"Brother-in-law, how is it?"
After changing into the uniform, Kurosaki Mea let go of Shichen, did a little spin in front of him, and asked affectionately.
Her attitude was nothing like someone who'd just met him—it was like they'd known each other for a long time.
"Mm, looks good. Suits you," Shichen nodded as he took in the light, fluttering skirt and those white, pillar-like legs.
"Really? Hehe~" Mea stopped, a little shy, and scratched her head.
"Remember this: from now on, the minimum coverage for your clothes is this level. No bare midriffs, and no showing more than half your thighs, got it?" Shichen warned sternly.
"Eh? Why?"
"Why so many questions? I'm your brother-in-law; you just need to listen to me. It's not like I'll hurt you."
"Uuuh… fine," Mea agreed, sulking a little.
"Alright. Next up is the long-awaited sister reunion."
"Eh?" Mea froze for a moment, then as if sensing something, looked toward the door.
Right then, the door was pushed open and a petite golden figure walked in.
"Shichen, I just sensed—"
As Golden Darkness stepped into the office, she didn't even finish her sentence before her eyes locked onto Mea.
Faced with someone just like her, Yami's expression instantly turned wary. Her golden hair flared and whipped around, segments morphing into blades.
"Wait, Yami, don't get worked up," Shichen quickly stopped her.
"Shichen, what's going on?" Yami asked, eyes never leaving Mea.
Mea, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered. She didn't mind Yami's wariness at all—just smiled at her, eyes full of anticipation.
Like she'd been waiting forever for this meeting.
"Put the weapons away first. I'm right here—do you really think something's going to happen?" Shichen soothed.
"That's… true." Yami gave a small nod; her hair fell back down smoothly, returning to normal, though she still stared at Mea.
Felt a little like same-type repulsion.
"Yami, come here," Shichen beckoned, patting his thigh.
"…What are you planning?" Yami frowned.
"Why so many questions?"
"There's an outsider here…"
"It's fine. She'll be 'family' soon enough."
"You mean a new woman? Isn't having me enough?" Yami finally walked over.
"Oh? Are you jealous?" Shichen grinned as she approached.
"What I mean is, she's obviously the same as me," Yami said flatly as she reached him.
Shichen pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Small as she was, she was extremely comfortable to hold.
"Seems like you misunderstood me again. When I said 'family,' I didn't mean it the way you're thinking."
"What did you mean?" Yami tilted her head to look at him.
"Now that you've noticed what she is, can't you guess who she is?"
"What other identity could she have?"
"Big sis," Mea chimed in at just the right moment.
"Big sis?" Yami frowned at her.
"That's right. I was manufactured as the second-generation biological weapon using your data, so you're my big sister," Mea said with a bright smile and nod.
"So you're based on my data… wasn't all that supposed to be destroyed?" Yami asked in disbelief.
"I don't know either," Mea shook her head.
"No wonder… but…" Yami looked at her with a mixture of understanding and conflict.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Shichen ruffled her hair, eyes soft.
"Shichen?"
"You have a little sister now—and a blood-related family."
"Family…" Yami murmured.
"Of course, you and I are already family, and there's everyone at the café too. But one more family member, one more little sister—what's so bad about that?" Shichen said.
"Little sister…"
Yami murmured the words and suddenly thought of Lala and her sisters.
Before, watching those three, she'd felt nothing in particular. But now that she suddenly had a little sister of her own, she couldn't help comparing herself to them.
Was she going to be like them now?
It seemed… kind of nice. Or maybe not—Yami looked up at Shichen again.
"What is it?" Shichen met her gaze, confused.
"Nothing… You said your name is Kurosaki Mea?"
"Yep! Big sis can just call me Mea," Mea said cheerfully.
"Mea, you'd better be careful around this guy. Don't let him take advantage of you," Yami said with a straight face, pointing at Shichen.
"Hey hey hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Shichen tugged on her soft cheeks.
"Mm…" Yami didn't resist, still pointing at him.
She knew perfectly well what was going on between Momo and Nana, whether Lala noticed or not. She also knew what those two occasionally did on the sly.
No matter how you hide it, you can't fool her.
And if you looked at the three sisters, it was obvious—this guy had a thing for sister sets.
Now that Kurosaki Mea was her little sister, she'd definitely become one of his targets. Which meant Yami herself was going to get teased even more from here on out.
"Big sis, I think brother-in-law is great," Mea said with a grin.
"Brother-in-law?" Yami echoed.
"You're his woman, aren't you? That makes him my brother-in-law, right?" Mea replied.
"…" Yami softly bit her lip.
When Mea had called him "brother-in-law" earlier, she thought she'd sensed something. So this guy actually liked being called that?
"See? Mea really knows how to talk," Shichen gave her a thumbs-up.
"Hehe~ well, brother-in-law let me in, after all~"
"You're transferring into this school too?" Yami ignored Shichen's reaction and asked Mea.
"Yup."
"Why?"
"Because big sis goes here too. And I'm really curious about school life!"
"School, huh… Where did you live before this?"
"In space."
"In space… Then go to school," Yami nodded.
"Mm, I will."
"By the way, are you living alone?" Yami suddenly remembered to ask.
"Yeah, why?"
"Then do you want to…" Yami started to suggest that Mea move in with them, but halfway through she hesitated.
Living together with Shichen seemed… dangerous.
She couldn't help glancing back at him.
"What's with that look?" Shichen pulled her face gently from side to side.
"Mm… I don't feel safe…" Yami muttered.
"Not safe? What does that even mean? Is that really what you think of me?"
"Look at Momo and them; they're walking examples."
"…I've got nothing to say to that," Shichen admitted.
"Hahaha~ Big sis and brother-in-law really do get along well~" Mea laughed.
"Is this what you call 'getting along well'?" Yami questioned.
"It looks great to me! Don't worry, big sis, I'm fine living alone. I've been on my own for ages," Mea reassured her.
"I see… Well, if you run into any problems, you have to come find me. Or him—that's probably more useful than me," Yami said, already slipping into big-sister mode, worrying over Mea.
"No problem. Even if you didn't say it, I'd go straight to brother-in-law for help."
"So you and Shichen… met a long time ago?" Yami asked.
"Nope~ I only met brother-in-law today. But I've been watching you guys for a few days now. You and brother-in-law really are lovey-dovey~"
"Lovey-dovey… Don't tell me…" Yami suddenly thought of their little "incident" from two days ago and wondered if that had been seen.
She glanced at Shichen, needing confirmation.
"I have no idea. I wasn't paying attention then," Shichen shrugged.
"…Mea, what exactly did you see?" Yami asked.
"Big sis and brother-in-law being all lovey-dovey~" Mea's eyes turned a little hazy.
The way she looked made her meaning obvious.
"…I'm going back to class," Yami said, unable to stay any longer. She hopped off Shichen's lap and headed straight out.
"What's wrong with big sis?" Mea watched her leave, puzzled.
"It's fine. She's just embarrassed, that's all. Don't worry about it."
"Embarrassed? Why?"
"Don't worry about it. That's just how she is."
"I see… So, brother-in-law, when can I start going to class?" Mea slid up beside him and hugged his shoulder again, clinging tightly.
"Not today. Tomorrow," Shichen replied.
"Why not today?"
"Today I'll introduce you to everyone first. That way, you'll have people you know looking out for you when you start tomorrow."
"Brother-in-law means…?"
"Let's all have lunch together," Shichen said with a little smile.
"Really?"
"Why not? We're all going to be family, after all."
"Great! Brother-in-law really is the best!" Mea got so excited she threw herself into his arms.
That's when Shichen realised how much coiled strength she had in her body—springy and packed with energy.
Though, wasn't she being way too affectionate with him already?
Still, whether it was genuine or an act, Shichen didn't mind. It's not like he didn't know what she was, and he wasn't afraid of whatever she might be plotting.
"As long as you know your brother-in-law is good to you, you'd better listen to him from now on, okay?" Shichen said, patting her lightly on the back.
"No problem! From now on, I'll do whatever brother-in-law says!"
~~~
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