Interlude 5
“Come on, Ryuuichi-kun is waiting! Hurry up, Onee-chan!”
Miharu stood outside my room, calling out to me.
“...Miharu. Are you... sure about today?” I asked.
“We’re both Ryuuichi-kun’s girlfriends now. So the very first date has to be all three of us, right?” she shot back, sounding almost annoyed.
The first day of winter break was supposed to be a date for Miharu and Ryuuichi. He’d invited her as an apology of sorts. And yet, for some reason, Miharu had suggested that he invite me too, and so the three of us ended up going together.
Since that night, Miharu had become much bolder. Before, she used to hold back or act considerately toward me, but now she didn't seem intimidated at all.
Actually, I was the one who was struggling to figure out how to act around her.
I’d always thought of Miharu as my past self. Because of that, everything she did was within my expectations. I didn't need to be careful, and I didn't feel guilty if I treated her a bit roughly. After all, I was just dealing with myself.
But the Miharu of now was completely different from the me I remembered. She was further ahead.
“I’m not just talking about today’s date. I mean the... overall situation...”
“I already made up my mind, so it’s fine,” she replied.
“...But, I mean...”
Would the me of the past have accepted Ryuuichi-kun having another girl as his girlfriend? No, absolutely not.
“Geez, you’re always overthinking things,” Miharu said with an exasperated sigh, looking at me. It was hard to tell which of us was actually the older sister. “Sure, it’s a little annoying. I’m a little angry, and a little sad. I have those feelings too, you know.”
“...”
“But... I can't deny that I’m also a little bit happy.”
“Happy?”
That was unexpected. Miharu’s cheeks turned a faint pink.
“I mean, we’re the most dissimilar twins in the world, and yet now we have something in common—we’re both Ryuuichi-kun’s girlfriend.”
“...”
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't find the words to respond.
“That doesn't mean I’ve given up, though! I’m not losing to you when it comes to Ryuuichi-kun. Don’t you forget that. Someday, I’m going to have him all to myself.”
Miharu turned away sharply to hide her blushing face. As her Onee-chan—and as "Asada Miharu"—I knew perfectly well that those were her true feelings.
“I see. Well, I love Ryuuichi-kun too.”
“Yeah, I know. Now come on, let’s go see him. Let’s go to the guy we both love.”
With her calling out to me like that, I finally resolved to go with her.
If a "restorative force of time" really did exist, perhaps a force to bind Ryuuichi-kun to the current Miharu would begin to act from here on out. If that was the correct history, then it was almost certain. As Asada Sayuki—someone who shouldn't even exist in this world—how much of a chance did I really have?
This romantic path would be a treacherous one. But I would fight with everything I had. I loved Ryuuichi-kun too much to give up.
Even if my opponent was my past self... no, because it was my past self, I refused to lose.
After all, I am Ryuuichi-kun’s girlfriend, too.
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