[Warning 15+]
Part Four
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 157
Her Big Bro's Buddy
"―From Now On, You Better Treat Me with That Same Energy, Too!"
Chapter 157
Her Big Bro's Buddy
About an hour's train ride out from the city center, you'll hit this redeveloped suburban area.
With the station serving as the main hub, the surrounding area is packed with shoppin' complexes so you'll never-*ss struggle with your daily-*ss errands.
A little ways off, there's a neatly-*ss zoned residential neighborhood lined with pretty-*ss new houses.
Inside the livin' room of a pretty-*ss average house over there, Kazuki was chucklin' to himself, his shoulders shakin' as he held his smartphone in one hand.
On Kazuki's smartphone's group chat, the icons for Kazuki, Hayato, and Iori were bouncin' all over the screen.
'I caught a fever and ended up getting babysat by my little sis' buddy. Awkward as heck. But I feel like I should get her a thank-you gift or somethin', what do you guys think I should do?'
'Is that Himeko-chan's buddy from back in Tsukinose?'
'Oh, so you mean that shrine maiden chick?'
'Yeah, that's the one.'
'D*mn, a shrine maiden! Shrine maiden outfits are straight-up top tier! I totally-*ss want Ema to wear one too!'
'Speakin' of which, when we hit up Shine Spirits City the other day, they were sellin' them in the party goods section. For like 3,000 yen. They had a bunch of other wild-*ss stuff too, like nurse outfits and cheongsams. Though the skirts were all crazy-*ss short.'
'Wait, for real!? Alright, we're straight-up goin' shoppin' together next time!'
'Are you a dumb*ss? Oh, but if Iori is down to show us a pic of Isami-san actually-*ss wearin' it, I might roll with you.'
'Hold up! Th-That's, y'know, a whole-*ss different story. No way in heck I'm showin' off my girl looking like that to other boys!'
'Fine then, instead of Isami-san, a pic of Iori-kun wearin' that outfit works just fine for me.'
'Kazuki!?'
The convo kept veerin' way-*ss off track from Hayato's initial-*ss question, turnin' into a total-ass clown show.
It was just a random, ordinary, pointless-*ss chat.
But Kazuki was genuinely-*ss lovin' this banter from the bottom of his heart.
Even though it took over an hour and a half to commute to school, Kazuki was so d*mn glad he picked his current high school.
'By the way Hayato-kun, is your fever totally-*ss gone now?'
'After a solid-*ss night of sleep, I'm 100% good to go… …but Himeko straight-up ordered me to stay in bed all day today. Honestly, I'm low-key bored out of my mind.'
'Well, your little sis is totally-*ss right on that one.'
'Does that mean Himeko-chan is handlin' all the house chores and meals today?'
'…Do you honestly-*ss think Himeko can pull that off?'
"Ahaha!"
Kazuki straight-up snorted out loud in the livin' room at Hayato's comeback.
In Kazuki's head, he could perfectly-*ss picture Himeko tryin' to handle the house chores and nurse her Big Bro back to health, failin' miserably-*ss, and crying her eyes out to Haruki or her buddy. A smirk crept onto Kazuki's face.
And as if to back that up, texts like 'Oh, I get it, so that's why the shrine maiden stepped in' and 'Pretty much' were rollin' across Kazuki's smartphone screen.
'What about Himeko-chan―'
Kazuki was just about to ask how Himeko was holdin' up, but his fingers froze right after typin' that out. They straight-up stopped dead.
What suddenly-*ss flashed through Kazuki's mind wasn't Himeko's usual-*ss bright and innocent face, but that oddly-*ss mature yet lonely expression she'd shown back at the pool.
Kazuki's chest gave a sharp-*ss, painful throb.
Kazuki's face twisted into a heavy-*ss frown.
Kazuki's fingers hovered awkwardly-*ss over the screen.
Kazuki didn't know what the heck to type; The right words just wouldn't come out.
Kazuki's buddy's (Hayato's) little sis.
They got along great too.
But that was straight-up it.
Pryin' into how Himeko was doin' felt like Kazuki was steppin' way-*ss out of line as her Big Bro's buddy, didn't it?
Kazuki couldn't find the right words to save his life.
Yet for some d*mn reason, Kazuki just couldn't shake Himeko from his mind.
While Kazuki was busy stressin' out, the topic on his smartphone had already-*ss drifted off to work, with texts saying 'Work is brutal right now, it's not just both Hayato and Nikaidō-san, but a bunch of other folks called out at the same time too' and 'My bad, once I get back over there, I'll pick up as many shifts as I can.'
"…Kazuki?"
"Wait, what!? …Big Sis?"
"You were straight-up makin' the weirdest-*ss face just now… …yawn."
"…Ahaha."
Right then, a sleepy-*ss voice suddenly-*ss snapped Kazuki back to reality.
Kazuki looked up to see his Big Sis, Momoka, scratchin' her stomach with her hair looking like a total-*ss bomb went off—a textbook look of someone who just rolled out of bed.
It was a straight-up messy look you could never-*ss show to outsiders.
"Ugh… …Kazuki, get me the usual."
"Yeah, yeah."
Kazuki let out a dry-*ss chuckle and headed over to the kitchen, while Momoka slickly-*ss claimed the empty couch and stretched herself right out.
Kazuki fired up the espresso machine, setting it to a crazy-*ss dark roast.
A café latte with an extra-*ss splash of milk was what Momoka called her usual. By the way, she skipped the sugar since she was low-key stressing over calories.
Kazuki stared at the peat-colored liquid pumpin' out and formin' golden-*ss foam, catchin' a quick-*ss glimpse at the clock. It was already-*ss past 10:30 AM.
"You're up pretty-*ss early for once, Big Sis. Heading out to hang with someone or what?"
"Mm-hmm, something like that. …Oh, by the way, Kazuki, I heard you straight-up confessed your love and got dumped hard?"
At Momoka's words, Kazuki's hand pourin' the milk gave a sharp-*ss, sudden twitch. A heavy-*ss frown dug into his brow.
"Oh, yeah. Well, y'know, a lot of wild-*ss stuff happened."
"Does it feel... ...like before?"
"…Somethin' like that."
"…Gotcha."
Then, Momoka let out a massive, heavy-*ss sigh, clearly-*ss draggin' a whole lot of unspoken meanin' with it.
Before. That total-*ss disaster back in middle school.
Naturally-ass, as Kazuki's Big Sis, Momoka knew all about that.
The whole d*mn aftermath, too.
With a totally-*ss awkward face, Kazuki set the café latte down on the low table right in front of Momoka.
"Who did you hear that from, Big Sis?"
"Airi-chan. Haya… …someone? She said she straight-up heard it from one of your buds."
"Oh, Hayato-kun."
"…You good?"
The words were short as heck.
But there was a clear-*ss coat of worry painted all over Momoka's tone.
Looks like Momoka was low-key stressing over her little bro in her own unique-*ss way.
So, Kazuki just offered up a single-*ss dry chuckle.
"Yeah, they're straight-up all great-*ss guys."
"Gotcha."
"Well, y'know, I'm being way-*ss more careful this time around, so don't sweat it."
"…So, did you straight-up fall head over heels for one of those buds?"
"Wait, what!?"
Momoka's unexpectedly-*ss sharp words made Kazuki's heart give a massive, sudden-*ss thud.
For a straight-up second, Kazuki's mind went completely-*ss blank.
The culprit herself was casually-*ss lyin' face down on the couch in a totally-*ss messy posture, slowly-*ss sippin' her café latte.
As Kazuki's thoughts spun wildly-*ss out of control from the sheer panic, he asked Momoka a question, fully-*ss aware that his cheek was twitchin' like crazy.
"Why do you ask, Big Sis?"
"…I don't know, you've straight-up been actin' like some lovesick schoolgirl lately, making this low-key creepy face."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"Don't tell me you were actually-*ss serious about the girl you confessed to?"
"No way, that's straight-up wrong. It's totally-*ss not like that between me and her."
"…Hmm, if you say so."
As Haruki's face flashed through his mind, Kazuki firmly-*ss shut it down, making it clear-ass day that Momoka had it all wrong.
Momoka's reply, though, carried a clear-*ss coat of doubt.
Right on cue, the intercom chimed, signalin' they had a visitor.
Momoka let out a lazy-*ss grunt and gestured toward the front door with her chin, nudgin' Kazuki to go get it.
Letting out a dry-*ss chuckle at his Big Sis—who was rockin' nothin' but a camisole and shorts with her hair lookin' like a total-*ss mess—Kazuki headed over to the front door.
Click. Kazuki swung the front door open.
"Yeah, who is i―Oh."
"―Oh."
Their gasps of pure-*ss shock straight-up overlapped each other.
Their eyes went wide as saucers, and even though their cheeks twitched with tension for a split second, they instantly-*ss swapped greetin's like nothin' out of the ordinary had happened.
"Yo, Kazukichi."
"…Welcome, Airi."
Author's Notes:
LN Volume 3 Release & Voice Drama Launch Celebration
Just a heads-up, the giveaway for the signed mats from Rikako Aida-san & Ryōta Ōsaka-san is only-ass open until tomorrow.
All you gotta do is follow the official Twitter (now X.) account linked below and hit that RT button, so make sure to straight-up sign up for it.
Meow.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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