The actions that we take are almost always selfish, although it may not always be clear how it benefits you. For example, even acts of kindness in which you don't reveal who you are, aren't an exception. You benefit from that because you feel like you have done something good.
This selfishness that is a part of who you are. When you try to convince yourself it's not, you end up lying to yourself. Being selfish isn't all that bad, it is the reason that you care so much.
"No way! You actually talked to that girl. Nice~"
Big sister gave me a thumbs up after placing the carton of instant ramen that she was holding on the shelf. By 'that girl', my big sister referred to Asahi.
"What did she say?"
"Not much."
"Boo~ From your drawing, she looks like a boy – short hair and pants, right? – I wonder what's up with that~"
"How she dresses, doesn't matter. She has a cute face."
"Are you, by any chance, interested in this girl?~"
"Yes."
Asahi had made herself infamous in our year on the first day with her speech at the entrance ceremony. This may have been bad enough, but there were also rumours about her from her previous school. Not to mention that she would ignore almost anyone that tried to talk to her.
After all that, it would be strange if I wasn't interested.
"Well then, if you want some advice on how to get closer to this girl, big sister can give you some~"
"Please, teach me."
"Then listen carefully…"
In summary, what big sister said is the following:
1. Make sure the girl is comfortable around you. The best way to do this is to increase the number of times you interact. These interactions should be kept as brief as possible 'so she don't get bored you~'.
2. Learn important facts about the girl by any means necessary. Things like her birthday and favourite food and information about her family (this may be a sensitive topic). 'Don't ask for her three sizes though, that's creepy~'.
3. Find something that that you and the girl can do alone together.
"That last one seems like it will be difficult."
"Don't worry about that~ These steps are basically in order that you do them. Unlike making friends with your classmates, getting to know someone takes a lot of time."
I worked at the shop until 5pm. After that, would I would shower and make dinner. Big sister on the other hand would keep working until at least 7pm.
"This is really good."
Today, it was stir fry noodles with pork ribs.
"Big sister, please save some for tomorrow."
I stopped big sister as she reached for a fourth helping.
After dinner, big sister stayed by the dinner table twiddling her thumbs. After I finished washing the plates I waked over to her.
"H-Hitoshi."
"Yes."
"I want to talk about something."
"You got a boyfriend?"
"N-no."
"You're on your period?"
"Why would I want to have a talk about that?"
"…"
"Geese~ I was just thinking that we should get a part-timer."
A part-timer for the store…
"…we've never done that before."
"But you're going to high school now – you've got to make friends and study hard – you can't do that if you have to work at the store every afternoon…"
It is clear that big sister thought a lot about this.
"You're right, let's put up a 'looking for a part-time worker' sign tomorrow. I am happy to keep on working until we find someone."
My sister hugged me.
"Thank you, Hitoshi."
You don't have to thank me, big sister. Everything I do is out of my own selfishness after all. I hugged her in return.