Around the time of fifth grade, I joined the local youth football team.

The team wasn"t in a tournament or anything, and frankly speaking it"s not too different than playing a game of kickb.a.l.l.s after school.

At the time, football was all the rage among us boys who couldn"t care less about trends. Even the girls who took joy in competing were mixed together with them, sending the ball here and there. Affected by the air of "if you don"t play, you have no friends" I naturally pretended to be interested and joined the them.

Since it"s a team effort, my parents were often preparing drinks or snacks under the bridge, be it hot or cold. I bet they actually didn"t want to do it — I now realized just how incredible they were.

Back then, I only cared about other things.

So, I joined a team. All"s well — except, did I really try to play the sports? The answer, as obvious as it is, is simply a no.

I had totally no chance of appearing in a game when we were playing against other teams. The coach hated me. Just kidding: I just sucked.

In terms of practising, I consider myself dedicated. During the weekend, or when school"s out, I spent most of my time training, as much as my friends did. But to admit the brutal truth, I was simply not cut out for the sport.

Little by little, I noticed that I wasn"t as good as the other boys. Was it because my legs aren"t as nimble? Who knows. In any case, I was no good: when I mimic others, my movement became rigid; the difference in our abilities made me wonder if I was dreaming.

Another possible reason was, perhaps, a common thing for youth football: rather than defence, most kids want to be in the forward position, resulting in more compet.i.tion. Like going to a high school with low acceptance rate, I stood no chance.

After half a year, I was still a backup; my uniform was much cleaner than the others".

My parents had to come all the way here for their kid who won"t even be playing, and to take care of other children — I was mortified.

In the end, I left after a year.

Oh, there"s another reason. I just didn"t feel envy watching other people play on the field any more. Hm, I probably came to accept it long before.

I wonder if it was at that time that I"ve become hesitant to try things far beyond my own abilities.

And so I gave up on the athletic aspect and joined the arts and craft club in middle school.

...Why did I choose that club? Even for myself, it"s a riddle yet to be solved.

After getting hit by Erio"s ball, the s.p.a.ce girl returned to the field. The old guy that appeared to be her caretaker tried to stop her, but gave in when she said something along the line of "my esper power grants me invincibility."

She looked okay, so I didn"t want to be further involved. With that over, Erio and I left her to continue the game.

I went back to our resting area, and Erio to the third base.

With feet dragging, Erio never changed that gloomy look.

As a side note about the game, if we talk strictly about results, it"d be two losses in a row.

… And the day after Erio"s first match in the amateur baseball game.

The girl who still wore the s.p.a.ce suit look-a-like stood in the batter"s box.

If she swung the bat, she might create a s.p.a.ce rift — that"s what the picture suggested. Standing on the pitcher"s hill, Maekawa dad also seemed bemused, kicking at the dirt. He doesn"t seem to be resilient to pressure, as the game suggested. Once someone made a hit, he messes up easily. In baseball video game term, it"s like danger x or runner x… Still, being the ace, huh. That"s bada.s.s. [1]

And I guess, just like last time, Maekawa dad could sense the overwhelming aura emanating from that opaque visor.

The girl in s.p.a.ce suit who descended to the river bank was rumoured to be an esper.

Oh wow, so cool. That explains nothing though.

“What is that?”

I asked Hanazawa-san, who"s s.p.a.cing out on first base after the fish store"s owner messed up. A teammate might have some insight into this, right? At the peak of my excitement, she flatly said, "dunno."

Hanazawa-san"s also in her uniform today. Needless to say, the men were always staring around her waist when she pitches.

“Nakamura-san — oh, he"s our catcher — brought her yesterday. A relative or something. I heard other people say she was messed up the farm or she ran away from home.”

“...A relative?”

“Well, don"t really know. Don"t care either way.”

Still dubious of the s.p.a.ce girl, Maekawa dad threw his first pitch to her. She put all her strength into the bat and swung directly into the air thirty centimetres above the ball. It was a bad miss on the same tier as Erio"s. I"ve thought about this the other day too, but can she even see well through that helmet?

The entire time Hanazawa-san hadn"t shown a speck of intention to leave the first base, only listlessly rubbing her head. She totally had no plan to steal the base, nor the will to move onto the next.

If she"s so unmotivated, why did she come?

“That aside, what"s your deal with that?”

Hanazawa-san crudely pointed with her chin. The direction she pointed to, on the far left field, was Erio with her gloved hand raised in preparation. Continuing from yesterday, she"s also a baseball player today (self-appointed).

Since I"ve been seen together with Erio yesterday, there was no way I could just gloss it over today. If I were keep quiet or try to to hide it, our relationship might even end up being muddled. My school life started to crack.

“She"s my cousin.”

“...Oh.” A slight delay before a disinterested reply. A gruelling pause before a boring reply. I"m not exaggerating — that really kind of sucked. Sure is nice that Erio wasn"t around~ I distracted myself with the thought.

Hanazawa-san leaned forward to observe more closely. Erio didn"t notice her gaze, busy adjusting her posture and her arm"s angle… Oh, she"s blocking the sun with her glove?

“You don"t look alike. At all.” Hanazawa-san mumbled while looking at Erio"s face.

“She"s my cousin.”

“Cousins don"t look alike?”

“It"s kinda hard when you"re only distantly related, you know?”

If I look like Erio, the amount of youth points would probably crack me up. It"d be a far cry from my current situation. Well, it isn"t that bad now that I"ve met Ryuushi-san and Maekawa-san. Or rather, I"m very glad about it.

“Oh… In other words, you"re related to that?”

Hanazawa-san doesn"t refer to Erio as "Touwa" or "Eriri." Not that the latter is ever possible.

Seeing Maekawa dad"s second pitch end up as a ball in the catcher"s mitt, I shot a side glance at Hanazawa-san. She"s already looked away from Erio, now at Maekawa dad"s direction.

“I guess it is a turn off, huh.” Erio and I being related.

“A little. It"s hard to treat someone fairly if he"s related to a weirdo, you know? But if it"s just "being on the opposing team," then it"s not really a problem.”

After speaking without a single pause, she looked to the resting area. In that direction, we saw Maekawa-san, as she"d promised, in an alien costume.

“Maekawa is an exception though.”

“Are you going to tell people at school?” And just what did I expect her to say?

Hanazawa-san"s face twisted slightly — it was definitely not a friendly sign.

On the pitcher"s hill and in the batter"s box, the third ball leading to a strike stirred up both a good and bad reaction.

“Not intentionally, but I might just if me and my friends ran out of things to say. Like, "I"ve heard this from a little bird," that kind of thing. So sorry, if that ever happens.”

“That"s fine, I guess.” Realistically it isn"t, but it"s hard to deny her that right.

Meme-san said it too: it"s probably only because Erio is cute that I, as a guy, care about her. I wonder if that"s the case. A sense of self-deprecation poked out.

Hanazawa-san raised her chin and stared back at Erio. And then.

“I"ve only been in cla.s.s with that for about two months though.”

“Hm?” She"d been calling Erio "that" since the beginning, and that piqued my interest.

“To be honest, other girls have been jealous of her since way before then… Whether it"s the hair, or her face.”

After seemingly talking to herself, she dashed out. Not toward the second base, but her own resting area. Looking carefully, the s.p.a.ce girl had fallen right at the batter"s box after being struck out. Oh, it"s time to switch.

Not that it"s important, but Nakajima wasn"t among the other team.

I recall that Ryuushi-san"s att.i.tude yesterday wasn"t as though "it"s super bad!" or anything. Neither did it seem like I have a match or something.

Erio, who had done nothing for defence, came running toward the resting area — no, me.

Like a puppy with a Frisbee in its mouth coming back to its owner.

I know, too, though that I was the only person she belonged with on this river bank

...Haah. Hmm? For some reason, both a bitter smile and a sigh covered my face.

“It"s not hard to deal with, but...”

But it"s just a pain, maintaining your social status. Those who can are certainly impressive.

Just like that, we lost again today. The shopping district is now on a 3-loss streak. The seedling of victory did not grow.

Hanazawa-san completed the match with no hits and no runners. It"s a little too embarra.s.sing even for an amateur game. She was the only one with the same ridiculous power like a baseball manga protagonist.

Unless Hanazawa-san quits or if we undergo enhancement surgery by some shady doctor, we don"t have a chance of escaping the status quo. This position filled me with deja vu of the time when I played football, and to be honest I"m not fond of it.[2]

“Transfer student.”

The xenom*rph arrived. It should have been a sight to flee from, but knowing the person inside is the embodiment of bean sprout, I stayed.

It"s hot in the morning too, huh. Maekawa-san"s face tinted red with heat radiating. "Just take the thing off." Is it not tactful to say that? And, is she even wearing anything inside? I wonder.

“What"s up?” Without stopping the cleaning motion, I engaged her.

“I just came to say, good job today as well.”

“Thanks, but I still didn"t hit the ball today.”

"I"m embarra.s.sing as help" I jokingly said that out loud. As though she"s seen through it, Maekawa-san quietly smiled. Having someone of my age do this to me was as if being pointed out how immature I am. Now, I"m actually embarra.s.sed.

As I tried to cover it up by cleaning even harder, Maekawa-san began scrambling inside the xenom*rph and pulled something out. The object that came from a slightly unsettling place was…

“Here, your breakfast.”

“Oh hoh~” The primary reason of why I came. I received the package. Everything, aside from where it came from, was perfect.

Oh man. It"s a rectangular item inside the silver aluminium foil wrap. Is it a sandwich?

In any case, it"s a waste to give this to someone whose morning had been a blur.

“Um, Maekawa-san.”

I circled in front of Maekawa-san and stood straight. “Mm?” As if trying to understand the friendly alien, the xenom*rph tilted her head with a gentle smile.

“What is it? If you"re being so proper.”

“Well, I"m just very happy. Thanks again.” I raised the food.

Something made by a girl. It"s an indescribable sense of fulfilment — it might even be the last time ever.

...I hope not. It"s pretty sad how I can"t deny the possibility entirely.

“Yep.” Maekawa-san nodded readily, but I thought her face flushed ever redder. It was quite the occasion.

Was she embarra.s.sed from being praised?

Seeing how I"m usually the one being played by her strange acts, this might just be a rare Maekawa-san.

I wanted take a bunch of pictures with my phone, but since the ratio of the xenom*rph to human will be higher, I gave up on that thought.

“I guess they didn"t call you the womanising transfer student for nothing.”

“I felt like something terrible was very casually attached onto my name.”

“Forget that for now. Don"t you have something to do?”

In a strangely cheery mood, the xenom*rph Maekawa-san changed the topic while pointing toward the outfield. “Ah.” I peaked behind Maekawa-san. “Uwah~!” Erio was being chased by the esper-s.p.a.ce girl.

The s.p.a.ce girl, who should have had nothing to do with cleaning up, chased behind Erio as if trying to befriend her. She caught up to Erio while keeping a low profile; her dexterous gaits were actually pretty amazing — as impressive as those of the folks on the street spreading words of their religions.

Unable to break off, Erio sent me glances for help; halfway through, she started mouthing words too. She"s saying "please help me, cousin." She"s too needy.

"Unable to break off, Erio sent me glances for help; halfway through, she started mouthing words too. She"s saying "please help me, cousin." She"s too needy."

I hoped she"d never beg for help like that… Because then I would have to help.

Ahhh… But if I do, my youth points…

Futilely, I looked over to Maekawa-san.

“Do I have to?”

“Aren"t you Erio"s guardian?”

I"m her what? She gave me this disapproving look. Is this how people see me? Her actual guardian would never be present, so I guess it can"t be helped.

Erio"s SOS signal never ceased even as the excuses, or rather explanation, in my head spun.

“Sigh...” I let out a sigh inappropriate for such a fresh morning and redirected myself.

“Have fun~” Under the blessing of a dull cheer, I dragged the rake and jogged ahead. If possible, I would like to hurl this thing into the river.

It"s not likely though, with these arms. Can any high schooler throw something like this perfectly?

To make sure I don"t ruin my food, I steadied my movement while going toward Erio and the s.p.a.ce girl. In an instant Erio"s face cleared from gloom to bloom, and she fled this way; since she"s still holding onto a rake, she looked tired with mouth shut tight.

The s.p.a.ce girl also reacted to me and rushed over. This s.p.a.ce-suit wearer stood against me and, uh, made sound.

“Ho- ho- ho- ho- ho.”

“s.p.a.ce ninja?” Does she plan on talking like that again? If we"re betting under five hundred yen, I"d wager that her throat will die.[3]

“We- are- esper.”

There"s another one. “Oi. It"s your friend.” I said so to Erio, but she frantically shook her head, as if saying they aren"t the same. I thought she called herself an esper too some time ago.

There were some serious changes in these past four month, huh. As I stood there contemplating over this seemingly fuzzy emotion…

“Ow!” The plastic part of a helmet rammed into my throat.

“Hand- her- over. I- must- know- why- she- is- here.”

She pointed at me and demanded for Erio, who quickly hid behind me.

I have become the futon"s replacement.

Imma pounce you then! (My brain"s a little shaken from being knocked)

“Nope. She"s not mine, so it"s not up to me.”

I replied calmly. If she was asking for Meme-san instead, I might have just said "if you would be so kind." But that Erio might follow wherever her mom goes, so I guess the s.p.a.ce girl still wins.

Too shoot the man, shoot his horse — is this what the phrase meant?

“Anyway, why do you want her? Is it because of her look?”

Or was it a revenge for yesterday?

“W-what do you mean my look?”

Erio pinched my back and asked for clarification. Is she not aware of how ridiculous her appearance is? Of course people would be jealous, even if she doesn"t mean it.

“She- is- an- alien.”

“Was. And you forgot the "self-proclaimed" part.”

“@#$%- Comrade.”

“Could you not mix foreign language in there if you insist on talking like that?”

“Actually- we- are- basically- family.”

“Hooray, we have a bigger family now.”

I stiffly reported to Erio, who shook her head crazily.

“My family. Only mom, and the cousin.” Eh? Me too? Well… That"s fine?

As long as I am not married to Meme Obasan!

...Ahem. That aside.

This girl considered herself the same as Erio, that"s why she"s chasing her. Kind of like how Erio used to follow me around wrapped in futon. So, this must be karma.

It always comes back to bite you in the a.s.s… The saying must have been created just for times like this.

“Hon-estly- I- don"t- care- but- as- fe-llow- aliens- on- a- fo-reign- pla-net- shouldn"t- we- all- be- friends?”

“Hah? I thought you"re an esper? That has nothing to do with aliens.”

I feel a bit sad knowing that I am now used to dealing with people like her. Ahh~ Eri-chan taught me quite a few things back in April… Sigh, are there going to be more people like them pop out the longer I stay here? I dismayed at the thought.

The s.p.a.ce girl froze for a moment, and then began moving again. Vivid movements ensued whenever her mouth opened, so it wasn"t that draining; however, I never wanted to interact with her in the first place.

“Also- an- alien.”

“Your settings change easily.”

“It"s not a settin—! It"s- the- real- deal.”

“Did your teachers call you imaginative?”

“La- la- la- la- la.”

She"s playing deaf while humming some tune. “Lalala~ la~ lalala~” Erio somehow continued and sang along quietly.

“What was that melody? Did you make that up?”

“It"s- a- lull-aby- for- babies- with- tails.”

“Wha? ...Oh, that, huh.”[4]

Erio knew where it was from that one tune? I"m amazed that she was able to understood that right away.

“Aren"t you two just the best buds?” Alright, your turn now. I nudged Erio toward the s.p.a.ce girl. “Ah! Cousin! Wah! Uwah!” Amidst the chaos, I pushed Erio out; she immediate turned around and attempted to circle back behind me. To prevent that, I counter-circled behind her.

Following each others" back, we spun like coffee cups.

Or trails left by firecrackers.

What the h.e.l.l were we doing? Now we look like idiot couples shining lovey-dovey aura.

“Are- you- idiots?”

“I don"t need that coming from you. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?”

“An- esper- does- not- have- reflection.”

What a setting. Where did she steal it? Or did she make it up?

“Actually, I heard that you ran away from home. Just go home.”

“Har- har- har- har.” Why the American laugh? “I- am- here- for- work- you- stupid-idiot. I- don"t- really- care- but- they- forced- me- to— cough! Cough!”

She choked. Hmm~ work, huh? Just like Erio back in April.

She didn"t look like someone with a mental trauma or anything. I think.

“Where did you even come from? The city?”

“I just said s.p.a.c— I- just- said- s.p.a.ce. Are- you- stupid? Must- I- repeat- myself?”

“Ohh, that"s right, Earth is a part of s.p.a.ce. Right… So, uh, your outfit. That"s a suit human made to go into s.p.a.ce.”

“The- hu-man- who- visit-ed- my- planet- wore- this- so- I- took- note- from- them- when- I- came.”

She proudly declared. I recalled the theory of "astronauts keeping their meeting with aliens on moon secret." Some people believed that — she must be of one of them.

“Oh, I see.”

“Why- do- you- sound- indifferent.”

Ohoh, she could tell? At least she"s more hopeful than early Erio.

“So, why are you following Erio?”

“People- of- the- same- wave-lengths- attract- one- another.”

She stuck a finger at Erio and clearly announced comradeship. Erio was now completely behind me. Rather than mutual attraction, it was more like one of them was simply being a nuisance.

“I- was- merely- jesting.”

“Your jokes aren"t applicable for normal people.”

“Somehow- she- is- related- to- work- so- I- just- wanted- to- investigate.”

“...Erio is related to your work?”

Does she plan on scouting a girl with red hair and another with purple hair so they can make a rainbow-coloured idol group? As if, hahahah… So, um, what about this girl?

“Listen, you.”

“What- stupid- idiot.” Nice Earthling-style insult there you little t.u.r.d.

“You don"t need a s.p.a.ce ship — your head is already in s.p.a.ce!”

I tried to be as gentlemen-like as I can to rephrase the words "you"re a mess." She was very upset.

“You- do- not- believe- me.”

“Isn"t it about time for you to stop talking like that? You"re gonna suffocate.”

I didn"t have to point it out anyway; she kneeled down. Probably getting too hot in there.

“Ugh- ugh.” She"s even putting pauses between her moans. Well, still alive are we? I am surprised. Time to leave. Yo~ We"re leaving! I beckoned at Erio, who dropped the tool in hand and trotted over here.

“You have a freak following you.”

“N-no...” I don"t know if there was a reason, but she shook her heady violently.

Perhaps it was like watching herself from a year ago when she was spouting nonsense. It must be pretty cringey, having to go through this. Well, I guess it"s kind of the same with having a pet rock.

“And you have to learn how to deal with her.”

“B-but I don"t have my futon.”

Eh? Why did she give me that resentful glare? Oh yes, of course: I took it off. But I had never have anger directed at me for doing something like this. To be fair, though, meeting someone who"s wrapped herself in a mattress was also a first for me. Well, normally it would be pretty much impossible.

“Please, futon is only for when you are sleeping.”

“T-then!” With clenched fists, she squeaked. “I will, count on the cousin.”

Ooph! Right into my strike zone. I couldn"t even look at her. Thankfully, the sight of a xenom*rph Maekawa-san about to head home somehow calmed me down.

For some reason, strange things that people are used to could be soothing. How weird; how mysterious…

This town is truly filled with weirdos, huh. I guess, comparatively, the only normal person is Ryuushi-san.

“Y-you already rely too much on me.” I couldn"t completely hide how shaken I was.

“Yep, so I must rely, more.”

Squeeze. She plastered her face onto my arm. An indescribable chill crawled straight into the back of my brain; gooseb.u.mps.

“Cousin"s arm, kind of chilly.”

“That"s, uh, from the sweat drying off.”

“Uwah.”

She just ran off like that. Oh well, if she kept holding onto me, something in me will be in danger too.

I took a mindless glance behind; the s.p.a.ce girl lied there weakly. I was a bit worried for a second, but that mister someone from the other team rushed over to her, so I stopped looking.

Who would have thought that it"s Erio"s turn to be afflicted? How very sentimental.

After all, she"s became the denizen of a made-up planet or land inside the head of that s.p.a.ce girl. How… Unfortunate. I had only the most disingenuous sympathy.

Whatever. I"ll leave her to Erio and tried my best to pretend to not see it.

Speaking of the s.p.a.ce girl, I don"t really care if she never comes back to Earth. She"s a complete and total stranger, so she can do whatever she wants in s.p.a.ce.

Reasons for me to intervene… None. I hope.

Yet, a reason might just appear in the near future. I must be cautious.

I don"t care what anybody says, this summer will be filled with only youth.

Crazy girls, need not apply till I"ve graduated from high school.

Joining a sports team just to go with the flow — it might be the same now.

But, I couldn"t even make it onto the stage before, and here I am now, playing first bat on an amateur baseball team.

Even a satire should have limits, you know? Or perhaps it"s just bad karma?

In a blur, I finished up the cleaning and took my phone out.

Alright, here we go. Recipient: Ryuushi-san. There"s no one else I could bother on a whim anyway.

There is a certain forty years old with a head full of dark blue hair who"s telling me in my head "I"m here, pen pal! Or pen-lover! I"m here!” With the same tricks to playing a game of whack-a-mole, I sunk the noise. Day after day, the delusion becomes more and more realistic. She"s pa.s.sed her disease onto me.

"Are you at the park again today?"

Sent. As though after an eternity, the mail quickly returned.

"Secret training-ing."

Not so secret now. As expected of an airhead. I replied.

"I"m done with baseball. Can I go watch you secret training-ing?"

Another moment. When it"s supposed to be "Now Loading," the reply came back.

"I will be ready with neck washed."

She seemed to have some incredible resolution.[5]

Did she mistake that phrase"s meaning for "tidied up?" Her j.a.panese"s scores are okay, right? I"m still wondering about many things, but at the very least I seemed to have gotten permission.

Why is it that I want to go see Ryuushi-san practice? Well, it"s because I remembered thinking about Nakajima during the game… So I thought, hey, let"s go see her.

I"m totally not worried about her and Nakajima though.

As I rationalized it to myself, Ryuushi-san sent something else over.

"Is Touwa-san coming too?"

“...” Something about that mail stopped my fingers.

Was there a universal answer that was correct for everyone present?

Uh, but she"s got a point. What about Erio? If she has to go home alone, it"s probably a little… The Esper"s around too, right? I can"t even imagine she wanting to be around her.

"What if, hypothetically, she"s coming with me?" I decide to beat around the bush. It"s kind of like pa.s.sing a turn when playing cards. Since there wasn"t any movement since earlier, I turned to look for Erio; she was already waiting by the bicycle. After meeting my eyes, she waved lightly at me. At the same time, she regarded the s.p.a.ce girl who was once again laid on the bench.

Ryuushi-san"s mail came; a little scared, I opened the text message.

"Touwa-san and I are good friends, so I am fine with that. However, I suddenly have business to take care of today, so I"m afraid we can"t meet today."

An uncanny terror emanated from the message that was no different from a stiffly-translated sentence from an English textbook. Why are you scaring me like that, Ryuushi-san? Are you this year"s test of courage? Um… the reply will have to wait.

Same goes for Nakajima — this should be okay, right? It"s not like anything has happened yet.

I began migrating to the bicycle; once I was close, Erio climbed into the bicycle"s basket. I guess making her sit in the back is simply… futile.

“So.”

“Mm? What?”

“Is baseball fun?”

“It"s… it"s okay.”

Her reaction was apparently an attempt to hide her embarra.s.sment; she even looked away.

“Is it?” Either way, I just asked on a whim.

But what if she said it was boring? What would I say? It would be quite troublesome.

And, I guess it"s because of both playing and cleaning, my legs and waist were tired.

I don"t wanna bike any more; just send me home with your super power~

...I"m kidding. Sigh, I"m exhausted.

After finishing my breakfast from Maekawa-san, I guess I will just sleep till noon. I bet as soon as I hit the bunk, I will fall asleep.

With a smile, I unlocked the padlock while imagining giving into my desire.

“Ah… Let"s go home.”

“Mm!”

As if she"d heard good news, Erio hopped in the basket. "Disease of civilization" — ignoring what it actually means — would be the perfect, literal description of Erio, who"s dependent on the bicycle basket.

I pushed the bike above the bank before began pedalling.

If that self-t.i.tled esper-slash-alien (her settings" are too complicated) is anywhere close to what she claimed to be, she should just fly home on a bicycle.

And because they can"t, people like her are "self-proclaimed."

That"s just how it will always be in this town.

Then, we"ll skip till this evening. Nothing worth writing about happened in the day anyway.

This isn"t too different from last year: the only thing that changed was the place, and I"m even dubious as to whether I have changed. The one thing that concerned me, though, was the fact that I"m getting used to living here.

Today, again, we watched the stars from the Touwa"s yard. "Something even better will appear." That"s what Erio said, but as of what will be evolving remained to be seem. Being clueless, I didn"t really care.

It wasn"t a clear night… I know the expression is poor, but what I mean is it"s not entirely cloud-less. Anyhow, the weather hindered tonight"s session, and Erio showed her dissatisfaction; she had not given up on the sketching, though. It"s not like she had to turn this in to someone — it"s just a hobby, nothing obligatory. For someone who doesn"t even do schoolwork willingly, I was indeed moved by Erio"s enthusiasm. Deep sea fishes are just fun to watch, not something to be discussed from a scholarly angle. Besides, I was once made fun of because I made the attempt.

It might not have been jeering, but it was enough to traumatize my young mind. And it was mortifying.

I looked up at the cloud sifting through sky that seemed to mirror the dark sea while reminiscing.

It"s unimaginable, but memories that excite and encourage us don"t actually appear when we"re thinking back; it"s usually the painful ones that will never disappear from our mind, I thought to myself.

The wind did not chill the bone, but carried weight like the sea breeze. As comfortable as the air was, the cries of insects never calmed.

Resonating from faraway was the hollering of the ramen shop.

Meme-san mentioned to not stay out for too long, but I doubt the temperature would change that much tonight. Just for reference, what Meme-san said was as follow.

"Don"t be out for too long! If Eri-chan get sick I"m going to cry! And I will skip work for you~!" Can you not use your daughter as an excuse to skip work?

She obviously really cares for Erio, but that last line just ruined everything else.

Erio looked away from the telescope and onto me, who"s s.p.a.cing out. Out of my sight! Erio would naturally never say that, but was she trying to encourage me?

She shut her sketchbook and held a fist in front of her chest — the sign of Erio about to announce something. Usually there would be a few seconds of pause before she speaks.

And as expected, it was five seconds this time; the melody of cries of insects and rustle of gra.s.s filled the intermittent s.p.a.ce.

“Cousin...” After calling me that, she shook her head in refusal. “N...Niwa-kun!”

“Wha?”

Was she startled? Erio took a step back; she didn"t run away. After bending forward to make our total distance further apart, she moved closer again.

“C-cousin"s name, Niwa.”

“That"s me all right, but what"s the matter?”

“Uu… ah… Niwa-kun.”

“I know, but why? Are you trying to be like Ryuushi-san?”

Hearing that name, Erio shook her head hastily… Looks like I was right.

But what was the reason for calling me differently?

It wasn"t anything out-of-the-world ridiculous, so I didn"t know how to react.

Don"t tell me — I am actually not her cousin! Is that the shocking truth she"s trying to convey? Hm… That"d be problematic. If we weren"t related, in other words adopted, that means a certain forty-some year old immersed in her hand-held video games is not my aunt.

We"ve accidentally discovered the legal forty-year-old route! ...I"m not that stupid.

“Did you dream up some setting you really like?”

Because of that s.p.a.ce girl. As the older one, that"s what I worry the most. Erio isn"t going to have a remission, is she?

“I-it"s not a setting… I think… A-awahwah!”

Erio flapped her arms in an attempt to relay something; however, she couldn"t find the words. Perhaps that is what has been missing from the way she was raised.

This awkward situation in which we could not make eye contact stifled me. What"s is up with the atmosphere? No one would be able to formulate a proper sentence here. Why do I have to face Erio like this? I"m going to get the wrong idea! I contemplated on suing a certain adult.

After the tension.

Did it know? Or did it shatter the air unknowingly?

Something wriggled. Conscience scattered from Erio; I looked onto the ground on which the object crawled.

Under the porch, a mysterious creature moved with the dark.

“...Hm? Hmm?”

Opening my eyes wider, it was a white object worming on the ground. Both Erio and I froze on the spot and waited for whatever entails.

UMA — the three letter word circled my mind. A nozuchi? The bounty in the department store is still valid, right? As my thought drifted in that direction, the true ident.i.ty of that thing popped in my mind.

The truth behind that white object was the look-alike s.p.a.ce suit.

“What the!”

“This is a very nice porch. I just couldn"t help it. When the people of this planet visited us, they used the same cramped bedding like this in their s.p.a.ceship. When in Rome, do as the Romans.”

The s.p.a.ce girl proudly stood up and dusted herself off. Upon seeing her, Erio bolted back into the entrance.

“Ahhh! You"re that Sir stupid idiot!”

She deliberated arched backward to display surprise, and acknowledged me in an extremely rude manner. Why do I have to deal with someone like this now? I thought, but considering I am the only male in this household, I have to step up.

“How can we help you~? If you have business please refer to the doorbell at the entrance.”

“I am a s.p.a.ce wanderer seeking asylum. Please pay me no mind.”

How does one say something so painful so easily?

“Do you think you"d let a runaway person who"s been rumoured to destroy farming fields free in your backyard?”

“You"re a skeptic, aren"t you? You must be unacquainted with the supernatural.”

Heheh~ she humphed from her nose haughtily. I see, so there"s a nose in that helmet~ Boy am I glad that she has a face. Not!

“How did you get here?”

“My power of course. My superpower.”

“Are you stalking us?”

“Am I suppose to weep for how lowly your brain thinks?”

She"s not planning on stealing from us, is she… If she were, she would have at least changed out of that, so I don"t think she is.

What she did hold, however, was an issue in disjunction to the rumoured crime she committed.

“Oh yeah, you"re talking normally.”

“I used too much of my energy this morning when I was trying to emulate my natural tongue.”

“Oh, your throat"s messed up.” No wonder she sounded husky.

“Hmph. I have concluded that for an idiot like you who deny the existence of super power and the extraterrestrial, using my power would be a waste… But everyone seemed to react the same way anyway… And I thought I understood how aliens are treated here...”

Her mumbling near the end never reached my ear, blocked by the helmet. Ahh~ I hate dealing with this kind of people; I can"t believe I was able to with Erio.

Oh, and she"s back. Or more accurately, the local youkai with a futon torso returned. She was preparing to back me up… I think? In that bowling pin costume.

If she walked into an archery club, would they mistake her for a target and shoot?

“The h.e.l.l is this?” s.p.a.ce girl was taken aback.

“A futon roll.”

“Ghosts live in your house?”[6]

“Hmphf.”

Futon roll and s.p.a.ce girl had a stare down. It was a cosplay battle that you will not have the chance to see even in a fictional world. I didn"t want to back either side, but my position and personal circ.u.mstances dictated that I must stand with the futon roll.

“What, do you expect to battle with me in such gear?”

“Hmphf!” Ohoh, she had confidence — unfortunately, the fact that it is based only on "being wrapped around by a futon" already destroyed the sense of any reliability.

“In terms of Time magic, I am Meteor; in terms of special skills, I am Throw Stone. That is my level, as an esper.”[7]

Is she the destructor of Earth or the neighbourhood brat? Even her examples sounded like what the kids around would say. This was, of course, the thought of a human unable to levitate three meters of the ground.

“Hmphf, hmphf!” Erio did not retreat, sticking her chest out further.

“Or, if we were to use the PS* system to explain, I am Star St*rm.” (TL Note: Referring to the Star Storm skill in Mother 3)

The rock was in a pinch.

Moreover, is it even considered a power to just throw rocks at people? Even I can be an esper starting from tomorrow then. I guess I will start with bouncing rocks on the water.

“So what exactly is that?”

The s.p.a.ce girl pointed at the telescope in the yard. Was she only pretending to not know?

“It"s a telescope.” I replied frankly to see her reaction.

“A tele...scope.” She grumbled some words in that helmet.

“Is it for viewing the stars?”

“That"s right.”

“Hm, which one of you? The one who"s interested in this?”

She pointed back and forth at me and Erio. If I answer to her, she might consider me as a friend. This is one of those landmines in life, I guess.

“Hmphf, hmphf!”

Interrogated by the s.p.a.ce girl, the futon roll stood out bravely.

“Hmm~ You, huh… I see now.”

“Hmphf, hmphf!”

Hmm, Erio seems to be more a.s.sertive when she has that thing on. Is this what they mean by psychological suggestion? Not that I really know what it means, but her confidence was truly amazing. As I ogled from the side, something changed between the two.

“Hah… Hah… hah…” “Ugh...” Both side seemed to suffer from the heat. I wanted to cry, remembering how I was actually hanging out with them.

“Why don"t you just take off that helmet.” And you the futon.

“This is how I limit my power — I cannot take this off.”

“Sounds like something Futon Erio would come up with.”

“Do not compare me with that low-tier seal!”

“Mmf!”

Erio retaliated; she pounced toward the s.p.a.ce girl and bravely tackled her. I thought maybe with the futon in between those two it would soften the impact, but the sound it made was unexpectedly heavy.

Wham! Both of them slammed into the ground.

It would appear both felt the brunt. The futon lied there with legs flailing. “Oh no, the futon"s dirty...” I helped Erio up and glanced at the s.p.a.ce girl.

“Owowow...” She pressed down on her head, moaning; the helmet that fell off when she was. .h.i.t rolled on the side. My eye caught the s.p.a.ce girl"s face…

Speechless.

The self-proclaimed esper had her face exposed.

I, too, was blinded by that brilliance.

The person packaged in that s.p.a.ce suit was a pale girl.

A head of rumpled, white hair that seemed to burn the eyes, like sun in the telescope; a luminescent paleness that seemed more like someone had forgotten to colour the painting caught my gaze. Not just particles, but a star that emitted the very light that danced aimlessly around itself — that"s what I felt.

If we"re talking about with humans or Erio, she is definitely related to the latter: an out-of-this-world beauty. The girl that emerged like Erio shouted scornfully.

“How dare you! You attacked me knowing that it would shorten your life span to this summer! Who the h.e.l.l do you think I am?!”

“How dare you! You attacked me knowing that it would shorten your life span to this summer! Who the h.e.l.l do you think I am?!”

Could you not play both the vice general and his friends? Protesting loudly, she grabbed her helmet and stood. Instead of sealing herself up again, she decided to have the wind cool her heated hair.

“Hmph… Fine. Since you are a fellow x.x.xXX, I will forgive your misconduct this time.”

Once again, as according to her back story, she pretended Erio to be an alien while excusing her for that reason. Next, her sharp eyes moved onto me.

“As for Thekousin, I will forgive you too based on your precarious future.”

“...Oi, I don"t recall being related to you.”

“? Isn"t your name Thekousin?”

The s.p.a.ce girl spoke blankly in bemus.e.m.e.nt, confirming my name.

“No, my name is Makoto.”

“What!” She jumped exaggeratedly. Was it too shocking or what? Does my face look like it was made for the name "Thekousin?”

In kanji, it"d be written as 糸子(Itoko). I wouldn"t be surprised if there"s a girl by that name.

“Hmmmm.” Hugging her head, the s.p.a.ce girl shuffled left and right like she was trying to mix something.

“Strange, I thought that"s what he was called… My memory is impeccable. It might be boring, but I must begin working as well… Ahh, um...” Ahem! After a few fake-coughs, she ceased speaking. I don"t really care either way, but is this part of her character setting?

“I will consider you a proxy of the Earthling, then, and show you minimum respect. I will ask you just once: what is your name?”

She arrogantly demanded my name; without hesitation in her words or tone, she displayed the utmost insolence.

“I just told you a second ago.”

“Since I"ve asked you to, just say it. Don"t you know etiquette?”

I couldn"t even react to how c.o.c.ky this brat is; though annoyed, I still began my meaningless introduction the second time.

“Niwa Makoto. And you are…?”

“Hoshimiya Yashiro. An authentic esper, slash alien! I have stopped here not for the sake of visiting, but business. Pleased to meet you!”

Esper, alien and traveler: the melting pot of a girl energetically shouted toward the night sky.

Of course it was somebody I didn"t know. This was definitely the first time we"ve met.

She"s supposed to be an alien, but no matter how she enunciated that name, it is undoubtedly a j.a.panese one. Clamoring from the local ramen shop, the wind sifting through gra.s.s and the mating call of insects.

My sigh dissipated in the symphony.

Once again, the sound resonated in the night.

I"m afraid this is where the summer of this year truly began.

The girl enigmatic from beginning till the end — this was my first time making contact with Hoshimiya Yashiro.