Volume 7 - CH 8

“H-Huh?! Siblings can become a couple?!”

“Of course.”

“Hell no they can.”

“That’s not…”

To be perfectly honest, I had a feeling that allowing Yuki-chan to become independent like Ichinose-san would be hella difficult. Ichinose-san has the impression that “Siblings are supposed to care for each other,” whereas Yuki-chan blows past all of that, going “We may be siblings, but that doesn’t matter!” That being said, telling her, a girl in middle school, to become independent is a bit too much.

“…What you feel and want to do is your freedom, Yuki-chan. However, you can’t hurt or endanger people that are close to Sasaki, got it?”

“Naturally, I won’t do anything to people.”

“Women that fall under the primates species do qualify as people, all right?”

“Huuuh?”

“Don’t ‘Huuuh’ me.”

“Hmph…”

Just now, she called the girl a vixen, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she saw anybody other than Sasaki as something beneath a human being. Knowing how popular Sasaki is, and how it feeds into Yuki-chan’s yandere personality, I’m just glad that he’s even coming to school, still. And any person he’s interested in—namely Natsukawa—ultimately is in danger of falling victim to Yuki-chan. Well, she’s still willing to show her true self to us, so I guess she’s not that serious for now.

“Can I step outta line for a moment?”

“Everything up to this point was already out of line.”

“Is there any guy in middle school you think is pretty cool?”

“I’m a student at a girls’ only school.”

“Ah.”

That’s right…She’s a student at Mishirohama like Sasaki-san. She’s not meeting any guys in the first place. If she attended a co-ed school, she may have encountered a guy better than Sasaki…If I attended a boys-only school, I would have never met Natsukawa, and I wouldn’t be who I am right now.

“Why are you looking at me like that…Nothing would change even if I went to a co-ed school. Boys are nothing but brats who can only say ‘Poop’ or ‘Penis,’ that’s about it.”

“Let’s tone down the prejudices a bit, okay?! I think what you’re talking about is brats in grade school.!”

“E-Even Kou-kun is a lot more mature than this.”

“Ouh…” Ichinose-san groaned in solitude.

Leaving aside the whole poop thing, I almost got a heart attack when I heard the word penis from a girl’s mouth like this. And, I feel like Sasaki-san’s younger brother Kouta-kun has just been raised exceptionally well. If I had an older sister like her, I’d never be able to talk like that in the first place. Live on strong, Kouta-kun. Also, it seems like Ichinose-san’s the most innocent in our entire group, huh? I’ll write that down.

“Plus, Onii-chan is a lot more handsome than most people who just try to copy the hairstyles of the handsome people on TV.”

“Urk…!”

When I just enrolled at this school, I styled my hair with wax, too, thinking like ‘Oh man, maybe I’m actually pretty handsome?’, so hearing that from her is stabbing me right where it hurts. Even more so since it’s from a girl who’s younger than me.

“Also! There’s no person more cool or handsome than Onii-chan! That’s why coming to like him as I do is the expected turn of events!”

“Hm…”

…Wait a second. Doesn’t this mean that it’s not too late just yet? Yuki-chan is at an age where it makes perfect sense to fall in love with someone, but she has yet to make any contact with boys other than his brother. Hence, if she were to attend a co-ed school and started meeting other boys, that might change. Hell, she could even run into a boy she hasn’t met since grade school, which then leads to a romantic story of childhood friends that forgot about each other.

And then, and then…she’d say something like “No way! The only person I like is Onii-chan!” while she doesn’t understand her own feelings, only to slowly fall in love with that boy as a sweet love unfolds and they spend a fruitful youth together…Of course, imagine that happening between me and Natsukawa, too.

Thinking about Yuki-chan’s youth unfolding from here on out, maybe it’s a bit too early to force some distance between her and Sasaki…If anything, that kind of method could only lead down a bad path…Just watching over her in hopes that she one day encounters someone like that might be the best course of action here, no?

“Of course, you’re nowhere near on my radar, Sajou-san.”

“You don’t need to add that. I don’t need another loss added to my streak.”

“S-Streak…”

All battles I fought were lost pathetically. I really should be apologizing to my parents soon, huh? If anything, I don’t need their food anymore. Just give me some bread and a periodic smile, that’s all I need. If anything, I don’t need any skincare, and you don’t need to let me take baths either.

“Either way, I’m just glad you’ve cheered up a bit.”

“Y-Yes…”

“…”

Sasaki-san nodded like nothing just happened. I think she’s just gonna try and forget about everything she just heard. And that’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to be like Ichinose-san, who had her mouth open in disbelief. Luckily, nothing crazy happened between her and Sasaki yet, and I’m glad she’s got a bit more common sense than I gave her credit for. I can leave it at that. If I learn more about her darkness, I might not be able to sleep at night. And I wouldn’t make it out alive.

“…Huh? What are you so happy about? There’s still the problem of the vixen trying to seduce Onii-chan.”

“And you won’t do a thing about that. It’s Sasaki’s job to handle that.”

Leaving aside the fact that he was blushing for some reason, whether or not something happens between the two or not is something they have to experience for themselves. I personally only failed at every single attempt I made, but it’s not like I would wanna go back in time to middle school if I was given the chance. Even if we went back, I don’t think I’d form any worthwhile relationship with Natsukawa, as we were in different classes. I do have to say, I think my past self deserves a bit of praise for being so persistent.

“Let alone Sasaki, if you get in the way of whatever girl he comes to like, he’ll hate you for that.”

“Grrr…”

Even I feel annoyed at all of this nonsense. Imagine Sasaki who has to deal with this on a daily basis, he’s gonna be fed up. However, she’s only annoying him, not troubling others. If she were to act this way towards someone who has feelings for him or vice versa, even he’d get angry at him.

“…So what about you, Sajou-san?”

“…Huh?”

“You mentioned that you have an older sister, right?”

My only connection with her is Sasaki, and our exchanges mostly happened through text. However, only talking about Sasaki makes me wanna cry, so I tend to bring up a bit of variation in our communication, and that’s when I brought up Big Sis. I remember it clearly since this is like the one out of max 5 times we talked about anything other than her beloved brother.

“Huh…?! Sajou-senpai, you have a sister?!”

“I do…sadly…”

“…Why do you seem so…exhausted?” Ichinose-san threw in a retort, reminding me that she was still here, still.

Can you blame me? The number of times she made me cry is much, much greater than the times she ever made me happy. Can I just have Sasaki-san as my older sister? I don’t even care if she’s younger than me. The thought is that counts.

“So, how would you feel if some random stranger of unknown origin you don’t know approached your sister out of nowhere?”

“Random stranger of unknown origin…”

Didn’t expect to hear that phrase today, let alone from the mouth of a middle school student. Well, that’s how she must see all the girls approaching Sasaki. Maybe she’s using a more modern expression in her head? Anyway, Big Sis being approached by a guy…I can only think of the K4. But they’re more like university students than guys our age…

“You don’t even know what kind of person they are, and yet they suddenly start dating your older sister. Wouldn’t you be worried?”

“Nope?”

“Oh please, no need to—”

“I’m not joking.”

“It’s your older sister, right?”

“Right-o.”

“You don’t feel anything…? There’s no way…”

“But that’s the case.”

“Not even a bit…”

“Nope.”

“…Really?”

“If anything, I hope somebody will finally take her.”

“You’re lying!”

No, seriously. That’s how I genuinely feel.

“That’s impossible. That can’t be right.”

She continued to deny my statement, looking at me like I was the person who killed her parents. Man, I’m so glad she finally recovered. Her fighting prowess can’t even compare to before. Just who could fix this absurd love by Yuki-chan? I’ll leave the rest to the PTA or the FBI.

To get her to cheer up, we decided to bring Yuki-chan to my class. She held a bit of hesitation at first, but once we told her that she could meet Sasaki, she suddenly went all docile, saying “H-Hmph! I’m not following you because you invited me!” like a typical tsundere high school girl. And yet, it’s weird…I feel absolutely no affection in her words.

Once she saw Sheppard Sasaki through the classroom’s window she let out a shriek that I can’t even put into words, took out her phone, and began taking a wild array of pictures. With the sheer pressure she gave off, we had no choice but to let her do as she pleased until we were finally freed from her. And I swore that I’d never get involved with her again. Once Sasaki caught on to Yuki-chan’s arrival, his expression instantly cooled down, which was what you’d expect.

“It’s gotten pretty late, but…How about it, Sasaki-san? Wanna participate?”

“No, I’m fine…”

She didn’t seem too interested in the Riddle Tournament. We’re talking about Sasaki-san, who usually finds joy in everything, which came as a shock to me. She was probably too bewildered by the whole Yuki-chan situation, and how different she was, compared to the one she knew from school. At the same time, Ichinose-san stood next to Sasaki-san as if nothing had happened. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that she simply erased her memory and all the happenings of today. What a wonderful defense mechanism that is. And I don’t blame her. It was a lot to take in. Maybe we should take a break. We all exchanged glances and decided on that.

*

The class next to ours offered a resting area. They had several benches lined up, with two students from class B standing in the corner of the room. A genuine resting area would be the cafeteria or courtyard, but this place here isn’t nearly as crowded, allowing for a much more comfortable rest. In a way, we definitely made the right choice. The majority of students not offered anything could enjoy the cultural festival as they wanted. Can’t we first-years just spend our festivals like this? The other two were sitting on the bench, carrying cans of juice, so I sat down in the middle of another empty one.

“And? Did you have fun at this festival?”

“Huh? Ah, yes…!”

“…”

What am I even saying? And yet, she gave me a very mature response. I forced a girl younger than me to show consideration like that. I don’t think I can go to heaven anymore after I die. And amidst that, Ichinose-san even showed me a weird stare. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be acting like a senior. It’s a hundred years too early for me. I cleared my throat and apologized.

“Sorry…I could barely even show you anything. Not to mention that we went to the backside of the school building in the end.”

“No, please! I had plenty of fun, and while searching for Yuki-chan, I got to see the sports grounds and the gym hall!”

She went that far to search for her…? She checked a lot more places than I did, that’s for sure…In the end, I couldn’t even show her my side as a Senpai, let alone as a man. All I could do was treat her to some juice from the vending machine. My plan was to show her around the gym hall. Yuki-chan is my senior, so I couldn’t look after her either.

“Not to mention…I once again realized that both you and Mina-senpai are attending this school.”

“…?!”

SQUEEZE—My chest tightened up. How kind can you be…Seriously, there’s no way she’s in middle school. She probably was forced to take some weird medicine that turned her body into that of a child but her brain remained that of an adult, right…Actually, her body looks like that of an adult, too. How is she in middle school? Why won’t the world just help me accept that she’s not a university student? Even Ichinose-san was looking at Sasaki-san in a daze. I feel like she might become her younger sister at this rate. Maybe she forgot about Bear-senpai already.

“Please, please come to our school…!”

“Huh…?! Y-Yes, of course!”

I would die to have a junior like this. I’m speaking for all first-years in this. If I was the principal and learned of the fact that she chose a different school, I would do everything in my mind to convince her and her parents.

“And…please consider the bookstore, too…”

“Huh?! Y-You want me to work with you part-time?!”

To think even Ichinose-san would join in to scout Sasaki-san. The way she lowered her head made it seem even more genuine. I guess she must feel lonely, working all by herself. Ah, my chest is tightening up…Well, I was the one who left her alone. Not to mention that Ichinose-san rarely takes the initiative for anything. I’m just glad she found a junior she’s come to like a lot. But, it’s weird…Two separate emotions are starting to fight inside of me whenever I see them. One part of me wants to be their father…and the other wants to be spoiled like a baby…

Okay, Sasaki-san is in middle school. Sasaki-san is in middle school…Leaving aside my desire to adopt them, I need to at least do something about my other dangerous interest, so I tried to hypnotize myself when an age number popped up above her head, which let me retain my sanity. And as I obtained enlightenment, I saw the time on the clock hanging above the blackboard.

*

While a large number of people passed through the front school gate, I did my duty and saw off Sasaki-san. I felt the same level of regret when you break up after a great day at an amusement park, and the way she gently said “I don’t wanna go home…!” to Ichinose-san almost killed me. Thank you, now I can see you as a middle school student for good.

“You can come over any time. Nobody will find you out, Sasaki-san.”

“She really shouldn’t…”

It seems like I don’t want her to go either. I even invited her to the dark side. Maybe my morals have been corrupted after spending too much time with Yuki-chan, because it took a retort from Ichinose-san to make me return to sanity.

“I’ll…I’ll definitely get accepted to this school!” She showed an expression of determination, which made me certain that she’ll definitely make it here.

She seems diligent with her studies, so there’s no way she’ll fail. I don’t even think that she needs to work hard for that. I just have to wait for her to get here—but I will cry if she doesn’t come here next year, don’t you doubt me.

“Then, be careful on your way ho—”

“Gaaaah! Found youuu!”

“…?!”

“Huh…?”

I was trying to hurry her along so that she wouldn’t have to walk home in the dark when I spotted a shadow dashing towards us at full speed. Turns out, it was Ashida wearing her volleyball club uniform. It seemed like she had been searching for us since she was sweaty and a bit out of breath, and yet her face was full of joy. The second she met eyes with me, she leaped into the air and—Huh?! Why?!

“Wooooo!”

“Gyaaaaaaaah?!”

I somehow managed to catch this bullet tackle head-on. However, only after I slid along the ground after my legs gave out. She forced me to catch her in a half-carrying position, but she didn’t seem bothered by that. She even had her arms crossed in front of her chest, acting as a guard…Unforgivable.

“Hey, Ashida! The hell’s your—”

“Wooooo!!”

“Eeek…?!”

She slipped out of my arms, now clinging to Ichinose-san. Because this all happened far too abruptly, she couldn’t evade in time or seek refuge behind my back…But more importantly…Ashida x Ichinose-san…?! The birth of this new couple sent my brain cells into overdrive, my heart pumping out serotonin. My yuri sensors were going off the charts. This match-up I had never even dreamed of was now building up in my mind. And finally, one conclusion arrived—Sun and shadow don’t mix.

“Ashidaaaa! What the hell was that for? Can’t you see that Ichinose-san doesn’t like it?!”

“Of course she does~ Isn’t that right, Ichinose-san?!”

“No…!”

“Gaaaaah?!”

Ichinose-san tightly shut her eyes and escaped from Ashida’s grasp, instead hiding behind Sasaki-san. Ashida clearly suffered critical damage from that, as she staggered backward. Hah, eat shit. Go and drop down three steps of normie levels.

“What in the world got you so excited…and why did you come here?”

“W-Well, I heard about you guys from Aichi, so I knew I had to come meet you.”

“You had to? Why?”

“Hehe~!”

Lord, forgive me for what I’m bout to do. Was she ever this annoying before? I was really getting emotional at my farewell with Sasaki-san, and yet she had to come here to ruin it all…Maybe I should report her to the committee…No, it’s just gonna end up with Natsukawa and Ashida flirting around.

“…Sasaki-san, was it?”

“Huh?! Y-Yes!”

I knew it. The regenerative ability of a normie is no joke. It makes no sense. Ashida nonchalantly turned towards Sasaki-san and closely inspected her body, only to reach for her right hand.

“Please join the volleyball club if you make it here…!”

“Huuuuh…?!”

That’s not fair, you damn witch.