"Ha!" she suddenly laughed, jabbing a finger down at me. "I'm totally right about you having a sister complex!" Her voice dripped with triumph, smug and mocking.
"What the hell are you even talking about?!" I snapped, heat crawling up my neck.
"Oh, don't play dumb, nii-chan," she teased, rocking on my hips with exaggerated smugness. "You get all flustered whenever I say creepy stuff, and you're way too protective. Classic signs."
Then she suddenly rolled her hips against me, exaggerated and mocking, like she was imitating something filthy on purpose. That was the breaking point. My patience snapped like a rubber band.
Without thinking, I shoved her off my lap, harder than I meant to, my chest heaving.
"You're taking your jokes too far, Aizi!" I barked, my voice rough and angry.
She bounced on the mattress but didn't look the least bit guilty. Instead, she sat up slowly, brushing her hair back with a smirk that made my blood boil even more.
"Oooh, scary nii-chan," she drawled, tilting her head. "I hit a button, didn't I?"
I glared, fists clenching tight. "I'm serious, Aizi. Enough."
Her smirk softened into a sly grin, her eyes glittering like she wanted me to snap all over again.
"If a little teasing makes you this mad…" she leaned in just enough to sting, "…maybe I'm closer to the truth than you want to admit."
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself not to rise to her bait. "You're insane. Absolutely insane."
Aizi gasped, clutching her chest like I'd stabbed her. "Insane?! How rude! Here I am, giving my precious nii-chan attention, and this is how you thank me?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Attention? You're harassing me."
"Harassing?!" She scooted closer again, practically bouncing on the mattress with each word. "No, no, no. This is love. Pure, unconditional, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love between siblings!"
"Stop saying it like that!" I barked, trying to push her back, but she clung to the blanket, refusing to budge.
She grinned wide, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Admit it already. You can't live without me. Every time I annoy you, you still look at me. Every time I tease you, you react. If that's not a sister complex, then what is it, huh?!"
I groaned. "It's called basic human patience!"
"Patience?" She tilted her head, lips curling into a bratty pout. "Then why do you look guilty every time I say it? Why do you get all red whenever I get close? Hm? Hm, nii-chan? Explain that!"
I shoved her face away with my palm. "Because you're suffocating me!"
"Liar!" she sang, shaking her head like a spoiled princess, batting my hand aside. "If I vanished tomorrow, you'd lose your mind. You'd cry, wouldn't you? You'd probably build a shrine with my picture and—"
"Shut up!" I snapped, heat rushing to my ears.
Her eyes lit up. "Ooooh, I hit a nerve again! See? Totally a sister complex!" She jabbed my shoulder, grinning ear to ear. "Big bad nii-chan, terrified the world might find out he's obsessed with me~"
"I'm not obsessed with you!"
"Say that louder," she teased, cupping her ear. "Yell it to the heavens! Maybe if you scream it enough, you'll actually believe it."
I clenched my fists, ready to explode. "Aizi—"
But she cut me off, crawling onto the bed again and plopping herself right next to me, shoulder pressing into mine. "Face it, nii-chan. You have sister complext and always will have."
My chest tightened. For a second, her voice wasn't bratty—it was… serious. Too serious.
But then, like flipping a switch, she laughed it off, sticking her tongue out. "Unless, of course, you want me to tell everyone at school about your gross little obsession. Maybe I'll make a whole announcement during lunch. Should I do that?"
I groaned, falling back onto the pillow. "Why do I even try with you…"
"Because you loooove me," she chirped, leaning over me with that smug, bratty grin.
I dragged a hand down my face. "You're impossible."
"I'm adorable," she corrected instantly, flashing a grin. "And don't you forget it."
"You're not adorable, you're a menace."
"Menace?" She gasped dramatically, crawling over until her hair brushed my cheek. "Nii-chan, say that again while looking into my eyes."
I turned away. "I'd rather gouge my eyes out."
She hooked her arm around my neck, forcing my face toward hers. "Look. At. Me."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes~!"
"Aizi!"
She giggled, rocking back, her hold loosening only after she'd made her point. "See? You always give me attention, even when you're mad. Sister complex confirmed!"
I grit my teeth. "That's not how logic works."
"It works when I say it does." She leaned in, her smug grin never fading. "Besides, you don't deny it properly. You yell, you sputter, you blush—but never once do you look me in the eye and say, 'I don't have a sister complex.'"
I froze.
Her grin widened, fangs flashing in victory. "Aha! Got you!"
"That doesn't mean anything—"
"It means everything!" she cut in, poking my cheek. "You're scared to say it, because deep down, you know I'm right. Admit it, nii-chan. You'd die without me."
"Would you stop exaggerating for five seconds?!"
She gasped like I'd slapped her. "Exaggerating?! You can't even eat properly unless I remind you! You sulk when I ignore you! And don't think I didn't notice how clingy you got last week when I stayed overnight at Haruka's place."
My ears burned. "I wasn't clingy!"
"You hovered outside my room like a puppy for an hour after I got home," she shot back, eyes gleaming. "Face it—you need me."
"That's… not… what that was!" I struggled for words, but she leaned in so close her breath brushed my lips.
"Then what was it, hmm?" she whispered, bratty yet sharp. "Explain it. Unless…" she smirked, "…I'm right again."
I shoved her forehead back. "You're insufferable."
"And you love me for it," she sang, bouncing back into place.
I buried my face in my hands. "This is hell."
She flopped dramatically across my lap again, arms spread. "Then suffer, nii-chan. Because no matter how much you deny it, you'll always end up here. With me."
For a fleeting second, her voice dipped lower, almost possessive, before she covered it with another bratty giggle. "Sister complex! Sister complex! You're never escaping it!"
I groaned, glaring down at her smug, upside-down grin. She just waggled her brows like she'd won the world.
Aizi tilted her head, lips curled in that infuriating grin. I was ready to snap again, but then—suddenly—her expression dropped. The smugness melted away, replaced by something fragile, almost pitiful.
Her shoulders slumped as she tugged at her sleeve, voice quieter than I'd ever heard it.
"…You really hate me that much, nii-chan?"
I froze. "What? That's not—"
"You shoved me. You yelled at me." She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face, mumbling. "Maybe you really do think I'm just some annoying brat…"
Guilt punched me straight in the chest. My fists unclenched. Damn it, she looked small for once—defenseless, almost trembling. The frustration I'd been boiling in suddenly felt cruel.
"…Aizi," I sighed, running a hand down my face. "I don't hate you, okay? You just—sometimes you push things too far."
Slowly, she peeked up at me, wide eyes shimmering like glass. "You mean it? You don't hate me?"
"…Of course not," I muttered, sinking back onto the bed. "You're my sister. You drive me crazy, but… you're still family."
For a second, her lips parted like she wanted to say something. Then she crawled over and—without warning—leaned against me, curling up at my side.
I stiffened. "Oi—Aizi—"
"Shut up," she whispered, voice muffled against my shoulder. "Just let me stay like this. For a little while."
My pulse was a mess, but… I couldn't push her away again. Not when she was being like this. So I let her, telling myself it was harmless.
Her breathing slowed, calm, almost like she'd fallen asleep.
But when I glanced down, her lips were curled in the faintest, secretive smile—sharp, satisfied, possessive.
Like she'd just won.
DING!
My phone that's forgotten suddenly buzzed off under the pillows.