Shibuya district, 2001.
A young girl with her backpack is running along a hollow path with all her might. She takes a right turn sharply and keeps running. Soon she emerges from between two tall buildings and comes face to face with the main road.
The city is buzzing with so many cars and people around. The girl looks to her right and there's a look of disbelief on her face. She then looks left and a grin forms on her face when she sees her sister.
"Big sister! I got here first," the young girl says cheerfully. The elder sister is a young reserved lady in her late teens. She carries herself with grace and elegance.
"Yui! How many times have I told you not to run? It could be dangerous," she says coolly.
"Eh!" Yui exclaims brutally. "If you didn't run, then how did you get here so soon? The path you took is quite longer than the shortcut I discovered."
The young lady's eye twitches in anger. She recalls how she had changed her shoes to the roller skates she brought along with her. She was only able to get to their meeting point to time because of the skates. Of course she had paused to change back to her shoes and to calm her breathing down.
"You are just too slow," she says and gives her younger sister a smirk.
Yui folds her arms and turns her face away from her sister.
"Now, now, there's no need for all this," Fusae, Yui's elder sister says as she rubs her sister's head tenderly. "Mama and Papa would soon be back from their trip. We need to hurry home."
Yui becomes cheerful once again. "I want to eat Mama's Miso soup and Wakame," she says dreamily.
"Of course!" Fusae gives her a heartwarming smile.
They arrive at their house much later. The weather is changing gradually and it looks like it's going to rain soon. Yui removes her shoes and plops herself on the sofa. Fusae goes indoors and soon re-emerges in a comfy one-piece dress.
"Yui! Go and change your clothes so I can wash your uniforms," Fusae orders. She is met with Yui's soft snores as she walks to the sofa. Fusae smiles lightly and squats next to her. She caresses her cheek gently.
"She couldn't even wait until they got home." Fusae chuckles and rises to her feet. "Well, I guess I'll be the only one tidying the house." She packs her hair into a bun and rolls her sleeves.
Fusae glances at the wall clock. It was getting darker by the minute and her parents weren't home yet. An unexpected sound of thunder caused her shiver a little. She looks over to Yui who was still asleep. She had already placed a blanket over her to prevent her from catching cold.
The ringing tone of the telephone catches her attention. She goes over to it and picks it.
"Nakano mansion, this is Fusae Nakano speaking. How may I help you?"
Fusae freezes as she listens to what the caller has to say. After a moment, she pulls the telephone away from her ear and places her free hand against her mouth. She lowers herself to the floor and tears begin to flow from her eyes uncontrollably.
Six years later...
Yui sits across her school counselor and her sister's closest friend in the counseling office. She stares idly at the name plaque that read Takara Kobayashi.
"Oii! Yui! You aren't listening to me," Takara calls out to her.
Yui sighs. She digs her chin into her interlocked fingers while her elbows rest on the table.
"Sister Takara, are you not tired of this? Just put in a good word for me like you always have. I know the principal would overlook it," Yui says sweetly.
Takara closes the file on her table. "Unfortunately Yui, I can no longer condole your behaviour and -"
Yui cuts in. "What? Wait till elder sister hears about this."
Takara manages a smile. "Fusae is already aware. And she's the one who proposed that the school should expel you."
Yui's jaw drops instantly.
"However, we aren't going to do that. Your punishment is that you won't be allowed to write your finals so no university for you this year," Takara says.
Yui rises to her feet and slams her fist on the table. "I hate her! I hate her," she says and her voice begins to break. She catches Takara looking at her sympathetically and immediately turns her back to her so Takara won't see the tears in her eyes.
"Yui! Yui dear," Takara calls out to her. "You should have known that bullying would get you no where. Hikari's parents are part of the school's management board. You should have seen this coming when you picked on their Hikari."
Yui says nothing and walks towards the door.
"I know you are a good person inside and you are probably doing this to get Fusae's attention," Takara says. Yui fists her hands as she tries to hide the fact that Takara's words have an effect on her.
"But you know, Yui," Yui stills when Takara's hand lands on her shoulder. "I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but if you want to get revenge on her for ignoring you and leaving you to yourself, then you should strive to be independent of her."
Yui shakes off Takara's hand and rushes out of the room. She goes to her class and is welcomed by cold stares from her peers. She snatches her bag and runs off with a storm brewing inside her heart.
After running for a long time, she starts to get tired so she begins to walk. Different thoughts run continuously through her head. "Ever since mother and father died, she wouldn't even look at me. She shut herself in completely and she wouldn't even spend time with me. No matter what I do, she doesn't care. Maybe, just maybe if I'm not here anymore, would she start to care?"