Volume 10 - CH 2

“…I’m back.”

I opened up the front door of Masamune’s apartment without even thinking twice, like it became my new home for real, and spoke up with a voice devoid of any energy. Naturally, that was because of what just happened.

‘I’m fine now.’

It sounded like she completely denied all my words, just staying stubborn no matter what. But…

“………!”

I felt my chest tightening up. Something doesn’t feel right. Something feels very bad here. What doesn’t sit right with me…is that fake and perfect smile of hers. I mean, she is keeping up a facade at school, but still…

“………”

Just wait a second. Was that—really the Suzutsuki I know? That’s the question that wouldn’t leave me. It was awfully vague, but she felt different from Suzutsuki. Devil Suzutsuki, or so I’ve been calling her. Let alone her Deretsuki-san, Yamitsuki-san, Derechuki-san, it’s like she was Frie*a-sama or some robot out of Mac*oss. That showed the devilish acting talent she possessed. However, the current Suzutsuki felt different.

“…Damn it.”

As I thought, maybe I should go to her room one more time? Suzutsuki said she’s fine, but that sure didn’t look that way. Not to mention that there’s also Konoe. I haven’t even talked to her since.

“…Hm?”

As I was thinking to myself in the entrance, I realized something odd down at my feet. Right now, it was just me and Masamune living here. That’s why, only our shoes should be standing at the entrance. However, what I spotted now were small loafers, who looked all too familiar.

“…Kureha?”

That’s right, Sakamachi Kureha. She is my younger sister, and the little monster of the Sakamachi Family. Those are her shoes, no doubt about it. Eh? How could I tell? Because I’m her older brother……Well, it’s not that convenient. It’s just that I’ve eaten a lot of missile kicks while she wore those loafers, so I can recognize them immediately. Still, why is she here?

Last week, she ran away from his apartment. Since she left behind a letter like out of some TV drama, I thought that maybe she had her heart broken or something, but that wasn’t the case. She simply sought out refuge at her friend Nakuru’s home. It’s been roughly a week since then. Since we are in different student years, I was a bit worried since we haven’t seen each other a lot, but…

“…I see, so she’s back.” I sighed in relief.

Yeah, I’m glad. Honestly speaking, I could never really calm down, even knowing that she was safe. She’s my family’s little monster after all. Even if she can easily beat me in a fight, not having her close to me is scary. I think this feeling is similar to having a friend take care of your pet for you. It felt like it left a hole open in my stomach. But, now she’s home. I don’t know what kind of change of mind she had, but I’m still happy.

“Alright…” I took off my shoes, and went up inside.

There’s Konoe and Suzutsuki to worry about, but…for now, I’ll go check up on my little sister. She’s still family, even if she sometimes doesn’t seem human. With these thoughts, I walked down the hallway. There, I could hear voices from Masamune’s room. Putting my ear closer to the door, I heard Masamune and Kureha’s voices from the inside. I was curious as to what they were saying, so I didn’t knock just yet.

“H-Hold on, Sakamachi! What are you doing here!?”

“Don’t stop me, Usamin-senpai! These are my feelings!”

“F-F-Feelings!? Even if that’s the case, you can’t just suddenly do something like this…”

“Do you…not like this, Usamin-senpai?”

“M-Me not liking it…that’s not the problem here…”

“Then it’s fine, right! Just accept me! Accept my feelings!”

“Nooooooooooooooooooo!?”

“………”

What are those two doing. What is my little sister doing to Masamune? ‘My feelings’? ‘Accept me’? These powerful words are going to break Onii-chan’s heart, you know.

“…Urk.”

Either way, I have a duty of observing the scenery beyond this door. I can’t have my younger sister awaken to some weird interest, so I have to forcefully stop her if push comes to shove! As her older brother!

“…Alright.” I put my hand on the door knob.

It’s now or never. Go, even if it breaks me. I mean, Kureha might actually break my body depending on how the situation goes. But, I ignored this bad premonition, and opened the door—

Kureha had her forehead pressed on the floor, prostrating herself in front of Masamune.

“……”

Hold on, sister. Nii-chan really didn’t want to see you like that.

“Nya!? Nii-san!?”

Kureha must have been scared to death by me opening the door, because she shot up. Even though it was Sunday, she was wearing her uniform. Maybe she had club today?

“Nii-san! What are you doing here!?”

“I’ll throw those words right back at you!”

Showing me such a surreal scenery right after coming home…I really didn’t want to see my little sister like that.

“T-This is…I just had a request for Usamin-senpai…”

“A request? Borrowing money?”

“Of course not!”

“Then, did you need someone to take up your debt? Hey, Kureha, Mom said to not do that before she left, right?”

“…Alright, calm down, Nii-san. You’re confused, and I get it, so listen to me.”

“That most definitely is your fault!”

Of course I’d be confused. I walked in on my little sister prostrating herself on the floor. Maybe I should have her get checked out at the hospital as well, see if she’s taken any steroids or other drugs.

“Um, Sakamachi, I think this is related to the stupid chicken, so maybe just explain everything to him?” Masamune threw in a helping hand, raising her upper body from her bed.

“Urk…R-Right.” Kureha showed a somewhat nervous response.

…It’s related to me? Maybe that’s why Kureha suddenly came home? She did talk about some request she had for Masamune.

“Um, Nii-san, I need your help with something.” Kureha fidgeted awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed.

And then, she looked up straight at me.

“—I want to go on a date with Konoe-senpai!”

“……”

The moment I heard those words, I fully grasped that today was indeed the 21st of November—This day is cursed.

×

“Please! I beg you, Nii-san!”

“I get it! I get it already, so stop prostrating yourself like that!”

I frantically stopped my little sister, who was having a deep kiss on her forehead. Still, a date with Konoe, huh. Why…where did that come from…

“For now, explain your reason.”

“R-Reason?”

“Yeah. Why do you want to go on a date with Konoe?”

“T-That’s…B-Because…I like Konoe-senpai…”

Waaah, what a maiden-like response. Oh yeah, Kureha’s been head over heels for Subaru-sama since she met him. Well, as her older brother, I would surely support my little sister in her endeavour, but there is one problem separating them. Namely, Konoe Subaru is a girl. If their love were to succeed, they would set foot on the path of a forbidden love. It’s a perfect example befitting William Shakespeare’s original. Makes it even worse because Kureha doesn’t know about that.

“But, why are you asking me for help?”

“Um…let me explain myself.” She stayed quiet for a moment. “I want both you and Usamin-senpai to support me so that the date becomes a success.”

“……”

Support? Why would we have to do that? What kind of support can you even give someone on a date?

“Hey, Sakamachi, why did you ask us for that?”

Ohh, nice one, Masamune. She perfectly voiced the doubts I had. Also wait, she is still sick.

“You should get some rest, Masamune. It’ll only make your cold worse.”

“I-I’m fine. After getting some sleep, I’m feeling better now…Not to mention…”

“Not to mention…?”

“…I want to hear her out.” Masamune said, somewhat bashful.

I don’t think her face is red solely because of her cold.

“……”

That surprised me. She really has opened up a lot. Compared to her cold and distant attitude from before, this is something you would never expect from her. She even had trouble dealing with Kureha before.

“But, I have a condition.”

Right as I was admiring Masamune, she had to ruin it again. There it is, the nasty rabbit I knew all too well. She still lives according to her give & take mentality. But, I wonder what it is? Masamune wouldn’t ask for money. Not like Kureha has any.

“Um…” Masamune showed a bashful expression. “You’re calling me ‘Usamin-senpai’, right?”

“Yes, correct.”

“Just once, could you call me by a different name…?”

“…A different name?”

“Y-You know, like you’re calling Suzutsuki Kanade!” She blushed even more aggressively.

……Does she…want Kureha to call her ‘Onee-chan’, or something? I mean, that has to be it. Kureha calls Suzutsuki with ‘Onee-sama’ after all. She also mentioned that she always wanted a younger sister. But, to think she’d suddenly ask for that…Oh yeah, Masamune is still sick.

“I understand. If I call you that way, you’ll help me, right?”

“Yup! I’ll help you! I’ll do anything!” Masamune nodded with a grin.

…Her character is way too different… Does she want to be called ‘Onee-chan’ that badly? She’s like a rabbit going crazy for a carrot.

“Roger. It’s a bit embarrassing…but I’ll do it.”

“Y-Yeah…”

The two shared an awkward conversation. Kureha blushed ever so slightly, and opened up her mouth.

“Mommie!”

“Mommie!? Why!?”

“Eh, I mean, you told me to…”

“That’s not what I wanted!”

“Ah, I understand. You prefer Mama then?”

“Are you making fun of me!? Why would I be your mom!?”

Well, I get why Kureha would call her like that after this past month. She’s poor, so she tries to save as much money as possible, she always goes to every super sale at the supermarket, and is still pretty strong despite that. Congrats, you’re a proper housewife, Masamune.

“…Whatever. My head is starting to hurt because of this.” Masamune let out a sigh, and held her head.

Since continuing this back and forth would only make her cold worse, I decided to step in.

“Also, why do you want our support in the first place? You were basically running away from home until today.”

“Ah…E-Even I have times where I want to be alone, okay.”

“So you stayed at Nakuru’s place? Why not ask her for help in regards to the date?”

She’s the president of the ‘Watch Over Subaru-sama With A Warm Gaze’ committee, so she should know how to win over Konoe.

“Nakuru is not good. She’s got her own problems.”

“Problems?”

“Something about ‘The time has come to move this country forward!’.”

“Problems in the head, yeah!?”

What the heck is she even talking about? Some revolution? I don’t want to see election posters of hers hanging around. She’ll probably hammer down a terrifying manifest .

“Nakuru is busy with her novel again. Something about a big project that will change the times.”

“Yeah, probably about BL and glasses, right?”

“According to her, it’ll be turned into children’s literature or whatever.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

Not even Che Guevera attempted a revolution that messed up. Also, don’t use BL and glasses in children’s literature.

“That being the case, I came back to ask Usamin-senpai and Nii-san for help.”

“Even if you ask us for that…”

“Not to mention…you two are going out, right?”

“……”

…I forgot. The Suzutsuki Revolution changed a lot. That day, which was named the Suzutsuki Revolution, just as Suzutsuki stated that she and Konoe were dating, Masamune also declared her relationship with me.

“That’s why I want advice from Usamin-senpai.”

“A-Advice?”

“Yes. Advice about love.”

“Huh!? W-Why would I have to give you advice!?”

“Because you are dating Nii-san?”

“T-That’s…!”

“By the way, who confessed first? Was it Usamin-senpai?”

“~~~!?”

Masamune blushed furiously like a ripe apple. I think she just remembered that Kureha is actually right.

“U-Um…what did you say to Nii-san when you confessed?”

“Eh…!? T-T-T-That’s…”

“Usamin-senpai, this is very important to me. Please help me!”

“Urk…” Masamune bit her lip.”I-I told the stupid chicken…”

“…You told him…?”

“…! I-I said ‘I like you!’, okay! And then…”

“And then? What did you say after that?”

“U-Um…’I want to become your family!’, I think…”

“You want to be his family!? You said something so embarrassing!?”

“~~~!? S-Shut up already! I said it, so I can’t help it!” Masamune screamed in anger.

By the way, I felt the blood rushing to my head. I’m about to collapse and it’s not even from a fever…Damn that Kureha. To think she’d force Masamune into a second confession like that. It’s like a new torturing method from a foreign country. I can feel my HP dropping.

“So then? What did you do after the confession?”

“W-What do you mean…”

“Ah, Usamin-senpai, you did something, right?”

“!?”

“M-M-Maybe…a kiss…?”

“U-Urk…” Masamune reluctantly nodded.

“Kyaaaa~!” Kureha raised an excited shriek.

Eh? Me? Of course, I’m about to pass out.

“I had no idea…that you and Nii-san did something like that…”

“…Hey, Kureha! Get back to the main topic! What’s important right now is that we support your date, right!?”

“You’ll help me, Nii-san!?”

“Yeah, just ask for whatever you need.”

“Then, maybe we could talk more about Usamin-senpai’s confession…”

“No more of that!”

I will die. If you make me hear something so embarrassing, Masamune will die as well. She’s already suffering from a cold. Her fever will only go up.

“Usamin-senpai, will you help me?”

“Y-Yeah, I don’t mind.”

“Yay! Then, I’ll make sure to nurse you back to health first! Don’t you worry, I’m used to not catching a cold!”

“Y-Yay, I’m so happy…” Masamune showed a smile, but started sweating profusely.

I understand how she feels. If it was me, I most definitely wouldn’t want to be taken care of by Kureha. Expecting any common sense from this wrestling junkie is a waste of effort. After all, she’s my family’s little monster, and the reason for my gynophobia. She could not be further from your average girl.

“……”

…But, why does she suddenly want to go on a date with Konoe? Is it because of the Suzutsuki Revolution? Normally, you’d be discouraged if the person you like suddenly has a lover, but to think she’d do the exact opposite…

“…Things changed, huh.” I muttered with a voice nobody could near.

It’s winter. Just as the seasons change, so do our relationships—or maybe who we are as a whole. During summer break, if my memory serves me right, I thought the following—Once the second term starts, our daily life will simply return back to normal.

“—”

Normal…A noisy and chaotic daily life. I’ve been thinking that, wishing for that. Since when?

“Stupid chicken, can I have a moment?”

There, as I was lost in my thoughts, Masamune pulled on my sleeve, whispering with a quiet voice.

“How was Suzutsuki Kanade like…?”

“Eh? Ah, well, she said that she wasn’t too bothered by what you said.”

“……I see. So she said that.” Masamune grew quiet.

“………”

Maybe a big change has happened. Just like the seasons change, our relationships…

“Nyaa! Since I got help from both Nii-san and Usamin-senpai, I should decide on the day of the date!”

As if to brush away my thoughts, Kureha shouted with a lot of excitement.

“Kureha, deciding on the day is fine and all, but you need to figure out if Konoe has time.”

“I know that! Tomorrow at school, I’ll invite Konoe-senpai!”

“Tomorrow…”

Since they live next to us, you could just go over there right now…Then again, maybe it might be hard to invite Konoe with Suzutuski around. She thinks that they are dating after all.

“Then, tomorrow.”

“Yup! I’ll try my best, Nii-san!” Kureha showed her usual and innocent smile.

Seeing that unparalleled face…I just wished for her to have fun on the date, while realizing that everything was about to change.

×

However, the following day, Suzutsuki and Konoe did not come to school. And the next day, and the day after, they didn’t come to school anymore.