Mikami Souta, 17 years old.

Yesterday, my childhood friend said…She doesn’t want to be with me.

Mom, Dad, I don’t see a path of light in front of me.
I have neither hopes nor dreams.

I was currently in a classroom at school.
My body was in class, but my head wasn’t.
I couldn’t understand what was being written on the blackboard, I couldn’t hear the breathing of my classmates around me, and everything seemed to be outside of reality.

“Well, for this problem…Mikami, go ahead and solve this problem.”
“…Hey, Sensei.”
“Hmm? What’s up?”

“How am I supposed to live…?”
“What’s wrong, Mikami?”

The classroom buzzed, and I sobbed as everyone looked at me as if they wondered what was going on.

After class, the teacher advised me, “I don’t know what happened, but if you want to talk to the teachers, we’ll listen to you, or if you don’t feel comfortable talking to us, you can talk to your friends.”

Below is a digest of my wandering around and escaping reality.
The first, was the student council room.

“…President, listen to me. I think Yuika might hate me…”
“Your childhood friend said that? Hahaha, that can’t be true. Mikami, are you sleepwalking? Don’t be silly, go wash your face in the courtyard.”
“Yeah sure, I’m not sleepwalking though…”

I exited the student council room and went to the courtyard.

“…Ah, it’s the Leader. Listen to me. I think Yuika might hate me…”
“Eh? That childhood friend of yours? No way. You must be sleepwalking. We’re having a meeting in the courtyard right now. Go to the science club and have them make you an alarm clock.
“Yeah sure, I’m not sleepwalking though…”

From the courtyard to the science club room.

“……Arko-san, listen to me. I think Yuika might hate me…”
“Eh, Mikami’s childhood friend!? No way, seriously? Yay!”
“Yeah sure, I’m not sleepwalking though…”
“Wait, Mikami! I didn’t say you were sleepwalking! Where are you going? After school, do you want to go to the experimental café in front of the station with me? Hey!”

I came back to the classroom from the science club room.

“…Class President, listen to me. I think Yuika might hate me…”
“Yeah, so that’s why you were acting weird in class. Then I’ll take care of the girls. I’m having a party on the boat tonight with a bunch of Hollywood actresses. You coming, Mikami? If you want, I can send a helicopter to pick you up, okay?”
“Yeah sure, I’m not sleepwalking though…”
“You can’t even engage in a proper conversation, this is some serious stuff.”

 

I spent the rest of the day in a daze, feeling as if everything were a dream, and then I realized that school had ended.
I got up from my seat with my school bag.

I feel like school has been quiet today…
Well, there were days like this once in a while.

As I was leaving the school, for some reason, the student council officers had bloodshot eyes and asked, “Why are we so busy today?” as they were running around.

And the delinquent leader’s group was also running around with their eyes bloodshot, “Why are we so busy today? and they were fighting. I didn’t pay much attention to them and walked out of the main gate in a daze.

The scenery looked gray.

The usual route to school felt terribly faded.
I wondered if my everyday life had ever been this tasteless.

I should go on a trip. If I left Japan and traveled around the world as my parents did, I might be able to see new landscapes.

…Ah, speaking of traveling, Iori and Aoi-chan are probably in Kyoto by now.”

A thought occurred to me and I pulled out my phone.
Iori was on a school trip starting today.
I called him, thinking that perhaps he could share the fresh air of his trip with me.

The call went through after just a few rings.
I discreetly opened my mouth.

“Iori, listen to me. I think Yuika might hate me…”
“Onee-chan!? Souta Nii-chan, are you sleepwalking? I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of some serious stuff here! I don’t have time for your nonsense, so I’m hanging up! Bye!”
“Eh, oi, Iori-…”

I tried to call out to him, but the call was already disconnected.
Instead of fresh air, all I received was more sadness.

…Ugh, it’s hard.
After Yuika, even Iori treated me poorly.
How do I recover from this?

Okay, then I have to go to my sister-in-law.
If Iori is busy, I’ll call her.

I immediately tapped Aoi from my address book and tried to call her.
But I couldn’t get through. There was no answer after a dozen or so calls.

However, I am a very long-tempered person right now.
I kept calling for about a minute while walking slowly on my way to school, and then I suddenly got through.

“Souta Nii-chan-san…?”
“Oh, Aoi. How’s Kyoto?”

“I, um…”
“Hmm?”
“I’m really sorry…”

The call went dead.
I blinked my eyes. I looked at the screen, but all that appeared was the words “call ended.”

I’m sorry, that means…ah, Aoi is busy too?
It is a school trip after all.

I’m lonely.
With no one to take care of me, I start staggering off again.

After a while, I arrived at Kisaragi’s house.
As usual, I rang the doorbell, greeted them lightly on the intercom, and went inside.
When I appeared in the living room, Nadeshiko was there as usual.

“Hello.”
“Welcome, Kanade-chan.”

Nadeshiko was sitting on the sofa, looking at a women’s magazine.
Her outfit today was a sleeveless blouse.
The white skin of her exposed shoulders and arms was dazzling.

Moreover, the fabric of the blouse was exquisitely thin. It was a translucent, fluttering white, and there was a sense of danger that her underwear might be visible.

Then there were her big br*asts. They softly pushed up the sleeveless dress and, as expected, had a tremendous presence. Moreover, as if to contradict her exoticness, her blouse had a one-pint ribbon on it, giving it an exquisite cuteness.

She still had the ultimate body.
But I don’t have the energy to overreact now.

“I’m going to go to Yuika’s room.
“Wait a minute. What’s wrong, Kanade-chan? You feel like an abandoned, soaking wet puppy.”

When she saw the look on my face, Nadeshiko-san closed the women’s magazine and got up from the sofa.

“Did something happen with Yuika?”
“No…”

Come to think of it, yesterday I just said hello to her back as she was cooking in the kitchen, and then I slunk off.

“Nothing much happened…”

I looked away because it was hard to say it to Nadeko-san, who looked just like Yuika, even though I could say it to my schoolmates and Iori.

“Kanade-chan. Meh.”

My forehead was pinched.
A gentle smile came to my eyes.

“When you are in pain, you should always rely on adults. Kanade-chan doesn’t have anyone you can rely on, so Nadeko-san will listen to you.”
“Natsuko-san…”

It’s not fair, this isn’t fair.
If someone said this to me with a face just like Yuika’s, I would react…and break down crying.
I let out and confessed.

“Yuika might hate me…”
“Yuika?”

Nadeshiko looked unusually surprised.
Not the usual teasing, but a truly surprised mood.

“Did she tell Kanade-chan that she doesn’t like you?”
“She said… She said it to my face and sounded mad.”
“Muki, kind of right?…I see.”

Nadeshiko-san put her finger to her mouth as if contemplating something and smiled wryly.

“That must have been hard for you.”

At the same time, she said this, a sleeveless arm reached out and patted me on the head.

“N-Nadeshiko-san!”
“Yes, yes, don’t get surprised at every little thing. Good, good, Kanade-chan is a good girl.”
“You’re treating me like a child.”

“Ara, Kanade-chan is still a child, isn’t she? And you’re a virgin.”
“Does it have anything to do with me begin a virgin!?”
“Ara, you know grown men are supposed to be sweet and unaffected in moments like this?
“Eh, really?”

“Right. It is part of a man’s capacity to rest his wings in times of weakness.”
“So that’s what it’s all about…”

I was so convinced that I hung my head down.

I surrendered myself to the soft palm of her hand and let her stroke me.

“Don’t cry, Kanade-chan. She didn’t mean what she said either.”
“But…”
“It’s okay. I know because a mother and daughter are exactly alike. I just wanted to embarrass Kanade-chan a little. You’ll make up soon.
“Ugh, Nadeshiko-san…”

She smiled at me and I really started to cry.
The receptivity was tremendous.
It seemed that the big sister power that Yuika sometimes displays was inherited from Nadeshiko-san.

While gently stroking me, the married onee-san murmurs in a whisper.

“…but, I see. I can’t believe you two didn’t make love plainly after hearing about that yesterday… Yuka is really trying to take Kanade-chan’s feelings into her own hands, isn’t she? I’m so happy about that… It seemes that she is going further than I would have thought.”

“Nadeshiko-san? What did you say about Yuika…?”
“No, I’m not talking about that. I’m going to comfort you to your heart’s content.”

After saying this, Nadeshiko-san removed her hands from my head and opened her arms.
She said, stretching her soft skin like a runway for landing.
Her large br*asts swayed back and forth, and the ribbons of her blouse fluttered.

 

“Come here. I’m going to squish you with Nadeshiko-san’s chest like we did when you were a kid.”

“…Seriously?”
“Seriously. It is Nadeshiko-san’s way to spoil a weak boy with all her might.”

“Doesn’t that make me a bad person…?”
“A good man rises from it. For example, her father and Kanade-chan… Hmm, I wonder if Iori is not ready yet.”
“Your discernment is spot on…”

I see, Nadeshiko-san… perhaps she is the type of woman who nurtures men.
For a moment I really wanted to be spoiled by her a little…but that’s why I woke up.

I grabbed her sleeveless wrists softly and slowly let her down.
Nadeshiko-san looked at me like she knew what I was going to do, and deliberately gave me a surprised look.

“The runway is clear. Should you land with my chest squeezed together?”
“…Yeah, I’m not going to do that. If I let another woman spoil me, I’ll be cheating on Yuika.”
“Too bad. I think it’s safe to spoil you as your mother-in-law, right?”
“No, that would be a problem…”

Chuckling, I rolled my arms and neck. Yeah, I feel lighter. Thanks to Nadeshiko-san, I guess.

“Then, I’m off to Yuika”
“Yeah, give my regards to her.”

Nadeshiko-san waved me off with a small, cute wave, and I began to climb the stairs.

I was rattled with zero life points for the day, but Nadeshiko-san’s generosity really isn’t half bad…
Ummm, she’s still a person I don’t really understand…

 

◇　◆　◆　◇

 

And a few hours later.
This was my room at the Mikami house.

I was in my own bed, fretting my head after returning from Yuika’s place.

“No really, what’s going on…”

After Nadeshiko-san saw me off, I went to Yuika’s room as usual, but today’s situation was really one word: wacky.

I was really confused by the way she was acting. but she did not avoid me in any particular way.

However, she kept the futon on her head the whole time.
She would stare at me in a completely defensive posture, occasionally turning red, shaking her head, and staring at me again.

“What’s wrong? I asked, and I got a ‘Shallap you!” and was forced into silence with surprisingly fluent(not) English.

On the other hand, when I was about to leave, she came up to me with her futon and…picked up the hem of my blazer and said sweetly, “…Don’t go home.”

Thanks to this, I stayed longer than usual today.
Well, after all that, Yuika gave her permission and I eventually returned, but I have no idea why she was acting that way.

“Did I do something to Yuika…”

I think about it while lounging around in bed in my uniform shirt.
And that’s when it happened.
Suddenly, my phone announced an incoming call.

The number displayed was unfamiliar.
Was it a prank call? When I didn’t answer the phone, it switched to voicemail.
A boy’s voice, about junior high school age, echoed from the speaker.

“Oh, um, excuse me! Is this Mikami-senpai’s phone? We are Kisaragi Iori’s classmates…”

Iori’s classmates?
Wondering what was going on, I dismissed the voicemail mode.

“It’s Mikami Souta. What’s up? Some trouble popped up?”
“Ah, the legendary Mikami-Senpai! It’s real…”

Legendary.
There was a palpable sense of relief on the other end of the phone.
There seemed to be several people with him, and there were murmuring voices.

“Sorry to call you out of the blue! We didn’t know what to do anymore, so we asked around to see if anyone had Mikami-senpai’s contact information and finally found it…!”

Iori’s junior high school is also my old school.
I sometimes visit, and there are probably a few juniors who know my number if I pick Iori up.

“But you have Iori, don’t you? You don’t have to go through all that trouble, Iori has my number.”　
“That’s…”

I jumped out of bed immediately after hearing the impatient junior.
I raised my voice in surprise.

 

“What? Iori disappeared during the school trip!?”

 

One crisis has not yet gone away, but another one came.
A new uproar was about to erupt.