Chapter 49

"Hmm... she seemed to be sleeping quite soundly. But after she read your letter last night, she was obviously upset. Did you write something obscene again?"

"Didn't I tell you not to treat me like a sex offender? I was just conveying a few things. There was no reason for her to get angry at all, was there?"

Yukino and I looked at each other, when Komachi suddenly popped up.

"Oh my~ just as expected of Brother~ You always get so dense at the crucial moment."

"Oh, Komachi. Could you not start insulting your own brother the moment you appear?"

"Brother, saying you need to convey some information is usually just an excuse to write a letter~ If people really only needed to discuss practical matters, no one would want to send letters~"

"You brought your little sister along too?"

Yukino looked somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, I asked her to do something for me. Komachi, did you bring him?"

"Mm!"

Komachi replied, and Taishi Kawasaki stood where she pointed.

"Taishi... what are you doing here at this hour?"

Kawasaki glared anxiously and angrily at her younger brother, but Taishi refused to back down.

"That's what I should be asking, Sis. What have you been doing? Why haven't you gone home yet?"

"That has nothing to do with you..."

Kawasaki decisively ended the conversation, unwilling to say any more. However, while that tactic might work on others, it did not work on family. Until now, Kawasaki and Taishi had been communicating one-on-one, so she could simply avoid answering. As long as she unilaterally ended the conversation or turned and walked away, she could always somehow muddle through. But now, she could not do that. We stood around her, and we would never let her escape. More importantly, everyone had seen her wandering around outside early in the morning, so she naturally had no way to argue.

"How does it have nothing to do with me? We're family!"

"...Didn't I tell you that you didn't need to know?"

Faced with Taishi's questioning, Kawasaki's tone weakened, but she still remained determined not to say it.

In other words, was it precisely because the other person was Taishi that she could not bring herself to say it?

"Kawasaki, let me guess why you're working part-time and why you need money."

Kawasaki shot me a glare, while Yukino and Yuihama looked intensely interested.

She refused to explain why she needed a part-time job, but if you thought carefully about it, there were clues to follow.

Taishi had said that his sister only became a delinquent after entering her second year of high school. From Taishi's perspective, that was certainly true, but from Kawasaki's perspective, it was not.

For her, the point when she began working part-time was when her younger brother entered his third year of middle school.

Therefore, the answer lay within Taishi Kawasaki's timeline.

"Taishi, after you entered your third year of middle school, did anything change in your life?"

"Hmm... I guess I started going to cram school?"

After Taishi answered, he continued thinking about whether anything else had changed, but that answer alone was enough. Kawasaki probably realized what I was about to say as well, because she bit her lip resentfully.

"I see, it was to raise money for her brother's tuition..."

Yuihama spoke in an understanding tone, but I immediately interrupted her.

"No. Taishi started cram school in April, so his tuition had already been taken care of. The enrollment fee and textbook fees had all been paid. I think their family must have planned for those expenses long ago. In other words, Taishi's tuition is the one thing they do not need to worry about."

"I see. Indeed, her younger brother isn't the only one who needs tuition."

Yukino seemed to understand everything, looking at Kawasaki with a hint of sympathy.

That was right. Sobu High School was a college-preparatory school, and more than half the students planned to continue on to university—and actually did. Therefore, from around the second year of high school onward, many students began preparing for university entrance exams and seriously considered attending intensive summer courses.

From the preparation stage before entering university to the moment one actually entered it, a considerable amount of money was required.

"Taishi said that you'd always been diligent and kind to him, so that's why you decided to do this, right?"

After I reached my conclusion, Kawasaki helplessly lowered her shoulders.

"Sis... it's all because of me. I'll quit cram school..."

"...That's why I said you didn't need to know."

Kawasaki gently patted her brother on the head to comfort him.

Well, it looked like this incident could have a touching, happy ending after all. How wonderful. Congratulations, congratulations.

That was what I thought, but Kawasaki still wore a troubled expression.

"However, I still don't plan to quit my part-time job. I want to go to university too, and I don't want my family or Taishi to have to bear the burden because of that."

Kawasaki's voice rose, and her determination was plainly audible. Faced with such strong resolve, Taishi fell silent once more.

"Um~ would Komachi be allowed to say something?"

Komachi's lazy voice broke the silence, and Kawasaki turned lifeless eyes toward her.

"What is it?"

Her tone was far from friendly, as though she were about to start an argument, but Komachi merely smiled at her.

"Well~ Komachi's family has always been a dual-income household, so when Komachi was little, there was never anyone home whenever she came back. Even if she said, 'I'm home,' no one would answer."

"Wait, wouldn't it be scarier if someone answered? Why did you suddenly bring that up?"

"Ah~ Brother, be quiet for a moment first~"

After Komachi said that, I had no choice but to shut up and obediently listen to her continue.

"Komachi came to really hate going back to that house, so I once ran away from home for five days. Later, the one who brought Komachi back wasn't Dad or Mom, but Brother. And after that, Brother started coming home even earlier than Komachi did. So Komachi has always been very grateful to Brother!"

How could there be such a wonderful brother in the world... Ah, right, it was me.

That heartwarming story nearly brought tears to my eyes. Though I hadn't meant anything by it at the time. I just didn't have any friends to hang out with, and wanted to hurry home to watch TV Tokyo's six o'clock evening anime.

Kawasaki looked at me with eyes that seemed a little more familiar now, while tears welled up in Yuihama's eyes. Only Yukino wore a puzzled expression.

"Hikigaya-kun went home so early because he already had no friends back then, didn't he?"

"Hey! How did you know? Are you Yukino-pedia?"

"Ah~ Actually, Komachi knew that perfectly well too. I just thought saying it that way would earn me some points~"

Komachi readily admitted it, making Yuihama gape with an expression like she was about to faint.

"...She really is the shut-in's little sister."

"Hey, what does that mean?"

Was she saying I was cute too? Yeah, I could understand that.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Kawasaki impatiently questioned Komachi. Her expression was terrifying, but Komachi's smile did not fade as she answered head-on.

"Although Komachi's Brother is pretty useless, he would never make Komachi worry. That alone makes me, as his little sister, feel safe and happy—ah, that line was also to earn myself some points."

"You don't have to keep saying that extra part..."

"Oh, come on~ That's obviously Komachi trying to hide her embarrassment~ Oh, this line is for points too."

"Enough already..."

Honestly, having a sister who talked so carelessly was exactly why I still didn't quite trust girls. Seeing my fed-up expression, Komachi snorted in dissatisfaction. But when I still ignored her, she gave up and returned to her conversation with Kawasaki.

"Anyway, just as Saki-ane doesn't want to burden her family, Taishi-kun doesn't want to cause trouble for Saki-ane either. If you can understand that, little brothers and sisters would be very happy."

"..."

Kawasaki fell silent. So did I.

...Crap, what was this feeling? I'd never thought Komachi felt that way. Usually, she was the one causing me trouble, so I'd never noticed.

"Yeah... I think so too."

Taishi muttered an addition, turning his flushed face away.

Kawasaki stood up and gently patted Taishi's head. A faint, tender smile appeared on her previously exhausted face.

Still, the problem hadn't been completely resolved. All they had done was rebuild a bridge of communication between brother and sister.

Having one's emotional needs fulfilled didn't mean everything else would be satisfied. Even if tangible things would one day disappear, that didn't mean they had no value. Whether material goods or money, both were indispensable.

For high school students, money was an extremely harsh issue. Once you took on even a small part-time job and earned a little money, you felt that deeply. Private university tuition could easily cost several million yen. How long would a student have to work to earn that much? The number had to be staggering.

Of course, if we directly donated one or two million yen to Kawasaki, the matter could be neatly resolved. But we didn't have that much money, and that approach went against the Service Club's principles.

Yukino had once said that the Service Club didn't give people fish; it taught them how to fish.

Then I would teach her a little of my own alchemy.

"Kawasaki, have you heard of a 'scholarship'?"

The air at five-thirty in the morning still carried a trace of cold. Yawning, I watched two figures gradually disappear into the distance.

The distance between them was neither too close nor too far. Whenever one of them noticed they were walking too fast, they slowed down to wait for the other. Every now and then, laughter drifted from them, their shoulders shaking up and down with it.

"That's what siblings are like..."

Yukino murmured to herself amid the morning haze.

"Not necessarily. Everyone's situation is different. There's even a saying about 'the closest strangers.'"

When dealing with siblings, there were surely times when they irritated you so badly that your teeth itched and you wanted to beat them senseless. At those times, you would definitely feel like they were nothing like you. But sometimes, without meaning to, they would make exactly the same gesture as you, leaving you with a feeling that was hard to describe as either fondness or affection. To put it plainly, that elusive sense of distance was what siblings were.

That was why "the closest strangers" was such a wonderful expression. They were the people closest to you, yet strangers; strangers, yet the people closest to you.

"The closest strangers... That makes sense. I can understand it that way."

Yukino nodded, but kept her head lowered.

"Yukino?"

Surprised by Yukino's reaction, Yuihama quietly watched her. Then Yukino swiftly raised her head and gave Yuihama a gentle smile.

"Let's go back too. School starts in three hours."

"Yeah, okay..."

Though Yuihama still couldn't let go of Yukino's attitude, she nodded and slung her backpack over her shoulder. I went to unlock my bicycle as well.

"Yeah. Komachi, wake up."

Komachi had dozed off on the edge of the sidewalk outside McDonald's. I gently patted her cheek. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and let out a half-awake sound.

She got to her feet, swayed like a ghost over to the bicycle, and sat on the rear seat. Normally, she would still be asleep at this hour, so it couldn't be helped. Today, I'd take the flat route home nice and slow.

I got on the bicycle and placed my foot on the pedal.

"We're heading back. Good work."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow... no, see you at school in a bit."

Yuihama gave a small wave in front of her chest. Yukino didn't say anything, merely stared blankly at Komachi and me. Only when I pressed down on the pedal did she finally speak softly.

"Riding double on a bicycle is not advisable... Be careful not to have another accident."

"Yeah, see you."

With that reply, I rode forward. With so little sleep, my mind couldn't stay clear. Just watching for oncoming traffic and keeping an eye on the road took nearly all my concentration, so I could only give Yukino's warning a perfunctory response. Still, she seemed to have mentioned the word "accident" just now...

I pedaled slowly along the straight stretch where the road intersected with Prefectural Route 14. The wind was always against me when I went to school, but at this hour, it was at my back.

As I waited at the second traffic light, waves of fragrance drifted over from the bakery across the street.

My stomach gave a loud growl.

"...Komachi, want to buy some bread to take home?"

"Brother, you big idiot! You were supposed to pretend you didn't notice, or quietly edge closer to the bakery like nothing happened! But Komachi's hungry, so we're going!"

Komachi's fists kept raining down on my back as I turned the handlebars toward the bakery.

"Jeez... Brother, you're really hopeless. I shouldn't have praised you so much earlier."

"You weren't praising me at all, were you? In the end, you were the only one who became a good kid, and most of it was stuff you made up."

"Oh my, well~"

At that moment, her fists stopped.