“In that case, clear out my room, and let her use it,” my dad said. “Throw everything out except for your mother’s mementos.”
“Say I threw everything out. Our apartment is still too small for all of us! Two parents and two kids in this small-ass place would mean we’d be packed together like sardines. Plus, they’re girls—they’re probably bringing a lot of stuff.”
“Huh? Oh, you’ve got it all wrong. Starting today, only Shigure—your little sister—will be joining you. Tsukiko and I will be heading to America.”
What? Are you kidding me?!
“Originally, I wanted to return home with Tsukiko and Shigure,” my dad explained. “But a professor from my college years begged for my help, so I’m going to assist him with an excavation in America. I’m about to get on the plane, actually! Can you imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t picked up the phone? Shigure’s heading over there right now, actually—good thing you’re expecting her! Hahaha.”
“Wait! There’s nothing ‘good’ about this! I’m seriously freaking out right now! You want me to live alone with a girl the same age as me? All by ourselves?! In this apartment?! You can’t be serious!”
Ugh, gross! My hand’s sweating all over the phone!
“What are you so shaken up about?” my dad asked. “It’s not like you’re a virgin!”
“I am a virgin, Dad! Your son is still squeaky clean! I’ve never even been kissed! Why do you have so much faith in me, huh? You dumbass!”
“O-Oh. I see. Well, anyway, she is your little sister. There’s no need to be formal.”
“A little sister I’ve never seen or met before—in other words, a complete and total stranger! You can’t expect me to be cool with this. Tell that girl to go back to her old home right now!”
“Oh, crap. I just heard the boarding announcement. Well then, I’m off! I won’t be home for at least a year, so you two enjoy yourselves, okay? Love ya!”
“Hold it! This conversation is far from—”
Click! Beep, beep, beep...
“Dad...? Dad, you friggin’ asshole!” I yelled as I slammed the phone back into its cradle. Of course, the neighbor protested by slamming the wall with all her might, but I couldn’t be bothered to apologize anymore.
I was so perplexed that I could practically feel my brain spinning around inside my skull like an old vinyl record. My knees grew weak, and I slumped to the ground. This was a mess. The mess of all messes. Sure, we were officially considered siblings on paper, but I’d suddenly be living with a girl I knew nothing about. And, to make matters even worse, our parents wouldn’t be returning home for a whole year. I’d considered the possibility before, but could my old man genuinely be insane? Did he have no moral compass?
And on top of that, he didn’t feel the need to tell me until today?!
I was happy about my dad’s remarriage, honestly. Following my mom’s death, he had somehow managed to raise me all by himself. If he’d found a new partner, I wanted to celebrate that. Having said that...
“This is a disaster,” I grumbled out loud to myself.
What’s the deal with him? What kind of crappy father springs this sort of situation on his son instead of letting him process the whole deal?
I sighed. The situation felt like a bad joke, not to mention it was a joke that was only going to continue. While I sat here, my sister—who had never seen my face before—was steadily approaching the apartment. That meant that I couldn’t stay slumped heap on the ground forever.
“Either way, I should clean up this room before she gets here,” I declared to myself.
I needed to do something about my dad’s space and the living room, the latter of which had become my nest. I never put the futon away, my dirty clothes littered the ground, and the lewd manga magazines I’d borrowed from Takeshi were lying out in the open for anyone to see. I couldn’t let a girl into such a dark and sinister man cave—that had to be against the law, right?
Just as I began to get to my feet, the doorbell rang.
“Crap!”
Sh-She’s already here?
I hadn’t even put away the lewd magazines yet! Maybe it was the old woman next door? I had been loud over the phone a minute ago, so perhaps she was trying to barge in uninvited to give me a piece of her mind. Or it could have been the newspaper or the public broadcasting tax collector.
Well, I guess I’ll go take a look.
I would decide how to respond based on who it was. With that in mind, I looked through the door’s peephole.
“Huh?” I gasped in utter shock.
Everything that had been occupying my stupid primate brain until that moment—what I needed to do to prepare, how I ought to act, and what I should have been thinking about—was blown away, leaving my mind completely blank. It felt as though my feet had left the ground, as if gravity had disappeared from under me.
Yes, within an instant, what I’d witnessed through the peephole had caused my thoughts and emotions to freeze. But who could blame me? On the other side of the door stood Haruka Saikawa—my girlfriend who I had just parted with at the station.
Wh-Why?
Why was Haruka in front of my apartment? And of all times, why had she chosen now?
I still hadn’t told Haruka where I lived. Sure, I’d told her the nearest station, but since I’d never brought her here, she shouldn’t have known where I lived. Had she followed me here? No, she’d gotten on the train first. That shouldn’t have been possible.
Then why is she here right now?
In the midst of my confusion, I racked my brain. I noticed Haruka acting flustered through the peephole, seemingly at a loss. She constantly glanced between her surroundings, her smartphone, and the door plate for verification. The usual vitality that graced her face was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she appeared utterly helpless as she fidgeted restlessly on the spot.
I can’t just stand here. What was I doing, allowing my girlfriend to make such an expression? It suddenly became all too obvious to me—all I needed to do was ask Haruka why she’d come to my apartment.
Anyway, I need to go out there now.
I undid the lock, which I’d fastened from behind upon returning home, and apologized from behind the door. “S-Sorry. I’ll be out in a second... Huh?”
Once I found myself face-to-face in front of Haruka, I lost the ability to speak again.
“Oh, you’re home!” she cried. “Thank goodness. I was starting to panic, wondering if I’d gotten the wrong room.”
Something was off. I hadn’t been able to tell through the peephole, but once I saw her with my own two eyes, it all finally made sense.