Having a twin brother who’s too good at everything is rough on the younger one. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you get compared to him on a loop. I’m not exactly useless myself — but against my too-perfect older brother, I’ve never once won at anything.
That’s probably why I — Kujo Yuito — ended up known as “the degraded version” of my twin brother Kujo Ayato. At school, some people call me, behind my back, “the not-impressive Kujo brother.”
“Heard Ayato got first again this time too.”
“Top of the year ever since we started. That’s insane.”
“Right? And he’s good at every sport on top of that. Like, peak human.”
“How is one person that good at everything?”
After the closing homeroom of the day I was hanging around chatting with friends, and on my way out of the classroom I caught the girls in my class talking like that.
My brother apparently took first in the year on this midterm too. As for me, I’d scraped seventh — slightly better than usual, but still a loss.
When I was a kid I had a brutal inferiority complex about not being able to beat him no matter how hard I tried. By now I’ve gone full resignation mode. If I can never win however hard I push, this is where you end up — it’s natural enough.
“I really wish Ayato had been put in our class.”
“Yeah, we’re both in the humanities track. At least let us share a homeroom.”
“On the first day of school, when I saw ‘Kujo’ on the roster, I really got my hopes up…”
Right as they got that far, the girls noticed I was nearby and all simultaneously pulled bad-conscience faces. I waved a little gesture at them — don’t worry about it.
I’ve been through this routine countless times since elementary school, so by now I’m a veteran. I shot the girls one sympathetic glance and walked out of the classroom.
On the way to the shoe lockers, a familiar face came toward me from up ahead. It was my childhood friend, Yuki Suzuno.
“Oh, Yuito-kun. Perfect timing.”
“Suzuno? What’s up?”
“I wanted to know if Ayato’s free this weekend.”
“That’s something you should just ask my brother yourself, right?”
“B-but it’s embarrassing…”
Watching Suzuno pull her best girl-in-love face, my chest twinges.
Suzuno — my first love — is in love with my brother, not me.
When I figured that out I cried three nights straight. But no matter how hard I try, I can never beat my brother. I know that perfectly well. I’ve tried to give up countless times, and I still can’t quite shake the feelings.
”…Saturday he has a soccer practice match, I’m pretty sure. But Sunday should be open — nothing on the calendar.”
“Really? Thanks. See you!”
Refusing to tell her when I actually knew felt too petty, so I told her — and Suzuno lit up with a beaming smile and walked off.
As I watched her go, the expression on my face must have been pretty pathetic.
I switched from my indoor slippers to sneakers at the lockers and started toward home — and just outside the front gate, someone called out to me.
“Hey, Yuito. Funny seeing you here.”
”…Kano-san. What are you doing here?”
The voice was Suzuno’s older sister, Yuki Kano. Her face shape is similar to Suzuno’s, but with that bright blonde hair and the piercings, she looks completely gal.
She made the college-debut image change to the current gal look only about a month ago, and the first time I saw her like that it was a serious shock — but by now I’ve adjusted.
“What am I doing? Just happened to be passing by my old school, so I was waiting for Yuito.”
“You always say that, but the route home from your university doesn’t actually come through here.”
“Don’t worry about the little stuff. So — riding home with me again today?”
”…Sure. I’ll take you up on the offer like usual, then.”
I fell into step beside her.
Kano commutes to college on a motorcycle, and every so often she just casually rolls up and lets me ride pillion home.
The catch is — getting ambushed at the school gate this often means I’m getting seriously noticed.
“By the way, you don’t have classes left today?”
“Nope. Done for the day, my dear underclassman. Rest easy.”
“Glad to hear it. So you are actually attending.”
I’d heard that once you become a college student a lot of people start taking “self-imposed days off” — i.e. just skipping class — so honestly I’d been a tiny bit worried. Kano gave me a look of deep insult.
”…Yuito, what do you take me for, exactly?”
“With a look that unserious, who could blame me?”
“This is fashion.”
We bantered like that for a bit, and after a short walk we reached the park. Two minutes from school. This is where Kano parks her bike.
“Sweet ride, as always.”
“Right? Saw it in the showroom and knew on the spot — bought it.”
Kano’s bike is a Shinobi 250 — a mid-class motorcycle. The lime-green frame catches the eye from a distance, and the styling has that boy-brain pull to it.
Kano is 168 cm — on the tall side for a girl — so reach to the ground apparently isn’t an issue for her either.
“Oh, hey. Wanna come along with me somewhere?”
“Come along where?”
”…That reaction is so boring.”
“What reaction were you expecting?”
“Obviously — ‘Of course! I’ll protect you forever, Kano-san!’ — that kind of thing.”
“That is so not my character.”
If my brother said it, sure — but coming from me it’d be way too gross.
“You’re as cold as ever, Yuito.”
“So where am I coming along to?”
“This new café just opened by the station. I want company while I scope it out.”
“Ah, that place. The girls in my class have been talking about it.”
It’s supposedly a trendy café and it’s getting popular with the girls especially. Naturally I have never set foot in a normie-magnet café like that.
“But if you’re going there, wouldn’t it be way better to go with friends from college than with someone like me?”
“This is a scouting trip before I bring my friends. I’m an old-school ‘do the research first’ type. But going alone seemed kind of sad, so I picked the obviously-free Yuito.”
“Right…”
The “obviously-free” was one word too many — but if that’s the plan, fine, I get why she’d grab me.
“Time’s wasting. Let’s go. Put this on and get on behind me.”
“Got it.”
I took the helmet she handed me, settled it on my head, and carefully sat down on the tandem seat. Kano confirmed I was settled, turned the key, fired up the engine, and we set off.