Vol 2 Chapter 2 (2/2)

The next thing I knew, I was embracing the person I almost knocked over. Huh? Is this delicate figure Yukiko’s? Her shoulder is pretty wide—

“Oh, uh, good morning…”

“Huh?”

I looked down, and realized that there’s a beautiful, young girl in my clutches.

Her ears were hidden under her short black hair, and her exquisitely pretty face, decorated with two large eyes, was flushed red.

“Kaoru! What are you doing!? Brother, you too!”

“Ah, Yuki-Yukiko”

At that moment, Yukiko poked her head out of her room and lashed out at us. Huh? Kaoru? I feel like I’ve heard of that name…

…

“You, you’re the Kaoru Kinos.h.i.+ta who wrote that letter!”

“Eh—!? Oh, uh….”

Oops, I messed up. I shouldn’t have mentioned that.

I quietly whispered an apology to the flushed Kinos.h.i.+ta. I’m sorry.

“We-well anyway, I heard you’re a boy?”

“Y-Yes…Kaoru Kinos.h.i.+ta. Please take care of me…”

Again, I size up the girl…no, the boy before me.

His pet.i.te frame was just a little bigger than Yukiko’s. The black short hair was actually quite long for a guy. But what really captivated me was that beautiful youthful face.

Is that really a guy? Oh dear.

“Way too cute…”

“Huh!? Uh-um…!”

Don’t give me that now. But really, what was I saying? He’s a guy, and it’s rude to say that.

I cleared my throat, let go of his body, and re-inspected him.

“So, erm, did you come over to play?”

“Y-Yes. Because Yukiko invited me to visit—”

It’s finally the day that Yukiko actually brought her boyfriend home! Well, it’s understandable. It’s no wonder that Yukiko’s heart would waver after receiving a love letter from such a beautiful guy.

What’s more, this kid isn’t s.h.i.+vering after seeing my face. That’s a rare one. Is he actually holding it in because he thinks that being scared of me is disrespectful? If that’s true, then he’s a really nice person.

“Oh, well, you’ve been taking care of Yukiko for me. I’m her brother, Akitsuki. Please take care of me.”

“O-Of course! Please take care of me! It should be me being cared for!”

Kinos.h.i.+ta hurriedly bowed his head to return the greeting. Hoho, he has proper etiquettes too. Not bad.

“I-I’ve heard about you from Yukiko. She said that you’re a very kind, cool, reliable older brother. At school, she’s always bragging—”

“Sh-Sh-Sh-Shut up! Don’t say anymore!”

Yukiko stomped over with fury, and interrupted Kinos.h.i.+ta with a shout.

“I- I’m sorry, Yukiko. B-But, it does look like you’re right. Your brother does look really reliable…really…”

“Eh? I-is that so?

I couldn’t help but let out a smile after receiving a rare compliment.

W-well, this kid’s not bad. Yukiko, how about marrying this guy?

“B-brother, Yukiko will be with Kaoru in her room!”

“Huh? Oh, ok.”

What’s this about?

“A-And we’ll do tons of inappropriate things!”

Inappropriate things?

“Yu-Yu-Yukiko, wh-what are you saying?”

“You’re annoying, shut up already, brother! Starting from now, Yukiko’s going to do things in her room that she doesn’t want other people to see! Yukiko will open the door slightly because it’s going to be hot, but you mustn’t peek! I-If you do, we’re officially estranged! Do you hear me!?”

“Eh, ah, okay.”

“Yu-Yukiko…!”

Yukiko dragged Kinos.h.i.+ta while the latter flailed his arms in protest, looking back at every single step. Well, f you don’t want anyone to see, then just shut the door. Plus, you already told me not to look, so I won’t.

Moments later.

Yukiko spent the entire afternoon with Kinos.h.i.+ta. But, for some reason, she would occasionally run to the front of my room and yell,

“A-ahh~! It’s so hot, why don’t we be in our underwear only~!”

“K-Kaoru, yours is so big, so different from big brother! It’s so big! Look, it’s about to erect! Now’s the only time to stop it!”

She was yelling stuff like that. I ignored all her words that they were confusing me. She then sobbed and gave me a kick for some reason later on. What was that about…?

Later, at sunset,

“Brother, are you sleeping?”

“………No response.”

“Then he’s probably asleep.”

“………Heheh” (gulps)

“Hey, don’t sleep in your room with your belly exposed while the AC is on! D-Don’t be mistaken, it’ll be troublesome for Yukiko here if you get sick again, so Yukiko is here to warm you up for a while!”

“Yukiko felt lonely, but it’s definitely not because you didn’t bother stopping Yukiko from getting a boyfriend…and stuff…”

“Brother, you belong only to Yukiko…”

Squirms

“Just for a while…this blanket is a hinderance right when he’s asleep…”

“It’s so warm… brother’s scent…”

“Ah, I can feel his breath from here… It smells so sweet….”

“Just for a while……Just for a while……”

“Zzzz—”

…………………

…………….

………..

I quickly opened my eyes.

“Sigh.”

I originally planned to fake a nap until dinner time, but I got up. I had intended to pretend to be asleep because I thought that it’ll be too much of a ha.s.sle to deal with Yukiko, but I never expected things to take a turn for the unexpected.

“Could it be that—”

No, truthfully, I already had this feeling right from the beginning.

“Yukiko wants me to stop her from getting a boyfriend?”

Well, that’s probably it. It’s like when a stubborn dad would angrily yell, “My daughter doesn’t need a person like you!” when their daughter brings home a boyfriend. Yukiko probably wanted such a scene, and she chose me to play the dad role here.

“I see. That’s how Hikari Yumesaki made her angry.”

Of course, it was just a hunch.

For me, the idea of the older brother interfering with his little sister when she receives a love letter was just absurd. If the guy she brought home was completely unreliable, then of course I would do my best to stop him. But if it’s Kinos.h.i.+ta…then I guess there’s no problem.

“Don’t sleep with your stomach exposed.”

I pulled the blanket over the sleeping Yukiko beside me. Still drooling while you sleep… Sigh, it’s even dripping onto the bedsheets. Whatever, at least she’s my little sister.

“Now then, what should I do?”

I muttered as I tenderly stroke Yukiko’s head. I had absolutely no idea what I should do.

That night, the biggest surprise attack thus far was pulled on me

“Hahhh~…”

I was taking a bath.

Since it was really hot, I initially decided to just take a shower, but as soon as I laid in the bathtub, I found it exceptionally comfortable, and so I slowly began to relax in the nice warm bath—

“Brother, how’s the bath?”

“Hmm? Oh, wait a sec, I’m almost——”

Yukiko’s question could be heard from the dressing room, and I hurriedly gave my response. Why did she ask me now——Creak——Nonono!!!? (T/N: In most Asian households, the bath and shower are separated from the sink/dressing room which are right beside them, kind of like the bathroom for most master bedrooms.)

“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!? Wh-why are you coming in!?”

“Yu-Yukiko wants to take a bath too! If You can just get out if you don’t like it, brother!”

Although the mist from the bath was quite thick, I could tell from the atmosphere that Yukiko’s face was probably blus.h.i.+ng furiously when she answered so quickly and shrilly. This was way too reckless of you.

And so, through the mist, Yukiko’s snow-white skin was bared right in front of me. Even though her body was exposed, Yukiko was brazenly…wearing a bikini.

Whew, that scared me for a second. No, don’t get me wrong, but—

“You really went through the effort to choose that bikini…”

“Th-this was meant for my boyfriend to see. D-Don’t look at me with those perverted eyes!”

I’m not.

Yukiko suddenly a.s.saulted the bathroom, and the swimsuit she was wearing was a two piece set, revealed lots of skin, and really was one that grabbed a lot of attention. The fluffy tulle skirt completely emphasizes her cuteness. She really chose a good one there.

Yukiko entered the bathtub directly, and we sat with our backs were facing each other. Wait, speaking of which, I don’t mind that you’re wearing a swimsuit, but I’m naked here. Doesn’t this mean that I can’t move now?

“……brother?”

“What is it?”

“…Do you still remember that time when Yukiko was being bullied?”

“Huh? Why are you bringing this up now?”

That incident still remains fresh in my memories.

It’s an exaggeration to say that she was bullied, but she was often teased by some naughty punks when she was younger. She has always been small, and doesn’t like to smile even though she’s a girl, but back then, she was also really weak.

“Yukiko was always s.p.a.ced out, always being bullied…But you came to save me at that moment, brother, and even carried me home. To Yukiko, brother is a hero.”

“I’m not that amazing.”

On a side note, why is it that I have a deep impression on this incident? That’s because I had walked over to them with a smile, trying to settle this amicably, but for some reason, the bullies yelled “Woah, who’s that guy!? He’s terrifying! We’re gonna die!” That gang of brats, at least 5 of them, then scampered away wailing. It’s really a bittersweet heroic tale, and the reason why I had my back facing Yukiko was because I didn’t want to let her see me so heartbroken. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that it was that moment when I was terrified of smiling. That was the start of my trauma…woah, stop stop stop! I’m about to cry again!

But there was another reason why this had a deep impression on me

“……When I had just entered middle school—”

“Hmm?”

While remembering all of the trauma quietly, Yukiko s.h.i.+fted her weight away from my back, and whispered,

“When I first entered middle school, people made fun of me for writing light novels in cla.s.s.”

“Huh?”

“The fact that I became a light novelist was never known…but those annoying girls in cla.s.s were mocking me for doing that. They say that writing novels really fit my pessimistic personality.”

“Ah, there was such a thing?”

What’s going on? You got to be kidding me. What’s so funny about that? Aren’t you amazing for being a novelist at such an age? You’re in middle school, you know?”

“But at that time, Kaoru protected me. After I got home, he even sent an encouraging letter to me. He may look that way, but he’s a rather courageous guy, and has a strong sense of justice. He’s really like you in that sense, brother.”

Yukiko didn’t look back as she kept leaning her back on me; I wasn’t able to read her expression.

She continued,

“…Kaoru’s a nice guy, decent at studies, and though he’s a little bad at sports, he’s still courageous, kind, an-and…”

Yukiko then swallowed what she said. At that moment, I got the feeling that she’s crying, or that’s probably just me.

“Brother.”

“Hm?”

“I’ve already noticed what’s going on. I’m no longer at the age where I daydream anymore.”

“Daydream?”

She finally turned her head, and her face—

“…….Can Yukiko really have a boyfriend?”

“………”

It was an unprecedented, stern, anguished sidelong face she showed, and I had the impression that she somehow matured little by little in this pa.s.sage of time, showing traces of frailty and charm of a young girl.

…….A boyfriend, huh?

“……I believe that the most important thing is to be with person you love. It doesn’t matter how this love came to be, nor does it matter if other people accept it or not… you should stay true to your own feelings.”

I had a vague answer as to what Yukiko was hoping for when she said those words, but that was all I could only say. I too experienced a love that would never blossomed. Stop giving me that grieving look there.

“…….I understand. I’ll think about it for another day.”

Yukiko’s turned her face away as she answered..

After that, she did not say anything extraordinary. She showed no signs of getting up from the bathtub for such a long time, and I suffered from a rush of blood into my head.

Once I was done, I patted my burning head and cheeks with my hands, recalling the matured sidelong expression Yukiko showed back then.

……It’s definitely only because of that rush of blood, ok?

“Yukiko…Yukiko looks like she’s suffering today…Like she would cry if she watched the sunset…”

“Yukiko…”

Two days later, I read through the entry Hikari Yumesaki wrote, and that image appeared in my mind. Surely Yukiko’s feeling troubled. It’s the first time she received a love letter, and fell in love. That pet.i.te body’s going through such great pain, with that stinging—

“Yukiko…I couldn’t help but make a picture of the troubled Yukiko my phone wallpaper…”

Yukiko……

“Yukiko……Yukiko……Lick…Lick…”

Yuki……

“Oops, I was licking Yukiko’s picture, and I got seen by aunty there. Great save!”

“What did you do!!?”

Like h.e.l.l it’s a save!! That’s way out of the ballpark!! No wonder my mom wouldn’t greet me at breakfast, you idiot!

Hikari Yumesaki finished by writing: “Since Sakamoto is a delinquent, everything should be fine.” Once I had finished reading, I couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh, and slammed the notebook shut. Ah whatever, she can do whatever she wants. I don’t want to get involved with such an idiot.

“I guess it’s about time to head out.”

I changed my clothes, headed towards the front door, and saw someone there waiting for me.

“……….You’re too slow.”

Hikari Yumesaki had bought a snazzy dress for her, saying “It’s for your boyfriend”. It’s a casual white one-piece dress, and gave her the appearance of a princess.

“Let’s go.”

“……Yeah.”

Yukiko got on the back of the bike, and we headed towards the middle school.

A few moments back, Yukiko sent a message to Kinos.h.i.+ta, “I hope that you can head to the pool in our middle school”. Now, why did I end up being her chauffeur? That’s because she asked me to come along. I thought that I would be disturbing them if I was present, so I refused, but after she fawned and begged, I tagged along. I guess I’ll listen to that level of stubbornness from her. Kinos.h.i.+ta will probably forgive me.

I continued to pedal forward like a plane pa.s.sing through the expanses of a cloudless sky. I guess the difference from the sky however is that one is booming and the other is silent.

With a warm sensation on my back, I continued pedaling for another 15 minutes or so, and we finally reached the nostalgic main entrance of the middle school. It was only a few years back that I had attended this school myself. I rode the bike past the entrance, stopped, and locked it up. I then walked side by side with Yukiko to the back end of the swimming pool, and to follow Yukiko’s pace, I slowed myself down.

“Ah…….”

Sweat dripped down her forehead, and it’s probably not simply because she had been out under the sun for so long. He—Kinos.h.i.+ta was standing under a cool shadow, his cheeks showing a scarlet red.

“H-h.e.l.lo, big brother Sakamoto.”

“Sup. I’m sorry for tagging along.”

“Huh……?”

I apologized out of the guilt I was feeling. To my surprise, Kinos.h.i.+ta looked more somber than before. Ah yes, that expression’s basically saying, Now is not the time to discuss this. That is the case, since what comes next….is to hear the answer from the person who received the confession.

“……Kaoru.”

“Y-Yes?”

Upon hearing Yukiko speak up, Kinos.h.i.+ta hurriedly straightened himself.

“S-Since I’m going to give you my response…I wanted to hear you say it out again…”

“Huh…Uh…”

Kinos.h.i.+ta blushed as he turned towards us, and after letting out a teeny-weeny voice, he again lowered his head. Hey…Yukiko’s going to ask him to confess again…and in front of me?

“O-okay…I understand.”

However, Kinos.h.i.+ta didn’t show any fear. He lifted his head confidently, his fists clenched firmly,

“I have always, always liked you…….From the moment I first saw you.”

The confession began.

Yukiko silently glanced at me.

Just what did she want to do? I had no way of knowing for sure, but after seeing her being so persistent in wanting me to come, I think I have a slight guess of it. However.

“I first met you by accident, when you siblings were walking on the street side by side… At that time, I knew that you were my type.”

What exactly was Yukiko feeling at this point? What sort of emotions did she have standing here, and what was she thinking before she arrived?

“Erm, well, it’ll make you angry…but I stalked you afterwards…you were scowling, but you were the first to give up your seat in the train, and even showed a cute smile like an animal. You spoke to the kids, and that dejected, teary look of yours was really cute when you scared them away…after that, I started to realize my feelings for you. That’s when I wrote that letter.”

To Yukiko, or anyone else, receiving a confession is an ordeal with no clear answer.

“Later on, when I was invited to your house just a while back… as I expected, your appearance, and your inner character are very beautiful. You’re someone who’s willing to accept me… And so, I confirmed my feelings.”

Well, Yukiko, you’re no longer a kid. Your brother can’t always be protecting you here. That’s why you should come up with your own answer. Don’t worry. No matter what answer you choose, Kinos.h.i.+ta will definitely accept it.

“So—”

So—

“Please go out…w-with—”

Yukiko—

“PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME! BIG BROTHER!”

Come up with your own answer!

……………………..

……………..

………

“Huh?”

While the cicadas chirped, us siblings blurted out our confusion in unison.

“………..!”

Kinos.h.i.+ta’s face was completely red, his eyes tightly shut as he reached his hand towards me.

……..

…Towards, me.

“……Kaoru.”

Yukiko’s cold voice rang out.

“Y-Yes…?”

Kinos.h.i.+ta’s cute voice trembled in response.

“You gave Yukiko that love letter..”

“Right, thank you Yukiko, for helping me pa.s.s that letter to bro.”

“Huh? P-Pa.s.s on?”

“Huh? Didn’t I already tell you? I said it was a ‘request for bro’.”

“……Yeah, it was a ‘request for bro, to acknowledge our relations.h.i.+p’ right?”

“Huh?”

Kaoru’s cute little face showed a skeptical look.

Huh?

“……K-Kaoru, you said that you first met me on the street that day.”

“Mmhm… I saw you walking besides Yukiko, brother Akitsuki and…f-fell in love on first sight.”

Huh?

“Kaoru…you know brother’s a guy right?”

“Mmhm…no problem. Since I’m a guy too…”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Huh?

“Kaoru…you know brother’s a guy right?”

Yukiko asked again.

“Mmhm…no problem. Since I’m a guy too…”

You don’t have to give the same answer twice!

“……….”

“……….”

Overwhelming silence.

Surprisingly, the person who broke this silence was neither me, nor was it Kinos.h.i.+ta.

It was the young girl who was yearning for love. However, that romantic and sentimental look had long disappeared from her face—

“IT’S FINALLY HERE———————————————————————————!!!!”

……Standing right next to me……was Yukiko being her usual self.

“K-Kaoru!! You’re that type of guy!? Huh!? Huh!? Hhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!? Is it true!? I-I’m not holding back!! D-D-D-Do you love brother in that place!?”

Where did that melancholic girl just now disappear to!?

The young girl’s eyes dazzled like the bright rays of the summer sun, drooling as she shook Kinos.h.i.+ta’s shoulders with fervor as she interrogated him. Then what about me? No wait, what am I supposed to do?

“Oh…about this”

What’s wrong? K-Kinos.h.i.+ta? Why do I feel like there’s a weird look in your eyes? They’re swirling around, and so hollow like a deep, empty void—

“Bi-big brother Sakamoto looks really scary right? He’s really tall, has a sharp look in his eyes, and looks like an intimidating wolf. However, even though no matter how I look at it, he’s just a pitifully timid person and his whole body gives off the feeling of a virgin who wants to tightly hold a girl’s hand with all of his strength, which is what really attracted me in the first place since I really wanted to tease this kind of person and I felt that if I get to trample on his emotions then I would be able to satisfy my s.a.d.i.s.tic tendencies and once I thought of this I just couldn’t sit still and so I decided to confess to him, which is why I’ve also already made my decision that if I didn’t receive a satisfying answer here then I would put a collar around bro’s neck and forcefully take him and so Yukiko, please make sure to join me in my effort.”

“OKAYOKAYOKAYOKAYOKAY! Yukiko! I’ll leave the rest to you! I, I just remembered that I had some other things to take care of!”

I loudly cut off Kinos.h.i.+ta’s curse. The scorching sun was visibly beating down from the empty sky, but my body was breaking out into cold sweat. I wasted no time to wipe off my sweat as I hastily turned around. Danger, Danger, Danger, Danger. This situation was too dangerous. Never would I have expected this development. I was careless, way too careless. Yep, I messed up big time. My days of youth were over, just like that idiot girl who also screwed around—

Grab——!

“Eeks——!”

Two hands grabbed my shoulders from behind.

One of them belonged to my beloved little sister.

The other one belonged to—

“Big brother, why are you running away? Didn’t you tell me before?”

“Uh, w-what…?”

The pupils in his eyes lost all l.u.s.ter.

The sun appeared to be covered up by the moon, and I felt the same mysterious, tingling sensation from a solar eclipse that—

“You told me before, that—I’m really cute.”

“Oh……”

…No, even though I did say that, it was actually just a……

“Brother, just accept it already. You also said this before, that the most important thing is to be with the person you love, and that it doesn’t matter how this love came to be, nor does it matter if other people accept it or not…that you should stay true to your own feelings. I believe that Kaoru is also just being honest with his feelings.”

No, but——

“Bro, from now on, I’ll call you brother, heheheh~”

But——

“Brother, stop denying it, just accept it already.”

——

“Brother” “Brother”

Crack crack , the two middle schoolers’ slender hands gripped my shoulders.

I fixed my gaze on their two hands, and thought.

——Hikari Yumesaki, please take over for me……

“IT’S HERE———————————————————!!”

“Dammit……”

I firmly believed that I would be ridiculed by Hikari Yumesaki, so I chose not to write about that event in the notebook. However, it was quickly exposed; t was probably Yukiko who told her…

“That development was so unexpected! Congratulations Sakamoto! I’m so happy for you! So this was the reason why you refused Kasumi’s confession! It looks like you were that type of guy after all! Congratulations on dropping your virgin status!”

“Don’t you think that this involves you too…?”

I took a glance at my cellphone, and looked at the wallpaper, a photo of me and Kinos.h.i.+ta, being way too close to each other, staring into each other’s eyes (The expression in Kinos.h.i.+ta’s eyes was very dangerous, his eyes swirling around). That moron…went as far as to use someone else’s body and taking such a picture.

“Thank you for the food. Hmhm~ ♪”

On the other hand.

After Yukiko happily finished the omelet fried rice I made, she clasped her hands together and said thanks. Dammit. You were so p.i.s.sed just two days ago. You really are a finicky person. Your mouth is covered with ketchup you know.

“Dinners made by you are really delicious, brother. The best.”

Oh, thanks.

“Brother.”

“Hm?”

I dejectedly lifted up my spoon to sc.r.a.pe up some of the omelet fried rice covered in ketchup, and I boorishly grunted. Yukiko’s tilted face looked nothing like it was two days ago before, entirely devoid of that painful expression, but it still had that mature flair to it. She put her index finger on her lips, and said:

“I’ve decided that I don’t want a boyfriend for now.”

“Huh?”

And then—it’s been a truly—truly long time since I’ve seen it——

“Yukiko feels that she is the happiest as she is right now.”

It was really nostalgic, engraved into my mind, but a far reminiscence.

I’ve seen it before when I saved Yukiko from that group of bullied. It was a fleeting, but definitely unforgettable, distant memory.

That was probably a precious gem that only an older brother could see.

The little sister’s bright smile s.h.i.+ned under the summer sun, glimmering with radiance.

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