Chapter 2: The Omen of a Storm

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After the second-period language class, I was eating lunch alone in an empty classroom in Building 6.

Building 6 is still a great place because there are no acquaintances around. Even though I’ve somewhat graduated from the loner life at university, I still enjoy my alone time.

I munched on a chocolate chip melon bread I bought from the convenience store. I’m not particularly fond of sweets, but large, cheap pastries are energy-efficient. If Nanase saw this, she might worry and say, “Your nutritional balance is off!”

At that moment, my phone on the table buzzed. Most of the time, when I get a LINE message at this hour, it’s from Nanase.

Opening the LINE app, I saw a picture. It was a selfie of Nanase with a shy smile, standing next to a flashy gyaru.

Who the heck is that? I wondered for a moment until I realized who the gyaru was. I almost spat out my iced coffee.

…Why is Nanase with my stepsister!?

Despite the flashy gyaru makeup, the girl in the picture with Nanase was undoubtedly Ichika. Following the image, a message appeared.

[I’m having lunch with Ichika-chan at the cafeteria in Building 2!]

No, no, what’s going on here? I had countless questions, but I had to ask her directly. I dashed towards the cafeteria in Building 2.

In the bustling cafeteria, the two of them were sitting side by side at a window counter seat.

They seemed quite friendly and were chatting happily. Nanase had a delighted expression, while Ichika nodded enthusiastically.

“Hey!”

I called out, slightly out of breath. Nanase was the first to turn around.

“Oh, Sagara-kun!”

Nanase broke into a happy smile as soon as she saw me. Ichika, sitting across from her, glanced at me.

“Whoa, did you run here? You’re so desperate.”

Ichika, with her flashy makeup and numerous piercings, was the complete opposite of the serious girl I initially thought she was.

“…What are you doing here? Why are you with Nanase?”

Before Ichika could answer, Nanase responded.

“Ichika-chan came to visit.”

“…Nanase, why are you with her?”

“I exchanged contact information with Ichika-chan at the open campus, and we’ve been in touch since then. She said she wanted to visit today, so we decided to have lunch together.”

“Don’t exchange contact info with strangers so easily…”

Nanase can be a bit too naive. It’s fine because it’s my family, but what if she had met up with someone dangerous?

“By the way, Haruko-san is really beautiful and nice. Sagara-kun is so lucky. No wonder you’d want to kiss her at university.”

Ichika teased, making Nanase turn bright red. She finally realized that my stepsister had seen us kissing.

“Th-That’s not it! We don’t always do that!”

While Nanase flustered, I turned to Ichika.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

Ichika looked around evasively and answered while looking away.

“…Uh… it’s a day off? Like, a school anniversary.”

“Then why are you wearing your uniform?”

Ichika didn’t answer. Maybe she skipped school to come here. What a troublesome kid. Remembering her good-girl act in front of the family, I sighed.

“Did you tell Mom you were coming here?”

“Mom has nothing to do with it.”

Her dismissive tone showed she was upset, folding her arms.

…Could it be that she’s not getting along with Mom?

Judging by Ichika’s current appearance, I couldn’t imagine her having good behavior. She might be letting off steam outside because she’s stressed at home with her stepmom. She likely turned rebellious due to the family environment.

Ichika averted her gaze from me and spoke to Nanase.

“Haruko-san, what’s your seminar like? I’d like to see it.”

Nanase, who seemed completely charmed by Ichika, nodded enthusiastically.

“Sure! We have a seminar after this, so why don’t you come to the lab afterward? I’ll introduce you to our friends too!”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

…What on earth is she thinking? I couldn’t read her intentions.

Why did she go out of her way to get Nanase’s contact information and approach her? As I looked at Ichika suspiciously, she glanced at me before quickly looking away.

After the seminar, Nanase brought Ichika to the lab and introduced her to Sudo and Hojo.

They were surprised by the sudden appearance of a high school girl, but after hearing my explanation of “She’s my sister,” they said things like, “They do look a bit alike,” and “No way, she’s way cuter than Sagara.” It was too much trouble to explain in detail.

After a tour around the campus and a stop at the campus café, we parted ways with Hojo and Sudo. Nanase and I accompanied Ichika to Kyoto Station to see her off.

“Oh, that was fun! By the way, Hojo-san is so handsome! Are there a lot of good-looking guys like him at university?”

Ichika asked excitedly, and Nanase replied with a wry smile, “…Not really.”

If she thought the campus was full of guys like Hojo, she’d be disappointed after enrolling. It’s better not to have unrealistic expectations.

“By the way, Haruko-san, why did you choose this university in Kyoto?”

“For me, I just wanted to get away from my hometown. Also, Risseikan is my cousin’s alma mater, and I admired it!”

“Why did you want to leave your hometown?”

“Well… for various reasons…”

As Nanase trailed off, we arrived at the central ticket gate for the Shinkansen. It seemed Ichika was taking the Shinkansen home. While I took a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to visit, she was traveling luxuriously.

“Well then, thank you, Haruko-san.”

Ichika waved at Nanase. I realized I still hadn’t asked why Ichika came here. I called out to her back as she was about to go through the gate.

“Hey, did you come here for something specific?”

Ichika turned around and stuck her tongue out at me.

“I didn’t need anything from you. I’ve already reached my goal, so I’m heading home!”

“Hey…”

“Oh, one last thing.”

Ichika walked up to me and whispered in my ear.

“…Don’t tell Mom about today. If you do, I’ll tell her about you kissing your girlfriend at university.”

“…Got it.”

With that, I had no choice but to keep quiet. Ichika waved at Nanase, “I’ll message you on LINE,” and went through the gate.

“Ichika-chan was a nice girl! I had fun!”

“…Yeah, sure…”

“By the way, what did Ichika-chan say to you at the end?”

Nanase asked curiously. I tried to dodge the question with, “Oh, nothing…”

“More importantly, I’m sorry for dragging you into this with my stepsister.”

“No, I’m glad I got to know her. Because if she’s your stepsister, then she’ll eventually be…”

Stopping mid-sentence, Nanase covered her mouth in realization. She then smiled vaguely, saying, “Never mind.”