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Most people who knew Hanasato Minori would describe her as a cheerful girl who, despite her occasional clumsiness and self-proclaimed bad luck, always managed to stand back up again with a smile on her face.
She was training to be an idol.
She was a student in Class 1-A and quite close with both Azusawa Kohane and Hinomori Shiho, as well as others outside of her class.
She was a member of MORE MORE JUMP!, alongside Kiritani Haruka, Momoi Airi and Hinomori Shizuku.
All of these are true.
But so is this.
Hanasato Minori is a liar.
And she never actually existed.
In a family like Minori’s, there was a certain expectation upon them all. It was something that neither she or her siblings could escape, even as they strove ever more to do exactly that, in their own ways.
Minori and her siblings were all expected to give up at some point, no matter how much work they put into what they’d done.
Minori had complied with that expectation far too often as a child. She’d been so unlucky and truly terrible at everything she tried, she’d just…given up.
The first and fastest she’d ever given up on anything was art.
After all, when your father is Shinonome Shinei and he tells you that you could never be an artist, you tended to give up pretty fast. Minori was pretty certain her younger brother, Akito, had given up on art so quickly for the same reasons, finding a love for soccer instead.
The only one who hadn’t given up was her older sister, Ena.
Minori had been lost for so many years, watching as Ena drew and Akito played soccer, with no goal of her own in mind. She just…gave up, just as her father expected all of his children to do.
Then Minori saw Kiritani Haruka on TV and everything changed.
Minori cried out as a large weight suddenly jumped onto her bed, stealing her breath away. But she didn’t freak out, she knew this weight well. And so, Minori opened her eyes with a smile.
“Samo-chan!” she shouted, wrapping her arms around the Samoyed, who eagerly licked at her cheek. Minori only giggled in response. “Did you wait until now to wake me up? Good boy, staying here all night!”
There was a harsh knock at her bedroom door, drawing Minori’s attention even though she already knew who was behind it.
“Oi! Quit letting the beast slobber all over you and get up!” Akito barked before she heard his footsteps go from the second floor to the first, where he was no doubt making breakfast.
“Don’t listen to Akito, Samo-chan. You’re perfect, yes, you are,” Minori cooed, petting Samo-chan quite happily. She did have to get up though, so she couldn’t afford to waste time petting Samo-chan. It took way too long to get him off her bed for her to even consider it.
But once she was standing, Minori made quick work of getting ready for school, dressing in her uniform and fixing her hair. Before she left her room, she kissed the top of Samo-chan’s head. He’d have to stay in her room until Akito left, but that wasn’t so bad, not when he’d been so good about it the entire time he’s been here.
When she reached the kitchen, Minori was practically skipping.
“Morning…why are you always so cheery?” Akito groaned when he saw her. Minori only smiled at him.
“Good morning! I’m just excited for class and practice with Haruka-chan, Airi-chan and Shizuku-chan!” Minori beamed. She framed her cheeks with her hands. It still felt like a dream come true, working alongside three amazing idols like them.
“You’ve known Momoi-san since Ena was in junior high,” Akito deadpanned, tilting his head to the side like he thought Minori was an idiot.
He probably did, but being prickly was just how Akito showed his love, so Minori only smiled in the face of it.
“But now I can use her first name and she doesn’t have to pretend she doesn’t know me!” Minori declared as she sat down at the kitchen table across from her brother.
“Thank god you don’t go to school with me,” Akito groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“Huh?” Minori tilted her head. She was slightly confused, but she was also playing with Akito. His grumbling increased, only making her laugh.
Once she calmed down, Akito chanced a look up and Minori watched as his eyes trained on the stairs.
“Morning…” he said, perfectly grumpy as was his normal. Which meant-
“Morning,” Ena greeted the two of them as she came to stand beside the kitchen table. She looked tired, with the slightest of bags under her eyes and Minori was pretty sure those were the clothes she wore the day before. Which meant Ena had pulled another all-nighter.
Minori didn’t like when Ena pulled so many all-nighters, especially one after the other. But she couldn’t let Ena know that, so instead she smiled.
“Good morning, neechan!” Minori declared. Ena sent her a deadpan look that was so very like Akito’s. How Minori ended up being the only morning person amongst the three of them was beyond her.
“You stayed up all night again?” Akito asked bluntly. Unlike Minori, he had no such reservations about pushing Ena’s buttons.
“And what if I did? Just go to school already, will you?” Ena sighed, her eyes saying she was too tired to even bicker with Akito as she typically did.
“I doubt a night school student would know, but we still have plenty of time,” Akito countered.
“That’s true, and I still have to let Samo-chan out,” Minori noted, placing a finger to her chin. She could see Akito wince in the corner of her eye, but her comment made Ena smile slightly, so she didn’t mind using his fear against him.
“Not like I care when you two leave or anything.” Ena shook her head. She made her way to the kitchen and paused when she came across a flyer Minori had noticed earlier but hadn’t touched. “Huh? What’s this?”
“They’re art exhibit flyers for Dad. Mom wasn’t happy with how messy they were last night,” Minori explained. She really hoped they could all get through this series of exhibits with little issue, but…considering Shinonome Shinei, that was likely impossible.
“It’s never-ending with him,” Akito sighed, laying his head into his hand.
“I know, right? They just keep piling up, so I wish he’d stop bringing them home,” Ena grumbled. Her eyes cleared, however, when she picked up one of the flyers. “Wait…this piece is by that artist I like…Shibuya Art Contest…this person won last time.”
“Do you want to enter in the contest?”
All three siblings jumped when they heard that dreaded voice.
Shinonome Shinei stood at the base of the stairs, observing his children. Or rather, observing his oldest daughter. His gaze was blank as it always was, with no paternal pride or curiosity or any other emotion Minori might have expected from a father.
No, instead, Shinei was simply a blank white canvas with no paint ever being added. And it was that blankness that made Minori quietly scoot her chair across the table so she was closer to Akito.
And for all Akito’s grumbling about his older sisters, he didn’t say a word when Minori got closer for support. Instead, he leaned a bit closer, just enough that Minori could feel his warmth through the sleeves of both of their uniforms. It was reassuring and she so dearly wished she could offer it to Ena.
But Ena was the oldest, with almost a full year on Minori and several months on Akito. If she could help it, she never let them stand with her against Shinei.
“W-what’s it to you…? It’s my choice, isn’t it…?” Ena stuttered, breaking the front of irritation she otherwise wore so easily.
“Yes, it is.” Shinei nodded. “But this contest attracts artists that are as good as actuals professionals every year. So you don’t stand a chance.”
Minori bit her lip, reaching under the table for Akito’s hand. Her heart was breaking as surely as it did the first time she’d heard Shinei deliver those words to each of his children.
It was cruel.
“What…?! Oh, I get it. I’m too talentless or not worthy of entering into this contest, aren’t I?” Ena snapped, her fists clenched at her sides.
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just think it’ll be difficult to win any of the prizes,” Shinei stated, still that blank canvas of emotion. “But if that doesn’t bother you, then go right ahead.”
Minori’s heart rate sped up.
Those had been almost exactly the words he’d said to her the first time she sent in an application.
Almost exactly the words he’d said to Akito the first time he entered an event.
And now, he had said them to Ena as well.
“Ugh…” Ena grit her teeth before she turned and ran up the stairs.
Minori was pretty sure she was crying.
“H-hey…!” Akito shouted.
“Neechan!” Minori shouted at the same time.
But Ena didn’t turn back and she didn’t answer her bedroom door either when Minori went up to take care of Samo-chan.
When she and Akito started walking to school that morning, neither of them spoke.
Minori knew all too well that they were remembering the same thing.
“Akito, have you seen neechan?” Minori asked when her younger brother came downstairs. The stars were glittering outside the windows, lighting the kitchen up with the barest amount of light.
There was a new moon in the sky.
“No, why would I want to see her?” Akito scoffed, leaning against the kitchen counter with a scowl. Normally, Minori would tease him, but today…today, it just felt wrong. Minori bit her lip and Akito’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Neechan didn’t come down for dinner, I was hoping you saw her upstairs,” Minori confessed.
“I didn’t,” Akito whispered. Minori wondered if the pit forming in her stomach had also formed in his. It must have, because Akito suddenly shot up, slamming his hand on the counter. “I’m gonna fucking force her to open that door if I have to!”
“Akito!” Minori cried, but he ran upstairs regardless.
Minori followed after him.
“Minori-chan?”
Minori snapped to attention, blushing bright red when she saw Kohane staring at her with concerned eyes.
“K-Kohane-chan! I’m so sorry!” she cried, frantically bowing her head. The warmth of the sun rested over Minori, reminding her that they were on the roof for lunch and she had just ignored her friend.
“It’s okay.” Kohane shook her head, like the angel she was. “You seemed deep in thought. What were you thinking about?”
If this were an anime, Minori imagined she’d have a sweat drop on her forehead.
“Eh? O-oh…I was thinking about when I introduced Samo-chan to my little brother,” she lied. “It feels like so long ago, Samo-chan is so big now!”
“Ah! Your little brother must have been so excited!” Kohane smiled. “I know I was when Count Pearl joined my family.”
Another sweat drop appeared on Minori’s head, no doubt. Akito was so scared of dogs precisely because of Samo-chan, who had thought he was a chew toy thanks to his bright hair color.
“H-heh…yeah, he was,” Minori lied, hating herself even more. “But enough about me! You mentioned you were doing street performances, right, Kohane-chan?”
Kohane smiled brightly at that, launching instantly into stories about all the different people she met and songs she had sung since she started doing street performances. Minori smiled, happy for her, even as inside she breathed a sigh of relief.
She hadn’t known how difficult it would be to pretend she wasn’t a Shinonome when she begged her mother, Jun, to let her use her maiden name instead. But then again, that had been when she’d thought her school life wouldn’t cross with Ena and Akito’s.
But now there was Kohane, a member of the same team, and she couldn’t even say that Akito was her little brother.
She’d given that up as easily as throwing a piece of paper away and Minori was starting to think she hated herself for doing that.
So many lies surrounded Minori now…she sometimes wondered where the lies of Hanasato Minori ended and the truth of Shinonome Minori began. Or perhaps no true Minori existed and she was simply a puppet filling in the space that was meant for a different Minori.
But then she thought of Ena’s face that morning, tears of frustration in her eyes. Of Akito’s face when he’d quietly confided to her that he was scared to lose Toya.
Of Haruka’s face when she confessed that Minori had given her hope.
Minori shook her head roughly and slapped her cheeks, startling poor Kohane. But that was beside the point.
No matter the lies she told the public, no matter how confusing she felt about who she was at times, she knew this with absolute certainty.
She was Hanasato Minori of MORE MORE JUMP!
And she was Shinonome Minori, sister of Ena and Akito.
Akito was already pounding on Ena’s door when Minori caught up to him. Her heart was in her throat as Akito screamed.
“I know you’re in there, Ena, now open the fucking door! I’ll break it down if you don’t, I fucking swear it!”
Minori shivered. She couldn’t remember ever hearing Akito scream like that, so scared even though to anyone else he sounded angry. They’d both been scared for days now, but Minori had prayed that their worries were for naught.
She was starting to think that their worries were much more accurate than she ever wanted them to be.
“Neechan! Please, answer! It’s us!” Minori begged. Tears stung her eyes, reminding her too much of the water colors Ena had used for Minori’s last birthday. That painting was still in Minori’s room, a beautiful ocean that reminded Minori of Haruka and Ena both whenever she looked at it.
She’d asked Ena for a painting to remind her of Akito for Christmas. Ena had promised she’d make it. She promised.
But now it seemed like she wasn’t going to keep that promise.
“Dammit! Minori, get back!” Akito ordered. Minori complied without even thinking and the next thing she knew, Akito was ramming into the door and kicking it when that failed.
It took a while. Too long. Far, far too long.
Minori was choking on her heart when the door finally gave in and swung open.
Thankfully, by the time practice came around, Minori was able to focus enough that she didn’t make a complete fool of herself on their livestream.
Ena told her once that she watched the livestreams sometimes. Minori hoped fervently that her sister was watching. She did her absolute best, telling herself that Ena just had to be watching.
It was the only way she was able to get through the whole thing without breaking down into tears of fear.
When the stream ended, Minori breathed a sigh of relief.
“Great job, everyone!” Airi grinned as she looked over them all, hands on her hips. “If we keep this up, our fanbase is just gonna keep growing!”
“And we’ll get to spread so much hope,” Shizuku smiled, a hand lightly resting on her cheek. “I wonder if Shii-chan was watching…she seemed so sad lately, I think she needs it.”
“I think I know what you mean,” Minori hummed, placing a finger to her chin. “Shiho-chan’s been pretty quiet, but I’m sure your feelings reached her.”
“Really?!” Shizuku beamed, her smile like the first ray of dawn.
“We don’t even know if she was watching,” Airi sighed, shaking her in exasperation. The smile on her face, however, was fond as she gazed at Shizuku.
“Even still, we’re definitely making a difference. I can feel it,” Haruka smiled. She glanced over at Minori, causing Minori’s heart to triple it’s speed. “It’s all thanks to you, Minori.”
“Haruka-chan! Really, you don’t need to keep saying that!” Minori cried, covering her no doubt blushing cheeks. Besides, she really didn’t deserve such praise. Haruka was honest with herself, while Minori…Minori hadn’t told the truth in public in years. She sobered up. “I still have a ways to go before I catch up with all of you! But I’ll keep doing more and more of my best! I promise!”
“That’s our Minori,” Haruka smiled, looking so happy.
When did Minori’s smiles start feeling so false?
“Hey, why don’t we all get something to eat on our way home?” Airi suggested. The look she sent Minori spoke of more concern than excitement, however. She had a feeling her sister’s junior high friend would see through her pretty easily.
“That’s a great idea, Airi-chan!” Shizuku grinned, clapping her hands together. “There’s this adorable little café not too far from here-”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” Minori cut in, shaking her head sadly.
“Minori?” Haruka questioned, a surprised look on her face. Minori wanted nothing more than to reassure Haruka, to smooth away the frown of concern creasing her forehead and go out to have dinner and fun.
But her fingers were already twitching with the urge to text both Ena and Akito, the memories of that day feeling too near to the surface for Minori to do anything else.
She couldn’t be Hanasato Minori right now.
“Sorry, but I promised my brother we’d walk Samo-chan before dinner,” Minori lied. Her smile felt so wooden, no better than Shinei’s easel. “I have to get home or he’ll get really impatient!”
“Your brother or Samo-chan?” Shizuku asked. She sounded curious, but Airi at her side looked even more exasperated at the question.
Akito’s dislike of dogs was well known if you knew him at all.
“Hehe, it’s a surprise!” Minori declared. She wanted to end this conversation now, to run as far and as fast as she could.
She wanted to go home.
She wanted to be Shinonome Minori.
“Of course. Have fun, Minori, and make sure to eat dinner,” Haruka smiled. She looked reassured, the setting sun making her look like the watercolors that decorated Minori’s wall.
At least one of them was reassured.
“I will, Haruka-chan! Bye Airi-chan, Shizuku-chan!” Minori grinned.
Before anyone else could say a word, she grabbed her stuff and practically fled from the roof.
Hanasato Minori stayed back on the roof with Haruka, Airi and Shizuku.
Shinonome Minori, on the other hand, frantically texted her siblings as she ran to their side.
When Akito and Minori entered Ena’s room, they found it empty.
“Is…is she not here?” Minori whispered. It was so quiet, it felt almost like a sin to break it.
“No, she’s here.” Akito shook his head, pointing at the floor.
Ena’s art supplies was tossed onto the floor without a care, something she would never do if she was leaving.
Minori’s heart was racing so fast, she could barely feel it pounding in her ears. Her bad feeling was being proven accurate right before her eyes and she had never hated how well she knew her sister before now.
“Find her!” Akito barked. His voice, strained with fear and panic, brought Minori back to reality. He was already throwing everything else aside, searching for Ena under her blankets and in her closet.
“Right!” Minori shouted. She took the other side of Ena’s closet, pushing everything aside and even checking her hamper. Ena was here somewhere, she had to be.
But they didn’t find her anywhere.
“Dammit! Where is she?!” Akito growled.
He was so pale. Minori wanted to wrap him in her arms like she had when they were both very little, back when Akito had called Ena and Minori ‘neechan’. But she couldn’t do that now.
They had to find Ena, but where could she possibly be?
An idea crossed Minori’s mind and her heart went from her throat to the very pit of her stomach.
“Akito!” she cried, getting his attention before she ran out of the room. He was right on her heels as she ran to the bathroom.
The locked bathroom.
To Minori’s immense relief, nothing bad had happened that day. In actuality, Ena was quite annoyed when she found Minori checking on her so often when she was working on her project for the Shibuya Art Contest. Akito didn’t get yelled at as much as Minori did, but that was because his check ins were much more subtle and even then, Ena still got annoyed when she caught him.
All was forgiven easily enough though, because Ena had left a slice of cheesecake or another snack in front of both Akito and Minori’s doors after she yelled at them and the two of them reciprocated with her by giving her the same in return.
For a while, things were…not peaceful in the Shinonome household, but balanced.
That balance was bound to break though. And when Minori heard screaming in Ena’s room, she knew it had come.
She reached her sister’s doorway just as Akito stepped inside.
“Hey, keep it down! What’s going on in there?” he asked.
Minori stepped in after him and gasped.
Ena had thrown all of her art supplies into the trash and onto the floor.
“Neechan, what happened? Everything’s everywhere…” Minori trailed off. She didn’t know how else to help without inciting Ena’s anger.
But when Ena faced her younger siblings, her anger was muted.
“Shut up! Leave me alone! I’m throwing it all out anyway,” she said. Her voice was shaking despite her attempts to be calm, to smile reassuringly at the two of them.
There was an emptiness to Ena’s eyes.
“Yeah, so keep it down…hold on. You’re throwing away your art stuff?” Akito asked. He acted as natural as possible, but Minori saw the sudden tension in his frame, as easily as she knew her own had risen. “Are you sure? Doesn’t it mean a lot to you?”
“You can’t give up, neechan. You’ll be so sad if you do,” Minori added. She wanted to scream and yell and claw at Shinei for good measure. She didn’t know what exactly had pushed Ena into this place again, but she recognized it intimately.
And the only person who could have pushed her here was Shinei.
“What do you care, Akito, Minori?” Ena spat at them. Her hands were curled into fists at her side, tears glimmering in her eyes and her entire frame shaking.
“I feel like you’ll regret doing this…” Akito explained, soft as he ever was.
“Shut up…!” Ena snapped.
“But neechan, you’re the one of us who didn’t give up, who yelled at Dad even as he belittled you…” Minori said, her voice just as soft.
“I said SHUT UP!! Honestly, what do you care?!” Ena screamed. The tears were falling down her cheeks and she looked so…so defeated. “Get out!! Don’t bother talking to me anymore, either of you!!”
She grasped onto both of them, pushing them out of her room.
“E-Ena…!”
“N-neechan…!”
Despite the protests they both started to voice, Ena ignored them and threw them out, locking her door.
She was screaming something else, but Minori couldn’t hear any of it through the ringing in her ears.
Ena had gone back to that dark place again…
Minori hadn’t been able to give her enough hope, hadn’t been able to give her enough reason to live…
Minori failed.
Akito didn’t even bother with knocking this time. Instead, he just kicked the door open.
Minori screamed when it swung open.
Ena was laying on the bathroom floor, pale as can be with a medicine bottle lying next to her.
If anyone asked Minori what happened next, she couldn’t tell them. Everything became a blur as she and Akito worked furiously to get their sister the help she needed.
The help that would keep her alive.
One of them had called for an ambulance, she knew that, while the other had checked on Ena. She couldn’t say who did what though, it felt as if they were no longer two people, but one mind within two bodies, focused on one thing and one thing alone.
Ena.
The next thing Minori was aware of, the three of them were in the hospital, Ena sleeping in the bed and Akito clutching her hand. She blinked and suddenly, Jun was there, hugging her two youngest tightly. Shinei was there too, but he barely reacted at all.
He never reacted at all.
And Minori was furious.
Before she knew it, she was standing and glaring at her father.
“Don’t you even care?! Ena-neechan is lying right there, because of what you said!” she accused, her voice so loud in the quiet hospital room. Or perhaps she was yelling, she couldn’t quite tell. All she could focus on was her father-no, Shinonome Shinei and the rage dancing underneath her skin as sprightly as when Haruka danced on stage. “You said she couldn’t handle it, that she should quit being an artist, even though you knew it was her dream! You’ve done it to all of us, over and over! But did you ever consider what might have happened?! Huh?! You must not have, because we’re here thanks to you!”
“Minori-” Shinei started to say.
“Don’t talk to me! Neechan could be dying and it’s all your fault!” Minori screamed. Tears fell down her cheeks like rain, like Ena’s watercolors.
She might never see her beautiful art ever again.
Minori crumbled back down into her seat, covering her eyes as she sobbed. Akito wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m here, Minori-neechan. Ena-neechan is too,” he whispered in her ear.
Akito hadn’t called Ena and Minori ‘neechan’ in years. Now, he was using it for both of them.
Minori sobbed even more.
Minori didn’t speak to Shinei after Ena locked herself in her room. She didn’t even acknowledge him. Instead, she spoke to Akito and Jun and desperately checked on Ena every fifteen minutes.
There was never an answer.
The door remained locked.
Minori was well aware that she was jumping to conclusions but…even now, years after that night, she couldn’t forget it. She probably never would, which meant she would always be looking out for Ena, checking on her almost religiously when things like this happened.
It was the only thing she could do, whether she was Hanasato Minori or Shinonome Minori.
But even despite this, Minori couldn’t stand being in this house anymore. She need a break, even if just for a short while.
She needed…
Her fingers were pushing play for Newly Edgy Idols before Minori even thought of the song’s name.
Minori did not collapse as soon as she appeared on the stage, but it was a very near thing.
“Minori-chan?”
Shizuku’s voice was the only thing stopping her.
Minori whirled around and smiled.
“Ah, Shizuku-chan! I didn’t realize you were here!” she cried. All she wanted to do was break down and cry, but she couldn’t.
Hanasato Minori had no reason to break down, after all.
“Yes, I couldn’t sleep so I came here to practice. Airi-chan joined me, but I was just getting ready to leave,” Shizuku explained. Her expression shifted, however, as she watched Minori. “Minori-chan, is everything alright?”
“Of course it is! Why would anything be wrong? I just couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d practice with Miku-chan and Rin-chan!”
Minori was too good at lying for Shizuku to catch her so easily, even when she was on the verge of breaking down.
“Ah, I see,” Shizuku smiled, assuaged. “Well then, I wish you a good practice. Give Airi-chan my best.”
Before Minori could even ask about Airi, Shizuku stopped the song on her phone and vanished.
But when the light cleared, Minori saw Airi and Rin standing there, watching her with sad eyes.
“Minori-chan, why do you look sad?” Rin asked, her hands folded in concern.
“Minori…” Airi whispered. “What happened?”
As soon as she registered those words, Shinonome Minori collapsed into Airi’s arms.
“I might…I-I might lose h-her this time!” Minori sobbed, clutching onto Airi’s pajamas as if her life depended on it. Perhaps it did…or her sister’s did.
“Hey, no…it’s Ena. For all that she gripes about you and Akito-kun, she’d never leave you,” Airi shushed, rubbing a hand on Minori’s back in comfort.
“But she almost did once!” Minori screamed. “What if she doesn’t want to come back, what if she really wants to disappear?!”
“Then we’ll drag her back,” Airi swore. “You, me and Akito-kun.”
“Minori-chan…please don’t be sad,” Rin whispered, but Minori couldn’t stop crying. She tried, she really did, but the tears wouldn’t stop. A hand rested on her shoulder and Minori turned her face from where it was buried in Airi’s shoulder. Rin smiled. “Will you watch me, Minori-chan?”
Minori could only manage a nod.
Rin beamed before she stood up and made her way to center stage. Minori and Airi stayed curled up together right where they were as Rin began to sing and dance.
Minori recognized the song Rin was singing, Deep Sea Girl. Her heart swelled as she listened to Rin sing, giving her everything to the song that spoke of hope for even a girl deep in the sea.
By the time Rin had finished, Minori had the slightest of smiles on her face.
“Yay!” Rin cheered when she got back. “I made Minori-chan smile!”
“Yeah, you did, Rin,” Airi smiled, running her hand down Minori’s back once more. “And I think you gave her the hope she needed too.”
“Yeah…” Minori agreed. She smiled slightly. It was the smile Hanasato Minori gave to the world, but…it felt like Shinonome Minori. And it most certainly felt better than her other smiles had been recently. “Thanks, Rin-chan.”
“Of course!” Rin grinned. Her fingers fisted in her skirt, swinging it around happily. “It’s an idol’s job to spread hope, after all!”
“Exactly.” Minori nodded. She was surprised Rin was acting normally with her, considering how out of character Minori herself was acting. But maybe that’s just how Sekai worked, the VIRTUAL SINGERS accepted every part of you, even the parts that you don’t.
“Let’s get you back home now, okay? Ena’s gonna be waiting for you,” Airi said.
Minori hoped so much that Airi was correct.
She hoped like she had never hoped before.
“A-Akito, Minori…good morning.”
Minori had never been so happy to hear her sister’s awkward greeting in her life.
“Morning,” Akito greeted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He was never very good with normal moments with his sisters. He was his most brotherly when one of them was having a crisis.
“Good morning, neechan!” Minori smiled. She folded her hands tightly in front of her, determined to not overwhelm Ena.
“Um, I’m sorry about yesterday. Lashing out at you two like that…” Ena apologized. She looked so remorseful that Minori’s heart ached.
“Heh! Already forgiven, neechan! Right, Akito?” Minori smiled.
“Nah, forget about it. It’s not any different from usual,” Akito said, brushing the apology off easily.
“Hold on, it was not the same as always!” Ena argued, placing her hands on her hips. Ahh, there she was. Minori knew Akito was being rude on purpose.
“Okay, okay. Calm down, will you?” Akito sighed. But Minori could see the relief in his eyes, could feel the way he was shifting just the littlest bit closer to his sisters.
“Don’t be mean, Akito! Oh, good morning, Samo-chan!” Minori teased, just to see her little brother jump.
Which he did.
And then glared at her for.
But Minori only smiled innocently.
“Oh, but I decided to keep drawing too…” Ena said, her soft voice drawing her younger siblings’ attention away from their teasing and back towards her. “Well, a lot happened and…”
“I see. Then good luck.” Akito smiled.
“You’ll do great, neechan!” Minori agreed.
Ena smiled at both of them and Minori hadn’t felt this warm in so, so long.
“Oh, I talked to Dad about it too,” Akito added, startling both Ena and Minori.
Akito had never gone against Shinei so openly or spoken about how he treated his children. It had always been Ena and Minori once his sights were set on Ena. But Minori found she also wasn’t surprised. Despite being the youngest, Akito took care of his sisters.
“Huh?” Ena gasped.
“He isn’t trying to be mean or anything. He was worried about you, but not expressing it in the best way is all,” Akito explained. “I don’t like how he said what he did either, so Ena…”
“Sorry, I’m heading back to my room now,” Ena cut in, stopping Akito from finishing. She returned back up the stairs without so much as a goodbye.
“I guess things won’t go that easy, huh?” Akito sighed.
“They never do with Dad,” Minori agreed.
She didn’t dare breathe a word of the spray paint cans she had found hidden in Akito’s room once, just like he didn’t say a word about the drawing filled notebooks hidden in her own room.
Shinonome Shinei told all of his children to quit trying to be artists.
But truly, none of them ever did.
Minori was practically walking on air as she made her way towards school that morning.
Ena was okay, Samo-chan got a lot of nice pets and Akito even said goodbye when they split up on their walk!
It was a good day so far.
“Minori, you certainly look cheerful,” Haruka commented, startling Minori as she realized she entered the school courtyard.
“H-Haruka-chan!” she stuttered. Haruka only laughed, the sight causing Minori’s heart to speed up, like it was dancing to the beat of that laugh.
“I’m glad. You’ve looked so sad recently. I was getting worried,” Haruka confessed. There was a look in her eyes that Minori couldn’t quite identify, couldn’t explain.
“You don’t need to worry, Haruka-chan! I’m okay!” Minori smiled. “Oh! When we go to Sekai later, you should ask Rin to show you her Deep Sea Girl cover, it’s so pretty!”
“Hehe, I’ll be sure to remember. But we should get to class first,” Haruka smiled. Just then the warning bell rang.
“Right! School first and then practice, just like always!” Minori grinned. “C’mon, Haruka-chan, let’s go!”
“Yes, let’s,” Haruka agreed. Her smile was soft and warm, and Minori was helpless to do anything except smile back.
It didn’t matter in that moment that she was a girl made up of far too many lies.
Because in that moment, with Haruka by her side, she was simply just Minori.