I Won't Let Him

The Lost City of Gold Diggers

HIKIKO couldn't help but admire her little brother, watching the way he slept.

He was so adorable, her SUNNY.

The way he snored. The way he mumbled in his sleep. The way his body and fingers shifted to a more comfortable position.

All the signs of life that HIKIKO learned to appreciate and cherish. Proof that he was alive and well.

No matter what... She promised to protect her little brother. Every last inch of him, from his softly beating heart to the individual strands of hair on his head.

Protect him, no matter what. Because that was what a good reliable older sister would do for her little brother.

HIKIKO smiled as she continued to rub her hand on SUNNY's head and hum her little lullaby to him. Comforting him, watching over him, making sure that his nap was the best nap he'd ever have.

When he eventually woke up, HIKIKO peered down on him with a calm smile to welcome him back.

"Hey, sleepy-head. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

OMORI slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he returned from his slumber.

Was that... a dream?

"C'mon, up and at 'em." HIKIKO encouraged lightly, jostling her hand on his head gently to wake him up faster.

It took a few blinks for OMORI to fully wake up. Sitting up from his sister's lap, he rubbed his eyes as his foggy mind became clear.

A memory... back when he was just nine years old.

Well... He certainly wasn't expecting something like that to happen.

A dream within a dream.

How crazy...

"So, feeling better after that nap?" HIKIKO asked.

HIKIKO watched as her little brother turned around to look at her.

She felt herself pause the moment they made eye contact.

There was... There was something in his eyes that bothered her a bit. Something that she thought felt unnatural coming from SUNNY.

Some sort of sadness, lingering from the way he looked at her.

It was only for a brief second, but she caught it before he had the chance to hide it.

"SUNNY? You okay?" She couldn't help but ask out of concern.

OMORI closed his eyes, giving a soft sigh as he shook his head to himself.

"No, it's nothing." OMORI replied, "Just had a dream."

"Oh." HIKIKO smiled, before saying, "Was it a bad dream?"

OMORI didn't respond verbally. Instead, he just shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet.

With a bit of concern in her tone, she pushed on, "Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you if you need me..."

OMORI shook his head again, "No, it's fine. I already forgot most of it anyway."

...

It couldn't be her imagination, could it? Just her being worried and overprotective over him like she usually was?

HIKIKO wondered if it was the same thing that was bothering him since the ship ride here. Ever since she and their friends found him back at the beach, her little brother has been acting just a bit differently. It was subtle, but HIKIKO could feel that there was something wrong.