I came to regret embracing Yui as the week continued. Even though I explicitly asked her not to make it weird, she seemed to only take it as "don't make this moment weird, all moments after this are fair game." She pounced on me at least twice a day, even if we spent the whole day together.

  Yui had friends, of course. In fact, she had a rather large number of friends and many different groups. She was a member of the student council, after all. Her grades were top notch, and her athletic abilities were nothing to turn a blind eye to, either. Even though she had a debilitating brother complex — which she hid very well— she was easily a model student.

  All of this is to say, she wasn't a blatant weirdo and obvious problem child outside of the home. In fact, it was only when I was involved that she became the starry-eyed, lustful monster that I knew as my sister. With that in mind, I had to come up with a way to break her of that habit.

  At best, she's supremely annoying with how she acts. At worst... Well, let's just hope for the best.

  "Hey sis," I knocked on her door. "Can I come in?"

  She walked out, putting her long hair into a pony tail. Despite it being morning, she looked very much awake. She was dressed to go out. She motioned to me to walk with her, and we went to the living room.

  "What's up, Zuzu?" She took a seat on the couch.

  Her usual demeanor wasn't there that morning. She seemed almost normal. Like, a real normal person. Like a sister that wasn't always trying to get too close to her brother. Before me sat an actual model student. Her outfit was cute, as best as my fashion sense could tell, and even the most uptight discipline committee member would approve of it.

  I closed my eyes to think about what I was going to say for a few seconds, and she tilted her head in understandable confusion.

  "Look, sis," I finally said. "I need you to not be all over me when I go to Toriyama High. Be more like you are right now, the way I'm sure you are when you aren't around me. Not only would it be super embarrassing for me, there's no way your reputation would stay intact after even one episode like we have here at home."

  I opened my eyes and looked directly at her. She seemed unfazed by my words. She hopped up and walked around the living room.

  "So, you're saying that you don't want me to show you any affection or special attention at school then?"

  She looked over her shoulder as she stood in front of the window. Before I could answer, a devious smile covered her face.

  "That's fine, Zuzu. It just means I'll have to get more of you while we're home. Your loving sister needs a full reserve if you're insisting on being so mutually cold to each other at school."

  "Sis, it wouldn't just be — "

  Her phone rang, and she answered it within moments.

  "Hello? Hana? Yeah, I'm ready. You don't have to be so shy. You can ring the doorbell, you know... yeah, yeah, good point. I'll come right out."

  She hung up the phone and sprung at me. In a heartbeat, she was wrapped around me.

  "Don't mind me, Zuzu, just filling my tank."

  "Why are you so weird, sis?"

  She almost skipped off and said that she would be back that evening. With that, I was left alone in the living room. Mother was home, but she had already gone to bed. The quietness of the house set in a bit before I remembered what I had to do that day. It was finally the day my group was going to the waterpark.

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  I grabbed my bag and made sure it was packed with everything I would need: towel, sun screen, a change of clothes. I grabbed the knife I had taken from the scumbags that had cornered Ino and Hojo what already seemed like years ago.

  There's no way I can easily sneak this into the park. At the very least, I shouldn’t. All of the things that could go wrong would be amplified if I had it, but I need it to protect myself and my friends.

  I fiddled with it for a minute before reluctantly wrapping it in a small hand towel and placing it in my bag. In that brief moment, I felt like I was back in my old apartment getting ready for an assignment. I paused and took a few deep breaths.

  This is only for protection and only for the worst case scenario. I won't be so complacent to pretend that there isn't anything that can happen, but I won't let my paranoia control me.

  I left my house and walked down the street a bit to meet up with Chika. She came out of her house almost as soon as I arrived. She was wearing a similar sun dress to what she wore to the shopping district and the same almost comically large hat.

  "Good morning, Kazu," she said before she yawned.

  "You know, if you're too tired to go, I can go on ahead. I'm sure we'll all have enough fun to make up for you not being there."

  "It's just early, and don't go trying to switch our roles. I'm the teaser, and you're the one who will never pull one over on me."

  Her sleepy face had quickly shifted to her mischievous smile. It almost seemed as though she'd forgotten that I had abilities that most anyone would find terrifying. I preferred this version of her.

  We walked towards the bus station. On the way, we met up with Hiro who looked like he had been waiting nervously for a while. He wore a light jacket and trunks despite the projected heat. With a smile and a wave, our duo became a trio, and we hopped on the bus.

  The water park was in the Gefla District, about twenty five kilometers from our neighborhood. The bus stopped somewhat often, letting ones and twos off and taking a few here and there. The morning sun was rising, and the summer heat wafted in every time the doors opened.

  We finally got off at the stop about a kilometer from the water park. Denki was already there waiting. He was dressed almost the exact same as me, swim trunks, sandals, and a t-shirt. The epitome of summer comfort.

  The next bus brought Ino and Hojo. They had on the swimsuits they had picked up when the three of us went shopping. They both wore shorts and tied button up shirts over them. It would have been almost like seeing double of it wasn't for their differences in hair style and color and the difference in their skin tones.

  The third bus brought Rito and someone we weren't expecting, Yamada Shizune. Rito looked embarrassed to be in his trunks and sleeveless shirt, no doubt an outfit picked out by his father who enjoyed giving him "advice" with girls. Yamada was wearing an outfit similar to Chika's.

  "I'm sorry to spring a change like this, guys," Rito said scratching the back of his head. "but I thought Yamada would like to come along if it's okay with you all."

  "You don't have to change your plans for me," Yamada chimed in. The way she spoke made it hard to recognize that she was from the countryside. "I can just hang around and go back whenever."

  Before anyone could even think about it, Chika took Yamada's hands and welcomed her to stay. Perhaps it was some sort of outfit solidarity. Most everyone nodded in solidarity except for Ino who simply smiled. With that, we all began the short walk to the water park.

  Thankfully, there were no incidents with Rito's ability on the walk. If anything, I was tempted to freeze time and move everyone to the park to get out of the heat, but I quickly pushed that idea out. I also thought about leaping forward to already being there but dismissed that selfish thought as well.

  "It would be the hottest day," Hiro almost said under his breath. "I'm thankful for the invitation, but this heat is crazy."

  "It'll just make the water all that much better!" Denki responded in his normal, too upbeat voice and demeanor.

  "I think it'll work great for our tan. Don't you think, Ino?" Hojo asked.

  Ino spoke up for the first time since leaving the stop. "I think it'll be a fun day."

  "For sure," Chika chimed in.

  The summer sun was starting to beat down harder and harder. With no clouds in the sky, the only escape was in the shadows of the buildings along the way. Just as we got the entrance in sight, I felt a cool breeze touch my face. I quickly turned around to see nothing but my group of friends and other patrons of the park.

  I turned back, thinking it was just my paranoia again. Then, another stronger breeze came from behind.