Meet my denial

—Hello, hello, Kinari?

—Yeah, Anzu?

—Can you meet me in front of the school in an hour?

—Yeah, I'll be there.

Another day I won't be able to rest.

I sigh, and hang up.

I wait in front of the gate, and notice her coming in the distance. She approaches me little by little. My eyes stare at her white dress on which she has drawn a ribbon. Her scarf is the same colour as her cheekbones.

The reincarnation of Menma… Or maybe a mix between her and Princess Kaguya? I don't know. Seriously, with Inoue's chest, she could be adapted in an eroge.

She comes in front of me, tilts her face, with a smile on her face.

Damn, this is the very definition of cute, for sure!

—Sorry for my delay, you haven't been waiting too long, Kinari?

I remain speechless, immobilised by her charm.

She turns on herself, looks at me, and adds shyly.

—Am I to your liking?

How many heart attacks will I have this year?

—You look great, Anzu.

I breath a deep.

I was close to overdoing it.

She thanks me sensually, then we join Maeda, Yamaguchi and Inoue. The five of us unfortunately got closer during our school trip.

After we all met again, we were heading to the bulletin board, where the selfies of our journey are hung.

Photo number 64 is the first one Anzu and I took at Chiba Shrine, the religious temple. The sixty-five is the one of the aquarium. The last one, number sixty-six, is the one in the amusement park.

Inoue approaches me and asks curiously.

—Which picture did you choose, Yazaki-kun?

—One of you, Maeda, Yamaguchi and the ones we took with Anzu.

—I see, I took a selfie of my partner and one of you.

She took a picture of me, but not of Yamaguchi and Maeda? Aren't they her friends? I don't understand anything anymore, this girl is as mysterious as the Cave written by Hajime Isayama.

What exactly does she want from me? It frightens me.

Suddenly, my phone rings.

Masuko? What does she want?

—Hello, hello Kinari, are you at school?

—Yeah, why?

—Come to the front gate! I'm home!

Don't be so excited, it's stupid to be motivated by something so trivial, right?

I hang up and tell my friends.

—I'm going to join Masuko, don't wait for me.

Yeah, don't wait for me.

I watch her, a book in her hand, sitting next to a cherry tree in bloom. Shorts, a tank top, and a straw hat, on which she had drawn a pink ribbon. It was a sign of vacation.

A real little tourist, this girl.

I approach her with apprehension. She noticed me and greeted me.

—Sorry to disturb you, Kinari.

—It's okay, did you want something, Masuko?

—Yes… I wanted to know if you … were planning something during the holidays?

It's called vacation… Besides, it's the only time of the year I can use my apartment as an exit bunker…

My manga bring me my manga.

Lying to him would surely be a mistake, Kinari tells me seriously.

You're probably not wrong.

I can kiss my shōjos goodbye already…

—Nah, I don't have anything planned, why?

—Do you mind if we spend the vacations together?

Cut off by my travelling companions who arrived, she couldn't finish her sentence.

They save my life! So Chizu was right, friends were really important.

—Wouldn't you to hide things? What were you talking about?' Yamaguchi asked, sounding like Shinichi Kudo.

—Vacations,' she stammers shyly.

—I see you wanted us to do something together?' asks Maeda, stroking her chin.

Masuko seems a little confused.

—Yes, I want to invite Kinari to my cottage.

—Oh, so if Yamazaki-kun goes, I'm going too!

What's going on here? You and I have never been this close.

—I wouldn't leave Maeda-kun alone, I'm coming too,' exclaimed his friend happily.

—We want to come too!' the girls exclaimed, frowning.

That's too much. Goodbye to my manga dreams. Forgive me, I will come back stronger.

—Do you mind if we all come, Masuko?

—No, no, it's okay,' she answered, rolling her eyes, 'I have a big enough cottage, but I only have three rooms and there are six of us.

—We'll manage there, don't worry, Maeda offers, trying to reassure the group.

—Meet me at the station in five hours, then, she mumbles.

What an ordeal.

At the end of our meeting, I go home to pack my suitcase, but also to tell Chizu that I'm leaving.

Here I am back, my sanctuary.

I cross my sister who asks for me.

—Big Brother, can you bring me to the shopping centre during your vacations?

Do not add Chizu, it is already difficult enough, for him, confides in a corner of my head, Kinari otaku.

—Sorry Chizu, I'm going on vacation with my classmates.

—You have friends, Big Brother?

—Ca-ma-ra-des, I said!

She lay down, her face five centimetres from the ground.

—I want to go, I want to meet your friends, big brother. Please, she repeats several times.

I think we're one person away,' Kinari sighed in jest.

—Hello, hello, Masuko?

—Yes, Kinari?

—I told Chizu I was going on vacation with you and she begged me to let her come with me. So I wanted to know if you don't mind if she comes along.

— Chizu? No, no problem, she is as adorable as you, your little sister!

Adorable, you say…

—Thanks, Masuko, see you later.

—My pleasure, Kinari.

I turn to Chizu, give her a thumbs up, then tell her Masuko's agreement.

How many of us are going to be on this vacation…

After having prepared myself, I close our suitcases then we leave in the direction of the station to join our comrades.

Is it so far that the station? I am exhausted.

The two boys, Maeda and Yamaguchi approach me by singing.

— Yamazaki-kun the stud, Yamazaki-kun the stud.

I glance at my side and notice Chizu hiding behind me.

I'm going to kill them, yells in a corner of my head, Kinari annoyed while taking out two khukuris.

I really have a weird personality. He laugh.

Let's clear up this misunderstanding.

I introduce Yamazaki Chizu, my sister, to everyone.

Masuko grabs her hands.

—Welcome to us, Chizu!

Yamaguchi and Maeda apologise and greet my sister. As for Inoue, she approaches Chizu and shows herself with gaiety.

—Nice to meet you, Chizu, I am a friend of your elder brother.

I turn to my sister and explain to her.

—You already know Anzu and Masuko. I introduce you Yamaguchi and Maeda, they are the two boys who shared my room during my school trip. She,' I said, pointing at the heroine of the eroge, 'is Inoue, a classmate.

—She is beautiful Inoue-senpai, my sister murmured shyly.

She even leaves a mark of her charm on the girls, what a pest.

Inoue looks up and mumbles.

—Classmate, classmate… I still slept on your big brother.

And it was fun…

Everyone laughs, except Anzu, Masuko and me, who look away.

The train arrives, we board it, and head for Futtsu, a city located between Yokohama and Chiba prefecture. Chizu asked me a thousand questions about my classmates, but Inoue saved me when she tried to converse with her.

— Chizu! I hope we'll get along well!

—Me too, Inoue-senpai!

—Call me, Aneko!

—Okay, Aneko!

—I was afraid that you were an otaku like your brother…

My sister laughs out loud.

I hear you, eh.

We arrive safely in Futtsu. Masuko, our guide, leads us to her cottage. During the journey, our president and Anzu surround me and get closer and closer to me, physically speaking.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Inoue stayed at the back chatting with Chizu.

—Wow! It's gigantic here!' exclaimed Anzu.

It is incredible? Huge? Magnificent? How many times can we fit my apartment in there?

We put our suitcases in the living room and then Maeda asks us.

—To sleep, how do we do?

—In terms of rooms, on the first floor, there is the living room, the kitchen, a bathtub and a toilet, on the first floor there are three bedrooms, explains Masuko.

—This is our room,' shouted the two boys, pointing at one of the doors.

—If you want, I'll sleep on the sofa, my sister will go with Inoue, and you with Anzu?

—You girls don't mind?

—No, no.

They all put their suitcases in their rooms, while I lay down on the cushions.

Yamaguchi and Maeda finish first and then go down to join me, followed by the girls.

Once all gathered, Chizu prepares my favourite dish: the rice with curry.

What a sweet smell, it's irresistible…

When everything was ready, we ate together, and I had to endure their stories of their previous vacations.

What an ordeal, seriously, who cares if you went to Hawaii.

After dinner, everyone goes back to their rooms to go to bed. I do the same thing, but me… I sleep on the couch.

I would have preferred a futon…

In the middle of the night, I hear the sound of creaking stairs. These creeks wake me up. I slowly open my eyelids and see a figure coming down…

Menma: Main character wearing a long white dress. (Anohana)

Princess Kaguya: Character of a famous Japanese tale.

Cave of Hajime Isayama: Secret of the work Shingeki no Kyojin.

Shinichi Kudo : The main character of the work Detective Conan.