After his wonderful date with the twins, albeit rather tame. Kichi found the following weeks to come to be pretty nice having a pair of girlfriends. He would've imagined it to be difficult and awkward, but aside from some initial growing pains. Things were peachy keen with Airi and Aoi.
Sadly the same could not be said about Kougi. It was a shame, but he knew he needed to do what he had to just to remain somewhat normal in this world. Sure, there were plenty of things he already did which would be considered strange my most. A coin dictated many of his decisions and he currently dated a pair of twins.
When one thought about it, he was far from normal. But even if that were the case, would that really be a reason to continue to add onto the absurdity? So that was why he had stood firm in not budging at all. Unfortunately this also meant feeling as though he had drifted apart from his older sister.
That was a shame for Kichi the most. While he understood they wouldn't continue to be as close as they were going through high school. That didn't make it sting less, nor did he believe it would happen so soon. Kougi was still someone he cared deeply for and nothing would change that.
Today was going to be the day where he'd try to turn it around. There had been plenty of days for him to spend with the twins after school. This time, he headed up to her classroom to ask the girl to walk home with him. They hadn't done it after that fateful day due to their circumstances. It was clear that was a major reason for their division.
"Oh good, you're still here." He peered his head in to see her still sitting her desk. Normally he wouldn't want to deal with a family problem at school, but now was the best time for him. "Look, I wanted to ask you something."
"Oh sorry." She got up and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I need to go take care of something first." Kougi had a quick pace, but he was quicker.
"Hey, wait." He grabbed her arm as she attempted to move past him. "Please, I don't want you to be mad at me anymore."
"Hmm, that's what it's about?" She responded, pausing to think a little. "Well, I do have something important to take care of. So if you really mean it, can you wait for me at the front of the school?"
"You promise you won't keep me waiting long?" He said, releasing his grip from her.
"Yeah of course, promise!" She gave him a wink, smile, and small salute as she exited the room. Kichi couldn't imagine her having something so important that their relationship took lower priority. He did understand he had just now suddenly come out of the blue to talk about it, but she had to know it would happen at any point.
He did as she asked and made his way to the front of the school to wait for her. While he was anxious in the time she was not with him, Kichi knew it would only be a matter of time before they finally had a chance to reconcile. They were family, so of course it was bound to happen. All it took was some effort on both their parts.
As he leaned against one of the trees located at the front. Kichi finally saw her walking out the front entrance to come meet him. For a moment prior to seeing her, he was genuinely concerned she might've lied to him and used an excuse to continue avoiding him. However, his relief was replaced with dread once more when he saw her with some other boy he never seen before.
"Hey Kougi…" He greeted once again her, all the while keeping his eye on the other guy. Kichi had hoped they'd be able to settle their differences privately. As would be expected for siblings with familial problems. "W-who's this?"
"Ah, he's Nao Niibori, one of my classmates." He couldn't say he had ever seen the guy, but it wasn't as though Kichi was always in her classroom all times, nor had he paid much attention to anyone who wasn't here. "Nao, you know him. Kichi's my little brother."
"It's nice to meet you." Nao extended an arm for a handshake, which Kichi accepted.
"You won't believe this." Said Kougi with glee. "But Nao just confessed to me!"
"Huh?" She had dropped a massive bombshell on him. What did she mean by this boy just confessed to her? Not only that, but if that were the case, and judging by the two of them standing here before him. Did this also mean she accepted his confession?
"Yeah, I've kind of liked your sister for a while now." Said Nao. "So I'm really glad she accepted me. I hope you'll be okay with it."
"…" Kichi paused for a bit before responding. This event was sudden and seemed to come from out of left field. However, it also was something that seemed to be positive for Kougi as well. She was much brighter than before and definitely more willing to talk to him under normal circumstances. There was no strain in her to have to interact with him like before. "Of course." He answered. "I hope you take good care of her."
"Great." Said Kougi. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She said this, but it seemed Nao was going to be sticking with them for the next little while. As expected from someone who finally reached over the hump of confessing to their crush.
"Well, could we walk home together today?" He said, careful on choosing his words. "Sorry I've been busy lately, so we couldn't do it."
"Yeah no problem." She replied.
"Can I join you two for a bit?" Asked Nao. At this point, Kichi really wished he would leave them alone. He understood the guy was excited, but at least be able to give the siblings a chance here. "I live in the same direction, but I won't go all the way with you or anything." He laughed, which was also joined with Kougi's.
"Sure, it shouldn't be a big deal." She accepted. Kichi didn't go against it either, as he figured he simply would just have to bide his time until they got home. So the three of them made their journey back.
This journey sucked worse than he expected. All Kichi could do was awkwardly walked besides them, not saying much as he knew he would have plenty to speak about later. It was made worse by their own small talk and Nao's flirting. Despite being a boy with two girlfriends, something about this only served to tick him off a little. He couldn't say he hated the boy or anything. It was fair play to act like this. So he assumed his own emotional issues were clouding his feelings with all this impatient waiting.
He looked over to check out Kougi as they walked. She had her hand held with Nao and she was smiling one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen her wear. It did make him happy to see her like this after weeks of her depressing mood. If there was anything that could turn things around for their relationship, then this should be it.
"Looks like this is where we gotta split up." Said Nao as they came to a crossroads. The pair looked at one another as Kichi simply had nothing else to do but wait for them to say their goodbyes. "T-thanks for today." He nervously said, then leaned in for a bit before backing away. It seemed he was about to go give her a kiss, but lost his nerve. Not that Kichi could blame the boy. It is a bit soon to do something like that and they were in front of her younger brother.
"Thank you too." She replied, then they parted ways. "He's nice, isn't he?" Asked Kougi as the siblings headed on their own way home.
"Yeah, he is nice." He responded. There wasn't much else he could say about that boy. They had only just met for less than an hour. Though from what he could, the intentions were pure. "Hey look, we both know why I wanted to talk today." Kichi had no other choice but to cut to the chase. "I want to say I'm sorry about what happened between us and the twins."
"That was pretty rough." She admitted. "And to be honest, if I wasn't just confessed to. I might not even be willing to work things out." His heart dropped at the thought of it. Was she really so distraught that his relationship with the twins that it would've ruined things between them? "But I've known Nao as a classmate for a while now, and he's a real great guy. You are fine with this, right?"
"Of course I am." He answered. "I guess we're a little lucky I've been wrong this entire time." Kichi had always said no boys were interested in her as a means to mock her. Thankfully in this case, he would be proven incorrect. "You should be happy. You shouldn't be worried over someone like me."
"Ah, geez." She surprised him from behind with a big hug. "You're the best brother in the whole world."