Three hours later, Tonomachi came over to Shido.
“Itsukaaaa, you must be free, right? Wanna grab a bite?” he asked, bag slung over his shoulder, while the other students got their things together and left the classroom after the entrance ceremony.
School never ended at noon except during exam periods, and groups could be seen discussing where they should go for lunch.
Shido was about to say yes and then remembered he couldn’t. “Oh! Sorry, I have plans today.”
“What? A girl?”
“Uhhh, well… Kind of?”
“What?!” Tonomachi threw his arms up and lifted a leg, in a pose like the famed Glico running man. “What happened over spring break?! First, you’re chatting all chummy with the Tobiichi, and now you got a lunch date with a girl?! I thought we swore we’d try to be virgins until we’re thirty and ascend to further greatness?!”
“Uh, I don’t remember agreeing to that… And, like, the girl is Kotori, okay?”
Tonomachi let out a relieved sigh. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“You got worked up all by yourself.”
“But, well, it shouldn’t be a problem if it’s just little Kotori. Can I come, too?”
“Hmm? That’s probably fine…,” Shido accepted.
Tonomachi set an elbow on Shido’s desk, leaning in dramatically.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Kotori is already in her second year of middle school, right? She got a boyfriend?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no ulterior motives here. Just wondering if she would go for a guy three years older.”
“…Actually, I take it back. You can’t come.” Shido glared at his friend and shoved his face back.
“What?! Bro!”
“Don’t ‘bro’ me. Ugh.” Shido scowled.
Tonomachi pulled himself back up and shrugged. “Ha-ha! Well, I’m not crass enough to crash a sacred bonding moment between brother and sister. Have fun, but don’t take it too far. Don’t wanna break any laws.”
“You always go too far,” Shido said, his cheek twitching.
Tonomachi made a shocked face. “It’s just, Kotori is supercute. Living under the same roof must be heaven.”
“If you actually had a sister, you wouldn’t think that.”
“Ah… I’ve heard that before: Kid sisters aren’t so cute when you actually have one. So I guess it’s true?”
“Yeah, I don’t see her as a girl… She’s just a creature called a sister,” Shido declared curtly.
“So that’s how it is, huh?” Tonomachi grinned wryly.
“That’s how it is. It’s the kid part of kid sister.”
“What about big sisters then?” Tonomachi pressed.
“Like a giant woman?” Shido asked.
“Whoa! Think of enormous ladies roaming the earth!” Tonomachi laughed.
✦ ✦ ✦
Vwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmm.