Chapter 4: A Heart-Pounding First Date! (With Little Sister Along)

Giant stuffed animals towered over everything. They were the defining trait of Aiko’s room.

They were a type of teddy bear called a “Cheeky,” made by a company called Merrythought, and known for their large heads and broad foreheads which made them look like babies. The biggest of them would require two arms to carry, but there were other stuffed animals around it, too many to count.

Apparently, at some point when she was very small, Aiko had expressed a fondness for them, and her father had proceeded to buy them for her from then onward.

Aiko wasn’t happy about always getting teddy bears as presents. It didn’t seem appropriate for a girl in high school, but she had long since given up hope in her father developing better taste in gifts.

Anyway, teddy bears might be an easy stopgap gift, but they were still an expression of love. And it wasn’t as if she hated them, so she decided to continue accepting them, graciously.

The next most notable feature in Aiko’s room was the pink and white coloring.

White was the base color for the furniture and interior decorations. Fabric-based furnishings like the curtains, the sofa, and the bed cover were all a pale pink. Aiko herself had handled the coordination, but she was nagged by the thought that she had gone too far with it.

It was a bit too girlish, and she was a little embarrassed to show it to others. Whenever her friends came to visit, they always called it “kind of amazing,” and she was never sure if they were being sincere or sarcastic.

Aiko was lying on her bed in that room in pink pajamas, hugging a stuffed animal to her chest. She was thinking about what had happened that afternoon.

Yuichi had been so reckless. He had run into that abandoned building and saved the girl being attacked, just because of Aiko’s comment about how she’d smelled blood.

He hadn’t even hesitated. He’d treated it as if it went without saying that he’d do it.

Yuichi called his sister strange, but he was plenty strange on his own.

Well, I guess I’m just as bad for going along with it... Aiko thought.

He’d incapacitated a dozen people in a flurry of punches and kicks. Most people would find violence like that shocking, but Aiko hadn’t done much more than wrinkle her nose. She seemed to be getting used to this kind of thing.

Would this keep happening if she kept hanging out with Yuichi and the others?

That’s right, Yoriko mentioned something like that...

When they’d first met, she had said, “My brother is merely attempting to aid a person in need.” In other words, this was something Yuichi did regularly.

Ah, that reminds me...

She had never properly thanked Yoriko for lending her that underwear. She wanted to do something nice for her, but she couldn’t figure out what, and so had ended up putting it off. It felt a little vulgar to just pay her for them, and boorish to buy her the same set of underwear.

It should be something that will really make her happy... she thought. But it was hard to figure out what that would be. She had only talked to Yoriko that one time at Yuichi’s house, and had no idea what she liked.

Aiko rolled over, her eyes falling on the cell phone next to the bed. Maybe I could ask Sakaki about it...

She didn’t know if Yuichi would know Yoriko’s tastes or not, but it seemed like a good reason to try calling him for the first time.

She would feel a little self-conscious calling him for no reason, but there should be no problem with calling to ask for help with a thank-you gift.

She thought back to how casually Yuichi had exchanged phone numbers with the girl he had just met that afternoon. Maybe Yuichi exchanged numbers and talked that casually with every girl. If so, then there was no need to be shy about it.

Aiko reached for her phone, and with a little trepidation, dialed Yuichi’s number.

It was Saturday, the next day, and a little before noon.

Aiko was walking the station concourse where they said they would meet up.

There was an objet d’art there that resembled a carillon with a clock and bell that was often used as a meet-up spot. Mist sprayed down from the ceiling, cooling off the whole area. At exactly noon, the clock began to play a song made popular by a local band.

Yuichi was already there, right on time.

He was dressed in a light jacket, navy blue jeans, and gray sneakers. Aiko had never seen Yuichi in street clothes before, but she found them very flattering on him.

Aiko was about to call out when she noticed there was a girl with him. The girl was hanging close to Yuichi, inside his personal space, suggesting either a girlfriend or family.

As Aiko stood there for a moment in surprise, the beautiful girl suddenly came running up to her.

The girl took Aiko’s hand and pulled her some ways away from Yuichi.

“Huh?” Aiko stood there, bewildered, as the girl pressed closer to her and hissed:

“What, exactly, is the meaning of this, Noro? My brother and I are here today to go clothes shopping. It was supposed to be me and him. Just me and him!”

It was Yoriko, Yuichi’s little sister. She was wearing a sleeveless blouse and a miniskirt, a brazen display of naked arm and leg that drew the attention of everyone around them. She looked so unlike a middle school student in her street clothes that Aiko hadn’t recognize her immediately.

Aiko wondered how to proceed. She had come to buy a present for Yoriko, but she couldn’t exactly do that while she was around.

“Um, remember how I borrowed your clothes before? I wanted to buy something you would like as a thank-you, and I asked Sakaki what that might be, and he said he was going out today and I should come along... I didn’t know he’d made plans with you, and he didn’t tell me, either...” Aiko said, her words containing no small amount of reproach for Yuichi’s thoughtlessness.

“I see,” Yoriko spat venomously. “I do you a favor, and this is how you repay me? Using a present for me as a pretense to come here, all giddy and dressed to the nines?”

“You don’t have to put it that way...” Aiko looked down at her own outfit. It was a sleeveless, frilly white dress under a tiered cardigan, a white pochette slung over her shoulder, socks with lace and ribbons on them, and camel-colored wedge pumps. She couldn’t deny she had put some effort into how she was dressing.

Yoriko continued to glare at her. She must have really been looking forward to this outing, Aiko thought.

“Maybe I should just go...” she said, feeling aghast at Yuichi’s insensitivity. If he’d already made plans with Yoriko, he should have just turned her down.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit late for that? If you just leave now, my brother’s going to worry about you!” Yoriko snapped.

Aiko looked in Yuichi’s direction. Yuichi met her eyes and waved. It really would be hard for her to leave now...

“I guess you’re right...” Aiko admitted.

Yoriko bowed her head and sighed deeply, then looked up again. “Very well. There’s nothing we can do about it now, so I’ll allow it. But try to avoid clinging to my brother excessively, won’t you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it!” Aiko snapped back, her face turning red. Yoriko just gazed at her skeptically.

Together, the three of them headed to the large shopping mall attached to the station.

“Sakaki... If you were going out with Yoriko, you should have told me...” Aiko said, with a touch of resentment.

“I thought having Yori here would speed things up. If you want to know what someone likes, you should just ask them directly, right?” he responded.

“I don’t mind!” Yoriko added cheerfully, as if the hostile encounter before had never happened. “I’m so happy I get to go shopping with Noro!”

How two-faced can you get?! Aiko thought.

Yoriko took Yuichi’s arm, and thus they walked together in a line: Yuichi, Yoriko, then Aiko.

“Hey, isn’t it a little odd for a brother and sister to walk arm in arm?” Aiko couldn’t help but ask.

Yoriko just scowled and whispered back, “I believe I told you not to meddle unnecessarily in our business, didn’t I?”

Aiko fell into stunned silence, and moved around to walk next to Yuichi. She couldn’t link arms or hold hands or anything, of course, and maintained a certain distance. She could feel Yoriko staring daggers into her.

“Sakaki, you were going clothes shopping, right? What kind of clothes are you looking for?” Aiko asked, ignoring Yoriko’s glare.

“Something that goes well with these jeans, I guess. My big sister keeps yelling at me to wear them,” Yuichi said, pointing at his jeans. They looked like ordinary navy blue jeans.

“That’s right! Big Sister isn’t usually picky about what people wear, but she does pick up the occasional strange obsession,” Yoriko said, butting in. “These are apparently made out of special fibers using a particular process that makes them more sturdy than most.”

“Mutsuko does like things like that, huh? Your sneakers look a little strange, too. Are those also from her?” Aiko asked, looking down at Yuichi’s feet. The sneakers didn’t seem that unusual at a glance, but when she looked closer, she saw they had no laces.

“That’s right, but... look, I know what you’re getting at, okay? I can refuse, and she doesn’t force it. She just starts pouting, is all.”

“I bet she would.” It was easy for Aiko to imagine.

“Ah, those are made from special materials to be extra sturdy, too. They don’t have laces because they’re fit in with air pressure,” Yoriko offered.

“Your big sister really likes those special materials, huh?”

As they chatted, they finally arrived in the shopping mall, then headed together to a casual clothes shop, where Yoriko swiftly began to root through the racks.

Yuichi didn’t seem to have any interest in picking out clothes himself. He just stood a few steps behind Yoriko as she looked around. Aiko, despite not being asked, decided to take a little initiative to search for clothes that would look good on Yuichi.

“When he asks our big sister to buy clothes, she buys the most ridiculous things,” Yoriko said.

“Ah, I think I know what you mean...”

“I mean, really. Chainmail? It’s outrageous.”

“Huh?” Chainmail? That wasn’t a word that came up often in casual conversation...

“She brings him bulletproof vests, too. Who would ever wear such a thing in everyday life?”

“Where do they even sell things like that?” The image of Mutsuko proudly showing off a bulletproof vest rose unbidden to Aiko’s mind. It was too easy to imagine.

“And even when she does pick out normal clothes, they’re always black. She wants him in black from head to toe! So obviously, I can’t leave her to handle the coordination of his wardrobe.”

“You two seem to be getting along, huh?” Yuichi said as he watched the two of them pick out clothes.

Sure, superficially... Aiko thought.

“Oh, we just get along so well! Isn’t that right?” Yoriko chirped to Aiko.

“Y-Yeah, I guess so...”

“Big Brother, how do you like this?” Yoriko asked, producing a snug-fitting shirt and jacket similar to the one he was already wearing.

“Well, I don’t know...” Yuichi said as he took the shirt from her. “Noro, did you pick one out, too?”

“Huh? Oh, no!” Aiko was holding a T-shirt with an incomprehensible English logo. It was awkward to be found picking out something she hadn’t been asked for.

Yoriko hid her face from Yuichi and chuckled. There was no right or wrong when it came to picking out clothes, but Aiko still felt like she had lost in some way.

“I’ll go buy them, then. There are lots of people in line, so it may take a while,” Yuichi said, taking the shirt from Aiko.

“Huh?” Yoriko said in surprise. She clearly hadn’t been expecting him to buy the shirt Aiko picked out.

Yuichi went off to stand in line, leaving Aiko and Yoriko to wait near the entrance to the store.

“Why were you picking out clothes for him, Noro? Are you trying to act like his girlfriend or something?” Yoriko demanded. The minute Yuichi was gone, her attitude did a total 180.

“I could ask you the same thing, Yoriko,” Aiko shot back, feeling a little sick of her constant needling.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Is there something wrong with that? Is there something wrong with acting like my big brother’s girlfriend?”

“Huh?” Aiko hadn’t expected her to admit to it outright. “Um, well... I guess... there isn’t? Huh?”

Aiko thought about it, but she couldn’t work out a proper argument.

“If my brother ever gets a real girlfriend, I’ll step back. But right now I’m not causing anyone any trouble, am I?” Yoriko demanded.

“I guess... not?” Aiko tilted her head. It did have a certain logic.

“But what was with that shirt you picked out? Was that some kind of strategy? Picking out weird clothing so he finds you charmingly klutzy?”

“What, was it not good?”

“It was so plain... You have to think about the balance,” Yoriko said, gazing at her with disgust. She couldn’t seem to understand Aiko’s taste in clothing.

“But, well, in the end, my brother did buy the weird shirt you picked out. And I think he liked it more than mine, which gets under my skin.”

“Um, I think you’re making too much of it...”

“It’s all right. Now, exactly how far has your relationship with my brother progressed? The way you address each other seems much less formal than it was the last time you visited our house.”

“Is that really important? We’re still just using last names...”

“It is important! He calls me ‘Yori,’ okay? It’s a childish nickname! I’ll probably be Yori for the rest of my life!”

“Um, I guess we have gotten a little more friendly. But... it’s not what you think!”

“Isn’t it?” Yoriko asked, eyes narrowed. She didn’t seem to believe her. “If I weren’t here, this would be a date, wouldn’t it? Two people don’t go shopping together if they don’t have a relationship, do they?”

“Huh? Well, I don’t know...” Aiko couldn’t quite figure out how to argue. Yoriko was right that most people would consider an outing like that a date.

“Allow me to make my position clear. Noro, you are the person I most need to keep my eye on. My brother has never brought a girl home before! And he’s never been on such casual terms with one, either. I don’t understand it! He’s barely been in high school for a few months! The club he’s in is all girls, too, and I heard he even has a beautiful girl from his class cozying up to him!”

She must have been talking about Natsuki Takeuchi, who certainly did seem to nurture an affection for Yuichi.

“In fact, this is an excellent opportunity,” Yoriko said. “Why don’t you tell me what things are like for my brother at school? Starting with that cat in heat.”

“Cat in heat?” Aiko mouthed, incredulously. “Okay, fine. The girl you’re talking about is probably Natsuki Takeuchi. She’s certainly beautiful, and while she is assertive, I’m not sure I’d say she’s cozying up... Well, I guess I did see her hug him recently.”

“Do you know where she lives?”

“Why do you want to know?!”

“I want to meet her.”

Aiko decided not to mention that she’d also been embraced by, carried by, and had her skirt flipped up by Yuichi, too. “You probably shouldn’t. She’s... kind of dangerous.”

“Oh? I think I can handle myself. There aren’t many women who can beat me in a fight.” Yoriko sounded fairly confident, and she was Mutsuko and Yuichi’s sister, so maybe she knew some martial arts. But this wasn’t just any girl they were talking about — it was a serial killer.

“So? Any other girls?” Yoriko prodded.

“Takeuchi’s the only one who’s interested in him that way. You can probably relax. Most of the others don’t care.”

“Why not?!” Yoriko shouted, apparently surprised by this revelation.

“He seems to keep the rest of his classmates at arm’s length... I always thought that was a little strange, actually,” Aiko added. “What was he like in middle school?”

“No one dared approach him as long as I was watching him.” Yoriko grinned.

Aiko was a little afraid to ask what exactly it was that she’d done.

“I’m back. Should we go looking for Yori’s present next?” Yuichi asked as he returned from paying at the register.

Aiko’s original objective had been to find a present for Yoriko, but having her along seemed to defeat the point. She thought about asking to pass for the day.

“Is there anything you want, Yori?” Yuichi asked, regardless. He didn’t seem to find anything wrong with the arrangement.

“Big Brother. The point of a present is to show that you thought hard about what the person would like, or what would look good on them. Asking me what I want defeats the point.” Yoriko seemed rather perturbed by her brother’s lack of sensitivity, as well.

Her response left Yuichi looking crestfallen.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad!” Yoriko amended, quickly. “I know! It’s a thank-you for the underwear, right? Then it should be underwear!”

Aiko watched her with a smile. Yoriko could be overbearing towards her, but it was probably just a sign of how much she loved her brother. Maybe, Aiko thought, she wasn’t such a bad kid.

Underwear of every color of the rainbow was spread out before them. Aiko was blown away.

She had never been to a store like this before.

Aiko didn’t really see the point of “fashion” that you only saw for a half-second while you were getting changed. As long as they were clean, that was all she cared about.

“Wow... underwear is expensive, huh?” Yuichi’s blasé tone snapped Aiko back to reality. She looked over to see him staring at the price tag on a bra.

“H-Hang on, Sakaki! Why are you in here with us?”

“Huh? We’re buying underwear for Yori, right?” Yuichi looked at Aiko in puzzlement.

“Yes, but this isn’t a place where boys should be!” Aiko looked hurriedly around, expecting to see everybody staring at them. But contrary to her expectations, nobody seemed to mind.

“It’s okay. It just looks like he’s here with his girlfriend,” Yoriko said nonchalantly in the face of Aiko’s panic. Of course, she made it sound like she was that girlfriend.

“Really?” Aiko asked.

“Yeah. Lots of men go with their girlfriends to pick out underwear. Noro, have you never bought underwear at a lingerie shop before?” Yoriko asked penetratingly, as if paying close attention to Aiko’s odd behavior.

“Um, I just buy whatever’s functional...”

“You need to try your underwear on in a specialty shop before you buy it. All underwear has special properties. You can’t just choose a bra randomly based on cup size.”

Aiko felt a little ashamed about having a middle school girl lecture her on underwear selection.

“Okay, I’ll go try these on,” Yoriko said, picking out some pieces to take to the changing room.

While she was gone, Aiko sidled up to Yuichi. “Hey. About what we talked about on the phone yesterday. You should sneak out and go looking for it now. This is probably the best time.”

“You don’t think the underwear is enough?”

“That’s just giving back what I borrowed from her. And I don’t think it works if it’s something she asked for.”

“Is that right? So I just pick out something with the money you lent me?”

“Yeah. I won’t tell you to pay me back if you have some left over, but don’t be stingy, either, okay?”

Yuichi finally seemed to relent, and left the lingerie shop, scratching his head. Aiko breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him go.

But there really are a lot of them, huh? Aiko thought, lifting up a piece of underwear with a bold design.

“Noro!”

Aiko jumped as she was suddenly addressed. She turned around to see Yoriko beckoning her into the changing room. Thinking she might need help, Aiko went to join her. “What’s wrong?”

Yoriko immediately reached out and pulled her into the room.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Nothing. Anyway, take off your clothes.” Yoriko was already in her underwear. She was busty for a girl in middle school, as Aiko had already noticed the first time they’d met.

“But why?!”

“You can’t try on underwear if you don’t take your clothes off!”

“I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about...”

“As long as you’re here, you should buy some, too. You need a bra that really fits you. I can’t stand watching people slack off about this kind of thing. It drives me nuts.”

Aiko cast Yoriko a dubious glance. It was hard to believe she was really doing this out of the kindness of her heart.

“Well, and I guess I’m also scouting you out. Anyway, take it off. I won’t accept your present if you don’t.”

Grudgingly, Aiko relented, and began to take off her clothes, as she was told.

“Huh? You’ve got such a childish face, I figured you’d have the body to match, but you’re actually pretty curvy...” Yoriko scrutinized Aiko’s body with some degree of surprise.

“C-Could you not stare at me?” It was a little embarrassing, even if they were both girls.

“But that drab underwear is not helping...”

“What’s the big deal? Isn’t it better for you if I’m not very sexy?”

“Oh? Why would that be better for me? What are you basing that on? What an annoying thing to say...”

“I didn’t mean anything all that serious by it...” She might not be a bad kid, but Aiko still found her paranoia a little scary.

After a few moments’ thought, Yoriko moved around behind her, and in an instant, had unhooked Aiko’s bra.

“Huh?!”

“Now, now, don’t try to resist. No ordinary girl can read my movements.”

“Eek!”

A new bra was on her in a flash. Aiko let out a cry of shock as the hands came around to grab her from behind. Yoriko giggled at first, then stopped, standing stock still.

“This is... I mean, I thought we were about the same size, but...”

“H-Hey! Stop! That tickles!”

Yoriko mumbled sourly as she secured Aiko’s breasts inside the bra cups.

Once everything was in place, Aiko cast a glance at the mirror. What she saw sent a shock of delight through her: She had cleavage.

Aiko ended up buying underwear for both Yoriko and herself.

Then they met up with Yuichi, headed for the food court, and secured a table for four. Yuichi sat on one side, with Aiko and Yoriko across from him.

“You wouldn’t believe how cute Noro was acting, shouting ‘Cleavage! I’ve got cleavage!’” Yoriko announced.

“Hey! I told you to stop saying that!” Aiko felt a bit embarrassed about how excited she had been.

“Is that all the shopping we need to do?” Yuichi asked. “If so, I guess we can go home after we eat.”

“Huh?” Aiko asked, surprised. She had assumed they would spend a little more time window shopping.

“So this is why you can’t get a girlfriend,” Yoriko muttered, as if making a connection.

“Sakaki, you’ve never had a girlfriend?” Aiko asked, surprised by Yoriko’s revelation.

“Is there some reason you need to know?” Yoriko whispered, lightly kicking Aiko in the shin.

“I don’t know! It just seemed like a natural question! You’re the one who brought up girlfriends, Yoriko...” Aiko whispered back.

“I haven’t,” Yuichi responded, without a trace of defensiveness.

“D-Do you want one?” Aiko asked, feeling slightly emboldened.

Yoriko’s face screwed up again. “Seriously, why do you want to know? Then again, I’ve never heard him explain his views on romance... so let’s hear it.” Yoriko seemed to have talked herself out of her newly-building head of steam.

“You’ve never talked to him about it?” Aiko asked.

“Of course not! That would be ridiculous!” Yoriko exclaimed.

Yuichi ignored the girls’ whispering and began to explain. “Let’s see, how to put it... Well, for example, look around you.”

At his prodding, Aiko did so.

The men around them all hastily averted their eyes, indicating that they had been looking at her.

“It’s always like this around my sisters. You know? The way the men look at them. Horny, leering, pathetic... They basically drool over them, you know?”

“And?” Aiko asked, squinting in non-comprehension.

“I’m a little repulsed by the idea of being like them.”

“I’m not sure one necessarily follows the other...” Aiko murmured. She couldn’t imagine Yuichi with a lecherous expression at all. He probably wouldn’t turn out like that.

“Well, it’s hard to explain exactly, but that’s just how I feel,” Yuichi said.

“I see. So if I keep making men act horny and gross around me, you’ll be so disgusted that you won’t try to get a girlfriend?” Yoriko whispered.

“Yoriko...” Aiko sighed in response. She didn’t like where this was going.

After a few moments, Aiko met Yuichi’s eyes and gave him a nod as a signal.

Yuichi picked up on it and nodded in response. He then placed a paper bag on the table. He pulled from it a long, thin box wrapped in paper, and handed it to Yoriko.

“Here, your present.”

“Huh?” Yoriko looked to Aiko, then Yuichi. She seemed absolutely baffled as to why Yuichi would be giving her a present. “Can I open it?” she asked.

Yuichi nodded.

She opened the thin parcel. Inside was a rather expensive-looking ballpoint pen. “This is...”

“You mentioned before that your pen had run out of ink, so...” Yuichi said shyly as he scratched the back of his head.

“That’s too practical. I give it a four out of ten,” Aiko commented snarkily.

But it seemed good enough for Yoriko, who was so happy that tears were forming at the corners of her eyes.

“Thank you, Big Brother! I’ll treasure it always!” She took the pen in both hands and clutched it to her chest.

“Really, it’s not that great...” Yuichi said, slightly abashed.

Aiko was just relieved that she liked it.

After the meal, Yuichi joined them for a walk around the shopping mall. Perhaps the two girls had worn down his resistance.

They played around with little regard for the time, until evening fell. Then they left the station and headed for Aiko’s house.

Yuichi walked a few steps ahead of Aiko and Yoriko, who were side by side.

“The present was your idea, right, Noro? My brother would never think to do that on his own,” Yoriko whispered to her.

Certainly, it would have been a bit odd for Yuichi to buy Yoriko a present for lending Aiko clothes, but Yoriko seemed to have figured out the situation, more or less.

As there was no point in hiding it anymore, Aiko explained that she had decided receiving a gift from her brother would make Yoriko happiest, so she had given Yuichi some money and told him to pick out a present for her.

“But it was Noro’s money in the first place, so make sure you thank her,” Yuichi said to Yoriko, overhearing their conversation. It seemed like a very “big brother” thing to do, Aiko thought.

“But I didn’t give any input on the present selection, so the choice still came fully from Sakaki,” Aiko added.

“Right! Thanks, Noro!” Yoriko’s smile to Aiko, this time, seemed completely sincere.

Her personality could be a bit grating, Aiko thought, but that smile was genuine.

They arrived at Aiko’s house soon enough. The Sakaki residence was closer to the station than hers, but Yuichi had offered to walk Aiko home first.

“See you later,” Yuichi said, just as they arrived at the gate. Apparently, he thought that was far enough. Aiko felt a little sad that he didn’t even want to linger.

As Yuichi turned to leave, Aiko assumed Yoriko would follow him. But she drew close to Aiko instead.

“I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll forgive you for thinking you were going on a date.” She was acting so cheerful, it was hard to believe this was the same girl who had been so crabby that afternoon at the meeting spot.

“I didn’t think... it was a date...” Aiko trailed off, lacking the force of her convictions. If it had just been the two of them, it definitely would have been a date.

“You’re a nicer person than I thought you were, Noro,” Yoriko said. “But I’m not going to let you beat me!” With that, Yoriko ran off after Yuichi.

“Why is she acting like it’s a competition? She’s his little sister...” Aiko murmured in confusion, then put her security card into the terminal beside the gate.

As she entered the house, she was greeted by a surprising sight. Her father was there, pacing about restlessly, like a bear at the zoo.

“O-Oh! Is that you, Aiko? I see you’re home!” he said with practiced casualness.

“Dad, you’re home early today...” Normally, he would be busy with work at this time of day. He even worked on Saturdays, and was rarely back by this hour.

“Y-Yes. But I do come home early sometimes. By the way, where were you today? I know it stays light longer nowadays, but I can’t approve of you coming home too late...” Kazuya said with concern. He didn’t seem angry with her, but Aiko still felt a bit ashamed.

“I’m sorry. I went out with a friend, and we weren’t paying attention to the time.”

“I-I see. A friend, eh? It’s good to have friends... Of course, this was a female friend, right?” It was clear he wanted her to deny it. That was the kind of person he was.

“It was a boy, actually,” Aiko answered honestly.

Kazuya’s eyes widened, causing Aiko to take a step back. He could be a little bit scary.

“I knew it! Wh-What are you thinking? No, it’s not that I’m mad at you, I... I just can’t believe it. You’re really dating...”

Dating... When he put it that way, Aiko suddenly felt embarrassed. “W-We’re not! We just went shopping. His little sister was there.”

“Are you seeing each other?” Kazuya asked timidly.

“Of course not!”

“W-Well, it would be all right if you were. You’re free to pursue romance as you see fit. I’m your father. I won’t stand in your way. B-But still, I can’t rest easy until I see for myself what kind of man he is. I know! Why don’t you bring him here sometime?”

“I told you, it’s not like that!” Aiko yelled back in annoyance. Why did he have to get ahead of himself that way?

“Th-That’s right. Ah! It’s almost summer vacation. Why don’t we go somewhere for once?” Apparently detecting the anger behind Aiko’s glare, Kazuya conspicuously changed the subject. He had always been soft on Aiko, and he was afraid of upsetting her in the slightest.

“Our club’s going to go somewhere for a summer training camp, but we don’t have any plans yet,” Aiko said, turning him down. Then she suddenly remembered. “That’s right, Dad. Don’t we have a summer house? Could we use it for our trip?”

“Summer house? You’re right, it has been a while since we went there...” Kazuya looked up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember.

“We went there a lot when I was little,” Aiko said. She remembered a house in the mountains somewhere. A lonely, Western-style house surrounded by nature.

A memory sprang up unbidden in the back of Aiko’s mind. She and Kyoya were together in a room in that house. The room was in shambles. There were scores cut into the walls, the furniture was in pieces. Someone who looked like a servant girl lay on the floor, bleeding...

Kyoya, still a child, was injured, and staring at Aiko in fear...

Aiko’s own small hands were covered in blood. And then...

“Aiko!” Kazuya barked, snapping Aiko back to reality.

His voice turned gentle again as he continued. “That house was falling apart. We had it torn down. We have other summer houses, so please pick one of those.”

“Oh, really? Do we have one near the beach?”

“Yes, I know just the place. We can talk about it over dinner.”

Kazuya checked his watch — it was just about dinnertime — then led Aiko into the dining room.

Aiko’s brief flash of memory vanished immediately back into the fog.

✽✽✽✽✽

Yuichi and Yoriko were on the way home after dropping Aiko off. The sun was sinking below the horizon. In Japanese tradition, this was considered the time of day when disaster was most likely to strike.

“Eeeeeek!”

Yoriko’s slightly theatrical shriek sounded out in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.

She grabbed on to Yuichi, who lifted her up and stepped to the side. As a man dashed through the place he had been just a moment ago, Yuichi stuck out a leg, sending the man toppling to the ground.

He was dressed in a parka with the hood covering his face — a strange thing to wear in this hot weather, even if it was just to conceal his identity.

Yuichi had noticed someone following them ever since they had arrived at Aiko’s house. But he still wasn’t expecting them to attack him in the city, even if there was no one else around. A surprisingly bold move.

“Hold me tight...” Yoriko whispered, blissfully.

“You could have really easily dodged that, you know,” Yuichi said, baffled as to why she’d chosen to cling to him. She really hadn’t needed his help.

“Good job, Mr. Pervert. You have my compliments,” Yoriko said to the man as he picked himself up off the ground.

Yuichi peeled Yoriko off of him.

“Who are you?” he asked. He couldn’t begin to imagine who could be attacking them now. He had taken out almost every organization that was hostile to the Sakaki household. No one else would be stupid enough to raise a hand against them.

The man in the parka didn’t answer.

Above his head were the words “Vampire II.”

That offered a hint. He had beaten the Vampire?s in the abandoned clinic before, so maybe it was someone connected to them. Now that he thought about it, the Vampire?s had been wearing parkas to hide their faces, too.

Could they have something to do with Noro? Yuichi thought. As he did, Yoriko stepped out ahead of him, a socket wrench in her hand.

“Hey, Yori...” Yuichi began.

Yoriko had a laid-back personality in general, but she lost her temper very easily. There was no helping Mutsuko, of course, but he wished his little sister could be a bit more ladylike.

Yoriko carried a number of handyman tools around for self-defense. It seemed out of all of them, she treasured the socket wrench most of all, for its ease of use.

“He looks like a pervert. Maybe we should beat him up and take him to the police,” she said.

“Didn’t I tell you it’s better to run away than fight?” Yuichi protested. No matter how confident you were in your ability, the best thing to do in a fight was to avoid it. That was the first rule of self-defense.

“But if we let this scumlord go, he’ll just get cocky... We need to teach him that the world doesn’t take kindly to his type. Society abhors a pervert.”

“Fine. Leave this to me, then,” Yuichi said. If it were just some ruffian, he’d have no problem letting Yoriko handle it. But this was a vampire they were dealing with. They had to be careful.

“Oh! That’s right. It’s way better if I get you to protect me.” Yoriko clapped her hands together. She seemed to be getting some strange enjoyment out of this.

“Okay, look. It would save us all a lot of trouble right now if you’d just get lost,” Yuichi said as he turned back to the man in the parka. But the man didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. “The main thing I hate is not knowing why stuff like this is happening. So just tell me why you’re doing it, okay? Then we can fight all you want.”

“It’s a stroke of bad luck that you had a girl with you,” the man intoned, his voice low and eerie. “Now, restrain that man!”

His eyes glittered in a manner not of this world. Yuichi fell into a defensive stance, getting ready for anything.

The two of them glared at each other, locked into their positions. Moments passed.

Yuichi waited. Nothing happened.

“What’s he talking about?” Yoriko asked, cutting through the silence as if she was watching the stupidest thing ever. “And look at what he’s wearing, at this time of year. You think he’s crazy or something?”

Yuichi was at a loss. The man wasn’t coming after him, and he didn’t seem threatening enough to justify Yuichi charging him.

“Why isn’t my charm working?!” the man yelled, glaring at Yoriko.

“I’ll forget the way you tried to sucker punch me, so why don’t we call this off?” Yuichi asked.

This man was a slightly off-kilter vampire, perhaps. Maybe he’d be better off just avoiding him. But before Yuichi could finish that thought, the man thrust his hands forward and charged again.

It was an incomprehensible course of action to Yuichi. He was probably intending to grab onto him with both hands, but that kind of posture limited your options after the grab. He must have been a total novice.

Maybe he wants to bite me? Yuichi thought, grasping for meaning in the vampire’s random attack.

Maybe he thought that as long as he bit him, he could work something out.

Yuichi just grabbed the man’s hand, twisted it to the side, then wrapped it around behind him, putting pressure on the joint. He thought for a moment, then swept his leg to throw him back to the ground, where he used a pressure against his wrist to hold him in place.

Yoriko immediately stomped her foot on the back of the man’s head.

“Hey!” Yuichi shouted.

“Sorry, but I’m feeling really humiliated right now,” Yoriko said.

“Be careful! He’s pretty strong!”

The man reached out for her, but Yoriko dodged his hand easily and kicked him in the face.

“Yori, I was hoping to de-escalate the situation...”

“Nuh-uh. I’m gonna make this guy pay,” Yoriko said, kicking him in the face again and again.

“I beg your pardon, but would you mind leaving it at that?”

The sound of the unfamiliar voice caused Yuichi to turn.

“Vampire III.” Another vampire was standing behind him.

She was a beautiful woman with a slightly foreign air about her, wearing a red dress that revealed a shocking amount of cleavage. Her hair was a cascade of gentle curls.

The woman looked at them with a haughty air, as if she were fully aware of her own beauty.

Yuichi found her appearance strangely out of place. This wasn’t a woman who should be breaking up a fight in the middle of a residential district.

“As you can see, he’s a bit of a silly boy,” the woman said. “I’ll give him a good talking to. Is that all right?”

Yuichi could feel no hostility from the woman.

“Yori, lay off, okay?” He took Yoriko’s hand and pulled her off the fallen man.

As the woman passed him, he picked up the faint aroma of perfume. She offered the man in the parka a hand to help him back up.

“Goodbye,” she said, and led the man off.

“Hey, who was that woman?” Yoriko asked, sounding rather miffed for some reason.

“I don’t know,” Yuichi said. The appearance of vampires other than Aiko was a deeply unsettling thought.