Ver 1.
00
I had the feeling that the blue of the sky was extremely clear.
Unlike in the city, it was a genuine blue.
In the same way, it seemed that even the white of the clouds were different to the ones seen in the city.
I wonder if
it's because the air is getting cleaner.
The excitement of going on a trip was settling down and now, while listening to the sleeping-inducing kachunk kachunk I began to feel completely bored.
:
Every so often, a telephone pole would stream past the edge of my field of vision.
I remembered that when I was young, I would entertain myself by counting those telephone poles.
That I would count while imagining myself jumping from pole to pole as if they were stakes sticking out of the water.
I had thought that this was a wierd fantasy that I dreamt up, but the criminal in a mystery novel I had read recently did the exact same thing.
The fact that someone commendable thought in a similar way to me gave me a weird feeling - a mix between security and doubt.
:The flowing scernery was monotonous; just the sight of it made you weary.
It's not like I hate relaxing, but continuing monotany is another thing all together.
However, because there was another traveller on this trip
:Hey, you want some Pochy?
:
That said, Sora had been gazing at the scenery without even the slightest movement since a while back and gave no response.
:With an attitude that didn't take anything like my feelings into account, she continued ignoring me.
Maybe she was still angry at me dragging her out of the house so early in the morning.
But that was something that couldn't be helped.
Because she was someone who you couldn't just leave alone.
:"A younger sister knows not the older brother's heart"
or something like that.
I took a stick from the box I was holding out and shut the lid.
Still a bit less than 30 minutes until we change trains.
As for when we get to our destination, we still have the same time to go as the amount of time taken already.
Once we get over there, I suspect it'll be really busy, so maybe it's a good time to get some sleep.
I sank deep into the chair and closed my eyes.
The carriage was more quiet than I thought it would be, and the boredom inducing kachunk kachunk and shaking of the train seemed to act as a good lullaby.
:Ow!
A sharp, sudden pain made me open me eyes and look at Sora.
:W-What?
As if she'd calcuated the exact time at which I'd start to fall asleep, I was lightly jabbed by a toe.
:At the same time, a hand was extended out towards me
geez, I wish she were more straightforward.
:Here!
When I held out the box, she took it.
::Oi oi, leave some for me?
:Sora, who had just not wanted any, ate her Pochy and turned away.
:While this is considered usual to us, I wonder why it's so hard to get an answer out of a real sister?
:
What?
Probably troubled by me wordlessly looking at her, she looked towards me as if it were a huge bother.
:Nah, it's nothing
I'm gonna sleep a bit.
:okay
After murmuring that single word, Sora looked towards the window, and this time as I tried to slowly close my eyes
:hmm?
I felt something being placed in my lap.
Upon looking, it was the Pochy box she had just taken.
:You can have the rest, Haru.
:Ahh, that okay with you?
What is it with her?

something to do with being left alone?
So the jab just before was for that reason too?

*Sigh*, would you call her perverse or just meek?
:But, don't eat them all, okay?
So saying, she deftly took a few sticks from the box in my hands.
:Oi oi, which is it then?
:hhuh?
I could see her hide her embarrassment by munching on the Pochy.
Well, things like this are cute too, I guess.
But with things like this, I guess I won't be able to sleep
Giving up on the nap, I returned to watching the scenery.
The place we are heading to now is our father's hometown.
There's no one there anymore, but a long time ago our grandfather and grandmother lived there, and every summer holiday we'd stay there for as long as two weeks.
When we were little, we'd eat sweets just like we are now, as well as talk to our mum and dad.
So doing, we'd arrive in a blink of the eye.
But this time, it's surprisingly far
:How many years has in been
since you last went there?
:dunno.
:It was when you were little, so you don't remember very well?
:stop treating me like a child - especially since we're the same age.
:the last time you went was "that" time, right?
I'm not treating you like a child.
:hmph.
That's right, we're both the same age
twins.
For convenience's sake, I'm treated as the elder, but as far as Sora's concerned who's older has no meaning and we're of equal standing.
So whenever I start treating her like a child, she gets pissed.
But that can't be helped, mother always told me to look after her and I've continued doing that all the time.
:The places you used to like will still be there.
:I'm not really sure if she's listening or not, but I continued the conversation.
The conversation about the countryside we went to when we were young.
:
:Haru?
:Having continued a conversation that was mostly one person talking, I was attacked by drowsiness at some point and fell into a light sleep.
:Sigh
When I vaguely regained consciousness, I got the feeling that my head was wrapped in something soft.
:Always deciding things by yourselfalways trying hard by yourselfalways taking the responsiblityReally, Haruyou're an idiot
Absorbing that comforting feeling, I lost consciousness.
:Haru!HeyWake up!
My shoulders were being lightly shaken.
:Haru!Haru!
:ugh
ahhhhave we arrived already?
It feels like I've just been seperated from something warm.
I could feel a faint sensation from my arm.
It's as if I was touching something warm
:
Apparently, we're about to arrive at the station.
:Is that so?
*Yawn*As the train began to decelerate, I was thrown forward while trying to stretch.
:
*stumbles around* Umm
nothing left behind, right?
That said, our luggage consisted of a small bag and rubbish like the box of sweets we'd finished eating and juice boxes.
I was looking after Sora's ticket as well, and both were in my pocket.
We will be arriving in Hozumi shortly.
Please take care not to leave behind anything.
:Off we go.
:The train pulled into the station.
Finally.
:I came here of my own choice.
There's no going back now, and I have no intention of doing so.
Because it's a place from where I have a lot of memories, it's not unfamiliar, but despite that, I have a lot of anxiety.
But
I think we'll make it somehow
Sora
and Me.
Just the two of us.
How long has it been since Sora has had to walk for such a long time?
:sigh
Are we there yet?
It had been around 40 minutes since we started walking from the station.
:Tired.
Which makes it the umpteeth time that Sora has uttered that word.
:It's not everyday that you have to walk this far, so I know it's hard on you
but there isn't very long to go.
Hang in there.
:You said that last time.
Well if you're only going to say the same thing, I can only say the same thing back.
:We've walked further since last time, so we're definitely closer.
:Uuu
it doesn't even give me peace of mind.
Judging from that weak voice barely leaking out of her, it's clear she wasn't acting.
Although we rested every now and then, this was probably very hard on her feet.
She never did have much physical strength
:At any rate
this is some nice weather we're having
The more enthusiasm I put in my voice, the more it feels that the sky I'm looking up at now is further away than when it was on the train, and that no matter where you look, it's just blue.
To our relief, at least the air was as clean as the sky was clear
that said, there was no humidity and even places with a rustling of wind.
Thanks to that, we could walk without sweating much.
If we were having the same stubbornly still air that we always had in the city we were in just until this morning, we'd be sweating buckets and there's no doubt even I'd be whining.
:Here, I'll push you from behind, so hang in there.
As I tried to reach for Sora's back, she quickly ran away.
:Stop thatit's embarrassing
:It's not like anyone's looking
If you don't like it, then please just walk and bear with it.
Just as we tried to continue.
:Huh?KYAAHHHH!
:Hm?
What's up?
Gripping my shirt sleeve, Sora hid behind my back.  
:Something just jumped out from the bushes over there!
:Eh?
Just as she said, a big, green insect had hopped out.
:Hiiii!
:Ahahaha!That's just a grasshopper.
2 or 3 more hopped out after the first.
:UuuuuGet away!
:Ah, Oi, oi, wait up!
With that, Sora tried to briskly escape from here.
:Hahaha, that's right you used to be scared of grasshoppers back then too.
:S-Shut up!Stop laughing!
:Sorry, sorry.
Anyway, let's get out of here.
As if being chased by grasshoppers, Sora stepped up the pace.
Thanks to that, we were able to arrive at our destination quicker than I thought.
Hurray for grasshoppers, I guess.
:We've finally arrived.
:Tired
Losing strength, Sora plopped down onto the ground.
In front of our eyes stood a worn out house with no signs that a person was living in there.

Kasugano Hospital.
So read the worn out sign which hung from the door.
The person who I had called "grandpa" was the town doctor, and the one who I had called "grandma" was the midwife.
This hospital was managed by the two of them.
Both of them served the community until their deaths.
I remember that grandpa was tall and skinny, while grandma was short and plump.
Both of them were really kind, and both me and Sora were pampered by them.
After they died, there was no one to succeed them, so in the usual fashion, the place was cleaned out and closed.
Because it wasn't used for such a long time, before we came here, we hired a contractor to clean out the place and get the lights, gas, etc working so that it was fit to house people.
:
We'll be in your care from now on.
After bowing lightly in greeting, I once again looked up at the building.
As long as I'm with Sora, we'll somehow be able to live here.
As long as it's this place, where childhood memories remain
then we should be able to do it easily.
There's no turning back.
:Now then, we have to do some preparations before the removalists arrive.
Sora, sorry about this, but I'm thirsty, so can you please go to a nearby vending mechine
Before I could finish, Sora had already charged into the house.
:Heeey!
Don't you want any juice?
:Yes.
Unexpectedly, Sora poked her head out, said one word and prompted returned into the house.
:So the one going to buy it was me
I began feeling slightly downcast.
After a while, the removalists' truck pulled in.
A mountain of cardboard boxes was efficiently brought in.
To some extent, they set up the big things for me, so I indicated the location of things like the pantry in the kitchen.
:Where's Sora
I followed a trail of luggage which steadily stretched towards the back.
Sora had taken up positions in the room at the very back.
:This room's not going to be hit by the sun much, that okay with you?
:I hate it when it's hot anyway, so it's fine.
:On the other hand, it's probably going to freeze in winter.
:Hmph
:Also, mosquitoes are going to come in, so if you're going to open the window we'll have to get a flyscreen.
:What about insecticide?
:Haven't bought any yet.
Though I thought we'd just set up a mosquito net like in the old days.
:can't be bothered.
:
there you go again.
Oh, after you finish organising the stuff over there, could you help be with the stuff outside?
Just as I started saying that, she opened up her notebook computer.
Looks like she doesn't even have the slightest intention of helping
:Hey, we're not connected to the internet yet.
:Eh?Why not?
With a click, Sora closed her notebook in a clearly foul mood.
:Well, we did only just move in.
:Tsk, more like because you're an idiot
:So I'd be happy if you'd helped me organise -:What?
:Once we're done, I'll go buy the sweets and ice-cream that you like.
:Don't want any right now.
:Not just one, but two or three?
:in the first place, I can't be bothered.
:Stop saying that
come on
2 hours later.
:*pant*
It's done
somehow
I plopped myself down onto a chair in the kitchen.
Before heading over here, I had tried to reduce the amount of luggage as much as possible, but because even the bare essentials were numerous
taking them out of the boxes, sorting through and then arranging them required quite a bit of effort.
It was a relief that Sora helped out, but unfortunately we hadn't finished everything yet.
:Haru.
:Thanks Sora, you were a great help.
:
:If I had to do this all myself, I probably wouldn't even be half finished.
:Haru
:So if you can help me with the resthmm?
:Hungry.
:Huh?O-Oh, right
As expected when you work continually, I only noticed that I was also hungry when she said that.
But what can I do
we didn't pack any food in the luggage.
And we finished the sweets we bought before getting on the train even before we started unpacking.
so
I guess I'll have to go out and buy something.
:I'm going shopping then.Is there anything that you want?
:sweets.
:Anything else?
:nope.
:Okay.Here, the rest of the tea - drink up and have a rest.
:it's warm
:You'll have to bear with it.Okay, I'm off.

It's far.
The sun had completely gone down and the crows had starting cawing.
:Really, the countryside is like thus, huh?

Was it like this before?
I was looking for a convenience store, but despite going all the way to the station, I couldn't find anything.
When I asked a passerby if there were any, he'd said that there was one on the prefectural road, but
it was depressing that getting to that prefectural road would take 30 minutes by car.
Instead, he told me where a supermarket was, so for the time being, I went shopping over there.
While I wouldn't call it a supermarket, since it was really just a powered up greengrocer, it was a sort of lifeline.
A bike's going to be neccesary here
preferably a motorbike, but

:?

I suddenly heard something and turned around.
I thought I had heard the karakara sound of a bike being pushed, but
:?
But the only thing there was the road I had been walking on.
Maybe I'm hearing things because I was thinking about bikes.
But a bike
I'm sure the difference between having one and not having one is huge.
I had never ridden one when I lived in the city, but over her
going anywhere would make it indispensible.
:Hmm?What the
I get the feeling I just heard the noise of a bike again.
Upon looking around again, there wasn't even a shadow of a person.
There was a dilapidated famhouse though.
:
Well, whatever.
The same hallucination caused by my wanting a bike?
Going crazy because I'm too tired?

:hmmthat boy isAha!eheheheHe's come back
:I'm ho-huh?What's wrong?
:late.
:Oh, sorry.I couldn't find a shop, so I got stuck wandering around here and there.
:I was starting to think you ran away.
:Huh?
No way
:That.
Upon looking at what Sora was pointing at
a mobile phone sitting alone on the table.
:oh
I forgot to bring itsorry, sorry.
::In any case, I've bought some stuff, so let's eat.
:
whatever.
An ill-humoured voice sounding like she'd thrown everything away.
:O-Okay
As I approached her, she gave me a quick scowl from below.
:Okay, I'm really-
:grrr
Sora brought her face so close that we could feel each other's breath.
Her small eyes staring straight at my apologetic ones.
I also looked in Sora's eyes
the me reflected in her eyes.
We're twins, so it was a situation which felt like something magical, but also like staring into a mirror.
Even I, the older brother who she had spent a long time with, could not understand what she was thinking behind those firmly staring eyes.
But
I felt a sensation of being drawn into those eyes.
At that moment.
:Ow!Sora?
The moment I flinched, a bag of potato chips was pulled out from the bags I was holding.
:H-Hey that's mine Consomm flavoured chips!
:huh?
:*Sigh* Don't eat them all, okay?
Sora walked off towards the back of the house without a word
Well, it can't be helped.
My being late is a fact, afterall.
When I opened my mobile phone, I found a truckload of missed calls and new emails.
Those missed calls and email were all from Sora.
"You're late" "Still out?" 
"What're you doing"
"Haru?" 
"Stop that"
"Answer me"
"I was starting to think you ran away.", huh?

"Sorry, I'm really sorry."
Entering only that, I sent the email to Sora.
From the back of the house, the sound indicating a new email could be faintly heard.
The reply came immediately.
"Idiot"
The following day.
When Sora woke up, the sun was already a considerable distance up.
:
Where's breakfast?
:'Morning
If you want bread, we have some.
And there's some milk and orange juice in the fridge.
I had finished my breakfast long ago and once again started to unpack our luggage.
:Where's the sweets?
:For now, before eating sweets, go eat some bread.
:Toasted.
:You can do that much yourself.
:I could hear the beep beep of the toaster oven in the kitchen.
she can do it herself, right?

The sound of the microwave/toaster oven combo's whurring vibration could be heard.
:Oi oi, that's set it microwave mode.If you don't press the Toast button, that bread's just going to turn hard.
After a beep, the cancel button was pressed and the microwave stopped.
:But whatever was cooked in here before was microwaved
:Eh?A-AhI didn't really know how to use it beforeBut, we won't make that mistake again, right?
:That's why I told you to do it.
:Geez, learn it for yourself too.
:
There'd be no problems if you just toasted it for me.
:If could learnt how to do it, you could toast delicious bread by yourself.
:Is it ready yet?
:Geez, yeah yeah, you'll have to wait 3 minutes.Here, drink some milk first.
:Okay
After standing there holding the glass of milk I passed to her for a while, she began to drink as if she had no choice.
:

That's enough.
After drinking about half the glass, she childishly refused to drink the rest.
:Don't drink it all in one gulp.
You can drink the rest with the toast.
Sora sat down onto a chair without a word.
:We're in this condition afterall, so you'll have to put up with just bread and milk.
That said, it's not like either of us can cook anything that's not instant very well.
Maybe easy things like fried egg or salad
but even then, the frying pan and even the kitchen knives are still buried in the cardboard boxes.
At any rate, I'll have to somehow think of at least what to eat for dinner.
I don't know if you'd call me omnivorous or just a simple eater, so if it were just me I could just eat anything
but Sora's a fussy eater.
She refuses to eat cup noodles which we could easily cook, and she has many other likes and dislikes.
Nevertheless, since we were in the city up until now, we could handle her somehow
but what are we going to do from now on.
The supermarket is far away, the convenience store might as well be at the end of the earth, so just how am I meant to get our meals ready?
I wonder if the people who live here are sustenance farmers 
And while I was worried about various things a mere student shouldn't be thinking about, the toast was ready.
:Here, toasted.
:Where's the usual jam?
:We have none.I'll go buy it today.
:grrr
:We only just moved here, so we'll get things organised first.
After tearing off the crust and dipping it into the milk, Sora began eating.
:Hey.
:Hmm? What's up?
:I can't connect to the net.
:I said it yesterday didn't I?We haven't signed any contract yet.
Speaking of that, I wonder if they even have internet in this area?
:If we can't connectit'll be inconvenient.
:Once we settle in a bit more, we can go find out. Until then, you'll have to put up with the mobile internet.
:Do it as soon as possible
:Okay, okay.
Speaking of the internet
If we can't connect to the internet, then she probably won't be able to shut herself in her room
Like she used to.
In a room where the only lightning comes from the computer monitor, she'd plant herself in front of the computer
Reading through various BBS's
saving the latest meme pictures
Just watching her do such things makes me think it's probably better if we don't get any internet
But
While coming to the countryside makes it a good chance, I have a feeling not having the net might cause other problems.
Furthermore, the shopping over here is inconvenient, so having the net will definitely be handy
Not having it has advantages and disadvantages, having it has advantages and disadvantages, so what I am I suppose to do?
:Oh, that's right.I'm going shopping again, so if you want anything write it up on some paper for me.
Oh and I was thinking of buying a bike as well, do you want one as well?
:noyou can pedal for me.
:you plan to always be sitting behind me, huh?
:Thanks for the meal.
Without even responding to my question, Sora stood up and put the tableware down
which means that's a yes
Oi oi, doubling up on a bike is forbidden by law, you know?
:*sigh*ah, can you go wash those?
:Ehhhhh?
:
Put them in the sink for me then.
:*Nod*:*Sigh*Maybe I should buy a dishwasher as well with a bike
:As I thought, first comes a bike
I had thought it'd be good to buy even more than yesterday for the future, but I'd completely forgotten that I had to carry all this home.
The plastic bags I was holding in both hands contained rice, meat, drinks, as well as sweets and jam for Sora.
Their weight probably easily exceed 10kg.
Unable to support their weight, the plastic bags are starting to stretch.
If I don't move carefully
well even now it seems like they'll tear soon.
For Sora's sake I have to hurry up and get home
but if I hurry, the bags will break
:
GuuuuThe bags were digging into my finger joints, and they were starting to get numb
Maybe I should rest a bit?
:
HaaaaAfter gently putting the bags down, I could finally feel the blood flowing in my freed fingers.
:How much longer is it to the house
I feels like I've walked a long way, but judging from the scenery which I'd started to remember, I'm probably around halfway.
:hmm?Email?
Subject: BikeA mail with no text, just a hyperlink
must be from Sora
Bike?
To do with our conversation just before?
:Letsee what we have here
After opening the hyperlink, a picture of an electric bike was displayed.
:She thinks I should get one of these?
I'd be great if I had a bike right at this moment
that said, I am in the middle of realising that I can't live without one.
To send a picture of a bike at this exact moment
makes me really admire the fact we're twins.
:The price is800000?!
What?
You could easily buy a bike for 10000yen these days
for this amount you could get a second-hand motorbike.
Hmm
there's no way Sora's thinking of riding it herself, but on the other hand, I doubt she's doing this for me
Picked it because she could ride behind me without slowing me down
no doubt about it.
I'd bet on it.
:Geez
that's so like her.
I couldn't help but have a bitter smile, but
well I can be thankful for the change of pace during a break.
:Well then, time to get going
*grunt*The fact that she sent an email must be a sign that she's probably starting to get bored and ill tempered.
Thinking that, I tried to raise the heavy bags, when
:HUH?!
A bag I was holding broke with a snap, and the contents of the borked bag flew out.
:*Sigh*
Now what am I supposed to do
Just as I was looking absolutely dumbfounded at the remains of the plastic bag in my hand
you okay?Eh?
A hand reached out from behind me and softly picked up the things that had fallen from the borked bag.
:Eh?Ahthanks
Ů:Seems quite packed.
:Ahwell
Forgetting to start picking it up myself, I tried to chase that outstretched arm with my eyes
when our eyes met.
Ů:
:
Eh?
That face
In my head, a faint, fleeting image suddenly became clear and definite.
Ů:*Gasp*
:Hey
The girl's eyes opened wide with an expression of shock, and then her face quickly because flushed, changing into an expression of happiness.
Ů::Haru-chan?
Nao-chan?
The two words came at the same time.
:Long time n-
Whaa?!
ξw:Haru-CHAN!
Suddenly, I was violently hugged.
The sensation of her slender arms and soft body
I could feel it strongly.
A faint, girly smell wafted into my nose, as a tender warmth was steadily passed to me.
ξw:Haru-chan!You're Haru-chan, right?
:Yeah, long time no see
ξw:Why?
Her fast throbbing heart began to echo throughy my body.
ξw:If you're were going to come over here, you should've said something
A pleasant voice flowed into my ears
it was nostalgic, but a bit different to what I remembered, probably because she's grown up.
:I just got here yesterday.
Still just the sensation of beingly tighly hugged.
ξw:Where?
:Grandpa's place.
ξw:Ah, is that right?

Because she was hugging me while talking, Nao-chan's
huge rack
was moving up and down.
ξw:You've really grown up
:You too Nao-chan
Without thinking, I replied in an admiring tone.
I don't think they had this much volume before, but
No, let's not think about that for now
Nao Yorihime is a girl who lives close to us, though 1 year older.
When we used to come here for the summer holidays, she would always enthusiastically look after us.
It's been how many years since we last met
but it seems her bright and kind personality hasn't changed at all, and for that I'm really happy.
Even though we only met by accident.
:
ξw:
:However, this is troubling
It doesn't seem like Nao-chan's going to let go.
:UmmNao-chan?
ξw:Hmm?What's wrong?
:S-Sorrydo you think you could let go?
ξw:Ohwas it painful?
:Ah, no, that's not it, but
ξw:Sorryit's just that it's been so long.
After squeezing once more as if reluctant, Nao-chan let go.
ξw:I was watching an unfamiliar figure from behind and thinking, "Who is that?".
Especially since he was staggering under those heavy looking bags.
:Y-Yeah.Well, I guess I did kinda of overdo it.
ξw:Looks like it to me.Wait a moment, I'll help you.
:T-Thanks
Nao-chan picked up the rest of the things that had fallen out.
ξw:Don't worry about it.But you moved in suddenly, I was surprised.I've seen some tradesman going in and out of that house lately, so I thought the house was falling down.
:Oh, that was probably the cleaners and renovators.
ξw:Ehhh?So, what're you doing here at this time?Getting it ready for another summer holiday retreat?
:AhhWell
Against an extremely natural question, I fumbled
But this topic will doubtlessly come up again.
And if it's to Nao-chan, I can't avoid telling her.
ξw:Ohif it's too difficult to talk about, you don't have to tell me.
:NahRather, it's something I have to make clear to you anyway.I couldn't possibly hide it and keep going, and in the first place, I have no reason to hide it.
:Recentlymy parentsboth of themdied in an accident.
ξw:Eh?Nao-chan's face stiffened for a moment.
:I'll leave out the details for the nowbut me and Sora have come here to stay.
ξw:Is that rightI'm sorry, making you talk about such painful things.UmI
:Nah, it's okay.It's in the past.and we've already determined to see this through, so don't worry about it.Rather, you've made it easier for me to say by asking first.
ξw:Yeahif that's the case, it's okay, but.But, if you have any problems, come see me straight away, okay?We're going to be living close by in any case, and no holding back between us, right?
:Yeahthanks.
ξw:Aha, you can count on me!But for now, it's moving these bags, right?
:Ahh yeah.
Finally, the strange atmosphere between us had cleared and we'd returned to the same sort of conversation as in the old days.
ξw:Well then, I'll take these then.
Nao-chan held the things I'd previously dropped.
:Ah, yeah.
Thanks for that.
ξw:We've arrived.Hehe, my arms are a bit tired.
:S-Sorrybut you were a big help.
When the plastic bag broke, I honestly didn't know what to do and just stood there dumbfounded.
ξw:Ahaha, the expression on your face at that moment was cute. I wonder if you've had that expression when you were here before?
:Eeeh?I was making such a face?
ξw:I didn't realise it was you at first.But when I was picking those things up, I thought "Huh?". After that, I suddenly recognised you
:It's a good thing I recognised you straight away.
ξw:Yeah.Both of our memories of the past
A-Ah!
That's right, do you need help with anything else?
If so, I'll help out with anything.
:Nah, I'm okay for now.I'll invite you over again once I've unpacked everything.
ξw:Then there's no point of my offer to help.Ah well, that kind of stuff you need to do yourselves, I guess.
:Yeah, and we've already finished unpacking all the big things anyway.
ξw:Is that so?Ummmyou're going to the school over here too, right?
:That's right.We can't go yet because of the situation, but once we're settled.
ξw:Roger that.In that case, I'll tell you about the school next time.
:Okay, I'll be counting on you.
ξw:Well, I'll be going them, see ya.
:Yeahthat's a lot.
ξw:Ah
:?
ξw:I'm gladwe were able to meet again.Heyn-nothing happened after that?
:eh?
ξw:I-It's nothing.See ya.
:Nao-chan
Nao-chan waved back once and left.
"After that"

After the last time I came here on for summer holidays.
When Nao-chan said "memories of the past".
She was thinking about
:I turned around after hearing some noise, and saw the curtains in the medical examinatin room swaying.
The next day.
:Hellllloo?
:hm?
I wonder who that could be?
Coming!
ξw:'Morning, Haru-chan.
:Eh?Nao-chan?M-Morning
ξw:What's what that sleep face? Don't tell me you were sleeping just then?
:I couldn't finish unpacking for this and that reason.
In the end, I stayed up doing it and before I noticed, the date had changed.
ξw:O-Ohsorry for waking you up.I said it yesterday, but if you need anything, I'd be glad to help out.
:Nah, I'm sure we're almost finished anyway
ξw:Is that so?Well, when school's finished, I'll come again and help you unpack.
:Er
Now that she's said that, I just noticed
Nao-chan's wearing a school uniform.
ξw:Hmmthat means you'll be able to come to school faster than you thoughtright?
:A-yeah.
Once we've settled i-
well, I guess we already have, and we've already turned in the paperwork for a school transfer.
I think we'll probably be getting a call from the school soon.
ξw:Right, right Do you know the way to school?
:Umm
I'm pretty sure we got faxed a map, but
ξw:Mm.But when the time comes, I'll show you then way then.
:Okay, thanks.
:Haru?
At that moment, a faint voice calling my name came out from behind me.
:Eh!?
ξw:Ah, Sora-chanisn't it?
:Grr
My reunion with Nao-chan was yesterday
so this is probably the first time Sora has seen Nao-chan since we moved here.
:Sora, do you remember her?
It's Nao-chan, she used to take care of us when we were young.
:
:?
What's wrong?
At least say hi.
ξw:N-Nahthat's fine with me.Long time no see, Sora-chan.
:Hmph
:Oi!Sora!!
Without waving once, Sora returned into the house.
:Sorry about that Nao-chan.I wonder what's up with herNo matter how long it's been, she shouldn't have any reason to take that attitude towards Nao-chan
I don't get it. 
ξw:I wonder if something's happened?
:I don't really know, but sorry about the mood getting sour.
ξw:I-it's fine, don't worry about it.Andthis is probably really hard on Sora-chan too, she probably has something on her mind.Oh!I have to get going or I'll be late.
:Ah, sorry about holding you up like this.
ξw:It's fine.Okay, I'm offI might drop by once school's over.It's probably really hard for you with the unpacking and stuff, but it's be great if you could rely on me, just like in the old days.
:Okay.Thanks, Nao-chan.
ξw:Say hi to Sora-chan as well then.
:Okay.
ξw:Well then, See ya.
:*Nod* Bye.
While waving a countless number of times, Nao-chan headed towards the town.
:School, huh?
It's probably about time for the letter of confirmation to arrive from the school.
Once that happens, I'll have to start thinking about school too
I'm going to have to think more seriously about our lives from now on.
:but before thatOi!Sora?
I'm worried about her attitude towards Nao-chan just then.
Us three used to play together, so I would've thought she'd also be attached to her.
:Sora.?
I knocked on the door of Sora's room:What happened just then?
From inside the room came the creaking of floorboards.
She didn't want to let me in
I could feel that sort of aura oozing out.
:Whatever the circumstances, you shouldn't behave that way to Nao-chan.Say sorry to her next time.
That's why I decided to just shout from outside the room
and then leave straight away.
:you idiotHaru
:Sora, wake up!Breakfast is ready!
It's already the fourth day since we moved here.
We'd somehow unpacked and organised everything, and settled into this living environment.
The school had also contacted us, and it was finally decided that today would be our first day of school.
:Sorrraaa, we'll have to all sorts of introductions before classes start, so please hurry up!
No reply, not even a reaction.
:don't tell meshe's still sleeping?
Although we have settled in, we still don't have internet, so I don't think she could've stayed up late
:Sorawake up.We're going to school from today, right?
:I'm not going.
:You're not feeling well?
:It's not that, but
:If you're okay, then eat your breakfast and we'll go together.
:no way.
:"No way"?I told you last night, didn't I? That we were going to school today.
:I don't want to.We don't have our uniforms yet.
:That can't be helped.We're going to order them now, afterall.
:So I'm not going.
:Sora
*Sigh*
This is troubling.
:I'm not going.
:Even if you say it a hundred times
Hellooooo?
:Hm?That voice is Nao-chan's isn't it?Coming!
:
:Sorry for the wait.
ξw:Good morning, Haru-chan.
:'Morning, Nao-chan.Thanks for coming all this way.
ξw:No worries.In the first place, it's on the way.
I told Nao-chan that we were going to school today, so she came over for usbut
:UmmSorry about this, but we're not exactly ready yet
ξw:Oh?Okay, I'll wait out here.
:Oh, in the case, come in and wait, standing is tiring anyway.Let me at least pour you some coffee.
ξw:Thanks, I'll do that then Excuse me.Oooo, you've arranged this quite nicely.I was thinking it'd be more of a mess.
Nao-chan, who has come in after, spoke with admiration in her voice.
:Well, that's expected.All that's left are the minor details, afterall.
ξw:What's that?If there's nothing for me to help with, that's boring.
:What's that meant to mean?
ξw:Hehe, I'm jokingUmmyou're not ready yet because you haven't eaten breakfast?
Upon seeing the plates organised on the table, Nao-chan asked this with a bitter smile.
:Hahait's a bit embarrassing.I didn't think you'd arrive so early.
ξw:Ah, that's to be expected since I came earlier than normal.I was going to walk you to school, afterall.
:Are we still okay for time?
ξw:Yup, even if you ate breakfast now, we'd still make it with time to spare.hat's good.If we had to rush to school now, then that'd be a pain.
:Ummin that case, have a seat.
ξw:Okay, excuse me
:I said coffee, but it's instantthat okay with you?
ξw:Of course.I'm barging in anyway, so there's no need to take my order.
After pouring hot water from the pot into the mug, the smell of coffee filled the air.
:You want the normal amounts of milk and sugar?
ξw:Thanks, but you've done enough for me, you have to hurry up and eat too.
Nao-chan pointed to the stone cold toast on the table.
:Oh, yeah you're right.Okay, I'll eat.
As I reached out for the toast, Nao-chan took a sip out of her black coffee and smiled.
But then her face suddenly stiffened.
ξw:Haru-chanI've said this countless times now, but if you really have any problems, be sure to tell me, okay?
:Eh, what's wrong?
ξw:Well.it must be really hard for you to live here with just Sora-chan.So, I want to help as much as possible
Nao-chan looked directly towards the floor.
ξw:I never really spoke to either of your parentsbut that really was an unfortunate accident
:Ahyeah
A dull pain ran through my heart, as if trying to tear it apart.
It's strange.
I was supposed to be determined to see this through, but the shock from our parents' death as well as the anxiety afterwards came bubbling to the surface.
When I say it myself, I'm okay because I've mentally prepared for it
but when someone suddenly brings it up like this, I'm reminded of how hard it is to get over it.
My parents died in an accident.
On a car trip home, they were hit by another car.
Just minutes before the accident, I'd heard their voice on the phone.
At that time, if only I had dragged the call on.
At that time, if only I hadn't said some needless things
The direct cause of it was of course
that nameless person someone who crashed their car into my parents'.
But at that time, the words I had said then
if I had changed something even slightly, I wonder if that would have prevented the accident
Even now, those thoughts still run through my head.
The sense of regret constantly attacks my heart.
ξw:S-Sorry.looks like I made you remember it again
:A-Ahnah, it'sfineI'm okayIt's no use.
Nao-chan has nothing to do with this.
I can't let Nao-chan
no, I can't let anyone make that kind of face at our situation.
:A-AnywayWell, it was hard for just me and Sora to live over thereso
Quite forcibly, I changed the topic.
ξw:Ahyeah, it would be.I don't know much about big cities, butit sounds really tough, so I think I understand.Compared to the city, this place is full of inconveniences, but at least it can guarantee a quiet liferight?
:Yeah, that's what I thought, soSo we returned here.
ξw:So, Haru-chanit's okay for you to just live the way you want to.
:Nao-chanThanks.
When I realised it, it had just about become time to go.
ξw:Leave the dishes to me, you hurry and get ready.
:Eh?
I can't let you do that
ξw:Oh, hush.Leave this to your onee-san.I said this before, but no holding back between us, right?
Pointing to her mouth with her index finger, I caught a glimpse of her maturity.
Upon seeing Nao-chan say that with a bright smile, my heart skipped a beat.
:A-.Ah, sorry about that.Okay, you do that then
While hiding my slightly flushed face, I quickly headed towards the bathroom to brush my teeth.
Rather than become cute, I think Nao-chan has become pretty.
In the old days, my heart would skip a beat at that smile too.
A reliable onee-san
I had thought I had to become someone who could do everything, but when she says that, I might slowly end up relying on Nao-chan
:On the way to the bathroom was Sora's room, whose door was shut tight, unchanged.
:Sora, are you really not going to school?
The hand I had reached out to knock on the door
just stopped in midair.
With Sora's personality, it would get really messy if I forcibly took her with me when she didn't want to.
If the uniforms arrive quickly, we can go to school together, so until then, it's probably best to leave her alone.
I may be spoiling her, but
There's no use wasting time here, so I headed towards the bathroom.
:Sorry about the wait.
ξw:Eh?Where's Sora-chan?
:We don't have uniforms yet, so she think it's embarrassing
ξw:Embarrassing?Oh
because being the only one would stand out?
But Sora's really cute, so that's a good thing isn't it?
And I don't think anyone would care about little things like uniforms.
:Well, she doesn't really have that sort of personality.
ξw:Is that so
:Soraaaaa!I'm off, so mind the house for me, okay?Even after shouting into the house, there's no reply.
I was a bit worried, but I decided to lock the door.
:Well, let's go.You lead the way.
ξw:Yup.Okay, we've arrivedAfter about a 30 minute walk from the house, a school building could be seen jutting over from the surrounding paddy fields.
:As I thoughtit's farTo get to the school we had to go back towards the town with a stationand then it was beyond some endless, spread out rural landscape.
ξw:Really?
Oh City people probably all just get on a bus or train to school, right?
:Well, not everyone, butthere are a lot of people, so there are schools everywhere.
ξw:Ahh, I see But since I'm too used to this place, I can't really imagine that.
The school building itself wasn't that big, but after some months and years, it seems to have gotten its own style, so I could see it was a good school.
ξw:Have you memorised the way here?
Well, I don't think it's really a road you can go lost in, though.
:Yeah, thanks.I'll be fine, somehow.
Compared to a city, there was nowhere near the difficulty of muiltple forks
but since the scenery is nothing but oversized paddy fields, it's easy to forget where you are.
ξw:Umm.you still seem a bit lost.I can walk you back home if you want.I don't mind waiting for you after school.
:Nah, if it's just the return trip, I'm sure I'll work it out somehow.
ξw:Oh?Butyou don't mind if we walk home together normally, right?
:Ah, yeah.I'd be happy to.
ξw:Hehe, well let's go to the staff room.I've got to change my shoes, so wait at the entrance of the staff room for me.
:Okay.
Nao-chan disappeared into the entrance.
:Hozumi Academy, huh?
From now on
this will be me and Sora's school, huh?
It'd be good if it worked out well
especially for Sora.
Even this morning, she was like that

Nervous.
While I was trying to look away, the eyes in the classroom were gathering on me
it was hard to get away from it.
The noise made by the teacher writing my name on the blackboard was unnecessarily loud.
:So, from today, Kasugano Haruka will be joining this class.
I'm sure there are things he doesn't understand, so help him out.
The homeroom teacher was as big as a bear, and rough to boot.
I'm sure he had great strength, and could probably put up a fight against a real bear.
Fitting his appearance, he had a rough personality, as if he just didn't care.
His explanations and warnings were cut down to the bare minimum.
:Okay, Kasugano, say a few words.
:EhAhOkay.
R-Right
this is really hard.
:I'm Kasugano Haruka.Please to meet you.
I couldn't think of anything smart in my head, so only the most commonplace things to say came out.
:Okay, then your seat will beFurthest to the back, next to the window.Your eyesight is okay, right?After that isyou have all the textbooks?
:Yes, it's fine.And I just received all the textbooks.
In a extremely heavy bag whose string seems like it'll tear off soon, lay a lot of textbooks.

of course, Sora's lot as well. It's going to be hard carrying both lots home
:All right, from today onwards, study hard!And with that, home room's over.
Ů:Stand!Bow!
After looking over the attendance record once, the teacher left the room
and I was left standing alone on the stage.
If someone had come in then, I'd probably look like foolish.
:UmNormally, I'd go over to my seat, say hi to the neighbours and that'd be itright?
F-For now I have to get to my eat
Ah, no, before that I to get rid of that huge name written on the blackboard
In a way which even an outsider would know I was panicked.
I tried to reach for the blackboard eraser, when
Ů:L-Let me do it.
:Eh?T-Thanks.
The blackboard eraser was picked up by a slender arm.
Just like that, she started erasing the huge name on the board with gentle but skillful movements.
This feeling that I'm her apprentice
is just my imagination, right?
Ů:U-UmmI'm the class rep, Kuranaga Kozue.Pleased to meet you.
ίTL:UmmIf you have any problems, feel free to ask me.I-I'll help in any way I can.
:Uh.huh
ίTL:AndU-UmmAfter this, if you I cangui-
:Eh?
ίTL:I-It's nothing!It'd be great if you could get used to this quickly.
:Ahyeahthanks a lot.Her head which she had turned to look at me while the rest of her continued cleaning the blackboard had for some reason turned all red.
:UmmClass rep?The blackboard's already clean
ίTL:Ahh!W-What am I doingE-Excuse me, then
:What was that just now
Taking advantange of a hurried retreat to her seat, I also headed towards my designated seat.
It wasn't at Moses' command, but for some reason it looked like the passageway between the desks had gotten wider
it must be because I'm still nervous.
With these thoughts in mind, I arrived at my seat
as if finally being able to guarantee a place to stay, I had a feeling of relief.
After putting the extremely heavy bag to the side of the desk and starting to take out the books inside
I suddenly rememered something.
Come to think of it, Sora got placed in a different class.
Well, we are twins, as well as transfer students, so it would normally be unthinkable that we'd be placed in the same class, but
I became really worried that upon hearing this, Sora would not want to go to school even more.
But this one thing can't be helped
even at our previous school we were normally in different classes.
There should be no problems if she gets used to it.
Just that I have a feeling that there will be a mountain of trouble until she gets used to it.
饹`:Yo!
:Eh?Oh
Suddenly, the person in front of my called out to me.
饹`:It's not really a common time to transfer, eh?
:W-WellI suppose that's true.
With a loosely worn school uniform and traces of a beard on his jaw, his image was far from a student's but
I got a feeling of frankness that fit his appearance.
Strangely unnervous, I was happy that he tried to talk to me.
饹`:Well, I'm sure you have your reasons.For now, pleased to meet you.I'm Nakazato Ryouhei.
:*Nods* I'm Kasugano Harukapleased to meet you.Just Haruka is fine.
ƽ:Oh?In that case, just call me Ryouhei.
:Okay.Pleased to meet you, Ryouhei.
Ahh what is it with the school
no this town.
from the beginning I get the feeling I've been able to talk to people with no effort.
:The room which until now had been extremely lively had suddenly gotten so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Eh
what's this?
Did I say something bad?
At some point in time, everyone had focused their attention on me.
Well, not attention, but
that face you make when someone has touched something that shouldn't be touched.
:W-What's going on?
But Ryouhei didn't even look like something was wrong.
What on earth is going on here?
:H-hey
Ů:'Mornin!
:Eh?Ah.yeahgood morning.
This time, it was the girl next to me who gaving a strange greeting and bounced into the conversation.
Ů:Please to meet youummit's okay if I call you Haru-kun, right?
:N-No, not at all.PlPleased to meet you.
I was a bit surprised, since I didn't think anyone would suddenly call me that on our first meeting.
But I didn't really care about what people called me, and she was charming and I couldn't feel anything discomforting from her.
Unlike the rest of the class, who were wearing anxious faces, this girl was smiling.
She was small and had an aura similar to a small animal.
One look at that innocent smiling face
and even I get the feeling that she's not thinking about anything.
ƽ:Ahh.This is Amatsume Akira.Just call her Akira, That's okay with you, right?
:Yup, that's fine!In that case, just her Kazu-chan.
Ů:Hey, don't just decide that yourself.
This time the girl next to Ryouhei
in other words sitting in front of Amatsume stood up.
She had a strict look on her face, but despite that a neat and clean feel.
She would fit the idea of a beautiful girl exactly.
ƽ:Why not?Even Akira agreed to just Akira, afterall, right?
:Right!So, Kazu-chan should be okay with just Kazu-chan, right?
Ů:That has nothing to do this!
And don't just follow on from what he says!
The girl scowled at Ryouhei and Akira, ruining her beautiful image.
Still with that scowl, she looked toward me.
:(Shit!?)
һ~:AhSorry about thatI'm Migiwa Kazuha.Pl-Pleased to meet you.
:U-UmMigawa-san then.Pleased to meet you too.
һ~:Yeah
As if getting embarrassed by her own actions, her face turned red and she tried to make herself smaller.
:Kazu-chan would've been fine though
ƽ:Of course it would've meet, right Kazu-chan?
һ~:Like I said, stop saying that so casually!
ƽ:Hahaha, you worry too much about these things!
Well, it must be fate that we're all in such nearby seats, so once again, pleased to meet you!
:Please to meet you!
:Yeah, pleased to meet you.
Migiwa said nothing, but bowed her head slightly.
At that time, the sound of the chime came through and everyone started to prepare for the next lesson.
ƽ:Oh by the way, I'll show you around the school at lunch.
:Okay, thanks.
:The next period is
what?
һ~:English.
:Ahaha, really?Thanks Kazu-chan.
After plopping herself down onto her seat, she didn't start to prepare, but instead looked to me with a smile.
:Hmm?What's up?Something on my face?
:No, it's nothing.
:?
I once again adjusted my seating and took out the English textbook.
After quickly flicking through and checking what was in there
:Oh crap, the stuff's completely different to my old school's.
Well, now that I say it, it seems obvious.
Althought I only murmered it, Amatsume seemed to have caught what I said.
:It's okay~ If you don't understand something, Kazu-chan will kiiiindly explain it to to you.
һ~:Eh!?Why me!
ƽ:Yup, this kind of stuff is the responsiblity of the smart one, right?
һ~:S-Stop deciding things for me
:Nah, it'll be troublesome for you, so I'll somehow manage.
ƽ:No need to hold back, it's for times like these that we have friends.You know what they said, a friend in need is a friend indeed.
:Friends
ƽ:Friend in need, right?So when I'm in trouble later, you can help me out.Especially in the girl department.
ӢZ̎:Oiii, Nakazato!
Being friendly to the transfer student is good and all, but you better put in some effort this year, okay?
ƽ:Yeah, yeah, I got it.Don't repeat for 2 years straight and all.
Eh?

repeat?
I suddenly remembered the time when the class jumped when I called him Ryouhei.
In other words, Ryouhei was a senpai one year above
but I unknowingly
At that moment, Ryouhei turned back to look at me.
:Ah
ƽ:Hehe, don't worry about it.Actually, worrying about it is banned.
After quickly winking at me, he turned back to face the teacher.
ƽ:Besides, I get to revise this all again, so it's better for me, right?
ӢZ̎:Hoooh?You'd even say that?I'll be looking forward to the end of term exams!
ƽ:That said, I'll be counting on you, Kazu-chan~
һ~:
Did you just forget what you, yourself, just said?
ƽ:Hehe, something about friends, right?
:Friends, friends~
һ~:Shut up, Akira!
ӢZ̎:Okay, let's pick up from last time.Kasugano, come collect the printouts.As for notes, you can get them off Kuranaga or Migawa.
:SureKuranaga is
oh, the class rep.
To me, she's already been embedded as "The Class Rep".
ӢZ̎:Okay, we're going to continue with this translation
The teacher turned to the blackboard and started writing.
:*Sigh*At any ratecatching up is going to be hard
ƽ:Well, you'll get used to it gradually.It may look like this, but it's actually quite a relaxed school.
:*Nod*, okayI'm trusting you, Ryouhei.
ƽ:?ehehehe, you and I are going to get along well.
After pausing in surprise for a second, Ryouhei's face lit up.
:Probably.
As Ryouhei stretched out his fist towards me, I lightly punched it.
As if confirming our friendship.
ƽ:*Stretches* Ahhhungry, hungry~.Well then, let's go grab a bite to eat, then I'll show you around.Haruka, let's go.
:Ah!!Ryou-niichan!Wait for me!
:Ryou-niichan?
ƽ:Akiraa, I've told you not to call me oniichan at school, right?If it starts some weird rumours, it'll be a pain~ 
:Ehh?But I've always called you that since we were young, so it's a bit late now.
:are you two cousins?
:Nope, note even related.
ƽ:Uhat best childhood friends, I suppose.Childhood friends, huh?
ƽ:Did you bring lunch today, Haruka?
:Nope, I thought I'd go out and buy something.
:Ah, in that case we'll show you to the store first.
ƽ:Oh, yeah let's do that.Okay, follow me.
Being led by Amatsume and Ryouhei, I headed towards the corridor.
:Does the store also sell food?
ƽ:Ahh, of course.
There's pretty much nothing around here.
So the store's basically a lifeline.
:I see
come to think of it there weren't any convenience stores on the way hereHuh?
һ~:As we tried to leave the classroom, Migiwa-san followed us.
:Huh?You coming too, Kazu-chan?
һ~:If it's just you two, I'll be worried.
:Is that okay, Migiwa-san?Wouldn't it be a problem for you?
һ~:No, if it was just those two, I'd be worried sick.
ƽ:Ouch that's harsh.You said "worried" twice.
:Yeahbut today should be okay, right?
һ~:Not just today, you should alwyas behave yourselves!In the first place, I'm always having to yell at you.
:Now now
In any case, it's lunch tie right now, Migiwa-san, so
ƽ:Right!Okay, let's go, everyone follow me.
һ~:*Groan*Migiwa-san dropped in behind me and followed them, probably intending to keep the on a leash.
:I'm sure these three have been together for a long time.
I guess the serious Migiwa-san is the one who tries hard to keep the other mischievous two out of trouble.
һ~:In any case, that piercing lookisn't directed at me, is it?
һ~:
She was like that before, but for some reason I get the feeling that she's in a bad mood.
һ~:Of course, I have no experience with this, but this pressureeven if it's bad, it's worrying me.
Well, since she following us, it should at least mean
she has a kind side, right?

Surely.
As this extremely weird 4 person group walked along
:Ehhhh?
What're you doing, Double Akira?

Double Akira?
Just before I realised it was Nao-chan's voice, I was caught by that strange name.
ƽ:Oh, if it isn't Nao?
I was going to show the transfer student the school's conventions.
ξw:Ehh?
Doing something good for a change?
Considering it is you.
ƽ:Shuddap.
ξw:Just as poor Haru-chan transfers in, he gets caught by the weirdest person in the school.
Must be tough.
ƽ:H-"Haru-chan"?What's with this overfamiliarity?HUH!?Haruka, youdon't tell me you
:Eh?Ahno
ξw:Well, we live close to each other, right?~ 
ƽ:Huh?What's that?!Oi, are you serious?
:Ah, yeahwe do live close, butMy grandfather used to live hereso when i was younger I used to come here to play, so I've known Nao-chan since then.
ƽ:You serious?!DAMMIT!How could you form a a good relationship with him before me!!!
:Ehhhh, if that's the casse, then me and Haru-kun are also childhood friends.
һ~:EEEHHHH!?
:(Shit!?)
һ~:Ahsorry for using such a loud voice
I was completely surprised by Migiwa-san's surprised face and voice
:EhUmmsorry, was that the case?
:Yup.We went cicada hunting behind the shrine, remember?
:Cicada hunting?
While racking my brain to think of a scene where I was having fun cicada hunting, I once again looked at Amatsume's smiling face.
All of a sudden, various images flashed in my mind.
:Ah
come to think of it
oh, right
yeah, I think I remember a bit.
One time in the past, Naochan wasn't around and I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I went walking around the town alone.
At that time
I
:How'd it go?Do you remember me yet?
:At that time
we
Yeah, we definitely
went cicada hunting at the time
:We fell of a hill too, right?
һ~:EEEHHHH?Were you okay!
:(Shit!?)
All of a sudden, Migiwa-san started patting Amatsume's body in a panic.
:Ahaha, silly Kazu-chan~ Okay of cooourse, After all, it was something aaaggees ago.
һ~:T-That's true
When it comes to Amatsume, Migiwa-san is like a different person
ƽ:Going diving off hills when you were young?Epic childhood friends, huh?
ξw:That's the first time I've heard about it
The memories were slowly surfacing.
That's right.
We went out into the forest behind the shrine, we tried to catch a cicada on a tree on the way up the hill, when
:Just recently, I saw Haru-chan shopping at the supermarket and thought "Yay, Haru-kun's returned!"I was sooo happy.
:R-Really?Ah now that I think about it, when I was returning from the supermarket for the first time, I felt someone there.You saw methen?
:Yup, secretly.
һ~:S-Secretly?
ƽ:Doing your strange things, as usual.
Ryouhei started patting Amatsume on the head.
:Ahahah~Although it wasn't really praise, for some reason, she seemed happy
If I remember correctly
even at that time
she was like this

Like electricity running through me, I suddenly remembered.
Right
At that time, Nao-chan was didn't show up as expected, so I didn't know what to do with the free time
Carrying a bug net, I went around the paths and trees looking for bugs to catch.
Just as I was stagger around
Amatsume called out to me and we went to the forest behind the shrine.
There were tons of different kinds of cicadas over there, but I sucked at it and couldn't catch any.
Amatsume encouraged even me, and found lots of places with cicadas in them for me.
And then
I tried to catch a big cicada on a sudden incline
We tumbled down the hill
we weren't seriously hurt, but
But
at that moment
I
Amatsume's
:!!
After having my hands squeeded tightly, I was brought back to reality.
:It seems you've remembered now, right?
With a smile, Amatsume looked up and me, shaking my hand gently.
:Ah.yeah
how do I say this
sorry
for that time
:Don't worry about it, you don't have to apologise~I'm glad you remembered me.
But in my head, it still felt hazy.
It felt like there was some fog in my head
something I just couldn't remember.
And I wass attacked by a sense of duty, telling me that it was something I had to remember.
Amatsume looked into my worrying face, and gently smiled.
:It's a good thing we got to meet again like this, right?
:Yeah
As soon as I received that smile and those words from Amatsume, whatever was behind the fog instantly disappeared, along with the fog.
ƽ:AhOi Haruka.Do you remember any time that we met in the past?
ξw:Too bad for you, there's no such connection.
ƽ:Dammit!Even with no such past, we're going to become friends with no match!Right?Right?
:A-Ahaharight
:Well, let's go, let's go.If we don't hurry, all the fresh cream will sell out.
:Fresh cream?
ƽ:Oh, buns with fresh cream inside.It's all this girl ever eats.
:It's realllyy taste and I reallly recommend it!
:R-Really?
With my hand tightly being pulled by Amatsume, we pressed on.
That warm and slightly fleeting hand gently enveloped my hand like it did in the past and led me away.
Touching a girl was a bit embarrassing, but more than that it gently raised the nostalgia and stirred an aching happiness in me.
ƽ:Whoo!Over, finished for today.
The moment the chime ended, the classroom erupted in a roar of conversation, full of the sense of freedom.
:Hehit's been a while since I felt such an atmosphere
ίTL:K-Kasugano-kun.
:Ah, class rep.
ίTL:H-How was was your first day here?
:Hahaha
as expected, being thrown into a 6 period day is tiring.
ίTL:Hehehe, is that so?
Good job then.
:But I can't let myself be tired over just this, I'll have to get used to it quick. Suddenly, I caught sight of the heavy looking stack of printouts that the class rep was holding.
:Ah, by the way, did you need me for something?
ίTL:Ah, yes.
Here, it's the printouts that the teachers wanted me to pass over to you.
And here's a copy of the notes that I had one me. And here is the uniform's order form, a map of the shop and phone number.
Do you know how to order it?
:Yeah, if I follow what's on the order form, I'll work it out.
Thanks for the help, class rep.
ίTL:N-No, it's nothingif I can be helpful, I'll help out
:Heeeh?These notes are neatly written and easy to follow.
This is a lifesaver
I'd given up hope on today's lessons, so with this I can try to catch up.
ίTL:I-It's n-nothing special
if you don't mind my notes, you can copy them whenev-ƽ:Hoho
transfer student
catching all the girls on your first day?
You're making me jealous, you!
:O-Ouch!O-Oi, give me a break
ίTL:I-I'm just covering for him as a classmate!There's no other reason!
ƽ:In that case, if I'm in trouble, you'll help me?
ίTL:Good job today.
ƽ:Oi, wait up!!
The class rep quickly left the classroom.
ƽ:*Sigh*.What's up with this?No fun at all.
:Huh?
ƽ:Well, you're a transfer student, but you've already got a lot of people you knowwhat do you call it?You're lacking the freshness of a transfer student.
:Even if you say thatI've come here countless times as a kid, so it can't be helped.
ƽ:Well I suppose that's truebut sicne you grew up in the city, I'm sure you're finding something hard?But, relax, I've got your back!
:HahaI'm counting on you.
ƽ:All right!To deepen our friendship, let's grab a bite to eat and go home!
:Ah, sorry, do you mind if we do that some other time?
ƽ:Ehhh?What's with that?It sucks to get turned down straight away.
:Nah, I really have to get home quickly today.
ƽ:Hmm?You made a promise to someone?
:Not really a promise, but I'm a bit worried about that I left my sister at home.
ƽ:SISTER!?
:Yup.
ƽ:Whose?
:Well that'd bemine.
ƽ:Hoho~If you're siblings, you must be a bit alike, right
:W-Why are you staring at my face?
ƽ:OniisanWell, let's go home!
:
ξw:Ah, Haru-chan!Tch, you're here too, huh?
ƽ:Yeeah, Haruka invited me, so there.
ξw:Haru-chan, it's best if you don't assosciate with such disgusting people, you know?
:Ahahahaha
ƽ:Calling me disgusting is rude, you know? Especially since I'm so reliable.
ξw:Hhhhmmm?Reliable, huh?
ƽ:D-Don't make fun of me!W-What do you think, Haruka?
:Ehummwell
ξw:There you go, Haru-chan's weird face answers it.
ƽ:O-Oi Haruka! We're friends, right!?
:Ah, Ryou-niichan!
ƽ:What, even you're going home now?
:Yup, that's right~
һ~:
:The way home is the same anyway, so let's go home together.
һ~:Ah, I'm
ᥤ:S-Sorry for the waitojousama.
:Eh?When I looked towards the unexpected voice, I saw a car and
ᥤ:
һ~:Thank you, Nogisaka-san.
W-What's this?T-Those clothes mean, the so-calledMAID!?
No matter how and where you look for it, that maid outfit only appears in dramas and movies, yet here was a person standing here wearing it.
In these days, I thought you'd only find one in Akihabara!
She looked only a bit older than me.
She looked a bit embarrassed, wary of everyone else's stares, but
well if you're going to wear that, you can expect to be uncomfortable.
It seems everyone in the school grounds was looking at her.
һ~:Sorry Akira, but I'm going home first, okay?
:Bye bye, Kazu-chan~Migiwa-san bowed once to us, then headed towards the car.
ᥤ:Sorry about that, everyone~While apologising with one hand, the maid followed Migiwa-san.
And then, the car which Migiwa-san and the Maid had hopped into drove off somewhere leaving onto the soft engine noise.
ƽ:I wonder what the Ojou is up to today?
:Hmm, she said she had to go with her dad do a dinner party.
ƽ:Hmmm, busy as usual, I see.
:That's amazing, getting picked up by a car and even a maidMigiwa-san's a real ojousama, huh?
:Yup, that's right~ƽ:The so called daughter of the personage, Okukozome.
:Personage?
ƽ:As I remember it, he's a member of the Diet, ojousama's dad.
:Is that so
ƽ:Shouldn't you have had things like daughters of politicians everywhere in the place you used to live?
:I wonder
I didn't know anyone like that, at least.
Also, the place where I lived wasn't that big of a city.
Just a small, normal residential area.
ƽ:Aw, that's no fun.
:Haha, there's no way interesting things could pop up so readily.
ƽ:I suppose that's true.Oh well, let's get going.
ξw:Yeah, let's go.Haru-chan, let's go together.
And like that, my first day of school ended.
at first I was afraid it'd be an unsociable rural circle, but at least for today a lot of people called out to me.
With my prejudice blown away, I was really happy, 
I wonder if it's just because transfer students are rare.
But to make some close?
friends this quickly?
It made me think that things would be okay.
Now, if only I could get Sora to go to school
:Now thenwhat to do about tonight's dinner
Every time I stand in the kitchen like this, I can't help but admire the mothers around the world that have to do this every day.
:If it were just me, I wouldn't care about when we eat or even not eating at all, but
But there's no way I can let Sora not eat.
In any case, when the environment changes, cooking for yourself is hard.
Over here the supermarket and convenience stores are far, and it's no like in the cty, where you can get something no matter how late.
:
Guess I'll be going,To some extent, if I don't save up food in the fridge, if there's an emergency, I'd be worried.
:Soraa!I'm going out for a bit.
:
if something comes up, call me on the mobile, okay?
As usual, there's no answer.
She probably heard me
this time, I made sure to put my phone in my pocket, ans went out.
:hm?
Subject: Sweets
:
so she did hear me.
No message in the body, a concise request for sweets.
:Geezif you're going to have to send and email, it wouldn't been quicker just to reply when I asked
Closing my mobile while sighing out some unforgivable feelings, I made my way towards the supermarket in earnest.
If I had thought about it properly, it wouldn't been more efficient to drop by on the way home from school.
Next time, if I'm not walking home with anyone like today, I'll drop by on the way home from school.
As I was walking along a road of seemingly unchanging paddy fields
:HuhHaru-chan?Short time no see.
:Ah, Nao-chan.
ξw:Going out at this time?Ah, shopping?
:Yeah, that's right.Heading to the supermarket at the station.
ξw:Hmmm?Ah, if that's the case, I'll show you something good.
:Eh? What?
ξw:Hehe, if you follow me, you'll understand!
At Nao-chan's suggestion, I followed her.
It was a road different to the ones I know, but realxed scenery was unchanged.
ξw:At any rate, I didn't think I'd be walkign with you like this again.
:yeah.I'm counting on you again.
ξw:It's nothing, actually, I'm quite happy.It's like going back to the past.
:I suppose it isyou taking me to various places, playing around
ξw:Hey, Haru-chan
:Hmm?
ξw:After you returnedummnothing happened?
:Eh
ξw:Ah, it's nothingthings were quite hectic
:Yeah
ξw:Sora-chanbecause of your parents?
:Well, there as that, but she's always been prone to sickness, so she's shut herelf in quite a lot.
ξw:Is that so
:What's wrong?
ξw:It's nothing, you're having a hard time, so I'm just thinking how I can help
:Just that feeling is enough, you're helping me out now, afterall.
ξw:That's true, but
We've grown, right?
:And despite all that, we've grown, right?
ξw:Oh oh, standing on your toes, eh?
:Geez, you can't keep bringing out that image of that little boy you knew, you know?
ξw:That's right, to me, Haru-chan hasn't changed at all since back then.But, in the time we haven't seen each you've becomestrong, right?
:I wonder if that's truesometimes it feels like it's just time flowing and me just barely hanging on.But if you think that I'm happy.
ξw:But, it's a bit disappointing for me.
:Eh?What is?
ξw:I wanted to act the Onee-san more, you know?
:Hahahaha, but to me, Nao-chan will always be Nao-chan.
ξw:Hehe, thanks.Okay, we've arrived.
:Ehwhere?
ξw:Yup, our destination.but there's no harm in definitely remembering it yourself.
There was nothing special about this place, it was sort of like plaza.
And in this plaza, some really old speakers with such bad sound quality that it wouldn't even be used at an athletics meet were booming out a tune.
And at the source of the noise
:What's that?
ξw:Supermarket Takano.
:Supermartket?Takano?
Without thinking, I repeated Nao-chan's words.
A truck had stopped on the middle of the plaza,The side of the trailer had been converted to an awning, and under it was a showcase of things from a supermarket.
ξw:He comes around twice a week.
:R-Right.
Now that i think of it, I think I do remember a greengrocer moving around on wheels and selling things.
I wonder if this is similar to the old one
or whether it IS the old one.
ξw:It's a lot closer than the other supermarker.You can get the necessary stuff from here.Well, with me and Sora's lifestyle, we don't really need to go to the supermarket everyday
In which case, this is practical enough.
ε:Welcome!Pork's on special today!A cut of the pork loin, 300 grams for 400 yen!It'll sell out if you don't hurry!How about it, girl over there?
ξw:Haru-chan, what's your budget?
:Well, around 5000 yen would be fine.
ξw:Ok, I've got carte blanc otherwise.Hey!Hey!Give me some of that pork!
With that, Nao-chan threw herself into the throng of customers.
ξw:Ah, hold on!Gimme some of that milk!Ow!Ow!Ouch!!Old lady, you're stepping on me!
Wading through waves of the old ladies' army, Nao-chan briskly continued shopping.
As I stood there thinking relatively rude things like, "Were there really this many people living around here?

:Wow.I said "wow" without thinking, but this something with this sort of impact
I've seen scenes like this at department stores in the city, but
Seeing it at a moving supermarket in the countryside?
ξw:Huh?Where's the chicken?
As Nao-chan jostled through that mess, purposefully getting one ite another the other, I stood there admiring her courage and strength.
ξw:Here you go, I'm ready to pay!Any free stuff?
ε:Thank you, thank you!Home made picked radish, special service to you!
ξw:What do you think?Good enough?
:ThanksW-ow, that was overwhelming.
I picked up the shopping back from Nao-chan.
ξw:Really?This is what passes or normal here.But from now on, you're a rival too, Haru-chan.
:Ehh!?Go easy one me
ξw:Hehe, I'm joking.If you need stuff that isn't here, you'll have to go to the supermarket.
ε:Oi oi, that's troubling, introducing him to other shops.
ξw:I'm sorry, but even we have to make our way in life.
ε:Haha, tell me something I don't know.Well, I'll be counting on you again, That cool boyfriend too!
:Eh?Ahyeah.Wait, boyfriend?
ξw:D-Don't say that.Haru-chan's just a neighbour, we're not like that!
The man at Takano who had sold most of his stuff and was starting to pack up laughed aloud.
ξw:W-We don't have anything else to do here, so let's go!
:Y-Yeah.
I knew it was just a polite joke by the old man, but I was a bit embrassed and for a way, I couldn't look at Nao-chan directly.
We went back onto the road with the shopping in one hand.
:Ahh, it's good that that place so much closer than the supermarket.
The bag was heavy in itself, but when I thin about the bags on the first days since moving here, this is nothing.
ξw:It is a shop on a truck afterall, so there's bound to be things it would have, though.
:Well, that can't be helpedif I need to, I'll go to that far supermarket.It's good exercise once in a while, tooand if I go on the way home from school, it'll be easier.
ξw:That part of youyup, you're definitely a guy.
:W-What do you mean by that?
ξw:Nothing, actuallyit's probaby good that you're like that.
After shopping, Nao-chan said "I'll show you some more underhanded tricks!
" and took me to a place to buy rice.
 After just saying "The one at Kasugano-sensei's place", he understood straight away
 Without even haggling, he gave us a price much cheaper than the supermarket
I was surprised.
 :Wow
is it really okay to buy it at such a low price?
ξw:It's fine.
 The market price around here is around that anyway.
 And besides, the number of people your grandfather helped is huge.
 :That's all good and I, but I had nothing to do with it.
ξw:The countryside works through duty and kindness~:
Sure does.
Nao-chan and everyone at school sure treat me well, despite only being slightly related to this place.
 If things are like this, then me
and Sora, should be able to live here.
 Of course, we'll have to return the kindness.
 ξw:Your grandfather was really strict, but everyone trusted him fully.
 :
Yeah.
 I'm only here now because of him too.
It'd turned a bit serious, but as we returned home, we smiled and spoke about our memories of my grandfather.
 
As we walked, we reached Nao-chan's house.
ξw:Well then, I'll go going.
:Yeah, thanks for today.
 I'm sure the things you taught me will be useful.
ξw:Don't worry about it.
 If you had to say thanks to every little thing, there'd be no end.
 I still have a lot of things to teach you, afterall!
 :Haha, I'll look forward to it, but go easy on me.
ξw:Hehe, see ya then!
Nao-chan stood there waving until I had gotten quite far.
However, for some reason, she didn't enter the house, but disappeared somewhere else.
:.
.
Huh?
Did Nao-chan actually have something to do?
If that's the case, then accompanying me was a bad thing
thinking this, I stood there looking towards where Nao-chan disppeared.
 
Ohh, the one i saw over there was Haruka?
 Hey!
:H-Hey
Ryouhei?
 What're you doing here?
ƽ:Hm?
 Ah, nah I'm doing anything special.
 Just talking a walk and happened to pass by, Come to think of it, I just saw that Nao too.
 She was really happy, but
was she with you?
 :Yeah.
 She just helped me with the shopping.
ƽ:Heeh?

 Well, whatever.
 In any case, taking care of the family, eh?
 :Ah, yeah
I have to take care of all the hosuehold stuff.
 No parents, afterall.
 ƽ:Eh
a-ah, that right?

sorry.
:Nah, it's nothing to worry about.
 I haven't told you just, and it's not really a secret.
 ƽ:Is that right
:By the way Ryouhei, what's with that outfit?
He was making a face that wasn't like him, so I changed the subject.
ƽ:Huh?
 That are my normal clothes.
:Normal?
ƽ:Every summer, it's gotta be these clothes!
After one magnificent spin, he put one hand on his wasit, and pointed up at the sky with the other.
 I'm sure he's thinking that he's cool while doing that weird pose
does he have a fever?
 :He
heh
is that a kimono?
 Doesn't look like a yukata.
ƽ:It's a jinbei.
 How about it?
 You and me wearing this all summer!
 It's comfortable!
 Cool!
 Light!
 :It's the first time I've seen one
where'd you get it?
ƽ:There's a shop called "Fashion Shop Imamura".
 All right, next time I'll take you with me.
 And there we can obtain this wonderful item!
 :N-Next time
hehe
ƽ:What, that's no fun!
 You should wear it to!
 Then you get some glancing look from the girls!
 :That
might be because of another reason
ƽ:We're in an age we're real men show off their meat!
 Huh?
 You think I'm lying?
 :It's not like I have a very buff body, any besides, with this white skin, I'd just look weak.
 ƽ:What's this?
 Are you city kids beansprouts?
 We can't have that!
 this summer, We'll debut your buffed up body!
!
 :D-Debut!
?
A-At this rate, I'll be forced to make a weird promise
:F-For now, this bbag is heavy, so I'm going to put in the house first.
ƽ:Eh?
 Ahh, sorry about that.
As I passed through the gate, Ryouhei threw an extremely worrying line from behind me.
ƽ:Oh by the way, I saw a really cute girl just before.
:Eh
?
Without thinking, I'd turned back?
ƽ:Unlike the tall girl I sometimes see around, this one looked really fragile!
 I didn't see her face, but she had the aura of a princess.
 Ahh
if only she called out to me
 Well
I think I have an idea of who it was
ƽ:Eh?
 What's the matter?
:Ah, nah, it's nothing
ƽ:The tall girl or the small girl, I wonder if they came here for a holiday?
 Actually, maybe they're sisters!
 Eh
tall girl?
 Sisters?
:That tall girl
who is it?
ƽ:Dunno.
:Hah?
ƽ:Well, it's something I'd like to know too!
I sometime see her staggering around, but I dunno if she's just shy, but when I call out to her, she quickly disappears.
 Ahh
if only we become closer some day
:Hmmm
If Ryouhei doesn't know them, at the very least, they're not someone from here.
 ƽ:And for that, your power is what we need!
:Huh?
 Why me?
ƽ:Come one, a city-grown pretty boy is something you can't resist against, right?
 No need to guess, she'll come talk to us if you're there!
And that's why you have to wear a jinbei too!
:What, that's got nothing to do with it!
No, it'd make it worse!
 ƽ:Yeah, that's the impact we need!
Not just cool, but talking with clarity!
 :*Sigh*, geez, which of these conversations are you serious about.
ƽ:Both of course.
:Ahhh, whatever.
ƽ:Well, I've got a lot of spare jinbei's at home, so if you want to wear it, I'll lend you one.
 You're definitely look good it!
 :
If I really feel like it.
ƽ:All right!
 Okay, I'll bring with one with me time.
 Looking forward to it~And with that, Ryouhei clapped me on the shoulder countless times before heading home.
 :Just what the hell was that?
With that look on his face, I get the feeling he's going to come over with one tomorrow
not mistake about it
 :It'd be fine if it was a yukata
:
Haru?
:Whoa, Sora
you went out?
:
*nods*:Soring going out by herself
rare
:Even I feel like doing that every now and again.
:You're still unfamiliar with the area, aren't you?
 No problems with getting lost?
 :I was just walking nearby the house.
Besides, even I can retrace my steps.
 :I-I see.
:Don't treat me like a child.
You say that, but
habits are habits, so if you something strange, I'm the one who gets confused.
 But, the "fragile girl" that Ryouhei saw was unmistakably Sora
probably.
 :
Well, did you see a guy with a slight beard wearing some yukata-looking thing called a jinbei?
 :
?
 What are you saying?
:
Huh?
Ryouhei must've seen her without her noticing.
Then again, he said there was another girl
so maybe it was someone else.
 :Forget about that Haru, I'm hungry.
With that, Sora went into the house.
 :*Sigh*Well, I'll work it out eventually, various things
:*Yawn*It'd gotten late enough for me to yawn, so it's a good time to sleep
is what I'd like to say, but it's still quite early.
 It sounds quite silly, but for some reason nights in the countryside feel longer.
Where we lived before it seemed like I'd do something for a short while, and then the date would change.
 :I wonder why my sense of time's changed
Looking back, it seems like my life over there went by in a flash.
 Eat dinner, do something in my room, and when I'd noticed it was already late at night, so hurriedly get some sleep for the next day
 I repeated every day like that.
 So it's hard to hide my surprise at how different the time feels here.
 :Besides, I've got nothing to do
The net's not connected yet, and the TV's only got a few channels.
 I'd of course already read through all the books and manga I brought with me at least once each.
 :But passing the night quietly like this
not something I've done a lot
 Even when I'm doing nothing, the night passes normally.
On the other hand, should I be spending my time restlessly like up til now, as if chasing something?
 It's not like I haven't thought of doing it.
 :Well
Whether I like it or not, I'll have to get used to this kind of life.
And there's a part of me that says that this is okay, which is a bit surprising.
 :Ah, have you finished your bath?
::You want something cold to drink?
 That said, we've only got milk and barley tea.
 :Ice cream.
:That wasn't an option
well, milk then:Barley tea
lots of ice
:Yep yep.
I took out and an ovesized glass and as per the request, put in a lot of ice, and poured in some home-made barley tea.
 As the ice hit the glass, a nioce ringing sound could be heard.
:Here, don't spill it.
 Oh and don't catch a cold.
:Haru
shut up.
After I passed it to her, without even taking a sip, Sora returned to her room.
:Going to bed already?
 Good night.
No reply.
I wonder what Sora thinks of this place, since she was sunk into what I had thought was a dependacy on the internet until recently.
 Even I was thinking that I had a lot of time, but I don't think it shoujld be unbearable
 :
Unexpectedly, maybe she doesn't really care.
Back when we were over there, almost every night, she'd stay up, planted in front of her monitor
 Despite having poor health even at the best of times, that kind of extremely unhealthy lifestyle
surely it's not good for her.
 That's why all this free time could be good
is what I've been thinking.
:Well then
it's a bit early, but I guess I'll go to bed.
Let's see
tomorrow's timetable is
After swapping in and out textbooks and checking if I'd left anything out, I finished by preperations.
 Other than this, there really is nothing to do
:*Yawn*We've more or less settled down, so maybe i should do something from tomorrow
Walking around this area a bit might be good, or walking around inside the school would be fine too.
 Maybe even hanging around with Ryouhei, since he could also teach me a few things
but it's Ryouhei so I'm a bit worried about that.
 :Well then
Good night

:
Haru!
:Whoa!
 W-What's is it, Sora?
:
Noisy.
:W-What?
N-Noisy
surely it couldn't be me trying to sleep.
:
Not you.
:
Then, what is?
 Come on, could you please just tell me the subject?
 :Mosquitoes.
:Mosquitoes?
:The mosquitoes and being noisy.
:Well, I did have the feeling of hearing some discomforting noise near my ear last night
 :It's bothering me, so I can't sleep
:How about trying to sleep with your head under the futon?
:
Are you stupid?
:If you fall asleep, it woun't be a problem, you know.
:If they bite, it's going to be itchy
whatever, hurry up and do something.
:Mmm, you say that, but it's not like we have any mosquito coils or insecticide
Well for now, let's head to Sora's room.
:Hey, don't you think it's about time to unpacked those cardboard boxes?
 Sora's room basically hadn't changed since we first got here.
::Don't feel like unpacking it, I guess
Or maybe even waiting for me to do it
:Who care about that, mosquito first.
I care about it, but for now, first comes some mosquito busting.
 Mosquitoes aren't exactly things you can see easily, but I could easily see their source.
 :Well, you've opened the window, so of course they're going to come in.
 I did say to close the screen door when you opened the window on the very first day, right?
 :
I forgot.
:In other words, you reap what you sow.
:
Uu
The window was opened as wide as possible, as if the window frame could cut off the things outside.
 
It's a bit late, but I closed the screen door.
:
I just had a bath, so I was hot.
:That isn't a very good reason.
 Anyways, with the screen door closed, mosquitoes can get it, but at least the others can't.
 
:No
do something.
:Even if you say so
After having another look, I still couldn;t find any signs of mosquitoes or other bugs flying around.
 Why is it some hard to spot bugs in the room?
 At that moment, something fly into my field of vision.
.
:THERE!
:Tch, got away.
And there seems to be a rule that states that if you lose sight of it once, you won't see it again.
 :This is going to take a while
actually, weren't we going to hang up some mosquito nets like in the old days?
 
:
Like a big web?
:Yeah, if we did it'd be perfect, but
we'd have to look for them in the closet or the back room, so it's not possible right now.
 
:No!
!
:Umm
I guess we just have to kill them then
:That's it
:Eh?
Sora started rummaging through her cardboard boxes
:Wait a minute, Sora
What are you
?
:Shut up.
No matter how or where you look at it from
that's a can of hairspray in her hand.
:Errggg
.
:WHAAAA!
?
:*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*
urgghhh
:Whoaaa!
What're you doing?

Stop that!
 In the area, some white cloud began to form and with it, a sickly-sweet, extremely strong smell spread around the room.
 
:Urggghhhh!
!
!
:*Cough* *Coguh*
S-Sora
get over here
As Sora brandished the spraycan with tearing eyes, I grabbed her and forcingly dragged her out of the room.
 
:
*sigh*
Look here.
:Despite going that crazy, she'd already regained her compsure.
 Just what the hell
 :Please, there's no need to go crazy over one mosquito.
:
Why not?
:For a start, there's no way you'd kill that mosquito by spraying hairspray everywhere.
 
:
Why not?
:Hairspray isn't insecticide, you know
well for now, you can't go into that room until it airs out.
 :
Why not?
:You've sprayed so much you'll cough as soon as you enter, right?
 It stinks as well, and there's no way that's good for your body.
 
:
Why not?
:That'd be because hairspray's for the hair, I guess
wait, you even listening?
 
::Geez
whatever, thre's no way you can put up with that, Sora.
As usual, I have no clue what she's thinking of doing, but despite this kind of conversation, this is a time where I can sure we're siblings.
 :By the way

where am I going to sleep?
:If you're okay with it, you can sleep in my room.
:
:It get cold at around dawn, so make sure you use your towel blanket.
:Yeah, yeah
After rescuing her futon from her room, we laid it on in the reception room.
 At least there won't be mosquitoes here
I hope.
 :
okay, I'm turning off the lights.
 'Night.
Making sure Sora had gotten into bed, I reached for the switch, wehn
 :
hmm?
There was a tug at my clothes.
:
What's up?
:
stay with me for a while.
:
okay, okay.
In the complete darkness, I sat down beside her so she could cuddle up to me.
Even though I couldn't see anything, I could feel Sora's breath, Sora's warmth.
:
Haru
:
hm?
:
Outside
it's noisy.
:
You'll get used to it soon.
:
Really?
We could hear the faraway yet great chorus of frogs.
When autumn comes, it'd be the cries bell crickets and crickets
 :I suppose it is noisy, but unlike mosquito's it's not a discomforting sound, right?
 
:
yeah.
This is probably the sound of nature.
:I couldn't have known this while in the city.
It's a feeling of extreme peace
as if melting into this land of nature.
 This kind of night
it's not bad.
And just like that, even Sora's had started taking the deep breathes that one makes when they're asleep.
And even I forgot to return to my own room, and at some point had flown into the world of dreams.
 
:*Yawn*
Finally lunchtime, huh?
After some cracking noises in my neck and shoulders, I knew I had at some point become engrossed in the lesson.
 I could somewaht understand the lesson, but since it's a different style, I have to do my best to keep up.
 Moreover since my hands had been in full operation trying to copy down every thing the teacher sad or wrote, I was fairly tired.
 ίTL:Kasugano-kun.
:Ah, class rep.
ίTL:You seem really tired from being not used to these lessons, huh?
Umm
you okay with notes?
 :Yep, I've been doing my best in that area.
 Though I can't help but wonder if I'll be okay for the mid-terms.
 ίTL:W-When that time comes, I-I'll h-he
:Eh?
ίTL:N-Nothing, it's nothing!
 E-Excuse me!
I have a feeling that the class rep's face is always red, but did I say something embarrassing?
 :Huh?
 The class rep escaped?
 She was here anyway, so I thought we'd at least do it together
 :"Together"
Have lunch?
:Yeah yeah.
 What're you going to do, Haru-kun?
:I was thinking of getting something from the shop.
:Ah, then let's go together!
 I'm having bread today too!
ƽ:Oh!
 If you're going to the shop, I'm going too!
:Ryouhei, you didn't bring lunch either?
ƽ:Yeah, my mum was busy, so just gave me some money as I was leaving the house.
I was going to just keep as pocket money and bear with it, but I'm hungry, so whatever.
 :Things like that never go well, huh?
ƽ:Yup.
 Well, let's go, else all the good stuff will be gone.
:Yeah.
ͽHeey!
 Double Akira!
 Having lunch now?
:Ah, Tetsy-niichan, hello!
ͽYou two are together as usual, huh?
ƽ:Yeah.
 We're even classmates this year.
 Huh?
 Why are you out so early?
 Going out to play already?
 ͽWeell, if we don't some fags will take the grounds first.
 You should show up once in awhile too, eh?
 Else we'll completely forget about you!
 ƽ:Of course!
After waving his hand a few times, the guy Ryouhei was talking to headed towards the grounds.
 :Friend?
ƽ:Yeah, since I was a kid.
:Yeah, we've played togather since we I was little.
:I see.
Hmmm
they have a lot of childhood friends, huh?
Ahhh
if Double Akira is here, then
ξw:Haru-chan's must be here too!
:Ah, hey Nao-chan.
ξw:Haru-chan, lunch is at the shop?
:Yup, with everyone else.
ƽ:Oi oi, I'm not letting anyone with who's lunch into the group, you know?
ξw:In that case, I'm in the group today
ƽ:Tch, can't do anything then.
 If you insist, I'll let you in the group.
 
ξw:Why are you acting like the almighty leading anyway?
:Yay, Nao-oneechan is with us too!
ξw:Hehe, let's go Akira-chan.
ƽ:Yay, Nao-oneechan is with us too!
ξw:Ewww, that's disgusting!
:Hahaha
:We're back, Kazu-chanһ~:Welcome back.
 That took a while.
ξw:Sorry aboutn that, for some reason it was really packed.
 And besides, that idiot suddenly just said to leave it to him.
 ƽ:If we just buy and eat it normally, it'd be no fun, right?
Brimming with confidence, Ryouhei took out the back.
But from the view outside the packed shop, for some reason it looked like he bought something different to what we ordered
 :In any case, sorry about the wait, Migiwa-san.
һ~:Not at all, we don't have much time left, so let's hurry and eat.
ƽ:All right everyone, line up and have a pick!
It seems Ryouhei wants us to do this like a lucky dip.
 ξw:You reeally love these trivial things, huh?
:I don't mind going last then.
ƽ:Nope, you can go first.
 I'm the one who decided this, so I'll take the responsiblity and take the leftovers.
 
Here, take one through intuition!
 No peeping.
ξw:I don't mind going after, how about you go first then, Haru-chan.
:Then, here you go, Haru-chan.
:Okay, why not
umm
I guess there's no use thinking about this
 I took out the first bread I touched.
:Umm
Yomogi Bread?

I haven't seen or heard of it, this bread.
ƽ:Ohh, relatively good, huh?
:He.
.
he
is that right?
:Me next!
 Ummmmmm
Ei!
Umm
what is this?

Fruit sandwich?
ƽ:What's this?
 Everyone only drawing normal stuff.
ξw:Haaa
why did we leave it to you
ƽ:Here, here, next is you!
 There's still some good things here!
ξw:Ahhh, this is bad
I don't like leaving things uneaten too

Ei!
!
:Ah!
 That's a good one!
 Fresh creammmmm!
ƽ:Tch
that's not fun
ξw:Hahaha, Sorry about that Akira, getting the big one.
:Nah, it's all good.
ƽ:Well, there's still one each remember?
 Right now is just a fool's paradise.
 Okay, let's go to the next round, Haruka.
:Umm
letsee
Ei!
!
The bag reads "Sweet Potato".
ƽ:First was Yomogi, second was sweet potato.
 Quite a Japanese style pick.
:Not that I'm that happy with it
:I wonder what's next
I'm so excited!
 Ei!
Let's see
Nukazuke bun
Aha, what's this?
Nukazuke?

there's probably some pickled vegetables
inside some bread?
 
ƽ:Oho!
 Good work, Akira!
 Nice draw!
 As I thought, this game is only fun when someone pulls out something weird!
 
һ~:Nakazato-senpai!
 What are you going to do if someone picks out something inedible?
 ƽ:It's fine!
 Akira doesn't have likes and dislikes when it comes to food, right?
:I do, but I don't
which is it then?
ƽ:Come on, come one.
 Next is Nao, right?
 Hurry up and get some!
ξw:Whaa, I'm nervous
there's probably something weird still in there
Ei!

Eh?

What the hell is this?
!
!
O-Ohagi bun?

Don't tell me there's a rice cake with red bean paste in this bread
EWWW!
!
!
ƽ:Hya hyuk hyuk hyuk hyuk!
 That's great Nao!
 You'd never betray my expectation, huh?
 This is getting more and more exciting!
 ξw:My grudge about food related things is scary you know!

I'll remember this!
But an Ohagi bun is much better than a Nukazuke bun
 :So, no everyone's go their share, right?
:Hey hey, what'd you get Ryou-niichan?
ƽ:Eh?
 Me?
 Now then, let's see what's left
ξw:What's that
"Whole tomato"?
:and "slow-boiled egg bread"?
Both are types I haven't ever heard of in my whole life
ƽ:Whaa!
?
 That old man
picking stuff half-heartedly,,,ξw:Ehehe, make sure to each it all, okay?
ƽ:Well, at least they're both edible, right?
And so, everyone in the room had their lunch to eat.
 ƽ:Akiraaa, how about trading half a bun?
:Yup, okay!
һ~:Nakazato-senpai
take responsibility for your own actions, right?
ƽ:Ahh, I'm so sorry.
 here, I'll give you a bit too, Kazu-chan.
һ~:Huh!
?
 I-I-I don't want any!
!
:Aha!
!
 This Nukazuke bun looks tasty, doesn't it?
һ~:I-I just said I didn't want anyway!
!
!
ƽ:Okay, Kazu-chan, open wide
:Ahhhhhһ~:Enough of that!
!
:Ow!
?
:!
?
T-That wasn't just the tin lid of a container to store rice cookies in Migiwa-san's hand
was it?
 һ~:Hmph!
!
H-Huh?

The lid disappeared.
 Did I just imagine that?
ξw:Come on you two, playing with food is bad.
ƽ:Yea yeah
hmm
slow-boiled egg isn't bad at all.
:*munch**munch*
Nukazuke bun is fairly good, you know?
 Here!
ƽ:Oho, the exquisite match of Western bread and Japanese pickled vegetables
Is it really
tasty?
ξw:Geez, both of you are as happy as usual, huh?
 I should say it's expected, but the name Double Akira isn't just for show, huh?
 :
It's been on my mind for a while now, but what's with that Double Akira?
 ξw:Hm?
 That idiot's "Ryou" kanji can be read "Akira", right?
 :Ah, and with Amatsume's first name
I see.
ƽ:There was even a time we were called the "Akira Combination".
Well, she's been following me around since we were little, so I suppose the name's stuck.
 :That's trueWhile talking like that, Amatsume happily ate her bread,һ~:Hey, you're getting it all over the place.
:Ahahaha, sorry about that, Kazu-chan.
Saying things like that, it seems Migiwa-san has also been with Amatsume and Ryouhei for a long time.
 Even though I've only barely transfered, it seems they've even become familiar around me
 But the truth is, I don't really know much about them.
It's not like I have to get to know them quickly, but of course, anyone would want to know things about their friends
 
:
This place really hasn't changed, huh?
I recognised this area despite my faint memories.
I was stolling around the town after school, just as I'd planned last night.
 The place where'd I catch bug, the place where'd I fish
places I remember clearly, places I can barely remember
 Of course, even places I have no clue about.
:There's still a lot of nature left here
Thing again, perhaps it's not right to say it's left here.
 More like it's just here.
 So in other words, it's so quiet that you wouldn't think "There isn't anyone here", but "Where'd everyone go"?
 Good or bad, the place I used to live in is so different that in the most extreme cases, you could ask "Am I really in the same Japan?
" 
:?
I think I just heard something.
Upon turning around, I could see something hide behind the guardrail with a swoosh.
 :
Amatsume, looks like I found you this time.
:Aww what's that?
 Just as I thought I'd surprise you.
:In the first place, trying to hide in this empty place
is
?
 
Let's see.
What's up with Amatsume's clothes?

:So, you're in the middle of a walk?
:Eh?
 Ah, yeah.
 I thought I'd walk around again and get to know the town a bit more.
 There are places that haven't changed a bit, so it's quite nostalgic.
:That's true, there are places we've they paved the road to make it pretty, but things haven't changed much over here.
 :So Amatsume.
.
umm.
.
what're you doing?
Come to think of it, Amatsume lives at the shrine, so I suppose it's not that strange that she's dress as a shrine maiden.
 When I met her when we were little, she was dressed as a shrine maiden too, huh?
 :Umm
helping out.
:Helping out?
:Fixing a table in an old grandpa parishioner's house.
:Parishioner?
 Fixing a table?
I don't hear the word "parishioner" much, but how does "fixing a table" relate to her job as a shrine maiden?
 :A parishioner is, basically a worshiper of a shrine.
 Sort of like the supporters at a temple.
 That single grandpa's table unexpected broke today, so I went and fixed it with a few bam bams of a hammer.
 :Ahh, I see.
 Helping out at a worshipper's house.
:There's a lot of grandpas and grandmas living alone around here, so I visit them every now and then.
 And when I do, if they're having any problems, I help them.
:I see
From the perspective of these old people, I wonder if Amatsume is like a granchild
 If it's someone with a personality like Amatsume's, I'm sure she'd get coddled a lot.
 :Ah, that's right.
 If you're out for a walk anyway, do you wanna drop by my place?
 I'd get you something to drink.
 :Come to think of it, I haven't gone to the shrine yet, huh?
 What's it like now?
 :Nothing's changed at all since then!
 You'd be surprised at how simiilar it is.
 :Ehh, is that right?
 Okay, as you say, I'll drop by for a bit.
 :Yay!
 Come come!
Amatsume happily walked her bike beside me.
 :The shrine huh
I haven't been there since we went cicada hunting
I recalled the memory of us tumbling down that hill as kids.
:I think it's about time for the cicadas to come out again.
Wanna grab a net and go hunting again?
 :Haha
I think we're a bit old for cicada hunting now
but whatever, maybe we can go once.
 :Ahahaha, let's go, let's go!
The shrine where Amatsume lives is raisedly slightly.
The road to the shrine was followed by a sloped road, then some stairs.
 Pushing Amatsume's old bike up this distance was more tiring than I thought.
 And the place we arrive at after that
:Whoa
nostalgic
:Thanks for pushing the bike for me!
 I'll go put it away!
:Ah, okay.
After the Amatsume disappared, pushing the bike somewhere away from the shrine road, the area suddely became quiet.
 The compound was huge, with an austere building at the back.
There's a place to worship the shrine, behind that lay the main shrine, and next to that, a building with a raised floor could be seen.
 The Chouzuya, a building where you wash your hands before worship was there, as well as the shrine office.
 It was a fairly complete shrine
 When I was young, I didn't care about this at all.
 I only recognised this sort of place as just another place to play.
 :Haru-kun, sorry for the wait!
From the shrine office, came Amatsume's little steps.
:What's this building next to the main shrine?
:That's the Kagura Hall.
:Kagura Hall?
 Where they do that
Kagura dance?
:Yup, that's right!
 During a festival, we dance the Kagura there:Heeh
it's a full shrine, huh?
Suddenly, I lot of things I hadn't cared about until now popped into mind.
 :By the way, what's this shrine's name?
:Sayorihime Shrine.
:Sayorihime Shrine
what's that in kanji?
:Umm
What was it again
Amatsume sat there lost, smiling as she started drawing on the ground.
:I think it was something like this.
The kanji on the ground read桹:If you write it like that, it's read Sayorihime?
 That's rather difficult
 
I thought that they surely use Amatsume's surname for the shrine, but I was completely wrong.
 :Yeah, it's really hard.
 And this shrine's god is reallly minor, so she isn't really in many records.
 :Really?
 But if that's the case, that's quite cool.
For a minor god, this is a rather elegant shrine
:Thanks!
 I'm sure our god's really pleased too!
:Haha
well, I'm here anyway, so might as well worship.
:Thanks!
 The chouzuya's over here~
The chouzuya was old, but kept clan, giving it a dignity.
 The water I scopped out was cool, and felt really good.
After washing my hands and mouth, I headed towards the front shrine.
:Umm
the worshipping steps
what are they?
I took out some small change from my wallet.
:Hmm?
 You can do it however you want?
:You're a shrine maiden afterall, so wouldn't you laugh if I did it stupidly?
:Aha It's fine, our god's would be happy just by you coming, so there's no need to be formal.
 :Even if you say that
Okay, I'll do it like you do.
:Really?
 Okay, let's do it together.
After going up a few steps, we stopped in front of the offertory box.
The shrine in front of us was neatly arranged, making it really feel like a shrine.
 :They've been going on about the two bows procedure on TV lately, so everyone roughly remembers it.
 First is the first bow.
Next is the offertory
however much is fine!
:Well, the convention for this sort of time is
5 yen right?
Upon throwing the coins in, the peculiar echo from the offertory box reverberated around the area.
:And then is the clang clang!
A metallic sound peculiar to entering apprenticeship came out.
:And then a second bow
this is the so-called second bow, and where the name comes from.
 We made a slow, deep bow towards the shrine.
:And then, clap your hands twice, and say something to our god, wish or whatever.
 :Okay.
As she said, I clapped by hands twice near my heart and prayed.
I wish to be able to live my life without any problems
:
Sayohime-sama
Haru-chan's come back for me
::And then, one more, deeeep bow.
::And when you leave, one more light bow, as if saying goodbye.
 :I see
I completed the worship safely
but now that I think about it, isn't doing it while being taught rather rude?
 :It's also called the 2 bows, 2 claps, 1 bow, but how you do it's not important, it's your feelings.
 With Ryou-niichan, it's bonk, clank, clang clang, bang bang, mumble mumble, bonk, finished.
 :Hahaha, that's so like Ryouhei.
 But, I suppose that's how it is normally.
 :With things like this, we're just thankful that you came, so if you call out to god with honest feelings, I think that's good enough.
 :
Yeah.
Rather than sloppy, I think Amastume's just honest.
Not appearance, but feelings
huh?
When Amatsume worshipped at the shrine just then
I recalled the faint words that entered my ears.
 I've
"come back for her"
As Amastume been waiting for me to return?
:Well then, since we've finished worshipping, let's go have some tea.
:Eh?
 Is that okay?
:No need to hold back, it's a warm welcome!
 Here, over here!
Amatsume seized my hand tightly.
:
Ah.
:Hmm?
 What's up?
:N-Nah, it's nothing.
I was lost for a moment by the sudden feeling of those soft fingers.
:It's been a long time since we held hands like this, huh?
:I-Is that so
:Aha, have you forgotten?
 We did it last when heading behind the mountain to hunt cicadas.
 :You've got a really good memory, huh, Amatsume?
:I wonder
I forget stuff like English vocab and things we learn at school immediately though
 :But it seems you remember everything about me and the past
:Ehehehe, thanks.
 But I sponanteously recalled all that.
And besides, you're
:I'm
I wonder what
:Ah!
 Master's returned!
:Eh?
 Master?
:Welcome back, Master!
 Ah, wait here, Haru-kun, I'll be right back with some tea.
 :
Right.
I heard the voice of a cat, so don't tell me Master is the cat's name?
:Once again, as soon as Amatsume disapeears, the grounds become quiet.
:*Sigh*Unexpectedly, I started to think about the time we spent together.
The little Amastume in my memories was a girl who was fun to talk to.
And, the Amatsume I met after a long time seems to not have changed one bit.
 Even though we hadn't met in so long, she could talk to me without thinking of the time gap
as naturally as Nao-chan.
 Amatsume
is a really strange girl.
Although she seems like a natural airhead, below the surface somewhere, she must be really level-headed
 Seeing her joke around with Ryouhei at school like that, makes me think I'm seeing another side of her.
 ققI want to know her better
ققWe're going to be good friends
It feels like some interesting people are going to enter my life.
Although Migiwa-san would probably be shocked at being described like that.
:Haru-kun, thanks for waiting!
 Here's some barley tea!
:Thanks.
Amatsume unsteadily headed towards me, tray and teakettle in her hand.
 
:'Mornin!
 Eh?
 You're early today, Haru-kun.
һ~:Good Morning,:'Morning, Amatsume, Migiwa-sanThe two of them entered the classroom together.
:You to always arrive togather, huh?
 You live close to each other?
:Nope, we're quite seperated.
 But we usually meet up along the way.
 And sometimes, if Kazu-chan's family's dropping her off, they'd give me a ride too ƽ:You really do have it nice.
 I wish I could get dropped off at school:Ah, 'morning, Ryouhei.
һ~:It's not like I let them drop me off everyday.
ƽ:I know, but it's such a waste.
 If it were me, I'd definitely do that.
 :I wish I could get dropped off everyday
Kazu-chan's car has plush seats and they're soo comfortable!
 ƽ:Ho?
 I definitely want to ride that.
You think so too, right Haruka?
 :Eh, well
if I have the chance, I'd like to ride it just once
 һ~:I-If the opportunity
arises
I wouldn't mind
:Kazu-chan's car is big, but it still only fits 5.
 Yamanashi-san the driver would have to be there, so the other 4 would be
 Haru-kun, Kazu-chan, Ryou-niichan, Nao-oneechan, me
ah, we won't all fit.
 ƽ:You can just sit on the Ojou's lap, right?
:Aha, sitting on Kazu-chan's lap?
 That'd be good
һ~:Eh?
 Why are you trying to fit everyone in?
:Speaking of Kazu-chan's things, they're reaaaally soft.
And they're also reallly smooth!
 һ~:A-Akira!
!
ƽ:Oho!
 This is good!
 Tell us more!
:Hm?
 Let's see, she smells really nice!
 And also, if you hug her reaally tighly, her bre-
 һ~:S-Stop that!
:Ow!
?
һ~:G-Geez
that's going too far!
And you, Nakazato-senpai, I don't care how close you are to Akira, stop making her do weird things!
 :Ehh?
 I don't really mind.
һ~:Look here
ƽ:Sorry, next time, I'll let you be in charge of the comedy, so forgive us this time, please?
 һ~:No way!
!
:Umm
As I thought, when those two are like that
poor Migiwa-san.
 Having said that, I don't even feel like a followup.
 I have a feeling it'd be just the right balance if Nao-chan was here, but
 
ƽ:Alright!
 Over, finished for today!
:For some reason, it feels like today's lessons went by quickly.
ƽ:We actually focused in class, huh?
 Thanks to that, my sugar levels have violently dropped.
 So, let's go eat!
 :Yeah!
 Food!
 Food!
һ~:Well said, considering all you did was talk
:Okay, I'm off to the shop for a bit
ƽ:Huh?
 Bread today as well?
 You're going to die of malnutrition, you know?
:Yeah
I know, but I'm too lazy to cook for one person.
 :If you just bring rice, I'll give you some side dishes.
:Thanks, I'll think about it.
The shop was full as usual, but I somehow worked out what to do to be able to buy it easily.
 The school cafeteria should be fairly empty, but
eating alone really kills the taste.
 :I wonder if Sora-chan's eating lunch properly
:Eh?
 What's going on?
On the way back to the classroom, I ran into Amatsume and Migiwa-san walking in the corridor.
 :Sorry, Kazu-chan said she wants to eat lunch with just the two of us, no matter what.
 һ~:I-I didn't say that!
I-I just said I wanted to eat lunch in peace today
 :So, we're off on a lunch date!
Amatsume hooked her arm around Migiwa-san's.
һ~:S-Stop saying it like that!
:Aha But it'll be just the two of us, right?
 Love love with Kazu-chan :Haha, if it's something like that, I shouldn't be intruding.
һ~:Y-You too, Kasugano-kun?
 Stop it!
:Well, I'll leave you to take care of Ryou-niichan then.
And with that, Amatsume left, dragging the completely red faced Migiwa-san after her.
 :
That Ryouhei
did he say something to piss her off again?
ƽ:Oh, I've been waiting!
 It's lonely by myself!
:
Did you say something to Migiwa-san again?
 I just saw her going somewhere with Amatsume.
 ƽ:*Glug**Glug**Glug*.
.
Nope, not really.
 If they're not earting with me, they're always eating by themselves.
 :Ehh, really?
ƽ:Thanks to that, when I get left out it's really lonely
I'm so glad you transferred here
 :What the hell, that's gross.
ƽ:Idiot, I'm joking of course!
 When it's just the great me, everyone joins their tables and it turns into a mixer!
 :
then why are you eating alone?
ƽ:Hehehe, don't say that.
:well even if i don't, it's the present reality
By the way, I thought Amatsume and Migiwa-san were close, but was it since they wre young?
 ƽ:Umm.
.
well, I guess so.
 When did she meet the Ojou
When I was their upperclassman in primary school.
 they were already close.
 :Which means, you've known them for a really long time too?
ƽ:When I met the Ojou, it was when she was together with Akira.
 Since I've known them since that long, it's enough to be included as a childhood friend.
 :Well, I suppose so.
ƽ:But we didn't really meet often.
 You know, you didn't really play with the girls back when we were kids, right?
 Besides, it's difficult to get close to the Ojou-sama
And well, thanks to Akira, we met more often, and then we arrive at now.
 :I see
for some reason when i stop to look, it seems like they're sisters.
Migiwa-san's the older, Amatsume the younger.
 ƽ:Ahh, if you see the Ojousama as taking care of the cute, troublesome younger sister Akira, then I suppose so.
 :Yeah yeah, something like that.
ƽ:But, in reality, it's probably a biiit different.
:Eh?
 What's that?
ƽ:Well, if you observe them, you'll understand.
:
If you say so.
Well it seems to me that Migiwa-san is the one fussing over Amatsume, but
if Ryouhei, who's know them for ages says so, there's probably more to those two.
 ƽ:More importantly, since you've got some a pretty face, go hook someone here, would you?
 :Eh, why?
 Wait, now?
ƽ:Two guys eating face-to-face is too lonely, right?
:
If you hadn't said something to Migiwa-san, we could've avoided this situation altogether, you know
 Reaping what you sow.
ƽ:Tch
in that case, even the class rep next to you is fine.
ίTL:D-Don't say it like I'm stalking him!
!
:Ah, class rep
what's up?

wait
when
did she get next to me?
ίTL:Ah, nothing
umm
I was just walking past.
Nakazato-kun!
 He just transfered her, so stop telling him unnecessary things like rumours and whatnot!
 ƽ:Keh, this again.
 Who does everyone think I am?
But hey, class rep.
 If, in this situation, Haruka asked, "Do you want to eat lunch together?
", would you accept depite me being here?
 ίTL:In that case
I wouldn't mind eating lunch together as c-classmates
 ƽ:Mmm what if I weren't here, and it became just the two of you?
ίTL:J-Just the two of us!
?
 Y-Yeah, even then I-I wouldn't mind
(actually, that'd be great)
ƽ:Mmm what if Haruka weren't here, and it was just the two of us?
ίTL:I'd pass.
ƽ:As I thought, this kind of treatment!
!
:Now now, class rep, despite all that Ryouhei has helped me out somehow, so I'm okay.
 But thanks for worrying about me.
 ίTL:I-If that's the case, it's okay but
excuse me
For some reason, the class rep had gone all red again
I didn't say something strange, did I
?
 :Hey, what if.
.
ƽ:
Hm?
 What's that?
:Nah, just wondering if the class rep would care if you were eating by yourself.
 Looking out from the side of my eyes, the class rep was shyly looking this way
I think.
 ƽ:What's that?
 I see, the class rep says she hates me and insults me,
But on the inside
 :ƽ:No way in hell, geez
:Haha, as I thought even you'd know that much.
ƽ:You fag!
 Looking down on me, huh!
?
:Ahahaha, I'm joking, I'm joking.
Well, having stupid conversations like this with only boys, while wating and relazing isn't bad once in a while.
 Maybe we should invite the calss rep when we're eating together with Amatsume and Migiwa-san
 
:It's over!
 Good work todayƽ:Geez, the moment classes end, your face lights up.
:You say that, but you're happy too, aren't you?
ƽ:Hehe, that's true.
һ~:Sorry Akira, but I'm going home first today.
:Ahh, today's your lesson, right?
һ~:Yep, that's right.
Beside Migiwa-san's desk was a what looked like a musical instrument case.
:For a violin
that's a bit too big, isn't it?
һ~:Yeah, this is a viola.
:Viola
I've heard the name, but sorry, I don't know much about it.
һ~:I see, it's pretty much a sibling of the violin.
If you actually heard it you might be able to tell, but the viola has a slightly deeper sound.
 :Hmm
I don't know much about musical instruments, but I see
һ~:Haha, if you don't really listen to classical, I don't think you need to worry about that much.
 I learn this instrument because I like it, but there's basically no reason to choose it over another.
 ƽ:But that's an expensive Stradivarius, isn't it?
һ~:There's so few of such a famous thing there's no way I'd have one!
This was given to me by my mum, who used to play it.
 Migiwa-san stroked the case gently.
Ahh, she really reasures it
From her actions and expression, it's hard not to think that.
 :Ah, then was the reason you started playing the violin because you were influenced by your mum?
 һ~:Yes, that's right.
 My mum used to play it, so when I was young I was always hearing this instrument's tone.
 After that, I started liking that tone
and at some point I started wanting to be able to play it myself.
 ƽ:Hmmmm
:Heeeeh
һ~:W-What's up with you all?
ƽ:No nothing, it's just that instead of learning it because it's stylish for an Ojou-sama, it's beacuse of a rather normal reason.
 :When Kazu-chan's playing, she makes a really gentle face for a change.
 When she's finished, her face goes waaaa all cloudy and it's like you'd just fall for her!
 һ~:W-What do you mean, "For a change", geez
:
I see.
 I want to see Migiwa-san playing too.
 And that waaa face.
 һ~:Y-You too, Kasugano-kun?
 S-Stop teasing me!
I think this is the most red I've ever seen a face get.
:I wasn't trying to tease you, but
anyway, the part about wanting to hear you play was real.
 But, taking lessons really is amazing.
Do you join any club activities too?
 һ~:
There's no orchestra in this school.
There's a wind instrument band, but
 :Really?

Since you're playing it anyway, what a waste, huh?
һ~:I don't really mind.
 I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested, but I also don't feel like belong to somewhere.
 
As long as I can play for the people who I want to play to, that's good enough.
 
For a moment, Migiwa-san's gaze went distant
and turned towards Amatsume.
:That's nice, playing for the people you wan to play to.
һ~:
That's true.
 But it always feels too soothing to Akira, and she ends up falling asleep halfway
 
:That's because it really does feeling soothing.
:I see, the tone is that soothing.
If there's a chance, could you let me hear it too
?
 һ~:Eh?
 Ah, W-Well
if there's a chance
:Ahahaha, Kazu-chan's gone all shy!
:Eh?
 Is letting me hear it really that embarrassing?
һ~:O-Of course not!
 It's just that, normally the only one who listens is Akira, so
um
 ƽ:ϤϡդƤդƤ`һ~:There's no way I'm letting Nakazato-senpai listen!
:Hm?
 Eh, Kazu-chan, your ride's here.
ƽ:She's right, it's the usual car.
 I can even see Motoka-san.
Looking towards the gate through the window, I could see that at some point in time, the black car I saw some time ago had stopped there.
 һ~:Oh no
Akira, could you go ahead and tell them to wait a bit?
 :Yeah, I don't mind.
 Ah, you need to go to the toilet?
һ~:Idiot!
!
 Don't say that out loud!
!
:Owww!
!
Like a flash, Migiwa-san's strike exploded on Amtsume.
Eh?
 Akira-chan?
 You're not with the Ojou-sama?
:Kazu-chan said she'd be here soon, so please wait a moment.
Ah, I see.
 Roger that
ƽ:Motoka-san, chaperoning again today?
Nope, today's something like go shipping, but drop the Ojou-sama off at her teacher's place on the way.
 While playing with her hands, the maid chatted with them as if they were same aged friends.
 How've you been lately?
 Studying hard?
ƽ:No need to ask, we're already perfect in that area!
 Right, Akira?
:Yeah yeah, I can take maps any time, and the conversations about last night's TV was fun too Ahaha, same as ever.
 But if you don't work hard in school, it's going to be harder when you go into society, you know?
 Can't always be playing around.
 
`ĤԡStanding beside the car, a man wearing sunglasses lightly cleared his throat.
A-Anyways!
 I'm working today!
!
 Yeah!
As if not wasting movement, the man was extremely quiet, standinfly firmly with an air of intimidation.
 His high stature gives it even more intensity
 But Amatsume and Ryouhei don't seem to have noticed, and only the maid felt in trouble and quivered.
 
:Hello, Yamanashi-san.
ҊɽHello, you're going home now, aren't you?
 Please be careful on your way home.
 :Okay!
I wonder if they're close, but Amatsume's talking without a hint of timidity.
:Migiwa-san's family
butler?
But, would a butler wear sunglasses
ƽ:Bzzzt.
 Secretary.
 Ojou's father's.
:Secretary
eh?
I see
looking again after he said that, he's doing the driving, and wearing sunglasses making him look special.
 Actually he looks like he came out of a film.
 Maybe he's a super secretary
?
һ~:I'm sorry for making you wait.
ҊɽI've come to pick you up, Ojou-sama.
W-Welcome back, Ojou-sama
һ~:Thank you.
 Sorry for making you come all this way.
The atmosphere around Migiwa-san had changed completely from when she was in the classroom just them.
But even just then, the gap between her angry and embarrassed face was huge
 ققBut that's what makes it fun.
ققI better not tease her too much.
But on the other hand, I think it's for that very reason that I find her interesting.
Migiwa-san's fundamentally a serious person, but those sudden changes from angry to timid
I think it's cute.
 If I start teasing her too, she's going to have a hard time, but this is going to be fun.
 
:Okay then, good luck with your lessons.
һ~:Yep.
 See you tomorrow.
:See ya, Migiwa-san.
ƽ:See ya, Ojou.
һ~:Excuse me.
After Migiwa-san bowed to use once, the maid behind her opened the door and Migiwa-san hopped in.
 She just looked fairly good then, actually.
 
The maid and secretary nodded to us lightly and disppeared into different doors.
 And leaving the soft noise of the engine, the car slowly drove away.
 ƽ:Okay, let's get going ourselves.
:Yep.
As if following the car, we headed towards the school gate.
:At any rate, an Ojousama like Migiwa-san really does exist
 ƽ:Hm?
 Were you worried about that?
 Not like it's your first time seeing one, right?
:Well, that's true, but.
.
where I used to live, I never saw anyone getting picked up by a car.
 It's definitely rare.
 ƽ:Hmmm, we're always seeing this, so I guess we just think it's normal.
 :Yup.
 But if it's just getting picked up by car, Ryou-niichan gets that too at times.
 ƽ:I guess so!
:Ehh, Ryouhei too?
 Is he like the son of a good family?
ƽ:Hahaha!
 My parents tell me to help out on the farm and come to pick me up.
 In a ute.
 :
Yep, as I thought.
ƽ:Ah, Haruka, you.
.
!
 Don't look down on farming.
 When it comes to harvest time I'll call you over so you can realise the profoundness of AGRICULTURE!
!
 :Eh, I'll pass
I'm a know-nothing amatuer, remember?
ƽ:That's okay.
 Eventually, I'll teach you how to drive a combine harvester with one hand!
 :And also, the rice you harvest yourself tastes reaalllyy good!
:Y-Yeah
It's not like I can't understand that, but
have you tried it too, Amatsume?
 :Yup, even Kazu-chan has gone rice planting barefooted in the rice paddies :What
!
That Ojou-sama Migiwa-san going barefoot into the race paddies
somewhat hard to imagine
 :Hey, it that case, Nao-chan's done it too, right?
ƽ:Yup.
 You've gotten used to this at a good time, so it's just about time to dye you with the colours of the countryside.
 :Yeah yeah!
 It's time to make you a child of this town!
:N-nah, I think I'm already enough of a child of this town
ƽ:Geez, without touching nature, how could you be a child of this town!
You crazy city kid!
!
 :Whoaaa!
?
 I-I'm joking!
!
Ryouhei firmly grabbed my shoulders and started shaking.
:Ahahahaha!
In the midst of my shaking vision, the blue sky came flooding in.
Being able to get friends like this, being able to talk little by little, being able to fit into this town
 It felt like it was the first time that I've really accepted that I've moved to this town.
 :I'm homeI don't know if Sora was out or not, but the house was dead silent, with no sign of human life.
 :
Soraa?
 I'm back!
 You around?
The entrance wasn't locked, but she is quite careless
:Whoa
In the kitchen, plates and cups were left out on the table, and a hard, dry piece of bread was left there half eaten.
 She probably microwaved it again
:
If she couldn't eat it, that can't be helped, but I wish she'd at least put away the jam and margarine
 We just bought them so if they went off, that'd be crap.
Letting off a sigh, I put them in the fridge.
 While the fridge was open, I realised that we had no ingredients for making side dishes.
 I'll have to go shopping, can't just have rice for dinner.
But can I really be bothered going all the way to the supermarket near the station
As I was agonising over what to do, I suddenly remembered something I saw on the way home.
 The truck stopped at the plaza.
The people gathered around there.
That was called takano, I think
the pseudo-supermarket.
Apparently it comes twice a week, but, I guess today's one of the days.
Guess I have another option.
:
eh?

The person walking over there
is that Migiwa-san?
һ~:Ah
Kasugano-kun?
:I thought it was you, Migiwa-san.
 Hello.
һ~:Hello
you going shopping now?
:Yep, that's right.
 Is that a kimono?
Being properly dressed in Japanese clothes with refined colours and pattern was very becoming of Migiwa-san, who was standing there looking digified.
 Makes me reaffirm that, yep, she's definitely an Ojou-sama.
:That's quite nice.
 I wonder if it's because you have long hair, it looks better on you than the school uniform.
һ~:T-There's no point in flattering me.
:it wasn't flattery
umm
do you often wear that?
һ~:I was made to wear it a lot when I was little, but lately, not really
A guest of my dad's came over today, so
 I don't really like wearing it.
 It's nothing really something you wear these days, so I definitely stand out.
 Children a really sensitive to that, so when I was small, because of this, I didn't really get to play with everyone
 Migiwa-san lowered her eyebrows, looking downcast.
Seeing Migiwa-san in that state really creates an atmosphere, so it probably really did happen to her.
 But, Migiwa-san was worried about that sort of thing
she seems like a normal girl.
 Though, thinking about her in this way is probably rude.
һ~:Tsk, What on earth am I saying, please just forget I said anything.
 More importantly, weren't you in the middle of going shopping?
:Ah, yeah.
 To Takano.
һ~:Ah, the one in the plaza
are you going by yourself?
:There's Sora
oh, that's my sister, but she can't be relied on.
 So I have to go.
 һ~:You have a sister?
 Isn't that
really troublesome?
:Well, just a bit.
 There's still things we're not used to, afterall.
һ~:You have to do 2 people's worth of housework, right?
 It's a bit unimaginable for me
 You grew up in the sister, so you're probably really reliable, right?
:No waay!
 Even now, the fridge is basically empty, so I'm rushing to the shops.
 һ~:Even then, you're still great.
:Oh, stop that
it's really nothing
After praising me too much, my cheek starts to get itchy.
:In actually quite irresponsible.
 If Sora wasn't here, even now I'd probably just leave dinner as cup noodles.
 And it's not like I get the housework done properly.
һ~:Going shopping while thinking about your sister, definitely great.
 I can see that you're acting on your sesne of responsibility as a brother.
:I wonder
Haha, I don't think so, but
I wonder how Migiwa-san sees me?
It seems there's a big gap between how I see myself and how she sees me, giving me a bitter smile.
 һ~:But I don't think it's good for you to hang around Nakazato and go crazy with him.
 :I-I'll be careful
Against her narrowed eyes, I reflexively nodded.
I could see that Migiwa-san had a strict attitude towards Ryouhei, but she really can't put up with him, huh
 ŮԤ
Ojou-samaa!
 O-J-O-U-S-A-M-A!
!
!
:Hmm?
I wonder what that is?
 Sounds like someone's searching for something.
һ~:Eh?

That voice was
Migiwa-san turned to look behind me, so I looked towards the same way.
 So doing, I saw someone calling out while waving their hand
ŮOjousamaaaaa, there you are.
Maid?
:She's looking for you, right?
һ~:Yeah, she helps around in my house.
A helper
Ah!
 Come to think of it, she was the one to pick her up before
 Ojou-sama, sorry for intruding while you were in the middle of a conversation.
The maid respectfully bowed her head.
Despite this person being clearly older than Migiwa-san, she followed the master-servant relationship.
 I wonder
if she's someone a mere plebeian like me can casually talk too.
 Ojou-sama, your mother is looking for you.
һ~:Understood.
 I'll return immediately.

Ah.
 I haven't introduced her properly yet.
This is Nogisaka Motoka.
 I said it before, but she helps at my house.
 Nogisaka's fine.
 Pleased to meet you.
һ~:And he's Kasugano Haruka-kun.
 We're classmates.
:Pleased to meet you too
I'm Kasugano Haruka.
Being introduced like this make even me feel weird, as if I were also a distiguished person.
 Trying not to be rude, I bowed the same level as the maid while worrying that I'd come of as awkward.
 Ojou-sama's classmate
Ahh, the kid who was with everyone last time!
 :Ah, yes.
I see, you were one of Ojou-sama's classmates.
 I was wondering why a cool kid like you was with them.
 :Cool?

When I first saw you, I was surprised too
 Ahh, well yeah.
 With this kind of outfit, that can't be helped.
E-Eh
?
 Maybe it's just my imagination, but unlike when she's talking to Migiwa-san, she seems really frank
 :Well, once again, please to meet you.
Yep yep, pleased to meet you
ah.
һ~:I-I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance, Kasugano-kun.
:Eh, ah
yeah.
Eh, that ceremonial feel again
Don't tell me Nogisaka-san is forcibly making that respectful attitude?
 һ~:Well then, Kasugano-kun, sorry for cutting the conversation off halfway, but excuse me.
 :Okay, I'll see you at school then.
Please excuse us.
Following Migiwa-san's lead, Nogisaka san bowed politely, and walked towartds the mountains.
 I'm not one to talk, but that respectful behaviour somehow seems awkward when comapred to how natural Migiwa-san's is.
 Even when taking that one step to follow Nohisaka-san, it shows that she's a master at it.
An Ojou-sama through and through.
Though it might be better if I think over how I deal with her
Judging from how Ryouhei and the rest of the class deal with it, it might be better if I don't worry about it.
 Well, once I get used to it, I'll know what to do.
:Besides, now's not the time to be thinking - I need to go shopping.
I'm off to school.
:The uniforms are arriving today, and once they do we can go to school together, right?
Tch, no reply?
Not even replying to a knock
I wonder if she's still sleeping?
I think I'll start preparing early tomorrow
:I've put the rice in the fridge, so make sure you eat it, okay?
Okay, I'm off.
 
Just in case, I locked the door and left the house.
It's a land full of things I'm not used to, but I've clearly remembered the way to school.
 I'm not as reliable as Migiwa-san says, but I've become better able to deal with daily things.
 Once the uniforms arrive, she'll probably go to school
and once that happens, that's one less burden for me to carry.
 How long will we have to keep doing thing before it becomes our natural lifestyle
 :Ah!
 It's Haru-kun!
 'Morniiiinngggg!
!
!
һ~:Wait!
 Akira, don't use such a long voice
:Amatsume, Migiwa-san
'Morning.
һ~:G-Good Morning
:Hmmm
.
?
:W-What?
As she looked into my face as I was greeting them, I bent backwards without thinking.
 Even Migiwa-san looked as if she were looking at something strange.
:For some reason you've got a worn out face.
 You okay?
:Eh?

After hearing something slightly unexpected, I made a weird noise.
:I-I was making such a face
?
һ~:I-I don't really know
Even when I ask Migiwa-san, she makes a troubled face.
Since I didn't notice myself, I have no idea what sort of expression I should be making now.
 :It's not your imagination is it, Amatsume?
When I asked Amatsume that, she:Hmm
maybe.
readily withdrew it.
һ~:What's up with you, geez
:Ahahaha, maybe I'm just happy to meet Haru-kun.
:Even if that's the case, I don't understand you.
:Really?
һ~:Let's hurry up and go.
 If we relax here, that person will show up.
 :That person?
һ~:Nothing.
 If you're going to wait here, we're going to go first.
 :Wait wait.
 I'll go with you too.
When I caught up to Migiwa-san, I realised that "that person" was probably Ryouhei.
 It seems she sees him as an enemy.
I don't know the reason, but
һ~:
Umm, I could see it too just then, so do you want to talk
?
:Ah, no, that's not it
Well, if you're going to look hard at me, of course you'll think I'm weird
һ~:?
 Is there something over there?
:It's not that either.
Probably thinking that my actions are really unnatural, she looked away from me and followed my gaze.
 һ~:Ah
:Eh, is there really something there?
Hearing Migiwa-san unexpectedly cry out, I looked over there again.
A woman
?
From the direction of the school, an extremely rough figure wearing a tank top and shorts, came walking here, her sandals dragging on the ground.
 She was wearing a frown and scratching her head
but had a sharp look and was a bit scary.
 A beautiful woman
probably.
 But for someone to be coming from the city this early in the morning, it feels weird.
 It's mostly a time when people would be going into the city, like us, or doing into the fields.
:Ah!
 It's Hiro-neechan!
 Oiiiiii!
!
!
һ~:A-Akira!
:Eh, Amatsume?
This time it was Amatsume who called out, and ran towards the woman.
I wonder if they're acquaintances.
ĿĤΐŮShut up!
!
!
 Don't shout so loudly!
 Urgh

For some reason, I think her words were a bit rough
In some ways, you could say it fits her appearance
:Hey, just returning now?
 now?
ĿĤΐŮDon't say it twice!

Geez, yes, from Motoka's
pl
ace
 Oh, this is my first time seeing a woman stay out all night and only return in the morning
Eh?
 but isn't Motoka a girl's name?
 For some reason, I think it's a name I've heard too
ĿĤΐŮHuh?
 What do you want?
 You've been staring at me for a while now.
 trying to pick a fight?
 :What, no way!
Don't tell me she wants a fight?
 Why
:Ah, you haven't been introduced to Haru-kun yet, huh?
 This is Hiro-neechan!
 :Hiro
neechan?
һ~:Akira, that's not much of an introduction.
:I see, I see.
 Hiro-neechan's the one who works my shrine's cheap candy shop.
 A shop manager.
ĿĤΐŮԡ
it's not just cheap candy, you know?
һ~:
Ifukube Yahiro-san.
As if seeing no other choice, Migiwa-san gives me her full name.
 Yahiro, therefore Hiro-neechan, makes sense.
:Please to meet you
I'm Kasugano Haruka.
ҤKasugano
?
 You're the one at Sensei's place?
:Yes, I'm his grandson.
ҤHmmm
Ifukube-san
actually, it doesn't feel right to use such a formal name here
Yahiro-san just closed her eyes for a second and snuffled, holding her head as if all meaning was lost to her.
 :Umm
are you feeling bad?
ҤShut up.
 It's a hangover, so stop talking.
:O-Okay
As I thought, probably a scary person.
:Hiro-neechan, I made some onogiri at home, so if you're hurry, eat those, okay?
 ҤAhh, thank you
well, at this rate I'll just be fast asleep
:I see, then good night!
!
ҤTch
like I said, don't shout!
!
!
!
 It echoes in my head!
Geez, and that's why you can't drink sake yet
Leaving behind that sharp remark, she left on the room we came, sandals dragging on the ground like before.
 Such a slovenly person, I would never have believed she was an acquaintance of Amatsume and Migiwa-san.
 Though Ryouhei probably has quite a few areas where they're similar.
:They seem like they know each other but
they're not sisters are they?
 Ifukube is different to both Amatsume and Migiwa, afterall.
:Hmm
Guardian, I suppose?
:Guardian?
:Yeah, I don't have anyone in my family right now, so Hiro-neechan looks after me.
 :No one
in your family?
:Yup!
Amatsume, had a grandpa, I think
he was old and frail, but he was the Shinto priest and
 Don't tell me he died like my grandparents
So Amatsume's like me and Sora, having no relatives
:Sorry
I probably asked something strange
:Hmm?
 Why are you apologising?
:Ah, that's
Upon looking at Amatsume, who had a bright smile on her face, you'd think I was the one who had the wrong reaction.
 
If someone asked me that too, I'd probably give the same response
 һ~:She says guardian, but if you look at who's looking after who
Interrupting our conversation, Migiwa-san spat out something full of thorns.
 As if she was someone like Ryouhei, she shot a hostile glare at the retreating Yahiro-san.
 
So Migiwa-san has people otther than Ryouhei that she takes that attitude with
:Something like 6:4, Hiro-neechan's way?
һ~:8:2, your way, isn't it?
:You really think so?
һ~:Always making you tend the cheap candy shop, making you cook the dinner, just who is she guarding you?
 :Letting me stay in this town?
һ~:Kuh
there is that, but
:Thanks for always worrying about me, Kazu-chan.
 But although she may look that way, Hiro-neechan's actually a kind person.
 And besides, being able to be here with everyone like this
I'm happy.
 һ~:That's

Amatsume smiling sweetly, and in contrast the downcast Migiwa-san.
Looking to cheer up Migiwa-san, Amatsume took her hand.
Just friends
no, even if they were close friends
I get the feeling that they're something more than that.
 But to someone who just met them, like me, it was something unfathomable.
:Ahaha, it turned into a weird conversation, huh?
 Sorry, Haru-kun.
I'm completely okay, so don't worry about it too much, okay?
:Ahh, yeah
:Hey, come on!
 Let's go to school!
 We're going to be late!
Smiling again, Amatsume grabbed me and Migiwa-san's hand and ran.
 As if falling forward, with me and Migiwa-san following.
But Migiwa-san's expression, was still downcast.
During that day's second period, my heart leapt out in surprise at an unexpected electronic noise.
 ƽ:Whoa, what's that?
 What's that sound?
And the source was
me.
The mobile phone in my pocket.
 Ryouhei turned around and the lesson was stopped, but because no one realised what that sound was, they didn't realise I was the cause.
 I hurriedly switched it to silent mode, and the ringtone cut off.
 The LCD displayed "Sora" and indicated that an email had arrived.
 The contents were just a short "I'm hungry"
she does realise I'm a school, right
Typing in only "There's rice in the fridge", I sent the reply and closed my phone.
So she really wasn't awake yet this morning
I sighed.
ƽ:Hehehehe
feels tiring, huh?
:Wh
What does?
After lifting my head, i was thrown back.
Right in my face, was a Ryouhei's face, with a faint smile.
Coming in so close
Yuck.
What made my heart race was not whether or not he saw, but because I was surprised.
 ƽ:What did you just hide?
 I don't suppose it has something to do with that noise just then?
 :T-That's
ƽ:Don't hide it We're friends, right?
:Even if you say that
The classroom had settled down and returned to normal, and the teacher had resumed the lesson.
Right now, there was no one paying attention to us.
:Yeah
well, I forgot to put it into silent mode.
While feeling guilty, I took out my phone.
I've never forgotten to do that before, but perhaps because I'm not used to this lifestyle yet, I carelessly forgot.
 ƽ:Silent mode?
 What's that
D-Don't tell me that's one of those "mobile phone" things!
?
 Whoa, you're amazing
you were carrying such a thing?
:It's a normal mobile phone, isn't it?
 Can't even connect to 1seg.
ƽ:Huh?
 OneSeg?
 What's that?
:Wan wan is
like a doggie?
:Not a dog, TV!
 The new models have tv built in, right?
 ƽ:What!
 You serious?
 You can watch TV on such a small thing?
 :That's amazing!
 Lemme see lemme see!
:Like I said, this model can't
һ~:
hold on, you three, Do you realise what kind of time it is?
ƽ:Oh, Ojousama, you have a look too!
 it can watch TV!
 It's even beter than yours, right?
 һ~:I don't care about that.
 How about focusing on class for at least a bit?

 :Sorry, I'll close it straight away.
After chiding us, Migiwa-san silently looked towards the blackboard.
Migiwa-san's diligent.
 I have to try and not be a distraction.
ƽ:
Migiwa of all people is jealous.
:What'd you say, Ryouhei?
ƽ:Well, your one's newer than the one that the Ojou's carrying, so she's sulking.
 :
I don't think so.
ƽ:You still don't understand the Ojou.
 She really hates to lose, you know?
 I got to know that from experience.
 :She often gets angry at Ryou-niichan, huh.
:That's different to saying she hates to lose, isn't it?
ƽ:Oho, desperately covering for the Ojou, huh?
Hahahaaa?
 besides that, you
 һ~:You three
Just as Ryouhei was going to say something, Migiwa-san interrupts again.
It looks like her head's twtitching.
:Ah, Sorr
ƽ:What can the Ojou's do?
 Only calls?
 Too bad, huuh.
 can't beat my Haruka's with just that, right?
 һ~:I don't care who wins what!
 Stop being such an idiot!
 
She exploded
һ~:Ah
Migiwa-san quickly covered her both, but everyone in the class had already turned this way.
 ѧ̎Migiwa, Nakazato, Kasugano, Amatsume!
 Do you realise what time it is?
 ߤSorry
һ~:Geez, thanks to you I had to go through something so humiliating.
Even when we reached a break, Migiwa-san's anger hadn't subsided.
:Sorry, once I said it, they got all fired up
:Sorry, Kazu-chan.
ƽ:Ahh, sorry Ojou.
 I didn't think you hated losing that much.
 һ~:Who hates losing?
 I was just scolding you over your lack of diligence!
 That's probably true
it even seems that way to me.
ƽ:Now now, calm down.
 Show us your phone for a bit longer, Haruka.
 The only one who doesn't realise, is the perpetrator.
һ~:I don't really care.
ƽ:So Haruka, what else can yours do?
һ~:Listen to what I'm saying!
ƽ:Surely the Ojou is interested as well?
һ~:Tch
interpretting as you wish
:M-Migiwa-san, calim down
I haven't believed what he's saying yet
һ~:I don't really care what you think of me.
:Ah, I see.
That's probably true, but that did hurt a bit
:Kazu-chan, Haru-kun, calim down, calm down!
 Let's watch TV together!
 :
Like I said, mine can't connect to 1seg.
һ~:Wan
is that a dog?
:Even you said the same silly line as Amatsume
һ~:Eh, What's that?
 Did I just say something weird?
ƽ:Wahahaha, even the Ojou came up with a doggie!
 At this rate, Akira won't be the loser!
 :Ahaa, I'm the same as Kazu-chan, right?
һ~:Huh
you too, Akira?
ƽ:Ooo, the Ojou has her cute side too?
 Mistakening 1seg for a doggie.
 Come on, come on, show us that cute doggie!
:Like I said, mine
Just as I was going to say that mine couldn't again
һ~:
Grr
It felt like Migiwa-san's temples were twitching.
һ~:Hih!
ƽ:Umph!
Then, Migiwa-san's right hand flashed.
I don't know where she pulled it out of, but in Migiwa-san's hand was a silver
what is that?
 A tray?
 Lid?
 She smacked that rectangular silver board over Ryouhei's head.
:R-Ryou-niichan, you okay?
ƽ:Nu
ooooooo
I think the corner hit, because Ryouhei was still clutching his head.
һ~:And the one who hit him has a smile while seems to say, "He deserved it".
 Now that I have a good look at the tray, it was dented here and there, dull and had traces of a worn out shine.
 For something so worn out, it really matched its shape.
 Undoubtedly, this thing happens a lot, so she keeps it in reserve
һ~:Ah
A-Anyways!
 Behave yourself, okay?
Migiwa-san waved her hand
and then the silver try disappeared like magic.
 һ~:
I've told you about going crazy with them before, haven't I, Kasugano-kun?
 :Y-yeah
I understand.
 I'll be careful.
һ~:If that's the case, that's fine.
Migiwa-san
for an honour student she's certainly graceful, but
unexpectedly quick to violence
 It's probably best to be careful not to make her angry
:Soraa!
 It's almost time to go, so eat your breakfast, okay?
Despite calling her countless times, there was no reply.
The preperations for breakfast were finished completely, so the egg and toast could only get cold from here.
 But more importantly is the problem of whether we'll be late or not.
:Don't tell me you won't be going!
 The uniforms have arrived.
 Nao-chan sewed on the buttons for us yesterday, so all she has to do is wear it
 :She's not still sleeping, is she
But yesterday's email did arrive at scuh a time
:Oi!
 If you don't wake up, we'll seriously be late
Just as I was going to knock on the door, the door opened.
:
What?
:Ahh, nothing
if you're awake, go eat breakfast.
::What?
After looking at me closely, Sora let out a small sigh and turned her head away.
 And like that, tried to leave the kitchen.
:O-Oi
at least eat breakfast.
:No need.
:You can't do that.
 It's been a while since you've been to school, so if you don't eat properly, you'll collapse.
 :
fine.
As if being forced, Sora dropped her shoulders and went to get some milk from the fridge.
 She poured it into the cup that was on the table until it was full full, and drank it with small gulping noises.
 :
I'm full.
:
Just that?
:I don't need any more.
And then tried to leave the kitchen again.
:Hold on.
 I haven't eaten yet either.
:
What're you doing?
:Don't be so surprised, I was waiting for you.
:
Haa
I can't agree with her making a sigh as if I were the idiot.
 :Dammit
fine, we'll go now.
 But I'm still going to eat my breakfast.
 :Do what you want?
:At least let me do that.
:
and, what this?
Sora looked at me trying to eat toast while walking.
:
*sigh*That was the 3rd sigh in one day.
:*munch**munch*
can't be helped, if i don't eat I'll get hungry.
Walking slowly so I wouldn't drop the gg on the toast
it is indecent, even if I say so myself.
 I have a feeling Sora's trying to get away from the person doing such things.
:Well, it's all good
Make sure you remember the route.
 We might not always be together.
 :Eh?
:We're not in the same class, so the time we go home might be different, and
 :Why
are we not in the same class?
:You'd have to ask the school that.
:While looking at me, Sora's eyes twiched with anxiety.
But even so, there's nothing I can do.
:It'll be okay.
 You'll get used it it quickly, get some friends
::Even if that wasn't so, the classrooms are next to each other, so you can come over when it's a break
:I'm going home.
:Oi, He
y.
.
:
Kya!
Whaa
ah, Sora-chan?
As Sora tried to turn and leave, she knocked into someone behind her.
 ::Nao-chan, perfect timing!
 Stop Sora from getting away!
ξw:Eh?
 Ah, okay, but
did something happen?
Nao-chan grabbed Sora's arm.
Sora looked unhappy, but there's no way she could have really gone home.
 :Thanks, Nao-chan.
 Oh, and good morning.
ξw:Eh, Ahhh
Good morning Harichan, S
Whoa!
?
ξw:Eh?
ƽ:Holy shit
Is this a fated reunion!
?
:Ryo-Ryouhei
?
Where'd he come from
?
As we stood dumfounded, Ryouhei crossed over to Sora and Nao-chan.
 As if only having Sora in his eyes, he winked and bowed with his right hand, showing his index and middle fingers.
 
:
Who?
Honestly, it was digusting, but it seems Sora agrees.
While asking, she hid behind me.
:Ryouhei, a classmate.
 Mine though, not yours.
:
gross.
ξw:
Really, what are you trying to do?

ƽ:Hahaha!
 Both of you are so cold!
 If you know her, you should say so!
 :Nah, she's my sister.
ƽ:Wha!
?
 S-Sister!
?
Onii-sama, Good Morning.
:What're you doing
with your face so close
ƽ:I am Nakazato Ryouhei.
 One of your Onii-sama's classmates.
 Pleased to make your acquaintance.
 ξw:If you're going to introduce yourself, at least do it normally.
 Sorry, Sora-chan.
 He's a weird thing, but that's because he's weird from the roots.
 ƽ:Hoho, So you're "Sora-chan".
 And a wonderfully cute name that is too.
 I look forward to working with you.
 :Are you still continuing that?
ƽ:Shhh, I'm trying to act the cool guy, so shush.
ξw:How is that a cool guy?
 Haru-chan, Sora-chan, let's go before we're infected with idiocy.
 ƽ:Ah, hey, you two are my classmates!
 Keep your hands off them!
 ξw:Yeah yeah, if you hand around him you'll be late.
 So let's go, Sora-chan?
 :ƽ:Geez, playing the older sister
:You seem quite close to Nao-chan, huh?
ƽ:Well, I guess.
 We were classmates last year, afterall.
But, she's
become really happy, huh?
 After meeting you two.
:Hmm?
:Ah, 'Morning!
 Haru-kun!
!
:'Morning, Amatsume, Migiwa-san.
 You're a bit later than yesterday, aren't you?
һ~:
keh.
:Yeah, Kazu-chan overslept today, so just a bitһ~:W-Wait a minute, Akira!
:I-Is that so?

һ~:G-Good Morning
:It sure is lively today.
һ~:Rather than lively, it's just noisy
:From today, Sora
my sister's going to school with me.
:Ah, that's right.
 Your uniforms just came, right?
һ~:
It suits you.
 i think you looked cool in your clothes before, but you do now too.
 :Eh?
һ~:Why are you so surprised?
:Ah, nah
I just didn't think I'd get any praise from you
һ~:E-Even I can tell the difference between good and bad things!
:O-Oh yeah!
Migiwa-san's beautiful, so it feels hard to get close to her
 She's a genuine Ojousama, afterall
:Oh, that's right.
 Soraa!
!
 Can you come over here for a sec?
:
What?
:I'll introduce her.
 This is my sister, Sora.
:Pleased to meet you!
 I'm Akira, Amatsume Akira.
һ~:I'm Migiwa Kazuha.
:Long time no see!
 Do you remember?
 Sora-chan?
:
eh?
ƽ:What's this?
 That string of fate again?
:Ahh, when you got lost once, I only took you back to your house, so you've probably forgotten, huh?
 :
I don't remember.
:Ahaaaa
Well, pleased to meet you again then.
:
mm
Nodding deeping once, Sora tried to get away in order to put some distance between her and Ryouhei.
ƽ:Akira, your memory is shockingly good.
:Hmm.
.
She looks exactly like Haru-kun, so maybe that's why I remember.
ξw:She remembers all your evil doings, in other words.
ƽ:S-Seriously?
:Hmm
For example, In the plastic greenhouse, Ryou-niichan
һ~:Akira, you can forget all about people like that.
ƽ:Haha, Real men don't need to look back onto the past, afterall.
һ~:Hmph
It'd be a lot better if you did look back on your past.
 ƽ:Ojou, you shouldn't imprison yourself in the past.
 Time is something that only goes forward.
 һ~:
Grr
Ryouhei was probably trying to use a cool line, but it seems he's getting her irritated instead
 ƽ:There's no need to be irritated about sleeping in, even I'm constantly
 
һ~:Shut up!
!
!
ƽ:Umph!
һ~:You
always making a pass at everything!
 Just shut it!
 ƽ:Umph!
 Gwaa!
һ~:Hah, hah, hah
:M-Migiwa-san
Aftering yelling so hard i think he face turned all read, Migiwa-san kicked Ryouhei down into a paddy field.
 Her tone always went violent, and because she swung her leg as hard as she could, umm
 I think could just see her panties underneath
but I told her that, I'd get kicked too, so I stayed quiet
 һ~:
*Gasp*!
?
S-Sorry.
 I'm sorry, showiing you something so immodest.
:Ahh, no
That's okay.
Calmly said, but on the other hand, just as terrifying.
You wouldn't really say that Migiwa-san is just an Ojousama
The attack in the classroom yesterday was also rather violent
:Kazu-chan, you really don't have to hide your real personality all the time, you know
һ~:I-I'm not hiding anything!
:Haha, Ahaha
Just which is the real Migiwa-san
?
I think that, but there's no way I can actually ask her.
:More importantly, is Ryouhei all right?
 I think he fell into a paddy field, but
 
Between the rice plants in the paddy farm, two legs growing out of the mud were twitching.
 I think he's alive, but
:He's all right It happens all the time, afterall.
һ~:Don't worry about that person.
ξw:Well, he deserved it, so leave him there.
:R-Really
?
Is it really okay
?
ƽ:DAAAHAHAHAHA!
!
!
 I am revived!
!
!
:Ah.
ƽ:Heh
It's been a while since I last took one of those.
 And the Ojou's got a lot of fight as usual.
 Ryouhei was showing a bright smile.
Obviously, he was dripping wet and full of mud.
If it's only affected him that much, there must be nothing wrong with him physically.
һ~:Don't talk about people as if they were violent.
You'll cause misunderstandings!
ƽ:Ahh, The Ojou not only packs kicks.
 She can punch too!
һ~:I'm NOT talking about that!
After raising her voice for a moment, Migiwa-san squared her shoulders and left.
:Ryouhei, did you purposely piss her off?
ƽ:No no, I love the Ojou, you know?
Okay Akira!
 Let's calm down the Ojou together!
 :Okaay!
 Kazu-chan, wait for me!
!
ƽ:Wait up, Kazu-chaaaan!
!
һ~:W-What do you want?
 Get away from me!
A-Akira, you hurry up.
 ƽ:It's okay, Haruka will make sure to back us up!
 һ~:I can't trust you to back up anything!
:I'll back up tooooo!
һ~:If you want to do anything, do it when Nakazato-senpai's not around
:
They're lively
ξw:Like I said, right?
 Happens all the time.
:Seems so.
:
I'm tired.
:I'll say
but today's just started.
:
*Sigh*ξw:Ahahah, If only every day was as fun as this.
:No way.
:Ahahaha
I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but it's definitely a bit weird.
:Lot of taking care of people today
After returning home from school with Sora and putting my stuff into my room, I heaved a sigh.
 Worried about whether Sora would be okay at school, I felt as nervous as when I first went to school.
 Sora's probably more nervous, but
On the way home, it seems she was so tired she didn't even say anything.
 As soon as she got home, she shut herself into her room and, well, she's probably near her limit.
 Maybe I'll leaver her alone til dinner.
So, I left the house, but what to do.
No need to go shopping, since there's some left from last time.
I don't know anywhere to kill time
Ah well, guess I'll take a walk around here.
 I haven't explored everywhere, so might as well.
:I think this is
Nao-chan's area, isn't it?
If I kept going, I think I'd reach Amatsume's temple.
Maybe I could go over there too
Hm?
I could hear a faint yet comfortable and gentle sound.
An instrument
?
 Probably the sound of a stringed.
As if being drawn by the sound, I headed for the shrine.
After coming here, I realised the sound was part of a piece being played.
 I wonder who's playing.
Closing her eyes, as if becoming one with the sound the instrument was playing, Migiwa-san wholeheartedly performed.
 From the shape and way she's playing, it's probably a violin
Ah no, she said it was a viola.
 A calm and gentle tone.
I understand nothing about anything musical, but this tune felt calming and pleasant.
 Akira said she could fall asleep listening, and I can understand that.
Migiwa-san gently continued playing the viola.
I could feel her kindness, as well as what she was thinking.
һ~:"If I can just play for the people I want to play for, that's good enough" 
Amatsume is one of those people she wants to play for
Right now, the only person other than me who's listening to this is Amatsume.
And of the people who heard it from the start, there was only Amatsume.
Music played only for Amatsume.
Eavesdropping on something like that makes me feel really guilty, but
 There's no way I could call out and ruin this music, Migiwa-san's feelings.
 Yet despite that.
 I couldn't secretly leave either.
:Waa!
 Bravo!
 clapclapclapAs the piece finished and Migiwa-san slowly stopped her hands, Amatsume clapped happily.
 
һ~:Geez, what's with that unnatural clapping?
 You didn't fall alseep did you?
 :Nooo, I listened to all of it!
 You've gotten good, huh.
һ~:After playing this piece so many times.
Migiwa-san's reply was curt, but her cheeks had gone red.
 :Haru-kun, Kazu-chan's good, right?
һ~:EH!
!
?
 Kasugano-kun!
?
:Ah
From where Amatsume was, she could easily see me, who was standing in the shadow on the Torii.
 She had no doubt that I had heard Migiwa-san's performance.
So she realised I was there
:
I thought it was bad to listen and no say anything, but it was a good performance, so I couldn't turn away
 While turning myself in, I thought about how childish that excuse was.
As if were a trivial prank, and there wouldn't be any punishment.
:Sorry, listening in on it.
һ~:If you're there, say you're there
Mgiwa-san got even redder than she was after Amatsume praised her.
It looks more and more like there actually wouldn't be any punishment.
:If I called out, I'd have ruined the atmosphere
It was really good, your performance.
 һ~:,,,Thank you very much.
:See!
 I told you, you were really are good.
һ~:Okay, I get it
geez, don't say any more.
I doesn't look like Migiwa-san's mad
which is a relief.
:I'm really sorry.
һ~:It's not something you should be apologising for
but, text time, please say something
 :Okay, I'll do that.
Do you always practise here?
һ~:After I have a lesson, I sometimes come here to review.
Akira doesn't understand it at all, but Sensei says having people listen is a good way to improve
 :I really stayed up today.
һ~:
See?
 Doesn't understand at all.
:But, she's your treasured audience, right?
 It really showed from your performance.
 һ~:That's not really
It's just that at home there's my mum who's a lot better than me, so if she heard it'd be embarassing.
.
 And when my dad's acquaintances come over, playing in front of them make it seem like I'm a sideshow, and I hate that.
 So other than the school's music room and at lessons, this is the only place I can play.
 :What a waste, right?
Ah of course!
 Have Haru-kun listen too ahd he can tell you his impressions!
 Since I don't really understand, I'm sure Haru-kun could give a much better a impression.
 :I'm just an amateur too.
 There's nothing I could say to someone's who's taken lessons like Migiwa-san.
 :I think it's just good enough to listen honestly and say that it feels good, I felt sleepy, or something like that.
 һ~:I don't need such vague impressions.
:Well, have you entered any contests?
һ~:Sensei has asked me how I felt about doing that, but I know I won't get past the preliminaries, so I refused.
 :Don't like losing, right?
һ~:Grrr
.
Okay, I do!
Migiwa-san's face stiffened, as if she hit a sore spot.
On first galnce, it seems like Migiwa-san's the leader of this duo, but sometimes it seems that Amatsume's the real leader.
 I feel sorry for Migiwa-san, but I do find that funny.
һ~:Although
I don't need the prize for winning the contest, but I do want to be as good as my mother.
 I used to listen to my mum's performance instead of a lullaby
Someday, I want to become good enough so that if she hears, I won't be embarrassed
Doing a complete 360, Migiwa-san's face softened.
The expression of a child who loves her mother dearly.
The nest and tidy Ojousama, the ability to pull of violent attacks, the obstinacy in hating to lose, the young girl.
 Migiwa-san really has a huge range of expressions.
:If that's the case, you're already done!
 Even I sometimes fall asleep.
һ~:
It's not
because it's boring?
:Of course notAfter seeing such your gentle face, I somehow feel peace of mind, and end up dozing off.
 һ~:As usual, you really have some incomprehensible senses.
:No I don't They're nowhere near that goodһ~:That wasn't a compliment!
And Migiwa-san pulls out a completely different expression.
These two really are close.
I've become a bit jealous of the bonds I can feel between these two.
 Jealous of Migiwa-san's being able to firmly accept her parent's love too.
ƽ:Today's finally over!
!
 Let's go home, Akira!
:Yupyup!
 Kazu-chan, Haru-kun, you too!
һ~:Why me too?

:Ah, wait a moment, I'll call Sora over.
ƽ:Oh!
 I'll put in all my coolness and reliability!
 
A week since Sora started going to school.
In our her way, she's gotten used to the classes, and no problems have really come up.
 It's just that, obviously going to and from school, but even at lunch, she comes to eat at our classroom.
 I can't really say she's gotten close to everyone, but it's a bit weird.
 Well, even going to school is a step forward for her, so going really slow is probably good for her, I think.
 ƽ:It's reaallly hot
and summer's still barely here.
:Watching Ryouhei wave fan himself with his hand, Sora wordlessly nods.
 Perhaps because everyone else keeps the same, but they drop their shoulders as if dead tired,:It's close to the mountains, so I personally think it's cooler than in the city, but
 ƽ:Maybe this year's special.
 It was nowhere close to this last year.
:Well thenLet's all go eat some ice cream!
ƽ:Oh?
 Good idea there, Akira!
һ~:That's fine, Takano's has probably gone all the way to Okozume by now?
 And returning to town now is
 :Not thatHiro-neechan's place.
:Come to think of it, that cheap candy shop did sell it, huh?
:
cheap candy?
ƽ:Ohh?
 Sora-chan hasn't gone before, eh?
 Well then, let me show you the way!
 :Hii!

:
don't freak out Sora too much!
һ~:Hah
ƽ: Looks like I've done it now, too handsome of a man, making all the girls timid.
 :Sora-chaaan, Ryo-niichan isn't that scary!
:
gross.
:Ahahaha!
 That's probably trueƽ:Handsome men sometimes have the opposite effect as well, I guess!
һ~:Being involved like this, have feel sorry for Sora-san
:W-Well, it's not like she doesn't find it fun.
I think it's much better than closing off her heart and shutting herself inside.
:
Haru, ice cream
:Okay.
 It is quite hot today.
:
Mm.
:Let's hurry a bit, everyone.
 If we got too slowly we might get heatstoke.
 ƽ:In that case, it's a race to the shop!
:Okay!

set, go!
һ~:Ah, wait a moment, Akira
ƽ:Dammit, I'm not losing!
!
Hurry
but I didn't say to run
:What're you going to do, Migiwa-san?
һ~:
No way am I running.
:R-Right?

Sora's here as well, so we should just hurry normally.
But dashing full force until you're worn out in this heat would really be harsh.
Quite a bit before we reached the cheap candy shop, Amatsume and Ryouhei had already planted themselves on the ground.
 I wonder what they're doing
In the end, we staggeed into Yahiro-san's shop with me lending my shoulder to Ryouhei, and Migiwa-san's to Amatsume.
 ƽ:Sorry, Haruka
I'm deeply thankful for your friendship
:It's hot and painful, so I'm letting you down here.
:Ahaha
sorry about that, Kazu-chan
һ~:It's okay, just this much.
 But don't push yourself too hard, okay?
:Okay!
һ~:If only you'd only just answer that all the time

What?
 Making such a fuss in front of my store
Just as we arrived at the store, we could hear a lazy from inside.
 ҤWhat, it's you guys?
 Geez, crashing with so many people
well, good timing.
 Akira.
 I'm going to sleep at the back, so mind the shop for me.
:Yup, Okay!
ҤAnd you guys, if you make too much noise and disturb my peaceful sleep, I'll kill you, okay?
 Leaving such a dangerous line, Yahiro-san shut herself in the back, despite only just coming out.
 You could feel an ominous arura leaking out of the door which was just shut with a bang
 
:It looks like we should be quiet.
ƽ:Ahh
it seems she really will kill us if we're noisy.
һ~:Geez, just who does she think Akira is
:Hiro-neechan is the guardian:
Guardian?
 Whose?
:Me Me!
 Since my grandpa died, Hiro-neechan's been taking care of me!
 :Hmmm
һ~:I know that!

But she treats you like a handyman
 :Hey Hey Kazu-chan, Vanilla or Chocolate?
һ~:Wait a moment!
 I'm talking about you, so why are you happily choosing ice cream?
:Hmm, which should I choose?
 Vanilla is good, but I also want to eat chocolate
 һ~:Both is bad.
 You'll ruin your stomach.
:It's okay.
 Just the other day, me and Hiro-neechan survived on just ice cream for the whole day.
 һ~:W-What, are you stupid!
?
 Doing something that crazy, geez
:As intimate as usual, those two.
ƽ:They're this area's icon, afterall.
 Well, we should go choose too.
Ah, I'll choose one for you, okay, Sora?
 ::She really hates you.
ƽ:No no, she was just embarrassed then.
 You saw that, right?
 I'll have her calling me "Onii-sama" soon.
 
Onii-sama's not even something she calls me.
:But what're we going to do about paying?
 Yahiro-san's not here.
:Paying?
 There's a "Please pay here box" over there, so just put the money in there.
Amatsume, who just happened to pass by, pointed towards the shop.
 There was a box-y, can-y thing there.
So you put the payment in there
It's a really crude system, so I hesitated slightly.
 What happens if you need change
and how does inventory control work
ƽ:Guess I'll have an ice block
What're you going to do, Haruka?
:I'll have that too.
Feeling nostalgic, I picked up an ice block and put the payment in the "Please pay here box".
 I had just the right amount, luckily.
:Thank you, please come again
ƽ:What do you want, Sora-chan?
 Sweeet strawberry?
Or maybe cool mint?
 Or what about some shaved ice?
 :
Vanilla.
Ignoring all the cupped ice cream Ryouhei took out, Sora went for the simple cup.
 :Haru, money.
:Ah, yeah.
But when I looked at the price of the ice cream she took out, I was taken aback.
 It definitely was a normal vanilla ice cream, but she'd picked the best brand.
 Why the hell is a cheap candy store selling H?
agen-Dazs?

һ~:Maybe I'll get vanilla too
Migiwa-san also picked up a vanilla.
 But unlike Sora, she picked up a normal one.
:Well then, I'll have chocolate.
Everyone had picked their own share, so we all started eating.
:
*gulp*, *shiver*
As if trying to cool herself, Sora quickly but wholeheartedly put the ice cream to her mouth.
 ƽ:
*bite* *bite* *swallow*
That hit the spot!
 That's the stuff!
 Ryouhei was also digging into his ice block, and then whacking himself on the head.
 
I'm going to eat mine calmly.
Amatsume was eating hers happily, while Migiwa-san eating hers slowly, waiting for one bit to finish before the next.
 :Kazu-chan, is it good?
һ~:
yeah
well
I'm not sure if she's embarrassed, but it seems she was hesitating
ƽ:You don't eat eat such plebian things much, do you?
 Unplatable, is it?
 һ~:It's not like I eat snacks often in the first place.
 But it's not like I always get to eat rich things.
 Against Ryouhei's teasing question, Migiwa-san replied as if offended.
:Mmm, mmm, Ahaa, this is great!
 Do you want so chocolate too, Kazu-chan?
 Want to swap for a bit?
 һ~:Eh?
 That's okay, but.
.
But as Amatsume called out to her, her expression loosened.
:Okay!
 Open wide!
һ~:I-I can get it myself.
.
we're not children anymore
Brushing away the spoon Amatsume had outstreched, Migiwa-san scooped out some chocolate ice cream with her own spoon.
 That's even more childish, I sat there thinking.
:Tasty?
һ~:Yes it is, this is actually quite good.
:Okay, give me some of that?
 Aaaaa.
һ~:Geez, like a child
As if pestering her, Amatsume opened her mouth towards Migiwa-san.
Migiwa-san gave her some of her vanilla ice cream using her own spoon.
So she's fine with feeding others
:Mm!
 Waa, Delicious!
!
һ~:Geez, that's exaggerating.
In contrast to her chiding tone, Migiwa-san's expression was soft.
As if looking after her kindly, she was wearing a smile.
 For some reason, she as happy.
 It's probably going too far to say that she looked like a mother, but she seems happy to be looking after Amatsume.
 :More please?
һ~:I can't say no, can I
Okay, open wide,:Aaaa!
 
um!
 Delicious!
 Cold!
 Amatsume continued mumbling with Migiwa-san's spoon still in her mouth.
 As if that were fun too, she smiled without a care.
:I want moreһ~:No way, if you eat that much there'd be none left for me.
:In that case, I'd give you mine.
һ~:No waay, you've eaten too much
.
But, if it's only a bit
:Ahaaa, I love you Kazu-chan!
һ~:What are you saying
:They really are close.
һ~:Eh!
?
:It seems like you say a lot of things to her, but you don't mind at all.
 һ~:I-I'm not really
W-What!
?
 Don't you start teasing me too!
 ƽ:Hey Hey, Take care of me too Let me eat some too!
һ~:No!
 Definitely, no!
ƽ:Eh!
 Akira's fine, but I'm not - that's discrimination!
һ~:You're completely different from Akira!
:Kazu-chan, you should spponfeed Ryou-niichan and Haru-kun too!
 һ~:No way!
 Something so embarrassing
:Even though you did it for Akira?
һ~:T-That's because
Akira was acting like a spoilt child, and
ƽ:Kazu-chaaaan, let me have some tooo pleaaaasee?
Whoa
һ~:Hiii

:Ahahahaa, that's so similar!
һ~:T-That's nothing like it!
 It doesn't sound one bit like Akira!
!
:I agree
that really was
ƽ:There!
 I don't care how much, but spoonfeed me, please.
һ~:Stop that already!
!

Geez, you're not a child anymore either, Akira, so eat it yourself.
 As soon as she said that, she walked off towards the opposite side of the shop to eat alone.
 ƽ:Tch, missed out on eating some of Kazu-chan's ice cream.
:She'll definitely give you some next time!

omnom
mmmm, delicious!
 Leaving Amatsume aside, I don't think Ryouhei will ever get anything close from Migiwa-san
 At any rate, Migiwa-san
һ~:.
.
Geez, poking into other people's business
She says a lot of things about it, but she really does spoil Amatsume.
 Looking over here every now and then, after seeing Amatsume happily eating ice cream, her expression softened too.
 When it comes to Amatsume, Migiwa-san's hopeless.
:Hey, Sora.
:
What?
:Do you want to switch too?
 I'll give you some of my ice block.
:I don't want it.
:R-Really
Feeling a bit jealous of Migiwa-san, I tried to negotiate with Sora but got shot down immediately.
 Sora eating off mine like Amatsume does
yeah right, delusions are only delusions
 
Although we'd all finished eating our ice cream, no one felt like walking under that strong sunlight, so we continued chatting at the shop.
 It was the same pattern of Ryouhei and Amatsume attacking Migiwa-san with idiocy, but for some reason, this lack of change gave me peace of mind.
 It's nice to see everyone together and having fun.
Suddenly, someone passing by stopped in front of us.
ƽ:Oh if it isn't Motoka-san.
 Hellos.
:Hello, Motoka-oneesan.
Hello Ryouhei-kun, Akira-chan.
 And
Haruka-kun, wasn't it?
 :Yes.
 Um, Hello, Mogisaka-san.
Mogisaka-san
there's no need to be so formalMotoka's good enough.
 :Eh
ah
yeah.
Migiwa-san's family's maid
as I thought, she's a sociable person.
You seem to be in good spirits too, Ojou-samaһ~:Thank you, Mogisaka-san.
 Are you returning from work?
Yes, I was sent out to dispatch a message
Oh yes, Ojousama, your father has returned today.
 It has been a long time since everyone ate together, so your father is early awaiting your return.
 һ~:I see.
 Thank you.
ƽ:In that case, today's a feast?
I guess
they were preparing a huuuge chunk of meat, afterall.
ƽ:Ohhh!
!
 STEAK!
 Wagyuu?
 Matsusaka Beef?
It was extremely marbled and looked really delicious!
 Ahh, even I've suddenly wanted to eat some me-
!
?
 A-Ahem!
 A-Anyways!
 I am still in the middle of working now, so I will be off now, okay?
 After forcibly coughing, she stiffened her expression.
She was tentatively glacing towards Migiwa-san.
һ~:I'll be going home first them.
 Bye.
:Yup, Bye bye!
 See you tomorrow!
ƽ:I'll be waiting for you to share your lunch tomorrow!
:See ya, Migiwa-san, Motoka-san.
һ~:Mogisaka-san, let's go.
 if you want, you can eat too.
 Ehhh
is that okay?
 I can eat like everyone else?
Motoka-san's
wording went a little strange
һ~:Yeah
even with an extra person, nothing will change much.
Heh?
һ~:Well then, excuse me.
For a moment so brief it made me wonder if it were just my imagination, Migiwa-san grimaced.
 her expression returned to normal immediately, and she turned around straight after the bow, so I don't know what happened afterwards, but
 She didn't see too happy
Yay!
 Me getting to eat that
Oooo!
!
:Lucky for you, Motoka-oneechan.
ƽ:Luckyyy, I want to work under the Ojou too.
Come come, that's a privilege for adults?
 Well, see youOn the other hand, Motoka-san walked away happily, chasing Migiwa-san triumphantly.
 :But not eating with the family for a long time
that's amazing.
 Migiwa-san's father must be really busy.
 ƽ:Hm?

Ahh, I guess, Member of the Diet, so he's a politician.
 They work at night, don't they?
 You know, private meetings in Japanese restaurants?
:I'm not sure about Japanese restaurants, but he does have a lot of parties.
:But despite that, Migiwa-san didn't seem too happy about it.
 The familly's getting together again, afterall.
 ƽ:Girls at that age always end up hating their fathers for no reason
it's a sad fact.
 Even if it's only you, Akira, you wouldn't do that, would you?
:Yup!
 I'd wouldn'tIf it was someone as cheeky as Amatsume, there's no way they'd hate their father.
 But Migiwa-san's a smart person, wwould she really just hate her father for no reason?
 Our mother and fathe were often away from home too
so when we were together, we were really happy.
 Even Sora never hated father even once.
I can only feel jealous that Migiwa-san can have a happy family get-together.
But despite that, if Migiwa-san relly wasn't happy
I wonder if Migiwa-san's family has some kind of complicated matter that they couldn't honestly be happy about
?
 
A few days after that, on a Sunday evening.
After taking in the laundry that had ben drying since morning, I didn't know what to do with all the free time.
 All the programs on TV were like tourist information shows, so boring, :Soraa?
 Ooii, Soooraaa?
I'm not sure if Sora had gone out or was just ignoring me, but there was no answer.
Sitting around dazed like this felt like a waste of time, so I decided to go on a walk.
 
I didn't have a destination in mind, but I headed towards the shrine anyway.
Perhaps Migiwa-san's there playing the viola
Was what I was thinking, but the only person on the ground was Akira wielding a bamboo broom, cleaning the grounds.
 :Ahh, it's Haru-kun!
Welcome!
 What're you here for today?
:A walk, I think.
 I was just going to drop by but
looks like I'm interrupting your sweeping, Half the grounds looked to be swept clean, but the remaining half still looked a bit dusty, Despite that, Amatsume put down the broom and came over to me.
Bad timing
:I't all right, iw as just doing it because I had nothing to do.
 Besides, I'm happy you came over!
 Ah, I'll go get some barley tea, so wit a moment!
:You don't have to do that
I tried to see as she dashed off.
Alone again, I looked around the ground with nothing in mind.
:
Having nothing to do so start cleaning, I know the feeling
The broom that Amatsume put down caught my eye, so I picked it up.
 
As thanks for the tea, I'll do this, I guess.
.
I didn't really knoe what to do, but it looks like I just sweep the rubbish from the stone paving to the side.
 I didn't realise because there were no fallen leaves or pieces of rubbsh, but now that I've started cleaning, it's actually quite dirty.
 It was mostly just dust, but unexpectedly, there was also mud brought in through worshiper's shoes, and fragments of stones.
 They don't really stand out, but they're annoying for the one actually cleaning.
 If only I sweep lightly, a lot of them get away, and even if I carefully aim for them, they weren't gather nicely.
 After sweeping only a few paces, my arms started hurting
Amatsume always cleans these huge grounds
And since there's on Amatsume at the shrine, she does it alone.
She's amazing.
Onne-chan, are you cleaning?
:Eh?

An unexpected voice interrupts me.
һ~:*Gasp*
When I turned around, Migiwa-san was there, covering her mouth.
:Migiwa
san?
She just called someone Onee-chan
:Ah!
 Kazu-chan, welcome!
!
Ah, you were cleaning for me?
 You could've just stood there :Ah, nah, even if I just stood there, I was free anyway.
:Ahaha, same as me then.
 Thanks, Haru-kun.
 
Here, have some tea.
 :T-Thanks
Amatsume poured some golden coloured barley tea into one of the cups she brought with her.
 And then she poured it into the other and offered it to Migiwa-san.
:Here, you have some too, Kazu-chan
һ~:It
It's okay.
.
I'm going home now, so
:Hmm?
 Really?
 You came all this way anyway.
һ~:I'll come again
bye.
:See ya, Migiwa-saһ~:Eh?
 Was she just glaring at me?
:Kazu-chan!
 Bye bye!
Without even waving back at Amatsume, she left.
 :
Was she acting weird?
:Hmm
really?
 Well, there's times like that too!
Come on, come on, drink the tea!
 It's going to go warm.
 :Okay, thanks
*glug**glug*
*sigh*.
Wow, this is good while it's cold.
 :Isn't it?
 Kazu-chan sshould've stayed as well.
Here, have another cup.
 :Thanks.
But no matter how many cups of cold barley tea I drink, I couldn't feel compeltely comfortable.
 
Perhaps.
I've been stuck thinking about that "Onee-chan" Migiwa-san said.
 I haven't hear that Migiwa-san had any siblings, so what's going on?
 
The following day.
ƽ:Sora-chan, 'mornin!
 'Mornin to Haruka as well!
ξw:'Morning, Haru-chan.
:'Morning, Ryouhei, Nao-chan.

You greet them as well, Sora.
 :
Mor
ning.
ƽ:WHOAA!
 Being greeted by Sora-chan!
!
Is today my lucky day!
?
 ξw:Oh shut up.
Good morning to you too, Sora-chan.
 :
*nod*.
It's not even ben a month since me and Sora moved here.
But to us, gathering like this and going to school had already become ordinary.
 Amiable peope like Ryouhei, Nostalgic people like Nao-chan.
 These things used to be big.
 Besides
:Ahh, everyone's already together!
 Kazu-chan hurry, hurry!
һ~:Wai, Wait a moment Akira!

Wai
Wait for me
:'Morning everyone!
һ~:*Pant* *pant*.
.
geez
there's no reason to be
rushing so much
If there wasn't some as friendly as Amatsume, Migiwa-san beign included in that, I wonder if we could've gotten so close to everyone
 ƽ:Well, well, which one of you slept in today?
:Ahaa, I was waiting for Hiro-neechan to return, so I slept really late.
 һ~:*pant*
Really
who's
taking care of 
who?

*pant*
:Good morning, Amatsume, Migiwa-san.
:'Morning Haru-kun.
 Thanks for yesterday!
:It was just helping with the cleaning.
 And you've already given me tea in return.
 :If it's just tea, I'll give you some anytime.
 Drop in whenever you want, okay?
һ~:
Good Morning, Kasugano-kun.
:Ah
һ~:Akira, let's go.
 We'll be late.
:Eh?
 Kazu-chan?
һ~:Akira!
 Hurry up!
:.
.
Sorry.
 I'll see you at school.
ƽ:
She's really in a hurry, huh?
ξw:Did you make another weird pass at her again?
ƽ:Hmm
my good looks
dazzled her, perhaps?
Hitting Akira with it isn't bad either
Heh, being loved by even the Ojou, I'm such a sinful man.
 :No way I'm letting Sora go with a serial cheater.
ƽ:Nonononon!
 I'm joking, it was a joke!
 Onii-sama!
:And don't call me Onii-sama.
:
Idiots.
But.
I think the reason Migiwa-san went without us is defintiely the fact that I'm here.
 The same as yesterday
as if she was avoiding me.
But
I don't get the sense that I've hurt Migiwa-san's feelings
 Or is Migiwa-san's avoiding me just my imagination.
Maybe because I was thinking about this while walking to school the next day, Sora, who was next to me, asked me
 
:
Thinking about something?
:Hm?

Well, a bit.
:Though I am probably prejudiced, talking about this Sora feels awkward.
:But, you waking up properly today was a great help.
:No choice.
:Not having fun at school?
:
Is it for for you?
:I guess so
everyone treats me well, and there's only interesting people there.
 I think it's good that we're here.

Well, it being hotter than I thought was a bit of a miscalculation.
 :
Mm.
Sora nodded, as if agreeing.
Despite all these paddy fields, mountains and other green things, the sunlight blazed down on us like a heater in the middle of winter.
 Even shading youself with your hand was futile.
Maybe it'd be best if I made Sora wear a hat
I unconsciously made Sora worry about me, and it looks like today's going to be hot.
 :Haru.
As I started thinking deeping again, Sora tugged at my sleeve.
Raising her hand, her finger pointed towards the roadside.
Squinting my eyes to check what was there, I found a familiar figure.
 :Migiwa-san and Amatsume
?
 What're they doing?
һ~:Ah
:Ohhh, If it isn't Haru-kun and Sora-chan?
 'Morning!
һ~:Good Morning
:Ah, 'morning, you two.
The two of them sat unmoving in front of a small shrine on the corner of the road.
 It was a monolith about 60 centimetres high, and had the shape of a tear drop.
 It looks like some words were carved on it, but it's cracked and thus illegible.
 :Umm
offerings.
:Offerings?

Ah, putting in the new decorations.
 And cleaning it.
 The cleaned up small shrine and a fresh feel to it.
:This is
Ksitigarbha?
:Nope, a god.
:
Dousojin?
:Correct!
 You're wuite knowledgeable, Sora-chan.
:
N-Not really
һ~:It's almost the summer festival, so we're preparing by cleaning and decorating the shrines.
 :Heeh, there's a summer festival?
:Just before the summer holidays.
 My shrine handles it.
:Just before the holidays
We always came here during summer holidays, so I had no clue
 :In that case, you definitely have to come It's be reaally fun!
:Yup, we'll definitely come.
:It'll start once the firewoks go bang bang!
:I'll remember that.
ξw:'Morning.
 Why's everyone clustered here for?

Ahhh, it's almost that time is it?
 :Nao-neechan, 'morning I'll be counting on you this year too,ξw:Okay, leave it to me.
:What do you do in the festival?
һ~:We help run the festival.
 Mainly behind the scenes though.
Taking out the tools for the ceremony, setting it up, there's a lot to do.
 ξw:Akira-chan's busy with her job as a shrine maiden.
:Thanks for helping all the time.
ξw:No no, it's nothing.
Besides, the thanks are for after the festival, right?
 :So there's jobs like this too.
 Sounds rather interesting.
:Ah, you're going to help too?
:Yeah, it sounds fun, afterall.
 You going to Sora?
:Eh?

Why?

:We're here anyway, and it's something we don't normally get to do.
 It's not everyday that you get to see a festival from the start, right?
 :It'll definitely be fun!
 The lunch they give us is also delicious!
:
I don't mind, but
:Yay!
 Thank you, Sora-chan.
:Ahaha
it's our first time, so don't expect too much, okay?
 But they hand out lunch too
it sounds like a real job.
 һ~:That would help a lot.
 There's never enough people, and Akira's always really busy.
:You help all the time too, right Migiwa-san?
һ~:Yeah, the young people's and women's associations also help us, but even the it's never enough.
 :You get to ride on the portable shrine too!
:My old neighbourhood festival was just worshipping and street stalls, so riding on the portable shrine will be a first.
 It's gonna get fun from now on, huh?
 :Right, right?
 After we do the decorations, it goes into high tension!
 
һ~:Preparations for the festival are important, but study hard for the end of term tests too, okay?
:Muu:Ah yeah
we have tests too
It's almost a month since we came to this town.
But honestly, it doesn't feel like I've caught up on the lessons.
ξw:Despite that nervous face, you'll be okay.
 I'll help you out.
 :Thankyou!
 Nao-oneechan!
ξw:What's this?
 You're nervous too?
 In that case, if Migiwa-san doesn't help out, we're in trouble, right?
 һ~:M-Me too?
:Kazu-chan's really smart, eh?
һ~:If you don't study yourself, there's no point.
ξw:Now, now, let's plan a study group for everyone!
:That sounds fun too.
һ~:Why me too
In complete contrast to the bubbly Amatsume, Migiwa-san at dropped her shoulders in disappointment.
 However
Today's Migiwa-san was the same as usual
:Hey hey, Haru-kun.
 Do you have some time after this?
:Amatsume?
 If it's just, then yes
It was after school, so I was packing my bags, when Amastume called out to me.
 :I've got something I want you to help out with:Help?
 What's is it?
һ~:Akira, it's not right to do that.
:You're going too?
һ~:Y-Yeah
We were doing the offerings to Dousojin this morning remember?
 We have to go make the decorations.
 :You said you wanted to watch from the start, so I though this'd be good:I see
yeah, okay.
 I'll help.
һ~:You don't have to if you don't want to, you know?
:It's okay.
 I want to know more about this town anyway.
һ~:I see
:Okay, go home and change, then meet at my shrine!
:Roger that!
After returning home briefly, I headed to the shrine.
When I arrived at the shrine, Migiwa-san and Amatsume had already started the work.
 As well as Migiwa-san, there were a lot of old people gathered at the shrine office.
 :Ah!
 Haru-kuun!
 Welcome!
:Hello.
 I am a bit late?
:It's fine Okay, come over hereWith Amatsume taking the lead, I was introduced to the people in the shrine office.
The old people were from the Old People's Association, and since they can't do the physcial labour on the day of the festival, they help out with the smaller stuff now.
 What we're doing today is twisting some yarn to make some kind of rope.
 It's something like making a Japanese style Christmas wreath.
 Everyone had done this before, so they were skillfully but carefully weaving one thread after another.
 I was amongst them, trying to do it when learning from them, but I couldn't get close to good at it.
 ΤФWell well, if it isn't a noob.
:I'm sorry for taking up your time.
ΤФNo need to worry.
 Back when Kazuha-chan was first doing it
һ~:Don't bring me into this!
 And make sure you watch how to do it carefully, Kasugano-kun.
 :Y-Yeah
Following her orders, I watched her hands carefully.
Although she did it carefully, there were sveeral places where the thread poked out, making it look a bit clumsy compared to the old granny's.
 һ~:W-When I told you to watch, I didn't mean me
:Eh?
һ~:N-Nothing.
:Good job everyoneI've brought some tea?
 How's it coming along?
:Thanks, Amatsume
nope, it's quite hard, this.
Taking the cup of barley tea from her, I made a bitter smile.
 :Ahaa, it's hard when you're not used to it.
 Here, you have some too, Kazu-chan.
 There's tea for everyone, so drink it as you like, okay!
After she called out, a chorus of thanks rose from the old people.
һ~:Thanks, Akira
*glug**glug**glug*
Migiwa-san also took a cup from Amatsume, and downed it in one go.
 I sat there staring at the gulping movements of her white throat.
һ~:
*Sigh*, nice and cold
and what do you want, Kasugano-kun?
You've been staring at me.
 :Ah, nah, it's nothing
I was a bit fascinated, but there's no way I could tell her that.
:So had to make these decorations ourselves?
 I had no idea.
And I diverted her with an off hand question.
:They're an offering to the god, afterall.
 It's been made like this for a loooong time.
 :Tradition, huh?
ΤФIt feels weird when you put it that way.
 We're just making the things we use ourselves.
 The only grandma suddenly laughed.
Even while laughing she was making them briskly.
I'm wasn't so sure about making these, but when I see her doing it like that, I think I can get good at it.
 һ~:Kasugano-kun.
 Once you've finished drinking your tea, start moving your hands.
:Yes, mam
but it's hard, you know?
:In that case, how about you make it with Kazu-chan?
һ~:W-Why me?
:You haven't been able to do it very well either, right?
 If you do it together, I'm sure you'll do it well һ~:Grr
That may be true, but
:If you're fine with it, then please
At this rate I'll just be in th way, and I don't want that to happen
 һ~:Okay
If you say it like that, I'll let you help me.
 :Okay, I'm counting on youI'm off to do some cleaning of the grounds.
һ~:
That Akira
Why me
:Sorry about that, it's because I'm crap at this
һ~:It's not your fault.
 Anyways, Let's hurry up and start working again.
 :Y-Yeah
It looks like Migiwa-san's mood turned bad again.
Is it because
I'm here?
һ~:Hold onto the tip there and keep it still.
 I'll be pulling on it, so make sure it doesn't move.
 :Roger that
like this?
һ~:Yeah
Okay, I'll start.
Clenching her eyebrows, sh pulled the thread.
The old people where using their toes to do the same job, but for us, that's too difficult.
 First of all we wouldn't know how to use your toes like that, and if we do it with one hand, then we only have one hand to work with, making it a bad rope.
 Furthermore, if you pull it wrongly, the thread snaps.
After thinking about things like that, I realised my hands were getting sweaty.
 :Ah
һ~:Kya!
.
.
And just at that moment, Migiwa-san tugged on the rope, and the thread slipped from my hand.
 And she was thrown back with it
ΤФAhahaha
what are you two doing?
We'd fallen onto our backs.
һ~:K-Kasugano-kun
I told you to hold it against at least that much force
 :I know!
 This was an accident, my hands started getting sweaty and it slipped!
 It's not like I did it to be ev-
 ΤФYou say that, but weren't you really just nervous to be so close to the cute Kazuha-chan?
 һ~:W-What are you saying?

Don't tease us, please!
:Y-Yeah!
 That was
yeah!
 I just drank some tea earlier, so I had a lot of sweat.
 ΤФI see, I see.
 Well, make sure to get along while you do it.
While the old grandma doubled over in laughter, she flipped her rope over.
 Did she really mean that
:Ummm.
.
should we continue?
һ~:Eh?
 Yeah
this time, don't let go, okay?
After making sure I was holding onto it properly, she started tugging the thread again.
 һ~:Mm
nn
eh
And after twisting and knitting them together, countless threads became a rope.
 This time, we made one without it slipping due to sweat.
The result of our work didn't have threads jutting out, and was actually presentable.
 But despite that, when compared to the ones the old people made, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn't compare.
 :Yay!
 We finally made one!
һ~:Yeah, this much should be enough.
 Let's start on another.
:Yeah.
 After this
how many more do we need do make?
һ~:We'll be decorating all the Dousujin in the town, so
I wonder how many?
 I wouldn't know either.
 :There are that many of them?
һ~:There'll definitely be one at every intersection, so
now that you say it, there probably are that many.
 While preparing the next thread, she tilted her head as if trying to remember.
 She was wearing a gentle smile.
 It was completely different to the foul mood she was in when we started.
When she makes that gentle smile, all her beautiful features harmonise
A smile that makes my heart race.
 Without thinking, I start watching her in fascination
һ~:Kya!

:Eh?
And the moment I lost focus, Migiwa-san tumbled onto her back again.
 ΤФAhahaha
again, what are you doing?
һ~:K-Kasugano-kun
?
:U-Uh, that was
sorry.
This time it was definitely my fault.
һ~:
*Sigh*.
 You're not Akira, so be careful next time.
:Ah
yeah, I'll be careful.
Migiwa-san
just spoke informally
һ~:What?

Ah
What is it?
:Nah, it's nothing.
 Okay, let's start the next one.
But, she turned back to normal immediately, huh?
After that, Amatsume returned from her cleaning, and we made the decorations together.
 Eventually we learned the ropes, and once we stopped using so much strength, our work went a lot smoother.
 When we realised it, the sun had already gone done, and the area became dark.
һ~:Ah
:Hm?
 That sound is
a mobile?
 It's not mine though
They told me before that mobile phones hadn't really spread to here yet, so the sound which should've been familiar sounds out of place.
 һ~:
It's mine.
 Probably from my family
For some reason, Migiwa-san kept her voice down as she took her phone from her pocket.
 һ~:Hello?

Yes, it's me
yes
The voice which came from the phone, also sounded rather cold.
һ~:Yeah, I'm at the shrine
yes
not really
yes
yes, I understand.
 I'll return now.
 
*Sigh*.
And she switched it off with a sigh.
:Kazu-chan, that was from your family?
һ~:Yeah
but it's okay.
:No, it's fine.
 If it get too late, they'll just get worried.
 һ~:But Akira.
.
:You can't worry them too much, okay?
һ~:Akira
okay.
 I'll help out tomorrow then.
:Yup, thanksAlthough she said that, as she was leaving, she glanced back several times, as if reluctant to do so.
 It's as if she didn't want to return home.
Which reminded me of the first time I thought that there had to be some difficult situation in her family.
 :It'd be best if you head home too.
 You'll worry Sora-chan.
:I guess so
And I started on the road home, also with reluctance, but one probably different to Migiwa-san's.
 
:.
.
You'll come home late again?
:I wonder
I'll try coming hom before it gets dark though.
For the past few days, I've only been helping Amatsume after school, so Sora asked me that as we were going to school.
 :
Shrine?
:You want to come to?
 It's quite fun, making the decorations.
:
No.
:If you're curious about it, no need to be stubborn.
:I'm not.
Looks like she's in a rather bad mood.
:Are you worried about dinner?
 I'll come back, so don't worry.
:After sighing once, she briskly walked ahead.
:Hmm
she walked away.
Well, Sora's attitude isn't something that started recently, so no need to worry.
 :Oiii, wait up!
 Sora
eh?
Just as I was about to chase after her, a black, elegant car passed me on the road.
 I think I've seen it before, so I stopped to watch it.
Thanks to the car going slowly and safely, I could see two girls sitting in the back seat through the window.
 One had long hair and slender facial features
Migiwa-san.
The other was an older woman, shorter hair and wearing a gentle smile.
 That elegant aura is the same as Migiwa-san's, so that was probably her mother.
 :Haru!
:Ah
what's up?
:
School.
:Ah, sorry
let's go.
Looks like I had completely stopped walking while I was watching.
And at some point, Sora returned to stand right in front of my eyes.
Ooooiiiii!
 Good Morniiiiiiing!
!
:And that voice is
:Haru-kun, Sora-chan, 'mornin!
:'Morning, Amatsume.
 I just saw Migiwa-san riding in her car.
:I saw it too Looks like she's getting dropped off today.
:
That black one?
:Yup, that one.
 I think her mum was also there, she had a gentle aura.
 No question about her being beautiful, but unlike Migiwa-san's elegant feel, her was a more "Japanese" rounded face, I wonder if Migiwa-san takes after her father then?
:
Why were you watching?
:Eh?
 I though it was someone I knew, so I suddenly just started watching, I guess?
:Right right?
 I did the same!
::Eh?
 Sora-chan, where are you going?
:Oiii Soraaa, wait up!

I think she's treated me as an idiot
is it just my imagination?
When we arrived at school, Migiwa-san was standing to the side of the gate, as if having nowhere to go.
She was in a car, so she should've arrived much earlier than us, so don't tell me she was waiting?
 As if confirming my guess, when she noticed us, she started walking towards us.
 һ~:
I couldn't refuse today, I'm sorry.
And her greeting was a soft apology.
She didn't say it, but I guess it's for not being able to walk to school with us.
 :Ehh, you don't have to worry about such a little thing:That's right, you're not Ryouhei, so there's no need to feel jealous about it.
But the nervousness in her words worried me a bit.
:
Did
something happen?
һ~:It's a familly matter.
Since she didn't deny it, something must've happened.
It's probably best not to ask about things like that, but
:You know, we were just talking about your car on the way here.
I tried to change the subject, but
һ~:Her expression was getting sterner and sterner.
:You mum was on there too, right?
 She seemed beautiful and kind
һ~:W-Whoa, looks like things took a turn for the worse
:Did something happen between you and your mum?
һ~:Ah
no, it's nothing.
I've been going out a lot lately, so
she's been asking me small things like, "Are you studying properly?
" Compare to how minor she makes it sound, her face seems really cold.
And her going out is just helping Amatsume.
That's probably why she didn't say it clearly from the beginning.
:Sorry, making you help me so often.
I think Amatsume is worried about it.
һ~:Not at all, it's something I decided to do myself, it's not your fault.
 Anyways, let's go to the classroom, we'll be late.
:
Yeah.
:Okay!
 Then, it's a race!
һ~:What are you saying?
:
Are you stupid?
:Ahaa, too bad, eh?
:E-Eh?

And they magnificantly dismissed my proposal to try to dispel that dark atmosphere they were dragging along with them.
 
:*Sigh*
Finally finished
At the same times as the chime sounded for the end of school, I collapsed on the desk
I wonder the reason today felt stupidly long is because I'm desperately about the lessons
 ίTL:Kasugano-kun
are you okay?
:Class rep
I'm just a bit tired, I'm fine.
ίTL:If that's the case, it's okay, but
It looks like you're worrying about something
 Ah, umm
if I'm mistaken, that's okay
:Thanks for worrying about me, class rep.
 But it's really just exhaustion.
 ίTL:I see
but if you're that tired, have you been doing something?
 :Hmm
I suppose it's more not being able to do something than doing anything
ίTL:What do you
:Haru-kuun, what are you gonna do today?
Eh?
 Where you in the middle of talking to the class rep?
 ƽ:Yeah yeah.
 It feels like a love love moeee talk.
ίTL:W-What're you talking about!
?
 I didn't!
:He's just gossiping, so don't worry about him.
 Amatsume, are helping out today?
 :Yup.
 I don't think Kazu-chan can make it today, so I was wondering what you'd do.
 :I don't want to cause problems for you, so I'll go.
:There's no way you'd be a problemOkay, hold on then.
ƽ:How do you keep at it for so long everyday?
 They don't even give free food.
:So you help out at the festival, just for the free food?
ƽ:Of course!
:I'm not sure that's something to boast about
ίTL:Helping out for the festival
?
 The summer festival?
:Yeah.
 I'm helping to make the decorations at Amatsume's place.
ίTL:Straight after school?
 So the reason you're tired is
:It was a bit hard at first because you have to use your srtrength weirdly, but I'm okay now.
 :Haru-kun's really good at understanding thingsHe doesn't even need Kazu-chan's help anymore.
 :I can't just cause problems for her, afterall.
ίTL:
I suppose that's okay, then.
 But take it easy and don't push yourself too hard.
 :Ah, yeah.
 I'll be careful.
:Ahh, Kazu-chan's returnedLet's go, let's goƽ:Yep
oh, you want to come with us, class rep?
ίTL:T-That's fine thanks!
 See you, Kasugano-kun.
:Ah, okay.
 Bye bye, class rep
The class rep herself seems to be feeling a bit down, is she okay?
ƽ:Geez, you're such a sinful man.
:Huh?
 Who is?
ƽ:And that's why you're a city kid
Huh?
 Wait, if that's the case
 And there goes Ryouhei thinking his weird things again
һ~:I'm sorry, making everyone wait.
 Okay, let's go.
ƽ:Haha, it's fine!
 Going to the toilet for a long time is perf-
bleh!
Ah, that silver coloured tray again
I think someone said it was aluminium
һ~:What are you saying!
:Ahaa, so you really were going to the toiletһ~:Y-You too!
?
Kasugano-kun!
!
:I-I didn't say anything!
 The whole class could tell you that!
 һ~:Grr
That Ryouhei
running his mouth like that
һ~:
geez, you lot are really like a clump of rudeness
At this point, I really have no way to start refuting that
ƽ:That's weird
if I said something silly like Haruka, I was sure I'd make a good impression
 :Like me?
 I haven't ever said that.
һ~:Having not enough delicacy and having absolutely none at all are different things!

Hm?
 That means
I don't have enough
?
:
Doesn't realise it himself.
:Even you're treating me like a bad guy?
:Hey, don't ignore me.
:Ah!
 That's Kazu-chan's family's carһ~:Eh?

Upon looking towards the gate, we could see this morning's black car stopped there, just as Amatsume had said,.
 Next to it, stood a man in a suit.
A slender, sharp looking man.
ҊɽOjou-sama, by orders from your mother, I have come to pick you up.
һ~:I can go home myself.
ҊɽVery well.
Walk ahead herself, Migiwa-san said those few words, and the man hopped back into the car and drove off, saying nothing more.
 һ~:Geez
what a bad way of doing things
The murmur I could faintly hear, definitely had the echos of digust in it.
ƽ:Ahhh, there goes our chance of everyone getting a lift home.
һ~:
What's a chance?
:Ah
but it's just as Ryou-niichan says.
һ~:Not everyone can get on anyway.
 ?
?
?
 :Hmmm, I see.
 It's impossible for everyone
һ~:More importantly, let's go.
 Come on, Akira.
:Whaa!
?
 K-Kazu-chaaan, I'll go without you dragging meee.
And in a rather rare sight, Migiwa-san stomped away.
 Taking that attitude to someone other than Ryouhei
doesn't seem like her.
ƽ:Did she have a fight with her parents or something?
:She was in the car togather with her mother this morning though.
ƽ:You said she was scolded a bit, right?
 She really knows how to hold a grudge.
 Is that really it
?
I can't believe she would take offence to something like being scolded.
 All the more if she knew she was wrong, but even for the reason she told us this morning, I don't think she'd care.
 And yet, there is obstinate attitude.
And I'm reminded of those complicated circumstances again.
It's something I can only guess at, but each of Migiwa-san's different attitudes are making me certain.
 That there really is something wrong.
It's become night, and even while doing my homework, I'm still worried about Migiwa-san.
 If it is a family matter, then I know it's something she wouldn't tell to a stranger like me.
 So why then?
I feel like I shouldn't leave it alone, and I can't top thinking about it.
:Ahhh
homework's not going anywhere
I should go cool my head.
Daytime feels like SUMMER IS COMING!
, but the air is pleasantly cool at night.
 It'll probably get stupidly hot at night too soon, but
Will we be okay with just electric fans?
 As long as Sora doesn't collapse from the heat, we'll be okay
 While being hit with the night breeze, I realise I'm thirsty.
There's barley tea in the fridge, but I'm out of the house anyway, so might as well go buy some juice.
 
But was there even a place to buy some juice around here?
The convenience store is too far, and while there's juice near the school, I really don't want t go that far.
 It would be good if there was a vending machine, but
I don't remember, any place to spend money other than the store at school and Takano
 :Ah!
If I go over there, there might be so juice
Well, even if there's no vending machine, there is a shop
but, there it is.
 Err, what?
Next to the vending machine is
a person?
 It's too dark so I can't be sure, but
Migiwa
san?
What's she doing?
 Hiding in the shadow of a vending machine
and peeping into the shop?
 Doesn't look like she's come to shop.
It's quite late now, so why is she here?
It looks like she's trying to hide, so I can't call out
but if I just stand her and watch, I can't buy some juice
 Okay!
:
That you over there, Migiwa-san?
һ~:Hii!

W-Who is it?
:You don't have to be that surprised
It's me.
 Kasugano Haruka.
һ~:Kasugano-kun
please don't scare me like that.
 Is there something you wanted?
:That vending machine.
 I was thinking of buying some juice, but you were here.
 һ~:Ah
I-is that right
juice
:What about you?
 Here to meet Yahiro-san?
һ~:No
Migiwa-san mumbled something, then said nothing else.
She probably has her reasons, but I can't drag it out of her, so I wordless stuck a coin into the vending machine.
 But even after I bought the juice, Migiwa-san continued to stand, unmoving.
 :If it's too hard for you to call out, you want me to do it?
һ~:Ah, it's okay
Saying that just because I'm curious about her
I'm really low
But seeing her here like this, I can't leave without doing something for her.
 So even when she said no, I ignored her and opened the door.
:Yahiro-saan!
 Yahiro-saaan
not here?
When when knocking the the door at the entrance, there was no response from within.
 The chance of her being asleep.
.
well, Yahiro-san's noctural, so none.
:Gone out, I guess?
һ~:I see
thanks, that's fine.
:Ummm
should I walk you home?
 it's dark, and might be dangerous.
һ~:Migiwa-san went all quite again, and didn't even try to move from there.
For some reason it only feels like I'm doing unecessary meddling.
I'm worried about it, but this is probably isn't where I should get up on stage.
:
Umm, be careful okay?
 There aren't many lights here, afterall.
һ~::Umm
good night, then.
һ~:
I left her like that, but maybe it really was best to walk her home?
 It looked like she was brooding over something, which makes me feel uneasy
If she goes home, that's good enough, but what if she's still there
 Yeah, I should probably return
Eh?
 Hmm
Haru-kun?
:Good eveningWhat're you douing?
 Taking a walk?
:Good evening, just getting some juice from the cheap lolly shop.
:I see, too bad
:Too bad?
 What is?
:Ahh
Hey, at Hiro-neechan's place, was Kazu-chan there?
:Yup.
:Really?
 Thanks!
:A-Amatsume?
What was that?
 Was she looking for Migiwa-san?
 What on earth is going on?
Amatsume ran towards the cheap lolly shop.
If Amatsume was really went there looking for her
I shouldn't leave them alone, huh?
һ~:Kaaazu-chan.
һ~:Ah
Oneechan.

You went back already?
 :Yup, Hiro-neechan went to a mixer today, so I didn't have to make dinner today.
 һ~:I see
:You mum was really worried.
һ~:!
!
:She called up asking, "Did she go over there?
".
 I told her you didn't though.
 I thought it was possible that you thought I was at Hiro-neechan's place, so I came here.
 һ~:
I'm sorry
:Okay, I'll walk you home, so let's go?
һ~:
No.
:Kazu-chan
Come on, you can't make a worried person sad, right?
һ~:No
I don't want to go home
:Fine, you want to go to my place?
һ~:
I can't
I'll just be a nuisance
:I made you go through more bad things again, huh
Sorry
 һ~:No
I'm the whole who couldn't do anything.
.
it's so frustrating
:That's not true.
 Being able to be friends with you
always being togather with you
just that is enough.
 һ~:
But
Oneechan
:
It's okay
just that much.
With that, Amatsume hugged the downcast Migiwa-san.
As if stopping her from saying anythign else, she hugged her tightly.
 So tightly there there might as well not have been any distance between them.
һ~:Oneechan
And then, Migiwa-san too, timidly hugged her back.
As if making her feel better, Amatsume started patting her back.
 Looking at this embrace which was completely opposite to what would be normal, strangely, my heart became hot.
 :Also
Thanks Haru-kun.
 For finding Kazu-chan for me.
 һ~:K-Kasugano-kun!
?
But the very instant she heard my name, Migiwa-san flung herself away.
 :
Sorry.
 I didn't think I should've been doing that, but
So Amatsume knew I followed her.
And still hugged Migiwa-san
Thanks to that, I think I understand their relationship now.
:I was worried, and just as I thought I should come back, I ran into Amatsume
һ~:And you heard
all of that
:Yes.
һ~:Akira
you knew
:You should've just explained it properly last time.
һ~:Probably that time at the shrine, when Migiwa-san called someone Onee-chan
And since then, Migiwa-san had been distant towards me
һ~:But
:It's just Haru-kun, it's fine.
:
You two are
sisters, right?
:Yup, that's right.
 Kazu-chan's father, is also my father.
 һ~:When Amatsume answered, Migiwa-san looked down at the ground, as if enduring something.
 As if she too ashamed to look at another person's face.
But.
һ~:Will you listen?
 To our story?
She lifted her face quickly, and gazed straight at me.
:Okay.
And I unwaveringly nodded.
I was raised lovely when I was little.
Boxed in describes in nicely.
 I couldn't really make time to play with friends.
 My father is a Member of the Diet, so we lived in a mansion and people kept their distance away from us
The Migiwa name was rather famous, afterall.
 So while I wasn't really bullied, I didn't have that many friends.
 One time, when I realised that the mother and father who wouldn't let me out of their sight were not around, I left the house alone.
 Back then going anywhere was obviously by the car my dad's secretary drove, so leaving the mansion on foot was a first.
 Things that I couldn't see from my window
places I thought my hand would reach
actually being able to touch them
 Being unable to stop both nervousness and excitement, I had gone quite far from the mansion.
 Seeing a red Torii, I came to some long stairs that we only ever passed by in the car.
 Not controlling my excitement, I ran up the stairs.
 Although I'm called an Ojousama, I liked moving around like that.
 And besides
 To a child like me, the Torii which jutted out from the shrine road made me think it was the passage to another world.
 And at the end of that passage, Akira welcomed me to the grounds at the top of the stairs.
 
"Welcome!
" said the girls dressed as a shrine maiden, as she stopped cleaning and smiled.
 That was how I met Akira.
Knowing full well how she'd react to someone with the name of Migiwa, at first, I just told her I was Kazuha.
 Not even caring about things like that, Akira played with me.
Even after that, I'd slip out of the mansion, head to the shrine and play with Akira.
 Akira was always alone, so she had a familiar feel which made me wonder if she had no friends either
 And also
well, you've probably already realised, but at that time, I was a bit of a tomboy
 I say tomboy, but when I was in front of others, I behaved myself, so it was only with Akira and other children
 Anyways
Akira accepted even me, always showing me that smile.
 Moreover
even when Akira's grandfather told her that I was a Migiwa while we were playing together, Akira's attitude didn't change at all.
 "Playing hide and seek in that huge mansion
that would be fun", she said with the same smile.
 That made me really happy.
 That was probably the first time I actually made a friend
or even really became friends with someone.
 
When we went to school, he got put into different classes, but despite that, we were always friends.
 Because Akira was there for me, I could also smile.
 Because of that, the people who cared that I was a Migiwa became few, and I got more friends.
 I'm really thankful that I met Akira.
 Running into her like that.
.
I'm really glad that I did.
 But
2 years ago, when Akira's grandfather passed away, everything changed.
 At Amatsume-san's funeral, I of couse attended as her friend.
There, Akira was sitting alone, not crying, but wordlessly deep in thought.
 I couldn't call out to her.
 But the real shock was something I learnt when I was there.
 That Akira had no parents.
Amatsume-san had a son with a wife, but Akira was not their daughter.
 They said that Amatsume-san took her in because she had no relatives, not because of blood ties.
 And his son and wife refused to take care of Akira
In the first place, they had opposed Amatsume-san taking in Akira, but he forcibly ignored their resistance and even now that don't think well of it
 Upon learning about that, I tried my best to say something to the Akira who I loved, but I coudn't even comfort her.
 Even though I felt sorry for Akira being all alone, even though I wanted to do something for her
 A short whole after the funeral, I happened upon my parents arguing.
 My gentle mother lashed out at my father with a fury I had never seen before, as i stooded there petrified with surprise and dread.
 There, I heard more words I could not believe.
My father
said he'd take in Akira.
I became happy.
One child living alone is hard, my house is big, I'd even help out and Akira would probably be happy.
 Despite usually having only a hard to please face, at that time he seemed hopeful.
 But my mother said, "If you raised that child here, I would take Kazuha and leave".
 I couldn't believe it.
Having my happiness thrust away, I flew into a rage and leapt between them, shotuing "Why!
!
!
".
 They weer both surprised and shut their mouths, but then immeidately reprimanded me.
 Even then, I drew closer yelling "Why"
and unexpectedly, my mother slapped me.
 I was dumbfounded at having received violence from her for the first time, and my mother was surprised too, immediately hugged me and apologised.
 But I continued repeating, in a small voice "Why"
At last, my father opened his mouth.
He started off saying that it was something he hadn't told me yet but I would have learnt sooner or later
 Akira was my sister, he told me.
A child the woman from his love affair gave birth to on the same day as when I was born.
 Because that woman disappeared disappeared soon after giving birth to Akira, the shrine head took her in as an adopted daughter.
 But now that he was dead, he had a responsiblity to take in Akira.
 Akira becoming alone, Akira entering such a poor state.
 All of it was my father's fault?
 Akira and I were sisters?
Only question marks floated in my head, the facts I had just learnt sending me into confusion.
 Despite that, Akira was important to me and I wanted to help her, so I pleaded that we do that.
 But my mother adamantly refused to let it happen.
"I haven't said a word about my husband's unfaithfulness, so why after all this time do I have to live with an immoral child.
 If you will take her in no matter what, do what you will.
 But it has nothing to do with me or Kazuha" she said.
 I could only groan my dissent
I didn't want my parents to seperate, but I also wanted to help Akira.
 Not knowing what to do, I could only say no.
 Soon, Akira was called to my home and the circumstances around her birth were explained to her.
 But Akira turned down the offer to live with us.
 While going home that day, I appealed to Akira, saying that I wanted to live with her, crying all the while.
 But Akira said that while she was happy that we were more than friends, she couldn't agree to us living together.
 After that
the Migiwa family promised monetary aid to Ifukube-san to become Akira's guardian.
 but that was all.
 I though my father would at least acknowledge Akira as his daughter, but not even that
 I gradually stopped being able to talk to my parents, and in exchange, spend more and more time with Akira.
 To my parents, especially my mother, it was a complicated matter, but I couldn't just stop without doing something.
 
While Migiwa-san was talking, Amatsume was wearing her usual smile, but listening carefully.
 һ~:To me, Akira was irreplaceable.
Despite that, my mother told me to reconsider spending time with Akira, and took extreme offence at it.
 Migiwa-san bit down on her lip.
While I was lost about what to say.
I was overwhlemed by the memory of Amatsume hugging Migiwa-san, as well as the look she was giving her.
 :Haru-kun, could you take Kazu-chan back home?
And I thought
Amatsume really is the most mature out of all of us.
:AH, okay.
That okay with you, Migiwa-san?
 һ~:
Yes
please.
After we parted with Amatsume, Migiwa-san was all quiet.
And I was still trying to understand how I should take the news that I had just heard.
 :
I wonder why she didn't come too
Was all I could utter.
һ~:
She probably though that if my mother saw us together, she would say something again
 She's so stupid
always only thinking of other people
And she lost her words again.
Amatsume's usual unchanging smile popped into mind
And I suddenly thought that maybe that was the answer.
һ~:This is the first time
we've ever told someone else about us
even now I'm not sure if I should've told you.
 :You are really kind, huh?
һ~:Eh
:I won't tell anyone what I just heard.
 If we can still get along like before
no, I want us to get along.
 һ~:Kasugano-kun
:Looking at Amatsume just makes you think you're thinking too hard, and that it'd all turn out well.
 һ~:I suppose that is true
when I look at her, it makes me feel like I'm the silly one for worrying, though there are times when I do get sad about it.
 :I wonder if she does that on purpose for other people?
һ~:
I think that's just her being a natural airhead, though.
:Really?

Maybe so.
It's hard to imagine her thinking deeply about anything, actually.
But being able to reach her answer like that, she's amazing.
һ~:Kasugano-kun
I'm sorry.
:Eh?
 What for?
һ~:I think I might've been cold towards you.
 Just in case you tried to take Akira away.
 :I really love her
һ~:
Yeah.
While making a small nod, s loght smile appeared on her face.
A gentle, affectionate smile, though it made me a little sad that it wasn't towards me.
 
һ~:Here is fine.
 Thanks for accompanying me.
:There's still a ways to go before the mansion, isn't there?
һ~:There will definitely be someone in front of the mansion
so if they see us togather, I think it'll get a bit messy.
 I don't want to cause more trouble for you, so I'll go alone from here.
:I see
Thanks from me too.
 For telling me something so important about yoursevles.
 һ~:Okay then, good night.
 See you tomorrow.
:'Night.
 See you tomorrow then.
:'Morning!
 Haru-kun, Sora-chan!
:Ah
Amatsume, Migiwa-san
After one night, Amatsume was wearing her usual smile, and Migiwa-san her moodying expression.
 The things I heard yesterday are still on my mind, but I've decided not to worry about it.
If I act strangely, people will act suspicious and I'll probably just cause them problems.
 :'Morning, you too.
 You're looking cheerful as usual, Amatsume.
һ~:Good morning, Kasugano-kun.
 But on the other hand, she slept in.
:It's good enough that she's good at waking up.
 Sora wakes up late too, but after that, she's in a foul mood.
 ::Ahaa, she really does look sleepy.
 All right!
 Sooora-chan!
Amatsume slipped behind Sora, and then started forciblely pushing her ahead.
 
:
Eh?
As if being unable to deal with anything sudden, she just let her push away.
Looking at Sora's strange troubled face, me and Migiwa-san burst ou laughing.
:If she could transfer that cheerfulness in Sora, I'd be happy.
һ~:I'm just worried if she's troubling her.
:I don't think that's a problem.
 For some reason, it looks like Sora like Amatsume.
 And besides, I don't think it's possible for being to dislike her.
After about 10 metres, Amatsume hugged Sora from behind.
If she didn't like it, Sora would definitely shake herself away.
һ~:Sorry
for yesterday.
:I only walked you half way, were you okay?
һ~:Yeah.
 My mother apologised for saying too much, so we let it end there.
 :I see, good for you.
һ~:
Still, it's not like everything's turned wonderful .
:If I can help in any way, just ask me.
һ~:Thanks
:AhWhat's this nice atmosphere between you two?
һ~:T-This isn't a good atmosphere!
:Ah, sorrry, looks like's I'm intruding!
һ~:I said that wasn't it!
:We'll be going ahead, so try not to be too late!
һ~:Geez!
!
 Stop this second!
!
And Migiwa-san took off waving her raised hand, chasing after Amatsume, who was trying to escape while pushing Sora.
 The usual scene of Migiwa-san getting angry at a prank Amatsume pulls.
 A common sight.
 After after experience yesterday's events, our relationship is so unchangable that it's quite relieving.
һ~:You hurry up too, Kasugano-kun!
 You're going to be late!
Turning around, Migiwa-san called out to me.
:Okay!
But I think one thing did change.
Judging from Migiwa-san's attitude, it seems she's not being as careful around me, and the distance between us as lessened.
 The reason Amatsume started teasing was probably because she felt that too.
 
ƽ:Oi oi oi!
 It's summer, oi!
:
If you shout, you'll just make it hotter, Ryouhei
ƽ:Are you stupid!
 Why are you acting all cool?
 It's a pool!
 Swimsuits!
 It's a staple of summer!
 :
if you really call a pool with no water a staple of sumer
There's no way I can have fun cleaning a pool for PE in this place with no shelter at all.
 Besides
ƽ:Oh, it's time for the girls to enter?
Every one of them is good
:Nothing special about Sora, you know?
Wearing their PE shirt over their school swimsuits, their appearance hasn't changed much from their normal PE look.
 You don't have to get that excited about it
ƽ:What!
?
 What you actually seen Sora's?
:It's not like I looked because I wanted too.
 A few times when she was in the middle of changing
things like that
ƽ:What's with your lucky happenings!
!
 I wish I could live with Sora!
 :Not lucky at all since we're siblings.
ƽ:You want to swap with me?
ίTL:Nakazato-san, are you going to stop talking any time soon?
 Start cleaning!
ƽ:Now now, class rep, if you hurry too much in this heat, you'll collapse in exhaustion.
You might as well just take off that PE unifom, it'll be cooler.
ίTL:We're just cleaning, there's no need to take it off.
ƽ:Even if I said that haruka would be happy if you did?
:Eh!
?
 Me?
ίTL:What're you saying, Kasugano-kun!
?
:I didn't say anything!

Ryouhei!
ƽ:The eye say what the mouth does not.
 You've been looking at the class rep's chest and thighs for a while now
 ίTL:Kyaa
Giving off a smill shrek, she tried to cover her chest and legs with her arms.
It's not like she can hide it like that, but
because Ryouhei said it, something I was interested in before became something
 ίTL:S-Stop looking at me
:S-Sorry, class rep
ƽ:That's right, Haruka.
 if you just look at the class rep and not the other girls, that's unfair.
 ίTL:It's NOT a problem of being fair!
 Hurry up and clean!
!
The class rep handed us a deck brush and went to the other side of the pool.
 And the boys on that side started being raucous too.
:Doesn't anyone think cleaning the pool is a bother?
ƽ:It's bothersome.
 But that mixture of school swimsuit and PE uniform is something you can't see anywhere else, right?
 :I can't understand your thankful feeling in the slightest.
And besides, school swimsuits are out of fashion.
 It's my first time seeing this school's one, but
 ƽ:If the school hands them out, they're all like this, aren't they?
:In my previous school, they fit the body better.
ƽ:What!
?
 You got to see something that erotic everyday!
?
 Why are the cities so advanced
 :Not everday.
 Besides, the pool seperates the boyd and the girls in the first place
ƽ:Err what?
 Okay, I'm not jealous at all.
:You're so easy to understand
:Haru-kun, Ryou-niichan, let's have a contest!
ƽ:Okay, sure.
 To the other side, right?
 Ready
Go!
:Go!
!
!
:Eh?
 What are you two!
?
As I stood there surprised, those two had dashed off to assault the area where the class rep was cleaning with a brush.
 I could here Ryouhei shouting Water!
 Water!
ίTL:Huh, what?

Kya!
!
?
ƽ:Gahahaha!
 Take this, cleaning is just an excuse!
:Cleaning!
 Cleaning!
ίTL:Don't point that hose at
I said to stop th
Ahhhhh
For some reason, the contest turned wild
or rather, turned into a war
At first it was one hose, but now it's 2 or 3 hoses, and water was spraying everywhere.
 This isn't cleaning, it's playign with water.
һ~:
What are they doing, geez.
:Ah, Migiwa-san
and Sora.
:
Hot.
:If you can't take it, go rest in the shade.
 I'll go tell the teachers.
:
You?
:It's cleaning, but this is still a class, so I'll do it properly.
һ~:Now if only Nakazato-senpai had one shred of the sense of responsibility that you have.
 said Migiwa, as I took Sora under the shade created by the rooves beside the pool.
 :You're making too much of Ryouhei.
 Even he gets down and works when when he needs to.
һ~:Can you really say such a thing while looking at that?
She pointed towards Amatsume and Ryouhei, who were running in a circle around the class rep.
 There was a brush face down in the pool, so I probably could say that.
 һ~:That's just playing.
 And Akira got taken with Nakazato-senpai
:I seem to remember Amatsume being the one who started it, though.
һ~:Running around like this is dangerous
the floor's all wet, so what're we going to do if slip and fall?

 Doesn't seem like she's listening.
һ~:Ahh, she rolled up the hem of her PE shirt.
 So immodest.
Oh geez, calm down
:If you're that worried, why don't you go over and warn them?
I wouldn't thought the usual Migiwa-san would've done just that.
һ~:I suppose, but
:What?
һ~:If I get close, I'll get involved
:Oh yes
On the other side, it seems like they'd split into 2 camps, and negotiating through the shooting of hoses.
 And the reason for that was Ryouhei slipping and shooting an innocent bystander, knocking them over and getting them involved.
 Thanks to that, there was so green moss on Ryouhei and the other person's back.
In the midst of all that, the class rep's voice could be heard, but with how excited everyone is over there, there was no effect.
 As a bonus, due to the water from the hose, the PE shirts were clinging to the school swimsuits underneath.
 Having everyone one wear swimsuits
meeans the teachers knew this would've happened.
:But if you leave this alone, it might get worse and we might not finish cleaning.
 һ~:I suppose, but
:I'll come along too, then.
 Have to at least save the class rep.
һ~:I suppose.
 Okay.
:Ryouhei!
 Amatsume!
һ~:Don't just play around, start cleaning properly!
ƽ:Oh, here comes your guardian?
:Haru-kun's an ally of Kazu-chan, so
Ryou-niichan, save meee!
:Eh?
 I wasn't going to
ƽ:Okay, 2 vs 2, perfect!
һ~:Wait, what are you planning to do?
With a smile on his face, Ryouhei pointed that hose towards us.
:D-Don't tell me
Run!
һ~:Eh?
 Why!
?
ƽ:Take this!
!
:And this!
һ~:Kya!
:Whoa.
.
The moment I turned around, the water burst out of the hose.
Trying not to get hit by the full force of the hose, we hurriedly escaped.
 ƽ:Dahahaaha!
 Come on, come on, come on!
:Ahahahaha, they ran away!
And seeing that, they laughed out loud.
We only just got wet, but they looked like they were having fun.
ƽ:What wrong?
 Over already?
Still spraying awater around, Ryouhei provoked us.
Kya
The water reached even Sora on the poolside.
:Sora wordlessly picked up a bursh next to her and throw it.
The brush fly towards Ryouhei, scoring a direct hit in the face.
ƽ:Mwaha!
:Ryo-Ryo-niichaan!
:
Hah.
With a satisfied look on her face, Sora returned to her shade.
But on that side
:Waa!
 Ryou-niichan, don't let go of the hose!
ƽ:Kyuuuu
һ~:Wait, what are you
Kya!
With the one controlling the hose knocked out, the hose thrashed about, vigorously spraying water around.
 ίTL:Someone stop it!
 Water!
 Tap!
!
!
And the panicking class rep's grammar reverts to a 3 year old's.
Even if I tried to stop it, the pool was already angle deep, making it hard to run.
 And when you're trying to escape from a rampaging hose

that happens.
һ~:Kasugano-kun!
?
 Kya!

Ouch
:Migiwa-san!
?
 Y-You okay
?
Probably because she panicked and slipped, Migiwa-san fell face first into the pool.
 һ~:
No injuries, but
She can't see she's all right, when she's dripping wet, I guess.
Now that it's come to this, trying to stay dry is already out of the question, so ignoring the water spray at me, I went and shut off the tap.
 Looking at the PE uniform clinging to me, I think trying to escape from Ryouhei and Amatsume was rather silly.
 :Sorry, for getting you involved.
һ~:No
it wasn't your fault
Just looking at her soaking wet like I am, I couldn't help but feel sorry.
 As well as that, I could she her deep blue swimsuit underneath her white PE uniform
I feel like I'm looking at something that shouldn't be looked at.
:A-Anyway, we should do something about our clothes.
һ~:
Yeah.
 Underneath is just a swimsuit, so it's okay if it gets yet, but if you don't dry ourselves soon
 So saying, Migiwa-san took off her PE uniform
:W-Whaa, sorry.
I panicked and turned around.
һ~:Kasugano-kun?
 What's wrong?
:Ahhh, nah
it's nothing.
Even though I knew she was wearing a swimsuit underneath, taking off her clothes so suddenly surprised me
һ~:Akiraa!
 You come over here too.
:ʩ`ˡһ~:Come on, raise your arms.
 If you don't dry off you'll catch a cold.
After taking off Amatsume's clothes, she started trying her hair and body too.
 Drying Amatsume off before herself
I think I'm starting to understand just how much she treasures her.
 :Whaa, Kazu-chan, that hurts.
 Do it more gently.
һ~:Bear with it.
 It's punishment for going wild.
:Ehhhh

She's really strict at times though.
һ~:You should dry yourself off too, Kasugano-kun.
 If you don't have a towel, I'll lend you one.
 :Ah, okay.
 Thanks
Taking a towel from Migiwa-san, I started drying my head.
The scent of flowers.
 The towel has a nice scent.
It's not like the smell of washing powder that's left behind after I wash things.
It completely feels like it's a girl's.
Ryouyhei makes her sound extremely violent, but it seems there are a lot of times when she's not.
 Her gentle face as she's playing the viola.
The diginifed, cool Ojousama.
And when she's dealing with Amatsume, the big sister
Also the child-like sincerity in her chasing her mother.
She hass so many aspects, and that variety is intriguing.
This towel
smalls like her
::S-Soraa!
?
 W-What
?
:
Hurry up and get dry?
:Y-Yeah
D-Did she see.
.
?
 Me burying my face in that towel
ƽ:Whoaa!
?
 What's this!
 Someone give me a towel!
 Give me a towel!
!
 Class rep!
 Class rep, lend me your towel!
 That fluffy thing full of fabric softener!
!
 ίTL:N-No!
 Never!
Timidly glancing towards Migiwa-san, it seems everyone was watching Ryouhei clingint to the class rep, no one noticing me.
 
ƽ:Aaah, that was horrible.
 Even having to wring my underpants.
 һ~:It was worse for me!
 Besides, you say underwear, but it they were swimmers, so who cares!
?
 Kasugano-kun, you were a victim too, so don't have anything to say?
:I wouldn't say victim
Just swimmers, so no reason to get angry
ƽ:Too bad, eh, Ojou?
 It seems like Haruka being your ally was only for that period.
 :I didn't say anything about allies
ahh whatever, let's have lunch.
 Did everyone bring lunch today?
 ƽ:Yeah, you can rely me!
һ~:Rely on you for what?

I brought lunch too.
:Yup yup, I'm fine too.
The weather's good today too, why don't we eat outside?
If that's the case, do you mind if I join in?
:Ah, Nao-chan.
 Sora too.
 Did you bring her here?
 Thanks, Nao-chan.
 ξw:No no, it was nothing.
 She was standing at the door, so I just pulled her in.
 :Ahh, I see.
 I haven't given Sora her lunch yet.
:
Hurry up.
She stuck her hand out at me.
 As usual, all she does is take.
ƽ:Would you like me to escort you down, M'lady?
Ryouhei stretched out his hand, as if offering it to her.
Suddenly making an unnerving face, Ryouhei started his usual revolvting routine towards Sora.
 :
Haru.
:Okay
but you're coming to aren't you?
:
That thing's disgusting but
fine.
As she mentioned "that thing" she shot an obviously sour look at Ryouhei.
 He's obviously trying to ask cool, but it really isn't paying off
Coming down onto the grounds, we sat down on a large shady area.
Although the sunlight was strong, it didn't filter through the trees, and the light breze made it surprisingly comfortable.
 It also helped that the grass growing there was only short, making it possible to sit straight on it.
 :Much cooler than in the classroom.
:Right?
 Right?
 It's quite good outsideYou two's lunch was made by Haru-kun, right?
 How is it, how is it?
 ƽ:That's right, you can cook, hey?
 All right, I'll give it a teaste test.
 :It's not something you'd put on display, though.
Making a sour face, I opened the box.
Having on a semi-transperant box, not even a proper luncbow, was a bit embarrassing.
 What's more, inside is just rice balls.
Even the rice balls have nothing but dried plum in it, and it's only thanks to the seaweed around them that they're even presentable.
 ƽ:
Well if you sleep in, you've got no choice
:I didn't say I was any good at it, so no need for praises.
Sora's is the same as well.
:I didn't expect anything from the start.
Without even the trace of disappointment, Sora picked up a rice ball and bit in.
 :
Not even the taste.
:Don't make it sound that bad.
 I can at least make rice balls normally.
 ξw:But if you're only eating rice balls, your nutrition will suffer
here, Haru-chan, Sora-chan.
 Nao-chan casually gave us some of her side dishes.
 Nao-chan's lunch had green, yellow, all sorts of colours, making it look very delicious.
 :Then I'll give you some tooAmatsume's brown boiled
thing looked like a main dish, but it looked full of flavour, so it'd probably taste good.
 һ~:T-Then
me too
Migiwa-san's lunch looked like a Makunouchi with a lot of things inside, so she split up a huge salmon for us.
 :Thanks everyone
hey, if you give me that much, you won't have enough for yourself, Migiwa-san.
 һ~:I can't eat this much myself anyway
ƽ:Then I'll have so too
һ~:No way am I give some to people who have their own.
ƽ:Don't say thatFavouring only Haruka is unfairһ~:I'm not favouring anyone.
 How about you remember what you did to everyone in PE class?
 ƽ:Yahahahaha, maybe I did get a bit too fired up.
Taking Migiwa-san's attack with good grace, Ryouhei laughed aloud.
All our classmates definitely seemed to be having fun, so you can't say it was a mistake
 ξw:Oh geez
don't tell me you did the same thing as last year?
ƽ:Tsk tsk.
 There's no question that this year's was even better than last year's, right Haruka?
:I tried not to get too involved in it, so
һ~:And despite that, Nakazato-senpai forcibly.
.
:Kazu-chan, Haru-kun, I'm sorry
һ~:It's not like you did anythign wrong.
:But
Ah, right!
All of a sudden, Akira raised a cry and stood up.
:W-What
?
:As an apology for causing everyone trouble, I'll go buy some juice for everyone!
 Be right back With only that, she dashed into the school building.
ƽ:Oh, Sorry.
 I'd like some coffee!
һ~:You should be the one buying!
!
ξw:I'll have some tea!
:
Mandarin.
:Wait up, Amatsume!
 You can't hold everyone's yourself, so I'll come too!
 һ~:You too, Kasugano-kun?

Calm down a bit.
:Ehh?
 Kazu-chan came too?
Straight after I entered the building chasing Amatsume, Migiwa-san came too.
 һ~:
Even with you two, you wouldn't be able to hold everyone's.
Come to think of it, she's right.
:You could've just waited for me out there.
 See, if I use my skirt as a tray, I can carry it all!
 Looking like she knew what she was doing, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and raised it.
 Though I say raise, it looked like she was flipping it up.
Because it wasn't something anyone would do, I couldn't even think of averting my eyes.
 Her thighs became visible, and even almost her crotch
һ~:A-Akira, stop that!
She slapped down Akira's hand, which was holding up her skirt.
And her skirt floated back down to normal.
:Kazu-chan, that hurt.
 What was that for?
һ~:What do you mean why?
 Geez
it's indecent
:A
Ahaha
If Migiwa-san hadn't stopped her, I would've been able to see her panties.
Amatsume being Amatsume, hasn't realise why she got hit.
 һ~:
You saw?
:Eh
I-I didn't see anything!
һ~:Really?
Doubt!
?
 Does she think I was watching intently?
:Really.
 You stopped her before i could see anything.
һ~:
Kasugano-kun
:I was thinking that I wanted to see!
 It's just that I was surprised and couldn't move in time!
 Anyways!
 We have to hurry up and buy everything!
 Everyone's waiting!
 һ~:
Well, fine
what should we buy then
:Ryou-niichan said coffee, right?
Nao-oneechan said tea
Sora-chan mandarin juice.
Amatsume took out her purse and started putting coins into the vending machine, pressing one button after another.
 Despite running at the time, she remembered it all.
And it doesn't even look like she's hesitant, so she really intends to treat everyone
 һ~:You
actually remembered it all.
:Hmm.
.
I guess so?
 What do you two want?
:I'll pay for me and Sora's share.
 You don't need to pay for everyone.
:I can't let that!
 I feel like doing it.
һ~:Making you pay for it all
Nakazato-senpai really is
:It's fine, it's fine
hmm
what should i have
Despite buying everyone else's instantly, she stood there thinking deeply about hers.
Folding her arms, she stood there looking up and down at the machine's list.
 Though her scanning eventually narrowed down, it didn't look like she could pick one.
 It's a good thing no one else is here to buy anything.
һ~:What're you besiding between?

I'll share half of the other with you, so just pick them both
 After three minutes of folding her arms, Migiwa-san gave up and spoke.
:Letsee, Coconut and Green Apple Soda, Watermelon Juice and Honey Banana Milk.
 All things I've never heard of
һ~:Coconut
?
 W-What is that?

Seems like Migiwa-san thought the same thing, since she looked away.
I think they're things a bit too sweet to be drinking with a meal
:I just can't decide between those three.
 If I pick one, I feel sorry for the other two
 So saying, she returned to her deep thinking.
She's probably thinking that even with Migiwa'san offer, she'd feel sorry for the last one.
 But if she is thinking about picking one out of the three
:I'll buy the honey banana milk, so if we share between us three, there's no problem, right?
 :You're okay with that?
:Yep, they sound interesting, so I don't mind trying.
:It'll be fine.
 They're delicious!
With a beep beep bepp, Amatsume nimbly punched in three buttons.
She was so happy it was like her previous expression was a lie.
:Here, Kazu-chan's and Haru-kun's.
 Okay, let's go back Since she skipped ahead of both of us, I couldn't repay her.
һ~:I really can't understand her tastes
:You must have it rough, always sharing half with her.
The pack in my hand was yellow and white, and looked very sweet.
Migiwa-san's coconot and green apple was green and blue so it looks like it'd cool you down, but I wonder how the taste is
 һ~:I guess so
but it's become only a 1/3rd now, though that doesn't really help.
 :Maybe it'll be unexpectedly tasty?
һ~:I wonder
:Ehe, with Haru-kun's help, I can enjoy 3 falvours now, thanks!
 :Well, I was curious about it.
 But I wonder what taste it'll have?
 It's a bit scary.
 :Isn't itThat's why we should drink it with everyone elseһ~:You really like those sorts of things, Akira
:I'm happy that you're always going along with it

doing it alone is boring, afterall.
 һ~:
Akira, you
Unexpectedly, Migiwa san muttered something, then looked at Amatsume.
She stopped walking, as if suddenly recalling something.
:I definitely would be boring to drink weird stuff by yourself
if it tasted disgusting, you'd have to drink it all yourself, too.
 :Yea yeah!
 It's more fun if everyone shares while laughing at each other.
һ~:
You really do like bring everyone together.
Migiwa-san's sigh seemed to have a complicated meaning, a mix of being troubled yet happy.
 
Doing it alone is boring.
Akira's words pierced my heart.
The reason I follow Akira is so that she won't be alone.
Even Akira knows the pain of lonliness, so that's probably why she tries to play with everyone.
 Even the reason fur sharing juice, is so that people can connect with each other
That hesitation when deciding what to drink seemed very silly to me, but Akira must have been frantically thinking about how everyone could enjoy themselves.
 She is such an awkward onee-chan.
I wonder what the best thing I can do for such an onee-chan
 I wonder if just being with her is good enough
ƽ:Hey Haruka, did you see it last night?
:Hmm, see what?
ƽ:"Miku and Takami's Jungle Survivor"
I think I just heard the name of an extremely nostalgic tv program.
:AhI watched it!
 Getting seperated from a university excavation team and then getting lost in the jungle with a poacher, right?
 ƽ:Yeah yeah, and they find the location of the golden ivory!
 Kahaaa, it's going to be the first hit in a while.
 
Yep, I can remember such a sotry, as well as that interesting development.
 :Eh
but are they showing that again?
 Or is it a new season?
 
ƽ:Hah?
 What're you talking about, there's no second season, it's only up to episode 6, right?
 :Yup, that's right:
But that show's already finished.
ƽ:
Are you mistakening it for something else?
:N-No
they finished airing it last year, at the place where I used to live
ƽ:Wha
!
?
 O-Oi!
 No spoilers!
 I'm actually enjoying it!
 :Oh wowww, Haru-kun's already seen the very end.
:Ah
no
Maybe they just broadcast things later here?
ƽ:Tch, and that's why you're a city kid
:I see
the local broadcasting offices are different
ƽ:Don't think it only airs the Key Station programs!
 Things like "It's Okay to Laugh!
" starts at 4, you know?
 :Ehh?
 Then what do they do from 12?
ƽ:The local braodcasting office's originals
don't look down on them!
:I-I see
I didn't notice as all, but that's because I hadvn't watched much TV since moving here
 Besides, the channels are few and the times when I'm just to watching don't have the shows I'm used to watching.
 :Well, the city being itself has many programs on many channel's, so I can't watch everything anyway
 I've flicked through the narrow range of channels here before when I was bored, but it seemed like it was a ridiculous nuber of talk shows.
 
But from what I can see, digital broadcasting hasn't arrived in this area yet.
 һ~:You three
we're in the middle of class, so cencentrate at least a bit
ƽ:What's that?
 You want to join in?
һ~:Stop saying such stupid things!
And you, Kasugano-kun.
 I've told you not to get carried away with Nakazato-senpai, haven't I?
 :I-I think so, yeah
Migiwa-san's jab at Ryouhei is in some ways an everyday thing, but it seems I've forgotten about her telling me to avoid Ryouhei.
 And besides, when Amatsume and Ryouhei get together, some way or another, it turns out fun.
ƽ:Hehe, too bad, huh?
 Today's Haruka is my ally!
:Ahaa, welcome to the gang for today, Haru-kun.
һ~:
I see, is that so?
 Kasugano-kun wants to join Nakazato-senpai in getting scolded by the teacher.
 Migiwa-san's eyes were extremely cold.
Every piece of those words pierced into me.
:I did say before that I wasn't allied with anyone
ѧ̎Hooo, What was that, Kasugano-kun?
ƽ:Oho!
:Achaa.
һ~:Migiwa-san's expression grew even more disgusted after we caught the teacher's attention.
 ѧ̎Well, since we're talking anyway, Nakazato, Kasugano, Amatsume, how about solving a question?
 ƽ:N-Nah
we're fine, we'll pass on that.
ѧ̎Okay, Nakazato has page 82 for homework.
 What about you, Amatsume?
ƽ:What?
 A surprise attack!
?
:A-Aha
if I pass too
homework?
ѧ̎I would guess so
So if I can't answer either, it'll be homework for me too
Well, it's not like I don't have any recognition of the symbols and numbers on the board.
 I wouldn't understood it if I was listening properly in class, but
:Uumm
Therefoooore, x and y aaaareBeing as flustered as Amatsume, I couldn't get the answer either.
 If only I started concentrating on the lesson why Migiwa-san told me to
 :Ah
umm
y = - (x +
 
Hm?
 Amatsume knows the answer?
 Or is she just desperately spouting nonsense
ah.
 һ~:At that moment, I saw Migiwa's hand wuickly return from under Amatsume's table.
And Amatsume's eyes were fixed on her desk.
ѧ̎
Well, that's fine I guess.
 Got the answer right, at least.
ƽ:Ah, it's dirty!
 Ojou, you traitor!
ѧ̎Shut it, Nakazato.
 Do you want your homework to be the printouts as well as the textbook?
 ƽ:No no, there is more than enugh, your majesty.
ѧ̎Geez, all you're good as is running your mouth.
 Next, Kasugano!
 :Y-Yes.
:Haru-kun, good luck!
ƽ:Haruka!
 I believe in you!
Even after looking at the blackboard once again, I have no clue.
They must've gone to another topic while we were talking, since it's completely different to my notes.
 I can't understand the one Amatsume answered either.
ѧ̎Looks like it might be best if you did the homework as revision like Nakazato, eh?
:Ah, no, Let me try a bit more
ah.
һ~:
This
All of a sudden, a hand came from beside me.
From a torn piece of paper, an equation was written in neat handwriting.
 No mistaking it, it's definitely the answer.
 һ~:
This is it
never helping you again
:
Migiwa-san
һ~:
This is an apology
for the when Amatsume was being a nuisance in the pool
now we're even
 :
Thanks, Migiwa-san
While think that Migiwa-san apologising for the pool incident was strange, I read out what was on the note.
 
And class ended.
ƽ:WAAAAA, that's discriminatiooon, you traitorrr, Ojou's meeaaan, WAAAA!
!
!
 Being the only one who received homework, Ryouhei was crying.
һ~:Exams are coming up, so it's perfect timing for helping you study, isn't it?
 We went to use our summer holidays effectively, so don't drag us down with your supplementary lessons.
 But he was no match for Migiwa-san.
Although it might just be because it's Ryouhei, the extremely fake crying probably didn't help.
 But what she says applies to me too.
:Poor Ryou-niichan
I'll help you with it!
һ~:W-Why do you have to go that for fim?
:Well, I was talking to Ryou-niichan, and besides, it's about time I studied too
 ƽ:Oh Akira!
 You really are a nice person!
Unlike some other person
wink.
 And this time, yet another easy to understand wink from Ryouhei.
ƽ:
wink
come on
winkW-Well
although I did manage to avoid homework, it's not like I'm ready for the test
 :I-I'll help too then.
 We're friends, and besides, I have to study too!
 
ƽ:That's right!
 That's exactly why we're friends!
:Oklay, do it at my place?
 I've got barley tea there!
һ~:W-Wait a minute
ƽ:The barley tea at Akira's place is delicious!
 Prepare some snacks too!
 :Leave it to me!
 I'll go buy lots of rice crackers!
ƽ:Oh oh, I'm counting on you.
 Starting it today is fine right?
 The homework's due tomorrow, afterall.
 :That's fine.
 That's okay with you too, Haru-kun?
:Ah
y-yeah
һ~:Y-You three
And we continued our conversation and ignored what Migiwa-san was trying to say
ƽ:We can do the homework as a main, but maybe we make some counter-measures for the test
does anyone know what's in it?
 :I wouldn't really know.
:I roughly know it I'm always listening when the teacher says, "This will be in the exam!
" ƽ:All right, you're great Akira!
:Ahaa.
һ~:W-Wait a minute!
As if she was unable to bear it any longer, Migiwa-san raised her voice.
ƽ:What do you want, Kazu-chan?
 We're busy arranging a study group.
 һ~:
Grr
I'll go too
ƽ:Ah?
 What was that?
һ~:I'll go too!
!
ƽ:All right!
 Reliable supporter, conscripted!
:And now we're all good for the test!
And then, congratulating themselves on a job well done, they high fived.
 һ~:W-Wait just a second!
 You
you were relying on me from the start!
?
 :ƽ:Kekekekeһ~:Y-You
ƽ:Okay!
 Since you said it yourself, we're counting on you, Kazu-chan!
:Thanks for volunteering, Kazu-chan!
һ~:Ah.
.
Ahhh
tricked again
Was this
really all planned?
Get me involved too, and the left out Migiwa-san would be encouraged to help out
 Being able to read that far into Migiwa-san's thoughts
do not take these two lightly.
 
The place we ended up going, Amatsume's room, was a pure Japanese style room.
 In complete contrast to Amatsume's cheerful personality, the room was quite tame.
The mismatch gave it a mysterious quality.
:What's wrong, Haru-kun?
 You've been looking around, is it really that strange?
:It's my first time here, so I
sorry.
:I see, that's why.
 Welcome to my room then, Haru-kun.
And welcome to you too, Sora-chan.
:Since everyone else was here, Sora ended up joining in too.
Akira brought some barley tea to each of us, despite us sitting all over the place.
 :Okay, bareley and rice crackers!
 Eat as much as you wantƽ:Oh, I've been waiting!
 Okay, let's
һ~:Don't start relaxing before we even start.
ƽ:I'm only taking a breather.
:Sprawled over the tatami, holding a
wait, that's no textbook, Manga
?
 ƽ:First I have to heal my body which has been worn out by the day's lessons
һ~:Akira and Kasugano-kun, here.
 Okay, sit.
Completely ignoring Ryouhei and his excuses, Migiwa-san pointed directly opposite her.
 :Is it okay to leave Ryouhei alone?
:Ryou-niichan's reading manga
that looks so relaxing
һ~:You two, do you really have time to be worrying about others?
:I guess
:Not.
.
һ~:So, worry about yourself first.
 I've explained what's in the test on the way home, so what don't you understand in there?
 As revenge for what happened in the classroom, Migiwa-san continued relentlessly.
If she's going to join in, she'd do it thoroughly
is the aura I'm getting from her.
 Looks like she won't accept either of us being sluggish like Ryouhei.
 Not like I can complain, since she is teaching me
һ~:Start with that maths you're all bad at even in class.
You okay, Sora-san?
 :
Not need.
Sora was solving problems easily, turning one page over after the next.
 
һ~:You don't talk much, do you?
:Amazing, you're really smart:
Average.
:Sora's always had a weqak body, so she reads a lot of books instead.
ƽ:So that's the reason you two are so different despite being twins?
:Well
Although we both started from the same place, I can't even reach a third of Sora can do.
 :Well, our textbooks were different at our last school, so the content was a bit different too.
 :
Only difference was how they wrote it.
:Which means, the contents were the same?
:ƽ:So she says, Haruka.
:B-But
it looked completely different to me
ƽ:They intelligence is definitely different
It's at times like these I wish that Sora was the older brother.
һ~:Can the person who doesn't even try to study please shut up?
ƽ:Whoa.
һ~:Kasugano-kun, I'll explain the things you don't understand until you do, so keep working.
 :Thanks, Migiwa-san.
 You're a great help.
һ~:But really
you're so different to the image you give out that it's surprising.
 :Sorry for not meeting your expectations
һ~:Ah sorry, I didn't mean that
ƽ:She meant, "Show me some of that coolness that being raised in the city gives you.
" :Eh!
?
һ~:N-No I didn't!
!
 I didn't mean that at all!
:So, what did you mean?
һ~:You too?

grr
For some reason, Migiwa-san was at a loss for words.
Something that hard to say
it's a bit of a shock.
һ~:
A-Anyways, get back to the textbook.
ƽ:Not saying it?
 That's no fun
:What a disappointment
:Even Sora is sighing
that's rare.
һ~:
Shut up.
 Akira, come over here.
 Kasugano-kun, work by yourself.
:Fiine.
:A-All right
It's probably because she's beautiful that that scowl is so strong
Might be best if I obediently studied

if it weren't for the fact that I don't get any of them while looking at it myself.
 һ~:Hm?
Did she just look this way?
һ~:Glance:Hmm?
һ~:
Ah.
Yup, she's definitely looking.
:Umm, Migiwa-san
һ~:K-Kasugano-kun, I told you study it yourself didn't I?
:Y-Yeah, you did.
һ~:Geez, you're not Nakazato-senpai, so do some study.
 :F-Fine, excuse me.
Why's she so angry?

And so, the sun had completely gone down and it was time for Akira to go make dinner for Yahiro-san, so the study group was suspended.
 
:We're this way, see ya.
Ryouhei had left earlier saying claiming starvation, so it was only us and Migiwa-san at the intersection.
 һ~:Ah
about earlier, forget about it, okay?
:Eh?

About what?
һ~:Uu
N-Nothing then
See you later.
:Okay, bye then.
 Thanks for today!
:As Migiwa-san got further and further away, we started on our way home.
While I was anxiously wodering if what we did today would be enough for the test
 һ~:Why is dealing with him so frustrating
what a strange person
I think I just heard something like Migiwa-san's muttering from very far away.
With that study group, as well as the one organised by Nao-chan the day after, I somehow managd in the test.
 Managed is a strange word to use here, but it matches my sense of achievement.
 
:Tirreeed
So, I wonder if I can just melt into my room.
We were let out of school early today, but I really don't feel like doing anything
So this is burnout syndrome
:No, I can't do that!
 It's not even summer holidays yet, so it's not the time tos lack off!
 Shopping!
 Or just get out of the house!
The very moment I got out, I was greeted by the sound of the cicadas.
It's barely even July, why are they singing already
they're too early over here.
 Maybe it's because of the heat, but the call of the cicadas seemed like they were following you around.
 Not a hint of a breeze, so no a fragment of coolness.
Shopping
let's go get something to drink
:Helloooo?
 Anyone home?
Ҥ
Yes, somewhere's here.
 Just where do you think this is?
:Ah, Yahiro-san
that's rare.
ҤAhn?
 What's strange about a shopkeeper minding her shop?
But at least she was in a bad mood.
 That's a bit relieving.
ҤAh whatever.
 Stay here for a bit.
:Hah?
 Where are you going?
ҤJust stand here.
:Eh?
 Wait a
Yahiro-saaaan
She really left
Is it really okay to slack off on the job like that?
But it'll turn dangerous if I don't listen to her
 A few hours after being some juice from the vending machine
She still hasn't returned.
I'm looking after the shop like she said, but where would she go leaving someone who knew nothing about how to handle a shop here?
 Slacking off should be done in moderation.
I'm starting to understand why Migiwa-san doesn't acknowledge her as Amatsume's guardian.
 Eh?
 Haru-kun?
:What're you doing?
 House sitting?
:
Looks like it.
:Ahaa, Hiro-neechan went out, huh?
:Quite surprising, really.
 Leaves straight after suddenly say, "Stay here".
Luckily, the shop had no customers while I was here
 Is this shop even profitable?
:She really is a free personI'll take over for you.
Amatsume went into the back of the shop and came back out carrying something.
A plastic bag full of potatoes and carrots.
:What's that?
:Tonight's dinner!
:Yahiro-san's?
 You did saying something about making hers at the last study group, didn't you?
 Do you make it often?
 :Hmm, basically everyday, I guess.
 I eat dinner with Yahiro-san, afterall.
 :You said she was your guardian, didn't you?
From what Migiwa-san said, when her grandfather died, no one would take her in
 :After my grandfather died, I didn't have any relatives.
 Something like sending me to an orphanage or have someone take care of me was going to be decided, but then Yahiro-san came back.
 She was working in Tokyo, but said something about it being a pain in the ass and returned.
 Then she said she'd take care of me.
 Then, if it weren't for yahiro-san, Amatsume might not have been able to stay in this town.
 :Were you two close?
:This shop.
 It's Hiro-neechan's grandmother's.
:Yahiro-san's
grandmother?
She actually has parents and grandparents
:My shirn is close to here, right?
 I've been helping at this shop since her grandmother was working in it And when I was little, she even played with meAs if remembering something fun, she smiled happily.
 :Ehee.
And, continued to smile.
:Eh
that's it?
:Ehh?
 What is?
:Ah, nothing
A person can become another's guardian just because they played together a long time ago?
 "We're actually blood relatives!
!
"
even if the truth wasn't as dramatic as that, I expected it to be at least something more
 But looking at her smiling face, it really seems like there isn't.
Hm?
 You here too, Akira?
:Welcome back, Hiro-neechanToday's curry!
ҤCurry, eh?

And as replacement for meat, you're using some weird leaves?
:They're bay leaves, not just weird garden leavesҤA leaf's a leaf, no matter how you look at it.
 Anyways, none of that.
:Okay.
ҤThe curry here doesn't last long, huh
Yahio-san looked up at the sky in annoyance.
And then clucked her tongue as she went faced directly at the setting sun.
:If you leave it in the fridge, you can eat it any time.
ҤPain in the ass.
If even that much is a pain, why'd she take care of Amatsume?
 :Okay, I'll start cooking thenҤAh, I'm counting on you.
And you, how long are you thinking of staying?
:Eh?
 Me?
ҤI've returned, right?
 Should be obvious that you can go.
 Off you go.
 So saying, she shooed me with her hands.
Really feels like she doesn't care about anyone else.
So I carelessly called out to her as she turned around.
:
Why did you decided to take care of Amatsume?
 I put my doubts into words.
ҤAh?
 Don't ask such boring things.
:Ah, if you don't want to
ҤIdiot.
 If you're going to ask such personal things, never pull out half way.
It's no fun telling, but it's a reward for earlier.
:O-Okay.
It's something she'd say for such a reason?
ҤWhen I went to her grandpa's funeral, everyone was shoving the responsiblity onto each other.
 Piss me off.
 Tch, even remembering it now pisses me off
I thought I was used to here, but no matter where I go, everyone just pisses me off
 Tokyo, the countryside, people are all the same
Her speech was her usual annoyed tone, but her eyes were extremely angry.
 As if trying to burn up all the other annoying things.
ҤWell, my grandma really loved her too.
If even I left her to rot, she'd have put a curse on me.
 And besides, it was on the condition that she make the meals everyday, so no such a bad deal, right?
 :
That wasn't your real goal!
?
ҤStuupid, that's a bonus
 ?
?
?
 Said Yahiro-san as she eyed setting sun.
Not angry.
 Not annoyed.
 Just as if the setting sun was dazzling.
ҤShe's a lot like a balloon
if you leave her alone, you don't know where she'd float off to.
 It's a good thing there happens to be something to tie her down.
:You actually like her?
ҤIdiot.
 Didn't you understand what I just said?
:I understood something like, "She's really important to me".
Ҥ*Sigh*
looks like it's too early to tell that story to a kid
:Y-You don't like her!
?
ҤAhh go away.
 There's nothing esle for me to tell you.
 Hurry up and leave.
If you don't leave, I'll make it so you'll never return.
:I-I'm going!
 Right now!
 Immediately!
S-Scary
But.
Since she's not flinching from the trouble of raising Amatsume, I'm sure I'm right.
 Yahiro-san, though in a different way to Migiwa-san, really does treasure her.
 Amatsume and Migiwa-san's allies have increased by one.
Thinking that, I suppose there was some worth in minding the shop
Despite this being a really weird day
Eh?
Didn't I come here to do some shopping?
But
if I got back to that cheap lolly shop
:
.
*shiver*
She really will kill me
I'll give up for today.
Oh
the signs that the fireworks are starting.
:Let's hurry, Sora.
 Everyone might already be there.
:
Childish.
:Eh, but I've been looking forward to this, you know?
:Sleepy.
With a cute yawn, Sora rubbed her eyes.
:What's this?
 You were too exicted about today and couldn't get to sleep?
:
Was too hot.
:I-I see
She wasn't too enthusiastic about this from the start, but even today it doesn't look like she feels doing anything.
 :Anyways, we should hurry.
 Amatsume and Migiwa-san are waiting too.
:
Yeah, yeah.
Today was the day of the festival that we've been preparing for.
Normally we'd just go pray and visit the street stalls at night, but we're helping out a bit today.
 I haven't heard what we'll be helping out with, but there's worth in being able to experience backstage things.
 :
Ah
that's
Running along a road I used everyday, I caught sight of a nearby stone monument, nicely decorated.
 I felt a bit proud that those decorations are something I helped to make.
 :If I clap my hands
*clap**clap*
:
What?
:Just praying a bit
I'm finished anyway.
:Hmmm?
:Okay, if we don't hurry, we'll be late, Sora!
:Ah, Haru!

despite standing still yourself.
ƽ:Oh, you're here.
ξw:'Morning, Haru-kun, Sora-chan
ƽ:Uhyooo!
 Sora-chaaan!
!
!
:Hii!
?
ƽ:@#%#%$!
?
That smacking sound
һ~:What do you think your doing even at this time?
:Welcome everyone.
 Thanks for today:Migiwa-san
and Amatsume, good morning.
 I thought we were a bit late
 Migiwa-san's in Japanese clothes
maybe it's because I rarely see that, but
 She definitely has an atmosphere about her, she's pretty
һ~:W-What?

Don't look at me that much
:S-Sorry, got a bit mesmorised.
һ~:Mesmorised
:Ah, no
Maybe it's because of the festive mood, but I think I'm feeling a bit strange.
The shops on the shrine road had started preparing, and the smell of cooking yakisoba and crepes filled the air.
 I can't help being fired up that quickly, right?
:O-Oh right!
 What can I do to help?
һ~:Ah, that's right.
 You people are
ƽ:All the men are doing the odd jobs.
 Lots of manual labour to do, right?
:What about Sora?
ƽ:My personal s-
һ~:Sora-san will be helping me and Yorihime-senpai direct the visitors.
 :
Mm.
:Ah, you want to wear the spare shrine maiden outfit?
 Come over here if you want it:
T-That's okay
:Speaking of shrine maidens, Amatsume's not the only one today, right?
At the shrine office's stand, some unfamiliar girls wearing the same shrine maiden outfit were seated.
 Looks there are a few in the back too.
ƽ:Ahhh, Master, eyeing the shrine maidens already, you have an expert eye.
The contrast of red and white!
 That beautiful black hair and graceful movement!
 Neat and cute!
 Kuuuu, Irresistable, right?
 This must be "Moe"!
:
It must be hot and sticky in that, so I can't think of them like that.
һ~:How can you think like that about the Shinto priesthood?

Those people there are from th city's shrine, sent here to help out.
 The others are the Chief Priest and the ones from the neighbourhood, also here to help.
 There's no way we could run the festival with ounly Akira, afterall.
 :This Shrine normall only has Akira, right?
һ~:Yes.
 The priest was a friend of Akira's grandfather.
 He's also from the city's shrine, and drops by once a week.
 Because Akira does the cleaning and managing of the shrine, they let her stay there.
 :Hmmm, is that so?
Looking around again, it's clear that there are quite a lot of people moving around.
 With a festival of this scope, helping must be hard work.
 ξw:Okay, okay, that's enough chatter.
 It's time to work.
Especially Migiwa-san, the guests will be coming soon, so we have to hurry.
 һ~:Ah
sorry about that.
 Let's go Sora-san.
:Hey everyone, after our jobs are done, let's go around the stalls
:Now then, I wonder if this is okay
ƽ:Ahh, that should be okay.
We were carrying cardboard boxes full of written oracles and charms to be sold at the shrine office's goods corner into shrine grounds.
 Picking up one box, and carrying it into the shrine office.
Carrying something I'd normally be buying
it's a lot of work, and puts things into perspective.
 The cardboard boxes we carry in are then opened and the contents lined up neatly by the city's shrine maidens.
 While we were carrying things in and out, people were gathering in the reeption room.
 People I've seen before, people I haven't, anyways, just a lot of people.
 Migiwa-san and Amatsume were greeting then and passing out tea.
 Probably, elite people from the city.
 It looks like they're being very attentive.
 Compared to that, this endles manual labour is probably easier.
 From the shrine office, some old men came out and stood at the doorway.
 They're people I've seen before.
һ~:Those are the village head and his deputy.
 The other one is the head of our ward.
Coming up next to me, Migiwa-san explained to me with a whisper.
һ~:They were close friends of Kasugano-sensei, so how about talking to them afterwards?
 :No way, I'd get too nervous
һ~:Hehe, even though they're just the average old men?
:They probably seem that way to you, but
I looked over at the old men again, and it seems they're headed towards the stairs.
 
At the stairs stood a well built man in Japanese clothes.
Behind him, but maintaining a respectful distance, was a tall but slender man wearing a suit.
 The one in Japanese clothes was middle aged, the suited one was aging, but they were easily younger than the village head.
 But compared to them, the village head bowed lower when greeting.
She said he was the village head, so I would've though him highest, but it seems there's a higher ranked person here.
 
Even Migiwa-san looked a bit nervous.
:That person is
Straight after I asked, I remembered.
I recognised the one behind.
 He was the driver of Migiwa-san's family's car.
Secretary or something.
 Which means
һ~:My father.
Migiwa-san said, with a small groan.
In other words, also Amatsume's father.
Perhaps being influenced by Migiwa-san's feelings, I looked at him with complex thoughts.
 Something like a mix of hatred and respect.
:Thank you for making time in your busy schedule today.
 After his greeting with the village head had completely greeted, this time he was greeted by Amatsume.
 
һ~:θI am counting on you for a magnificent job this year too.
:Yes.
It felt like an exchange between a Shinto shrin delegate and an influential person in his hometown.
You would not think it was a talk between two blood related people.
After his greeting with Amatsume had been completed, he became aware of Migiwa-san's presence.
 һ~:Migiwa-san bowed her head with a neutral expression.
Her father just greeted her with only his eyes before going into the shrine office with Amatsume and the village head.
 Following him with her eyes, Migiwa-san's face became stern.
:You okay?
һ~:Eh?
:You're making a scary face.
һ~:R-Really?

Oh no
what am
:You're shock the guests if you make that face.
һ~:I-I'll be careful
Come on, you have work to do too, don't you?
 No slacking off now.
 :Okay, I'm off thenһ~:Okay.
 Work hard, okay?
And she sent me off with a voice that had returned to normal.
They said it was manual labour, but the things to mvoe were like the shrine goods and things for the ceremony, so they weren;t very heavy alone.
 But going back and forth countless times made it a lot harder.
 And after the ceremony's over, I'll have to help take everything down.
And if the shrine doesn't sell out, I'll have to carry them too.
But now, the first round of work was done, and it was time for a short break.
:Ahaa, nice work, Haru-kun.
:Haha
a bit rough since I'm not that buff.
 You're having a break too?
:I'm off for the purification ceremonyI have to clean myself before the ceremony.
:Purification ceremony is
um
pouring water over your head?
:Yeah yeah!
 There's a lot more steps to it though, so it's a bit annoying It's a good thing the festival isn't it winter.
:Whoa
if it was in winter, would you still have to do it?
:Would be impossible, huh
Wouldn't make a nice story if she caught a cold
:Ahh, I'm going to run out of time, so I'm going now:Oh, sorry for stopping you.
 Good luck.
She ran off towards the back of the shrine while waving.
I think that there's only the mountain trail that way, but where is she going?
 Don't you do it in a bathroom?
һ~:Ah, Kasugano-kun!
 have you seen Akira?
:She said she was off to do the Purification ceremony, and ran off that way.
һ~:Eh?
 She left already?
 What should I do
:What's wrong?
һ~:She forgot to take her new undershirt and stuff with her
:Yeah, she was empty handed, but I thought there was something to change into there.
 һ~:No way there's something like that at a lake.
 After telling her not to forget that many times
:Lake?
 She's going it at a place like that?
һ~:Ah, you don't know, I guess.
 There's a lake even higher up on the mountain than this shrine.
 That's the shrine's cleansing water.
 The Chouzuya's water is pulled up from there too.
:I see
Today is a whole day of discovery of new facts
һ~:Wait, this isn't a time for talking.
Yeah, Kasugano-kun!
 Can you do me a favour?
 :No problems, luggage carrying?
һ~:It's a girl's things, so I'll carry it up for her.
 Can you go tell Akira to wait up a bit?
 I can't run very fast in this kimono.
:Roger that, just chase her down then.
 You can coem over slowly, then.
 һ~:Thanks, be careful, okay?
I ran after Akira down the road from the main shrine.
I seem to remember going through this road before.
When I was going cicada hunting with Amatsume, I went into this forest.
At the time, I didn't know there was a lake up here
It's been a long time sicne then, and it was a lot rougher than in my memories.
There was nothing to help you up like stairs, and tree roots randomly jutted out, making it hard to walk.
 There were also small rocks, so it was also easy to trip.
Road's not the word for it, more like animal trail.
:That Amatsume went running through here?

She was wearing sandals, I was wearing sneakers.
 As a bonus, it's a mountain road, so I though I'd catch her easy, but i still haven't caught up.
 
Don't tell me I'm on the wrong road?
Thanks to the noisy racket from the cicadas, I couldn't hear the shrine grounds.
I don't think I should've gone that far, but I can't hear the festival music.
Just the swaying of branches and the sound of leaves.
It's almost like I've been lost in another world
:No way that's true.
 What kind of coward am I!
With a purposely loud voice, I tried to encourage myself.
If I didn't do that, I'd be squashed by uncertainty.
:I-I'm here
Suddenly, the trees parted and the glittering lake spread out before me.
A cool breeze corssed over the lake's surface and brushed away my fatigue.
I couldn't feel the heat, and it was such a beautiful place that it's hard to believe it's in the same world as what's below.
 :Eh?
 What's up, Haru-kun?
On the shores of the lake was what looked like a plain wooden shelf, perhaps a Kamidana, and Amatsume was standing in front of it.
 While I can't really say that I made it in time, at least she hadn't started the purification ceremony.
 :Ah, Migiwa-san told me to tell you to wait a bit while she goes to get you a change of clothes.
 :Ahh, I think I didn't manage to forget them.
Thanks for coming all this way, Haru-kun.
 :I thought I'd be able to catch your before you got here, though.
 Guess I didn't make it.
 :Ahaa, must've been hard getting up here.
 Want some tea?
:Thanks, I'll hvae a cup.
She took out a teakettle from the lake.
A old shrine jutted out at the other side of the lake.
It was an extremely worn out building, making it feel like an antique.
:There's a shrine here too?
:Yep.
 That place is pretty much unused now, though.
While having my tea poured, I nodded.
I scanned the area once again, thinking that I definitely don't have any memories of this place.
:When we were kids, we went cicada hunting, right?
 Did we come up here at the time?
 :I wonder if we did
Nah, I don't think so.
:So this is my first time, then
After coming once, there's no way I'd forget such a pretty spot, I guess.
 :It's a good thing you like it too:Yeah, I like it.
 A lot.
һ~:
Akira!
!

You're clothes!

And then Migiwa-san finally arrived.
һ~:
Akira, you really managed to forget it
Must have been hard going up that mountain trial in a kimono.
She passed an the undershirt and a Japanese towel to Akira, sweat clearly visible on her brow.
 :Thanks, Kazu-chan.
Taking the change of clothes and putting it on the shelf, she started taking off her shrine maiden outfit.
 
:Akira, Wai-
:Eh?
 Whaaat?
:N-Nothing.
S-Suddenly undressing like that
if I hadn't quickly turned around, I'd have seen her
 һ~:Kasugano-kun?
:M-Migiwa-san
She's mad
she's mad
isn't.
.
she
?
һ~:Kasugano-kun, go back down now.
:Yes
I'll do that
:Eh?
 Aren't you going to watch?
һ~:Akira!
!
:Sorry Akira.
 I'm curious, but it'll have to be next time.
һ~:
How dirty
so you're that type of person
:I-It was a joke
Trying to lighten the
һ~:Hurry up and go.
:Yes!
 Staight away!
Whoa, looks like I choose the wrong topic to joke around with
I l tried to leave/flee back down the mountain
 :Wha!
?

Ouch
On top of fleeing, falling over
һ~:Ahaha
what are you doing, geez
Ahaha
You really don't have to laugh!
ƽ:Hahaha, I've been looking for you, partner!
As I arrived, Ryouhei was waiting with his thumb up.
Upon seeing the excited Ryouhei and hearing cheerful Japanese orchestra, the heat and noise made me feel strange.
 :What now?
ƽ:The bentou, of course.
 Once the ceremony's over, we have a lunch meeting, so we have to carry them in before it starts.
 Our ones in there too, and they're really delicious, you know?
 It's the only reason I'm helping out!
 :Is it really that good?
ƽ:When people say that something's so delish that it'll make your shit drop, they're taking about this!
 If this is just a "Bentou", then what my mum makes would just be a "be".
 :
Sorry.
 I didn't understand any of that.
ƽ:Well, if I used two hiragana, it'd sound indecent right?
 [TL Note: Two hiragana would be ben, which means feces]Yet again, confidently saying it with a smart thumbs up.
It really is hot here.
:And, where are we taking these bentou to?
At the entrance to the shrine office was a pile of boxes.
We'll probably just have to carry them inside.
ƽ:There's a reception room, we're taking it there.
 Nao's organising it now, so we have to help her too.
 :Roger that.
 Okay, let's get moving.
We made several trips back and forth, placing the bentou on the trays lined up for us.
The tatami room with all the trays lined up in a row was quite a sight to behold.
 Migiwa-san's father will probably be sitting here
at the seat of honour, and everyone else in rank order.
 ƽ:Us plebians will just get a bentou and sit outside.
ξw:It's about time for the ceremony to end.
 The elites will be here soon, so let's get out.
 :Yeah, guess we should
Oooiii Soraa, we're going:Mm.
һ~:Huh, everyone?

Time for lunch?
ξw:We've got your share, but
are you eating here?
һ~:Yes, thank you.
 Then, I'll go get some tea.
 ƽ:Okay, we'll go find a place to sit.
 Next to the shrine office is fine, right?
һ~:
Try not to get in the way of those actually going to worship at the shrine.
 ƽ:You don't have to say something that obvious, huh?
ξw:In your case, no matter how much someone emphasises it, therey's no "emphasising too much".
 :It is Ryouhei, afterall
ƽ:Oi oi, I'm a man that works when he's needed, you know?
Right, Sora-chan?
:G-Get away!
ƽ:Gwah!
?

Hehe
that's quite a kick you have there
Sora-chan
 
:*Pant**pant*
what
is this?
:I really do wonder
Well, at least he coan't be a bother to the worshippers like that.
ξw:Now that the evil had been defeated, let's go eat.
ƽ:Agreed!

Not defeated at all.
Like Ryouhei said, the lunch was really good, making me a bit depressed that what I was making every day couldn't even be called food.
 It seems like they're from a traditional Japanese restaurant.
 Just eating this makes helping out today worthwhile.
 
Which makes me no different to Ryouhei.
:Amatsume's going without lunch?
һ~:Akira's eating inside.
 She is a member of the shrine afterall, so she has to accompany the guests.
 I'm a bit worried that she might do somethign weird, but
ξw:You're just worrying too much.
 She does this every year
Here, have some tea?
 һ~:Yes please
Kasugano-kun, your cup's empty too.
:Ah, yeah
thanks.
What followed was a weird sequence of Nao-chan filling Migiwa-san's cup, then Migiwa-san filling mine.
 Which means I have to pour someone else's cup, but
:
No need.
Sora quickly hid her cup.
Both Ryouhei and Nao-chan;s cups had plenty of tea left.
һ~:.
.
>But that girl
every year she screws up something
ƽ:Nah, I wouldn't say that.
 Akira's failures are what adds spice to the festival.
 ξw:Well, she wouldn't be Akira if she did it all perfectly.
һ~:What are you saying?
 What if she screwed up during the scared ceremony
ƽ:She hasn't screw up anything
And next is the music and dancing, which makes that suspect, huh?

 һ~:Don't say that!
 Doing something so shameful in front of all the spectators
ξw:Like I said, you're worrying too much.
 Akira's been practising too.
һ~:It would be nice if that were true, but
ξw:It's just about time, come on Ryouhei, move it, move it.
ƽ:Yeaaah
Haruka, let's go.
:The next job?
 What're we doing now?
һ~:The music and dancing are soon, so please set up the stage.
ξw:Getting all the props ready.
 Ryouhei knows where they are.
:Haha, one job after the other.
һ~:After that it'll be basically over, so we can go around the street stalls together.
 :Okay.
 Okay, last job, so I'll do my best.
But before we could finish moving everything, the performers arruve, so we have to start getting off the stage.
 We were told to calm down because not all of them went up at once, but just the thought of not seeing it after all this work, I panicked.
 Then they told me that there were many acts before Amatsume's turn, so I finally calmed down.
 After finally moving everything, we rushed to the Kagura hall.
һ~:Kasugano-kun!
 Over here!
Migiwa-san had saved seats for us near the front.
 һ~:You made it.
On the stage were some men dancing wildly.
Amatsume's turn was supposed to be after this.
:Ryouhei should be here soon too.
ξw:In his case, he probably wanted to watch the Seven Deities of Good Luck more than Akira.
 ƽ:Being able to eat something so nice, of course I'd be happy.
һ~:At least say something like its because you've been blessed by the gods.

It's starting.
 The wild men were going backstage when the chime of a bell could be heard.
 Each ringing of the bell was followed by another, and rhythm grew faster.
The audience had also gone so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and I think even the atmosphere of this place changed.
 Finally, Amatsume came out from the side of the stage, eyes closed and making a strange face.
 Unlike her usual cheerful, bouncy movements, she was moving with gentle, flowing footsteps, rinign the bell as she glided towards the centre of the stage.
 :
What's this dance called?
I asked Migiwa-san in a whisper, so as not to disturb the others.
һ~:
"Kaibyakushinchi".
It was a story from a long time ago, when Okukozume was just a village.
A legend of a girl from this land, struggling to protect the village with her servants from a foreign enemy.
 The name of the girl was "Sayorihime".
 This shrine was made in her honour.
 Before the festival, the servants decorated all of the countless Dousojin statues.
Amatsume, who was playing Sayorihime, wasn't dressed in her normal shirne maiden outfit, but a prettier one with many ornaments.
 She looked off into the distance with eyes that didn't seem her own, an earnest expression on her face.
 It fit the image of an unhappy girl sp perfectly that I'd actually believe it if someone said she was the rebirth of a god.
 :
This Amatsume is cool too.
һ~:
Yeah
:
You look good in a kimono too, so it wouldn't be out of place if you were up there too.
 һ~:N-No way
besides, Sayorihime-sama is one person, so if I were up there, I'd be the bad guy.
 :
Yeah, that's true
but, that I do want to see, you two dancing together.
 һ~:
Geez
I'd never do it
Migiwa-san's voice turned sulky.
The dance was nearing the climax, so it was getting more and more exciting.
 A huge war had ended and disaster averted.
 But the girl who had used up all her power, had to sleep.
 The people, sorry to see her go, sent her off with a final farewell.
And the chimes of the bell range out sadly.
As if reluctant to part with her until the very end
and then
:Unya
!
?
:Ah
һ~:
Akira!
?
Trying to spin around, Amatsume stepped on her own robes and fell straight down.
 :Ehehehe.
Everyone started laughing at Amakatsume, who had stood up and cutely stuck her tongue out.
 The dignified atmosphere which had permeated the place was dispelled in one moment.
һ~:Geez
that wasn't a time for laughing
:But it's just like her.
һ~:
That's true, but
that scary kid
being able to laugh at that time
Being able to calmly laugh after such a big screw up on the big stage makes me think how much of an airhead she really is.
 Looking onto the stage again, Amatsume had noticed us, and waved.
 һ~:
Take it seriously for once
With that act, the room tried to hide their smiles again.
And with that, the atmosphere of the sacred ceremony receded, and with the closing of stage curtains, the bustling festival mood returned.
 
:Haaaaaa, I'm tireedd.
 I was sooo nervousssHaving finished changing and coming out of the Kagura hall, Amatsume had a relaxed smile, in complete contrast to her words.
 һ~:How so!
?
 Are you sure you didn't screw up on purpose at the end!
?
 You ruined it!
 :Eh?
 Really?
һ~:Even if you do screw up, you're meant to just continue, not do frivolous things.
:I danced properly, you know?
һ~:You waved to us, didn't you?
:Ah, yeah.
 Because for some reason there seemed to be a nice atmosphere around you twoһ~:Wha!
?
 What do you mean!
 We were just watching!
!
:Really?
 What do you say, Haru-kun?
:Eh!
?

Umm
We were just watching together.
:What, that's it?
һ~:Yeah, we weren't doing anything else!
!
Though it's probably best if didn't stress it so much
:Okay then, I'm off to say hi to the other performersAnd she left with the patter patter of her sandals.
I can't help but feel that that was a smile on her face til the end
һ~:You still have some work to do right?
:Ah, yeah!
 I'm off!
Why's she made at me too
Light was coming from the street stalls.
The shrine road was filled with people, and children were eaving their way through the openings.
People buying fairy floss, people fishing for goldfish, people walking while eating takoyaki, shopkeepers calling out to potential customers.
 It's my first time coming to a shrine with this many people.
While I was a bit overhwhelmed, the feeling of wanting to enjoy the festival was bubbling up to the surface.
 All the shrine work was finished, the packing up also done.
It seems like the shrine office organised a party, which Yahiro-san also attended for the drinking.
 And my squad of helpers was dismissed.
:Ahhhuuuuu, hungry
ƽ:I'm quite hungry too
:Well, we haven't eaten since lunch.
 I'm famished too.
:Let's eat, let's eaaat.
 Buy!
 Eat!
 Buy!
 Eat!
!
ƽ:Takoyaki, Ikayaki, Yakisoba, Crepes, Toffee Apples, Fairy Floss, Shaved Ice, Choc Banana
 :Half of them aren't very filling, you know?
ƽ:Okonomiyaki's fine too, I just want to eatһ~:You're not a kid, so stop fussy about.
 So indecent.
ξw:If you want to eat, just go buy something?
 No one's stopping you.
:Yay!
 In this case, I want that!
 Takoyaki bomb!
!
!
 ƽ:All right, Go!
 Akira!
 Oh wait, Let's go, Akira!
:Roger!
 Ryou-niichan!
High Tension, huh
was that all an act?
һ~:Oh geez, they're really childish
ξw:But it's true that w're all hungry.
Ryouheeeii!
 Don't forget our share!
 After Ryouhei turned around to acknowledge her request with a wave, we slowly walked after them.
 To be able to run in this kind of crowd, what motor reflexes.
 And for that very reason, they are like children.
ξw:You okay, Sora-chan?
 Tired?
:
Just a bit.
һ~:I'm sorry, it's because I made you do so much work you're not used to
:More than that, I don't like crowds.
:A place to rest
shrine office
has the party.
ξw:There should be few people at the main shrine, but
:Getting there is a pain, huh
We'd have to go through the congested shrine road.
ƽ:What's with those moody faces?
 Come on, eat, eat!
:Here, your share, Sora-chan!
:Eh!
?
Looking at the tennisball sized somethings being thrust at her, Sora got all flustered.
 :
That's a Takoyaki bomb?
:Yep, yep!
 It's reaaally good!
 Once you eat this, you'll cheer right up!
 :O-Okay
*munch*
Uh!
 H-Hot!
?
:Hehe
But, it's nice, right?
:
It's really hot
and the inside is hot
:And there's lots of octopus insideI should eat mine too
*much* ξw:Hey Ryouhei, gimme mine.
ƽ:Wait your turn.
Here, Haruka.
 :Thanks
Is this really a takoyaki?
 It's my first time seeing it this big
 It's diameter is around three times on a normal one, which makes it a mystery as to why it hasn't exploded.
 Thinking that it wuld have some impact in a competition, I tried taking a bite, making the hot insides rush out.
 Very tasty.
 The strong smelling octopus and the light tenkasu mix to make a nice texture.
 This huge takoyaki has a lot of various tastes in it.
 :Whaa, this is nice!
 Come on, you eat too, Migiwa-san!
һ~:Yes yes
Hehe, you've turned child-like too.
:Eh?
 R-Really?
һ~:Well
you've got sauce on your cheeks.
 Here, tissue.
 :T-Thanks, Migiwa-san.
һ~:But this is too much for me, so do you want to eat half?
 :If it's only that, that's easy.
Just one of these is about the size of an order of normal takoyaki, but I was still hungry.
 And thinking about what we'll be dong next, it'd be best if I replenished my energy!
 
ƽ:All right!
 Next is the Shanghai Yakisoba!
 Follow me, Akira!
:Roger!
 Ryou-niichan!
Seeing us finish eating, they dahsed away.
They said they were hungry, but maybe they just wanted something to do?
һ~:Ahh geez, Running in a place like this is dangerous!
ξw:They're no even looking around the,
ah, crashed.
һ~:What are they doing, geez
Since they didn't even realise they crashed into someone, Migiwa-san went to apologise for them.
 Which made men think it was like a mother apologising for her child.
 ξw:Migiwa-san!
 If you go too far, we'll lose you
Ahh geez, I lost sight of Doubler Akira
 :They don't think of the consequences afterall.
ξw:I'll go stop them for a bit.
 Haru-chan, you take care of Sora-chan and Migiwa-san.
 :Don't you do anything silly either, okay?
ξw:I'm different to those to!

or so she says.
һ~:Umm.
.
where'd everyone
?
Having finished apologising, Migiwa-san came back to find only us.
 At some point, me and Sora had gotten lost too.
:Nao-chan went to get those two
for now, let's go to the yakisoba stall.
 But with the crowd getting bigger and bigger, it was harder to walk than I thought.
 Everyone was moving freely from one stall to the next, so without understanding the flow, you couldn't move one bit.
 Despite that, we were suddenly being pushed, so we couldn;t stay here either.
 And at that point, we lost Sora
And just like that, we started being pushed again.
:M-Migiwa-san!
һ~:Ah
Just as I thought I was going to lose her too, I grabbed her hand without thinking.
 һ~:
Kasugano-kun
:I'm not doing this because
Just as I was going to try and make an excuse, Migiwa-san squeed my hand tightly in return, and stopped.
 Migiwa-san's cheeks had turned red.
һ~:T-This is!
 We got seperated from everyone, and we're trying not to get lost, nothing complicated, right!
?
 :Y-Yeah!
 Because we got seperated!
We nodded to each other.
With the warmth of Migiwa-san's hand, I didn't even realise that thos was strange behaviour.
 Migiwa-san's hand was very slender, yet soft and girl-like, hot, making my heart race.
 I wasn't just grabbing onto her hand, she was holding on too.
 ¶ΤOh!
 That couple over there!
 How about visiting this stall!
һ~:W-We're not a couple!
Against the shopkeeper's call, Migiwa-san instinctly reacted.
 ¶ΤThat intimate couple over there!
 How about some takoyaki!
 Freshly fried!
 һ~:Like I said, we're not a couple!
 And we just ate some takoyaki!
And even we got called out, she'd vigourously deny it.
Equally vigorous was her grasp on my hand.
:You don't have to take notice of them
they say that to anyone.
 һ~:B-But
being teased like that
you
don't mind?
 :I
If I were to truthfully confess, being called her boyfriend made my happy.
A girlfriend
going to a festival with her would look good.
Besieds, if
Migiwa-san was really my girlfriend
That wouldn't be bad at all.
:I don't think I mind much
even if they are wrong
But that's problematic for you, so
sorry
һ~:N-No!

I-I don't
really
And we both went silent.
Migiwa-san's face was all red, and I'm sure mine was too.
¶ΤThe lovey dovey coule looking at each other over there!
 How about some shaved ice to cool things down?
 Aiya, maube I shouldn't be cooling something so hot?
 һ~:.
Uu.
.
Uuuuu
:A-Ahaha
һ~:A-Ah whatever, we'll just act the couple!
!
Declaring that strongly, she walked off pulling my hand.
And like that, we pushed our way to a stall with the sign "Shanghai Yakisoba"But none of the people lining up had a face we recognised.
Not even the noisy and conspicuous Double Akira could be seen in that mass of people.
 һ~:
It's not that big of a shrine, so if we walk around, we should find them.
 :I guess so
Let's have a look over near those stalls.
һ~:Okay, can I look at the accessory store?
 There's a class shop there!
Ah
if you're hungry, we can go there first.
 :What about you?
һ~:That gigantic takoyaki was enough.
It's more strange that you can still eat after that.
 :Different stomachs for different festival foods.
һ~:I wonder if that's so
:When you're in High Tension, you don't realise you're full even if you actually are
 You don't eat much at festivals?
һ~:I'm the one who tries to stop Akira from buying everything and eating too much.
 That girl, ends up buying too much anyway, so we have to share it.
 So, i don't need to buy anything myself.
 :For some reason, it's something I can imagine
Though more Amatsume dragging her around than her trying to stop Amatsume.
 귬ӹThat cool guy and that beautiful girl, wanna try catching some goldfish?
 If that voice calling out to us was an adult's, I don't think we'd have stopped.
 But the one running the stand was a middler school aged boy, which drew our interest.
 :Migiwa-san, you want to try?
һ~:
Eh?
 B-But
:It's easy/ Come on, sit down
for now, just one round.
귬ӹOkay, thanks!
 200 yen please.
First was me acting as an example, slowly lowering the paper net near the fish tank.
 I aimed at a red one, slowly swimmign from side to side as if it couldn't be bothered.
At the point where it stopped swimming, I dipped the net in, moved it under the fish, and lifted
 :Ah.
Just as I tried to lift, the paper broke.
һ~:You're not that good yourself then, I guess.
:Haha, how uncool.
һ~:I didn't think of it like that.
 Okay, I'll have a try.
Migiwa-san took the net, and in the same way as me, approached the fish tank.
һ~:Which one would be good
Ah, this one staggering around is mine.
 Swimming wildly, makes it seem like Akira

Mmm
She followed that goldfish all around with her net.
 And just as the fish swam close to the surface,һ~:Ei!
she dipped and lifted the net.
һ~:Wha, Yay!
 I got it!

Ah
That happiness was really only for a moment.
귬ӹOh, too bad.
During her moment of happiness, the spunky fish she had netted up jumpped up and broke the paper.
 Returning to the fish tank, the gold fish swam around widly.
:If you get one, you have to move it into the bowl.
һ~:I-it's my first time, so there's no way I'd know that!
Now I know what to do, so if I did it once more, I'd get it.
귬ӹOnce more, right?
 Thanks!
һ~:This time I'll catch you
Akira, wait up
That godfish has turned into Amatsume
Aiming for that same goldfish, she moved that net all around the fishtank.
 this time, not forgetting the bowl, she waited for her chance.
һ~:Ei!
She sudenly dipped the net, and agilely scopped, but missed.
һ~:Next time!
Failed again.
The paper hadn't broken yet, but the paper was throughly yet, so I doubted whether it could support the weight of a fish.
 һ~:Grr
you're not getting away
!
But, perhaps being overpowered by Migiwa-san's spirit, the goldfish swam into a corner.
 There was no place left the run, but
:Gie me one too.
귬ӹYes yes, here you go.
I chased the fish from the opposite side to Migiwa-san.
Aware of the existance of a new net, it swam towards Migiwa-san's
 һ~:Ei!
Not wasting that change in direction, Migiwa-san went to scoop it up!
But her net began to break while trying to lift the fish.
One the paper has a crack in it, the shock will make it into a big tear.
һ~:Ah, Ahhh
She hurriedly brought the bowl near, trying to move the fish in, but whether or not she'll make it
 :Whoops.
And just as you'd think there was no hope, I picked it up with my net.
 һ~:Ah
Putting my net under Migiwa-san's breaking one, the goldfish was safely moved into the bowl.
 һ~:Yay
I did it!
 What do you think?
 I'm good, right?
And then, Migiwa-san did a fist pump, happily showing me the bowl with a huge smile on her face.
 Showing me, the storekeeper and everyone else nearby
this is probably my first time seeing her having so much fun.
 һ~:Goldfish scooping's actually this fun
I'd only ever seen Akira doing it
so I didn't know
 
Putting our one-fish spoils into a plastic bag, she moved of with a satisifed look.
 һ~:Hhmmhmhmm?
 ehehe?
Extremely pleased, she switched from humming to poking the goldfish.
She's always saying that Amatsume is like a child, but this side of Migiwa-san is child-like enough.
 һ~:I'll have to hurry and buy a fish tank tomorrow morning, huh?
:I would've though you'd be raising carps in a pond, but
do you?
һ~:No way, putting it with another type of fish.
 If I don't treat it properly, I'd be sorry for it.
 I'll need a water plant and purifier
Oh, a thermometer and heater too.
 :Heater?
һ~:It'd get cold in the winter, right?

Ah, what should I feed it
 She was smiling with her whole face, imagining this and that.
But if you'd listen to her, it'd be no exaggeration to think she was keeping a tropical fish.
:
Heh.
һ~:Eh, what?
:Goldfish
don't need that much
Ahaha.
һ~:Eh, Ehhh
?
Treating a festival fish like a high class fish
She's definitely an Ojousama.
:Heh
haha, Hahahaha
!
!
һ~:What?
 Why are you laughing!
?
:That's 'cos
Ahahah
it's noth-
Hahaha!
һ~:I have no idea what's so funny, but you don't have to laugh that much!
:Sor-
ha
Sorr, Sorry
ha, hah
һ~:Don't try to apologise whil you're still laughing.
:Really, sorry.
 I didn't mean anything bad
һ~:Whatever!
!
She turned her back on me.
But,һ~:
hehe, cute
Looking at the goldfish gobbling water in the plastic bag, Migiwa-san's expression softened again.
 Hurray for the goldfish.
һ~:I think we got too carried away, so let's go get a drink?
:That's a good idea, my treat.
һ~:Eh, you don't have to do that.
:What do you want?
 Soft drink?
 Juice?
һ~:Then
Apple.
:Okay, Apple it is.
ƽ:Then, Melon Soda for me!
:һ~:Wha!
?
:We're been looking for youuu, Kazu-chan!
һ~:Ahh.
.
A-Ah
You!
 S-Since whennnn!
?
ƽ:We tried not to get in the way, right?
 You could've at leasted treated us too though?
 :You got a gold fish!
 Woooww!
ξw:I told them to stop it, but
:And the four each had a different expression.
Double Akira were smirking, but Amatsume probably didn't understand why.
 һ~:I-I'm going home!
!
:Ehhh?
 Wait uppp, the festival's barely started, right?
һ~:Noooooooo!
 Hoooommmeeee!
!
Migiwa-san was already in tears while trying to get away from Amatsume, who was clinging onto her.
Though being surprised and embarrassed applied to me too.
But I understood Amatsume's feeling of the festival only having barely started.
:Here, Migiwa-san.
Trying to calm her down, I offered her the apple juice I'd gone and bought.
 :Ahaa, Thanks Haru-kun!
Amatsume took a drink out of the juice in front of her while still clinging onto Migiwa-san.
 һ~:Geez
How vulgar!
!
And still fuming, Migiwa-san took the juice off me.
 And downed it in a single breath.
һ~:Another!
!
:Ah, next one;'s on me!
Shopkeep, another!
 Holding up the finished cup, she ran off towards the juice stall.
 :I wonder if she's trying to get that cupped refilled like that.
һ~:Ah
Hey, you've spilt some
It seems some juice leapt out when I was passing her the cup.
Taking some pocket tissues from her sleever, she wiped the juice from my hand.
 :Thanks.
һ~:I-I wasn't angry at you, so
And coming closer, she made an excuse while embarrassed.
һ~:
Thanks
for the juice
I think I'm the only one who heard the words that followed.
ƽ:Hey hey, Harukaa, how'd you go in the test?
:
What's with that flirting?
On top of that suddenness, that disgusting girl's tone made the humidity three times worse.
 Other than making a worn old groan, the electric fan couldn't change anything.
 And the windows were fully opened too.
ƽ:So, how'd you go?
 You've gotten them all back, right?
 Show meeee, don't hide ittt.
 :No way.
 Why do I have to show you?
ƽ:Why not?
 Don't tell me you get red marks and sent to supplementary lessons?
:Ehhh
Haru-kun got them
Too bad.
:No!
 I avoided them, though only barely!
ƽ:What's that?
 Then there's no reason to hide them, right?
:Ahaa, that's good then, Haru-kun.
 Now you can come to the beach with us.
ƽ:WHAT!
?
 Which means
I'm not only one with red marks!
?
:Whoa
My condolences
wait, what'd you say, Amatsume?
һ~:Even after I told you not to hold everyone back, you still
ƽ:Tsk tsk tsk, Haruka was in the danger zone too.
 He only barely cleared it, afterall.
 :Don't say it as if you've seen it!
 And it's nothing to boast about.
ƽ:But it's a miracle, isn't it?
 We were roughly equal when he just transferred in.
 :That's true, but
the teachers teaching us were good.
And I looked at Migiwa-san.
If I didn't have Migiwa-san and Nao-chan's support, I'd have ended up like Ryouhei.
 һ~:It because you took it seriously
I d-didn't really do anything.
 :I tried hard too!
 Thanks, Kazu-chan.
һ~:You bludged too much.
 If you really tried, you could do it, what a waste.
Even at the study group, Amatsume was tempted to go play with Ryouhei, but despite that she avoided the danger zone.
 ƽ:I tried hard too, you know?
 I get let off supplementary lessons after pestering the teachers.
 I just have to do more homework instead.
 һ~:Trying hard in the completely wrong area!
!

Just what I was thinking
ƽ:All's well that ends well.
Well, that's good and all, but I wonder how Sora-chan wentI wonder if she's okay?
 :She's fine.
 She's smarter thna me, afterall.
:Then we can all go!
:I suppose so, but what have you been talking about for the last few minutes?
һ~:Once the summer holidays start, we all go somewhere.
:The beach of course, the beach!
 We can go by train.
ƽ:If this chance was smashed by supplementary lessons, we'd have to change it.
 So I was desperate.
 That's why Migiwa-san told him not to hold everyone back.
:
So, I'm invited too?
ƽ:Of course.
 We're friends, right?
 Comrades!
:
I've told you not to come so close
it's hot.
But, they think of me as a friend
Which means in little over a month, even I've become part of this town.
 ƽ:
So, friend, we're counting on you.
:What?
ƽ:Sora-chan of course, Sora-chan!
 Make sure you bring her along, okay?
:Ahhh
I'll try my best.
Ryouhei's still doing for Sora?
 No matter how you look at it, I don't think Sora's interested.
 ƽ:I'm counting on you, Onii-chan!
 This summer, we'll be helping each other!
 :Eh?
 In what?
ƽ:Stuupid!
 In love, in play!
 Obviously
This summer looks like it'll be annoyingly hot.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was so hot that it'd make you almost want to just give up and collapse.
 
ƽ:Whoo, it's sunny, sunny!
 Who would've though it'd be this sunny.
 Reaally, perfect weather for sea bathing?
First Saturday of the summer holidays
We were meeting at the station before the sun could rise completely.
 Motoka-san coming with us as our guardian, making us a rather alrge family of 7.
 Sora had made excuses like being too sleepy or it being too hot right up until we left, but was now accepting her fate quietly.
 Thanks to that, I felt like I had accomplished my mission.
ƽ:Motoka-saan, what kind of swimsuit will it be this year?
Just something normal, completely normal.
 Actually, last year's.
 No way would I wear something showy, that'd attract too much attention.
 ƽ:To tell you the trurth, I actually saw it.
 You shopping at Imamura, EEhh?
 N-No way!
!
ƽ:Standing at the swimsuit section, trying to decide which one to get for about an hour?
 T-That?
 That wasn't for today
That's right!
 I have a date soon, so that was for that!
 ƽ:A transparent lie only hurts yourself, you know?
I-It's not a lie!

It's true
I was planning on telling you the truth eventually
 :Swimsuit, huh
I didn't even go buy one.
 I somehow managed to excavate one out of the things I brought with me when I moved.
 I just thought I'd bring the one from school if I couldn't find it.
ξw:Oh right, we haven't told Haru-chan about Imamura yet.
 :Imamura?
 Now that I think about it, Ryohei said somethng about buying a Jinbei there.
 ξw:It's one station away, with a huge range of clothing.
:We went there a few days ago to buy ours too!
 Right, Kazu-chan, Sora-chan?
 
һ~:Eh?
 Yeah
:
Mm.
:Eh, Sora too!
?
:When did she
I didn't realise at all.
:Sora-chan, did you know?
 Her skin is reaaaally white and reaaaaly smooth!
 Maybe even prettier than Kazu-chan!
 :Eh, Migiwa-san?
һ~:A-Akira!
 What are you saying
:But you know, when it comes to breasts, Kazu-chan's is bigger!
B-Breasts
һ~:Akira!
!
:It's not a lie.
Without thinking, I looked over at Migiwa-san.
һ~:Stop looking at me, Kasugano-kun!
!
:Whaa, S-Sorry!
Sora wasn't bothered by it in the slightest, but
just
ƽ:Don't worry about it, Sora-chan
I love that part of you too!
:Sora wordlessly low kicked Ryouhei in the shin, as he was about to pat her on the shoulder.
 Okay okay, that's enough, that's enough.
 The train's about the arrive, so please stand behind the white line.
 ƽ:Aahh, thought for sure that this year we'd be able to go by the Ojou's car.
Revived already
һ~:Actually, the plan was originally to have Yamanashi-san drive us, but
Migiwa-san looked over at Motoka-san.
Doing worry Ojousama!
 With things like this, it's better if we all catch a train and relax anyway.
 And besides, if we took the car and got drunk, the day whole day would be ruined!
 And I'm good enough to lead this many people!
She seemed to be insisting that unusually forcibly.
ƽ:Hahaan?
 That's a lie, right?
:Lie?
 It sounds quite plausible enough.
ƽ:Yamanashi-san is the Ojou's father's secretary, right?
 We saw him at the festival.
 :Ah, that guy in a suit
he was also the driver.
He did seem a bit scary.
ƽ:If a stiff type like that came with us, it'd get a bit suffocating, right?

Especially for Motoka-san, since he's basically her boss.
 :
If she carelesly said something improper, then
something like that?
ƽ:And on top of that, Motoka-san likes to be flirted with.
Ohh, you seem to understand quite well.
ƽ:Whoa, Motoka-san
But, that's a secret, okay?
 Especially to the Ojousama.
:O-Okay
Underneath that smile, she drew her finger across her throat, so I could only nod.
Adults
Women, are a bit scary.
And after an hour on the train.
He arrived at the sandy beach of a small port city.
It seems this place was a bit removed from the popular spot, and even though it was summer holidays, there wasn't that many people.
 There were a number of beach umbrellas up, but it seems only the locals come here.
 We set up our umbrella in the same way and marked our spot.
We were enough of a distance away from the next spot that we could play without worrying about troubling them.
:Huh
looks like preparations are done.
ƽ:As usual
you've got a good body, Haruka
:Really?
 I don't really exercise, so this'd be normal.
No, it's a good body.
 Young, young!

so young that I'm jealous
 :Not you too, Motoka-san
besides, you're still young too.
 Really?
 Really?
 Still okay?
 It doesn't look like I'm trying too hard?
 :Yeah, nothing to worry about at all.
ƽ:Your troubles, are leaking out
Motoka-san
:Haru-kun, thanks for waiting?
ƽ:Whoa!

You girls, trying so hard for my sake?
һ~:Stop saying such stupid things.
 Who the hell would wear something for your sake?
 :Then, for who?
һ~:I-It's
for no one!
 For myself!
 If you're going to be swimming in the ocean, you have to wear a swimsuit, right?
 That's why!
 
:
The one who worried the most, Kazuha.
:That's right.
 This wouldn't do, tht wouldn't do, in the end she was the only one who went for a foreign design, right?
 һ~:You didn't have to say that!
Well, the atmosphere about her was definitely different to th others.
Maybe because she draws the eye more, but it really fits her, and makes by heart beat faster.
 Thinking about this is probably rude, but
her arms and legs were as slender as a model's, but despite that her womanly features were there, and her style was nice.
 
һ~:More importantly, sunscreen!
 Akira, your skin is weak, so make sure you put it on properly.
 ƽ:Why would you do that?
 Get tanned!
 A light brown is sexier, right?
 :Then, maybe I should get a bit tanned
?
һ~:I just said that you couldn't, didn't I!
 Stop listening to what that person says!
 ƽ:Tch
Then, I'll just have to settle with Nao.
ξw:Sora-chan, let's put on sunscreen over there.
 I'll do it for you.
:We should put some on too.
 So it's not painful afterwards.
ƽ:We've finally arrived at the beach, so I'm going to bathe in this downpour of sunlight!
!
!
 :I'm not responsible for what happens.
Haruka-kun, you're not going to get tanned?
 Well, you could go either way.
ƽ:You're not going to get tanned either?
No way, impossible.
 It'd be painful for me afterwards, but for a different reason.
 Who's ever heard of a tanned maid
see?
 I'm just going to rest in the shade, so everyone go play as much as you want.
ƽ:Nothing wrong with trying to pick up men, you know?
Ahaha, what are you saying, Ryouhei-kun!
Her eyes were not laughing though
:Thanks for waiting!
 We're all ready!
ƽ:All right!
 Then first we go boarding!
 Let's go, everyone!
:Yeah!
ξw:Wait up you two
geez, there's no way we can leave Double Akira to do something dangerous by themselves!
 :Ah, Nao-chan too
How about going with them, Ojousama?
 I should be able to look after everything by myself.
 һ~:But making you do everything
It's okay!
 Don't worry about me, young people should be having fun with fellow young people.
 һ~:You.
.
sure?
I'm sure, I'm sure!
 Off you go!
After bowing her head, Motoka-san lay down on a beach mat under the shade.
 :Let's just do what she says, come on.
һ~:
I guess so.
 Okay, Sora-san too.
:
Mm.
ƽ:The ship's leaving!
!
:Boom!
 Boom Boom!
ξw:Stop that, it's embarrassing!
We found the three who had gone down towards the beach hut first standing on the edge of an inflatable boat, playing a weird game.
 Something I don't feel like being involved in.
:
What're you doing?
:We're playing captain!
 Ryou-niichan's the ship's captain!
ƽ:The sea is a man's romance.
 Men are boats, woman are the ports
:W-What?
һ~:T-They really know how to cause a headache
At the very least, I want a reenactment of that ancient popular movie where the fabulous ocean liner sinks.
 :
We all have to
get on that?
ƽ:That's right!
 That Nao and haruka will be pushing, so everyone else, get on board!
 :No.
ƽ:Ahhhh, that cold part of you is so cute, Sora-chan!
For some reason, rather than a boat, Ryouhei's making it seem like he's in a Black Ship demanding the opening of Japan.
 Oh wait.
 That would mean Sora would eventually open up
That example doesn't work.
 At all.
һ~:Ah, that's right.
I have to tell Motoka-san to freeze that watermelon, or else
:If it's just that, I'll go do it.
 You can get on the boat first.
һ~:I'm not letting you do something so servant-like.
:Then, you want to go together?
һ~:Eh?

Fine, let's do that.
:Motoka-saan, you still awake?
Yeaahhh, Whaaaat?
һ~:Ah
From the shadow of the beach umbrella came Motoka-san.
In her hands were a cup overflowing with white froth, and dried squid.
Poking out from her content smile, was the head of a sqwuid she had just started to eat.
 No matter how you looked at it, she was definitely enjoying her beer and snacks.
But
O-Ojousama!
?
 W-Why are you here
?
The moment she saw Migiwa-san, her smile melted.
Her hands were trembling, the cup shaking, and squid dropped from her mouth with a plop.
 һ~:Mogisaka-san, can you find a place to keep the watermelon cool?
 Maybe ask if you can use the fride in the beach hut
 Ha-Hah!
 It weill be done!
Standing up with a jolt, she put down the cup and bowed.
 Not the behaviour expected from a maid
must be because she's agitated.
һ~:I'm counting on you then.
 Take it easy.
T-Thank you very much
you take it easy too, Ojousama
On the other hand, Migiwa-san was completely calm.
һ~:Ahh, also.
Wha, What else!
!
һ~:You're on holidays today, so I don't mind what you do with your time.
 Th-Thank you for your kindness!
!
һ~:Well then.
In contrast the the light bow from Migiwa-san, Motoka-san's was a full 90 degree bow.
 And then, she retreated into the shadows of the beach umbrella.
Ahhh
that was crap
how did I let myself seen like that
stupid, stupid!
 I'm so stupid!

Letting my guard down just because I'm at the beach
 An extremely depressed voice could be heard.
I think i feel a bit sorry for her
:Haha,,,that looked bad.
 I couldn't even say anything.
 һ~:Mogisaka-san's already an adult, so she should be able to at least drink beer, right?
 :That wasn't the problem
һ~:What do you mean?
:How to explain it, hmm
Nah, it's fine, don't worry about it.
 һ~:What?
 You're being weird.
That escaped smile shows that she really didn't care what Motoka-san was doing
 Maybe it's because Migiwa-san's an important person
Or maybe it's because she's the Ojousama of an important person
 һ~:Ahhhhh!
!
 What's that!
 Kasugano-kun, look at that!
:Eh> W-What?
In complete contrast to her previously calm intereaction, she suddently let out a sharp voice.
 What she was pointing to was an inflated boa floating on the wave in the ocean.
The one guy was rowing the oars, the three girls having fun.
:T-That would be
don't tell me
One of the girls noticed us and waved exaggeratedly.
It looks like she was trying to say something, but as expected we couldn't hear.
 һ~:Looks like they went without us
:Definitely Ryouhei and them
the one waving would be Amatsume, huh.
Waving too much, Amatsume lost her balance and tumbled into the water.
 һ~:A-Akira!
?
But
Nao-chan hurriedly grabbed her in time, so it looked like it was okay.
From far away, we could see Nao-chan scolding her, but it was easy to image the innocent smile and "Ehee" that would eb the response.
 һ~:Geez
that kid's going overboard
Relieved, she breathed a deep sigh.
:I've been thinking, you're more the onee-san than she is.
Getting angry, worrying, being relieved
The looks that Migiwa-san gave Amatsume often felt protective.
 Even now it was like that, fitting the stereotype of a hasty younger sister and level-headed older sister perfectly.
 һ~:That's because Akira's always being childish
:Come to think of it, you called her "Onee-chan" at the shrine, right?
һ~:Akira was born a few moments earlier.
 The date was the same, just not the times.
 That's why Akira's the older
but despite that, all she does is worry me
:Then you two are also like twins.
 Maybe that's why the younger/older sister relationship doesn't apply.
 Whenever I act the older brother, Sora's mood turns foul too
Besides, if all she did was worry you, you wouldn't have any fun.
 һ~:I don't really
Akira is
:Take this!
һ~:Kyaa!
!
?

Geez, now you've done it!
Take this!
 Revenge!
:Whaa
All right then, take this too!
 Ei!
һ~:Hehehe, not a surprise attack this time, so no way it'd hit me!
:Wh-Whoa
After nimbly dodging my water attack, she immediately returned fire.
 Launching water with both hands, the attack came strongly.
So strongly that I couldn't fight back, despite being the one who started it.
I'd realised it earlier, but Migiwa-san really is an obstinate person.
 Even needing to win in something like this.
:Haa, haa
hey, since they're playing as much as they want over there, let's just play as much as we want too.
 һ~:
Geez, strange reasoning.
With Migiwa-san smiling like that, I wonder if my tactic worked.
һ~:But if that's the case, no mercy, okay?
Take this, and that and that!
 :Whoa, w-wait that's to sudden
Time out!
һ~:No time outs!
 Come on, if you don't counter attack, it's going to be all one sided?
 :Even if you say that
Whoa!
?
Being hit by a violent force of water again, I slipped.
Throwing up a flashy spray of water, Migiwa-san's launched it into my mouth.
 :Whaa, bleh bleh
eh, fail
һ~:Ahahaha, geez, what're are you doing?
 Get up!
:I'm down, I give up!
 Have mercy!
!
I desperately raised my hands in surrender.
һ~:You're not trying ahrd enough.
 You're the one who started it too.
Standing over me, who was sitting deep in the sand, Migiwa-san made an unsatisfied face.
 I could see that her expression said something like, "We decided to come to play our hearts out.
" :Haha
sorry, sorry, I was mesmorised by your smile.
һ~:Eh, W-What are you saying
Geez, stop saying such weird things!
:Wha, bleh
Mercy!
һ~:Nooo way!
 I'm going to give you a thorough thrashing!
:Ahhhh, that looks fun!
 I'm joining in as well!
 ƽ:Me too, me too!
 Kazu-chaaan!
:W-What, you two!
?
 What did you retur-
Whaaa!
?
ƽ:Collapsing like that, you're not trying hard enough, Haruka.
:
You know, Migiwa-san just said the same thing
Not even able to win 1 vs 1, there was no way I could do anythign when it was 3 vs 1.
 :Let's play some volleyball next!
 I'll go get the beachball!
:Eh.
.
Let me rest a bit
һ~:Hmm?
 The one who said that we should play as much as we want was you, wasn't it?
 ξw:Huhh
If he said that, let's drag him along.
:You too, Nao-chan!
?
ƽ:So then, teams are Haruka vs us 5, right?
:Eeh!
 What's that, you can't even call that a game!
һ~:It'll be fine, Kasugano-kun.
 We'll make sure to hit it to where you can barely make it.
 :You can't call that being fine
Oi Sora!
 Them 5 means you're going to be playing too, you know!
 :
Don't want to get by the ball.
:What!
?
:All right, I've got the ball!
Sora immediately hit behind the returning Amatsume.
Who would've though I'd get betrayed by even Sora
The 5 lined up in front of me.
:Y-You're kidding
ƽ:Yu yup, we're just playing with ball.
 Nothing to be scared about.
 һ~:Okay, I'll serve.
:Come on, Haru-kun, get ready, get ready!
ξw:We'll switch the teams next, so don't worry!
:That's not the probl
ߤTake that!
:W-Wait!

That's mean, everyone gang up
ƽ:Hahaha, stop complaining.
 You'll make your food taste bad.
:I just found some ice cream in the beach hut!
 After we finish, let's all go eat some.
 ξw:That's perfect for desert.
 What does everyone want?
After everyone had bought their lunch from the beach hut, Nao-chan went around taking extra orders.
 We were thinking of bringing lunch, but Ryouhei insisted that it wouldn't be a beach trip if he didn't eat the plain curry from the beach hut, so we decided to buy lunch here.
 After we had eaten, everyone began to relax.
As the day moved into the afternoon, everyone was probably recharging their energy.
ξw:Okay, that's everyone.
 All that's left is Motokasan
Motokasan, Motokasan, what do you want?
 ѡξw:Motoka-san?
Nao-chan called out her name yet again, but there was no response.
:Motoka-oneechan
are you sleepng?
ѡ
ur
hmm
.
Motoka-san let out a light groan, but it doesn't look like she'll wake up.
һ~:Let's let her sleep.
 She was working yesterday, so she's probably tired.
ƽ:Isn't it more because she just drank too much?
 The beer cup has completely rolled off.
 ξw:She looks happy sleeping anyway.
 I agree with letting her sleep.
ƽ:But there goes our But then there's no one to mind our stuff.
 Who wants to stay?
:But it'll be lonely for just one person to stay
:How about two people then?
:That'd be okay!
ƽ:Scissors, Paper
!
:Eh, all of a sudden?
:ξw:Rock!
һ~:Ah
The only ones who could react to the surprise attack were Ryouhei, Nao-chan, Amatsume and Sora.
 Me and Migiwa
just stuck our hands out.
ƽ:Too bad, Haruka.
Result: 4 scissors, 2 paper.
:Kazu-chan and Haru-kun will watch our stuff then.
ξw:We'll be off to buy ice cream for you, so don't worry
so she says.
:Haha
sorry about that, suggesting that two people stay
Us losers were sitting next to each other on the sheet, eating shaved ice.
 Mine was Blue Hawaii flavoured, Migiwa-san's was Strawberry Milk flavoured.
Ryouhei and the rest had borrowed the boat again, and were playing in the sea.
I'd said that we should play as much as we want, so I can't help but feel a bit sorry.
 һ~:It's a lot more fun than looking after things alone.
:
Yeah, I guess.
 I'm glad you're here with me too.
һ~:Mogisaka-san's here too, in a sense.
But, Motoka-san was still sleeping behind us, so she wouldn't have been much of a companion.
 :She's a good person, coming along even though she's not family.
 Do you go out with her, other than to the beach?
It's not like I asked because I wanted to know.
 Just a question I thought up just then.
 һ~:Let's see
But Migiwa-san started thinking deeply, caster her gaze into midair.
һ~:Until last year, we didn't really go out like this, with everyone.
And the answer which came back was something unexpected.
:Rea.
.
lly?
 But everyone's so close.
һ~:Okukozume is quite a small place, so everyone's known each other for a long time.
 But even then, we don't normally all play together.
Nakazato-senpai and Yorihime-senpai were in different grades, and we we're not little kids, so it's like we pestered them to play with us.
 Akira has that kind of personality, so they probably would have, though.
 I couldn't even imagine that.
I thought everyone was always have fun together, and that me and Sora were the only intruders
 һ~:Last year
I think we went to the lake behind the shrine to cool down?
 Other than that, it was just the festival.
 It's all because you came.
 Being able to get together like this, and be so lively.
 :Me?
Even when she said so, I couldn't understand that at all.
I had only come to the town a long time ago, and even then only during summer holidays, so I knew nothing of their everyday lives.
 Even with the festival, I didn't know anything, while it was obvious to them.
So even if she says that I was the trigger, I couldn't understand that.
һ~:But, it being lively is good too.
 Playing as much as we are now
it's fun.
 But if Migiwa-san isn't reluctant to be sitting here, then I have no reason to feel down.
 :Then, wouldn't playign even more make it more fun?
Stop making such a difficult face, I think you have the right to have more fun.
 һ~:I wonder
:I'm sure Amatsume also has fun when she's playing with you.
 һ~:Kasugano-kun
Migiwa-san nodded slightly, as if agreeing.
Giving me that smile, I felt happy too.
Tch
just being young
would be good!
!
!
һ~:Hii!
?
:M-Motoka
san?
Wondering if we woke her up, we cringed.
And timidly, very timidly, we turned around
ѡ
Uu, Uuuun
even I
even I
Uu
Although Motoka-san's face was scowling, her eyes were closed and she was still breathing rhythmically, though slightly pained.
 Both of us had a bitter smile, as we looked at each other again.
һ~:the only thing I ever do is scold her, so I've probably made some bad memories for Akira too
 Stop looking only at the negatives, and think about the times when we've had fun together, right?
 :Yup.
 Even when I'm keeping Sora company, it's basically push and pull, trying to keep the balance.
 һ~:Hehe, looks like we're both working hard, huh.
:I guess so.
Make sure we don't wake Motoka-san up, we shared a laugh.
 Sharing feelings like this, makes me feel very comfortable.
һ~:I used to think you were a very mysterious person, but
:You said that before, huh.
һ~:Yeah
but now I think I understand a bit more about why I thought that.
 :Mind if I ask?
һ~:You're very similar to me
:Me and you?
 Some as reliable as you, similar to some as irresponsible as me?
 һ~:That disadvantageous personality, is a lot like mine.
:Disadvantageous?
һ~:Things like, worrying about others more than yourself, you know?
:
Ah.
I can't disagree with that.
Sora and me.
Amatsume and Migiwa-san.
 The thing we carry may be different, but how we feel when we carry them are probably quite similar.
 The person we look after.
 The irreplaceable person.
 The person we treasure.
Me and Migiwa-san, we probably feel the same things.
һ~:But
I understand now that it can't just be that way.
 You taught me that.
 As Migiwa-san smiled at me, I smiled back.
The sound of a spoon hitting the shaved ice can went out.
ξw:Haru-chan, time to swap.
Casting a shadow upon me, Nao-chan was standing in there as I looked up.
:Eh?
 Already?
ξw:Nope, still time, but
Nao-chan was towing Sora, who was staggering on her feet.
:You okay, Sora?
:
Sleepy.
So saying, she collapse onto an open are on the mat.
ξw:It's a bit early, but we'll swap.
 Double Akira's waiting over there.
Then Nao-chan sat next to Sora.
һ~:Okay, we're count on you then, Yorihime-senpai.
Let's go, Kasugano-kun.
 Migiwa-san stood up and offered her hand to me.
:Okay, we're off then, Sora, Nao-chan.
Taking that hand, I stood up.
һ~:O-Over there!
 They're trying to launch the boat!
Without letting go, she ran off with me.
Though I could only see her face for a moment as she waved behind her, she had gone red.
 :Kazu-chaaan!
 Here, over here!
 Hurry up!
ƽ:Whoa, you two!
 What's with the holding hands!
һ~:W-Who cares about that!
 More importantly wait up with that boat!
 :Ahahaha!
 Hurry, hurry!
 Or is it hard to run ecause you're holding hands?
һ~:So wait up!
Even while being sneered at like that, we ran with out hands together.
 
ƽ:Hey Haruka, next weekend, August 3rd, keep it free, okay?
Me and Ryouhei were forced to mind the shop one early afternoon, when Ryouhei suddenly spoke as if he remembered something.
 :That's okay, but what's up?
 Another trip to the beach?
ƽ:That's a good idea in itself, but until we finish our homework, there's no way the Ojou will let us.
 :Don't tell me you haven't done any of it?
ƽ:It's not like I elegantly escaped supplementary lessons, you know?
A completely obscure answer that doesn't tell me if he's done it or not.
ƽ:Argh, who cares about things like that!
 More importantly, about the 3rd.
:Like I said, what's up?
ƽ:It's Akira's birthday.
 I thought we might as well have a birthday party for her.
 :Really!
?
 Then I have to find a present.
ƽ:Mhmm.

But what to give is always hard to decide, huh.
 Usually I'd just ask her what she wants, but this year the Ojou's sticking frightfully close to her, so no chance.
 :You've hung around her for a long time, right?
 You should be able to think of something.
ƽ:
She's not the type to pester people for things.
 As long as she gets something, she'll be happy.
 :I see, that is difficult.
Ah, I know!
 How about asking Nao-chan?
 ƽ:No way.
 With her hobbies, I'd feel sorry for Akira.
Oh?
 Then how about asking Sora-chan then?
 I'm sure she'd pick something cute for her!
 :Sora, huh
Hold on.
She normally doesn't care about others, but she is unusually attached to Amatsume.
 She's always on the net, so she might've come across something perfect for this.
 After emailing her the info, the reply immediately came with a picture.
ƽ:What did Sora-chan say?
:Y-Yeah
It came this quick, so I thought this'd happen, but
I showed Ryouhei my phone.
ƽ:Hmm?

.
Bahahaha, what the hell is that?
In the body of the email was just the words "Takeda Poro".
And in the image was a weird humanoid cat.
It had a frightfully slim body with a huge head stuck onto it, it's drooping eyebrows making it look sad.
 Despite being a cat, it had facial expressions
and stood on two legs.
ƽ:Poro is the cat's name, right?
 That's quite a deranged toy.
 :Does Amatsume even like stuffed toys?
ƽ:I don't know about stuffed toys, but cats are always fine too.
 How bout you get this for her?
 Sora-chan chose it, afterall.
 :Actually, why don't you get this.
 I'll go think of something else
ƽ:I haven't even seen a single place selling thing.
:In that case, it's be impossible for me to get it.
ƽ:What to do
How about a comfortable pillow?
 It's hot this year, so a pillow that always stays cool would be nice, right?
 :Something domestic like that might work.
 What to do
Things that she loves and things that cost a lot are hard to find, but I do want to find something she'll hold close to her heart.
 Besides, there's also what Migiwa-san said casually on the beach.
һ~:Akira was born a few moments earlier.
 The date was the same, just not the times.
 So if 3rd August is Amatsume's birthday
then it must also be Migiwa-san's.
 :Ryouhei, Migiwa-san's
ƽ:What about the Ojou?
:
Nah, nevermind.
Looks liek Ryouhei doesn't know when her birthday is.
It might be that none of the others know either
Which would mean that the only people that celebrate Migiwa-san's birthday is her family
 And it's likely that Amatsume isn't included in that
That's too sad.
3rd August.
We had gathered at Amatsume's shrine, preparing Amatsume's birthday party.
It was a modest party where each of us just grabbed cheap lollies and drinks from Yahiro-san's place and brought it along.
 But our feelings of wanting to bless the day Amatsume was born won't lose to the parties you see on TV where they have food all lined up and celebreties in attendance.
 There was a warm atmosphere here that couldn't exist with those gaudy appearances.
ƽ:Eh?
 Oi, where's Haruka?
ξw:It is unusual for Haru-chan to be late.
:
He left the house early in the morning.
ƽ:On a day like this?
 What the hell is he thinking?
:Ahaa, maybe it wasn't a good day for him?
һ~:
If we wait, the food will spoil.
 Let's start.
:Is that okay?
һ~:It's fine!
Here, my present to you
though it's just some home cooking
 :Really!?
 Yay, Thanks!
 Your cooking is always delicious, I love it!
 һ~:If you try flattery, you're not getting anything else.
:Awww, too bad.
ƽ:Whoaaa, Ojou's cooking!
 Meat?
 Steak?
 Caviar and Foie Gras?
 һ~:No way can I make something that good.
 It's just simple things
like karaage and tamagoyaki.
 ξw:That's not true, this Nishime look really nice.
һ~:
Akira's always making it, so I thought she'd like it
:Thanks, kazu-chan.
 I'm really happy.
һ~:R-Really?

I'm glad.
:
Here.
:You got me something too, Sora?
 Do you mind if I ask what?
:
Mm
Takeda.
:Ahahaha, what's this cat?
 So cuuute!
 Takeda's the cat's name?
 :
Takeda Poro.
:Thanks!
 I'll treasure it.
ξw:This is from me
here, sneakers.
 They ones you're wearing now are fairing worn out, right?
 
ƽ:Tch, we know what sneakers are
:Thanks Nao-oneechan, I'll take good care of them!
ξw:No no, I'd prefer it if you wore them
ƽ:Hehehe
In that case, I'll be the big bird!
:You got me something too?
ƽ:This year's is great!
 I even went all out!
һ~:Just don't give her anything weird.
ƽ:Trust me, okay?
Okay, then
Dun Dun Duunn!
 :What is it, what is it
Whoa, something cold is coming out!
ƽ:Some ice to use when you're sleeping!
 With this, even when it's hot at night, you can stay super cool and sound asleep!
 ξw:
How cheap can you get?
:Ahahaha, Thanks Ryou-niichan.
 Cool feels good!
ƽ:Dahahahaha!
 Right, right?
 If it were me, I'd be using it every night!
 һ~:Throw it away, Akira!
 Quickly, throw it away before it's too late!
:What are you saying, Kazu-chan?
:Well, it's her birthday, so we allow even a joke like that, :Hweh?
ߤHaruka!
?
Kasugano-kun!
?
Haru-chan!
?
 :Sorry I'm late
guess I didn't make it?
:Not at all!
 We only barely started
welcome, Haru-kun.
ƽ:Geez, showing up at such a delicious time
ξw:Almost feels like you're the second main character, Haru-chan.
һ~:Being late on a day like this, how could you
::If I hadn't wavered fo so long, it wouldn't have taken so long.
 Everyone giving their presents?
 Okay, from me is this
Would she be happy to recieve it?
 I had no clue.
She might see it as meddling, or maybe even feel bad about it.
But even then, I thought that this would be the best way to express my wish to celebrate her birthday.
 Taking it out of the back in my hand, I put it in front of them.
 A white box 30 centimetres high, wide and deep.
:Amatsume, Migiwa-san
try opening it.
һ~:Me
too?
Embarrassed and panicked.
:Let's open it, Kazu-chan.
Giving her a smile, Amatsume encouraged her.
һ~:O-Okay
together then.
:What is it, what is it
Whaa
Inside the box was a fresh cream decorated cake.
In the middle of a ring of strawberries, there was a chocolate plate, with "Happy Birtday" written on it.
 һ~:T-This is
Jointly addressed to "Amatsume Akira & Migiwa Kazuha".
ξw:Wah, such a pretty birthday cake.
 Looks so delicious!
ƽ:What's that?
 It's the Ojou's birthday too?
 You should've just told me, then.
 һ~:I-I didn't really think
it was something I should be telling people myself
ƽ:If you don't say we wouldn't know, right?
Okay, let's make a dash and find a pre-
 һ~:Y-You don't have to do that
:Happy Birthday, Amatsume, Migiwa-san.
:Thanks!
 Also, Happy birthday to you, Kazu-chan!
ξw:Happy Birthday, Akira-chan, Migiwa-san.
:Happy Birthday.
һ~:Kasugano-kun


Everyone


Thank you
Teary eyes, wavering voice.
Despite the sudden revelation, everyone accepted it, and blessed her anyway.
 ƽ:ϡԤСǡġ桫?
 ϤԤ֤ǤĤ桫?
 ϡԤСǩ`Akira, Ojou, where's the candles?
:Oh right
Ah, there' not here.
Inside the box was only the cake, the small candles I'd been promised weren't there.
 Did I forget to tell them to put it in
ƽ:Oh well.
 Doesn't mater if you have to take it off the altar, go get some candles!
!
:This is a shrine, you know?
ξw:If the altar did have candles, it'd be cursed
ƽ:I-In that case, go home and grab them!
һ~:
No.
We
don't need candles.
 Sticking candles into something this lovely
 Migiwa-san was hugged the cake softly, while it was on the table.
 As if close the box of a treasured item.
:I've got a present for you too.
:Amatsume?
Words extremely unpected from a person having their birthday celebrated, shocking everyone.
 In that time, Akira took out a small box from the drawer in her desk.
The box was the size of her palm, with a stylish design which I think I've seen before in a drama.
 :It's a pair of rings!
 Kazu-chan, give me your hand.
һ~:Eh
?
Amatsume took Migiwa-san's left hand, and put the ring over her middle finger.
And her own.
һ~:T-Thank you
Akira
:Mhmm, now they match.
 Happy Birthday, Kazu-chan.
They looked at each other's rings, then smiled at each other.
For there to be another person to know about Migiwa-san's birthday, made me extremely happy.
 һ~:
You've give me this much, Akira, but for me only to give you some cooking
 :No, you already give me so much everyday
your kindness
 һ~:Akira
ƽ:Anythings, to celebrate something like that
Akira, Sing!
:Okay!
`äѤäѡΥåѤפäפש` `ä
äѡդä˾`?
 ƽ:Eh, why Rappa Sushi!
?
:That song
I've heard it before
somewhere
?
ξw:"Rappa Sushi" would from be the sushi-train commerical that's famous around here.
 :Ah, TV
they often put it in the evening
һ~:Geez
Akira
With a bitter smile, Migiwa-san happily wiped the edge of her eyes.
 
ƽ:Haaa, that was good.
 I'm full, can't eat anymore.
ξw:You ate too much.
 You ate evern more than Akira and Migiwa-san, and they're the guests of honour.
 ƽ:Mm, it was so delicious.
 When the daughter grows up so well, the father's happy too!
Having fun together like that, time flew by, and by the time the party ended it was pitch black.
 ξw:
See you then, Haru-chan, Sora-chan.
ƽ:See you again, Sora-chan!
Why they waved their hands, me and Sora started getting ready to go.
:Was what I was thnking, but Sora briskly walked off.
:Oi Sora!
 You planning to make me carry everything!
?
She really likes to force things onto people.
:Come on, wait up
һ~:Hold on, Kasugano-kun!
:Eh?
 Migiwa-san
?
Turning around, Migiwa-san was standing there doubled over.
һ~:Kasugano-kun
thank you
Todaay was, how can I put it
Migiwa-san took one step, then another, towards me.
:No, it was just a modest celebration.
һ~:But
:Afterall, both of you were born on the same day.
 It only makes sense that both of you celebrate it.
 һ~:
Kasugano-kun
:You didn't have to keep it in
I told you at the beach, right?
 You need to have some fun too.
 һ~:
Mm
And then, she grabbed my hand.
һ~:Thank you
this might be the first day, that I've been this happy
:If you're that happy, I'm glad.
Her grip tightened.
We each looked into each other eyes, not backing away.
һ~:Really
thank you
She murmured, as her voice cracked.
She hugged me.
I was really surprised.
I didn't think for a moment that I could so something so daring.
 I was so happy, I couldn't contain myself.
To me, as long as Akira could celebrate her birthday, that was fine.
 I didn't think once about celebrating my own.
 Because the fact that we're sisters is a secret, So the no one would find it suspicious if we had out birthdays on the same day, I had decided not to tell anyone myself.
 But, it's not like I didn't want it to be celebrated.
It's just that I wanted to celebrate Akira's more
So when Kasugano-kun celebrated it with even me, I was happy, from the bottom of my heart.
 So happy that I clung onto him as he tried to leave.
I awoke to the loud shrills of the cicadas.
I know that they grow louder as it gets closer to Obon, but it was only 7am and they were chirping away already.
 Furthormore, with the window being open, I copped the sound directly, making it unbearable.
 Not feeling like getting to sleep again, I deicded to wash my face and prepare breakfast.
 Sora wasn't awake yet, so I decided to make something simple - eggs and toast.
 While cracking the egg, I stared closely at my hand.
The hand I held Migiwa-san's with.
The sound of jumping oil, the sound of frying eggs, the sound of chirping cicadas.
 The monotonous rhythm made me think back.
 That day
after the party, when Migiwa-san hugged me, and let go almost immediately.
 And, with her face all red, she wordlessly returned to the shrine office.
I could only doubfounded watch her go, even forgetting to chase after Sora.
 Since then, it seemed like Migiwa-san was making more physical contact with me.
 Smiling over the smallest things, and taking my hand.
I should I react to things like that?
Can I really
think of it as affection
?
Back when I first met her, she was very protective of Amatsume, giving me an almost scary impression of her.
 But as time went by, there was also that cute, normal girl's smile.
I think I'm fairly lucky to have seen so many sides of her.
 That kind gaze that she directed towards Amatsume, straight and true, was something I also yearned for.
 Even more when I learned of her and Amatsume's relationship.
I even thought that wow she treated Amatsume, was just like how I wanted to treat Sora.
So when that gazed was turned towards me, I was shocked, and couldn't keep still.
 What happened that day, and when we held hands on the beach
What if her straightorwardness was making her show her true feelings.
 That affection directed at me, it's not like I feel unhappy abou it.
On these ground which hav many tree, it sounded like their were many cicadas than anything else here.
This outburst of chirping cicadas sounded exactly like a sudden downpour of evening rain.
Despite how noisy it was, strangelt, I felt cool and calm.
I even think it's s similar atmosphere to the one that surrounds Migiwa-san.
The cicadas were Akira, then trees on which the cicadas perch are Migiwa-san.
This is definitely their place.
If I come here, I can expect to meet Migiwa-san.
Since she wasn't on the grounds, I went towards the main wing, and the person I was looking for was there.
 
:Sleeping on your lap, is she.
Without thinking, I let out a sigh.
Smiling as she gently stroked Amatsume's head, she seemed so motherly, and made my heart race.
 As if entranced, I couldn't take my eyes off.
һ~:
Kasugano-kun
?
:Ah
Hello
I wanted to watch this gently scene more, but that's no longer possible.
 
һ~:S-Stop that
don't stare so much!
:If you use such a loud voice, you'll wake Amatsume.
һ~:Geez
:Amatsume looks happy.
һ~:This girl, as soon as she find a cool place, she immediately falls asleep.
:Heeh, she is strange.
һ~:You know, that cat
there's a cat nammed Master her, right?
I once asked her why it was named Master.
 She said it was because it was the cat that taught her how to take naps, as well as all the back roads.
 :That's just like her.
һ~:When she was little, she really did follow the cat like a henchman.
Her face turned motherly again, as she stroked Amatsume's hair.
A kind, pure gesture, and once again I'm watching with fascination.
һ~:What are you doing today?
But Migiwa-san was having none of that.
:Nothing
just wondering if you two would be in if I dropped by
Actually, I was just looking for her.
But when I think of Migiwa-san's reason for being her, then Amatsume would have to be here too.
 Not even realising that at first shcoked me.
һ~:We're just eating lunch together, then finishing our homework.
:I see, if only I could join in.
һ~:Ah, I wouldn't mind that.
 I'll contact you next time.
But don't jump onto this girl's bandwagon and start playing okay?
 The moment she sees a chance, she'll start bludging.
 :It's okay, there's a scary onee-san standing guard.
һ~:Geez
She made a face which told me that that hurt a bit.
The reason her reaction to being teased was so little, was probably because Amatsume was on her lap.
 Normally, Amatsume would be tottering about, and she would be watching over us attentively.
 At that time, I would be on Migiwa-san's
I understand why Amatsume is number one for Migiwa-san, but I just felt of something like jeaslousy.
 :Looks like she's tired today.
һ~:If you asked her, she'd say something silly like, "It's because I studied so hard today.
":If you put it that way, you don't think she was trying hard?
һ~:Flating arouns someone and not concentrating, as usual.
:Ahaha
I didn't think Amatsume was in the way.
But, I do wish I could talk to Migiwa-san somewhere where we're closer.
 :Mnngggg
.
Perhaps because our conversation was too loud, Amatsume shiofted positions slightly.
 һ~:::Mng


Disregarding us, who had shut up in fear of waking her up, Amatsume incessantly shifted positions.
 Squirming abotu with her head, she tried to bury her face into Migiwa-san's thighs.
һ~:W-Wait
Akira
there is
:
Mng
*sniff**sniff*
And then began to sniff, as if smelling her crotch
Fort some reason it feels like I'm watching something I shouldn't be
һ~:What're you doing, stop that!

:
Mng

Pee
P-Pee
?
After saying something so embarrassing, Amatsume staggered into the main wing.
 һ~:Hey, are you okay?
:I'm ooookaaayy
Kazu-chan
want to cooome tooo?
һ~:No!
:Ahaa.
With a smile I didn't understand, she staggered away.
һ~:
I wonder if she's okay
just as long as she doesn't stumble
:She'll be fine.
Looks like she's heading to the toilet like that, though.
 һ~:That's bad itself!
!
There we go.
In the end, she tucked Akira into her futon.
Even at the toilet, we had to call out to her from outside the door, and eventually grab her, take her to her room and lay her down on the futon.
 Pulling up her towel blanket, we end her alarm clock to wake her up at around evening.
 And Amatsume just fell inot a deep sleep like that.
:Looks like she really did want to sleep.
һ~:She should've just said so
instead of using my lap as a pillow.
:And you just spoiled her by letting her, right?
һ~:Don't say it like I wanted to do it for her!
:Shhh!
If you use such a loud voice, you'll wake her.
 :һ~::
Still okay, it seems.
һ~:
That's mean of you
Migiwa-san gathered the textbooks and stationery on the table and put them in her bag.
 :Going home already?
һ~:In this state, she probably won't wake up.
 Not until the alarm clock rings.
 Ah, you needed something from us, right?
:Nope, I just
just came to see you two
һ~:Eh
I-If that's the case
I should've gotten out some tea.
 Ah, I can still
 :Don't worry about it, I'm going home as well
I'll walk you home.
 
And so we came all the way to the front of her house.
Migiwa-san's house
it's my first time seeing it, but
this is one hell of a mansion
And once again, I'm hit by the fact that she's a real Ojousama
һ~:T-Thanks
walking me home
:N-Not at all
being able to see your place, I'm glad as well
I was a bit agitated, and blurted out something weird
һ~:It's not something for people to gawk at, but














D-Do you
want to come in
?
 :Eh
I-Into this
?
Even more agitated.
 A bit more and it'll show, I think.
һ~:No
?
:For some reason, coming it empty handed feels weird.
һ~:You don't
don't worry about that.
:
Won't your father or someone be surprised?
 Me suddenly coming in and
 һ~:That's
Despite usually being able to answer clearly when panicked, she couldn't answer.
So it's not like he wouldn't be surprised.
:Next time, let me come over again.
һ~:
That makes it sound somewhat like you're coming to meet them.
:M-Meet them?
Is that
a declaration of something
һ~:I-It's nothing!
 
Ah, but
Now that I think about it, I haven't really invited any over
:I see
In that case, I probably would be needless surprising them
:You know, if it were Ryouhei and the rest, they'd happily come.
һ~:That person is the only perosn I don't want crossing the threshold into my home.
:Y-Yeah
Completely blowing off the shy expression she had until now with her now firm expression, I couldn't help but make a bitter smile.
 A guest?
At that time, I voice unexpectedly called out.
From the gate of the mansion, a man dressed in western clothes came down towards us.
I think this was
Migiwa-san's father
һ~:θKazuha bringing in a male friend, that's unusual.
һ~:
Father
Migiwa-san's face turned grim for a second, before it vanished altogether.
һ~:This is Kasugano-kun
Sensei's
And then with voice as emotionless and practically as a robot, she introduced me.
 һ~:θAhh, you would be Sensei's grandson, Haruka-kun, right?
:Yes, I'm Kasugano Haruka.
While bowing my head, I thought about what great man my grandfather was.
Even the what could be said to be the most elite person in this town calls him "Sensei".
 And he even knows my name.
һ~:θI've been under Sensei and his wife's care before.
 If you have any problems, feel free to tell me.
 I'll help any way I can.
 :Thank you for your kind words.
һ~:θNo need to be so formal.
 Actually, you'd make be feel nervous.
 :Eh?
 Why's that?
һ~:θKazuha was born in Kasugano Hospital.
 And even then, I used to go there for advice, even when not sick.
 Sensei has helped me so many times that he's far above me.
All the more than I couldn't repay all his favours while he was still alive
So even towards you, I'm obligated to help.
 :That can't be, I've done nothing
I felt like I had just heard something extremely unbelievable, and waved my hands in a panic.
 Perhaps because I was strange, Migiwa-san's father smiled a bit.
 
һ~:θ
The reason Kazuha's changed, would be because of your influence?
:Eh
һ~:θLet us talk again.
 You'll have to excuse me for today.
After nodding to me once, he got onto the car which pulled out of the gate.
 The car became distant, and my nervousness finally cleared.
After I breathed a deep sign of relief
I suddenly realised.
:
have you been talking about me with your father?
It felt a bit like Migawa-san's father's gaze could see right through me.
 Even my name
It'll be a lot easily to think that Migiwa-san's been talking with him.
һ~:
O-Only that your transfered in
Her red face felt almost as if she'd was deceiving me.
:Just that?
һ~:Just that!
!
:I wonder?
һ~:There's nothing to be suspicious of!
?
:Mm
I'll ask him next time I see him.
һ~:Eh!
?
:So you did say something?
һ~:W-Whatever!
She turned away.
It was just a bit of payback, but
being given such an easy to understand reaction is also strange.
 As if it wasn't like this up until now.
Maybe it is really because she met me, spoke with me, played with me
 
But I don't think she'd tell even her Dad things about me.
So what did she tell him
?
Next time I meet him, I guess I really will ask him
But before that, fixing this situation comes first.
:Oh yeah, souvenirs
from next week, Me and Sora will be gone for a while, so do you want anything?
 
һ~:Eh?
 Gone?

Where to, Why?
:The temple at the place we lived in before is doing the Buddhist ceremony for us.
 You know, first Obon festival since my parents died
 һ~:I
see
:So, since I'm gone anyway, I thought I'd get you something.
һ~:You don't have to do that much for me.
But
Hey, you're definitely coming back, right?
 :We'll be back.
 Our home is no longer over there now.
 We're still thinking of whether to stay in a hotel, or stay at a relatives', though.
 һ~:I see
be careful, okay.
 I'll be waiting
:Eh
һ~:Ah, no, that's not it
That girl also be
and I
 The end of her sentence trailed off into a small voice.
 Very cute

I'm probably just to self-conscious
:Mm
We'll try to come back quickly.
һ~:
Stay safe.
And so, this became a brief parting between us.
܇ڥʥWe were be arriving in Houmi shortly
Please be careful not to leave anything on the train when disembarking.
 :
We've arrived, wave up, Sora.
:
I wasn't sleeping.
Is that so
you were so quiet I though you'd fallen asleep.
 
The moment we stepped onto the platform, we were attacked be a sweltering heat.
The heat wrapped around us like a painfully heavy cloack, clinging to our skin.
 :Sora wordlessly complained.
But against this heat, I am powerless to do anything.
 The house we hadn't been in for a while had been baked in the summer sunlight, feeling like a greehouse or sauna.
 Even after opening all the winters and turning on every fan we could to high, it didn't get a bit cooler.
 It was a bit cooler when the wind blew, so I stopped the fan from chaning directions, and I camped in front of it.
 But then I can't unpack our luggage
:Hot.
:Want to use the fan?
:Is it cool?
:Nope, not really
You finished packing?
:
Later.
In a bad mood again
But in this heat, I can't blame her.
Without going back to her room, Sora went towards the entrance, and opened the door.
 :If you're going on, be careful of the heat!
 Wear a hat!
Even shouting that ludly, no reply.
Well, I understand not wanting to stay inside this sauna.
I understand but
:We have to clean and pack up
While we were gone, quite a bit of dust had collected.
 For now, I better do some cleaning, or else I couldn't sleep well or clean well.
 Plus there's the clothes to wash from when we were out.
:It's hot and I don't feel like it, but
guess I have to
Purposely saying it out loud, I hit my own butt.
If possible, I want to do this slowly, but
We managed to take care of things over there without incident.
Just that we were asked to stay and live with out relatives.
"We'd be worried if it were just two people living alone""We're thankful for the offer, but we've already gotten used to living here, and getting along quite fine", we'd politely refuse.
 Sora supported me wordlessly.
But in truth
I didn't want to leave this town.
Kind hearted friends, people who would lend me their strength
people I'm close to.
 I didn't want to leave them.
 Afteromg unpacking my bags and putting the clothes in the washing machine, I took a small break.
I had made some barley tea and left it in the fridge before leaving, so I quenched my thirst with that.
 it wasn't very fresh and the flavour had gone, but still drinkable.
One cup, two cups, I steadily drank, and what I drank turned to sweat.
Just as I was thinking how hopeless this was, the sound of the door opening, and at the same time, I voice calling out could be heard.
 Excuse me, is this the residence of Kasugano-kun?
Ah, that voice
:I thought it was you, Migiwa-san.
 Welcome, what's up?
һ~:I just saw you two walking while I was in the car, so
:Yeah, I was thinking of catching a bus from the station, but we just happened to arrive at a time where there was none.
 Ah, come inside.
 It's hot outside, right?
һ~:M-Mm
Okay, just for a bit
I led Migiwa-san to my room, and went to get some tea.
I'd feel guilty for making her drink the barley tea I was drinking before, so I made a new batch, and put in a lot of ice.
 :I didn't leave it in for very long, so it might be a bit thin
һ~:Thanks.
After offering her the cushion, and I sat opposite her.
If this wasn't my own house, but a coffee shop, this situation would be like a date, but
 Looking at Migiwa-san sit up properly, I couldn't help but think that.
һ~:How did the memorial service go?
:Done with no incident.
 So simple that it was almost an anticlimax.
Our relatives did a lot of it for us though
Ah, I got you something.
 Wait a moment.
 from the bag I had just put away earlier, I took out a box fo sweets.
:I was wondering what to get, but, well, ended up with the standard things.
Japanese sweets wrapped in yellow paper with the design of a chicken drawn on it.
:Did you come her first, wanting the souvenir?
һ~:I'm not Akira, no way would I do that.
Getting sulky after teasing her a bit.
Despite it not being that long since we last met, it was rather nostalgic.
 :Maybe it'll taste better with everyone.
 I do have to tell everyone that I've returned, afterall.
 һ~:You spent
quite a long time there, eh?
:Well, a bit longer than we planned
they kpt trying to persuade us, telling us that it's hard living alone with just the two of us.
 һ~:
Are you going to go back there?
:Eh?
 I've refused them for now, but
I do feel guilty for worrying them.
 һ~:
You could get called back too
:I can't say that won't happen, but
we've gone through so much to move here already, so moving again is soemthing I don't want to do.
 һ~:I-If something happens
I'll help in any way.
:Thanks, when the time comes, I'll be counting on you.
һ~:B-But I'm relieved.
 You came back later than planned, so I was surprised
:Ah, yeah
I thought about calling one of you, but no one has a mobile, and I didn't ask for anyone's phone number
 һ~:I could've just given you my number and email address
:Ah, that's right, you do have a mobile.
 Okay, let's exchange numbers.
 I took my phone out of my pocket, and Migiwa-san took hers out of her bag.
 :Does yours have infra-red capability?
һ~:I don't really know, so just say it by mouth
:Roger.
 Then
We exchanged numbers orally, and stored the entries.
:This is probably my first time exchanging information since coming here.
һ~:I'm the first?
 Hehe, that's a bit of an honour.
:I'll just test to make sure nothing's wrong.
һ~:Ah, then I'll do it too
I sent an email with "Is this working"So doing, Migiwa-san's email alert tone beeped, and at the same time, mine did too.
 The sender was of course Migiwa-san, body of the text was
"Welcome back".
 :Oh hey, I haven't said it yet.
 "I'm home".
һ~:"Welcome back"Saying such greetings to people outside my family, felt a bit ticklish.
 :Which reminds me, what's up today?
 Don't tell me you really were after the souvenir?
 һ~:Eh
That's
umm
I wan't to confirm whether or not you really had returned
 :You were worried.
һ~:A-Akira said
I was wondering if something was wrong
 :And you came to see how I was doing?
һ~:Y-Yeah.
 You seem fine, so there wasn't anything to worry about.
I purposely didn't say much, but Migiwa-san's easy to understand face had turned all red.
 :
Thank you, coming over for me.
һ~:I j-just
just happened to be thinking about it
But the person who came earlier than anyone else,Was her, which made me happy.
What if
What if
I said that the reason I refuse my relatives' offer was that Migiwa-san was in this town
 I wonder what fce she'd make
һ~:D-Did I come at a bad time
?
Migiwa-san was still too embarrassed to look at me, so she was looking at my messy room when she said that.
 һ~:Ah, but if you need any help
:Nah, it's fine.
 I was thinking of taking it easy when I pack things away
and there's no way you'd be a bother, so take it easy.
 It's a bit hot, so hot that even Sora went outside for some cooler air, so you might want to stay here for too long, though.
 һ~:I can stand this much
But
if there is something I can do, don't hestitate to tell me
 :It's fine, it's fine, I'm okay for now
Just as i was trying to stop her from standing up.
һ~:Kya!
She suddenly stumbled.
:W-Watch out!
I stretched out my hand to support her
But I couldn't catch her in time, and we fell into a tangle.
I had desperately tried to cover her so that she wouldn't be injured, so I somehow managed to be underneath.
 :Uu
Direct hit to my back.
Having to take the weight of two people, my vision went black for a moment.
һ~:Kasugano-kun!
?
:I-I'm okay
it wasn't a fall from a high place
Laughing it off, I tried to open my eyes, when
Right in front of me, was Migiwa-san's head.
:Are you okay,,,yourself?
һ~:
I'm sorry, my foot was numb, and wouldn't move
:That's a relief, so nothing wrong with your body?
һ~:But
landing on top of you
I'm so sorry.
:It's nothing to worry about.
 As long as you're okay.
But from my end and for a different reason, I couldn't say there was nothing to worry about.
Right in front of my eye was Migiwa-san.
 So close that one word would make me feel her breath.
 So close that I could see myself in her eyes.
 See things like that fact that she had long, extremely pretty eyelashes.
Pink lips.
That weight I could feel on my chest, as well as that faint smell of something sweet, maybe perfume.
 It was all soothing.
 It made me want to tighted my arms that were already around her
һ~:Kasugano-kun
Both our heartbeats were racing.
Not just mine, but also hers
I could feel it, from the places where we were touching.
 һ~:Mm
Migiwa-san slowly closed her eyes.
Taking that as a sign, I brought my hand to her cheek, and brough my face closer to her lips
A long time ago, someone said that a first kiss tastes like lemon, but I had always though it was because of sweat due to the tension.
 
һ~::Our lipped parted, and we looked at each other.
I desperately tried to think of what to say, but had no clue what I was supposed to say.
Instead, I was stuck thinking about things like what the meaning behind that kiss was.
But I already knew the meaning
that I love Migiwa-san
һ~:U-Um
Letting you
do that
was ok, right
?
 :Just means that
you
love
me too
һ~:D-Don't so it so explicitly
it's embarrassing
:S-Sorry
We both losts our words again, and just looked at each other.
Not just words, even my thoughts were blank.
Mutual love, boyfriend/girlfriend, lovers, marriage, couple
children
Different words were leaping into my mind, then disappearing.
But the biggest of those words was:I love you
Those three words.
һ~:I love you
too.
As she put it to words, I finally understood.
Even though we both held someone else close to us, and felt the same way towards that person
 That feeling of yearning had at some point turned to love.
An aching love towards the women in front of my eyes.
Different to the feeling of needing to protect Sora.
 A feeling of wanting to embrace this woman, strongly.
 Not just hugging and kissing
:Migiwa-san
I had no idea that I could be so assertive.
:
Can I?
Reaching out for her body with my hand, I whispered my question.
һ~:C-Can you
you don't mean
?
:If you don't want to, I won't, so just say so.
Something in the lower part of my body had already started to awaken, so it wouldn't be strange if she'd noticed.
 Normally, this would be where I'd be embarrassed, but now I'm actually feeling excited.
 :
Because of you, I think I've turned a bit strange
һ~:B-Because of me
?
 S-Sorry
:I'm joking
It's my own fault I've got strange
wanting to do lewd things with you
 һ~:D-Don't so it so explicitly
it's embarrassing
After saying something she'd already said before, she sighed lightly.
And then she looked into my eyes, and said.
һ~:I'm the one who turned weird first
so this time, I'll be the one to act
 Stubborn as usual.
:
Thanks, I lvoe you, Migiwa-san.
һ~:G-Geez, I told you not to say things like that
Going all red and panicking was just like her too.
һ~:
I'm not sure about all of this but
I-I'll do my best
:Mm, but don't push yourself though.
 If it starts to hurt, tell me, okay?
 I'll stop
 һ~:Thanks
but I'll be okay
you can do whatever you want with me
 Said as if seeing that I couldn't hold myself back.
I was happy that she was willing to do this, so to repay her, I need to be as gentle as I can.
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:We're back, everyone.
The next day, I called everyone together, saying I had souvenirs for them.
The location was of course Amatsume's place.
ƽ:Come on, let's leave the introductory remarks there and start eating!
ξw:You
Well, I do understand that feeling.
 I am looking forward to Haru-chan's souvenir.
 :Sweets?
 Sweets?
 What kind?
 What kind?
һ~:Akira, clam down a bit, you're getting a bit too hyper.
:You weren't looking forward to Haru-kun's souvenir?
һ~:Of course I was.
 But before that, you have something to say, right?
ξw:Oh, right
Welcome back, Haru-chan, Sora-chan.
:Welcome back, Haru-kun, Sora-chan.
ƽ:We appreicate your hard work!

Eh, do you have to say it too, Ojou?
һ~:Eh?

O-Of course
W-Welcome back
Kasugano-kun
 :Y-Yeah
thanks
Saying it twice
But I did get a bit shy, since it was my first time saying it since we became a couple.
 ƽ:And now all that's been done!
 Haruka, bring out the goods!
:Yeah yeah
please accept my humble gift, your majesty.
I respectfully placed the box of sweets on the table.
They were the same ones I showed Kazuha yesterday: 2 boxes of 12.
:I though Ryouhei and Amatsume would eat a lot, so I bought more.
:Wah, it's a chicken!
 Cuuute!
ƽ:Ooh, so this is that famous thing!
 Ohoo, it's my first time seeing it, hurry up and open it!
 :Can I open them?
:Yup, go ahead.
I passed her a box, which she quickly dig out from the wrapping.
ξw:
Can't you do it a bit more politely?
Nao-chan sounded extremely surprised.
һ~:Akiraa
I'll go get some tea.
ξw:Then, I'll go help.
 Akira-chan, you'll be borrowing your kitchen.
:Yep
Waaah, the chicken's inside toooo.
ƽ:Hohoo, looks rather tasty
now which one should I take
:At least wait until the tea comes.
:Me too, me too!
Not even being able to wait the short time for the tea to come, both of them took a piece in both hands and started eating.
 I'm glad that they're happy, but I do wonder
:We'll wait until the tea comes, okay?
:
Huh?
I looked towards Sora, but she'd already started eating.
Even if it's just me, I'll wait for Kazuha
ξw:Tch, Double Akira, you can't before us!
һ~:Let them off just this once, Ha
Kasugano-kun's sweets look nice, so they probably couldn't wait.
 Akiraa
Geez, you're getting it everywhere because you're holding two.
 Kazuha took out her handkerchief and wiped the fragments off her side of my mouth, as well as the ones on the table.
 While she was doing that, Akira childishly stuck out her lips with an "Mmmmmm", making Kaxuha seem like a mother cleaning after a child.
 But even seeing the two like that, I wasn't jealous at all.
Because we were a couple, even though no one else knew.
ξw:What's up Haru-chan?
 You see happy for some reason.
:Eh?
 R-Really?
Crap
it shows on my face, huh
:M-Maybe it's because the tea's arrived?
ξw:You were actually waiting!
?
 Sorry, I'll pour it now.
һ~:Here
your cup, Kasugano-kun.
Seeing Nao-chan start handing out the tea, Kazuha quickly folded up her handkerchief and passed out the cups.
 :T-Thanks
һ~:No





You're welcome.
As I took the cup, our fingers touched.
Yesterday, those finger were entwined as we joined hands
һ~:Our eyes met, ad we looked into each other.
Forgetting about the heat of the teacup, we
ƽ:WHOAAA!
?
 HOT PASSION LOVE LOVE FLARREEE!
!
!
:WHOOOOOAAAA!
!
!
һ~:Kya!

W-What
?
With the sudden onslaught of loud voices, we jerked our hands away in surprise.
ƽ:Nothing, just noticing some awful amount of intimacy in the air.
:And I was just doing it because Ryou-niichan made a weird noise:W-We weren't really being
intmate
ƽ:No no, I'm happy for you!
 That late bloomer Haruka has finally awakened to LOVE!
 And the target was that Ojou!
 Way to go for the money.
:For the money!
 For the money!
һ~:
Akira, do you even know what you're saying?
:Eeeeh?
Doesn't look like it
ƽ:So, how is it from the Ojou's side?
 Don't tell me, it's mutual?
Ryouhei was wearing an indecent but extremely broad grin
definitely teasing us.
 һ~:
Yeah yeah, who cares about that, so please, grab your tea.
 You too, Akira
But don't drink it straight away, it's hot.
:Yeees, thanks, Kazu-chan.
ƽ:Thanks, Kazu-chan!
һ~:You too, Sora-san.
:
Thanks.
ƽ:I-Ignoring me, huh?

That Ojou, when did she learn such a high level technique
 :Would you really call it high level?
ƽ:But it's the Ojou!
I thought for sure I'd get attacked for that.
 :You
really think so?
I don't know about now, but I think the old Kazuha would have at least kicked him, just as he said.
 Maybe she has changed a bit
һ~:
Ah


.
Eheh.
Okay, she has.
 Yesterday's events
starting to go out with me was probably the trigger.
 :Whaa, this chicken tastes nice!
 Can I have another one?
 :There's a lot, so eat as much as you want.
:Thanks!

*gobble**gobble**gobble*.
һ~:Ah geez Akira, it's going everywhere again
there really is no helping you
 ƽ:Umumu
Is this really the Ojou?
 Or is it that Ojou 2.
0 that's been popular lately!
?
 :2.
0 would be
rather old, no?
ƽ:Eh, really?
 I heard it was a recent Paradise Lost?
 ξw:You mean "Paradign Shift".
 And besides, do you even know what "2.
0" means?
 ƽ:For now, Nao would be 0.
5!
ξw:Hohoo, would you happen to know what that means as well?
ƽ:Hahaha!
 Of course it refers to feminini-
Omph!
Without even a blink, the smiling Nao-chan gave him a low kick.
ξw:Always saying stupid things
:Do you know what that means, Nao-chan?
 "2.
0"ξw:Okay okay, time for me to eat one of these chickens toooo.
Ah, she fled.
һ~:Kazugano-kun, you haven't eaten any yet, right?
 If you don't eat one soon, Akira's going to down them all.
 :Guess we can't have that.
 That'd be wasting the tea you gave me.
 һ~:Yep yep.
 So, let's eat together.
:Mmm, okay
let's eat.
һ~:Yeah
hehe
:Haha
Mmm, I'd the first time I've eaten this, but it's not bad at all.
 һ~:You haven't eaten any before!
?
:It seemed to be exclusive for souvenir usage.
һ~:Hehe
It's a good thing you moved here, huh.
:Yeah, really.
It really is
if I think that it was to get this lifestyle so happy it's ticklish.
 I haven't really done anything up until now, but I can at least believe that this was the right choice.
 But that's because.
I hadn't yet realised that it didn't mean something had changed fundamentally.
 

Kasugano-kun?
 That's you isn't it?
While heading towards the plaza to do some shopping, a car pulled up beside me, and a voice called out.
 The black car was one I recognised, and the voice was also one I knew.
 :Kazu
Migiwa-san, going out?
But I almost used her first name on accident.
 Was that bad
Since it's a car, there had to be a driver in there, and what if the whole family was
 һ~:
Be careful!
 Yaminoshi-san's the only one in there now, so I don't think he noticed.
 I even got Kazuha angry.
һ~:To the next town.
 I've got something to do there, but if you're free, do you want to come to?
 :The next town?
 Not the one where the school is?
һ~:I think it's about 40 minutes away by car.
 It's the most civilised town in the area, but
 She glanced at the shopping backet I was holding, and then looked slowly sad.
 һ~:If you're not free, then I guess you can't
:No, I was going to do some shopping, so it's fine.
But is it okay for me to get into the Migiwa's car?
 һ~:It's just car like any other.
 Don't worry about it.
It's too elegant to be a normal car, though.
:
Well, I guess I go with you then.
 I haven't been to the next town, anyway.
 һ~:Hehe, I'm glad.
 Now that that's decided, get on, get on!
:O-O-Okay, no need to pushh!
That Kazuha
when she's in a good mood, she goes as hyper as Akira
Can't blame her though!
?
And so, a bit over 40 minutes drive away from Hozumi.
Me and Kazuha finally arrived at an arcade.
The secretary who was driving the car left on some other business, so it was just the two of us.
 һ~:It's finally just the two of us now, Haruka.
:There's still people shopping out here, so we might have to
һ~:It's fine.
 There's barely anyone who comes out to here.
 We won't meant anyone we know.
 O-Over there!
 There seems to be a crowd forming over there, let's go!
 :W-Wait up, Kazuha
After thinking about whether or not to grab my hand, she ran off.
Having no choice, I went with her.
But there was no way I could think any negative, since the chances we have to act as a couple are few, making me feel more content that anything else.
 
That "crowd" turned out to be so sparse that even though there were two of us, we could get through easily.
 It turns out that the crowd was the audience of a pantomime performance.
 In the center, two people were moving hesitatingly like robots.
One of them was dancing like a rusty toy so realistically that you could almost hear the creaking sounds.
 The second one was copying the first, though one beat slowly
but for some reason he was doing the opposite action, like a mirror.
 The fact they were mismatched made them look strange, making people laugh.
:Ahahaha, there's stuff like this too.
һ~:All sorts of minstrels and people like that appear in the holidays.
 I've even seen someone on a unicycle.
 :M-Minstrel?
 Not buskers?
That's a really old term.
һ~:W-Who cares about things like tha!

We're here anyway, so let's do some shopping!
 So saying, she let go of my hand and walked off, but I knew she was anxious, since she kept glancing back.
 I felt sorry for the buskers, but to me, Kazuha was acting funnier.
 If they're still here after we're done shopping, I'll suggest we stay and watch.
:Hey, what did you have to here anyway?
һ~:There's a dressmaker over here.
 I was asked to go there, as well as a decorative arts store.
 But, that comes after.
 We can't do much if we're carrying all that.
"Dressmaker", "was asked"
doesn't really feel like shopping
:Do you come here often?
һ~:Not really.
 Just when I have things to do here, I guess?
 It's quite far, afterall.
 But from now on
I might come here a lot more often
All of a sudden, Kazuha grabbed my arm.
Which means, "For dates".
Unlike in Hozumi, there was hamburgers and fast food, and although it was small, there was even something like a shoppng centre here.
 Probably perfect for dates.
:Ah, there's a Seattle here.
 It's been ages since I last saw one.
 Back when I was over there, I used to drop in sometimes on the way home.
 һ~:
You've been in there?
:Eh?
 Why are you so shocked?
һ~:I-I'm not shocked
I've just never been in there before, so
:Ah
are you the type that hates coffee?
Espresso bar Seattle was, as the name says, was a cafe that specialised in espresso coffee.
 They add milk and cream, as well as toppings like chocolate or caramel sauce, and you can even customise it.
 There's juice too, but it's definitely more of a coffee place.
 It's been ages, the shop has a good atmosphere, so I thought it was a perfect place to go, but if Kazuha says no
 һ~:I-I don't dislike it at all
okay, let's go in.
:Ah, wait up, Kazuha.
Did I say something to hurt her feelings?
 I don't think so, but
 
һ~:Although Kazuha had entered first, for some reason she was standing in front of the counter, deathly silent.
 A couple that entered after her glanced at her, and then went in front to order first.
 :That's mean, going in without me.
But I'm glad you waited before ordering.
 һ~::Kazuha?
Even when I called out to her, she was still standing there stiffly.
:Aren't you going to order?
һ~:She murmured something softely, but it was too soft and I couldn't catch it.
Thinking that she actually must not like coffee, I started getting uneasy again.
 :Do you want to go to another shop?
 It's not like I'm attached to this one
һ~:
There's a huge range
:Eh?
һ~:The people just then just recited their order like a chant.
:Ahh
"Hazelnut Frappuccino with extra caramel and whipped cream".
 һ~:You got that!
?
:That's right, it's your first time here.
 I guess you would be confused about the toppings on your first time.
 һ~:
You're used to it, huh
City kids really are different
:It's easy once you do it yourself.
 I'll show you how.
 First select what you want to drink and what size.
 һ~:O-Okay
Umm
what is there
:The most basic is a latte, I suppose.
 There's other coffee, but I'm going with a latte with extra milk with whipped cream and caramel sauce.
 һ~:You're amazing
I have no clue waht to get.
:You don't need to say it as fluently as the people just then.
 Just as long as you say all the toppings you want.
 Okay, have a try.
 һ~:Mm
After I made my order, Kazuha timidly, very timidly, made hers.
Something like: lots of milk, not too sweet, lots of whipped cream.
 Watching the inexperienced Kazuha order her drink was pleasant, but being able to see naivety made me even happier.
 һ~:That's a strange container they use.
 It's not the normal paper cup.
:Do you know how to drink it?
 The part of the lid that juts out has a hole in it
һ~:Ah, this?

*gulp* *gulp*
Mm, not bad
but still a bit too sweet, I think.
:Maybe try a double shot next time.
 It'll make it more bitter.
һ~:I'll try that.

Hehe, it's actually quite interesting.
 :Making a coffee you like is quite fun.
 Seems you've caught on too.
 һ~:
But I'm still uneasy about it, so
you'll be with me, right?
:Of course, you can count on me.
һ~:Thanks, Haruka.
We decided to get take away coffee and walk around the arcade.
 We had a laugh at the pantomime performance we saw before, and also had a peek into the 100 yen shop.
 There was also a huge bookstore there, and since it'd been so long, we went in.
 However, when we realised it, an hour had already passed.
 һ~:It's my first time ever spending so long in a bookstore.
:Same here.
 And I'm usually standing in the magazine corner reading.
I can't believe we went and looked through all the shelves.
:You really read a lot, huh?
 Just listening to your explanations was fun.
 һ~:I haven't read that much.
 Just a few novels
:The only books I've read with all letters probably only includes my textbooks.
But I'll be sure to properly read those novels you recommended for me.
Her explanations made them sound interesting, so I impulse bought them.
They were paperback books, but quite thick
һ~:Once you've read them, tell me what you think, okay?
 Ah, that's right.
 Since we're hear anyway, let's get a book cover.
 There's a good shop over there.
 It specialises in stationery like that.
 Grabbing my hand again, we ran off.
:Ah, O-Okay
no need to drag me like thaaat.
How many times have I been dragged along by Kazuha today.
But thanks to that, I've started to go into high tension.
Most of it was just window shopping, but talking about this and that with her was very fun.
 Actually, as long as I'm with Kazuga, anything and everything would probably be fun.
 And as we hold hands, I think I can sense that Kazuha's also having a lot of fun too.
 Responding to that, I tightened my grip on her hand, making her blush deeply.
 Very cute.
 Both of us had forgotten the passage of time, and completely enjoyed this spontaneous date.
 
һ~:I'm sorry, I've used up all your time today.
And as the sun began to sink below the mountains, we returned to our own town.
 With the radiant setting sun shinin in our eyes, we looked at each other with squinting eyes.
 The shopping I set out to do before was done at a discount supermarket on the highway home.
 thanks to Kazuha and her car.
 :Not at all, I had a lot of fun too.
And you also helped me with the shopping.
 һ~:That was something minor.
 Don't worry about it.
:But it was a big help.
 Thanks.
һ~:Y-Yeah
Kazuha nodded, but made no signs of leaving.
I was also a bit reluctant to part, so I didn't really feel like opening the gate to my house either.
Just a bit longer
just a bit
So thinking, we stood there looking at each other.
Only when the sun had been completely hidden, and the radiant rays had dyed the sky scarlet, was I able to shake off my feelings.
 :Thanks for today
It was really fun.
һ~:Yes, it was
let's
Let's go someone together again.
:Mm, next time I'll invite you out.
һ~:I'll be waiting
See you later then.
:Bye.
Again
huh?
I mutterd, as Kazuha's car disappeared off into the distance.
I said I'd invite her next time, but what kind of date would satisfy an Ojousama like Kazuha.
 Something like today
?
Hmmm, this is a difficult problem
Just as I arrived at school, the chime sounded.
There's no one here to hear it, so I think they must ring it during the holidays too, which makes me want to comment on their hard work Or maybe there are people that have to do stuff at school, like me, and they ring it for those people?
 If that's the case, they really are hardworking.
Halfway through the holidays
actually, they're almost finished, but holidays are holidays.
 But if you ask why I'm at school today, it's because I couldn't come because of the all the hassle during the Obon festival.
 The homeroom teacher called me yesterday and said that some printouts were given while we were away.
 Which means Sora should've had to come too, but
Well, no need to say.
 :
Hmm?
As I passed through the school gate, I calming sound could be heard.
 An instrument
Probably a string instrument.
Club activity?

No, this school only has a wind instrument club.
 Which means
A single name popped into mind.
If she's here
The feeling that this was a bother suddenly changed into hope.
:Excuse me!
After getting what I needed to get from the staff office, I quickly walked away from there.
I think I'm making a bitter smile, but right now, that viola is more important.
 The sound I heard while the homeroom teacher was talking to me, had no faded to nothing.
 She might even have already gone home.
But it hasn't been that long since the sound stopped.
 So for now, I go looking, then I start thinking.
I wandered around the school building with no luck
but if she was playing an instrument, she'd be near the music room.
 When I just transferred here I was shown the room, but I'm usually in the classrooms.
 But I think I roughly know
 :Ah!
As I was passing our classroom, I happened to hear Kazuha talking to someone.
 That someone was a teacher, but
I don't remember which faculty.
 While I was thinking that I shouldn't disturb them talking near the door way, the teacher started to walk away and Kazuha went into the classroom.
 Following Kazuha, I went inside.
:Hello, Migiwa-san.
һ~:Ah, Karuka
What's up?
Kazuha was the only one in the classroom, which was empty, save for one viola.
 A lonely sight.
 :Migiwa-san, names.
һ~:It's fine, the teacher just left, so there's only us here.
 Kazuha was confident about it, and that was good enough for me.
 :I heard a viola as I walked into school, so thinking it might be you, I went around looking.
 I thought for sure you'd be in the music room, though.
һ~:The music room's being used the wind instrument club right now.
:Ah, I see, club activities.
So the chime is probably for the students doing club activities.
Now that I think about it, it was obvious.
:You're
not in a club, right?
 I think you've said it before.
һ~:The music teacher asked me to play the viola for her.
 It seems she wants to run not only a wind instrument club, but a strings one too.
 So she's talking to the students that already play a sting instrument.
 I think there's quite a few other than me.
 :Wow, it's great that the school's the one starting a club!
 Are you going to do it?
 һ~:I wonder
I still don't know.
 And she still has to ask the principal and vice-principle too
 And besides, even if I were to do it, I don't know if the others will want to
 And if we can't get new students to join, then the club would end with just my generation.
 :Haha, there's definitely no need to worry about that.
һ~:Huh?
 Why not?
:The moment they see you play the viola, the new students will be looking up to you.
 You look so pretty and cool when you do that, that people wanting to join the club will flood into the classroom.
 һ~:Geez, all those jokes again
With a bitter smile on her face, Kazuha started packing up her viola.
She said it was something passed down to her by her mother, and she was treating it gently.
 Kazuha wasn't getting along with her parents anymore after the incident with Akira, but I think her actions now contradict that.
 һ~:I didn't think you'd also come to school.
And completing packing it away, she spoke again.
: had to come and get some print outs.

Sora's ones too.
 һ~:That means your business is finished here, right?
 Are you free now?
:Want to go somewhere?
 It'll turn into another sudden date though.
һ~:Of course I'll go.
Hehe, if we want to do that, we'll have to tidy up the classroom.
 :Roger!
The classroom's table and chairs had been pushed aside to make something like a concert stage in the middle.
 Kazuha had probably stood here and played her viola.
She must've looked so pretty
And as the wind blowed into the classroom, her long hair would sway in the wind
As I moved my arms and legs, I was imagining that.
If it worked out, I want to hear her perform
want to see her play.
 As I started resenting the homeroom teacher for talking so much, a wind blew into the room.
 һ~:Kya.
.
Just as I had imagined
the swaying of Kazuha's hair.
Floating lightly on the wind that I can't see.
Each strand shining brightly, as if the wind itself was shining.
 һ~:I should've closed the window first
my hair's all over the place now
As the wind stopped, Kazuha raised her hands as if to tidy up her hair.
 I couldn't help but stare, first at her white nape which was visible for a few moments, and then at her girlish behaviour.
 I was to touch her
Kazuha's so pretty that I want to hug her
:Kazuha.
In this empty room with no one but the two of us, I couldn't hold back my feelings.
 
һ~:Kya.
W-What?
 :
It's because you're so pretty
I wanted to kiss you.
һ~:What're you sayi-
Mmm!
?
Mmm
Mm
Ahh.
.
Mmm
Forcibly pressing my lips onto hers, Kazuha's body quickly lost strength.
һ~:Mm, Hah
We can't
not in a place like this
:Then, let's go somewhere else
һ~:That's not the probl-
This time, it was Kazuha who pressed her lips onto mine.
Not just touching, but rubbing against mine, as if want to taste me.
һ~:ա
⤦á`ƥ󤯤餤]ᤵơx`ƥ]Фһ~:
㥡áȥ`ƥ`뤬Сζ
һ~:ʤ顢⤫Ҋʤ顭ʤäҤǡһ~:FΤ΢Цߤ򸡤٤롣
Ƥ⤦һȥ򤷤һԡ
һ~::ʤ˥åʤ˼ʤä
:W@Ƥ롣
һ~:RƤʤʤ顢ۥȤ˥åʤΤ͡
Ԥһ~:äơWΥ٥Ȥ⤷ʤʤ顢Yåʡ
ݤߤǡ˚ݤΤʤҤǡ
Ĥϥ饹`ȤژIܤǡ
l⤤ʤΤˡlҊƤ褦ʚݤ롣
һ~:ǰϡ:ɫBä顭դϡ˽ƤǬFgĤʥ奨`󤬱ԸФ|W_򮐳d^롣
һ~:࡭աһ~:ϤۤȤԤ⤻ˡWΥΤ򤯤廊Ƥ
:ڤФ¤ˡ餱ʤ褦Ϣ©Ƥޤ
һ~:󡭡:Ρޤ餫벪һiФʸФΥΤdζ¤Ϥһ~:
Yब@äơw褦ʴ̼˱äȤ롣
һ~:ááһݤ˹̤ʤä졢ɤƤʤäΡ:ݳ֤ä顭ʣJƤޤΤयuʤΤˡʤ줬ĵ
һ~:áӤäӤäơͤʤ󤭤ʤäơࡢ࡭⤦ڤ꤭ʤա塢áˤʤäơ᤯ʤäƤ롭w^ڤ˺ߡ⏸ब׽롣
һ~:塢դáw^ҺZȾޤ褦ˡ@碌롣
I֤Ǹ֧ͤʤ顢YءΤӤʤäƤ
һ~:ա󤥡󡭡ȤYζȤͤơȫ夬ҺǥƥƥȹޤǤޤ֤Ƥ
һ~:ȡƥʥΤΥХ󥹤ˤɤɤ󥨥åʚݷ֤ˤʤäƤ롣
һ~:ڤڤ:ä顢äaäƤ롭ϡݳ֤ʤΣ:`äơݳ֤ơʤ^оܤäȤơש`ϤΚݵ¤Фˤߤˡޤʤ
һ~:ʤѡ줸㡢äȤƤ롭֤ááС󡢤夯ѡ塢夯w^ˤ֤äǰᤵʼ롣
ڤ򤹤ܤư¤ޤzǡȫ餫ʴĦ
롣
w^ȤϤ˲ơӥӥäȴ̼ĤʿФu롣
:һ~:դդá:ɐۤ塢ѡդáá夯ä󤯤á¤塢áݤ褯һ~:^΄Ӥ٤ʤ顢⏿ڤͻꡢӤ˽j᤿ꤷơۓᤷƤ롣
äפޤ֤줿Һ奯奯Ȥ餷ơҤ푤롣
¤Ƥޤ󤸤ʤäƤ餤ˡ
һ~:Ϥáѡ󡭡夯֡:Ρɤɤ󤭤ʤäƤ衭ʤ˥:󡭡һ~:ڤǤäƤΤɡҤʤΤӋˤ͡һ~:˽⡢⡭:Τ¤ƤǡȤƤ⤤餷ݳ֤ˤʤäƤΡΰ¤᤯ơ:΄ȤǤܤäȤƤ롭Ϥ֤áá¤ѡá¤夥á塢ġlƤ⤪ʤ״rʤΤˡһ~:ΥեϤޤޤʤ롣
һ~:á֤áȡ¤Фáѩ`Һ΄ȡá塢夥:äꤷ㡭ߤҺ졢iˤʤ롣
һ~:यơȫȻζʤ˼ʤΤˡ˼hҤʚݳ֤ˤʤΤ͡:ѩ`ȤɤҙΤηݤˤʤ衭һ~:Ϥáҡܤ衭:֪줿ʤۤɐu¤äΣһ~:Ԥʤ裿 ~˴𤨤ʤá
:ݤˤʤʡһ~:顢⤦ڤǤƤʤ裿óˤһ~:ϡȤǥڥ˥^¤ʤ鲻Ԥ
:áϥ䤫ʡ𤨤Ƥ顢Ф줹äơ٤z
һ~:ӤǤ࡭塢ڤ󡢤ѡ󡢤ڤѤ󡭡ɡһ~:֤áá夯áѡһ~:WΥΤ򤷤֤äƤƤgǰˤϡɤǤ⤤ä˼Ƥޤ
һ~:Ϥ¤á¤Ѥáåä夯ϤãäáѡϤ夯ադա:Υڥ˥äƤФä𤨤äѤʤ裿ӤƤ뤷á¤áݳ֤ƿʤäơ塭ԤäƤߤ:󡭡ֱäƤΤäȤ衭һ~:餷Ȥˡ饯餷Ƥ衭һ~:դա饫ѩ`⤳ʤ˛gɽá
Ϥ࡭¤Ƥ⡢¤Ƥ⡭ɤɤ
롭¤뤥ã:ãһ~:^ʤ顢ݤ褯ߤϤ롣
һ~:֤ã áäã֤äФ줽ˤʤäơW˼鷺һ~:^ѺzǤ
һ~:ۤáۤá⤦á:äᤤ
:󡢚ݳ֤Ʋʤääơһ~:äơɤƣ:ʤǤʣ 狼ʤɡʤȤʤһ~:⤷ơڤ˳ΤݤˤΣá¤ѡ衭Τޤ޳ƤơܤֹƤ롭äá:һ~:áʤˤ顢һ~:֤á¤á¤Ѥáäã^ɤɤ٤롣
ݥݤ푤Ϥޤޤ󤭤ʤꡢɤΥ۩`ˤ뤫Τ褦ķ˷푤Ƥ롣
һ~:ááɤɤ󡢥ѩ`Ƥá¤á󤥤áतΡá󤥤ãڤʤ顢Һߤ妤줿Ǹȫ򤷤Ƥ롣
lҊǤ⤷餪KʤΤˡ:áһ~:áW⡢Ӥơáһ~:áפáӤơȫܤֹƤ롭¤á夯ã夬ФơֹޤʤषҊơһ~:˥ե򤵤ƤԷ֤ҊĤƤꤿʤơһ~:֤á¤áѤááã:áդáһ~:áãһ~:¤á֡ááåáäá
Ϥ֤ááåãҺѺϤ褦˲Ϥ졢ڤ֤ˤ롣
बw^˽jޤʤ顢g褦Ϥ롣
һ~:¤á¤Ѥá夦äã:áäã äãһ~:á֤ã𤨡줺˾ҺۤȤФ餻롣
һ~:äפäҺȾϤơ侫ѸФȹˡФˤu롣
һ~:褦ʡҰʜФˡ
һ~:á󤢤ˡäѤäȿत⡭ȤȤơ㱤褦ʱ򤹤һ~:
նΤΥäݡһ~:Ͽʤ餷
WΥΤϡФʤΤˤäȤήƤʤ
:һ~:äȡA򡢤ʤФ򡢃Wһ~:Ҫ󤹤롣
äȚݳ֤äȤ餷
һ~:Ҥ줿ˤҊĤơWޤ֪ʤä
һ~:աäãƷѤΤɤۓ⤽˃W_Ͽ
ä
:áһ~:Υ᤯ơȥȥˤʤäƤáեƸФƤΤãһ~:衭ä餺ä:һĤˤʤꤿƤá󤢤ơɡһ~:ޤWȉʤä
һ~:áФäѤˤʤäƤΡФ롭:˽ФˤΡjߺϤ碌褦ˡ򤦤ͤ餻롣
һ~:áä衭:ä:W⡢衭äһ~:áK٤ΡϯΥ٥åɤǐۤ򽻤魯W_
ˤҊ餿ΉB¶񤫡
һȻ𤬵㤤Ƥޤäϡȼޤǅޤʤ
һ~:áá㤦ݳ֤Ρ֤ʤãáϤáҡʤΤˡáĿʤΤˤá˽áФơ:ʤ˚ݳ֤Ƥ顢l㤦裿ȤӤȤѧУ˲ФäƤ顣
һ~:ʡդäã äãһ~:ϴyߡ֤褦Ȥ롣
:һ~:СäƾƤơݳ֤ãɃWϷ򤢤롣
һ~:䤡áʴ󤭤ˡ㤦ãߐuóˤơӡפһ~:
:һ~:ɐۤ
uΤ⡢य衣
ơζȤˤξޤ꤬ʤ롣
һ~:䡢ơۤȤːuΡáʤΡáݳ֤ʤơ:狼衭һ~:ФƤΡ奦奦Ƥ뤫顭⡭һ~:һwǡuäƤΡɐۤ衣
һ~:ФááϤãȥꥹŪȤΤʤ򤢤롣
һ~:á:Ϥáؐá󤢤á˽Фäꡢu餻Ƥá:W餱ʤȤϡägɽҊ줿͡һ~:ʤΡɐۤǤ硣
:ФϤ줬u衭ݳ֤ȤτeˤˡζȤԤɡuһ~:⡢ɐۤä顭һ~:⤦ʤդãեΤȤФͻϤ롣
󾶲֤ĤϤäơѥѥƤ롣
һ~:áϤá䡢ʡƤʤǡã:áۤȡतWޤǡuʤäƤҺǜ줿һ~:Τ⡢WäФȤˤѤѤˮ򏎤롣
ˤ⥻åƤޤȤ餵ޤ
å¤ơåʤgˤʤäݷ֤ˤʤ롣
:һ~:å¡ƤΡ狼롭һ~:Ԥ졢ʤäơ狼äƤá󤢤áФǡáޤ󤭤ááá¤ޤǡäơᤧֹޤʤáҊĤä顢ʤΤˤáá󤢤äã ⡭դãȤȤʤʤäΤһ~:٤ɡԷ֤Ф褦ʼ롣
һ~:ФǡơϤá󡭡äơڤäƤ:һ~:Τԥԥơݳ֤ΤäƤ롭ͤ򾆤ϤФǤʤŤgϤΤݳ֤
һ~:줿Һ˵Τäơ˥˥Τ⤤餷
ˡ⤯ʤäƤ롣
һ~:áϤáʤ夬ᤤáϤãĤѧУ
䷿ʤҡ
ʈǡŤӤƤк⤫
Ʒ͸ۤɺʤ֤Ⱦߤ롣
ʪäľ΄ϤꡭФˤϡ
äƤ롣
һ~:ΡҺ΄
:Ϥá󡭡ʤ˼顢һ~:ΐҺȾ߸㤦͡һ~:á:顭ѧڤˤʤäƤФäơϯäˡlåƤäơݸ⡭һ~:ʤáΤǤäơ:ǡWһ~:ϤäƤΤ֪äơW_äƤ狼äꤷơһ~:ʤáääãФȤȤȤ򤢤;ˡä𤨤һ~:
ͬrˡڤ֥֥𤨤ʤޤ롣
:һ~:ΤǸФһ~:`áФƤʤ󤫡ʤ񤷤ơʤä衭ФƤʤ󤫡WˤߤĤƷ񶨤뤱ɡϢĤʤäƤ롣
һ~:ʡӼ¤ϡd^ʤ顭ФƤʤ󤫟oΤ衭:Ƥ뤫顢衭򤷤ʤ顢Է֤Ť褦Ȥһ~:
:ΤӤꤷƤ顢Ⱦ߸㤦ˤ뤫⤷ʤ͡
һ~:դääãԤä;ˡޤ֤֤ä𤨤롣
һ~:áդáդ
:һ~:ä顢äѤФƤ롣
һ~:á`Τá@ǡ:󡢤͡ΤϡηФƤ衣
Ŀǰˤ뤪äѤڤ˺ࡣ
һ~:դáʤΡ¤Ȥ㡭á󡭡:㤢Τʣһ~:顭Ϥã áϤãW⡢d^ǡɤʤäƤΤ⤷ʤ鷿ߤʤһ~:ͻϤ¤򿼤롣
һ~:áϤá:áդáᡢסáä顭ãáϤá󤥤áդϤɤơʤˤá󤢤áФơϤãʡҤȤλǡáåơŭ㤦⡢ʤΤˤá:ʤǤW⡢ФƤ衭һ~:ΡԤäƤΤ衭ʤʤơä餺äȡ󤭤ޤޤʤƤΕrꡢһؤؤ⡭á󤭤顭:ãһ~:ҙʤʤơۤȡåʤ顭äʤd^ƤWһ~:ǡ˽Фơ:؟ܞޤһ~:ʤá á`ã ʤΤ󤭤飡 ˽ФƤΣҤʤơФäʤ飡:áһ~:ã ʴ顢l㤦äƤУһ~:áʤӤã ͤȡW_ϘӤQ褦Ǳ롣
Ǥ⤽g⡢һ~:ΤσW褦ˤᤤƤ롣
äȸФäƤͤߤˡ
һ~:Ϥl⡢ʤߤ:äꤷһ~:󡭡äƥХ ʤǤ裡:Ϥϡһ˲˼ä衣
һ~:⤦á顢Țݳ֤Ƥ衭:󡭡㤢һwˡͣһ~:դá󣡤Ҫˏꤨ褦ˡꥺߥͻϤ롣
һ~:ááϤááã :ǡáäѤˤƤãơlʤ¤˰ĤΤһ~:Ϥʤ򤢤
һ~:ã դááϤáááá󤰡塢塢󤭤˼äơǿڤդ
һ~:ϡڥ˥ˤ褦ˡjƤ
롣
һ~:Ϥ塢áա塭ѡ󡢤夥Ϥס󤥡֤֤֤Ĥ褦ˡڤŤƤ롣
٤٤˴\ʤ顢WʹRФ
롣
һ~:աááϥáࡢե󤥤ááá塭ե󡭡ʥ^ܩ`äȤʤ⡢һ~:ڤ򤫤줼롣
һ~:ʤեե路:ˡʤäƤһ~:⡭ᤤΤǡ^äѤˤʤäơ:¤ʤ󡭡Τ⡢ʤ⡭㱤褦ΤȤꡢһ~:ڤϤȤ褦ʸдǡ¤ˤ֤ĤȤȶˤzޤ줽ˤʤ롣
һ~::¤˵äơwФ줽ˡʤΡ侫٤褦ڤҤĤơȫ˲Ҏtʴ̼롣
褦ˤ⡢ɤФФΤ:ᡢФ衭Ǥ⡢ʤ󤫤ҪϤʤä
һ~:á:áá¤áƤáã餫ʰ¤؞褦ˡζȤͻϤ롣
:һ~:ááãһ~:󤢤ááϤã դáҤáãáã Ҥááã á󤥡դááãááá󡭡աááäääã:áääãһ~:󤢡󤢤ᡢڥ˥i˲gҺƤ
ӥåӥä𤨤w^顢םᤷҺ夬¤졢һ~:ƷAƤ
һ~:Ϥ󡭡Ϥ:һ~:һ~::󡭡塭⤦һȡؤͤ롣
Ͻj᤿ꤻθдζ臘x
:󡭡ƷAä⡭һ~:󡢥åȥƥå夢뤫顢äФ֤ɷ衭:ʤʂ䤤͡
һ~:`裿 ϡʂȤʤơŮӤΤʤߤǤäơ:أһ~:ʤáʤǤʤã ¤ˤʤʤơyƤϤʤǤ磡ѧУǡնʹҤǤʤơŤʤã:W⡢äŤʤʡһ~:ȤäΤ:Ǥ磡 ⤦á㡢ȤȤʤͣ:ҙȤ衣
һ~:ۥȤˤ⤦ʤǤʡuȤǡ㤦Τ衢˽ϡϤʤԷ֤؟Ƥߤˤʤһ~:ä
W⡢ʥʤ褦ݤĤʤȡ:Wow, it's already evening.
I had gone to school in the morning, but by the time we returned to Okukozome, the sun had started to set.
 Just like it was in aa story I heard when I was young, a crow flew above us, cawing as if lonely.
 Perhaps feeling that loneliness myself, I tightened my grip on Kazuha's hand.
 :I'm sorry, holding you up for so long.
һ~:Not at all, it was fun listening to you talk about yourself.
After we had finished dirtying the tables, convinced that no one else would come in, we stayed in the room, making pillow talk.
 My life before I moved here.
 About Sora and my parents.
 About the school.
 About the city.
 Kazuha also talked a lot about herself.
:We ended up not going anywhere, though.
һ~:Oh, yeah
Haha, I guess it was so fun that we completely forgot.
 :Doing something like that once in a while isn't bad.
һ~:"Once in a while", you say.
 We don't really get much of a chance to hang out with just the two of us.
 :Yeah, that's true.
һ~:Next time we'll make sure to go have fun somewhere.
:Mm, I'll go find somewhere interesting.
Since we started going out, we haven't had a day like that.
Well, in the first place, we've only really known each other for little over 2 months.
There's a lot I don't know about Kazuha, but it's for that very reason that learn about her, bit by bit, is fun and rewarding.
 It's probably the same for her, since she was listening to my every word with a smile.
 Now that I think about it, it's probably the first time I've told someone about my life before I moved here.
 I hadn't realised that even once while I was talking about it.
And when I think of it that way, it's rather strange.

Oooiiiiii!

Kaaaaazu-chaaaaaan!
 Haaaaaru-kuuunnnn!
!
 һ~:That voice
Hearing that voice drawing closer from behind us, we let go of each other's hands.
I definitely have heard that voice before, as well that creaking of a bikechain.
As I thought, it was Amatsume, complete with a bike and squeaky brakes.
 :Ahh, Haru-kun's in school uniform too.
 You went to school too?
:I had to come pick up some print outs which they gave out while I was gone.
:That must've been a pain, huh.
How did you go, Kazu-chan?
 һ~:E-Ehh
I didn't do too bad, I think.
:You know
why she was at school?
:She told me a few days ago.
 Seemed quite happy about it too.
һ~:Akira!
 You didn't have to say that as well!
:When you told me about it, you didn't seem that eager.
 You were actually that excited about it?
 һ~:Geez
now even you're teasing me
:Hahaha, it's because you're not honest all the time.
Amatsume, you were helping out somewhere again?
In the basket on her bike was a hammer, some cables I didn't recognise and some vegetables
I'm sturggling to see the logic behind it.
 Maybe she had to help various people?
:I helped out at quite a few places toady.
 Fixed a mosquito net, cleaned out an aircon filter, harvested some watermelons
 :Being helpful, as usual.
:Yup!
 They helped me out a lot during the festival, so I have to pay them back too.
 I've still got two more places to help out, so I'll be going then!
It was already evening, and she's still going to help out
?
The only thing that beats Amatsume's popularity is how much energy she has.
һ~:Ah
Is there anything I can help with?
:It's okay, you've had a lot to do today as well, so it's fine.
 I should be okay alone!
 See ya!
һ~:Ah
Leaving behind only those words, Amatsume hopped onto her bike again and pedalled away, bikechain creaking.
 :She really does have a lot of energy.
 I'm sure she's never even heard of the laziness that comes with the summer heat.
һ~:She is
I just hope she doesn't overdo it and collapse
:I suppose she is the type to run around up to her very limit, then suddenly collapse with a plonk.
һ~:Please don't jinx it.
:Sorry
but you've warned her against that, right?
 It'll be okay then.
 һ~:Mm
I guess so.
We looked in the direction that Akira pedalled in.
And when the bik had gotten small enough, we held each other's hands again
Actually, we let go just before Amatsume arrived, but I wonder if she noticed anything
 She didn't say anything about it, so I think we're okay
 I wonder when it'll be safe to tell everyone that we're going out
?
 
While I was heading to the shrine, I realised that the sound of the cicadas had changed.
 It wasn't just the monotonous chirping now, but also a few modulations in pitch.
 Everyone just lumps them together and calls them "cicadas", but I suppose there are different types with different properties.
 It's something very obvious, but I hadn't realised it at all.

Haruka?
 What're you doing looking up a tree?
:Mm, just
wondering where that chirping cicada is.
һ~:What's that?
 You're still hunting cicadas at your age?
 That's just like Akira.
 :No way, I was just wondering.
Ah
but if you went hunting with me, that would be intersting.
һ~:N-No way!
 I can't do something that childish!
:Why so against it?
 Don't tell me you're scared of bugs?
һ~:I'm not!
 I just don't want to run around and enter those mountains!
 :Ahahah, okay, okay, I get it.
 No bug hunting.
һ~:You're still doubting me, aren't you?
:I wonder
I don't think I am.
But enough of that.
 Were you going somewhere?
 I was going to go to the shrine, but
 Obviously because I was hoping that Kazuha would be there, though.
 So now there's no real reason to go to shrine, since she's already right in front of me.
 һ~:Me too.
 I was going to find Akira
and was hoping you'd be there.
:Eh?
һ~:
Does it make you happy if I say that?
:I-It was a joke?

Please don't surprise me like that
һ~:
I didn't say it was a joke, did I?
:Eh?
This time I really was surprised, and just looked at her.
:I also
was hoping you were there, so
Maybe it's true that couple can read each other's minds
I could feel my heart being filled with warmth.
So this is how happiness feels like.
һ~:
Let's go together.
:Yeah
And just as we start to hold hands
ƽ:Heeeello, you two!
!
 Going somewhere?
һ~:Kyaaa!
?
:Ryo-Ryouhei!
?
ƽ:Oi oi, no need to be so surprised, right?
 I only jumped out from the bushes, afterall!
 
һ~:Then I'll send you back into those bushes!
ƽ:Mugwoh!
?
һ~:Scum like you
are always, always, alwaysalwaysalwaysalways!
ƽ:W-Whoa
Unusually high number of kicks today
viol-bwoh!
һ~:Always getting in my way!
ƽ:It's not just to yo-, too violen-!
?
һ~:Don't ever come back again, you hear!
!
!
ƽ:Noooooooooooooo

һ~:*Pant*
*pant*
*pant*
With that last shot, Kazuha finally moved for the finisher, kicking Ryouhei into a paddy field.
 So she really was capable of sneding him back into the bushes (might as well be the other world)
:A-Are you okay
?
 I don't think he'll be coming up from there for a while but
 һ~:He can stay there til he rots!
That
would be bad
:I felt a bit sorry for him, since he was only trying to surprise us, but
ƽ:Hahahaha, it was just a small joke!
һ~:If that's the case, at least make people laugh!
ƽ:Hyah
һ~:Geez, don't follow me!
 Goodbye!
ƽ:Ehhh, Kazu-chan, you're going already
һ~:Grrr!
After giving him a final glare, she straightened her shoulders and stormed off.
ƽ:Eheeh.
 Don't get so angry.
:
What did you come here for?
ƽ:What's that?
 Don't tell me you're angry too?
:Eh!
?
 I wasn't meant to be, but
The loneliness I feel from Kazuha leaving might be showing on my face
I have to be careful not to let anything slip.
ƽ:Well, I wasn't doing anything, just wandering around when I saw you two, and just called out.
 
I had no idea I'd get kicked so many times just for doing that, though!
:No matter how you look at it, you were trying to surprise us.
ƽ:That's just a difference in opinion!
:ƽ:Don't clam up like that, makes me feel lonely, you know?
:
I suppose I can understand having nothing to do.
ƽ:And, what were you doing with the Ojou?
:
Nothing much, but
ƽ:Than you're the same as me!
But that was really cold.
 If she didn't have anything to do either, we could've just hung out with her.
 Well, I suppose you two have been together a lot lately.
 Maybe she wanted a change for today.
 :Eeeehhh!
?
I have no idea how many times I've been surprised today, but
this time I was completely shocked.
 ƽ:You know, the old Ojou would only hang around Akira, but now
maybe she had a change of heart?
 :I-I wonder what happened
Don't tell me
they've found out about us?
Or do they only know a tiny bit, like us being together often
 I do waht to know for sure, but
asking him would only make it worse.
ƽ:Hey, do you go somewhere in the Ojou's care?
:Eh?
 W-Why are you asking that?
He's not asking about our trip to the next town, is he?
ƽ:No need to hide it, It's not like I'm blaming you, you know?
:What are you doing then
ƽ:You getting along with someone, and then having that go well is good enough for me.
 I'm rooting for you!
 :If you say that with such a big smile on your face, it makes it hard to believe.
ƽ:I'm rooting for you.
:Doing that makes it even worse.
ƽ:I do mean it when I'm saying though.
:Then why did you go and do something make her so angry?
ƽ:Did you think I could have this talk with you if the Ojou was around?
:Ah
Nevermind how Kazuha would react to it, it's not even a talk I'd want her to know about.
 :So you wanted to have a talk with just to two of us
?
ƽ:Ahhh
Haruka, you are the one person I'd not give to anyone
Ryouhei suddenly came close to me, and reached for my hand
ƽ:Gwoh!
!
Without thinking, my hand shot out.
:You're definitely joking!
ƽ:Dahahahaha!
 Of course!
 There's no other way that could've ended!
 But that's a good punch you have there.
 You could have a good fight with the Ojou.
:I wouldn't feel like such a fight.
Whatever, I'm off too.
 ƽ:Okay!
 Say hi to the Ojou for me!
!
:M-Migiwa-san has nothing to do with this!
!
What's up with him, geez
After leaving Ryouhei, I eventually came to the shrine, as we had originally planned.
 I didn't really have anywhere else to go
and there was a chance that Kazuha had also come here.
 һ~:Ah
you came here too, Kasugano-kun.
:Well, I did originally plan to come here
Where's Amatsume?
 Not here?
On the shring grounds was only Kazuha, standing there alone.
I had the impression that whenever I came around here, Amatsume would be here cleaning, so this was rather unexpected.
 But there wasn't a single leaf on the ground.
 Nor any rubbish or a speck of dust.
If it was this clean, she probably had just cleaned it.
һ~:It seems Akira's gone out.

Where's that person?
 :I left Ryouhei a while back.
 He seemed like he was going to tease me the whole way.
һ~:So that means, it's just the two of us again.
:I wonder if that's so
Amatsume could return at any moment, right?
һ~:She left a note.
 She's gone helping people again.
On a page ripped out of a notebook, was a note addressed to me and Kazuha, with "I've gone out to help people!
" written on it.
 That's just like her.
 һ~:I don't think she'll be back any time soon, but what do you think?
 Should we wait?
:Let's see
If you're going to wait for her, guess I'll wait too.
һ~:
So you
just want to be with me, right?
:Haha, you could say that.
һ~:Geez
we're not doing anything like what we did in classroom, okay?
 We don't know when Akira will come back.
 :Ahaha
I'll be careful.
һ~:So what do you want to do now?
 It's still quite hot, so do you want to wait in the main wing?
:Ah, then why don't we go up to the lake?
 It's cool there as well.
һ~:Good idea
But just because that's a place with no one else
:You really are suspicious.
 Am I really that untrustworthy?
һ~:I-I can't trust someone who did something like that in a classroom.
:If you put it like that, I can't say anything back, huh
һ~:Kyaa
:Whoa, you okay?
һ~:Y-Yeah
My foot just slipped a bit
Thanks.
:Not at all.
Do you want to keep holding hands like this?
 һ~:
Mm.
And so, we climbed the animal trail leading up from the back of the shrine.
Escaping the dense forest,
And arriving at the lake.
A cool breeze was blowing, making Kazuha's hair sway.
һ~:There always sems be a good breeze blowing through here.
Kazuha trying to softly stop her hair from blowing everywere
as sexy as always.
Wait, I was just warned about it just then.
 Stop thinking weird thoughts!
!
 
һ~:What's wrong?
 Why are you shaking your head like that?
:Nothing at all!
 This really is a good place, huh!
 Coming here is a bit of a pain, but I like it here.
 һ~:It is a great place for summer
the cool up here, the lack is beautiful
Hey, do you want to go in?
 :In the lake!
?
 You broguht your swimsuit with you!
?
һ~:W-What are you saying!
 I meant just taking off our shoes, stop thinking weird things!
 Geez, you really are a pervert
:Sorry
but are swimsuits really that perverted?
һ~:Now that you ask
I guess it isn't perverted, but

When I think about you looking at me in one
It's embarrassing
:It'd be fine if it wasn't me?
һ~:Y-Yeah
When I start thinking about what you're thinking, I feel uneasy, I feel hopeful, I think about a lot of things
 :
You are so cute.
һ~:W-What are you saying all of a sudden!
?
:You trying to put what you're thinking into words.
һ~:Geez
You really are mean.
:But you really are cute.
һ~:
Idiot.
And time passed.
 And when we realised it, the sky was starting to change colours.
һ~:
She late
I wonder if anything's happened to Akira
By the time we returned from the lake, the sound of the cicadas had changed.
It had changed to a lonely sound, which I think matched the sunset perfectly.
But, hearing that sound when you're waiting for someone like this just invited sadness
 :If only Amatsume had a mobile, we could contact her.
Me and Kazuha can get in touch with each other at any time with our phones, but we can't do that with Amatsume.
 Being made to feel the distance like this
I don't like it.
From afar, the sound of footsteps and a bike being pushed came filtering in.
 һ~:Ah
We followed the sound with our eyes and looked towards the stairs which led to the shrine road.
And saw Amatsume in her maid costume, pushing her bike up the stairs.
 :Ah!
 Kazu-chan!
 Haru-kun!
The smile that Amatsume gave us was so normal that it felt like we were worrying over nothing.
 :I'm baaack, Kazu-chan, Haru-kun.
һ~:It's quite late already, did something happen?
:Yup, an old grandmother treated me to a watermelon, so I ended up coming back at this time.
 һ~:I see, as long as nothing happened, it's fine.
 Good work.
As if going moving to hold her, Kazuha stretched out her arms.
:Sorry, I have to go make Hiro-neechan dinner now.
 But those hands didn't reach Amatsume.
һ~:Ah
Without knowing what do with her hands that were already in midair, Kazuha turned, as if to cling onto Amatsume, who was pushing her bike.
 And Amatsume just parked her bike under the overhanging roof of the main wing, and without changing, went to go back down the stairs.
 :Thanks Haru-kun.
 For always keeping Kazu-chan company for me.
:Not at all, I haven't done anything important.
:Keep being Kazu-chan's partner for me, okay?
һ~:Geez, Akira what are you saying
?
:Sorry for having to go so soon even after you waited for me.
 I'm off!
!
 With a big wave of the arms, Amatsume charged down the stairs.
:Straight after coming back home, she has to go make Yahiro-san's dinner, huh
She really does have it rough.
 һ~:Ifukube-san should do it herself sometimes
:Yahiro-san's cooking, huh?

I wonder how that would be?
 I can't imagine it.
I wouldn't have thought Amatsume made all the meals, so I assume she'd make her own as well, but
 :I'm getting the impression that she doesn't just not make meals, but doesn't do any housework either.
 һ~:That person's untidiness is as bad as it gets.
 I still wonder why Akira looks after her.
 :
Wouldn't that be because Akira knows that Yahiro-san cherishes her?
 I recalled the things that Yahiro-san said before the summer holidays started.
That Amatsume was like a balloon, and needed to be tied down.
 Yahiro-san's probably trying to be that weight that pulls Amatsume back down.
 Until Amatsume can become a bird that can fly away on her own, instead of a balloon that just gets swept away by the wind.
 һ~:What are you talking about?
Kazuha had probably never heard Yahiro-san's story before.
That shocked face probably means she can't believe what I just said.
:Yahiro-san's a good person

I don't know whether to call her terrible or scary, but she is a person with a lot of strength.
 So much, that when she's angry, your life feels like it's in danger.
һ~:I know she's not a bad person, but
that doesn't mean she's a good person either.
 :If you talk to her properly, I think you'll understand.
һ~:
I've known her longer than you have, so how can you say that as if you know for sure.
 *Sigh*, Whatever.
 Thinking about that person isn't going to make my mood any better.
 :Kazuha, for some reason you seem quite childish right now, sulking like that.
һ~:What do you mean?
:How can I put it
like someone who's just had their toy confiscated?

һ~:The toy
would be Akira?
 I don't think of Akira as a toy at all.
:It's just an example, nothing else.
You know, recently, you've been getting rejected by Akira.
 һ~:Ah
Unexpectedly, she stopped talking.
һ~:I guess so
And then looked at the ground.
һ~:Akira
has been so busy lately.
:She is really popular, afterall.
 She just said she was treated to a watermelon today, but I sure she got a lot of other things.
 I think she called the parishioners?
 She goes around to the houses of people that worship at the shrine?
 һ~:Yeah
That's also a part of managing the shrine
Still downcast, she said that as if no believing her own words.
һ~:I only I could help her with something
For some reason, I couldn't even say a simple "Yeah" to her, as he muttered away.
 I can't just agree with everything she says without thinking.
That's the feeling I had.
Has this become a daily ritual
?
It's not like I do it everyday, but these days I am going to shrine quite often.
Doing because Kazuha might be here is probably something I'll get cursed for.
 But today, I have a real reason.
Which is that I got an email yesterday from Kazuha, asking if I wanted to do my holiday homework with her.
 Amatsume will also be there, so we can't do anything in the open, but if we say that she's teaching me, then even if we got too close, we have an excuse
 :Amatsume!
!
 Migiwa-saan!
!
:Ah, Haru-kun!
 Welcome!
!
Without fully clearing my mind of unnecessary thoughts, I entered the grounds and Amatsume came over to greet me while holding a broom.
 :Eh?
 Were in the middle of cleaning?
:Nope.
 Kazu-chan helped out too, so we're more towards the end of it.
 һ~:Welcome, Kasugano-kun.
 We just have to put away the things now, so wait a moment.
 :Ahh, it's fine, it's fine.
 You go inside too.
I'll do the rest.
һ~:Eh, what're you saying Akira?
:Yeah, since we're all out here anyway
I'll help pack up too.
 It's better if we finish it quickly and then study together, right?
:Hmmm, About that
Amatsume started fiddling with the broom.
:I know you've come all this way, so I'm sorry, but someone just called up needing help.
 һ~:Why
We said we'd do our homework today
:Sorry.
 But even though I'm not here, Haru-kun is, so you won't be bored, right?
 :We'll be doing homework, so
it's not about boredom
:Ah, right.
 Ah, but since you'll be here, it'll be fine.
һ~:T-That's not the problem!
 Akira is Akira!
 Haruka is Haruka!
Ah
Kazuha, names
:

What's wrong, Kazu-chan?
 Your face is getting scary, you know?
 һ~:N-No it isn't
But
If you're going out to help people, I can't do any homework either
 I'll help too
There has to be something I can help with, right?
:But it's quite tough, you know?
 Going around to various houses, listening to their problems, and if they need help, then helping them out
 :If it's tough, then all the more
There has to be something we can help with, right?
 
:Thanks, just the thought is enough.
 But it's the summer holidays, so you two should be out playing!
 Ah, today was a study day, wasn't it?
 Ahahaa.
It was the same laugh as always, but for some reason Amatsume seems to be forcing herself today.
 But that's not to say it was a forced laugh.
It's just that the people hearing that laugh were getting stern instead.
 :Don't you want to hang out with us too sometimes?
:Yeah that's right, let's hang out together again sometime.
һ~:Yeah
It sounded almost like a groan.
:But
if I get in the way too much, I'd feel bad.
:Eh
get in the way
һ~:Both me and Kazuha caouldn't say anything against her innocent refusal.
Amatsume kept smiling while she looked at both of us.
:Haru-kun, take care of Kazu-chan from now on, okay!
һ~:A-Akira
:Ah
Y-Yeah
:You two are perfect together!
 The beautiful Kazu-chan and the city grown Haru-kun.
 A handsome man and a beautiful woman!
 :S-Stop that
She says that as if she knew from the very beginning.
It feels a bit ticklish, but at the same time I also feel a bit guilty.
:Ah, you don't like that?
 Sorry.
:It's not that, but
һ~:Me and Akira are
:Yup, friends as before.
һ~:Friends
?

Really, Onee-chan?
:Mm?
 What's wrong Kazu-chan?
 You're acting weird.
һ~:It's not weird!

Oneechan
is that really okay?
Kazuha looked at Amatsume with the eyes of a puppy being abandoned.
As if Kazuha was saying that she was the one who couldn't accept that.
:I can't stop you from what you want to do.
 Stop thinking about me and focus on Haru-kun, okay?
 And against those eyes, Amatsume kept her usual smile.
һ~:Thats
And with that same smile, she put the broom behind and took a step back.
:Okay, I'm off to start working!
:Wait up!
:Haru-kun, look after Kazu-chan, okay!
With one big, final wave, she left.
As we stood dumbfounded and feeling left behind, the bike we were watching became smaller and smaller.
 һ~:
She knew
about us
Kazuha finally murmured, maybe 5 or even 10 minutes later.
 :Yeah
and even now Amatsume is thinking about us in her own way.
She planned something so that we could be alone.
Such meddling was something too kind of her.
һ~:The sigh that kazuha let off oozed with frustration.
Because that kindness was something she couldn't accept.
һ~:Oneechan
what will she do if I disappear?
:Disappear?
 But you're right here.
һ~:She was always smiling
even though I hid from her the fact we were going out
 Smiling, saying that we were a good match
not getting angry, just approving it
As if I was the one who didn't trust her
I left her by herself
 I was the one
who let Akira go
:That's not true.
 She was just trying to think about us.
It's nothing to do with letting anyone go, or throwing anyone away.
I tried to give her some comforting words.
In fact, I think Kazuha's thinking too much, and Amatsume shouldn't be holding any grudges against her at all.
 But Kazuha, whose tears now stopped her from talking, just shock her head.
һ~:
No
I
I
Earnestly blurting out her words like that, this was a side of her that was different to all the other sides that I've seen before.
 Until Akira had said that to me, I hadn't realised that I was running away from something.
 Because of that, the change in Akira's attitude was natural.
Because of that
I had neglected Akira.
Being with Haruka was so fun that I lost sight of Akira.
The time I spent with Haruka, were ones where I forgot about Akira.
Even though I tried to hide it, I probably changed too.
Being as perceptive as she is, there's no way Akira wouldn't have noticed that.
But, why was running away even necessary
?
Was it because I forgot about Akira for a while?
 Forgot about my own sister
?
Because forgetting
was fun?
Because I, who would do anything if for her sake, neglected her instead?
 But!
 I didn't mean for that to happen!
I love Haruka.
But I love my sister too!
Just beacuse I want to be with Haruka, it doesn't mean it's okay for me lose Akira!
 Has my mother and father
our whole family made my sister on guard against us?
 But she doesn't have to be on guard against me any more that that!
Why can't she understand that?
Why would she say that it's okay if my sister disappeared!
?
Why
did she say
we'd be friends
and not sisters
not family
 Because I
because I left my sister behind and went searching for my own happiness
?
 Because I
had become happy with Haruka?
Is that why my sister is becoming unhappy
?
I can't
I can't let that happen
my sister is someone who has to be happy
 Then
Then, I have to
let go
let go of Haruka
?
If I'm alone again, surely Onee-chan will return to me
 But
Breaking up with Haruka
forgetting those happy days together
I
love Haruka
Akira
Oneechan is also precious

Why
Why can't I have them both
Why only one of them
Why will only one of them be there for me
Why
Since that incident at the shrine, Kazuha's face has always been clouded.
Four days passed, and although I saw countless times then, she was always downcast.
 And one time, I saw her with Amatsume.
And in a state like that, I got a call from Kazuha.
һ~:Hehe, it's been a while since I came here with you.
:"A long time"?
 It's barely been half a month since last time.
һ~:Oh, is that right?
 For some reason it feels like something that happeend ages ago.
"Let's go out.
 Just me and you".
Since she invited me yesterday, Kazuha has had a smile on her face.
:Might be because the summer holidays are almost over.
 Let's make the most of today.
Without hesitating, I said okay, and now we're at next town.
We waited at Hozumi station, and came here by train.
There was no car and no secretary driving it, Amatsume and everyone else wasn't here either.
 It really was just the two of us.
 һ~:I don't mind going to the shops we couldn't get to last time, but exploring some of the new shops would be fine too.
 :Since we're here anyway, how about a movie?
 They might be showing something new.
 һ~:Okay
Ah, it looks like a movie's just about to start.
:Hey you're right
"Black Wall"
I think it's one that just started screening.
 һ~:Okay, let's watch this then.
Let's go Haruka!
 It'll start without us!
 :R-Roger!
 2 adults please, and please make it quick!
*Sigh* That was intersting.
 People flying everywhere like that.
 It was so flashy.
 һ~::I think they called that "Wire fu"?

hey, Kazuha?
 һ~:Since we came out of the cinema, she's seemed very distracted.
 :Ah
I guess it didn't really suit your tastes?

It was an action film afterall
 We rushed into there without thinking, but maybe it would've been best if we had chosen soemthing properly, haha
 While the movie was showing, she had made small "amazing" and "wow" noises, so it looked like she enjoyed it.
 һ~:Ah
Eh, Did you say something?
:Nothing much, just that I'm sorry the movie was something only I enjoyed.
һ~:Why just you?
 I liked the movie too, you know?
:Really?
 If that's the case, that's fine, but
If that's what she really thinks, then why was she all spaced out
һ~:Hey, I'm a bit thirsty.
 Let's go to Seattle.
:Did you want to try out a new topping?
һ~:Orderi a double shot, right?
 I made sure to remember it.
 I'm looking forward to seeing how it tastes.
 Wha, it really did get more bitter.
But it's a good feeling.
 Since it was sweet at the start
:There's normal coffee and espresso too, so how about trying one of those next time?
 һ~:Yeah
there's espresso too, isn't there?

Next time
Ah
she's doing it again
Just like when we walked out of the cinema, her expression was going blank.
Just a short while ago she was smiling as if she was having fun, more fun and even happier than she was at our last date.
 һ~:A blank expression, as if time itself had stopped.
:Kazuha?
 Something wrong?
һ~:Eh?

Ah, no, it's nothing, sorry.
Come on, where should we go next?
 After this, Kazuha repeated switched between going into high tension, and going suddenly quiet like just then.
 And then, I somehow worked it out.
That Kazuha still hadn't broken through, nor had she been able to sort anything out.
һ~:Today was reallly fun.
She sat down on a bench, sighing as if to saw that she was a bit tired.
 I answered her with a bitter smile while i sat down next to her, and then took out my mobile to check when the return train was.
 There's aren't many trains that stop at our station.
The sky had on started to get red, but if we don't leave enough time, it'll be night when we get home.
 :
There's still about 10 minutes until the next train, After that, there doesn't seem to be one for another hour.
 һ~:I see
She nodded, her face a bit stiff.
Was that reluctance towards finishing our date, or because of something else she was worried about
?
 :Do you want to stay here for a bit longer?
 We can eat dinner here if you want.
һ~:
No, Kasugano-kun
can you go home please?
:Hmm?
 Me?
 If you have something to do here, I'm come along too.
һ~:
Me being with you, Kasugano-kun, will have to end today
I suddenly noticed.
Kazuha wasn't using my name, but my surname.
һ~:Today, we have to break up.
Strangely, after hearing those words, I started to understand.
That face, those eyes.
 She was thinking about this the whole time.
And at the same time, I also felt abandoned.
Being hit by the meaning of those words, the thought of not wanting to accept them started to grow within me.
 :W
hy
?
My voice when hoarse as I replied.
һ~:I don't
have a reason
:There can't
not be one, right?

Up til now, we've had this much fun
 һ~:She suddenly dropped her gaze.
Seeing that expression, I realised that I had hit someehere that hurt, and instantly regretted it.
 But, the feeling of not wanting to be seperated from Kazuha made me continue talking.
 :It's to do with Amatsume, right
?
һ~:That's right.
I began hating myself for making her feel so bad that she would make such a painful face.
 һ~:From now on
I can only have Akira.
Began feeling depressed about myself, who couldn't even put a smile on the face of the one he loved.
 һ~:I know I'm hurting you by dragging you around and saying such selfish things.
 But
I
can't go out with you anymore.
Her words were broken, but she said it clearly.
What could I possible say in reply to that
:Kazuha
Just saying her name took everything I had, I couldn't say anything else.
Maybe I should throw a tantrum like a child, screaming "No!
 No!
".
 Maybe I should try to persuade her, turn her around.
But I couldn't do either of them.
һ~:I thought about it
for a long time
About you
and Akira
Even hating
myself, for thinking
such things
I watched Kazuha try to squeeze out everything, but could say nothing.
һ~:I'm so sorry
though it's not something
I can solve by apologising
The moment she turned and ran away, I saw her crying face.
Even though I was supposed to be the one who got dumped, the one who was crying was Kazuha.
 
Around sunset.
In the grounds where the lonely chirping of the cicadas echoed.
On the steps leading the shrine in front sat Akira, back leaning against the offertory box, doing nothing.
 Dazed, gazing at the sinking evening sun.
But seeing a person in the middle of the red wavering sun, she quickly sat up.
 :Kazu-chan!
The person coming up the stairs was Kazuha.
Like the sun at the edge of the mountains, Kazuha staggered up the stairs, as Akira ran towards her.
 
However, Kazuha stopped walking, and waited for Akira to apporach her.
Biting her lips as if holding something back.
Even though she was right in front of such an important person, she couldn't smile.
And couldn't stop but hate herself for it.
:How did the date g-
Nnn!
?
Before Akira could finish, Kazuha hugged her tightly.
A desperate hug, putting all her strength into those shaking arms.
But even then, there was no strength in that hug,:
What's wrong?
 Kazu-chan?
With a blank voice that somehow calmed her down, Akira asked her.
һ~:
We broke up
Kazuha replied with a single word.
:Why?
Kazuha, who even now was still about to cry, was reflected on the pupils of Akira's questioning eyes.
 һ~:Because I can't leave you.
 We promised to always be together, right?
 So, this is good enough
Refusing to look into those pupils, Kazuha shut her eyes tight, and put her strength into those arms that were holding Akira.
 While in her heart, cursing those arms which would not listen to her commands.
Seeing her like that, Akira neither asked anything else, nor returned the hug.
 1st August.
:
What a pain.
Although she spouted a depressing line as soon as she entered the kitchen, I couldn't help but be surprised at the fact she woke up without me calling her.
 I had just been preparing myself to deal with a small tantrum.
:What?
:

Ah, it's nothing
breakfast is ready.
:I can see that.
:
Yeah.
Sora sat onto hair chair and wordlessly spread jam onto her toast.
I poured some milk into my own coffee, and then poured Sora her glass, before sitting down onto my own chair.
 As I sat there across the table from her, for some reason it felt like it had been so long since we last did this.
Even though we see each other every day.
 Even though we eat meals together everyday
As I sat there thinking "Why was it?
", I understood.
:It's been a while since we ate breakfast together, huh
:Who cares.
:Well, whatever
Have you finished packing for school?
:
*Sigh*She sighed as if I was asking something that I should know the answer to
I think she found me asking her all these things annoying.
As we stepped outside, a cool breeze blew in from the mountains.
 Surprised, I looked around.
 The paddy fields had also changed from green to yellow.
 I hadn't noticed it at all, making it all the more surprising.
 It probably wasn't that sudden of a change, it's just that I hadn't noticed.
 In a way, I wonder if that means that up until now, I was someone who couldn't see what was around him.
Perhaps after I was dumped, I started catching sight of thigns other than Kazuha.
 Or maybe it's because I couldn't accept being dumped by her, and started thinking about anything but her.
 Either way, I could feel how big a part of me Kazuha was.
 Even though I was dumped, it doesn't seem like I can give her up that easily.
:
Spineless.
 Depressed
You're being weird.
:Choose your words better
As her voice came from next to me, I lifted my head.
When I saw Amatsume and Kazuha walking on the road on the other side of the paddy field.
 Before the summer holidays, we normally met them at this time, on this road as we went to school.
 This is the first time I've seen them use the other road.
Though it might be because I'm looking with eyes clouded with doubt.
Kazuha turned to look this way.
Should I call out?
 I didn't know.
How should I be treating her, so soon after being dumped.
 I had no clue.
While I wondered what to do, Kazuha realised it was me, and averted her eyes.
And then sped up her pace.
Clearly, she was avoiding me.
:What're you doing standing there?
:Reminding me of it again.
 She definitely is mean.
I wanted to think that there was some kind of mistake, but that was the only feeling I could shake off.
 The hard part wasn't whetherwe parted or not, it was trying not to love her anymore.
 I wondered whether it was like this for Kazuha as well.
 Needlessly.
Dumping me.
 For Amatsume's sake
That look on her face before she turned away
She could only have been crying.
ƽ:I missed you!
!
!
:Tch, Ryouhei!
?
 Your face is too close!
!
I reflexively tried to ward off a Ryouhei who came rushing at me the moment I walked into the classroom.
 The classroom was filled with both people grieving over the end of the long holidays, as well as people rejoicing over being reunited with friends they hadn't seen in a while.
 Well, the only one happy enough to go and try to hug someone was Ryouhei.
ƽ:Sora-chan too!
 You must've been so lonely, being unable to see me or so long!
 You can jump into my arms at any time!
 :
Shut up.
Probably having come over to see Amatsume, Sora left behind her usual cold one-liner and expression, before heading to her room
 ƽ:Hahahaha
That frosty face of her's is so cute!
:Ryou-niichan!
 Long time no see!
!
ƽ:Yo!
 Cheerful as always, Akira?
 Hey you didn't get tanned at all!
 :Ehee, I was too busy helping people.
 Sorry.
ƽ:No need to apologise!
 Shrine maidens are fundamentally
fair skinned, right?
With his thumb up and white teeth shinin-
Is what I'd like to say, but unfortunately Ryouhei's teeth are fairly ugly.
 :Thanks!
 Ryou-niichan's fair skinned and pretty too!
Amatsume
those aren't words to praise a man.
ƽ:Akira!
:Ryou-niichan!
Randomly going into high tension, they both exaggeratedly opened their arms.
 And like that, went for a hug.
һ~:
Nakazato-senpai, what are you trying to do with those arms?
And Kazuha picks the perfect time to intervene.
ƽ:What's this, what's this?
 Kazu-chan wants a hug too?
 Ah well, can't blame you.
 Come here!
 һ~:W-When did you have the right to call me "Kazu-chan"!
 Furthermore, don't lay a finger on Akira, and of course not on me either.
:In that case, I'll hug Kazu-chan!
һ~:W-What're you doing all of a doing
Ah, come on, stop that!
 Akira!
Amatsume clung onto her and childishly rubbed her cheek on Kazuha's.
Seeing that, Ryouhei burst out laughing, drawing the attention of all our classmates, who smiled wrying at what was unchanged.
 In fact the whole scene was something that hadn't changed since before the summer holidays.
Their rich relationship worked because of how close they were.
Before long, Ryouhei will tease her too much, and probably get kicked by Kazuha.
 Such an obvious outcome was something I could imagine.
Did Kazuha want to continue this relationship forever?
If she always stayed within arms reach of Amatsume, always protecting her like this
 Then there's no way she could go out with me, no way she could spend time with me.
Like in the summer holidays
ƽ:Tch, but that's okay.
 I STILL HAVE HARUKA!
!
:WHAT!
?
 What the hell is wrong with you!
ƽ:You are the only hope left for me!
 If I have you, there is nothing I cannot stand against!
 һ~:Nakazato-senpai!
 Just what are you thinking, trying to corrupt Kasugano-kun too!
 ίTL:That's right!
 Kasugano-kun isn't your tool to pull out whenever you need him!
ƽ:Whoa, what's this sound booster!
?
һ~:ίTL:Who's a booster!
!
Wow, that was a nice boost.
But although she seemed mad on the surface, I could see that somewhere underneath, she was having fun, which made me think that maybe this is good enough.
 At least she wasn't avoiding me like when we were going to school this morning.
 Maybe this is as close as I can get to Kazuha.
Any closer will only bring her pain.
Isn't being able to watch from here enough?

I started trying to convince myself that it was.
 But
The memory of Kazuha's face as she was about to break down and cry wouldn't let me think that way.
Trying to live while throwing everyone except Amatsume away.
 Wasn't that hard on her?
 With such a life, could one be happy?
Even Amatsume
Perhaps this was just lingering affection.
Perhaps this was just because I didn't want break up with her.
But even if that's so.
I thought that it was something I had to talk over with her.
ƽ:Hurray!
 Today's school is OVER!
!
!
Forgetting about Ryouhei, who had started shouting the moment homeroom ended, I cast a sidelong glance towards Kazuha's seat.
 For now just wanted to talk.
But it couldn't be in a public place.
 I want to call her out somewhere where we can be alone.
:Ah
So thinking, I decided to call out to her, when she headed towards me.
 Rising out of her seat, she briskly walked over to Amatsume's seat.
һ~:Akira, I'm going home first.
:Huh?

Okay.
һ~:Don't get sidetracked on the way home.
 Okay, I'll see you late.
Just like that, she left the room, without even looking at me.
It was different to being mad.
I felt empty.
 Like my insides where being sucked out
I couldn't say a word.
Even Ryouhei, who was closeby, couldn't joke about it.
ƽ:
Haruka, did you do something?
It was obvious that he'd ask.
 We've spent quite a lot of time together.
 When I went over the Sora's classroom, I found out that she'd already gone with her classmates, so I was alone on the way home.
 Kazuha must have thought going home with everyone would be awkward.
 And once again I'm reminded of her running away.
If we're not with everyone else, she won't talk to me, huh
?
I dropped my shoulders as I sighed.
:A
Amatsume
At that moment, I caught sight of Amatsume.
I thought for sure that she'd have gone home with Ryouhei, but there was no one else around.
 
Ah, right
Amatsume would know all about Kazuha.
It might even be perfect that she's alone.
:Oii!
 Amatsume!
:Ah, Haru-kun!
As I called out to her, Amatsume immediately realised and stopped walking.
:Hey, I've got something to ask you
:I'm sorry about everything, Haru-kun
And as I caught up with her, she suddenly apologised.
:Eh
Without even her reason, I was at a loss for words.
:Kazu-chan's
over there.
As I stood there doumbfounded, she gave me a troubled smile, turned around and pointed to a small hut on the roadside.
 Thinking "Eh?
 Kazuha?
", I looked over there, andһ~:Eh
No way
saw Kazuha trying to hide herself in the shadows.
:Kaazu-chan!
 What are you doing?
һ~:
Geez
why are you so perceptive
She was right
I hadn't noticed at all
But why was she hiding?
:Haru-kun
come to the shrine later, okay?
:Eh?
After she aburptly whisper that into my ear, I turned around in surprised, but she had already gone quite far.
 :Okay, I'm off!
And just like that, ran off towards the shrine.
һ~:And we who were left behind couldn't help but be flustered, having no clue as to what to say.
 After Amatsume went through all the trouble of giving me this chance, I couldn't even get prepare myself
 һ~:
Goodbye, Kasugano-kun
With only a murmur, she turned her back to me.
I can't let her go like that.
 I have to talk to her properly.
 Is what I thought, but "Stop her!
" is just useless thought.
 :I'm sorry!
!
Without knowing the reason myself, I bowed my head.
һ~:Why are you apologising?

The one that should be apologising is me.
But even so, Kazuha stopped walking away.
һ~:Going out with you half-heartedly
and hurting you
 Even though I couldn't respond to your feelings
Even though I knew I couldn't
Making you hold onto such strange hopes
Even now
making you make such a painful face
:Yet you're also making that painful face
һ~:It's okay for me
This is
my punishment
:For Amatsume
һ~:Yes
For forgetting
something so important
But regret was written all over Kazuha's face, making me think that what I'm doing now was cruel to her.
 That feeling that I needed to talk to her was fading away.
һ~:If I can't be Akira's sister, then I at least have to be with all the time.
If it was for her sake, I'd do anything
is what I thought.
Despite that I went and fell in love with you
leaving her alone while only I had fun
 I can't forgive that part of me.
As if telling herself not to do say it, she bit her lip.
A she repeated the same words as the ones on our final date.
:But you really
һ~:Don't say anything else.
 Please
I have to be with Akira
it's what I decided
 :Kazuha
һ~:That's all
With Kazuha in tears in front of me, in the end, all I could say was nothing.
Stubbornly telling herself those words, looking so painful that I could only feel sory for her.
 Even though I thought she was wrong, I have no idea what I could say to her.
 With only love, there was nothing I could do
Whoa!
?
:Wha?

Suddenly, I was hit in the back, and almost fell forward.
ŭQYou idiot!
 Don't stand in the middle of the road like that!
:S-Sorr
ah.
Instinctively feeling fear, and reflexively apologising.
:Yahiro-san
She looked like she was in a reall foul mood
As if no amount of apologising would make her forgive me
Ҥ"Yahiro-san"
is that all you can say?
 For fuck's sake, don't block the way like that
:I-i'm sorry
Were you
taking a photo?
She was holding a fine SLR camera.
It'd probably be rude to say it was an unexpected hobby of hers, but
what if I broke it
 I wonder if she'd only half kill me
ҤTch
But instead of yelling at me, she only tutted, and hid the camera behind her back as if being seen holding something embarrassing.
 And I instinctively knew that that was something I should never touch.
ҤI'll overlook what happened just now.
 Next time, be careful.
*Sigh*
Looks like I'm saved.
I'm not sure if she's a dreaful person, or a kind person
Ah.
Isn't Yahiro-san also someone that cares deeply about Amatsume
?
If so, then wouldn't she also understand Kazuha's feelin-
:H-Hey!
Ҥ
What!
?
 I'm a busy person.
:I want to ask something about Amatsume and Migiwa-san!
Maybe it's times like these that people call "Grasping at straws".
ҤIf you've got a question about then, then ask them yourself.
:You know the relationship between the two of them, right?
I had no proof that she knew of it, but if she did, then there's no way she could ignore it.
 If she didn't know
then I have idea idea what to do
ҤHuuuh?
 You mean that relationship?
 Born from a different mother and all that?
:Ah, yeah, that's right, but
H-Huh?

Why does it feel like she thinking, "Don't ask such obvious things?
".
 ҤYou, where did you hear that from?
:They told me themselves
Ҥ
To a complete strange
how naive
:Yahiro-san, what do you think of Amatsume!
?
Ҥ
Hah?
:Actually, have you ever thought that Amatsume was all alone and lonely?
 Ҥ
Hey, are you okay?
She put her hand on my forehead, as if feeling for a fever.
I don't think she's taking this conversation seriously at all.
:I don't have a fever!
ҤIf you can't even see that smile on her face, then you need to go to a hospital.
 :But Migiwa-san seems like she's sacrificing herself for Amatsume's sake
 Ҥ
Oh, geez.
As I tried to argue vehemently, she interrupted me while scratching her head.
 As if not cutting me off would be make it more annoying.
ҤDon't get an adult involved in a kid's lover's quarrels.
:L-Lover's
ҤThe only ones in your mind are that Migiwa and that Ojou, right?
 Akira's just an extra.
 :That's
ҤThen there's no need to think about Akira, just go for the Ojou.
 Never know, Migiwa's dad might even okay it since you're Sensei's grandchild?
 Kekeke.
 :W-What're you saying, Stupid!
ҤThe stupid one is you.
:Uu
stop making that scary face
ҤThat Ojou's too naive.
 "Always being at her side" is just a baseless, childish excuse.
 What's that "Because I couldn't help anyone, nobody can be happy.
" She doesn't do anything and yet when something happens all she does is worry, it's all deception.
 
Tch, making me stay here for such a petty thing
Saying all that she wanted to say, she turned her back towards me.
:W-Wait up please!
 Yahiro-san!
But because she was finished with the conversation, she didn't stop this time.
 Well, I did needlessly drag her into this, but if I'm going to ask such things, then I shouldn't pull out ha-
 Or was there a hint in what she just said?
I can't believe it, but she really did tell me to go for Kazuha, right?
Yahiro's kindness is something really hard to understand
:"Come to the shrine later, okay?
"Now that I think about what she said, it was surprising that someone else wa at the shrine.
 Maybe it was too early to come.
I could have walked away, but I ended up hiding and listening to everything.
It was greedy and mean, but I thought that if I could help them, then
When Kazuha entered the shrine, Amatsume just happened to be in the middle of cleaning.
 Because she was looked as pale as a ghost, and walked unsteadily, Akira didn't realise it was her at first.
 It was only when she heard the rustling of clothes as she sat down on the porch of the front shrine that Akira finally realised it was her.
 
:What's wrong?
She innocently asked the crestfallen Kazuha.
һ~:
You already know.
To Kazuha, that innocence was hateful.
She also knew that Kazuha had tried to distance herself from Haruka for her sake.
And yet, she still tried to make her talk with Haruka.
But Akira took the look that Kazuha gave her with an easy smile.
:That's because you looked you were having trouble calling out to Haru-kun.
һ~:Then all the more reason
:But, you did want to talk to him, right?
һ~:Wha!
?

:That's why I thought I'd butt in a bit.
Still with the happy tone, happy face.
Looking like she wasn't thinking about anything, yet still sending shivers up her spine as if she could see through her completely.
 If she really did know everything, she shouldn't have interfered.
 һ~:Ah, whatever
just forget about it
:Hmm?
һ~:Like I said
just forget about it
:Forget about what?
һ~:Me and him
that me and Kasugano-kun
are no longer
together
:Why?
But Akira scooped into Kazuha's heart.
In order to let the sun's rays reach what was deep inside her heart, Akira tried to keep digging.
һ~::Kazu-chan, you're trying too hard, aren't you?
 Why?
һ~:Digging out so much that it was cruel.
 That smile was dreadful.
:Strange Kazu-chan.
 Why are you doing something you don't understand?
A calm, kind way of talking.
Slowly talking, like a mother admonishing an unreasonable child.
 If you already know, if you already understand everything, then you have nothing to ask!
!
 
һ~:I just said, I
!
!
That thought exploding out of her as she raised her voice.
:So I'm the cause of all this.
Akira's face changed from her usual smile, to another smile.
To a calm and gentle
yet sad smile.
That expression read, "You finally told me".
һ~:*Gasp*!
!
A gasp that clearly meant "Oh no".
But even if she sealed her mouth no, the words couldn't be taken back.
:Kazu-chan, you always were bad at lying.
һ~:
No
That's not it
It's my fault for enjoying myself so much
:If there's something that makes them happy, anyone would be enjoying themselves, no?
һ~:But
Then you
:The one making you suffer so much, is me, right?
Sitting down next to her, Akira put her hand on top of Kazuha's.
She spoke as if trying to confirm every last detail.
But Kazuha shook her head desperately as if trying to deny everything that was said.
һ~:
It's not your fault
I
:It's not true.
The usual smile once again lit up on Akira's face.
:I was really happy that someone I loved had found someone they loved.
 And because that person was Haru-kun, I was even happier.
But
it's sad, for you to have to lie to those feelings.
һ~:I'm not lying
I couldn't stand leaving you alone and being the only one who could find happiness
 :Just because you're happy, it doesn't mean I'll get sad, you know?
һ~:
Why?
 Why did you abandon me like that?
:Kazu-chan, I do love you.
With one thread after another being torn away from her web of lies, Kazuha was forced to confront her real feelings that she tried to turn away from.
 She loved Haruka
but how much she loved Akira wasn't something that could even come close to being measured.
 When Haruka touched her, it felt like her heart itself was being touched
But he could never be a replacement for the irreplaceable Akira.
 Haruka had Sora-san
but Akira had no one.
All Akira had was me
And all I could have was Akira.
So, why
Why wouldn't Akira, why wouldn't Onee-chan listen to me.
 Was even Akira ignoring me
Like my mother and father
һ~:Then why
Why can't you understand how I feel?
 Even though I'm always thinking about you
!
?
 
Then, too suddenly.
Kazuha's lips were covered up.
Not just covered up, but pale opening came an outstretched tongue, tracing her lips.
 Shivers went up her spine, and her mind went all blank.
:Then, you'll look only at me?
As if sliding herself into that blank space, Akira whispered.
:Will you only think of me, always, always stay by my side
and love me?
 With that kind voice, trying to fill Kazuha's blank mind.
:Will you love me as much as I love you?
Even though they were both girls.
 Even though they were sisters.
Even more dreadful than common sense, was Akira.
Like the calm water giving rise to a tsunami, the quiet advance of her sister's affection aroused Kazuha.
 һ~:
She thrust Akira away at the shoulders.
And after distancing herself, she realised what she'd done.
һ~:N-No
That wasn't
Watching Kazuha try to apologise, Akira accepted it all with a kind smile.
Although she hadn't said anything, pulling away was the same her saying "You see?
" The more she looked, she more she came to realise her own foolishness.
 һ~:*Sob*Kazuha ran away.
:
Goodbye, Kazu-chan.
Akira whispered her parting words towards her back.
Kazuha having fled, the one who was left behind headed toward me, with a feeble smile.
 
:So you did realise I was here.
As I came out from my hiding spot, I became convinced that Akira wanted to show me that.
 :Haru-kun
I'm so sorry.
Akira bowed her head towards me, as deeply as Motoka-san would bow to Kazuha.
 But I didn't understand why she would do that.
:I'm the one who held Kazu-chan back
Because she knew we were sisters, it seems like I was a curse on her
 Curse.
Akira labelled Kazuha's sympathy towards her, like it something abominable.
 If that was a curse, then how sinful must kindness be?
:What should I do to dispel that curse?
 Maybe I should disappear?
 :That
wouldn't work
Even if she didn't mean it, such self destructive thoughts even made me sad.
 :Don't worry
I won't do anything weird.
 Kazu-chan
it'd hurt her too.
 :Though I know you're not that kind of person.
:Thanks
:Don't say thanks for only that muh
I still haven't done anything yet.
For the very reason that Kazuha cared so much for her, Akira put on that act
even kissed her, to make Kazuha thrust herself away.
 "Even if I have to throw myelf away, I don't want to be a burden of you""Rather than being with me, you'll be happy with Haruka"Without even resenting anyone
How kind she must be.
:Haru-kun
It might seem strange comign from me, but
take care of Kazu-chan
 :Ahh
okay.
Giving her a forceful nod, I ran down the stairs that kazuha had just run down.
 If kindness was a curse, then Kazuha was not the only one being cursed.
 Even Amatausme was bearing the same curse as Kazuha.
Both of them needed to be released from that curse.
Since Kazuha's setps were weak, I found her as soon as I left the shrine.
 Even from the back, it looked like she was wobbling dangerously.
Just as I thought that I needed to help her, she staggered.
I quickly broke into a run.
But before I could reach her, Kazuha put her hands forwards, as if she was going to fall.
 :Kazuha!

һ~:Get away
Although she probably just cleaned it in time for the new semester, her white uniform had already turned brown from the dust.
 Perhaps not wanting to show how vulnerable she was, Kazuha dropped to the ground and hugged herself.
 As if rejecting the incoming me.
һ~:
Go away
She murmured that once again.
But, ignoring her pleas, I sat down beside her.
Thinking about what kind of bad boyfriend couldn't even stay by herside at a time like this.
һ~:I'm
so horrible

.
pushing away something so important to me
hurting everyone
 As Kazuha's voice trembled, I put my hand on her shoulder.
Although she was surprised, she couldn't run away anymore.
һ~:


You were
there?
:Mm
һ~:Then you saw it right?
 Me doing something so cruel.
I loved Akira, I'd do anything for her sake, I could accept her no matter what she was
I always thought that.
 Thought that I was the only one who could accept Akira's selfishness, Akira's quirks.
 That I was the only one that girl had, that I was the only one who understood her!
 That was my pride!
 
So
I thought
Blurting out everything that was on her mind, falteringly.
һ~:And yet
and yet
*sob*And then her body started shaking violent again.
She was probably remember
that kiss before.
һ~:
Scaed
I'd never seen
that side of Akira before
I ran

Thinking that wasn't Akira
Thinking that my Akira wasn't like that
thrusting her away
 And that girl
smiled
And I realised
That I
didn't see Akira as anything.
 Even though I was
suppose to be the one one
who understood her.
 I can't believe it myself
All my resolve
was nothing
 I couldn't do anything
Torturing herself for her own foolishness while crying.
 It was heatwrenching.
:Is that so?
Because I didn't think that Kazuha was anything like the person that kazuha herself described.
 :I think your feelings for Amatsume were real.
Afterall, you're suffering so much now.
 һ~:
No matter how much you love someone, once you hurt them, it's over
:If you really do love someone so much you can't help it, there'd have to be times when you can't help but hurt them.
 Even Amatsume knew that doing such a thing would probably hurt Kazuha.
But even then, she thought that it was something she had to do, and followed through.
But by thinking about Amatsume, Kazuha was losing sight of everything else.
:Even you scold Amatsume a lot, don't you?
һ~:
That's
completely different
:You
didn't want to sacrifice Amatsume for the sake of your own happiness.
 And Amatsume didn't want you to rob you of your happiness because of her.
һ~::Even though you were both looking at the same thing.
Because it was such an awkward kindness, they ended up hurting each other.
But, I was a bit envious at how much they loved each other.
:Lately, Sora's been waking up even without me waking her up.
Even going and returning from school, before she'd be in a bad moof if it wasn't with me, but today she went home with her classmates.
 һ~::Even I was worried about that at the start.
 But after watching the two of, I finally realised.
 That wasn't this
a good thing?
һ~:
I don't get it
I don't get what you're trying to say.
:Haha, I don't really get it either.
It's just, I want you to understand that it's not because I started hating Sora, and it's not because Sora started hating me.
 It's because me and Sora are brother and sister.
һ~:Me and
Akira are
:I was thinking that you two really are sisters.
һ~:Eh
:Both of you are extremely similar.
 The way you think.
 The things you do.
Even though your personalities are so different.
 һ~::As your boyfriends, I love you.
But since she's my girlfriend's sister, I also like Amatsume.
 So I want the both of you to be happy.
 If you're suffering, I want you to share some of it with me.
 I want to help, even if it's in the smallest way.
 һ~:Even though I
hurt you that much
:But I definitely still love you.
So much that I could feel your pain more than I could feel my own.
 So that's why I want you to give me some of your burdens.
 The things you're worried about.
 The things you're suffering from.
 And, we'll think about them together, okay?
һ~:Haru
Haruka
Haruka!

As Kazuha clung onto the back of my neck, I reach around to her back and softly hugged her.
 һ~:I don't
deserve to
be treated so
kindly by you
:We treat you kindly because we love you - both me and Amatsume.
 The same way you love us.
 Because we love each other, isn't that a good enough reason?
Because we love each other, we misunderstand.
Because we love each other, we go in different ways.
 Because we only think of the each other, we end up thinking out wrong choice was actually right.
The position that Kazuha and Amatsume were put in wasn't straightforward, like how simple mine and Sora's were.
 :I'm sure you and Amatsume will be fine together.

But, do you think it's okay if I slip in there with you two?
 һ~:I don't want to lose them
Your warmth.
 Your kindness
Nor Akira's smile
:Mm
You'll keep them for sure
There' s a way
There are people who love Kazuha, Amatsume and me.
People that watch over us.
If we open our eyes, we can find the right answer.
We returned to Kazuha's mansion.
Because we couldn't do anything without changing Kazuha out of her uniform, which was dirty from falling over.
 һ~:
Thanks, Haruka
:I'm your boyfriend, I should at least take you home.
һ~:Stop that

do you want to come in?
:Eh
I remembered what happened last time.
At that time, we ran into her father


.
Kazuha's father, huh?
:Aren't your family in there?
һ~:I don't
know
Kazuha started thinking deeply.
Kazuha, guests?
һ~:Father
As we turned to face the direction the voice came from, Kazuha's father came walking down from the gate.
 The moment she saw her father, Kazuha's face went tense.
һ~:θ
Ah, Sensei's
Haruka-kun, wasn't it?
Welcome.
 While giving me a generously large bow, he smiled in a dignified way.
 It's probably normal for a boyfriend to start panicking when suddenly meeting his girlfriend's father.
 But, this was a chance.
I instantly remembered what Yahiro had said.
 To take her away.
Leaving aside whether or not I can take her away, I can't release Kazuha and Amatsume from their curse if I don't talk to the man who started all of this.
 :Migiwa-san.
 I have something important to say, but would this be a good time?
 After bowing politely once to him, I stepped in front of him.
һ~:

Haruka?
Kazuha called out in a shocked and uneasy tone.
һ~:θHm?
 Quite serious indeed.
 It almost feels like you're asking for my permission to marry her.
 :Yes.
 I'm asking you for permission to go out with Kazuha-san.
 һ~:θWha
һ~:H-Haruka!
?
My unequivocal reply put Kazuha's father at a loss for words.
 :Because we're still students, I haven't thought all the way up to marriage yet, but I intend to take it seriously.
 һ~:θU-Hmm





Kazuha, is this true?
һ~:Yes
Father.
Would he yell, turn me away, or perhaps even hit her?
 But if I want to him to seriously accept what I tried to tell him, then I have to talk to him properly.
 һ~:θ
That serious talk you mentioned, is this it?
He couldn't hide his unease
but at least he hasn't gotten angry.
Believing that he'd listen to me, I continued.
:No.
 It's about Amatsume.
һ~:θ

How much do you know?
:All of it.
 I heard it from both Kazuha and Amatsume.
һ~:θI see
Upon hearing Amatsume's name, a cold rage entered him for a moment, before disappearing under a quiet agony.
 I couldn't help but think that that expression was matched Kazuha's perfectly.
һ~:θThe things that they have told you are all true.
 Although I feel very sorry for her.
 That's why I knew for sure, that this man loved both Kazuha and Amatsume.
:I don't think Amatsume would want an apology.
һ~:θThat's probably true
:Amatsume's told me before that she's happiest as long as she's with someone.
 Even if she can't live in the same house, just being by her side would be enough.
 Kazuha has spent all her time thinking about what she could do for Amatsume.
 As a subsitute for you, who has done nothing.
 Even after going out with me, she even tried to break up, not wanting to leave Amatsume behind while she was happy.
 I don't know if my words could move him.
But I at least want him to realise.
What Kazuha has done.
 What Amatsume has done.
 And what the two of them have been thinking.
 I wanted him to know that everyone was trying to be happy.
:Amatsume hated the idea of someone losing their happiness because of her.
Rather than spitting the Migiwa fmaily apart by living her, she thought it was better to live at the shrine alone.
 When Kazuha tried to break up with me, she even tried to make Kazuha hate her, even tried to make herself alone, so that she'd come back to me.
 Amatsume's capacity for sympathy was deep.
 She was too kind.
I think it's for that she understands that, that Yahiro-san takes the attitude that she's only using her.
 So that Amatsume doesn't feel like she's a burden for her.
 That was Yahiro-san's own solution that she herself came up with on how to treat Amatsume.
 :Even Kazuha is the same.
She love you, her mother and Amatsume
so she tried to think of a way to not lose anyone, so that it wouldn't all break apart.
 Everyone was thinking their hardest about what they could do.
Kazuha's father listened to what I was saying quietly.
Kazuha didn't cut in either.
I don't know if this will reach his heart.
But all I could do, was tell him about the things I've heard, the things I've seen.
 :Please, watch over the both of them.
 Please, face them without looking away.
 I know it must be hard on you too.
 But if you continue averting your eyes, it will stay hard.
 And Kazuha and the people around her will continue to suffer.
 This isn't about duty or responsibility.
 Please, just think about them, and watch over them.
 I think the only way for them all to be happy, starts from there.
 I had said everything I could.
һ~:θ
I see.
After muttering that one word, Kazuha's father thought deeply.
After quite some time, he opened his eyes.
һ~:θYou really are Sensei's grandson.
And he finally spoke, as if he were touched by what I said.
һ~:θA long time ago, I was told the same thing.
 But your grandmother.
"You can think about the difficult parts after.
 But first, face the proble," she said.
 As if saying that it was something he couldn't do before, he made an ironic smile.
һ~:θI would never have thought I'd hear the same thing again
Thank you.
Words that everyone say, surely they must be the truth
After saying those words, he offered his hand to me.
While I was surprised, I shook his hand.
һ~:θThe reason Kazuha has change, was because of you, huh.
:Eh.
.
N-No, that's
һ~:θLook after them.
:Eh
EH!
?
Against that suddenness, my first turned inside out.
Embarassing
һ~:F-Father!
!
һ~:θHahaha
Kazuha, treat him nicely, okay.
 һ~:Father
Yes.
Finally, all three of us smiled.
From the back, a call pulled in slowly.
 Alighting from the driver's seat, the secretary opened the door for Kazuha's father.
 While his hand on the open car door,һ~:θ
When you realise you've made a mistake, you should fix it
but I wonder when it was that I made the mistake
 I heard his faint murmur.
:So this is Kazuha's room
Huge.
And everything was
tidy.
The CDs and records were lined up in alphabetical order.
 Methodical, very like Kazuha.
 There was even some huge speakers, a record player and a clearly expensive Hi-Fi system.
 I guess she doesn't just play the viola, but also listens to classical music.
 The room's almost enough to make me bend backwards
It's been a while since I was last reminded of her Ojousama status.
 Speaking of Kazuha, she's gone to change out of her school uniform, which got dirty when she fell.
 Excuse me.
:Ah, Motoka-san.
I've brought you some tea
Eh, it's Haruka-kun?
Geez, when i heard the Ojousama had a guest, I got all nervous.
 Don't surprise me like that.
 The maid who knocked and entered was wearing a prim smile that I don't normally see, but it was definitely someone I knew.
 :I wasn't trying to surprise you
Well, I see you're doing your job properly.
 Hoow rude.
 I'm even proooperly taking my wages, :Even though your maid attitude collapses the moment you learn that the guest is someone you know?
Eh, cheap shot
Althoughwith her face twitiching, Motoka-san more or less returned to her work mode, and poured some tea from the teapot.
 A cup for me, and one more.
Here,.
.
:T-Thanks
If she started being this respectful, I'd start getting nervous too.
After the clanging on the cup and saucer as I received the tea, Kazuha returned.
 һ~:Welcome back.
Kazuha
was in a kimono
it's been quite a while
Ojousama, I have poured your tea.
һ~:Thankyou, Mogisaka-san.
 You can stand down now.
Okay.
 Then, have a nice time.
The moment she left, I think I saw a wide grin.
As long as she doesn't misunderstand anything
:Were your clothes okay?
һ~:Yes.
 Falling down and getting dirty is something I've been doing since I was young, afterall.
 Tatara-san had a laugh at me though.
 With a wry smile, she drank the tea that Motoka-san had poured.
 Following her example, I also drank, and was surprised at how good it was.
Even the smell was different to the tea I bre at home with the teabags.
The taste too didn't have that strange bitterness, and felt like it slid straight down my throat.
 Even the temperature was hot but not too hot, and I finished drinking it quickly.
һ~:Hehe, you must've been quite thirsty.
While trying not to laugh, she poured me another cup.
And it's only then that I realised how thirsty I was.
:Thanks.
And today's string of nervous events continue.
һ~:Not all
if there's someone who needs to show their gratitude, it'd be me.
Today
well, not just to today but, you've been helping be one time after the next.
 :No, it's just that you've become honest with your feelings.
һ~:But the one who let me do that, was you
When you asked my dad for permission to go out with me
I was surprised, but happy.
 :I was scared to death too, inside.
We then laughed together.
Feeling like we just cleared a mountain.
һ~:Let me say it again
:Mm
Kazuha looked straight into my eyes.
And I looked straight back at her.
With the slow passage of time, our spirits lifted.
һ~:I
love you
please, go out with me.
:I love you too.
 II would be delighted if you'd go out with me.
And we spontaneously embraced each other.
һ~:I'll never let go of this happiness
It something my sister encouraged, and wanted for me
 
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While having sex with Haruka, I faced my own feelings.
I love Haruka, but I love Akira too
I want tot make up with Akira.
But how should I approach Akira?
 I still don't know.
First I have to apologise.
 I know that much, but
But
I'm full of "buts".
It's probably because I have such a cowardly personality that I made such mistakes.
I wish I could be like Akira, brave and daring; or like Haruka, able to think so deeply
 ҊɽOjousama.
һ~:What is it?
ҊɽIf you are not feeling well, I can take you to school.
Sensing my doubt, Yamanoshi-san stopped wiping the car.
һ~:Thank you, but that's okay.
And besides you have to drive my father, right?
 But I can't let them spoil me like that.
I have to face my own problems.
 Haruka taught me that.
ҊɽIf you say so, Ojousama.
Bowing once, he turned away and continued to clean the car, as I sunk back into my thoughts.
 After reaching the gate, I couldn't take any step.
If I stay here a bit longer, I could reach the school
no, I could reach the classroom without meeting Akira.
 How cowardly can I be
ҊɽOjousama
are you sure you don't
һ~:No, so
Oiii, Kazuha!
!
A voice cut into what would have been a hard to refuse offer to drive me to school
һ~:
Haruka?
While I was surprised, Haruka had reached where I was standing.
:Good morning, Kazuha.
һ~:G-Good morning
what are you doing here?
:What am I
I came to pick you up.
 I thought you could go together.
And then he gently offered me his hand.
Haruka was trying to push me from behind again.
Without a moment of doubt, I knew I wanted to take the hand of the person I loved.
But the moment I reached out my hand, I wondered if Haruka would change in Akira, and as if I rejected her, brush my hand aside
 :Amatsume was seriously wishing for your happiness.
 She has no reason at all to hate you.
 As if seeing through my doubt, Haruka forcibly grabbed my hand.
It was obvious, but since Haruka was Haruka, there was no way he'd brush my hand aside.
 :See?
һ~:Ah
In the direction that Haruka was pointing at,:Kaaazu-chaaan!
 Haaru-kuuun!
!
was Akira, smile on her face, waving her hand.
And next to her, Sora-san wearing an expression which screamed how much of a bother this was.
It was a scene that didn't look like anything had changed.
:Let's go!
Lead by Haruka, who started to run towards those two, I also ran.
Behind us, Yamanoshi-san made a wry smile, as if to say, "I guess the car wasn't necessary".
 
:Amatsume, sorry for making you wait.
:Ahahaa, that's okay, Haru-kun.
һ~:
.
Ah
umm
:Good morning, Kazu-chan.
һ~:Go
Good morning
:Ahaha, looks like you two have made up!
 Good for you!
:Thanks to you!
һ~:A
Akira
I
Kazuha
seemed like she was stressed again.
 Or was this anxiety?

Trying to encourage Kazuha, I pulled the hand I was holding to make her face Akira.
 :Mm, I understand.
 I understand what how you feel.
 Thanks.
һ~:Kazuha hung her head at Amatsume's apology.
But to me, who was standing right beside her, it was clear that she was relaxing her expression.
And when she raised her head next,һ~:

.
Onee-chan
sorry
I'm sorry
Overcome with emotion and crying, she embraced Amatsume.
As the only one who didn't know the situation, Sora's eyes went wide and made a weird face, making me laugh out loud.
 :They won't change
No matter what happens, our feelings won't change.
 Not now, never.
 һ~:Mm, they won't.
 They won't change
Watching them hug each other tightly, I knew that they'd been freed from yet more bad feelings.
 If they can solve their problems like this one after another, then I'm sure that somday
:But, I wonder if I'm disturbing your lovey doveyһ~:I don't mind that much.
 We'll show you so much that you get embarrassed!
 
:W-Wha!
?
Nodding deeply as if to say it was okay, she suddenly locked her arm around ours.
һ~:Akira and Haruka!
 I'll love both of you so much you'll be jealous of each other!
 Holding one of our arms in each, she decalred something outrageous.
But
:Yeah.
That is okay, I thought.
:
The two of you
.
Hmm?
 Three of you
?
 Are going out
?
?
?
 And of course, Sora, being the one person who didn't know what was going on, was flustered.
 һ~:Hehe!
 Ahahahaha!
:Ahahaha!
Infected by Kazuha's laughter, I also laughed.
:I guess so?
 Next time, let's get in their way together, Sora-chan!
!
 Slipping free from Kazuha's arm, Amatsume went over to link her arm around Sora's.
Seeing how weird Sora was she nodded deeply despite her bewilderment, we laughed even harder.
 I wonder how long we can laugh from the bottom of hearts, having this muich fun for?
A laugh a lot more fulfilling than even the happiness of being alone with Kazuha.
 And besides, maybe's it's true that good fortune and happiness will come to the home of those who smile.
It looks like you're having fun.
һ~:Father
һ~:θGood morning, everyone.
Alighting from the car that had just stopped next to us, Kazuha's father smiled at us.
 That smile melted the moment of tension around us.
I intuitively knew that something good was about to happen again.
һ~:θ
Akira.
:Y-Yes!
һ~:θIn the near future
Can you come over to our place?
:Eh
Is that okay
?
һ~:θAhh, it's been a long time, and I want to talk to you slowly.
 About what's been done, and what will happen.
 :Yes!
һ~:θOkay.
 be careful on your way to school.
After watching Kazuha's father go, we started walking again.
I walked while holding Kazuha's hand, who still had an expression of disbelief on her face.
She nodded vigorously.
һ~:Akira
:I've been invited again
to Kazu-chan's place.
һ~:

.
I'm glad
I'm so glad
Kazuha was moved to tears, Amatsume was looking bashful.
As I thought, what came from that was happiness.
Oohh, already so lively so early in the morn-
Whoa!
?
ƽ:What're you all doing linking arms
Grr Especially you Akira!
 Linking arms with my Sora-chan
that's going too far!
!
 :Ahaha, you want to try too?
ƽ:Mm Mm!
 Let me in too!
!
:Hiii!
 N-Nooo!

һ~:Haruka, let's go!
:Mm!
We ran off, holding hands.
:Ahhh Kazu-chan!
 Wait up!
 Wait up!
:D-Don't run off so suddenly!

ƽ:D-Don't leave me behindAt that moment, a light breeze blew in, and Kazuha's hair fly with the wind.
As I watched, fascinated by the bright sparkling, I thought.
From now on, I have to protect Kazuha, my dear sister, everyone else
my "family".
 
?
?
On the shrine grounds, a nostalgic tune was echoing.
A soothing feeling, a gentle tone.
If I close my eyes, it feels like being hugged by my mother
or maybe behind inside a swinging cradle.
 
It feels good
If I stay like this, I might just fall asleep
:Kuu
һ~:Hold on!
 You just said "Ku"!
 You're sleeping!
:Hwaaa
I'm not!
 I'm not asleep, okay?
:I-I'm not sleeping either, okay?
һ~:Then, how was that performance?
:H-How can I put it.
 It had a gentle, pleasant feel to it!
 Like I lullaby!
 һ~:Geez, say something more tangible!
 There's no way I can correct it with something like that!
 Even if you say that
I'm not a viola teacher
һ~:And Akira was fast asleep!
:That's not true, I really did listen!
һ~:Oh, whatever.
 It's not like I can ask you for your honest impressions
Same goes for Haruka too, though.
:Ahahaha.
һ~:For some reason, Haruka, you're becoming more and more like Akira
:Eh, really!
?
һ~:Like those innocent lines!
:But but, she was really great before, right?
:Ahh, yeah yeah, at the contestһ~:Even though you don't understand a thing.
:I do understand
here.
After what sounded like Amatsume rummaging around, she took a scrap of paper from her chest.
 It was a snippet from the local newspaper, so black and white, but there was a big picture of Kazuha.
 һ~:Ah
Geez
:You got an award at the contest, so you must be amazing!
It was an article about the local music contest where she won a price a few days ago.
 it wasn't a contest that you could call big, but as a result for her debut, it was amazing enough.
 :The school club seems to be doing well too.
һ~:Yeah, well
people who are interested have come out, so
:Over here it reads in huge letters "Representing the Japanese classical society, the next generation violist".
 һ~:T-That's just an exaggeration!
 It was just a local favouritism!
:Even in thsi newspaper, see!
So saying, Amatsume took out one newspaper clipping after another.
һ~:Just how many of those are you carrying?

Well, even in my house, we've got a book with newspaper clipping pasted in them
:Good luck for next time too!
 I'm coming again to cheer on you!
һ~:You don't have to, geez
at the previous one you two fell asleep.
 Do you know how embarrassing that was?
 I've got enought o be embarrassed about!
With a Hmph, she started playing again.
Her usual tune, the one that her mother taught her.
A peaceful, gentle tune.
 So much that I wonder if she's purposely trying to put us to sleep.
 She wore the gentle smile of a mother singing a lullaby to her child.
With our shoulders huddled together, we'll listen to that tune forever.
Ver 1.
00