If she was killed, Sousei might be sad, but he’d also be able to start making his own decisions.
I’m…her younger brother. It might be heartless of me, but…
If his sister was taken hostage and someone demanded he give them Asumi or Moena in exchange, what would Sousei do?
…I probably wouldn’t choose Sis.
For Sousei Takarai, his sister—the person called Tohka Takarai—was not a crucial weakness.
Did Sis do that on purpose…?
“I’m going to make you an appointment,” his sister said, suddenly changing the topic.
“…What? An appointment…?”
“At the dentist.”
“Uh… Huh? Why?”
“Just in case. Putting together everything you’ve said, it might become necessary.”
“…Did you figure something out?”
“Not yet. I’ll let you know the date and time when I’ve set it up.”
“…Okay.”
“And enjoy your school life as much as you can, Sousei.”
“What’s that?”
“…Nothing.” His sister let out a breath. “See ya.”
And with that, she hung up.
Sousei put his phone away, went through the ticket gates, and got on the subway. He gazed absentmindedly at his reflection in the train car window.
We don’t look similar at all.
Were they really siblings? Sousei and his sister didn’t look anything like each other. His sister had lost both her eyes, and ever since, she’d always worn eye patches or sunglasses. He’d never been able to look her in the eyes, so he didn’t really know her face. Sousei still couldn’t look directly at her even after she lost her eyesight. However, she didn’t bear any resemblance to Sousei. He’d never once felt they were similar.
Was it because they were only half siblings? They had different mothers, after all. Was that why they looked so different?
Sousei got off at Tsukasachou Station and headed to school. He checked to see whether Kuchina’s shoes were in the cubby and saw her outdoor shoes were there. It seemed she’d already arrived. Sousei’s shoe box contained only his indoor shoes. A tiny part of him had hoped the exchange diary might be inside, so he was a little disappointed.
Don’t feel disappointed…
There were five people in Class 2-2’s classroom, including Yoh Mishima and Iori Tadeshina. Sousei greeted his classmates, and after checking that Kuchina’s bag was hanging from her desk, he sat down in his seat. Yoh sashayed over to him waving his too-long sleeves.
“Lil Souuuu.”
“Mishii… What’s up?”
“Nothing. I was just saying your name.”
“…Okay.”
Even though he said nothing was up, Yoh sat perched on the empty chair at the desk next to Sousei’s. Sousei opened his bag and was about to take out his textbooks, notebooks, and other things he needed, but he found it difficult since Yoh was staring at him.
“Uhhh… What is it?”
“Nothiiing.”
“…Really?”
“Yeaaah.” Yoh’s long sleeves swayed as he nodded.
“Heh-hem.”
Sousei heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to look in the direction it had come from. Apparently, the source was Iori. She was sitting up straight in her chair, and she glanced over her shoulder at him.
“…Wh-what is it?” Sousei asked, and Iori softly tapped her desk.
“I just happened to…accidentally catch a glimpse inside your desk. Given the circumstances, I couldn’t help but be curious…” Iori spoke in a low voice, as if she felt awkward. She cleared her throat again.
“—Oh?”
Sousei reached inside his desk.
There it was. It felt like a notebook—or rather, it was a notebook.
“School sure is fun, isn’t it?” Yoh started singing in a mysterious tune. “School…is fuuun! Schooool…is fuuun!”
It made sense for Iori to know what was in the notebook, but did Yoh know as well? Sousei didn’t dwell on it, but he couldn’t help wondering.
“School…is fuuun! Schooool…is fuuun!” Yoh continued singing. Sousei almost started singing along with him.
—No, no way, it’s too early to know for sure yet… We don’t yet know whether Hitsujimoto wrote anything or not. Maybe she’s just returning it without writing anything inside. That’s definitely something she’d do…!
“School…is fuuun! Schooool…is fuuun!” Yoh was still singing.
Am I allowed to look…? Is it okay if I check it myself first? Wouldn’t it be better if we all looked at it together? Right. It’s an exchange diary. It’s not just for me. I should wait until everyone gets here so we can all look together. That would be…scarier. What if she hasn’t written anything?
It would be a shock, to say the least.
Still, it would be understandable. They had forced this exchange diary on her without asking her first. Was she under any obligation to respond? No. Of course not. It would still be a shock, though. Would Sousei be able to handle that by himself? If the four of them were there, maybe the impact would be distributed, and they could endure it together.
“But I’m so curious…!” Sousei inadvertently blurted out—rather loudly. Shouted, really.
He pulled the notebook out of his desk and opened it without checking the cover, then read over the messages that Asumi, Moena, Yukisada, and he had each written in pencil the day before.
The space underneath wasn’t blank. There was something written there, in that handwriting. Small and with close attention to detail, and in pencil.
There was no mistaking it. Sousei could tell instantly. It was her handwriting.
“Hooo…” Sousei closed his eyes and shut the notebook.
“What does that mean?!” Iori asked, having apparently stood up from her chair.
Sousei shook his head. “…Ahhh.” He couldn’t find the words.
“What is that, by the way?” Yoh asked.
So he didn’t know…?
Well, it wasn’t strange that Yoh hadn’t known, but then what had he been so excited about just before? What was he so excited about?
Mishii is a mystery…
Sousei tried to regain his composure by thinking about Yoh—but in the middle of doing that, he noticed he’d stopped breathing. That wasn’t good. If he didn’t start breathing again, Sousei would end up suffocating before he could do anything about his mental state.
“What happened?!” It seemed like Iori wasn’t been able to stand it anymore, because she ran over to him. Sousei sensed Iori getting closer from her footsteps, the vibrations, and the airflow. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. He carefully breathed out, then back in.
“What is it?!”
“…She wro—”
That was all Sousei was able to say.
She wrote…something… I didn’t read it, though…
He still couldn’t produce proper human sounds. He didn’t have the confidence. Instead, he nodded a few times.
“I see,” Iori responded, then let out a sigh. “Isn’t that good? I was just worried since your reaction was extremely weird. I…I say ‘worried,’ but I just mean in a general sense. A normal amount. Please don’t get the wrong idea. Well, in any case…it’s good, isn’t it?” With that, Iori returned to her seat.
When Sousei finally opened his eyes slightly, Yoh was waving his overly long sleeves.
“That’s so greeeat!” Yoh said.
“…Y-yeah.”
“You’re not gonna take another look at it?”
“Oh… Maybe…I should. Yeah…”
“What is it anyway? Oh. It says it’s an exchange diary. ‘Potato Party’?”
“Well, uhhh… It’s sorta hard to explain…”
“I don’t really get it, but I’m happy for you, Lil Sou.” Yoh smiled at Sousei, then he stood up and teetered around nearby.
“Hm-hm-hmmm-hmmm,” he hummed as he moved about. It looked like he might have been dancing.
With his back to Sousei, Yoh gradually moved farther and farther away. Iori seemed to be reading. No other classmates were coming to talk to Sousei. They weren’t even looking at him. Even if they weren’t aware of the situation, Sousei’s actions had undoubtedly been quite peculiar, as Iori had pointed out. They might have been interested and keeping to themselves or deliberately ignoring him, but his classmates were all being considerate and feigning indifference.
Sousei opened the notebook again.