Living Under the Same Roof with My Deceased Lover's Younger Sister - Chapter 2

I met Shiori on the first day of elementary school.

The classroom I entered for the first time was much larger than any room in my house. The desks and chairs felt somehow bigger, and when I sat on a chair, my feet didn’t quite reach the floor properly.

Amidst it all, a girl was sitting next to me.

Her straight, black hair fell to her shoulders. Resting her cheek on her hand, her small profile gazed absently out the window. Strangely, she alone seemed to exist in a different time.

Suddenly, she turned and looked my way, and our eyes—large and clear—met. The moment she looked at me, I remember my heart leaping with a thump for some reason.

Even now, I’m not sure why I spoke to her. I just realized my mouth had moved first.

“I’m Shintani Akane. Nice to meet you.”

Even though I’d suddenly spoken to her when we’d just met, she showed no sign of being flustered. Instead, she turned her face toward me as if to say she’d been waiting.

And then, she smiled as if a flower had suddenly bloomed.

“I’m Yoshino Shiori! Nice to meet you!”

In that moment, the classroom’s chatter seemed to grow distant. Even though it should have been an unfamiliar place, right there became a space where I felt a little bit at ease.

—Ah, I want to become friends with her.

That was the first feeling I had toward Shiori.

From that day on, we immediately hit it off.

We’d whisper secretly to each other during class, compete to see who could solve problems faster, and get excited over which side dishes we liked best during lunch. I also loved the time walking home side-by-side, our backpacks swaying.

“See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

We’d wave at the parting of our ways. That simple phrase became the reason to look forward to the next day.

And before I knew it, it became normal to visit each other’s houses after school. We’d do our homework side-by-side, the loser having to go buy juice, and we’d huddle together watching TV, laughing.

Staying over at each other’s houses gradually became commonplace, too.

Even after turning off the lights at night, lying side-by-side on futons, our small voices continued in the darkness.

“Akane, are you still awake?”

“I’m awake!”

That exchange made me unbearably happy.

Before long, Shiori had become someone who no longer fit neatly into the box labeled “friend.” Having her beside me felt natural; seeing her smile made me happy, and that alone warmed my chest. Conversely, seeing her having fun with anyone else made my heart sting with a sharp pang.

At first, I didn’t understand why I felt this way.

There was just this part of me that reacted just from hearing Shiori’s voice, this part of me that tried changing my hairstyle to match Shiori’s preferences or chose accessories in colors she said she liked.

I don’t remember the exact moment when all that clearly changed into romantic feelings.

My heart would flutter at a single gesture or laugh from Shiori. My heartbeat would quicken just from our shoulders touching. On the way home, I’d feel anxious if even a little distance opened up between us.

By the time we entered middle school, I was aware of my feelings for Shiori. There was no option but to confess.

In the winter of our first year of middle school, the town was decorated for Christmas. It was after school, our breath white, fingertips cold even through our gloves.

Saying I had something to talk about, we sat on a bench in a park we stopped by on the way home. In my heart, I repeated the words over and over.

I want to tell her, I have to tell her. If I don’t, I’ll regret it for sure, for my whole life.

“Shiori, I…”

My voice trembled, my throat was dry. Even so, I didn’t stop.

“I like you, Shiori. I want you to… go out with me as my girlfriend.”

The moment I finished saying it, my heart pounded loudly in my ears. I could only hear the sound of my own heartbeat, and I felt like I might even stop breathing.

Shiori just stared, her mouth hanging open in a daze, frozen for a moment then—

“Eh… No way, you mean we like each other!?”

The next instant, her face flushed bright red all at once. As if surprise and joy had exploded simultaneously, her eyes sparkled.

“I like you too, Akane!”

The moment I heard those words, the tension drained from me. My feet felt unsteady. Laughter welled up, and I felt like crying.

Our secret relationship that began that day was full of things that were embarrassing, ticklish, and happy. Just holding hands could make me feel happy all day long. The night we first kissed during a sleepover, neither of us could sleep.

“Akane, can we do it again?”

“Yeah! As many times as you want.”

Exchanging feelings like that, we ended up greeting the morning having hardly slept at all. The next day, we were both late and got a scolding from the teacher.

Of course, when people around us found out we were dating, there were all sorts of comments. There were teasing voices, and some said they couldn’t understand. There were even friends who had been close until then who distanced themselves. Even so, we didn’t change our decision to walk forward together.

Because as long as Shiori was by my side, I felt I could handle any words thrown our way.

—However, in the autumn of our third year of middle school. Suddenly, Shiori’s parents died in an accident.

The moment Shiori, who had received a call from the hospital, murmured in a thin voice, “It’s a lie… this can’t be,” my chest tightened. I didn’t know what to do; all I could do was stay close by her side.

On the way to the hospital, Shiori remained silent the whole time. Her hand in mine was cold, her fingertips trembling slightly. We went believing it was some mistake, but the outcome didn’t change.

Accidental death. We were told it was a condition close to instant death.

Shiori’s grandparents had already passed away, and she had no relatives either. All that remained for Shiori was her much younger sister, Tsumugi-chan, who was still a kindergarten-aged child at the time.

When the two of us went to pick her up, it was unclear if little Tsumugi-chan understood the situation, but she clung to Shiori and wouldn’t let go. “Big sis…” she called out, over and over again.

With the accident as the dividing line, Shiori became both a sister and, in practice, Tsumugi-chan’s sole parental figure.

After that, Shiori forced herself to act cheerful around others.

“It’s okay. I’m tougher than I look, surprisingly.”

Shiori smiled like that in the classroom, but on the way home, her eyes would sometimes lose focus in an unguarded moment. When we were alone, she would repeat the same words many times.

“I have to protect Tsumugi. I’m the only one she has…”

That sight was so painfully fragile, just watching made my chest tighten. Even though I was there as her girlfriend, I couldn’t bear all the weight Shiori was carrying. That fact filled me with frustration.

So, I made a vow.

“…I’ll protect you, Shiori.”

The moment I said it, Shiori’s eyes widened.

It was an expression of surprise, yet also one of relief somewhere.

“I’m your family now, too. Don’t try to carry it all alone, rely on me. It’s not just because we’re girlfriends, and not just because I love you. It’s because I want to live my life together with you, Shiori.”

The moment I finished saying it, tears began to spill from Shiori’s eyes, drop by drop.

“…That’s unfair.”

Saying that softly, Shiori buried her face in my chest. As she cried, her shoulders shaking, I held her tightly and stroked her back over and over.

“It’s okay. You’re not alone.”

I repeated it, over and over.

From that day on, we became more than just girlfriends. We decided to live our whole lives together, as family supporting each other.

After that, we went on to the same high school, and Tsumugi-chan grew up healthy and strong. Perhaps she thought I was taking her big sister away. Tsumugi-chan never really warmed up to me.

Shiori carefully used the inheritance from her deceased parents to maintain the household, and I did everything I could to support them as part of the family, somehow managing to make ends meet.

And after graduating high school, Shiori chose to start working immediately to support Tsumugi-chan, while I went on to university. I worked hard to become someone who could continue supporting Shiori and managed to get a job at a decent company.

And so, this year marks ten years since that vow, and Tsumugi-chan succeeded in her high school entrance exams.

‘Tsumugi passed her high school exams!’

Hearing Shiori’s buoyant voice over the phone, I found myself tearing up in the company hallway.

Finally, one chapter had come to a close. With this, Shiori’s burden must have lightened a little, surely.

So I said,

“Shiori, how about we go on a day trip to a hot spring, just the two of us? As a reward for how hard you’ve been working, and because I want to have a relaxing date with you.”

When I invited her, I could hear Shiori’s slightly embarrassed laugh over the line.

‘Let’s go, I want to!’

Just hearing her voice made me happy, too.

We’d both been busy with work, unable to find a decent chunk of time for each other. That’s why this date was supposed to be a chance to relax together, for the first time in a long while…