About the Reckless Girl Who Kept Challenging a Reborn Man Like Me - Volume 1 Chapter 6: Genius Teenage Girl

I woke up in the middle of the night with the snow falling heavily outside the room.

A dark room with no lights on. An unfamiliar ceiling, it was different from my room. The smell of medicine, which is foreign to where I usually stayed in. It was dark but I could tell it was a white room.

I – Yuki – was asleep in a private hospital room.

As I laid awake on the bed, my consciousness gradually became clearer and clearer. Today was the day of my hospitalisation. Due to the surgery I had done a long time ago, I still had to have my body checked in full detail from time to time.

Staying in a hospital room for those tests was an exciting experience for me, it’s like staying in a hotel on a trip. It’s a special day, like going out camping. Nowadays, I’ve gotten used to it and it’s not as exciting as it used to be back then, because I knew that the day I stayed in the hospital was different from my usual boring routine everyday.

At first, I thought that hospitals were scary places. I thought that I would die if I stayed here for a long time.

But my disease was no big deal. The adults around me told me it used to be a very scary disease, but it was nothing serious at all anymore. The next thing I knew, the surgery was over and I was cured. I had been afraid of illnesses and also very afraid of hospitals, but now I have been completely cured.

Since then, I have no fear of any hospitals or illnesses any longer.

For those who have been in the hospital for a long time with a serious illness, a hospital room may be a place of painful memories, but for me, the hospital was not such a scary place at all. Hospitalization was more of a camp than anything else.

“…………”

I woke up at an odd hour, and I don’t think I can head back to bed easily anymore.

I slowly walked out of the room and strolled through the dark corridors of the hospital. If I met a security guard, I could pretend to be sleepy and say that I had come out to pee.

The hospital in the day and the hospital in the night were in completely separate dimensions. The white walls were painted black by the darkness of the night. But I don’t feel any fear from it. Unlike the abandoned hospitals that we see in pictures, this one was very clean and neat. Perhaps it was because of this, that I didn’t get the fear of being haunted late at night.

—-Or is it the white snow that’s falling outside that soothes the fear within me?

The snow from my window glistens white in the darkness of the night. There were many white lights running around in the dark world outside. The world outside, cut by the window, was creating a fantastic array of colours outside.

I walked down the stairs, looking at the bright snow outside.

The lobby on the first floor had an even better view. It was made entirely of glass. The white walls of the hospital, blackened by the darkness of the night, was like a picture frame to show the snowy scenery outside in all its glory. In the large lobby with minimal lighting, the white light of the snow shone through the walls. The strong light from the outside lights illuminated the snow brightly. Only the snow shone white in the darkness of the night that had turned everything black.

My father once murmured to me.

He said that heavy snow used to be his longing.

You may not understand. The snowy world was so beautiful as the dark world was dyed in my own color. It was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but sigh.

And in the lobby, was a boy.

“…………”

There was a boy sitting on a sofa in the lobby, staring at the scenery outside. There was a cup of coffee with some white steam floating above on the table in front of him, and he was holding a difficult-looking book in his hand. I could tell that he was a patient here because he was wearing the hospital gown that is distributed at this hospital. His blonde hair was pretty long for a boy, and it was tied back with a small bow.

From his height, I guessed he was about the same age as me. But I don’t know why… His atmosphere seemed so much more mature. Perhaps it was due to the coffee in front of him and the difficult-looking book in his hands.

“What are you doing?”

I called out to him. He looked a little surprised to be called out suddenly. Then he slowly turned his head towards me.

“Who… are you?”

He asked me in a quiet and flat voice with no hint of inflection.

“My name is Yuki Friedberg. Are you also hospitalised here?”

“Not really…”

After a pause of several beats, I heard no response come back from him.

When I sat down across the table from him, he clearly had a confused look on his face. I can understand being confused when a stranger suddenly sits next to you, but you don’t have to be so blatantly surprised and annoyed at it. How rude.

“What are you doing here?”

I tried to talk to him more.

“Yeah…”

“Yeah…?”

“………”

“……?”

“Yeah…”

He only replies back using cold words. I was at an age where I had to fight and challenge him. So, I tried to talk to him more and more.

“My name is Yuki. What’s yours?”

“Yeah…”

“How old are you?”

“Yeah…”

“What school do you go to? Where do you live?”

“…………”

Oi, I finally got no reply. What happened? What does this mean?

My rivalry radar flares up. What was frustrating was that he kept a straight face the entire time. He was giving off a slightly mature vibe, which slightly frustrated me.

“What are you reading? What’s that book about?”

“Yeah……”

I moved close to him to take a peek at the book. He was startled while his face scrunched up and he backed away quickly.

And there I saw something extraordinary.

“A-A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?!”

“…………”

The book was crammed with letters that were not from this country. I looked at him, rolling my eyes back. I was close enough to look into the book, so naturally I was also close to his face. He was startled and backed away even further. He also rolled his eyes in response.

But it didn’t matter. My body was like it was hit with an electric shock.

“Y-You can read this? You’re reading this?”

“In the west… find a 400 year old caricature… Curios”

“I didn’t ask you if you can read that!”

“…………”

Whilst my mouth was agape in shock, he pushed my shoulders and separated himself from me.

Oh my god. He must be almost the same age as me, but he’s already reading a book in a foreign language… Even in cram schools, where students study ahead of their schoolwork, they don’t read such difficult and long books… What a surprise! I have never had a friend like this before. Even I, who am always told that I am smart, still can’t read a book in a foreign language…

I don’t want to admit it, but is this person in front of me more mature than I am? If it were my father, I could win by just denying it and saying “No!” or “I hate it.”

“…………”

“…………”

I kept glaring at him silently and he turned away. There is one more thing that concerns me.

“…………”

I look at what is on the table. There was a steaming cup of coffee on the table. 

Yes, a cup of coffee.

But the coffee, to my surprise, had zero milk in it!

“…………”

“…………”

Another shock! I brought my face closer to his again which bewildered him.

Coffee without milk is a drink for adults. It was still too dangerous for us to even touch. How many of my friends that tried black coffee ended up with a bitter sense of defeat.

D-Don’t tell me… that the coffee in front of me doesn’t even have any sugar in it?!

I can’t let this happen… If I don’t do this, I will suffer a crushing defeat at his hands. It would be a loss for me, a genius, if I lost to this silent boy.

I am an adult now!

“…………”

I got off the couch and headed towards the pantry. Since I’ve been in this hospital for a relatively long time after I had my first surgery, I think I roughly know where everything is placed at. I boiled some water and made myself a cup of coffee.

“Gulp…”

Ba-dump… Ba-dump… This is nerve wracking! I didn’t put anything in this coffee! He didn’t add any sugar, let alone milk! Such defiance! What a revolt! With such thoughts that I was going against God, I held my pitch-black coffee in my hands. I returned to the lobby with the black coffee in my hands. The boy had a blank expression on his face. He seemed confused about what I was trying to do.

“I-I can easily drink this adult beverage too. After all, I’m an adult too!”

“…………”

“Yo-Yo-You’re not the only one who’s special!”

To challenge the boy’s dumbfounded expression, I gulped down a cup of black coffee. I closed my eyes and tipped the cup up to my mouth, trying to act brave.

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………Ueghh”

The coffee was still bitter.

Such things weren’t meant for human consumption at all. My mouth was filled with a terrible taste.

Even though I only swallowed a mouthful with all my might. My mouth had a harsh and bitter after taste present inside. The bitterness persists, damaging my tastebuds harshly. But alas, I could see that my cup was still filled with the black coffee inside. I only swallowed a sip in desperation. 

The black liquid that I held in both hands seemed like a devil’s drink. Was that it? Was a devil crawling onto me because of what I had just done? Revolting to God? I’m about to cry.

“Shall I drink it in your stead?”

Perhaps unable to bear the sight of this tragedy, the boy in front of me approached me. It was the first time he spoke to me. I must have looked extremely distressed for him to do so. My eyebrows were probably furrowed and my mouth must have been wrinkled.

“It’s fine!”

However, I rejected his offer. If I accepted his offer, it would have been the same as admitting defeat. As an adult, this was something I could never accept.

I took another sip of the devil’s drink again.

“…………”

“…………”

“…………Ueghh”

“…………”

It came with the exact same consequences. My mouth was attacked relentlessly by such harsh bitterness. He had a look of bewilderment on his face. It seems like he didn’t know what to do and his mouth was twitching whilst looking at me. The black coffee in this dark world was confusing the both of us.

“Do you really not want me to drink it for you?”

“…………”

“…………”

“Sur-NO!”

It was such an appealing offer that I was momentarily lost in thought, but I rejected it with an iron heart. Grown-ups don’t get held up by people’s sweet talk.

I can’t back out now. Somewhere within, I must prove that I am better than him. As an adult, I cannot be defeated by a child so easily. I have to find some sort of advantage over him.

Except coffee, EVERYTHING EXCEPT COFFEE!!

The snow outside is cheering me on for me to do my best!

“What’s your score on all your school tests? I scored 100!”

“I… scored 100?”

Guh! We can’t decide who is more superior over this. 

“We-Well! I scored the best in the most difficult cram school around here.”

“I haven’t gone to one…”

Oh!

“I’m not strong enough to go to cram school.”

“Guha!”

Ku! Right, this was a hospital! There was something austere about this thin boy that was plagued by an illness.

It may be rude to think about this when he is suffering from his illness, but there’s something about him that’s… kind of cool! So mature! It tickles my heart! What is this feeling?

The power of darkness sounds so cool!

“W-Well, how old are you?”

“I’m 11..”

“Guh same… Which month were you born in?!”

“…………”

He was overwhelmed by my momentum and flinched momentarily.

“…………”

“…………”

“I was born in November.”

“……”

When I heard those words, a sense of euphoria overcame my heart. I had won! I’m in September! I won! I won! I won!

“Then I am the older sister.”

“…………”

I crossed my arms with my chest puffed and I felt proud. I had won! I was the older sister here! I was slightly older than him! I felt like jumping up and down. I actually jumped. I got off the couch and bounced around on the floor.

“I see! Yes it is! I’m the older sister! Then it can’t be helped! As someone older, I will have the decency to forgive someone younger than me like you for being a little cocky! I am an adult, and I have a forgiving heart.”

“…………”

When I realized that I was older than him, my heart felt much lighter. No matter how many years pass, the relationship between an older and younger person will never change. In other words, whether I can drink coffee or not, I will always be more mature than him.

But why? Why is he looking at me with such dismay, even though I’ve established such concrete facts between us?

“You can call me Onee-san.”

“No, that’s… unpleasant.”

“Unpleasant? Why?”

“…………”

When I tilted my head and asked him that, he turned his head away as if he was offended.

“Yeah…”

Then he fell silent.

He speaks such few words. But I get the impression that it wasn’t because he didn’t like to talk. He’s just a man of few words and does not try to say much. He tries to keep his mouth shut because he’s not that good at speaking. That’s what I got after trying to understand his thoughts as his elder sister.

“…………”

“…………”

Suddenly he looked at the snow outside.

There was a short pause in his speech, and as if he was trying to fill that void, he turned his face to the snow outside. I was caught up in the moment and looked at the snow outside alongside him.

It was snowing. Snowflakes were dancing all over the large window screen. The snowflakes were glowing white and pale in the light of the outside lamps. It was dark inside the hospital. However, the outside was filled with the white light of snow.

The snowy landscape was so beautiful.

“I hate the snow.”

He muttered.

“…why?”

“…………”

I asked. He stared at the scene outside as if he was trying to organize his thoughts, and then slowly opened his mouth, a little choked up, as if he were carefully putting his thoughts into words.

“Snow selfishly… melts and disappears…”

“…………”

“It’s the kind of thing which easily disappears and doesn’t bring me along with them. It’s cold.”

That was all he said and he shut his mouth immediately after. I did not understand what he was saying though. So I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

He turned his gaze outwards and directed his words to me.

“Do you like the snow?”

“Yes, I like it.”

I answered immediately without having to think much at all.

“Why is that?”

His eyes shoot through me. The darkness of the night drifts between us. To answer his question, I move closer to the glass wall. Snowflakes dance across my field of vision.

“Because snow is woooooow! And then, Gahhhhh! And then, whoosh! It piles up so fast, it’s amazing!”

“…………”

Then I laughed after my reply.

When I turned to him, he rolled his eyes. I don’t know what surprised him about my words, but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw his stunned face. He looked so proud, with his mouth relaxed, his chest heaving, and his hands on his hips.

“You’re awesome…”

The words spilled out of his mouth as if they had inadvertently leaked out.

“My name is Yuki. What’s yours?”

I asked the same question I had asked him earlier.

Why? I don’t know. But I feel like I could get an answer now.

“Rain…”

The words escape his mouth. He spoke his name as if he were holding an outstretched hand.

“Nice to meet you! Rain!”

“…………”

He turned away from me, as if he was embarrassed. Still, a bright smile broke out on my face.

This was my first encounter with Rain. We met at the hospital on a snowy night.

　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

It was a warm sunny day.

The temperature was a bit high for winter, and the sun was shining brightly, illuminating the ground with a bright light. The white flowers of the sasanqua trees were blooming gracefully in spite of the winter weather.

“Hello, Rain”

“…………”

“Remember me?”

A few days after meeting him at the hospital at night, I visited Rain in his room, where he was still being hospitalized. His eyes rolled back in his head and there was a slight flicker of surprise present within them.

“Yeah…”

Rain replied bluntly and looked away from me, a little embarrassed at seeing me. That alone made me feel good about myself. I folded my arms and puffed out my chest.

“I’m your big sister! I have a responsibility to take care of my henchman! It’s called an adult’s responsibility.”

“When did I become your henchman?”

A stunned voice escaped Rain’s mouth but I didn’t care much about that.

I had long since left the hospital. Naturally. I was just in the hospital for a checkup. I stayed at the hospital for only a day previously.

Before I left the hospital. I asked the nurse about Rain’s condition. 

“That child… He’s been in the hospital for a little longer than I’d like.”

“Is he seriously ill?”

“Well, it’s a painful disease in the sense that he was born with a weak body. It’s not a disease that would kill him, but it’s also not like he can leave the hospital either.”

The nurse was a little lost for words for some reason. She seemed unable to definitively say that it was a light and insignificant disease, yet she was also unable to say that it was a miserable and painful disease.

“I’d say that the biggest issue is that Rain-kun himself lacks the desire to cure the disease. He shows something like… a feeling of resignation to the disease.”

“…………”

“Nee, Yuki-chan. If you’d like, would you go visit him? If he makes more friends and has some fun, maybe he will have more of a will to live.”

The nurse had a calm and slightly sad smile on her face. Since she works in a hospital, she must have seen a lot of people in pain and distress in her life.

I nodded my head.

“I’ll take care of him! I will always take care of my henchmen.”

“Oh! Good job, Yuki-chan.”

“Fufu!”

She patted me on the head and it felt pretty good.

“But please don’t treat me like a child!”

“Ehhh…”

The nurse laughed in response.

And today I was visiting Rain in his hospital room. My job was to cheer up my henchmen, and to motivate him to cure his illness successfully. 

“You are still reading quite some difficult books it seems.”

“Yeah…”

Rain was still reading a book in a foreign language. I could see some black coffee kept beside him, and I saw the exact same scene that I saw in the lobby get recreated in the hospital room. 

It was as if time had stopped still.

“But I won’t fall behind you now! Because I too have started reading books in a foreign language.”

“Eh…?”

Rain, who had been facing the book all this while, turned his head toward me and blinked. I pulled out a few books from my bag that I had read the past few days and showed it to him. They were old foreign books that he had been reading too.

“Impossible…”

They were all books written in foreign languages. After that night, I was so frustrated about him reading such difficult books, that I bought books in a foreign language and tried to read them. There were a lot of words, grammar and idiomatic expressions that I hadn’t learned at cram school, but I spent a few days immersing myself in a foreign language book while researching them. Of course, I couldn’t read all of it, but I could grasp the general meaning of the nuances with context. So I was able to go through the book surprisingly well.

“Fufu!”

“…………”

Rain’s mouth was gaping open, and he was unable to continue speaking. As expected, he could not hide his surprise at being caught up in the same ring as me. His reaction made me proud.    

He sounded a bit upset in his next words though.

“Ehh…? Did you go to English classes or something?”

“I just go to a normal cram school?”

“T-Then how did you read them?”

“I did my best!”

“………………”

Rain was crestfallen. Fufu! What do you think! Do you see it? Your big sister isn’t so easily defeated by her henchmen! His stunned expression made me feel proud but my heart burned slightly.

“Amazing.”

He mumbled silently. I didn’t fail to catch it though.

“Aren’t I amazing.”

“Yeah…  From the bottom of my heart.”

“But you can read books in foreign languages too, can’t you? It’s not that impressive from my side.”

Even though I said that, I puffed my chest out proudly.

“You don’t have to worry about me…”

He was a little upset and started drinking his black coffee again. I have been practising black coffee for the past few days too, but this part has not been as successful as learning another language. This stuff is clearly not fit for human consumption. It was bitter. Too bitter. That is all.

“Really…”

Rain looked me in the eye and spoke in a small voice.

“I see, so you’re a… genius.”

What a surprise! My henchmen seems to be very good at flattering me ! My heart leapt with joy, but my already heavy heart felt even heavier at his words.

“That’s right! That’s right! I’m a genius! You can praise me more.”

“…………”

With my nose up in the air, I waited for my henchman’s next words of praise. Hmph! What do you think! You’ve seen my skill! I can read grown-up books just like yours!

But he shut his mouth without saying another word.

“What’s wrong?”

“…………”

I tilted my head at the sight of him. We met eye to eye for a quick moment. The sun was about to get hidden by the clouds, casting various shadows in the room.

“So you’re a… genius.”

“…………”

He mutters as if he was repeating himself. His voice was heavy and somber in what should have been words of praise. His eyes were sad and cloudy.

“That sounds… painful.”

I wonder why. He’s looking at me with such pity.

The atmosphere when he praised me was heavy, his face was downcast, and his appearance was filled with pain. As he affirmed that I was a genius. He didn’t look happy about it at all.

He felt sorry for me.

“Rain?”

“…………”

He looked out the window. I was caught up within him and looked out the window as well.

The leaves have fallen off the trees in the hospital’s yard and the tree trunks were clearly visible. In this cold season, the leaves seemed to have fulfilled their role and fell in the season when they should have fallen down.

Unlike our first meeting. It wasn’t snowing. The sun was shining brightly on this city.

“Your disease… Is it painful?”

“Meh…”

It was the same old reply. But his words made me feel depressed. He must have been trying to act strong. I heard his stay would not be very short, but that short reply of his was painful.

It seems my fantasies and his feelings were a little different. Seeing my shoulders droop and my heart sink, he smiled at me calmly.

“I’m not lying.”

“Eh…?”

“The disease really isn’t that painful. It’s not a big deal.”

“…………”

I stare into his eyes. I don’t know much about him, but his eyes don’t have the colour of a man who is forcing himself to act strong. The disease isn’t painful. I couldn’t sense that he was lying in this scenario.

Then why do you look like you’ve given up on something then…?

“Please cheer up!”

“Eh?”

“If you cheer up! Curing the illness will be just around the corner. So let’s go play together.”

It was my job as his big sister to cheer him up. When I told him that, he chuckled.

“Meh…”

“Eh…?”

“It’s fine even if I don’t get better.”

Rain was laughing and mouthing words of resignation. Quietly closing his eyes, he made light of my positive and excellent suggestion.

“Muu…”

My cheeks puffed up at being treated so poorly. I was a little frustrated by this cocky attitude of my henchman. I tried to cheer him up because I was his big sister, but he just wouldn’t take my hand.

He would definitely get better if he cheered up. It would definitely be way more fun too.

“Boo-”

I tried so hard to cheer you up. I was planning to play with you with all my energy, but what’s with that mindset of yours! Why did you have to reject my proposal! I look at him with frustration in my eyes. I puffed up my cheeks showing my frustration at him.

“Haha…”

He scratched his head and laughed at my actions.

“Look, here’s a candy cane to put you in a better mood.”

“Really? Are you sure? Yay!”

My mood is back to normal!

I loved sweets. Father used to buy a lot of them for me. But if I was idle, my mother would eat all of it. We both loved sweets so much that there was a fierce competition between us whenever there were any sweets present..

My henchman has given me a tribute! Umu! Good job! Good job! I have to praise him. I am happy to have such an excellent henchman serving under me.

“…………”

“Is there a strawberry flavored one?”

“Haha…”

Rain smiled and took a light red candy cane out of the bag. I took it and rolled it around in my mouth. Yes, I have a really great henchman! Forgetting my original purpose, I was enjoying the taste of the candy.

Rain was giving me a big smile but I didn’t notice that.

　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

“Yuki, what’s wrong? You started reading a book in a foreign language? Can you even read it in the first place?”

“I can read it fine, mom.”

“Ehh? Can you really read it?”

I was reading a book in a foreign language in a warm, heated house when my mother approached me. I handed her the book and she flipped through it.

“Wow… It’s an antique that’s not aimed at children.”

“Eh? Really?”

Dad also comes by and peeks into the book. They both express their surprise at that.

Fufu! What do you think! I’m an adult! I’m a genius! I puffed my chest out in pride.

“Anya… did you read books in foreign languages like this as a child?”

“Nope. I never even tried doing so. Have you?”

“Don’t ask me that, I can’t help.”

“Right…”

At any rate, I know mom and dad are really surprised. I don’t understand why she didn’t consult dad about that though.

“You’re doing great, Yuki. You can read such a difficult book already? You’re amazing.”

“Fufu!”

My father pats my head. It feels good. Yes I worked hard. I pulled out a lot of unfamiliar dictionaries and immersed myself in a foreign language book. I’ve been trying to catch up with Rain on this.

My father’s hand patting my head seemed to be sincerely affirming my efforts, which made me very happy.

“But don’t treat me like a child, okay?”

“Yeah, Yeah…”

That’s that and this is this. Dad is still patting my head and treating me like a child. But I’m an adult now.

“Why did you start reading books in foreign language? Yuki?”

“My friend was reading one! As an adult, I couldn’t lose.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

When I said that, mom and dad looked at me with a puzzled look on their faces.

“Do kids these days read books in difficult foreign languages?”

“No-no, the students at my school don’t do that. I don’t see any of them reading books in a foreign language that are over a hundred years old. What kind of child is that?”

“His name is Rain. He’s a boy at the hospital. He’s my henchman.”

“Eh?”

Mom and Dad’s eyes rolled back in their sockets.

“Eh?! A boy! You play with boys? Yuki!?”

“Yes I do, I’ve been visiting him a lot lately. He’s a great guy! He’s my little brother.”

“He… HEE?!”

For some reason, Mom’s cheeks turned red and with sparkling eyes turned towards me like I was a friend over for girls’ talk. Why does she wear that kind of expression when I talk about Rain, I wonder? Dad on the other hand starts fidgeting, his face was turning blue and he’s becoming a little restless.

“W-Wait a minute… Yuki.. A boy… S-So casually, I won’t allow this! As your dad!”

“Yes, yes, Zeke. Be quiet. So! Yuki! What kind of boy is he?”

For some reason, Mom forcibly pushed dad away with her hand to block out his flustered and unintelligible words. She looked curious and urged me to tell my story.

“We are rivals and he is my henchman. He is not a bad friend, and although he is not very talkative or sociable, he is a very smart henchman who gives me sweets.”

I answered confidently. He.. he.. HEH? Mom’s face turned red, while father was grunting while gritting his teeth. I wonder what’s wrong.

After meeting him several times, I knew that Rain was smart after all.

We competed against each by bringing a problem set… and I forced him to solve them because he’s too lazy. No matter how difficult the problems I brought were, he’d always get a 100 without a doubt.

Though I also managed to keep up my appearance as a big sister by also keeping up and getting 100 points, and when I didn’t get a 100, I would think of a good excuse to keep up appearances.

And he knew a lot of things too. He was very knowledgeable. He didn’t talk much and seemed to try not to talk himself, but I could tell from his every word that he had a wealth of knowledge hidden inside of him.

I would pretend to be a know-it-all and somehow maintain my dignity as an adult, and when I got home, I would stock up on a great deal of knowledge in that area and talk about it with Rain the next time I saw him.

He doesn’t talk much, so I’m the one who has to do all the talking.

“…………”

Hmm?

Am I perhaps a bother to him?

No, that shouldn’t be the case, I’m sure… Rain doesn’t seem uncomfortable when I talk with him. Rain doesn’t get angry with me either.

No, I have no idea what’s going on in Rain’s mind. He doesn’t talk much, so I hardly know what’s in his mind. I’m not smart enough to understand people’s mind.

Hmm? Maybe I am being a pain in the ass to him?

“He-HEE?”

“…………”

My mother looked very happy… and my father listened to me very anxiously for some reason.

“This Rain boy seems really smart. Is he smarter than Yuki?”

“Moooom! I’m smarter.”

“Ahh, yes, yes.”

I got a throwaway reply. Even though it’s true!

“Nnn…”

“Zeke, don’t you dare show me anything unseemly like your Father’s jealousy. This is getting good, a male friend. Aah! This is getting fun! I can’t believe Yuki has a close male friend.”

“Ah, no-no, Anya. That’s not what I’m worried about…. I guess I’m worried about that too though.”

“Zeke?”

Dad responded back with a cryptic response. He looked away and scratched his head a little as if he was thinking about something in his head. Both Mom and I tilted our heads at him.

“What’s wrong, Zeke?”

“No, I’m a little… worried about this Rain kid.”

“Worried?”

Dad slowly opened his mouth.

“Maybe that kid is ‘Gifted.’”

“Hmm…?”

Dad says this with his hand on his chin. It was a word I had never heard before.

“Gifted…?”

“Un, I know. That kid, isn’t he smart but has trouble communicating with other people.”

“Ahh. Yes, I know, I know! Gifted! It’s awesome! Cool!”

I pretended to know what they were talking about.

“Well, I just said it. Being gifted means you are born with outstanding intellectual abilities.”

“Hehh?”

In short, a genius?

“Isn’t that a child with very high IQ”

“Uh, Anya. Strictly speaking, gifted people are not supposed to be diagnosed by IQ tests alone, but… well, you can recognize a very smart child as one. A child who is very intelligent, or excels in a certain ability.”

“Hmmmm.”

“As a teacher, the big problem for me is that gifted children don’t develop their abilities through regular schooling,” he said. “Age-appropriate learning doesn’t match their abilities, or general learning content doesn’t work well with their abilities.”

Doesn’t that mean he’s very smart? So why does father look so worried about that?

“Then I guess that means Rain is a great kid.”

“Ahh, yeah, that’s an acceptable conclusion too, of course.”

He put his hand on his chin again. Hesitated for a moment, folded his knees, making eye contact with me and spoke.

“Gifted children often have difficult problems. I guess it’s called the trouble of being a genius. Because they have a strong sense of being different from others, they may suffer from various problems, such as not fitting in or not being able to understand others.”

“…………”

“There are instances where a person is significantly inferior to some, whilst some have significantly more outstanding abilities. I’m curious about that. Yuki mentioned the part about him being quiet and unsociable. Maybe the boy has contracted some mental or social problems.”

My father looked at me with serious eyes as he spoke. 

Even with that, Dad didn’t give off a demeaning vibe about Rain. he didn’t say that I shouldn’t play with him because he might have a problem, he was genuinely concerned about Rain. I could see it in his eyes.

“I understand.”

I held out my chest to tell him not to worry.

“I will try to support Rain!”

When I said it, he smiled lightly.

“Yes. Great job, Yuki.”

“Fufu!”

There shouldn’t be any problem in that regard. Rain is a good guy. He gives me sweets after all.

He is also very knowledgeable and smart, and I often get frustrated by that. But if you can look past that he’s a good guy. He lacks energy, doesn’t talk much and is a little distant from a normal friend. But that’s it.

“I’ll take good care of Rain! Because I’m his big sister and he is my henchm-I mean younger brother!”

As I said this, my real younger brother, Halle appeared across the hall.

“Sis, what about me?”

“It doesn’t matter how many brothers I have, You can be brother number one Haelle, Rain will be brother number two.”

“Am I better?”

‘In terms of order, I would say yes.“

“Wow!”

Haelle was surprised.

“So he’s my Onii-chan?”

“I guess so.”

“Waaa…”

At that moment, father mumbled something in a whisper.

“No… from what I’ve heard, I think Rain-kun is more like an older brother to you, Yuki.”

I was so disappointed in what he said that I was pouting back at him. It was something I should not have listened to. It was something that should not be said to an adult lady.

I was furious.

“No, he’s not! I am much more mature than him! My birthday is earlier than his! Ottou-san BAKA! I hate you! Get away from me!”

“Ahhh?! Yuki! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t run away from me!”

I ran back to my room.

“Yukiiiiiiiiii!”

I closed the door to my room, hearing my father’s cries. From behind the door, I hear my mother laughing. She told me later that he fell to his knees on the floor and nodded off.

I had won 100 battles against my father.

---

TLN: Its been a while. Big thanks to Spynine01 for editing this chapter, his kofi will be below this.