The Lie and What Follows

On the Monday after school, when I realized that my usual strategy of being a loner wouldn’t work for the upcoming school trip, I was having a conversation with Ninomiya-san that seemed to interfere with my after-school activities.

…It may sound like I was being inconvenienced by Ninomiya-san, but the reality was different. Ninomiya-san felt sorry for me being alone and invited me to her group. It was entirely my fault.

I have no problem with being alone, but the timing often makes it seem like a crime to be so.

After safely returning home, I change out of my uniform into casual clothes and start with my routine cleaning. Since it’s difficult to clean the entire 3LDK layout in a day, I prioritize common areas like the living room and rotate the cleaning of other parts. My sister Haruka doesn’t have time for chores, so I usually take care of the house.

In reality, her student council work seems quite busy, and she generally comes home after 7 p.m.

Despite her tall stature, which often leads people to misjudge her, Haruka is still a 15-year-old high school freshman. She serves as the vice-president of the student council, but it would be cruel to expect her to handle household matters as well.

We each do our part. I’ll support her in areas she can’t reach.

After completing the cleaning, I start preparing dinner. I manage our kitchen so that dinner is ready by the time Haruka returns. I check my phone and see that it’s 7:16 p.m. There’s still no contact from Haruka, so it seems like today will be a late day. After preparing the ingredients, I sit on the sofa and wait for her message.

While watching my favorite anime site on the TV in the living room, I hear the sound of the front door opening.

Huh? I haven’t received any messages yet, have I?

“I’m home!”

Haruka returns in high spirits.

“Welcome back. I was surprised because you didn’t contact me. I’ll make dinner now.”

“Sorry, I had to stop by somewhere and was in a hurry.”

I don’t mind if she’s late or busy due to her responsibilities as student council vice-president, but we usually exchange messages in advance according to our house rules. That she didn’t do so means she must have been extremely busy.

Haruka is already in her first year of high school, so it’s not impossible that she had to see a male student. I feel a haze forming in my heart, thinking that Haruka also has her youth to experience.

“Alright, go change. I’ll prepare dinner right away.”

“Okay!”

I send Haruka off awkwardly, imagining the possibility that she might have met with a male student, and proceed to cook while she’s in her room. Today’s menu includes pork ginger stir-fry and shredded cabbage, with leftover simmered dishes from yesterday and miso soup. The rice isn’t freshly cooked, but it’s ready. All that’s left is to wait for Haruka.

Girls take a long time to change, so I resume watching my favorite anime. The anime, which starts with the narration “This story is…”, is a slice-of-life series about three sisters. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched it. While I can relate a lot to the eldest sister, she was a former gang leader, so there’s no way I could compete with her. The only area where I win is that my adorable sister Haruka surpasses her.

After dinner, Haruka goes to take a bath while I do the dishes. Normally, she takes her time in the bath while I have already bathed. However, the electricity in the living room suddenly goes out.

“Is it a power outage?” I call out to Haruka, worried because she’s in the bath.

“Haruka! Are you okay?” …No reply. I quickly move from the kitchen to the bathroom, but before I can open the door to the corridor, it opens from the other side.

“Happy Birthday to you!”

“Uh?”

“Happy Birthday to you!”

“Uh, um.”

“Happy Birthday dear Tooru!”

“Happy Birthday to you! Congratulations!”

“Uh, what?” I look at Haruka, unable to comprehend the situation.

“Tooru, happy 18th birthday. I knew you’d forget, so I bought a surprise cake.”

Haruka smiles, satisfied that her prank was successful. …Really. She’s definitely the cutest sister.

“Thank you. I really forgot. Thank you so much!”

I was so touched by Haruka’s surprise that I couldn’t hold back my tears.

“Tooru, why are you crying?” Haruka panics at my genuine tears.

“Uh, thank you. Really, thank you.” We only have each other as family. There was a time when Haruka went astray, and I would cook her dinner and wait for her to come home.

“Just a year or two ago, Haruka would do such things, but now she even remembers my birthday and prepares such surprises.”

“Tooru, stop it, you’ll make me cry too!”

Holding back her own tears, Haruka hugs me tightly.

“Tooru, I’ll protect you for the rest of my life.” As I surrender to sleep, Haruka’s sweet voice resonates in my ears.