Vol. 2 Chapter 1.2 – Does This Mean I Like You?

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The final week of summer vacation.

On its very first day, Kyousuke was spending his time at his part-time job.

Sitting at the register, he absentmindedly gazed around the empty store. A vague sense of regret lingered in his chest, making him wonder if things were really okay like this.

‘…I haven’t had any fun at all.’

The conversation he had with Ayano before summer vacation began.

The pool, camping, shaved ice, festivals and even stargazing. Not a single one of them had come true.

The reason being, their days off simply never lined up.

They exchanged messages almost every day, sometimes talking on the phone. Occasionally, he would go over to her house, but they never had the time or energy to go out anywhere, and instead just lazed around until the day ended.

Ayano still seemed satisfied with that, and Kyousuke didn’t have any particular complaints either…

But when he saw sunburnt elementary school kids, fresh from the pool, running along the road in front of the shop, he couldn’t help but think that kind of summer didn’t seem so bad either.

‘And besides—’

That incident at the beach before summer vacation. Ever since the day Ayano asked him to help search for her mother, he had been wondering when they would leave.

However, it wasn’t something he could rush her about, so a quiet tension remained lodged in his chest.

“…Haa…”

Faced with a problem he couldn’t do anything about, he let out a small sigh and scratched the back of his head.

Just then, with a garagara sound, the sliding door opened. Quickly putting on a customer-service smile, he called out in a practiced tone,『Welcome!』

“…Oh, it’s just Asuka.”

“What do you mean『just』? Is that how you treat a customer? That’s so mean, Kyo-nii.”

Familiar twin-tails. A T-shirt with some kind of mysterious text printed on it, paired with shorts. Her face looked just like Kyousuke’s, but her black eyes were full of energy and vitality, making it feel like the temperature inside the store had risen slightly.

Fujimura Asuka. Kyousuke’s younger sister, two years below him, currently a second-year middle school student.

She placed a foil-wrapped package on the register counter and puffed out her modest chest proudly.

“Kyo-nii, you forgot your lunch, right? Your super ultra cute little sister went out of her way to bring it to you, so it’s okay if you cry tears of gratitude, you know?”

“…You really have a way of making everything sound like you’re doing me some huge favor. And『super ultra cute』? You’ve got the same face as me, what are you even saying?”

“Having the same face as me is an honor. You should be grateful, Kyo-nii!”

“Where does that level of self-confidence even come from…”

In contrast to Kyousuke’s pessimistic and passive nature, Asuka’s optimism and proactiveness were on a completely different level.

In fact, at school, she was always surrounded by friends, held a leader-like position in her class, and was even part of the student council. Wondering how siblings could turn out so different, Kyousuke inwardly sighed as he looked at Asuka, who had spent her summer vacation playing nonstop and was now deeply tanned.

“But still, thanks for bringing it all the way here. I was wondering what to do about lunch.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Just buy me a book as the delivery fee. There’s a magazine I want.”

“A magazine? If it’s the manga one you always get, it’s in my room, so just read it whenever you want.”

“Nope, not manga—”

Asuka glanced at the neatly stacked magazines for a few seconds, then said,『Found it!』and picked one up.

“Fashion magazine? Since when do you read stuff like that?”

“I heard it from a friend, but apparently one of your classmates is in this magazine, Kyo-nii.”

“Huh?”

“You’re in the same class, so you know her, right?”

“N-No, not really…”

There was one person who came to mind.

Not only had he talked to her, he had even stayed over with her while skipping school.

But if he said something like that, he’d definitely get teased, and it would spread not only to their parents but also around the neighborhood and school.

Besides, there was no guarantee that the person Asuka was talking about was her. Doing his best to keep a straight face, he replied,『I don’t know.』

“Huh, figures. Kyo-nii’s such a gloomy, introverted background character, after all. No way you’d get close to some sparkling high school model.”

“…Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

“Huh? You’re not arguing back?”

Memories of all the times he had gotten very close to her flashed through his mind and recalling her body heat made his face flush. There was no room left to argue back.

“S-So, what’s that model’s name?”

“Sakuragawa-san! Isn’t it nice? It totally sounds like a 『THE beauty』kind of name!”

He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The surname was somewhat similar but it was a different person.

‘Even so, is it really possible for there to be two models in the same grade? I’ve never even heard that name before. Is she really a student at our school?’

Watching Asuka casually flip through the magazine as if she had already bought it, Kyousuke tilted his head in confusion.

“Found her!” Asuka exclaimed, pointing at a large photo placed right in the center of the page.

Black hair and blue eyes. An overwhelming figure that allowed no rivals.

Dressed in a simple yet stylish outfit—a white T-shirt, white skinny pants, and a khaki jacket draped loosely over her shoulders—no matter how many times he looked, from any angle—

‘…It’s Ayano.’

At that very moment, Kyousuke learned for the first time that her stage name was Sakuragawa Ayano.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had ever seen a magazine she appeared in.

He often heard that she acted in dramas and movies, but when it came to modeling, she seemed to have her own thoughts about it, and had never asked him to read or look at it.

“She’s amazing. Someone this beautiful—you’ve really never seen her at school?”

“W-Well…”

“Isn’t that kind of terrible? Not being interested at all, you’ve probably committed some kind of crime, you know?”

“Can’t be helped. I’ve honestly never noticed her before.”

“Don’t you ever want to talk to her?”

“No.”

When he answered like that, Asuka muttered『Hmm』with little interest and closed the magazine.

Having somehow managed to bluff his way through, Kyousuke wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I came to hang out!”

The shop door burst open with force, and along with a wave of stuffy heat and a bright voice, a woman stepped inside.

Flared denim that suited her long, slender legs perfectly. A flax-colored cut-and-sew top that accentuated the lines of her body. Faced with a woman radiating an aura one would almost never encounter in ordinary life, Asuka paused for a beat before letting out a dumbfounded,『Ah!』

“Eh!?”

Just like Asuka, she—Ayano—raised her voice too.

Her eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Kyousuke and Asuka.

“Why is Sakuragawa-san here!?”

“Why is Kyoko-chan here!?”

Bombarded with questions from both of them, Kyousuke lowered his head, thinking, this is going to be a pain.

A sharp pain twisted in his stomach.

What is this… this perfectly terrible timing?

“K-Kyo-nii… do you know her…?”

“Huh. Wait, could it be—you’re Kyousuke’s little sister!?”

“She’s calling Kyo-nii by his first name…!!”

“Whoa, amazing! You look just alike!”

Asuka shot her brother a sharp glare.

Meanwhile, Ayano bounced up and down excitedly, and every time her hair swayed, a sweet, fresh pear-like scent drifted through the air.

“Ah… um, let me introduce you. This is my little sister, Asuka.”

“Ohhh, so you’re Asuka-chan! Nice to meet you!”

“And this is Sasagawa Ayano. My… f-friend.”

“…Friend? Kyo-nii’s? Huh?”

“Aww, you’re so cute” Ayano said as she stepped closer to Asuka, her vermilion lips softening into a smile.

In contrast, Asuka stood there frozen, mouth hanging open, clearly unable to grasp the situation at all.

“Um, uh… S-Sakuragawa-san? Or Sasagawa-san?”

“Either is fine. Call me whichever you like.”

“Then… S-Sasagawa-san, are you really friends with my brother? You’re not being forced to hang out with him because he’s got some kind of leverage on you or something… right?”

“Huh?”

“What do you think I am!?”

At Asuka’s completely out-of-left-field comment, Ayano blinked in surprise.

In response to Kyousuke’s retort, Asuka muttered, 『Well…』and lifted her gaze to look straight at Ayano. Ayano flinched for a moment, but quickly put on her brightest smile.

“There’s no way this makes sense!! A girl this beautiful being Kyo-nii’s friend? That’s impossible unless he planted a bomb in your brain and threatened you!!”

He understood exactly what she meant.

Even Kyousuke himself still didn’t really understand why Ayano was so attached to him.

“K-Kyousuke is a really good person!”

Ayano huffed, her breath coming out forcefully as she placed her hands on Asuka’s shoulders.

“When my umbrella got stolen, he went out of his way to buy me a new one! When I lost something important, he stayed with me and searched for it the whole time! When I’m having a hard time or feeling lonely, he stays by my side! He’s really, truly such a good person—so much better than I deserve!!”

She finished proudly and turned to Kyousuke with a 『Right!?』as if asking for agreement.

In a situation like this, he had no idea what the correct response was. Denying it felt wrong, but agreeing would be embarrassing.

“…But this guy just said earlier that he’s never even seen Sasagawa-san before.”

Asuka’s quiet voice made the temperature in the shop drop ever so slightly.

“He also said he didn’t even want to talk to you.”

“T-That’s not it! That’s not what I meant—”

He started to explain, then glanced at Ayano.

Her eyes looked like they were about to well up with tears, her lips pressed tight as if holding it in.

“Kyousuke… did you not want to talk to me?”

Up until now, this was the kind of topic Ayano would never take seriously but judging from how she looked now, she had completely taken it at face value.

This was bad. Really bad.

Kyousuke frantically waved his hands around and raised his voice.

“N-No, that’s not it! That’s not it!”

“…I just didn’t want Asuka teasing me, that’s all. She’s got a big mouth, so she’d definitely go around telling everyone.”

Even as he said it, he thought it sounded like a childish excuse.

It made him painfully aware of how immature he was, and a cold heat crept down his spine.

“So, you don’t actually hate it?”

“I don’t hate it.”

“Do you like me?”

“Huh?”

“Does that mean you like me?”

“…Yeah, I guess.”

“You like me?”

“…I like you.”

Kyousuke hung his head, wondering what on earth he was being made to say in front of his little sister.

In contrast, Ayano’s cheeks lit up with a soft warmth, like she had just received a heartfelt gift, and her lips melted into a gentle『ehehe.』

“S-She’s your girlfriend…!”

Asuka staggered back a step, then another, looking completely drained.

“「「Huh?」」”

“She’s totally your girlfriend! Kyo-nii, you skipped straight past making friends and went and got yourself a girlfriend!? Whoa, what is this! Congrats!!”

“She’s not my girlfriend! I told you she’s just a friend, how many times do I have to say it!?”

“No way, no way! Friends don’t have conversations like that! You’re all lovey-dovey already! It’s embarrassing just watching you two!”

“T-That’s only because Ayano asked me, so I had no choice but to answer…”

He glanced at Ayano, hoping she’d help clear up the misunderstanding, but for some reason, she had a faint blush on her cheeks and her eyes were darting around.

“Oh, I know! Why don’t we have Sasagawa-san come along to tomorrow’s camping trip too?”

“You guys are going camping, Kyousuke?”

“Ah, yeah. Just one night. Mom said she wanted to go…”

The fact that he hadn’t been able to spend any time with Ayano was also one of the reasons this bothered him.

Going camping by himself while leaving her behind. It couldn’t be helped, but it felt like having a small fish bone stuck in his throat.

“Don’t say something unreasonable, Asuka. Ayano isn’t free like that.”

Between modeling, acting, and various other jobs, she was always busy, constantly active in the spotlight.

Someone as outgoing and popular as her, practically at the top of the school, couldn’t be compared to an ordinary student like him.

…Even so, he turned his gaze toward her, just to check what she wanted.

“Yes, yes! I’ll go! I want to go!”

The Ayano standing there had dropped her usual composed expression, her eyes sparkling like a child in front of a new toy. She raised her hand high and waved it energetically, insistently making her desire known.

“Got it! Then I’ll call Mom real quick!”

Asuka quickly pulled out her smartphone and made the call.

“Hello, Mom? About tomorrow. Yeah, yeah… actually, it seems like Kyo-nii got himself a girlfriend.”

“I told you it’s not like that, seriously!”

“Yeah, right!? Pretty surprising, huh! So I was thinking, maybe she could come along with us too. Yeah. Oh, really!? Okay, I’ll let them know!”

The call ended in less than ten seconds.

Asuka slipped her phone back into her pocket and curled her lips into a smug grin.

“She said she’d love for you to come!”

He had seen this coming.

Asuka’s personality came straight from their mother. Meddlesome, strong-willed and a total sucker for anything interesting. There was no way she wouldn’t take an interest in Ayano.

“Yay! Thank you!”

“Yay!” 

Ayano high-fived Asuka.

At the very least, he wished she would deny the whole 『girlfriend』part. Thinking that, Kyousuke pressed a hand to his forehead and let out the biggest sigh of the day.

Kyo:

“It’s morning.”

Kyo:

“Hey.”

Kyo:

“You’re the one who said to contact you in the morning, right?”

Ayano:

“I won’t wake up unless it’s a phone call.”

Kyo:

(Missed call.)

Ayano:

“I’m surprised you actually called!”

Kyo:

“What?”