April 6

It was supposed to be my entrance ceremony, but unfortunately, it was raining.

I had just woken up and was still sitting on my bed, staring absentmindedly out the window beside it.

Then—

Knock, knock.

Someone tapped on my door.

“Kaname? Are you awake?”

As usual, Mom had come to wake me up.

I didn’t answer right away. I just kept staring sleepily out the window.

Our home was on one of the upper floors of a high-rise building, so the view from up here was incredible.

From my bedroom window, I could even make out the school I would be attending starting today, tiny in the distance.

As I watched the school through the rain, I found myself vaguely wondering what my new high school life would be like.

Then came another knock.

That finally snapped me out of my daze.

“Yeah, I’m awake.”

I hurriedly answered, and Mom’s voice came through the door again.

“You’d better get ready, or you’ll be late for the entrance ceremony. Breakfast is ready, so come eat once you’re dressed. Your dad already finished his. He’s been fidgeting around all morning, waiting to see you in your new uniform.”

After a brief pause, he added,

“I need to get ready too, so let me know if you need anything.”

With that, Mom went back to their bedroom.

Still rubbing my heavy eyelids, I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom directly across from my room.

Once I’d finished getting ready, I changed into my new school uniform.

Seeing myself in it in the mirror somehow made everything feel a little more real.

Our home was pretty big.

There was the living room, kitchen, and dining area, my parents’ bedroom, my room, and a guest room.

There was even another bedroom that my parents had set aside just in case I ever ended up with a little brother or sister—though they were already in their thirties, so I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen.

On top of that, Mom had a completely soundproof room where he could practice the violin, and we even had a miniature home theater for watching movies.

My parents’ bedroom had its own private bathroom and a large walk-in closet.

The kitchen was spacious too, with a counter set up almost like a bar, with enough room for four people to sit.

We usually ate breakfast and lunch there, or whenever we just wanted something quick.

And, of course, that was where my breakfast was waiting for me that morning.

I sat down at the counter.

Then a voice came from behind me.

“Does this look weird?”

It was Dad.

I turned around—

and immediately burst out laughing.

“Pfft—!”

It happened every time.

Whenever my parents went out in public for something private, they always wore disguises.

Mom usually dressed as a woman.

And since he was beautiful enough to give an actual model a run for her money, that was never really a problem.

Dad, on the other hand...

Dad was definitely the problem.

He was normally so handsome that I honestly couldn’t understand how he managed to look this ridiculous the moment he put on a disguise.

Every. Single. Time.

And yet, somehow, nobody ever recognized him as Soji Soga.

Soji Soga was Dad’s stage name.

Mom performed under his maiden name, Yuu Kisaragi.

My parents kept their private lives almost completely out of the public eye, so hardly anyone knew their real names—or that they even had a family.

And then there was me—

Kaname Akagi.

No stage name.

No fake identity.

That was my actual, honest-to-goodness name.

I supposed Dad was so good at disguising himself because he was an actor.

Still, every time I saw him like this, I couldn’t help thinking he could at least try to make himself look a little less suspicious.

One wrong move and he looked like some creepy guy you’d call the police on.

And if the police ever stopped him and asked for identification, the whole disguise would be pointless.

The second they checked who he was—

“Oh. You’re Soji Soga.”

Game over.

Still, I had to give him credit.

Maybe it was his acting skills, but somehow, he had never gotten himself into trouble before.

I looked Dad up and down one more time.

“I don’t really care. You’re going dressed like that no matter what I say, right?”

Then I turned back to my breakfast and added,

“Just try not to get reported as a suspicious person.”

I quickly finished eating.

And then—

dressed in my brand-new uniform, I stepped out into the rain.