---

---

"The next image is..."
"Um, I have school, so..."
"Today is a hol—"

Just as I tried to stand, my arm was pulled. After being forcibly made to sit, Yuna-san returned her cell phone to her sleeve. However, that sleeve swayed gracefully with her arm's movement, and it didn't feel like there was anything inside it.
"There, off you go," Yuna-san said, pushing Misozuke's rear, and the dog obediently walked towards my aunt.
"Traitor."
My aunt scowled at Misozuke as she picked him up. She then left the living room with him.

"For some reason, animals take a liking to me. The only animals that dislike me are humans, I suppose."
"So it would seem."
I was one of them, too. I just couldn't bring myself to like this person.
Then again, it wasn't as if I liked anyone in the first place.
Not anyone at all.
Yuna-san corrected her posture, straightening her back. Perhaps because she was in traditional Japanese clothing, sitting seiza suited her.
"First, your younger sister is here right now."
"Here," Yuna-san said, using her hands to frame a space beside her, as if sectioning it off. It was about the size Mai would occupy if she were sitting seiza. I strained my eyes. I could only see the wall behind.
"Can you see her? The truth is, she's a sister invisible to fools."
Her words, knowing full well I couldn't possibly see her, irritated me. Being indirectly called a fool was annoying, but was she teasing me, or was Mai really there?
I couldn't tell, which frustrated me even more.
"So... assuming she *is* there, what do you intend to do?"
I'd be troubled if she told me this counted as us "meeting." I already knew my sister was around here somewhere.
"That depends on you from this point on."
She prefaced it like that, and then.
"Once upon a time, in a certain place, lived twin sisters."
Her hands moved through the air, as if playing an instrument she didn't possess.
She began to speak pretentiously and circuitously.
"The older sister describes the younger like this: 'Compared to me, she's an idiot.'"
"...That way of talking is, like, super annoying."
I couldn't help but slip into a way of speaking like my sister.
"The younger sister describes the older like this: 'My amazing Nee-sama.'"
"...Well, of course."
"Give me a break."
Was that my sister, who might be there, saying that?
"The older sister closely resembles her father."
"You really do look like him."
Yuna-san's tone became less formal as she emphasized it.
"When the younger sister smiles, she's the spitting image of her mother."
I pictured their faces side-by-side in my mind. My sister rarely *wasn't* smiling, so the comparison was easy. Did they look alike? If Mother smiled too, perhaps I could find a commonality in their uninhibited nature.
"The two of them care for each other very deeply."
"Huh?"
While I was bewildered by what sounded like sleep-talking, she moved on.
"They like dogs."
"Normal."
"They like cats too."
"...Normal."
"They hate their parents."
"Naturally."
As if not to miss a thing, Yuna-san peered into my face with a grin.
"But actually, they love their parents."
"That's not true."
Just then, I felt like I heard another voice.

"Mhmhmhm," Yuna-san chuckled, covering her mouth with her sleeve, feigning elegance.
It was just frustrating; I didn't know what she was trying to do.
"Could you please get to the point?"
"This is important too. I'm trying to make you understand what kind of person you are."
Was she saying a stranger knew something like that about me?
"More than you do, at least."
It was as if she'd seen right through me, a conversation forming with my inner voice. I recalled her nickname, "witch," then reconsidered, thinking she'd merely predicted what I'd think, then rebelled at the idea that I was that simple. It was exhausting. Dealing with her made my heart fray. Was it because she was an adult?
Yuna-san turned to the side. Her expression was solemn, devoid of the usual jest that played on her lips.
"Are you sure?"
She sought confirmation from someone.
From my sister?
"Yes."
After humming, "It's starting, don't cry," like a song, Yuna-san turned back to me. "What Watakushi has been investigating is the murder case you spoke of." From her sleeve, she took out the university notebook she had used before.
She held it up like a scroll and opened a page. The open page was blank.

Beyond the pure white sheet of paper, the witch smiled.
"About that incident,"
"...Hm?"
It was as if a mist had fallen, so I rubbed my eyes. After a moment, the dissolving outlines became distinct.
The living room was empty, save for me. I rubbed my eyes again to completely dispel what felt like a light drowsiness. My head was clear, but the connection between what came before and now was indistinct.
I was sure Yuna-san had been at home talking to me, but the conversation had broken off. She herself was gone... Even after waiting a bit, she didn't reappear. Had she left while I was dazed? What was with that woman?
Though perplexed, I looked up at the clock to check the time. Not much time had passed, but if I didn't leave soon, I'd be late for school. Something didn't feel right, but I decided not to dwell on it and head to school. My aunt and great-aunt were nowhere to be seen either. ...Oh well, I guess it's fine.
Making sure not to forget my bag, I headed for the entryway. The only footsteps I heard were my own. I didn't know what was going on, but if nothing was going to happen, I'd just go about my daily routine. As if it were an obligation.
Having decided that, I put on my shoes, and just as I was about to leave the house, my mind went blank.
A sudden heat enveloped my arm, inviting a chill.
Something invisible gripped my arm.
My body was thrown about by an intense chill, as if a frozen insect was crawling up my spine. I shook off the transparent something that had formed, and ran with legs that threatened to tangle. I bumped my shoulder against the half-open door, and just the jerking of my head back and forth made my consciousness waver. It became unclear where I should look, and the scenery kept changing. Feeling nauseous, I flailed my arms as if swimming, trying to escape.
What am I running from? A murderer? The past? Or... my sister?
Just as I reached the road, an impact struck my head. Like a reenactment of a week ago, I collapsed. The lump on my head had shrunk considerably, but the pain layering onto the wound made me so flustered my breathing became erratic. My heart felt like it was ignoring my body's structure, leaping about as it pleased.

This time, I could see what had attacked me.
It seemed a thrown shoe had hit the back of my head. Looking, I saw it wasn't a shoe rolling there, but a zori sandal.
"Dashing out into the road like that, you fool."
It was Yuna-san's voice. But I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
I couldn't see Yuna-san.
"It seems you can still hear my voice, though."
My body rose on its own. I was being helped up by a transparent foreign object. Shocked by what was happening, my throat constricted. Unable to speak, the invisible Yuna-san continued to talk to me. "Heeey. Right now, you know, I'm waving my hand. Right in front of your nose—"
Then I suddenly felt fingers on my brow, and with a jolt, the back of my head was pulled by an unseen force.
She should have been right in front of me, yet her voice sounded as if it were coming from a completely different direction.
A ring of heat, slightly different from before, enveloped my wrist. I was startled, but it was so forcefully constricting I couldn't shake it off.
"Before I'm erased too, let me tell you the truth of the murder case."
This was hardly the time for that. But I didn't have the words to stop Yuna-san.
"All those victims you listed, they're all alive. They haven't been involved in any incident."
In my confusion, more things were added, and I couldn't properly process them.
She didn't even give me time to sort things out.
"You... become unable to see things that threaten you."
The invisible person revealed the secret behind her trick.
Thrusting that reason onto me.
The first thing I thought of was my sister's face. But it was a very old face.
One that no longer existed anywhere now. A sister of memory alone.
I tried to say something, but my throat was crushed.
"Your calm, feigning-intelligence self. You, who act like you understand the world. You erase from your own perception anyone who tries to shake the foundations of such things. And what's more, you forget the reason why. And yet, you hardly question it. What a convenient thing you're hiding, I wonder."
"I'd like to learn from you," the voice feigned.
I couldn't understand what she was saying.
"I wonder if you can call this being positive. Well, if you can live with it, then it's acceptable, I suppose. And the reason I was asked to do something like this is because if someone as uninvolved as myself doesn't bring it up, you'd immediately forget, making conversation difficult. To think it's okay if *I'm* forgotten... how cruel of you."
"Suwa, suwa," Yuna-san feigned, but her voice, as if enveloped by bubbles underwater, didn't even reach me by half.
I couldn't do anything about my own breathlessness, as if I wasn't breathing.
"You have a past you want to pretend never happened."
My memory blanks out.
"For that reason, you needed to abandon your sister."
"Well then, see you sometime."
Fly.
"I can't hear you."
"Oooi."
"Yahhohoi!"
With those words as her last, I couldn't even feel Yuna-san's warmth anymore.

"Umphmhmhmhm."
"What are you doing?"
Nee-sama, who had been walking ahead, turned back. This was during our morning walk to school.
"There's a cat."
In the bushes surrounding the apartment building, a cat was sitting. It was an audacious cat, showing no sign of leaving even when we stared at it. If anything, it stared back at us, as if annoyed, thinking, "What do you want?" I liked that about it, so I ended up in a staring contest.

"More importantly, what was that 'umphmhmhmhm' at the end?"
"I was imitating a cat. Did I sound like one?"
"No, not at all."
Setting aside her usual "Are you an idiot?" remark, she smiled.
"Then, Nee-sama, please show me how it's done!"
"Huh? Why me?"
"Because that's what older sisters do."
When I say that, Nee-sama can't escape. Though she looked genuinely reluctant, furrowing her brow, she faced the cat. After clearing her throat a few times to get ready, she let out a meow as if stumbling over her words.
"F-f-funaaa."
A high-pitched, dopey sound, hard to believe it was Nee-sama's voice, bounced off the apartment wall. It seemed she'd failed at producing the sound; it didn't sound like a cat's meow at all. Funahafuna. It was funa-is-funa.
Nee-sama, ggg, ggg, ggg, made a sound in her throat out of humiliation. She seemed like she'd be good at imitating a goose.
"I see~. So 'funafuna' is important."
"No, it's not! Forget it!"
"Funanaaa~"
"Stop it, idiot!"
"Stay well~"
I got lightly poked a few times. And while I was being hit, the cat left.
I waved goodbye to it. Nee-sama watched with me for a little while, but then said, "We'll be late," and pulled my hand, starting to walk.
"Was that a stray cat, I wonder, ney?"
"It didn't have a collar, so probably."
"Tough life, ssu na~."
For the "na~" part, I was imitating Nee-sama from before. She seemed to notice and turned to glare at me. What was I supposed to say in times like these? I felt like Tou-sama had taught me, so I recalled it and tried it out.
"Even your angry face is lovely, nen."
I was poked without a word.
"Is that so?"
We walked for a while, then talked about the cat again.
"I wonder if that cat doesn't have a Tou-sama or Kaa-sama."
"Probably dead. Stray cats have short lifespans."
We walked on. The hand Nee-sama held grew warm.
"You don't have them either, Nee-sama?"
"I wouldn't know. Ask the cat."
"I shall do that-ru."
"Ask it when I'm not around, okay?"

That was difficult. Because Nee-sama and I were almost always together.
"We're lucky to have Tou-sama and Kaa-sama with us, aren't we, ney?"
We have a home, and today and tomorrow are promised to us as if they're a given.
Our lifespans are probably stretching out longer and longer.
"...Maybe so. I hope that's true."
"Aye-aye?"
"And Nee-sama is here too. To be happy from the start without even trying to be happy, that's amazing, isn't it, ney?"
Even though our lifespans have extended so much, is there anything left to do?
As I was pondering this, Nee-sama stared at me suspiciously.
"I was surprised because you're not acting like an idiot for once."
Her tone was stern, but I sensed a slight panic in Nee-sama.
That's not good.
"Hongerururu pii~"
I adjust. Then, Nee-sama relaxes.
"Sorry, you were an idiot after all."
"Nahahaha!"
"Funanaaa~"
Indeed, that—was—fine—, it was.
We arrived at school, and I parted ways with Nee-sama, who left me with a warning: "Hurry up."
After walking down the hallway a bit, I practiced the meow Nee-sama had personally taught me. "Gyoeeh!"
Nee-sama, who should have gone in the opposite direction, rushed over with a demonic expression and poked me.

Confirming he'd left first thing in the morning, I waited a bit, then cautiously approached the door.
What I had to do was simple: just stuff the letter into the nearby postbox.
And with that, the preparations were complete. Just in case, I looked around. It was a room at the back right of an apartment building with a seal shop on the first floor. I could see a main street lined with restaurants, bustling with people and cars. It was a far cry from the area around Great-Aunt's house; if I caused a commotion here, people wouldn't stay quiet. I didn't want to be found, so I left quickly.
Catching sight of *him* with my own eyes, while suppressing something gushing within me.
The next time I see him will be when I kill him.
I wanted to kill him slowly, thoroughly, without anyone getting in my way.

As if waking up, I pushed my eyelids open. I gasped and shivered.
Spread out before my eyes was the sea. At night, no, it was just in a dark place.
It was the sea from an image I'd seen once. I live in a prefecture with no sea, so where on earth was this?
Warping isn't realistic. But where in the world had I been thrown out? If this was an image in my head, then was this place... inside my mind? Should I interpret it as a dream?
I prided myself on always having a calm head, and I didn't think hallucinations were a chronic condition of mine. Why had I come to such a place? Sitting on the sandy beach, I looked around. There were no clouds, no stars. It wasn't even clear if what was above me was night. It felt like I was enveloped in a pitch-black fog.
The sea remained still, with no waves gracing its surface. It was a dark surface, and I felt that if I sank into it, I would never be able to float up again. I was calling it a sea, but I wanted to think it was seawater. I wanted to get closer and dip my feet in, but what would happen? Would it lead to something irreversible?
I tried walking around the area. The sound of my footsteps on the sand sank deep, like walking on a high-quality carpet, and was hard to discern. I couldn't see where the beach led, so after walking a little, I'd end up returning to my original spot.
Just those movements made my body feel a little heavy.
It was a sea of unsettling color.
No one was there. Nothing was visible. But, if I strained my ears, I felt I could hear faint things like people's voices, the sound of cars running. These incoherent sounds seemed to murmur inside my head, and it was unpleasant.
Suddenly, my knees buckled, and I collapsed into a sitting position. I landed on my backside, but there was no pain. When I sat, the sounds seemed to recede. The writhing things retreated a little. That being the case, I hesitated to stand up again immediately.
For one less annoyance to exist was a wonderful thing.
If I kept repeating that, could I someday disappear entirely?
I sometimes wished I could cast off this heavy head and body.
The sea, right before my eyes, spread out quietly as if to acknowledge such wishes of mine.
I felt that if I jumped in here, I could melt away.
It resembled the color of some strange chemical I'd seen in a science experiment.
Gradually, my head grew heavier. Was it because it was so dark all around that I was getting sleepy? My thoughts scattered. Even if I tried to gather them, they flowed and crumbled like a sand pile. If I stayed too long, I felt I'd be swallowed by the sea, even without being submerged in it. Maybe I should move somewhere else. I thought so, but then again, to where? If I could recall even a recent memory, I might know what I should do. But my head denied that.

The back of my neck ached as if cramping. A vise clamped down on my head, which was trying to work.
What on earth was happening to me?
As I hesitated, looking down, a small change suddenly occurred in the corner of my eye. As if something was born from nothing, a faint light.
Mixed with the voices of people, a voice that stood out just a little.
Someone was calling me. Dottingly, dottingly, small lights like winged insects danced. When I followed them with my eyes, the light danced in mid-air as if waiting for me. When I approached a little, it began to move.
It really seemed to be waiting for me.
Someone waiting for me. Did such a thing exist?
Drawn by doubt and a strange recollection, I sought the light.
Turning my back on the swallowing, dark blue sea, I chased after it.
The dim light created a narrow path in the darkness, one I couldn't even walk on.

I heard Nee-sama's voice, so I backtracked a little and looked up the stairs, and sure enough, Nee-sama was there.
Her shadow stretched out and reached me. Nee-sama, though expressionless, noticed me, and her pace quickened slightly.
"Koncha~, Nee-sama!"
"I have library duty now. Go home ahead of me."
"Eeeh~"
"That's not fair~," I protested, flailing, and my head was immediately pushed down.
Before parting, Nee-sama left me with a lecture.
"Okay? If a stranger talks to you, absolutely ignore them."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Le-et's go ho-ome~"
"Aye-aye."
"Reply properly. That sounds impertinent, so stop it."
"Aye-aye-aye."
"You..."
"Just shy!"
I was about to be poked, so I hurriedly ran away.
Nee-sama was faster, so she quickly caught up and hit me three times.
Nee-sama hates "ai."

"What're ya lookin' at, Anesan-ssu?"
The high school girl, munching on bread for lunch with me on a park bench, wriggled exaggeratedly. We hadn't planned to meet today or anything; we just happened to run into each other. Well, our living areas overlap quite a bit, so it wasn't anything unusual.
"Still, running into each other like this on a weekday isn't something to be admired."
"You're one to talk, Anesan-ssu."
"It's a boomerang," she said, drawing a triangle with her hand.
"Not very convincing, am I?"
"You think it is-ssu?"
"Totally."
"Haaah."
Well, when I mimicked the sound of opening my second sweet bun, the high school girl made an exasperated face, her eyebrows knitting.
Although it was daytime, the sky was mostly cloudy, and the temperature remained low. Chewing on bread under the cold sky, I felt thirstier than necessary. The water I'd bought with it was already half gone.
"I'm a little envious of you, Anesan-ssu."
"Really? Even so, I have plenty to do."
It was a listless reply.
"Come to think of it, it looked like you went out somewhere this morning-ssu. Where to?"
"Ah, just out for a bit."
I just went to leave a letter of challenge.
Tonight was the showdown.
Chewing my bread, I vaguely watched the high school girl.
She was someone I had various thoughts about.
Noticing my gaze, the high school girl looked bashful.
"Anesan, you sometimes look at me suggestively-ssu,ね."
I thought she didn't have to force the 'ssu'.
"Fufufu... I'm a woman with a past, you see."
"Which one of us-ssu?"
"Both of us, of course."
The high school girl went "Oooh?" in confusion.

"Me too, -ssu ka?"
"Of course, you are."
I looked at the high school girl as if to say, "You don't know?" Her eyes replied, "Nope, I don't."
"I have such a super amazing secret-ssu?!"
Her eyes were sparkling. Well, if you were to say I have one, I guess I do. If she heard it, the sparkle in her eyes would probably vanish.
"Mm, so-so."
"Eh... doesn't that mean it's just normal-ssu?"
"Normal, ssuよね."
"Well, well."
"Moderately, yes."
"Mugu?"
"Ahaha."
Giving up, perhaps, she stuffed the rest of her bread into her mouth, then stretched out her legs and relaxed. Occasionally, she'd glance towards the swings in the same park, groan, and hum a tune. After tiring of that, she spoke again.
"Certainly, I might be a bit of a woman with a past-ssu,ね."
Aren't these carrots raw in this curry bread?
"Really, just sometimes-ssu, but I find myself wondering why I was born-ssu yo."
The high school girl confessed such feelings while facing the cloudy sky, where no break in the clouds could be seen.
It didn't seem like a topic suitable for discussion while eating curry bread.
"I see you're quite in the throes of adolescence."
Swinging her outstretched legs, the high school girl laughed.
"I've never met my real parents-ssu,ね. I don't know the details, though-ssu kedo."
Like descending stairs, the conversation grew heavier step by step. I wasn't good with dark, serious talk.
But I couldn't just brush it off casually. This high school girl wasn't that kind of person. She was very different from Koujizaka, and the casualness I had with that one sometimes felt precious.
"Hmm."
"Do you want to meet your parents?"
"It's a secwret."
"Tell meee."
The high school girl swung her dangling legs more vigorously. On the back of her hand resting on the bench, faint veins stood out.
"Well, yeah, I'd like to see them at least once-ssu,ね."
She said it as if anticipating the main attraction at a zoo or aquarium.
"...Is that how it is? I wouldn't know-nchin."
I gathered my wrappers and cleaned up. She also seemed to have finished her reading and was getting ready to move, so I followed after her. It was probably a good time to leave the conversation vague.
Keeping a certain distance, I walked, partly to aid digestion. I probably didn't need to keep much distance, but she might be self-conscious about her voice if I were too close.
The high school girl, walking beside me, voiced a question for what felt like the umpteenth time today.
"Why are you following that person around-ssu ka?"

She playfully poked my side. I thought about poking her in the chest in return, but, hmm.
I poked her shoulder.
"That's awful-ssu!"
"Because even if I touch it, it's pretty much like a chest anyway."
"That's not true-ssu!" she insisted, patting her shoulders and other parts. That's not her chest—
Perhaps bothered by our slight commotion, the person ahead turned around, but then faced forward again without paying us much mind.
"This is detective play-ssu,よね."
"Nope. The correct answer is knight-in-shining-armor play."
"Knights-ssu?"
"When that person is in danger, I must rush to their side."
It was like a custom handed down from ancient times. For some reason, I ended up sounding solemn, like a knight.
"I didn't know you were a knight, Anesan-ssu."
"Spread the word far and wide for me, okay?"
"-ssu yo! That's like a punishment game-ssu!"
Then, the high school girl seemed to give up on figuring out the "why" and prioritized another question. She discreetly pointed at the back of the person ahead.

"Who's that over there-ssu ka?"
"My Nee-sama."
My Nee-sama, who cannot see me. My very own Nee-sama.
Even now, she's walking alone, unsteadily.
"Heh~, Anesan's anesan-ssu ka."
"...Yeah, it's a bit complicated, though."
"A big anesan, kaa."
...
She's like a giant anteater, I thought. Also, I wondered if that was addition or multiplication.
"Are you on bad terms with Big Anesan-ssu ka?"
"Why?"
"Well, it feels like you're being ignored-ssu."
"We get along great-sho."
That was the correct way of looking at it. I wasn't in Nee-sama's sight.
But, and however, rolled on my tongue like pebbles.
To feign that single word, I felt as if I might cough up a fragment of blood.
I followed behind her all the way, watching carefully until Nee-sama went into the house.
"She made it home safe again today—"
My fingers gripping the bat loosened. The high school girl, on the other hand, seemed let down.
"Nothing happened at all-ssu,ね."
"Isn't that wonderful?"
It was perfectly fine for it to end as just a walk. Especially since the high school girl was tagging along.
She probably wasn't suited for rough stuff, and I wouldn't be able to handle it if I had more people to protect.
That high school girl seemed to have taken a slight interest in Nee-sama.
"Is something going to happen to Big Anesan-ssu ka?"
"Maybe."
That's a lie.
That's why I'm by her side. Protecting her. It was worth dedicating precious time in my life.
The truth is, I no longer have anything like "precious time."

"Oh, there you are."
Another voice called out. As if he'd been ambushing us by the house, he appeared.
The old man in the green hat raised his hand cheerfully, "Well, hello."
"Ugege no ge~"
I didn't even try to hide my lack of welcome. The old man gave a wry smile.
"Who might you be-ssu ka?"
"Some strange old man."
So, being a good girl, I tried to ignore him and walk away.
"You know me a little, don't you?"
He grabbed my shoulder and stepped in front of me. For an old man, he was surprisingly agile.
"It was a request, so I had to watch you from the shadows."
"Are you a pervert-ssu ka?"
"Not quite."
"So you mean you're quite the pervert-ssu,ね."
"It sounds like it's increased..."
...
While the old man was bewildered and the high school girl was giggling, I wondered what to do. The fact that he'd been tailing me meant he knew about this morning's business too.
Should I kill him?
If he gets in my way, I thought, I'll just watch him for a bit.
"I didn't notice you at all, did I, ney?"
"I'm used to stakeouts and tailing, you see."
Hearing that, the high school girl's eyes lit up.
"Could it be, you're a detective-ssu?"
"Quite different. In fact, I'm not fond of the police."
"Perverts have it tough too-ssu,ね."
"A tough pervert, huh."
"Gahahaha!"
The old man and the high school girl got along strangely well. Probably because, at their core, they were both peaceful. I was envious.
"Putting that aside. I believe I mostly understand what you're trying to do." The old man returned to the main topic. The main topic of the tough pervert. It sounded like a tongue twister. Perhaps because the old man and I had serious faces, the high school girl looked at me anxiously.
"Anesan-ssu?"
"It's the neighborhood baseball tournament."
I swing the bat up and down. "Aren't I always doing practice swings?" I laugh.