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I reunited with an elementary school childhood friend. Thinking back on our separation, I expected us to have awkwardness between us, but that wasn’t the case and we can converse normally. I’ve mostly forgotten the reason for our argument back then, so perhaps it’s the same for her.

“Ohh, so this is Kotone’s home. Why is there a space suit?”
“A lot happened.”

A space suit stood in a corner of the living room. Since I have to use it again, I can’t really stow it away, so I gave up and left it in the living room. It looks really out of place, though.

“Think of it as a statue. Frankly, it’s so heavy you can’t even walk in it.”
“How do I say this? You’re genuinely so different from how you were back then.”

She only knows Ane, so it’s normal that she’d feel that way. Living alone, debuting as a singer, and punching father are things that Ame can’t imagine Ane doing.

“There’s an empty room, so feel free to use that. And I’ll warn in advance, but other people might come occasionally during mealtime.”
“Ohh, like a boyfriend?”
“Like hell it is. It’s a wife.”
“Really?”

I only told the truth, but I realized that I relayed it in a weird way. That’s because Ame is clearly shocked. She should have realized that I’m not talking about my wife in particular.

“The neighbor’s wife; she comes here to eat often. Don’t have any weird ideas.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. But why though?”
“I want to ask that myself.”

Surprisingly, no one really questioned that part until now. I’d love to know why we have this arrangement myself, but Akane would probably be sad if I asked her directly, so I won’t.

“Why not leave your luggage in the room first?”
“I’ll do so. But Kotone, do you play the guitar?”
“That’s a bass. I’m in a situation where I have to practice playing it.”

This is the trial imposed on me for this summer. I am now officially active as Unknown, so I’ll inevitably have to collaborate with other artists. However, I did negotiate so that it won’t affect my schooling.

“Ame, I guess I’ll tell you in advance. I’m forced to be an active artist as Unknown, so I might be unavailable sometimes.”
“Oh? I don’t really understand what you’re saying right now…”
“My occupation. Student / Singer.”
“Nonono! How did that even happen!”
“Ah, that’s a refreshing reaction.”
“I mean, I just can’t imagine that shy Kotone being able to sing in front of people!”

As expected of the childhood friend, she knows Ane’s character very well. In truth, Ane was simply dragged into this by Ani’s absurdity. Honestly, what was his thought process?

“Eh, a duet with Sherry? The super star Sherry?”

She must’ve searched Unknown on her smartphone. With her confused voice and shrieks as backdrop, I started thinking about tonight’s menu. Since we have an abundance of money, let’s go with a lavish welcome party. Akane aside, I should invite Kaori as well. I will probably have to introduce them to each other eventually.

“Ame, do you have anything you can’t eat?”
“Octopus and squid.”
“Soft bodied creatures, huh. They taste delicious, though.”
“Just imagining how they look frankly kills my appetite.”

Everyone has their own preferences. If I prepare food that people don’t like, it’ll just be left untouched on the table. The best option to avoid waste is to just forget about it. It’d be a problem if there’s too many leftovers, but if it’s just an aesthetic issue, then there’s ways around it.

“All that’s left is to buy groceries. I’m thinking of yakiniku for tonight, will that be okay?”
“That’s totally alright. Where do you usually go shopping for groceries?”
“At the shopping district and the supermarket, of course. What are you asking the obvious for?”
“My preconceived image of Kotone is falling apart.”

Ame’s mental image of me is still probably that of a proper Kisaragi family member. I’m completely far from it now, though. All thanks to Ani’s influence, I’ve deviated from the norm.

“Moreover, for that father loving girl to punch her own father…”
“That damn fool of a father deserved it.”
“Just what happened after we parted ways?”

A lot. Ani died, causing Ane to withdraw, the second caused trouble, then Ani came in and went wild, then Ani and Ane left, and I was born. Putting it on a timeline, it absolutely makes no sense.

“It’s frankly a really long story and a lot of details might sound unbelievable too.”
“I have a lot of time to spare, so let me hear it. Though I am a bit scared of hearing it now.”

Multiple things a normal person can’t understand will probably pop up in the discussion. Ame still has a normal mind. Meanwhile, the already disillusioned Kaori practically accepts everything, so she doesn’t show a strong reaction.

“We can talk about it over yakiniku. I’ll invite over someone who knows me well too.”
“Ohoho, is it a boy?”
“Why do you always steer the conversation to that topic?”
“Your love life seems pretty intriguing, after all.”

You can’t really expect any love life from me when I was just born several months ago. Most importantly, I’m not in a situation where I can actually find love. If I had remained as Ane, it might have been a possibility. And if Ani was still alive.

“Where has my normalcy gone to?”

I feel like I haven’t had a normal life ever since I was born. Well, sure, my time at school may be normal. The underclassmen don’t seem to be scheming anything either. However, that’s the only place I have peace. Once I leave the academy, calls from Yui will come in, and at the cafe, Aya and Hadzuki would come and liven up the place

“You’re helping with shopping, okay?”
“Aren’t I a guest of honor here?”
“We’re going to be living together from today on, so you could at least lend a hand.”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

First, I should focus on the task at hand. Meat is a given, but I’ll need to think about the specifics. Kalbi, sirloin, and beef tongue are also indispensable. I guess we can splurge for this occasion. Also, vegetables of all sorts. This is going to be a lot to carry.

“I’m going to have to withdraw some cash.”
“I’m scared of looking at what your bankbook looks like.”
“I’m scared of looking at it too.”

While there’s the excitement of seeing the numbers go up, there’s also the dread of seeing them go down. Akane would sometimes worry that I’m being too stingy, and for some reason, even try to give me money. I don’t know how to deal with it. While we are neighbors, we’re still strangers at the end of the day.

“It’s scary the more I think about it.”
“What is?”

Perhaps it’s similar to how fans give donations to their favorites, but I don’t know what drives her to do that, so I always feel like I just can’t accept the money. I feel like the cooking wouldn’t be enough to pay it back.

“Ame. This is just a guess, but you might meet an intense person this dinner, so prepare yourself.”
“Wait. Hold on. Who exactly am I going to meet!?”
“Don’t worry. She’s normal as long as you don’t meet her preference.”
“That just means that I’m in danger otherwise, doesn’t it?”

As I just silently smiled in response, Ame desperately clung to my arm. It’s not something to cry about, you know? It’ll be fine. As long as you get used to Akane’s outbursts, you’ll manage.

“Besides, this is just a guess, but I think you’re outside her preferences.”

Ame is sunny, dauntless, and highly sociable. She and Akane share these traits, so they’ll probably hit it off, but I don’t think Akane will lock onto her.

“Huh? Wouldn’t I be taking the most damage here?”

If Ame carelessly speaks about Ane’s past, wouldn’t that cause Akane to go full throttle? Personally, I compartmentalize Ane’s memories as different from mine, so it probably wouldn’t cause much psychic damage, but I might still go through some embarrassment.

“Ame. I’m begging you, please don’t talk about my past. For both our sakes.”
“Is it a taboo?”
“You might go through a terrible time otherwise.”
“I’ll keep it to heart.”

It’s probably impossible though. Once Akane asks about my relationship with Ame, it’ll open a bridge towards discussing my past. And out of fun, Kaori will probably push for the topic.

Still, it’s just stories of Ane for me, so it shouldn’t damage me that much. I’m toast if Akane starts jostling me around, though.

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