The last bell rang, and Mizuha packed her books and thought, Hmm, about the picnic we planned this weekend—what things do I need to prepare for it? Oh, I’d better ask Mom later.
Mizuha then noticed Eri approaching Zul’s desk behind her.
Eri roused Zul, who had slept through the last class. "Zul, please wake up, or we’ll be late to visit her. Today is the day we promised to visit her."
"Huh, is today that day? I forgot about that." He yawned before starting to pack his books.
Mizuha turned back to face Zul and Eri. "You both seem rushed. Where are you guys going?"
"We’re going to see my older twin sister today." Shimizu, who had just joined them, was surprised.
"Wait, you have a twin? This is the first time I’m hearing about it!"
"But doesn’t she live with you? Why do you need to visit her?"
Eri lowered her voice. "It’s not that simple."
Both Mizuha and Shimizu seemed confused by Eri’s statement.
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"I know this is complicated, but why don’t both of you, including Takamiya-kun, join us to meet her too? I can introduce you guys to her."
Mizuha hesitated. "Really? Did our presence disturb you guys?"
"Don’t worry, you’re not disturbing at all. I'm sure she’d want to see you guys too."
Mizuha messaged Hikaru, but he couldn’t join because of plans with his parents.
The group headed for the train station. Shimizu suddenly leaned in.
"Where’s the place you want to meet her?"
"It’s about four stations from our train station, about eight kilometers, I think."
Shimizu stepped onto the train. "Oh, it’s not too far."
During the ride, Mizuha turned to Eri. "What kind of person is your older twin sister, Eri-chan? Can you tell us about her?"
Eri turned to Zul, who sat beside her, seeking his approval.
Zul nudged her gently. "It’s okay, Eri. Just tell them."
Eri gave them a nod. "Alright. Let me tell you about her."
Her name was Arisa, the older twin sister. Her appearance was identical to Eri’s: long blonde hair, polite tones when speaking, feminine, and skilled at cooking.
Meanwhile, the younger one, Eri, had been boyish with short hair, acting without thinking but caring about people close to her—completely different from how she was now.
One day, during their third grade, both of them were playing on a swing at the playground together.
"Push me more, onee-chan, this is too slow, push me faster."
Eri was excited as the swing started going faster.
"Yeah, like that onee-chan, faster! Yeah!"
"Enough with it, Eri-chan, it should be my turn now. Your turn to push me."
"Wait, this is going to be fun. I don't want to stop."
After that, the swing slowly lost its momentum, and Eri swapped places with her sister.
"Ready, I'm going to push you now, hang on tightly."
"Three, two, one, go!" She pushed her sister's swing with all her energy.
"Wargh! Eri-chan, do it slowly, this is too fast!"
"Huh, what? Faster? Okay!"
"Eri-chan, stop it!"
Eri was laughing hard while watching her big sister being scared.
After the swing slowed and stopped, Arisa was upset with Eri and gave her a light chop to the head.
"Take this."
Eri held her head.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmJAFCc4w2
"What are you doing, onee-chan? It hurts, you know."
"This is for what you did earlier."
Suddenly, they heard a boy crying.
The boy was surrounded by two other boys who bullied him.
He reached for his toy. "Stop! Give it back!"
One of the boys smirked, stepping on it.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSinmsBoSIW
"Why should we? It's ugly, just like you."
Another one leaned in. "You don’t even belong here, foreigner. Look at you—you’re not like us."
He stood his ground.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpCPttvnhg
"I'm not a foreigner, I'm Japanese too. I was born here."
"Hey, onee-chan, look over there. That boy is being bullied by them."
Eri rushed to them. "Let’s go help him."
Arisa tried to chase her little sister. "Eri-chan, wait, don’t hurt them."
Eri confronted the bullies. "Hey, what are you doing? Leave him alone."
They turned to Eri. "Huh? What do you want, you shortie? Want to save him?"
"Leave him alone before I defeat you two."
They laughed. "Hahaha, who wants to beat us, shorty?"
"Also, what's with those cute girly-looking clothes? They're for girls, you know."
"What's wrong with it? Well, I'm a girl, you know."
"What? You're a girl? But why do you look like a boy?"
Eri landed a punch on the first bully’s face, throwing him down.
"That's not important. First, eat this!"
"It hurts." He started to cry.
"What's up with this shortie girl? Why is she so strong?"
"How dare you hurt my friend? Take this!" He tried to punch Eri, but she quickly dodged and landed a punch on his face, throwing him down too.
"It hurts." "Hey, let's get out of here. We are no match for this girl."
"Yes, let's go." "We'll remember this." They ran away.
Arisa sighed. "Ah, you made them cry."
Arisa then ran to the boy to check his condition. "Hey, are you okay?"
She looked at his face and wondered, "Huh, is he a foreigner?"
He continued to cry.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOwLq90VIq
"I'm fine, but my toy... my toy was destroyed by them."
Arisa blinked. "Oh, he can speak Japanese."
Eri sighed. "You’re still crying? You’ll just let them win if you keep sobbing like that."
Eri helped him stand up, with her sister supporting from the other side.
"You’re a boy, right? A boy should not cry like that. You must stay strong."
The boy started crying again.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCIlLYodye
"Both of you, thank you for helping me!"
"Why are you crying again?"
She then took her toy from inside her pocket and gave it to him. "Here, I'll give you my toy to replace your broken one. Now please stop crying."
Arisa smiled.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyifNGnimu
"Oh Eri, you know how to make him stop crying. That's what I expected from my little sister."
He stopped crying and became calm after that.
"Thank you, both of you, for helping me. Who are you?"
Eri introduced herself and her sister.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulLTah1sCp
"Me? I'm Eri, Sakamoto Eri. This is my older twin sister, Arisa."
"I'm Sakamoto Arisa. Nice to meet you. And you, what is your name?"
"I'm Zul. Nice to meet you."
Mizuha stared at Eri, shocked.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM3CSmCPvP
"Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean you were boyish back then?"
"Is it really true, Zul? This cute, innocent girl used to punch two boys to save you? Am I hearing this correctly?"
Zul smiled. "No, you're not wrong. It really happened; I witnessed it with my own eyes."
Eri smiled with a chuckle.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx6mGnUY7L
"That surprised you, right, Mizuha-chan?"
Mizuha pointed her finger at Shimizu.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJSX83FBKe
"Of course I'm surprised! I can't believe it. You used to behave the same way as this person?"
Shimizu spat out the water she was drinking.
"Hey, what do you mean 'the same as me'? That's so mean, Mizuha. I don't hit people without thinking about it first, you know."
The four of them laughed together before Eri continued with her stories.
After that, Arisa saw that Zul was very dirty because the bullies had stepped on him earlier.
"Ah, Zul-kun, you're so dirty. It must be from when they stepped on you earlier."
Arisa and Eri were also dirty after playing together.
"Oh, we're dirty too. Let's go home, Eri."
"You too, Zul. You need to clean yourself up first. Come along with us."
Zul resisted and didn't want to go, but Eri dragged him along.
"Don't say anything, just follow us," she said.
They arrived at the twins' house. "Mom, we're back!" the twins said.
"Oh, welcome back." "Huh? Who did you bring back with you? Why is he so dirty and wounded? Did you do this to him, Eri?"
"No, no, it wasn't me. I saved him earlier."
"Yes, both of them saved me from the bullies earlier. Thanks to them."
"You guys saved him?"467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcom4P9dog
"That's what I expect from both of my daughters."
"Mom, can he stay here for a moment and use our bathroom?"
"Sure, why not? Go ahead and clean yourself up first. I'll get you a towel."
Eri dragged Zul to the bathroom.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRf2HBvNr4i
"Hey, take off your clothes now. We're going to bathe."
Zul blushed.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTmWRt2ydU
"No way! I'm a boy, and you're a girl! That's just weird."
"Oh, that's right. I never thought about that."
Arisa chuckled.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThRfZdoArD
"You just noticed that? That's funny, Eri-chan."
Eri pushed Zul into the bathroom.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqEVvC2VHZ
"Then you go bathe and clean yourself first, then it's my turn next."
Zul thought to himself, What's her problem, forcing me like this?
"Arisa, can you give this towel and clothes to him?"
"Sure." She took the towel and clothes to give to Zul.
"Zul-kun, I put the towel and these clothes inside this basket."
"Oh, thanks."
After Zul finished his bath and dried himself using the towel, he looked at the clothes they had provided.
What's up with these clothes? Why do they have flowers on them? Zul thought to himself.
I have no choice but to wear this as my clothes are dirty. Thank goodness they didn't give me a skirt to wear—just short pants.
Eri laughed heartily, and Arisa chuckled.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOtkEQAELs
"Zul-kun, what's with those clothes? You look so cute in them. My clothes really fit you!"
Zul was blushing because he was embarrassed. He thought to himself, How dare you two laugh at me?
"You two, don't laugh at him like that. It's not good, you know."
"I'm sorry, Zul-kun. These are the only clothes we have for you that aren't too girly. Please bear with it for a while. I'm washing your clothes now."
"Ah, thank you, Sakamoto-san."
"Why don't you two go take a bath too? You two are a bit smelly."
"Let's go bathe together, onee-chan."
"Ah, you're right. Let's go bathe together, onee-chan."
"Yes, yes, let's go."
While waiting for Arisa and Eri to finish their bath, Zul sat in the living room, feeling awkward.
This feels awkward… What am I supposed to do now? he wondered to himself.
Then Mrs. Sakamoto called Zul over to treat his earlier wound. "Zul-kun, come here. I'll treat your wound."
Zul went to Mrs. Sakamoto, and she started to treat his wound. "Hold on, I'll start treating it. Okay, it's finished."
"Thank you, Sakamoto-san."
"You're welcome."
"Zul-kun, this is the first time I've seen you in this neighborhood. Are you new here?"
"Yes, I just moved here a few days ago with my family."
"By any chance, are you the son of the Malaysian couple who just moved to this neighborhood a few days ago?"
"Yes, that is my family. You already heard about us?"
"Well, I just heard from my neighbors. I haven't met your family yet."
"By the way, your Japanese is good. I'm surprised by it."
"Well, my family moved to Japan before I was born, so I was raised here with Japanese influence. My parents also taught me Japanese."
"Oh, I see. That's why you can speak Japanese so fluently."
Both Eri and Arisa finished their bath and exited the bathroom wearing only towels. Zul accidentally looked at both of them.
"Pervert! What do you think you’re looking at?!" "How dare you look at onee-chan's sweet body!"
"Onee-chan, I'll protect and cover your body. Don't let him see your body."
Arisa chuckled.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOM6MFmHMnJ
"Haha, well, you're a girl too, you know. Cover your body properly as well."
Zul blushed. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look at you."
"Both of you, what are you waiting for? Return to your room and put on some clothes now before you catch a cold."
Eri and Arisa ran to their room. "Alright!"
"Sorry about that, Zul-kun. As for my twin daughters, especially Eri, she's a bit naughty compared to Arisa."
"It's okay."467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNF5vJdOB9
"Are they always this close?"
"They’ve always been close. Arisa is the calm, responsible one, and Eri… well, she’s loud, a little rough, but she has a big heart. She’s always been protective of her sister."
"Oh, I see. I really envy them since I'm the only child in my family."
"By the way, Mrs. Sakamoto, your appearance is somewhat different; you look a bit like a foreigner to me. Also, both you and your daughters have similar blonde hair."
"Well, I'm half Japanese and half Russian. My father is Japanese, and my mom's Russian, so that's where our blonde hair comes from."
"I see."
Eri finished changing her clothes. Arisa quietly followed after her.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpkk8FxrMr
"We're back."467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbzm2yDkrj
"Hey Zul, let's play! I brought a bunch of toys."
"Then Zul-kun, go play with them while waiting for your clothes to dry."
Zul nodded. "Understood,"
He approached Eri and Arisa. "What should we play first?"
"You see..."
The three of them enjoyed playing together, with Eri at the center, leading the play while Zul waited for his clothes to dry.
After time passed and the clock showed 5:45 p.m., Zul looked up. "Oh, it's late already. I need to return home before 6 p.m.; that's my family rule."
"Eh, that's so quick. I'm not happy to end like this suddenly."
"Sorry, you guys, maybe next time."
"Zul-kun, here are your clothes. They're already dry. Please change into them, and we're going to send you back to your house."
"No need to send me; I can go home alone."
"Don't worry about that. I plan to meet your parents too, to say hello to them."
At the Zul family house, Zul's mother was a bit worried because Zul had not yet returned home, and it was almost 6 p.m.
That boy still hasn't returned yet; where could he be? she wondered.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Oh, somebody is coming? Who could it be?" She opened the door and saw Zul just arriving home.
"I'm back, Mom."
"Where have you been, my dear? It's almost 6 p.m. You know I've said before not to come home too late."
"Sorry mom, actually... I…"
"Excuse me, actually your son was playing with my daughters at my house earlier."
Zul's mother noticed another person behind Zul.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7DD6jMKCr
"Eh, who are you? Sorry, I didn't notice you earlier."
"Sorry for coming unannounced. I'm Mrs. Sakamoto. I live in this neighborhood too—so, to put it simply, I'm your neighbor. You must be the ones who just moved here a few days ago, right? I heard about it from another neighbor."
"Ah, you're my neighbor. Sorry, I didn't notice. I'm not used to this neighborhood yet."
"Why don't you come inside? Maybe we can talk a bit."
Mrs. Sakamoto entered and explained how Zul had been bullied earlier, how her daughters had saved him, and how they had brought Zul back to their house.
"I see, so my son was saved by your daughters and ended up at your house afterward. I'm sorry if my son caused any trouble for your family," Zul's mother said.
"No, don't worry about that. He didn't cause any trouble. Also, he seemed to enjoy playing with my daughters afterward. He is a kind boy; I can see that."
"Oh, I see. Anyway, thanks for taking care of my son earlier."
"Zul, have you already thanked them for what they did for you earlier?"
Zul continued to play with Arisa and Eri.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HMd9RUFRR
"Yes, I have thanked them already."
"So, your daughters are twins, huh? Both of them seem happy playing with my son right now."
"It seems so."
"Which one is the oldest and which one is the youngest?"
"The one who is a bit quieter and has long hair is the older one, Arisa, and the younger one, who is the noisy one with short hair, is Eri."
"Oh, I see. Even though they are identical, their personalities are different."
As the day turned dark, Mrs. Sakamoto noticed it was time for them to return home. "Oh, it's already dark. Sorry, I stayed a bit longer."
"No, don't worry about that. I'm glad we could have a talk as neighbors. Please come again if you want."
"Arisa, Eri, it's time for us to go back home. Let's go."
"Not yet, I still want to play with Zul-kun."
"Eri-chan, let's go home now. We'll come back here next time, okay?"
"Your sister is right; we can play again next time, okay?"
"If both of you say that, then I'll just follow. I don't have a choice."
"By the way, which school do you attend, Zul-kun?"
"Huh, my school? I don't remember. What is it, Mom?"
His mother told them the name of the school and his grade.
Eri looked excited that Zul would attend the same school as them.467Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmcih0bnkL
"Oh, that's the same as me and my sister. Also, we're in the same grade."
"Then, see you both at school tomorrow. I don't know which class I'll be in yet, but I hope I'm in the same class as you guys."
"Actually, Zul, I'm not in the same class as Eri, so you'll end up in either my class, Eri's class, or another class."
"Don't worry, onee-chan. It's okay if we're not in the same class. Being in the same school is enough for me."
"That's right, Eri."
"Mrs. Sakamoto, please accept this. It's some food I made for you. This is my gratitude for you and your daughters taking care of my son. Please share it with your family."
"Oh, thank you. I'll return this to you next time with some food I made as well."
"Arisa, Eri, let's go home now."
"Coming!" both of them said.
"See you tomorrow, Zul-kun."
"See you at school."
"See you tomorrow at school too," Zul said.
As the three of them left Zul's house, his mother turned to him, her expression filled with pride. "I'm so glad for you, Zul. You've made some friends today, and they're twins too!
And I'm also grateful we have such kind neighbors," she added, her heart swelling with joy at the budding friendships in their new life.
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To be continue……Futagomonogatari II
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and then Add to home screen.