Two weeks had passed since Tōyama and Rena first met at Takai’s house, but Tōyama had not visited Takai’s house once since then.
It would have been fine if Rena had been at home and not bothered to speak up, but as expected, neither of them had the courage to be that bold.
After school, Takai asked to go out with Tōyama because she had a book she wanted to borrow, and the two were walking toward the station to go home when they finished borrowing a book from the library.
「Takai, has your sister been home since then?」
「Yeah, I think she goes to college, but she comes home at night and stays home every day.」
「I see…」
The fact that it was harder to go to Takai’s house affected Tōyama’s feelings a little.
「Hey, can I go to Yuuki’s house today?」
「Eh? Right now?」
「Yes, I wanted to see Yuuki’s house once.」
——My sister supposed is to be at home… Well, that’s fine.
「Okay, it’s alright. Although, my sister will be there though.」
「Thank you. I’m sorry for being so selfish.」
Tōyama don’t know why Takai wanted to see the house, but he decided to invite her because it was nothing that his sister would have trouble seeing.
「This is Yuuki’s home…」
Takai gazed at Tōyama’s house and was somehow moved.
「Come on in. The house might be a little messy.」
「I–I’m sorry for intruding.」
When Tōyama opened the front door and invited her in, Takai looked nervous and stepped fearfully into the house.
「Welcome back, Onii-chan! Wait… who are you!?」
Hearing a noise from the front door, his sister Natsuki went to the door to meet him, and was surprised to see that Tōyama was accompanied by a woman she did not know.
「She’s a friend of mine from the same class.」
「Nice meet to you, I’m Takai, his classmate.」
Takai introduces herself shyly as Tōyama introduces her.
「Onii-chan… Is this perhaps, your popular period?」
Certainly, Natsuki has a point, since bringing the opposite sex to one’s home is usually considered more than a simple friendship.
「Natsuki, say hello to Takai first.」
「Nice to meet you, I’m Tōyama Natsuki. Onii-chan is taking care of you.」
「Y–Yes, I’ve been in good hands.」
「Hmmm…」
Naki, having finished her greeting, looks around to inspect Takai from her toes to the top of her head as if to lick her.
「I–Is there something…?」
Takai seems a little jumpy and frightened by Natsuki’s appearance.
「Onii-chan… you brought someone very pretty. The chest is normal but… From the waist to the hips, it’s a 100 points.」
He doesn’t know how many hundred points out of a hundred she scored, but as Natsuki said, Takai had normal-sized breasts, but from her waist to her hips, she was sexy, which was Tōyama’s favorite part of her body.
「Y–You, what are you saying!? Takai, I’m sorry, my sister is a little bit strange.」
This process is the same as when Natsuki first met Uehara, and Tōyama cannot help but feel a sense of deja vu.
「Fufu, you’ve got an interesting little sister.」
Takai did not seem particularly concerned, and Tōyama patted his chest in relief.
「Do you think she’s interesting? I think she’s just sexually harassing you.」
「If Yuuki said it, I think it would be sexual harassment, but if it’s your pretty little sister, it’s okay.」
「Natsuki… You’re getting something out of this, aren’t you?」
Since this would sound like sexual harassment if Uehara or Aizawa said it, this was the moment when being a younger girl proved to be a corresponding advantage.
「That’s because Natsuki is so cute! Takai-senpai has good eyesight, don’t you?」
「Takai, if you praise Natsuki too much, she will get carried away, so please moderate your praise.」
「Yuuki must be very close with his sister… I’m so jealous.」
「That’s correct! Onii-chan and Natsuki are such good relation that we sometimes sleep on the bed together!」
「Natsuki!? Don’t say things that could be misinterpreted!」
「Yuuki… You’re messing up to your own sister too…?」
「Don’t say “up to” like I’m messing with more than one! Takai’s the only one I’ve——」
Tōyama almost said in front of Natsuki that he was groping Takai, but was able to stop himself from saying it just in time.
「A–Anyway, Takai, don’t imagine anything strange. I’m going to go clean up the room, so you sit there and wait.」
Does he think it’s because they hide things they don’t want others to see, he asked Takai to wait for him to check the room.
「Natsuki, offer Takai something to drink. Also, make sure you clear up any misunderstandings.」
「Okay–okay. Well then, Takai-senpai, Natsuki will brew you a nice cup of tea.」
「Ah, Natsuki-san, you don’t have to worry about me.」
「No–no, Takai-senpai is the first girl Onii-chan brought home, so I’m sure I’ll hear a lot about you over tea.」
「The first… Is that so… I’m glad…」
Takai’s cheeks relaxed when she was told that she was the first woman Tōyama had brought home.
「Takai-senpai, here you go.」
As she poured tea from the tea press into a teacup, the mellow aroma of tea softly spread throughout the living room.
「Wow, nice aroma… You even use a tea press to make it more authentic.」
「Right? Natsuki loves black tea, and even chooses and buys the tea leaves!」
「I think I’ll try using a tea press when I make tea at home.」
「I recommend tea presses because unlike tea bags, they not only smell great, they taste great too! Would you like to go see it with me sometime?」
「Yes, I would appreciate it then.」
「Well, let’s register your contact information so we can exchange messages. Please read this QR code with Takai-senpai’s phone.」
After successfully exchanging contact information, Natsuki turned to Takai with a serious look on her face.
「So… Is Takai-senpai dating Onii-chan?」
Takai was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond to the question that was thrown at him so abruptly.
「…I–I was Yuuki’s… We’re not in a …relationship.」
「Hmm… Is that so? For someone like that, you seem very friendly, calling Onii-chan by his first name, don’t you?」
「T–That is… It’s just that it’s easier to call him that way…」
Takai herself understood that she had never told Toyama that she liked him or anything like that, and that they were just drifting along and continuing their relationship as it was, so she could not call herself a girlfriend or a lover.
「Is that so… Then, is Onii-chan’s girlfriend still that person?」
「Ehh!?」
「When I go to school with Onii-chan in the morning, there is a big girl who often joins us on the way to school together. I thought Takai-senpai was his girlfriend, but he says it, and looking at the attitude of the boob alien, it’s obvious that she likes Onii-san, so I thought maybe you do as well.」
「I–Is that so…」
Takai was upset when he realized that the girl with the big boobs was Uehara, just from what he had heard.
「But I don’t feel like they’re in a relationship yet… He have never brought her home, so I guess it’s still a one-way street for the boob alien. But Onii-chan doesn’t seem too full of it. Maybe it’s just a matter of time before they start dating.」
This way of speaking by Natsuki was a nice way to intentionally upset Takai. Since the relationship between Tōyama and Takai was not clear, it was Natsuki’s strategy to shake things up and expose the truth.
「…」
Takai, who had been quietly listening to Natsuki’s story, also felt threatened that Tōyama would eventually be dominated by Uehara if things continued as they were.
「So, maybe there is still a chance, right? Takai-senpai?」
Natsuki obviously turned to Takai, seeing that how is going? She was questioning her.
「I–I’m… not like that…」
The “sex friend” relationship was a stumbling block to Takai and Tōyama becoming lovers.
「Takai-senpai is easy to understand. You like Onii-chan, don’t you?」
Takai silently nodded his head in agreement to Natsuki’s direct question. She could no longer continue to lie to her own heart.
「Well, then, you have to try not to lose. The boob alien was so aggressive and she can really take it, you know?」
Takai seemed to be thinking about something with a serious expression on her face, as if Natsuki’s words had given her something to think about.
「Takai, sorry for waiting. What’s wrong? Both of your faces look mysterious? Ah, did Natsuki said something rude again?」
When Tōyama saw that Takai and Natsuki were not speaking to each other and were silent with serious expressions on their faces, he suspected that his sister had said something rude again.
「No, that’s not true. We were just having a girl’s talk. Right? Natsuki-san?」
「That’s right, even Natsuki can talk seriously. What do you think Natsuki is, Onii-chan? If you’ll excuse me.」
「M–My bad. Natsuki-san is good girl. I’m proud of you.」
「Good.」
Toyama turned her attention to Takai, thinking that Natsuki was a bit of a lax for getting into a good mood with just a little praise.
「Takai, are you ready to go to my room now?」
「Onii-chan, you can’t do naughty things in your room.」
「I–I’m not! Leave Natsuki alone, let’s go to my room now.」
Tōyama, who was actually hoping that he might be able to have a little sex with Takai, felt bad that Natsuki seemed to see through him in so many ways, and he quickly chose to retreat to his room.
「This is Yuuki’s room… I’m expecting there were a lot of books here.」
Takai, who was shown into Tōyama’s room, looked around with a curious look on her face.
「Not as much as Takai’s room, though.」
「I don’t think it’s that different from the number of books Yuuki has.」
「Is it really? Obviously, it seems to me that there are more on Takai…」
「…Hey… do you have ecchi books here?」
「Eh? T–There’s no way I have. Even if there were, there is no way I would leave it in my room when Takai is coming over. Natsuki sometimes comes in and out of my room too.」
「You don’t want your sweet little sister to see that kind of thing. She seems to love you as a brother, so you don’t want her to hate you.」
「What do you mean by doting me…? I sometimes wonder if she’s a bit of a brocon because she’s always so goofy, but…」
「I don’t think your sister is a brocon. I think she is just worried about her brother. But I think that Yuuki is more like a siscon.」
「Ehhh!!? I don’t think that’s…」
「Would Yuuki hate it if your sister had a boyfriend?」
「I hate to think about it, but…I hate it. In the meantime, I’ll interview the guy and see if he’s a suitable boyfriend.」
「Uwaah… I knew it, Yuuki is siscon. Your sister is the type of person who would be happy to congratulate her brother if he got a girlfriend, so she’s not a brat, she just likes him and is worried about him.」
「Is that so…?」
「I am as well… I think I’m a probably a siscon.」
Takai, suddenly coming out.
「…What makes you think that?」
「Ever since she was a little girl, she was good at everything she did, and everyone liked her because she was very affectionate and pretty. All my friends who were close to me were attracted to my sister and left me. At some point, all the boys and girls who wanted to be friends with my sister began to come on to me. Of course, my sister didn’t mean to offend me, and I was as dark as I am now as a child, so it was inevitable…」
Takai said that she felt inferior to her older sister, which caused her to develop a complex.
「But that’s not the case now, is it?」
「Nee-san and I went to the same school in elementary, middle, and high school, but since we were three years apart and didn’t attend middle and high school at the same time, she didn’t really influence me at school, but… When Nee-san was in high school, she would bring her friends and boyfriends over to the house and it was always lively. From Nee-san’s room next door, I could hear, that… I couldn’t relax at home because I could hear her voice doing things with her boyfriend. So I started going to the library to kill time.」
——He understood… So that’s why Takai loves to read and is a resident of the library…
Listening to Takai’s story from her childhood, it was easy to see that her love of reading began as an escape. In search of a place to belong, she ended up in the library.
「You don’t want to hear these stories, right?」
「That’s not true at all. I didn’t know anything about Takai before, but now I feel closer to you because of all the things you told me, and that makes me a little happy.」
「But it wasn’t even interesting, was it? It’s just a story about how I felt inferior to my sister.」
「Still. Now I know one more thing about Takai. That doesn’t mean I can do anything for Takai, but…」
Tōyama told Takai his true feelings as they were.
「…I was also happy to be introduced to Yuuki today by your sister and to be able to touch Yuuki, whom I had never seen before. I want to touch you more and get to know you.」
Takai turned a feverish expression on Tōyama and closed her eyes. It was immediately clear that she was urging Tōyama to kiss her. Tōyama responded by bringing his face to Takai’s lips.
「Takai…」
「Onii-chan! I’ve brought you some tea!」
Without knocking, Natsuki opened the door to the room just as Takai’s lips touched or did not touch it.
「N–Natsuki!? I think I told you to knock before entering the room!」
「Ahh— I’m sorry, I mean… just now, didn’t you just try to kiss her? I thought I said no naughty stuff?」
Apparently, he had been seen perfectly about to kiss her.
「T–There’s no way that’s true! Right, Takai?」
「Y–Yeah… Natsuki-san, we didn’t do anything.」
「Well… if Takai-senpai says so, I’ll trust that… But you know what… You two aren’t dating, are you? But you seemed to have a very intimate atmosphere, aren’t you?」
「M–Maybe it’s just Natsuki imagining things.」
It seems that Natsuki has already found out that he and Takai are more than friends, but he decided to continue deceiving her.
「Well, it sounds like you have a lot going on, and I’m not going to ask any more questions.」
「I would appreciate it if you would.」
「Well then, Takai-senpai, please take your time.」
Natsuki left the room with a grin on her face. Tōyama wished she had left them alone if she was that attentive.
「I guess, we couldn’t do it, even in my room.」
「…I agree.」
Of course, they knew there was no way they could finish, but they chuckled a little ruefully, hoping they could at least make out.
「Your sister, she still cares to you as her brother. I take back what I said earlier about her not being a brocon. I still guess your sister might be a brocon personality… Fufu.」
「I don’t know if I should be happy about that.」
「I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that. You siscon of a brother!」
Takai smiled with a smile of genuine enjoyment.
After spending some time in Tōyama’s room, it was time for Takai to return home, and when they both went to the front door, Natsuki was waiting for them.
「Takai-senpai, are you going home already? Okaa-san will be home in a little while, so you can stay until then. I’d rather you eat dinner here.」
「Natsyki, don’t be unreasonable. Takai has things to do at home too.」
「I’m sorry for having me invited to dinner, but I have to leave because I have to go home and get ready for dinner.」
「Does Takai-senpai cooks her dinner?」
「Yes. My sister is home these days, so we take turns cooking.」
「I see. Next time, I would like to try the food prepared by Takai-senpai!」
Naki seemed to have become friends with Takai in the short time that Toyama spent cleaning up his room, and she seemed to miss him, inviting him to dinner and asking him to eat her homemade cooking.
「Natsuki, you seem to be getting along with Takai quite well, but don’t embarrass her.」
「Eh— Does Onii-chan not want to eat Takai-senpai’s home-cooked food?」
「No, well, I’d like to eat it, but…（I mean, I’ve eaten hers before.）」
「Eh? What did you say, Onii-chan?」
She think she heard him a bit when he blurted out that he had eaten a few oopsies.
「N–No, there’s nothing. Natsuki is saying a lot of things, but Takai just needs to listen half-heartedly.」
「Hey Onii-chan, that’s terrible! I demand that you be nice to your sweet little sister!」
「Takai, don’t really worry about Natsuki because it happens all the time, and you can go home.」
Natsuki acted the same as when she was alone with Tōyama. Natsuki wears a little skin when others are present, but she may have become so close to Takai that she does not need to wear it. The only time Natsuki acts this way is in front of Uehara and Okita.
「You two are really close siblings… I’m envious…」
Takai may really want to get along with her sister, but past events and complexes may not make it so easy.
「Takai-senpai! Looks like you won’t be able to make it today, but next time, have dinner with us!」
「Thank you very much, Natsuki-san, for your time today.」
「Okay, see you! Oh, and next time, don’t call me “san” and don’t use honorifics!」
「Okay, I understand. Let’s play again, Natsuki-chan.」
Tōyama offered to take her to the station, but Takai refused, saying that the sun had not set yet and she would be fine.
Takai bid them farewell and left the Toyama household.
「Onii-chan, Takai-senpai was cute and nice.」
After seeing her off outside the front door, Natsuki returned to the living room and shared her impressions of Takai.
「Well, I guess…」
「So, then… Boo——I mean, Is it Uehara-senpai or Takai-senpai?」
Natsuki asked him simply who he would choose, Takai or Uehara.
「…I don’t know.」
「Hah!? So you’re saying you like them both?」
「Well, maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be…」
「Haaahh!!? That’s worse than indecision. That’s because they both have great personalities and they’re both pretty, so it’s painfully obvious that you can’t choose… At this rate, you’re a two-timing scumbag!」
There was no room to refute with Natsuki’s opinion. It was a relief that he had a physical relationship with Takai but nothing with Uehara yet. However, there is no doubt that they are weighing the two against each other, and it still the worst.
「Well, I’m aware that I’m the worst… I can’t choose what I can’t choose.」
「Earlier, Onii-chan tried to kiss her in your room, even though you were fooling around, right? You and Takai-senpai have already done it, right?」
It seems that he was still caught trying to kiss Takai in his room.
「W–Well, at least just a kiss.」
「I–Is that so…? Then, what about Uehara-senpai?」
「No… I did nothing with Uehara-san.——Ah… come to think of it, she kissed me on the cheek.」
「O–Okay… I know it’s hard to judge, but… if it’s agreed upon by both of you, then it’s Takai-senpai.」
「It’s not that simple of a problem.」
「Is it really!? Natsuki doesn’t know if you can’t make up your mind even though you’ve kissed her!」
「Maybe Natsuki will understand when she’s a little older.」
「In the end, you couldn’t choose either of them. You’re rejected by both of them…」
「Don’t say something sinister…」
「But isn’t it your own fault for being indecisive?」
「Well, I know that, but…」
「You don’t know, I’m not Onii-chan myself… but choose without regret. You can’t be with two people at the same time, okay?」
In the common sense of the world, Natsuki has a point. However, Tōyama, Takai, and Uehara are trying to step outside the box. However, they were not aware of it.
「Yes, I know that well..」
Yes, after all, no matter what the outside world says, only yourself can make the decision.