During summer break, aside from those who love going out, most people prefer hiding at home with the air conditioning blowing away the heat.
"Ugh… it's so hot."
Of course, not every home has air conditioning.
Shirogane Miyuki sprawled across the living room floor. Even in a thin tank top, he felt unbearably stuffy.
Their financial situation couldn't afford an air conditioner. The unit itself was expensive, and none of them wanted to deal with the power bill and maintenance.
"What's Shinomiya… doing now?"
Two weeks of summer break had already passed. Every day, Shirogane just lay at home, doing nothing.
The part-time job Rinji helped arrange wouldn't start for another two weeks, so he was stuck waiting.
He'd thought about asking Shinomiya Kaguya out—summer was boring, after all—but every time he typed halfway through a message, he'd delete it before sending.
He was torn.
If he sent something like, [Summer's so boring. Want to go out and hang?], there was a high chance Kaguya would reply with, [So eager to go on a date with me? How adorable.]
Just imagining that gave him goosebumps.
"Ahhh!! If only Shinomiya would make the first move, then I could invite her out naturally!!" Shirogane clutched his head and shouted.
What he didn't know… was that Kaguya was thinking the exact same thing.
"Shut up already!!"
His door was kicked open. Kei stormed out of her room.
This heat was already enough to make people irritable, and with Shirogane shouting every other minute, she finally snapped.
"Oh, hey Kei."
Shirogane sighed at his sister's annoyed look.
"Aren't you going out with your friends or something this summer?"
"Moeha's family went abroad." Kei crossed her arms. "Why are you always lying around the house like a dead fish yelling your head off?"
"You sure don't pull punches… Well, I don't have anything to do this summer either. That job Rinji set up for me doesn't start for another two weeks."
"Even your job had to be arranged by Rinji-nii? How pathetic can you get?"
"I just want a high-paying job so I can help support the family. Rent alone is already tough with inflation."
"Then…"
Kei thought for a moment. "Why not just ask Rinji-nii to come over if you're so bored?"
"Forget it. He probably has stuff going on."
He didn't.
"And don't always rely on Rinji. Don't you think you're depending on him too much? Kei, you need to learn to be independent—"
"…You're lecturing me again."
Kei's rebellious streak was in full swing.
"I'm doing it for your own good."
"Shut up!"
Kei cut him off and pulled out her phone.
"Fine, I'll just go to Rinji-nii's myself!"
"…You're going to Rinji's?"
"What? You got a problem with that too?"
"No… nothing wrong with that."
Normally, a brother would be very opposed to his little sister going to a guy's house alone. Who knows what might happen?
But since it was Takamine Rinji…
Shirogane wasn't really worried. He trusted Rinji not to do anything sketchy. Actually, he was more concerned that his rebellious sister might be the one to cause trouble.
"If you're going, then go. Just be polite, don't leave a bad impression, and remember it's not your house, so act respectfully—"
"Please stop micromanaging. At least Rinji-nii isn't this annoying."
"…"
Faced with her scornful look, Shirogane chose to shut up.
…
Suddenly, he sprang up from the living room floor, ran into his room, threw on his school uniform, and grabbed his bike key.
As he went downstairs, Kei was already at the door putting on her shoes.
"Going out, big bro?"
"Yeah. Gonna go buy groceries."
"In your school uniform?"
"Mm… and swing by the student council room."
"That's not on the way. School's two hours round trip by bike. You'll be soaked in sweat."
"I don't care!"
With that, Shirogane jumped on his bike and rode off into the distance.
"Wait!"
Kei shouted, but he was already too far to hear her.
"Tch. I was gonna give you a ride too."
A few minutes later, a car pulled up beside her.
The window rolled down to reveal a kind-looking middle-aged man.
"Excuse me, are you Kei Shirogane?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Takamine asked me to pick you up. Please, get in."
"Alright."
Rinji lived not far from Shuchiin, still in the Minato district. It would still take an hour by bike, so he'd arranged a car to pick Kei up.
After checking the license plate, Kei got in the backseat.
She'd originally wanted to give her brother a lift, since they're in the same direction, but that clearly wasn't happening now.
"Thank you for the ride, sir," she said to the driver.
"It's no trouble at all," the driver replied with a smile.
---
Ding-dong~
"Coming."
Takamine Rinji got up from the couch and opened the door.
Standing outside was Kei, dressed in a sleeveless tank top and denim shorts, looking a little shy.
"Rinji-nii… sorry to intrude."
"Not at all. You're very welcome." Rinji smiled warmly.
He invited her into the living room, where the coffee table was covered in snacks and beautifully arranged fruit platters—clearly prepared in advance.
"You're also the first girl to ever visit my place," Rinji said, scratching the back of his head with a grin. "Wasn't really sure what to do, so I just threw together some stuff. Oh right—the apple pie in the oven should be done soon. Help yourself to the TV remote."
With that, he ran into the kitchen.
"I'm… the first girl to come to Rinji-nii's house?"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Kei's face.