So of course, I'd told Maru about my situation.
"My new family is… Well, to sum it up, they're different from what I
expected."
"So I hear you have a sister now, huh? You're a big brother, you lucky
dog."
"Don't say it like you're cursing me. Well…I mean, she's technically
my little sister, but…"
"What, can't get excited if you're not blood-related?"
"I can't look at my sister that way, whether she's blood-related or a
stepsibling. Besides," I added, conjuring Ayase's face in my mind, "she's
more of a woman than a little sister."
"That sounds pretty perverted, if you ask me."
"That's the only way to describe her. I honestly don't know how to
interact with her."
"Hmm, I see. A woman, huh? Well, they say grade-schoolers mature
early these days."
"Grade-schoolers? What are you talking about?"
"We're talking about your sister, right?"
Maru blinked like he wanted to ask me what I was saying.
But wasn't that my line?
…No, wait a minute. Dad had told me I would have a younger sister,
and I'd taken it for granted that she would be much younger than me,
maybe still in elementary school or junior high. That was why it'd seemed
perfectly natural when he'd shown me a picture of her from when she was
little.
It would be perfectly natural for Maru to think the same thing.
"Hold on a second. First of all, my sister is—"
I stopped midsentence.
As it happened, my sister wasn't in elementary school. She was a high
school student in the same grade at the same school as us. I didn't know
which class she was in, but she was pretty… If I told Maru that, I'd make
him curious. He might even start getting suspicious.
Maru was my best friend; I could probably trust him. But I couldn't
break the promise I'd made with Ayase. Trust was paramount, and I
wasn't a guy who blabbed.
"What about your sister?" Maru asked.
"My sister… Oh, she wasn't what I expected. She's completely
different from the type you see in anime and manga."
"Of course she is. Have you finally lost touch with reality?"
"Don't say 'finally.' It makes it sound like I've been on the precipice
for a while now."
"It's true, though, isn't it?"
"Just because something's true doesn't mean you should say it."
"But that's how I roll."
I knew that.
Maru and I had been friends for more than a year, and I knew his
commentary could be razor-sharp and ruthless.
"Anyway," I said, "for the record, I don't find her the least bit exciting.
It's actually pretty nerve-racking trying to figure out how to interact with
her and how much distance to put between us."
"I can imagine."
"By the way, changing the subject completely…do you happen to
know a student named Saki Ayase?"
"Huh? I've heard of her, but where did that come from?"
Maru furrowed his thick brows. He had no idea this was simply a
continuation of the previous topic.
Guys on sports teams had big networks. I wouldn't be surprised if a
girl—particularly one as pretty as Ayase—had come up in conversation,
though I'd never heard rumors myself, since I wasn't interested in such
topics. Maru, on the other hand, had once complained to me that he was
fed up with hearing stories about girls he wasn't interested in.
"Saki Ayase, huh?" he said. "Hmm…of all people, why her?"
"Oh, um, I don't know. She's quite good-looking, right?"
"Forget it."
"Huh?!"
"I'm saying this as your friend. I don't recommend her at all."
"Wait. What're you talking about?"
"I know it isn't cool to meddle in someone else's love life, but…"
"I don't recall talking to you about my love life."
I panicked, realizing Maru had assumed I was talking about a crush and
was steamrolling ahead with that assumption.
"You weren't?" he asked. "I thought you'd fallen in love with Ayase."
"No way—I couldn't. A lousy guy like me would be a poor match for
a pretty girl like her."
I envisioned the beautiful girl with her gorgeous blond hair, followed
by my own dull face that had looked back at me from the mirror that morning. I sighed.
Maru eyed me suspiciously, like he wanted to ask what the heck I was
talking about, and slowly shook his head.
"You've got it the wrong way around," he said. "It would be bad for
your reputation if you started dating her."
"…Ha-ha. Are you trying to be funny?"
"I'm not joking."
"Then what are you saying? You must have a pretty inflated idea of
how cool I am if you think I'm too good for her."
"She is a babe…but, well, I've heard a lot of bad rumors about her."
Talk about beating around the bush.
"I don't like saying things about people I don't know well," he
continued, "but it's a different story if my best friend might be in love with
her. They say ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power."
"Will you tell me more about those rumors?"
Maru was still under the impression that I had the hots for Ayase, but if
I corrected him, I'd have to explain that she was my stepsister. I didn't
want the hassle of being interrogated, so I thought, what the heck? I'd just
go along with it.
Maru looked around, then quietly moved closer. He spoke in a solemn,
low voice.
"People say Ayase's…selling."
"…Huh?"
"She dyes her hair blond, has pierced ears, and keeps people away with
her sour look. She's a bad girl, an outcast at a prep school like ours, and
she doesn't get along with her class. People have seen her leaving
Shibuya's entertainment district and the area where all the cheap hotels
are."
"Hmm. So that's what people are saying about her?"
I acknowledged what Maru had said, neither affirming nor denying it.
Unsurprisingly, her appearance made people think she was a
stereotypical bad girl. From our few conversations, that wasn't my
impression of her, but I didn't know her well enough to trust her
unconditionally.
"Maru, it seems unusual for you to believe stuff like that. You're
normally wary of rumors."
"A guy on the baseball team confessed to her."
"Huh? Aren't people scared of her?"
To be continued in the next chapter