by Heretic God
Kusanagi Shizuka, fourteen years old, a third year middle school student. Coincidentally, she was one year younger than Godou.
Unlike Godou, she wasn't wearing a school uniform.
Both her hands held reusable shopping bags, and were filled with vegetables, milk, fish and other groceries. She probably got home earlier and changed, then went out to buy ingredients for dinner and only caught up with him.
"I already told you, I only went to a friend's house for a night… How many times do I have to repeat that?"
Ever since he returned from Italy on the Sunday, Godou had been repeating that same reply.
Beginning to feel somewhat bound by his response, he nevertheless answered with the same flimsy excuse.
… Although, it probably wasn't right to praise his own sister, it had to be said that Shizuka really had an extremely cute face.
But although she was the younger sister, she constantly used that aggravating manner on her brother; it felt more like a mother-son relationship, being constantly nagged; certainly, a most problematic existence for him.
"It's a friend, is it?... A friend… I see… oh…"
"If you've got something to say, say it. I don't like all this twisting and turning around."
Godou spoke while taking the shopping bags from Shizuka.
He didn't really think about it, but acted almost subconsciously in reaching out his hand. He was probably too well conditioned by his grandpa's own habits. Habits really are frightening.
But Shizuka still glared at her brother with suspicious eyes.
"So let me ask, this so called friend of yours, is it a boy or a girl?"
"…Of course it's a boy."
And now, would his big fat lie be taken as the truth?
Walking down the hallway next to Shizuka, Godou desperately tried to maintain a casual demeanor, but this sister of his merely glanced at him – coincidentally praying to any god he could think of right now – and dropped the next bombshell.
"Oh, I see. And on another topic, what is Erica-san like?"
"——————!?"
Godou gaped. 'How does Shizuka know that name!?' flashed in his mind.
"O, oh, you mean that Erica… yes, well, how should I put it——"
"I never mentioned it, but actually, after Onii-chan disappeared on Saturday, this girl called our house."
Her words were cold as ice, and her eyes looked like a hunter about to shoot her prey.
————————————
Last week, the phone rang in the Kusanagi house.
After Shizuka picked it up, the caller told her that her name was Erica, and formally introduced herself.
She said that because there was some pressing business which required her brother's help, she decided to request him to deal with it. She also said that it might take a few days, and there was no need to worry about anything…
————————————
"Her voice was so pleasant, I'm sure the person herself was also very pleasant to the eyes? Wouldn't you agree, Onii-chan? And how old is she? And let's make it clear now, please don't try to fool me by saying Erica is a guy now — that's just stupid."
Shizuka spoke frostily, cutting off his only escape route at the same time.
'That's why all these girls are so…!'
Godou couldn't help but curse Erica and his sister.
Erica deciding to phone his house was definitely due to some malicious reason. Most likely, she thought that causing an uproar in the Kusanagi household was an extremely funny thing to do.
But Godou would never have known that Shizuka was also a fan of this sort of thing…
'Forget Erica, my sister is also way too scary…'
So for these past few days, she already knew the truth of what he was doing. Yet she didn't confront him immediately about it, and even made him think he was safe by waiting a few days!
"It's because you did something which you couldn't tell anyone — that forced you to lie, right? I can't believe that Grandpa actually managed to guess what you were doing. I'm so disappointed… I never thought Onii-chan dared to do something like that."
"Wha, What's 'that' thing which Gramps talked about!?"
"Something along the lines of 'If a boy runs off to find a girl without telling anyone, there has to be something sneaky and underhanded going on. And on that note, I also had a period in my life like that…' and so on. I can't believe you, Onii-chan! I thought you were a better person than this! Why? An illicit love affair? A one-sided romance? Or could it be a forbidden relationship with an older, sensuous school teacher… whatever it is, it's got to be something like that, right!?"
Shizuka interrogated poor Godou, triumph in her eyes.
Godou was desperately shaking his head to deny it.
"I'm not Gramps! I'd never do anything risqué like that!"
"Hmph! You're Grandpa's only grandson, right? Even your faces look similar; perhaps you just suddenly realized a new part of your genetic makeup, and unlocked Grandpa's female interaction abilities. Something like that could really happen!"
"How does that even work! Gramps' affinity with the opposite sex doesn't even have anything to do with DNA. It's all about a person's personality, just because I'm his grandson doesn't mean you can lump the two of us together!"
'Why do I have to act out this stupid brother-sister argument in front of our house, right in the middle of a street lined with shops?'
All those gazes were piercing all over Godou's body.
Shizuka also grew embarrassed from the silence, and quickly lowered her voice.
"…So why would you lie to me then? If there is no immoral reason behind it, wouldn't it be better to just tell me the truth?"
"It's precisely because I was afraid things would get complicated like this that I did it. You could say that I became friends with that Erica because of my bad luck— and I did actually go visit her, but there were other friends as well. We definitely don't have any kind of immoral relationship… Do you believe me now?"
Godou rested a hand on his sister's head, and ruffled her hair to try and make her feel better.
Shizuka had a very troubled expression on her face, but she finally sighed and accepted it.
"It's not like I don't believe you… but you're not allowed to lie to me again, okay? Even if you try to trick me, I can tell you're lying just by your normal attitude and actions around the house, understand?"
"Alright, so let us just leave it as that, OK?"
Now that the matter was settled, Shizuka gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. If she had that sort of expression most of the time, Godou felt that he could brag that he had an honest and cute little sister.
Contemplating this, Godou smiled wryly.
"It's all because Onii-chan used to be part of the baseball team, and always came home really late — even on Saturdays, you'd be out training from morning to night. Don't you want to join a sports club in high school?"
"… I don't really feel like it right now, I think I'll relax and play around for a while longer."
Because the conversation suddenly shifted to a completely new topic, Godou was at loss as to how to make a cogent reply.
To tell the truth, he was very unsure as to how he should answer that question. He just wasn't sure if he could hide the truth well enough.
Obviously, it wasn't good enough. Shizuka concernedly gazed at her brother.
"Your shoulder… does it still hurt? Umm, even though someone who isn't athletic like me probably shouldn't say this, maybe you can still be a striker even with a hurt shoulder —— Oh, I said something hurtful… I'm sorry, Onii-chan."
Shizuka stopped halfway through her sentence.
'… No matter how I look at it, this girl really is my sister' – Godou unashamedly thought.
Although she looked as though she was a very tactful person, the moment something touchy came up she would say something insensitive – did she have to be like her brother even in little things li
ke this?
"Well, I can't deny you are a little bit too nosy. It's just that I don't feel right in the whole upper and under-classmen relationship that develops in the sport teams, so it doesn't matter if it's the baseball team or not, I don't feel like joining any of them."
Godou gently ruffled his sister's hair again.
Although Shizuka wasn't sure how much she heard was the truth, she simply nodded her head unhappily. Perhaps this sister really was just smarter than her brother; at least she knew when not to say anything unnecessary.
—— However, there was something else that even Shizuka hadn't realized.
That is, after becoming a Campione, the left shoulder, which could only weakly throw a baseball, had already healed and recovered its strength. Of course, it was all due to the incredible healing powers he had now obtained.
When Godou entered high school, he gave up baseball for this reason.
But the reason he didn't start the sport again was for a different reason. Because he now had a supernatural strength and endurance, it was simply a major breach of the sportsmen's ethics.
And the baseball team in his school was also the one which always lost badly in the first round of the inter-district championships.
Although he sometimes still envied his fellow baseball players who continued to chase after that small white ball, if Godou wanted to enter that pathetic team, he would probably not be allowed.
But when one compared that loss to his new chance at life, this little sacrifice was completely acceptable. At least, that was how Godou tried to see it.
Part 3
Godou and Shizuka reached home at around six in the evening.
Because it used to be a bookstore, the front door was a sliding glass door.
The house – a relic from before the Second World War – was a two story wooden building.
Although old, it had been renovated and extended three times, and it could be considered a comfortable home.
The siblings entered the house together, and their eager grandfather greeted them.
"Oh? It's rare for both of you to come home together, isn't it?"
Their grandfather, currently reading an old book from a shelf – Kusanagi Ichirou said.
As said before, this was until recently a bookstore, and so rows of bookshelves laden with old books and works that didn't manage to sell at the shop's last day of business still filled the room. As such, the attic was now crammed with many, many books.
But returning to the main point——
Their grandfather, standing inside what was once the old store, looked exactly the same as usual.
He was always dressed immaculately, both his speech and actions filled with confidence and steadiness. Despite being over seventy, he still exuded a strong sense of charisma; he was so much a refined gentleman it was spooky.
Godou's grandfather had taken care of him in place of his busy, working mother for as long as he could remember.
All the housework he did was careful and practised, and he would cook everyday.
If he just thought about it in that sense, there was no problem, but…
"Shizuka, could you possibly have drawn in your net, and trapped Godou so that he had to tell the truth? So, what was it?"
"Well, seems like it's more complicated than we thought. Onii-chan still insists that they are 'just friends', and so from today onwards I'll pay careful attention to see whether or not he's lying. We'll know the truth eventually."
"You two, please stop talking sneakily like that in front of me."
Someone who could grasp the whole conversation just by glancing at his grandson and granddaughter's expressions – that was his dangerous grandfather.
Someone who could openly say in conversation that she didn't trust her brother – that was his aggressive little sister.
And including his currently absent mother – and not forgetting his divorced father, now living far away – that made up the five members of Godou's family.
"But Shizuka, you shouldn't over do it either. I used to be just like him — a boy of Godou's age staying away from home for a number of days isn't that strange, so don't worry too much."
"Shizuka, don't listen to Gramps — I'm nothing like him! Remember when he was a student? He actually dared to build relationships with a widow and a geisha, and even slept over at their place – he didn't even go to school for two weeks. I would never do anything like that!"
Godou shouted out loud, while enduring his grandfather's sympathetic but understanding gaze.
Sadly, what he said was hardly believable.
"Where did you hear those rumours from? Let me tell you, when I was a student, I was very engaged with my studies. Shizuka, don't feel obliged to accept something so blatantly false."
His grandfather grinned, while glossing over Godou's accusation with a toss of his head.
Kusanagi Ichirou – in his youth, he was apparently a wanton and dissolute playboy.
And even at his current age, he was still able to project the same attitude. It must be an ingrained habit.
When Godou had heard about his grandfather's 'exploits', something immediately came to mind – 'I see, if he led such an amoral life in his youth, it's not surprising that he is now such an unrestrained old man.'
"Alright, since Shizuka has bought the ingredients, I'll start preparing dinner. Could both of you help me?"
Typical of his grandfather's suave attitude, he smoothly diverted the topic once again.
When it came to interpersonal relationships, you couldn't deny he was almost psychic about it.
And because Shizuka also knew this, she didn't bother nagging her grandfather – she knew the level of ability between them was just too great – and so in recompense, she was very hard on her brother.
'I wish I had just half of Gramps' attitude. Then I wouldn't lose to my sister and Erica…'
Sometimes, Godou was simply envious about the things he didn't have.
The table in the dining room was filled with that night's dinner.
Roasted rock cod, stewed octopus and radishes, and fresh salad with home made dressing, to be eaten with rice and miso soup. Certainly an accurate representation of a Japanese meal.
You could say that the chef who prepared their meals was something of a gourmand, and so his dishes were all well made.
Tasting some of his radish and celery miso soup – it was up to his usual standard. The smooth and tangy taste was just perfect.
"Eh? Grandpa, did you pickle these vegetables yourself?"
"How nostalgic — Gran always used to make it herself too."
Heaped onto a small dish were salt and rice bran carrot pickles.
The siblings both picked up their chopsticks, and tried a piece. It was, as they say, delicious.
As mentioned before, these weren't store bought pickles, and definitely looked home made. But they knew their grandfather was never very good at pickling.
"Ah, it was given to me by Mrs. Sakuraba, the lady who owns the liquor shop. It's tasty, isn't it?"
The old man didn't even bother to hide it.
But after hearing his words, both Godou and Shizuka looked at each other worriedly. It was inevitable now; from tomorrow onwards there would be a series of escalating battles between jealous women.
It has already been quite a few years since their grandmother died.
They weren't sure when it started, but for those ladies at the shopping district who wanted to become more intimate with a now single grandfather, all competed to send all sorts of things to him.
All of them were either housewives with their own families, or older grannies.
If they – that is, Mrs. Murakawa who owned the pancake shop, Mrs. Endou who sold toys down the road, Mrs. Yamanoi who owned the hardware store, and all the rest – found out that Mrs. Sakuraba had given them pickles, everyone of them would competitively send a dish they made themselves.
If one looked at it as having good neighbourly feelings, th
ere was nothing better than this.
But all those ladies always looked at their grandfather with emotional gazes. For the sake of peace in this shopping alley, both Godou and Shizuka prayed that their grandfather would control himself a little better…
However, there was no point in worrying about it now.
The siblings shook their heads and turned their eyes onto the bounteous meal in front of them, with a lightning speed of both chopsticks and mouths, each dish on the table was thus quickly finished.
Just as all the plates were cleaned, and everyone was preparing to clear the table…
The phone placed in the living room suddenly rang.
"I'll grab the phone ~~ Hello, this is the Kusanagi residence, may I ask who you're looking for?"
Shizuka looked at Godou and his grandfather, whose hands were full of soap and crockery, and then turned to answer the call.
"Ma, Mariya-senpai? Is there anything you need? Why would you specially take the time to call us…"
Seems like it was someone Shizuka knew.
She was still on the phone when Godou finished the washing and entered the dining room.
"Ye, Yes, He is home right now… But why would senpai be looking for Onii-chan? I thought you were in different classes? Ah, no, please don't say that! I, I understand. I'll make sure to tell him that. Yes, alright. Plea, Please have a delightful evening…"
'Please have a delightful evening?!' Godou began to feel very uneasy.
Since she mentioned 'onii-chan' earlier, they must have been talking about him. That was strange enough, but even more worrying was the formal good bye at the end. Just who was Shizuka talking to?
"… Onii-chan, please sit down there."
"But I'm sitting down already. Shizuka, what are you talking about?"
Godou asked his sister, who was pointing at the tatami mat in front of him.
Since he was already sitting cross legged, it was naturally he would ask this.
"I want you to get down and kneel properly! I'm going to ask you a question, and you'd better answer me truthfully —— Onii-chan, when did your relationship with Mariya-senpai become so close?"
"Huh?"
Shizuka – who, by the way, did force her brother to kneel – flung out a completely random question at him.
