Chapter 1374 Before The Trip (1)

Morning soon arrived and after another wonderful start of the day where Akane and I almost turned our bed into a mess, the two of us soon prepared for school.

With my day already set to accompany Eguchi-sensei, I decided to make use of this morning before going to school.

And with that, I started by calling all of my girls or messaging them when they were still asleep. I greeted them good morning along with other things we could talk about personally.

Furthermore, since she's living in the same neighborhood as us, Akane and I agreed to have me pick up Eimi at their house so I could escort them both to school.

And so, after we left our house, Akane separated from me as she went in the direction of the station to wait for us there while I hurried on my steps to reach the Nikaido house quickly.

Upon arriving there, I managed to catch her parents who were just about to leave for the restaurant.

Well, they're probably late now since they're both rushing as they loaded things in their pickup.

Since Eimi was still changing into her uniform, I offered to help them carry things alongside their grumpy niece Anzu-onee-san.

Yep. She's also there and still in her sleepwear. It's kind of a skimpy outfit but because of her petite figure, it kinda came off as cutesy rather than sexy in my eyes. And maybe that's the reason why she immediately frowned upon catching me staring at her.

Well, there's also what happened the last time. After returning my greeting, she simply went on to her task, seemingly trying to avoid interacting with me.

Knowing her, it's either she started becoming conscious of me or maybe, she just didn't know how to act around me after I saw her in her vulnerable state like that. But recalling what happened just a few days ago, didn't she also spoil me on our way back? Acting very much like an older sister who didn't want to be bested by her little brother.

Ah. Right, there's also that incident in Eimi's room. She saw us in a daring position when she suddenly opened the door. I guess that still lingered in her mind, huh?

In any case, even if she continued becoming troubled by it, I still acted the same around her, respectfully – while also a little sarcastically – addressing her onee-san. She failed to notice that or she's just turning a blind eye to it. It's probably enough for her that I wasn't bursting her bubble of fantasy.

Furthermore, despite what I said back then that she'll always be an older sister in my eyes, her actions just kept on appearing adorable in my eyes.

And so, after we finished with that small task and watched the couple driving out of their yard, I followed her inside the house to wait for Eimi there.

Taking this chance to check on her, I opened up a conversation, "Anzu-nee, no classes today?"

Perhaps not expecting that I would converse with her normally, she visibly flinched before replying, "My schedule is in the afternoon. What's with you calling out to me out of the blue?"

"It's not out of the blue though. I've been meaning to check on my cheeky older sister."

"Who's your cheeky older sister?! You brat!"

Triggered as I expected, the girl charged at me and, for the second time, hooked her arm around my neck to put me in a stranglehold. But unlike the last time, I resisted and ended up carrying her instead.

Once she found her feet leaving the ground, she quickly loosened her arm, landing in front of me. She then grabbed my collar and growled like a small animal trying to intimidate a much larger animal in front of her. In short, she's just simply making herself more adorable to look at.

Of course, I never showed any amusement on my face. But with prolonged eye contact, she eventually became flustered resulting in her retreat.

"Look, Anzu-nee. You can't always bully your little brother, alright? That's how siblings are."

As if I know what I am talking about. I am an only child, after all.

But well, it was a little effective as I got her attention again. She puffed up her cheeks and replied, "I'm not bullying you. I'm only trying to put you into place."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is… I'm doing it for you!"

"I see. So, putting me in my place is supposed to be good for me? Is that it?"

"Yeah… That way, you won't mindlessly offend anyone with your wicked tongue." Anzu-nee grumpily explained before crossing her arms. Once again, her stacked front was emphasized and she seemed to be unaware that she was giving me eye candy.

In any case, I focused on our conversation. Rather than wait in silence for Eimi, talking to Anzu was certainly amusing.

"Ah. I guess you do have a good intention."

"Of course, I do! You're my mischievous little brother…" As she murmured the last few words, she intently stared into my face before shaking her head furiously. It's as if a malicious thought had popped up in her head and she immediately shook it off her head.

If I had to guess… she's really becoming conscious of me. Not just because of what she witnessed back then but also… that little moment we had in that shrubbery.

Spending a few more minutes like this wherein our conversation revolved around that topic, Eimi soon showed up from upstairs, dressed prettily.

Oh. No. She's just in her uniform but in my eyes, her beauty was magnified a few times in relation to how many days I haven't seen her in person.

At this point, Anzu-nee voluntarily stepped aside allowing me to approach my girl. Eimi didn't even wait for me to reach her. Her feet carried her forward, jumping into my arms right away.

And even with her older cousin watching, Eimi asked for a kiss. Our morning greeting.

After doing so, and intimately at that, we soon turned for the door.

"Well then, Anzu-onee-san, we're leaving. Don't forget to drink your milk." I intentionally added that remark at the end as I glanced back at the girl.

And sure enough, it once again triggered her.

"This brat! I've already drunk it! Go on! Eimi, smack your boyfriend for me, alright?"

Eimi laughed at her reaction before also joining in to tease her older sister.

"Anzu-nee, what's wrong with Ruki? He's just concerned for you, no?"

"Ugh. You two are really becoming cut of the same cloth. I don't care anymore. Go on and leave. I'll lock up and sleep again."

Giving up on retorting, the girl pushed out of the door and immediately closed it.

But a second later, it opened slightly and she peeked out to add something, "Take care on your way, you two."

Alright, that just redeemed herself as both Eimi and I couldn't help but feel the warmth from that concern.

On our way to the station, Eimi brought up something, "Ruki, Anzu-nee is getting more conscious of you, isn't she? I heard you two from upstairs."

Ah, well. I expected that. It's too obvious that it would be weird if she didn't pick up on that.

In any case, Eimi sounded more pleased to know that. Her lips even curled up into a teasing smile, wordlessly implying that there was more to it than just Anzu-nee getting conscious of me.

"Mhm. I find her really interesting. But Eimi, you know that you're always my sole reason for coming there."

"Heh. Ruki, I'm not jealous. There's no way I will be. If Anzu-nee falls for you in the future, then I'll be asking you to also consider her. For now, I like seeing the older sister-little brother dynamics between you. It's very amusing."

Upon saying that, Eimi then hugged my arm tightly as though she was reinforcing her place by my side.

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Right. She might've said she was not jealous but to see me getting along that well with her older cousin, there would still remain a little of it in her subconscious. Because like all of my girls, Eimi also had this hope to have me all for herself.

That's just how it is.

Soon after meeting up with Akane, the three of us continued on our way. Halfway through it, Akane's three friends also joined us. While Futaba and Eri welcomed Eimi's presence as if they found another friend, Fuyu wasn't that amused. Or rather, she simply looked on silently while occasionally glancing at me as if she was trying to catch me making a mistake.

Well, nothing happened and we arrived at their school relatively unbothered by the attention we got on the way.