Chapter 5: The Girl with the Pulse
A two-story detached house.
This Yoshiki house, standing in a quiet residential area, is neither particularly small nor large – just a typical layout.
If there’s anything unusual, it’s the disparity between siblings.
Me, the older brother, with a six-tatami room.
My sister Seira, with a ten-tatami room.
We used to share the same room, but it’s been a few years since we moved. Now a third-year middle school student, Seira makes a blatantly disgusted face every time I enter her room.
“What’s with that face? I knocked, you know.”
“Ignoring you means ‘don’t come in,’ doesn’t it? Night is my time to rest, even if it’s just starting for you, big bro.”
“It’s only 8 o’clock! Don’t be like that. Something big has happened!”
Seira turned her large eyes, so different from mine, towards me.
Her expression showed complete disinterest, but I predict she’ll be shocked in three seconds.
“Listen and be amazed. Remi is back!”
“I know.”
“What?!”
In my sister’s room, a size larger than mine, I raised my voice.
“You… you knew she was coming back?!”
“You’re the only one who didn’t know, bro. Mom’s been on the phone with Remi’s mom for ages.”
Seira frowned over her fashion magazine and let out a huge sigh.
Between her shorts and thighs, her underwear was clearly visible, but she’d probably get angry if I pointed it out. The tips of her short black hair were curled, as if she had just learned how to style it.
Despite having just entered her third year of middle school, she speaks to me, her older brother, in such a cheeky manner, with a tone of exasperation.
However, being long accustomed to all of this, I responded wearily.
“So that’s why Mom’s been on the phone so much lately… I thought it was unusually long.”
I had seen Mom talking on her smartphone in the living room for about an hour several times a week recently.
I had assumed she’d made a new friend at the painting class she recently started attending.
“So that’s why I couldn’t get through to Remi’s house when I called…”
“Maybe. Well, Remi coming back is all good for you, isn’t it, bro?”
“I’m not sure how it is for her, though.”
“See? You think it’s all good for you. Your desires are so obvious, it’s seriously gross.”
“You little…”
My sister’s mouth is surprisingly foul, even for my own sister.
Her bad language even surpasses Remi and Yuzuha.
Is she in the midst of her rebellious phase, or is my lack of charisma to blame? Probably the latter, I guess.
“Besides, they live in an apartment and we’re in a house. Even if we’re neighbors, we probably won’t see each other that often. I haven’t even seen Remi yet.”
“Well, yeah… But to think Remi would be living in that apartment that threatens our right to sunlight.”
Mom always complained about the location, which was just barely within the limits of our right to sunlight.
She stopped complaining recently, probably because the Nikaido family moved in there. My mercenary personality definitely comes from Mom.
“Ah, crap. What if I run into her when I’m taking out the trash in the morning or when I’m in my loungewear! Will she think I’m some weirdo?!”
“What are you, a college girl afraid of being seen without makeup? She probably doesn’t care at all. Besides, wasn’t Remi scouted by various agencies since elementary school? It’s a miracle in itself if she even remembers your face!”
“Why do you have to say things like that?! Even if it’s the truth, there are things you should and shouldn’t say!”
I scratched my head vigorously and yelled.
It’s probably true from an outsider’s perspective, but that’s why it stings.
Somehow, my self-perception as her closest male friend from the past had revived without me noticing.
How mercenary can I be?
Seeing her brother’s pathetic state, Seira sighed and closed her magazine with a thud, saying, “But you know…”
“Didn’t you like someone else in middle school, bro? I thought you still did, but is that not the case?”
The hand scratching my head stopped abruptly.
Seira frowned.
“Ugh, bull’s eye, huh? To switch to Remi so quickly… guys like that definitely won’t be popular.”
“…It’s not like that. It’s normal to get excited about reuniting with an old friend after a long time, right? Besides, the person you’re talking about might not be the same one I’m thinking of.”
“Huh? Wasn’t there only one person you liked in middle school?”
“Don’t you know? After changing classes, it’s possible for your crush to change within a month!”
“Eww, gross! Are all boys this gross?!”
“You change your favorite idols all the time, don’t you?!”
My sister was about to say, “That’s completely different!” when she noticed my gaze.
At the same time, I opened my mouth.
It wasn’t just a tit-for-tat response; as a brother, there was something I needed to point out.
“Seira.”
“W-what?”
“Your underwear has been showing this whole time–“
“Get out, you stupid brother!”
A pillow flew at me with great force, chasing me out of the room.
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The next morning, as I left home, Remi was just coming out of the apartment lobby.
An encounter first thing in the morning – a flag raised at sonic speed.
Come to think of it, our school commute times are the same.
In other words, our encounter rate is higher than that of encountering a slime in an RPG.
Remi didn’t seem to notice me as she walked towards the school on her second day after transferring.
After much deliberation about whether to call out to her or chase after her, I kicked the ground hard.
“Good morning!”
“Hm…”
Remi looked up, seeming incredibly lethargic, and took out her earphones.
It’s a shame I couldn’t see her profile when she turned around, as it was hidden by her hair. I’m aware of how creepy I’m being this early in the morning.
…Remi in her school uniform feels somehow fresh.
“Good morning. You’re surprisingly early.”
At Remi’s greeting, I couldn’t help but smile.
This greeting will once again become part of my daily routine.
Just thinking about it makes me a little excited.
My high school life so far hasn’t been bad, but recently it’s clearly been changing for the better.
Although I was indirectly rejected by Hanazono, our friendship didn’t end. Since I originally thought we were distant, it’s not even a minus.
In other words, Remi’s transfer is purely a plus.
I walked beside Remi and responded cheerfully.
“Well, yeah! Believe it or not, I’ve never been late for school!”
“You’re energetic… Well, I didn’t have the impression you were late even in the past.”
Low-energy Remi shrugged her shoulders as she replied.
It seems she’s accepted the fact that I’m living next door overnight.
Well, she doesn’t have much choice but to accept it.
“Are you not a morning person, Remi?”
“Yeah, well. Somewhat.”
Her tone was a bit more unfriendly than yesterday.
If we rule out the possibility that she dislikes me, she must really struggle with mornings.
Well, she’s still better than Yuzuha, considering she manages to arrive at school with ten minutes to spare before classes start.
If I told Takeru that Nikaido Remi isn’t a morning person, he’d probably say, “That makes me feel closer to her!”
“You weren’t like this when we were little, right? Is it since you became a high school student?”
“Shut up. Girls have various things to deal with.”
“Heh… various things.”
“You… stop with that stupid response, it’s deflating! I have to keep up my transfer student image today too, you know!”
“I thought transfer students usually try to fit in quickly.”
“You’re so noisy!”
Remi slapped both her cheeks as if to psych herself up and cleared her throat.
“Ahem, ahem, mic test, mic test.”
“…What are you doing?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? I’m practicing. If I speak in my usual tone, it can lead to misunderstandings.”
“As a terrifying person?”
“Well, something like that.”
She admitted it easily. It felt more like she couldn’t be bothered to argue rather than agreeing wholeheartedly.
Back in elementary school, Remi suddenly became a leader at some point.
Maybe even then, she was switching her personality like this each time.
But the current Remi is different from her leader days too.
She carries herself gently, acting in a way that’s likely to put her in a Madonna-like position.
I wonder what she was like in middle school.
I feel like I know a lot about Remi, but there’s also so much I don’t know.
I had this feeling with Hanazono too, but unlike with her, I can ask Remi directly.
“Remi.”
“What?”
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