Do stomach fetishes even exist?

"Big brother, wake up."

It was a dimly lit room, quiet as could be. Only the faint sounds of cicadas chirping and

the air conditioner filled the space. That is, until the sweet whispers of a young lady shook

the serenity of the room. The young man didn't open his eyes at the sound of her voice, but

instead, his brow furrowed a bit, and he squirmed in his bed.

"If you don't wake up…I'm going to kiss you."

There was no frustration in her voice. If anything, she sounded somewhat happy as her

soft murmurs echoed in the quiet room once more. However, the young man still showed no

signs of waking, so the young lady's lips faintly curled into a smile…and then into a huge

grin before she yelled excitedly:

"Time's up! You lose! Nom!"

"Ouch?!"

A sharp pain suddenly shot down the young man's nape—Masachika Kuze's nape—so

his hand flew up to touch the back of his neck.

"Oh, you're awake."

"Of course I am! The hell is wrong with you?!"

He glared at the young lady—Yuki Suou, his sister—who was sitting on the edge of his

bed, but she didn't even blink. Instead, she taunted him.

"I told you I was going to kiss you if you didn't wake up."

"When? And what kind of kiss was that?"

"You've never heard of a love-bite?"

"You bit me like a damn snake."

Yuki raised a brow in surprise at his biting remark.

"What? Do you want me to give you a normal kissinstead? Fine… Oh, but you just woke

up and have morning breath, so do you think you could at least rinse your mouth for me?"

"What bizarre kind of kiss do you plan on giving me? No thanks."

"Oh, don't pretend like you don't want one. We used to always kiss when we were kids

and playing around."

"Not as far as I remember."

"Ouch. Cold. Did ya really forget how it felt to kiss me? Tsk. Fine…I'll just make ya

remember."

She reached to undo the buttons on her shirt…until she realized she was wearing a Tshirt, so she stretched the collar with her fingers while slowly climbing onto the bed. She

smirked like some conceited womanizer, crawling closer to him.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Mfft?!"

A rolled-up summer blanket hit Yuki right in the face, sending her off the side of the bed

with a muffled yelp. Immediately, she wrapped the blanket around her body pitifully and put

a hand over her mouth to pretend like she had burst into tears.

"I can't believe you! You're terrible! You stole my first kiss, and this is how you treat

me?!"

"…Even if we pretend something like that happened long ago, I would be the one robbed

of my first kiss, not you."

He glared at his sister reproachfully for making it seem like she was a tragic heroine

who'd been pumped and dumped by some awful man, but Yuki continued to act the victim.

"You're trying to make me sound like the bad guy now, huh? Men never take

responsibility for their actions."

"You have absolutely zero experience with men, so stop pretending you know anything

about them!"

"You're right… You're the only man I have ever cared for. I only love you, and yet…!"

"Oh, shut up."

"And yet…it appears you aren't satisfied with only one woman…"

"The hell are you even talking about?"

Masachika seemed exhausted, but he still winced when Yuki hit him with a sharp glare.

"You still plan on playing dumb?! I know you've been bringing other women home

behind my back!"

"…!"

His heart skipped a beat, because he had a good idea who she was talking about.

How did she know that?! Wait. She's trying to trick me into admitting it. There's no way

she'd know about that. I have to act calm and cool!

The instant he came to that decision, he masked his shock and looked at her with disgust.

"How long do you plan on keeping this little charade up?"

"Don't act like you don't know!"

"What? I'm not."

"Then how do you explain…this?!" Yuki shouted as she held out her hand. Pinched in

between her thumb and index finger…was a strand of white hair, glittering in the sunlight

peeking in from the slightly ajar curtains. A cold sweat suddenly began to slide down

Masachika's back.

"It's hers, isn't it? I found it by your pillow! How could you do this to me?! Bringing

another woman with you to bed to do who knows what! Sickening!"

"No… No…! That's not true! I didn't let her inside my room!"

"Oh? So you admit you brought her home, huh?"

"Huh…?"

Yuki had dropped the performance out of nowhere and was now glaring at him in

disappointment. While Masachika's jaw dropped, Yuki swiftly thrust the hair forward at him

with a smug, contemptuous smirk.

"Take a closer look… It's Grandpa's hair!"

"What?!"

"Mwa-ha-ha! You fell for it! Consider this payback for the closing ceremony!"

Masachika's eyes narrowed at his sister's boastful cackling as he tried to defend himself.

"'Payback'? Pretty rich coming from the girl who went all psychological warfare on

Alya after drugging me. You attacked us first."

"Well, it is a competition, is it not? I can't treat you special just because we're family.

Besides…"

"'Besides'…?"

Yuki's expression suddenly became serious as she kneeled on the edge of the bed.

Masachika saw this and straightened up a bit.

"…there is something I have noticed recently."

"What's that?"

"It's…"

She spoke earnestly—unusual for her—while she stared off into the distance.

"To tell the truth…I might be a villainess."

"…All right? Explain," he encouraged unenthusiastically.

"Think about it objectively. At school, I am seen as the model young gentlewoman who

comes from a prestigious family. I even have Ayano as my maid."

"Sure."

"Meanwhile, Alya is a transfer student from a family of commoners. She might have the

highest grades among the first-years, but people at school tend to keep their distance from

her."

"…Sure, I guess."

"And now we're campaign rivals. We're duking it out on the election stage."

"Uh-huh."

Yuki raised an eyebrow while staring hard at her brother.

"…"

"…Staring at me like 'Know what I mean?' isn't helping me understand you any better."

"Look at the positions we're in. I'm obviously the villainess in this scenario."

"…Yeah, I guess I can see that."

"If things keep going asthey are now, you're going to expose me at the closing ceremony

next year in March for wrongdoings during the campaign, then you're going to tell me you

never want to see me again, and I'm going to be kicked out of school."

"Well, I am the foolish prince in this scenario, after all."

"Then the Suou family is going to disown me and kick Ayano and me out with only the

clothes on our backs."

"Oh, you're going to bring Ayano with you, huh?"

"After that, I'd be scouted by Hachioji, the president of the student council at Teiou

Academy, and become the vice president of the student council there."

"You'd be scouted by who at what academy?"

"And then after joining forces with Hachioji, we'd take over Seiren Academy and merge

the school into ours! More of a hostile takeover, I suppose."

"Wow. That's a lot of power your new student council has. Wait. What's going to happen

to Alya and me?"

"Huh? You'd be executed as representatives of the losing school, of course."

"Harsh. Ha-ha."

"But evil still lurks in the darkness! Yes, it was Ayano who was actually pulling the

strings from behind the scenes the entire time!"

"Wh-whaaaaaat?!"

"Tune in next time! 'Kimishima of the Rebellion: Episode II'! A great conspiracy beyond

anything imaginable is about to shake Japan to its core!"

"I didn't see that one coming."

"And that's why I'm apparently the villain, so I'm going to do whatever it takes to win

the election!"

"Wow. Clap, clap, clap," replied Masachika apathetically as he clapped. Yuki, on the

other hand, was staring up at the ceiling with her arms raised in victory. Then she cast a

meaningful sidelong glance at her brother.

"Joking aside, Ayano took really good care of you…in bed…thanks to my little scheme,

so you're welcome."

"Don't pause and say 'in bed' like that. We didn't do anything weird."

"Yeah, I heard. Sigh… A beautiful young woman is begging to wash your back and sleep

by your side in bed, and you tell her 'no'? Are you really a man?"

"What are you getting after me for? If anything, you should praise me for being a

gentleman."

"'Shameful is he who spurns a woman's invitation.' Plus, Ayano was wearing a really

revealing summertime maid uniform. It had a perfect opening under the ribbon around her

neck for you to just stuff your hand into her cleavage."

"…Have you stuffed your hand into her cleavage before?"

"Of course. It was so warm and soft. Best feeling ever."

Masachika coldly glared at his sister for her smug confession of sexual harassment, but

she simply shook her head as if he was the crazy one.

"You had the perfect get-out-of-jail-free card, and you blew it. You could have just said

that the fever caused temporary madness or something. You know how people say that for

some reason you can cure a cold by giving it to someone else? Well, you could have used that

as an excuse to throw yourself all over her, and yet…you wasted it. You wasted the perfect

chance to get some action. You could have at least grabbed a titty or something. I'm just…

disappointed in you, bro."

"I'm disappointed in what you just said."

"More importantly, I had no idea you snuck Alya into your place. Look at you, player."

She suddenly grinned and slowly approached him, but he immediately averted his gaze

awkwardly.

"…Nothing happened."

"Uh-huh… Two hormone-driven teenagers alone all day under the same roof, and you're

telling me nothing happened? Give me a break."

"Seriously, nothing happened. We just…"

"You just…?"

"We just did our summer-break homework…"

"…"

Her excitement faded. She leaned back, then tilted her head to the side in mute

amazement without even blinking.

"…You did homework? You invited Alya all the way over to your house just to do

homework?"

"…Yeah."

"During summer break? Your only summer break as a first-year high school student?

The time most teenagers around the world openly revel in the joys of their youth?"

"…Yeah."

"…And I'm guessing it wasn't just a onetime thing, judging from your reaction."

"…She came over three or so times."

"Are you stupid or something?"

Masachika couldn't argue when she insulted him with a straight face, and he looked

away. Even he honestly felt there was something wrong with himself. Despite the fact that

he'd asked Alisa if they could hang out during summer break on the way home from the

closing ceremony, he'd been having a hard time finding an excuse to actually invite her…but

he could easily imagine the entire summer going by without him ever thinking of anything.

Furthermore, he couldn't count on Alisa ever asking him first, so after hours of racking his

brain, the best he could come up with was: "Hey, do you want to do our summer homework

together?"

Over the next three days, they quietly did their homework together at the Kuze residence

without even a morsel of the sweetness you would see in a romantic comedy. And although

they'd already been able to finish a lot ofsummer homework thanksto that, Masachika began

to feel asthough Alisa wasslowly becoming stiffer and much less content by the day. Perhaps

it was nothing more than his imagination, though.

"Unbelievable. You didn't even take her to your room…which means you did your

homework together in the living room?"

"…Yeah." Masachika nodded half-heartedly. His sister's eyes widened in shock, and

she slammed her hand down on the bed.

"You idiot! When you bring a girl home to study, you're supposed to take her to your

room and work together at your desk! That's how the trope usually goes!"

"But that's when the character's parents are home…"

"Nobody was home, which is all the more reason you should have brought her to your

room! Then the moment she leaned forward and you got a peek at her chest, it would warm

your heart, and when she got on all fours and you saw the shape of her ass, it would warm

your crotch!"

"Don't say 'warm your crotch.'"

"Then when you spill your tea on her white shirt, which'll make it see-through, you can

try to dry her off with a towel, which will naturally allow you to touch her body! After that,

you can let her use your bath while you dry her clothes, then you can lend her one of your

oversize shirts to wear! And trust me! The moment you see her when she's fresh out of the

tub with one of your shirts on, your heart's not gonna be the only thing throbbing! I'm talkin'

about your—"

"Enough!"

"Pfft?!"

Masachika threw a pillow at his sister for making such problematic remarks so early

in the day—before they even had breakfast. The pillow smacked her in the face, and she

fell back. He silently approached her, grabbed the summer blanket nearby, and wrapped it

around her before tying both ends into a knot. He then tossed her onto the bed like a bag

of trash, giving her no choice but to calm down as he yawned and walked out of the room.

That was when his eyes suddenly met those of a maid who was wiping the table in the living

room. Ayano and Yuki had been staying at the Kuze residence since the previous day, as it

was summer break.

"Good morning, Sir Masachika."

"Yeah… Good morning."

Masachika quirked a brow at Ayano, who immediately straightened her posture and

bowed.

"You changed into your uniform this morning just to do a little cleaning? You could

have worn something more casual since we're going to be heading out soon."

Today, they were going to an amusement park at Yuki's earnest request. They were

planning on leaving the house before noon, so Masachika thought it would have been more

convenient for Ayano to be wearing whatever she was going to wear out today. That would

mean she wouldn't have to change twice. However…

"Wearing formal attire suited to my work is not only natural but expected," she replied

as if this was normal.

"…Is that so?"

While he felt it was unnecessary, Ayano herself seemed to switch into "maid mode"

after changing into her uniform and styling her hair, so he didn't argue with her any further.

Honestly, unlike Yuki—who changed completely when she put her hair into a ponytail and

switched to "little-sister mode"—Ayano seemed pretty much the same even after tying her

hair up. Nevertheless, different people fired themselves up in different ways, so there was no

use trying to make sense of it. Once Masachika reached that conclusion, he decided to head

to the toilet and relieve himself before leaving the house. After rinsing out his mouth and

washing his hands, he also washed his face to wake himself up, then returned to his room

to change when…

"Zzz…"

"Nothing can kill you, can it?"

Yuki was(pretending to be)sound asleep on the bed, despite being wrapped in a summer

blanket like a Christmas present, so Masachika unleashed a powerful ax kick onto her

defenseless body—except instead of his heel, he used his thigh, and it wasn't powerful at all

but instead a soft tap to her side.

"Hmm?"

She opened an eye and yawned widely.

"Huh? Time for breakfast already?"

"That's some attitude you have for a restrained crook."

"Hey, guard. Ya got any booze?"

"Oh, you're gonna feed me information, huh?"

"Mmm… It happened so long ago, I'm having trouble remembering. Get my drift?"

"All right, I'm out."

"Go to the bar he used to hang out at and search the second floor. I think you'll discover

something you'll find…interesting."

"Then you give me a hint the moment I get annoyed and leave. How cliché."

"Heh…"

She smiled with evident satisfaction, then spread out her arms, peeling the summer

blanket off her… She then peeled…and peeled…and…

"Nngh! Guh…!"

"…"

Oops. She seemed to be having a hard time getting it off. Yuki leaned back, wrapped

in the summer blanket, while flailing her legs like a maniac. Masachika unenthusiastically

watched for a few moments until he eventually got fed up, crouched by her side, and untied

the knot in the blanket. His sister instantly smirked with dripping confidence, rotating her

head and pretending to crack her neck as she rose to her feet.

"Good grief… About time you got here. It looks like it's my turn to make a move."

"Ah, the trope where you're saved by your lackey, escape prison, and are actually a

superstrong character and not some pathetic bum like you pretended to be… What are we

doing?" he wondered aloud wearily before lowering Yuki off the bed and tossing himself

facedown on the sheets in her place.

"Hey, now. Don't tell me you're tired already. You just woke up. Where's the

excitement?"

"I should be asking you how you can be so excited this early in the morning."

"Do I have to spell it out for you? I'm trying to make you feel better because you

apparently had a bad dream."

"Huh? 'A bad dream'?"

He rolled over onto his back and traced his memories. He frowned as he vaguely recalled

a dream about a memory from long ago. Yuki placed her hand on her chest.

"If you want to be held and cry in my arms, I'm here for ya, bro," she promised with a

sidelong glance. She may have hidden her thoughtfulness and love with her joking remark,

but Masachika was grateful, albeit somewhat embarrassed. She would always invite herself

over with Ayano in order to take care of her brother, who essentially lived by himself. While

she may always claim that she came by because she was lonely, she was actually probably

more concerned that her brother was feeling like he was all alone in this world.

I still draw the line when she tries to sleep in the same bed as me while bringing Ayano

along with her…

He smirked, recalling their exchange from the previous night, and teased his sister: "I'd

like to cry in your arms, but there's not enough cushion, if you know what I mean."

"They're more than big enough to squeeze, dammit! Or what…?! Are you saying that the

only boobs you recognize as boobs are the ones that are too big to even fit in your hands?!"

Yuki immediately put her hands under her breasts to push them up. His eyes narrowed

at her extremely unattractive behavior, then he corrected her misunderstanding.

"Being big enough to squeeze already means they're huge… Ahem. Regardless of how

big they are, you're really skinny, so I'd be afraid one of your ribs would poke me."

"Then how about you just come over here and see for yourself?! Drown in my motherly

love! Hi-yaaah!"

"Mnff!"

Not even a second went by, and she was already straddling him on the bed, holding his

head in her arms and rubbing it between her breasts. A soft sensation caressed his cheeks as

the tip of his nose pushed against her sternum.

"Heh! What'd ya think of that? Could you feel my motherly love?"

"I definitely felt some paternal love in there. You should eat a little more."

"I am! I just don't get fat, no matter how much I eat!" Yuki raged, releasing Masachika's

head and sitting upright.

"Sigh… It looks like my tits are just no match for the Kujou sisters."

Still straddling his stomach, she dramatically put her hand to her forehead and shook

her head.

"Don't call them 'tits.'"

"And fighting back with my ass or legs would be difficult as well… Plus, if we're judging

people by their ass and legs, then you can't count Nonoa out, since she is definitely the dark

horse here…"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You haven't noticed those seductive hips of hers? Tsk! This is why booby-lovers

disgust me…"

"Hey, are you going to keep rambling like this for a while? Because if you are, do you

think you could wake me up when you're finished?"

He closed his eyes to go back to sleep as though there wasn't anything unusual about

having his sister sit on his stomach. With her hand still on her forehead, she huffed out a

cynical "hmph."

"We shouldn't rush for a conclusion, bro. There's no way to win against those three

when it comes to ass, titties, and legs, since their Westerner genetics give them an advantage.

Therefore…"

She slowly lifted up her shirt, revealing her cute belly button and faintly protruding ribs

while wearing a smug grin.

"…I have decided to fight back with my stomach."

"Oh. Your stomach, huh?"

"Hee-hee! What do you think? Check out this smooth, soft stomach of mine. Makes you

just want to rub your cheeks against it, doesn't it?"

"Not really…"

"Heh! You don't need to lie to me, bro. You're starting to feel things you've never felt

before now, aren't you? New doors are opening before you."

"Sorry, but I never even had a door for stomach fetishes to begin with."

"Then I'll make you one. A gateway to a new world. A door that won't bore."

"Was that supposed to be a haiku?"

"Hey, are you trashing my line?"

"Nothing gets by you."

"Oh-ho, I get it. Deny it all you want, but you know our minds are one. Plus, I can read

your otaku thoughts like a book—or, well, manga."

"Fair enough."

Actually, Masachika knew how Yuki felt, since he could also read her mind to a degree,

being a fellow nerd who'd known her his entire life. Though that didn't mean he could predict

some of the outlandish things she did, and she was extremely sharp when it came to

understanding how his nerdy brain worked as well.

"So?"

"'So' what?"

"Have a stomach fetish now?"

"Nope. Not even a little."

"Tsk. So it's tits, huh? You just looove tits. Well, check out the underboob on these

pups."

With a smirk on her face, she pulled up her shirt some more, twisting her upper body

back and forth. While most guys at school would drool at the sight, Masachika…

"Zzz…"

"Tsk. Stop pretending like you're asleep. I'm not even wearing a bra, you punk. Your

nose should be spewing blood like a fountain."

"…"

"Oh, come on. How can you not see how sexy this is?" she replied with a pout. Yuki

then took out her phone, raised it into the air, and adjusted her rear a tad before taking a

selfie. She looked at the picture, which was of her straddling the lower half of Masachika's

stomach with her shirt rolled all the way to her chest, and gulped.

"Oh yeah… That's deep in there."

"Shut up."

"I should send this to Alya. Hmm… 'Masachika's raring to go today, as usual.'"

"You're a monster!"

"Oh, wait! I could pretend I've sent it to the wrong person and say something like 'You

were wonderful last night, Masachika.' Should I do it?!"

"Okay, I'm wrapping you up again."

After swiftly sitting up, he snatched her phone and wrapped her in the summer blanket

once more. The motion wassurprisingly skillful and fast—no more than fourseconds. "Select

and…delete."

"Ahhh! H-how dare you look through my phone! You're a devil!"

Ignoring her pleas, Masachika deleted the selfie she took.

"I'm being abused! I demand to talk to a lawyer!"

He effortlessly picked up his sister, who was flailing her arms and legs while

involuntarily cosplaying as what appeared to be a bagworm.

"Yeah, yeah. Time to go back to your cave under the bed."

His voice was sweet, like he was releasing a rescued animal back into the wild, as he

slowly stuffed her under his bed.

"Ack! It's way too narrow! I—"

"Yeah, yeah. You've been naughty, so you're going back to where you belong."

"Hey! I'm serious! There's no way I'm going to fit, especially with this blanket wrapped

around me! It's…so tight…"

"Don't be shy. You like tight places, right?"

He continued to stuff his sister under the bed, paying no mind to her pleas…until she

suddenly began to shout distressingly.

"Masachika, wait! You're hurting me! It hurts! Stop trying to stuff it in like that! Ththere's no way it's going to fit all the way!"

"…"

"Huh?! Y-you're seriously just going to ignore me?! I-it really does hurt— Ayano, help!"

"Did you call for me, Lady Yuki?!"

"Put your weapons down, Ayano."

Equipped in Ayano's right hand were three metallic, ridiculously sharp pens as she

rushed into the room. She surveyed the area,slowly blinking when she saw Yuki wrapped in a

summer blanket with the right half of her body stuffed under the bed and Masachika squatting

by her side. She observed the almost-incomprehensible situation with a blank expression,

and her head tilted to the side for a few seconds…before she swiftly straightened her neck

once more.

"…Oh, did you get stuck? Allow me to help you, Sir Masachika."

She squatted by his side and began to pull Yuki out.

"…Well, at least I know now what kind of person Ayano thinks I am."

"You reap what you sow."

Her maid, the person she trusted the most, misunderstood and thought Yuki had tried to

crawl under the bed on her own.

As they slowly pulled her out, Yuki stared into the distance, wondering where she went

wrong for the person she trusted the most to assume she'd been doing who-knows-what

underneath someone's bed.

"…What are you wearing?"

"It's a disguise," Yuki replied casually while pushing up the brim of her hat, unfazed by

her brother's disgusted gaze. After finishing breakfast, which Ayano had prepared, everyone

had gotten ready in different rooms before regrouping in the living room, but Yuki's attire

was…something else. She was wearing shorts with suspenders and a T-shirt of an anime

high school girl playing the bass. She had her hair tied in pigtails under a beret, and to top

things off, she was wearing oversize sunglasses… Plus, her small frame wasn't doing her

any favors today, because she did not look one bit like a high schooler—maybe a middle

school student at most. Some people may even mistake her as a kid in elementary school.

Nevertheless, Yuki herself didn't seem concerned as she placed a hand on the brim of her

beret with a smirk that screamed "narcissist."

"Heh! Not even wearing a disguise can hide how adowably cute I am…"

"You're 'adowable,' huh?"

"Yep."

She made two peace signs over her chin while smugly looking up at him. She's even

acting like a snotty little brat, Masachika thought, scratching his head.

"But…why do you need a disguise?"

"Because we might run into someone we know, like we ran into Alya that one time.

Don't forget we're campaign rivals atschool right now. Wouldn't want any weird speculation

being made about us."

"I'm pretty sure it's already well established that we're best friends and grew up

together."

"I'm just being careful. Better to not stir the pot when given the option."

"Uh-huh…"

Wearing a terrible disguise is just going to make things worse if someone catches us, he

thought, but telling her that was more trouble than it was worth, so he half-heartedly nodded

back at her instead. Masachika then looked over at the unrefined and unapproachable young

woman standing next to his sister. It was Ayano, naturally. She was wearing a bland blouse

and a bland skirt. Her thick, black hair—tied up a few moments ago when she was doing

housework—was now hanging over her eyes, which were already hardly visible due to the

huge glasses covering her face. She looked like the kind of girl you would see in anime where

she was actually really beautiful once she took off her glasses.

"…Ayano."

"Yes, Sir Masachika."

"I'm telling you this for your own good. Go change into something else."

"But…"

"Just do it. A beautiful young girl in high school like you shouldn't go out dressed like

that."

"…"

Ayano's eyes wavered as if she was troubled by his words, so she looked to Yuki for

guidance, but Masachika immediately spoke up as if he knew this was coming and urged

Yuki to reconsider.

"You're free to wear a disguise and do whatever you want, but this is too cruel. You

shouldn't make a cute girl in her prime dress like this."

"It works because she's cute. Obviously, she'd look like a train wreck if she weren't."

"Apologize to every not-cute girl in Japan. This instant," he replied with a disgusted

gaze before facing Ayano once more.

"'Cute'…"

"…?"

Although her expression was blank, Ayano's hands were on her cheeks, and it kind of

looked like she was blushing if you squinted? Maybe? Regardless, she immediately noticed

Masachika's skeptical glance, then promptly lowered her hands and adjusted her posture.

Yuki gave in.

"Fine. You can go change into something else, Ayano."

"As you wish."

She bowed to her master and headed over to Yuki's room, where her belongings were.

After a few seconds of watching her walk away, it suddenly hit Masachika.

"Oh. She was…blushing, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, obviously."

"'Obviously'? Just because I complimented her, though? Weird."

"Hmm… Yeah, I know what you mean." Yuki nodded as if she could empathize.

Masachika was troubled by Ayano's reaction—something that would be considered

normal if she was just any ordinary girl. It didn't help that he completely thought she'd been

ignoring him at first. He then timidly asked:

"Hey… Ayano's not interested in me…romantically, right?"

"As far as I know from what she has told me, she's not."

"Thought so…"

What Ayano felt toward Masachika and Yuki was clearly love and respect, but it was

the kind of feeling a servant would have toward her masters. She had told them that herself,

and Masachika had accepted this because if it was Ayano's desire to devote herself to him

as his maid, then why deny her of that?

However…if even a fragment of her devotion came from some sort of romantic feelings,

then Masachika would have to consider how to deal with it. Ayano treated both siblings

equally and behaved the same way around them for the most part. Never once did he ever

feel she treated them differently based on their gender. That was why he recognized that she

was telling the truth…but it was hard not to be skeptical after seeing her blush like that.

"Are you concerned, my dear brother?"

"It's just… I find it hard to believe anyone would blush like that when someone who is

basically family merely compliments their appearance."

"Hmm… Yeah, I see what you mean."

Yukistroked her chin asthough she was deeply pondering his words until she wasstruck

with an epiphany.

"Then how about we check how she feels?"

"…? How would we do that?"

Masachika got a bad feeling in his gut when he saw his sister's lips curl upward, but

before he could stop her, she was already making a megaphone with her hands and yelling

toward her room:

"Ayano! Come over here for a second! Come on, hurry! Don't worry if you haven't

finished changing. Just get over here!"

The door to her room could be heard immediately opening and closing before rushing

footsteps filled the hallway.

"You called for me, Lady Yuki?" asked Ayano, opening the door to the living room.

"Pfft!"

Masachika's eyes went wide, and he burst into laughter the instant he saw her…because

she was wearing nothing but light-purple undergarments. Calling what she was wearing

lingerie would probably be more fitting, and they were more sexy than fashionable, which

only made it worse. Her undergarments clearly emphasized her cleavage while revealing her

thin waist and small rear, which was only complemented by her long legs. Her body wasn't

as delicate as Yuki's, but she still had a rather impressive figure. To top it all off, her thick,

dark black hair hung over her snow-white skin. She looked literally breathtakingly seductive

to Masachika.

"Good job, Ayano. That's perfect."

"What's 'perfect' about this?! Ayano! Cover yourself!"

"I have nothing to hide before you two."

"I can see many things you should hide!" shouted Masachika in almost a scream as he

looked away. Despite being rather delicate, she had very defined, feminine curves, and no

matter how much Masachika thought of her as family, there was no way he could hide his

panic before her half naked body.

You couldn't even compare this to Yuki's completely nude body! It was on an entirely

different level!

Yuki, on the other hand, briskly walked over to Ayano and said to Masachika behind her:

"Look at all her beauty marks, bro. She's so sexy, isn't she?"

"I have no idea where you're pointing. Anyway, Ayano, go finish changing already,

okay?"

"Lady Yuki…"

"Mmm… Fine. I'm sorry for suddenly asking you to come out here like this. You can

go back now."

"It was my pleasure. I shall return shortly."

Only when he heard the sound of the door opening and closing echoing down the hall

did Masachika's face finally return to normal. He glared at his sister.

"So? What was the point of that?"

"Hmm? I was checking whether Ayano saw you as a man or as family. After all, most

women would be embarrassed to be caught in their underwear by a man if he wasn't family."

"Yeah…"

Masachika was taken aback by the fact that she had a good reason for what she did, and

naturally, he agreed. Most people would be less embarrassed if they were seen by a member

of their family.

"Anyway, what do you think, judging by how she reacted?" he asked his sister.

"Hmm? No clue."

"Huh?"

"She did seem a little embarrassed, maybe? But her expression never changes, you

know? So if you asked me whether she was embarrassed because she saw you as someone

who's datable, then…it's anyone's guess."

"Thanks for wasting my time."

But Yuki stared back into his disgusted eyes with a meaningful gaze of her own.

"At the very least, we now know that you view Ayano as more than 'just family.'"

"…"

He was at a loss for words. Masachika himself was aware of the sexual attraction he

felt when he saw Ayano in her underwear, so there was nothing to argue. Taking pleasure in

seeing her brother silenced, Yuki suddenly smirked with a somewhat consoling gaze.

"By the way, I love you more than anyone else in the entire world, but as a member of

my family and as my brother, you seeing me naked doesn't embarrass me at all. I'm really

sorry to disappoint you. Sorry that I'm not the kind of little sister who screams and throws

something at her brother when he walks in on her changing."

"I have no idea why I'm being apologized to, but I'd appreciate it if you were at least

a little embarrassed. The fact that you're not makes me worried about you as a woman in

the middle of puberty."

"Come on. Would someone with a normal sense of shame for a girl her age really wear

something as crazy as this outside?"

"So you do realize how crazy you look?! And wipe that smug look off your face!"

"My dear brother…can I be honest with you? Being fifteen and wearing my hair in

pigtails…is rough."

"Who would have thought?" Masachika replied with a straight face as Yuki stared into

the distance with a somewhat melancholic smile.

"But you know what? When I saw myself in the mirror, I started to shake. I was like,

'Seriously? How do I look this good?'"

"It hurts to admit, but you do look good."

"You say that, and yet your expression hardly even changed when you saw me. Isuppose

you'd have preferred it if I wore my hair in a ponytail?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Huh? Because you like ponytails, right?"

"Hmm… Well, I can't deny that I do like ponytails, but you're kind of missing the point."

"What do you mean?"

His strange, theatrical behavior piqued her interest, so she knit her brow and looked at

him seriously. Masachika smirked and continued:

"Of course, everyone loves a good ponytail, but…the best part about ponytails is when

people who usually have their hair tied up untie them and let their hair down."

"Uh-huh. Oh, it looks like we can make the next train if we leave now. By the way, don't

you think these route-finder apps really underestimate how fast the average person walks?"

"At least pretend like you're interested in what I have to say! And I think those apps use

the average elderly person's walking speed when coming up with the times!"

"What elderly person needs eight whole minutes to switch platforms?"

"You're just used to seeing our grandparents, who still move around a lot. The average

old person around town won't be able to chase a runaway dog two hundred meters, let alone

catch them."

"Yeah, they'd usually have to use a bike, huh?"

"No, that's not— Whatever."

There was so much wrong with what she'd said that Masachika felt a bit exhausted…

until his eyes eventually caught sight of Ayano, who had changed and was quietly putting

her hair up in a ponytail.

"…"

"Um… Ayano? Why are you putting your hair into a ponytail?"

"…? Because the amusement park probably has rules about having really long hair that

is not tied back."

"Huh? O-oh… Okay."

"…?"

"Wow, someone check out this guy's ego. My brother thinks everything's about him.

How embarrassing ♪," Yuki taunted while pointing both index fingers at his face.

"Shut up!" Masachika shouted, trying to hide his embarrassment. Ayano just tilted her

head to the side with her usual blank expression. Their exchange went on and on like this…

until it was too late, and they missed their train.