Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [22]

That evening, in the cramped little Akiyama house, the three women were busy packing up some of their personal belongings.

Even though the moving company offered a full packing and unpacking service—and they could have left everything to the professionals—there were always a few things that felt too private to let strangers handle, or items important enough that they wanted to carry them themselves.

“Mom, what’s in this big box? Do we need to take it with us?” Akiyama An, having finished her own packing, glanced over at her mother, curiosity written all over her face.

“Oh, that? That’s your father’s treasure. We have to take good care of it,” Mrs. Akiyama replied, cheeks slightly pink as she reminisced.

“A treasure? What kind of treasure?” An pressed, getting more and more intrigued as she scooted closer, eager to peek inside.

“Nope, not allowed. This is a secret between your father and me. An-chan, you’re not allowed to look.” Mrs. Akiyama stopped her gently but firmly.

An puffed out her cheeks in protest, then turned to her older sister. “Tsuki, look at Mom! She’s trying to keep all of Dad’s treasure to herself. Aren’t you going to do something?”

Akiyama Tsuki, busy packing away her own underwear and thinking about going out to buy some blue-and-white striped ones, was startled by her sister’s call. She quickly pressed down her skirt to keep the writing on her thigh from showing.

“Do something about what? Have you finished your homework yet? I’m going to check it in a bit.”

“?!!” An’s eyes widened in horror. “We’re busy moving today and I still have to do homework?”

“Of course. You’re my little sister—there’s no way I’m letting your grades slip. Tonight I’m going to go over your English cram school lessons with you, too.” Tsuki, ignoring An’s dramatic sulking, just kept piling on.

The family couldn’t afford to send both girls to the private tutoring school, so only Tsuki attended, then taught her little sister at home.

“I don’t want to be some kind of genius… why do I have to work so hard…” An grumbled, her face scrunched in misery.

"If you don’t want people to look down on you or bully you, you have to be better than everyone else—so good that they can only look up to you. Then they’ll never dare", Tsuki lectured, tugging gently on An’s ear.

“There aren’t that many bad people out there…” An mumbled, only daring to protest in a tiny voice.

“Chiba is a bad guy,” Tsuki said, her hand instinctively touching the spot on her thigh where there were still traces of writing, her cheeks flushing a bit.

“I think Chiba-kun’s a good person…” An protested, even softer.

That’s just because you haven’t seen his other side. Tsuki squeezed her legs together, recalling what had happened at noon. Her face grew even more unnatural.

That commanding tone, that cold look, writing on my thigh… Just—no, don’t think about it, it’s making me shiver all over…

“Tsuki?” An noticed something was off with her sister.

“Ahem, your father was amazing back in the day. We have to be excellent, too,” Tsuki straightened up, trying to look serious.

“Oh… Okay.” An pouted, but listened without complaint.

Just then, Mrs. Akiyama finished packing and stood up. “I’m going to the ramen shop for one last check. You two be good while I’m gone—wash up early, go to bed early. We have to get up early for the move tomorrow.”

“Got it~” the sisters replied in unison.

As soon as their mother left, An’s eyes lit up. “Tsuki, Tsuki, let’s sneak a look at Dad’s treasure, just for a second?”

“Not interested.” Tsuki stood up, pressing down her skirt. “I need to go out. You stay home and start reviewing your lessons.”

“Huh? But it’s so late, where are you going?” An asked, baffled.

“I’ve got something to do. Don’t ask.” With that, Tsuki headed out, leaving her little sister alone at home.

“Both of them, always keeping secrets. They’re always hiding things from me,” An grumbled at the closed door, cheeks puffed out again. But her excitement quickly returned as she eyed the mysterious box.

Just a quick peek, then I’ll tape it up again. No one will know, right? She stared at the cardboard box, the tape still unsealed, and figured it should be fine.

But when she opened it, she froze. Inside was a heavy metal case, locked with a combination. She couldn’t open it at all.

Completely deflated, she muttered, “Seriously, Mom, what kind of treasure needs to be hidden this well?”

Bored, she went off to run a bath. By the time the tub was ready, Tsuki had finally returned.

So she went shopping… What did she get? An craned her neck, trying to peek into the bag.

“Underwear. When I was packing, I realized some of mine were too old, so I bought new ones.” Tsuki didn’t bother to hide it—living together, it would have come out eventually anyway.

“Did you get any for me? I think I need some new ones too. Huh? They’re all blue-and-white stripes? You like those now?” An asked, genuinely puzzled.

“They’re all mine. If you want new ones, you’ll have to get your own. They’re all blue-and-white stripes because that style was on sale,” Tsuki lied smoothly, eyes darting away.

“Oh, I see… Then give me one, too. I’ve never tried that style, so it could be fun,” An said, totally missing the strange look on her sister’s face.

“No way!” Tsuki instantly clamped the bag shut. “This is something I have to deal with myself.”

“Wh-what do you mean, ‘deal with it yourself’? Deal with what?” An blinked, startled by Tsuki’s sudden intensity.

“Ahem, I just mean they were on sale, so I couldn’t pick different patterns. Blue-and-white stripes are kind of out of fashion anyway. I’ll just wear them myself—you should go buy something cuter.”

Tsuki’s brain worked fast, coming up with a perfectly reasonable excuse.

“Tsuki…” An’s eyes got all misty with emotion. “It’s fine, I’ll wear them with you. No one can see anyway, right?”

That look of pure, admiring innocence made Tsuki feel oddly guilty. “Not listening to your big sister anymore? I said no, so that’s that.”

“…Okay.” An gave up on her dream of “suffering together.” Then she suddenly remembered the box.

“Tsuki, come help! The secret box has a lock—what do you think the code is?”

Glad to change the subject, Tsuki walked over and checked the box.

“Easy—try Dad’s birthday, Mom’s birthday, then yours and mine. Just try them all.”

“Oh! Good idea!” An quickly tested the combinations. It worked on the first try. “It’s Dad’s birthday!”

“Open it, let’s see.” Now Tsuki was curious, too. What on earth was inside?

An lifted the lid. A jumble of random gadgets and props stared back at them. Tsuki was stunned.

“What are these even for? Why are these Dad’s treasures? Was he a police officer… or maybe a cowboy?” An muttered, completely lost.

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This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!