The Phantom Pain
Why did she have to mess everything up with that introduction!?
The moment Ishita finished introducing herself, the entire classroom exploded into whispers.
Needless to say, I instantly became the center of attention.
With model-level cuteness and a few loose screws in her head, I muttered internally, dragging a heavy hand down my face. This girl really is my foster sister.
I hadn't seen her in five years.
Back when she first walked into the classroom, I thought she looked strangely similar to the Ishita I remembered—but I never imagined it was actually her. And I definitely never expected she would transfer into my high school just to follow me.
A crowd immediately surrounded my desk.
"What's with the whole marriage thing, Werewolf!?" one of the guys demanded.
"Like I know…" I sighed, exhausted already. "And my name is Abhimanyu, not Werewolf."
"Dude, your foster sister is way too cute!"
"Go tell her that instead of me…"
As I half-heartedly deflected their endless questions, a shadow suddenly fell over my desk. I looked up.
Ishita was leaning over, staring directly at me with sparkling eyes.
"…You seem pretty popular, Abhi."
"Yeah, well, that's mostly your fault."
"How!?"
"Still such an airhead…" I muttered. "No matter how you look at it, the root cause of this entire commotion is you."
"That's rude! I'm not an airhead!" She puffed her cheeks out in protest before seamlessly changing the subject. "Anyways, Abhi, show me around the school later!"
Before I could even formulate a refusal, she wrapped both of her hands around my forearm.
"No way. You stand out too much."
"…Nobody cares…"
"Look around," I whispered sharply, pulling my arm back. "The guy known as the 'Werewolf' walking around with the beautiful new transfer student? What do you think people will assume?"
She tilted her head, batting her eyelashes with exaggerated innocence. "Maybe… that we're dating~?"
"Like hell they will! And stop putting on that cute act!"
"I can't believe I lived long enough to hear you call me cute and beautiful…" she giggled, completely ignoring my frustration.
"Don't twist my words! And why is your voice getting louder!?"
Honestly, the exact moment she transferred in, my peaceful school life began to collapse.
By lunch break, the crowd hovering around Ishita had only multiplied.
"Did you have a boyfriend at your previous school, Ishita?" one of the girls asked, leaning in curiously.
"Nope," Ishita replied, flashing a bright, unwavering smile. "I only have eyes for Abhimanyu, after all."
"There she goes again…" I whispered to my desk, burying my face in my arms.
Then, another girl practically shoved her phone screen into Ishita's face. "Ishita, do you know this singer, L!?"
"Oh! I'm a huge fan of his!"
"…Oh?" Ishita leaned closer to the screen, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So you're a fan of L?"
"Yeah! There's even a rumor he lives somewhere around this area!"
The moment those words hit my ears, alarm bells deafened me. A cold sweat prickled the back of my neck. Not good.
I shot up from my chair, marched directly over to Ishita, and clamped my hand around her wrist.
"Ishita. I'll show you around the campus now. Follow me."
"Eh!? You're suddenly making the first move!?" she exclaimed dramatically, letting herself be dragged out of the classroom.
"Where do you want to go first?" I asked, completely ignoring her nonsense as we marched down the hallway.
"…Hehehe… Somewhere we can be alone…"
"Fine. Got it. Let's go right now."
As requested, I dragged her all the way to the back of the old school building.
Unlike the lively front courtyard, this area was quiet and almost eerie. Tall, ancient trees towered over the narrow pathway, their thick branches stretching over the cracked walls like giant, grasping claws. The afternoon sunlight barely managed to slip through the dense canopy, casting long, crawling shadows across the empty ground.
The wind rustled softly through the leaves. It looked exactly like the opening shot of a cheap horror movie. The abandoned atmosphere made the entire place feel utterly isolated from the rest of the world.
The moment I let go of her wrist and stopped walking, Ishita smiled mischievously.
"Pushing me against the wall already? You're coming on strong, Abhi…"
"What on earth are you trying to do, Ishita!?"
"…Huh? What do you mean?"
"Are you seriously here just to destroy my calm, peaceful high school life!?"
"Abhi…"
Without warning, she closed the distance between us and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.
"Huh!? D-Don't just hug me out of nowhere!"
"But I've wanted to see you for so, so, so long…" she mumbled into my chest.
"Don't give me that! More importantly, what if someone sees us here!?"
"It's perfectly natural for siblings to hug each other," she replied, looking up at me smugly. "And if someone asks, we'll just say we were overwhelmed with emotion after reuniting~"
She looked ridiculously proud of her airtight logic.
"It would still become a massive problem!"
"Reaaally? I don't think anyone would care."
"And who was the one who announced our future marriage during her self-introduction!?"
"Guilty~"
She finally released me, stepping back with a playful smile. But then, the teasing glint in her eyes faded, and her expression softened into something incredibly fragile.
"So, about that, Abhimanyu…"
"W-What!?"
She pressed both hands over her heart and looked directly, intensely, into my eyes.
"As a first step… please go out with me."
"Don't even think about it."
"Whhhhhyyyyyyyyy!?"
"I have my reasons."
Her gaze slowly drifted up, lingering on the jagged scar near my face.
"…Could it be because of the scar?"
"…"
"I don't mind it at all. I mean, you only got it because—"
"Ishita," I interrupted, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I don't want to talk about it."
I turned my back to her and took a step away.
But then—
"I love you!" she shouted to my back.
I froze.
"I love the Abhimanyu who gave everything to protect me! Enough that I want to spend the rest of my life with you…!"
My chest tightened, a familiar, suffocating weight pressing down on my lungs.
"I get it," I replied, refusing to turn around. "You even transferred schools for me, after all…"
I looked up. Dark, bruised clouds had quietly swallowed the afternoon sun. Rain looked ready to pour at any second.
A dull, throbbing ache began to spread deep through my right eye and seep into my bones. That strange, phantom pain always flared up whenever the weather turned ugly. Even now, five years later, I still didn't fully understand why.
"But it's impossible," I said quietly, the words tasting like ash. "I'm sorry… so just give up."
"Don't be like that!" Ishita cried out, her voice cracking with desperation.
But I forced my legs to move, walking forward into the gloom without looking back.
And just like that—
I ruthlessly rejected Ishita's confession.
And the reason for that was…