"Sister Yuzu... wants a hug from me?"
Sakura Mai looked at the girl before her, who was revealing such a 'miserable' expression, and suddenly felt a surge of pity.
To Sakura Mai, Su Yuzu's sorrow over having her Limited Pool ten-pull forcibly spooked away from Sakura Mai appeared as if she were a pitiful younger sister who, failing to receive care from her older sister, was seeking a bit of comfort from her instead.
Her gaze upon Su Yuzu instantly turned compassionate.
At the same time... she felt Soga Yura was being increasingly excessive. Although during the day, or even just a few hours ago, she was still helping to comfort and look after Soga Yura, the moment Soga Yura was no longer by her side, Sakura Mai's heart tilted toward Su Yuzu again.
After all, over so many years, she had witnessed with her own eyes how Soga Yura hurt Sister Yuzu time and time again. Although Sister Yuzu seemed to strongly endure it every time, Sakura Mai could almost imagine how Sister Yuzu must have cried her heart out in secret.
Because of the special circumstances regarding her 'Father,' Sakura Mai was the only daughter of the Sakura family. It was very difficult for her to even want a younger sister. Sakura Mai had always envied Soga Yura for having such a well-behaved younger sister.
Now... when Su Yuzu stood before her, pitiful and obedient, wanting a hug from her, Sakura Mai simply couldn't find any reason to refuse.
She even wanted to rush out of the movie theater right now, drag Soga Yura back to Sister Yuzu, and teach her a good lesson.
Meanwhile, Su Yuzu... watching the constantly changing expressions on Sakura Mai's face before her—shifting from pity to doting, and then to a determined look like a Knight Princess wanting to defend a princess—she couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura Mai was mentally concocting many, many tragic scenarios that she herself hadn't even thought of.
However—
She really did hope to hug Sakura Mai. To let Sakura Mai comfort her wounded soul, which had been forcibly dragged away by Lyudmila, spooking her Limited Pool.
Moreover... Su Yuzu had a tiny little alternative idea she wanted to verify.
"May I?"
It was a soft, sticky voice that sounded incredibly tender to Sakura Mai's ears. The image she had seen earlier upon entering the movie theater—of Kujou Katora lying on Su Yuzu's lap as obediently as a pet—was completely thrown to the back of Sakura Mai's mind.
"Sister Mai?"
'She called me Sister!'
'She called me Sister!!!'
'Wuwuwu...' The little chibi version of Sakura Mai inside her heart was biting her handkerchief. 'She really is so well-behaved.'
'If only I had such a cute little sister myself.'
"Of course, no problem!" Taking a deep breath, Sakura Mai opened her arms.
Su Yuzu looked at Sakura Mai, who had opened her arms before her. Unlike the image in the character art, where only a few bandages were wrapped beneath the trench coat revealing perfect lines of shoulders and waist, under normal circumstances, Sakura Mai still wore clothes beneath her trench coat.
Under Sakura Mai's somewhat puzzled gaze, Su Yuzu went thump-thump-thump up to the step next to her, making the height difference between the two even more obvious. Sakura Mai was already very tall; with the difference of one step, the height gap between Su Yuzu and Sakura Mai, which would have originally allowed her to bury her face perfectly in her bosom, widened just a tiny bit more.
Su Yuzu hugged Sakura Mai's waist.
Sure enough... even through a layer of soft fabric, Su Yuzu could still feel the vigor and beauty of the girl's waistline. That feeling... was completely different from the soft and squishy Little Rabbit or Mihou Sakai who possessed [Perfect Execution].
It was a feeling named 'security.'
Sakura Mai held her arms open stiffly, looking down at the young girl who had pressed her small head just slightly above her lower abdomen and was hugging her waist with her hands.
She hesitated for a long time before finally resting her hands on Su Yuzu's shoulders.
At the same time—
She looked behind Su Yuzu. That crimson-eyed The Empire's Hound was looking at her with a gaze simply laden with terror.
However—Sakura Mai wasn't afraid of Kujou Katora at all. Others might fear the running dogs of the Fourth Action Division, but she, Sakura Mai, did not. As for their respective strength, a Level 32 Blood Esper might not necessarily be a match for Sakura Mai, who had just ascended to the Third Sequence, on a frontal battlefield.
But... that wasn't to say Kujou Katora was weak. After all, Kujou Katora's battles didn't adhere to any Kendo or chivalry. On the battlefield, she was a true executioner.
Embracing Su Yuzu's soft shoulders with their gentle lines, Sakura Mai stiffened her body, hesitating... before catching the ends of the girl's hair and stroking it lightly.
The girl's wet, warm breath blew through the thin fabric, stirring an unprecedentedly strange sensation in Sakura Mai's heart. It made her want to grip her Sword of Will and find someone to fight three hundred rounds with.
But... feeling the softness of the girl in her arms, Sakura Mai forcibly pressed the Sword of Will back down.
That uncomfortable feeling made her want to arch her waist away. Yet, in order to let Su Yuzu hug her a bit more comfortably, she had to stand there stiffly without moving a muscle. She even tightened her abdominal muscles, just to give the girl a slightly more solid experience.
'Soga Yura, that bastard...'
'To think she actually needs me to help coax her sister.'
'But... this feeling seems... actually not bad?'
The strange sensation that made her want to curl her toes tight enough to grip her soles, as if the arches of her feet were about to bow up and squeeze her shoes, caused Sakura Mai's beautiful emerald eyes to waver.
As for Yuzu, who originally just wanted to comfort herself over the spooked ten-pull and incidentally try to see... if hugging Sakura Mai would trigger a recruitment like when she touched Mihou Sakai back then... suddenly felt that... just hugging Sakura Mai tightly like this felt pretty great too.
After all, while the girl's heart was indeed a tiny bit mischievous, the loneliness of so many years and the soul torn open by Soga Yura hadn't received a single fake blow.
Although she wanted to dive into the arms of a big sister like Ms. Unohana even more—someone who possessed both a human heart and radiated maternal charm—a dashing sister with a sense of security like Sakura Mai... seemed unexpectedly nice too.
Su Yuzu turned her head, hugged Sakura Mai tightly, and closed her eyes.
Sakura Mai looked at the girl in her arms who had closed her eyes and was nuzzling gently against her like a spoiled child; she couldn't help but sigh, and then tightened her embrace a little more.
[Ding—]
[Detected recruitable Operator.]
[Recruit?]
The mechanical woman's voice, which had been unresponsive until now, suddenly chimed in Su Yuzu's ear after both of them had let go of certain things in their hearts.
Was there any need to hesitate?
Su Yuzu gently tapped confirm.
And Sakura Mai... with glistening water shimmering in her eyes, watched the girl extend a small hand and gently poke her lower abdomen.
It was... ticklish...
The girl breathing on her was already ticklish enough, and then she suddenly poked her like a child.
She almost let out a squeak of surprise.
But! To maintain her dignity as a 'Sister,' Sakura Mai forcibly took a breath and suppressed the sound.
In the quiet movie theater, Soga Yura, who was staggering and slowly shuffling away... suddenly felt that something important...
Had been stolen.
________________________________________
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