“Well then, I’m heading out,” Hiromichi said.
“Okay,” I replied. “Good luck on the battlefield of love, Big Bro.”
“Yeah...”
Hiromichi nodded in a somewhat embarrassed fashion and left the apartment. I watched him leave, waving all the while, until the door closed behind him. He seemed tired, no doubt because of yesterday’s call with Haruka. In fact, the nerves had made him toss and turn for most of the night—I hadn’t heard him snoring until 3:00AM.
“Okay, what next?”
I needed to prepare a meal for Hiromichi, so I stepped into the kitchen. Since he was planning to have lunch with Haruka, he’d probably return home for dinner. His wallet couldn’t endure the strain of eating out twice in a row. I’d be making a vegetable stir fry tonight. Seeing as the dish wouldn’t have any meat, I would use a Chinese seasoning paste to add the oiliness.
“Yawn...”
Oops. I can’t start yawning while I’m cooking with fire.
Honestly, I was a little tired myself—I mean, I knew that Hiromichi hadn’t fallen asleep until the early morning, after all. Our quarrel last night had shaken us both up. I realized I’d said too much, but there was a reason for my harsh words: Hiromichi’s knack for screwing things up had left Haruka backed into a corner. I’d pushed and prodded instead of backing down when I usually would have and ended up severely wounding his pride as a result. At least it had served as his much-needed motivation.
Last night, I’d already mentally prepared all the countermeasures and moves for when he would inevitably strike me or pin me down. Despite my frail, feminine appearance, I had trained in martial arts. It went without saying that I could hold my own in a fight.
And yet...
To my great surprise, I hadn’t been able to struggle when Hiromichi had pinned me down. I hadn’t been paralyzed with fear or anything like that—it was my own feelings that had rendered me immobile. It was like something had awakened inside of me, and I wasn’t able to ignore them any longer. As I laid there, unable to move, I’d expected something. If I don’t resist right now, how far will he go? I’d wondered.
“Hmm...”
I’d been aware of my slight affection for my stepbrother for a while. There wasn’t any specific reason or anything, but I could remember when it had started. When we’d first met, I’d admonished him for trying to “get off easy.” As a result, he’d tried his hardest to accomodate me as his new little sister. He’d struggled to call me by name, his face as stiff as a corpse. The pleasant warmth I’d felt at that time had probably sparked my initial feelings for him.
Every time I pressed his buttons, he would strive—despite his timidity—to accept me with open arms, just like a brother would. I found him so precious and adorable that it filled me with joy.
Although we called each other siblings, we had only met a month ago. At this point, I couldn’t view Hiromichi as an actual brother—this was different from what I’d feel toward a blood relative.
Us twins really can be terrifying, can’t we?
It was a given that we looked the same, but we were identical in small details, as well—down to our hairstyles, choice of shampoo, and taste in men.
That being said, these feelings would never blossom into romance; that much was obvious. Not only was Hiromichi my stepbrother, but he was also dating my biological sister. We’d simply gotten carried away yesterday, sucked in by the atmosphere and our youthful curiosity. Yes, that was it.
“Could I be feeling sexually frustrated?” I mumbled to myself. In such a cramped living space, there were... certain things a person couldn’t do. I needed to watch out for that.
I’m probably worrying over nothing.
If Hiromichi had gone any further yesterday, I would have—without a shadow of a doubt—come back to my senses and fought back.
Besides, I despise love, romance, or whatever you want to call it.
Yes, really. I loathed all things that I deemed ridiculous, and love was one of them. It caused people to lose sight of themselves, running around blindly like chickens with their heads cut off. Even worse, it often led to trouble for those around them. No, nothing good ever came from it. Others were free to act like dogs in heat if they wanted to, but I had no intention of taking part. The last thing I wanted was to be the lead role in such an inane soap opera.
As it stood, Hiromichi and I were in the perfect relationship—he acted like the perfect older brother when we were in this apartment, listening and attending to all my selfish requests. Things were fine the way they were.
Still...
“Unfortunately, it looks like I’ve gotten myself wrapped up in this inane soap opera,” I muttered to myself as I plated the stirfry.
There was just one—admittedly major—problem: my sister. Due to a coincidence of astronomical proportions, I’d begun living with Haruka’s boyfriend. Any way you sliced it, this was a difficult situation. We couldn’t let this secret come to light while Hiromichi and I still lived alone, but it would still be a major bombshell to drop once our parents returned in a year. Either way, I knew Haruka wouldn’t be able to remain calm—not after finding out that her boyfriend lives with her identical twin.
If we viewed this as the inane soap opera it really was, it was obvious that our living situation would cause major conflict. Haruka was the star, after all, and I was just the stagehand—an outsider who’d gotten swept up in the revelries of romance. As such, it was my responsibility to set the scene. I wouldn’t have lifted a finger if this had happened to a complete stranger, but Haruka was my sister. I would lend a helping hand for her, though I wouldn’t overextend myself.
I’d loved my long-lost sister ever since we were kids.
As kids, she’d always complained—verging on the brink of tears—whenever I’d received the larger slice of cake or trounced her at a game. Sure, she’d been a handful, but whenever I’d given up my slice of cake or artfully lost on purpose, she wore the most sincere, innocent smile. Seeing that always made me far happier than winning first place or enjoying more dessert.
Yes, more than anything, I’d always loved seeing Haruka’s joyful face. That hadn’t changed, and as someone who cared deeply for her sister, what could I do in this situation?
“Well then...”
Truth be told, there was a foolproof solution for this strange relationship, including the unease it would spawn. Hiromichi—being the dunce that he was—hadn’t realized it, but the problems arising from our living situation could be solved in one fell swoop. And, to make things even better, it could be done as quickly as tomorrow, not in a year.
How, you might ask? It was simple enough.
I arranged the rice, stir fry, soup, and cutlery on the tea table, covered the meal, and left a note beside it. It read, “I’ll be home late tonight. Have dinner without me.”
With all that out of the way, I took out my phone and selected a contact. “Hello, is this Aizawa?” I asked.