Do you get it now?

"Ahhh! What is wrong with me?"

A high school student was mumbling to himself as he strolled down a road lit by

streetlights. He wasn't anyone suspicious, though. It was Masachika Kuze on his way back

after walking Alisa home.

"'I will be by your side.' 'Just take my hand.' Who do I think I am? Somebody kill me.

Ugh. I'm going to be cringing in the shower for years now… And talking to myself like this

only makes me look even more pathetic."

He vented his frustration and self-loathing aloud into the night air. Masachika had just

shown Alisa that he was a real man for a change, yet he couldn't help but dwell on his

mortifying actions. The words he had said to Alisa played on an endless loop in his mind,

and he was on the verge of dying of embarrassment and regret. Furthermore…

"Alisa said she was in love with me…didn't she?"

…the smile she had shown him as they walked down the boulevard was like a flower in

full bloom. The vivid memory of the soft touch of her lips on his cheek when they said good

night made Masachika jittery. Until now, he'd thought Alisa's Russian whispers of sweet

nothings were merely a game to feel the thrill of being caught since she believed he didn't

understand a word. However, her behavior in front of her apartment obviously went beyond

what could be considered a game. It was almost as if that was how she really felt…

"Nah…"

Masachika hastily shot down the idea forming in the back of his mind.

She was just in a heightened state of emotion like me. I bet she's already returned to her

senses and is cringing at the thought of it, too. Yeah… I'm sure that's what's happening.

But even after persuading himself of that, what Alisa had said and done still made his

heart race…

"I thought I couldn't fall in love anymore, but…"

Ever since that girl disappeared, Masachika had never felt romantically interested in

anyone. He would still think some girls were cute or pretty, but that was pretty much it. He

even felt lust from time to time, like anybody his age would, but he never felt love for anyone,

and they'd never made his heart race like this, either.

Besides, I doubt any girl would fall in love with trash like me anyway.

Masachika despised himself most of all, so it was hard for him to imagine someone

falling in love with him. Moreover, he didn't trust the whole concept to begin with. He

believed that most romantic feelings were temporary states of delusion that would fade away

once certain conditions were met. He especially didn't trust his own romantic feelings.

I can't even remember that girl's name or face…so there's no way I could ever seriously

fall in love with someone else, right?

Dating in high school was nothing more than a game to kill time. It was rare for high

school sweethearts to ever go on and get married after graduation. The only time that ever

happened wasin fiction. Real high school couples were unstable, and the smallest thing could

bring them together or break them apart. Even if Alisa really did have feelingsfor Masachika,

she would most likely break up with him once she took a real hard look at him up close and

spotted all his faults.

And the couples who do get married after dating in high school sometimes get divorced

eventually as well.

He imagined his own parents, then smirked cynically before ultimately letting out a deep

sigh.

"This is annoying…"

Those words fell unbidden off his tongue.

Getting worked up over something as uncertain as love was ridiculous. It was annoying.

It wasn't like he wanted a girlfriend, and it wasn't like Alisa had asked him out, either. So

why could he not stop thinking about it?

Mmm… I'm going to be single for the rest of my life with this mindset.

When he realized that he had become a heretic, he became even more depressed. But

whenever he was feeling down, he would watch anime to feel better, so he picked up the

pace and hurried home. Just when he was ready to escape from reality, he opened the door

to his place…and noticed there was a pair of shoes there that weren't his. Masachika froze.

"What happened to having 'plans'?" he muttered. "Wait. I guess it's not that weird."

If today's events were all part of some plot to get him to join the student council, then of

course Yuki would have been involved. In fact, she might have been behind the whole thing.

"Tsk… I fell right into her trap…or I guess I should say she dragged me out of hiding

and pushed me into the trap."

He sighed deeply while sliding open the door to the bathroom when…

"Huh…?"

"Uh…?"

…their eyes met. Yuki was drying her hair with a towel…completely nude. With her

eyes opened wide and an expression overcome with surprise, she promptly used the towel

to cover her front, but…

"Eeeeeek! My brother's a Peeping Tom!"

"Yeah, yeah. You were waiting for me to open the door so I would see you like this."

"Was it that obvious?"

"You rushed out of the bath the moment I closed the front door."

Masachika glared at Yuki reproachfully as she grinned, revealing no signs of guilt.

"You went way too far this time."

He rolled his eyes and turned to leave the bathroom when…

"Hey, not so fast. Aren't you curious as to why I did all that?"

"Yeah, I'm curious, but put on some clothes first, okay?"

"Hold on, Masachika. I just realized something extremely troubling."

"…Something extremely troubling?" repeated Masachika with a hand on the door he

was facing, even though he knew it wasn't going to be anything worth hearing.

"Hmph." Yuki smugly smirked and covered the right side of her face with her right hand

as if she were an overdramatic emo teen detective who had just solved a mystery. It didn't

help that her towel had come undone, baring all. One could only describe the sight as surreal,

and yet Yuki showed absolutely no concern as she sternly opened her partially hidden eye

wide and shouted:

"We've lived under the same roof for so long, but we still haven't had the scene where

you walk in on me changing!"

"You never cease to surprise me with the garbage that comes out of your mouth!"

"All brothers walk in on their sisters changing at one point! It's inevitable!"

"Yeah, in fiction! You nerd!"

"Takes one to know one!"

"Dammit! That actually hurts more today than it usually would!"

Masachika had been wondering only a few hours earlier if he was about to have an

indirect kissing scene with his beautiful older schoolmate, like he was playing a visual novel.

That's why being called a nerd right now was like having habanero sauce poured into a

wound.

"Gnnng!"

He naturally clutched his chest and groaned, but in spite of his agony, Yuki was already

striking a troubling pose and facing the complete opposite way of him.

"Anyway, I know deep down inside you want to see it, so here I go. Eek! Stop staring

at me like that! ♡"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm talking to the camera that's invisible to idiots."

"More like a camera that only delusional nerds can see!"

"I guess that means you can see it, too, huh?"

"Yeah, I can see it. I can see it clearly. Cheese."

Masachika made a peace sign while facing the same direction as Yuki. Perhaps they'd

both been dropped on their heads as babies.

"Wow! Look at this picture! It's surreal!" exclaimed Yuki with a straight face.

"Yeah, thanks to you!" Masachika immediately added.

Yuki then dropped the act and cheerfully smiled.

"Anyway, this is the least I can do to make it up to you."

"Showing me your naked body isn't making it up to me at all."

"Excuse me? I saw ya checkin' me out with your eyes."

"Yuki, I'm going to be straight with you just this once."

"Oh? What is it, bro? Lookin' a little smug today, aren't we?"

"Showing everything…is kind of a turnoff. It's the brief glimpses from time to time that

we men live for."

"I see… I didn't even consider that."

They smugly conversed forsome reason until they sensed an understanding mysteriously

pass between them. After grinning with evidentsatisfaction, Masachika slowly turned around

and tried to leave again when…

"Stop right there. Did ya really think you could just waltz outta here like that as if I

didn't notice? Ya looked, didn't ya? Your eyes wandered from my head all the way to my

feet, didn't they?"

"I only looked at your chest."

"So you admit it, you boob-loving pervert!"

"Shut up, you voyeuristic creep."

"Hey?! I'd prefer it if you'd just call me a dirty slut!"

"That's where you draw the line?! Anyway, just put on some clothes already!"

Masachika shouted, slamming the door before heading to the living room. After cleaning

himself up a bit, he swiftly returned to his room.

"Whew…"

As he sighed deeply, he tossed his school bag onto the floor and started to feel ridiculous

for worrying so much. He then took off his blazer and collared shirt, leaving him in only a

tank top and pants. But when he reached for his belt buckle_____

"Gotcha!"

"What the…?!"

_____the door flew open with a roar, revealing Yuki, still with wet hair, in only her panties

and a T-shirt. She had once again kicked open the door. The unexpected event caused

Masachika to instantly lose his balance, and with his pants wrapped around his ankles, he

collapsed onto the bed. Yuki slowly traced him with her eyes, and a sleazy smile curled her

lips.

"Heh-heh-heh… Nice body, bro."

"You almost gave me a heart attack! What is wrong with you?!"

"I figured I'd use this opportunity to watch you change, too. Might as well get it out of

the way. Know what I mean?"

"What's so fun about seeing your own brother in his underwear?"

"Your underwear? I'm more interested in…," Yuki started as she lowered her gaze

toward Masachika's nether regions, and her face was suddenly overcome with disgust.

"Oh my gosh… Seriously? You just saw your little sister naked, and you felt nothing?

What is wrong with you?"

"The reason my body didn't react is because there is nothing wrong with me. Who would

even want a brother who gets turned on when he sees his sister naked?"

"Seeing you naked could turn me on!"

"Yeah, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Seeing you naked could turn me on! Boi-oi-oing."

"Don't repeat yourself! And what kind of sound effect was that?!"

"Just thinking about what that big, manly student council president would do with your

body…"

"That's what would turn you on?! Since when did you get into Boys Love manga?!"

Masachika hurriedly pulled his pants back up, and Yuki stared into the distance with a

partially sorrowful gaze.

"I was completely against the concept at first, but I thought it wasn't right to knock

something before I tried it…and when I finally tried it, I kind of liked it."

"Great. And now you're obsessed. I don't remember you having any BL books in your

room, though?"

Yuki had her own room here at the Kuze residence as well. It was essentially nothing

more than a hobby room filled with anime merchandise and a bed, though. Masachika often

borrowed light novels and comics from there, which was why he knew exactly what she had,

and to his knowledge, she didn't have a single book from that genre. Yuki nodded at his

dubious gaze as if she completely understood his doubt.

"That's because I keep them in Dad's study."

"What the…?! Seriously?!"

"I've already gotten Dad's permission, just to let you know. He said I could use the free

space on his bookshelves in the study if I ran out of room."

"I'm sure he never expected you to keep smut like that on his bookshelves, though!"

"He said, 'Well, everyone has different tastes…,' and left it at that."

"That's it?! Your daughter is being corrupted, old man!"

"Yeah, when Isaw his exhausted smile and receding hairline, I thought, Maybe I've been

stressing him out? And I felt a little guilty."

"Wow, daughter of the year here. Just don't tell him he's balding, okay? He's genuinely

concerned about losing his hair," pleaded Masachika.

Yuki cackled on her way out of the room, only to return with a hair dryer and brush.

"By the way, my dear brother…," Yuki loudly began as she carefully dried her long

hair, talking over the noise.

"Yeah?"

"…did you finally decide to join the student council after talking to the president and

Masha?"

"About that…"

"Hmm?"

At Masachika's uncomfortable hedging, Yuki turned off the hair dryer and lifted her

head to look at him. Masachika gazed right back into his sister's eyes and firmly continued:

"…I've decided to help Alya become the next president of the student council."

"…"

Yuki's eyes opened wide. She froze. She was, of course, taken aback. Helping Alisa

become the next president meant that he was going to be Yuki's rival, since she was going

to run for president as well. What he was doing could objectively be seen as betrayal.

"My…"

"Your…?"

Masachika was prepared to hear her express her disgust when Yuki all of a sudden dived

onto his bed, shoved her face into his pillow, and screamed:

"My brother cuckolded me with Alyaaaaaa!"

"I'm not sure that means what you think it does."

Yuki looked up in surprise, then grabbed her breasts with each hand.

"Dammit! You boob-loving monster! My C-cup breasts weren't enough for ya, huh?! I

can't believe how easily you were brainwashed by Alya's most likely E-cup tits!"

"Stop being so descriptive about everyone's cup size!"

"Come to your senses, brother! Having C-cup breasts that you can play with are way

better than E-cup ones that you can't even touch!"

"Pretty sure I can't touch anyone's!"

"What?! You want me to throw in Ayano's D-cup titties to sweeten the deal?! You want

a harem?! I had no idea you were a closet pervert!"

"I'm seriously gonna squeeze yours if you don't stop this!"

"Bring it oooooon! But please be gentle!"

"Seriously?!"

Yuki kneeled on Masachika's bed, then suddenly wrapped her arms around herself and

began to squirm.

"So? Are you going to be my first groper?"

"I'd prefer not to be a groper. More importantly, what's up with the weird jokes today?

You sound like a teenage boy."

"I'm kidding. Besides, this wouldn't be my first time anyway. Because you already

touched my boobs in elementary school. ♪"

"I definitely do not remember ever doing that!"

Yuki's annoyingly smug smirk suddenly transformed into a bewildered gaze, causing

Masachika to inwardly panic, worried that he actually had done that.

"Masachika… Did you forget? It was when I was in second grade…"

"Uh…?"

"We were playing hide-and-seek when you suddenly ran right into me. You dove into

my crotch face-first and clutched on to my right boob!"

"That doesn't even sound possible! Stop making up stories that make me sound like the

protagonist of some pervy harem anime! Besides, your asthma in second grade was so bad

that you hardly went outside!"

"And look at the healthy young girl I grew up to be! I haven't caught a cold since middle

school!"

Yuki, still kneeling, proudly puffed out her chest, but Masachika just rolled his eyes

exhaustedly.

"If only you could have grown up to be a little better behaved."

"I am well-behaved! At home, at school, almost everywhere!"

"…Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize! You need to treat me like a princess!" she shouted. She

huffed while holding out her brush and hair dryer to Masachika. He approached her with a

half smile, then took the hair dryer and brush out of her hands as if he knew exactly what

she wanted.

"Heh. Thanks!"

Yuki happily positioned herself on the bed with her back to Masachika.

"Don't expect me to be good at this, okay?" Masachika cautioned before he turned on

the hair dryer and gently brushed her long, black hair. They didn't say anything for a while

after that until he finally pressed the cooling button on the hair dryer.

"So you're going to run with Alya for student council…" Yuki brought it back up.

"Yeah… Sorry about that."

"Hmm? It's nothing to apologize for, though? If anything, it's exciting. I love a classic

sibling-rivalry story."

"Ha-ha-ha…" Masachika laughed bitterly, since his sister was still thinking like a true

anime nerd, even in this situation. "Just in case it isn't obvious, I'm not doing this because

I dislike you or anything."

"I know. Because you love me sooo much, right?"

"…Yeah, I guess."

"Hee-hee. You're blushing."

"Shut up."

Yuki wiggled her body as if she was being tickled, then giggled. Then once she got the

laughter out of her system, she shook her head and stood swiftly.

"Okay. That's enough."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

After he handed her the hair dryer and brush, Yuki started to head toward the door.

"Well, it looks like we're rivals now… Oh yeah."

"Hmm?"

"I'm very lenient, so I can forgive a little cheating. So you're free to come back to me

whenever you get bored with Alya."

"I'm not cheating on anyone, and I'm not going to 'get bored with Alya.'"

"Yeah, yeah. You'll come crawling back to me eventually."

"You must have a really high opinion of yourself."

"Ha-ha-ha! Farewell, my dear brother!" Yuki cackled as she waved good-bye and left

the room. The moment she closed the door, she whispered in a voice so soft, her brother

couldn't hear.

"You finally found someone who motivates you…"

She looked back and faced the door between her and Masachika.

"I'm happy for you," she softly whispered. Her eyes were filled with kindness and

compassion, and her voice was swelling with boundless love. After gazing gently at the

closed door for a few long moments, Yuki turned on her heel and headed for her own room.

"Sigh… I guess I wasn't good enough, huh?" she muttered in a self-deprecating manner

while opening the door to her room and stepping inside. After closing the door, she leaned

against it with her head down for a few moments, then suddenly lifted her chin.

"But…"

There was no longer any compassion or self-deprecation in her eyes. Her expression

was frighteningly serious.

"…I'm not going to lose."

Her determined expression was breathtaking…and it was the exact same expression

Masachika had made when he decided to finally get serious as well.

"Mmm…"

Masachika woke up the following morning to the sound of his alarm blaring. He flailed

around the bed until he managed to turn it off.

"Mmm…"

After sluggishly sitting up, he opened the curtains to welcome in the brilliant morning

sun. He squinted…and then realized that his sister had failed to harass him awake that day.

"…"

Recalling what had happened the night before, he began to think that Yuki had been

acting a little peculiar. Her recent favorite anime aired the previous evening, and usually,

after watching it together, they would excitedly talk about the episode. However, Yuki didn't

say much last night and almost immediately went to bed.

"Sigh…"

Perhaps she'd been in shock because of her brother's betrayal. She'd talked like she

didn't care, but maybe she was actually hurting deep down inside. Masachika ran his hands

through his hair, and his expression darkened as he considered the possibility. Even now,

there was no sign of Yuki coming. In fact, he didn't hear any sounds from outside his room.

Did she leave early because she was too uncomfortable to look at her brother anymore? Or…

while highly unlikely, did she have trouble falling asleep last night and end up oversleeping?

"Sigh…"

He imagined his sister's eyes swollen from crying all night, and although he scoffed that

it wasn't in her nature, he still felt a sharp pain in his heart. Masachika promptly hopped out

of bed. He had to make things right.

And then…

"Eeeeeek?!"

…something suddenly grabbed his ankle, causing him to fall forward as if he was doing

a somersault. He catapulted forward, flying across the room until his hands hit the wall. He

then slowly turned around, his heart hammering against his chest. An arm was dangling out

from underneath the bed…and it was attached to Yuki, who was broadly grinning.

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Did you seriously think the scene would end on a serious note?! You

fool! I'm a woman of my word!"

"Tsk…! You little…!"

Yuki's boastful laugh jogged Masachika's memory of what she had said the other day:

"I'll hide under the bed next time so the moment you step out of bed, I can grab your ankles."

That was when he realized what had really happened last night. While she'd made it look

like she was going to sleep, she had actually been preparing this trap. His face turned red

with rage and embarrassment. The fact that he'd been worried only a few seconds ago that he

might have hurt her feelings made it worse. He should have trusted his gut! His sister wasn't

the kind of person who would let something as insignificant as this depress her!

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-haaa! Ha…"

Yuki's triumphant cackling slowed, and the hand protruding out from underneath the

bed suddenly drooped. She feebly moved her hand and smiled hopefully.

"Pull me out."

"Huh?"

"I'm stuck. Don't make me explain. It's embarrassing."

It appeared that while she'd managed to fit herself in between the boxes of clothes and

old textbooks under his bed, it was so narrow that she couldn't pull herself out. She waved

her right hand and continued to smile at the pickle she got herself into. Masachika, however,

smirked evily…then pulled the blanket off the bed and shoved it into her face.

"Pfft?! What are you doing?!"

"I'm burying you, you ungovernable little savage! You're gonna pay!"

"Eeeeeek! Boy cooties! The smell…! I'm gonna get pregnant!"

"Have you been sheltered your whole life?! You're not gonna get pregnant!"

"What if I have?! Is there a problem with that?!"

"If it's shelter you want, then feel free to enjoy the new shelter you have under my bed!

Farewell!"

"Gwah?! Noooooo!!"

There was not even a trace of ill feelings or awkwardness during their battle, which

continued until Yuki's ride arrived.