Have Mercy, ■■■■, on Me 7

Some time later, in a grove near the Tomoe manor

Hiyori: Wheeze... pant...

Heyyy! If you’re here, say something! Umm...

Ugh, it’s really inconvenient at a time like this that I don’t know your name, but whatever!

I guess even if I call out to him, he won’t know what I’m saying. And he probably can’t answer, either.

(...But seriously, where did he go?)

(I wonder if that suspicious person Brother mentioned broke into the manor and kidnapped him.)

(If that’s the case, I should tell Brother about it and ask him to help look for him...)

(Right, I should have talked to Brother from the very start.)

(I made a mistake when I noticed the kid was gone and rushed out to search for him alone.)

Ughhh... today is just one mess after another! What foul weather!

??? (Nagisa): ♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

Hiyori: (...! I know that voice!)

(It’s coming from up above. Oh, I’m so glad... if he can sing, that means he’s probably not in any danger.)

Sigh... goodness, that had me worried.

I thought he was pretty obedient, but then he went and snuck out of the manor...

He’s practically a baby, after all. I guess he just followed where curiosity struck.

...Hm?

(Is that a person? They’re hiding in the shadows of the trees, staring at something... at the kid?)

No way...?!

(I hid too out of instinct, but... could that be the suspicious person targeting the kid?)

(No, anyone who saw a child singing outside so late at night would be worried and try to talk to him...)

(But then again, someone like that wouldn’t need to keep to the shadows like that, right...?)

(So in that case, maybe it really is them...)

(I can’t let anything happen to the kid. I’ll need to be careful—)

(...! Oh no, did they notice me?!)

(Wait, what? They ran away?)

(I thought for sure they would try to knock me out so they could kidnap the boy.)

(Oh, I see. From their perspective, they can’t rule out the possibility that I have someone with me. So that means—)

They ran that way! After them!

(Now that suspicious person won’t think I came alone. While he’s busy, I’ll just—)

??? (Nagisa): ......Hiyori?

Hiyori: ...?! Wait, no, don’t come over here!

??? (Nagisa): ...Ah. (loses his footing)

Hiyori: Careful...!

Hiyori: Eep—whoa...?! (unable to catch him, they roll down the hill together)

Owww... urgh, why’d this have to happen to me? Today is such foul weather...

??? (Nagisa): ......

Hiyori: Are you okay? You... don’t look like you’re hurt. Good.

??? (Nagisa): ......Name.

Hiyori: Huh? What about names?

??? (Nagisa): ......My. Name. ...Hiyori.

Hiyori: No. Like I said, Hiyori is my name.

Actually, does this mean that you’ve been practicing saying your name ever since I kicked you out?

??? (Nagisa): ......Name. Hiyori.

Hiyori: I get it. I completely abandoned you, but you still believed in me this whole time.

...I’m sorry. Like, really sorry.

I was the only person you had, and I left you all alone.

I’ll probably never be as worthy of respect as Brother is.

??? (Nagisa): ...?

Hiyori: ...Never mind. You don’t understand a single thing I’m saying.

Well, it’s getting pretty late. We should probably head back home.

You must be cold, right? When we get home, let’s take a nice, warm bath and go to sleep in a cozy futon.

And tomorrow, we’ll keep working hard at learning, okay? This time, I definitely won’t abandon you.

??? (Nagisa): ... (tugs on Hiyori’s hand)

Hiyori: What’s wrong? The manor isn’t that way, you know.

??? (Nagisa): ......Hiyori.

Hiyori: Huh? Oh, something fell.

It’s a picture. But why would something like this be here...?

W–wait a minute! This is a picture of... you, right?

You look super young here, but this pretty silver hair and beautiful face can only be yours.

??? (Nagisa): ...?

Hiyori: (Hm. On closer inspection, this photo... looks like it was ripped in half.)

(There’s only one person in the picture now, but it looks like there was originally someone else.)

(Is that the person who was holding the kid captive? Or someone else maybe? I can’t tell...)

(Wait, more importantly, why is a photo of this kid here, anyway?)

(It could be a major clue in figuring out who this kid is. If we look into this...)

Huh? There’s something written on the back of it.

It looks like it says, “to Nagisa.” That’s someone’s name?

??? (Nagisa): ...! ...Na...gisa.

Hiyori: ...! You just said it on your own...

Could it be... that Nagisa is your name?

??? (Nagisa): ......Nagisa.

......Name. Nagisa.

Hiyori: ...I get it. Nagisa is your name, isn’t it?

Ahaha. Now that I know your name, it finally feels like I’ve met you for real.

Nagisa: ......Hiyori?

Hiyori: ...Yeah. Let’s introduce ourselves again, Nagisa-kun.

I’m the second son of the Tomoe Foundation, Tomoe Hiyori.

I’ve lived my whole life as a carefree libertine, and I have no intention of changing that now.

But I won’t betray your trust... Nagisa-kun.

The same way you kept believing in me, I won’t ever let go of you.

As your big brother, I swear I’ll protect this precious family we’ve made... ♪

Nagisa: ......♪

Hiyori: ...Huh, so that’s what you look like when you smile.

Nagisa: ......Sssmile?

Hiyori: Yep. When someone is happy or when they’re having fun, they smile.

Fufu. Today was just one thing after another, but at the end of it all, I got to see you smile.

That alone makes today have good weather... ♪