CH 55

The suspicion that Kaho and I were brother and sister has been completely disproved.

So, there should be no lingering resentment between Kaho and her mother, Akiho-san, and there would be no reason for Kaho to continue running away from home.

I was naive to think that she would have no reason to continue running away from home.

“I’m going to stay at Haruto’s house for a while.”

Kaho said simply.

Akiho-san raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Is it possible that Kaho is angry with me? I didn’t tell you anything. That’s why you don’t want to be with me?”

“No, it’s not that. I don’t hold a grudge against my mother. It’s just my own selfishness that I want to live with Haruto.”

“I’m sure that would be a nuisance to Haruto-kun, and besides, it’s not good for a high school boy and girl to be in the same home together. You already stayed with him for a week, isn’t that enough?”

As expected, Akiho-san tried to object.

But Kaho smiled back at her.

“I’m not bitter, but if my mother had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have had to rejected Haruto’s confession.”

Ugh, Akiho-san, at a loss for words.

Even as Akiho-san, she must have felt guilty when she was told so.

After shrugging and sighing deeply, she looked up at the sky.

Then she chuckled.

She looked just like Kaho.

“I wonder who in the world raised Kaho to be such a bad-natured girl?”

“Wasn’t it her mother?”

“Well, you can stay at Haruho-kun’s house for a little while, but you have to keep a proper moderation in your relationship.”

I was taken aback when Akiho-san spoke as if me and Kaho were in a relationship.

Then I realize that Akiho-san doesn’t know Rei-san exists.

I was stumped.

Indeed, if it were not for this suspicion of blood relationship, Kaho would have easily accepted my confession six months ago, and then I would have surely been dating Kaho even now.

But now I have Rei-san in my home.

Akiho-san was anxiously asking Amane-nee-san to “keep a close watch on the two of them”.

☆

That night at my home, the problem was where to sleep.

When it was just the two of us, Rei-san and I, we could sleep in separate rooms, and if Kaho joined us, we could have the two girls sleep in the same room.

But when the three of them, including Amane-nee-san, were going to live in the same apartment, it would be a different story. There are two rooms, and each room can only have two futons.

Someone would have to sleep in the same room as me, with the futon laid out side by side.

Rei-san and Kaho were arguing.

The topic of discussion was which one of them should sleep on the futon in the same room with me.

Rei-san argued that she was the one who should sleep on the futon in the same room with me for the reason that “I’m not a bad sleeper”, which I didn’t understand.

The two were about to argue for a long time, but Amane-nee-san’s one voice settled the matter.

She was the one who would sleep in the same room with me.

Well, I think that’s a fair conclusion.

She was my cousin and had been living in this home for a long time.

“I am your sister, Haruto, and we are family.”

Amane-nee-san smiled confidently.

Rei-san was in a panic and put her hand on her forehead, desperately trying to come up with some kind of reasonable response.

Then, she brightened up with a look that said she had come up with a good idea.

“I’m Haruto-kun’s sister, too!”

“Eh?”

“Amane-san is his cousin, so she’s Haruto’s ‘big sister’. I’m Haruto’s second cousin, so I guess you could say I’m his little sister.”

Rei-san said while smiling at me.

Yes, we did talk about something like that.

I told Rei-san that since she was my second cousin, Rei-san was one-sixteenth my younger sister.

At the time, she seemed to be dissatisfied, saying that she was not satisfied that she was my younger sister just because she was born a little later than me.

When I said that, Rei-san blurted out, “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten about that long time ago.”

“No, I think it was just recently…”

“It’s different. Haruto Onii-chan is mean…”

Rei-san’s cheeks turned red and she glared up at me.

“That’s the second time you’ve called me that way, isn’t it?”

I said, realizing my blunder.

Amane-nee-san was staring with amusement.

Kaho, on the other hand, looked at me coldly and sternly, and then said.

“Heh. Haruto made Mikoto-san play his sister?”

“Not at all!”

“I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided that Haruto should sleep with Amane-san after all!”

Kaho said with a determined look on her face.

And then she whispered quietly, “I just have to avoid Haruto and Mikoto-san sleeping together…”

“Yes. Three to one. It’s decided by majority vote.”

Amane-nee-san smiled triumphantly.

Thus began the short life together of me, Rei-san, Kaho, and Amane-nee-san.