This story is part of the Wanderer series.
“Have you seen Nozomi?”
Kicking off her sandals at the threshold, Rin stepped indoors. Yuka, carrying an armful of freshly dried clothes, stopped and turned around.
“She’s upstairs, napping.”
Rin let out a protracted groan of disbelief. “Again?”
Yuka chuckled. “With how energetic she is… She must get her energy from somewhere.”
Moving to the table with loud footsteps, she pulled out a chair and plopped down, extending her elbows. “But she naps like… three times a day, or something! No one needs to nap that much.”
Glancing down, Yuka lifted a hand, idly flipping over the collar of the shirt at the top of the pile. “Perhaps you should bring her out somewhere.”
“I was going to!” Rin mumbled, her words repressed by her restricted jaw as she leaned her face into her palms. “I was going to bring her closer to the Tree. But then there’s all these interruptions!”
“How about somewhere closer?” Yuka suggested. “Aren’t you going to visit the shrine?”
“Yeah.”
“How about you bring her to Totsuka’s house while you visit?”
Arching her neck a little backwards, Rin flicked her eyes to the side towards Yuka. “Aren’t you going to visit him too?”
“I will.”
Rin straightened her head, turning her eyes to gaze blankly at the ceiling. “Oh, you want to use the cart?”
“No need.”
“Hm?” She lifted her chin out of palms. “Then, the bicycle? The bicycle can’t fit us all.”
“You two go up there first.” Yuka dropped her arm back under the bundle of clothing. “I can go another day. Send him my regards.”
Rin slouched forward again. “Okay…”
Pivoting, Yuka quietly stepped away, making her way upstairs with the dried clothing. Rin remained at the table, staring with boredom towards the kitchen. Then, all of a sudden, her expression widened, as if she remembered something.
“Wait… but… Trying to carry someone like her on a bicycle…”
Her voice trailed off as she twisted her head and realized Yuka was already gone from the room.