I Can Distinguish the Twin Sister - Chapter 41

A Crack?

“…Where is this?”

Occasionally, I dream of being in a mysterious space.

Even so, recently I’ve been having vivid dreams… I’ve seen dreams of the past related to Rin’ne and Yomi over and over again.

It feels as if the footsteps of the past have caught up with me, and it’s as if I’m being urged to think more about the two of them.

“Is that… us from the past?”

What appeared before my eyes were a boy and two girls – I quickly realized that it was us.

The three of us playing together seemed so close that it made everyone around us smile.

「I’ll go join in that soccer game over there!」

「Ah, Yo-chan!」

「…She’s gone.」

There were many children in the park because everyone was playing.

Usually, friends gather together only with those they know, but Yomi, with her natural friendliness, integrated herself into the group of children playing soccer.

“Yomi was amazing even back then,”

I unintentionally murmured.

Although I can’t dismiss the possibility that this is merely a non-existent fantasy… given how vividly I can think of this as a scene from the past, it was likely real.

Yomi, who wasn’t just lively in character but also in appearance, left the scene.

I remained by the side of Rin’ne, who, by appearance alone, looks just like Yomi.

「Do you want to play in the sand?」

「Yes! Everything’s fun with Akkun!」

…I used to be told such straightforward things.

Nonetheless, being able to objectively view our past selves like this is a strange sensation.

With the cheerful and noisy voice of Yomi as the background music, I watched my younger self, engrossed in playing in the sand.

「Ri-chan really loves Yo-chan, doesn’t she?」

「Yes! She needs me! That’s why I’ll protect her!」

Even from that time, Rin’ne wanted to protect Yomi.

Being able to express that feeling so clearly even at a young age, I think she’s wonderful.

Truly a personification of kindness and consideration, the kind of child that many people would love.

Even though Rin’ne’s approach was different, in terms of being loved by many people, Yomi was the same… a perfect relationship where they compensate for what the other lacks——perhaps that describes the sisterly relationship between Rin’ne and Yomi.

「…Hey, Akkun.」

「Hmm?」

「…Are you really moving away?」

「…Yes」

「No!!」

I sat, watching the two of them, and right in front of me, Rin’ne cried out loudly, clinging to my younger self.

「Why do you have to go? Even though we became so close…」

「…I’m sorry, Ri-chan.」

Then, Rin’ne began to cry.

At such times, it’s frustrating to know I can’t do anything… But seeing her like this, I understand why she always wanted to be held and reassured by me.

“…Promising to marry, huh? It really feels like a typical little boy moment.(小さな少年時代)”

Promising to marry during childhood… It might be a common scenario in manga or anime, but experiencing it in real life is probably rare.

Not only in this dream, but I also remembered it when I met Rin’ne… This undoubtedly happened in reality.

「It’ll be alright! We’ll definitely meet again!」

「…Really?」

「Yeah!」

That promise… I want to commend my past self just for this moment, because I’ve fulfilled that promise no.

It took a long time to remember, but even so, we were able to recall our past and meet again.

▽▼

“…Yawn.”

“That’s a big yawn.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Did you stay up late or something?”

“Not really… I thought I went to bed normally.”

Why is it that mornings at school always make me so sleepy?

I always wondered why.

On weekdays, I feel sleepy right after waking up, but on weekends, even if I sleep lightly, I don’t feel particularly tired…Hmm, it’s truly mysterious.

(Well, I did stay up for a while after that dream… Good grief.)

I woke up immediately after the dream, and it was 5 a.m… way too early.

Normally, I wake up around 6:30, but I couldn’t fall back asleep again.

Maybe it’s a consequence of being up from that early hour.

“…Yawn.”

“Don’t get caught sleeping during class, okay?”

“You’re telling me I can sleep?”

“If you’re sleepy, you’ll probably sleep. Well, it can’t be helped.”

That’s… Yeah, it might be inevitable.

Even before the first class starts, this hellish sleepiness… I was anxious about how I would get through the day, but something happened that blew away my sleepiness.

That’s because an incident that was even more concerning occurred.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning!”

“Good morning… Huh?”

The one who entered the classroom while greeting was Rin’ne.

…However, I couldn’t see Yomi, who’s usually with her.

I thought maybe she had gone to the restroom first.

But that wasn’t the case, as Yomi entered shortly after.

“Good morning.”

Naturally, the classroom buzzes with the appearance of the beautiful sisters who are the pride of the class… However, Yomi passes by Rin’ne without saying anything, and Rin’ne doesn’t react either.

Usually, it’s normal for the two sisters to be accompanied by their own friends and sit in their own seats without exchanging a single word or even glancing at each other, spending their own time.

It might not be unusual per se, but the fact that they wouldn’t make eye contact right now makes me think something was very out of the ordinary.

( …What’s going on? )

I instinctively felt that something was off just by witnessing this scene, and it raised questions within me.

I didn’t know what was going on between the two, but I definitely felt that something was wrong.

From the morning, my unease was so strong it made me forget my drowsiness.