"why are you just standing right there? Go make us food, useless brother." She said demandingly, her arms crossed to her chest.
Is this girl for real right now? If this girl isn't my sister, I would've already punched her in the gut.
I sighed, ignoring her smug look as I headed straight to the kitchen. My stomach growled louder than my patience. Opening the fridge, I leaned down to see what was actually available.
Half-empty bottles of water, some leftovers in plastic containers, and oh great, her favorite strawberry milk lined up like a shrine. Not exactly the dinner I was expecting.
"Aizi…" I called out flatly, still crouched by the fridge. "Where's this 'dinner' you said was getting cold?"
From the living room, I heard her voice booming like she was the queen of the house.
"Use your brain, brother! I already said it was a typo!"
I shut the fridge with a little more force. "A typo, huh? So basically, you lured me in here just to cook for you."
"Exactly!" she shouted from the living room, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Unbelievable, really unbelievable.This girl… if she wasn't my sister, she'd already be six feet under by now.
I grabbed whatever leftovers looked edible, dumped them into a pan, and cranked the stove on. The sizzling filled the silence—well, until she decided she had to grace me with her royal presence.
Aizi strutted into the kitchen, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe with that smug grin plastered across her face. Her eyes, though, were sharp.
"You're awfully late, you know. And filthy. What did you do, roll around in a trash can?"
I didn't answer, focusing on stirring the pan. Maybe if I ignored her long enough, she'd vanish like smoke.
No such luck. She pushed off the doorframe and stepped closer, squinting at me.
"…Weird."
"What's weird?" I muttered.
"You." She sniffed the air dramatically, like some kind of bloodhound. "…You smell different. Not just dirt. Kinda… sweet. Almost like—" her eyes narrowed, "A perfume??."
I froze for half a second. Mistake.
Her grin widened. "Ohhh? Did my useless brother actually manage to talk to a girl? Or did one accidentally bump into you on the street and you're making a big deal out of it in your head?"
"I was at school," I said flatly, flipping the food. "That's it."
"School, huh?" She leaned on the counter, propping her chin in her hand. "Funny. Because I heard someone saw you wandering near Street 011 today."
The spatula nearly slipped from my hand.
She noticed. Of course she noticed.
"Street 011…" she dragged the words out slowly, her voice a mix of mockery and suspicion. "That's where the rich families live, right? Tch. Don't tell me you're stalking some elite girl now. are you that pathetic my useless brother?"
I clenched my jaw, refusing to look at her smug face. She didn't need to know about Aranami. Not yet.
"Tch. Don't tell me you actually found a girl who can stand being around you. What, did you bribe her with snacks? Or maybe she's just legally blind?"
I shot her a glare. "Do I look like I'd waste my time on that?"
She gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth like she was watching a drama. "Ohhh, so it's true! My pathetic brother actually interacted with a female. Incredible. Should I bake a cake? Or would confetti cannons be more your style?"
"Can you stop?" I muttered.
She smirked, hopping onto the counter and swinging her legs. "Tell me, is she desperate, delusional, or just into charity? Because you? You're a solid zero maybe one out of ten on the boyfriend scale."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're unbelievable."
"Unbelievable? No, you're unbelievable." She leaned forward, eyes glinting. "What's next, you two gonna walk hand-in-hand down Street 011 like some cheesy drama couple?"
I stiffened before I could catch myself. Her grin exploded.
"Aha! Jackpot! Street 011?" She clapped mockingly. "Wow, aiming for royalty now, huh? My loser brother trying to woo a princess. Hilarious. Can't wait to watch you crash and burn."
"Shut it, Aizi," I muttered, setting the plates down on the table.
"Finally!" she huffed, plopping into her chair like she hadn't eaten in years. She dug in immediately, stuffing food into her mouth with all the grace of a gremlin. "Took you long enough. I was this close to calling child services for sibling neglect," she mumbled through a mouthful, spraying crumbs like confetti.
I sat down across from her and started on my own food, pretending not to notice.
Of course, she leaned over with her cheeks puffed out, talking around the food just to annoy me. "Mmf—look at you, acting all serious. You cook okay, but don't think this makes you a good brother. At best, you're like… a discount cafeteria lady."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Can you eat like a normal person for once?"
She grinned with her mouth still full, deliberately chewing louder. "What? Crunch crunch smack smack. This bothering you, brother?"
I ignored her, she finally shoved the last food off her plates, she finished it with a satisfied grin.
Jesus, she doesn't act like a girl on her age.
Her eyes flicked up, catching me staring. That grin of hers curled even wider.
"What's with that look, my dear brother? Don't tell me…" she leaned forward, voice dropping to a dramatic whisper, "…your sister complex is kicking in again?"
I choked on my food. "The hell are you talking about?!"
"I totally get it, why you're feeling that way, onii-chan," she cooed in an over dramatically cute voice, clearly mocking me. She even tilted her head, batting her lashes like some spoiled idol. "I mean… I am cute, aren't I?"
I glared at her. "You've got issues."
The hell with this girl?
She ignored me, spinning her strawberry milk carton between her fingers like a trophy. "Don't be embarrassed. It's only natural. Any guy would fall for me eventually, so of course my hopeless brother would be the first.
I groaned, burying my face in my hand. "You're insufferable."
She smirked, leaning closer across the table. "Admit it. You were staring at me, weren't you? Thinking, 'Wow, my little sister is just too cute for this world.'"
"Absolutely fucking not."
"Uh-huh, suuure," she sang, poking my forehead with her finger. "Keep denying it, but your face already betrayed you, onii-chan~."
I swatted her finger away with a sigh. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. Wash the dishes."
"Wow, so romantic," she called after me, her voice dripping with mockery as I stood up. "Runs away right after dinner. Classic guilty behavior."
I didn't bother looking back.
I finally collapsed onto my bed, every muscle in my body begging for rest. For a blissful moment, silence wrapped around me—until my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Groaning, I fished it out, expecting some dumb notification. Instead, the screen lit up with her name.
Aranami.
My chest tightened a little as I opened the message.
"Hi, I know it's kind of late but I wanna ask… do you want to go to school together tomorrow ^^"
I stared at the words, my exhaustion suddenly forgotten. I stared at the words, blinking once, twice, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
Go to school… together? With her?
My thumb hovered over the screen, useless. My brain short-circuited between hell yes and play it cool. Easier said than done when my heart was already hammering like I'd run a marathon.
Aizi's smug face suddenly popped into my head, her voice echoing: "Don't tell me you actually found a girl who can stand being around you."
I groaned, burying my face into the pillow. Great. Now she's haunting my thoughts too.
Pulling the phone back up, I reread Aranami's text. The little "^^" at the end mocked me, playful and casual, like this was no big deal for her. Meanwhile, I was lying here like some idiot, sweating over punctuation.
Should I answer right away? Wait a bit? Pretend to be cool?
Blam
The door suddenly opened with a loud noise