Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 4 - Chapter 4.2

Bonus chapter: "Yashiro: The Visitor - Part 7" 

"Hmm..." 
Having realised that this was quite a bad spot to be doing homework, I turned my eyes to the side. 
Sis and Yachii were watching TV. Together. With Yachii sitting between her legs. She leaned against her, which caused the particles of light radiating off her hair to float around Sis's jaw and neck. 
Still wearing her school uniform, Sis continued to doze off, her eyes half-open. She always seemed tired during spring. As for Yachii, there was a wide grin on her face. Also, every now and then, she'd reach into her bag, pull out an egg bolo, and eat it. Comparing the faces of the two, I found it difficult to concentrate on the homework sitting on the desk in front of me. My hand came to a stop. 
Sis, propping Yachii up. Yachii, leaning against Sis. 
And then me, feeling strangely gloomy towards both of them. 
Thoughts and feelings I wasn't quite able to make sense of continued piling up deep within me. 
"Hm?" 
Having noticed that I was staring their way, Sis lazily turned her eyes towards me, looking like she might fall asleep any second now. 
Our eyes met. I wasn't sure why, but I felt kinda awkward. 
"Is it too loud? Should I turn the volume down?" 
Turn her down too, she added while placing her hand on top of Yachii's head. This didn't exactly silence her, and still smiling, she went on to invite me to join them: 
"Come watch with us, Shou." 
"N-No, it's fine. I don't really... Umm, I have homework." 
Why had I chosen to react to her innocent invitation in such a stubborn fashion? I wasn't really sure. 
"How admirable." 
"Very admirable." 
The way they praised me didn't sound like they meant anything with it, but more that they were just saying things at random. I scratched my head before returning to my homework. 
And yet, having solved just a couple more problems, my hand once again came to a stop. 
I took another glance to my side. 
Just as you might have expected, Sis was still dozing off, and likewise, Yachii was still grinning. 
"Hmmm..." 
Once more. Invite me to join you just once more. Gosh, why did I always have to be so stubborn? That was the one part of my personality that I really didn't like. 
"Hey, umm... Yachii, come here for a second." 
Knowing well there was nothing I could say to get Sis to stand up, I decided to address Yachii instead. 
"Yes?" she asked while slowly turning my way. 
"I was thinking, could you help me out with my homework?" 
I didn't actually need any help. I could easily solve the problems by myself. And yet, I still said that. 
Yachii didn't see through my deception. On the contrary, she looked really proud of herself. 
"Hehehe. You are asking me for help? Smart choice, Shou." 
Having said that, she ran over to me. I felt relieved, but also like I'd done something wrong. These two emotions continued dripping by my core. 
"After all, I'm Yashiemon." 
Oh, she was still going on with that thing? I glanced behind her, and saw Sis laying on the floor with her arms and legs spread out. 

"Now then, what are we dealing with here?" Yachii asked while examining the book I had open on the desk. 
"Huh? It's maths." 
You should have been able to tell that easily by all the plus and minus signs. And yet, based on the look on Yachii's face, she appeared to have no clue. First the whole cake thing a few days back, and now this. I felt like she was ignorant of a few too many things. 
What kind of school could it have been she said she graduated from to leave her so lacking in common sense? 
"Hmm." 
"..." 
"Mmh." 
"..." 
I waited in silence, all the while unsure if Yachii was actually thinking about anything. 
She groaned. She stared at the book. Then, unexpectedly, she slammed it shut. 
Following this, she turned to face me before opening her tiny mouth. 
"&##$%" 
"Huh?" 
"Repeat: &##$%" 
It was incredibly difficult for me to make out what she was saying. 
"O... Oraaha." 
I went ahead and imitated her the best I could. 
"Exactly, exactly", Yachii nodded, appearing mighty satisfied. She even went as far as to cross her arms, almost like she was proud of herself or something. 
"What was that?" 
"Space speech." 
"Spa... Space?" 
"It was the language everyone used to speak a while back. Although, since that was before I was born, I don't really know it all that well." 
If she didn't know it, then why did she seem so self-confident? 
"I will teach you about space, Shou." 
"About... space?" 
"To start off, my people live on average for eight-hundred-thousand years. This is a relatively long amount of time, and..." 
Sounding filled to the brim with joy, Yachii began her explanation. Was she lying? Or was she not? It was hard for me to say. 
At no point had I said that I'd actually listen to her. And yet, before I knew it, I found myself in that role, carefully taking in every single one of her words. 
Numbers as large as the ones Yachii spoke of appeared nowhere in my maths book. She also jumped around as she pleased, from one topic straight to the next. All in all, I couldn't help but feel like I was in the middle a tempest, rocked about by numbers and figures beyond my comprehension. 
On the flip side, Sis appeared the exact same as she had moments earlier. I watched as she rolled over in her sleep. 
Yes. Only I was engulfed by the storm. 
Yachii continued to talk, and as she did, I took a quick glance at the closed maths book. 
A thought which would forever remain private crossed my mind: She wasn't just trying to distract me from the fact that she couldn't solve the equations, was she? 

Today's Adachi 

If Shimamura was a cat, she'd go "Shimaa". 
If I was a cat, I'd go "Shimaa". 
I wonder, why was it that our meows were the same?