With The Ishida Siblings.

The next day I turned down lunch with Toko-senpai and went to a ramen shop outside with Ishida.

The reason, of course, was the matter regarding Meika-chan.

I ordered chashu-men, and Ishida got a large bowl with extra vegetables.

Once the clerk took our tickets, I broke the silence.

“By the way, that New Year’s visit to the shrine. You deliberately disappeared back there, didn’t you?”

Ishida looked caught off guard for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly on purpose. I just realized I’d gotten pretty far away from you guys.”

“It was weird to circle back through the park behind the shrine alone after that.”

“Yeah, well. I did that on purpose.”

“Why would you do something like that?”

“You know Meika likes you, right, Yuu?”

I fell silent at his counter-question.

“I didn’t think Meika was that serious. Before that ‘X-Day’ I casually said, ‘Toko-senpai and Yuu probably won’t get together, so why don’t you try making a move?’”

“Why did you think Toko-senpai and I were impossible?”

“I mean, obviously. No matter how much time passed, there was no ‘Final Partner’ notification from Toko-senpai. It didn’t seem like there was a spark. Even you thought it was a long shot, didn’t you, Yuu?”

“Well… there was that vibe.”

“Meika was depressed when you first started dating Karen-chan after entering university. But this time, maybe because I gave her false hope, she was crushed when I told her you and Toko-senpai were dating. She wouldn’t even speak to me for a while.”

“And yet you brought her along for the New Year’s visit?”

“Yeah. When I said I was going with you, Meika said she wanted to come. When I asked why, she said she wanted to talk to you. So I thought I’d make some time for the two of you to talk alone.”

I sighed. I could understand his feelings for his sister, but…

“Sorry, Yuu, for dragging you into something troublesome.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I guess it can’t be helped… but…”

“But, Yuu. How are things, really?”

“What do you mean, ‘really’?”

“With Toko-senpai. Is the relationship going well?”

“Yeah, it’s steady.”

“Steady like eating lunch together, occasionally going home together, and exchanging messages on social media?”

I glared at Ishida.

“That’s like a middle school relationship, isn’t it? Even high schoolers move faster than that these days. That’s not a university-level relationship.”

“Shut up. I have plans, too. Once exams are over and spring break starts, I’m going to take Toko-senpai to all sorts of places…”

“All sorts of places? Like Tokyo Disneyland at most, right?”

He hit the nail so squarely on the head I couldn’t come up with a reply.

“Actually, the reason I felt okay leaving Meika alone with you is because you’re such a ‘safe and reliable’ guy, Yuu.”

Our ramen arrived just then. I spoke while taking my first slurp.

“So, I’m meeting Meika-chan for about an hour this evening.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“I was forced into a promise. We went to karaoke together yesterday, too.”

Ishida’s eyes went wide.

“When did you two get that close?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It wasn’t just the two of us yesterday. There was someone else. That’s the person who called me out.”

“Someone else? Who was it?”

“A classmate of Meika-chan’s. She calls her ‘En-chan.’ Do you know her?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that name. A girl who’s been close with Meika since middle school.”

“Do you know her real name?”

“I don’t go that far. I don’t check every single one of my sister’s friends.”

“Her real name is Honoka Sakurajima.”

“Sakurajima? Wait, you mean—”

“She’s Toko-senpai’s younger sister.”

Ishida’s chopsticks froze mid-air. He stared at me in pure shock.

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious. You and Toko-senpai are from the same middle school area, right? It’s not strange for the younger sisters to know each other if they’re the same age.”

“It’s news to me that Toko-senpai even had a sister.”

“I only just found out recently myself.”

“But why do you know Toko-senpai’s sister, Yuu? Did Toko-senpai introduce you?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I told him about the incident at Kaihimmakuhari the other day.

“Are… are you for real!?”

Ishida was speechless after hearing the story.

“I’m serious. I was careless, but still. She’s an incredibly eccentric girl.”

“Man… I can’t believe a high school girl would do that. I always thought Toko-senpai was good at handling people, but that girl adds a layer of ruthlessness on top of it. She’s terrifying.”

“Tell me about it.”

I sighed again. Thinking about Honoka only brought more sighs.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“About what?”

“You’re not actually going to ‘break up with Toko-senpai’ like she says, right?”

“Of course not. Who would break up over something like that?”

“In that case, shouldn’t you tell Toko-senpai herself about it sooner rather than later?”

“I think so, too. But when I remember how confident that girl sounded, I get scared…”

At the very least, even if it was a trap, Toko-senpai wouldn’t feel good knowing her boyfriend and her own sister had kissed. I couldn’t be 100% sure her anger wouldn’t be directed at me.

“W-well, just do what you think is best, Yuu. I’ll support you as much as I can…”

Unlike his usual self, Ishida’s words trailed off. This guy… he was trying to back out this time.

I declined the chance to go home with Toko-senpai and hurried to Funabashi Station alone.

…Seriously, what am I doing…

Lost in thought, I headed through the connecting passage to Keisei Station, our meeting spot. Meika-chan was waiting in front of a convenience store.

“Hello, Meika-chan.”

“Hello… Yuu-san.”

She greeted me in her usual bashful manner. We went into a nearby café and ordered cake sets.

“…”

Meika-chan had been silent since we entered. Even after the cake and tea were brought and I said, “Well, shall we eat?”, she merely nodded and didn’t touch her slice.

…This is really awkward…

I searched for a topic.

“So, Meika-chan, what club are you in?”

“Same as in middle school—the track and field club.”

“You go to Ichikawa Girls’ Academy, right? Is an all-girls school fun?”

“Yes, it’s fun.”

“I see, that’s good. Hahaha.”

Dammit, the conversation wasn’t flowing. I hadn’t realized her feelings for me until recently, and I hadn’t been conscious of Meika-chan as a girl. Usually Ishida or Honoka or someone else was around; this silence was painful. An hour of it would be torture.

…Maybe I should just say something weird and make her hate me…

Even that thought crossed my mind.

Meika-chan fidgeted as if she wanted to speak. Mostly she stared at the table but kept stealing glances at me. It looked like she tried to form words, then stopped and returned to fidgeting.

…Sigh, I’m seriously exhausted…

I checked my watch. Almost an hour had passed.

“Meika-chan. Shall we get going? It’s been an hour, and I have to do some grocery shopping for dinner.”

Since both my parents work late, I have to make dinner tonight. I grabbed the check and started to stand.

“U-um!”

Meika-chan suddenly spoke loudly. I stared at her. Her face was bright red.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I… I didn’t know what to say. Even though Yuu-san made time to come… I couldn’t say almost anything… I’m sorry!”

She bowed her head repeatedly. It was painful to watch.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Anyone would find it hard to talk in a situation forced on them like this. You don’t need to apologize.”

Meika-chan lifted her flushed face.

“Really? You aren’t angry, Yuu-san?”

“I’m not angry at all. Don’t worry. You can just talk to me when things are more settled.”

When she heard that, Meika-chan’s eyes locked on mine.

“Then… will you meet me this coming Saturday?”

“Eh?”

“I… I’ll prepare myself so I can talk properly next time. Please. For an hour… no, even thirty minutes is fine!”

She bowed her head again. I started worrying about the people around us—a high school girl, face beet-red, bowing repeatedly and pleading desperately. I must look like some kind of shady guy to everyone else.

“Okay. I get it, so raise your head. You don’t have to go that far.”

When Meika-chan looked up, her eyes were moist.

“Let’s just have lunch together on Saturday. I can’t take too much time, but is that okay?”

She gave a small, quick nod.