Chiba City, Cherry Academy, First-Year Faculty Office.
"Teacher, I'm here."
Hearing the voice, the first-year Class 2 homeroom and Japanese teacher, Mina-sensei, looked up and smiled at the black-haired girl approaching with a stack of assignments.
"You can just leave them here."
She turned her chair slightly, gesturing for Aragaki Ayase to place them on the desk.
"Yes, teacher."
Ayase smiled and nodded, carefully placing the class's Japanese homework in the empty spot.
Just then, Mina-sensei added,
"Kashima-sensei told me about your science quiz results last time. You did very well."
"Thank you for the praise, teacher." Hearing the compliment, the still-young girl's eyes curved into happy crescents.
Seeing this, Mina-sensei couldn't help but tease,
"Who would've thought? Every time Miyahito-kun took monthly exams, he was always at the bottom in science."
"But his own sister has taken first place in the grade several times, and her humanities scores are excellent too."
Hearing the teachers banter about her brother's dark history, Kashima-sensei, who had also taught Miyahito physics, chimed in helplessly,
"Tell me about it. I always thought Miyahito-kun had a personal grudge against me as a science teacher."
"Perfect scores in humanities, dead last in science."
Listening to the teachers roast her brother's academic history one after another, Ayase couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.
How could she not? Every time her brother took a test, he barely passed science while soaring in humanities.
It was only natural for the science teachers who taught him back then—and now taught his sister—to complain.
Noticing the girl's giggling, Mina-sensei, who had been Miyahito's Japanese teacher and homeroom teacher for three years, shrugged and put on a helpless expression.
"See? Because of your brother's extremely abnormal subject imbalance, I've been blamed by Kashima-sensei more than once."
"Hehe, teacher..." Finally bursting into laughter, Ayase defended her brother between giggles. "Actually, it's not like he's doing it on purpose. He's really just bad at science."
As siblings who grew up together, Ayase knew perfectly well about her brother's severe subject bias.
Looking at Ayase, Mina-sensei couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"This sibling pair really are both exceptional."
As the older brother, Aragaki Miyahito had a bright, sunny personality, was humble, and got along famously with teachers and classmates, earning him the title of Cherry Academy's "star student."
As the younger sister, Aragaki Ayase was top of her class, kind, and left an equally great impression on everyone.
She'd heard the Aragaki parents: the father was a House of Representatives member, and the mother was the PTA president.
Perhaps this was what they called "upbringing from a prestigious family."
Hmm, I'll have Mrs. Aragaki give a speech on parenting at the weekend PTA meeting.
"If there's nothing else, teacher, I'll head back to class."
"Mhm, go ahead."
...
On the way back from the faculty office, many classmates and upperclassmen greeted Ayase, and she smiled and responded to each one.
Even after returning to her classroom, she had to keep smiling at her enthusiastic peers.
Her face about to go stiff from smiling, Ayase collapsed onto her desk with a heavy, exhausted sigh.
"Haa..."
So tired. My face is completely stiff.
Just then.
"Welcome back, superstar."
"Stop teasing me, Kirino-chan." Looking up, Ayase pouted adorably and looked aggrieved at her grinning friend, Kousaka Kirino.
"My face is literally frozen."
"Not my fault." Her smile carrying a hint of playful schadenfreude, Kirino sat down at her desk in the row ahead.
"You can blame your brother. Who told him to also be a student at Cherry Academy?"
"Kirino-chan..." Stretching out the name in a whiny tone, Ayase remembered that her brother wasn't coming home again this month, and her expression suddenly turned gloomy.
Noticing the shift, Kirino asked curiously,
"What's wrong? Why the sudden sad face, Ayase-chan?"
"Nothing."
Shaking her head slightly, the straightforward girl accidentally voiced her thoughts.
"Big brother isn't coming home this weekend either."
"Oh?" Kirino's expression turned surprised as she pressed on. "Didn't you guys agree on coming home once a month?"
"Yeah."
Ayase nodded aggrievedly.
"But he said finals are coming up, so he's planning to wait until summer break."
"Then why are you so upset?" Kirino said helplessly. He's not never coming back, just a little later... Is it really worth being this disappointed?
As Ayase's close friend, Kirino knew full well that she was an absolute bro-con.
(Well, with such an amazing brother, if it were me, Kousaka Kirino, I'd be a bro-con too.)
Ahem... getting off track.
"Don't be sad, Ayase."
"Come on, it's already mid-June. Summer break is just over a week away."
Catching the perfunctory tone in her friend's voice, Ayase stared at Kirino calmly until the other girl felt awkward and stopped talking.
Then, Ayase suddenly declared,
"I've decided! After school today, I'm going to see Big Brother!"
"Ah, sure." Kirino nodded instinctively, but less than a second later, realizing what Ayase said, her jaw dropped into an 'O' shape. "After school to Tokyo? By yourself?"
"Do you even know how to get to Tokyo alone?"
"Mhm!" Ayase nodded firmly, then seriously pulled out her phone to look up subway routes from Chiba to Toshima Ward, Tokyo.
Seeing Ayase's determined look, and knowing her stubborn streak, Kirino's mouth twitched.
Fine. In this state, no one but her brother could talk Ayase out of it.
Finally, sighing helplessly, Kirino honestly started helping her friend plan the route to Tokyo.
However.
"Ayase, I'll go with you to Tokyo when the time comes."
"Really? But Uncle and Auntie will worry about you."
"It's fine. I'll just call my parents."
As for whether Ayase's brother would be terrified seeing his sister suddenly appear in front of him in Tokyo...
Hmm... that's not her problem, Kousaka Kirino's.
It's not like she encouraged Ayase to run to Tokyo alone. She was just accompanying her friend to find her brother.
Speaking of which.
"Ayase, will your parents actually let you go to Tokyo alone?"
Hearing this, Ayase's movements suddenly froze.
Then, under Kirino's increasingly suspicious gaze, Ayase quietly averted her eyes, her voice dripping with guilt.
"N-no, it's fine."
"Once I find Big Brother, I'll just have him call Mom and Dad for me."
Shocked!
Didn't expect you to be like this, Ayase.
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