Our friend group
I was standing in front of the sea.
Islands were scattered across the horizon. The waves were calm, almost too calm. Clouds floated lazily overhead, like they had nowhere in particular to go.
“What, you came all the way out here too?”
Miko was there, wearing his school uniform.
Then, somehow, we were inside a theater. We sat side by side in the darkness.
On stage, a princess stood on a balcony. A prince looked up at her. It reached the final scene—where both of them died. Swords were thrust in, and blood flowed.
Miko?
The one bleeding from the chest wasn’t an actor on stage.
It was Miko.
Before I knew it, we were somewhere by a pond. A mountain rose in the distance.
The person bleeding dropped to their knees.
“Miko?”
“Hey—wait, Miko!”
He collapsed face down.
A pool of bright red blood spread across the ground.
No. No, no, no.
Why? Why? Why?
Miko, Miko, Miko!
I grabbed his shoulders and tried to lift him up, but his body was completely limp. His head just hung there, not moving at all.
“Miko!”
Then I woke up.
I shot upright in bed.
It was still dim.
The shoji screens were only faintly bright with early morning light.
My heart was pounding.
I slowly turned to my right.
Miko was sleeping beside me, breathing quietly. The blanket rose and fell in a steady rhythm. His hair looked soft in the pale light.I let out a long breath.
I just stared at him for a while.
Then I reached out. The air felt cold. I brushed his bangs lightly.
“Mmm…?”
He murmured, turned over, and faced away again.
And just like that, he kept sleeping.
Honestly.
I pulled my hand back under the blanket and lay down again.
Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the dream.
I sighed. My body felt heavy. I closed my eyes again.
When I woke up next, it was already bright.
Still in my pajamas, I went into the living room.
Miko was there, fiddling with his camera. He had lined up five lenses and was holding each one up to the light, inspecting them carefully.
“You’re up? You slept in today,” he said casually. “I already cleaned the bath and ran the washing machine.”
You ran the washing machine?
I almost laughed.
He’d probably just thrown everything in together—clothes, underwear, everything—without thinking.
Another sigh slipped out.
“…Thanks,” I said.
It was late February, and the school had started early dismissals before final exams.
After school, I went to the library near campus with some girls from my class. We were supposed to study together and go over anything we didn’t understand before the tests.
When we were done,
“Where should we go now?”
“How about the station area?”
The four of us left the library together—Shion Nikaido, Takako Hojo, Asuka Kono, and me.
Shion was on the tennis team. She was tall and a bit lanky, with single eyelids, thin lips, and that clean, plain kind of “soy-sauce” face.
Takako was in the calligraphy club. She had pale skin and big, pretty eyes. She looked a little delicate, but she could be surprisingly sharp-tongued.
Asuka was in the art club. She was the shortest of us, wore silver-rimmed glasses, and had small, slightly plump lips that gave her a cute look.
We crossed the moat around the castle. The whole area was wrapped in twilight, and the lights along the stone bridge railing looked almost unreal.
We came out at Minamihoribata and walked straight south along the streetcar road. The north wind cut right through us.
At the city station, we headed into the shopping arcade and stopped by a chain coffee shop.
Shion was the first to mess around.
“I’ll get this—carbonated coffee float. Fizzy coffee’s kind of rare, right?”
“Wait, that’s a thing? Then I’ll have the same—ugh, no, hang on. It says charcoal-roasted coffee float.”
“Huh? Oh… you’re right. My bad.”
“They’d probably be like, ‘Sorry, we don’t serve carbonated coffee here,’” someone said.
We all cracked up and went ahead and ordered.
After our drinks were served, a while had passed when Takako noticed my wrist.
“Soto—what happened there?”
“Hm? Oh, this?” I looked down. There was a brown bruise on my wrist.
“Got splashed with oil while I was cooking.”
“Ahh, I see.”
It happens sometimes.
“Soto, you’re basically a housewife.”
“Soto, what’s for dinner today?”
“Today? Oden. I’ve already been simmering it since yesterday, so I just need to heat up the mixed rice.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Same thing. I’ll just add a few ingredients.”
“Wow, lazy cooking.”
“Hey, it’s exam season. Quick and easy is best, right?”
“So you’re eating oden all the way until exams are over?”
“Not that bad. I’ll switch it up—curry, fried rice loaded with stuff. There’s a lot you can do with lazy meals.”
“Wow, that’s rough.”
Shion looked at me like she was half impressed, half exhausted.
“You really cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, huh?”
“Yeah, but if you rotate things properly, it’s not that bad. Just change it up every couple of weeks and it feels different enough.”
“You ever make taimeshi-takikomi gohan or anything like that?”
“Taimeshi-Takikomi gohan? Sometimes. I get cravings for it. I mean, I am from Ehime.”
“You even cook stuff that complicated?”
“Not often. But it’s nice when you do. If you add a bit of mandarin orange as a secret ingredient, it smells really good.”
Asuka tilted her head.
“So, Soto, you basically do all the housework?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Ehh?”
All three of them reacted at once.
Well, it’s not like there’s anyone else to do it.
“But your dad helps out, right?” Takako said.
At school, I told everyone my dad lived at home. It was partly for safety reasons.
“He’s usually away for work. Business trips and stuff,” I said vaguely.
“What about your brother?”
“My brother? He handles things like baths and cleaning the window screens.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, if he tries to help too much, it just creates more work for me. And I don’t really want to eat anything that looks like it came from another world.”
“Soto, that was kind of harsh.”
“Well, yeah. Hey, listen to this.”
The other day, it started raining, so he brought the laundry in for me—which was nice—but then he folded everything in this completely weird way. I had to redo it all, and it was such a hassle.
“Seriously, don’t do unnecessary things!” Takako jumped in.
“What did you even say to him?”
“I still said thanks, of course. I mean, it’d be rude not to.”
“So you were sighing while re-folding everything?”
“Yep.”
“And he was probably just sitting there like he finished a big job, scrolling his phone or reading or something?”
Takako hit the nail on the head, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“Men are all like that, huh,” she said.
“And I really don’t like it when he mess with your underwear,” Shion added.
“Yeah, I’m not really bothered by that,” I said.
“Really?”
“He doesn’t say or do anything weird. Honestly, he just doesn’t seem that interested.”
“Ohh…”
All three of them nodded in unison.
“Yeah, I kinda get it. He’s probably just into completely different things.”
Asuka spoke up again.
“Does your brother actually wake up properly in the morning?”
“Not unless I go wake him up.”
“Ehh? So Soto’s the one waking him up every day?”
“Well… lately, yeah. Pretty much every morning.”
“So what, you’re like, ‘Morning~ wake up~’?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Takako burst out laughing.
“So you’re basically his mom!”
“Trueee,” the others laughed.
Takako leaned her cheek on her hand.
“Soto, isn’t it kind of weird? You doing all the housework like that? In this day and age?”
I sipped my juice through a straw and looked at her.
“It’s not just a girl’s job, you know. And if he doesn’t learn to do things properly, he’s just going to struggle later in life.”
“Still, I’d pass. A guy who doesn’t do anything for himself? No thanks.”
“But still,” Shion cut in.
“Soto’s brother is seriously good-looking, right? I think I could forgive it if it’s him.”
“Shion, you’re too soft. Looks don’t last forever. Once you actually live together, it’s everyday life. You start noticing all the annoying parts. Before you know it, you’re like, ‘just stop already,’” Takako said.
Hey, Takako, aren’t you skipping straight to marriage? Shion’s just talking about a boyfriend.
Shion turned to me.
“Soto, what about you? Do you ever think, like, ‘just stop already’?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… not really, I guess.”
“You don’t?”
“I’ve kind of gotten used to it.”
“That’s exactly how you end up raising a guy who thinks women will just do everything for him,” Takako said.
“And the woman who ends up marrying your brother is gonna have a hard time. She’ll be compared to a sister who does everything for him.”
“Compared to… me?”
Asuka spoke up.
“Hey, does your brother have a girlfriend?”
“No way,” Takako said immediately.
“I mean, he goes to school with Soto every morning, right? If he had a girlfriend, there’s no way he could get away with that.”
“Yeah, true.”
“Still, sometimes there are guys like that… who actually have a girlfriend, but their super clingy little sister gets in the way.”
“Really?” Asuka looked at me.
What’s with this conversation? And what does she mean, clingy? Is it wrong for siblings to go to school together?
I took a loud sip through my straw.
“Hey, Soto… are you mad?”
“I’m not mad!”
Takako grinned.
“Finals are coming up anyway. We should probably head home soon.”
We left the café. By the time we stepped out of the shopping arcade, it was already dark outside.
Shion and Takako headed for the suburban train from the city station. Asuka took the JR line.
I walked with them to the station, then got on the streetcar bound for Dōgo Onsen.
Once I sat down, I found myself thinking.
I wonder if my brother has someone he likes.
I was pretty sure he didn’t have a girlfriend.
But there was something else that had been bothering me.
Ever since he started high school, my brother had changed.
Sometimes he’d look like he was thinking about something serious, almost distant. Other times, he just seemed completely out of it, like his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Was it because Grandma passed away?
Or because high school just didn’t suit him?
I’d wondered that before, but… it didn’t feel quite right.
Could it be… love?
No… that didn’t seem right either. Maybe. But still.
Then what kind of girl does he like?
If he ever brought a girlfriend home, what would I even say?
“Maybe he does have one. It’s just that his clingy little sister gets in the way.”
Takako’s words suddenly came back to me.
Sorry for always hanging around your precious boyfriend.
…Would I have to apologize like that?
No, no, no. We’re family. There’s nothing weird about us being together.
And anyway, I’m the one who makes all his meals.
Besides, no matter what anyone says, I’ve known him way longer than any girlfriend ever would.
I let my imagination run that far—and then couldn’t help laughing.
“I sound like a jealous in-law…”
When I got home, my brother was already back.
“Sorry, sorry—you must be hungry. I’ll get dinner ready right away.”
“Take your time. Want me to help with anything?”
That’s sweet of him. But it’s just reheating today, so I’m good.
“Hey, um…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you…?”
Have someone you like?
The words almost came out—but I stopped myself.
“Are you all set for finals?”
“Finals? What, Sotoko, are you worried or something?”
“Me? No, not really. I don’t care that much.”
“If there’s anything you don’t get, I can go over it with you later.”
“Oh? Thanks. ”
That’s actually kind of funny. Well… maybe I’ll take you up on it for once.
Just as dinner was ready, my phone buzzed. It was Shion.
“Carbonated coffee float.”
She’d tried mixing instant coffee with sparkling water.
…Apparently, it was questionable.
I watched the video—brown, fizzy liquid in a glass—and laughed.
What are you even doing? That bored?
I snapped a photo of the oden and sent it back. Replies started coming in right away.
“Lazy meal, but it looks sooo good.”
“I wanna eat that.”
“Come over and cook for us!”
Maybe I should invite everyone over sometime. Have a little home party.
…Though my brother probably wouldn’t like that.
A bunch of girls in the house would be way too loud for him.
