chapter 4

Hinata~! If youve finished tidying up over there, can you give me a hand over here~?

Hinata. Thats my name, given to me by my second mother after I reincarnated.

Okay, okay just wait a bit.

I put off organizing the reference books and walk towards the room where the voice came from. There, I see my mother buried in a large heap of clothes. Ouh, what is she doing?

What are you doing, Mom?

I accidentally kicked away the cardboard box where we kept our clothes, and I ended up like this. Can you help me?

What can I do with you

Hinata, youre so kind~ Thats my girl~

Sure, sure. Just move aside.

I gather up the clothes that are scattered about, then I fold them carefully before storing them in the dresser one by one. While Im folding the summer clothes, I spot one T-s.h.i.+rt with a cute character ill.u.s.tration from an anime that I know. Although, Ive never seen this s.h.i.+rt before.

Mom, is this yours?

Oh my. I had bought that for you, but it went missing before I could give it to you.

Ah! Speaking of which, you told me you wanted a new clothes, right, Saki? Ill give this one to you.

I dont want that embarra.s.sing s.h.i.+rt.

I show the clothes to Saki, my younger sister, but she openly refuses it with a frown on her face.

Then, should Mom wear it instead?

Dont.

My mother has a catastrophic fas.h.i.+on sense. Thats why we buy our own clothes instead of asking her. There was a time when I asked her to buy me a s.h.i.+rt, and she picked an aloha s.h.i.+rt or something. Looking at my mother who is wearing a bright, seven-colored underwear makes me sigh in secret.

Oh, right. Hinata, there was a phone call earlier. Apparently, your uniform will arrive tomorrow. Can you retrieve it yourself?

So, my uniforms ready.

And Sakis uniform, too, while youre at it.

Roger.

This spring, Saki will be sitting in her second year of middle school, while I will become a sparkling new first year high schooler. After various deliberations, I took the entrance examination to the high school where I had enrolled before.

Since I already have the knowledge to reach the university level, it doesnt really matter which school I pick. But in the end, I decided on that school because it is close to home. I have mixed feelings about attending the same school again, but it is hard for me to give up on the charm of being able to sleep in until the last minute. Although, I didnt think that I would have to attend school again all the way from the beginning. It somewhat feels as if I am repeating my grades.

Im gonna have a new school life when spring break is over, huh~ I think I feel a bit anxious.

I dont feel that way because I am going to attend as a new student. But unlike me, my sister will be there as a transfer student. It might be a bit difficult to join the already existing cla.s.s groups.

Youll be fine, Saki! Youre cute, so youre going to be super popular!

No way. I just wanna be normal.

Saki has always been popular with both boys and girls, after all. Thats my girl!

Okay, okay. Help me tidy up these clothes, Mom. And Saki, if youre free

Oops, I havent finished tidying up my things, so Im gonna pa.s.s!

Before I could finish talking, Saki returns to her own room.

She got away.

Sheesh, my sister sure is good at running away.

Say, say, Hinata. Look, does it suit me? Do I look s.e.xy?

When I turn to look, I see my mother twisting and turning, wearing my middle schools sailor uniform.

Take. It. Off. Now!!

Eeeh~ I still look super s.e.xy in it, right~?

How about you place your hand on your chest and recall your own age?!

37 yup, I think I still have more than enough to spare.

Thats surely more than enough to go way past the boundary.

My mother jests, and I rebuketidying the place takes longer than I thought, but weve finally done.

Bfwoh!!

Kyaah! Thats so dirty!

I woke up in the morning, and I found milk lying on the table. I was drinking it when I saw my mother wearing the embarra.s.sing s.h.i.+rt that I discovered yesterday. I ended up spouting the liquid in my mouth in reflex.

Hinata, sheesh~ youre spilling the white stuff on the floor.

Can you stop using such a weird phrasing the first thing in the morning?! And take off that s.h.i.+rt now! Ill use it to wipe the floor with.

T-take it off, you say Arent you so bold this morning

Stop blus.h.i.+ng! And stop taking off the lower part of your clothes! Why do you always take things to that direction?!

My, this is a bonding between mother and daughter, you know?

She must be mistaking the word bonding with something else entirely! Oh Mother, instead of interacting as parent and child, I think youll end up building a forbidden relations.h.i.+p between us!

Gee~ Both of you are so loud

Rubbing her eyes, my sister appears while looking displeased.

Sorry.

Im hungry, I wanna eat breakfast already.

She makes a loud clattering sound as she sits, then she taps on table with her index finger, showing her displeasure.

Itll be done soon. Wait just a bit, okay?

My mother fl.u.s.ters as she returns to the kitchen, whilst I take a seat in front of Saki. I open up a newspaper lying on the table, and I roughly scan through the business column. I spot the word [recession] written several times in the newspaper. It makes me worry if I will be able to get a job in a few years to come. I hope the outlook will pick up a bit by then. Recession is bad.

Onee-chan, its rare for you to be up so early like this.

Im a real sleepyhead, so I am often late to school. On holidays, it is normal for me to stay in bed until past noon. She must be finding it strange for such an undisciplined elder sister like me to be awake so early in the morning.

I couldnt sleep well yesterday. Im not used to sleeping in my new room yet.

Hmm~

Im a delicate person, you see.

Keep your sleep talking for when youre asleep.

Ah, youre so cruel. Although I may not look like it, Im actually a frail maiden who gets hurt easily

Is that so? Anyway, gimme the newspaper, I wanna see the entertainment column.

Saki has activated her ignore skill I feel hurt.

Here you go.

I close the newspaper that I spread open before pa.s.sing it to Saki. Then she spreads it up on the big table. she is looking at the newspaper like shes going to devour it. I take a look myself; There is a famous singer and an actress who are getting a divorce, written in big texts. As someone ignorant with fads, I dont get it at all.

We are reading the newspaper together, and after a short while, my mother brings our breakfast. We stop reading the newspaper and start eating our meal. I nibble on the well-toasted bread that is spread with strawberry jam.

Our neighbor came to say h.e.l.lo last night.

My mother suddenly started a conversation, so I temporarily put the toast I am eating back to the plate, and I drink some milk.

When? Anyway, what kind of person was it?

Were going to be knowing each other from now on, so Im a little bit interested.

It was a cute girl, Hinata, the same age as you. She was polite with her words, and she acted so elegantly. Mom was surprised.

So much that I wanted Onee-chan to learn from her. But its just impossible.

Ah, I see. Saki was there, too.

I was free.

Shes living together with her mother. Although, her mother was away at work yesterday.

Hmm~

The same age as me huh. I nibble on the toast again, wondering about the girl next door from my mothers story. Should I go there to say h.e.l.lo if I have the time today?

It was a feast.

I clap my hands together and announce that I have finished my meal. Then, I take the now empty tableware towards the kitchen. Facing my mother and sister who are still eating their breakfast, I make a big yawn.

Okay then, good night.

Haah?! Are you going to sleep again, Onee-chan?!

Wait a second, Hinata. Are you going to sleep again when youre already awake? If you go to sleep right after you eat, youre going to turn into a whale, you know.

Isnt it supposed to be a cow?

I didnt sleep much yesterday, so Im sleepy. Fuaah, let me sleep till noon~

To the two who look like theyve given up on me, I swing my hand to and fro. I return to my room right away and I dive in my bed vigorously. Uuhm, the bed and pillow feel soft and fluffy.

There we go.

I change my position from lying face down to face up, and I dazedly look at the beautiful ceiling.

Fuaah

Due to lack of sleep, and perhaps because yesterdays fatigue from tidying up still remained, the sleepiness. .h.i.ts me soon enough. While feeling out of place from the unfamiliar smell of my new room, I slowly part with my consciousness.