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"Wah!"
Klaus got up from his bed with a scream, followed by Aoi's momentary shriek.
It was already morning. Curious as to why Klaus didn't come down from his room, Aoi had taken the initiative to wake him up herself. She placed her hand over her chest and breathed a long sigh.
Again, her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Why are you in your school uniform?" asked Klaus.
"It's already seven forty. If you don't get up now, we'll be late for school."
"Eek! Wake me up sooner!" Klaus sprinted towards the bathroom and did his morning routine as fast as he could. He skipped breakfast so that Aoi wouldn't have to wait for him any longer.
"You had quite a pleasant dream," said Aoi as they walked together to school.
"Is that a joke? We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break."
"A quote by Marquise de Sevigne? Again, your follow up doesn't correlate at all. Don't pull out random quotes like that."
"It's not random!" Klaus puffed his chest. "You should be lucky that you have a family of your own. I always want to know what it feels like to have a complete family."
"...Am I not a part of your family?"
"You're a good friend."
"We've known each other for a long time," said Aoi, her voice raised slightly.
Klaus pondered for a moment. "A family doesn't have to be related by blood. But those who are related by blood have that special connection. Their bond will never be severed."
"...You're an idiot. Talking about families and all this nonsense. What's so great about having a family anyway?"
Creases formed on Aoi's forehead as she furrowed her eyebrows. She was furious.
Aoi ignored Klaus as they went to their classroom. After these two had taken their seat, the morning bell echoed throughout the school compound. Ah, the first lesson was science, wasn't it?
"Hey... sorry, Aoi," Klaus muttered to his best friend in the seat in front of him.
"..."
"I'll tell you about my dream during the lunch break. How about it? Spoiler alert, I was trapped in a library."
"...Tell me more about it during the lunch break."
Aoi's response brought a smile on Klaus's face. He always knew when he had hurt his best friend's feelings.
As promised, during lunch break, Klaus explained in detail to Aoi about his dream. They had placed their yakisoba bread on Klaus's desk as they faced each other. It was worth noting that Klaus's explanation at first seemed unrealistic, but it was a dream, so Aoi quickly brushed that thought off her mind.
"Anyway, have you found a clue as to who had sent the letter?"
"Now that you're mentioning it... I don't have any!"
Aoi expected this much. Though, they could just ignore the letter as they went about their daily life. Quite frankly, Klaus was beginning to forget about it before the girl reminded him.
During the afternoon school session, their female homeroom teacher brought up about the clubs' participation deadline. The students' involvement is a must, with no exception to status nor health. Simply put, participating in club activities were mandatory.
"Hey, you still haven't joined a club yet?"
A male student sitting next to Klaus asked him this question. He had quite a muscular physique, of which, when combined with his tall stature and spiky hair, made him appear quite intimidating.
He had that natural delinquent look going for him.
"...Ah, you don't know me, yeah? Well, the school just started a few weeks ago, but still, you should remember my name by now. I'm Nishihara Ryota. Just call me Ryo."
"N-nice to meet you, Ryo. I'm Klaus Weber. Just call me Klaus."
"Aha, a foreigner! Anyway, how about you join the basketball club? You look like you need some exercise."
That was quite blunt of him. Klaus didn't pay to much attention to that remark. He had no intention to join a club anytime soon. Back in middle school, he was club-less. There was no need to change that habit now.
"Don't think, just join!"
The corner of Klaus's mouth twitched when Ryo pulled his chair close to him. Personal space! Have you heard about it!?
He repeatedly refused the guy's invitation until the next lesson started. At one point, he'd thought that Ryo would pester him after school, but he immediately left for his basketball club.
"He's quite energetic," commented Klaus as he grabbed his schoolbag.
"Kind of like you, but he's more demanding," added Aoi.
"Speaking of demanding, hey, let's go find that blond girl."
Aoi frowned at such a request. Why would he want to find the girl? Was it love at first sight? Was she that pretty?
Thinking about the reason why Klaus wanted to do it irritated her.
"I have to go to my club," said Aoi.
"Since when you joined a club?"
"Just now."
"..."
Klaus shrugged and left the classroom. Perhaps Aoi had to tend to something but wanted to keep it a secret from him. Knowing her, it was most likely the case.
The Yokoyama Ichi Middle School.
His head poked out from behind the school gate warily, since someone acting like him would often earn suspicious stares from the other students. A ponytailed dark-haired girl walked past him with her friend, and he could hear her soft voice.
"Hey, is he waiting for his girlfriend?"
"Nah, I think he's waiting for his sister. And that sister doesn't want to see him waiting for her, but he ignored her advice."
"That makes sense!"
A few other students also commented on Klaus's presence. Waiting any longer would perturb him so much he wouldn't be able to endure it. And so, he decided to give it a few more minutes.
"Why are you here?"
A ponytailed blond girl stood before Klaus, with a few female students standing by her side. Looking at her again, that sense of deja vu struck him once more, and he couldn't help but think he knew her. Of course, he asked this, but the blond girl denied it.
"...What makes you say that?'
Klaus let out a stifled laugh. "I feel like I know you or something. Weird, isn't it?"
"Too bad, I've never met you. You're an eyesore. Go away before I call the teachers."
Realizing that him being there would cause an unwanted incident, Klaus walked away, glancing back and forth between the path he was walking and the blond girl.
For a moment, he saw someone else in the girl's place, a somewhat younger version of herself that resembled his younger sister Freda. He stopped walking the next second.
"Freda?" Klaus muttered with his eyes opened wide.
Hearing this name, the blond girl stiffened and briskly walked away from the scene, her friends following closely behind.
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The Yokoyama Ichi Academy.
Usually, the school's rooftop would be desolate in the late evening after the school session had ended. Right then, a male student was looking down at the school compound from the metal railings.
A gentle wind brushed against him.
Crows cawed in the background.
"...Hm?" He raised his eyebrows when he sensed someone's presence and immediately turned around to face her.
"What did you do in your club?" Klaus asked calmly.
"...Hey, are you okay?"
Aoi's grip on her schoolbag tightened as she stepped closer to him. There was no way this guy could fool her. For better or worse, she could tell something was bothering her childhood friend.
After all, Klaus always wears his emotions on his sleeve in front of her.
"I recalled that tragic accident that took away my dad, mom, and Freda away from me. That girl we've met the day before? She looked like Freda."
"Freda...?" Aoi breathed a sigh at this. "Are you sure it wasn't your imagination? She could be her doppelganger."
"Yeah, I thought the same as well."
"Then?"
"But I feel like I've known her throughout my life. Look, Aoi, I wouldn't feel that way with a doppelganger of hers, right? It felt like I was looking at Freda herself back then."
After a few moments of silence, Klaus let out an awkward laugh. "She even acted like she didn't know me, but when I mentioned Freda in front of her, her expression froze."
"...You're confused. What are you trying to say? That your sister is still alive?"
Klaus rubbed his temples and bit his lip. "Forget about what I said. I feel like I'm talking nonsense. Sorry, Aoi. Let's go back home."
The entire night, Klaus was unable to sleep. He rolled in his bed, drank a glass of milk, and read books trying to tire himself.
"Ugh... Sleep, you fool."
He had no school tomorrow, but that didn't mean he could afford to sacrifice his precious sleep. There was no mistaking it. It was that Freda-look-alike girl's fault! How dare she resembled her so much?!
The way she acted made him feel more confused. It was as if she knew who Klaus was referring to when he mentioned Freda. Why was that? His memories might be vague, but her friends called her a different name. So why she winced when he heard of it?
"...."
As he thought more about this nonsense, he felt asleep by 3:00 a.m.