CH 62

(POV Chinatsu)

I had a certain doubt in my heart. It was about the tomato juice Kaito-san brought us last night.

When I finished drinking and threw away the empty paper pack, I noticed something. Kaito-san said that he handed us the tomato juice because it was nearing its expiration date.

Coincidentally, it suppressed my blood-sucking impulse.

A coincidence…? I couldn’t help but feel that the timing of offering the tomato juice was strange.

No way, no way, no way… Did he notice me, notice us…? Well, but…

However, there is also the possibility of it being a coincidence.

If, if he finds out…or if he already knows, what would Kaito-san think…?

If, assuming he doesn’t know, would he accept it if I confessed…?

◆◆

(POV Chiharu)

The morning after Chinatsu’s little predicament, we spent the brief morning hours in the classroom. I engaged in conversation with Sakura while casually leaning against the wall, all the while observing my sisters.

Sure enough, they were consistently cute.

Chifuyu immersed herself in a book; Chiaki wore an intrigued expression as she looked at the transfer student, Mary; and Chinatsu gazed pensively out the window. Perhaps Chinatsu had something in mind related to yesterday’s events. She has been acting like that since the morning…

Chinatsu sometimes thinks she hasn’t grown at all, but from my perspective, I think she has grown tremendously. Truly… she’s changing so much… and I strongly believe that.

Lately, there have been instances where I struggle to understand what goes on in my sisters’ minds. They have grown so much, with complex thoughts and each walking toward their individual paths for the future. This fills my heart with joy.

“H-hey.”

Chiaki tentatively approached Mary and struck up a conversation. It was unusual for her to do so, and I thought it was quite commendable. While Chiaki may appear friendly and approachable to anyone, in reality, she doesn’t initiate conversations with strangers that often.

I suppose she couldn’t simply leave Mary alone by herself. Mary exuded an aura that kept people away, yet she occasionally cast envious glances at her classmates, who seemed to have good relationships with each other. From the very beginning, Chiaki sensed Mary’s true feelings. That’s why she was concerned from the start.

“W-what?”

“Oh, well, you know, since you mentioned being a quarter… Well, I’m a half-angel, half-demon… So I thought, maybe we could talk a bit…”

“Hmm… So we’re like similar yet different beings… How Interesting.”

“Oh, um… Thank you… Oh, wait! No, that was my line.”

It seemed that they were able to establish a somewhat awkward but decent level of conversation. Truly, that’s Chiaki for you.

“Chiaki-chan, uh no… I mean, you, do you have any favorite things or…?”

“Well, let’s see, I (watashi)… um, I (ware), uh, I like hamburger curry.”

Both of them were nervous, and their “characters” seemed unstable.

“Oh, curry, huh? I like light novels,” Mary said.

“Light novels…?” 

“Huh? Light novels… You know what they are, right?”

“….?”

“Ahhh, you don’t know… Um, it’s like novels with cute girls on the cover and illustrations inside.”

“Ahhh, well, I generally stick to school textbooks when it comes to reading, so I don’t really read those kinds of things.”

“You should give it a try. They’re really interesting.”

“Hmm…”

“By the way, both of my parents are light novelists,” Mary said.

“Oh, come to think of it, you mentioned that during the self-introduction.”

Light novels, huh? Those are the ones with cute girls on the cover and really long titles…..They’re like novels, I guess?

Chiaki doesn’t read them much, though. She’s used to seeing blocks of text in textbooks and long holiday homework assignments, so she tends to have a bit of an aversion to them.

“Um… So, even though you live in Tokorazawa, have you ever been to a place called Tokorazawa Sakura Town?”

“I haven’t been there.”

“I see… It’s a place with collaboration rooms, elevators featuring characters, and a Da Vinci Store. It has a lot of fascinating things. You should definitely go check it out!”

“Got it.”

“They have light novels that are released earlier than usual, too!”

“O,Oh…”

I see, so Mary is what people commonly refer to as an otaku. She continued to get more and more excited as she explained.

“Umm, you mentioned becoming number one in this light novel… but how do you plan on achieving that? And what exactly is this ‘light novel’?” Chiaki asked.

“Well… number one is like the most amazing alias in the world of Japanese light novels! I’m wholeheartedly striving to achieve that!” Mary said.

“Oooh! Good luck with that!” 

“Thank you!”

Somehow, these two seemed to be getting along quickly…

◆◆

(POV Chinatsu)

We boarded the bus and started making our way back home. On the way back, Aki talked about her new friend, Mary, while Fuyu and Haru attentively listened.

“Mary is a good person,” Aki said.

“I see,” 

“I really thought it was unusual for Aki-nee to talk to someone else so much,” Fuyu said.

Yes, I agree with Fuyu. Well, Aki seems friendly but delicate, so it’s very difficult for her to meet people she can connect with. Moreover, she had been apprehensive due to past experiences.

However, in just one day, she had opened up so much. Perhaps it’s due to the positive changes in her life with Kaito-san, or simply because her demeanor appeals to people.

It was appealing, but whether or not she could connect with that person was another issue. But this time, she did. Mary and Nishino must be different in that regard.

It’s nice that Aki is becoming friends with someone, but… reducing the time we spend together as sisters isn’t ideal. We’re not the type to talk about things like not understanding or finding something difficult during our free time. Haru and Fuyu are on a different level; let’s just say they’re in “Diff Lv” so I can’t really talk to them much.

I’m the most socially awkward of my sisters… Even during our school trip, it’s expected that I’ll be with Aki, Haru, and Fuyu. Otherwise, I’ll be all alone, and it’ll become a miserable experience for me.

I want to avoid that. However, as the eldest daughter, it’s not my place to take away the time Aki spends with her new friend.

“Chinatsu, what should we have for dinner tonight?”

“Well…”

While I was lost in thought, Aki leaned her face closer to mine and asked. In the past, it was different, but recently, we’ve been the ones preparing dinner.

We work together as sisters, but our cooking still doesn’t match up to Kaito-san’s taste. Even if we use the same curry roux and blend it, the flavor ends up changing.

Even Aki, who was the most skilled cook among us sisters, still couldn’t compare to Kaito-san. However, Kaito-san would still eat the food and exclaim how delicious it was, even shedding tears of joy.

Honestly, I wasn’t satisfied because there were still adjustments to be made to the flavor. I wanted to make it even more delicious… I wanted him to enjoy truly tasty food.

“Yesterday, we had stir-fried tofu and grilled salted salmon, so…”

“Hamburgers.”

“No, we had those the day before yesterday, so they’re off the table.”

“Eeeh…”

“Don’t ‘Eeeh’ me. Well, how about mapo tofu? We can make some miso soup too.”

I’ve recently realized that planning the menu isn’t easy either. Just thinking about what I’ve made recently or what I haven’t made takes up an incredible amount of time.

Moreover, the more I think about it, the more challenging it becomes. My mind becomes a carnival of ideas.

Yesterday.

My pajamas tore from the inside due to my bloodsucking urge. I couldn’t come up with a good excuse. The way it tore was undeniably strange. It would be best to keep it a secret and wear a spare set of pajamas, but…

Kaito-san’s puzzling behavior… There are too many things to think about.

“Hey, hey, how about making hamburgers after all?”

“No.”

“Then how about putting mapo tofu on top of the hamburgers and eating them…”

“No.”

“Muu…”

Ignoring Aki, who glared at me with a displeased expression, I continued to rack my brain. However, even so, I couldn’t come up with an ideal solution.

Kaito-san… Do you know? Or do you not know?

There are so many things in this world that I don’t understand. Speaking of things I don’t understand, I don’t understand the principle that says exposure to moonlight turns you into a vampire, and exposure to sunlight reverts you back. Kaito-san once mentioned that moonlight is simply sunlight reflected by the moon.

The sun and the full moon… What’s the difference?

“Ch-Chinatsu! There’s steam coming out of your head! Is this the Gear 2nd!?” Chiaki said.

“Natsu-nee! Are you okay!?”

“Chinatsu, take a break for a bit.”

My head was spinning. I don’t usually exert myself mentally, but I’ve been overthinking things lately…

◆◆

(POV Kaito)

It had been several weeks since summer break came to an end. Gradually, the weather transitioned from the scorching heat of summer to the refreshing coolness of autumn. During this time, Chiaki had formed a friendship with Mary, and everyone was enjoying a peaceful daily life. Although Mary had a role as a friend character in the game, well, we didn’t need to dwell on that. It was enough to simply acknowledge that Chiaki had made a friend. 

Now, it was about time for the school trip to start. It would be an overnight stay for two days.

I didn’t like it… Thinking about going home and not having Chiharu, Chinatsu, Chiaki, and Chifuyu around made me felt lonely beyond measure.

However, there was no way around it. That’s just the way things were. 

School was a place where opportunities for personal growth were nurtured, and even within the confines of one’s school, this event presented a precious and rare chance for development.

“Kaito! This is my bookmark (shiori)!”

“Oh… You need things like towels and toothbrushes, huh?”

“I want to use the Magical Girl Pudding Girl towel that just came out!”

“Should we go buy it then?”

“Yay!”

I wondered how bookmarks were made. Well, it was obvious, but still. I sat on the sofa, flipping the notebook toward the bookmark that Chiaki had given me and gazing at it. Chiaki and Chifuyu sat beside me, while Chiharu and Chinatsu were nearby. So these four would be absent during the school trip, huh?

It’d feel lonely… I pondered while looking at the bookmark.

Ah, how nostalgic. I used to have something similar to this.

The stick figures battling in the empty spaces of the bookmark reflected Chiaki’s unique personality.

But still, it felt lonely. Chiaki, perhaps sensing my loneliness, tilted her head and peered at me,

“Hey, hey, Kaito, would you feel lonely if we weren’t at home?”

“Yeah, I would feel lonely…”

“Then let’s not go on the school trip!”

“No, that’s not good.”

“But if Kaito feels lonely, I don’t want to go!”

“Chifuyu also doesn’t want to go if Kaito-san feels lonely…”

“It’s lonely, but I’m looking forward to hearing stories from the four of you. I want you all to have a great time.”

“Is that so… I understand!”

“Chifuyu too.”

Chinatsu and Chiharu, sitting next to each other, also nodded in understanding at my words. Ugh, I really want to say that they don’t need to go to the school trip or anywhere else. Everyone could just rest at my house and enjoy some delicious food together. But I couldn’t say such words.

“Well, it’s getting late, so the four of you should go to bed,” I said.

“Understood!”

“Goodnight, Kaito-san.”

“Goodnight, Onii-san.”

“Goodnight.”

Chiaki, Chifuyu, Chinatsu, and Chiharu left the living room and headed upstairs.

Suddenly, the living room became quiet. This… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad; I can just spend one day in this peacefulness. 

I let out a sigh. With the TV on, there was still some background noise, but it felt lacking.

I sighed again and noticed a bookmark inside a notebook placed on the table. The cover had “Chifuyu Hitsuji” written on it.

Chiaki took her belongings upstairs, and Chinatsu and Chiharu must have left their things in their backpacks.

I wanted to check what items the four of them needed, so I looked inside the notebook. There was a section titled “List of Essential Items” with words like towels, toothbrushes, and hand sanitizer written on it. As I looked at those items, I started to feel like there were other things that were necessary but not listed there.

Just in case, they might need cold medicine or digestive medicine too… I flipped through the pages while contemplating this in my mind…

There it was—a symbol resembling an umbrella. And my name, along with Chifuyu’s name, was written there.

…So pure.

Chifuyu was still pure, as I thought. She’s adorable. But…

I always, always stop myself from thinking about the future. Because I somehow know where it will lead. No matter what thoughts or perspectives I have, the answer will surely remain the same.

************

TN: I think most of you already know but Gear Second is a One Piece reference

TN: So, this bookmark thing the girls have is actually a paper that has the shape of a talisman and I guess the girls drew whatever they wanted on these bookmarks. Chiaki drew fighting stickmen on it. It seems like they had some kind of Checklist or thing to bring list in their notebook and they used the bookmarks for that.

TN: The reason why I’m explaining all of this is because there was no mention of notebook, only bookmarks, but I edited things out to make sense.