Before we start off this chapter, I would like to thank those of you who have taken interest in this story. It makes me quite ecstatic when I can entertain someone else with the material I've produced. I would also like to say I'm sorry for the giant gap between this chapter and its predecessor, that was just laziness and procrastination on my part. I also need to thank Eliya Shirwood for, once again, dropping by and giving me the information I need to improve my writing. He's a great author, really, if you're into incest and love Oreimo I highly suggest you check out "Breaching the Brother and Sister Complex.", As well as "The Sibling Complication." With that out of the way, let us continue the major what if story.

The atmosphere of my surroundings was blissful, I could see the trees over shadowing houses, I could feel the wind nipping at the back of my neck sending shivers of joy tingling down my spine, I could smell the heavenly scent of homemade curry being prepared for dinner along with the chime of joy from the children living there "itadakimasu!" …

"Hellooo, Kyou-chan~?" My childhood friend brought me out of the peace felt observation of my environment as I recognized I had accidentally tuned her out. I turned my head over to her to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Manami, I zoned out for a bit there." I uttered.

"Geez, that's the second time you left earth today! Do I need to jump in a rocket ship and bring you back down next time?!" She said jokingly, while being hysterical and flailing her arms about as she exclaimed. This got me laughing, so I decided to play along a bit.

"Sure, but be careful not to run into any martians on your way there, they might claim you as their queen!" I exaggerated.

"Hey! I'm not that short!" She complained with a pouty face.

"You're right, that was pretty childish of me, my bad." I apologized once again looking ahead, while walking down the seemingly endless sidewalk beside my childhood friend.

"It's ok, it was very humorous and brightened my day, so I'll excuse you this time. But…"

She stopped and turned her body in my direction, causing me to come to a halt. My childhood friend then looked up at me with an attempted "serious face".

"If you joke about me like that again I'll… I-I'll…

She tried to exclaim as her face became flushed and flustered. She then took a deep breath causing her to puff out her cheeks a little, I couldn't help but crack a grin at the sight.

"Be furious!" She squealed, letting out the breath she took in from her mouth.

I busted out into laughter, trying to contain myself just enough to where I wouldn't fall onto the ground.

"Wha- What's so funny?!" She stuttered out.

I then held my abdomen while bending down a little and putting my index finger up, I finally managed to stop after a few more seconds, so I bended back upwards while wiping the tears from eyes.

"It's jus- whew.. It's just that when you try to be serious, you get nervous and stutter on your words. It's too humorous to take seriously." I said while keeping back the remainder of my laughter.

"It's not my fault I can't be intimidating and mean." She mumbled with that pouting face of hers on again while averting her eyes from me and crossing her arms.

I put my right hand upon her hair and looked down to greet her eyes with mine.

"You don't need to be when you have a personality like your own." I said, reassuringly.

Shortly after I said that she put on that trademark smile of hers along with a little blush from what I assumed was happiness.

"Thank you very much, Kyou-chan." She uttered softly.

"No need, Manami." I said politely.

(4:20 pm, The Tamura Residence.)

As we came up to the entrance of Manami's house, the mentioned young woman stopped by the gates leading to the entrance and turned to me.

"Kyou-chan…" she sighed quietly, causing me to look down to her with a questioning expression, her looking up to me in the same sense of manner.

"What do you think of Kirino-chan?" She asked.

"As in?" I gently retorted.

Manami's small figure then started to shake a little, causing her to divert her eyes from my own.

"Wh-Who do you see her as?" She stuttered

When the purpose of the question hit me, it hit hard and fast, like a baseball hit by Ichiro Suzuki. Who did I see Kirino as? How do I describe the relationship we have together? The more I thought about those two questions, the more my mind started to hurt from the prolonged thinking and even more questions started forming in the midst of it all, causing nothing but a migraine and confusion.

I decided to give a neutral response.

"I'm not quite sure, I've only known her for a day, if you give me a few more weeks to a month, I wouldn't mind you giving me an evaluation then." I said as straight forward as I possibly could in order to avoid any further interrogation from my persistent childhood friend.

After a few seconds of comprehension from that smart mind of hers, feeling satisfied with my answer, she looked at the ground and did something that really caught me by surprise.

She stepped extremely close to me and slowly wrapped her arms around my torso and pulled me into a soft embrace, burying her head into my chest.

I produced a breathless gasp as she did so, getting a giggle in return from her.

"Are you ok, Manami?" I breathed, trying to keep my voice calm.

" I'm fine…I just wanted to tell you that… if you have any problems, Don't hesitate to rely on me." She informed with the most gentle voice I'd ever heard her speak in.

I then put my left arm around her neck area and my right hand around the back of her head and pulled her closer.

"You're such a great friend, Manami. You always worry about me and try to care for me whenever I need it, I can't thank you enough for that." I said softly, causing her to blush.

"You won't ever leave me, will you?" She asked in a voice with worry as she tightened her grip on me.

"Why would I? I've known you for nearly my whole life. There's no way in hell I'd ever do that to you. You're a part of my existence… You are my best friend…" I poured out.

I looked back down at her; she was blushing madly after I gave her my emotions.

She pulled away from me, gave her departure with a flushed smile, and then ran through her house gates as well as the door, yelling her goodbyes as she went.

"Have a good afternoon, Kyou-chan!"

I smiled as I headed in the direction towards my house.

(4:50 pm, The roads of Chiba)

As I walked home, my head was spinning with so many questions and inquiries.

I couldn't get the events that took place earlier out of my mind.

When I held Manami in my arms, I could feel a sense of desperation, worry and urgency . It was like her persona was trying to keep me away from something. Is that why she made me swear on a promise? Is she really that afraid of losing me? Why would she fear such unlikely happenings? It just didn't add up…

Perhaps she's afraid I'll end myself?

I stopped in my tracks, glancing down on the pavement along with a dark, lifeless void filling the pupil of my eyes.

It may be true that I'm never genuinely happy and depressed. But, I have no reason to commit to my self-assigned death sentence. Just because I feel worthless, doesn't mean I can just kick the bucket. I know people care about me and would be devastated if I were to depart. It's the reason why I try my best to fabricate happiness… It's also the only reason for me to keep living my life.

I looked up and stared at "Pink Gabriel" the sakura tree, only to hear my name being called out moments later…