Back at the Uesugi Family, after lunch, they rested for a while.
Hanamaru Hanabi slipped her socked feet into the sky-blue sneakers, matching the color of the sky, and then sat up on the veranda’s wooden planks outside the guest room.
Standing on tiptoe, she adjusted her position for comfort by looking around.
At this moment, the sun was at its most radiant, shining on the girl in her summer outfit, making her appear cool and lively.
"Are you ready?" Uesugi Sakura asked her with sparkling eyes.
"Hmm..." Hanamaru Hanabi nodded, "But Sakura-kun... why are we going to that place?"
"It’s a secret," Uesugi Sakura replied with a slight smile, "Just like how little Hanabi watches those risqué videos and doesn’t want me to know."
Hanamaru Hanabi blushed, the summer sun making her even more dazzling than usual.
It was probably because her fair arms and legs were exposed, reflecting more light.
"Didn’t what?" Uesugi Sakura moved his face closer.
"Didn’t watch those... risqué videos..." Hanamaru Hanabi said, turning her face away from the scent of his closeness.
Uesugi Sakura assumed she was too shy to admit it and rubbed her soft cheeks with his hands:
"Girls always have their little secrets, it’s okay if little Hanabi doesn’t want to tell Sakura-kun, Sakura-kun understands."
"Hmm~~ I understand."
With two wooden swords on his back, Uesugi Sakura smiled, his handsome face framed by the blue sky behind him, leaving the girl a bit dazed.
"Let’s go to Sakura Hill first."
Sakura Hill is not a hill, but a mountain.
A large mountain that straddles Katsuyama Town and Matsuyama City.
Due to its geographical features, Shikoku in Japan was once a secluded and backward region.
With mountains surrounding and roads impassable, even after the construction of the 3,911-meter-long Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the Shikoku region still retains much of its original appearance.
As they stepped onto the slightly alkaline soil of Sakura Hill, a nearby moss-covered stream gurgled beside their ears.
The pine trees here were lush and green, with trunks and needles soaring skyward, blocking out the sun.
The air mixed with the fresh scent of earth and young grass, a deep breath brought undeniable pleasure.
After walking for a while, the incessant song of summer cicadas became somewhat tiresome.
Uesugi Sakura crouched on a large pebble that was half-submerged in the stream and scooped up a handful of water to wash his face.
The clear stream crashed against the stones at the bottom, creating a sound.
Shaking the refreshing water from his face, he looked at the forest glade stream surrounded by pebbles.
Then he turned to speak to Hanamaru Hanabi in the back, who was eating spicy crackers:
"Do you want to wash your face?"
Hanamaru Hanabi shook her head, her soft, adorable shoulder-length hair swaying as her little head shook.
Uesugi Sakura didn’t say much, he turned back, placed his hands on his hips, and took a deep breath of the forest’s aroma.
Then, expanding his chest, he faced the clear stream and said to the girl who kept eating and eating:
"Hanabi, didn’t you used to bathe in this stream? Do you remember?"
Hanamaru Hanabi certainly remembered, because it was him who had bathed her here, but she silently lowered her head and continued munching on her spicy crackers.
Uesugi Sakura approached her side, leaning in closely to sniff her neck.
The scent of the girl.
Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at him, feeling his smile was a bit odd, "You can have the spicy crackers."
"I’m not hungry." Uesugi Sakura’s smile widened.
"Sakura-kun..." Feeling strange, Hanamaru Hanabi called out again.
Uesugi Sakura smiled without saying anything, and after she called out once more, he suggested:
"Why don’t we... take a bath here together?"
The little stream gurgled, bathing with the girl in the clear water, with intimate clothing casually piled on the pebbles nearby.
Hmm... the scene was already forming.
Hanamaru Hanabi’s soft cheeks puffed up as she whispered softly:
Of course, Uesugi Sakura knew she would refuse, so he mimicked her childhood voice, sweet and soft, to plead:
"Sakura brother, Hanabi... wants to bathe here... Can Sakura brother help Hanabi...?"
Feeling shy, Hanamaru Hanabi took a few steps back, burying her face.
Uesugi Sakura looked at her and continued: "I initially refused, but little Hanabi, all dirty, clung to me crying, pleading for a bath, so I reluctantly agreed."
At that time, she had tripped, plunging her little head into the grass. After Uesugi Sakura pulled her out, she cried for quite a while.
Hanamaru Hanabi looked up cautiously, "Sakura-kun... that was so long ago... it’s different now..."
"The only difference is that little Hanabi learned about risqué things and became shyer," Uesugi Sakura sighed, facing the towering pines, "Sakura-kun just innocently wanted to help little Hanabi take a bath."
Even if Hanamaru Hanabi was naive, she wouldn’t believe what he said.
She clearly hadn’t watched any risqué videos, he just wanted to mess around while she was bathing.
"Sakura-kun... I don’t ..."
"Why don’t you like it?"
"Because clearly... you just want to touch Hanabi..."
Hanamaru Hanabi meant he wasn’t being honest at all.
"Then..." Uesugi Sakura stood there with a face full of smiles, his handsome face dappled with green from the shade.
Hanamaru Hanabi, with her delicate, cute face, stood there with small feet contemplating, looking at the soft grass under her sneakers and said in a soft, shy voice:
Such a quiet voice, only a good guy like Sakura could hear it.
Uesugi Sakura didn’t really mean it, he just found little Hanabi too adorable not to tease.
Unexpectedly, she really agreed.
He walked over, gently touched her smooth cheek, and took her soft little hand: