Sakuta hesitated for a moment but then sat down in the seat the college guy had vacated.
He stared directly at the bunny girl across from him, examining the soft curve of her bare shoulders. They moved faintly with each breath she took, a weirdly compelling sight here in the library, symbol of everything serious and dedicated. Sakuta felt like he was losing his mind. Maybe he already had.
After a few minutes, she glanced up from her book, and their eyes met.
“……”
“……”
Both of them blinked twice.
Her lips parted first.
“What a shock,” she said. There was an impish flair to her voice. “You can still see me.”
That made it sound like nobody else could.
But to Sakuta’s ears, these words rang true. At that very moment, even as outlandish as her presence was, there still didn’t seem to be a single other person who had noticed she was there.
“Well, then.”
She closed her book and stood up.
That should have been the end of it. He could have reduced the entire event to a funny anecdote to tell his friends later. But Sakuta couldn’t let it go that easily.
Because he knew who she was.
She went to his school, Minegahara High. A third-year student, a year ahead of him—his senpai. He even knew her name. Her full name.
Mai Sakurajima.
That was the identity of the bunny girl.
“Um.”
Just before her bare back vanished into the shelves, he called after her.
Mai stopped and shot him a questioning look over her shoulder.
“You’re Sakurajima, right?” he asked, careful to keep his voice low. “From third year?”
“……”
A flicker of surprise crossed her face. “If you know that, then you probably go to Minegahara?”
She sat back down, looking him over.
“Sakuta Azusagawa, Class 2-1. The same Azusagawa as the highway rest area chain. Saku is bloom, and ta comes from taro.”
“I’m Mai Sakurajima. Mai from Mai Sakurajima and Sakurajima from Mai Sakurajima. Mai Sakurajima.”
“Yeah, I know. You’re famous.”
“Right.”
She seemed to lose interest. Resting one cheek on her hand, her gaze drifted to the window nearby. She was leaning forward just enough to emphasize her cleavage. Sakuta’s eyes were dragged to it. A sight to behold.
“Sakuta Azusagawa.”
“Yes.”
“Let me offer you a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Forget what you saw today.”
He opened his mouth, but before anything could emerge, she spoke again.
“If you tell anyone about this, they’ll think you’re crazy, and you’ll be forced to spend the rest of your life labeled a lunatic.”
That was a fair warning.
“Also, never speak to me again.”
“……”
“Say yes if you understand.”
“……”
When he said nothing, Mai looked annoyed. But this soon faded, replaced with the ennui from before. She stood up, put the book back on the shelf, and headed for the entrance.
Not one person she passed paid Mai any attention. Even as she sailed past the lending desk, the librarians just kept working in silence. Only Sakuta was left unable to tear his eyes off that pair of lovely stocking-clad legs.
Once she was completely out of sight, Sakuta slumped on his desk.
“Forget?” he muttered. “How can you forget that outfit?”
Bare skin from the open shoulders down to her chest. When she’d leaned on her elbow, deepening the valley. The pleasant smell lingering in his nostrils. Her soft voice, just loud enough that only Sakuta could hear. Those clear eyes, looking straight into his. Every part of that was hitting Sakuta’s erogenous zones and getting him very worked up.
He was afraid if he stood up, people around him would notice.
It seemed he’d be stuck at this desk awhile.
He had a lot he wanted to ask Mai. But he was forced to save those questions for another day.
2
The next morning, Sakuta awoke from a strange dream. He mostly remembered being crushed beneath a pile of bunnies.
“Take a hint! Those were supposed to be bunny girls!” he grumbled as he tried to sit up. “Mm?”
But this didn’t go as planned. There was a significant weight on his left shoulder, pinning him to the bed.
He pulled the covers back and discovered the cause.
There was a girl in pajamas curled up next to him, her arms wrapped around his left arm. Sleeping peacefully. Pulling the covers back must have made her cold, because she cuddled up even closer to him.
This was his sister, Kaede. She would be fifteen this year.
“Wake up, Kaede. It’s morning.”
“But it’s so cold…”
She didn’t seem like she was moving, so he picked her up and got out of bed.
“Damn, you’re heavy!”
Kaede was five foot four, rather tall for her age, and she’d been growing rapidly lately. The heft in his arms made it very clear she was no longer a little girl.
“Half my weight is made up of my feelings for you!” she protested.
“Do you even hear yourself? I hope the other half is medicine for the headache you just gave me. Also, if you’re awake, get up already.”
“Ugh.”
Grumbling, she let him put her down. Her face had really matured a lot over the last year, and there was a serious gulf opening up between the way she looked and the way she acted. What would have been a totally normal level of physical contact for siblings a year ago was definitely making Sakuta uncomfortable now.
“It’s really time you stopped crawling into bed with me.”
Probably also high time she stopped wearing hooded pajamas that looked like a panda.
“I came to wake you up, but you wouldn’t get up, so it’s really your fault.”
That sulky face made her look younger than she was.
“Fine, but you’re still too old to be doing stuff like that anymore.”
“Oh? Am I getting you all hot and bothered?”
“Sisters don’t work like that.”
He rapped her forehead lightly and left the room.
“Ah! Wait for me!”
After he made breakfast for both of them, they ate together. Sakuta finished first and got ready for school.
“Take care!” Kaede said. She saw him off with a smile, but he left the house alone.