"I can't accept this," the girl said, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"You're still going on about that?" replied the boy, lightly.
It was the day of First Magic High's school entrance ceremony, yet the pair had arrived early, and were standing on the steps in front of the auditorium where the ceremony was going to take place. They both wore brand new uniforms, with teal-green blazers. The girl's waist-length black hair shifted slightly to reveal the school's emblem, an eight-petaled flower, etched onto her blazer's shoulder. She tucked the lock of hair held together by a spiraling gold ribbon behind her ear, and frowned. In the early morning sun, her pale skin almost seemed to shimmer, and a snowy anger could be seen brewing in her eyes.
"Onii-sama," she began, each word pronounced clearly like the sound of a pure, cold brook from high in the mountains, "Why are you a reserve? Didn't you top the entrance exams? Obviously you should be the freshman class representative, not me!"
The boy, clad in the same uniform as the girl with one difference: where her blazer's shoulder proudly displayed the First Magic High's emblem, his had only an empty gray patch. In a calm, almost emotionless voice, yet not completely devoid of warmth, the boy said, "Putting aside the question of where you got the entrance exam results, Miyuki, it should be obvious that they place more emphasis on practical skills rather than on paper tests. You of all people should familiar with the extent of my practical abilities. I'm surprised that I even got accepted here as a Course 2 student."
"How can you be so unsure of yourself?" cried the younger sister, Miyuki, her voice rising in distress, "Even when there's no one who's a match for you in studies and in taijutsu! The truth is, even for magic-"
"Miyuki!" the older brother interrupted, quietly but forcefully, and the girl took a moment to compose herself. "You understand that even if you say that, it can't be helped."
Nodding her head demurely, Miyuki said after a moment, "I apologize."
Throughout the whole exchange, the boy's expression had not changed at all from the expressionless look of a mask that made him almost seem as if he were simply a bystander in his own life, with no stake at all in what happened around him. Yet his erect posture and piercing, blue-grey eyes told a different story in which he was constantly analyzing his surroundings, ready to take any course of action should trouble arise. However, at Miyuki's apology, his gaze softened slightly and he raised a gentle hand to her head.
"Miyuki," he sighed, lightly, wondering what he could do to improve her mood, "I really am happy you feel that way. I feel I am being saved when you get angry in my place."
At this, Miyuki muttered, "Liar," but she did not move out from under his hand.
"I'm not lying."
"Liar," Miyuki said, looking up at her brother from under his hand, "Onii-sama, you are always scolding me."
Her brother gave her a gentle smile and said, "I'm not lying, I said. And I, too, think of you the same way you think of me."
For some reason, Miyuki once again lowered her head. This time, however, it was more like it was... embarrassment? "Onii-sama..." she said quietly, so her brother almost couldn't hear her, "...the same way... you said..."
A brief second of confusion filled her brother's mind at her reaction, but he pushed away as it seemed like he had succeeded in improving her mood a little bit. All that was left was to convince her that this situation was perfectly fine.
"Even if you back out of giving the reply address, there is no way that I will be selected as your replacement," he said, moving his hand from her hair to her shoulders, "If you back out this late, even you won't be able to avoid a blemish on your appraisal. You understand this, right?"
"But..."
"Besides, Miyuki, I'm looking forward to it. Show this useless big brother of yours what his cute little sister can do."
Miyuki looked up at her brother and protested, "Onii-sama! You are not a useless brother!" Then she paused, and, the storm in her eyes having calmed down, she said, "But, I understand. I'm sorry for being so selfish."
When she had calmed down, the resemblance between the two could better be seen. They both had a calm grace about them, as if they were royalty. The brother shook his head, saying, "There is nothing to apologize for. I've never thought of that as selfishness."
She smiled, and it seemed as if she were a flower blooming under the gentle rays of the morning sun. "Then I will head inside," she said, and headed up the steps. At the top, she turned around to her brother and asked, "Please watch me, Onii-sama."
Her brother nodded, smiling slightly, "Yeah, of course. I'll be looking forward to your speech."
Once again, Miyuki smiled and said, "Then I will take my leave." With that, she disappeared inside the auditorium, leaving her brother outside on the steps.
When he was sure she had left, the boy sighed. He still had about two hours before the ceremony began, and he had really only come so early to escort his sister who was speaking as the freshmen representative. He had no plan for what to do in the meantime before the start.
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After spending some time debating what to do at the steps of the auditorium, the boy decided to look for somewhere to rest and read. The main building, the practice building, and the experiment building made up three of the school's buildings. There were also the auditorium that doubled as the gymnasium through the use of transformation machinery that could alter the internal layout, a library with three stories aboveground and two below, two small gymnasiums, a preparation room with various uses, a cafeteria and procurement department building, as well as several other large and small annexes. As the boy walked along a brick path, he got the impression that First High was built more like a suburban university rather than the high school it was.
Without an I.D. card, he couldn't access any of the affinities in the buildings and so was forced to walk around outside for someplace comfortable and quiet. After about five minutes of walking around, using the mobile terminal he had brought with him as a map, he found a bench in a courtyard beyond a row of trees. He quickly made his way there, sitting down and opening up a book portal.
It's a good thing it's not raining, he though as he sat down, then shrugged. Even if it had been raining, there wasn't much one could do about the weather. Shortly after he sat down, a group of students all bearing the eight-petaled flower emblem of course one students walked through the courtyard on their way from the preparation building to the auditorium. Their carelessly whispered words trailed behind them as they walked by, casting thinly veiled gazes of contempt at the boy.
"Isn't that a Weed?"
"He's early... surely is enthusiastic for a mere reserve."
"In the end, he is just a spare."
First Magic High accepted 200 students each year as freshmen, but the school did not treat all freshmen as equal. Instead, the students in the top one hundred in practical and technical magical skills, known as the blooms, were allowed to wear the flower emblem of the school. Those in the bottom one hundred were separated from those in the top by the lack of the emblem on their blazers. In this cutthroat atmosphere, those designated as Course 2 or Weeds started off with a psychological disadvantage, while Course 1 students began with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Every year, the school produces over one hundred magicians that go on to the University of Magic or enroll in a Magical Institute of Specialized Higher Training. However, in reality, those that posses the talent to become a Magician are few in number. Because a Magician is so highly-valued by society, many young students feel an undue amount of pressure to become one. When accidents do happen, although safety precautions that have been developed through the years limit the more severe ones, many students drop out after losing the ability to do Magic due to shock.
When this happens to students in Course 1, the Course 2 students fill the gap, thus leading to the image of Course 2 students being 'reserves' or 'spares'. These students are allowed to participate in classes, use the school's facilities, and access its data, but they do not receive personal instruction in practical magic, where most of them fall behind in. They are forced to teach themselves and any results that come about are due to their own hard work. If they can't do that, they are forced to graduate from a normal high school, thus losing the ability to become a Magician in society.
Publicly, the school forbids the term 'Weed', but it has become a common derogatory term for the Course 2 students, as well as ingrained in the school system. Even the Course 2 students recognize themselves as spares, and the boy was no different. He had entered the school fully aware of the fact; there was no reason for those students to have all of that aloud.
How unnecessary, the boy thought, returning his attention back to the book.
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With only thirty minutes before the entrance ceremony, the boy logged out of the reading portal, getting ready to head inside the auditorium. However, before he could stand, a girl stopped in front of him, the skirt of her uniform rippling gently in the breeze, and asked, "Are you a new student? It's almost time for the ceremony."
The first thing the boy noticed was the Casting Assistance Device (CAD) wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. It was the lasted model built for fashion, but it still did its function of speeding up the casting process. The CAD is the modern replacement of old-school magic practices such as chants, talismans, and magic circles. With the use of a CAD, modern magicians can learn a variety of magics and produce them quickly and accurately through the accelerated processing of the device, rather than devote their lives to learning a single Magic in order to bring it about by will alone. However, to those who can't use magic, the CAD is useless. Thus, only magicians carry them around, and civilians know little about them.
Furthermore, because the CAD greatly improves casting speed, the magicians who carry them are limited on the school grounds to only student council members and particular committee members, all of whom were Course 1 students. If everyone carried them at all times, the probability of a dangerous fight using magic breaking out on the grounds would be very high.
,Without missing a beat, the boy stood and said impassively, "Thank you. I'll be on my way then." He made no move to hide the fact from the girl the missing emblem on his chest, however, that did not mean he wasn't already affected by the chasm between the Blooms and Weeds. He would rather not get involved with a high-achieving Course 1 student, on the Student Council nonetheless.
However, the girl had other ideas. She grinned, looking at the portable terminal he had folded in three parts in his hand. "I'm impressed," she said, "A screen type?"
Finally, the boy looked her in the face. Even for a girl, she was short. The boy was a hundred and seventy-five centimeters, and her head only came up to his chest. Her thick, dark hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and her face was a pleasant heart shape. He had expected to find her gaze riddled with belittlement about his Course 2 status, but they only showed pure and innocent wonder.
"Our school prevents the use of virtual screen types," she continued when he said nothing, "but many students still use them unfortunately. However, you are using the screen type even before enrolling in the school."
"The screen type is better for reading," he replied shortly, in his calm, collected way. He could not make a fool of himself here, as the Student Council would likely be involved in deciding if his sister could join the council. He did not want to be the one that held her back because of a careless remark.
His calculated response seemed to have worked, as the girl's eyebrows rose even further. "Instead of watching animation, you read, huh? That is even rarer!" She paused and smiled, "I also prefer reading for information rather than watching, so I'm actually kind of happy."
The boy smiled slightly. Even in the era of virtual information, book-readers were actually not that rare. It seemed that this upperclassman just had a very sociable personality.
"Ahh," she said, as if she had just remembered something, "I beg your pardon. I'm the student council president of First Magic High, Saegusa Mayumi. Written as 'Seven Grass' and read as Saegusa. Nice to meet you." At the end of her introduction, she winked at him. If he had been anyone else, he might have misunderstood her intentions and gotten all flustered.
However, as it was, he just slightly frowned, saying, "A number... and to top it off, a Saegusa."
A Magician's ability is greatly influenced by heredity and his attributes are deeply connected to his lineage. In Japan, those that possessed a superior blood lineage for magic traditionally carried a number in their name, and the Saegusa family were currently deemed to be the strongest in the country. The Student Council President before him was likely a direct descendant, making her an elite among the elites. The exact opposite of him.
Somehow managing to force a smile over his involuntary frown, the boy politely introduced himself, "I'm... no.. my name is Shiba Tatsuya."
"Shiba Tatsuya-kun..." the president said, her eyes widening slightly in surprise, "I see. You are that Shiba-kun, huh."
Tatsuya said nothing, inferring that she meant he was the brother of this year's freshman representative.
"Among the teachers, you have been a hot topic," the president said, seeming unconcerned with his silence.
They were probably wondering how a pair of siblings could be so far apart, thought Tatsuya wryly, however, the president's smile remained warm and inviting as she continued, "Out of a hundred marks, the average of all seven subjects in your entrance exam was ninety-six. Especially impressive were your perfect scores in Magic Theory and Magic Engineering where the average score was no more than seventy. It's an unheard of record high."
Tatsuya's face remained impassive all the while she was praising him because, "Those are merely paper test results. It's just data in the system." Paper results weighed far less than practical results, and the empty patch on Tatsuya's blazer was evidence to that fact. However, the president shook her head at Tatsuya's words.
"That kind of terrific score, I couldn't reproduce it, you know? I may not look like it, but I'm actually much stronger with theory based questions, but, if my exam had the same questions as yours, I wouldn't have been able to achieve as high marks as you, Shiba-kun."
As she paused for a breath, Tatsuya interrupted, not wanting to hear any more, "It's about time. Please excuse me." He lightly bowed his head and turned his back on her before hearing a reply. In truth, he was scared of what might happen if he continued talking with her, although what that may be, he had no idea.
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By the time Tatsuya made it to the auditorium, more than half the seats were already filled. In theory, there should have been no seating chart for the freshmen students as they had not yet received their I.D. cards with their class designation on it. However, in reality, the front half of the auditorium was clearly designated for those who would receive the full benefit of the school's curriculum: the Blooms. Even before their first day in the school, their minds had already been affected by the deep-rooted chasm between Course 1 and Course 2 students. Even without an official rule or enforcement, the Blooms and Weeds had cleanly divided themselves into groups.
It was sad, thought Tatsuya, that the ones most conscious of the discrimination had accepted it.
Without wanting to make a scene, Tatsuya decided to go with the flow and sit in the back in the 'Weed area'. He chose a seat in the center of the last one-third of rows and turned his eyes to the clock. There was only twenty more minutes to go. With electronic communication restricted in the auditorium, Tatsuya tried to think of how his sister was faring as she was doing her final rehearsal. Would she be nervous? Then he shook his head. Miyuki wouldn't become flustered right before the main event.
In the end, Tatsuya decided to close his eyes and sleep the remaining time away. However, just as he was about to slip into sleep, a hesitant voice sounded beside him, "Um... is the seat beside you occupied?"
He opened his eyes to see a petite girl with black hair brushing the tops of her shoulders and large glasses that only enhanced the glowing gold of her eyes. Two purple cloths were tied in her hair, one on each side of her face to go with the lighter purple of her glasses. Like him, the patch on her blazer was gray and empty.
"Help yourself," Tatsuya replied shortly, briefly wondering why she would choose to sit beside a stranger that was a man, nonetheless. However, his unspoken question was answered when three other young girls sat down next to her. They had needed a place where all four of them could sit together. With that solved, Tatsuya once again faced the front and closed his eyes.
"Umm..." the voice called out to him once again.
Having completely lost interest in the girls, Tatsuya was surprised to hear her talk to him again. Had he accidentally brushed his foot up against hers? No, of course not. He was sitting with good posture; he had done nothing for her to complain about...
"I'm Shibata Mizuki. Nice to meet you."
Her sudden self-introduction broke him out of his thoughts, and Tatsuya cocked his head slightly. She seemed timid, not prone to putting herself out there. She was the exact opposite of someone else he had met earlier. Perhaps she had done it with the intent on building a beneficial relationship with each other since they were both Course 2 students.
In any case, there was no reason to be rude. "I'm Shiba Tatsuya. Nice to meet you, too," he replied softly, glancing at her lenses. In this era, it was very uncommon for people to wear glasses. A cure for myopia had long since been developed, and those born with vision ailment often chose to wear contacts that were wearable for up to ten years rather than deal with glasses.
At his response, the girl seemed relieved.
For those who wore glasses in this age, it was either due to a hobby, fashion, or over-sensitivity to spirit particle emissions. From his brief glance at the girl's - no Mizuki's- glasses, he could tell that they had no prescription, and she didn't seem the type to wear something extra for the sake of fashion. So she must have an over-sensitivity to the Pushions, or spirit particles, that were surmised to be the non-physical manifestations of the emotions brought out by intention and thought. Their cousins, the Psions, or thought particles, are the non-physical manifestations of intention and thought. Both have been observed in "Para-Psychological Phenomena", which includes magic, although the control of Psions is the main component in modern-day magic.
Over-sensitivity to Spirit Particle Emissions was not actually that rare among magicians, whose ability to sense Pushions was in proportion to their ability to sense the Psions used in magic. However, in extreme cases, the magicians suffering from this disease have a higher chance of mental break downs due to its effect. In order to prevent that, the magician must learn to control Pushions, but, in the rare event that they can't, they can use glasses with special "Aura Cutting Lenses".
However, as Tatsuya thought of this, he realized another, more dangerous possibility as to the reason behind the girl's glasses. If, perhaps, she needed the glasses not because she couldn't control Pushions but because her sensitivity was just that strong, then Tatsuya would have to be extra cautious around her.
"I'm Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you, Shiba-kun," said the girl beside Mizuki, cutting off Tatsuya's thoughts.
"Nice to meet you, too," answered Tatsuya, his gaze shifting from Mizuki, who had begun fidgeting under Tatsuya's gaze that had unintentionally turned into a stare, to the red-haired girl. Tatsuya narrowed his eyes at her. Her name, Chiba, was from another numbered family, yet he couldn't remember the Chiba House having a daughter named Erika. However, she might be of collateral descent.
"But, isn't this an interesting coincidence?" continued Erika, her pixie-cut hair bobbing as she leaned forward in her seat, smiling unreservedly.
"What is?" Tatsuya couldn't help but ask.
"Well, you know," she began, seeming to struggle with explaining it, "We are Shiba, Shibata, and Chiba, right? Don't they kind of rhyme somehow? Although they are kind of different..." She trailed off at the end, her amber eyes shining with the hope that he understood.
After a moment of silence, he answered slowly, "I see."
After the other two girls introduced themselves, Tatsuya asked to confirm his original thought, "Were the four of you from the same middle school?"
"Nope," said Erika, shaking her head, "All of us just met for the first time." Tatsuya must have let his surprise show because Erika giggled as she continued, "I didn't know where this place was and was staring at the information board in confusion when Mizuki called out to me."
"Information board?" asked Tatsuya, leaving the rest of the question unstated. All the students had been sent the data for the entrance ceremony so the Local Positioning Systems of their data terminals should have been able to lead them here with no problem.
"The three of us didn't bring our terminals," answered the girl next to Erika, before continuing "Well, the virtual-screen models are banned and I had the data stored in mine."
"We managed to luck into this school, after all. It wouldn't make sense getting marked off right at the entrance ceremony," added the girl farthest from Tatsuya.
"I forgot mine, actually," answered Erika, laughing unashamedly.
At a loss, all Tatsuya could say, "So that's the reason, huh." It was common sense to at least verify the venue before coming to your own entrance ceremony, he thought, but said nothing. There was no reason to stir up any meaningless trouble. With that, he turned his attention back to the front where the entrance ceremony was beginning.
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Miyuki's reply address was outstanding, as expected. Even though she was pretty fired up and included borderline-dangerous phrases such as "everybody alike", "as a single body", and "apart from magic", she managed to integrate them tactfully. Her openness, innocence, and her naturally beautiful appearance captured the hearts of the audience, freshmen and upperclassmen alike. She would most likely be surrounded by boisterousness from tomorrow onward.
Being the siscon he was, Tatsuya wanted to immediately congratulate her, but immediately following the ceremony, they were all supposed to receive their I.D. cards, made specially for each person. Miyuki, however, most likely had already received hers beforehand, being the freshmen representative.
"Shiba-kun, which class are you in?" asked Erika, turning around to face Tatsuya who had allowed the girls in front of him as they lined up to get their I.D. cards.
"Class E."
"Yay!" said Erika, jumping up and down excitedly. Maybe a little too excitedly. "We're in the same class!"
Mizuki smiled as well, saying, "Me too!"
The other two girls were in class F and G, and all of them were in good spirits. After all, they had successfully enrolled into high school. After a while, the two girls left to check out their respective homerooms, as well as to search for new friends in the same class, leaving Tatsuya alone with Mizuki and Erika.
"What shall we do? Should we go take a look at our homeroom too?" asked Erika enthusiastically.
These days, most homeroom classes did not have a homeroom teacher. With access to personal terminals, there was no need to waste resources on a homeroom teacher. The homeroom was really just a place to hold all of the kids in between lessons, and, without a overseeing teacher, kids in the same homeroom tended to bond together better. As such, heading to the homeroom was probably the fastest route to making new friends, but...
"Sorry, I'm meeting up with my sister," declined Tatsuya. There was nothing further scheduled for them today, and he had promised to meet up with Miyuki as soon as all the procedures were done.
"Heeh," said Erika, her eyebrow raising suggestively, "If it's Shiba-kun's little sister, she must be really cute, right?"
Tatsuya did not know how to respond to that, so he remained silent.
"Could your little sister be," began Mizuki timidly, "the freshmen representative, Shiba Miyuki-san?"
"Oh, really?" asked Erika, "Then are you two twins?"
Tatsuya shook his head. "I get that a lot, but I was born in April while she was born in March. If we had been one more month apart, we wouldn't be in the same school year."
"Hmm," said Erika, smiling lightly, "I guess that makes things a little complicated, huh?"
Tatsuya smiled, letting the question slide. "That aside," he said, "It's surprising you could tell, Mizuki. Shiba is not such a rare family name, after all."
Both girls smiled faintly, and Erika said wryly, "No, no. It's pretty rare."
"Your features look alike," answered Mizuki faintly.
At this, Tatsuya was surprised. "Do we?" He asked. His little sister was a rare beauty with both talent intelligence. Even if you took all her extra talents away, her beauty alone would be enough to make her the center of attention. In middle school, she had often received fan letters while he, in comparison, never received a single one. Being siblings, they should have at least shared some similar genes, but Tatsuya even sometimes wondered wether the two of them were actually blood-related.
"If you put it that way," answered Erika, "you do kind of look alike. Shiba-kun is quite the hunk as well. It just kind of seems that your features couldn't be any more alike."
"Hunk? From which era did that obsolete word come from?" asked Tatsuya, smiling a little, "Doesn't that mean our faces are the only things that look alike?"
"That's not it," said Erika, struggling with a way to explain, "How should I put it?"
Thankfully, Mizuki came to the rescue, saying, "It's your aura. Your dignified features look alike."
Erika gratefully jumped on the rescue boat. "That's right!" she said, nodding strongly and slapping her knee, "It's your aura!"
"Chiba-san," began Tatsuya, smiling slightly at her antics, "You easily get carried away, don't you?"
"Carried away? You're so cruel!" protested Erika, playing along.
"That aside," said Tatusya, changing topics, "Shibata-san, you're eyes must be really good to be able to tell by our aura."
At this, Erika intervened, "What are you talking about? She's wearing glasses!"
"I don't mean that," answered Tatsuya, shaking his head, "Besides, Shibata-san's glasses don't even have a degree in them, am I right?"
Surprised, Erika peered closely at her friend's glasses, while Mizuki looked a little shocked that her secret had been so easily found out. Before Tatsuya could press further, however, a lovely, clear voice interrupted them from behind Tatsuya.
"Onii-sama, sorry for the wait." Miyuki had slipped out from the crowd that had surrounded them and stood just behind Tatsuya. At first, he wondered if she might have skipped out on something for she was a little earlier than expected, but, ever since she was young, Miyuki had disliked flattery and praise. She must have felt uncomfortable around all the people praising her after her speech and decided to come meet him out here.
As he turned around, he intended to say, "You were quick." but it turned into a question when he saw an unexpected face behind his sister.
"Hello, Shiba-kun. We meet again," Student Council President Saegusa Mayumi said with an amiable smile.
Still shocked, Tatsuya acknowledged her only with a slight bow of the head. Nevertheless, any irritation President Saegusa might have felt at his less than amiable response did not show at all on her face.
"Onii-sama," said Miyuki, her tone a little too polite, "They are?" She nodded towards the two girls standing on either side of Tatsuya, a polite smile plastered on her face.
Without missing a beat, Tatsuya replied, "This is Shibata Mizuki-san and Chiba Erika-san. We're in the same class."
"I see," answered Miyuki with the same polite tone and forced smile, "Isn't a little too soon for you to be dating your classmates?"
At this, Tatsuya smiled slightly. She must be stressed after being bombarded by flattery and praise from left and right. "There's no way that could happen, Miyuki. We were just chatting while waiting for you," rebuked Tatsuya, "And aren't you being a little rude to the both of them?"
In response to his words, Miyuki dropped the fake smile, replacing it with a more gracious one, saying, "Good day, Shibata-san, Chiba-san. I am Shiba Miyuki, a freshman just like Onii-sama. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Surprisingly, Mizuki introduced herself first. "I'm Shibata Mizuki," she said in her soft, timid way, "It is a pleasure to meet you as well."
Not surprisingly Erika jumped in without reservation, saying, "Nice to meet you! You can call me Erika. Can I call you Miyuki?"
"Please do," answered Miyuki quickly, "Otherwise it will be difficult to distinguish between me and my brother."
"Ah?" said Erika, seemingly surprised at Miyuki's quick answer, "Miyuki, I didn't expect you to be so sociable."
Miyuki smiled, saying, "You are just as open as you appear to be. Nice to meet you, Erika."
With that, the two of them seemed to have had a second, unheard conversation as they both smiled at each other unreservedly, leaving Tatsuya to look on in confusion.
Finally, he interrupted with, "Miyuki, are you done with student council business? If not, I can go kill some time by myself."
Despite the question being directed to Miyuki, President Saegusa was the one who answered, "It's fine. I just came to say hello. Miyuki-san, we'll catch up on another day."
Miyuki nodded solemnly, and the President turned to leave only to be stopped by one of the Course 1 students that had been hanging a little farther back.
"But President," he began, "What about the schedule..."
"We didn't really make an appointment beforehand," Interrupted President Saegusa, "If she already has another engagement, we should make that a priority, yes?" Even though it was phrased as a question, her tone made it clear it was not up for debate. She once again turned to Tatsuya's group, "Well then, Miyuki san, I shall take my leave. Sheba-kun as well. I'd love catch up with you one of these days." With that, President Saegusa strode out of the auditorium. The Course 1 student stayed behind long enough to give Tatsuya an irritated glare before hurrying after the President.
Paying him no mind, Tatsuya turned to his sister, "Well, shall we head back, now?"
"I'm sorry, Onii-sama," Miyuki said, her face downtrodden, "Because of me, people are getting a bad impression..."
"it's nothing you need to apologize for," Tatsuya interrupted, once again placing his hand on her head, combing her hair out of her eyes. The fact that he had already gotten on the bad side of one of the student council members was out of anyone's control, and it was definitely not his sister's fault.
To break the awkward, misleading silence made by Tatsuya gently stroking Miyuki's hair and Miyuki's slightly blushing face, Mizuki said, "Well, since we're all here, why don't we go someplace for tea?"
Erika jumped on the change in topic eagerly, saying, "Sounds great! I know there's a nice cake shop around!"
"You didn't check where the school entrance ceremony would be held, and yet you know where a nice cake shop is?" asked Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course!" Erika said, nodding, "Cake shops are important, aren't they?"
Tatsuya could say nothing to that.
"Onii-sama, what do you think?" asked Miyuki, ignoring Erika's illogical remarks.
"Sounds good to me," answered Tatsuya agreeably, "After all, it would be good to get to know one another better since we're in the same grade." They had no particularly pressing matter to do at home, and Tatsuya had already been planning to go somewhere to commemorate his little sister's successful enrollment.
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By the time they got home, it was close to evening. Opening the door to the above-average sized house where he and his sister lived alone, Tatsuya immediately headed to his room to change out of his uniform Despite himself, he felt a little lighter not wearing the blazer marking him as a Course 2 student. Tatsuya clicked his tongue at those needless feelings and returned to the living room wearing a simple outfit of sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Shortly after, Miyuki came down from her room on the second floor dressed in a cream-colored, tank-top blouse and matching, knee-length skirt. Even though he should be used to it, sometimes her outfits at home left him having trouble to find a place to rest his eyes. "Onii-sama," she asked, approaching him on the couch, "Would you like something to drink?"
After a moment's consideration, Tatsuya said, "Sounds good. I'd like a coffee, then."
"Certainly," replied Miyuki, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail that revealed her neck, just as lovely as the rest of her appearance. She immediately set to work in the kitchen herself, even though it was common practice in this day and age to use the Home Automation Robot. When friends were over, she would usually leave this kind of kitchen work to the robot, but she often liked to do it herself when it was just her and her brother.
Soon, she came back with two cups of coffee. She set one down on the table in front of Tatsuya, and sat her own right next to his. He took a sip. It was black, just the way he liked it.
"It tastes really good."
With that simple compliment, Miyuki broke out a grin, leaned back on the couch next to her brother and sipped from her own cup. An easy silence fell over them, but they were not bothered at all. They had long since gotten over feeling forced to speak to one another when silence fell between them.
Finally, when both siblings had finished their coffees in silence, Miyuki stood up, saying, "It's almost time to make dinner." Handing over his coffee cup to his sister, Tatsuya also stood up.
The evening had deepened into night as usual for the pair of siblings. Another normal day had come and gone.