Siblings / 姉妹

Friday, the fifth day of my last high school year. We were all in homeroom time, awaiting the arrival of our Japanese teacher. Kimura suddenly manifested curiosity over my family tree. Yes, family tree. I was caught off-guard too.

“Ishida, do you have any siblings?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Because I want to know.”

“That much I deduced already. You should know though, I told you that last year.”

“Ah, did you? Sorry if I forgot, but now I really need that information!”

“How badly do you need it?”

“Really badly.”

“Just how far are you willing to go to obtain it?”

“I will spy on your house twenty-four hours a day to acquire this important bit of knowledge.”

Scary. Terrifying. Spine-chilling. A fearsome opponent. But I wasn’t about to cower.

“Bring it on then, Kimura!”

Yokoyama intervened, noticing the arising tension.

“Aren’t you two going a little too far over a mere mundane topic? Say, Kimura, why do you want to know that?”

“Well, that’s because Natsuko here is going to live with him under the same roof very soon.”

“Seriously? He’s such a lucky guy.”

I had quite a few thoughts crossing my mind as I heard Kimura say that, but all I could pronounce was a puzzling “What?”. Natsuko was standing next to me, with her mouth still shut.

“H-How do you know that? Naoto did you tell her?”

“No, I kept this between us.”

“It’s none of that, Ishida. You see, I left school at a later time on Tuesday and I stumbled upon Naoto’s conversation with teacher Miyazaki. I ended up overhearing a bit of their talk and left without being noticed.”

“Please, tell me you kept it to yourself.”

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t betray you, my esteemed friend, just like that.”

Just seconds ago you were ready to do anything in your power to discover if I had any siblings. Just what am I supposed to think?

“Alright. Since you knew of this and were kind enough to not share it, I’ll once again tell you.”

I stated it, clear as water, in an assertive tone, ensuring she could never ever forget that bit of information again.

“I don’t have any siblings.”

“Ehhh? That’s lame, I expected a ‘Yes’ answer, you know? Do you really not have any? A little sister perhaps?”

“No.”

“For real?”

“Yes. I'm an only child.”

“How disappointing, now I wish I didn’t ask at all. At least then there was the possibility of a younger female sibling. Ah… the possibilities!”

In spite of her disappointment towards the truth, she still managed to cover it up with a fantasy of her own. She was awkwardly happy, and not for good reasons.

I was sleeping comfortably in my bed when I suddenly woke up to my little sister atop the bed, next to me, on her knees, with her favorite panda hoodie on, playing the role of an alarm clock, reminding me of my duties with a cheery smile, “Onii-chan, it’s morning”. I slowly opened my eyes, noticing her innocent face looking at me, and got up to a sitting position on my bed, acknowledging that it was morning indeed with a sleepy “Morning, Kanade”. My little sister answered with her own “Good morning”, heavily contrasting with mine due to the lively nature of hers. I briefly noticed the time on the alarm clock. 6:30 AM.

That’s an extremely accurate description of what was going on in Kimura’s head.

In the real world though, I was forced to put a stop to her rampant imagination.

“I said I’m an only child!”

Assuming the conversation was over, Yokoyama intervened.

“Well, there you go, Kimura. I think it’s better you give up and—”

She noticed Kimura had a serious expression on her face. And so did I when I turned to her.

“Umm Kimura? Is everything okay?”

With a forced smile, she assured me it was all fine.

“Yes, don’t worry.”

I easily realized what was going on in that crazy head of hers. She could try with others, but with me, it wouldn't work—hiding her feelings. I saw right through her. Because we were the same. Attempting to hide behind a curtain.

Since the conversation was leaning towards the topic of siblings, I’ll take advantage of it to mention neither Naoto nor Yokoyama have any siblings.

Kimura does have an older sister though. It’s not something she mentions a lot, as her sister doesn’t like being in the center of… well, anything. Even in casual talks. According to what I know from Sakurai Kimura, her old sister always put up a lone wolf act, preferring to do nearly everything herself, despising the idea of depending on someone else.

Akari Kimura.

She left Fukuoka five years ago to study at one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, Kyoto University. In spite of her apparent arrogance and narcissism, she was an excellent student who got recommendations for a handful of top universities across the country. But that wasn’t all she was made of. Even though she lacked the need and will to depend on others, she still cared a lot for her little sister. Half of Akari was made of her feelings for Sakurai.

When they inevitably parted ways, Sakurai was depressed for a week, in a similar fashion to how couples feel when each goes to a different university. Her Spring break that year wasn’t the same anymore, now without her big sister. They rarely talked. If anything, the trimestral calls her parents did to check out how their elder daughter was doing were the only means of communication between them. Even after turning fifteen and getting a phone as a birthday present, she could barely keep a stable conversation with her.

She eventually got over that emptiness in her life, but she didn’t forget her. How could she ever do that? Only a heartless person could commit such a cruel act. Therefore, Sakurai Kimura vowed they would meet again someday. She’d find her wherever she was. The sister who taught her so much.

Discussing this topic brought those memories to the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Spotting my dear friend crying, even if a little, I drew away from Natsuko and rushed to hug her.

“For crying out loud, you can’t even lie to me. It’s all good. I know she is doing well—no, exceptionally.”

“Thanks, Ishida.”

She accepted my hug and spread her arms to my back.

Naoto caught sight of Kimura crying and hugging me and instantly knew any minor issues she might have had were swiftly solved. Natsuko and Yokoyama obviously detected something was up, but while the former kept quiet the latter expressed her doubt to Naoto.

“Uhhh, weren’t those two arguing with each other just seconds ago? What happened?”

“Kimura remembered something unpleasant in the midst of her discussion with Ishida, but he rushed to comfort her. She’s good now.”

What a sight to behold. Two friends hugging each other, two more staring, relieved, and our shy new student observing it without a single comment.

Maybe I do have a sister of some sort after all.