X X X
I was kissing Haruka. At first, I thought I must be asleep and that the remnants of the best day of my life must have conjured up a wonderful dream. But all too soon I noticed that something was wrong—I’d never felt anything remotely like this. I mean, the passion in this kiss could melt my very lips. Was it even possible for me to dream of something I’d never experienced?
Wait, this is real, isn’t it?!
“What the hell?!”
I pushed Haruka off of me in a panic.
No, this isn’t Haruka.
I hadn’t been able to tell for a split second, but the girl in front of me was Shigure. Her hair and clothes were sopping wet.
“Good morning, Big Bro,” she greeted me.
“Sh-Shigure?! What the hell were you doing just now?!”
“I should have guessed you’d wake up the second time. Oh well, it’s not like it makes any difference to me.”
Did she just say “the second time”?! No, the number doesn’t matter!
“Y-You just k-kissed me, didn’t you?!” I stammered. “Wh-Why?!”
“There’s only one reason to ever kiss someone—because you like them. Didn’t I say so before? ‘Kiss the girl you like, not me.’ Well, I’m kissing the boy I like.”
“Wh-What?! You like me?! That can’t be—”
“Oh, shut up already,” she commanded. Then, a second kiss—no, a third—forcibly did the job for me.
“Sh-Shigure, if this is one of your sick jokes again...” I trailed off.
“I like you.”
“I’m trying to tell you—”
“I like you so much.”
“C’mon, cut that—”
“I like you more than you’ll ever know. “
Each time she professed her feelings, she kissed me. Shigure’s emotions—her passion, her love—permeated from her burning lips and washed over my entire body. It caused my body to freeze up, as if it were some sort of deadly substance. A deep affection welled up in Shigure’s eyes, which threatened to spill out in the form of tears at any moment. Those eyes perceived, ensnared, and completely overwhelmed me. She was looking at me and me alone.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I like you so much,” she whispered. “You’re my incredibly kind older brother. I don’t mind if you keep dating Haruka. I don’t even care if you two get married and have a family. I don’t need any of those things—after all, I don’t want to make Haruka sad, and I know how worthless the façade of “family” is. It’s not like those bonds are real, no matter what people say. All I want is for you to keep me in the deepest reaches of your heart from here on out. That’ll be enough for me. So... do you want to have a fling with me?”
I’d heard similar words at some point in the past. Yet even so...
“This time, I’m not joking,” she assured me.
Yeah... I know.
Shigure would never look at me like that—would never kiss me like that—as a joke. Even a dunce like me, who thought women were from Venus, could tell how serious she was. Shigure ever so gently placed her hand on my cheek and pressed her lips to mine once again. I’d lost track of how many times we’d done this by now, but unlike her indulgent kisses from earlier, this one was gentle.
I could have resisted this time and shoved her away. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Was I paralyzed by the spontaneity of the event? Had the sheer enormity of Shigure’s emotions conquered me? I didn’t know. I was only able to say one thing for certain: the deadly poison of love—detestable in its sweetness—had snaked its way into my veins.
That was why I kissed Shigure in return. A sweet, gentle, and passionate feeling eroded all thought. I’d already forgotten the sensation of Haruka’s kiss, which I’d expected and even vowed to remember forever.
On the same day as my first kiss with my most beloved Haruka, I also kissed my girlfriend’s little sister.