I Can Distinguish the Twin Sister - Chapter 3

There is still some time left in the lunch break.

I was facing Rin’ne-san, one of the famous beautiful sisters, on the landing of the stairs leading to the rooftop.

I was relieved to see her worried about my fall, but I thought it would be better to admit it and apologize.

“Well… I’ve got something to tell you. I thought I’d get some air on the rooftop. Then I saw… the scene of your confession.”

“I don’t care about that. Are you sure you didn’t twist anything?　If you sprain it, it could be bad.”

“….uh, you’re kind.”

Ah, I said it out loud.

I guess it’s Rin’ne-san’s kindness to be able to worry about others like this.

However, I didn’t want to make a beautiful woman worry, so I straightened my posture.

“I’m totally fine. You see, I look perfect, as you can see.”

I showed her that I was fine by bending over on the spot.

( …I feel nostalgic somehow to bend over like this in front of a girl. )

I felt such an unintelligible sense of nostalgia, but I told myself that there was no way I could have such a strange sense of nostalgia.

Rin’ne-san rolled her eyes at the sudden bending, but after a moment of relief, she giggled and shook her head.

“If you’re okay, I’m relieved.”

“Oh, yes. But that’s why I want to apologize again ―I’m sorry. And I hope you’ll understand that I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.

“I understand. I didn’t suspect anything, so don’t worry. ”

This girl… is a real angel.

Like Yomi-san, I never hear any bad rumors about Rin’ne-san either, nor do I hear any of the usual envy of popular people.

In this exchange, I realized that many people must really like Rin’ne-san and that such bad rumors are not whispered.

“By the way…Nagase-kun ? ”

“Ah… you know my name? ”

“We’re classmates, you know? ”

“It is indeed.”

If you were in my class, you’d at least know my name.

It’s only been a couple of months since we started the second year, but I can still match my new classmates’ faces and last names, so it’s not so strange.

“Then, what’s going on? ”

“Yes ―have we met before? ”

“It’s like we see each other every day at school. ”

“That’s not what I mean. Have we met somewhere else before? ”

” …pick up lines? ”

Rin’ne-san’s face became expressionless when I said that, and I apologized to her frankly.

She told me I didn’t have to go that far and then told me why she thought so.

“Well… when you bent down in front of me, I felt strangely nostalgic. I wondered if we had met in the past.”

“Well, if I had met a beautiful woman like Aragaki-san, I wouldn’t have forgotten her. I mean, that’s a weird guy who suddenly bends over in front of you.”

“Beautiful women… Fufu, but yes, forget it.”

Beautiful women are never mistaken.

However, if I had met a beautiful woman of my age like Rin’ne-san, I would never forget it.

If I was in elementary school, kindergarten, or something like that, my memory would be doubtful.

“Oh, by the way, we met yesterday after school, didn’t we? ”

“Eh? Ah, that’s right. I met your sister before that. ”

“….Fufu… Ahaha ”

” …what’s wrong? ”

She suddenly started laughing, and I took a step back.

She continued to laugh for a while, but she seemed to have a good reason for it.

“Actually, I haven’t verified yet… but I’m going to ask it directly. Nagase-kun saw her real personality yesterday, didn’t you? ”

” ….. ”

“I could tell by your reaction. She has been talking about Nagase-kun since she met me yesterday. I thought maybe you heard her talking to herself.”

” …..Huh? ”

“She didn’t tell me what kind of soliloquy she was talking about, but I guess I was curious because she was wearing something other than a cat.”

“Ah… ”
(TN: Wear a cat, To pretend as if he/ she were meek and mild.)

Yomi-san, however, seems to have been completely exposed by Rin’ne-san.

…But, it seems that Yomi-san did not tell what she said to Rin’ne-san.

( …How could she possibly tell her she was such a sister?)

The way she said it, it was obvious that Yomi-san had bad feelings for Rin’ne-san, but it didn’t seem like they were on bad terms.

“… Hey, Aragaki-san ”

“What is it? ”

“You and your sister are very close, aren’t you? I don’t know because I don’t see the twin sisters that often, but I really think they make me smile.”

I said, and she smiled happily.

“Really?　I’m glad you see it that way… she’s my blood sister, too, so she’s really important to me.

If this is Rin’ne-san’s one-sidedness, things are a bit different, but still, if it were me, I don’t think I would dislike my sister who says such a thing to me.

Of course, this is just my opinion, and I don’t know what Yomi-san thinks… but Yomi-san is talking happily in class too, right?

( Seriously, I don’t understand…)

I guess this is not something I, a stranger, should think about.

I’ll just think that what I saw after school yesterday was a strange dream.

“By the way, Nagase-kun.”

“Hm? ”

“You know which one we are, don’t you? ”

She said this with a twinkle in her eye, but I was nervous.

My answer to her was that there was no way I could be wrong, but I decided to take the safe answer here.

“No, I heard you talking to yourself earlier. You know, you were saying something about your sister.”

“… Oh, so that’s what you were saying. I see. ”

Then her face dropped down as if disappointed.

“I’m sorry. We are one in two, so I hope some people can take a guess and not mistake us. But there is no one who can clearly identify us at any given moment.”

“Well… that’s how similar you are, isn’t it?　The hair and the ribbons are just the moods of the moment, and I’ve even seen a friend of mine say that the hair is Rin’ne-san, and he still got it wrong.”

“That’s right. That’s how often we get mistaken.”

I was relieved that she didn’t seem offended by my first name-calling.

After that, I heard that their parents could recognize them, but it was difficult for their relatives to recognize them.

“It’s kind of… hard, isn’t it? ”

“It’s not that hard, but like… today, we often refuse people who confess without confirmation. It’s also because we don’t want to be in love with others.”

“Hmmm…”

“Once, I told someone that I was her sister. When I told him something like that, he said it’s also okay if it’s me.”

“… Really?”

That’s like saying it doesn’t matter which one you are.

At that level, you don’t seem to have much contact with either Rin’ne-san or Yomi-san, and you think it’s okay to date either of them as long as they look alike. That would be the worst thing you could say.

“It was the same with her. I can’t imagine myself having that kind of relationship with a man after that happened a few times, and I’m not happy that she thinks that way.”

“That’s… Well, I don’t blame you. It’s like saying it doesn’t matter which one.”

“I know, right? ”

“Y-yes! ”

Rin’ne-san is making a clenched fist and pouting… I can’t say it out loud because of how the story goes, but it’s so cute.

“Oh, we’ve talked a lot, haven’t we? I haven’t talked to a guy my age like this in a long time.”

“Somehow… I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. It’s not every day that you see my sister being confessed, and then you see me being confessed.”

“… I see. I’m glad you feel that way.”

“Why is that? ”

Because I was afraid that if I ran into you two like this, you might feel uncomfortable and think that I was following you.

When I told her this, she nodded her head.

“Please don’t do that. …… ”

“I’m just kidding. I’m sorry Nagase-kun.”

After such an exchange, I parted with her.

Lunch break was almost over, so I returned to the classroom after using the restroom.

“….A long time ago. I’m pretty sure we’ve never met.”

When Rin’ne-san asked me if we had ever met, I could assure her it was absolutely impossible.

Because I went to kindergarten here but went to elementary and junior high school elsewhere for my father’s work, I came back here when I entered high school, but I probably never had a chance to meet them.

Even if I had met them in kindergarten, I don’t remember them anymore.

“If that’s the case, it’s a fateful reunion…”

Then the chime rang, and I rushed back to the classroom… and I was succesfully late.