After the absolute insanity that transpired at Aeon yesterday, I decided to skip club and head straight home. Shiratama-san’s confession. Her secret affections. I just needed more time to process it all.
“Welcome home, Oniisama!” Kaju’s house slippers came flip-flopping against the floor.
“Hey. You’re back early.”
“Things are calming down with the student council.”
“That’s good. They had you pretty busy for a while.” I started toward the living room.
But Kaju blocked my way. “Aren’t you going to get changed first?”
“I was gonna watch an anime I recorded. Why? Am I not allowed in?”
“How about you go change and I’ll start on some tea. We have senbei too.”
“Huh? Hey—”
With the litheness of a professional basketball player, Kaju shepherded me toward the stairs. Suspicious, but she wouldn’t be acting strange without a reason. That trust carried me all the way to my bedroom door. But there, I stopped. A thought. I was operating under the assumption that she was trying to keep me out of the living room.
What if she was trying to get me to my room?
My mind went to a million different places at once. Was there something she wanted me to see? Or had she found something of mine she shouldn’t have? Was my stash under the rug compromised?
Panicked, I threw the door open.
“Welcome, Nukumizu-kun. Fancy meeting you here.”
“L-look who it is.”
Wouldn’t you know it, it was the two worst possible people it could have been. Yanami Anna and Komari Chika. And they were currently digging around my shelves. I seriously wished they weren’t.
“Dare I ask, why are you here?” It took great patience on my part to not blow a fuse.
They looked incredulous. “Why do you think?” Yanami said. “You weaseled your way out of explaining yourself yesterday, but time to fess up. What happened with Shiratama-chan?”
“Sp-speak, enemy of women,” Komari accused.
I really didn’t have a leg to stand on this time. Or did I? What had I actually done wrong in this scenario? By my calculations: absolutely nothing.
“Everyone relax,” I said. “I’m sorry we disappeared on you guys, but there was a very good reason for that.”
“Good enough to cover the crap we saw at the cat café, I hope,” Yanami retorted.
I nodded confidently. “Absolutely. I can one hundred percent explain why she was crying on my shoulder, I assure you.”
“Kaju would like to hear this explanation.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. There she was, standing right behind me with a tray of tea and senbei. Smiling.
“When did you get there?”
“Just now,” she said calmly. “I have fresh tea.” She started placing cups down on the low table.
“Well, thank you, but Big Bro’s talking about grown-up stuff right now, if you don’t mind.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m a grown-up.” The fourth cup went down, and so did Kaju’s butt. Yanami and Komari joined her.
“Come, Nukumizu-kun,” beckoned the former.
“S-sit down,” commanded the latter.
“You don’t want your tea to go cold, do you?” cooed Kaju.
She and Komari patted the floor cushion. Yanami gestured with her head while she nibbled on a rice cracker. And you know, somehow, I didn’t feel very safe. Even my own sister, my one hope for salvation, had turned against me.
I surrendered to my fate and sat. Yanami swallowed the remainder of her senbei. Chew, girl. “That took a whole minute.”
“I… Okay?” What was she, my teacher?
“All of us combined, that comes out to three minutes you’ve stolen. I could’ve made cup ramen in that time. Apologize.”
I wasn’t buying that. I, for one, knew she wasn’t patient enough to wait the full three minutes. I’d seen it with my own eyes. But hey, nothing like a classic Yanami moment to loosen the nerves.
I sipped some tea. “Okay. Who wants to start us off? Ask me anything.”
Yanami reached for a second cracker. “First: What did you two ditch us to go do?”
“Private. Next question.”
I heard the senbei snap in her mouth. I gave her a look.
Komari leaned against the table. “Wh-why was she crying with you?”
Tough crowd. They were playing hardball. “That’s between me and Shiratama-san. Would rather keep it to ourselves. Next question.” I went for some senbei.
Kaju pulled them away. “I’m disappointed in you, Oniisama.”
“What? Why?”
With grim finality, she handed the container to Yanami. “I’m disappointed that you would treat your fellow club members like this. Your family, by your own words.”
“He calls us his what?!” Yanami blurted, quickly swallowing her third senbei. Again, without chewing.
“Kaju,” I said, “are you making things up?”
“Your eyes speak volumes, Oniisama.”
Then they were not to be trusted. To be regarded heretofore with great suspicion. Kinda like the way my captors were looking at me now.
“Look, guys, we really didn’t do anything that deserves explaining,” I tried to protest. It didn’t soften their gazes any.
Yanami sighed, then produced a small, black card. “You made me do this, Nukumizu-kun.”
“Do what? What is that?”
“An SD card. It was hidden under the rug in this very room.”
Shit.
I started to hold my hand out for it but noticed Kaju staring at me. I couldn’t look her in the eye. “It has school stuff in it. And it’s password locked.”
Yanami stoically presented the card to Kaju. “Any ideas?”
“His passwords are generally the birthdays of his favorite voice actors,” she said. “I would only need a few minutes.”
Bad. Very bad. The contents of that card were incriminating enough, but the folder names alone would be the end of me. And then I remembered that Shiratama-san herself had said I could tell the others if I wanted. That was enough for me. I very much wanted to.
“Okay. Fine,” I surrendered. “I’ll tell you everything.”
I looked solemnly at my oppressors. They swallowed in anticipation.
This wasn’t blackmail. I was absolutely not selling out my kouhai. Because I would never do that.