On the final night of summer vacation, August 31st, Tsubasa falls asleep feeling a little sad that the fun is ending. But when he wakes up, his sister Riel tells him something impossible: 'Today is August 32nd.' His brothers, sister, and even his brother's girlfriend all accept this non-existent date as perfectly normal.
At first, Tsubasa is thrilled that summer vacation has been extended. But soon, he's the only one who notices the strange changes creeping into his home. Riel's cooking gradual
August 32nd - August 47th — The End of Summer, Promise of the Morning Sun
The cold sensation of the floor still clung to his back.
In Tsubasa's ears, the sound of his own heart echoed. Thump, thump, thump—pounding loud enough to be annoying.
The right hand gripping the bow of light was trembling.
Golden particles spilled from his fingertips, dissolving into the dark air of the living room. His aim was set. The giant calendar covering an entire wall—its center, August 47th.
But.
His fingers wouldn't move.
"Shoot, big brother!!"
Fuuto's shout tore through the empty space.
Countless shadows were coiling around his younger brother's legs. Distorted tentacles of darkness, twisting grotesquely, wrapped around his waist, his chest, his neck, trying to drag him down to the floor. Fuuto struggled desperately, yet his eyes remained fixed solely on Tsubasa. His blue eyes were bloodshot.
"That bow... it's our feelings! Don't you dare miss!!"
"Tsubasa..."
Rieru's voice came from behind him.
He couldn't turn around. But he knew.
Shadows were coiling around her white feet, her neck. The light that had definitely returned to her eyes just moments ago was sinking back into emptiness. She was reverting to the doll-like face from that day—the one that had stirred an empty pot.
"It's not... your fault. Because this is... what I wished for..."
His sister's voice was gentle.
But that gentleness pierced his chest.
(No.)
(It's not my sister's fault.)
(It's all my fault.)
"Nooooo!"
Hanyii's scream shook the air throughout the house.
Her small body was being embraced from behind by shadows. Her blonde twintails were stained with darkness, and her flame ribbon had vanished with a snap. Cold shadows entwined her arms. Tears streamed down from her large purple eyes.
"Tsuba-bro! Tsuba-bro loves our family more than anyone... I've been watching, all along!"
Her crying voice struck his eardrums.
"So... so... end it! Please!"
The voices of the three echoed through the living room.
Fuuto's roar from the depths of his soul.
Rieru's gentle lie.
Hanyii's desperate plea.
All of it, all of it—was his fault.
Tsubasa clenched his back teeth.
The taste of iron spread through his mouth.
(I...)
A summer night when he was ten. The smell of rain. The sound of a door closing in the distance. Trembling under his futon, he had prayed. He wished summer vacation would last forever. He wished his family wouldn't fall apart.
That wish had created this hell.
Turned Rieru's smile into a doll.
Stained Fuuto's fingers with blood.
Kept Hanyii crying night after night.
(I have to end it.)
(Because it's my sin.)
Tsubasa raised his face.
Beyond his tear-distorted vision, the giant calendar waited. August 47th. A trembling, distorted number. The final date someone—Fuuto—had drawn while bleeding.
He filled his lungs with air.
"I—"
His voice tore at his throat.
"I won't run anymore!!"
The moment those words were released.
The bow of light resonated.
FWOOSH!!
A golden shockwave expanded spherically from Tsubasa's body. It crawled across the floor, raced up the walls, and covered the ceiling. The air throughout the house was instantly repainted with light.
"Gi...!?"
The shadows screamed.
The faceless horde of shadows, burned by the light, evaporated. The darkness coiling around Fuuto, the tentacles wrapped around Rieru's neck, the cold arms embracing Hanyii—one after another, they vanished like mist.
"Tsubasa...!"
The light returned to Rieru's eyes.
"Big brother... finally decided to get serious, huh."
Fuuto, still collapsed on the floor, gave a small laugh.
"Tsuba-bro...!"
Hanyii, her face a mess of tears, stared at Tsubasa.
Tsubasa drew his bow taut.
Strength surged into his right hand.
Upon the string, an arrow of golden light was born. It shone brighter and stronger than anything before, incomparably so. The feelings of his family became particles of light, being drawn into the arrow.
His target—August 47th.
The center of the world's end.
"Uwooooooh!!"
Tsubasa released the arrow.
Fweeeee—!!
The sound of air being torn apart.
A golden trajectory carved a straight path of light through the living room.
The arrow was sucked into the center of the calendar.
—A direct hit.
PANG!!
A clear sound, like glass shattering, rang out.
The numbers of August 47th shattered.
Cracks ran across the entire calendar. From August 32nd, to the 33rd, 34th, 35th—the distorted dates that had continued endlessly burst into fragments one after another.
And then.
The calendar was enveloped in golden light.
The entire wall became a panel of light.
It was too dazzling; he couldn't see anything. Tsubasa shielded his face with his arm, but desperately kept his eyes open.
At that moment—the world stopped.
Sound vanished.
The air halted.
Time froze.
Silence.
An instant that felt like eternity.
Before he knew it, Tsubasa was standing in a white space.
There was no up or down, no left or right. Nothing. Just a pure white, infinite space.
But he wasn't afraid.
This place—was where things ended, and where they began.
"Tsubasa."
A voice called out.
When he turned around, Rieru was standing there.
Her usual yellow headband. Her glossy, long brown hair. Her gentle, light brown eyes.
But it wasn't the vacant smile from before. It was Rieru's real face.
"Sis... I..."
Words caught in his throat.
What should he say? Should he apologize? Should he thank her?
"I know."
Rieru smiled.
"'Ordinary is best'... I always said that, didn't I? And yet, I made you go through such painful things."
"No! That's not it, Sis! I... I selfishly wished for summer vacation to never end! It's because of me that you...!"
"It's what I wished for."
Rieru shook her head.
"I wanted to protect your smile. Because that was my happiness. Even if it meant breaking myself—as long as you could smile, that was enough for me."
"Sis..."
The tears wouldn't stop.
"Thank you... thank you, Sis. For always supporting us... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...!"
"Tsubasa... I love you. Please... take care of everyone."
Tears spilled from Rieru's eyes as well.
She smiled gently once more—and then turned into particles of light, fading away.
"Sis...! ...Thank you."
Tsubasa wiped his tears.
He raised his face.
Next, standing there—was Fuuto.
His blunt younger brother with the blue hair. The water crest on the back of his left hand glowed faintly.
"...You did it properly."
"Of course."
Tsubasa, his face still wet with tears, smiled.
"Your drawing was really beautiful. I love the sunflowers you draw, Fuuto. So—next time, draw one with petals properly. That's a promise."
"...Shut up."
Fuuto looked away, embarrassed.
"You're one to talk... do your own homework, big brother."
"Ah... well, that's..."
"...Heh."
Fuuto laughed quietly.
That face was the true face of an 18-year-old boy.
"...Keep it. The promise."
"Yeah, I will. Definitely."
Fuuto raised his hand lightly—and melted into the light.
"...Goodbye, see you later."
And then.
Finally, in the middle of the white space—Hanyii was standing there.
Blonde twintails. His little sister, with the tips slightly reddish-brown. Her flame ribbon was flickering once more.
Hanyii looked up at Tsubasa with a face that seemed about to burst into tears.
Tsubasa knelt down in front of her.
Meeting her eyes.
"Hanyii."
"...Tsuba-bro."
"I'm the one who should be sorry."
"No... no... I... I..."
"It's not wrong. You were crying all alone, weren't you? Feeling the world's distortion more than anyone, scared, in pain—and yet, you endured it for my sake, didn't you?"
Tears spilled from Hanyii's large purple eyes.
"Thank you, Hanyii. You don't have to cry anymore. Let's go home together. Everyone, to the real September 1st."
Tsubasa gently embraced Hanyii's small body.
"...Tsuba-bro, I love you."
Hanyii's voice reached his ear.
He saw her smile.
In that instant—the world collapsed.
The white space shattered like glass. Fragments of light danced and scattered, enveloping everything.
Tsubasa slowly closed his eyelids.
"Thank you, everyone. And—goodbye, my summer vacation."
His consciousness faded away.
Deeper, deeper—he sank into the depths of darkness.
———
—Beep beep beep, beep beep beep.
An electronic sound echoed in his head.
Annoying.
Tsubasa opened his heavy eyelids.
A familiar ceiling.
It was the ceiling of his room.
The top bunk of the bed. On the right wall, a single picture drawn by Fuuto was posted. On the left, his study desk. Morning sunlight streamed in through the window.
Soft light through a gap in the curtains.
The air was cold.
It smelled like autumn.
Tsubasa slowly sat up.
He sat on his bed, dazed.
His head felt foggy. He felt like he'd had a very long dream. But what kind of dream it was—he couldn't remember.
He looked at his hand.
His right hand.
A sensation lingered, as if he had been gripping something.
"...What is it?"
Just then, his smartphone by his pillow rang again.
Beep beep beep.
He looked at the screen.
Date—September 1st.
Time—7:15 AM.
The alarm name was—'SCHOOL!! WAKE UP!!'.
"...Huh?"
Tsubasa stared intently at his phone.
September 1st.
Sep-tem-ber 1st.
Something clicked in his head.
"...Schoolaaaaaaaaa!?"
It was the moment he yelled.
"Tsubasa, wake up. School starts today."
The room door opened, and Rieru poked her head in.
Long brown hair. Yellow headband. Gentle, light brown eyes.
A real voice.
Real words.
A real—smile.
"Ah... Sis..."
"What's wrong? Still half-asleep? If you don't get ready soon, you'll be late."
Rieru giggled.
From the kitchen, the aroma of grilled fish and miso soup drifted in.
The warm smell of steam.
"Ah... yeah..."
Tsubasa, his head still foggy, crawled out of bed.
For some reason—tears threatened to spill.
He didn't know why.
But deep in his chest, there was a gentle warmth.
"Hey, get ready. You'll be late."
The room door banged open.
Fuuto, with his blue hair, stood there scowling. He was already in his school uniform. In his left hand, a sketchbook.
"You're one to talk, you're always barely on time."
"Shut up. Today's just a coincidence."
Bluntly, Fuuto held out a stack of papers to Tsubasa.
"...What's this?"
"...Homework. Did you forget you came crying to me yesterday because you hadn't even finished half of it? I did half for you, so be grateful."
Tsubasa looked at the notebook offered to him.
Fuuto's familiar handwriting.
Answers to math problems were written densely.
"...Fuuto."
"It's nothing. Just... it's annoying if you get kept after school."
"...Thank you."
Naturally, tears spilled over.
"...Hey, why are you crying?"
"I don't know... but, somehow..."
"...Stupid big brother."
Fuuto looked away, embarrassed.
From the cover of the sketchbook in his hand, a single drawing peeked out.
It was a picture of a sunflower.
In full bloom, with 18 petals.
A golden flower, like the sun.
"That..."
"I drew it yesterday. Somehow—I just felt like drawing it."
Saying just that, Fuuto quickly went down the stairs.
Tsubasa clutched the notebook and the drawing to his chest.
They were warm.
He changed into his uniform and went down to the living room.
Steam from the miso soup.
The savory smell of grilled fish.
Rieru stood in the kitchen wearing an apron.
"Good morning, Tsubasa. You managed to wake up properly today."
"It's a miracle."
Breakfast for the whole family was laid out on the table.
Four sets of chopsticks and rice bowls.
"Hey, don't eat before me."
"Tsuba-bro, good morning!"
Beyond the garden's sliding glass door, Hanyii was waving.
Blonde twintails.
The flame ribbon tied on her left side sparkled and swayed in the morning sun.
Her large purple eyes were smiling.
"Let's go to school together! Second semester starts today!"
"Yeah!"
Tsubasa waved back with a smile.
It was strange.
Deep in his chest, it was warm.
Even though he couldn't remember anything from before yesterday—he felt that this moment, right now, was in
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