Mihoshi Tachibana was swinging her wooden sword about. Today was a rare day. Yoshino Naganohara, the kendo prodigy, had actually showed up to class. She wasn't doing anything, but her presence alone motivated Mihoshi to try harder. Her older sister wasn't naturally inclined towards the sword. Mihoshi wished she had someone to teach her, but for now, she could do something that only she could do.

That assistant instructor was giving Mihoshi problems again. She'd already been swinging her sword 50 times. Sweat was dripping down her body, coming close to her eyes. She wiped her sleeve across her arm, trying to regain focus on the dojo. Yoshino said that practicing made her weaker. If she wasn't here to practice, then what was she doing?

Yoshino reached into her bag. Sprinkled amongst her wooden sword was an entire board's worth of shogi tiles. She searched through the lockers, looking for Mihoshi's shoes. The younger Tachibana was such an excitable kid. She reminded Yoshino of her own little sister. Mio had only taken one kendo class.

Sports were never Mio's strong suit. She didn't listen to the rules, and would hit people with her sword in places that were illegal in most forms of kendo and society. She had amazing raw power, but no way to control it. Not that her interest in kendo had held. She was captivated by that boy, Kojiro Sasahara, and started blushing profusely. Yoshino saw her sister take up an interest in manga drawing shortly after that, and she stopped attending.

Playing pranks on Mio at home was fun, but she needed new targets. So she had taken her tiles and prepared to place them in Mihoshi's shoes. It was all good-natured mischief, she'd understand. Yoshino went searching for Mihoshi's deodorant when she heard a knock at the door of the dojo.

The door slid open, letting the sunlight filter in. A girl, about Yoshino's age and height, was standing before her. She had long red hair and a pair of underpants on her head. Yoshino was uncertain if the sweat stains drying on her face were her own. Her eyes opened wide, and she went over and gave Yoshino a quick hug.

"Akkane~n!" said Yoshino.

"Yoshino. I should've known you wouldn't be in school. You haven't changed at all," said Akane.

"I see you're still wearing your sister's panties on your head," said Yoshino. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Akane Akaza was Yoshino's roommate in college. She had come from out of town, and Yoshino was the first person she had met. A clerical error made Akane a boy in the school's database for the first half of the school year, so when she got her room assignment, she was wondering how her roommate would take to her true gender. Yoshino had greeted her warmly.

Akane was bold in her displays of affection for her sister, something Yoshino didn't bat an eye at. She hadn't seen a person with so many doujinshi before. Akane took Yoshino to Comuket, where she bought plenty more, this time letting Yoshino choose ones that looked interesting. Their friendship had been affirmed from that day on.

When Yoshino returned from college and started lounging around her home, Mio was taken aback when her older sister assumed the doujinshi she was drawing had to be incest-related.

"I'd love to meet your little sister, but I need your help first," said Akane. "Have you seen Akari anywhere?"

"You have a little sister?" asked Yoshino, making a "silly me" gesture.

"Yoshino, after all the time we spent together..." said Akane, slumping up against the shoe lockers.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," said Yoshino. "Akari's here?"

"She and her friends came for a school trip, and I can't find her. I wanted to photogra- give her back her underwear," said Akane.

"Who doesn't pack underwear for a trip?" asked Yoshino, casually placing a shogi tile in Mihoshi Tachibana's shoes.

"Help me!" shouted Akane, distorting the animation of the room.

"Okay. You're a friend. Say, how'd you like to meet Mio?" said Yoshino, swapping out Mihoshi's water bottle for another shogi tile, drinking all the water down in one gulp, and filling it with bitter tea from a canteen she had brought in her purse.

"Would I?" asked Akane.

Yoshino bent down and reached into her bag, taking out a long wooden sword. She brandished the blade above Akane's head, and pointed towards the front door of the dojo. "Let's go!"

Akane asked, "What do you need the sword for?"