Prologue


TL: Akabane


***


I, Touma Itohara, have a sister who is one year younger than me.  Her name is Saki Itohara.


In other words, I'm the oldest child.


Since we're so close in age, we often fight with each other, but since our parents are busy with their work, so I only live alone with my sister.


If you look at it from a normal perspective, I think we have a pretty good relationship.


"Nii-san, I want to invite my friend over tomorrow."


One day, when we were both in middle school, my sister asked me something like that.


"What's the point of telling me...?  You should have told mom or dad, not me."


"I told them, but they said that I can do whatever I want as long as I can keep my room clean and not do anything weird."


"Well, I don't have a job.  And also, I don't mind.  You can call me if you need something."


"Yes, thank you."


I had no reason to refuse so I agreed without knowing that my choice would have a great influence on my life far in the future──


"Hello.  Sorry to bother you."


"O-Ohh.  Welcome.  Please take... your time."


My sister brought a beautiful girl who made me think that she looked like an actress.


Besides her beautiful appearance, she also bowed politely to me and greeted me, so I was surprised.


"Alright then, Rin-chan, the room is over here!  Nii-san, can you bring us some juice and snacks?"


"Okay."


"N-No, you don't have to do that... Don't mind me."


"Don't worry about it."


Considering that the other party was younger than me, I actually didn't intend to talk to her using honorifics in the first place. But somehow, the atmosphere naturally made me speak using honorifics.


Perhaps because I had been mesmerized by her aura upon seeing her...


"Here you go.  Sweets and tea."


"Thank you very much!"


"Huh, no juice?"


"The only edible thing I could find was chocolate.  Chocolate with tea would be better, right?"


"Well, that's right.  Good choice."


"I'll be back now, and you two can have fun here."


That's all I said at first.


She and I just greeted each other and didn't even have a decent conversation.


That was the norm.


First of all, it's not unusual for your friend's friend to be considered a stranger.


It's not every day that your friend's friend is a stranger, especially since she's a friend of my family member who is the same age as my younger sister, who is of course the opposite sex.


Although I was overwhelmed at first, but I didn't think about it anymore after that.


However, my sister and her friend seemed to get along very well, and she started visiting our house regularly.


In addition, my sister's personality often made her rarely return home on time due to her schoolwork when she had an appointment with her.


"I apologize for this, okay?  She never forgets her promises, so I guess she's late because of something.  But she'll be home soon."


"No, no, don't worry about it."


She smiled every time.


It was impossible not to be mesmerized by the smile of that perfect and beautiful face.


If we made eye contact, then we both became dazed and misbehaved.


"......"


"......"


This was the moment when we both had to be in an awkward atmosphere.


From then on, Rin Mamiya, and I, began to have a strange and distant relationship.


***


"Ah, that reminds me.  Rin, she is going to the same high school as Nii-san."


"Ah, really?"


It was the end of spring break and the beginning of the new school year when my sister suddenly brought up the topic.


I knew the person whose name my sister's mouth mentioned very well.


She stopped coming to our house after the exam season started, but she still came to our house frequently until a few months ago.


By the way, my sister is majoring in music, so she didn't go to the same high school as me.


"But I really have nothing to do with her, do I?  You're the one who brought her here in the first place, so what good would it do for me to meet her?"


"Well, that might be true.  But if something happens..."


She was very close to her and also cared for her a lot.


It was a good friendship, but I didn't want to go out of my way to get involved in it, no matter how much my sister asked me to.


But I knew her well enough to know that she was a good girl.


So, if she was in trouble, then it would be good if I could support her in some way.


However, I feel that this isn't the kind of supportive relationship that my sister has in mind.


I hope we can support each other as senpai and kouhai in the same high school.



PREV | NEXT