Chapter 3.2

“So you’re saying that Akari has feelings for me, but she’s holding back because I’m her brother?”

“Well, I think it’s fair to say that. If she keeps her distance, only then she can control her emotions towards you. And this explains why she was acting like that.”

…!!

I wonder if Nanami knew more than that. She said, “Akari likes her brother as a man.”

But Nanami didn’t realize that Akari’s love for me was so twisted that she even had planned to imprison me in the future.

If Nanami was aware of it then this atmosphere would be even more tense.

“If that’s true, then what am I supposed to do? I can’t just back down right after making a promise with my acquaintance.”

Since Nanami was getting to the root of the real problem, I have to cover it with more lies. I don’t wanna increase her suspicions, so I’ll play smoothly.

“I just came up with a solution, but…”

Nanami looked at me as if she’s looking deep into the future.

“Rather than using force to make her give up, don’t you think it would be better if something happens and she willingly gives up on her own?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“I think it would be best if you just tell Akari-chan to give up, but that would be impossible.”

“It’s just hypothetical… And if that’s really the case, I agree the best thing would be if she gave up on her own. I would like to fix it as soon as possible.”

“If that’s what you think then…why don’t you just get a girlfriend, Yusuke?”

“Eh?”

The sudden suggestion caused my voice to leak out.

“If you have a girlfriend, then Akari-chan would give up on you. If the person she likes had a boyfriend or girlfriend, I think that’d be enough to give up… What do you think?”

… So, what about that?

Certainly it’s a good theory. But… when it comes to Akari, it doesn’t seem to make any sense.

Well, due to lack of information, Nanami’s reasoning is 50/50.

“I know what you are trying to say, but… I can’t, because I don’t have anyone to date.”

“You do!”

“Huh? Where?”

“I’m saying that you should…go out with me because…”

The tone of her voice gradually decreased. But my ears didn’t miss a word of what she had said.

“I…with you? What?”

“Would you hate it if it’s me?”

Nanami looked at me sheepishly.

It’s the first time I’ve seen her like this. But, I guess she’s cute.

“It’s not that… It’s just that, I was surprised with the bomb you just dropped. Will you be fine with this?”

After my reply, Nanami sighed heavily.

“Huh… I thought you were dumb, but I didn’t expect this much…”

“Dumb… Me?”

“Who else is here?”

I was stunned by her remark.

And the way she put it, it’s like…

“It sounds like you like me …”

“… I mean, you said it right now.”

…Huh?

“Wait… you’re not joking right?”

“Do you think it’s some kind of joke?”

There was sheer determination in her eyes.

It doesn’t look like she’s joking.

“I’m sorry I’m saying this all of a sudden. It’s annoying, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not.”

If you’d ask me, she wasn’t annoying at all.

I’m a man. And I couldn’t help but feel happy if my friend confessed her feelings for me. But, whether or not to accept this confession is another matter.

It’s not that I hate Nanami. I like her.

However, I like her as a friend… To be honest, I’ve never seen her as a girl before. And then there’s Akari.

I can’t be in a relationship until I stop Akari’s plan at least…

“——But you know.”

Nanami broke the silence for me who had trouble answering.

“It’s not that I want an answer right now, it’s just that I want you to take your time and think about it…”

“But… that’ll be…”

“That’s fine, I want to do it.”

Nanami wanted to ‘hold off on answering her confession’.

It would only prolong the answer.

There’s no way I could do something like that… It’s true that I am grateful to her however, my answer would be no. I like Nanami, but I couldn’t return her feelings.

But if I did, our relationship would surely change drastically. I’m sure we won’t be able to spend time together like before.

I wanted to avoid that if I could…

I’m aware that what I’m saying wasn’t convenient, but I don’t want to break my relationship with her. She had been my best friend for more than 10 years.

“Well then, the real thing starts now!”

“Real thing?”

“Well, I don’t want you to forget about my confession, but it would be nice if you could put it aside for a while. And what I really wanted to tell you is that, would you pretend to date me?”

“Pretend…?”

What does she mean by that…?

“As I said before, if Akari-chan likes you, then I think you should get a girlfriend to make her give up.”

“That, well…”

“But, right now, you don’t have anyone to ask to be your girlfriend.”

“So… you’re saying that you’re the only one who’s willing for the job?”

“That’s correct. And this’ll be also a trial run.”

“Trial?”

“Yusuke, you don’t like me?”

“No way! That’s not…”

“I guess you’ve never seen me as a girl, have you?”

“Well…yeah.”

It’s a little bit shameful to point that out, but it’s a fact.

“I’ll help you with Akari-chan and at the same time, I wanted to remove myself from the frame of just a friend. If you don’t like me after pretending to go out with me, I’ll give up.”

Too many things are happening at once and I feel like my head is going to explode, but I understand what she’s trying to say.

It’s true that I don’t like Nanami as a girl right now. But that’s only because I’ve never looked at her that way, but I don’t know if it could change my mind…

To be honest, I don’t think this is the best idea… But considering Nanami’s feelings, it was hard to say no.

So, after pondering for a while, I came to a conclusion.

“Okay. I don’t know what will happen but I’ll go with your plan.”

I don’t have high hopes for getting ‘Akari to give up’, but… I don’t know what’s going to happen with this one.

I felt guilty like I’m playing with her, but I couldn’t say no.

“Really? I’m so happy.”

She smiled at my answer. Seeing her expression, I told myself that at least it was better than making her sad.

“Well, it’s only temporary but I’m looking forward to it.”

“That’s right. I still feel a little bad, but thanks for your help.”

I’ll think about it and give her an answer as soon as possible. No matter what the result is, we can’t keep doing this forever.

“Now then, Akari-chan is my top priority.”

“Then I’ll let her know about it. Of course, I’ll hide the fact that I’m pretending. I don’t think it will change anything…”

I’m not sure how she’ll react when I tell her we’ve started dating. I can’t predict it.

But I do know this.

She won’t welcome it, and I’m sure she won’t give up on me.

I couldn’t help it, but Akari’s fondness for me was not something to be taken lightly of.

I wonder what would happen…

“I’m not sure if I’m right, but for now, I’m going to put Akari-chan first. I’m sure you’ll agree with me for that.”

“Okay.”

However, since we’ve come this far, there is no turning back.

I’ll tell Akari about our ‘relationship’ first and see what would happen.

Maybe I should’ve reconsider my plans… Well, there’s a little hope.

“And one more thing. I want you to tell her, ‘Thanks to you, Akari-chan, we were able to go out’.”

“That’s fine, but… what do you mean by ‘thanks to Akari’?”

“She’ll know what it means, so you don’t have to worry, Yusuke. Please.”

Thanks to Akari? Well, it’s true that we’re talking about this because of yesterday’s incident. I guess I wasn’t entirely wrong.

***

“I’m back.”

When I finished my consultation with Nanami and returned home, the clock had already passed 8 o’clock.

I checked with my mom and she told me that Akari was in her room.

Nanami and I settled on the idea that I would only tell people close to me that we had started dating. I’ll tell Yoshiki tomorrow, but first I have to deal with Akari.

“Now then Yusuke, let’s have dinner.”

The whole family gathered at the table. The best time to do this would be after dinner, when everyone has left the table.

“——Thank you for the meal.”

At times like this, my family’s custom of having dinner together came in handy.

After dinner, I followed Akari who had just put away the dishes and was walking back to her room. Okay, if we’re upstairs then my parents won’t hear me.

It’s only an act, and I don’t want my mom to know about it.

“Akari, I need to talk to you about something.”

Her footsteps stopped as she climbed the stairs.

“Actually, Nanami and I started dating.”

As expected, there was no reply.

“I don’t know why but Nanami said that, ‘We were able to date thanks to Akari-chan’.”

I told her what Nanami had asked me to say. Well, it wouldn’t be unnatural if there was some kind of reason behind this.

Maybe she said it lightly.

“Akari…?”

At that moment, her expression changed. She trembled.

“… She really did it.”

I couldn’t hear her words clearly, she mumbled something and went back to her room.

There was no way I could follow her, so I kept watching.

“Did it work…?”

The only thing I could do was to mutter to myself.

Well, I guess I’ll find out later when I check her notes.

.

.

.

“What!?”

After sometime, I went to Akari’s room to check her Note as usual, and found that today’s page was left blank.

Well, she would sometimes write after taking a bath, and I used to read them all together the next day… But for today, I thought it was definitely updated.

But what’s this anxiety I’m feeling…

***