Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093093152263860/episodes/822139838407235226
“Onii chan, Tohka-nee, eating sweets—”
Suddenly, the door swung open. Yuzuha barged right into the room!
“Ah… mmm…”
Toka trembled on my lap. Yuzuha’s face instantly turned as red as a boiled octopus.
“I-I’m terribly sorry!!”
“Wait, wait!”
This is just ear cleaning! Yuzuha definitely misunderstood!
“R-Right. You two are lovers, after all. You do that kind of thing.”
“What kind of thing!?”
Yuzuha dashed downstairs as if fleeing from us. Aaaah, I want to chase her, but Toka’s on my lap so I can’t!
“Ryo-kun, are you stopping already…?”
Touka looks up at me anxiously.
“If I don’t shut her up now, this is definitely going to get messy!”
“It’ll be so frustrating if you stop halfway…”
Toka reluctantly sat up. Only now did I realize how incredibly risky it was to be getting cozy with Toka at my place! Seriously, only now!
I hurried downstairs to give Yuzuha my full explanation.
After finishing lunch, I sat on the living room sofa and decided to look something up on my phone.
“Zzz… zzz…”
Beside me, a full-bellied Toka rested her head on my shoulder, sleeping peacefully with soft snores.
“You two were getting all lovey-dovey in front of me…”
“We weren’t, we weren’t.”
“So, are you guys like that at school too…?”
“No way! No… way?”
“You sound really unsure.”
Ugh, Yuzuha, you’re sharp. Don’t bring that up right now—I’m working on it.
“You and Toka are a status gap couple, right?”
“What’s that?”
“Look it up.”
Following Yuzuha’s prompting, I decided to look up the term on my phone.
A mismatched couple refers to—a couple with significant differences in education, family background, social status, age, height, and so on. Yeah, it was basically an insult.
“What’s so great about my brother? All he’s got going for him is being serious.”
“Ask her yourself!”
I replied with a sigh. Toka, her head resting on my shoulder, was breathing steadily and peacefully. The fact that Yuzuha could casually spout such harsh words in this situation showed she really didn’t hold back.
“Look, see? Toka-nee-chan, even her sleeping face is cute, and she just has this classy vibe.”
“Don’t judge class based on someone’s sleeping face.”
“But seriously—”
Well, I get what Yuzuha means. Talent, looks, charm—Toka’s top-notch in every category. Probably her wealth too…
Huh? Wait—I’ve been bossing Toka around all this time, laying down all these goals under this “development plan” thing…
“Well, I think onii chan has his own good points! Like how kind he is, and how hard he tries!”
“……”
—Wait, maybe I don’t actually have any unique “strengths” of my own?
I’m dating that Asahina Toka, and yet…
Up until now, I’ve been self-righteously, blindly striving to do anything for Toka’s sake, thinking it was for her benefit. Of course, I still want to keep trying! I want to keep striving alongside Toka from now on too.
But… don’t I lack a specific goal for myself…?
“onii chan?”
“…Yuzuha, do you have any kind of goal right now?”
“A goal? Working hard with everyone to win gold at the wind ensemble competition, I guess.”
Yuzuha said it casually, tapping her fingertips rhythmically on the table.
I’d only been thinking about Toka’s birthday and her future.
I’m not even in a club. I’m totally empty inside. Sure, I joined that two-member development club the other day…
“～～～!”
This is embarrassing. I’m so embarrassed.
I’m not in a club, and my grades aren’t exactly stellar. Joining that development club the other day was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, carried along by the flow.
And honestly, even this birthday I’m thinking about now couldn’t possibly compare to the one Toka gave me. Staying at a nice hotel, eating fancy food… I couldn’t do any of that right now.
I told Toka it was a “development plan,” bossed her around telling her to do this and that, acting all high and mighty like I was the one “guiding” her…
“Ryo-kun…”
Toka, who had been leaning against my shoulder, shifted slightly.
“…Don’t be down…”
“Huh?”
“Ryo-kun… you’re… fine just the way you are…”
Like a cat, Toka rubbed her cheek against mine.
Huh? I didn’t say a word, right? She just read my mind?!
“How did you know?”
I muttered under my breath without thinking. Toka opened her eyes slightly and looked up at me sleepily.
“Because everything shows on your face, Ryo-kun…”
“But Toka, you were asleep.”
“I can tell by your aura.”
“You sound like some kind of master.”
“That’s right. I’m a master at reading Ryo-kun.”
“What the hell is that!?”
“I can tell right away when Ryo-kun is happy, angry, or embarrassed.”
“I wish you wouldn’t know when I’m embarrassed.”
“Ehehe… I like that about you too…”
The last “like” was so quiet I almost asked her to repeat it.
But asking her to repeat felt like admitting defeat, and my throat felt strangely tight.
It’s not just about continuing Toka’s training. I need to take my own growth more seriously!
(I’ll be the one to make the future Asahina Toka mine! I’ll be the one to give Asahina Tohka that UR smile!!)
Because, on that day, I definitely made that declaration.
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