I turned off my alarm clock. Today, I woke up early with a determination that this will be my day.
The target is my sister, Akari.
Someone once said, “The things you want to accomplish are best to say out loud. Also, once you say it, you must strive to go for it.”
Okay, this will work.
I feel confident. It’s like the power is surging through my body.
It’s as if someone is telling me, “You can do it.”
However, I am concerned about one thing. That is the same thing yesterday.
“Don’t worry. You can do it… It’s a simple greeting, ‘Good Morning’. That’s all I have to say…”
Greeting my family…
I had no idea it would be such a challenging mission.
After rolling my sleeves, I took deep breaths five times. Now’s the time when Akari should be ready to leave. What should I do, if she saw me in the living room?
Don’t fret over little things, I had greeted her before like at her birthday party.
That’s all I have to say to convince myself. I made up my mind and grabbed the door…
“GACHA…”
I didn’t expect her to be late.
I didn’t expect that Akari would come out of her room at the same time as me.
”Whoa! …….”
My voice leaked out accidentally. It couldn’t be helped.
Akari heard me scream.
She took a step back in surprise and looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“…..”
Her expression lasted only for a few seconds before she turned her eyes away and went downstairs.
[Stay away from me.]
Her intimidation in this sheer silence was so frightening that I was unable to move a single finger.
“…”
No!
Don’t give up.
Don’t repeat the same mistake as yesterday.
“—Akari!”
I unconsciously shouted. It was sudden like a gut feeling telling me to call her.
It was now or never…
I found myself in a dilemma.
I called her by her name for the first time in several years.
********
”As expected, she ignored you completely… then…”
At Nanami’s words, I gulped.
The scene from this morning came to my mind. I sank down on my desk with a sigh.
“Well, I already knew it. If I try to say something, Akari will ignore me. But it hurts to see her commitment as she shunned me. I mean…”
I wasn’t much worried about being ignored. What makes me uncomfortable that if this continues then my future is uncertain…
I have to push through.
“Don’t worry, it can’t be helped. You’ve to gradually close the distance in this kind of relationship, right? Yusuke, you knew it wouldn’t work from the start, you can ask me, I’m here to help.”
It’s a little different … I failed to implement Yoshiki’s advice right away. But consulting with both of them was not necessarily a waste of time.
The only reason why I asked Yoshiki and Nanami was simply that I wanted to insure myself.
I have to stop Akari’s plan. To make it possible, I must show her that I was making an effort to get along. That way Akari’s “TRUST*” would collapse, and it might come in handy.
It’ll be a good thing if I could get the most out of it.
[#TN: reference to chapter 1]
Of course, stopping Akari’s plan is still the most obvious thing, But … In this way, changing the impressions of my friends will reap more benefits.
“Yusuke, what are you going to do now? Just because she ignores you once, doesn’t mean you have to give up, right?”
“I won’t. I’ll give it another try when we leave for home.”
It’s not a matter to falter just because she ignored me once or twice.
Rather, if she had responded to the greeting, I’d be worried about how weak Akari’s intentions were in the first place.
After school, I’ll try Yoshiki’s advice to leave together from school.
Anyway, this week the club activities are off. thanks to that, I can spend some time with Akari after school.
I’ll use this chance and slowly improve our relationship.
“… What’s going on?”
As I was thinking about this, I saw a crowd of people in the direction of the cafeteria.
Students usually enjoy and relax when school is over. Especially couples who stand out among the crowds. But now there seems to be a group which was the center of attention.
”Is that… Akari?”
Akari, she was in the center of the crowd.
There was a large number of students gathering. But I don’t think they’re surrounding her, rather they’re trying to approach her in fondness.
And, no, they’re definitely not her friends.
Come to think of it, Yoshiki once told me that multiple fan clubs adore Akari.
At that time, I thought of it as a ridiculous joke, but now that I’ve seen it, I understand. I may be a heretic in their perceptive.
However, this is a huge problem.
Today I was planning to bump into Akari while leaving school, making it look like a coincidence.
Then I could’ve asked her to come home with me.
But this event is trying to change my plan before it even started.
“Namiki-san, are you leaving for home right now?”
As I moved closer to the crowd, I heard their conversations.
Then Akari replies to the female student.
”…Well, yes, but…”
It’s been about four months since Akari entered high-school. This is the first time I’ve seen her talk to someone.
I hid behind a nearby seat so that Akari and the others wouldn’t find me.
“By the way, what do you usually do, Namiki-san?”
“Usually?”
“Oh, I’m curious about it as well. I’d like to know how you spend your holidays”
“Hey, no private questions!”
What’s up with these questions?
“…I watch movies at home.”
“Movies is it…? Oh, it must be cute pets soothing videos, and such! I sometimes watch them too!”
Too bad for ya! She watches soothing videos of this “Onii-chan.”
Akari is still not very friendly, but she’s enduring their questions.
It was quite surprising.
…And it seems like she’s definitely not enjoying this conversation.
“… And how about keeping a diary?”
A diary. If you ask me whether she keeps a diary or not, then my answer is yes.
Though, It’s just a record of my daily routines.
”By the way, Namiki-san, do you have any brother or sister?”
One of the girls asked this question and it piqued my interest.
Compared to Akari, I have almost no presence.
Even at school, there is no way I can stand out.
But it’s frustrating, these idiots probably don’t even know I exist.
No one other than the schoolgirl who asked this question seems to mention me.
“… I have a big brother.”
Oh, now you’re going to answer honestly?
Well, it’s true, she can’t lie in this situation. It’ll be a hassle if it gets exposed.
“Hee~! Namiki-san’s Onii-san, then he must be a pretty cool guy!”
“I’d love to see him!”
The sight of this unseen brother excites a group of female students.
I’m sure they’ll get bamboozled when they see me. I’m not a cool handsome Onii-san, just a regular male highschool student. Sorry to disappoint you girls and don’t get so high about my looks.
I stifled the urge to say so and listened to the story.
”…… I’m not on good terms with my brother. I don’t think I’ll be able to live up to your expectations.”
Akari showed some displeasure in her expressions. The people who heard it said, “I won’t hate you Namiki-san.”
“What’s wrong with your brother?”
“Is he a bully?”
Wait a minute…
Hold on…
What the hell are they talking about?
I’m not the perpetrator, I’m the victim, you know.
Then a guy came forward and said, “Don’t worry Namiki-san. Rest assured. If your brother tries to harm you, I will protect you. If you wish, I can teach him a lesson as well.”
He looks like he’s from an athletic club.
He must be eager to earn charm points by coming forward as a bodyguard. That irritating face of his is full of confidence like he’s saying, “you can count on me.”
To be honest, I’m only able to exercise at a humanly acceptable level. I’m not sure I’d be able to win against that guy if he came at me.
“You dare to teach him a lesson, is it?”
Akari murmured in a chilling voice.
At that moment later, the surroundings froze as everything stopped moving.
”Uh, um, … is something wrong?”
That guy probably didn’t expect that response from Akari. That ugly confidence is nowhere to be seen as he looked around in a panic.
“…No, whatever. I was just thinking about my brother for a minute.”
For a moment, Akari shows her killing intent, but she immediately returns it back.
”Ah, that’s right! Um, I think we should stop talking about your brother.”
“Yeah, right. Besides, it’s time we should go home.”
After that event of awkwardness, all students started to leave in unison.
As for Akari, her expression was the same as usual.
”Well then, Namiki-san, See you tomorrow.”
“Hm..”
After school, I saw from a distance how that group had disbanded in front of the station.
…… Eh? Could it be that they were following Akari? And not her real friends.
But what about me now…
Akari is standing there alone.
I should behave like it is a coincidence that we met here. Just a coincidence that we met by chance because we were going the same way.
I don’t have the time to make an excuse to anyone, I went up to Akari’s side and got on the train.
The purpose, of course, is to spend some time with Akari.
Should I say, “Ah! … What a coincidence. I didn’t know that Akari was in the same coach.” That’s right, I could do that.
But…
I am traveling in the same coach as Akari but it’s hard to talk to her on the train. I guess as soon as I get off the train, I’ll bump into her and start a conversation. Yes! That’s right, let’s go with this.
It was surprising, Akari was getting a lot of attention.
I looked at the men around her. Everyone from students like us to office workers, they were all looking in her direction.
…Well, when you look at it like this, you can see that Akari’s appearance is actually quite outstanding.
I see her face almost every day, and I don’t think there’s something different … but in this situation, after what happened today, I think she looks quite attractive.
“…Next stop is Shinome. Shinome Station.”
Oops, we’re almost at the station.
…Okay, let’s go for it.
I go down on the platform and get fired up.
I followed her through the gates.
“Oh, Akari!”
Then I continue “I happened to see you,”
And so I called out to Akari, who was walking in front of me as if I had seen her by chance.
“…”
She heard my voice and stopped for a moment.
But then, she walks again just like what happened this morning.
“Oh, You know, we’re going home the same way, do you want to come with me?”
I couldn’t greet her properly, but walking together is a different story. Our destination is the same, so it should be natural to invite her.
“…”
Akari didn’t reply.
She kept her mouth shut and increased her pace.
”No… by the way, it’s been a long time since we are walking together.”
As I walked by her side, I told her a few words.
She ignores them, of course, but I don’t want to give up just yet.
”You’re not in any club, right? But today you’re quite late.”
“…”
“Oh, today’s my day off. I had to stay at school for a few things, that’s why I’m late this time.”
No reaction, as usual.
Her gaze remained straight as if she didn’t realize that I’m right next to her.
After being ignored so thoroughly, I feel tempted to make her reply, even if she was wilful.
”Speaking of which, Akari…”
Just as I was about to ask her about the confession from Yamamoto-senpai, I heard a horn from behind.
When I turned around, I saw a car approaching us at a fairly fast pace.
”Watch out… !”
It was a narrow alleyway.
In just a matter of time, I grabbed Akari and pushed her to the wall to protect her.
I was distracted in the conversation with her, but if I had reacted a bit later, it could have been a close call.
“Hah… It was dangerous. Akari are you all right?”
The car disappears from view and I turn to the front to adjust my stance.
Akari, were you okay?
As I was about to ask that question, I saw Akari, who was standing and slumped against the wall, with her face bright red.
I looked closely at her face that was almost touching mine. Her moist eyes, the glossy plump lips, the pure white skin that makes you want to unintentionally touch, she’s right in front of me.
We were so close that our lips almost overlapped.
“…”
Only then I realized the significance of what I had done.
… Isn’t this what you call “Kabedon”?
(EN: Kabedon, basically a “forceful” way in which a guy (usually confesses)corners the girl against a wall with 1 hand on the side of the wall. I am pretty sure you people might have read it in mangas)
”I-I’m sorry!”
I hurriedly moved away from Akari.
Although it is getting darker, this scenery is relatively bright. That’s why we can see each other’s faces firmly.
“That…Akari?”
Akari, who is still standing with her flushed face, seems to be unable to answer like she has no voice, rather than ignoring my question.
The silence continues for a few seconds.
”~~~!”
She let out a silent scream and ran away.
“…I did it”
The first day of the strategy to gradually shorten the distance. It wasn’t the distance between the minds, but the physical distance…
That’s the end of today’s story…
That night, in Akari’s room.
[ July 6th, Monday
What should I do … I never thought that Onii-chan would talk to me so suddenly …
I ignored him without a second thought, but I hope he won’t hate me.
I’ve been keeping my distance all this time to carry out my plan, but now… I wonder what’s happening.
Could it be that… Onii-chan is also interested in me?
He used Kabedon… Maybe he’s really?]
NO, that kabedon was an accident!
I didn’t mean to do it!
But by the way, Akari, the text in today’s notebook is very sloppy.
[ But, it might interfere with my plans…
For now, I have to continue to pretend that we’re strangers whenever he tries to call out.
Anyway, I’m glad that Onii-chan spoke to me after a long time. I really love you ♥️]