Volume 1 - CH 1

Volume 1, Chapter 1: Crack

Woken up from the sound of an alarm clock. A new day was about begin.

A day that wasn't changing for the better.

I got up from bed and went down the stairs towards the living room. There, was my mother and my little sister, Nana.

"G-good morning."

Why was I giving out such an awkward greeting? You'd understand soon enough.

"Oh Manato, you're up. Buy breakfast with the money on the table. Then, Mom is off to work."

"Ah, take care..."

With that, Mom walked out the front door, got into her car, and headed off to her job. Apparently, my mother was a very important person at her company.

She was always so busy. There weren't really many instances of family conversations to be had.

"Good morning, Nana."

"..."

Ignored, huh. Nana had been giving me the cold shoulder for a long while.

She was at that age, so maybe she was at her rebellious phase, but she hadn't spoken to me in half a year.

I didn't even do anything to have angered her that much...

"What do you want to do for breakfast?"

There was 2,000 yen on the table. I thought that amount was too much just for breakfast alone.

Sometimes, I wished I could have Mom's cooking instead...

But that only happened back when Dad was still alive.

"..."

As usual, Nana was silent.

If possible, I would like to get along with Nana again like in the past. Nana used to be attached to me a lot. I remembered her adorably clinging on to me wherever we went.

"...I'll only take 1,000 yen, so Nana can buy whatever she wants with the remaining 1,000 yen, okay?"

Saying that, I went upstairs, trying to get ready for school.

I changed into my uniform and grabbed my bag. Then, as if running away from Nana, I walked out the front door and headed to school.

"Why am I so..."

-------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, you're here."

"Sorry Sayaka, were you waiting?"

I called and lightly apologized to my childhood friend Ayano Sayaka, who was standing at a nearby convenience store.

"I wasn't really, so don't mind it."

I thought she was trying to be nice to me, but it seemed like she really didn't care, so I guess it was as she said.

"Sorry, can I buy some breakfast first?"

"...You're buying again?"

Again she said, probably because I bought breakfast at a convenience store every time I went to school with Sayaka.

"Well, yeah."

Naturally, it felt lonely. But I didn't want to annoy my mother by mentioning something like that.

If I did, then she wouldn't really love me anymore.

"Is that so. Then, I'll buy something, too!"

"Huh? But Sayaka should have eaten already..."

"It's fine, it's fine! Let's go to school while eating together!"

Ah, I really liked this side of Sayaka.

Even if I was feeling down, I felt glad that she was pulling me along with a pushiness that didn't give me any time to be depressed.

That's right. I was fine as long as I could be with Sayaka.

Because I liked Sayaka so much. Even if nobody else loved me, as long as she did, that was all that mattered.

Or so I thought.

"Manato, I found someone I like."

It was all too sudden. It was when we were on our way home back from school, just like any other day.

The moment I heard those words, my mind went blank.

"Oh, is that so."

All I was able to do was respond with those simple words.

I was sure it wasn't me. If it was, she wouldn't have told me about that.

"Yeah."

Sayaka said happily with a blush on her face.

"He's always there for me, and I can always count on him. But he always goes off somewhere dangerous, and I can't leave him alone."

Sayaka was merrily reminiscing about that guy, but nothing was registering to my ears. I didn't even want to think about anything.

"...Uhuh…"

A bland reply. That was the best I could do at the moment.

"...I hope things work out with him."

"Manato?"

I wanted to escape from here immediately. From Sayaka, to be exact.

"I just remembered I had something to, so I'm going home first."

"Huh? Ah, wait!"

I started moving my feet at a brisk pace. Never looking back.

How long had I been walking? I could already my house in front of me.

And then, mother's car caught my eyes.

Mom, you were already home, huh...

Somehow, I thought that.

I opened the front door and entered the house. I could hear the voices of Mom and Nana from the living room.

I peeked through the gap in the door to see what it was all about.

There, Mom and Nana were happily having a conversation.

"You don't look like that when you talk to me..."

Mom seemed to be really enjoying it. She always looked like she was having a hard time when I was on the other end. But when she with Nana, she was having a good time.

From this point on, my heart started to crack a little.