"My name is Shiina Taki. I'm six years old."
"Little Taki, smile a bit more. Once your big sister and you finish the enrollment photo, she still has practice to get to, so don't waste her time."
The black-haired woman who said this was Shiina Taki's mother.
"Fine, okay, geez."
[Why does everyone have big sister's name on their lips? It's so strange. I'm plenty amazing too.]
Little Taki puffed out a chest that had yet to develop at all, as though to prove just how extraordinary her bearing was.
Click—
The camera lens flashed, and then her big sister and her mother were gone, the crowd around them surging and shifting. Today was the day Shiina Taki started elementary school.
"Study hard, Little Taki. I'll come pick you up tonight!"
Shiina Maki waved to Taki from a distance. The staggered start times meant her big sister's own classes hadn't begun yet today.
"Yeah! I know... wait, I don't need you to pick me up at all.
From today on, I, Shiina Taki, am a grown-up too! I can handle everything myself!"
Before she could finish her small act of defiance, her big sister's voice was swallowed by the crowd.
After hesitating a moment, Taki gave in and followed the little beans who stood about as tall as she did, filing inward. Haneoka Girls' School had no shortage of new students, and most of them were dainty, doll-like little cuties.
In twos and threes they made a cheerful racket, crossing the courtyard and arriving at the lower campus, where the reception teachers waited to send the children off to their classes.
"This way, everyone. Excuse me, would you let me take a look at your student ID? Oh, oh, thank you for cooperating. Hmm... Shiina?"
The pink-haired teacher at the reception desk had a sudden gleam in her eyes, as if she'd stumbled onto a treasure. "Which Shiina are you... Shiina Maki! Do you know Shiina Maki?"
Big sister?
Taki nodded, uncomprehending. She had no idea why this strange lady was bringing up her sister.
"I know her. She's my big sister."
"Ha ha ha, no wonder, Shiina's little sister! You're very cute, aren't you? I hope Shiina... ah, that Taki will turn out just as splendid as her big sister!"
Just as splendid as her big sister! That was exactly what Taki had always wanted to be.
And yet, coming out of someone else's mouth, the words left a strange taste behind.
Shiina Taki plucked listlessly at the strap of her schoolbag. Once she was led into her classroom, the first lesson of her academic life began.
First period, break, second period, break.
The morning was over.
[So fast... but...]
Bored out of her mind, Taki propped up her small head with one hand, her purple eyes sweeping across the classroom.
[Everyone's already made friends? That fast... that's ridiculous.]
They had all just enrolled. Why was everyone else settling into the rhythm so quickly?
Shiina Taki felt herself falling behind, left out, and the tension inside her swelled beyond anything she could hold down.
Lunch break had arrived, and because everyone had friends, they pushed their desks together and opened the bento boxes they'd brought from home.
Taki had a bento too. But eating alone in the middle of all that laughter made her stick out horribly.
She had no choice but to grab her lunch bag and leave the classroom, intending to hunt down some corner of the enormous Haneoka Girls' School campus that was both quiet and pleasant to look at.
"Hmph. Haneoka Girls' School is huge. There's no way I can't find one place that isn't noisy!"
Haneoka Girls' School was huge, and finding one place quiet enough to eat in really wasn't easy.
In the end Taki found the lakeside. There was an artificial lake on the grounds, and most of the time older girls came down to it to whisper and flirt with one another.
So Taki deliberately sought out the most remote corner she could. She swore that even if she fell into the water right here, nobody would ever find her.
"Phew..."
She pulled open the bag and took out her lunch. Fresh broccoli, absolutely detestable — but her mother had packed tempura too.
In that case, the broccoli could be forgiven.
The afternoon breeze carried the distant laughter and squealing of the other girls, while Taki ate her cold boxed lunch alone.
The school had microwaves, but Taki didn't know her way around yet and couldn't be bothered to ask, so she simply ate it cold.
It made no difference anyway.
A few bites and she was done. She stood on the stone bank at the lake's edge and gazed quietly into the distance.
[What's big sister doing right now? Will she make my favorite food at home and wait for me to come back?]
Big sister, she...
She turned to go, and her foot slipped. Her balance vanished all at once, and in the space of a blink Shiina Taki went into the lake.
The water was deeper than she'd imagined. Taki fought to keep the panic down, but she couldn't stop her body from drifting away from the bank with the current, entirely out of her control.
The only thing she could do was keep her head above the surface — and then, against every wish she had, both her legs cramped.
[How can this be happening!]
A moment ago she'd been congratulating herself on finding a place with nobody around. Now she could scream all she liked and it would come to nothing.
Pain spread through her calves. Taki couldn't stop herself from sinking.
[Big sister! Mom! I...]
[I'm not going to die here, am I...]
[Not this! Please, no...]
Bubbles, gurgling.
The descent went on, unstoppable.
Taki didn't dare make any wasted movement. She thought of the drowning people she'd seen on television — the ones who thrashed until their strength gave out, the ones who choked on water and died of it.
Hold your breath first, no matter what. Maybe the cramps would ease off in a moment.
At last not even bubbles rose to the surface. Taki didn't dare open her eyes. The lake was cold, and the cold seeped all the way into her heart.
I...
Then came a splash, and the surface that should have gone still rippled outward again. Shiina Taki felt something seize both of her hands.
She opened her eyes, trembling. Down at the bottom she couldn't make out the light above; the underwater world was a strange, treacherous place. But she could just barely see something shining.
[What is that...]
So brilliant.
What on earth was that shining thing?
Fiery red gemstones? Then why was golden light flickering out from inside them?
Ah...
Her head felt ready to be crushed apart. In the instant before she lost consciousness, Shiina Taki finally made out what she was looking at.
[They're eyes.]
They were the eyes of the person pulling her up.
A purity flickered in them that Taki had never seen before. Could it be that an angel had come to take her away?
She hoped the angel would grant her one chance not to die.
[Coerced Omen: Once per month. Upon activation of this trait, a disaster is randomly generated, and the disaster will bring misfortune upon the host. Cost: minus one month of lifespan.]
[Manifest Calamity: Once per lifetime. When the host's physical condition becomes unstable, this trait may be activated at will, granting Coerced Omen a temporary upgrade. The upgraded Coerced Omen is guaranteed to inflict critical injury upon the host. Cost: minus two months of lifespan.]
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