Chapter 2.3

There was some progress.

In the past week, day or night, I tried to call out to her without any particular reason. But, it would look suspicious to do this every day, so I just took a day off.

Of course, Akari never replied to me. Not even once.

But, “the notes” tells a different story. Akari is troubled, and the evidence is that since the first day I called out to her, her sentences have become funny.

In short, this experiment was somewhat successful, though there is still no visible change.

That’s all.

“This situation is pretty weird. If this continues, nothing will change.”

Nanami replied.

I considerably changed the information and discussed it with her. Since I can’t tell Nanami about “the note”, as a result, I only tell her that I kept saying hello to her and I’m slowly starting to see some reactions.

“Because if you don’t speak in the first place, you won’t even have a decent conversation …”

We can’t get closer if we don’t even talk.

If I continue to greet her, perhaps there is a possibility that Akari might respond, but I think it would waste too much time.

It’ll be meaningless if I don’t get the results before she starts to suspect me.

”So… let’s see. How about if I step in?”

“Mediate?”

“Yeah, I’ll help you directly. I said this before, remember? We’ll go with that.”

“Ah, this weekend?”

“Yup.”

Nanami laughs while waving her hands, and says, “Well, there’s no guarantee it will work.”

I appreciate the thought, but I’m honestly worried… It’s my fault because I’m hiding the truth, but she’s right, for us siblings to get along we need help from a third party.

“Well, we need new ideas, and try different actions. We’ll talk again after school, just wait for me.”

After saying that, Nanami leaves.

Guess I’ll leave it up to her.

“Then, let’s go to class now.”

.

.

.

As she said, Nanami indeed called out to me after school.

Still, she didn’t tell me what she was going to do and got ready to leave.

“You’re going home… I thought you were going to help me out?”

When I asked her that, she replies

“Of course I’ll help you. Let’s go to your place.”

As a matter of course, Nanami uttered this.

“My place?… Wait! What are you gonna do, Nanami?”

“I’m still thinking about it, but is there a problem?”

“No…”

No, no, no, that’s very bad.

It’ll get very bad if someone comes into my room.

After all, My room is still being closely monitored by surveillance cameras.

It’s impossible to let anyone in such a room… If by any chance Nanami finds out about the hidden cameras, it’ll get very troublesome.

And, then, there’s a microphone as well.

If we discuss “The plan to get along with Akari” in my room, Akari will learn about this and it’ll be game over.

“Now that you mentioned this, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to your room… when was the last time… ah! Since elementary school, right?”

That’s right, I was careful not to invite Nanami to my house.

“The thing is, Nanami… are you really going to come? Look, there are other options for you to help us out too…”

I desperately try to find an excuse to stop her.

But Nanami ignores me and continues.

“Hmm, what did you say? Come on, let’s go!”

I can’t go, my room is off-limits to strangers.

On the way to our home, I tried to make an effort to divert Nanami’s attention, but it was all for nothing. The next thing I knew, I had arrived at her home.

We stopped by Nanami’s house, as she had to sort out some things, and ended up coming back within five minutes. This didn’t even give me time to think of a viable plan.

Well, arriving at Nanami’s house is the same as coming to my house, because we’re neighbors.

”Hm? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

She gives me a suspicious look.

”What? Could it be that you’re hiding something you don’t want me to see?”

She grinned.

By the thing she meant is the so-called “R-18” stuff. Which most of the high school boys want to hide.

I wholeheartedly agree that it was still better to be in a situation where they were hiding an erotic book.

But now that I’ve come this far, it can’t be helped.

So, I have to make sure that Nanami doesn’t find out about the surveillance cameras and microphones at all costs.

“Sorry to bother you.”

When I opened the front door and checked the shoe rack, I didn’t see any of Akari’s loafers. Perhaps she hadn’t come home yet.

I checked the living room to be sure, but I couldn’t see my mother, let alone Akari. It seems that we are the only ones in this house right now.

“Your room is still upstairs?”

“… Yes, it hasn’t changed.”

“Okie!”

She said as she quickly climbed up the stairs.

Nothing is “Okie” for me.

Or rather, I feel that the original purpose of cooperating with me has been switched to checking out my room. That’s how quick Nanami thinks.

”It’s been a while since I’ve been in here.”

I open the door and look around the room.

A study desk, a bed, a bookcase… Oh, wait a minute. That bookcase, I don’t want her to look at it too much because there’s a camera set up on it.

But Nanami took a quick look at them.

“Sigh…It’s just a normal room.”

She muttered boringly.

“I’ve told you, there’s nothing there ……. I didn’t want to invite too many people over simply because it’s next door to Akari’s room.”

“Huh, so the next to it is still Akari’s room.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think she’s home yet.”

“I see”, and Nanami glanced at the wall and sat down on the bed.

Ah, that’s…

“…Nanami, why don’t you sit over here instead ?”

”What? I don’t mind. But… Yusuke, you don’t want me to sit on your bed?”

“Uh, kinda, I guess.”

That’s the perfect place from which she could find out about the camera hidden inside the clock.

I didn’t check the footage with my own eyes, so I don’t know for sure, but Akari wrote in her notebook that among the cameras installed in this room, that position provides the most 'spectacular” footage.

It’s… what’s the best footage to watch. Is my room some kind of playground?

“So, Nanami…”

However, I don’t have time to waste.

I don’t know when Akari will return, so I have to ask her about the details of her plan before then.

”You said you were going to help me, but what exactly are you going to do?”

“Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t explained it to you yet. But even if I say that this strategy is not likely to be executed, because Akari-chan has not come back yet.”

“What do you mean? Why Akari?”

“You want to speak with Akari, right? Well, it won’t happen without her.”

“First of all. Yusuke, do you know why you’re being ignored by Akari-chan?”

“That’s because she doesn’t like me, right?”

Ignore the actual reason.

“Yeah, that. So, then tell me, do you know why Yusuke is disliked by Akari-chan?”

“… As I said before if I knew that, I wouldn’t have a hard time. I’m worried about it.”

When I told her, she said, “There it is!”

And continues,

“I know. Yusuke and Akari-chan were close when they were little. By the time we were in junior high school, you had grown apart from Akari, so I don’t really know much about her after that, but at least we weren’t close in the past.”

”Back in elementary school, or… I’m pretty sure I was talking normally with Akari back then, too.”

“So, when Yusuke and Akari-chan were in junior high school, Akari suddenly started to distance herself from you. But isn’t that strange?”

“Strange?”

“There must be a reason why the sister who loved her brother so much suddenly became distant without any sign.”

Nanami continues,

“It should be puberty, but isn’t that a long time to be…? I think there’s a family reason that you don’t know.”

Nanami’s reasoning was really spot on.

I don’t know on what basis she is saying this, but at least it’s not a mistake.

Akari’s stubborn attitude is for a good reason. She’s right that she doesn’t simply dislike me.

…I mean, isn’t this storyline a little wrong?

And as I was continuing to question and answer with Nanami, I heard a voice from the first floor.

“Oh. Maybe Akari-chan is back home?”

“…I don’t know, it could be my mother.”

Or rather, I want it to be my mother. In fact, it’s even better if Akari doesn’t come back right now.

”Either way, we need to check it out. Yusuke, can you go and see?”

”… Hm. Okay, I’ll go.”

I left very unenthusiastically.

My footsteps down the stairs were awfully heavy, and the door to the living room felt massive as if it was made of steel.

“…..”

When I opened the door, it wasn’t my mother, but Akari.

She was surprised when the door suddenly opened and her gaze shifted to this side.

But, as usual, when she noticed my presence, she turned her eyes to the kitchen.

”Ah, Akari…”

I can’t go back to my room without saying anything, since it’s Akari who came back.

For now, I have to tell her the most important thing at present.

“Actually… Nanami is here and right now she’s in my room.”

“…?!”

*Gasp*

Akari stopped, she was going to the kitchen, but now she stopped with a snap and turned around to look at me with tremendous momentum.

Akari, who is always calm and does not show any impatience, now is looking at me with a panicked expression.

“What happened…?”

I can’t help but get surprised.

“… Ha!”

However, she took a deep breath, and quickly regained her usual calmness, and turned away.

Looking back at the Kabedon incident the other day, it seems that Akari is the type of person whose impatience shows in her attitude. She seems to be vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances.

“So, I’m really sorry for the sudden intrusion. I have to call her now, she wants to talk.”

“Ah, it’s Akari-chan! Long time no see!”

As I was asking Akari, the person of the topic came into the living room.

”… Hi, it’s been a while.”

Nanami looked at me and turned again to reply. Although Akari had been stubbornly keeping her mouth shut when I talked, but, it seems that this was not the case with Nanami.

She showed the same poker face as usual and looked at Nanami again.

”It’s been a long time since the three of us got together like this. Since I became a junior high school student, I’ve become estranged from Akari-chan…”

Nanami said so, but honestly, I have never seen them getting along with each other.

This is because until now, Akari has never wanted to get along with Nanami. It seems that she is not on good terms with her.

Obviously… I’m the reason.

It seems that Nanami is “the greatest enemy” to Akari. I saw it in “the note” several times.

Well, the girl who is closest to me is and always has been Nanami…

“… So, Haruse-san. You want to talk to me about something, right?”

Akari asked Nanami, who didn’t try to talk about her business.

By the way, even though she said that she would cooperate, I hadn’t heard the important content yet.

”Hey, Akari-chan. Would you like to go on a date with Yusuke and me, just the three of us?”

“…Eh?”