Chapter 1: CH 1

“Hey, I heard that Hitsuji-senpai, and his wife got into a traffic accident and passed away,”

One day, I was working on office tasks at Saitama’s Tokorozawa City Hall when I suddenly received some shocking news.

“No way…” I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Hitsuji-senpai was the person who had trained me as a newcomer. I had to admit that I was indebted to him, but he was quite eccentric, or rather, how should I put it…? When he got busy, he would become irritable and take it out on us newcomers. If we declined his invitation to go drinking, he would complain and make a fuss. And when we did go, he would suddenly demand that we sing or do a comedy routine, making outrageous requests.

Especially when there were female staff around, he seemed to want to assert his dominance, so the demands were even more extreme. Because of that, us newcomers, including me, tried to avoid getting too involved with him… And yet, he had passed away suddenly and without warning.

“Seriously…”

“Yeah… Well, I know it’s not the best thing to say, but…”

My colleague, Sasaki Kojiro, started to say something. He had also been one of those who had been subjected to Hitsuji-senpai’s outrageous demands and often complained about it.

“It’s probably best not to say too much about his death. It’s still insensitive, no matter what.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Anyway, we should get back to work. I bet you haven’t finished organizing the documents yet, right?”

“Oh, right. Thanks for reminding me.”

After our conversation, Sasaki went back to work. Hitsuji Fujima… Dead, huh? I feel like I’ve heard this kind of story somewhere before… Where was it? News? Dream? Newspaper? Evening edition? Poster? Notice? Internet?

Where was it? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember anything beyond a hazy sensation in my head. I felt the same way when I first met Hitsuji Fujima senpai. A familiar sensation, as if we had met somewhere or I knew him from before.

Unable to figure it out no matter how much I thought, I stopped my train of thought and focused on my work.

Subsequently, the official announcement of Hitsuji Fujima senpai’s passing and the notification of the funeral arrived, and everyone at the office was expected to attend.

◆◆

At dusk, it was six o’clock in the evening after work. We had arrived at the funeral hall, where a considerable number of people had gathered. I was dressed in a plain black suit, tie, shirt, and belt, making my way through the funeral hall with my colleague Sasaki.

After checking in at the reception, I looked around the interior of the hall.

“We’re on the left side, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well… I feel like I’ve been in a similar place before.”

“Are you okay? You look tired…”

When Sasaki said that, I realized that I was indeed feeling exhausted. Lately, the surname “Hitsuji” had been on my mind constantly for some reason. I pressed my fingertips to my eyes, realizing that it wasn’t appropriate to be thinking about such things when we were here for a funeral. I decided to switch my mindset.

I opened my eyes again and tried to sit on the left side of the altar… and there I saw Hitsuji-senpai’s photo in front of me. In front of the photo, there were four children, all of the same height but with different hair colors and hairstyles. I could only see their backs, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I had seen them somewhere before. After the sutra recitation and incense offering, when the monk left and the family members finished their eulogies, we were on our way back home when I heard a voice.

“Who’s going to take care of those sisters?”

“My place is out of the question…”

“I heard they froze water with just their minds.”

As the dusk light illuminated them, I felt a sense of familiarity in the conversation among Hitsuji-senpai’s relatives. Hasn’t this kind of feeling been happening too often lately?

Despite thinking that, I found myself stopping my feet and unintentionally eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Hey, we should head home.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Hey!”

Sasaki tapped my shoulder. But for some reason, my feet wouldn’t move. They remained frozen in place as I listened to the relatives’ conversation.

“Quadruplets… and they’re monsters, too.”

“Hey, that’s not…”

The old woman tried to say something, but the old man stopped her. Could those people be Hitsuji-senpai’s parents? No, they must be. From what I gathered from their conversation, the four girls I saw at the altar must be the four sisters. And they were referred to as monsters…

It was strange how I could understand everything. And in the midst of the elderly people’s conversation, the four girls approached them.

One of them spoke up—a girl with short pink hair that fell to her shoulders. Her clear blue eyes were sharp like the sea. She was small, probably around elementary school height.

“What should we do after this?” she asked.

“…Well, you can take the rest of the day off. All four of you can go back to the hotel,” one of the elderly couples responded.

“…Alright. Then, everyone, let’s go.”

They beheld eyes filled with fear and discrimination, as if they were looking at monsters. Without saying anything, the four girls left.

“We definitely can’t take them in,”

“I wonder when they’ll freeze us,”

“We can’t do it either,”

Both the maternal and paternal grandparents rejected the four siblings. Those four girls were Hitsuji-senpai’s children… Even close relatives were rejecting them. Their voices must be reaching the four sisters without a doubt.

No, they’re saying it on purpose… Either way, they can hear it.

“Hey, how much longer are you going to stay here?”

I’ve seen this scene before. This event that fills me with intense hatred…

◆◆

“This is interesting, give it a try,”

“A yuri game… really?”

“No, it’s definitely interesting. This game,”

“What’s it called?”

“Resonating Love.”

◆◆

In that instant, I was struck by an overwhelming shock, as though a bomb had detonated in my mind. Memories came flooding back, one after another, memories that I didn’t recognize, or rather, had long forgotten.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sasaki asked before I quickly walked towards the girls’ relatives. They noticed me and gasped.

I approached them and shouted loudly, “Can’t I just watch over those four sisters!?”

The voice must have been audible to the four sisters who were leaving the funeral, and to everyone else present in the room.

“Um, yes?” The old lady raised a question mark above her head, looking puzzled.

“Um, I’m someone who was taken care of by Hitsuji-senpai. And, changing the topic, it seems like there’s a dispute over the custody of his four daughters at their designated guardian’s place, so I want to take them in!”

“S-suddenly…”

“I apologize for the abruptness. But everyone seems hesitant. So I thought, maybe I could…”

“You fool! What are you saying?!”

Sasaki hurriedly approached me and grabbed my hand, perhaps trying to force me to leave. But even if he pulled my hand, I didn’t budge.

“If it’s me, I can take care of those kids. I have a big house. And I have some savings too!”

“Well, even if you say that…”

“Trusting someone we know nothing about…”

They rejected the four children, but for some reason, they hesitated to let me take them in. Well, it’s true that I’m a complete outsider. But I couldn’t bear to let these a**holes, who treated their supposed grandchildren with disdain and didn’t show them any love, take custody of them and abandon them, just because they found it inconvenient to raise them.

“Please, let me inherit Senpai’s will,” I bowed my head. I didn’t really want to bow, but I did. As I lowered my head, I could hear the voices of those guys whispering softly above me.

“But isn’t it better this way? Rather than us taking in the monsters.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“If we have more parenting responsibilities, it’ll just cut into our gateball and swimming time.”

“Then why don’t we just pass them off to this guy? He seems like he has a weird sense of responsibility.”

I can hear all of it. You bastards… My hearing is way too good. Idiots.

“Well, if you’re confident that you can take care of them properly, let’s consider the children’s opinion,” the old man coughed as he said.

“Thank you! Well, I’ve been indebted to Senpai, so I guess I feel a weird sense of responsibility… Hahaha,” I replied.

“Hey, is this really okay?” Sasaki asked me

“It’s fine. I want to do this,” I said.

“You haven’t been indebted to him at all. In fact…” My colleague Sasaki went on to say.

“Enough, shut up. I’m on a good track here,”

The elderly people probably called the four sisters, who were most likely listening to the conversation from behind me. They were supposed to go to the hotel, but they must have stopped when they heard our discussion. I felt the children’s footsteps gradually approaching.

At the funeral hall, all eyes were on me.

This day marked the beginning of my encounter with the four sisters, the heroines of the Yuri Game world, and from this day on, our destinies would change drastically and be set into motion.