"Hehe, it feels completely different from when we were kids."
After slipping into the covers, Anon immediately let out a series of silly giggles at how cramped the bed was.
"Even though Nii-chan looks so thin, when we're actually lying next to each other, you're still really big."
"That's because we're two adults squeezing into a single bed."
Tetsuya replied with a sense of helplessness.
"Besides, my frame is that of a normal man's. I just don't have much meat on my bones."
"...That's true."
Anon reached out and squeezed Tetsuya's shoulder.
"Feeling it carefully like this, it really is a boy's physique... It'd be nice if you had a little more meat on you."
"At least it's much better than when I first came to our house, right?"
Tetsuya quietly let his sister knead him.
"At the very least, my weight is over fifty kilograms now."
"That's still far from what you'd call healthy..."
Anon withdrew her hand.
"But, it's definitely a lot better than seven years ago."
For a moment, she couldn't help but recall the scene when Tetsuya had first arrived at the Chihaya home.
He was the closest thing to the concept of "skin and bones" she had ever seen. He was a boy three years older than her, yet they were basically the same height. Not only that, but when Tetsuya, who hadn't had time to buy new clothes yet, temporarily wore her old clothes, they even looked a little too loose on him.
"The first time we ate together back then, I was really shocked."
Anon said in a deeply nostalgic tone.
"Eating only half a rice ball for a meal, that's the appetite of a pet cat."
"Actually... besides having a small appetite, there was another reason."
Tetsuya said.
"Because at the time, I was worried that Father and Mother would dislike kids with big appetites, like the adults at the orphanage, so I intentionally ate less."
"..."
Hearing this, Anon was stunned for a moment, then immediately snuggled closer to Tetsuya and pressed her cheek against his back.
"What about now?"
"I stopped thinking that way a long time ago... In fact, my wariness didn't even last a week."
Remembering his experience when he first arrived at the Chihaya home, Tetsuya couldn't help but laugh wryly.
"Mother would come ask if I wanted something to eat every hour, Father was always trying to find ways to take me out, and even you, at only nine years old, were always sharing your favorite snacks with me... Under those circumstances, even the most cautious person would be moved by you all."
"Well, you looked so pitiful back then, Nii-chan... You were so polite and respectful no matter who you talked to, you'd confirm everything with us multiple times before doing anything, and you'd even ask if we needed any chores done before going to bed. You were like a servant our family had bought."
Anon pouted.
"I can't even remember how long it took back then to get you to stop using honorifics with me."
"About a month, I think."
Tetsuya replied.
"You said, 'If you use honorifics again, I'll cry,' and then I was forced to change how I addressed you."
"It was just too distant! We'd already become family, yet you kept using honorifics."
Mentioning this, Anon couldn't help but complain with puffed cheeks.
"And even after you changed how you addressed me, we didn't get close right away! Aah, thinking about it now, you were super difficult back then, Nii-chan!"
"Well, it's hard for anyone to completely adapt to a new environment. Even though I understood in my heart that you wouldn't bully me like the people at the orphanage, I would still subconsciously imagine things that way."
Tetsuya said.
"But if we're talking about the decisive change, it was definitely those gloves... It was from that day on that I truly made up my mind. I was no longer 'Tetsuya' without a surname, but Chihaya Tetsuya of the Chihaya family. And... I decided to pass on my talent for handicrafts, and everything I had felt from the Chihaya family, to more people."
"...Mhm, that's more like it."
Out of Tetsuya's sight, Anon revealed a proud smile.
"But... I never thought those gloves were so important to you too, Nii-chan."
"They are very important. Both the gloves, and you, Anon."
Tetsuya said calmly, his words leaving Anon stunned.
"You are the biggest motivation for me to walk the path of a designer, and the important person who made me feel warmth and family. No matter how much time passes, these memories between us will never change."
"So... you don't have to worry at all that I'll leave you or grow distant from you one day, Anon. Because you are the starting point that has brought me all the way here. Without you, I would surely lose my own direction forward."
"...!"
Ever since she learned about Hoshino Ai, Anon had been living in a constant state of anxiety, fearing loss.
The number of talented and cute younger girls around her brother was increasing, giving her, the little sister, a sense of crisis that she could be "pushed out" of this position at any time.
However, upon hearing Tetsuya's confession, she felt an incredibly strong warmth and sense of security begin to spread through her heart.
She knew that Tetsuya was a terrible liar, so everything he said came from his true heart and thoughts.
Tetsuya wouldn't leave her, nor would he grow tired of her because of other girls who were more outstanding than she was.
That was enough. As for what came next... that was for her to think about and work hard on!
"...I've just been unilaterally receiving your care all this time, Nii-chan."
Anon said while wrapping her arms around Tetsuya.
"Even though you always say I did you a favor, for me, who has always lived in a happy environment, all I did was normal sharing... In contrast, your constant guidance and care for me, Nii-chan, is what's truly precious and rare."
"That's just what I should do—"
"It's not. I've asked other classmates with siblings, and at the very least, their older brothers and sisters are nowhere near as good as you, nor would they take such good care of their younger siblings."
Anon cut off Tetsuya's attempt to dismiss it.
"So sometimes I wonder, is it really okay for me to continue being this happy? Do I really deserve to be doted on so much? Can I really just enjoy all of this with an empty head... It wasn't until I formed this band that I finally found an answer."
"Before [CRYCHIC] disbanded, none of them ever thought they would experience such a painful separation. And... after they broke up, they never had the courage or the ability to repair their relationships. Without you, Nii-chan, they would surely have continued to be lost and in pain."
"I don't want to become that powerless, and I don't want to experience that kind of pain, so... I'm going to work hard to become more mature, and stronger. Until I can protect everything I hold dear with my own hands... including you, Nii-chan."
"...Is that so."
A smile appeared on Tetsuya's face.
"Well then, I'll be looking forward to that day."
"Mhm!"
Anon first nodded emphatically, then she suddenly remembered something and immediately took out her phone.
"Right, as a memento... let's take a picture together before we sleep!"
"? Is that necessary?"
"It's been so many years since we've slept together like this, and... I kinda want to show off to the others in the band, hehe..."
"...What is there to show off?"
"That's because you don't understand how happy it makes a girl to have a handsome and reliable older brother! Come on, just take one picture with me!"
Without waiting for Tetsuya's response, she reached up, turned on the bedside lamp, and switched her phone to selfie mode.
"You can just lie here, Nii-chan, and I'll just go like this—"
As she spoke, Anon brought her cheek close to Tetsuya's and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Click.
With the sound of the shutter, an incredibly intimate photo of the siblings was taken.
"Yay!"
"...Are you done?"
"Mhm!"
"Then turn off the light and let's get to sleep... It's almost one o'clock."
"Okay~ Just a second."
Then, Anon quickly did something on her phone, put it down, and turned off the bedside lamp again.
"Good night, Nii-chan."
"Mhm, good night, Anon."
...
...
"So, you're just going to sleep while hugging me like this?"
"Eh? I can't?"
"Won't it be hot?"
"? I remember you're the type who isn't bothered by the heat at all, Nii-chan?"
"I meant you. I could tell when we were taking the picture, you're already sweating a little, aren't you? Can you really fall asleep while we're stuck together like this?"
"!!!"
"Not hugging anymore? It is a little hot, isn't it?"
"Ugh... I'm going to sleep! Good night, good night!"
"Mhm, good night."
—2 days until the Live.