“Douman! Seiman!” both of them started to call.
The two of them were dancing around and yelling something; he couldn’t tell whether it was an incantation or song. It was as if they were onmyouji, or exorcists, from somewhere.
It was a bizarre, or perhaps even hellish, scene. Kyouhei’s beloved peace and normalcy were now about as far as the Pleiades were from Earth.
H-Hang in there, Kyouhei told himself, be an elder brother, unmoved by all! You can’t scold your little sister over every little thing!
Kyouhei seemed to be rather mistaken in a few ways, but well, there wasn’t anyone to call him on his thoughts.
“Calm down, you two. I don’t know what’s gotten into both of you, but I’m not possessed at all. I mean, look at how normal I am!” Kyouhei proclaimed with a cheerful smile, spreading his arms wide.
Rather than rejoice, though, Pamil and Sanae both grew fearful, huddling up and whispering to each other.
“Ngh, Sanae, it’s not working at all. What do we do?” Pamil asked.
“O-Oh no... it’s a really strong spirit...”
After some more discussion, Pamil stepped forward. “It’s come to this... It might be dangerous, but—”
She thrust forth her pale hands, and Kyouhei began to panic. “Wa... Wait, Pam—”
“Let’s go! Royal Fir—I mean, Exorcism Fiiiiiirrrrrreeee!!”
Kyouhei screamed, flinging himself away immediately.
A vortex of fire issued forth from her pale hands and engulfed the spot where Kyouhei had just been standing, blasting heat out. The trash he’d left behind instantly started to warp and melt from the heat, and the mountain of trash behind it began to burn as well.
Kyouhei watched it, dumbfounded.
With this absurd sight before him...
Hang in there, you’re her brother, right?! Gently... Gently tell her to stop...
“Like hell I can do thaaaaat!!”
His patience had its limits.
Kyouhei rejected his inner monologue with a yell, turning to Pamil. He wasn’t open-minded enough to be calm and gentle after that heat.
“Are you trying to burn me alive?! You burnt the school’s stuff as well; what are you thinking?!” Kyouhei ranted, having completely given up on playing brother amongst the acrid stench of burning plastic.
“What do you mean? Exorcism Fire is non-lethal! It’s a holy fire that only burns evil!”
“The trash is burning!”
“Indeed, it must be evil trash.”
“Like hell it is! What even decides if it’s holy or evil?!”
“That is, of course, my per...” Pamil began one of her usual lines, but then stopped. “Onii-chan... you’re back to sanity?”
“I was sane to begin with! Why’d you think I was possessed?”
“You were acting weird,” she answered decisively.
“How?! I was just being a wonderful brother!”
“Hmm, you were?!”
“Um, Senpai,” Sanae interjected timidly, “because you changed so suddenly, Pamil-chan was worried... T-Then... I suggested an exorcism... I’m sorry...”
An unhappy expression made its way across his face; he more or less got what had gone on. “You prefer me when I’m shouting and scolding you?”
Kyouhei wasn’t happy; it felt like his efforts to be brotherly had been spat on, and his irritation made its way into his voice.
But...
“Whether I prefer it or not, that’s you,” Pamil said blankly, looking up at him. “I know that, but you were acting differently, and it made me uneasy.”
...Ah, I see...
For better or worse, their relationship wasn’t normal, that was an inescapable truth. Therefore, gathering people’s knowledge and opinions to act as the ‘ideal brother’ made him seem unnatural and artificial... that was why Pamil had been uneasy.
He was indeed being brotherly... but Kyouhei and Pamil needed to define their own relationship, there was no easy how-to for it.
So...
He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Ahh, I’ll quit it.”
“Wha...?”
“I mean, things might look weird to other people... but this is our normal, right?”
“Hmmm?”
“I shouldn’t force weird labels onto things. As long as things are going well... Yeah,” Kyouhei monologued as he stretched.
Pamil had tilted her head in utter confusion. Seeing her familiar, adorable bird-like action, Kyouhei smiled slightly before addressing her: “Doesn’t matter, I was talking to myself. Sorry to get you wrapped up in this, Sanae-san.”
“N-Not at all...! I’m completely fine!” Sanae insisted, shaking her head fast enough that it looked like it might fall off.
“...Anyway, it’s all Dad’s fault.”
It had all gotten out of hand because of Shuuhei’s pointless provocation.
Once he got home, Kyouhei would make him remove the cameras and bugs, and then give him a beating, this he vowed.