Chapter 1: Catalyst

On the most memorable day of his life, Kyousuke couldn't remember what he had for breakfast.

He did remember having a test at school. That was a bother. He had never been good at tests. He got the median mark every single time, without fail. A couple of times, he tried to adjust how many hours he studied just to see if his ranking would change. It never did. He was so good at being average it was his special talent.

After the test, Manami came up to him as usual, her fingers knitted together and her wide, bespectacled eyes peering at him unassumingly. "How'd you go, Kyou-chan?" she asked sweetly.

Every time, she behaved as if she didn't know the answer. Kyousuke wouldn't put it past her, actually. Manami was the most cheerful slave to routine he had ever encountered. "Average," he replied, stifling a yawn.

"Oh, is that so? But you're happy with it, aren't you?"

"I s'pose."

"Good, then," said Manami, clapping her hands together and smiling. "Why don't we celebrate with cookies?"

"What for?"

"Well, we both passed, didn't we?"

"You just wanted an excuse to make cookies," he said.

Manami laughed sheepishly.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not really," he replied. Manami made good cookies. He chuckled. "You'd make a good housewife."

Whenever he said that, or something else along those lines, Manami became a little bit starry-eyed. "Really, Kyou-chan? You mean it?"

He wondered what kind of person would marry Manami. No doubt it had to be someone very normal. You couldn't get anyone more normal than Manami. She was so politically correct in her thinking that she seemed to possess no original thought. Kyousuke didn't mind that, though. He spent most of his time with her, after all.

Manami had mentioned cookies, so now, of course, the silent agreement was that he would be going to her house after school. He slung his school briefcase over his shoulder and followed her out of the classroom when the bell rang. Manami hummed a cheerful tune. Even though Kyousuke did not consider himself a particularly happy-go-lucky person, he couldn't help but smile a little too.

And yet he was very vaguely conscious of the idea that he was going through motions. The road to Manami's house was unchanged from the time they were children. Sunlight streamed across a quiet, suburban road. Nothing ever changed when it came to Manami.

"You know, Kyou-chan," Manami was saying, "it's been a while since you've come over this often."

"I'm not getting in the way?"

He knew what her answer would be.

"Oh no! Not at all! I'm fine with it! My family loves you."

He didn't deny that. Manami's family consisted chiefly of oddballs, but they were pretty open about their affections. "When's the wedding?" her grandfather would constantly ask Kyousuke. Yeah, he was a senile one.

Kyousuke could hardly explain his urge to be at Manami's house these days. He supposed it was because he found very little to do at his own house. There, he felt restless. If he tried saying that to Manami, though, she would definitely not understand. It wasn't like he was trying to avoid his parents; they left him to his own devices. And Kirino would still be gone for a year yet. She wouldn't be back until she entered high school.

Manami's house was peaceful. Kyousuke spotted Manami's little brother sitting on the steps. He appeared to be practising his yodelling. "Hey, guess what?" he said to Kyousuke with a grin. "I can sing and play guitar at the same time!"

"That's nice," said Kyousuke. "I can shit and breathe at the same time."

"You're, like, seriously talented, dude!"

Young Rock (as he liked to be called) was still singing Kyousuke's praises as Kyousuke and Manami walked into the kitchen.

"My brother is so embarrassing," said Manami with a sigh, after she had discreetly closed the door on him.

Kyousuke snorted. "I guess everyone has sibling problems," he said, thinking of Kirino.

"Yeah."

Manami was quiet for a moment. Kyousuke glanced at her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I hope you're not lonely, Kyou-chan," she said. "Your little sister's in America…"

Kyousuke waved his hand. "She never talks to me anyway."

It was just the same old.

"Still," said Manami, casting him a meaningful glance. "Siblings should be close, shouldn't they?"

"Not necessarily. Little sisters aren't all they're cracked up to be."

"Oh," said Manami.

"Anyway," said Kyousuke, turning around casually, "you're more of a little sister to me than Kirino is."

"Oh," said Manami again.

This time, she looked distinctly crestfallen.

"That's not good," she mumbled.

"Huh? Why not?"

Her cheeks were red. "B-Because," she said bashfully, "I'm not related to you, but Kirino-chan is…"

He patted her on the head.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not like I hate my little sister. Anyway, who wants to talk about their siblings all day? What about those cookies?"

"Oh, right," replied Manami, cheering up somewhat, though Kyousuke got the impression that she still wasn't quite satisfied. She rubbed her hands together and reached for the apron hanging on the door. "Let's make them now, Kyou-chan."

The afternoon passed by tranquilly. Sometime during the evening, Manami's father came home from work and Kyousuke helped carry some boxes from his truck inside the house. Everyone in the family got to have some of the cookies. Afterwards, Kyousuke watched variety shows with Manami's grandparents while Rock sang the theme songs in an off-key tone. Manami sat in the middle of it all, smiling pleasantly. Just an ordinary day for her, evidently.

When night approached, Kyousuke dragged himself off the couch with a sigh and announced he was going home. Manami's grandparents insisted that he stay, but there was no way he was agreeing to that today. It was a school day tomorrow.

Manami saw him off at the door with a wave.

"See you at school tomorrow!"

"Sure," he answered, smiling. "Later, Manami."

He wasn't smiling by the time he got home. His parents did not say anything to him as he walked in. They didn't seem to notice him at all – they were too busy on the phone. With a yawn, Kyousuke kicked off his shoes and made his way towards his bedroom.

… He paused before he entered and glanced to his left at the adjacent, unopened door. Kirino's room. Vaguely, he wondered how she was doing in Los Angeles. Probably taking the junior girls' athletics world by storm. She seemed to take everything by storm. That was probably her on the phone. Everything in his house was about Kirino.

It hadn't always been like that. When they were younger, it was different…

Whatever. With a sigh, Kyousuke placed his hand on the doorknob of his bedroom door. No use thinking about anything. He went home just to sleep there.

"Kyousuke!"

He jumped, startled at his name being called. "What is it, mum? I'm about to get changed."

"Come down," she said. "It's urgent."

Something in her tone made him obey at once. Something had happened. Kyousuke went down to the living room and looked at his parents with puzzlement. They were both looking very grave.

Actually, he thought, he had never seen them look more serious – ever.

"So what is it?" he asked, seeing as no one was saying anything for the moment.

His parents looked at each other.

"It's about your sister," his father said finally.

This wasn't like when Kirino had first gone off to America. Life went on after that. His parents hadn't been mad, or grave, or serious. They had been happy for her. But they did miss her; they said that all the time. No, this time it was different.

This time, his parents looked at him and only at him, and their faces seemed tired and their shoulders seemed to sag, as if they carried the weight of the world on their backs.

"What about Kirino?" Kyousuke asked, feeling his pulse quicken.

Somehow, he already knew what was coming before his parents opened their mouths. He thought of the worst. In his mind, it was only a vaguely conceived notion, completely removed from actuality. It wasn't enough to prepare him. Nothing could do that, not even reality itself.

"We got a call from the embassy," his mother quickly explained. "Something terrible's happened. They think it's murder. They found her body…"

Kyousuke blinked, staring. He didn't think anything in particular. He understood the words but the implicit meaning did not hit him.

"So wait," he said slowly. "What do you mean?"

He was taken aback when he saw his father let out an undignified sob. He was normally such a stoic and stern-faced man. Kyousuke could only stare in shock as his father wiped what was unmistakably a tear from his eyes. It took him a moment to even speak. When he did, he sounded more angry than sad. It was the only way he could express himself with words.

It was then that Kyousuke's father told his son the news that would change his life.