A Condition Called Love [Tokyo Revengers]

Chapter 21: A Promise Long Forgotten

"Then what are you?" Izana asked again, gazing her down with narrowed eyes.

"I'm Shin-chan's future bride." Nana replied nonchalantly yet in a serious tone, causing Izana's eyes to go wide open in surprise.

"Eh?! Nana-chan?!" Shinichiro, who was standing beside them this whole time, cried out in total embarrassment. "D-Don't say things like this out loud!!"

"There's nothing to be shy about, Shin-chan. You know I love you." Nana giggled at the bashful older Sano boy in a teasing manner, causing his face to turn deep red in color.

"Shinichiro-Nii's future bride? But isn't he a lot older than you?" Izana asked in confusion, who now looked visibly relaxed after hearing her response, but still gave her a skeptical look.

"Shin-chan doesn't look that old though. Besides, Waka-chan once told me that the 10-year age gap isn't a big deal once you get older and become an adult..." Nana then pointed out to which Izana also agreed.

"Yeah. You're right..." Izana replied before he questioned again. "But why his future bride?"

"Because that's what I promised him... Shin-chan's not that lucky when it comes to women, dating, relationships, and stuff like that.... so I promised him that I'll be his future girlfriend and bride... Also, if I'm like a little sister to Shin-chan, then I won't be able to marry him in the future. That relationship would become incestuous, you know." she explained in a calming voice.

"Nana-chan, please stop making fun of my love life. You're breaking my poor little heart..." Shinichiro animatedly cried to her, a stream of tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Wow. For a little girl like you, that's a difficult word you just said there." Izana pointed out in amazement.

"I love reading books, so my vocabulary is quite strong." Nana stated with a smug face, feeling proud of herself.

"Is that so...? That's impressive I must say." Izana commented as his lips curled up into a small smile before Shinichiro decided to intervene.

Despite their bickering and bantering, to Shinichiro, it seemed like Nana and Izana were getting along quite well. Shinichiro knew the starting wasn't that good and befriending Izana was quite a difficult task, but at the same time, he had his faith in Nana as well. He knew either way Nana would break through the shell and soften up Izana, eventually making the boy like her one way or another.

Besides, Izana wasn't like any other regular child. He was different in his way and Shinichiro was confident about the fact that Nana would have a huge influence on Izana's life in a good way possible.

Even though Nana was generally known to be quiet, shy, and introverted, she could also be warm and friendly toward the people around her if given the chance. Sometimes she might also get talkative and energetic and would showcase personality traits that an introverted person won't show; traits she picked up from her childhood best friends, Keisuke Baji and Manjiro Sano, by being friends with them for years now.

Nana knew from the get-go that it won't be easy to get along with someone like Izana. The half-Filipino boy was different from the other boys Nana was familiar with. Izana wasn't loud and friendly like Baji. He wasn't mischievous yet understanding like Mikey. He wasn't a big-hearted crybaby like Shinichiro or a teasing, lazy bastard like Wakasa. He wasn't even an obsessively loyal dog like Haruchiyo either - Izana was just so different from everyone else.

"Okay. It looks like you kids are getting along quite well." Shinichiro chuckled in amusement before he started to walk away from the scene, leaving the two kids behind alone. "You kids stay here and hang around for a while. I'll be right back in a moment."