[Home]

"Good morning, Yui-neesan."

"Ugh... Morning."

Yui-neesan enters the living room as I’m getting ready for school. She rubs her eyes and sits down.

"I’ve already baked bread, so it's ready to eat. There's jam in the fridge, use whatever you like."

"Okay. Thanks."

Yui-neesan starts eating breakfast, yawning. She looks very sleepy.

"High schoolers have such early schedules, huh?"

Yui-neesan, a university student, could easily sleep in later, but she always wakes up at this time so she can see me off to school.

"Yeah. I’m going now. See ya."

"See ya. Be careful."

I leave the house, seen off by Yui-neesan.

"Chihiro, morning!"

Someone greets me cheerfully from behind as I’m walking to school.

"Good morning, Sakura-san."

The voice belongs to my childhood friend, Sakura-san.

We live close to each other and have played together since we were little. We’re still close even now that we’re in high school. She's busy with her modeling job, but we hang out sometimes.

"Chihiro, did you do your homework for today?"

"Yeah, it was hard."

"That one was hard, right? It was definitely a prank."

"Hey, Saki! Let’s go!"

From a few meters ahead, Sakura-san’s friend waves and calls to her.

"Yeah, coming! See you in class later!"

With a smile, she runs over to her friend.

"Good morning, Chihiro-kun."

A few minutes after Sakura-san leaves, I hear another voice behind me.

"G-Good morning, Mahima-senpai."

I turn around and see Mahima-senpai standing there, her beautiful black hair flowing in the wind.

Mahima-senpai is a year above me. She’s beautiful, intelligent, and perfect. On top of that, she’s the ace of the kendo club and has won many championships.

She’s flawless, respected by all the students in the school, and she’s my dream girl.

"How are you doing these days?"

"I’m doing... okay. How about you?"

"I’m fine too. Everything’s normal with club activities and studying."

By "normal" she means she’s at the top of her class in studying, and she’s a star player in the club who wins every championship. "Normal" is nothing like my life.

"Senpai, don’t push yourself too hard."

"Haha. Are you worried about me?"

I wonder when she ever takes a break. She’s always working hard. I keep saying it’s okay, but I’m worried she’ll collapse.

"You’re the only one who says that. Thanks."

My face feels a little hot from her smile.

"Reina."

"Oh, Ren, good morning."

The one who called out to her is Miyachi Ren-senpai, who’s in the same year as Mahima-senpai.

He’s also academically excellent and good-looking, so he’s very popular with the girls. He’s also a member of the student council and is close to Mahima-senpai. There are rumors going around that he’s making a big push to get her.

"Chihiro-kun, see ya later."

"Yeah, see ya."

I became friends with Mahima-senpai about a month after entering high school.

Our first meeting was when I tripped on the passageway and she helped me up. Since then, we’ve been friends.

When I first met her, she made a strong impression on me, beautiful and dignified. That hasn’t changed.