Chapter 27

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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 27: Cross-Dressing Boy Becomes Depressed

“Ah, that giant girl over there is my daughter, Kisaragi.”

“…‥‥‥‥‥‥… Huh?”

With that shocking statement, I could only stand there in a daze―――blinking in disbelief.

While I was still trying to process this, Haruki Ginjou turned her face towards me, placing her hand on her ample chest, and smiled warmly.

“You’re Kaede Kisaragi, the new actress student I met in the hallway yesterday, right?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right, Ginjou-senpai.”

“You remembered my name! That makes me so happy! ―――Oh, that’s right! Kaede-san! Why didn’t you message me on Rain yesterday!? I was waiting all night for your message! I gave you my contact information, didn’t I?”

“E-Eh!?”

Now that she mentioned it, I do recall this girl handing me a slip of paper with her contact details yesterday.

Could it be that she wasn’t just being polite and really expected me to contact her…?

As I tilted my head in confusion, noticing Ginjou-senpai’s cute little pout, Kyoichiro spoke up from the side.

“Be careful, Kisaragi. She’s a girl by gender, but inside, she’s practically a guy. Haruki have only been interested in women for romance, men aren’t even on her radar. If you let your guard down, you’ll find yourself being taken home and devoured in no time. Hahahaha!”

“Dad, could you not say things that might cause misunderstandings? I don’t just like any woman. I like girls with beautiful faces.”

“Dad…?”

Wait, how on earth is this tall girl, Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s daughter?

I was always under the impression that my sister, Rurika, and I were my damn father’s only biological children.

But a daughter…?

Obviously, I’ve never heard anything about him remarrying.

If Kyoichiro had remarried, it would have been all over the gossip columns and every TV station in Japan would be talking about it.

Therefore, it’s unlikely that she’s his stepdaughter.

If so, who on earth is she…? Who was she…?

“By the way, I overheard something on my way here… You and Kaede-san are going out to eat, right? If so, maybe I’ll tag along. That’s okay, right?”

“You… usually find meal outings too much of a hassle. You’re just interested in Kisaragi, aren’t you?”

“Who knows?”

“Please don’t start something with one of my students. It would be really awkward for me to continue as a teacher if my daughter and student got tangled up in a messy relationship.”

Ginjou-senpai narrowed her eyes at Kyoichiro’s words and snorted in amusement.

Kyoichiro scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking troubled.

I looked at the two of them getting along so well with each other with a somewhat cold feeling.

[…You abandoned me and Rurika, but you’re still a proper father to that mysterious girl? You bastard.]

When I was 10, my mother passed away from an illness.

A month later, that man told my sister and me, “You’ll be taken care of by the Hananomiya family from now on”, and then just left us.

I never had a particularly good impression of my father.

He rarely came home, and when he did, he subjected me to Spartan training (Strict Discipline) that I never expected for a child. Even as a child, I always wondered if there was something wrong with him.

But my mother never said anything bad about my father.

Whenever I badmouthed my dad, she would always say, “Your father is a difficult person, he’s not very straightforward. Even though he’s not at home, he’s always working hard for us in ways we can’t see.”

I believed her words back then, as a child.

I believed that my father really did love our family, just in ways that weren’t visible.

I didn’t like him, but I stubbornly held onto that belief.

But―――――I guess that was just a misunderstanding.

Seeing the father who abandoned us now doting on a girl I’ve never even heard of, I realized I had been wrong.

He barely paid any attention to Rurika as a daughter, yet he’s doting on this other girl. I couldn’t help but feel something close to hatred towards him.

“…Anyway, Kisaragi, my foolish daughter is going to come along too, but you don’t mind, right? Let’s head to a restaurant together―――――――”

“I’m sorry. I just remembered something urgent. …Excuse me.”

With those words, I bowed deeply and quietly left the practice room.

I could hear Kyoichiro and Ginjou-senpai’s voices, sounding shaken, from behind me――but I didn’t look back.

The only family I have left to love in this world is Rurika.

Even if you love someone, or care about them, they’ll just betray you eventually.

Even if you feel affection, they’ll disappear from your life one day, just like my father did.

Or they’ll die, like my mother.

So, it’s better to have fewer people you care about.

Being alone makes you stronger.

That’s why, on the day my mother died―――I decided to stop loving others.

No matter what happens to Karen, Honoka, or Akane, I honestly don’t care.

The only thing that matters is that Rurika and I find happiness. That’s all――――――.

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Leaving the training building and heading towards the school, I found Honoka standing near the entrance to the connecting corridor.

She was probably waiting for me to come out of the practice room.

When she saw me, she waved and ran over, smiling.

“Oh, Onee-sama――――――”

But as soon as she saw my face, her expression immediately shifted to one of shock.

“Eh… O-Onee-sama… right? D-Did something happen?”

“Happen…? What do you mean, Honoka-san?”

“You look so angry. Are you… okay?”

“Angry? Me?”

I glanced at the hallway window.

Reflected there was my usual face―――expressionless, with my eyes half-open.

My emotions rarely show on my face.

So why did Honoka think I was angry?

Turning back to her, I tilted my head and spoke.

“Do I really look like I’m angry right now?”

“Yes… you do…”

“I see…”

I’ve always been good at controlling my facial expressions and emotions, a skill I developed as a child actor, but… could it be that my feelings were leaking through so much that even Honoka noticed?

I let out a short sigh and shook my head from side to side.

Then, I quietly walked past Honoka and started heading towards the connecting corridor.

She followed behind me in silence.

“….”

“….”

As we walked through the corridor, gazing out at the courtyard, the rain started to fall, lightly at first.

I opened my palm and looked at the raindrops with an expressionless face.

“――――――This is troublesome. I forgot to bring an umbrella.”

“….”

“Well, maybe it’s fine to walk home in the rain sometimes. I’m in that kind of mood today anyway…”

“O-Onee-sama!!”

I turned around at the sound of Honoka’s loud voice and looked at her.

She had a troubled expression on her face, her body trembling as she spoke.

“T-Today, um, well, I-I was thinking…”

After stumbling over her words, she seemed to make up her mind and looked straight at me, her eyes wide as she opened her mouth.

“T-Today, would you like to stay over at my house, Onee-sama!!?”

“Eh…?”

“I’m too stupid to know what happened after you left the practice room!! But, but… It hurts me to see you looking so pained… So, so… Honoka wants to repay you for this morning!! I want to do my best to cook some food for you to feel better!! What do you think!?”

Seeing Honoka’s face turn bright red as she pleaded with me, I couldn’t help but smile.