CH 28

Chapter 28: Banishment

Translated by Dawn

Chapter 28: Banishment/Exile

“Ah. I forgot to buy notebooks.”

Perhaps it was because I had been studying hard on my own since the first semester’s final exam, as a student should, that I realized at night that I had run out of notebooks. It was after nine o’clock. If it was later in the day, I would have no hesitation in going to the convenience store. I would also restock with snacks and juices. By the way, there was no choice but to put it off until tomorrow, because I had plans with Kazemiya.

“…Ok. Let’s go buy some quick stuff.”

I grabbed my wallet and phone and quickly walked out into the hallway and suddenly….stopped in my tracks.

After about ten seconds of pondering, I knocked on the door to the room across the hall.

“Kotomi. It’s me.”

“…Nii-san?”

The sound of footsteps could be heard, and the door opened.

She was a little smaller than average, with long hair that reached her waist. She had a beautiful, doll-like face. She was already rumored to be the most beautiful girl among the first-year students because of her neat and elegant behavior.

Tsujikawa Kotomi. She was my new family member, having just started high school this spring and becoming my step-sister this spring. She was the daughter of my father, who is now the daughter of my mother’s second marriage and, well, with whom I bumped into a lot of problems during the first semester.

Now that we had put our problems behind us, we had started our relationship as “brother” and “sister” to each other, albeit a little awkwardly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to the convenience store now, so if there’s anything you want, I’ll buy it for you.”

Kotomi seemed to understand why I had come to visit her room, and after a moment of thought, she shook her head.

“Thank you. I don’t have any.”

“I see.”

As someone who suddenly had a step-sister who was close to my age, I was at a loss as to how to treat her, apart from the incident we had bumped into in the first semester. Even though we were both members of the same “Tsujikawa family” on the family register, we were strangers to each other until a short while ago. If they were of the same sex, it was fine, but if they were of the opposite sex, there would be many things to be concerned about.

“You are going to see a movie tomorrow with Kazemiya-senpai, right?”

“Hm? Yes, that’s the plan.”

“……”

Kotomi began to stare at my clothes from top to bottom.

I was dressed quite casually because I was just going to a convenience store to do some shopping. It was a little embarrassing to be stared at, even by family members.

“Tomorrow, please get up early, give yourself plenty of time, and make sure you are properly dressed. If getting up early isn’t your thing, I can wake you up.”

“Y-yeah…I’ve been planning to do that since the beginning, but……”

“Also, when you meet up with Kazemiya-senpai, the first thing you should do is compliment her on her attire. I’m sure she’s going to be very enthusiastic about getting dressed up. If she has arranged her hair, please compliment her on that, too.”

“I-I’ll do my best.”

“Absolutely. There can be no comment.”

In the first place, I didn’t have the leeway to make a retort about how I knew that Kazemiya was going to be enthusiastic and dressed up.

“O-okay…”

“And I heard it’ll be raining tomorrow. You might want to bring an umbrella just in case.”

“I-I’ll do that.”

“Then, take care. Even though it’s a nearby convenience store, it’s nighttime, so be careful.”

“I-I’ll be careful.”

After leaving me all the advice she could, Kotomi returned to her room with a sense of satisfaction, as if she had accomplished her mission.

“Little sister…I don’t get it.”

If you had a reference book or something on how to deal with a step-sister who was close to your age, maybe someone could sell it to me…….

***

As I was sitting on the sofa, looking at the TV screen, the program that was playing ended and switched to commercials.

“This is……the one I’m going to see tomorrow with Narumi.”

The next thing that appeared on the screen was a commercial advertising a movie that had just recently been released and was already attracting a record number of viewers. The novel on which the movie was based was also highly acclaimed, and I had seen a lot of buzz about it on social networking sites.

The reason why we decided to go see this movie was that Narumi’s mom got a ticket from an acquaintance and it was passed on to Narumi.

Two tickets. It didn’t have to be with me. He could have invited his childhood friend Inumaki, but he invited me. I was so happy about that fact.

“A movie with a boy alone is like a……date, isn’t it?”

……Well. I guess I was the only one who thought it was a date.

I knew that Narumi thought it was just a normal day out with friends.

After all, it was only recently that I realized how much I liked a boy named Narumi Kouta.

So, this might be my own personal feelings. Still…I’m looking forward to it.

I was so excited to go to the cinema alone with the boy I like. I couldn’t suppress this feeling.

“……”

While I was thrilled on my own, I heard the sound of someone coming home.

The sound of rhythmic footsteps walking down the hallway. The sound of someone living according to a seamless schedule.

“….Welcome back. Mom.”

“I just came to get a change of clothes.”

“….Where’s onee-chan?”

“She’s filming a drama today. She’s staying at a hotel with me. We’ll be back in three days.”

Big sister not only sing and write lyrics but was also active in dramas and variety shows.

In several dramas she had appeared in the past, she was praised by her co-stars and viewers alike for her acting ability to the extent that she was described as if she was an actor in her own right.

She also appeared as a guest on a program I was just tuning in to, and I hadn’t checked, but she must be trending on social networking sites.

“……I see.”

Everything was different from me. I still couldn’t get rid of my complex towards my sister.

(But it doesn’t matter.)

Right now, more than my complex about my sister, my mind was occupied with tomorrow’s movie date. What should I wear? What should I do with my hair? We were going to see a movie in the morning and had lunch together. Maybe we could go out somewhere afterward.

“Kohaku.”

“What?”

“Stay home for the summer.”

“…….huh?”

Mom’s words entered my head clearly without missing a single word, painting my mind pitch black.

“Why……? What do you mean……?”

“Kuon is in an important period right now. In addition to dramas and commercials, she has offers for movies. She can’t afford to damage her image here.”

“….what?”

I don’t understand. What is Mom talking about? What does it mean?

“Um…why? What does…..it has to do with my sister getting busy and me having to stay home?”

“If you go out without care, Kuon might get in trouble.”

“….I don’t understand.”

“I’m saying that if you cause any incidents or trouble, it will affect Kuon’s image. Dramas, commercials, and movies could all be talked about if her image is tarnished. You are a high school student, so you should already know that much.”

Mom operated her phone and reasoned as if it were a matter of course. All the while, she was not making eye contact with me at all. She was concentrating only on her communication with her business partner, staff member, or someone else. When she was finished, she didn’t even make eye contact with me again but quickly stuffed her change of clothes into her bag.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

Mom finished packing her clothes and turned her back against me—

“…I hate it.”

Stop that leg.

“What did you say?”

“I said, I hate it.”

For the first time, Mom looked me in the eye.

“Tomorrow, I’ve promised to go see a movie with my friend. There are many other……a lot……of other things…….I promised to have fun during the summer vacation. So I don’t want to stay at home all the time.”

“You. Do you even know what you’re talking about?”

“I know.”

“What?”

“You’ve been assuming I’m going to do something bad. You’ve been doing it for a long time. I’m not allowed to have a part-time job and everything. You just assume whatever you want about me, you don’t trust me at all, and you don’t want to believe me.”

“I’m giving you money so that you don’t have to work part-time. What are you not satisfied with?”

“It’s not about money. It’s not about that.”

This person didn’t know what she was talking about.

She didn’t care that she said she didn’t believe me a shred of it.

“Haa…Kohaku. I don’t know what you’re complaining about, but it’s for Kuon’s sake. Be patient. I’ll give you as much money as you want, just stay home for the summer vacation.”

“I absolutely hate that. Let me do whatever I want during the summer vacation.”

“If that’s the case, get out of this house. Right now.”

“….!?”

Mom continued triumphantly, seeing that I was upset by the suddenness of the situation.

“If you can’t listen to your parent, then get out of the house. You want to do what you want, don’t you? Then you can leave this house and do whatever you want. But if you get into any trouble, don’t mention our name. We have nothing to do with it.”

She should be looking into my eyes. Mom’s eyes didn’t see me…at all.

“…Is that okay with you mom?”

“As long as you don’t bother Kuon, I’m fine with it.”

“….I’m really going to leave.”

“If you want to leave, go ahead and do it. ……Well, you’ll be crying soon anyway.”

“…..!”

This time I couldn’t look at my mom properly. I grabbed my phone and ran out of the house with my clothes on. While I was putting on my shoes, just before I opened the door, or when I left the house—mom didn’t say anything.

“Why……Why……!”

I walked the streets at night. I walked. And walked. I wasn’t walking anywhere. I was just trying to shake off this anger and sadness. I was just walking in the darkness toward somewhere.

“It was fun… Just thinking about it was so much fun…!”

Even though I had a complex about my sister.

Even if my mom never looked at me.

Just thinking about tomorrow was fun; just imagining a date with Narumi made my heart race. I was happy just thinking about summer vacation.

I felt like I was being drained of that happiness. So today, I just went against my mom.

….Part of me was hoping that something might change if I confronted her head-on like this. But to no avail. In the first place, she didn’t even look at me, so I guess it couldn’t be helped.

“…..Rain.”

Before I knew it, it was raining. I didn’t have an umbrella. I forgot to bring one.

My body was getting cold from the rain. But it also cooled me down a little.

I happened to see the lights of a convenience store nearby in the darkness of the night, and like an insect caught by the light, I was pulled along with unsteady steps. I was somewhat hesitant to enter the air-conditioned store in my wet state, so I could only stand there.

“….Psycho.”

My head cooled along with my body and the exchange…at home earlier replayed in my head.

The endless sorrow had been falling in my heart like this rain.

All the happiness and excitement seemed to be washed away by the rain.

“……..”

There was no way to go from here. At best, I would have to stay at a hotel. I only have a smartphone because I ran out of home on impulse. I could probably make it to a place that accepts electronic payment, but……. Either way, it was not possible to do so during summer vacation. So I’d have to go back to that house after all. But I hated it. I didn’t want to go back to that house.

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

“—-Kazemiya?”

That voice reached me through the sound of the rain in the darkness.

“…..Narumi?”

There was no way I could have mistaken him for someone else.

I couldn’t have mistaken the boy I love. There was no way I could have mistaken his voice.

“Why……”

“I ran out of notebooks, so I came here to buy some. And also juice and snacks and stuff…….or rather, why are you here? It’s far away from your home.”

No. Why…you always…come to me when I want……you to be around the most.

“….What happened.”

Why…are you holding out your umbrella to me? Will you make the rain disappear from my heart?

“Sorry, Narumi, I…”

But there was no way I could say it.

“….I ran away from home.”

All I could do was try to hold back my face from crying in the pouring rain.