Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093093152263860/episodes/16818622175621579046
The sound of meat sizzling on the grill echoed around the table. The meat was browning deliciously on the steaming hot iron plate. Looking at the clock, it was already almost 7:00 p.m.
“Toka-chan, eat plenty.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Toka-chan, would you like some juice?”
“Yuzu-chan, thank you.”
“Ehehe…”
…I thought it might take some time for them to warm up to each other, but at this rate, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Yuzuha has even managed to secure a spot next to Toka.
“Ryo, you better behave yourself. If you do anything to Toka-chan, Mom will be angry.”
“Yes…”
Mom said that again. She’s completely on Toka’s side now.
(What am I going to do tonight…)
I was more concerned about tonight than the barbecue in front of me. Even if I let Toka use the bed and I sleep on the floor…
“Ryo-kun?”
“N-nothing!”
Suddenly, my eyes met Toka’s across the table. I felt embarrassed and looked away.
“Here you go, Toka-chan, the bell peppers are done!”
“O-Oh, wow! Thank you!”
The cooked bell peppers were placed on Tohka’s plate. Toka’s face visibly tensed up. That was quick.
“Ryo-kun…”
“Yes, yes.”
I moved the pepper from Toka’s plate to mine without my mother noticing.
The women chatted idly, and dinner ended without incident. As soon as it was over, Toka took a deck of cards out of her bag. Apparently, the cards hadn’t been taken.
“Yuzu-chan, let’s play cards!”
“Toka-neechan, you play cards, huh…”
“Yeah, I used to play by myself when I was bored.”
“By yourself!?”
I felt a little uneasy. Could it be that she used to play cards by herself in that big room before she met me…?
“Ryo-kun, let’s play too!”
“Ah, sure.”
Toka shuffled the cards with practiced ease. It seemed like we were going to play a regular game of Go Fish.
“Toka-chan, what do you like about this older brother of mine? I mean, are you two really dating?”
Yuzuha cautiously asked Toka such a question.
“He’s not like that. He’s a really wonderful older brother. He’s too good for me.”
“Really? I can’t believe it! He doesn’t have any good qualities!”
She naturally dissed her brother. Even though she’s my sister, I want to slap her.
“No, that’s not true. Ryo-kun has a lot of good qualities.”
“Eh…”
My sister looked very unconvinced. I’ll say it again, I wanted to slap her.
“Brother, you used to climb trees, but you were too scared to come down, right?”
“That’s because you flew a balloon!”
“You cried to Mom and had her bring a ladder. That was so embarrassing.”
“Shut up!”
“And you know, when you were a kid, you fell into a rice field and got all muddy. That’s so embarrassing, isn’t it?”
“That’s because you slipped and almost fell in! You’re the one who got away unscathed!”
“Speaking of which, when you were in middle school, you scored an own goal during a basketball game, didn’t you? What, an own goal in basketball? I went all the way to cheer you on, and it was so embarrassing.”
“Why do you remember that? I’ve even forgotten about it!”
Toka is watching my exchange with my sister with a slightly tense expression. What is this? I feel an unusual sense of pressure. Her hand holding the cards is trembling.
“Yuzu-chan, you shouldn’t make fun of your brother…”
“Well, there are plenty of embarrassing stories about my brother. There are no cool stories at all.”
Please stop. Just because I’m the only common topic of conversation, don’t tease me. Toka’s behavior is also a little strange.
“I don’t know that side of you, Ryo-kun…”
“Huh?”
I heard Toka mutter those words under her breath.
“Toka-chan, why don’t you take a bath soon?”
While having that conversation, we played cards for a while, and then I heard my mother’s voice. At that point, the card game naturally ended. After Toka took a bath, we took turns taking baths. It felt strange to have Toka in our bath. I should make sure to clean the bath thoroughly during the next holiday.
After taking a bath after Toka, I returned to the room while drying my hair with a bath towel. When I entered the room, Toka was already lying on my bed in her usual sweatshirt.
“Hey, your hair is soaking wet!”
“Uuuuuuuu…”
Toka buried her face in someone’s pillow and let out a moan.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s so frustrating, so frustrating, so frustrating!”
“Are you still upset about losing at Go Fish?”
“No, that’s not it! I don’t know anything about balloons! I don’t know anything about rice fields or basketball either!”
“All of that happened before I met Toka.”
“No, no, no! I can’t stand that Ryo-kun!”
“You’re starting to talk nonsense again.”
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Toka was kicking her legs on the bed. Stop it, my bed isn’t as durable as Toka’s, I think.
“Look, you’re going to get the bed wet.”
“I might not be able to get along with Yuzu-chan…”
“You can’t get along with someone in just one day.”
“Wah!”
I put a bath towel over Toka’s head. She was still lying face down, but I decided to wipe her hair with it.
“Let’s take it slower with the daughter-raising plan. Toka, you were pushing yourself too hard before dinner. I think it’s really admirable that you can communicate like that on your own, and it made me happy, but…”
“Because I want to be liked by Ryo-kun’s family… If I show my true self after watching that old TV show, they’ll definitely be disappointed, so I have to be careful.”
“That’s very honest and admirable.”
Once we were alone, the tension in her shoulders seemed to ease, and the usual Toka returned. It was very cute how she stayed still while I dried her hair.
“I’m jealous…”
“Jealous? Of whom?”
“Yuzu-chan and my mother-in-law…”
“What are you jealous of? They’re just family!”
“But they know so much about Ryo-kun that I don’t…”
“You’re saying weird things again. Come on, get up before your hair gets messed up.”
“Okay…”
Toka slowly sat up.
“Dry your hair.”
“That’s a boyfriend’s job… wait, boyfriend”
“Yeah, Ryo-kun’s job. Do it every day from now on.”
“Every day!?”
“…By the way, Ryo-kun. Why is there a futon on the floor?”
“Because we can’t sleep together, can we?”
“Why? We’re lovers, aren’t we?”
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !