I Can Distinguish the Twin Sister - Chapter 12

“It’s lonely without the guy who’s always so loud.”

“Yeah, it is.”

It’s lunchtime, and I’ve just finished my lunch and gone to the restroom.

It’s a very quiet time without Yoshiki, who is always talking about anime and manga when we eat our lunch and during recess.

It’s not that I miss him that much, but I’m missing something when one of us is absent.

“Ah, that’s right, Masashi. It’s after school. Wait for me after the assembly.”

“You’re on day duty?”

“Right.”

“That’s okay.”

I told him that I was on duty, so I couldn’t go home right away.

Working the day shift with one of the beautiful sisters who were famous not only in the class but also in the school was enough to attract attention, even if it was nothing special, so, of course, Yoshiki knew it too.

It’s not the first time anyone has been envied for being on the day shifts with these girls, but I’m amazed at how they can be so envious of me.

“The first thing in the afternoon is math. What a pain! ”

“Don’t complain. Just do it. We’re students, after all. ”

Well, I agree with the opinion that math is annoying.

After that, Masashi and I parted as he went straight back to his classroom, and I headed for the stairs leading to the rooftop as I had done in the past.

It was not because I saw someone today.

But as I mentioned, there are moments when you just want to be in a quiet place and take in some fresh air.

“The moment I open the door, I’m going to run into another confession scene――”

“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen.”

” !? ”

Just as I put my hand on the door to the rooftop, I was startled by a voice behind me.

The surprise must have been so powerful that I wished I could see it from someone else’s point of view. First of all, I hit my hand on the doorknob as hard as I could, and in reaction to the pain, I hit the tip of my foot on a nearby ornament…

( Oww… my toe and my thumb to my pinky finger hurt! )

As I was fainting in agony, Rin’ne-san called out to me worriedly.

“Hey, are you all right !? …uh, did I scare you that bad? ”

“…ugh, I guess.”

Of course, anyone would be startled if someone suddenly appeared behind them…

Rin’ne-san gently wrapped her hand around mine and stroked it as if she was trying to get the pain out.

I was a simple guy, so the pain suddenly went away as I thought about how warm her hands were.

“Well… why are you here anyway? ”

“I just saw Akito heading to the rooftop. So I followed him to see if we could be alone.”

” …………… ”

The words and her beautiful smile were an overwhelmingly powerful blow to me.

Rin’ne-san smiled at me, but she seemed to feel guilty for surprising me and hurting my hand, so she lowered the corner of her eyes and apologized again.

“I said it’s totally fine. So if you could take your hands off me, I’d like to… ”

“…Ah, sorry, I’m sorry.

Rin’ne-san let go of my hand as if she had just noticed.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know if I should say this myself, but I held Akito’s hand subconsciously.”

“No… it’s not like that. I can’t calm down if you do that.”

“fufu, I see.”

Rin’ne-san finally smiled at me, though she had felt guilty for surprising me earlier.

I think the same thing in front of her as I do in front of Yomi-san, but it’s a lovely smile that makes my heart skip a beat every time I see it.

My hands and toes still hurt a little, but nothing serious, so I went out onto the roof ―with Rin’ne-san following behind me.

“Today. You’re on the day shift with Yomi-san, so you have a lot of chances to talk to her, but I guess you didn’t tell her that you can recognize us, did you? ”

“Yes. But I did tell her a little bit about my past, I guess?  Kindergarten was here, and elementary, and junior high schools were in different places, something like that.”

I told her that I agreed with that when we parted at the coffee shop.

It’s nothing to worry about knowing about it, and I’m not sure if I can talk about it between us.

Rin’ne-san rested her hand on the rooftop railing and looked out at the distant scenery as she continued.

“Since then, I’ve been looking through the past photos with Yomi to see if there’s anything I can find.”

“Oh? ”

“We didn’t find anything. I also looked for the elementary and middle school years just to be sure, but I couldn’t find anything… although Yomi and I did laugh about how we looked in kindergarten.”

I guess they must have been cute when they were in kindergarten…

As I thought they must have been cute, Rin’ne-san told me a surprising fact as if recalling those days.

“Yomi and I used to be naughty in kindergarten. I remember that a little when I saw the picture ―Yomi used to call herself ‘ore,’ you know? ”

” …huh? ”
(Ore, very casual and used by men only.)

Ore….?

That beautiful girl, Yomi-san, is using ore? It’s not unusual for anyone to have a history of being naughty at an early age… but I can’t imagine Yomi-san with the same face as Rin’ne-san in front of me talking like that. I can’t imagine it at all.

“You look like you can’t imagine it at all, right? ”

“Yeah. I can’t at all.”

“By the way, my friends I usually talk to know this. They didn’t believe me initially, but they started to understand because sometimes Yomi calls me Aneki.”

“Oh, Aneki sure gives a naughty image to her.”

I see. That’s why Yomi-san calls her Aneki.

I didn’t pay attention to it because I thought it was just another way of calling, but I see… I guess it’s because of her mischievous past.

“Rin’ne-san not particularly different? ”

“I’m… yes. I don’t think I’ll be any different…”

“Hm?”

“…Speaking of which.”

Rin’ne-san stood right in front of me and gently took my hand again.

“I’ve been doing this to Yomi and to people I’m close to. I feel like I’m… thereby touching their hand like this, and I feel safe…”

” wait……Rin’ne-san ? ”

Rin’ne-san took my hand and pulled it to her cheek.

Squinting her eyes, she rests her cheek against the palm of my hand as if rubbing her cheek against a precious treasure… then pulls her hand away in a huff.

“I’m sorry… that, I mean, I’m sorry that I held your hand again so suddenly.”

“No… it doesn’t help if you only keep apologizing only after doing that. ”

“I-I see…”

” ….. ”

” ….. ”

… that’s not important!

Rin’ne-san’s actions have brought us to the situation we are in now, and our backs are itching with embarrassment.

Rin’ne-san has held my hand before, but the cheek rub was probably also not a conscious action ―I think that’s why she is blushing and scurrying her eyes around in front of me.

“That… is a little embarrassing, isn’t it?”

” …Yes ”

…There’s something wrong with this atmosphere, isn’t there?

There are no words between us, and it’s so quiet that I’m afraid she can hear my pounding heart.

After a while, Rin’ne-san clapped her hands.

“We should get back to the classroom soon! ”

” …… ”

I nodded my head.

Rin’ne-san started to walk quickly, but that was a bad idea because she caught her foot on the step.

I saw this and immediately thought it was dangerous and ran to her.

“Rin’ne-san ! ”

” guu…. ”

To be honest, she might not have fallen.

Still, I supported her body ―I hugged her as hard as possible, and her upper body was pressed against mine.

“Are you okay…? ”

“Y-yes. I’m fine.”

I slowly pull away and casually check her body.

I’m relieved she didn’t seem to have twisted anything, but this distance is bad for my heart, so I must move away from her soon… I remember that strange feeling again when I try to move away from her gently.

[ Thank you, Aki-kun! ]

[ Thanks, Akkun! ]

Again… I heard a familiar, nostalgic voice.

“Akito? ”

“Ah, I’m sorry! ”

I gently let go of Rin’ne-san’s body.

We ended up staring at each other at a very close distance, but I sighed in relief that nothing had happened to her.

Then, when I returned to the class from the rooftop, Rin’ne-san softly whispered to me.

“Thank you, Akito.”

I was on my way down the stairs.

Rin’ne-san was looking up at me from below, smiling at me ―my cheeks were burning as I remembered what had just happened, but I gave her a thumbs-up, trying to smile as much as I could.

“….pfft! ”

　Don’t laugh!

Rin’ne-san apologized to me immediately while leaving an incredibly good smell because I seemed to have a disgruntled look on my face. What happened earlier is definitely will be strongly etched in my memory.