Episode 6 – As usual?

“Onii chan! Let’s play with Sumi!”
“Towa will play with me, right?”

Arika and Sumika are fighting over me.　
As children, the three of us did everything together.

If one is going to play, the other two follow.
If one is going to study, two people will follow, even though they don’t want to.
If one is napping, the two lie down on either side and sleep until the sun goes down.

It’s literally the three of us together.
That’s not all.

“Uwaaaaaa!!!!!”
“Wait ! Give back sumi’s Pin”

In a neighborhood park.
The boy takes away Sumika’s pin clasp and his cronies laugh.

It’s the kind where adolescent boys are mean to or mess with the girls they like.

These boys are interested in Sumika and Arika

“Hey! Don’t wear these tacky pins!”
“Ughh, it’s not tacky! That’s something my oniichan bought me!”
“You guys are always messing with us, and we just hate you!”

Arika’s words frightened the boys.

“Hey! Don’t pick on Arika and Sumika!”
“Oh no, it’s Towa. Run!”

The boys who had surrounded Arika and Sumika ran away at once upon hearing my voice.

No boy can beat us.
Towa will protect us.

The sisters were always good at it.

“Onii chan! Sumi, was scared~!”
“All right, all right, I’m here, so don’t worry.”

I pat Sumika’s head as she cries and hugs me.
Then, I was squeezed by the edge of my clothes from behind.

“Thank you, Arika, for keeping Sumika safe until I arrived.”
“Yeah…….”

The three of us are good friends. We support each other and live together.

I miss it……, this is a dream.

“Hnn……….”

I lifted my eyelids in melancholy.

[Because we’re finished as siblings in the first place.]
[What do you think you did to me? you rubbed me the wrong way and left me cold. …… No matter how much sibling, it’s beyond the scope of teasing. I am not your housekeeper.]

“Haaaa…… let’s just get up and wash my face.”

Then I changed into my uniform and went to the living room.

My father is working overseas by himself, and my mother is accompanying him, so it is currently just me and my sisters.
Although he sends money home to support us, we do not depend on bento boxes and side dishes from convenience stores and supermarkets to survive. I cook the meals and do all the housework except for the laundry.

It is not a hardship. If they can’t make it, someone who can make it should make it.

“Today’s bento is…….”

As usual, I was going to make breakfast and lunch but …….

“……..”

For some reason, when I try to move my hands, a thud of sluggishness descends on me.

I don’t feel like making ……. My feelings are blurred because of what happened yesterday.

…… enough.

I left my house, leaving a loaf of commercial bread on the table and lunch money.

“Good morning Towa!

On my way to school, Runa, energetic as usual, pats me on the back and gives me a fresh smile.

“Good morning, Runa.”
“You called me by my first name again today, Good boy, good boy~.”
“Don’t pat me on the head.”

The same kind of inconsequential conversation that we have had before. But today, even such trivial things fill my heart.

Naruse Runa.
She is always at the top of her class and is trusted by those around her, and her excellent appearance makes her very popular with both men and women.

Runa is such a girl, but strangely enough, I did not hear any flirtatious rumors about her having a boyfriend.
The common perception is that if she’s this cute, one or two …… might be rude, but there could be one or two ……. No, maybe there are …….

“Did you see the press conference yesterday? It was amazing, wasn’t it?~”
“Yeah, but it’s none of my business.”
“Well okay. Did you see anything unusual?”
“We didn’t talk that much yesterday, so I don’t know.”

Fighting……No, I can’t say I took out my frustrations on one side or the other.

Runa’s face turned difficult when I answered that, but she soon smiled.

“But I’m afraid there might be something to the contrary.”
“I guess I’m right that about having some guilty thoughts…..”
“Did you say anything?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing, nothing.”

Runa turned away.
For a moment, she looked gloomy, but maybe she just looked that way in the shadows.

Silence fell, but I proceeded on my feet without concern.

“If that’s the way you’re going to be with …… I’m not afraid to let you go.”

I didn’t know she was muttering such things next to me.