Little Sister (5k)

Startled, Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, trying to banish the terrible thought from his mind. Then he saw that Yuki had sent him another new message:

"There are so many people in line, it's so boring."

"This year's Student Council will definitely be very popular. After all, most freshmen know some of the inside stories of ANHS, and they will naturally be envious of the power of the Student Council."

"Hmm, speaking of which, will Arisu interviewing me?"

"It's hard to say. Theoretically, both the president and vice president might show up at the interview, but Arisu might come specifically to see Yuki."

"After all, it's Alice. It would be a sign of weakness if she didn't come. But I thought she would come to see me yesterday, but I haven't heard from her yet."

"Well... it's probably related to her recent mental state."

At this point in the conversation, Kitagawa Ryo vaguely recalled that his and Sakayanagi Arisu's regular morning exercise routine in the latter half of last year had been practically nonexistent for a long time. At first, he was genuinely busy, but later it was to avoid suspicion. When he took the initiative to ask her out during spring break, Sakayanagi Arisu refused.

The End-of-Year Special Exam last month really hit her hard, not just because she failed, but also for other reasons.

After briefly telling Yuki about Sakayanagi Arisu Amasawa Ichika's victory over Sakayanagi Arisu in the Chess competition, Yuki also shared her own thoughts:

"That's understandable. For someone with her personality, such a defeat would definitely leave a bad taste in her mouth. Actually, I'd also like to compete against Arisu, but I've never had the chance. I knew all the questions on that variety show that Ryo and Arisu participated in. I was really envious of you two for becoming so popular back then, but I later found out that there were actually people pushing you behind the scenes."

After sending the long message, Xue temporarily raised her head, even though there should have been another true thought hidden after the last sentence.

Even knowing that it was the result of a joint publicity campaign by White Room and ANHS, the feeling of being noticed and watched by everyone in the world was still a sight that Xue, whose world was so small that it only contained the blurry faces of a few dozen classmates and instructors, and the pure white walls and ceilings of her small space, had never seen before.

Just like the grand performance she witnessed on Valentine's Day the month before last, which even made Tokyo Tower cooperate and turned the city's magnificent night view into a mere backdrop.

Chapter Nine: My Younger Sister (5k)

"Hello!"

After encountering countless bizarre First Year girls who made one want to call the police on the spot, this time, Karuizawa Kei was greeted by an energetic, seemingly normal blonde junior.

"I'm Nanase Tsubasa from Class 1-A. I've been very interested in theater for a long time, so I hope to join the Drama Club and learn and improve together with my seniors!"

As a character who only appeared outside Horikita Suzune's confectionery shop during last year's Cultural Festival, Karuizawa Kei was still working with Shiina Hiyori at the time, naturally hadn't met Nanase Tsubasa in person. However, given Nanase's bright and sunny smile and the fact that she didn't mention Kitagawa Ryo's name at all, her attitude was equally friendly and cordial.

"Welcome. Nanase, please fill out this registration form with more detailed personal information. The pen is here."

"Uh-huh."

Nanase Tsubasa had just taken the registration form and pen and was standing at another table, bending over to fill it out. Meanwhile, Ichinose Honami finally returned to her post, pulled out the chair next to Karuizawa Kei, and sat down.

"Thank you for your hard work, I'm back."

"It's nothing. How did your conversation with him go? I also felt that he didn't seem like someone particularly easy to get along with."

"That's true to some extent, but that's none of Liang's business. After all, it's him who's dating, not us."

"Honami even went up to him on his own initiative. What did he do to provoke you?"

"It's not so much about provoking her, it's just that we have different views on certain things. If this disagreement isn't resolved, I won't be able to get along with her normally in the future, just like with Hui before."

Although Ichinose Honami said that, Karuizawa Kei still seemed to understand but not quite:

"I understand, but not completely. But it doesn't really matter to me. Honami, you can do whatever you want. If you need any help, just let me know."

"Yes, I know."

After nodding in agreement, Ichinose Honami avoided the other person's gaze. Unlike Sakayanagi Arisu, she wasn't willing to bring up all her past experiences, especially in front of Karuizawa Kei. She couldn't just casually say, "Back then, all I could think about was stabbing you to death, but I accidentally stabbed Ryo to death," that would be too embarrassing.

"Wow, there are so many application forms! There must be forty or fifty of them. Goodness, almost all the First Year girls have come to apply!"

"There are still several people filling out forms over there."

Karuizawa Kei gestured towards Nanase Tsubasa's direction with her lip, then picked up the two application forms on the top and started flipping through them:

"I have no experience in drama, no stage performance or vocal training, and have never been to a theater to watch a live performance before. The reason I signed up for the Drama Club is because I'm a fan of Liang. Why do I specifically state that I was initially a fan because of his looks? Did I start with his appearance and then become loyal because of his talent?"

"There's even someone writing a love letter on the registration form right there and then; their handwriting is so ugly..."

"Sigh, it seems like none of them are seriously interested in acting."

As the most dedicated actor in the Drama Club, Karuizawa Kei genuinely wanted to use this club recruitment opportunity to discover some promising talents. However, after looking around, she felt that everyone was incredibly unattractive.

"Leaving aside whether they have any prior experience in this field, it's difficult to even find someone who can fill out the form properly and neatly."

After frantically scrolling through several more forms, Karuizawa Kei finally found one that looked decent:

"Tsubaki Sakurako from Class 1-B has a history of watching plays and has also studied related topics during the past year... She joined the Drama Club because she finds acting very interesting and believes she can live another wonderful life on stage."

While looking at the profile picture, Karuizawa Kei also searched for the other person's name on her phone's OAA System and browsed through the basic profile provided:

"Is this child Xue's younger sister?"

"Yes, a year younger, but we entered the same cohort this time."

"Looking at the data alone, there's nothing particularly noteworthy; she's a solid Class B performer. But being average is her biggest advantage, so let's assume she passed the initial screening for now and see how she fares in the interview."

"Karuizawa- senpai, I've finished filling out everything here! Ah, Ichinose- senpai, hello, I'm Nanase Tsubasa from Class 1-A."

As they were talking, Nanase Tsubasa, who had already filled out the company registration form, jogged over to the two of them, politely bowed slightly, and handed over the completed form with both hands.

Since the registration lines were already full, and given her positive first impression of the other person, Karuizawa Kei casually chatted with her while looking at the information on the registration form submitted by Nanase Tsubasa:

"Nanase- san."

"Yes! Just call me Nanase."

Rather than being startled, Nanase nodded seriously, her eyes shining as she looked intently at Karuizawa Kei.

"I see that in the section for your reason for wanting to join the Drama Club, you wrote 'Because I think the atmosphere in the Drama Club is great, and I want to spend my high school life in a warm and welcoming club.' What exactly do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what it says. I met Kitagawa-senpai from the Drama Club during the last Cultural Festival, and I felt that he was particularly good at handling all kinds of complicated emotional issues and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, I thought that if he were to be the club president, the atmosphere in the club would be great. Also, Karuizawa- senpai and Ichinose- senpai, the two vice presidents, both seem to be very gentle people."

It must be said that Nanase Tsubasa has a sweet tongue. Although she mentioned Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Kei was still quite pleased, so she smiled and continued to ask:

"But I noticed you filled in 'none' for relevant experience. If you do end up joining the Drama Club, what kind of job would Nanase like to do?"

"First of all, although I don't know much about drama before, I can guarantee that if I can join the Drama Club, I will put in twice the effort to learn. As for what kind of work, since I lack relevant experience, I hope to be assigned some logistical and backstage work during my First Year."

This was yet another answer that Karuizawa Kei considered perfect, and she nodded repeatedly in approval.

Actually, there were other freshmen with relevant experience who applied before, and even some students who had attended drama training classes when they were young. But they all came up with the impression that they wanted to replace her as the vice minister of the Drama Club.

Heaven have mercy on how many years of time and effort it took to build up Karuizawa Kei's reputation as a go-to leading lady. It's safe to say that any girl who even hints at such a thing is already on her blacklist and there's no way she'll be allowed into the Drama Club.

Compared to these people, Nanase Tsubasa's speech was undoubtedly much more appropriate and generous. This spirit of giving up the glamorous stage and willingly doing logistics work behind the scenes can be said to have transcended vulgar tastes, which made Karuizawa Kei very satisfied.

What's Honami's opinion?

Of course, even though she had already mentally given it a perfect score, Karuizawa Kei still politely asked Ichinose Honami, who was sitting next to her, for her opinion.

"Hmm, let's see how it goes after the interview."

Upon hearing Ichinose Honami simply glanced around at the junior who was smiling kindly at her. Apart from thinking that this girl looked more like her own sister than Maki in terms of figure, she didn't have any particular feelings. After all, she was still thinking about Yuki's situation and the messy thoughts that had been brought up by Yuki.

"Okay, then Nanase, come to our Drama Club's activity room for your audition after school tomorrow. It's located in the club building. Let's exchange contact information first."

After Ichinose Honami nodded, Karuizawa Kei also stood up and took the initiative to add Nanase Tsubasa as a friend.

"Okay, I'll go there as soon as school is over tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Nanase Tsubasa earnestly waved her little fist, then bowed politely to the two of them.

"Thank you both, seniors. See you tomorrow."

After the other person walked away with light, quick steps, Karuizawa Kei turned to Ichinose Honami and asked:

"Where's Liang? I haven't seen him."

"He was supposed to come with me, but I felt that his presence would only make things more chaotic, so I didn't come. Some of the First Year girls are just too crazy. Even though we're only a year apart, it feels like we're from completely different generations. I don't really understand their behavior."

Is Maki like that too?

"Maki is alright, but sometimes I can definitely feel the generation gap between her and her younger sister. Her younger sister is a troublesome creature, too."

At this point, Ichinose Honami herself recalled that the immediate trigger for her earliest theft was the hair clip that her younger sister wanted.

Before, she would never have been able to say such things, which sounded like complaints or even dissatisfaction with her family. But now, she speaks of it much more freely. With the old constraints and obsessions being broken, Ichinose Honami's mindset has become much more relaxed, and she no longer gets stuck on problems as much as she used to.

"I think Honami can relate to this feeling of unease. And I feel that sibling relationships are much harder to manage than sister relationships, especially given the way his family originally depended on each other for survival. It feels like they are like two halves of each other, each other's body and soul."

"Really."

Having had close contact with the Kitagawa Ryo siblings long ago, Ichinose Honami largely agreed with Karuizawa Kei's view:

"Although Maki and I are also very close, it's definitely not as close as Ryo and Maki's relationship. The term 'half-sibling' is often used to describe twins, but sometimes it's because we're too familiar with each other that we don't have that special feeling."

"Yes, this is known in psychology as the Westermarck effect. It's like how you don't feel much attraction between family members you've grown up with. On the contrary, when you've been separated for a period of time and then suddenly experience that kind of close relationship again as an adult, you feel it's special and valued more. If it's someone of the opposite sex, you might even develop feelings similar to love. That's how it's set up in <Yosuga no Sora>."

"So Hui has also studied this area?"

I had read a few related books a while ago.

Karuizawa Kei gave a vague and perfunctory answer. In fact, she had read these things in her early years because she felt that Kitagawa Ryo's mental state was unstable, and she wanted to learn about psychology to better understand him, although she didn't use them much later.

"So."

Ichinose Honami turned her gaze back to the application form with Tsubaki Sakurako's name on it that she had just picked up. If she remembered correctly, Yuki herself was also from the White Room, which meant that the two sisters, who were only one year apart in age, did not live together during a long period of their childhood.

This does align quite well with the psychological theories that Karuizawa Kei just mentioned.

It seems that we could try to subtly probe this person for information.

A sudden period of being single can indeed be a necessary condition and catalyst for the true birth of a relationship.

"I'm back."

Seeing Kitagawa Ryo return to the dorm smoothly today and greet her as usual, Hotaru raised her front paw in response:

"Meow meow meow."

In fact, for a long time after she and her brother truly jumped to the current world line, Hotaru herself was seriously thinking about a question.

On this timeline where Kitagawa Ryo's Fate is destined to be rewritten, will his other self develop feelings for him that don't fall under the category of familial affection?

Ying never denied that most of her obsession and emotions actually came from the entire process from her illness to her death, a process that could never be replicated. Whether you call it the suspension bridge effect or some more extreme emotion, without those final memories, she would never have become the person she is now.

A closed-off world from which one cannot escape, a dependence based solely on the warmth of two bodies, and a threat that has never gone away and is always approaching—these are the perfect breeding ground and petri dish. But whether what is born and grows out of it is good or bad, true or false, no one knows and cannot make a definitive judgment.

But there is no doubt that this is a crop that can only be produced under the most extreme conditions.

That's why Hotaru is puzzled.

If she can grow up healthy, laugh freely, and go out on her own to meet new friends and see the world, will those feelings still arise?

Will she still make those three wishes?

To be honest, at certain moments, Hotaru even felt a complex and contradictory emotion towards herself, a feeling that was similar to jealousy, resentment, or perhaps even a vague sense of relief.

She both hoped that she could naturally fall in love with him again, because it felt like a destiny from a shoujo manga where feelings wouldn't change no matter how much time or space they crossed.

But at the same time, she didn't want to fall in love with him so easily. Sometimes, she even subconsciously wanted to criticize whether this kind of superficial feeling, which hadn't even involved experiencing the distance between life and death, could really be called love.

Every time she thinks of this, Hotaru turns around and bites her own tail, muttering to herself in self-reproach.

There's no such thing as high or low status when it comes to liking someone. Does one have to suffer and endure hardship to feel that the affection gained in that way is exceptionally sincere or even superior?

But then she would contradict herself:

There is no inherent hierarchy or value in feelings, but it's only natural that more unique experiences can give rise to more unique feelings. Haven't you heard the saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed"?

Sometimes, Hotaru would roll around in her hands, clutching her head, feeling that it didn't matter whether she liked it or not. It wasn't like she had to use herself as a substitute. Rather, if she didn't like the version of herself in this world, then her feelings would be unique. What was wrong with that?

You've never even seen him at his most heartbroken, saddest, weakest, and most helpless. How can you so casually say things that I couldn't even bring myself to say in the end?

She should be the only one who has seen everything.

The departure of a loved one is never a torrential rain, but rather a long, damp period of the rest of one's life, just like the basement where the other person once lived.

That's why she wanted to leave your side early, just like in those stories that comfort the living, to make proper arrangements for a happier next life for you and give you the most perfect second life.

Ying also firmly believed that once the restart button was pressed, the other party would, as she wished, arrange a more suitable life for her, who was also starting over.

But even after all of this was achieved, she still found herself in this dilemma.

But you clearly took advantage of the chaos created by Horikita Suzune's simulation to cancel your direct blood relationship in reality, didn't you?

This is just him leaving himself a way out!

It's better to be safe than sorry.

Even Neko couldn't figure out Hotaru's true thoughts, as she was on a completely different timeline from her own.

But things took a turn for the better during the two years the other person went abroad for treatment.