Baby Princess - Volume 2
Prologue About Brassieres…
The things that came flying into his view were colorful… Bras. Pink and light blue, white and beige. Uwaaa! So, these are the rumored High-school Girls! Youtarou was overwhelmed by the scene in front of him, and his throat clogging up, was unable to say anything. In front of him were a lot of girls in bras. They were calmly and happily chatting among themselves. He felt like he was seeing something really inappropriate. For a moment, the family members of the Amatsuka house flashed through his head like a revolving lantern. From the top, in order. Miharu and Mizore, Haruka and Hikaru, Hotaru and Tsurara —counting up to just here made his heart hurt— and Rikka, and Kosame, and Urara… It’s over. He felt so guilty just remembering the faces of Miharu and Haruka, not to mention Hikaru and Hotaru, the relatively kind sisters among the total of 19 sisters. When he thought about encountering Tsurara, or even Urara with that expression and eyes that made it clear that she absolutely hated men… Ahh. What will happen to me if I am discovered here, watching this scene? An uneasiness welled up inside him. This was not my intention! However, contrary to the whispering in his heart, Youtarou was quite unable to take his gaze away from the scene behind the glass window. Of course, he was too scared to focus his eyes enough to see any details. However, it was just too overwhelming, that he just couldn’t tear his eyes away from that scene. He couldn’t even decide where to look, and his eyes were flickering all over the place. It was the first time he had seen such scene since he had been born. As he remembered the faces of the sisters, he felt even more embarrassed and guilty by the scene in front of him, yet at them same time it was somehow profound. He still didn’t know where to look, and when staring at one figure of a bra wearing student became too much for him, he would avert his gaze, only for it too fall on another bra sporting figure, and he would panic again…Youtarou’s gaze was like a pinball. There were some of them that had opened up the front buttons on their blouses, and the bras and white abdomen within were peeking through, and then there were some who had completely taken off their blouses and were wearing nothing but their skirts and bras. There were some who were prodding each other’s chests, and some were helping each other with the hook on their backs. Heeh! Haven’t they grown a lot? Tsun! Eh? That’s not true! But I have been eating a lot of chicken and cabbage lately. That’s not fair~! Only yours are growing. I’ll get back at you like this!! What are— Kyaaa~! Hahahaha~! Youtarou shook his head to calm himself. Calm down. Calm down, Youtarou. This is no different form the gravure swimsuit models shown in magazines, is it? No wait, that’s not right. This is real. This is reality, and I am seeing it directly with my own two eyes. Its unchanged Raw Data. The hidden, uniform-less forms of those who I am going to be sharing a class with from now on, my very own classmates. These were quite different from the beautiful H-cup girls printed on the flat color pages of comic magazines. These just had more…rawness; an aspect of volume was present in the way the white blouses were fully unbuttoned, and from underneath the soft, smooth abdomens were exposed. And directly above them the bras and the soft looking, gently swaying breasts contained within. At that moment, he heard a small voice from underneath him. “Hey, can you see? Well, how is it, You-chan?” Youtarou had forgotten. Directly under Youtarou was the figure of his only male classmate who was doing his best to support Youtarou’s legs as he hung from the frame of the window near the ceiling, peeking into the classroom…Junpei was looking at Youtarou with a very hopeful expression. “Hey, can you also see Hikaru-chan? I think I want to see her the most. If you can see her, switch with me!” As he was told that, Youtarou’s eyes inadvertently began searching for Hikaru. Ahhh. Even though this was not my intention at all… Youtarou’s judgment and guilty conscience were steadily regaining their control and started pestering his heart mercilessly. And then, as he picked out Hikaru’s face from among the group of girls, he found that he could not move his gaze below her face. His face, his gaze, it would not move. I want to see! But, I can’t! And most of all, I have to make sure I’m not found-- “Kyaaa! It’s a peeping tom!” As Youtarou fell in a daze, that high-pitched voice resounded throughout the classroom. He felt a shock run through his bottom and back. What are you doing, You-chan…This is bad, we’ve got to run-- Youtarou felt as though he heard Junpei’s voice from somewhere far away.
Chapter 1 High School is Beautiful
1 The white, gleaming building came into view. So that is the high school building… Youtarou was going to be attending Konohana High School starting from today, which was in a portion of the central building that occupied a significant area of the vast former all-girls school that included kindergarten all the way to university. Former all-girls school, huh… Putting it that way, it does feel a bit neat and somehow elegant. Youtarou faltered a bit even though it was already too late to do anything. It had been only 3 years since the school had been turned into co-educational school, and Youtarou was joining it today as one of the few male students. “Well, I wish you luck in your endeavors. Do your best!” Hikaru gave him a thumb up and showed him a strong smile. Good Luck. Hikaru’s smile was like the shade of a green tree. But that smile seemed so far away right now. She’s going away… Youtarou suddenly became a bit forlorn. He felt like a little kid that had come out to the open sea for the first time with his parents, and suddenly his hands were let go… He had been separated from the other sisters at the gate, and the one who had come with him all this way was the 4th Daughter, Hikaru. She was the one who had forcibly invited Youtarou to come live with the huge Amatsuka family of 19 sisters after he had lost his Grandmother, his only relative in the world. The simple, handsome, smart, and fit high school first year, Hikaru. Among the incredible 19 sisters with 1-year gaps of age in between them, she the only one who was the same age as Youtarou. She was an impressive beauty with long maroon hair, big, elegant eyes with dark pupils and a small chin. Somewhere along the way, Youtarou had begun to feel that Hikaru would always be at his side. He had come all this way by comforting his cowardly heart by the presence of her kind hand which put him at ease. But now, when that hand was suddenly taken away, Youtarou realized that the water here was too deep to keep his head above water. The sea shone with beautiful, deep blue color. But its bottom was so deep that you couldn’t even begin to imagine what lived at its depths… Youtarou shook his head involuntarily. I ended up imagining something weird. I don’t even have any experience with long distance swimming… “Is something wrong?” Hikaru asked him with dubious face. “Un-un. Nope, nothing.” He replied, raising his face quickly. Seeing this, Hikaru also became a little disheartened. She would like nothing more than to just go ahead and give him a tour. “Hey, look…” She hesitated, as if it were something difficult to say. “I think it would be best if we proceed separately from here on. I mean, if we are together all the time, it would be, you know–” “It’s alright, I’ll be fine.” Youtarou said and let out a weak self-deprecating laugh. “We are in the same class after all, and someone might figure it out–” Hikaru was trying to come up with an excuse, which was quite unusual. “Yes, and since we can already see the school building, I’m sure I’ll be fine–” Youtarou answered in bright tone, hiding his true feelings. “If we really are found out it will probably cause quite a ruckus...” “…Probably?” “No, it really will cause a huge ruckus.” “Eh!?” “Yes, as I thought.” Hikaru pursed her lips together. “Listen up! The fact that you and I are siblings…” She pointed at Youtarou’s face. “…is a secret from our classmates, no matter what!” But we really are not siblings! Youtarou’s inner voice did not reach Hikaru, of course. “Anyways, good luck! I’ll be cheering for you!” Flashing an excessively refreshing smile, Hikaru ran off. Her long strides and short skirt resulted in the pleats of her skirt fluttering everywhere. Uwah! I can see her panties– Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw that Hikaru was wearing black, short spats today. Oh…So that’s what she’s wearing all the time. I always thought it weird that she was so boyish and yet had so many skirts. So, she’s wearing spats all the time. Youtarou was just a little bit disappointed. And then he remembered. What happened on the riverbank, that day he realized that even though they weren’t related by blood, just by being together, just by living in the same house, there were people that thought of him as their own family. The taste of the Takoyaki they ate, sitting together. Thrown by the angry Hikaru, the whiteness of her panties. The sight came back to him quite vividly. “Uwaah!” He desperately tried to suppress himself. He heard the solemn chime of the bell signaling the start of class. “This is bad!” Since it was new semester at a new school, Youtarou was carrying a large bag packed with things and two large paper bags besides. Without stopping to correct his posture, Youtarou ran off, barely carrying everything he had. But still, I wonder why Hikaru is so hung up on hiding the fact that we are “siblings” now… He wondered, doing his best to keep all the things in his bag from overflowing. In the first place, the reason that he had transferred to this school from the school he had already been attending was because he was now a “sibling” of Hikaru and the rest, wasn’t it? If someone like Tsurara, who still hadn’t accepted Youtarou as family member said something like that, it would make sense. But for Hikaru to say something like that, while normally she insisted upon things like “siblings” and “family”, came as little bit of a surprise to Youtarou. He didn’t really want them to treat him as a family member even at school, and in truth, it didn’t really matter to him. In fact, just explaining that he was a “sibling” of those unique 19 sisters, and on top of that, was an “eldest son that came afterwards” seemed like it would be a chore, so not saying anything about that may be better for him. It just felt a bit strange to him, and he recalled Hikaru’s silhouette as she ran away. I don’t mind keeping it a secret, but what is this strange feeling? Youtarou didn’t yet know that that feeling was normally called the feeling of alienation. Having grown up without any immediate family, Youtarou was not good a figuring out his feelings. Maybe, that fact that I came to this school is an annoyance to Hikaru? Now that I think about it, I just came along to this school going along with what that one-man Mama told me to do, but me coming to this school might cause Hikaru the most trouble, seeing as we are going to be in the same class… No but I really, truly am not thinking something like wanting them to treat me as a “sibling” at school too. No sir. Unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion about his own feelings, Youtarou headed towards the High school building.
2 The classroom of grade1 – C that Youtarou was transferring to was on the 2nd floor at the very edge of the building and faced the Tennis court which received a lot of sunlight throughout the day. As he nervously approached it down the long, straight corridor, he could hear the echoes of the high-spirited shouts of female students. Its noisier than I imagined. The voices of girls really echo, don’t they? He thought to himself, walking down the long corridor with the classrooms of the First years and Second years lined up next to each other. Suddenly–
“Kyaaa!” An unusually loud cheer reached his ears. It was from the class at the very end. A strange scene was unfolding before his eyes. “Hikaru-sama, how are you today?” “I’m very happy to meet you again this morning!” “Now, please, let me carry your bag!” Even though they were supposed to have been separated, Hikaru was just now entering the classroom. “Well, if we talk about juniors, there are some who don’t know their place and have sent so many fan letters again…” Among the students who had gathered around Hikaru, one of the taller one grabbed the bunch of envelopes that Hikaru was carelessly holding. She held them like you would hold something dirty. “This one “from yumi*yumi”, did Katsuragi senpai form 3rd year send this? What’s she doing, sending something like this while being elder?” It looked like her anger was amplifying. Scary! I’m already seeing new sides of the girl world. Youtarou thought to himself. Hikaru looked thoroughly bored. It was a completely different look from the gentle expression she had before. “Read it before returning it.” Saying that in almost a whisper, a bored expression still on her face, Hikaru dropped into her seat. Immediately, she was surrounded by 5 or 6 girls, hiding her from view. “As expected of Hikaru-sama, she’s kind to even these juniors who do troublesome things like these. I feel like I’m about to faint.” “If Hikaru-sama is this kind, then we have to become a shield that protects her at all times. See here, another silly fellow has arrived to peak at Hikaru-sama–” His eyes met Hikaru’s. “If he looks at our Hikaru-sama with those eyes, she will become tainted! It’s ten years too early for a guy like you to stare at our Hikaru-sama.” She waved her hand in Youtarou’s direction. Youtarou involuntarily looked behind him. “I’m talking to you, yes, you! Hurry up and go back to your class. Have you lost your way while searching for the middle-school building? Hmph, being so lustful even though you just a kid.” Wait, she’s talking about me!? He inadvertently shrunk back a little. This walled garden of girls is scary! I’m a little concerned about my future prospects in this class. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way he could just say “Oh! I am a transfer student.” and walk into the class now. This is problematic. What should I do? Just then– “Excuse me…” Someone tapped on Youtarou’s shoulder from behind. “Ah, s-sorry–” As Youtarou turned around, the heavy bags he was carrying hit whoever was behind him, and the person fell down. “Ouch!” “I’m really sorry! I wasn’t paying attention, so I was a little surprised…” As Youtarou made excuses and held out a hand to out the girl who had fell down and landed partway in the corridor– “Kyaaah!” The girl panicked and held down the front of her skirt. On a closer look, he found that this girl was wearing a skirt with pleats even shorter than what Hikaru had been wearing. The front of it was flipped up, and her panties were almost visible. “Ah!” He consciously let out a small voice. “No, don’t look!” The girl panicked and fixed and skirt. “S-s-s-s-s-s-sorry! I really didn’t mean to do that!” Youtarou involuntarily backed up again, slightly lowering the hand he had held out. The girl, her gaze still downcast, grabbed his receding hand, pulled it in and stood up all at once. She dusted off the backside of her skirt, lifted her face, and brushed away a few strands of hair form her face. She looked up at him shyly and smiled.
“Are you maybe–?” Her voice was as cute and clear as a seiyuu
[1]
, he realized. “–the transfer student?” “Ah, class is starting.” She covered her slightly open mouth with a hand. Her shoulder length brown hair which curled inward ever so slightly swayed. She’s…kinda cute. Youtarou caught himself thinking. “Transfer students are supposed to come along to class with the teacher in-charge of the class on the first day…whatever shall we do? It’s entirely possible that the teacher is waiting in the staff room.” Eh? “The staff room in on the first floor. Are you familiar with how to get there? If you go down that flight of stairs, it’s right in front.” She looked at Youtarou’s worried face. She might have been shortsighted, as she brought her face unnaturally close to Youtarou’s. Her face filled the entirety of Youtarou’s field of view; her big, round eyes were really cute, like a puppy’s. “Ah, yes.” As Youtarou replied in daze, she said “I’m really sorry, I really want to guide you to it myself, but…” with an apologetic face. Seeing that, Youtarou himself began feeling apologetic and saying, “It’s quite alright!”, waved his arms and hurried towards the stairs.
Seeing him run off while carrying all his things towards the stairs, she smiled shyly.
3 “Hmm, so you are Youtarou-kun.” The teacher was standing in front of Youtarou, one hand on her hip. She was of small stature, such that normally she would have to look up at Youtarou. As if she was compensating for that fact, she was wearing equally high heels, a simple, rough white blouse that revealed her curves, and small pearl-gray suit. “There’s not much resemblance, is there?” She brought her face closer to his with a jerk of her upper body. The collar button of her blouse flowed suit, and just with that movement, a gap appeared in her blouse. From within peaked her breasts which looked like they could spill at any moment from her bra. The sight was like looking at two pale pink peaches. Overwhelmed by her overpowering presence, Youtarou tensed up. Not much resemblance? To what? Even the question that came up in his mind seemed so far away and unimportant. The staffroom was already empty, and the last remaining teacher picked up his attendance book and rushed out of the entrance to staffroom which was behind where Youtarou was standing. “Hidaka-sensei, you might want to hurry up too– the bell has already rung.” The teacher, who was wearing black glasses and had bed hair that stuck out like a burdock, said as he passed by them, shooting a glance towards Youtarou’s homeroom teacher’s chest, Hidaka-sensei. “Um, I’m sorry I was late. Instead of coming to the staffroom, I mistakenly went to the classroom first…” Youtarou said, trying his best to keep his gaze off of the teacher’s chest. Hidaka-sensei smiled and innocently stuck out her tongue. “Oh, did I forget to tell you? Well, it doesn’t matter. Now, I feel bad for you, but since we’re out of time, let’s talk as we head to the class, yes?” As she smiled, a small mole under her right eye was lifted up. As if urging Youtarou to follow her, she turned and began walking. And then as she was walking, she turned her upper body towards him, causing her short skirt to wrinkle and lift up. “Oh, and also, a young student staring at breasts of a woman teacher is natural, so it’s fine if you look you know? Having these kinds of experiences in your school life is also a necessary “step” towards becoming an adult. And if you don’t look, then all the hard work I put into this dress would be wasted. Wouldn’t that be boring?” Saying that, she lightly shook her bottom a few times. 1, 2, 3 shakes. Youtarou was so taken aback that he couldn’t say anything. “Being seen by own colleagues like just now is flat out no good, but I want to help the few gentlemen that have chosen to come to this school to make memories. You see, that way their hungry gazes also won’t go towards the female students, so it’s two birds with one stone. Oh and, did I mention that our school has strict prohibition on illicit sexual relations, of course. So no having inappropriate thoughts towards your fellow female students. Even if I say that, I know it’s hard. Fufufu~. Well, instead, being dazzled by a big breasted female teacher is wholly acceptable, you know? Ah, but your household is nothing but females, so maybe you have immunity to such things…?” Hidaka-sensei came to halt and turning around again looked closely at Youtarou’s face. “Hmm, there really is not much resemblance… Youtarou finally realized what those words meant and was speechless. What should I do? Maybe… Youtarou had no way of knowing how much this teacher knew about his circumstances. Hikaru’s mother had said not to worry, she would explain everything properly. And yet… And then the realization dawned on Youtarou. Maybe, it had been a mistake to trust “Mama”. This was the same “Mama” that seemed like she had a screw loose somewhere inside her head. The same “Mama” that had suddenly included an unknown stranger into her house just because one of her daughters had brought him there. “Mama” had 7 of her daughters attending Konohana Academy, and he had thought that she had said not to worry about the admission because she had strong connections inside the school. …Maybe, she told the school that I was her real son!? Youtarou was astonished. Of course, when applying to the school, you have to provide various documents to prove your identity and background and such. And Youtarou had certainly provided them…to “Mama” that is. Youtarou frantically searched his memories. Yes, she had made various arrangements for him, both financial and to help in living together in the form of the family rules. But he recalled with relief, there had been no mention of her adopting Youtarou. Youtarou had been living with the Amatsuka family for four months now, but he still didn’t feel that kind of attachment. The status quo was that he had lost his only relative, lost a place to live, and was generally at a loss, when Hikaru had appeared as his savior and held out a helping hand…which Youtarou had grabbed on half out of desperation and half out of resignation. To be honest, he hadn’t thought that it would carry on this long. He had always been prepared to leave, and he did actually leave once too. The fact that this had gone on this long was because that family…those sisters…were unbelievably kind, and impossibly warm hearted. He recalled the figures of the whole family. And at the same time, ironically, the memories of the fated day he had become a part of the Amatsuka family welled up. The words that Mama had said secretly to Youtarou so nobody else could hear them. After the one-year period is over, if even one of the sisters says “NO” to living with you, this sibling life will end. Such was his standing, and yet… “But you’ll find that having a different family name will work out pretty well for you, especially because you’ll be in the same class as Amatsuka Hikaru.” Hidaka-sensei said in meaningful way, pulling Youtarou out of his thoughts. “What about Amatsuka Hikaru?” “You’ll find out soon enough. But still…” She suddenly stretched up and patted Youtarou’s head. Due to her movements, a sweet musk smelled reached Youtarou’s nose. “…You had it tough too, didn’t you? You did great! Even though you have such a cute face, you had to go through so many troubles. I heard your circumstances from your mother. Your mother is also pretty admirable taking in an abandoned child, but being suddenly taken in by that forceful mother, and then finding out that the place you’re going to has 19 sisters…Anybody would be left with their jaw hanging open.” Eeeeeeh? What’s this about an abandoned child!? Hidaka-sensei’s eyes welled up with tears. “Ah! I want to give you a hug!” She said, hugging her own body. “But, we’re in a school. Forgive your teacher who can’t do that for you.” She paused and glanced at Youtarou’s face. Looks like she loves her acting. Youtarou thought. “Oh and, from now on, call me Ayako-sensei, okay? The only other advice I can give you right now is just this. While you are at school, stay away from Amatsuka Hikaru!” Saying that, she held up the attendance record in her hand, and put her hand on the classroom door. Before he had realized, they were standing in front of the classroom door. As soon as she slid back the door– “All, stand up!” –he heard a cute, seiyuu like voice that he thought that he had heard somewhere.
4 “Well, I guess we should have him introduce himself now. Please, go on.” Ayako-sensei urged Youtarou. Standing on podium, facing the rest of the class, Youtarou felt a bit overwhelmed. He had heard that boys only formed up around 20% of the student body, but as far as he could see, there were only females in his class. Where are the guys? Youtarou’s searched with his eyes, feeling a little bit dizzy. He searched and searched, and eventually, in a class of 45 people, there was all of one male student sitting at the very back of the row on the corridor side. He almost seemed like a bonus.
His audience was getting restless. He felt like his movements were gathering attention. “Erm, this is my first time transferring schools, so I am a little nervous but…let’s all get along.” He bowed with a quick bob of his head. Silence. That’s not gonna be enough, is it? Wha-What else? “Unfortunately, I don’t have any particular skills that I am very proud of, so I don’t have much to say in my introduction–” As he started to say that. “Question!” Suddenly a girl raised her hand. Suddenly there were cries of Kyaaa~ from everywhere and the whole classroom got excited. Taken aback, Youtarou looked at Ayako-sensei. She just raised her hands, as if saying Do as you will. “Ah, pl-please go ahead.” Unsure of what was going to happen next, Youtarou timidly motioned the girl who had raised her hand. “What’s your favorite type of celebrity?” He was taken aback again. “Ah, erm…my favorite celebrity is…” He racked his brains hard, but nothing came to him. “...no one…in particular.” Ehhhhh… voices of discontent arose throughout the class. “Then, about how tall are you?” Another girl bounced up and asked. “My height is around…170cm, I guess.” He scratched his head, relieved that it was question he was able to answer. You pass~! Came the resounding answer. If he’s 170cm in his first year, he can still grow a little bit, right? The girls were happily causing a ruckus. “Then what are your hobbies?” Came a voice from another direction. “Hobbies? Let’s see, it’s kind of cliché, but reading books, watching movies, that kind of stuff.” Yaaan~ What if he’s an otaku! ? Eh, it’s fine! If it’s just a little bit, that’s fine! What would you do if he started talking about BL? Uwah! Then would his partner be Junpei? No, impossible; I would feel too bad for him~!! Holding a hand to their mouths, laughing, and smacking each other on the shoulders, Youtarou was overwhelmed by these girls. “Then, then, any sports you’re good at?” “I don’t play many sports…Ah, I was in the Kendo club at my last school.” Kyaaa~!! Isn’t that like, pretty good? A true Japanese man? Like a samurai!? I think I may go to cheer him on! Ah! Getting ahead is prohibited, okay? There are just two guys in our class, after all…Ah, but Konohana still doesn’t have a male Kendo club, so I guess it’s impossible either way…It’s a shame. It seemed like they were getting pretty excited. Hearing the voice of all those girls, he unconsciously became embarrassed. I see. They don’t have a male Kendo club. So, I can’t continue with Kendo anymore. He thought. He recalled the day they had met. He recalled the dignified figure of Hikaru in her kendo armor. She had been participating as a special case in the district selection team. His eyes inadvertently began searching for Hikaru. There she is. She was sitting in the one of the back seats on the window side of the classroom. At one glance, she looked very bored, with her arms and legs crossed. But Youtarou felt that her eyes were worriedly looking in Youtarou’s direction. “Erm, I don’t know which club I’ll join yet, and I will decide after giving it some thought. If you have some club you’d want to recommend, please let me know. Again, nice to meet you all.” Thinking that he’d finally somehow wrapped it at up, when… “Ah, you guys are too loud. Sensei, isn’t this enough? Let’s end this already.” A voice from the back the class called out. Scary! Youtarou though and searched for the owner of the voice. Ah– If he remembered correctly, it was the girl that had been standing besides Hikaru and had tried to drive Youtarou off like a stray dog when he had entered the class before. Here they come, the fans. The whole class rapidly became quiet, and whispers spread among them all. Fans? “Well then, please do the rest of the interview by yourselves, later. Good for you You-chan, seems like you’re really popular.” Hidaka-sensei lightly struck Youtarou’s shoulder. Kyaaa~ Sensei, it’s not like that! Again, cheers arose from among the girls. Youtarou suddenly remembered his embarrassment, and in a hurry to get out of the spotlight, began quickly passing between his classmate’s seats to reach the last seat on the corridor side of the classroom, where the only male student was sitting. But instead. Gatatatataaaaa! He didn’t know what happened in an instant, but his knee struck the ground. “Uwawa~” Youtarou’s toe had made contact with the leg of a table, and he had tripped and fell down. Only one table had been out of line from the rest, and as Youtarou instinctively looked at the owner of the desk that had been strangely popping out of line, he was met with the cold gaze of cool looking girl with bob hair. “Hah. What a klutz.” It looked like it was the girl that had complained about wrapping things up a while ago. It felt as though a cold air had blown through the classroom, as it was plunged into silence. At least, that’s what it felt like. Suddenly, Youtarou was struck by anxiety. Maybe he wasn’t that welcome here. At that moment, someone stood up in front of Youtarou, and extended a hand to him. “Are you quite alright? You didn’t get hurt anywhere, did you?” He looked up to see who it was. “Ah, you’re the one from before.” She had soft, fluffy brown colored hair and kind, shining eyes. She was wearing the same bright beige colored blazer uniform as Hikaru, and yet it somehow appeared more feminine. She was fair-skinned and had a kind smile which made her seem really easy to talk to. Standing in front of Youtarou, like the goddess of salvation, was the girl that had kindly told Youtarou the way to the staffroom. “It seems like you were able to reach it in time. I was really relieved.” “Un. With your help, somehow…Thank you very much.” It wasn’t like he had to grab her hand to stand up or anything, but he felt bad leaving her hand extended in the air, so he grabbed onto it. She smiled sweetly and held on to it tightly. “I am really happy that you came to our class because we don’t have many male students. If you need help with anything, feel free to let me know.” As she leaned in to talk to him, her hair fell forward and shadowed her face. It felt like she was telling him a secret and made Youtarou’s heart flutter. From far away, a voice said “Maria, you’re fast!”. As if to one up whoever had said that, she pointed to a small badge fixed to her sleeve with a safety pin. “I am on duty today after all!” On duty, huh… His excitement subdued a little bit. Under the blue “On Duty” badge was a name badge, on which Oohashi Maria was written. By that time, the whole class was again enveloped by happy clamoring. “So, when it comes down to it, do you like the cute type?” “Eh, I am more into the Ouji-sama type myself~” “But he looks easy to talk to, so isn’t a plus point!?” “For now, I want to eat lunch together.” “Like I said, no getting ahead, okay? We already don’t have too many guys, and if you stick to him too much, you might come off as annoying…” “And he seems to have been marked by the fans already, so it might be a bit rough for him…” “But it seems like Maria-chan is already getting serious.” “Ehh!? Really? If Maria is our opponent than there is no way to win.” “Isn’t it surprising that he is Maria’s type?” “I mean, if you’re as cute as Maria, I wish you would aim higher, you know~? And leave the normal ones to us.” The girls speaking unanimously weren’t even trying to hide their voices. Maybe I am unexpectedly doing better than I thought? And what’s that about fans? Youtarou, simple as he was, had already recovered. Just them, the bell signaling the start of the class rang. Hidaka-sensei clapped her hand loudly. “Alright, today, it’s time for the long-awaited medical examination for everyone, so please start getting ready. I’m leaving the schedule for this class over here, so once someone comes to call you from the next class, don’t be late and hurry to your designated points. Make sure you don’t leave anything undone. Chest and abdominal sizes, as well as height are going to be taken in different places for boys and girls, so be careful about that. Am I clear? I’m taking to you, the 2 boys at the back.” “Yes~” In the classroom that had been so far filled with the high pitched, excited voices of girls, suddenly a voice one octave lower echoed. Startled, Youtarou looked in the direction of the voice. There, the only male student was sitting in a seat on the corridor side, who Youtarou had glanced at during the introduction earlier. He looks a bit more petite than me. The male student’s hair stood up with wax, and the necktie of his uniform was loosened and drooping low. His eyes were just a little narrow, which he had almost closed and was staring at Youtarou with a huge smile on his face. Even if no one else was, it seemed like he alone was 100% welcoming of Youtarou. Youtarou was a bit relieved. He was sure that in this unfamiliar environment, a friend of the same sex was going to be very important. “Oh, and you.” Hidaka-sensei called out to Youtarou. “You will– Ehehehe ♡ Sorry~ It seems earlier, in my haste I forgot to bring along your new health card.” “Ah, so should I go to the staffroom and–” “Ah, no, you have to go the infirmary– Oh wait, you don’t know the way.” “Oh, it’s alright, I’ll find my way.” Replied Youtarou, to which Hidaka-sensei replied “You will? Then I’ll leave it up to you” and even as she had a slight hint of worry on her face, left the classroom in a hasty manner. Youtarou turned to the classroom. His classmates were making preparations for the medical checkup. There were some that were taking of their jackets and neckties. Others were putting on jerseys under their skirts. Yet others were moving desks to one side of the classroom to make space for playing while they waited. Youtarou was searching for Hikaru. For now, he was thinking of asking her for directions to the infirmary. It wasn’t like he had forgotten what Hikaru had asked of him, and it wasn’t like he deliberately wanted to show everyone how close they were, and yet, unintentionally…Yes, he unconsciously wanted to depend on Hikaru. He was a transfer student, and on top of it, most of his classmates were girls, and his school was a former-all girls school. The only one he felt comfortable talking to right now…There she was. Hikaru had already removed her necktie and opened the first button on her shirt; her appearance was rough. She was sitting on top of the locker on the window side of the classroom and was once again surrounded by 3 girls. “Erm, excuse me.” “What!?” Came a swift reply. It wasn’t even Hikaru. It was a girl standing in front of Hikaru with her back to Youtarou, who hadn’t even bothered to look at Youtarou as she delivered her lightning quick reply. Shit. It was the girl on whose desk Youtarou had stumbled earlier. Her neatly trimmed black hair swayed a bit. “Ah, well, I thought I would ask where the infirmary is…” Youtarou replied, backing away a bit from the force in her words, while desperately looking at Hikaru for help. Hikaru’s eyes looked like she wanted to say something, and it looked like she opened her mouth to say something… “Why don’t you just ask that to your filthy male friend?” The desk girl said without looking at him. “Why did you even bother coming this way. Shoo!” The girl next to her also shooed him away with a wave of her hand. “Listen here. First impressions are important, so I will say this. We still haven’t accepted the fact that this school has become co-ed! Like with all the other males, we will go about our business treating you like you don’t exist, so you better act accordingly.” A tall and thin girl with a high ponytail and a freckled face flashed her pointed canines as she smirked without humor. “Eh? What do you mean by that?” Youtarou couldn’t keep up at all. “Sorry if I bothered you or something, but, erm, I just wanted to ask the way to the infirmary…” “Oh, for goodness sake. What a dim guy.” The girl standing nearest to Hikaru sighed in a dramatic manner, threw up her hands as if saying I give up, and turned to face Youtarou. Apparently, while being the most petite of them all, she was also the leader. Her forehead under her pompadour and bangs made her seem very intelligent. “What we’re saying that is that don’t talk to us, ever again! You might not know of this, but this Konohana Academy is an old is all-girls school with a long tradition, and until recently, it was a private garden for pure maidens where filthy males weren’t allowed at all. I don’t why the Headmaster lost her mind and –going against the wishes of the whole school– decided to make the school co-ed, but at some point, it’s going to return to its former glory! That’s why the fate of you males has already been decided. Getting involved with such people is just… futile! Futile, I say!” She said and shook her head. “And. That. Is. Why. I’m telling you not to talk to us. This school doesn’t need males at all. Males are the most useless things in the world. Ahh, wouldn’t it be nice if the accumulation of anti-hormonal chemicals exceeds the limit or something and all males disappear. Since it is possible to keep the species alive by just with the female population due to the discovery of the iPS cell, humankind doesn’t need the Y chromosome anymore!” Seeing her say all that in one breath, Youtarou felt a headache coming on. That way of speaking, that logic. He felt blown away by her intense force, and at the same time a strong feeling of deja-vu assaulted him. I pretty sure I was just recently talking to a person just like this. He inadvertently looked at Hikaru. I’m really sorry…her expression said, or maybe it was just his imagination. It definitely looked like she was fed up and a bit troubled. The girl with the awe-inspiring forehead noticed Youtarou’s gaze. “Ah! You idiot! Don’t look at Hikaru-sama! What if her worth is lessened because someone like you saw her!?” She spontaneously stood up from the chair she was sitting on with enough force to knock it over, and covered Youtarou’s eyes with both of hands. “Uwah!” Are you a child!? “Hey, you don’t have to that far.” Seeing this, Hikaru had enough, and she jumped down from the locker was sitting on. The girl stared blankly for a moment, and then. “Kyaaa~ Whatever shall I do? Thinking of nothing but protecting Hikaru-sama, I touched a man! This is a disaster! My hands will rot! Kyaaa~ I’m going to die! Hikaru-sama, save me!” The girl threw her arms around Hikaru. Since she was a head shorter than Hikaru, she had wrapped her arms around her neck and was bouncing up and down in an exaggerated manner, shaking Hikaru’s body along with her. This time Hikaru was the one taken aback. “S-Sorry. The location of the infirmary is towards the middle-school since we share one with them. Go down the stairs and from in front of the staffroom follow the corridor that goes towards the middle-school…” She somehow got the words out while desperately trying to sooth the girl in her arms. Ah– For a moment, Hikaru’s face clouded over. “Um, if it’s alright with you, should I guide you there?” With a bounce, a girl popped her head out from behind him. She had light-brown hair with a round outline, and a warm smile. “After all, I am on duty today.” She said in a laid-back manner, taking Youtarou’s arm. Youtarou didn’t even have time to say Ah, yes. “Let’s get going then. I think the time for C class will start soon. If we’re late in getting there, afterwards we’ll have to come back separately, so it’ll be a bit troublesome.” Pulling Youtarou’s hand, she hurried towards the entrance. Youtarou didn’t even have time to look back at Hikaru. It seemed like all the students were just waiting in their classrooms for their turns at the health checkup, because the corridors were deserted. “Right this way.” Oohashi Maria pointed down the stairs. As they began descending, he realized that she was still holding his hand. Her hand was soft and full, like child’s. It’s like Watayuki’s hand …Youtarou remembered and was bit startled. The unfortunate 13th daughter who had a weak constitution and was always bed ridden, who had just enrolled in 1st grade, Watayuki. Youtarou remembered the words she had spoken to him while simultaneously grabbing his hand. “I feel very reassured when I’m holding hands with Onii-chan. I’m really glad that you came back to our house. Don’t ever go away again, okay?” An unconscious impulse that he should not be holding hands with Maria suddenly attacked Youtarou. But still. “Erm, listen, isn’t it hard to go down the stairs while holding hands?” Just blurting that out took all he had. “Ah, I’m really sorry; I got carried away…” She said, panicking and letting his hand go quickly. She held her own slack hand like she had lost control over it, and then struck her round head in a cute fashion. “I have bad habit of holding people’s hands. Particularly because I grew up going to a girls-only school, so nobody minded it that much. It must have been an inconvenience, right? I’m really sorry.” She said, clearly embarrassed as she put her hands on her checks– which had immediately become quite red– and started fidgeting. Shit, this could be bad. “No, it wasn’t an inconvenience or anything at all. I mean, I should apologize too, making a cute girl hold my hand. You don’t have to do that much; just guiding me to the right place would be enough…” Youtarou, also panicking, tried to mend things. Hearing that, she made an expression of tremendous happiness. “Thank you, for telling it to me like that…” With her head bowed, she put a hand to her eyes. Ehhhh!? Moved to tears? Youtarou panicked even more. Why would she be so moved at something like this…he was thoroughly confused. “Ah, um, I’m really sorry; I just remembered something.” Realizing Youtarou’s discomfort, Maria hurriedly made a smile on her face. “Um, may I call you Youtarou...kun?” Her smiling face full of tears was strangely heartrending. “Yes, I don’t mind at all.” As Youtarou replied, Maria vigorously rubbed her tear-filled eyes, and gently smiled. “You’re really kind, Youtarou-kun.” No, not particularly. Youtarou felt that that thought was product of a misunderstanding and overestimating him. “Um, Youtarou-kun, you used to go to a co-ed school before, right?” Maria asked out of nowhere, starting intently at his face, full of curiosity. “Well, yes, but even though it was a co-ed, there was nothing really special or anything.” Youtarou recalled his ordinary, mundane school life. An ordinary school. His own mundane self. Before losing Grandma and becoming all alone in the world, he had no parents, but still he lived a pretty ordinary life with his Grandma…that was supposed to have been his life. “Then, maybe you had girlfriend…?” But Maria, whether aware or not about Youtarou’s feelings, was about to ask him something, and then as if warning herself, she gently shook her head, and saying “No, it’s nothing, don’t mind me” smiled embarrassedly. “Co-ed seems so nice; enviable. I admire it a little bit. When you read about it in manga or such, it seems so colorful and fun. For some reason, our high-school division has the least number of males among all the divisions of Konohana Academy, which itself doesn’t have many males to begin with. That’s why, I’m really happy that a kind person such as Youtarou-kun was enrolled here!” Again, she tried to grab Youtarou’s hand, this time using both of hers, and with a start stopped and raised her voice. “I’m really sorry! I was going to do it again, wasn’t I? It’s a really bad habit. Ahahaha.” Her smile is also like a child. As she laughed a bit, Youtarou thought to himself, strangely very calm.
“Um, the Infirmary is a bit far, so please bear with me.” She said and started climbing down the stairs.
5 “Konohana Academy is a relatively big, integrated academy that has divisions ranging from kindergarten all the way up to university level, and I have been commuting to it since kindergarten. The Academy had been co-ed from Kindergarten up till elementary school before too, but from middle-school to high-school it had always been girls only. Students applying for admission to high-school are usually zero, so you spend the whole of middle-school and high-school with the same students. Students like Youtarou-kun who join the Academy from high-school are very rare. That’s why the high-school division also doesn’t have an entrance ceremony…” Oohashi Maria was cheerfully serving as Youtarou’s guide “while we are on the way to the infirmary” and was talking excitedly while spreading her arms wide. “It has only been 3 years since it became co-ed, so there really aren’t many boys here. It’s said that the current number of boys is 20% of the total, but in reality, most them are from the new students that joined the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year classes of middle-school after the academy became co-ed. The high-school division has had just a few transfers here and there, like yours. With the current situation, it’s mostly just like an all-girls school, isn’t it?” She said and laughed bashfully. Maria’s face in profile was shining from the subdued rays of the sun composited with the pure green artificial grass serving as the background. The grass was planted in a lawn that was continuing along the semi-open passage, consisting of just a roof and floor, inside which they were walking, side by side. It’s a very spacious and beautiful school… Thought Youtarou and turned his gaze towards the end of the empty grounds. “That is the auditorium. Although the middle and high-school divisions have different buildings, they do share some facilities like the infirmary, the auditorium, the gymnasium, the grounds, and the pool…and what else? Ah yes, the locker rooms attached to the gymnasium and the library too. At Konohana, we have the clubs together with the middle-school, so any one club from both divisions has the same room. Ah, there, can you see it? Near the auditorium.” Past the grounds, near the gymnasium-like building with the silver, slanted roof, a small, white, somewhat old wooden snug looking building could be seen. It was surrounded by a lawn and had a cheerful atmosphere yet seemed unpopular and thus peaceful. It had a slanted, triangular roof like the ones you see in old pictures of elementary schools in the middle of the mountains which gave it a cute impression. “The club rooms of both the cultural and sports clubs are in that building. Today, everyone is having health checks all thorough the morning, so I’m sure it’ll become much livelier in the afternoon when everyone begins their club activities. The best time to persuade new members to join is also from today till the end of the first week…” Maria continued a little hesitantly. “What are you going to do about clubs, Youtaro-kun? I’m sure you’ll receive a lot of invitations. Konohana does have a shortage of boys, so every club competes to have them. You did say that you were in a Kendo club in your last school, but unfortunately, Konohana does not have a male Kendo club. In fact, most of the clubs are cultural clubs, like the orchestra club or the tea ceremony club. Even among the sports clubs, the good ones are just the Tennis, Japanese Archery, and Rhythm Gymnastic clubs, I guess? We don’t have any clubs like football or baseball. Somehow, I feel like I should apologize.” Youtarou was startled when she suddenly bowed her head with an apologetic look on her face. “Ah, no, I was too busy with moving and the transfer procedures and things like that, so honestly, I haven’t even given any thought to clubs…” And there was the new family thing too. “Ah, I see. Of course, that was the least of your worries, right? That was kind of stupid of me. Ahahaha~ Um… please take your time to decide. There is no reason to rush, is there? You might know this already but at Konohana, the “going home club” is generally not allowed, and there is a system where you must be in at least one club, regardless of if you are an active member or not. The Orchestra Club is pretty popular, and the members regularly take part in contests. The Japanese Archery Club is also pretty strong, although I’m not that sure about sports clubs, so I might not be much help in that regard. Ah, Youtarou-kun, how about being bold and taking on the position of the conductor? I’m sure it’ll suit you very much! You’ll probably look very cool. Oh, by the way, I’m in the acting club! Are you interested in acting? If Youtarou-kun joined our club I would be very happy…at least…that’s what I was thinking…” All at once, Maria went from talking full speed to hanging her head bashfully. “Un, thanks. I’ll take my time and think about it carefully.” Hearing her words, Youtarou said only that for now. While listening to Maria as she talked about a dazzling rosy colored school life, he began to feel an insuppressible feeling of discomfort. Am I really going to start anew here? In reality, he was not even sure whether he was going to be here or not in a year’s time. Thinking about his circumstances, Youtarou let out a little sigh. I wonder what the boss of the Amatsuka family is thinking. He could still hear those words clearly, like he had heard them yesterday. The words the had been spoken softly, so no one else could hear them. “If, after one year, even one of my cute daughters says “NO!” to living together with you, then I’ll have you leave this house.” If she was thinking so far ahead, then there was no need to expressly transfer him to a place like this. The matter will just get even more complex. A former all-girls school with a rich history that rich ladies attended. A place that he had thought he had no connection with. After getting to be alone with Maria for a while, his nervousness of the first day at school had subsided a bit, and now he was feeling as if all this was happening in some far away world. In fact, he hadn’t realized it in the morning, but even as he was taking the first step into the school, he had already been feeling disconnected from this reality. And when he was faced with things like clubs and medical examinations and classmates, it finally began to sink in that this was the “reality” that had been prepared for him. At the same time, a question arose in his mind. Could he even spend his high-school life in this seemingly unreal all-girls school, with a seemingly unreal status as one of the few males that had intruded here? Really? In the past three months that he had begun living with the Amatsuka family, he had been commuting to his old school, and for him that school was the only real connection that he had to his past life. And just as he had become a little used to livening in the Amatsuka house… He remembered Hikaru’s smile which had suddenly seemed so far away since this morning. At the same time, he remembered the faces of his former classmates and members from the Kendo club, whose existences were quickly receding into a hazy mist. He couldn’t help but wonder. He was supposed to have come to this school to properly function as a member of the family, and yet here he was, starting his school life in a place away from his sisters. At the same time, he was also losing the connection to his past. Was he feeling out of place? Why was he here, right now, in this place? Even when he first began living in the Amatsuka house, he didn’t feel anything like this. Maybe, he was worried? Just because of the reason that Hikaru wasn’t at his side? He didn’t know what thoughts passed through Maria’s mind, but looking at Youtarou’s face as he brooded over such matters, she suddenly became very serious, and soothing down the pleats of her short skirt, she looked at her watch and said: “I’m sorry, it looks like I got too excited and talked a little too much. There isn’t much time left either, so let’s hurry. “Un.” They had already reached the end of the passage. “From here on, it’s the middle-school division. Of course, it’s Youtarou-kun’s first time coming here, yes? The elementary through high-school divisions have their buildings on these premises, and only the university division have their buildings a little further away, near the station closer to the city center. Only…” She peeked at Youtarou’s face and giggled softly. “The university division has not been made co-ed yet, so I guess Youtarou-kun doesn’t really care about that.” “Un.” Ah, I see. So that’s why Miharu “nee-san” said that our morning commute could never be the same, even though she goes to the university division of the same school. Remembering the words of Miharu who, despite going to university was also working as the weather lady for the morning information show, Youtarou was convinced. “By the way, did you know? The older sister of the girl called Amatsuka Hikaru-chan standing next to Komine-san whom Youtarou-kun was talking to earlier also goes the university division of Konohana.” Uwah~! Mind reading technique!? “Her name is Amatsuka Miharu, and she appears on television as a weather caster! Isn’t that amazing? She is an active university student, and yet is already working as a weather caster! It seems that her standing is that of an apprentice, since she still a student, but her popularity is through the roof. I’m sure that when she graduates from the university in the future, she will go on to become a news anchor. She is really amazing! Her little sister Hikaru-chan is also very good in both sports and studies, and she is also very popular with her underclassmen, and…Ah! Did you know! Hikaru-chan’s family is really amazing! Turns out, she has other little sisters as well, and one of them is in every year of the middle and high-school divisions, and on top of it, they have even more sisters, all with one year differences of age in between them, and in total they are–” Maria just gushed on and on about them. Not really noticing that Youtarou was honestly impressed all over again. I see…So those sisters really are very famous in this school. I guess it’s only natural; anybody would talk about a line of 19 sisters with only one-year age difference between them. And on top of that, if an “eldest son” that came afterwards was revealed, I don’t have to think like Tsurara –who was so adamant about keeping this quiet– to imagine the curious eyes that would follow me around the school… He remembered the uproar that happened in the classroom just a few moments ago. The words “fans” that had been whispered here and there. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like unexpectedly there were a lot of hot-blooded people around Hikaru. “I’ve been in Konohana since elementary school, so I naturally thought that I was going on to enter the university at Konohana as well, but…what should I do? Because someone like Youtarou-kun has appeared, I’m rethinking my prospects, you know…?” Youtarou’s ears tuned out Maria’s slightly wavering voice in the middle of the conversation.
6 Getting his new health card from infirmary, Youtarou and Maria were on the way back. “The uniform of the High school division became a choice system around 5 years ago, and although it was decided by a poll within the Student Council, it was a very popular decision. Depending on the grade, there is a difference in fashion preference, and within the new 4th years –Ah, that’s us high school freshmen, by the way– this blazer is popular.” Maria looked down at her own blazer and laughed a little proudly. “Up until then, we shared the same uniform with the middle school division. Ah, but the middle school and high school division are almost the same school, really. The ground is shared between the two divisions, and there a lot of times when events and even some classes are done together. The sports and cultural festivals of the middle and high school division are always held together, and things like today’s health checkups and fire drills are also almost always held at the same time–” Listening to Maria somewhat absent-mindedly, Youtarou was reminiscing.
About the scenery from his commute to school this morning. It had been a sight that would originally have been impossible. Under this boring Japanese sky was the plain, ordinary high school freshman student: Youtarou, the kind that could be found anywhere all over the nation. And surrounding him as he commuted to school, like he was some kind of protagonist were the six girls. A group of beautiful girls that didn’t really match him. Wearing the classic middle school uniform, the sailor uniform was the 7th daughter, a middle school 1st year, Rikka. Wearing a similar white sailor uniform, with a bob cut head and cute eyes was the 5th daughter, a middle school 3rd year, Hotaru. And then, there was one that stood out from the rest; the only one wearing a deep blue sailor uniform which, while representing her status of being registered in a special class, also seemed to express her sharp personality, the 6th daughter, a middle school 2nd year, Tsurara. And then, there was the high school group, the members of which were allowed to wear whatever they liked, and they were all wearing perfectly different styles of uniforms. First up was the 2nd daughter, clad in a black cloak, the high school 3rd year, Mizore. Second up was almost the complete opposite, wearing a cute one-piece frock complete with a ribbon tie, the 3rd daughter, a high school 2nd year, Haruka. And then there was the one who had created the chance for Youtarou to live with these 19 sisters, the one who Youtarou was closest to in his current environment after he had lost all blood relatives at the age of 15, his classmate, Hikaru. Good at sports and frank like a boy, the insensitive Hikaru. If accidently met a naked Youtarou in the bathroom, she wouldn’t bat an eye, instead, she would join him in the bath. Contrary to her personality, which didn’t seem at all interested in love affairs, her outer appearance was that of gallant beauty that had just become a high school freshman. She was wearing a bright beige English-style blazer with a huge emblem, and a checkered miniskirt. Her appearance was almost the exact opposite of his own blandness. It looked like wherever the six of them went, just by being there, they lit up their surroundings and made them shine. This even enveloped Youtarou, who was present among them by coincidence. He remembered Hikaru in the classroom as the other female students had surrounded her. A star. That word suddenly popped up into his head. Is Hikaru possibly what they call a star? Wait, calling someone a star just because they were popular in middle and high school is a bit of a stretch. Thinking about stuff like that, he thought about Miharu, and Mama, and recalled the day he had met Hikaru, and had been hastily taken to the stylish entertainment office in the city center surrounded by trees and glass. The golden nameplate with the words “President” on it in black. Miharu’s weather forecast. Mama shouting “Aim for it with your family, like Sound of Music!” “An Idol is something an idiot would do.” Tsurara saying that with a serious face. Rikka boasting that if she walked around town, she would be scouted at least once every day. Hotaru and Haruka had such personalities that they didn’t like flashy things, but thinking about it now, one thing was certain: They were both tremendously cute. In fact, they were much cuter than the models that were shown in the girl’s magazines that Rikka was often reading. Maybe the word “star” was not that much of a stretch after all.
Youtarou was startled at his own position all over again. I really have stepped into a different world, haven’t I?
At that moment, suddenly –No, Maria had probably been talking all this time, but to Youtarou it was very sudden– Maria asked him a question. “Are you perhaps…interested in Hikaru-chan?” Uu. Youtarou scrambled to find the words. “I’m–” He stopped again. “Um, anyhow, if you have trouble with anything, please let me know. I…like helping others, with things such as these.” Her embarrassed smile was soft and kind. But it trembled just a bit.
7 “Ah~!” It was small voice that he heard before. “Onii-chan!” After returning to the high school building and getting closer to the staffroom, the one who called out to Youtarou was the 5th daughter, the 3rd year middle schooler good at cooking, Hotaru. “Just now, I was coming to get the armband for the checkup staff, and was slightly hoping that I would be able to meet Onii-chan. To think that I’d actually run into you; I’m so happy!” Running over, Hotaru hugged Youtarou. Giyuu . Hotaru, with her short stature, rubbed her face in Youtarou’s chest. Uwaah~ Even as he was panicking, Hotaru’s honest reaction warmed his heart to an unexpected degree. She was happy to see him– even Youtarou could understand such simple feelings. This is okay, right? He thought to himself. She was happy to see him. They were “siblings” after all. As he thought that– “Geh! Why is Servant here of all things!?” Standing next to Hotaru, was the 6th daughter in middle school 2nd year, Tsurara. She was scowling at him from behind. She saw us at a bad time– Hotaru thought as she hurriedly pulled back. Putting one hand on her waist, Tsurara struck a daunting pose and began to reprimand him. “Really, what are you freezing up for? Didn’t we tell you all this beforehand? Walking carelessly around the campus, try not to do anything that would give away the fact that we are siblings. And here you are, in this place of all places, sticking to Hota-nee and ogling her, are you an idiot or what? Ah, as I thought, we can’t leave this idiot to roam around on his own. Yup, you should just go ahead and get expelled for illicit sexual relationship s – ” As Tsurara made to hit Youtarou’s head with the bundle of health cards in her hands– “Um, is everyone here acquaintances?” Maria timidly opened her mouth. Ah. All three of them froze. “You all seem very close. Maybe…” Maria mumbled with a puzzled face. Tension ran through Youtarou and Tsurara’s faces. “Are you maybe…childhood friends? If you’re calling him “Onii-chan”, you must be acquaintances from quite a long time ago. Ah, then does that mean that maybe Youtarou-kun already knows Hikaru-chan from…” As Maria tried to continue. “That’s right! “Onii-chan” is the “childhood friend” that used to live across from house, but he moved away when Hota and the rest were still in kindergarten, and he came back this spring! He gets along with the whole family very well, doesn’t he~?” Hotaru said, coming up next to Youtarou, taking his arm in her hands and showing a perfect smile. Her ample bosom pressed against his forearm. “I-I don’t know this idiot at all.” Tsurara, who looked quite taken aback, said with her eyes all over place, and turned her back to them. “I see, so that’s how it was…Ah, but then, that means that it was also Youtarou-kun’s reunion with Hikaru-chan after 10 years. But if you were that small, then that means that the time you were apart is much longer than the time you were together, so she might not remember you that much, right?” Maria, as if competing with Hotaru, stood on Youtarou’s other side and took his hand. As Youtarou was worrying about his reply, Maria began to string words together by herself. “Now that you mention it, you didn’t seem to get along at all in the classroom. Ah, but if you were childhood friends, you could’ve told me earlier. I was explaining various things about Miharu-san and stuff to you…Ah, I’m so embarrassed.” As if trying to calm her beating heart, Maria put one hand on her chest, and looked at Youtarou with upturned eyes. Hey, what’s up with this woman? From a position where Maria couldn’t see her, Tsurara silently mouthed the words. Not at all noticing that, Maria continued with her head bowed. “The Amatsuka house is really famous in Konohana Academy. That’s why I was really flustered when I saw your interaction with Hotaru-chan just now. But really, having a childhood older brother is so envious. To be honest, I was also…supposed to have an older brother. But Maria had to say goodbye to him while I was still very small. That’s why I only remember a little bit about my brother, but I do think that his gentle atmosphere was a little bit like Youtarou-kun. That’s why, I think Youtarou-kun is very similar–” At that moment, the door to the infirmary opened. “Hey! What are you all doing! Isn’t it long past the time for you to be in your classes? It’s almost time for the first class to start moving. If you don’t get back to– Ara, why is there a male student here?” “Uwaah~, it’s Shiraishi-sensei, the science teacher!!” This is bad! Seeing the round, madame like teacher with pink glasses in her perm hair, Maria put her hand on her mouth. Tsurara immediately straightened her back and put on the face of an honor student. “Ara, if it isn’t Amatsuka Tsurara-san.” Shiraishi-sensei’s face loosened up a little bit. “I apologize, Shiraishi-sensei. The homeroom teacher asked me to pick up the class health cards, and I was late in doing so. I will return to the classroom immediately so please pardon me. Also, it seems like these seniors from the high school department are also in the same boat. Well then, excuse me.” Tsurara fast-talked her piece in one breath, and then turning around took one step towards Youtarou. “How long are you going to hold hands with that woman while smiling like an idiot! If you are going to keep doing stupid things, I’ll come over to keep an eye on you okay!?” As she whispered in a lowered voice, her words probably only reach Youtarou’s ears. And then, at an angle that could not be seen by Shiraishi-sensei, she hit Youtarou on the bottom. “Uwah! What–” are you doing! Almost slipped from his mouth. Hearing Youtarou’s shout, it seemed like Maria returned to herself, and quickly pulled on Youtarou’s hand. Shiraishi sensei’s glasses glowed white. “What a vulgar loud voice! That male student over there, do you think it’s fine to raise such a voice in the corridor? In the first place, males and females walking down the corridor itself is an act of shameless–” Trying to block the teacher who hand entered into a scolding mode– “Please pardon the disturbance. Well then, we will also immediately get back to our classrooms.” –Maria said so with slightly shrill voice, and still tightly holding on to Youtarou’s hand, began to quickly climb the stairs right in front the teacher. Getting dragged along quite vigorously, Youtarou somehow turned and looked back, and what he last was Hotaru getting dragged along by Tsurara, looking worriedly in his direction, and waving her hand, and if to say “Onii-chaaann~!” Ah, being in a family might be quite reliving after all.
But there, Shiraishi-sensei’s powerful voice echoed. “Really! What’s up with that male student!? Really, even though I said that there is no need for males in this school, the principal went ahead and made it co-ed, and now it has come to this. In order to protect superior students like Amatsuka Tsurara, I will make sure to make Kibana a girls only school once again!”
As they went around the landing and saw the 2nd floor corridor, the chime rang. Good grief, it seems like I have come to a pretty troublesome place…
8
Vision, hearing, lung capacity, as well as height, weight, grip strength and front bend; all these kind of physical fitness statistics were being measured at different measurement stations set up in different classes, and all the classes were moving through them one by one. “Well then, see you later.” Maria smiled a gentle smiled, and slightly waving her hand at Youtarou, joined the group of girls. Yaan~ Maria, where have you been~. Youtarou looked on alone as she was welcomed with a high-pitched voice. Just as he was feeling left behind… “Ah! You’re finally back!” An unfamiliar voice, the deep voice of a boy who has passed puberty reached his ears. “Yocchan! This way, this way! I was waiting for you~!!” Yocchan!? Isn’t that a bit too friendly? Thinking that, Youtarou turned around. There, Youtarou’s only male classmate, Amaki Junpei was standing with both of his arms spread wide. “Ah! Yocchan! Oh, I’m so happy! Welcome, to class 1 – C! No matter what anyone says, I wholeheartedly welcome your arrival! Of course, it’s probably unbearable for the fans!” Junpei was a guy with an overly bright laughing character. “Iya~ I was so lonely. Honestly, since the day of the opening ceremony, I have been all alone, the only guy here. Since Yocchan came along now, I am saved! From now on, in this class of all females, let’s help each other out as much as we can!” Saying his piece by himself, Junpei hugged Youtarou in an exaggerated manner. “Um, yeah sure, let’s get along.” Even as Youtarou hesitated a little bit, he felt like he could get Junpei’s feelings a little bit. It really would be hard to be in this class as the only male student. For now, it might be a good idea to get along as the only two guys in class. However, Youtarou thought that it would be best if he carefully considered how much he could reveal to this guy about his own background. Youtarou recalled Hikaru and her followers –Did they call them fans?– and Tsurara that he had just met.
When suddenly, “By the way, what kind of relationship do you have with Maria-chan? Do you know her from before? Or maybe–” While wearing a smile on his good-natured face, Junpei stuck his face in front of Youtarou, pointing his finger at him in a suggestive manner. Come to think of it, earlier, Ohashi Maria had been saying something about how she had been “separated from Onii-chan at birth.” I wonder what that was that all about? By the appearance of the hysterical teacher, it had become kinda lost in the conversation…he recalled, a little suspicious. Looking at Youtarou behaving like that, Youtarou narrowed his eyes even further. “Hmm, daily duty huh. It didn’t seem like that to me though. Well, I guess it’s fine. We’ll leave it at that.” Junpei stretched a little to cover the height difference between them, and forcibly wrapping an arm around Youtarou’s shoulder, he whispered in a low voice. “Iya~ but Yocchan’s eyes are really good as I expected. From what I have already seen beforehand, this classes top two are Ohashi Maria and Amatsuka Hikaru.” Making a face as if there was nothing more serious in the world than this, he stuck out his fore and middle finger. “If Yocchan is going with Ohashi Maria, then I’m going with Hikaru.” Hearing him call her name in such a casual manner, Youtarou tried his best not to let the small irritation that welled up inside him show on his face. “The fans are a force to be reckoned with, but in face of the love of man and a woman, there is nothing to be afraid of!” Junpei lined up all of his fingers and took a pose like a Shonen manga character. “That…fans or whatever. I’ve been hearing that for a while now, but what are they?” Youtarou finally tried to ask. “Ahh, yeah, just now, Yocchan also went through it, right? So, Amatsuka Hikaru is our class’s, no, our school’s no. 1 beauty yeah? Also, she’s kinda cool, right, like Takarazuka. So apparently, she’s really popular among the underclassmen and the other girls. And now, she’s got something like her own imperial guards or something. Really, I have no idea what goes through those girls’ minds.” He raised his thumb and took a pose again, flashing a smile. “Even though there are two good looking guys right here, you know?” He patted Youtarou’s shoulder.
Good looking guys… “But I have talked to her 2, 3 times and Hikaru herself is a pretty frank and sincere; a good girl you know? Even though she’s a woman, she’s kinda cool. It’s a shame to leave her surrounded by girls.” Yup, yup, he was nodding to himself. “Well, to put it in simple terms, rather than guards, it’s more of a fan club really. They just go around showing off, calling themselves “fans”. There are 5 members. The small one who’s always hanging around her like a piece of decoration, Komine Sayaka is the “Captain”, and she’s the most extreme. “I hate men”, “Women should live in a world of just women” and stuff. She just doesn’t get the fact that women are essential for this world, really. But you know, if someone like that gets a boyfriend, she’ll change her view overnight. Well, there’s that, and I am the one who is going to make Hikaru-sama fall, and gonna bring spring back into the lives of the fans.” Before they noticed, as he was listening to Junpei’s solo performance, they were the only ones left in the classroom. Youtarou looked at the blackboard, where today’s examination menu was listed, starting from the weight measurement. The first one was marked with a pink circle. “Umm, that…” As Youtarou fearfully pointed at it, Junpei, who still been talking to himself with his arms folded, sprang up from his chair in a hurry. “This is bad! It’s already started! Rumor is the one in charge of weight measurement is Amatsuka Hikaru’s little sister, who just entered the academy this year. We’ve got to go have a look. Oh yea, do you know Yocchan? That Amatsuka Hikaru comes from a totally mental family with 19 sisters! And in the middle-school department of the academy, 6 of them take up all six grades in a row! On top of that, they all do not lose to Hikaru-sama in beauty. As for me, I think prefer Haruka Onee-sama who’s one grade above us the most. Well that’s just what I think, I’m looking forward to who Yocchan choses. I pray our tastes don’t clash, yep. Cause we have to get along for the rest of the year after all.” Yocchan –thinking that he could not hate this guy who jumped to conclusions much to early– ended up smiling.
9 “Alright, straighten your back and puff out your chest please.” Said Haruka, smiling brightly, and looking like a kind, older-sister-type attendant. She was wearing an armband that had the words “Waist Measurement In-charge” printed on it. The teacher’s words that boys and girls would have their measurements taken separately seemed quite hollow now, as the boys were just a few desks away from the girls in their own corner. On top of it, the measurement taker was…a girl. On top of it…it was Haruka. As Haruka passed her hand holding a measuring tape beneath his arms and around his back, her white, small face came really close to his abdomen. As Youtarou involuntarily sucked in his stomach, “Pitoo~” Haruka suddenly let out a weird noise and stuck the side of her face to his sucked in stomach. His belly became warm. “Uwah–” His voice slipped out. He panicked and looked around. But in this classroom where the waist measurements were being taken, it was very noisy, and it seemed like no one was paying attention to the two of them. Relieved, Youtarou put a hand on his chest. “Please, if you keep doing that, we’ll get found out.” He even had enough leeway to retort at Haruka. “Nooo~! I don’t want you to use such a distant way of speaking with me!” Haruka pouted, and pretending to read the measuring tape, pinched his stomach. “Ouch.” “It’s fine even if we get find out~. Haruka is different from Tsurara-chan, so I’m not afraid of getting found out at all~. In fact, I almost want us to get found out. For Haruka, she’s proud of her younger brother– I mean, her fated prince.” Said Haruka, silently laughing with her mouth somewhere around his flank, her eyes closed in happiness. It, it tickles. But it seemed like he more he said, the more he would be digging his own grave, so he kept his mouth shut this time. “Les see…the waist in 72 centimeters…Not even close to overweight. Phew.” Said Haruka, filling out Youtarou’s medical card. “Oh, what. That’s boring. Including here, you have only visited two stations. Just the height and wight is filled out…” Before he knew it, she was reading his card. “Next up is sitting height! I know, I think sitting height is being measured by Mizore Onee-chan, so please give it while sitting next to her.” “Eh?” Youtarou gulped. Speaking of, when at the station where their weight had been measured, they had figured out that the information obtained by Junpei was a hoax, because the 7th Daughter Rikka –who was among the students entering the middle-school– was nowhere to be found, as common sense would dictate. Just thinking of what would happen if he met the free spirited Rikka in front of so many people made Youtarou break out in a sweat. Since he had been dreading it, he was quite relieved at the time. But, what if, going forward, the daughters of the Amatsuka house were waiting for him at various stations? Whether she knew of Youtarou’s worries or not, Haruka continued: “From among the high-school students, students are chosen from the upper classes first to help with these duties. So, I think that people form the first-year classes or lower that got selected for the duty would be quite few…” So that’s how it is. Then…the only hurdle remaining is Mizore. Feeling relived and yet not at the same time, Youtarou was filled with mixed feelings.
10 “Here, hurry up and spread your legs.” “Like I said, I’ll do it my myself.” “No need to be so reserved.” “Like I said, it’s fine.” In response to the 2nd Daughter Mizore stretching his hand towards his crotch, Youtarou defended by tightly pressing thighs together and running away, slightly bent over. They were in the Audiovisual classroom, which had seats in levels spreading out in a fan shape. In the front of the classroom –which was a little too big for a facility belonging to a high-school– on top of the podium, Youtarou was being demanded to let Mizore touch the area between his legs. Mizore’s long, slender hand wriggled forward, trying to find an opening. “Like I said, erm, isn’t this the place to measure the sitting height?” Youtarou fended off Mizore’s hands, slightly forcefully. “I know that, of course. Sitting height…and at the same time, as important is the inseam length, don’t you think? Did you know? The length of the legs in not the overall height minus the sitting height. So, I thought I would go ahead and measure that as well. Come on!” Mizore brandished the measuring tape in an experienced manner, and grinned. “Look, hurry up! The people behind you are waiting.” Youtarou looked back. There, Junpei was lined up against the wall with a very nervous look on his face. “Ano…That, d-d-d-d-d-do I have to go through that too?” “Hn?” Mizore noticed Junpei, who was standing in the at-attention pose. “Why do I, have to measure the length of your inseam?” Faced with a Mizore’s unquestionable expression, Junpei had no reply. “Come on, hurry and open up those legs!” “I can’t do that…” But Youtarou was getting more and more concerned about the gazes from the surroundings. This part of the room was designated as the boy’s corner, but most of the space in the room was designated for measuring the girls. If this went on for any longer, people would start noticing their argument. Whatever happens, I don’t care anymore. Thought Youtarou, partly desperate now, and loosened up his thighs. “That’s right, that’s a good boy. In these matters, giving up is the most important thing, you know? No matter how much you want to hide it, measurements are things that convert the self into accurate, infallible readings.” Saying that, Mizore stretched her hand to Youtarou’s inner thigh. Hii. “Well, I actually have less interest in your inseam measurement than the dust of this universe. But since I was asked by Fubuki…” Eh, by Fubuki? “Hey, don’t close them!” Uuu… He had gotten surprised and instinctively closed his thighs again, trapping Mizore’s hand that was holding the measuring tape between them. “The reading– I can’t look at it like this!” This time, she suddenly brought her face close to Youtarou’s crotch. As Mizore’s small, white face came close his body, he felt her warm breath against his sensitive parts. “Uwaaahhh! I’m sorry, but I’m at limit!!” Youtarou finally bolted ran away. “Aa, don’t run away! Fubuki’s data gathering plans–” As Mizore was saying, Junpei, who had been watching the whole thing from the sidelines said: “Ano, to measure the inseam, usually, the one getting measured holds the measuring tape from the top, while the one measuring reads the number off of the measuring tape where it meets the floor…” “Of course. That’s common sense.” Mizore nodded with a composed face. Youtarou felt all his strength leave his body. “Un, the inseam is… 76 cm. Is that long or short? Since we don’t measure other students, I have no idea!” Mizore declared.
As they were leaving the classroom, Junpei grabbed Youtarou’s shoulder. “Yocchan, are you maybe, the type that meets misfortune often? That Onee-chan –apparently, she’s Amatsuka Hikaru’s second eldest sister– is a quite scary person. She even has a reputation of being able to see the future. But I guess she can’t tell the inseam measurement unless she measures it herself.” I sympathize a bit. He was looking at Youtarou with that kind of look in his eyes.
11 “Like – I – said! Try harder and bend over a bit more! With only this much, it’s a minus! M-i-n-u-s! Don’t you think that’s just shameful?” The voice of the 6th Daughter Tsurara almost became loud enough to echo and reach all corners of the gymnasium, causing Youtarou to small amount of anxiety. “Sorry– but, I can’t– I’m at my…” Taking in a painful breath, that’s all he could muster. “Mou! You weakling! Among us siblings, no one has ever before shown such embarrassment as getting a minus in the front-bend– Ahhhh!” She realized her own slip of the tongue. “N-Nothing, it’s nothing. It just that this person, despite being a guy, and despite being in the first year of high school, has a very stiff body…” Tsurara started offering excuses to the air –and anyone who might’ve been listening. She came close to Youtarou, who was trying his best to bend forward as far as possible on a stage in the gymnasium, leaned on his back to whisper in his ear, forcibly pushing him to bend even further forward. “Mou! Because Servant is way too lacking in ability, I accidently got all worked up! Try harder next time and don’t make me say weird stuff!” Bam. Tsurara’s push with her weight on his back came as a final attack and was enough to cause a +7cm change in the reading. It was Youtarou’s best record, ever. “See, you can do it if you try, can’t you? Since it can’t be helped, I’ll help you out in the future too.” Fufunn. Tsurara breathed out through her noise, satisfied. This next examination was physical strength measurement, and here, the students getting measured created one-on-one pairs from the middle school 2nd Years on duty to get their measurements taken. Youtarou’s partner was…Tsurara, who had volunteered for the position. “Pairing up with you is the worst, but I have to make sure you don’t do anything that gives away the fact that we are siblings, so…” Even though she had volunteered herself, she appeared in front of Youtarou using such abusive language. Her pride was a high as a mountain, and she demanded equally high results from Youtarou. Due to that, he was made to redo the various tests multiple times. All that was left was…grip strength test, chin-ups, vertical jumps, step-up exercise, side-stepping test… Ahh, I wonder how hard she’s gonna work me… Youtarou thought with a heavy heart.
And then. “Ha…Ha…Ha…” As expected, he was completely out of breath. “Ahhh, mou! I lost count of the beat! Come on! Stay still!” Youtarou was slovenly sitting on ground, with his legs spread out. Uge … Tsurara was leaning on him, holding his wrist, and measuring his pulse. The last test of the physical examination had been the step-up exercise. To stop Youtarou from moving around, Tsurara was now straddled on top of his thighs, and was presently in the middle of a staring contest with the watch in her hand, her expression serious as she tried to measure his pulse. Dokun dokun dokun dokun– Youtarou could hear his own heartbeat ringing in his ears so clearly without even doing anything, and yet it seemed like it wasn’t reaching Tsurara’s fingers. “Ah– I lost count again! Mou, isn’t it because you have too much fat on your arms? If this goes on, your heartbeat will go back to normal. If that happens, we might have to redo the step-up exercise again–” Lies. She’s joking right? Youtarou was worn out, and for a good reason. He had been made to redo some of the other exercises as well and was completely exhausted. “My heart is, Haa…damn near jumping out of my chest, Haa… so I don’t think, Haa…that you would be, Haa… unable to feel it.” He somehow squeezed out the words while breathing heavily. [TL Note: First time we hear Youtarou speaking in such a frank tone to one of the sisters, especially Tsurara.] “Mou! Like I said, don’t talk! I’ll lose the pulse again! In the first place, this space has too much background noise, so I can’t tell the pulse apart–” “Well then why don’t you listen to it directly?” He said, without thinking too deeply about it. And then he grabbed her head with his hands, and pushing it down, pressed it against his chest. [TL Note: Damn, is this the birth of chad Youtarou: Chadtarou!?] He was really tired out, and just thought that he did not want to have to go through the step-up exercise or whatever again. My heart’s beating this hard, so there’s no way she won’t hear it if her ear is pressed up against it. “Kya! What are you doing!” Began Tsurara, in a dramatic manner. But then she suddenly went quiet. “…I can hear it…” Dokun dokun dokun dokun– It was the sound of Youtarou’s heart. Entrusting her face to the warmth of his chest from on top of his jersey, Tsurara was a bit flustered, and yet at the same time…she was enveloped by this soft feeling. Dokun dokun dokun dokun– It was a very powerful and rhythmic heartbeat. He’s right. It’s beating so hard; I wonder why I couldn’t hear it? Tsurara thought doubtfully and listened to it again. And then she realized. Dokun dokun dokun dokun– She could another small sound, overlapping it. Dokun dokun dokun dokun– Is this…what I think it is… Dokun dokun dokun dokun– A small, but nonetheless powerful beat. That was the sound of Tsurara’s own heartbeat, conveyed to her through her temples to her ears, which were pressed against Youtarou’s chest. Becoming even more flustered, she pressed her own fingers to her temples. Dokun dokun dokun dokun– The small sound overlapped with the vibrations she felt. Gosh, it is my heartbeat. It was beating so hard, so I couldn’t tell his apart… As Tsurara slowly closed her eyes, she could only hear the two heartbeats, and it seemed like the surrounding noise faded away. Tsurara suddenly started feeling that she wanted to be sucked away somewhere. From this crowded area, in the middle of the day. To some far away white world with just the two of them. She suddenly became embarrassed. As soon as she felt that, the sound, the noise of the gymnasium came rushing back. Tsurara suddenly stood up, due to which Youtarou was lightly pushed away. “Come on, how long are you planning to leisurely rest? We’re done. Good work. Next time, be a good boy and stay still like that from the start, okay?” Youtarou was suddenly woken up by Tsurara’s happy voice. Yes, it had all happened in a few moments, and Youtarou, who had been exhausted beyond limits, had slept through it.
There was still some residual warmth remaining on Youtarou’s chest. But, neither Youtarou nor Tsurara felt it. Instead, the one who might have felt it most was the one standing at the entrance of the gymnasium –holding the her health card to her chest, the results of the exercises that she had already completed long ago written on it– silently staring at them; Hikaru.
12 A chime rang out a few times. The time for lunch break was close. Youtarou had just returned to the classroom of class 1 – C. It seemed that the girls were still off somewhere having their measurements taken, and the classroom was quite lifeless. The desks had all been pushed towards the blackboard, and the classroom seemed quite empty and forlorn. Youtarou looked at schedule written on the blackboard. The only measurement that was left was chest measurement. We can just get this over by measuring it ourselves, can’t we? Youtarou thought, idly playing with the measurement tape in his hand. It was his first day after transferring to this school. Maybe because he was finally calming down after being nervous all morning, or maybe it was because Tsurara had made him do the physical exercises again and again, but Youtarou was already feeling sleepy, even though it was still before noon. “Ahhh~ah. I’m bored.” As if Junpei’s word had been a signal, Fuwa-wa~, Youtarou was struck by a yawn. “Hey, do you wanna go peeping?” Cutting through his sleepiness was Junpei’s words, like an attack. “Pe-peeping?” “Cause you know, since the guys are way fewer in number, we end up finishing before the girls. No use sitting here with just the two of us, ya know?” Junpei smiled, his narrow eyes almost disappearing. “You say peeping, but it’s nothing but girls around us you know? It’ll be quite troublesome if we’re found out…” Worn out from the physical exercise earlier, Youtarou wasn’t at all in the mood to do something like that and gave a lethargic response. Hearing that, Junpei suddenly stood up and draped his arm around Youtarou’s shoulders again. “About that…Yocchan, I know of a good place!” Leave it to me. As if saying that, he thumped his own chest. Then, glancing around to make sure no one was there, he brought his face close and whispered. “I haven’t tested it out yet, but the class next door…” He raised his hand to his chest and secretly pointed at the blackboard “Right now, it has become the place where the girls are getting their chest measurements taken. And then, and then, look over there. Can ya see it, Yocchan?” This time he pointed at the wide veranda outside the window “That is, of course, connected to the classroom next door.” Youtarou deflated after hearing the unexpectedly and seemingly simplistic plan. “Even if you say that, if you just go to have a look, you’ll be found out right away, I think.” “No no no, ya see, they’re doing the much-awaited bust measurement, so they’ve completely closed the curtains and are completely absorbed in the results. Rather, you can say that they are the paying the least attention to the windows.” “Even if you say that, if they’ve closed the curtains, then all the more–” reason we won’t able to see anything, Youtarou started to say. “But check this! I have found something out~ This Konohana Academy, it’s unexpectedly old, right? Before it got central cooling like now, one of the windows in every class would instead be replaced with a window frame cooler. Look, over there.” Youtarou looked at the direction Junpei was pointing in, towards the very back of the classroom. And certainly enough, right beside the door that led out to the veranda, there was rather large machine –that looked as if someone had stretched an A/C unit vertically– that had been installed into the window frame. “And hear this, the classroom next door also still has the same thing left installed, and the space above the cooler has no curtain covering it.” It was indeed so. Above the now unused cooler, there was a small fixed window, about 50 cm wide and 30 cm tall, that had no curtain covering it. “See? Don’t you wanna go have a peek? Whaddaya say? Huh?” Junpei laughed. “I know Yocchan also wants to see, at least a little, right?” His smile was just so innocent. If you’re a man, isn’t it natural that you wanna have a look? Since it had become that kind of mood, “Well, I guess…” Youtarou let such a line slip out. Either way, I don’t think we’ll be able to see anything. Maybe, living in the Amatsuka house for 4 months had made him lower his guard a bit. He had been living with 19 sisters, some of whom were around the same age as him, and he felt that he had not encountered anything especially sensational… “Nice! It’s decided!” As soon as the Youtarou replied, Junpei jumped up from his chair, pushing it back. As if afraid that Youtarou would change his mind, he quickly and carelessly put the chair he was sitting on against the other mountain of tables and chairs piled up in front of the blackboard. He then took out a black pen, and sloppily and irresponsibly wrote an ‘82’ on it in the field that said, “Chest measurement”. Then, licking his lips, he happily headed towards the veranda.
13 “Just– Just a light bit more the right!” Junpei gave out instructions. The cooler was taller than Youtarou’s height, such that they could not peek in even by standing on tip toes. Junpei suggested bringing a chair or something, but Youtarou denied it by saying that doing something that flashy increased the risk of them being found out. And since the cooler didn’t have any obvious footholds, in order to climb it and see inside, Youtarou had taken a knee, and standing with one foot on Youtarou’s other leg, Junpei was stretching up, trying his best to look inside the classroom. “Ah, I think I might be able to see…I can see it with a little– I can see it! Uwah! Amazing! Unexpectedly, everyone’s in their bras! Shit, I might be getting a little–” Just listening to him, Youtarou’s heart was starting to beat faster. “B–Bras…” Why is able to see them!? “Why are you able to see their bras? If I remember correctly, didn’t the girls say that they were going to get their chest measurements taken while still wearing their clothes?” A flustered Youtarou asked. It seemed like a rawer scene then what he had imagined was spread out inside. “No, ya see, when it’s time to take the measurement, they reach inside their clothes and take of their bras from under them, see? And then, they put them in the clothes basket, and go “Here you go” and get measured. And then after that, when they have to put their bras back on, it seems that they get pretty defenseless, and end up taking off their blouses and such.” Youtarou tired imagining that scene, but it didn’t go well. His knee was starting to hurt a little now, and his legs started to tremble a bit. “Um, look…It’s about time…” “Ah, sorry, sorry! I’ll switch with you right now. Yocchan, you also want to see, right? Yup, then let’s switch, yep. At times like these, we have to be cooperative.” Youtarou felt a bit more pressure on his leg for an instant, and Junpei lept down.
“Yocchan? Can you see?” Ah, um… “Should I scoot over a bit? How’s it now?” Junpei was being awfully considerate. Barely holding on to the tiny windowsill, Youtarou tried his best to pull himself up farther. Even stretching his neck as much as he could, his eyes only reached the edge of window, and he could only see a few glimpses at best. Eeiii! One more time! And then, the scene inside the classroom spread out in front of him, and the figures of different girls spread out in front of him. It was a very colorful scene. “Ain’t it a nice view?” Said Junpei with a wolfish grin. “Well then, once Hikaru-chan arrives, I trust you’ll switch…” Hearing those half-spoken words from Junpei, Youtarou felt as if his heart seized and almost jumped out of his chest. I let my guard down. He thought. Somehow, since I entered the classroom…no, even before that. Since we parted in front of the school building…because I felt that Hikaru was purposefully distancing herself from me. After that, they had not even seen each other, and since he had been with Junpei and the rest of the sisters, the thought of Hikaru had been chased into the recess of his mind. Youtarou was confused. I wanna see! But he didn’t want to see at the same time. And of course, he wanted other guys to see her figure even less. Hikaru’s smile from that morning surface in his mind. Good Luck. He still didn’t know what she was thinking sometimes, but it had been a smile that conveyed to him that she was seriously thinking about his happiness, a familial smile. It always calmed him down. As if matching up with the image of Hikaru’s face in his mind, Hikaru’s face suddenly came into his view as she entered the class. Uwah! She’s actually here! As usual, Hikaru had a kind of bored expression on her face as she walked inside the classroom. Even though she always had such a good smile on her face at home. Hikaru, acting contrary to Youtarou’s hopes, suddenly began to unbutton her blouse. Uwaaa~ Uwawawawa Youtarou became flustered. He started to think about how best to get in Junpei’s way. Should he stay up here on the windowsill, or should he convince him to retreat somehow? Youtarou was at a loss. “Um, sorry, but…” Hikaru’s no longer in the classroom. Thinking of saying such a lie and making Junpei go back, Youtarou tried to jump down with full force. As he did so, “Uwahhh!” As Junpei was too distracted by Youtarou’s movements, his foot slipped, and he fell down to the veranda, unable to cover his mouth before a shout left it unintentionally. At the same time, Youtarou who had been using Junpei’s knee as a stepping stone also fell, and even though he managed to land on his feet, his balance was off and he fell backwards, throwing out a hand to brace himself against the ground. Unable to stop his momentum from the fall, his arm and his back struck the cleaning supplies locker installed right next to the cooler. The door of the locker opened, and all the mops and buckets and cleaning clothes and what not that had been packed inside came flying out, making a ruckus. “This is bad.” The one who acted first was Junpei, sprawled on the floor. He stood up in a hurry and rushed to hide himself in the classroom of class 1 – C right next door. As he was entering the door into the classroom, he stretched a hand to Youtarou who was in a daze and said, “Oi, what’re you doing, Yocchan! This is bad, we gotta run!” Returning to his senses, Youtarou replied with a “Ye–Yeah”. At the same time, “What!? What was that noise just now?” “Kyaaa! It’s a peeping tom!” “Kyaa!” High pitched voices rose from inside the classroom, which had been designated for chest measurements. Youtarou hurriedly slid towards his own classroom, towards the door where Junpei was stranding. As Junpei slammed the door shut, a corner of the plain, white curtain got stuck into it. Junpei grabbed it and pulled it out viciously.
14 Around the time when the chime announced lunch break, the two headed back to the classroom. Junpei had been certain that since the investigation of the uproar that happened right next door would involve their C class as well, he had proposed they retreat for some time. Well them let’s go peak on the middle-school girls now, there’s this cute girl I have my eye on. Youtarou immediately shot down Junpei’s opinion, and they loitered around the grounds to kill some time, and then hearing the chime ring, decided to return to the classroom. Today, the examinations –which were the only thing scheduled– were going to end in the morning, and only the students that had clubs and other things to do had brought lunches. As they were on the way back, “Yocchan, you’ve got super bad luck after all.” Hearing that from Junpei all over again, Youtarou had nothing to say in return. Undeniably…his luck was bad. And not just a little either. So bad that it couldn’t even be compared to a normal student’s luck.
As Youtarou was hesitating in front of the sliding door, Junpei reached from his side and grabbed the handle. Looking a Youtarou, he smiled widely. At times like these, you gotta be bold, right? Garagaragara– As the door opened, the hustle and bustle of the classroom slid into view, and the noise reached their ears. “Ah, there he is! Youtarou-kun, I was searching for you.” Youtarou entered the class, trying to make himself look smaller, with the sole goal of not standing out, and yet Maria found him out immediately, and headed towards him. “Ah, yeah…” As Youtarou replied noncommittally, she continued, “Ano, it had been quite the uproar earlier. There was quite a fuss about whether someone had been peeking on the girls during their chest measurements.” Maria’s cheeks became red. “Where were you guys? Were you okay? You didn’t spot any suspicious people, did you? In end, no one had even seen a shadow of a person, so they decided it was a sound made by the wind blowing something over or something, but, it’s still quite scary, isn’t it?” “I see…” Youtarou, who had been shrinking at every word, suddenly felt relived at hearing those last words. Oh what, so it hadn’t become something too big. He unintentionally glanced at Junpei, as the latter made an innocent face and said, “In that case, Maria-chan might also have gotten peeked at, right? I’m so jealous~” Saying such things, he was upsetting Maria even more. This guy… Youtarou suddenly started feeling a little stupid. Peeking at girls…I wish I hadn’t helped him with something like that. In the first place, it was not like I really wanted to see. No, I guess I wanted to see a little, maybe? No wait, then Hikaru appeared in that classroom, I really did regret not having stopped earlier…Speaking of, where is Hikaru? He suddenly remembered. Almost reflexively, he started looking around for her when– Ah, will I get ignored again? He faltered a bit. However, because his first day in a new school was about to end without any major incidents, Youtarou had been regaining some of his composure. Even if we are trying to keep the fact that we’re family hidden, talking to her a little, or looking at her a bit is perfectly normal, isn’t it? There was also the fact they were going to be in the same class for a little while, and it wasn’t like he wanted to behave with her like, for example, Hotaru. He recalled Hotaru’s cute demeanor. Yup, now that is an exemplary cute little sister…No, I’m not saying that just because Hikaru is the same is age as me, that she has to be the little sister. If we’re talking about that, it’s not like Hotaru is really my little sister either. Muttering such things in his heart and letting off some steam, Youtarou reached his own seat, and suddenly lifted his face. His eyes met someone’s. It’s Hikaru. At first, he thought he was imagining it. But he was wrong. Hikaru was looking his way. His heart missed a beat and felt like it almost jumped to his throat. Oh what, so I wasn’t being ignored… he thought. However, Hn? Somehow, she’s acting a bit…strange? She was excessively blinking at him, or so it seemed. Her eyes seemed worried. “Well then, we’re going to start the end-of-the-day homeroom.” The teacher in charge of their class, Hidaka Ayako sensei walked in. The students began rearranging their desks in straight lines. The mountain in front of the blackboard had already been taken down, and the desks and chairs had been spread haphazardly here and there in the classroom. As usual, this teacher pushed out her hips, and with an overflowing sex appeal, started to explain what the schedule was going to be from tomorrow on. Seeing that, Youtarou hurriedly faced forward and started to pay attention. He felt Hikaru’s worried gaze leaving him. The girl students around also hushed their voices in a hurry. But still. It bugged him no matter how he tried to ignore it. Hikaru…why had she been looking this way? Even though she had been so distant in the morning. Like she desperately wanted to say something. A worried look on her face. The teacher’s voice stopped reaching Youtarou’s ears. It was eating at him; what was Hikaru thinking, doing. Thinking of what would happen if, by chance, his gaze met with one of the girls from the fans –apparently the name of the girls behaving as something like elite guards of Hikaru, as explained to him by Junpei earlier– he could not muster the courage to look. Even so. It was bugging him. At last, Youtarou secretly, being as nonchalant as he could, glanced towards Hikaru. And then. He saw that Hikaru was also looking towards him. Staring right at him, as if observing him closely. Hikaru’s check twitched, and she made a small, strained smile. It seemed like a smile that she had quite the trouble making. It seemed like an expression that lacked confidence, that felt as if was made out of concern for other people. Youtarou thought that it was his first time seeing such an expression on Hikaru’s face. Why. As the inquisitive feeling inside him swelled, Youtarou realized for the first time. Could it be? M-Maybe, could it be, that I was seen by Hikaru in the peeping hubbub earlier… Bad. This is really bad. [3] Rikka’s pet phrase rose in his mind. Huh, now that I think about it, it’s kinda fun to say it, isn’t it? He hurriedly stuffed down that kind of idle thought. He felt his face drain of color. This is extremely…bad. Certainly, at the time, he had stopped just as Hikaru’s turn had come up… As he recalled the scene in the classroom, his heart started beating a little faster. A classroom filled with girls only, filled with a unique atmosphere. The girl students all taking off their bras from beneath their shirts in order to get their chest measurements taken. Among them, some bold ones completely taking of their shirts to adjust their colorful bras, like light blue, and pink and white and beige and and… Nonono. Calm down, me. Youtarou tried to calm himself down. He was panicking. He did his best to recall. If I recall correctly, at that time, Hikaru was in the middle of changing, or should I say in the middle of taking off her bra, so if you think about it normally, there is no way that her attention was focused outside the window at the time. If anyone would have found me, it would have been the students nearer to the window. On top of it, at the time I had completely lost my courage, and instead of looking at Hikaru’s bra, I was instead staring at her face the whole time…I don’t think her expression showed anything that suggested that I even attracted her attention for even a second. And then, there was the fact the scream from the classroom had only come after Youtarou had fallen from the cooler. At the time, he had already jumped off Junpei’s knee and fallen to floor in an unsightly way, almost completely hidden behind the windowsill, so it didn’t strike him as likely that he had been seen… he told himself desperately. One worry was still left in his mind. He had felt this since the day they had first met. It seems like the girl named Hikaru has a part of her that is completely out of my imagination. Like the fact that she included me in her family the very day we met, or the fact that, in the first place, she’s a member of family with 19 sisters. Other than that, there is also the fact that a stranger, and on top of that a male like me in already inside, and yet she also enters the bath with a nonchalant face…Haaaa. As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but heave a sigh. Yeah, it seems kinda weird that a girl like that would make a huge fuss just because she got peeked on. Ah, but no matter how insensitive she is to these matters, it would be different at school, right? It seems like all the other girls were making a big fuss about there being a peeper… Thinking that, Youtarou, who had been lost in his worries of youth, lifted his face. And what came into his view was the same strained smile that seemed a little troubled; Hikaru’s figure who seemed to be sweating slightly. Huh? Is this classroom that hot? It was slightly cloudy outside; however, the weather was kinda of hazy, and the sun was also high in the sky. For April, it was kind of a hot and a day that seemed like pollen would be everywhere, he thought. “Ahh, it’s hot” Hikaru said in a small voice, as if she was talking to herself. She grabbed the front of her blouse and was shaking it back and forth as if to air herself. Youtarou suddenly realized that Hikaru still didn’t have her tie on, and the first button on her blouse was left open. And even though she was complaining about it being hot, she was still wearing her uniform’s blazer. He felt something was weird. Hikaru let go of the blouse and lifted her arm to wipe away the small beads of sweat that had gathered on her forehead with a handkerchief. As she lifted her arm, her blouse also lifted with it, and around the chest part of her blouse, he could see something through the partly transparent fabric. For a second, Youtarou did not understand what that was. Around the chest part of her white, slightly transparent blouse, he could see something small, like a bead, poking out-
As soon as Youtarou thought he saw something, Hikaru hurriedly lowered her arm. Looking at this, Wait, no way…Youtarou thought. “Well then that’s all for today! The person on duty, please take of the of the blackboard and the diary, okay? From tomorrow on, it will be regular classes as usual, so please pull back the vacation mood a little bit, and don’t slack off too much, okay? And also, it seems there was some kind of disturbance about peeking or what not, but since there is no proof, and nobody saw anything, please don’t raise too much of a fuss. From today on, this C class has gained one more male student, and we are on track for eventual full coeducation. That’s why, the female students shouldn’t get too hung up on this and pay attention to the things that need to payed attention to while you spend this time together. This year’s students are those students that advanced to middle school while it was still a completely girls only, so please take care. No suddenly taking off or putting on your jersey in the classroom or pulling out or tucking in your blouse from your skirts in the middle of the classroom like you used to do before. That kind of stuff is disgraceful for ladies, and so it’s prohibited now, okay? Well then, that’s all!” Among the boos that had come from certain girl students, Maria’s clear “Stand. Bow” overlapped, and Youtarou also stood up in a hurry. He glanced to his side and saw that Hikaru was still flapping the front of her blouse carefully, even as she was bowing. There was no mistake. He wasn’t completely sure yet, and he wasn’t sure how to approach her to ask either. But, the one thing Youtarou was sure about was that Hikaru was in trouble.
15 “I’m really sorry, I got Hikaru-chan to help me and everything.” Maria said happily. Maybe because she was embarrassed, or maybe it was something else, but in comparison Hikaru was almost expressionless, and replied that it was nothing. Again, she grabbed the front of her blouse, and flapped it, airing herself. “Today is really hot.” As he could not get closer to her, Youtarou was standing at the back of the class, his bag resting on the lockers, staring her way as if watching over her. That is all he could do. “Maria’s height pretty short after all, and I can’t reach the top parts of blackboard, no matter how much I try. That’s why I’m kind of jealous of Hikaru-chan! If I were tall like Hikaru-chan, I’m sure that my view of the world would change too. I hope I grow a little taller too. Hikaru-chan always looks pretty sharp, has proportional arms and legs, and is like model…” “I’m telling you, that’s not true.” Getting in the rhythm, Hikaru had started to vigorously erase the blackboard. Looking at Hikaru from behind, doing her work taciturnly, Youtarou almost broke out in a smile. It was one of Hikaru’s good points that she did everything with the utmost effort. Even if it was just cleaning the blackboard that had been asked of her by someone else. But at the same time, he felt that it was also because Hikaru was finding the vague “like a model” and other praises that Maria was throwing her way kind of annoying. Why do girls want to get into these conversations of passing compliments on looks to each other back and forth? In reality, won’t that kind of compliments just bother you? Youtarou sympathized with Hikaru in his heart. And in the first place, all of Hikaru’s elder and younger sisters were more beautiful and cuter than your average model or other such talent. On top of that, their family business was a professional entertainment company. It seemed like that last tidbit was not very well known in school, but even still, even he realized that Hikaru would no longer be happy receiving vague compliments like those anymore. As a bonus, it also seemed like Hikaru had a bit of an inferiority complex in regard to her other sisters… “But I do wonder…” Maria turned around and looked around the classroom. Only a few students were left in the classroom. Even those few –probably fans of Hikaru– did not seem like they were going to follow Hikaru all the way back home and were about to leave the classroom. “…where did the step ladder for class C go to?” Maria put her index finger under mouth, pondering. “I’m sure…it got moved around…in the hustle bustle during the examinations…” Hikaru said between powerful strokes with the eraser. The blackboard became completely clean and black. “It’s probably…in one of the other classrooms…we’ll find it…sooner or later…” Speaking though pursed lips so not to inhale the chalk dust, Hikaru finally finished erasing the blackboard. “Here you go.” She lightly spun around to face Maria and handed her the eraser, as if to say I’ll leave the cleaning of the eraser to you. “Thank you so much!” However, after receiving the eraser from Hikaru with a smile, “Ara!? Ararara” Maria suddenly ducked her head a little and drew closer to Hikaru. Her gaze was fixed on Hikaru’s chest. “Wh-What…” Hikaru reflexively took a large step back. She started to flap the chest part of her bouse again, as if trying to hide something from Maria. Not caring about that at all, Maria brought her face really close to Hikaru’s chest. “Ano, could it be that some chalk got onto your shirt? I thought I saw something around the chest part of your blouse, something with a light pink color…” “Eh? Ahhhh…N-no, it’s nothing like that.” Hikaru replied, without even looking at the place pointed out by Maria. Her eyes were swimming all over the place. I knew it, this has become something troublesome …thinking that, Youtarou was going to move. But the fans were faster. “Mou! Can’t you see that this is troubling! Brazenly asking Hikaru-sama to wipe the board for you! Hikaru-sama, are you alright? We all will…” Hikaru cut in as if to block the petite leader named Komine Sayaka, “Yeah, like I said, it’s nothing, I’m fine! Hurry up and go home.” “Is that so? Well then, take care, Hikaru-sama.” Saying that, Sayaka suddenly hugged Hikaru. And started rubbing her face in Hikaru’s chest. Uowahh . Hikaru reflexively leaned backwards. “Hmn? It feels a little different from before…” It’s a bit softer than usual. Sayaka tilted her head wonderingly. As she was pondering, Hikaru forcibly pulled her along and expelled her from the classroom. “Ah, then, we should also…” Maria turned to look at Youtarou. Youtarou suddenly returned to himself. Now that she mentioned it, he was staying here without going because they had planned that Maria would show him various clubs after school. He looked at Hikaru. I don’t want you to go… It seemed to him that she was making such an expression. That is why- “Um, listen” Before he knew it, words were spilling from his mouth. “If I recall correctly, Amatsuka…san is currently doing Kendo, right?” So that Maria wouldn’t get any strange ideas, he did his best to appear nonchalant and smiled. “Maybe it would best if I asked her directly, you know? Even though this school has no Kendo club for boys, I was thinking of discussing with her how I can continue doing Kendo.” Seeing Hikaru make a surprised face made him a little happy. Even I can do at least this much! He thought. But then thinking about how miniscule this action of his was, it felt like even he was going to start laughing at himself.
16 “I’m sure that until we started the chest measurements, I was still wearing my bra.” Hikaru looked around the classroom and said in a vexed tone. Both of them had agreed that the first thing to do was have a look around the scene of the “accident”, and had now come to the neighboring classroom of 1 – B. This had been the room where the girls had been having their chest measurements taken. The scene from that time was about to resurface in Youtarou’s mind, and he hurriedly shook his head to chase it away. Just forget about it already, the blue and the pink and lace and rest. “At the time, there was a loud noise out on the veranda, and someone screamed that there was a peeping tom or a pervert or something, and because of that it became an uproar…” Hikaru said. Prevert!? Youtarou felt his face stiffen, and he hurriedly turned his back to Hikaru, pretending to look around the veranda.
Even though it was not my intention to peek at all…I just got a little carried along by Junpei’s talk, and was thinking of it as playing around, or just helping him a bit or something… As thoughts that couldn’t even serve as excuses rose up in his mind, the feelings of guilt also bubbled up. Ahh, if only we hadn’t done that kind of thing. “It was right around when I had taken it off, and was about to put it into the clothes bin, so I was really surprised…in that moment, I dunno where I put it, my memory is a bit blank. I had never imagined that a pervert would show up here in Konohana. But, you understand, right? I’m in a position where I can never forgive that kind of thing, you know?” Hikaru closed her fist tightly. Youtarou suddenly became a little pale and remembered. Now that I think about it, Hikaru said something like that before. One the very first day I met her, she said that the 19 sisters could be easily target be targeted and so it was bit dangerous for them, and yet they had no father or elder brother so she– at least she wanted to become someone who could protect everyone. That’s why she said that she wished she were born a boy. Even though he had no intentions of peeking initially, he was now feeling the weight of the sin he had committed by acting thoughtlessly. If they had ever been found out… “That’s why, the blood rushed to my head, you know…” Saying that, Hikaru picked up a mop that was leaning against the wall “…and in the heat of the moment, I grabbed a mop nearby…” she held the mop with both hands above her head “…and thought to myself that I’m definitely gonna exterminate whoever it is.” Slash! It’s coming! He thought. She brought the mop down with too much speed for it to be just playing around, and Youtarou was barely able to dodge it. “Ah-Ahahahaha…If this had hit him, I’m sure even the pervert would have been KO in one hit.” He could do nothing but laugh. “Well, yeah.” Hikaru rubbed her nose, proud. As her body was now closer to him, he suddenly caught the warm whiff of her sweat. Maybe it was because she had swung around the mop, but a small blub like shadow surfaced on her chest again. Youtarou involuntarily averted his eyes. Noticing his movements, Hikaru hurriedly covered her chest. “You idiot, don’t look…” She hurriedly turned around. “I wasn’t really trying to…” And then the two fell quiet. The classroom returned to silence. From somewhere far away, only the carefree sound of racquets hitting a tennis ball could be heard.
17 It was uncertain how much time had passed. Hikaru was the first to speak. “I’m sorry…I am an idiot, aren’t I, just because of something like this, I…” Nope, to lose her bra during a checkup is a huge thing for a grown-up girl, I think . Youtarou wanted to respond, but contrary to his feelings, the words just got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out. “Since, you know, we are in school…” Hikaru muttered from behind him “If it was at home, I wouldn’t mind this kind of thing at all.” She looked down at her chest. Really, for this to become slightly transparent or whatever, it shouldn’t bother me in the slightest. Really, it’s not even that appealing. If compared to Haruka, my chest is pretty meager. But even that meager chest brought Hikaru many problems. Hikaru still remembered the day when she had to start wearing a bra. That overwhelming feeling of be constrained, and the discomfort. The day when she felt as if the wings that let her fly free were clipped. She was now a high school student and was fully aware that people could not always remain so carefree, and yet, she still dreamed sometimes. After all this time, she didn’t think that she could still become a real boy. Just…she wanted to be a little something more in middle. If this chest of mine had not swollen…if it had all remained flat, and I could’ve lived as a carefree and peaceful living being, how much better that would have been. If that had happened, then even with Youtarou, I could’ve had a more easygoing relationship as a friend– no, as a sibling. The more the time passed, the less Hikaru wanted to show her upset self to Youtarou. She, who was getting upset just because she had lost her bra. Whether that was because she was frustrated, or whether it was because she was embarrassed, or perhaps… The exact reason eluded the simplistic Hikaru for now. “It’s fine already. Let’s just go back like this!” Hikaru suddenly said. “Eh? But we still haven’t found it.” “It’ll turn up, sooner or later. In the first place, I wasn’t really fond of that thing.” “But, won’t it be troublesome on the way…?” Youtarou recalled Hikaru’s pale face, as she had grabbed her blouse and flapped the front again and again. “It’s fine. At that time, there were people around so I couldn’t speak up about it, and also, I had been thinking that if I searched for it, I would find it immediately…Since we haven’t found it after searching this much, I give up!” So she says, but we have only just searched this class. Isn’t it too early to give up searching for something as important as a bra ? At least in the mind of a young man like Youtarou, it was. “But if it’s found by someone else afterwards, won’t that be even worse?” “I don’t mind, it’s like my name is written on it or something.” “But–” “If I say it’s fine, it’s fine! Worst case, I’ll just put band aids on them and go home.” Hikaru waved a hand dismissively, as if telling him not to argue anymore. Band aids…So there was that kind of a hidden skill. Coming into contact with another scared hidden secret of this former all-girls school, Youtarou had no response to give.
18 “No matter what, don’t look this way, okay?” They were back in the classroom of class 1 – C. Youtarou had offered a suggestion that he would strand in the corridor, but Hikaru had stopped him and told him to stay inside the classroom to keep a watch out for any people coming. She then took out some band aids from the First Aid box of the classroom. Hikaru instructed Youtarou to sit in his seat and face towards the corridor, and herself sat on her seat nearer to windows and faced towards them, and then got busy. The rustling of clothes and the presence of Hikaru siting behind his back and silently doing something seemed like it was letting out a huge attractive force and was making Youtarou really uncomfortable. Is she putting them on now? Is she buttoning up? Did she already put on her shirt? Or is she tucking her shirt into her skirt…? I wanna look…But I shouldn’t look. Youtarou was realizing that it was hard to resist the temptation of looking when you were not supposed to, like a small child who had been blindfolded. It was no wonder that things didn’t go well in Tsuru no Ongaeshi [4] . However, that nervousness was cut through in single instant: “Look, how is it? With this, it’s all good now.” As he turned around to Hikaru’s energetic voice, he saw her standing in daunting pose, with an unexpectedly animated smile. Without thinking, he gazed at her chest. The small, pink, bead like shadows…were no longer there. Hee~ Band Aids are pretty awesome. They’re quite handy. Thought Youtarou. Looking at him, Hikaru chortled “You know, your face is showing exactly what you’re thinking!” “Is-Is that so…” He unconsciously scratched his head, embarrassed. He had thought that he didn’t let his emotions show on his face that much. Looking at him, Hikaru started laughing out loud, as if she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. Youtarou, getting infected with her laughter, also started laughing. After laughing together for a while, “Thanks for coming along with me today…” Hikaru abruptly moved towards him and said. Standing in front of Youtarou, who was still sitting in his seat, she enthusiastically held out her right hand. “I appreciate it…even though I told you to keep the fact that we’re family a secret and distanced myself from you…” A-A handshake? Here and now!? Due to this unexpected behavior, Youtarou didn’t know how to react. He barely lifted one of his hands when Hikaru strongly grabbed it with hers and laughed again saying It really is a needlessly big hand. That laugh of hers had a tinge of sadness mixed in it, which caught Youtarou off guard. Maybe because she had gotten changed in a hurry, Hikaru’s hands were warm like a child’s, soft and slightly damp from sweat. “I’m sorry. This happened even though I was trying to make it so that you would be able to live a peaceful school life…Now because of this, and I ended up causing you the most trouble.” Hn? “What do you mean–” “What I mean is, surely even you realized it after spending some time in school today? We are, after all, a family with 19 sisters, and out of those 7 of us are presently enrolled in this Konohana Academy. Miharu-Nee, although a minor one, is a real-life celebrity, and Mizore-Nee has that kind of character. Even Haruka is also super popular and has a fan club in a nearby boys’ school. As a bonus, Tsurara is pretty devoted to her studies and is very smart, and on top of that her personality is called cool and such and she is very popular with her underclassmen and boys alike. Hotaru is also very popular among the male teachers…They all stand out, no matter what.” Youtarou had also already felt that. “That’s why I thought that if people knew that you were our sibling, it would threaten your school life as well, so I…” Oh what, so that’s all it was. Youtarou thought that it was unexpectedly simple reason. “On top of all that, my only classmate, the dependable Hikaru-sama is surrounded by some powerful imperial guards called the Fans after all.” Youtarou teased and laughed. Hikaru replied crossly “…That was! That, I’m not making them do it cause I like it. It’s just that, if I were to say something, it would just make the problem worse, so I always…” Youtarou felt as if he understood. “She doesn’t like tiresome things.” Youtarou recalled a line said on Valentine’s Day by the 10th daughter Seika. On the 14th of February, Hikaru had received and brought back a mountain of chocolate. Watching on as the 11th daughter Yuuna, overjoyed, jumped into said mountain of chocolate, she had continued. Onee-chan is very kind, and she doesn’t want to waste anyone’s feelings, that’s why she always accepts all of them and then comes back. Even though I’m sure that she actually does not like doing that… If he told Hikaru that she was kind right now, it felt like she was going to become cross again, so he stayed quiet. “It would have been great if you really were our family.” Hikaru said slowly. “Then we would’ve been able to stay together like this all the time, without having to worry about other people’s eyes. I would have even been able to show you around the school.” The ends of her mouth distorted, a little frustrated. “Haruka said that maybe you really are our actual family. Our dad side of the family is a little complicated, so she said that you might have been a brother of ours that had been separated from us because of their circumstances. You…are you sure that’s not true?” Youtaro was stunned. It was his first time hearing that kind of theory. He silently shook his head from side to side. Hikaru suddenly brought her face close to him. “Of course, it was untrue. In that case…yeah.” She silently nodded. “I hate this sneaky approach after all. That’s why, going forward, if you are to live in our house, it’s regrettable, but there might be no other way than to do what Mama suggested.” Youtarou felt his hands starting to sweat. What Haiku was going to tell him now– “The only way in this entire world. The one way you can become our true sibling, no, our true family…” –Youtarou felt as if he should not hear the rest of it. Hikaru’s face came even closer. “You and me, we would…” He could hear her breaths now “No, one from among us sisters, and you would, in the future…” He could now feel the dampness of Hikaru’s sweat “in order to become a real, true family member…” His butt started to feel really itchy. “U-Um, listen!” He couldn’t bear it anymore, and shot up from his seat, letting out a very shrill voice at the same time. “Hn? What’s wrong?” Hikaru made a confused face. Youtarou didn’t know how to reply. He had just felt like he should not hear the next part of her sentence. “F-For now, why don’t we head back? It’s not like we’re gonna find the b-br-…I mean, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be finding what you lost anytime soon either so…” His hands were trembling. As if she just realized, Hikaru looked around the deserted classroom and then looked at her watch. “Ah, it’s already this late. You’re right, let’s go. From today on, if the students who don’t have clubs don’t leave, they get scolded.” Looking at the carefree attitude of Hikaru, Youtarou was a little relieved. He started picking up his things, his hands still trembling a little. From all the things he had to bring for his first day, he was now down to just his school bag and single paper bag, as he was leaving the other things on campus. But the things he had to carry back were unexpectedly numerous, and the school cap on the very top of the paper bag seemed like it was going to fall out at any second. It can’t be helped. Guess I’ll wear it on the way home. He slipped it on without much thought. At the moment, Arerere? He thought that he had put it on securely, and yet the brand-new cap slipped off his head. “You…” With a dazed expression on her face, as if she had seen something she could not believe, Hikaru raised a trembling hand and pointed. She was pointing at the thing that was peeking out from Youtarou’s cap. He reached out a hand to grab it. Pink colored…fabric? Uwaaahhhh! A scream rose in his heart. “Could it be that this is…” Overjoyed, Hikaru rushed forward and hugged Youtarou before he could finish. “Uwah!” Hugging him tightly, Hikaru excitedly moved around, shaking him from side to side. You don’t have to be that overjoyed… she seemed so overjoyed that such a thought rose in his mind. Wait, isn’t this not the time to be so honestly overjoyed? In the first place, why the hell was this inside my cap… The questions swirling around in Youtarou’s head were completely left behind, as Hikaru’s repeated and overjoyed “Thank you so much” completely drowned them out. Before he knew it, Hikaru’s soft chest was directly pressing against Youtarou. It seems like band aids are not that handy after all. But before Youtarou could get cold feet and pull back, the situation resolved itself. Suddenly, the door of the classroom opened.
“Mou! You’re late, too late. What is my baggage carrier doing in here? Since you wouldn’t come out to the school gate no matter how much I waited, I came to see– Hn!?” Tsurara was standing there. “Hey, what are you doing, in a place like this…!!” In front of Tsurara was Youtarou, apparently hugging Hikaru, a pink colored bra firmly hanging from his hand.
“You…just roll over and die already!” Bam! Tsurara’s roundhouse kick connected with Youtarou’s stomach.
19 That night. “Oooii…” Letting out a very lethargic voice, he raised his hand and knocked on the door a couple of times to see what would happen. “Shut up! There’s no way I’m letting you inside the house again!” Ah, she’s still there. Man, she had some solid guts…No wonder she is the part of the advance class that talented students are said to gather in. Saying that kind of strange admiring remarks in his heart, Youtarou looked at the sky. It was now completely black. He wasn’t wearing a watch so he couldn’t be certain, but dinner time was almost certainly long over. His smiled bitterly, his stomach empty. He did have his wallet in his bag, but he felt that if he went outside to buy something, he would get scolded again. Since it couldn’t be helped, he lowered himself onto the tiles in front if the entrance. Due to chilly weather, the well cleaned tile was slightly cold. The moon in the sky was thin, with pointy edges, like a cat’s claw. If I were scratched by something like that, I bet it would be painful…Well, let’s kick back and appreciate the moon for a little longer, I guess. Somehow, he was slowly starting to learn how to deal with Tsurara, and he was surprised at himself. “Like I said, that was not Youtarou’s fault. I had gotten caught off guard by the sudden peeping uproar and had stuffed it into a nearby cap without thinking about it. I had no idea that it was actually Youtarou’s desk that had been brought from the next-door classroom…” Hikaru was desperately trying to convince Tsurara inside the house, who had been working hard to guard the entrance all this time. “No, he definitely hid it in there intentionally. Hikaru Onee-sama, why are you covering for him!? That man is disgusting and a pervert and a bra loving man, you know? What’s more, as proof, he was holding onto Hikaru Onee-sama’s bra so tightly…kya! That’s it, I’m definitely not going to forgive him. That idiot, stupid, perverted servant! He’s beyond saving!” She was spitting out those words. “Like I have been saying for a while, that is you misunderstanding–” “No, I will not definitely be convinced with the pacifist Hikaru Onee-sama’s efforts to gloss things over! Onee-sama is being deceived by that man! Don’t you realize it? That’s why I have to go out of my way to set things straight like this. Open your ears, Servant. Are you listening? No matter how long you wait out there, it’s useless. I will never, ever forgive such a shameless act like being a pervert!!!”
In the kitchen, the two sisters in charge of cooking, Haruka and Hotaru, along with the easily worried Kosame and Seika, who had become very restless worrying about Youtarou, were preparing an improvised sandwich lunch box. “As for the drink, I think it’d be best if it was something hot, right?” Kosame asked Haruka. “Yep, the nights are still a bit chilly after all…Hot coffee in a thermos flask would be good, I think. And include some sugar with it…like so.” “Do you think Onii-chan likes black coffee, after all? That’s so cool!” Seika chimed in. “This gets you in the mood to go have a night picnic with him, doesn’t it?” Hotaru said and laughed, putting together a three-ingredient sandwich consisting of glistening ham, cheese, and cucumbers. “Ah, in that case, I want a jam sandwich.” Haruka also joined in, laughing. “But, if we do that, who knows how much angrier Tsurara Onee-chan would become…” Kosame said fearfully, and seeing that, the other 3 replied That’s true and laughed out loud. Having prepared the sandwich package, the 4 of them crept out to the corridor, and looked towards the entrance from the shadows. Tsurara was still standing in front of the entrance, her arms crossed. She was still muttering something to the unseen person outside the door. On her side, Hikaru was sitting on the floor, her arms around her knees, head bowed. Just then, one of her arms slid down from her knee. “Ah. Could it be…Hikaru Onee-chan went to sleep?” Seika started to whisper, “Shhh!” and Haruka stopped her. “We’re going out from this way, okay?” The 4 of them hurriedly headed towards the back door, so as to not be found by Tsurara. Hotaru was carefully carrying a large thermos flask. “I hope Onii-chan is happy to receive this!”
And so, along with Tsurara’s mutterings and Hikaru’s faint, sleepy breaths, another night peacefully grew late in the Amatsuka house… [1] Japanese term for voice-actor/actress [2] 1 – C stands for First Year class, section C [3] 「 Yabai. Kore wa majide yabai 」 [4] A Japanese folklore story, that involves a woman, who is actually a swan, asking a man not to look at her while she’s doing something. |