Naoya had heard from Koyuki that she had a little sister and that they even looked and sounded similar. That was why Naoya was nowhere near as surprised as Koyuki seemed to be.
“Nice to meet you, Sasahara. My name is Sakuya Shirogane—Koyuki Shirogane’s younger sister,” she greeted Naoya.
“Nice to meet you, too. Back to our previous topic, though,” Naoya said. He was curious about what she had meant when she said he had passed a test of some kind.
Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Koyuki. “Oh no you don’t!” she shouted as she grabbed Naoya’s arm and yanked him closer to her—this made him keenly aware he was pressing up against her breasts. “You really need to check your taste in men, Sakuya,” she addressed her younger sister. “If you fall for a creepy moron like this guy, it’ll only end badly for you. Seriously—I suggest you reconsider.”
“What kind of guy do you think I am?” Naoya protested.
Since Koyuki had only just arrived, she hadn’t heard what Naoya and Sakuya had been talking about. He could tell that her warning was half out of jealousy and half out of genuine concern for her sister. Damn, I wanted at least 70 percent jealousy, Naoya complained to himself.
Sakuya shook her head and assured her sister, “Don’t worry. I don’t hold any amorous feelings toward him. I don’t even know what kind of person he is, really.”
“Wha? Then what was up with that letter?” Koyuki asked.
“It’s simple,” Sakuya stated as she stared intently at Naoya. Even through her glasses, Naoya could sense her eyes were locked directly on him. They were like a calm ocean—still, he also noted a sharp wariness lurking beneath the surface. “I just wanted to see what the guy who captured your heart was like—that’s all. I apologize for going about it in such a surreptitious way.”
“It’s fine. That letter made sure you weren’t being ‘surreptitious’ at all,” Naoya answered.
“Oh, I see the—no, wait a second!” Koyuki cried. She cleared her throat and then continued in a haughty tone, “You seem to be misunderstanding the situation, Sakuya. Sasahara is nothing more than a friend. There’s no way that I’d ever fall for him.”
“What? But you talk to me and Gizzard about him all the time at home,” Sakuya said in a confused tone.
“Wasn’t Gizzard your cat?” Naoya added.
“Yes. Koyuki won’t stop picking our cat up and talking to it. She blathers on about how you complimented her hair, how you look dashing from the side, and things like that. The cat doesn’t seem to enjoy it, I feel,” Sakuya explained.
“What do you mean?! Gizzard loves hearing about it!” Koyuki cried, her face rapidly turning crimson.
Maybe she had let her guard down because her sister was there, but she normally would not have let such information slip. Based on her expression, Naoya could tell that her younger sister had been telling the truth—she really did talk about him to her cat. He was exceedingly interested in the juicy details, but he figured that another line of questioning was more appropriate right now.
“So I get wanting to scope out the guy your sister’s been talking about, but be honest... How am I doing so far?” he asked Sakuya.
“You get a passing mark. For now,” Sakuya replied curtly. “You get points for ignoring the eager first year and maintaining focus on the main heroine. Most romcom protagonists can’t even make it that far. Well done.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, though it does kinda sound like an Amazine review of some light novel...”
“So, Sasahara—what are your thoughts on my sister?” Sakuya asked.
“Uh, she’s cute, and she’s fun to watch, and, uh...” he floundered.
“Yes, she is quite cute, isn’t she? We can agree on that,” Sakuya added.
“R-Really? Haha, looks like you two aren’t as tasteless as I thought. Haha,” Koyuki butted in, thrusting her chest out with false pride.
Sakuya only spared her a sideways glance before she continued, “If you can tell how cute she is, then you must also be able to tell that she’s quite... simple.”
“Yeah...” Naoya agreed.
“Hey!” Koyuki exclaimed, baring her teeth like an angry tiger.
Naoya turned to her and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, sorry—that might be a bit far. You’re just kinda pure, you know? You take everything at face value and worry about others’ feelings a lot. Not saying that’s a bad thing, though.”
“I don’t think... Well, I can’t say I never do anything like that,” Koyuki admitted, looking somewhat displeased about her agreement.
Sakuya looked at her sister, sighed, and turned to face Naoya. “Everyone thinks my sister is some sharp-tongued, ice-in-her-veins character. But I knew the day would come where a malicious man would notice that she’s actually a sweet, pure girl and take advantage of her.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it, but I guess you do really care about her,” Naoya concluded. Clearly, Sakuya had been worried about her sister’s wellbeing.
Koyuki was still sulking by herself, but neither Sakuya nor Naoya paid her much attention.
“So you just said I passed ‘for now,’” Naoya added. “That means you still don’t trust me.”
Sakuya nodded with conviction and answered, “Exactly.” Behind her muted expression, he noted a glint of fire dancing in her eyes. “My sister likes you, but what about you? If you plan to play around with her feelings and then cast her aside at the drop of a hat, I will do everything in my power to remove you from our lives instantly.”
“Sakuya! You can’t say that!” Koyuki shouted.
Sakuya continued to stare Naoya down. She really does care about Shirogane, he recognized. It made sense, really; Naoya hadn’t even known Koyuki for a month yet. Sakuya wanted to know if his feelings were the real deal—would he abandon ship when placed under the smallest amount of pressure? Naturally, he had no intentions of doing so. All that was left was ensuring that her sister knew this, as well.
Naoya faced Sakuya and stated with a serious expression, “I understand where you’re coming from, Sakuya, so I’ve got something important to tell you.”
“What, exactly?”
“I like Shirogane!” he declared loudly.
Koyuki’s voice caught in her throat, producing a sort of bizarre, strangled yelp, and Sakuya’s eyes shot wide open. Naoya wryly noted to himself that these sisters were apparently very expressive with their eyes.
Naoya continued, “I like all of her. I like it when she hides her feelings and when she overthinks things. I like all of her imperfections.”
The more he spoke, the more certain he became—he really did like her. He’d known this for a few days already, but now he was certain that this feeling would not change. He looked into Sakuya’s eyes and declared, “So regardless of what you think, and no matter how much you try to stop it, I’m not giving up on Shirogane.”
“Hm. Okay then,” Sakuya’s response was characteristically monotone. Her facial expression hadn’t changed at all, but Naoya was certain something in her eyes had. She thought for a while, then continued, “Fine, I’ll give you one chance.”
“One chance?”
“One chance to show me your resolve is genuine,” she announced, thrusting her index finger at Naoya like a spear raised to declare war. “You’re going to take my sister on a date. If I think you suit each other, I’ll recognize your relationship.”
“A date?!” Koyuki shouted. Again.