It was a completely ordinary statement.
“...I love you!”
It was a phrase that had been repeated more times than there were stars in the sky over the decades, the centuries, the millennia; the myriad of years. As a phrase, it was a line that most likely existed in all countries, regardless of race or creed.
“...Please go out with me!”
It was said on rainy streets.
Behind schools.
Under trees.
On street corners at night.
And even... in front of a café.
And yet, it was always sudden, and sent people into turmoil. Even if you expected it, or had some inkling it was coming, once those words were spoken in reality, the shock would assail all adolescents.
Kyouhei Nanbu was no exception.
He was a seventeen-year-old who sought ordinary normalcy. However, this time he didn’t need to be self-conscious about it. The impact that those words had as they stabbed into his mind naturally threw him for a loop—as it’d normally happen. He froze, in a completely ordinary, normal way.
“Kyouhei?” asked a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl curiously from next to him.
Her features were without flaw, and she looked almost like she was straight out of a fairy tale. She had snow-white skin, and eyes that sparkled like sapphires. Her golden hair seemed even smoother than silk. When she was standing there doing nothing on the street corner, her presence was out of this world, making it seem like someone was filming a take for a movie; otherworldliness just overflowed from her.
Pamil Terrill Karl Bergmann.
She had become Kyouhei’s sister due to certain circumstances. Of course, as you would surmise from their appearances, they weren’t at all related by blood.
Then...
“Um...” spoke another girl, standing opposite her, looking shyly up at Kyouhei.
She was adorable as well. She had her hair perfectly cut in a bob, and round glasses like the bottom of milk bottles. She had no affectations, and you could call her plain, but she exuded cuteness just as much. She probably just had a natural beauty to begin with. She had curvy cheeks and a straight chin. Her eyes were reserved and slightly downcast, bordered by soft eyelashes. It all came together to give her the look of a Japanese beauty.
Well, normally her gloomy hobbies made her oddness stand out more than her looks, but that wasn’t the case now. Her head was bowed, and she was trying to make herself appear smaller out of worry. Absolutely none of it made her look dreary at all... In fact, it made her look like an innocent girl inexperienced in love.
Her name was Sanae Murata.
She was a year behind Kyouhei, and was Pamil’s classmate.
However...
“S-Senpai,” she murmured.
“Ah...” He couldn’t speak.
Sanae looked at how he was acting and turned away, with her eyes watering. “I’m sorry!” she apologized, though he didn’t know what for.
The turmoil was still churning through Kyouhei, so he hadn’t understood properly, but he immediately reached out and grabbed her hand.
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Their gazes met.
“So,” came a voice from their side, its owner watching them both stand like statues, “go out to where?”
Her initial address had reminded the other two that she was there, and they immediately tensed up. Regardless of their reaction, though, Pamil was deadly serious as she asked her question.
“You mean... seriously? You know, um...” Kyouhei tried to get out.
“If she’s talking about the station, then get some ground beef on the way back,” Pamil said easily.
Kyouhei and Sanae exchanged glances at her scarily normal demand.
“Um, Pamil-san,” Kyouhei said, slipping into a politer form of address due to the shock, “do you know what she means by that?”
“Hmm?” Pamil wondered, cocking her head. “Is there something odd about it?”
“...Ah, well, no. Not... really.”
“I’ll stay here for a while. If it looks like it’ll take you a while, phone the Corvette, or home, and let me know.”
So saying, Pamil turned on her heels and re-entered the café, which they’d only just left.
The other two looked blankly at the door for several minutes.
“Umm, uh,” Kyouhei spoke.
The two of them went scarlet and looked away from each other.
● ● ●
For Kyouhei, Sanae’s confession was completely unprompted, an utter surprise, or a bolt from the blue.
Meanwhile, from Sanae’s perspective, it was of course a completely reasoned, not-at-all-sudden occurrence.
Sanae had been interested in Kyouhei for some time. There were many reasons why, but she’d fallen for him before Pamil showed up, and had stalked—or rather, had kept him under heavy observation since then.
Therefore, her confession would have inevitably become reality if something were to spur her from her cowardice.
Something small would have done it.
A single word.
A single act.
The first domino falling.
Your everyday life could easily fall apart from something like that...
“Her parents appeared?” asked one of Sanae’s few friends, Youko Minebe, in shock.
Her hair was in a ponytail, and she looked like an active girl. She would look right at home in a tank top, with a basketball under her arm. She was the exact opposite of Sanae, so much so you would wonder how they became friends.
Well, moving on.
“Are you sure?” She looked for confirmation from Sanae.
“Yeah... I didn’t get what was going on, but they looked similar... and she called them mother and father,” Sanae answered.
Youko hummed.
School had ended for the day, and they were in the classroom. The red sunlight filled the room. The relaxed atmosphere was almost deserted of students, the only two being Sanae and Youko.
“This is bad,” Youko concluded. “Her real parents showed up, and they even asked him to take care of her, right? That’s basically giving their blessing.”
Sanae’s expression stiffened. She’d seen it happen herself, but hearing it from Youko made her feel it even more clearly, regardless of the fact that she’d already realized that.
This had all happened on the prior Saturday.
As ever, Sanae had Kyouhei under heavy observation, and had seen everything; the ten foreigners that appeared with Kyouhei, and their outing to the zoo.