Rein's POV

Bright-san twirled me as I stood on my toes of one foot. Then we soon finished with me leaning into his chest. "At least you can dance a pas au deux with Hotori-san properly, but for some strange reason, you still can't act with him," Sumizone-sensei said to us as we parted from each other. Yeah... still not going to do that. It just feels wrong if I do that, because I don't think that Bright-san likes me that way and he could like someone else so...yeah.

"Well, we can probably think of something to do about that later," Bright-san said. "Right, Rein? Rein?"

"Ah, yes! I'll do my best." But I still don't understand. How to act... I've imagine how it would be if my crushes would treat me like a princess when I was in elementary school, but I've never really imagined how I would act. I was too 'in love' with the person.

"It's good to have a change in pace from time to time and not always continuously practice. Maybe this would work better if you two actually went on a date..."

"Um... I still don't remember all of my lines yet, so I think that's impossible for right now." What is Sumizone-sensei thinking? But since this play helps with the funds for the class, I guess she really wants this to be a success. Still, she doesn't really have the position to say that we should go on a date.

"I haven't memorize a few of my lines either. Maybe we should practice sometime together," Bright-san offered.

"Maybe... but most of the lines that I need to practice are with Altezza," I said. Why am I lying? Is it because I'm afraid to be alone with him or something? Wait, that's exactly it. Seriously, what's wrong with me? "But if you have any parts that you can't remember, you can ask for help. We could do it after tutoring," My mouth said.

Mouth what are you saying? "Yeah that's a good idea. When do you want to start our tutoring lessons anyways?"

"Um... Whenever you're free, I guess," I said. "It's no use if my tutor isn't there and my schedule can be changed pretty easily for lunches."

"Then why not start tomorrow?" Bright-san suggested. "I heard that you, Sophie and Altezza were planning on practicing some of the dances and I need to check in with my fencing teacher to let him know that I'm not slacking off."

"Yeah, tomorrow sounds perfect." How did he know that Altezza, Sophie and I were planning on practicing for the dances, we only decided on that like 15 minutes ago! But since we're all in the same room, I guess it should be that weird.

"Great, then I'll see you in the library when lunch starts?"

"Yeah. It sounds great," I said walking back to Altezza and Sophie like a calm person, which I am not. I really don't know why I'm feeling so worked up about this, I mean, it's just studying together... but then some people would consider it as a study date. No, no, no, what are you thinking Rein? Bright-san is just helping you get your grades up, that's it. There's no way that this would be considered a date.

Then, almost instantly, Sophie said, "So you're going on a lunch date with Bright-san?"

"What? No, no no and no," I said shaking my head and moving my hands in the universal way that meant no. "He's just going to help me get my grades up, and that's it. It's just studying together."

"Ah, so it's a study date!"

Before I could say anything, Altezza hit Sophie on the head lightly. "Sophie, Onii-san is just going to show Rein how to do some problems that she doesn't understand. That's it. Don't get too carried away with your thoughts, it's rude." Thank you, Altezza. "And of course, later Rein is going to tell us everything that happens after."

Huh? "Altezza, please not you too." Please spare me...

"Don't worry Rein, we're not going to ask for every single detail, just a few details."

"Altezza!"

~Later~Bright's~ POV~

The bell rang to signal the start of lunch. "Bright-san, I'll meet you in the library, in a few minutes. I need to get something first. I'll be there soon," Rein said to me before hurrying out of the classroom. I wonder where she's going? Well, it's doesn't matter. I should probably head over to the library, where was that again? I'm pretty sure it was in the west corridor...

"Excuse me, Hotori Bright-san." I turned towards the familiar voice and met a pair of ruby eyes. Rein's twin... She cheerfully smiled at me and said, "Can I ask you something? It'll only take a second, I promise."

"Sure. What is it?"

"I was wondering if you knew when the play is. You know, the one that the ballet and design students are doing? I heard that you were the male lead, so I thought that you would be the best person to ask." Me? But what about Rein?

Still I answered her, "Oh, it's in 2 weeks from now and it'll start at 4. It's only 350 yen to get in."

"Okay, thank you for telling me that, I didn't even know anything about the price either," she said jotting it down in her small notebook. "I'm sorry for bothering you," she said slightly bowing. "I'll think of some way to repay you later."

"Why couldn't you have asked Rein for that information? She is one of the main characters of the play after all. I'm sure she could have told you earlier about this."

She suddenly smiled. It was almost creepy, since her tone was sad as she said, "She could have, but she probably doesn't want to see me there." Wouldn't she though? It's always good to have some support from your family whenever you perform right? "I ruined our relationship to the point where she can't even stand to look at me. Maybe I shouldn't even go to play."

"Excuse me for saying this, but I'm sure that she wants you to come. You two are siblings after all. Maybe if you come, then Rein will think that you're supporting her in what she wants to do and it might fix your relationship, or am I just being naive?"

"Bright-san you're a very nice person. No wonder she likes you so much. I probably shouldn't say this, but she likes you a lot, that girl." Her smile became more natural, like Rein's. "You two would make a very nice couple. Ah, I should get going. Sorry for bothering you."

Is she talking about me and Rein? Rein likes me? "Bright-san, I'm sorry that I took so long." Rein said, suddenly in front of me. Wait, how did I get to the library? "Here, chose one." She held two drinks out in front of me. "There's orange and blueberry."

"Then I'll take orange," I said taking the can from her. "Thank you. Now shall we get started? Tell me what you have trouble with."

"Well, I have problems with math, science, and history. Mainly it's math, because I don't understand what formulas to use. For science and history, I have problems trying to memorize everything. I'm really hopeless aren't I?"

"No, not at all. It's pretty common for people to have difficulty remembering things, but I find that if you keep writing what you can't remember down several times, it helps with remembering them for later. Then as for math, you just have to look at things logically to know what formulas and methods you should use," I explained to her.

"That makes sense. Then I'll ask you what to do when I really don't understand it." She silently worked, occasionally muttering to herself. I like Rein as a friend, but anything more would be troublesome, for her more than me. Rein's too good of a friend for me to ruin her life. She would have to go through a lot if we were to get together. "Bright-san, can you check these problems for me?"

"Of course, let me see." After a couple of problems I said,"Rein, you keep making the same mistake here. Instead of separating the figure into different shapes, you need to put it as a whole and try to find the surface area of that."

"Eh? Okay... but how do I do that then?"

"Oh it's like this, just look at the base that you have and after that..." Slowly Rein understood. "After doing more of these problems, you'll be able to get the hand of it."

"Thanks for explaining it to me, Bright-san. I think I'll be able to understand the rest of my math homework tonight. And then for the other subjects, I'll be studying and reviewing all of the terms and other things. All that's left tonight is my design then..."

"Ah, do you mean your design for ballet? Altezza said that she was going to make an outfit for me. Who are you making yours for Rein?"

"Um... I haven't decided that yet..." Rein? "I've thought about a lot of designs, but there isn't one that suits anyone I know." She seems troubled...

"Then can I see them?" Rein looked up at me in confusion. "Maybe if I see them, I can think of someone who they would be suited for." Rein nodded and handed me her sketchbook. I opened it to see several designs. They don't certainly look like anything that a boy would wear. Shorts and comfortable shirts. So basically it's going for a more tomboy-ish look...

"What do you think about them Bright-san?"

"They've good. You always try to make it so that the clothes are comfortable for the wearer. I would see a sporty girl wearing something like this."

"A sporty girl?" Something in her voice was telling me that something was wrong. "Looks like I need to redo my designs then. I don't know anyone well enough to ask them to model for me. Do you think that Altezza would model my clothes for me?" Why is she lying?

"Why not your sister?"

All of a sudden, she looked afraid. She faked a smile and said, "Fine's probably too busy and she wouldn't be interested in modeling clothes that I designed. Besides, she's not really the kind of person who enjoys dressing up. I already know this, so it would be rude to ask her."

"Really? But it seems that your sister wants to hang out with you. Ah, I'm sorry, please ignore me. It was rude to say anything about your situation, when I don't know anything." I really need to keep my mouth shut. I looked at her expression, that was strange. Great, now I've made her feel awkward around me.

Her voice became quieter, and I think I see her shaking from fear. "Did Fine talk to you? Like recently, not the first time you actually met her...did she?"

Just calmly tell her the truth. "She wanted to know when the play's going to be."

"Oh, so that's it." She sighed in relief. "I'm sorry for actual so weird all of a sudden, it's just that... I really, really don't like it when she's around. She always has some friends around her, and those people will probably be comparing us again and, I just hate it."

"She was alone when she talked to me."

"What... What did you say that she should do about this situation?"

"I told her that she should go, to support you. I know it wasn't my place to say that, but I don't think that you should just be ignoring her, if you two just talk it out, then maybe it could be the starting point for a clean slate. And, again not really my place, but when I first met your sister, I thought that she looked happy to have a sister like you."

"Who would..." She closed her eyes for a minute. "It's rude of me to get you involved with something as troublesome as this. Besides, I'm the one who allowed our relationship to remain broken. It's already too late, to try to repair it. I don't have the strength to be around her either, because of the words of others."

It's unnatural for her to not be smiling. Rein is a very bright and cheerful girl, so it's weird... I want to see her smiling. "Rein, have you and your sister ever been told that you're alike?"

"Nope, never. We're different down to our personality, so there's no reason why someone would say that."

"But you two have the same beautiful smile. Since you have such a beautiful smile, it would be a waste for you not to smile. Your sister, is not you, so why do you concern yourself with those words? What other people say, doesn't matter, because they're just being idiots. No two people can be completely alike. You're shining the most when you're yourself. Come on Rein, smile." I smiled at her.

"Bright-san, you always know just what to say to a girl, it's amazing." She gave me a small smile back. "Thanks for everything today."

"What are friends for?" Suddenly, something in my chest ached a bit. Friends... is that really all I want to be with her? Maybe what Fine said was true, I think I'm falling for Rein. Maybe I should ask Altezza about this?

"Idiot Onii-san, of course you like her," she said, later that night while we were doing homework together. "Sheesh, I knew that Rein was going to be slow in realizing this stuff, but I didn't know that you would be oblivious to your feelings too."

"Altezza, how long have you known?" And here I thought that I understood what Altezza was thinking the best.

"No comment," she said bluntly. "So what are you going to do now that you know how you feel about Rein? And please don't tell me you're going to wait it off until you get to know her better or something. I know how you have to think all logically when it comes to going out with someone, but it's ridiculous. You like her, isn't that enough?"

"Well, I know things about her, but..."

"Now you're just making excuses. Just go for it. The play's next week and Sumizone-sensei told you guys to make up your own ending right? Use that."

"Thanks for your help Altezza," I said as I dialed someone's number.