“…”
The steady ticking of a clock echoed through the quiet room. After his conversation with Gensei, Masachika stopped by Yuki’s room and quietly checked up on his sleeping sister. According to Ayano, who, alongside Natsu, had stayed up all night caring for her, Yuki had briefly woken at dawn, and her fever had apparently subsided enough for her to be able to think clearly. Her complexion did seem much better than yesterday as well, and her breathing had settled into a peaceful rhythm.
The medicine seems to be working…
But just as gratitude for the now-napping Ayano warmed his chest, Yuki’s eyes suddenly fluttered open.
“…”
She gazed vacantly at the ceiling, her dry lips slowly forming words.
“And that’s the dream I had.”
“What?”
“So I was training to be a shrine priestess to exorcise demons, and what appeared to be just a regular bamboo broom that they gave me turned out to be one of the spears of Longinus that had been used to execute the underground Christians.”
“All right, now I’ve gotta hear more about this dream!” Masachika jested, leaning forward. Yuki, however, ignored his remark as she continued to gaze intently at the ceiling.
“…I know this ceiling.”
“That’s it?!”
Masachika was completely thrown off by his sister’s sudden return to form, momentarily even forgetting his conversation with Gensei as he got caught up in her theatrics. With a mischievous grin, Yuki tossed off her covers, sprang to her feet, and unraveled her braided hair, dramatically sweeping it back like a jet-black cloak. Exuding an air of grandeur, she then placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and declared in a defiant stance:
“The seal has been broken!!”
“No, some of your powers are still sealed away, so you need to lie down.”
“What am I? Some sort of demon?”
“You’re a malevolent god.”
“Hmm. Okay, I’ll take it. Now, go fetch me a glass of water, peasant.”
“Don’t push it. I can seal your powers away again if I have to.”
“Heh! I’d like to see you try.”
Yuki scoffed, gazing down at him from her lofty perch, but in one swift motion, Masachika snatched up the comforter and wrapped his sister into a human sushi roll in three seconds flat. She blinked once in stunned confusion, then immediately began thrashing about like a caterpillar on its back.
“Gaaah!! How dare you, an inferior being, do this to—!”
“It’s a common trope for godlike beings that look down on humans to lose in the end.”
“Grrr! You’ll pay! I’ll make you pay… Even if it takes eons, I will rise again, and when I do, the world will—”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s enough.”
“Mmmph?!”
He promptly smothered his sister with a pillow to silence her continued theatrics. However…
“‘Eek! He’s going to kill me! He’s going to suffocate me and make it look like an accident! You’re not going to get your hands on my inheritance even if you kill me!’”
“When did this turn into a thriller?”
Yuki started yet another performance, prompting Masachika to yank the pillow away. Then, with a long sigh and a hint of exasperation, he muttered:
“Seriously, though, you’re still sick, so you need to lie down. Your throat is hurting, right?” Masachika asked earnestly.
“Mn… Yeah.” Yuki stuck out her lower lip and nodded, then let out a sigh of resignation. “Fine. I’ll be good, so can you unwrap me already?”
“Nope. Because if I do, you’ll just start jumping around again.”
“Then are you fine if I do it here?”
“Do what?”
“Hint: golden shower.”
“No!”
Masachika began yanking the comforter back, causing Yuki to cry, “Oh, myyy” as she spun across the bed before gracefully landing by the bedside, where she planted her feet and stood up with her arms slightly angled in the air. She then glanced back at him over her shoulder, clearly fishing for a reaction.
“…I’m not going to give you a score. It wasn’t even that impressive.”
“Tsk. Would it have been better if I undressed while spinning, then posed completely naked?”
“You’d have been immediately disqualified. Now, hurry up and go pee.”
“In your room?”
“In the toilet!”
Watching his sister cackle her way out of the room, Masachika sighed in a mixture of exasperation and relief, then took out his phone to text Ayano that Yuki had woken up. After that, he poured some water from the pitcher into the glass he had brought earlier and waited until Yuki quickly returned, apparently having washed her face as well.
“Ah, I feel like a new woman.”
“Here. It’s water.”
“Thanks.”
Yuki took the glass from his hand and downed it in one gulp.
“Ahhh, that hit the spot… Hmm?” Then, looking at her brother’s face, she blinked and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“You’re just now wondering that?! We talked last night, you know?!”
“In the bathroom?”
“Here! Why would we be talking in the bathroom?!”
“Maybe to pee?”
“I’m not sure a guy and a girl could manage that with only one toilet.”
“We did (suggestive).”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s enough already.”
“Heh. You gotta keep quiet, Bro, or someone’s going to hear us.”
“Enough already!”
“Uh-huh. Now, have a seat right there… Heh. Good job. That’s a good boy.”
“Listen—”
“Heh-heh! I think you’re ready to graduate from your diapers.”
“Oh, is this some sort of potty-training session for toddlers? My apologies.”
“What’d you think this was?”
“…Caregiving for the elderly.”
“Now, that’s a stretch, Bro.”
“Just shut up, or I’m going to turn you into a burrito again.”
“Heh! Do you really think I would fall for the same trick twice? Don’t you dare underestimate—”
Burrito-ed.
“…I’m hot.
“Well, you need to sweat a little. You just had some water, too.”
“Interesting. You’re trying to make me sweat so that you can trigger the sponge-bath scene, huh?”
“Could you at least turn off your otaku brain when you’re sick?”
“Wish I could, but I already asked Ayano to bring us a warm bucket of water and a towel!”
“Did you hit your head when you left for the bathroom?” Masachika replied, followed immediately by a knock at the door.
“Come in,” he responded, prompting Ayano to come inside carrying a basin of hot water and a towel.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Lady Yuki.”
“Ayano, perfect timing.”
“My pleasure.”
“Hold up. I thought you were taking a nap.”
“I already finished. I’m okay now.”
“No, go back to sleep. You only slept for four hours last night, right? I’ll take care of Yuki,” assured Masachika as he took the basin and towel from her hands and placed them by the bed. Ayano’s eyes, however, began to wander in a troubled manner.
“But…”
“Ayano, my brother said he wanted to wash my body all by himself.”
“…! Very well. I will return to my room, then.”
“How can you even think I’d ever say something like that?!”
Ayano swiftly left the room as if she hadn’t even heard Masachika’s retort, but as he stood there in disbelief at her swiftness, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Immediately, he turned to the side to find Yuki perched on the bed in a coy pose, looking up at him while bashfully tilting her head.
“Dear brother? Could you wash my back?”
“How long have you been free?”
“Heh! My resistance went up after the second time, so I was able to break free even faster. I’m pretty sure this is common sense.”
“Yeah, in a video game. Since when did you stop being human?”
“What? I’m so cute that it’s hard to believe I’m human?”
“Nah, you’re no Alya or Masha. You look human.”
“Hmm? Did you just bring up other women in front of me?”
“Yeah? So what?”
“Groin punch!”
“Hey—?!”
A light tap to the groin instinctively sent Masachika lurching back, bending at the waist. Though there was no force behind it, the chilling sensation of having such a sensitive area smacked still made him shoot Yuki a resentful glare, but her eyes immediately began to well with tears as she clutched the comforter tightly, trembling.
“Big Brother? What’s wrong…? You’re scaring me… This isn’t you… Please go back to being the nice big brother I used to know…”
“‘What’s wrong’? You punched me in the groin, you punk.”
“The what? What’s that? Cough! Hack! You’re not making any sense…”
“So now you’re playing the sick card, huh?”
“I have no idea…what you’re saying… Cough, cough…”
Masachika closed his reproachful eyes, sighed at his overdramatic sister, then slowly muttered:
“A character who was described as the ‘little sister’ in the synopsis and her profile, but once the story begins, it’s revealed that she’s actually the protagonist’s stepsister.”
“Do you wanna die tonight, ya little punk?!”
Yuki instantly dropped her innocent little girl act and lunged at Masachika. Kneeling on the bed, she seized her brother’s collar with both hands, staring at him with crazed, wide eyes, and menacingly whispered in his face: