The three of them were halfway through their three-month long summer vacation.

Kiyo suddenly thought, maybe they should go do some exercise to stay healthy, instead of lounging around. But in this city there is no open place to practice, there are people everywhere, so where should they exercise?

Ah, that's right. Home yard. It's also smaller than the old yard, but it's still a great place to practice. All four walls are covered, so no one dares to look.

He looked over at Ryota, who was yawning.

"Ryota, aren't you sleeping too much? Not a day goes by that you don't sleep until nine o'clock."

"I like that.."

"But it's almost the end of the summer holiday, you need to be stay well too! Health isn't everything, but without it, nothing can be done."

"In general, you want me to exercise, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay." - Ryota got up and went outside to wait.

Sunny closed down the laptop, right when he just finished testing the program:

"I just heard you're going to let us practice, I'm bored too, so I'm going out now."

Having said that, he also went to the yard.

Kiyo followed, giving them a warm-up first, then practicing the basics he learned at the old assassin camp. He also checks and corrects their mistakes, until it's right.

By the time they finished practicing, their shirts were almost drenched in sweat. Ryota sat by the door, got himself a bottle of cold water, and tilted his head up to drink.

"I'm so exhausted..." - He took a breath.

"Yeah, but I'm feeling better. Do you feel the same way?"

"Yea, but it is so hot."

"Sorry, I didn't expect it to be like that.."- Kiyo scratched his head.

"It's okay.." - Ryota wandered away, not knowing where he watch.

So from then on, every two days per week, they practiced, unless the weather was bad. Their skin was more tan now, especially Sunny, brown hair with the tanned skin makes him special.

***

Near the opening ceremony, both Sunny and Kiyo went to the school to receive new books and uniforms. Ryota received it before summer break so he didn't have to mind about that anymore. But the notebooks of the two upperclassmen, of course, have to be bought with salary.

Fortunately, people don't call Kiyo an assassin, but a mechanical engineer. Knowing that, Kiyo breathed a sigh of relief. They also told them to go to Class B, Year 1.

When leaving, holding a stack of books, Sunny curiously asked:

"You are a mechanical engineer?"

"Yea.."

"I think that suits you well." - Sunny laughed.

Kiyo nodded, then carried the books home. They include compulsory subjects and specialized books for each talent. At least it's lighter than previous years and doesn't have to cost money to buy.

He sat down, took a cinnamon stick, and flipped open a book:

"Now that there's a book, check it out first so you won't be too surprised."

They sat quietly reading, not saying a word to each other. Full concentrate.

"Ryota. Have you finished your homework? If there is anything you don't understand, let me explain it for you." - Kiyo turned to look at him.

"No. I'm done."

"Do you need to learn early so I can teach you?"

"It's fine." - Saying that, but he buried his face in the comic book.

"Kiyo is good at math, so if you don't understand anything, just ask him." - Sunny continued.

"I know, leave me alone" - Ryota pouted.

***

On the third of September, all three went to the school to attend the opening ceremony.

The phoenix flowers on the side of the road fade away, and the cicadas don't cry anymore. Instead, there was a peaceful autumn atmosphere, a clear, chilly sky.

Sunny and Kiyo, in a yellow-brown sweater, inside with a white blazer with a collar and a red tie, plus dark brown pants, neatly dressed, led each other to Ikusaba school, found the right class, in the middle school yard twice the size of the old school yard.

In their class, there were ten students in all. Four girls and six boys.

Originally, there were twelve students, but yesterday the principal found out that he had mistakenly recognized two students from another course, so he had to take them back.

Standing still for a moment, Sunny startled, ducked his head behind Kiyo's shoulder, holding onto the hat he was wearing.

"What's wrong..?" - Kiyo asked surprised.

"Angie..."

"Huh?"

"My sister... she's... she's in our class."

"Are you dizzy? She's two years younger than us."

"Look closely. She's right in front of your eyes."

Kiyo looked down, and immediately caught sight of that brash long (but shoulder-cut) brunette. This time, she wore a gray hat like his brother's, but with the familiar bow on it. She wore a white school shirt, but not a tie, but with a red bow tie, and a red brown knee-high fake skirt.

She stood with her arms crossed, his face cocked, not really sure whether she was swaggering to the class or to anyone.

Angie suddenly heard her brother's voice and turned:

"The hell is that? Ah.." - It looked up at Kiyo.

"Your name is Angie, right? Aren't you two grades below us? Why are you here?" - Kiyo clicked his tongue and asked.

"Oh, you are that random guy before. I jumped two grades. Because I'm so good, my parents let me go to school with my brother."

"Angie?! Since when did our parents talk about that but I didn't know anything?" - Sunny interrupted.

"Idiot, who told you to come up here early! Now shut up, that headmaster is going to give that stupid speech." - Angie shooed away.

Sunny secretly told Kiyo to let him move up behind her, but he stopped him:

"No, she would rip you off again."

Angie heard that, in a low voice, but still kept the same attitude:

"Kiyo, are you crazy? Why would someone like him stand near me?"

Then everyone went quiet.

In general, in that speech, the principal mainly talked about the school's implementation plan, the change in the curriculum, and the wishes of the new students.

Everything was done smoothly. But they didn't get to see the teacher with their own eyes like in other classes. Why was that?

Since there was no teacher, Kiyo's class was able to leave early. Both Kiyo and Sunny snuck out of the way so as not to catch Angie's gaze.

"It's strange.. why is no one in charge of our class..." - Sunny took off his hat.

"I'm sure someone will come up tomorrow. It's good not to see Angie anymore."

"But she's still going to school tomorrow.."

Kiyo sighed, still resentful of the little girl. But then he had to calm down because anger would not solve anything.

Back to the gate, it's still locked out. That means Ryota hadn't gone home yet. His school was not near, it took almost fifteen minutes to get there, and Kiyo's school took three minutes on foot.

"Did you have any fun going there, Kiyo?"

"Fun? I'm really drained." - Kiyo lay on the floor.

Sunny looked out dejectedly. He is quite disappointed in his sister, Angie, because of her brash, arrogant attitude. That's why Sunny didn't dare invite Kiyo to his house.

"By the way.." - Kiyo said.

"What..?"

"Try to describe what it's like in your house... I've never been to your house anyway."

Sunny was surprised because Kiyo suddenly asked. But then he told.

Sunny's house consists of three floors, downstairs are the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. In the kitchen, there is a door leading to the garden.

The second floor has three rooms. One room for him, one for Angie, and one for his parents (but this room is rarely used because they are often away).

The third floor is the worship room.

By the way, Sunny also described his room. A bolted wooden door, and two windows (one next to the door, one behind the desk and chair, where he studied). The table for studying is made of wood, with two additional floors, each floor has two cabinets. Next to it is the bed.

Sunny also described his orderliness. His room was always neat, in contrast to Angie's room. So were the other rooms. Because his parents were often away from home, it was his responsibility to take care of this house and take over his sister. But Angie used to bully him, even beat him.

Hearing that, Kiyo sighed, smacking his forehead, enraged at Angie.

But Sunny didn't seem to notice, even talking about him also made plans for the next day, but because his sister was always messing up, he couldn't do much at home. When he was here, because of the change of environment and his mood went downhill again, Sunny often ignored it, even though he didn't want to and tried to be as organized as possible.

"To be honest, Kiyo. I don't value myself at all, I have nothing to be proud of other than programming. I must say I used to hate myself so much, Kiyo; even wondered how come I'm still alive, even if I fall down the stairs and hit my head on the ground. I don't want to die in a meaningless way, without doing anything."

Sunny has never talked so much. Perhaps these things, he wanted to tell Kiyo for a long time, but only now. No matter how much Kiyo heard, he felt sorry for Sunny's fate but hated the things that tormented him even more.

"And I don't understand why they bullied me, is it because I'm so disgusting?"

Kiyo sat up and hugged Sunny.

"...What?"

"Thank you for sharing with me. I should also say: I'm not good at anything, and I don't have any siblings or parents. We're both different versions. But, I see you as a good person, you gave the poor girl a can of meat without any problem, you are good, you are beautiful, both inside and out, Sunny. Trust me, you're not some incompetent jerk."

Then Kiyo raised his face, looking into Sunny's eyes:

"Besides, you're lucky you're still alive. Your life isn't meaningless, actually, I think everyone's life means something, depending on the person, but it's not meaningless."

"Is that so..." - Sunny looked down.

"What I said about you is the reason why I fell in love with you. So, just be brave, believe in yourself, and tell me anything, okay?"

Sunny nodded, his face brightening a little. So was Kiyo.

A clacking sound opened the gate, and Ryota had returned. Sunny immediately stood up to greet him like a brother:

"You're back, Ryota! How's school going?"

"It was okay."