X X X
“I’m sorry,” Haruka sobbed. “As soon as I saw your face, I lost it.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize about that,” Shigure replied. “Still, talk about a major shock. When I heard there was a student who looked just like me, I considered the possibility and went looking for you. Turns out it really was you, Big Sis.”
“I heard about that, too—that there was a transfer student who looked just like me. I thought you might’ve come back home, so I searched everywhere for you. And now I’ve found you, Shigure. There’s so much we need to talk about... b-but whenever I look at your face, I feel so overwhelmed, a-and...” Haruka trailed off and burst into tears again.
“There’s no need for the waterworks,” Shigure scolded her affectionately. “Even after all these years, you’re still such a crybaby, Big Sis.”
“Shigure... I’m glad you’re doing well,” Haruka sniffled.
“Yeah, I feel the same.”
The two sisters exchanged an intimate embrace. They had been torn apart at a tender age because of their parents’ divorce, and they had finally been reunited after years apart due to circumstances that could only be called miraculous. Truly, it was a beautiful sight to behold—no words could have done it justice.
Yeah, and maybe I could actually enjoy it if I wasn’t actively shitting my pants!
“Well then,” Tomoe spoke up. “I don’t want to intrude on a family reunion, so I’ll be leaving. Let’s head out, Takeshi. I’ll see you later, Hiro. Keep your chin up.”
“Wait!” I pleaded to him in a whisper. “Whatever you do, don’t abandon me here. As the ridiculously good-looking side character, you exist to advise me—the shit-out-of-luck protagonist. Now, slap that trademark smug grin on your face, and tell me what the hell I need to do! Yesterday, I wound up with a little stepsister who looks just like my girlfriend! But my girlfriend is also my stepsister’s older sibling! As the brother-slash-boyfriend in this situation, what in God’s name am I supposed to do about this?!"
“No clue. Ridiculously good-looking side characters can only do so much. As the protagonist, you need to find the balls to figure this one out on your own. Don’t drag me into the blood-soaked trenches of your messed up family tree,” he whispered back.
“Stop screwing around, and do your job! Hey, Takeshi, say something!”
“Hmm,” Takeshi mused quietly. “Those two young ladies look very similar. I wonder—could they possibly be twins?”
“Do you only have one brain cell?!” I yelled.
“Oh!” Haruka blurted out, finally aware of my presence. “I-Is that you, Hiromichi?”
“H-Hey there,” I stammered.
“D-Don’t look at me,” Haruka responded between cries. “I don’t want you to see me making such an ugly face.”
She hid behind Shigure, her tear-stained face turning bright red. It was clear she was embarrassed by her reaction to the whole ordeal.
Aw, she’s so goddamn cute. Now, can someone book me a flight to Mars?
“Big Sis, do you know Hiromichi?” asked Shigure.
“Y-Yeah, I know him. In fact, we’re lovers,” she confessed.
“LUBBERS?”
An astonishing sound—like that of a chicken being strangled—had escaped Shigure’s mouth.
“How do you know Hiromichi, Shigure?” Haruka asked.
At the bottom of the ninth, Haruka pitched a decisive, lethal question.
If I see Shigure with that malicious smile on her face again, I’ll—
“Hiromichi and I are both in AP class together,” Shigure explained.
“Oh, you’re in AP, as well?” Haruka asked. “That’s amazing. You’ve always been such a brainiac.”
Huh? Did Shigure just lie? I’m not hearing things, am I?
“Sorry, but the two of us have a lot to talk about,” Shigure told me. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be borrowing my sister for now.”
“Hiromichi, I’m sorry about standing you up today,” Haruka added. “You’re being so nice about this.”
“No, it’s... it’s all good,” I stammered. “The circumstances are what they are.”
“Thanks. I’ll definitely make this up to you,” she promised.
The two girls waved goodbye and entered the cafeteria. As soon as they’d left, the tension drained from my body, causing me to slump down into my chair.
“That went better than expected...” I mumbled.
“True, but she was the one who figured the situation out and worked with you,” Tomoe responded. “She’s a smart gal, and she’s not as terrible as you made her out to be. She can clearly tell what lines should never be crossed.”
“Yeah...” I gave a half-hearted reply.
“If she’s that perceptive, she’ll know it’s best to distance herself from you. I mean, it shouldn’t be too hard to hide the truth for a while once you guys are on the same page, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess...”
It was true—Shigure had saved my sorry ass. Since she’d already gotten so much teasing in during the span of the two days I’d known her, I figured she’d torment me into oblivion if she found out about Haruka. On the contrary, she treated others much better than I’d imagined.
Well, that’s a huge freaking relief.
Despite the massive weight off my shoulders, I still felt a murky unease pressing on my chest. Being honest about everything wasn’t true selflessness—sometimes, it was nothing more than self-satisfaction. I’d come to understand Tomoe’s position quite well.
That being said, was lying to Haruka and making Shigure do the same really the right thing to do? As a brother and boyfriend, could I be proud of myself? Being so dishonest with both of them had given rise to an ill-defined sense of discomfort. Or was keeping this secret proof of my worth as a man? Honestly, I had no idea.