Episode 9 – The Tale of The Feelings of My Friend’s Little Sister

“Fuah…”

It was a somewhat comfortable morning, even though I was still feeling groggy from waking up from sleep.

No, more than comfortable, it might be more correct to say that I was in good shape.

“Nn?”

Apart from the usual sounds of birds chirping outside the window and the air conditioner blowing out cold air, I heard what sounded like breathing.

For a moment, I wondered what was going on, but then I remembered… that “she” was staying here.

Miyamae Akari. The reason why my friend’s younger sister is at my house is that she is, according to her, “the collateral for the loan (500 yen) that I lent to Subaru”.

To be honest, I don’t really understand it when I think about it again… Well, it’s Subaru. It’s not the first time he’s said something strange.

It’s been three years and a few months since we became friends right after entering high school, but that childish or impulsive side of him has not changed.

This is where he is both difficult and amusing… Akari-chan, who got caught in the middle, probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate it.

Suddenly, I turned my attention to the futon on the floor where Akari-chan was sleeping.

“Uh..!?”

There she was, naturally. Of course, there was no reason why she shouldn’t be there, and there was nothing surprising about that… but the problem lied in her attire.

She was hugging the quilt as if it were a pillow – her pink pajamas were loose.

Her long black hair, which she had tied up lightly before falling asleep, had come undone and was spread out on the futon.

It’s kind of… defenseless. It’s not surprising that she is defenseless because she is sleeping, but even so, she is defenseless. She’s so defenseless that it seems as if she’s being defenseless on purpose.

That is what you call a strange sexiness that you can’t complain about even if you are attacked… The other person is my friend’s little sister!　What the hell was I thinking?

“Akari-chan?”

I tried to call out to her lightly. But there was no response.

I was just a little curious, so I peeked at her sleeping face…

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but let out a voice of emotion that I couldn’t quite understand.

Akari-chan’s sleeping face looked… very happy.

In high school, I had never really talked to Akari-chan that much.

I was aware of her only as the younger sister of my friend, Subaru, and I’m sure that was the case from Akari-chan’s point of view as well.

Besides, she was famous in her own way, unlike me. The most common rumor was that she was a beautiful girl – well, I felt that way without question the first time I met her when she was in the third grade in middle school, so it makes sense.

There were also rumors that she had a beautiful voice, that she was quiet and cool, and that she was cute with a bit of naturalness.

After entering high school, she used to come to our classroom to deliver the lunch boxes that Subaru had left at home, and I got the impression that she was polite and seemed like a nice girl.

–Shiraki Senpai.

Yes, that’s what she used to call me at first. But after a while, it became just “Senpai,” and although it’s just a feeling, her tone and expression became softer somehow. And I thought that she felt closer to me than when we first met.

Unlike her brother, who is a bit of a jerk, Akari-chan is the kind of person that people around her look up to, and to be honest, I’d be more inclined to believe that it was a dream that she was sleeping in my room right now.

It is also a bit embarrassing to see her sleeping face, with her cheeks relaxed in happiness and drool dripping from the corners of her mouth…

“Fuhehe~… thanks, Onii-chan…”

I was almost blown away by the sleep talk that suddenly leaked out of her mouth.

The words were clearly directed at Subaru.

(I was wondering if this might be the case, but I guess Akari-chan is a bit of a bro-con…)

I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t know what it’s like. But I find it pleasant that there’s such  deep love between siblings.

Whenever Subaru overheard a rumor about Akari-chan, he would get annoyed and say, “I will never give Akari to some random person!“. So there was no doubt that the fondness was mutual.

(Well, if it was romantic feelings, it would be more complicated.)

I wonder if Akari-chan knows that Subaru has a girlfriend.

And if she didn’t know, and she had ongoing romantic feelings for Subaru, then…

(C-carnage..!?)

It’s just too funny to imagine Subaru’s girlfriend and Akari-chan having a battle over Subaru and sparks flying all over the place.

When Akari-chan, who is now happily muttering “Onii-chan” in her sleep, starts saying things like “Oi shitty brother” in a devilish manner… yeah, I would run away. For sure.

Maybe that had a little something to do with why Subaru sent her to me…?

It may be a little too much of a leap, but if Akari-chan has been giving off an aura of affection towards Subaru since he was still living at home…

What do you call this kind of thing… cooling period–isn’t it?

However, I was a little convinced that this might be a necessary step for Subaru and for Akari-chan. Though it was annoying for me to be caught up in it.

No, annoying is not the right word. I’m feeling good this morning thanks to the fact that Akari-chan made me a decent meal, so I don’t think it’s all that bad.

“Oh, by the way, what time is it… this late!”

The clock had already struck eleven. I have a part-time job at 12:00 PM today…!

…But despite all the noise, Akari-chan didn’t seem to wake up. Maybe she was tired because she had spent the whole day with someone she was only acquainted with.

“Ugh, I can’t bear to wake her up, but I have to leave soon or I’ll be late for work…!”

I wondered if I should leave Akari-chan unattended and go to my part-time job… I was a little worried, but in the end, I left Akari-chan a duplicate key to this room and a note saying, “I’m going to my part-time job, so you’re free to do as you please. When you are going back, leave it in the mailbox.“, and left for the job.

I might have had the option of taking a day off, but I was so pathetic that I prioritized self-preservation, reasoning, “The manager is scary…“.