Chapter 22 If You Were My Brother
“Nagi-chan? Hey~ Little Nagi~~”
“Uh, huh?! What’s wrong?”
The voices of the girls sitting by the classroom windows pulled Nagi’s thoughts back to reality.
“Nagi-chan seems to be daydreaming a lot lately~ What’s going on?”
“Could it be that she’s thinking about her little boyfriend~”
“Ah~ How sweet~”
The girls teased.
Nagi could only pretend to be shy and lower her head, not wanting to explain further.
At that moment, one girl noticed the glint on her wrist.
“Nagi-chan, that’s so pretty~”
“Uh?”
It was only then that Nagi realized she was talking about the star bracelet hidden in her sleeve.
She quickly tucked it back into her sleeve.
“Isn’t that against school rules? I didn’t expect you, Star Palace-chan, to be a bad student too~” another girl said with a mischievous smile.
“No one really wants to follow those lame school rules~”
“The kind of accessory that the good student Nagi would wear… Could it be a gift from her boyfriend?”
“How nice~ I want to get a boyfriend too~”
Isn’t this typical of the girls in the class?
They seem to care more about dressing up and romantic topics than school regulations.
Students are not allowed to wear accessories at school.
But Nagi had been wearing it all the time, ready for any time when Kanade might “regret for a lifetime.”
She had unconsciously developed the habit of wearing it constantly.
Except when showering or sleeping.
This star bracelet always remained on her wrist.
The little sparkles reflected by the bracelet under the light had become the most common sight in her life.
“By the way, isn’t Tsukimi-san having lunch with Yotsuki-san today?”
Some girls noticed that even though it was lunchtime, Nagi was still sitting in the classroom dazed.
She had rushed out of the classroom last night to find her boyfriend to have lunch together.
Just then.
A girl hurriedly jogged over, her eyes darting nervously towards Nagi sitting in her seat.
She cupped her hand over her mouth and whispered into another girl’s ear—
“It seems that Tsukimi-san from the next class is flirting with a young lady from the Heavenly Courtyard in the courtyard…”
Although she had deliberately lowered her voice.
Nagi, with her unusually sharp hearing, could hear it clearly.
In fact, Nagi was not surprised at all; since it was Kanade who introduced Maki to Tenbu.
So, after what happened last night, it was only natural for Kanade to check on the disheartened Tenbu.
After all, Kanade was the gentle and kind protagonist she had nurtured—
—But what’s with going to the courtyard to be alone with a beautiful girl the day after starting a relationship!?
Just think about how I, as a (pretend) girlfriend, feel in front of others!!!
What if others think I was dumped at lightning speed?
Look! Now everyone is looking at me with sympathetic eyes!
……
……
It was lunchtime, and the sunlight poured through the thin clouds onto the school courtyard, warm and gentle.
In the courtyard, the shadows of trees created a dappled effect, lush greenery surrounded her, and the air was filled with the fresh aroma of grass and plants.
Tenbu sat alone on a bench in the courtyard, her exquisite features showing a hint of subtle melancholy.
The sunlight softly fell on her hair, the silver long locks cascading down like flowing water, the light shimmering between her hair, as if it lent her figure a soft halo.
Occasionally, a few dry leaves were lifted by the wind and fell at her feet, but she did not look up, maintaining her cool and distant demeanor.
It seemed as if she had no connection with this real world, like a specter from a dream, appearing both real and illusory under the sunlight.
She and her surroundings seemed to transform into a dreamlike painting.
Other students dared not approach the courtyard easily.
Except for a second-year boy with short black hair.
He ignored the atmosphere around and stepped directly into this dreamish painting.
“W-well, what a coincidence, Heavenly Courtyard-san…” Kanade had thought for a long time on his way and could only come up with this clumsy opening line.
Upon hearing this, Tenbu looked up, and in her beautiful crimson-purple eyes, Kanade’s figure was reflected.
“Long time no see, Tsukimi-senpai.” Tenbu still politely replied as usual.
“Are you here to comfort me?”
“Ah, no, not at all…”
“Just kidding. If you don’t mind, please take a seat.” Tenbu said while moving aside to make space for Kanade.
But Kanade shook his head and declined.
“Ah, I’m sorry, I almost forgot that Tsukimi-senpai is already someone with a girlfriend.” Tenbu laughed lightly, covering her mouth: “Even if it’s a pretend relationship~”
“Uh? How does Heavenly Courtyard-san know about that…”
“After all, ever since Tsukimi-senpai started dating Star Palace-senpai, you’ve shown no signs of being happy, combined with the recent rumors in school and activities of self-research.”
“It’s easy to deduce that Tsukimi-senpai and Star Palace-senpai are in a pretend relationship.”
“Heavenly Courtyard-san, you’re amazing…”
Kanade genuinely admired, this silver-haired junior reminded him of a certain golden-haired friend.
“No, it’s just… a skill one has to acquire to grow up.” Tenbu looked up at the blue sky.
Her expression made Kanade realize that as the only child of the Heavenly Courtyard family, her past life must not be as glamorous as it seemed.
“Speaking of which, I still couldn’t win Mr. Maki’s trust in the end, completely different from Tsukimi-senpai.”
“No, actually, Heavenly Courtyard-san, you don’t have to think too much about it. The world isn’t necessarily—”
“Is that what Maki taught you?” Tenbu interjected and focused her gaze on him:
“If I want to gain trust from Tsukimi-senpai, what price should I pay?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“How about the wealth of the Heavenly Courtyard? Or my body? I could even let you become the next head of the Heavenly Courtyard family—”
“No, I don’t need such things—!” Kanade interrupted Tenbu seriously.
This took the latter by surprise.
“Tsukimi-senpai isn’t hesitating at all~ I really envy the person loved by gentle Tsukimi-senpai.”
Tenbu smiled bitterly and shook her head: “I’m sorry, I made a joke that is very disrespectful to Tsukimi-senpai and Star Palace-senpai.”
“Actually, I’m already very grateful to Tsukimi-senpai. Even though Mr. Maki is unwilling to tell me the truth, he promised to find out what really happened to my father.”
“That is enough for me.”
Tenbu once again patted the space beside her, signaling Kanade to sit down.
Kanade looked at Tenbu’s serious expression.
In the end, he chose not to refuse the invitation of this junior and sat on the other side of the bench.
“Sometimes, I really envy Tsukimi-senpai and Yukino-san, that kind of sibling and family bond…”
“Heavenly Courtyard-san, are you… an only child?”
“Yes, when I was young, home was the happiest place for me, the time spent with my parents every day feels like dreaming now.”
Without realizing it, Tenbu had reverted to referring to her parents as “mom and dad,” as if she transformed back into the little girl she once was.
“Until my mom went to a faraway place, my dad also distanced himself from me. At that moment, I was very scared, fearing it was my fault that my dad stopped caring about me.”
“So I started to crazily learn all kinds of knowledge, trying my best to become an excellent person, someone worthy of the Heavenly Courtyard name.”
“Hoping my dad would look at me again because of that.”
“But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t close the distance between me and my dad.”
“So, if you truly love someone, Tsukimi-senpai, please don’t distance yourself from her. That feeling—it’s really, really painful.”
As she spoke, Tenbu gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Heavenly Courtyard-san…” Kanade didn’t know what to say.
He was also someone who had been “abandoned” by his parents.
But he didn’t deeply sense that pain.
Because he had always had that girl by his side.
“Speaking of which, I wish Tsukimi-senpai could be my brother~”
Was the atmosphere too heavy because of what she just said?
Tenbu actively switched the topic.
“Huh? Me?”
“Actually, strictly speaking, I’m a little sister too~”
“W-what do you mean?”
“When I was little, I heard my mother say that I seemed to have an older brother, but he had already passed away before I was born.”
Tenbu smiled: “If he were still alive, would he be as gentle as Tsukimi-senpai?”
Before Kanade could respond, Tenbu elegantly stood up.
“Well, this conversation should end here, or else Star Palace-senpai will think I’m a thief~”
At that, Kanade turned to see Nagi’s figure appear at the side of the school building, seemingly jogging over.
“Thank you, Tsukimi-senpai, for being willing to listen to me talk so much.”
After finishing her words, Tenbu turned and left the courtyard.
