Chapter 12 | The Day I Skipped School

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Before noon, I was at a general hospital in the city.

I lightly nodded to the familiar nurse who was on the first floor and was greeted by her.

“Asahioka-kun, are you off from school today?”

“I’m skipping it.”

“Hiyori-chan will get mad at you, you know?”

“…Maybe you’re right.”

I scratched my head while giving a wry smile.

After parting with the nurse, I went up to the fifth floor by elevator.

After exiting the elevator, I walked to the right.

Every time I came here, I felt like this path was long.

Even though it’s not even 10 meters long.

My steps were heavy. My breath was caught in my throat.

The scene from that summer constantly flashed back in my mind.

I arrived in front of her room.

But even knocking on her door was an act that required a lot of energy for me.

“You can come in!”

A cheerful reply came from inside the room.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see her.

Because she would always welcome me with the best smile every time we met.

But, I still had a guilty conscience towards her.

What does she really think about me?

Does she actually not forgive me for trying to leave her to die?

I don’t know what she thinks.

In any human relationship, you need to be able to understand the other person’s feelings to some extent.

But that’s just your own speculation.

No one can accurately understand the feelings of another person.

I walked into the room and approached her bed.

“Could it be that you skipped school, Shinse Onii-chan? That’s not good, you shouldn’t skip school.”

The girl who poked her index finger at me was Hiyori Sakuraba.

She was a sixth grader who would be 12 years old this year.

She had black hair that had grown a bit since spring and round eyes.

Hiyori-chan, who was lying on a reclining bed, was sitting up.

“Well, there are some days when you don’t want to go to school…”

I said as I sat down on the chair next to the bed.

I couldn’t possibly tell her that I took a break because I didn’t want to be in an awkward situation with my girlfriend who had cheated on me.

It’s still too early for Hiyori-chan to know about those kinds of daytime drama stories.

“When I used to go to school, I never had those kinds of days, you know?”

“…”

For Hiyori-chan, it was just a casual remark.

Those casual words pierced my fragile heart mercilessly.

Before, things were normal. It was natural for her to walk on her own two feet every day.

But, since that day, Hiyori-chan has been trapped in this room.

I was overlapping Hiyori-chan with Miori when she was younger.

At the same time, I felt the same powerlessness that I had felt back then.

I couldn’t do anything for Miori when I was younger.

I probably can’t do anything for Hiyori-chan now, either.

In the first place, if I had made the decision to save Hiyori-chan a little earlier—

When I thought that, I wanted to rewind time.

The things that you do in the past, even if it’s something that can’t be undone, can never be reversed.

Even knowing that, humans continue to make mistakes.

Even now, I’m probably living my life while making mistakes.

“—What’s wrong, Shinse Onii-chan?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

“Really? You looked like you were in pain, Shinse Onii-chan?”

“I was just thinking that I might be scolded by my homeroom teacher for skipping school tomorrow.”

“If you’re going to regret it, then I think you shouldn’t do it.”

“You’re quite harsh, Hiyori-chan.”

If you’re going to regret it, then you shouldn’t do it.

Most people don’t go out of their way to do things that will lead to them regretting it in the future.

It’s because you can’t see the future, you make choices while not knowing what kind of outcome awaits you and then you regret it.

But even so, compared to Hiyori-chan, I’m an adult, so it’s also important to act after seeing what lies ahead.

When you become a high schooler, you need to start seriously thinking about your future.

You’ll choose your future and walk down that path.

And then, all of the regret and worries in the future will come back to you.

“By the way, there’s something that I wanted you to hear, Shinse Onii-chan.”

“What is it?”

“Well, you know! The other day, everyone in my class came to visit me and—”

I spent about an hour listening to Hiyori-chan.

Hiyori-chan, who had talked until she was tired, fell fast asleep.

“I’ll come again, Hiyori-chan.”

I gently stroked Hiyori-chan’s head, and she smiled with her eyes closed.

⭐︎

When I returned home from the hospital, it was just about lunchtime.

Since my younger sister and I were both skipping school today, I also made lunch for Miori.

“Onii-san… please don’t think that you can get me in a better mood with food.”

I don’t know why Miori is in a bad mood, but even though she’s complaining, she’s silently eating the pasta that I made, so I guess it’s fine.

“Hey, why are you in a bad mood, Miori?”

“Now, why do you think? Why don’t you try to read the other person’s mind, Onii-san?”

“If I could understand people’s hearts, I wouldn’t have any problems.”

If I could understand people’s hearts, then I wouldn’t have gotten cheated on.

People who act like they understand people’s hearts are just as annoying.

“Onii-san, you said before that Hiyori-san is like your younger sister.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Hiyori-chan adores me like I’m her older brother.

From my perspective, Hiyori-chan overlaps with Miori when she was younger, and it feels like I’m dealing with my own younger sister.

“Listen carefully, Onii-san. People can’t become a substitute for someone, and you can’t overlap one person with another. Even if we have similar circumstances, a similar relationship, or a similar position, I’m me, and Hiyori-san is Hiyori-san.”

“…In other words, what are you trying to say?”

“It’s just that I’m the only younger sister you have, so please don’t misunderstand that.”

I wanted to say “What’s that?”, but Miori had an extremely serious face.

I know that, but is it that important to Miori to confirm it?

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You understood? If that’s the case, then I’m glad.”

In other words, Miori was jealous of Hiyori-chan this morning.

“…By the way, Onii-san, how do you plan on spending the afternoon?”

“Hmm…”

I was thinking about studying, but since Reina said that she would be teaching me step by step, I decided to not do that.

Even so, it doesn’t mean that I can neglect studying on my own.

If that’s the case…

“I have nothing to do.”

“You can spend time with me every once in a while, you know?”

“It’s fine with me… should we play a game again?”

“Yes!”

Miori replied happily.

Miori is a natural-born gamer.

That’s because she was always playing a handheld game on her bed while she was in the hospital.

Miori’s gaming skills are so good that she could become a pro gamer.

On the other hand, I only play games when I’m playing with Miori, so my skills are bad.

To be clear, if I play a competitive game with Miori, I’m no match for her.

But, even if there’s a difference in ability, that doesn’t matter.

What’s important is if you can enjoy it with each other.

I would become driven when I lost to Miori and challenge her multiple times, and it seems like Miori enjoys playing with me, even when there’s a handicap.

It’s humiliating as an older brother, but it’s important to let Miori shine.

“Then, let’s play.”

After that, I completely lost to Miori and secretly wet my pillow with tears.

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