Uzuki’s Request

 

The day after Kinoshita-san had done a sort of one-on-one stake out to Power Recorder.

 

“Satsuki-senpai!”

 

It was lunchtime and I was on my way to the purchasing department when I heard someone call out to me.

 

I turned around at the sound of the voice and saw a girl running up to me at a high speed.

 

“Ah, Uzu…”

 

Just as I was about to raise my right hand to greet her.

 

“Heyaaa!”

 

“Bwahhh!”

 

Uzuki-chan rammed her way into my bare body at full speed. Her shoulder hit my crotch, and I fainted in agony.

 

What a bizarre attack, what a strange first contact to have!

 

“Satsuki-senpai! You’re free right now, aren’t you?”

 

“Hi… not that I’m not busy, but… What’s up?”

 

I answer, rubbing my tackled belly. If it was after lunch had ended, I’m sure I would have thrown up…

 

“So you’re not busy? Then let’s go!”

 

Uzuki-chan, oblivious to the others around us, entwines her hands around my right arm.

 

“Wa-wa-wa! Wait a minute!”

 

“I’m not waiting!”

 

She forcefully pulls me along with her, drawing attention to ourselves in the hallway during the lunch break.

 

This is the second time we have met, but this familiarity and distance…! I was taken to the piloti on the first floor of the school building.

 

It was cloudy and chilly today, and even though it was lunchtime, there was no one seated on the benches.

 

I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know if I could take her with me or not.

 

She was shorter than Kinoshita-san, and her blouse was unbuttoned at the neck-end, and her school uniform was well worn. Her skirt seems shorter than the last time I saw her. She should be a first-year student who just entered the school, but her power as a high school girl has already increased even further.

 

It really makes me think that this blushing Uzuki-chan isn’t an agent at all.

 

“What’s wrong, Uzuki-chan?”

 

“I have a favor to ask of you!”

 

Uzuki-chan folds her hands behind her waist and looks up at me.

 

Her bangs shifted, revealing a glimpse of her cute forehead.

 

“Oh, me?”

 

“Yes! You, Satsuki-senpai!”

 

I don’t feel like I can say no to anything she asks me to do, given her energy and the way she looks me in the eye like that.

 

“What do you mean by ‘a favor’?” 

 

“I don’t know if I should call it a favor or a suggestion actually.” 

 

“Actually, it’s… Put your ear over here!”

 

She put her hand to the side of her mouth and suddenly lowered her voice as if she was talking with someone secretly.

 

I bend down and tenderly offer her my ear, and she pulls her face close to mine.

 

“It’s about my sister.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Uzuki-chan’s request. It was about Kinoshita-san it seems.

 

“Ki-Kinoshita-san?”

 

I thought I had returned the message calmly, but my voice had flipped a little.

 

“No, I can’t talk about it here. You’re free after school today, right, of course?”

 

Uzuki-chan continues to speak softly with seriousness in her eyes.

 

Apparently, she thinks I’m a guy who’s always busy. I’m actually a guy with a lot of free time on his hands.

 

“I have some… free time, I guess?”

 

“Then please go out with me after school. I’ll give you the details then!”

 

“I said I’ll go with you…”

 

Yesterday after school I was with the older sister, and today I’ll be hanging out with the younger sister.

 

“I’ll be waiting for you just outside the shoe box! Oh, be sure to come carefully, so that my sister doesn’t spot you. It’ll be a lot of trouble if she notices you. Goodbye!”

 

All I could do was watch Uzuki-chan leave with her hair bouncing about as she struck a quick bow and ran off.

 

In the end, while I was being ambushed by Uzuki-chan, the bread in the store had sold out, and I was left without having my lunch.

 

As I stumbled my way back to class, the damage from the tackle and the conversation I had just had hit me hard on my stomach.

 

A request about Kinoshita-san?

 

“But why me?”

 

As I was walking through the school building at lunchtime, lost in thought, I saw a familiar figure coming from across the hallway.

 

That presence and aura, clearly visible even from quite a distance, made me stop in my tracks.

 

“Kinoshita-san…”

 

I can’t believe I ran into her immediately after meeting with Uzuki-chan during my lunch break. I struggle to switch my atmosphere.

 

When she finally got close enough to hear my voice, Kinoshita-san stopped, while paying attention to her surroundings.

 

“…What is it?”

 

Without changing her expression, she responds back in a calm and composed manner.

 

Her cheeks were flushed, and her gaze is going about here and there, it’s just on the edge of glaring at me and also not at the same time. It must be some kind of reflex action when she sees me. I wonder if this is intentional, Kinoshita-san?

 

“Oh, no, nothing…?”

 

I choke on my words at the sudden encounter with her.

 

Yesterday’s events were still gripping me tightly.

 

I remember I had been upset because I remembered what happened at the festival.

 

Then, it was Kinoshita-san who broke the silence between us.

 

“Um, I think I disturbed you yesterday.”

 

Kinoshita-san’s eyes were downcast while she brushed her hair over her ears. Her long eyelashes seem to bend downwards.

 

I’m the one who made you come along though…

 

I touch my hair to hide my nervousness as she unexpectedly speaks to me.

 

It was my fault for following Kinoshita-san. I wonder if she is no longer suspicious of me? We are careful not to touch each other’s confidential details after all.

 

“Oh, yes. The CD you recommended yesterday; I looked it up on the Internet and listened to it…”

 

“Eh, no bra?”

 

“Uhm, yes… That.”

 

Perhaps embarrassed to mention the abbreviation verbally, Kinoshita-san pauses her mouth briefly.

 

When I returned home, I found that my sister Sanae had already bought a CD by  Northern Brand, so we now had two copies of the exact same CD in our house. Of course, I couldn’t claim the money from Sanae after that, and she took the bonus clear file away from me.

 

“I’ll lend you the CD if you like!”

 

“Um, thank you. Well then, see you”

 

Kinoshita-san walked right past me.

 

For some reason, I felt like I was having a real conversation with her for the first time.

 

This morning, Kinoshita-san greeted me again, and I wondered if this might mean that she had forgiven me a little.

 

Knowing Kinoshita-san’s true feelings, it has been difficult for me to approach her, but I am happy that we can have a normal conversation like this from time to time.

 

“I wonder if Kinoshita-san has had a change of heart…?”

 

Maybe that has something to do with Uzuki-chan’s favor later today?

 

When I looked back, Kinoshita-san was already gone. 

 

She was gone like the wind, without a single footstep echoing out loud, as usual.

 

After school.

 

Kinoshita-san was the first to leave the classroom after SHR. (TLN: There’s like tons of stuff with the acronym SHR out there, maybe School Home Room?)

 

I was thinking about how to avoid being noticed by Kinoshita-san since I was about to meet up with Uzuki-chan, but it seems like my fears were unnecessary.

 

During the afternoon class, I kept thinking about what Uzuki-chan was going to ask me to do.

 

I know a lot about the Kinoshita sisters through my psychometry, but Uzuki-chan has no way of knowing about that. 

 

She just happened to see me the other day, and she probably thinks of me as just a friend.

 

Isn’t it strange that she wanted to talk to me though?

 

Being invited by Uzuki-chan at this point in time is not a very positive thing.

 

It’s not like she’s going to say, “If you mess with my sister, I’ll kill you,” or something like that, right?

 

I would derive the possibility of blackmail in the name of asking for a favor. No, I would be happy if it ended in blackmail actually.

 

The sisters are agents, after all. They must have many identities that they don’t want me to know about.

 

I wonder if Uzuki-chan has found out that I know that the Kinoshita family are agents. And they are trying to make me disappear to protect the family’s secret…?

 

“Hey, Satsuki. Aren’t you going home now?”

 

As the word “assassination” came to mind and began giving me the chills, Mayama spoke to me.

 

“I don’t want to go home anymore…”

 

“What’s up with that? Well whatever. See you.”

 

Mayama, completely oblivious to the danger to my life, quickly left the classroom. He’s such a heartless man. Even though a friend of his is suffering so much over here!

 

No, there’s no way I can even talk to Mayama about this kind of thing. The problem is that it’s a secret that only I know about.

 

Sitting at my desk in the classroom, I close my eyes and suffer in anguish. I never thought that I would be so troubled by the fact that my classmate is an agent.

 

An agent would have no trouble erasing a person who knows about their secret. They’ll take me to a warehouse or something in the harbor and dump me straight into the ocean. Am I going to disappear with the red tide in the Seto Inland Sea?

 

I don’t want to end up like a supporting character dying early in a crappy B-movie! (TLN: more like crappy Bee movie am i right, k i’ll leave)

 

“Satsuki-senpai!”

 

“Gahh!”

 

Suddenly a voice calls out to me, and I almost flip over from my chair.

 

I manage to grab onto the desk and look up toward the voice.

 

“It was getting late, so I came to get you. I’ve been thinking about you all day. What’s going on?”

 

It wasn’t the assassin… but Uzuki-chan was looking down at me with a smiling face and the same vivid smile she had shown me earlier.

 

Was she unaware of the cause of my problems, or was she smiling despite knowing all that?

 

“U-Uzuki-chan.. Oh, no, I was just about to go to…”

 

As I reposition myself so that the other party doesn’t realize that I was a bit suspicious of them being an agent, I notice that I’m getting a lot of attention from my classmates altogether.

 

“Who’s that girl?”

 

“Looks like a freshman. She knows about Fukase?”

 

“Where would he go after school with a girl that cute? I smell a crime!” 

 

It’s not what you think!

 

I’m rather freaked out by the smell of crime in a completely different way. 

 

I’m about to get erased, remember?

 

But it’s no wonder the class is buzzing currently. I always hang out with boys like Mayama, but here was this cute underclassman who came and greeted me.

 

But how should I explain this situation? Introducing her as. Kinoshita-san’s younger sister seems like a bad idea.

 

If it were known that Kinoshita-san has a younger sister, she would surely be the center of attention tomorrow onwards. This would be the situation that Kinoshita-san hates the most.

 

Even if it were just a matter of time, the gap between the two sisters would attract attention. And she would be staring at me again. This much is certain.

 

As I was pondering about what to do, Uzuki-chan stepped out in front of me.

 

“I’m Uzuki Kinoshita, Yayoi Kinoshita’s younger sister. Everyone, my sister is in your care!”

 

Uzuki-chan began to introduce herself, bowing her head in various directions.

 

At this, my classmates looked at each other in surprise.

 

“Really, Kinoshita-san’s…?’

 

A nearby girl comes up to her, looking at Uzuki-chan seriously.

 

“Yes, I am! Please take care of my sister!”

 

While the classroom was stunned by the gap between the Kinoshita sisters, Uzuki-chan was the only one who repeatedly greeted them with a charming smile. This is the natural sunny side of Uzuki.

 

I mean, is this all right? Isn’t your sister going to be mad at you?

 

As I was fumbling around, she grabbed my bag.

 

“Let’s go, Satsuki-senpai!” 

 

“Thank you all for your hard work!”

 

“Uh, oh, yes…”

 

She pulled my bag with a yank and I was forcibly led out of the classroom.

 

I finally settled down after a short run down the hallway and onto the escalator.

 

“Hey, Uzuki-chan. Are you okay?”

 

Those words included my concern for Kinoshita-san and, of course, my personal safety.

 

“As a little sister, I should at least say hello to everyone. She’s the one who’s out of place in class anyways, isn’t she?”

 

I raised my eyebrows as I folded my hands behind my hips and saw nothing wrong with her words.

 

She seemed to know all about her sister’s situation in class.

 

“Then it’s too much to ask that…”

 

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. She’s a very caring sister.”

 

Uzuki looks away a little after saying that.

 

She doesn’t seem to be making fun of Kinoshita-san, although the relationship between the sisters is still hard for me to grasp. She was probably acting that way on purpose, whilst thinking of her sister. 

 

There is a fine line between meddling and being considerate of them.

 

I changed my shoes at the shoe locker and walked out of the school gate, with Hiroshima Castle towering in front of me across the moat.

 

“This way, this way!”

 

I silently follow Uzuki-chan as she starts walking in the opposite direction of the station, having no idea where we were headed.

 

Seriously, I have a faint fear in my mind that I might be taken to the harbor and get disposed of quietly.

 

I don’t think that the kind and sisterly Uzuki-chan would do that, but she is an agent, so she might keep her business and private life completely separate…”

 

“By the way, what’s your request? You said it was about Kinoshita-san, right?”

 

I couldn’t stand still and so I asked Uzuki-chan, who was walking ahead of me, what she wanted of me.

 

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Right, please tell me about Otomachi High School, okay? You seem to have a lot of friends, don’t you, Satsuki-senpai? Are you enjoying your high school life?”

 

Uzuki-chan starts to ask various questions as if to silence my hesitation.

 

“I don’t have that many friends.”

 

“You’re so shy. You don’t have a girlfriend?”

 

“I don’t have a girlfriend, but…”

 

“Really? Good news, good news!”

 

Uzuki-chan claps her hands in excitement. What does that mean…?

 

“How about you, Uzuki-chan? Are you enjoying being a high school student?”

 

It’s hard for me to be bombarded with questions like this, so I ask her back in self-defense.

 

“Me? I’m having a lot of fun so far! I feel like I’m finally a high school girl!”

 

Uzuki-chan turns to me and spreads the skirt of her school uniform to show off her dress. My gaze was drawn towards the glimpse of her thighs. (TLN: No comments)

 

“I’m Kinoshita-san’s little sister, so don’t even think about it!”

 

“Ack! it’s good that you are having fun.”

 

“Isn’t it fun for you too, Satsuki-senpai?”

 

When I give back an ambiguous response, she immediately cuts me off.

 

“No, I’m not saying that…”

 

“If you don’t have fun, you’re missing out. If you don’t do what you want to do, your high school will be over before you know it, right?”

 

“Yes, that’s right…”

 

I manage to raise the corners of my mouth and show my composure as an upperclassman. I can’t let Uzuki-chan, who just entered the school, tell me off about my high school life.

 

“So, what’s your request?”

 

In an attempt to rewind back, I forced myself to get back on track.

 

I’m not like Kinoshita-san, but I feel exhausted talking with Uzuki-chan. It’s as if she’s looking straight into my mind.

 

“Well. It’s about my sister. Satsuki-senpai, have you noticed anything about her?”

 

With a snap of her fingers, things finally got down to business, but then she started to say something cryptic.

 

I stopped in my tracks.

 

 “Noticed what…?”

 

I let out a choked voice.

 

“You two are in the same class, did you notice anything strange about her?”

 

She looks me carefully up and down, and I let my gaze wander off into the sky to cover it up.

 

I’m sure she’s talking about her job as an agent?

 

Is she playing a trick on me to get rid of me now that I know the Kinoshita family’s secret?

 

Unwanted thoughts run through my mind.

 

If this aggressive attitude of Uzuki-chan’s is a trap to get me to let my guard down, then I’m in trouble. Was the thigh glimpse I saw earlier also a honey trap?

 

What am I supposed to do? If I don’t keep my mind steady, I’m definitely going to faint.

 

“Are you okay, Satsuki-senpai?”

 

I froze up, but Uzuki-chan was coming on to me.

 

I clutch my left hand tightly in my pocket. My palms were drenched in sweat.

 

“No, I didn’t notice anything special but…”

 

Of course I’m aware of it, but how can I tell the truth to her?

 

I know too much. I know too much about Kinoshita-san, thanks to the psychometric abilities of my left hand.

 

“…I see. Sis, I thought she was only different whenever she was with Satsuki-senpai.”

 

Uzuki-chan, her shoulders slumped as if she had lost her mind, as she mumbled ruefully.

 

“…Eh, what do you mean?’

 

“Sis, she’s always alone at school, right?”

 

The tone of Uzuki’s voice had dropped down a notch.

 

“Being alone… Yes, that’s true…”

 

“She’s just pushing herself too hard.”

 

“Pushing herself? Kinoshita-san?”

 

Uzuki-chan nodded her head in a small way and blinked her eyes as she did so.

 

The story is taking a completely different turn from what I had expected.

 

You’re not suspecting me, are you? Aren’t you trying to make me disappear from this world?

 

“Sis, she has always been alone at school ever since junior high school. She doesn’t make friends and intentionally keeps other people away from her.”

 

In response to my question, Uzuki started to up her pace as if she were searching for words to describe something.

 

What she’s saying about Kinoshita-san is true. After all, she does have a “stay away from me” kind of aura emanating from her.

 

“But that’s…”

 

I almost said, ‘That’s because she tries to act alone to make it easier for the agents to do their work,’ but I swallowed my words.

 

I have to pretend that I don’t know anything.

 

“No, Kinoshita-san, why would she do that?”

 

“That’s because, well, circumstances…”

 

I was not sure what to say, but I had to pretend I didn’t know anything.

 

The circumstances are obviously about her work as an agent, but I can’t pursue the matter any further.

 

“My big sister at school isn’t really my big sister. I want her to be more friendly with everyone, but she’s just not honest, so she’s like that…”

 

Uzuki’s words, “really my big sister,” were stuck in my mind.

 

The back of Uzuki walking in front of me, I can see through her thoughts. She’s not acting as an agent right now, but as a caring sister.

 

For a while, I couldn’t find the words to say to her, so we walked at a leisurely pace.

 

We were walking in the direction of a residential area without even knowing where we were going.

 

“Satsuki-senpai!”

 

Then, as if she were motivated, 

 

Uzuki-chan turned around and called my name.

 

“Y-Yes!”

 

I was so careless that I thought I was no longer in danger of being assassinated that I almost bumped into her and responded reflexively.

 

Uzuki-chan stared at me, her mouth slightly twisted. Her eyes were strong and determined.

 

“What do you think about my sister?”

 

“Wh-What do you mean…?

 

“You don’t dislike her, do you?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t hate her, but…”

 

“She is beautiful, isn’t she? Unlike me, she’s tall and beautiful with pretty long hair.”

 

“W-Well…”

 

Her pure eyes were staring straight at me and her straightforward question left me at a loss for words.

 

What’s with all this angry sissy appeal?

 

“The last time she was with Satsuki-senpai, she seemed to be having a good time, wasn’t she?”

 

“That time, she was just one-sidedly pissed off…”

 

That time was when we were working together after school. I tried to make conversation with her, but Kinoshita-san just ignored me and glared at me, and I was dispirited by that…

 

“That’s not true. That day, when she came back home, she was so excited that she ate dog food by accident.”

 

“Do-Dog food?”

 

Did Kinoshita-san get carried away and eat dog food by mistake?

 

I can’t tell if that was a joke or the truth.

 

“She has never been alone with a boy like that before, working together after school. Not a single time.”

 

I think this is something Kinoshita has consciously kept in mind as an agent. She doesn’t make friends and stays alone all the time because that’s her job as a professional.

 

“I think she accepted the job because she was going to be with Satsuki-senpai”.

 

“Oh, it was due to me?”

 

Uzuki nodded heavily.

 

I remember the first time I met Kinoshita-san. On the day of the school festival, I heard that voice in her mind when our hands touched.

 

‘Satsuki-kun, you’re so cool.’

 

I was sure she was thinking of me. (TLN: No shit)

 

In the middle of a quiet residential area, I just held my breath so that no one could hear my heartbeat.

 

“I think Satsuki-senpai can open my sister’s heart.”

 

“Kinoshita-san’s… open her heart…?”

 

Uzuki crackled and blinked, looking a little lost.

 

“…Yes. Currently, Sis is closing her heart from everyone. She’s been pushing herself all the time, and she’s definitely not having fun being like that…”

 

Uzuki’s voice is getting quieter as she continues on.

 

“I’m not sure if that’s what you mean but, do you want Kinoshita-san to be able to blend in with the class?”

 

“There’s that too… I’d like her to do what she really wants to do.”

 

“What she really wants to do…?”

 

I repeat the words back like an idiot.

 

“I know she can’t do what she truly wants to do and so she’s always holding herself back. I’m sure that in front of Satsuki-senpai, she can be honest with herself. Because you’re…”

 

Uzuki-chan bowed her head and said nothing more, or perhaps she couldn’t say anything else. She seemed to be silently pleading something to me.

 

Is her job as an agent the reason she’s always alone, but is she actually holding herself back because there is something else she really wants to do? Is the real Kinoshita-san not the real Kinoshita-san I know of right now…?”

 

Uzuki-chan is also trying her best to communicate with me, despite the fact that there are things that she can’t say about her.

 

As I stitch together the pieces of her words, I reach a conclusion.

 

Kinoshita-san, doesn’t want to be an agent?

 

“But how can I…?”

 

Even if she doesn’t want to be an agent, is there anything I can do to help her out? Knowing Kinoshita-san’s secret, that exact secret is getting in the way right now.

 

“Um, don’t think too hard. I want you to be more friendly with my sister. If you don’t mind, Satsuki-senpai, then…”

 

“Of course I don’t dislike it! But being more friendly with Kinoshita-san is…”

 

Of course I want to get along with her. I know what Kinoshita-san is really thinking, so it’s a match I wouldn’t normally lose.

 

But that’s not the case here. The unique situation of her being an agent is getting in the way of me helping her out.

 

Kinoshita-san is trying so hard to be an agent that she always acts extremely salty toward me as a result. 

 

Even if I tried to be friendly with her, I don’t think she would go easy on me in the slightest.

 

The face of Kinoshita-san that suddenly pops into my mind is always staring at me. The faintly reddening of her cheeks is my only hope, but the light of hope is too small at present.

 

“I’ll be right behind you two, too!” 

 

“They say you should never be in a hurry to fall in love, but I don’t think you’ll be hurt if you walk too fast in this situation.”

 

Uzuki-chan clenches both her fists tightly and says something both sweet and sour.

 

“No, love is…”

 

I was too embarrassed to go further into it, so I stopped talking.

 

I wonder how much Uzuki-chan is aware of this?

 

She is such a charming first-year student, but she is also an agent. It’s hard to take her words at face value, and so I ended up searching behind her words.

 

However, I think I can avoid being dumped into the Seto Inland Sea after being stuffed into concrete today.

 

“So, this was my request. Please take good care of my sister from now on!”

 

Uzuki-chan bowed politely with both hands in front of her body.

 

“No, it’s my pleasure.”

 

I’m not sure what the significance is, but I bowed back to her as well.

 

We smiled at each other, amused by this strange scene in a quiet residential neighborhood.

 

I am certain that Kinoshita-san likes me, and Uzuki-chan seems to be aware of her sister’s feelings as well.

 

In addition, she has declared that she will support Kinoshita-san, so that she can do what she wants to do, and what she wants to do is to… that is, get together with me?

 

No-no-no, what does that mean?!

 

“By the way, would you like to come by our house?”

 

“What? Your… Your house?”

 

“Yes, our house.”

 

Uzuki raised her right hand and pointed towards a house. It was a stylish two-story house with white walls.

 

“Is this your house?”

 

That is to say, it was also Kinoshita-san’s house. It was no surprise since they’re both sisters.

 

Before we knew it, we were in front of Kinoshita-san’s house.

 

It never occurred to me that Kinoshita-san’s house was within walking distance from the school.

 

“I think my sister is probably home too. Since we’ve come all this way, shall we go and see her?”

 

Uzuki-chan nodded her head, as if enjoying the surprise she put onto me.

 

“No-no, I’ll get in trouble if you do that!”

 

Of course, it was Kinoshita-san who would be upset.

 

I wave my hands and instinctively back away from her.

 

“Why doesn’t she make a move on Satsuki-senpai’s as soon as possible? They say love acts quite fast.”

 

“What did you just say? Uzuki-chan?”

 

I thought you said that love was never rushed.

 

“What on earth do you expect from me and Kinoshita-san, Uzuki-chan?”

 

“I think my sister would be thrilled, wouldn’t you be too?”

 

Looking up at the second floor of her home, Uzuki-chan murmurs disappointingly.

 

No, you’d definitely get a kick out of that, wouldn’t you?

 

If she knew that I had suddenly appeared at their house, she would definitely have stared at me like an Asura.

 

“I’m going to leave here. Bye.”

 

But there was no doubt that she was inwardly interested in us meeting each other. This is Kinoshita-san’s house, and it’s also the house where the agent’s family lives. I wonder if there are any hidden doors or tricks present here?

 

“I’m sorry to hear that, but thank you for your time today.”

 

Uzuki did not seem to want to hold back any longer.

 

It’s hard to judge what she’s actually saying and what’s a joke from her mouth…

 

I was about to turn around to go back the way I came from.

 

“Uzuki, are you home?”

 

I was messing around in front of the house when the front door suddenly opened. The voice coming from there made me and Uzuki-chan turn around at the same time.

 

“Ki-Kinoshita-san…”

 

At the entrance stood Kinoshita-san.

 

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing a black top and bottom jersey. 

 

She was holding a small black dog on her chest.

 

It was the first time I had seen Kinoshita-san without her uniform, and it was a refreshing look, but I didn’t have time to take in the feeling right now.

 

 

Kinoshita-san was staring at me silently, as if she had just seen a ghost.

 

“Oh, sis! I’m home.”

 

Uzuki waved her hand in a cheerful voice as her sister greeted her.

 

At the same time, the dog jumped out of Kinoshita-san’s arms, who froze, and ran to 

 

Uzuki-chan’s feet.

 

“Eh? Ehhhh? Why…?”

 

Kinoshita-san stares at me in front of her house. She looked at me not once, but twice.

 

 “Um… I’m home. I mean, hi, long time no see?”

 

I was confused. We had met in the classroom just a few minutes ago, but I didn’t expect to see her again so soon.

 

“Why is Fukase-kun at our house? What’s the meaning of this?”

 

Kinoshita-san, who recognized my face, was clearly upset, unable to grasp the situation.

 

“Kinoshita-san! Um, Uzuki-chan…”

 

“Oh yeah, I was just about to leave when I ran into him! It just so happened that we decided to go home together!

 

Uzuki-chan interrupts my words and tries to put up a good front instead.

 

“Why are you going home with him? Why is he coming to our house?”

 

Unsettled, Kinoshita-san glares at me repeatedly.

 

I knew she was pissed at me! That sucks!

 

“Well, what are you going to do about it? Do you want to ask Satsuki-senpai to come up?”

 

“What are you talking about? I’m going to go change!”

 

With that said, Kinoshita-san ran up the stairs in embarrassment, perhaps realizing that she was still in her jersey.

 

The dog held by Uzuki-chan was also frightened, making a pathetic “kuun” sound.

 

“Hey, didn’t she look happy to see you?”

 

Pointing at Kinoshita-san back at the house, Uzuki-chan smiles wickedly.

 

“What part of her looked happy to you? She was seriously pissed off, right?”

 

“She’s embarrassed that you saw her in her loungewear. Isn’t that kind of thing cute?”

 

I couldn’t respond back in any way and so I returned a drawn-out smile.

 

It’s now Uzuki-chan’s turn all the way. Please don’t agitate her any further!

 

“I’m leaving while I still can.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. Oh, here’s Japii. Please give him a hug.”

 

While I waited for Kinoshita-san to return, Uzuki-chan forcibly handed me the dog, Japii.

 

“Cu-Cute”

 

“Strange name, isn’t it? My sister named him.”

 

I petted Japii’s head and her tail wagged in the air. Unlike his owner, he’s a very friendly dog.

 

However, having the dog in my hands, I couldn’t go home. Had Uzuki-chan anticipated this? 

 

What a schemer! I’m being rolled in the palm of Uzuki-chan’s hand!

 

“By the way, this is what I was talking to you about earlier.”

 

I put my index finger in front of my mouth.

 

I closed my mouth tightly and nodded my head again and again. Japii looked at me and barked a single “arff!”

 

In the meantime, the front door opened again and Kinoshita-san had returned.

 

For some reason, she was dressed in her school uniform.

 

‘Why are you changing into your uniform again?”

 

“It doesn’t matter. Uzuki, can you explain this to me?”

 

Kinoshita-san stared straight at me while talking to Uzuki-chan.

 

What am I supposed to do? I was here completely uninvited, wasn’t I?

 

“Since he’s come all this way, don’t get mad at him. Please come in. There’s cake in the fridge, please come in and have a break.”

 

Uzuki was trying to get me to come over to her house.

 

“That’s my cake!”

 

“I don’t care, it’s just one cake. Satsuki-senpai is a guest. Right?”

 

“Why are you being so unreasonable…!”

 

Uzuki-chan winks at me, but an endless glare comes at me from the other side. The sisters’ attitude is so gruesome! Just when I thought I was having a tropical vacation, I could feel the tundra blowing right next to me!

 

“Kinoshita-san! I’m leaving. It’s not your fault, okay?”

 

While protecting Uzuki-chan, all I could do was leave the place as fast as I could.

 

“Oh, my god, Sis. Satsuki-senpai is going home. Do you really want him to leave?”

 

“So what? Totally… mou~~!“

 

Kinoshita-san was standing with her arms crossed. 

 

I had come to this house without her knowledge or consent, so it was only natural that she would lose her temper. The two sisters were now fighting without any honor and dignity.

 

“Uhm, well then, I’ll take my leave.”

 

I was about to give Japii back to Uzuki-chan when he suddenly popped out of my arms.

 

“Ah!”

We both shouted at the same time.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Japii was wearing a collar but not a leash. Japii landed on the road, and with the three of us panicking, he wagged his tail with a look that said, 

 

He could have run away at any time.

 

“Japii, come here!”

 

Kinoshita-san also came out of the doorway and called out to Japii.

 

I felt responsible for letting her escape from my arms, so I slowly approached Japii.

 

Surrounded by the three of us, Japii seems to have sensed the atmosphere and looks around at us with his tail perked up. 

 

Then he kicked his hind legs and tried to escape from in between me and Kinoshita-san.

 

“Satsuki-senpai!”

 

Uzuki-chan shouted and I jumped on Japii who was trying to escape from us.

 

Kinoshita-san’s hand reached out from the other side, but I caught Japii as I covered him.

 

“We did it…”

 

I held Japii’s fluffy body firmly with both my hands so that he wouldn’t escape this time.

 

“Satsuki-senpai, niceu~!”

 

“I’m sorry, Uzuki-chan. I was careless.”

 

If I had let him go, Kinoshita-san would have glared at me again. I glanced at her face and saw…

 

Either way, she was still staring at me.

 

“Well, I’m really leaving now. I’m sorry, Kinoshita-san.”

 

“Don’t let him get away this time, okay?”

 

I was about to hand Japii to Kinoshita-san when suddenly…

 

My left hand touched Kinoshita-san’s hand on the fluffy Japii’s back.

 

“Ah.”

 

Psychometry never misses a single moment, does it. Regardless of my intentions.

 

‘Why do you call Uzuki by her name, but me Kinoshita-san!’

 

Eh, are you mad, is that it?

 

When I was puzzled, she snatched Japii away from me, and I looked at Kinoshita-san’s face.

 

Is she mad or jealous?

 

Perhaps it’s jealousy. I sure hope it is.

 

Kinoshita-san… no, Yayoi-chan, instantly glared at me with a grimace.

 

I don’t think I can call her Yayoi-chan under these circumstances, so from now on, I’ll call her that secretly inside my mind.

 

“No, nothing. I’m sorry to bother you!”

 

I ran out in front of the Kinoshita house as if to escape from both of them.

 

“Satsuki-senpai, please come again!”

 

I had a feeling that I would never come back here again.

 

My stay here only lasted a couple of minutes. My first time in front of the Kinoshita family house was as fast as a roller coaster ride.

 

Under the sunset, I was back in front of Otomachi High School. I had no idea that Yayoi-chan’s house was so close by. As expected of an agent’s family, they live in a really nice place.

 

Putting aside the fact that I had psychometricized Yayoi-chan, Uzuki-chan asked me to do something for her.

 

‘I want you to open your heart to my sister.’

 

I was shocked. The Yayoi-chan I had seen at school was not the real Yayoi-chan this whole while.

 

The Yayoi-chan who’s always alone, closed-minded, and giving up on things she wants to do because she’s an agent.

 

How can she not get along with anyone in class because of her agent job?

 

My heart aches when I think about how Yayoi-chan feels. If I could help her out, I definitely would.

 

“But what should I do…?”

 

I look up at the sky and the beautiful sunset casts a long shadow on my back. I am sure that somewhere in this red sky, the moon is also floating somewhere in the skyline.

 

Just like the moon in the daytime, the real Yayoi-chan is not visible right now.

 

Can I shine a light on her? 

 

Can I find the real Yayoi-chan that’s hidden behind her facade?

 

What I can really do for her is…

 

https://ko-fi.com/spynine01

 

TL: “”

ED: Spynine01