Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16816700427224608463/episodes/16817330654410090302
This episode is about the future, a little ahead of the main storyline. There are no spoilers, so please read it with peace of mind. This episode is much longer than usual.
※※※
Recently, I……Shiina Haruka, have been perplexed. This is because I witnessed a scene that was unbelievable until a short while ago, spread out in front of my eyes. To explain this bizarre scene, I must look back on what happened a while ago.
I have a younger brother. His name is Shiina Kanata, and he is currently a second year high school student, attending the same high school as me. When I was in the first year of high school, my stepmother’s child was welcomed into the Shiina family due to my father’s remarriage. When we first met, I did not know how to communicate with him due to the trauma he had been through, but we have been able to treat each other like real siblings for a while now. He was the one who inspired me to try harder than ever before, and when I was injured in the equipment room, he gallantly helped me out. We may not be a normal family, but we have built a bond that is unique to us.
That is why I thought we had come to understand each other somewhat…….
:…..I lost.”
“It’s already my 67th win in a row, are you going to keep going until you lose 100 in a row?”
“One more time ! This time…… I’m sure I’ll win !”
(……What’s this?)
It’s early afternoon on a holiday. In front of my eyes, the cute little brother with whom I have built up a bond was ruthlessly laying waste to the girl with whom I had spent not so short a time together in the student council room until just the other day, in a game. They are playing a certain popular game, Tetr〇s, and they are using the controller with their fingers in a manner that is no longer pleasing to the eye. And the girl….Sakura is so absorbed in the game that she seems to be devouring the screen.
“Ah, Nee san, welcome home.”
“Haruka senpai, I’m sorry to bother you….ah !?”
“Yes, I win.”
And just when I was called out, Kanata’s 68th victory was decided. Perhaps her concentration was broken by my return, they both let go of the controller at the same time and took a breath. I don’t know how long they had been playing, but Kanata snapped his neck joints and Sakura stretched.
“Ah, Haruka senpai. Here is the canoule I baked this morning. I don’t know if it will suit your palate, but…..”
“Eh, you’re making such a difficult pastry……but thank you again for your help, Sakura.”
“No, I’m rather honored to have Haruka-senpai eat my sweets.”
The other day she brought me millefeuille, and the time before that she brought me handmade macarons. As someone like me who loves sweets, it’s something that I crave, but I can’t help but shudder because she only chooses handmade ones that are obviously difficult to make. After all, I have tried to make them before, but failed at every attempt.
No, that doesn’t matter now.
(Really, why is this happening?)
Just the other day, an unprecedented event occurred, Kanata brought a friend. As his sister, I was so happy that it brought tears to my eyes, and I hoped that this would be a good opportunity to cure his slightly shy personality. And then came….
[Oh, Haruka senpai, good afternoon~’
[( ﾟдﾟ)?]
No way, it was a girl, and it was Sakura, who had been by my side and supported me throughout my time as student council president. I had no idea that these two had this kind of relationship, and I was stunned and blanked out for a long time until she shook me.
Since then, Sakura has been coming to my house regularly to play games with him. From the outside, it could be interpreted as high school youth, but at its essence, it is a one-sided show of Kanata’s one-sided violation of Sakura. In my observation, Sakura has never been able to beat him. My brother, isn’t his game too strong?
“……Demon.”
“Eh……kyaaaa !?”
I heard voices other than the two of them coming from the direction of the day after tomorrow, so I shrugged involuntarily and reflexively turned around to see someone and was surprised to hear them speak out. While the two were concentrating on the game, there was also a girl sitting alone on the sofa playing a handheld game.
“Y-Yukihana san was there too.”
“….That voice just now. I’ll record it and use it as an alarm.”
“Don’t treat my voice like an alarm.”
A short time after Sakura came to play, to my surprise, this time Sakura brought Yukihana san with her. At first, Yukihana san, who seems to have been forced to come with them, had a disgusted look on her face, but as time passed, she began to behave naturally.
“Yukihana san, don’t you play games with Kanata?”
“……I won’t play anymore.”
“Ah……I’m kind of sorry.”
Apparently, it was after she had already been violated to the point of exhaustion. Her cute face was ruined. Yukihana san was playing an RPG-like game alone, probably because she was exhausted. It seems that the boss battle is just about to start, and the look in her eyes is so scary that even I think it’s scary. Her pretty face is ruined.
“You guys should take a break before your eyes get worse.”
After hearing the three different replies, I went back upstairs to my room by myself. After closing the door and standing there for a while, I sat down on my bed and let out a deep breath….
“…..Hmm, maybe those two are getting along better with Kanata than me?”
I had taken a long time to get to know him, but those two had been able to stay close to him in a shorter time than that. If they were not so bad, they might be closer than I am. It may be that they are in the same grade, but even so, they are close to each other from the outside.
“No, if anything, that’s probably a good thing……”
That being said, I’m overcome with a mysterious sense of defeat, wondering what in the world I have been doing for almost two years now. I had to spend a lot of time studying for my entrance examinations, and I had less time to spend with Kanata than before, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment that we were becoming more like a real sister and brother day by day. However, this is about to be overturned from the bottom up.
I had once asked Yukihana san for tips on how to get along with her younger brother. Unlike us, she has a genuine blood brother and a different history. And the words that came back to me from her were…..
[……Nothing that I’m aware of. I’d rather use him.]
I was given the unhelpful answer. Of course, this advice was of no help to me, and in fact, we have been spending less and less time talking, and I’m not as close to him as I used to be. I’ve come a long way since we first started talking, but this is a real downfall. At least a little more…..
“What is this brocon way of thinking?”
I definitely don’t consider myself to be a brocon. I still think he is a little sloppy and there are many things I would like to see him improve on. I’m usually appalled by the amount of dissatisfaction.
I could hear Sakura’s scream from downstairs, but they seemed to be having a good time. I fell down on the bed as if I were sinking into it. I put the back of my hand on my forehead and looked up at the ceiling.
“What kind of sister and brother do I want to be with him?”
I don’t think I can be a sister or brother like Yukihana and her brother, since we are not blood relatives. But since we’re a family anyway, I’d like to be at least “harmonious brother and sister”. I originally longed for siblings because I was an only child. I want to keep that belief.
I launched the calendar app on my phone.
“Next Saturday……and I don’t see anything filling up my schedule yet.”
I hate to say this, but maybe nothing on Kanata’s side of the schedule is filled up either. I guess I’ll just have to try to approach him myself. I thought so and closed my eyes with the joyful voices coming from downstairs as background music.
※※※
Then, a week later.
“So, why did you go shopping with me?”
“I’m carrying your stuff.”
“Hmmm.”
We had come to the shopping mall where we had previously visited for a sweets buffet. It was a holiday and there were many people, but it was a great place to get to know each other better. There were several stores that I had wanted to visit for a long time, so we could kill two birds with one stone.
“By the way, I heard that sweet store went out of business.”
“Eh, really !?”
“No need to look so desperate…….”
I was surprised and reconfirmed that the purpose of this visit was something else. My hobby is secondary, and my primary purpose is to deepen my relationship with Kanata. I just wanted to go there if I had the time, so I don’t regret it that much, yeah.
For the time being, let’s calm down once to change my feelings.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m going to pick some flowers.”
“Oh, the bathroom.”
“…….I guess I’ll have to teach you delicacy all the time next time.”
And so, I step away from Kanata and enter the bathroom…..I pretend to enter the blind spot, and at the same time I take out my smartphone and stop and swipe. Over the past week, while studying, I’ve been diving into the internet to find information on how we can become closer as a family. Every page I looked at seemed to be about love, and each time I saw something different, I was outraged and ended up losing a lot of sleep.
But as a result, I came across a blog. The author of the post was writing a blog on family-related topics, and she wrote about various things, including the fact that one day she suddenly had a step brother. By the way, the contributor is a woman who is currently a college student.
In the blog, she wrote a diary-like account of what she did with her step brother until she got to know him. I felt so close to her blog that I had no choice but to refer to it because she said that they eventually became as close as real siblings. Moreover, the high PV and the fact that many people were viewing the blog gave me some confidence in it.
“Well, her new brother is very good-looking……I just skipped over this part last time.”
I went back and checked the blog again, thinking that it was not this page. Then I found the page I was looking for and checked it again.
[First of all, we went shopping for clothes together. Since we are under the same roof, I thought that if I found out his favorite clothes and wore them as his daily wear, our likability would increase……]
The word “likability” bothered me, but I thought the earlier sentence had a point. When I think about it, the clothes I have are often based on what the mannequins in the store are wearing. But if he wears the clothes I like as his daily wear, this delicate distance between us might be shortened at once.
I would say to myself, [Okay !] I went back to Kanata with great enthusiasm. Kanata was waiting for me with a glass of juice he had bought from a vending machine and already looked bored. I felt bad for him to keep me company on his day off, so I decided to get on with what I had to do.
“Kanata, the first place we’re going to is……”
So with appropriate banter, we wandered around the shopping mall in an area that was well-stocked with clothing. And I went inside to find a shop where both men and women seemed to have a lot of clothes. I thought he might not like it, but to my surprise, he rolled his eyes and followed me with interest.
“Nee san, were you interested in clothes?’
“….I should probably put some manners into you, along with delicacies.”
“I always had the image of you choosing clothes from mannequins because you didn’t have time to think about it.”
Apparently, he was very observant. However, even though I’m a student, now that I have stepped down from the student council president, I can make as much time as I want. Besides, apart from that blog, I was also studying fashion a little. I looked around at various outfits to show the results of my studies.
“Oh, I think this one might be cute.”
It is a white top with bare shoulders, what is called a chiffon top. I’m a person who tends to have a formal image, but I’m not averse to this kind of thing, in fact, I’m interested in it. I turned to Kanata to check his grip and found…..
“No, it’s almost fall and those clothes are too tight, aren’t they?”
“……Ah, this pink and white cardigan-like thing over here looks warm and cute.”
“The one Nanase was wearing in her room the other day.”
“……This white, simple, long-sleeved one over here is…..”
“Did you see the back side? It’s embroidered with the words ‘I’m the only one in the world’.”
We left the store.
“…..I’ll never go back to that store.”
“No, I saw some other clothes that looked good.”
“They don’t match my taste.”
Apparently, it was still too difficult for us to choose clothes together. Or is it just that my taste is catastrophically bad? I’ve heard that trends change quickly these days.
“I mean, did you meet Nanase san in private?”
“I was just at that guy’s house for a minute…..no, it was nothing.’
There are some words that bother me a little, but I feel like it was written in that blog that if you dig deeper in such a place, the sense of distance will widen, so I can endure it. At any rate, my strategy of going through the clothes ended in failure, so I have to move on to the next plan.
(I think the next one is…..)
After confirming that Kanata was not looking, I surreptitiously looked at my phone and opened the page I had prepared.
[I had promised my brother that we would watch a horror movie together on the first day of its release ! I’ve read the original novel, so I knew everything that was going to happen, but I could see the look of surprise on my brother’s face. I also took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed my brother’s hand once……]
(Okay, next is a movie.)
As I recall, there is a movie theater in this shopping mall, and I believe they even show horror movies. Following this blog, I decided to watch a movie.
I suggested to him as he walked by and peeked into the general store with a curious look on his face.
“A movie?”
“Yeah. I’ve been interested in it for a while, so I thought I’d watch it while I’m here. How about it?”
“I don’t mind if you want to watch it.”
At least I cleared the first hurdle. We went to the movie theater at the end of the floor. There were fewer people in the theater than I had expected, and the ticket vending machines were soon running. At first, we took a look at the lineup for this time of day. Then, I tried to lead him into watching a horror movie through natural conversation.
“Well, I guess this is the place for a classic horror movie…..”
“…… Nee san. I think the only movie playing at this time of night is this.”
“…….”
“The horror movie is playing in four hours…….”
I’m stuck.
“What should we do? Wait until then?”
“……We’ll come back together another day.”
At least I have an excuse to go out together again. No, it’s not good at all. I’ve been spinning my wheels since a while ago. If I don’t do something, I might be labeled as a clumsy older sister.
This time, I dropped my eyes to my phone and looked at the following article.
[After watching the movie, we went into a coffee shop together because we wanted to eat something sweet. I ordered a cheesecake and my brother ordered ice cream with his drink. The atmosphere of the store was great and the food was very tasty ! Our mood got better along the way and we started feeding each other……]
(Sweets at a coffee shop ! Oh, but that store went out of business…..)
I think this blog has finally given up on me. Or rather, I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable with the odd descriptions mixed in here and there. I wonder if this blogger might be making a sexual advance on her step brother.
“So, do you have anywhere else to go?”
“Ah, wait a minute. Let’s see………”
Once I closed the blog, I remembered what kind of stores were in this shopping mall. However, I could not think of many stores that would be useful for this purpose. There are some restaurants, but I would like to wait until a little later if possible.
“…..That’s right, the clothes we were choosing earlier.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you do with your clothes?”
“Well, I buy them online at random.”
I found it. I’ll try to set him up this way.
“Okay, I’ll pick out your clothes for you.”
“……Eh?”
“What’s with the face and the voice?”
“Nee san, do you have a fever?”
“Delicacy, manners…..and respect for your sister.”
While saying that, for some reason he followed me. For the time being, I went to a safe-looking store different from the previous one. There was a wide variety of food, and we could try many different combinations.
“There are casual clothes here for Kanata, but these street clothes are nice too. No, is there anything rock-type here? ”
“Erm, Nee san?”
“Kanata, this one and this one. And this one. Oh, there is a fitting room over there. Let’s try them on.”
I pushed him back into the fitting room with the clothes in the basket. And from here on, his petit fashion show began, in which he would continue to change into the clothes I had chosen for him.
(……Kanata has a normal face, though his bangs ruin it.)
Maybe I can persuade him to cut his bangs next time. If he doesn’t like it, I won’t force him to do it, but if he shows his face, he could become popular at once. If he did that, his gloomy personality might improve a little.
“Hey, Nee san. We’re done for now, right?”
“Oh, yes. Next, this and this.
“No, I’m still wearing that !?”
“……You wear everything so well that it’s hard to choose.”
Then, feeling a little tired, he closed the curtains and began to change clothes. I’m having a lot of fun picking out my brother’s clothes, to put it bluntly. I think I’m beginning to understand how the blogger feels.
More time passes than I expected, and I buy two pieces that I think look particularly good on him. I think I did a good job. Kanata was unusually tired when it was all over, but I hope you will forgive me since the clothes were my treat.
“…So, are we going home already?”
“No, please don’t look so disgusted. I’m sorry.”
“In that case, I feel like you were having a lot of fun picking clothes and critiquing them at length. Mainly about my hair.”
“……Pretend it didn’t happen.”
Then we were hungry and decided to get something to eat, so we came to the food court. I went to an ice cream store and bought some ice cream. I got a double scoop of strawberry and chocolate ice cream.
On the other hand, Kanata bought fries at a hamburger store. It was unusual for him to choose such a junk food, but I was somewhat happy to know a new side of him.
(……Ha ! I remember that blog where they fed each other here).
Kanata was eating one potato at a time, looking delicious. Not that I want fries, but it might be a chance to get to know each other at once. I gather my courage and scoop a scoop of strawberry ice cream with a plastic spoon, and slowly move it toward Kanta…….
“H-here, Kanata. Ahhn.”
“What !……!”
Seeing my actions, he sobbed with all his might. We’ve been living under the same roof for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen him like this, so I’m puzzled and at the same time, I get up from my seat and rub his back to encourage him to drink.
“…..What’s wrong with you today, Nee san? You seem even weirder than usual.”
He must have calmed down after drinking and asked me that question with a dubious look on his face. I wondered how I would answer, and the Kanata was…
“If you keep acting weird, I won’t talk to you at home for a while.”
“I’m sorry ! I’ll talk, I’ll talk !”
Then I honestly told him why I did this. I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment when I told him that I wanted to get along with him as a family, but Kanata listened to my words without changing his expression. By the time I was done talking, the ice cream I had bought was half melted.
“In other words, you’re saying you’re lonely because I’m getting along with Yukihana and Sakura?”
“No, that’s not it……”
“Hm?”
“It’s not….wrong.”
I was told that with a smile that I had never seen before, and I couldn’t help but admit it. Many things have happened in my life, but this may be the first time in my life that I’ve been so embarrassed. And that too to my relatives whom I see every day.
As I lay face down in dejection, I saw an elongated golden-colored object reflected in front of me.
“…..Kanata?”
“Here.”
“Eh?”
“So, ahhn.”
I stop thinking for a moment, but I do as I’m told and take a bite of the potato. They were salty and tasty, but…..eh?
“Like this?”
“No, what do you mean, like this?”
“I still don’t really know how to be around people. So I did what you told me to do.”
“…..I think so.”
Kanata said, and started chomping on his fries again with a blank expression. I finally understood what had just happened in that one act, and I fell on my face once again. What was different from before would be the cause of the blush.
(But…..I see. Even Kanata doesn’t know what’s going on.)
After that, I let him eat ice cream, but I didn’t quite understand what he said. No, more and more, I don’t know what kind of relationship we have.
But there is one thing I do know. The distance between me and Kanata, which I had thought had grown distant, had neither grown distant nor shortened. It was because neither of us knew what the other was thinking that a rift had developed. It took me a long way to realize such an obvious and simple fact.
I felt somewhat frustrated because he looked different in from of Sakura. But the face he makes in front of me is only in front of me. We have a relationship, we are siblings.
(……A blog like that, I didn’t even have to resort to it.)
I think as I calm down and put the nearly melted ice cream in my mouth. The most important thing is to be honest with others about how you feel. I had done all those things that were out of the ordinary because I was embarrassed.
I felt somewhat refreshed, but at the same time, I opened the blog again to see what happened to the blogger with her step brother…….
[Hi, I came to the hotel district with my brother on my arm☆. I was used to it because I had been here before with my ex-boyfriend, but my brother got nervous and was so cute ! But when I told him I was tired, he seemed to understand what I was going through, and we went straight to the hotel for a rest……]
Oh, I shouldn’t refer to this too much.
I immediately closed the page and pretended I had never seen the blog, having learned the hard way that a high PV count does not directly correlate to a high level of trust. I felt sorry for myself for having referred to a strange page just because I was sleep deprived. At the same time, I felt the heaviest fatigue I have ever felt in my life.
After a light meal, we decided to go home because we were both exhausted. My plan was to spend the rest of the evening at the mall, but this was probably for the best. Even if it wasn’t a shopping mall, we spend the same days in the same space every day.
“What do you want for dinner tonight?”
“I ate something junky, so I want something Japanese.”
“I understand. Oh, you should help me sometimes. I haven’t forgotten when you said you were a better cook than me.”
“I don’t mind, but are you sure? Maybe I’ll take away Nee san’s confidence.”
“…..You said that. I’ll look forward to it at best.”
So we went home after buying ingredients at the shopping mall in a friendly way (?). We went to the mall to buy some groceries and then headed home. I asked Kanata to carry out the role of luggage carrier that I originally said, but he was dissatisfied.
In the end, today may have been a wasted day for him. But for me, it was a special day. We don’t have to be siblings like other families. We just need to be unique in our relationship.
There will be times when we will probably get lost. There will be times when he will want to rely on me as his sister. But from now on, I feel that I can honestly ask for advice from him. I’m sure that the accumulation of such things will turn into a bond without any falsehoods. What is important is not what is far in the future, but a precious page that can only be spun in the present moment.
“I feel good, so I’ll hold the bag for you.”
“…..If you wanted to, you should have done so from the beginning.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“N, nothing.”
If he feels up to it, I want to play a game with him, just like he did with Sakura. I’m sure a new bond will develop then. Let’s look for more new aspects of my brother from now on.
Because we are already an irreplaceable family.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate 🙂 Thank you in advance !