Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 2 - Spirit

"Wouldn't you say it's a bit rude to stare at women? Fufufu...."

"Ah---S-sorry, I was just---"

"I was just joking." She cut off Lucas with a gentle smile before sitting down next to him.

"Uhm....could you be perhaps---"

"---be related Tokisaki Kurumi, is that what you want to ask? Bin Bon~!" The woman, most likely named Tokisaki, made the sound of a bell as if Lucas had guessed correctly.

"I must say, my daughter is quite shy. She hasn't introduced you, nor did she talk about you. I thought she was already at that age, but Kurumi-chan sure is still a little girl."

"I-I see..." Still a bit taken aback, Lucas forced those words out of his throat. So that was why she felt so familiar. Looking at it now, both of them do look a lot alike. Well, it shouldn't be surprising as the two share the same DNA.

"Do you mind telling me about yourself? "

"Ah...there's not much I can tell you....You see, I cannot remember much of my past. All I could remember was my first name."

"Amnesia, eh? That's horrible. Do you not have family or friends?"

"No, I don't remember anyone. When I came to myself, I was in the house I live in now. I did not have any kind of identification, no last name. When I checked, no one was living in the house except for me. Of course, I was confused. Who wouldn't be?" Lucas explained, lowering his gaze.

Despite the depressing atmosphere, Lucas was smiling. "But, when I met Yamauchi-san and your daughter, I felt something change inside me. I cannot explain the feeling, but it felt....nice."

"...." Hearing Lucas' words, Tokisaki held her breath, before gently laughing.

"W-what?"

"No, don't mind me. Please tell me---about your relationship with Kurumi-chan."

"W-we are just friends, there's nothing much going on between us."

"Hm...That's a bit disappointing." After she said so, she got up from her seat and turned her back to Lucas. However, she stopped her feet before leaving.

"Hey, boy."

"What is it?"

"Please take care of my daughter. She is a wonderful girl, she is smart and full of love.... But, sometimes she is quite naive. I know this is much to ask from me, but I want you to make sure she does not follow the wrong path."

"......" Lucas gulped the saliva that was building up in his throat, before making up his mind. "...Leave it to me."

"Fufufu, you're a great man, boy."

◇

At approximately 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Kurumi trod along the path home together with her friend, commanding a view of the setting orange sun while chatting idly.

"About that, Sawa-san---"

"Hm?"

Being called out by Kurumi, her classmate Sawa tilted her head slightly with a blink of her eyes. She was a plain young girl with maroon-colored hair tied together into three braids.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow? If you're free, I'd like to pay a visit to your house."

"Okay. That'll be fine...... Ah, could it be that you wanted to pet Chestnut again?"

Sawa said with a light giggle. Chestnut was the name of a cat Sawa had brought home and raised. It was a cute American shorthair cat that was brazen and would even act playful with strangers it had met for the first time.