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April 1st, April Fool's Day.
Page 1/1 of Shiraishi An's diary.
Dear diary, even though today is the day to prank and lie, I think the world, that suddenly gave me a mysterious power, went a bit too far on their prank for me.
My heart isn't strong enough to take this.
Why did this happen?
Shiraishi An widened her eyes, still unable to believe what she was hearing. This guy in front of her, her teammate named Shinonome Akito, was currently explaining something about their schedule for their next live while stirring his coffee topped with whipped cream. Even so, she couldn't focus on what he said at all, as she was also hearing something completely different from the words spoken from his mouth.
"Oi, An... are you listening to me at all?"
(You're so out of it today, but I'll forgive you since your absentminded face is kinda cute)
"H-huh!? Yeah, yeah, I'm listening!!!"
"Geez, try to focus more. "
(Her face is a bit red, is she sick? I'm worried)
Ever since she first met Akito for today, for some reason she could hear what she guessed to be his inner thought. An glanced at Kohane and Touya, but the both of them didn't show any unusual reaction at all, so she went with the conclusion that she was the only one who could hear it.
As far as she could observe, she found out three important points about her newly-found power: 1) She could only hear Akito's thoughts; 2) She could only hear Akito's thoughts if it's regarding her; 3) No other people could hear it except her.
But, why?
What was the reason?
There was no logical explanation for this at all. Even if she were to ask about this to the genius Kamishiro Rui, she doubted she'd get any acceptable reason for this. Am I a... what do you call it again, esper? Did she just wake up to her power today, like in the manga? Or was it a bug from the Sekai? An didn't remember doing anything that could lead to Sekai malfunctioning though.
Today was 1st April, she remembered again. The so-called April Fool's Day. Was the world playing a silly big prank on her right now?
If this whole thing was a prank, she wished the Gods would quickly have enough of their fun and stop this at once because there was no way she could bear to continue living like this.
"By the way, An. Ena told me about something stupid you said to her at school."
(Really, this girl should watch what she says. It's hard to suppress my grin whenever I remember it)
"Ehh..." An tried to ignore his inner thought, but it bugged her so much. Was there anything she said that could make him grin? She wondered to herself before deciding to ask, "Which one?"
"You said you want Ena as your older sister, didn't you?"
(I don't understand why you would want someone as troublesome as Ena, but she can easily be your sister if we get married. Have you tried thinking about it?)
After all everything that came out of his inner thoughts was always something like this, giving her a second-hand embarrassment for his way-too-honest thoughts, as well as a flutter in her heart that got her face heated up.
She never knew, she didn't have the slightest idea about it at all before this. How Shinonome Akito would have this kind of thoughts towards her. The world's prank on her was too cruel, it was kinda disappointing to find out in this way. The honest thoughts were also way too much. She finally understood why people said there should be a limit for honesty.
Not to mention, how could a human live with a heart that beat this loud? It was difficult to properly reply to him because the sound of her heart was too loud, ringing on her eardrums.
An took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
"...Oh, that. Yeah, I did say that to Ena-san. I just mean she's a really nice sister-figure, especially for an only-child like me! I wasn't intentionally trying to give any wrong idea at all!"
"? I see...? Well, I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, you don't need to get so worked up."
(Haa... as I thought. If that's so, then don't say something so misleading in the first place. You're giving me a false hope)
Why are you blaming me for your own misunderstanding, Akito? An grumbled a bit.
"She was telling me about how you sound so sincere about it, and it made her feel all ticklish... Well, Ena seemed kinda happy hearing that from you, but I'm just telling you this now. You will regret it, having an older sister like Ena."
(But, if you still insist on wanting her to be your older sister, the offer still stays. Should we just get married then?)
"Hey, Ena-san is a really caring and gentle person! I'll be really happy to have her as my older sister! I think the only one who doesn't want her as a sister is Akito?"
"Haa? You just don't know how she acts at home. She'll use you as a human-alarm and forcefully drag you out to accompany her shopping until your legs died."
(Well, it's also an advantage to me if An is fond of Ena, so I guess I should thank her later on our wedding day)
"What's with that? I would happily go shopping together with her all the time!"
"Hah... alright, alright, if you say so. But, if you want Ena as your sister then I'd be your younger brother since you're a few months older than me... ugh, I don't want to have a sister like you either."
(I want to have you as a wife, so let's just get married)
"...That's the same as me. To have a cheeky younger brother like Akito is a bit... definitely no, thank you?"
"Right? I'm also completely against it."
(Since we're both against it then the only way for you two is to be sisters-in-law. There's no other choice for us, but to get married, is there?)
An massaged her temple, how long is this guy going to keep talking about marriage? He should really just focus on his studies more before thinking about this kind of thing, hey, Shinonome Akito! The gap between what he said and his inner thoughts was like the earth and the sky too, to think he lived like this all this time. Shiraishi An wished she never found out about it.
She suddenly missed the dishonest Akito. After all there was nothing good came from peeking into someone's heart, no one should ever try to do that, she already reflected on it if she ever wished for something like that before. Thinking about it, maybe this was the reason why someone would choose to put on a lid or hide their feelings—
"Personally, I can never imagine having a sibling like you..."
(I've always loved you in romantic way from the start after all. I wonder if we should have a western-styled or traditional wedding)
--because it was too heavy. Heavy, I'm telling you it's too heavy! She didn't want to sound so self-conscious, but his hidden emotions for her was too big. While it flattered her, her hands wouldn't be able to hold a feeling this big all at once, so please just give it to her one at a time.
That was probably what Akito was planning to do—if only no one played this kind of prank on her.
Some things had always been better left unspoken. Her beating heart and heated face really couldn't take any more than this.
"Ah, come to think of it," Touya said as if he just remembered something. "I remember Akito also once said that it'd be nice if his father were someone like Ken-san."
"Oi, Touya! You don't need to tell her that..."
(Nice follow up. I know you'll definitely have my back, Touya)
Shinonome Akito-san, your heart and mouth were really against each other, you know?
"Huh? If An-chan wanted Ena-san to be her older sister and Shinonome-kun wanted someone like Ken-san as a father... isn't it possible by the union of the two families?" Kohane gasped softly as she covered her mouth, blushing a bit. "I mean, something like... marriage...?"
"K-Kohane!?"
"...Haa? What nonsense are you suddenly talking about, Kohane?"
(Nice one, Kohane. I wish you and your big snake to live a long and happy life together, although maybe not as happy as An and I)
Shinonome-san, at least try to sync your heart and mouth a bit. The difference is terrifying!
"Well, enough of this meaningless talk... Let's return to the discussion."
(Our interests are already aligned, mom also already knows about An since Ena talked about her a while back. Should we just decide on the wedding date?)
The passing comments from the others, even though they probably didn't mean it, made her even more overwhelmed that she was unable to think straight. For some reason, his inner thought sounded clearer in her ears rather than what he actually said.
"An, I want to ask about your opinion regarding this part. Will you—"
(—marry me? Just kidding)
Argh, enough! I don't want to know anymore!! Just stop talking about this stuff already!
"ALRIGHT, FINE! I WILL MARRY YOU, AKITO!!!!"
"...Haa?"
"Shiraishi...?"
"A-An-chan!?"
People once said, if you were feeling too overwhelmed, close your mouth tightly so you wouldn't say something you didn't think first. Shiraishi An had only understood the importance of this advice now.
While the mysterious power of mind-reading only lasted for a day, her embarrassment lasted for her whole life.
April 1st, April Fool's Day.
Page 1/1 of Shinonome Akito's diary.
Dear diary, even though today is the day to prank and lie, I think my crush, who suddenly shouted out that she will marry me, went a bit too far on her prank for me.
My heart isn't strong enough to take this.