Chapter 7: Enter Half-Blood Sister
Kazuma, Akari, and Hana headed into a quiet café nestled on a side street near the campus. The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, casting soft golden hues across the polished tables. They found a cozy booth near the corner—Akari and Hana sitting shoulder to shoulder on one side, while I sat across from them, arms crossed, silently watching.
After a few sips of their drinks and light chatter, Hana leaned forward, setting her cup down.
—"Oh, so that's why you guys need to be roommates? That's pretty easy."
Akari sighed, crossing one leg over the other, then tilted her head toward Hana.
—"Easy for you to say."
She glanced sideways, her brows furrowed slightly as if something was still bugging her.
—"Are you going to keep it a secret?"
Hana gave a reassuring smile, brushing some hair behind her ear.
—"You don't need to worry about that. I will keep my mouth completely shut."
Akari looked at her, lips pressing into a line.
—"Thanks, I guess."
I stayed quiet, arms folded, pretending to look out the window, but I was listening. Their conversation had nothing to do with me or so I tried to convince myself. Yet deep down, I knew if this secret ever got out, Akari's reputation would take the fall… and so would I. And why you may ask? because I will be the one to be blammed for that, so I wanna stay much further out of her life. As much as I can..
Akari's gaze shifted back to Hana, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Her expression showed she was trying to trust her friend, but a sliver of doubt remained. Her fingers fidgeted slightly with the hem of her sleeve before she spoke again.
—"Are you sure you won't tell it to anyone?"
—"You don't have to worr—"
Before Hana could finish her sentence, I stood up abruptly, pushing the chair back with a scraping noise. Both of them turned to me, startled.
I kept my eyes locked on Akari and pointed at Hana with a slight tilt of my chin.
—"Let me tell you something."
—"If she's your friend, she won't tell anyone. If she does, she's not one. Okay?"
I turned and walked straight out of the café without another word. My footsteps echoed against the tiled floor, but I didn't stop.
I don't know why I did that. I wasn't trying to be some hero. Maybe I was just… frustrated. Or maybe, I felt bad about something I couldn't even name.
From the cafe, Hana watched me leave with wide eyes.
—"He's pretty cold." She said
Akari blinked at the door, then lowered her head.
—"He's not usually like that."
She bit her lip, thinking in her head.
Why the hell did he say that…?What was he thinking?
She tried to clear her thoughts. I shouldn't think about that. Do whatever you want, idiot.
Turning back toward Hana, she sighed.
—"I'm sorry for whatever he said. It was disrespectful, I know."
Hana waved it off gently, resting her cheek against her palm with a soft smile.
—"Don't need to apologize. I get what he's feeling."
—"What?" Akari asked, genuinely confused.
—"He felt bad for you. He kinda cares about his roommate, maybe."
Akari's brows raised slightly.
—"Cares for me?"
Why would he care for me?
She leaned back against the seat, folding her arms.
—"That's stupid. Why would he?"
—"Whatever you think… but he does care though."
—"Stop saying that. We… we basically just met. Nothing else."
Akari looked away, her voice firm—like she was trying to erase something from her memory.
Hana decided to change the subject, her tone playful again.
—"Anyways, Akari, do you have something to do now, afterwards?"
Akari placed a finger on her chin, trying to recall.
—"Well, I had something to do… I can't remember what."
—"Forget about it. You can do anything later. How about a study session at my house?"
Akari raised an eyebrow.
—"Study session? Right now?"
—"Yes! My house isn't far away. It's right beside the subway station," Hana beamed, already excited.
Akari's face tensed for a moment as if something in her mind was nagging at her.
—"But I—"
Before she could finish, Hana leapt up and grabbed both her hands with a pleading look.
—"No buts! Let's go! I haven't had any friends at my house in ages—please!"
Akari chuckled faintly, shaking her head in surrender.
—"Alright, I'm coming. Okay."
They headed out together, Hana practically skipping as they made their way to her place.
Meanwhile, I had reached the apartment building, my mind still echoing with the scene at the café.
Why did I say that? That was so unnecessary… Now it's just embarrassing. Ugh. Don't know what Akari must be thinking about me.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I suddenly stopped mid-step.
Oh, crap. I forgot to get the key from Mashira. Guess I gotta go back down. What a pain…
But something strange caught my eye, the door to my apartment… was slightly open.
What? Why is the door open? Akari couldn't have gotten here before me… right?
I slowly crept toward it, cautious. My hand pushed the door open just a little, and I peeked inside.
There, casually sitting on the couch with one leg up, phone in hand, was a girl.
A girl?! What the hell is a girl doing in here?
As I leaned in for a closer look, I accidentally knocked over an umbrella. The clatter was loud.
She instantly snapped her head up, eyes wide, and locked with mine.
—"Ugh! Intruder!!"
Without hesitation, she launched the remote control like a bullet. It slammed into my forehead.
—"Ugh, my head!" I groaned, falling back to the floor.
I scrambled up, rubbing my head.
—"You little—!"
—"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my sister's house?!"
I blinked in confusion.
—"I should be asking that"
I paused what did she just say?
— "Wait. Did you say sister?" I asked
—"Yes! This is my big sister Akari's apartment. What are you doing here, intruder?!"
I stared at her. Well she did said she had a little Sister, She does look like Akari but she has blonde hair, and also her vibe is totally different,
Much Diffrent from Akari though..
—"So, You're Akari's little sister?"
She stepped closer to me, smirking.
—"Oh? So you know Big Sis?"
I narrowed my eyes.
—"Yes, I do. And you should be apologizing for throwing that damn remote."
—"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms and looking away.
—"You're the one who was acting like a stalker."
—"Well, it doesn't mean you throw a remote,"
I sighed.
—"Whatever… I'm Kazuma Shinomiya. I'm Akari's roommate."
Her eyes widened. Her smug expression turned into a devilish grin.
—"So you're the idiot roommate Big Sis was talking about. Yeah… you do look like one."
I groaned internally.
—"Surely something she would tell you. Anyways, since you're here, you're our guest, so I won't argue. So, Akari's little sister—how shall I address you?"
She tapped her chin before flipping her hair back confidently.
—"I'm Akie Matsumoto. Her little sister… well, not practically."
—"What do you mean?"
—"Well, I'm her half-blood sister."
I raised my brows.
—"Wait…What Did You Say?"
The two of us sat down on the couch. I rubbed my head one last time before letting out a breath. Akie was already back on her phone, legs tucked under her.
Fifteen minutes passed as she explained everything to me—her voice bouncing between nonchalance and nostalgia.
Apparently, Akari's father had died when she was only six months old, taken by a tragic car accident. Her mother raised her alone for over a year and a half, until she met Uncle Matsumoto—Akari's stepdad and Akie's biological father. A year later, Akie was born.
She looked over at me with a proud little smirk.
—"I'm in second year of high school, by the way."
I nodded, arms crossed as I leaned back a little into the couch.
—"She never talked about it in elementary?"
Akie tilted her head, surprised.
—"How do you know about my sister from elementary?"
I froze for half a second. My mouth moved before I thought it through.
—"Well she was my childhood cru—"
I bit down on my words, awkwardly clearing my throat.
—"Childhood friend, yeah. We both were in the same elementary school," I corrected, trying not to sound flustered.
She gave me a look of disbelief, then grinned like she'd figured out a puzzle.
—"Ohhh, so you have your childhood friend as your roommate."
More like my childhood crush is my roommate, I thought, but said nothing.
—"Yeah… you can say that, I guess," I mumbled.
—"How romantic!" she clapped, leaning forward with sparkling eyes.
I shifted on the couch, my hand sliding behind my neck awkwardly.
—"What romantic?" I asked, half-dreading her answer.
—"That setup feels like it's right out of a rom-com manga," she giggled, hugging a cushion like she was fangirling over her own imagination.
—"Oh shut up. It's nothing like that. She's just a roommate now, noth—"
Before I could even finish, she scooted close to my face. Way too close.
—"So have you made any move on my big sis?"
Her eyes were locked on mine, a teasing smile on her lips. She was so close I could literally feel her breath hit my cheek.
—"Can you please move a little? And it's nothing like that between me and Akari. It never was."
My voice came out sharper than intended, but I was just trying to stay composed. A flicker of something—maybe guilt—passed through my chest. Fragments of memories… soft and unclear… something from a long-forgotten day.
She leaned back slightly, lounging comfortably on the other side of the couch.
—"You get real shy too easily. I guess that confirms you're telling the truth."
—"I wasn't shy. It just felt a little weird," I muttered, avoiding her gaze.
—"Oh? Is it because I was in front of your face? How cute!" she said, teasing like a bratty little sister.
I groaned, leaning back with an annoyed sigh.
—"If you're done teasing like a 13-year-old, can I ask a favor from you?"
That made her pause. She tilted her head slightly, genuinely curious now.
—"What?"
—"I wanna get to know Akari more. It's not anything else. I just… I want to understand her better so I can live with her peacefully for the next six months. I don't wanna get in her way or make life harder for her. If I can understand her a little more… maybe we can work things out."
Akie blinked. Her playful demeanor faded for a second. She looked at me—really looked—like she wasn't expecting something that honest.
—"So you want to know about my big sister?"
—"Yes."
—"How romantic."
—"Oh, would you please shut up about the romance stuff," I grumbled.
She let out a small laugh and leaned her cheek against her palm, smiling again.
—"Can't help it."
I exhaled and gave her a look that said I'm serious.
—"Will you help me?"
She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, considering. Her voice dropped slightly, like she was playing older than her age.
—"Maybe I can give you some details. Will it be helpful?"
—"Very much."
We locked eyes, and for once, she didn't tease me. Just nodded slightly.
Meanwhile, at Hana's place
The golden afternoon sunlight filtered softly into the room, giving everything a calm, warm glow. Akari and Hana sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, surrounded by open textbooks and notes scattered in a messy circle. A fan in the corner buzzed lazily, stirring the pages as it rotated.
Akari had her pencil pressed lightly against her lips, eyes fixed on a textbook—but her mind was clearly elsewhere.
Kazuma's words echoed in her head.
"If she's your friend, she won't tell anyone. If she does, she's not one."
Why did he say that? Was that supposed to mean something more? Did he actually… care?
She shook her head slightly, trying to shove the thoughts aside, but her mind kept spinning.
Across from her, Hana glanced up, noticing Akari's vacant stare.
— "Hey, Matsumoto-San."
No response. Akari absentmindedly chewed the end of her pencil, eyes still stuck on the page.
— "Matsumoto-San?" Hana called again, leaning in a bit. Still nothing.
— "Matsumoto-San!" she said more loudly this time.
Akari blinked rapidly, snapping out of her thoughts and glancing over.
— "Umm, yeah? What happened?"
— "What are you thinking about?" Hana asked curiously.
— "It's nothing. This formula just seems a little hard. I was thinking about how to solve it, that's all," Akari replied with an awkward smile.
— "Hard? You were literally telling me how easy these formulas were a few minutes ago."
— "I take that back. This one's pretty tough," Akari said, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin.
— "Anyway, I learned a lot today—all thanks to you. Thanks for coming at my selfish request, Matsumoto-san."
— "It wasn't me. You focused and made it easy for yourself. And honestly… you seemed genuinely nice. I couldn't say no," Akari replied sincerely.
— "Aww, thank you so much!"
— "And you can call me Akari, by the way. We're friends now, right? No need to be that formal," she added.
Hana's eyes widened in surprise.
— "For real? I can call you by your first name?"
— "Yeah, it's no big dea—"
Before Akari could finish, Hana leapt up from her seat and wrapped her arms tightly around her.
— "You don't know how much this means to me! Thank you so much, A-KA-RI!" she said, giggling with joy.
— "It's not a big deal… but if you keep hugging me this tightly, I might just pass out," Akari said, gasping slightly.
Realizing, Hana quickly let go, flustered.
— "Umm, sorry… I didn't realize I was about to kill you," she said, laughing nervously.
They locked eyes—and both burst out laughing.
— "You're something else, you know," Akari said, still chuckling.
— "Your face when I was hugging you was priceless!" Hana teased.
Suddenly, Akari's smile faded ever so slightly. A brief flash from her past crossed her mind.
She looked at Hana's bright, genuine smile.
Please don't turn out like them…
She shook the memory off quickly and brought herself back to the present. Hana glanced at the clock.
— "Didn't you say you had something to do back at the café?" she asked.
Akari's brows furrowed as she thought.
— "Yeah… I did have something to do," she muttered.
Hana tilted her head.
— "By the way, who was that girl who came to see you this morning at college? The one you told to wait at your apartment?"
Akari blinked—and then froze.
— "Oh no… my sister! She's still at the apartment!"
— "Ohhh, that was your sister? She really did look like you," Hana said with a chuckle.
— "It's not the time to be discussing this," Akari muttered, standing up abruptly in mild panic.
— "I told her to wait until 3 p.m., and now it's already 6! I need to hurry!"
— "Don't worry. Kazuma went there earlier."
Hearing that name made Akari's eyes narrow.
— "That's even more reason I need to go quickly. I can't trust him with my sister."
— "He really doesn't seem like the type to do anything bad, Akari. I think you're misunderstanding him," Hana said gently.
— "You can't tell how a person really is just by looking at their face… At least, I couldn't," Akari said with a bitter tone.
Hana blinked in confusion.
— "What do you mean?"
Akari paused, then shook her head.
— "It's nothing. Nothing important."
She grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Before leaving, she turned back to Hana with a small smile.
— "It was a fun study session, Hana. I enjoyed it. But I have to hurry."
Hana smiled back warmly.
— "I understand. See you at college!"
— "See ya."
Akari exited the house quickly, her pace picking up as she headed for the apartment. Her heart raced with unease.
Kazuma doesn't seem like someone who'd do anything wrong… but if he does something to Akie—
I won't forgive him.
A little while ago, at the apartment…
Kazuma and Akie sat across from each other on the couch. The air was casual, but Kazuma's curiosity was far from subtle.
— "So what do you wanna know about Akari?" Akie asked, swinging her legs lightly.
— "Well, I don't know anything helpful," I said, arms folded.
— "What would be helpful for you?" she asked again, narrowing her eyes in a playful challenge.
— "Actually… what would be helpful for me?" I asked back, scratching my head.
— "That's for you to decide," she replied with a teasing smirk.
Finally, a thought clicked in Kazuma's mind. He leaned forward slightly.
— "Oh, you still haven't told me why Akari didn't know her dad was her stepfather back in elementary school?"
— "Well, I can tell you that… but how is it helpful for you?" she asked, tilting her head.
— "If I know more about her past, maybe I can understand why she's like this now. Why she changed. It might actually help," I explained.
— "That makes sense. Okay, I'll tell you," Akie said, straightening up.
I waited patiently.
— "So neither me nor my sister knew we were half-siblings until she was in her second year of middle school. I was in my last year of elementary."
— "So your parents kept it a secret all that time?"
— "Yeah. They did. And now you're probably wondering how we found out, right?"
— "Obviously. I hate plot holes."
— "It was because of me," she said, her voice softening.
— "Because of you?" I asked, eyebrows raised.
— "You said she changed, right? I think it all started after that year… her second year of middle school."
I leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as I processed it.
— "So Youre telling me After 2nd year of Middle School She completely Changed, And this just might be the reason why? Im listening"