Living Normally In An Abnormal World - Chapter 18: The New School Year for Third-Year Students

Chapter 18: The New School Year for Third-Year Students

It was spring, and I was now a third-year student.

Today, I was setting up a tripod and preparing my camera. I was in serious mode today. I couldn’t afford to relax for even a moment because today was…

Yuuna’s entrance ceremony!

As Yuuna’s Nii-cha, I had to capture her brave figure with my own hands. Mana seemed to be taking pictures too, but since I was closer, I figured I could get better shots, so here I was.

I had the best seat in the house, right next to my teacher’s desk.

Hah, I’m glad I was born a man.

“Um, Yuuto-kun?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Why are you so tense today?”

“Today is my precious sister Yuuna’s entrance ceremony. Even though my mother is here, I want to take pictures of her too. I can’t let this opportunity slip away, as there are only four entrance ceremonies in a person’s life.”

“You really dote on her, huh?”

“It’s like a Family Complex.”

“Ah, I see. So, you love your mother too.”

“My mother is my pride. I have my current family, and because of them, I exist. There’s not even a one in a million chance that I would ever dislike them.”

“Hahaha, I’m envious of your mother and sister.”

“Well, for me, it’s just an ordinary thing… Hey, teacher, that’s Yuuna! That’s my sister, Yuuna! Isn’t she cute?!”

At that moment, the teacher thought to herself:

(Yuuto-kun… Right now, you look just like a father who dotes on his daughter.)

And so, the entrance ceremony proceeded.

‘Kinoshita Yuna-san’

“Yes!”

…What a good response.

‘Kisaragi Maho-san’

“Yes!”

“Teacher, please don’t call the next person so early right after Yuuna’s name is called. I can’t take any pictures like that.”

“Why are you making such unreasonable requests?”

 After the entrance ceremony, as we were moving to the classroom,

“Nii-cha~!”

Yuuna ran towards me, and I welcomed her with open arms.

“How was it?”

“You answered with a loud ‘yes’ when your name was called! I could hear it all the way over here!”

Yuuna dived into my chest, and I spun around with her in my arms.

“Ehehe~ I wanted Nii-cha and Mama to hear that!”

What a cute kid, I thought as I put her down.

“As always, Yuuto-kun, you’re so gentle when it comes to Yuuna.”

“But it’s heartwarming to see.”

“Indeed.”

Rina, Maria, and Asuka chimed in.

“I don’t deny that I’m soft when it comes to Yuuna.”

After all, she’s my precious sister, so it’s only natural.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Yiuna greeted the three of them.

“Good morning, Yuuna-chan!”

“Good morning, Yuuna-chan.”

“Yes, good morning, Yuuna-chan.”

The four of them seemed to be on good terms. Or rather,

Had they met Yuuna somewhere before?

However, instead of asking about that trivial question, I decided not to interrupt their conversation.

As the four of them were talking,

“Yuuna-cha~n!”

A girl with black hair in pigtails approached. The fact that she called Yuuna by her name suggested that they were friends.

“Geez! Sanae-chan!”

“Yuuna, it’s not nice to say ‘geez’ to your friend.”

“But…”

“No buts.”

“Yuuna-chan, you suddenly disappeared somewhere… Man!”

I see. From her reaction, it seemed like explaining about me would have been a hassle. She probably would have insisted on meeting me.

“Hmm, sorry, Yuuna. I was wrong.”

“Okay.”

“Ah… Ah, ah, ah, ah, I’m sorry. Umm, umm, umm, Yuuna-chan, I have something to ask you…”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Be, be, be, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble…”

Let’s calm these two down first.

“Now, now, calm down. Take a deep breath.”

“Huh, huh, huh, huh.”

That’s not it, this isn’t a Lamaze class. This isn’t an obstetrics and gynecology ward.

“Yuuna-chan, what’s going on?! Who is this handsome man and what’s your relationship with him?!”

At the same time, she grabbed Yuna’s shoulder and said,

“Are you going to break our BFF pact?!”

“What’s our BFF pact? I’ve never heard of it before?!”

“You traitor! I won’t forgive you, Yuuna!”

“No, no! This is my brother! My Nii-cha!”

“……Eh?”

“He’s my big brother.”

“Is this man your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Final answer?”

“Final answer.”

After asking Yuuna,

“Is that true?”

Sanae-chan? asked me.

“Yes, I am indeed Yuuna’s big brother, Kinoshita Yuto. Thank you for being friends with my sister, Yuuna.”

“Yuuna-chan, slap me! This must be a dream! It has to be!”

“No, this is reality.”

“There’s no way a man this nice could exist! This has to be a prank! Bring out the placards!”

“It’s time to wake up.”

Yuuna lightly slapped her.

“Ouch, can I ask for that man’s name again?”

“My name is Kinoshita Yuto. I’m always grateful to my sister, Yuuna.”

“It’s not a dream!”

What a funny and interesting girl.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Takahashi Sanae! Please forget about me if you want to! Please!”

“What?”

“Hug me or shake my hand!”

She was straightforward in asking for a hug.

“You definitely just want a hug, don’t you?”

“Yes! No, I don’t!”

What should I do? Well, she’s funny and cute, so it’s fine to hug her.

But from the four pairs of eyes staring at me, I felt a pressure that seemed to say, “There’s no way you’d actually hug her, right?” I decided to settle for a handshake.

“But I’m sorry, I’ll have to settle for a handshake.”

“No, I’m happy just to shake your hand!”

I extended my right hand, and Takahashi-san grasped it with both of hers.

“Your hand is so warm.”

“Nice to meet you, Takahashi-san.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

Maybe I shouldn’t have used “-san” for a younger girl. Or maybe it’s fine since I used to use “-san” for female coworkers when I worked part-time in my previous life… But using “-chan” would be too familiar.

“Ah, um, please call me Sanae!”

“Eh, um, that…”

It’s a bit much to call her by her name on our first meeting.

“Is it no good?”

She asked with teary eyes, so I couldn’t refuse.

“Nice to meet you, Sanae-chan.”

“Y-Yes! Ehehe.”

At that moment, the four girls who hadn’t been part of the conversation thought,

(Another flag has been raised right before our eyes.)

But then,

“There he is! Everyone, he’s over there!”

“Really?!”

“It’s Yuuto-kun!”

Dozens of girls gathered around, saying,

“We always hear about you from our older sisters! Please hug us or shake our hands!”

(Now I remember, flags are raised whether I like it or not.)

The four girls thought to themselves.

Surrounded by a group of familiar sisters, I reluctantly shook hands with them. After that,

“Are you Yuuto-kun?”

A group of parents gathered around and said,

“Can I take a picture with you?”

Shouldn’t it be your daughter that you would want to do so with?  It was the same last year’s entrance ceremony. But since they knew my name in advance, they must be fans. Well, there aren’t many other opportunities to take pictures, so…

“One photo per person, please.”

“Please line up in a row.”

“Please follow the order. There’s no need to rush, we can all take pictures together.”

……Before I could respond, Rina, Maria, and Asuka had already started preparing. Well, that’s to be expected since they did the same last year.

“Sorry, again this year.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s totally fine.”

“Don’t worry about it, it can’t be helped.”

After that, we took a lot of pictures.

After taking the pictures, we headed to the classroom. This year, Rina, Maria, and Asuka were in the same class again.

And so was Yanagida-san, who was still hiding and pointing her camera at me.

“Yo-ro-shi-ku-ne♪”

She mouthed the words to me.

Yeah, it’s scary when you say it directly like that. Can’t you just say it out loud?

“Kyaaahoooi! I’m your homeroom teacher again this year! Fate is on my side!”

The teacher, probably named Miki-sensei, struck a victory pose as she entered the classroom.

“Even though we’re in a new class, there are familiar faces and unmistakable faces, so it’ll be fine. Let’s do our best again this year!”

It seems like it’s going to be another fun year.

After school, as I parted ways with everyone and headed to the parking lot with Yuna,

“Did you enjoy your first day of school?”

“Hmm, it was okay. But when I got to my class, everyone kept asking me about Nii-cha.”

“……I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

“It’s fine! I told them everything openly!”

“Stop it!”

“……Can I go to school with you?”

“That seems difficult. If something happens, it would be a problem.”

If she were to be kidnapped, it would sadden the people around her even more. In the first place, if I didn’t go to school, there wouldn’t be a problem. But I don’t want to quit now.

“I see.”

“It’s okay, we can be together when we get home. Can you bear with it?”

“Yes!”

“Good girl.”

I patted Yuuna’s head. Yuuna leaned against me and held onto the arm that wasn’t patting her as we walked side by side.

“♪”

As I watched Yuuna with a happy smile on her face, we headed towards the car where Mana was waiting.