"Darling, is your cousin's house close?" Belfast asked while hugging Yuuto's arm as they walked along the sidewalk.
Yuuto, once again wearing the hood of his jacket, nodded lightly.
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, it's just a few more turns," he replied calmly.
However, his steps suddenly came to a halt right in front of a shop.
"What is it, darling?" Belfast asked as she turned her head. Yuuto pointed toward a shop in front of them.
"Let's buy some cake first," he said. "This is my first meeting with my cousin. At the very least, we should bring something to eat."
Belfast looked at the shop for a moment, then nodded gently.
"That's a good idea," she said with a smile.
They entered the shop and bought several pieces of cake—strawberry and chocolate.
"Here's the money," Yuuto said as he handed over several bills.
The shop clerk gave him the change, her face slightly flushed. When Yuuto received it, their fingers accidentally touched.
The clerk looked startled and immediately panicked. Belfast, who witnessed the scene, could only let out a soft sigh, her expression resigned, as if she had already expected something like this to happen.
"Darling, you really need to be careful later at your cousin's house," Belfast said as she hugged Yuuto's arm again while they continued walking.
"Don't worry," Yuuto replied briefly.
They walked down the street, passing several turns. Before long, Yuuto and Belfast stopped in front of a house. On the family nameplate attached to the fence, the name "Yuusaki" was clearly written.
(Note: sorry for the typo earlier—previously the name was written as Yuuki, but the correct one is Yuusaki.)
"Looks like this is the place," Yuuto said.
The two of them stepped into the yard and stopped right in front of the door. Yuuto then pressed the doorbell.
Ding, dong.
A moment later, a voice could be heard from inside the house.
"Nee-san, please open the door," said the voice of a young girl.
Not long after that, the sound of small footsteps approached the door.
Click.
The door opened. Standing in front of Yuuto was a short-haired, tomboyish girl, wearing long pants and simple home clothes.
"Do you need—" the girl began, but her words suddenly stopped.
She stared at Yuuto from close range. Even though his head was still covered by the hood, the girl suddenly froze, shocked by Yuuto's height and build.
Yuuto then removed his hood, clearly revealing his face. He raised his hand and gave a small wave.
"Hello. You're Riko Yuusaki, right?" he said in a friendly tone.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Yuuto Kido. I'm your cousin."
However, the girl called Riko did not answer right away. She simply stood there, staring at Yuuto's face without blinking, her thoughts coming to a complete halt.
Belfast let out a soft sigh at the sight of her reaction.
"Darling," she said, pinching Yuuto's arm irritably.
"Ow—ow, that hurts, Belfast," Yuuto complained. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
He then looked back at Riko, raised his hand, and waved it lightly in front of her face.
"Hello, Riko-chan? Are you still there?" Yuuto said lightly, trying to snap her out of it.
Riko jolted, then quickly straightened her posture.
"O-oh… y-yes, sorry," she said nervously. "Um… who are you again?"
Yuuto smiled faintly, remaining calm.
"I'm your cousin. My name is Yuuto Kido. I'm the one who was asked to take care of you from now on," he repeated clearly.
Riko fell silent after hearing that explanation. She didn't answer right away—only continued staring at Yuuto without blinking, as if her mind had stopped again. Her gaze was completely fixed on him.
Yuuto then continued, lifting the package in his hand.
"This is for you—cake. Please accept it," he said as he offered the gift.
Riko, who had been spacing out, was startled.
"O-oh… th-thank you," she said nervously.
She stepped forward to take the cake, but suddenly her foot caught on a pair of shoes lying on the floor. She lost her balance, and Riko reflexively staggered—almost falling.
Yuuto immediately noticed and reacted at once.
He quickly released the cake package from his hand and stepped forward.
"Careful!" he shouted, trying to catch Riko's unsteady body.
Thud!
The sound of impact echoed inside the house.
Belfast, who had managed to catch the cake package Yuuto had thrown, froze, staring at the scene in front of her in disbelief.
Riko had fallen right on top of Yuuto, their bodies sprawled on the floor. Their faces were extremely close—almost facing each other.
Yuuto slowly opened his eyes, and so did Riko. Their gazes met in a brief moment of silence. Yuuto's hands were holding Riko by her lower arms, making sure she didn't fall harder.
"U-um… Riko-chan, can you stand?" Yuuto asked, his voice slightly awkward.
Riko finally realized their position. Her face instantly turned red, her body stiffening.
"A-a-ah… s-sorry!" she exclaimed nervously, hurriedly trying to get up.
But before she could fully stand, a small voice was heard from behind her.
"Nee-san…?"
Riko froze.
"What are you doing…?" asked a young girl standing there, staring at them with wide eyes, clearly unable to believe what she was seeing.
Riko turned around in panic.
"Mi-Mikan! Th-this was just an accident! I-it wasn't on purpose!" she stammered as she hurriedly stood up.
The girl called Mikan simply frowned, looking at Riko with a suspicious expression.
Slowly, her gaze then shifted to another figure who had just stood up in front of them.
Yuuto let out a small breath, then smiled at Mikan.
"Sorry if our first meeting ended up being a little chaotic," he said calmly, then looked at the smaller girl.
"You must be Mikan Yuusaki, right?"
Yuuto slightly bowed his head in greeting.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Yuuto Kido. I'm your cousin… and from now on, I'll be the one taking care of you."
---
Yuuto and Riko were sitting side by side in the Yuusaki family's living room.
Only the two of them were there—the room was quiet.
Yuuto finally broke the silence.
"So starting this Monday, Riko will be attending the same school as me, right?" he asked casually.
"And Mikan will be starting elementary school here as well?"
Riko flinched when her name was mentioned.
"Y-y-yes," she answered nervously, her voice slightly trembling.
Yuuto observed her reaction, then smiled faintly. He leaned a little closer until their shoulders touched and said casually,
"You don't need to be that nervous. I'm not going to hurt you—we're family, after all."
He lightly patted Riko's shoulder, simply trying to reassure her.
"Hii—!"
Riko suddenly jolted and let out a small cry, her body tensing up.
"P-please… d-don't—" she stammered, her voice small and panicked.
Yuuto pretended not to hear her.
He tilted his head slightly and leaned closer, wearing an innocent, deliberately clueless expression.
"Hm? What was that?" he asked casually.
"Sorry, I couldn't hear you."
Riko's face grew even redder, her eyes going blank for a moment as if her mind had completely shut down. Her head felt hot, as if steam were about to rise from it.
Seeing her reaction, Yuuto's smile only widened.
But before he could say anything else—
"Ahem."
A small cough came from the direction of the kitchen.
Riko flinched as if splashed with cold water. She immediately stood up awkwardly and turned in panic.
"Mi—Mikan!" she exclaimed nervously.
Mikan appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray. Neatly arranged on it were the cakes Yuuto had brought earlier.
A few steps behind her, Belfast appeared as well, carrying another tray filled with warm tea, her posture elegant.
"Sorry, Mikan," Belfast said gently.
"It seems Yuuto went a bit too far teasing Riko."
Belfast glanced briefly at Yuuto with a faint smile.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry," Yuuto said with a light laugh.
"Riko is just too cute, I couldn't help teasing her a little."
He then shifted his body to the side, making space on the sofa, and patted the empty spot.
"Come on, Riko. I promise I won't tease you anymore," he said casually.
Riko immediately turned her face away, her cheeks still red.
"N-no. I'm not sitting next to you," she said quickly.
She walked over to another sofa and sat down there, keeping her distance, while Yuuto simply smiled faintly at her reaction.
"I see… that's too bad," Yuuto said with a small smile. He then turned to Mikan.
"Mikan, come sit next to me," he said casually.
Mikan looked at him for a moment, then gently shook her head.
"No, I'll sit by myself," she replied briefly.
She neatly arranged the cakes on the tray, walked to another sofa, and sat down calmly by herself, keeping her distance just like Riko.
Belfast moved closer to Yuuto and leaned down slightly.
"Darling… you've gone too far," she whispered softly.
After that, Belfast began arranging the tea cups she had brought, then sat gracefully beside Yuuto.
Yuuto let out a small sigh, then smiled casually.
"What can I say, Belfast," he said lightly.
"Every man has, at some point, wanted a little sister… and now I've ended up with two."