The day after I came back from my dadâs parentâs house, I contacted everyone to give them some gifts.
Takanashi-san and Kiniwa-san said they could come to my house right away, but Yanomiya-san was on her way back to her fatherâs family, and the Yurizono sisters were not in Japan.
Yanomiya-san would be back in two days.
The Yurizono sisters were meeting their parents overseas and would be back in three days, Iris-san told us.
They said that their parents were busy people and traveled all over the world, but meeting up with them overseas was too big a scale.
Maybe the Yurizono family is even bigger than I thought.
Anyway, everyone will be here in three days.
But itâs hard to get together as soon as you get back. Especially the Yurizono sisters, they might have jet lag or something.
So we decided to gather at my house five days later.
â
âThis is Takanashi-san, and this is Kiniwa-san. And Iris-san and Arisu-chan.â
I lay out the souvenirs on the table in the living room.
I like ducks, but Takanashi-san misunderstood me, so I bought chick handkerchiefs for everyone.
âThe manager of that store was a man who knew what he was doingâ.
The store manager told me. âOur chickens are still chicks when they grow upâ, he said.
The cuteness of a chick is the most powerful. But when they grow up, they turn into chickens. But if they grow up to be chicks, then chicks are the best.
But ducks are cute, too.
âHey, onee-chan!â
The door to the living room opened and Alice walked in.
âHehe, what do you think?â
Alice smiled shyly and spun around on the spot.
âCute!â
I exclaimed.
The black t-shirt that Alice is wearing has a yellow duck face on it.
It was a T-shirt that Kanau-kun had bought for her at a store specializing in ducks.
âCome here! Come here, Alice!â
I stood up and held out my hands, shouting at the top of my voice.
âIâm so glad you bought me this T-shirt!â
Alice ran out of the room, screaming, and hugged me. I hugged her tightly.
She was wearing a duck t-shirt, which was too cute.
âHappy.â
âIâm happy.â
âYeah, Iâm happy.â
âIâm happy.â
âThank you, Kanau-kun.
âI have to thank Kanau-kun for this.â
Alice mumbles as she hugs me, and I answer her.
When she was with Kanau-kun, she was very rivalrous, but now that sheâs back, she often expresses her gratitude to Kanau-kun.
Sheâs such a tsundere.
And then the intercom rang.
It seems that Takanashi-san and her friends have arrived.
âIâll go!â
With that, Alice left me and ran towards the entrance.
Haahh, Alice in a duck T-shirt is too strong.
â
Alice comes into the living room. Takanashi-san came in after her.
âOh, itâs Amane, the real Amane. âŚâŚâ
As soon as she looked at me, Takanashi-san muttered, her eyes watering.
The real thing, huh? Was there a fake?
âRin-chan, itâs been a while since Iâve seen you and Iâm really impressed.â
Kiniwa-san came into the living room, smiling and laughing.
Oh, I thought you had a fake.
âOoooh!â
The next person to enter the living room was Yanomiya-san, who greeted me with a cheerful smile, just like Yanomiya-san.
âHuh?â
I couldnât help but exclaim.
Yanomiya-san, who was supposed to be pale, was tanned to a deep brown.
âKuu-chan has turned into a gal!â
What a mess. Yanomiya-san, the purest and innocent of the group, has turned into a gal.
Is this the magic of summer vacation?
But the gal-ish Yanomiya-san is cute in her way.
âKuu-chanâs father lives in a port town. Thatâs how she got her tan.â
âWhen I held the sea cucumber, something came out and it was fun!â
Kiniwa-san raised her voice, followed by Yanomiya-san.
Oh, I must have gotten a sunburn from playing in the ocean. And it looks like she was playing with sea cucumbers.
Iâm glad she didnât turn into a gal.
âHello.â
Iris-san came into the living room as I greeted her. Followed byââ.
âHuh?â
Yurizono-san, who was supposed to come in after her, didnât come in.
âWhereâs Arisu-chan?â
When I asked Iris-san, she smiled as if she was troubled.
âItâs âŚâŚ.â
Iris-san smiled but looked serious.
Did something happen to Yurizono-san?
âIt seems that she was so excited to see Amane-san that she couldnât sleep at all last nightâŚâŚ She fell asleep with a fever.â
I couldnât help but stare at Iris-san as she spoke with a troubled face.
She said she was having so much fun that she couldnât sleep and got a fever, like a schoolgirl the day before a field trip.
âSo, Iâm sorry, but I think Iâll go home early.â
After saying that, Iris-san approached me and held out the paper bag she was holding in her hand to me.
âItâs not much, but itâs a souvenir.â
Boring stuff. I had a bad feeling about that word.
No, no, no, my sister would probably bring something boring, but Iâm sure sheâll be fine.
With that in mind, I took out what was in the bag.
It was a black T-shirt. On the t-shirt, in white letters
The words ânaked apronâ were written in white letters.
A Japanese t-shirt that foreigners might like.
But why did you choose to wear a naked apron?
And what am I supposed to do with it?
How can I wear something like this?
âItâs a light joke.â
While they were all staring at her, Iris-san raised her voice with a giggle.
Oh, sheâs Yurizono-sanâs sister after all.
âThis is the real souvenir.â
Then Iris-san held out another paper bag to me.
I took the bag with caution and looked inside.
âItâs chocolate.â
With a chuckle, she handed the same paper bag to everyone else.
I wondered if the contents were chocolate.
I heard it was a Japanese t-shirt that said something like âChocolateâ.
Iris-san had to leave as soon as she arrived because she was worried about Yurizono-san, who was sick in bed with a fever.
Everyone seemed to have prepared souvenirs, so I gave Iris-san a gift and I also gave her two chick handkerchiefs.
Iris-san was overjoyed to receive souvenirs from everyone.
â
I canât believe that everyone came with souvenirs, even though we didnât promise to bring any.
So, even though Iris-san had left, we all exchanged souvenirs.
Takanashi-san home seems to be her familyâs home now, so she didnât seem to have gone anywhere in particular. But she went to the grocery store and bought some cute things and brought them to me.
Hairpins, hair elastics for tying her hair, a hand mirror, and so on.
Yanomiya-san brought a lot of seashells and some vinegared sea cucumber.
The shells look like they were picked up in the ocean, but the sea cucumber vinegar isâŚâŚ.
Iâm a little afraid to eat it.
And then there was Kiniwa-san.
What Kiniwa-san brought was pudding.
But it wasnât just any pudding. It was a pudding in the shape of a boob.
She obviously trying to be funny, but I couldnât get into it even if I wanted to.
When you say Kiniwa-san, you mean boobs, right? Hahaha!
You canât say that, can you?
âWow, a chick! Itâs so cute!â
Takanashi-san gazed at the chick handkerchief I had given her and Alice as a souvenir, her cheeks dyed with happiness.
âItâs so cute!
And then there was Yanomiya-san, who was alone and anxious.
I hadnât given her a handkerchief.
The reason for this is because I have a special gift for her.
She loves insects, so I was looking for something related to insects, but unfortunately, I couldnât find anything.
However, on the way back from my fatherâs house, Kanau-kun gave me something.
It was a hat with an appliquĂŠ of a deformed stag beetle and a pin badge that looked like a stag beetle or a beetle.
Apparently, the university Kanau-kun attends has a club that makes accessories and decorations.
When he found out that I was looking for something insect-related, he asked an acquaintance who was in the club to help him.
The result was a hat and a pin badge.
He gave it to me when I left.
I canât thank you enough, Kanau-kun. And also to the person who made the hat and pin.
Thatâs whyââ.
âHere, souvenirs for Kuu-chan.â
I gave the hat and pin badge to Yanomiya-san, who was a bit nervous because she was the only one who didnât get a souvenir.
Yanomiya-san, who had been looking at me blankly, said.
âAaahhhh!â
In an instant, she turned bright red and hugged the hat and pin while screaming.
âGreat! With this, Iâm a professional insect hunter! Thank you, Amane and Alice!â
Yanomiya-san, who was about to cry, or almost crying already, thanked me and Alice.
Iâm glad youâre happy, but I didnât make the hat or the pin badge. I didnât buy the handkerchief either.
Kanau told me to tell her that I bought them myself, but I still felt bad about not telling her.
âMy relative onii-chan made it for me.â
I explained to Yanomiya-san.
âThe handkerchief was also bought by my relativeâs onii-chan.â
I continued to explain to Takanashi-san and Kiniwa-san.
âMy relativeâs âŚâŚ âonii-chanâ.â
A shivering Takanashi-san spoke up.
âHis name is Kanau-kun, and heâs a very kind and dependable onii-chan.â
When I explained this, Takanashi-san face somehow became grim and sweat started to run down Kiniwa-sanâs cheeks.
Huh? It seems like Takanashi-san is angryâŚâŚ?
Maybe youâre mistaken about something?
âYour great onii-chan!ăI wish I could meet you and thank you!â
Yanomiya-san, who was hugging her hat and pin, shouted, eyes shining.
Yanomiya-san seemed to have accepted my words with open arms.
The problem isââ
Takanashi-san, who is staring at me with a gaze, and Kiniwa-san, who has a twitching smile in her eyes.
Clearly, they have misunderstood me.
âRin-chan, donât worry, Kanau-kun isnât like that.â
Alice, who had been silent until then, spoke to Takanashi-san.
âHmm, well, if thatâs what Alice says, I donât think thereâs anything to worry about.â
Takanashi-san muttered with a gaze.
What is worry? What are you worried about?
Takanashi-san suspects that Kanade and I have a relationship.
Iâm a woman now, but the other person is a relative.
âHey Alice-chan, do you have a picture of this Kanau-kun guy?â
âAh, no, thatâs a bitâŚâŚâ
Alice stammered in response to Takanashi-sanâs question.
âCanât you show me?â
âI canât show you, and I donât think you should see it.â
At Takanashi-san question, Alice, who had turned her face away, muttered.
If you say it like that, it will make people suspect you even more.
âI have a picture. I have it as a standby on my phone.â
Then I held out my phone to Takanashi-san.
âAh, onee-chan, donâtâââ
Alice tried to take my phone from me, but Takanashi-san quickly snatched it away before she could.
What is she in such a hurry about?
ââŚâŚ the standby?â
Muttering, Takanashi-san looked at the screen of my phone. Kiniwa-san was also looking at it from the side.
I have a picture of Kanau-kun, Iori-chan, Mizuki-chan, Mizuho-chan, me, and Alice from the fireworks party at Kanau-kun house as my standby.
ââŚâŚ hi!â
Ms. Takanashi, who was staring at the screen of her phone, shouted slightly, and Ms. Sunaniwaâs face twitched.
âAaaaahhhhhhhhhh! Amane got a boyfrienddddddddddd!â
Takanashi-san screams while crying, and Kiniwa-san collapses with a thump.
âThatâs why I told you not to look at itâŚâŚâ
The jittery, muttering Alice let out a sigh.
ââOh, you got a boyfriend! Congratulations Amane! You have nothing to worry about if itâs the guy you chose!â
Yanomiya-san congratulates me while Takanashi-sanâs scream echoes in the background.
No, weâre just related.
After that, Takanashi-san couldnât stop crying, and Kiniwa-san looked like her soul had left her body.
Thereâs no way Iâm going to have a boyfriend. After all, Iâm a man at heart.