Isolation.
I was sitting alone, reading through a novel in the empty classroom. It was several hours after the end of class, and no one hung around. It was nice. The only sound was the methodic ticking of the clock at the front of the class. The lights were still on, but the ambient sunlight was starting to die down, coating the class in a subtle greyish tint.
The door slid open.
"Ah, so this is what you do in the afternoon, Ayato."
I looked up at the girl.
"What is it, Hasegawa?"
She made her way over to me. Hopping up onto the ledge at the back of the room, she pushed aside some stationery that was previously occupying the space.
"You know, I got a pretty threatening message from your sister~."
"So what do you want from me."
"Aha, nothing specifically, I guess. Would you have any hard feelings if I did some things to her?"
I closed my book.
"I don't really care."
Hasegawa suddenly hopped down.
"Hold on, have you even seen your sister since leaving the project?"
"No. I haven't."
"Isn't that sad? She's at this school too, you know? Don't you want to see her?"
I got out of the seat. The screech of the chair echoed through the room.
"Not particularly."
"Aw, even you should care about something like that. Don't worry. She'll be here soon~."
She'll be here?
I guess I was somewhat curious about what she was like.
...
? ───────────────── ?
***
I was packing away my book when I heard someone else enter the room.
She still had the long, dark hair that I remember from when we used to live together. Despite the fact that I hadn't seen her in such a long time, it didn't seem as if she had changed much. Maybe the truth was that I never knew her well enough to understand her intricacies.
We made eye contact, and she suddenly froze.
"Ayato..."
My sister uttered nothing but my name. The same name she always called me.
"How are you going, Sayaka."
There was a moment of silence as Sayaka stood at the doorway.
Hasegawa began to laugh.
"It seems that you weren't expecting to see Ayato here~."
...
My sister made her way over to me.
"I guess this is how we meet again. I would've preferred to see you a little later. I still haven't finished my preparations yet."
She had a solemn tone.
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say.
"Sorry, Ayato. I want to talk with you about everything, but I can't do that just yet."
Walking past me, she stood in front of Hasegawa.
"Oh? You don't want to have your family reunion?"
"I'll have plenty for that when you're expelled from the school."
She looked back over at me before leaving the class.
...
Just like that. I met my sister again for the first time in ten years. I guess she had things that she was hiding from me. It didn't matter that much to me. I'd eventually find out.
"Aw, I was expecting a much more heartfelt reunion~."
It was about what I expected.
"What was the point of that."
"You know, I'd feel bad if I got your sister expelled without her ever seeing you again."
I began making my way out of the class.
"I assume you have a plan to do so then."
She giggled.
"Not only me. She has one to get me expelled. One of us is going to go, Ayato~. Which one of us would you prefer?"
I walked through the hall.
"It doesn't matter to me."
? ───────────────── ?
Later that night, whilst Kimura and I were resting on our beds, a notification came through our phones. Ever since the end of the midterm exams, most students have been able to live a relatively comfortable life, enjoying what liberties the school provided. Some were still struggling with points, but most had managed to adapt to the school's ways.
Well, the school wasn't one to let students be void of stress.
-
Lottery Special Exam
~
This special exam will test your decision-making ability, especially under circumstances where luck is involved. The exam will begin tomorrow morning; everyone must be seated in class by the time it commences.
All students will start with three lives at the beginning of the exam. During the exams, every student must spin five different lottery wheels. You will be shown them one by one, and you have a total of two skips.
After the five lottery wheels are spun, you will have to participate in a small game, using whatever you gained from the lottery wheels.
If at any point your number of lives reaches zero, you will have to pay 100,000 points or expulsion.
-
Further details will be given after the initial five spins have been completed.
-
"It's that time again, Mizuhara. This sounds pretty interesting, although they're hiding much more information in this brief."
"It seems so."
Kimura leaned back.
"I assume you're going to cruise through this exam as well, isn't that right?"
"What makes you say that?"
He laughed a little.
"You seem to be hiding something. No normal student would be able to stand up to all the school's challenges with such a relaxed demeanour."
"I just seem that way."
"Haha, are you sure you only seem that way?"
...
A few moments passed, and Kimura went to sleep.
The meeting with my sister today made me notice that my memory of that time seemed uncharacteristically foggy. I never forgot things after seeing them, yet it still seems that I don't fully remember what happened back then.
I assume that the Ideal Human Project did more than just take me in. It was possible that they engaged in genetic engineering or other scientific methods, although that would undermine Tachibana Kohei's principle—so the likelihood is low.
For Hasegawa to have been previously acquainted with my sister, it was likely that my sister also had some part to play in the entire project, although I have no recollection of ever seeing her there
There are probably many things that were hidden from me from that time.
...
*****
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