Classroom of the Elite Final Year

Chapter 3: Sister's Reunion

AFTER INFORMING HORIKITA, Ichinose made her way to where her sister was. She smiled upon seeing her sister. It had been so long. She didn't know about what the others felt but these two years have felt long to her. 

"LET'S GO somewhere else." She proposed to her sister. Her sister nodded her head in response. Together, the two of them sat on a bench outside the gymnasium. It was shaded by the tree and there was no one around so they could talk freely without worrying about anyone else eavesdropping on them.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ichinose started the conversation after they settled on the bench.

"Yeah. Two years. I missed you a lot, onee-chan."

"I missed you as well, Hasumi-chan."

"I know that. I know how much onee-chan loves me so there's no way she wouldn't miss me." Hasumi had a big smile on her face. She must have missed her as well. 

The two sisters had a very close relationship. They were sisters as well as best friends at the same time. The two got along so well that they had become the ideal siblings in their neighborhood. They were not that well off but they were happy. Their mother was equally loving. Despite having faced hard times, they were as happy as one can be.

Meeting her sister here after so long made her remember those days. Whenever she thought back to those days, she would feel her heart getting warm. But right after came swirling darkness that swallowed that warmth whole. What she had done back then surfaced to her mind and she would feel her heart being gripped. 

Hasumi noticed the sudden change in her sister's attitude and she didn't take long to guess what was the cause of all that. She turned towards her sister and bowed her head, "I am sorry, onee-chan. It was all because of me..." 

She didn't complete her sentence. For one she couldn't say anymore and for the other, her sister would understand even without her completing her sentence. 

Realizing what her sister was saying Ichinose said in fluster, "No, no, no. Why are you apologizing Hasumi-chan? You did nothing wrong! It was me who-"

"But it was because of me!" Hasumi cut her short and spoke in a loud voice. Hasumi continued speaking in a loud voice, not caring whether other people might hear her, "If I hadn't asked for that clip, then onee-chan wouldn't have done that, right? If only I hadn't wanted anything back then..." 

Tears ran down her cheeks. 

All this time, these two years, she had spent every day blaming herself and in anguish. Because of her, her beloved sister had shoplifted. If only she hadn't been stubborn and if only she hadn't asked for that clip, then her sister surely would have no need to shoplift. She was never a person to do something like that. She knew that well and she also knew that she was at fault for what had happened. So every day, she had been waiting for a chance to apologize. She had wanted to apologize to her sister. 

"Sorry. I am sorry, onee-chan." Like a dam had burst, both the sisters started crying. 

Ichinose hugged her sister tight and spoke, "No. It was my fault. I was the one who decided to shoplift. I should have worked part-time or something and bought you that gift instead. But I had to go ahead and do something like that." Ichinose bit lip. 

Now that she thought, why didn't the idea of working and earning money to buy her the gift occur to her back then? She would have been able to buy her sister the gift and it would have also helped her mom. But she knew that it wouldn't have any meaning then. Hasumi had wanted that on her birthday. She was desperate on getting her the gift. The sight of her sister crying and screaming at her mother in the hospital bed pushed her to shoplift.