"...I don't want to go.

Why don't our mother and father go by themselves?

If you want to, you can go with them, Nii-nii."

"...Are you still angry at Father?"

".........

He threw an ashtray at me."

"...No,

that happened with our previous father.

Our current one hasn't done that."

"He locked me out on the veranda.

He didn't feed me lunch.

He complained I got him the wrong brand of cigarettes, then he slapped my face saying I shouldn't be a picky eater!

And then...!!"

...She isn't talking about our current stepfather.

Things about all of our different stepfathers have mixed themselves up in her head.

Every time our mother remarried, we had to call a different man our father.

...The word "father" isn't a word that should be taken lightly.

If you don't truly acknowledge a man as your father, how can you call him that? That's how much weight it carries.

However, just to make things smooth and peaceful, I used the word "father" even if I didn't want to.

But it was too difficult for Satoko, young as she was, to do the same.

Ever since Satoko was very little, she's been having troubles with all our stepfathers. She's never opened up to our current one.

To Satoko, a father figure is no longer someone she can trust.

It's true that our current stepfather doesn't have any experience being a parent.

So he sometimes gets rather upset with her.

But ever since the incident where Satoko called the child abuse hotline, our stepfather regretted his mistakes and tried his best to communicate with her.

Even my mother realized how much Satoko has suffered emotionally when it was pointed out by the social worker. She's doing her part in trying to bring Satoko back into the family.

...But Satoko completely refuses to even try.

......It's understandable though.

Her childhood has been filled with misery...

Satoko can only open up to me.

That's why I have to be the one and only family member she can trust... otherwise, she'll be all alone in this world.

But a brother and a sister alone can't be considered a family.

Even if we don't get along now...

if we continue to communicate, even in a small way... we may be able to become a real family someday.

"Satoko...

our current stepfather is getting nicer.

He says he wants to make up with you."

"...That's news to me."

"That's because every time he tries to say something, you run away.

He wants to talk to you.

He says he won't make you eat pumpkin anymore..."

"...That's a lie.

He said I couldn't leave until I ate my pumpkin, and he tied me to the chair."

Again, she isn't talking about our current stepfather.

"Satoko,

just come home with me, okay?

Mother got a free dinner coupon, and we don't want it to go to waste, do we?

We already have the reservation, so we have to go today."

".........Why don't you go, Nii-nii?

I prefer staying home alone."

Satoko usually doesn't stay out playing this late.

She knows we're going out, and that's why she's out here alone.

Although I want to snap at Satoko, I controlled myself.

Because she only has me.

I can't scare her.

"Please, let's go home, Satoko.

You don't have to decide to go or not right now. You can think about it after we get there.

......Besides,

without your help,

I can't find my way down the mountain."

"...Nii-nii...

I've brought you here so many times already, and yet you still haven't learned?

What am I going to do with you, Nii-nii?"

Satoko holds out her hand.

She often says she's embarrassed to hold my hand in front of people, but she's holding out her hand right now.

I took that hand.

Satoko's fragile hand.

I have to protect her, as her big brother.

"Let's go home, Satoko."

"......Sure."