I spent more time with Kaori.
At first, she started talking about herself.
A poor past, a violent father,
the hard reality after his father died. Even her hard life as a trainee....
The more I listened to her, the more my heart ached.
I felt like she was my sister and I wanted to help her.
So I went everywhere.
I started with coffee shops to talk, then karaoke, arcades, amusement parks, etc.
I tried to help her get over her trauma and find a way to have fun.
But then something happened.
"...."
"...."
Late evening at the front door.
I texted my sister to eat first since I was coming home late, but she ate and waited for me at the door without saying a word.
When our eyes met, she winked at me without saying a word.
"What's for dinner?"
"...I ate.... Were you waiting for me?"
"...."
Without another word, she started clearing the dinner table.
I quickly went over and helped her.
"Why didn't you tell me if you were going to wait? Why did you wait without telling me?"
"...."
Miyuki continued to ignore me.
She wasn't just pouting, but I could feel something was off inside her.
"It's Miyuki."
"...."
Miyuki looked at me only after she had cleared away the dinner dishes.
There was no sadness or emotion in her eyes.
It was hard to tell exactly what state she was in.
"Tonight...."
"Huh?"
"...I'll be waiting for you in your room...."
Miyuki left with those words and went into the bathroom.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
Something made her feel like she had committed a great sin against her sister.
"What did I do wrong?"
She had been neglecting her sister lately.
She's been waiting at the school gate less often, and sometimes she comes in late, like today.
But that's temporary, and it's my own private life.
It's weird to say I've sinned.
"...I'm nervous about something."
When Miyuki came out of the bathroom, I went into the bathroom, washed up quickly, and came back into the room.
Naturally, the door was unlocked.
Was it just my mood that made Miyuki's words to wait in the room seem eerie?
Then.
Bump.
The door opened and in walked Miyuki in her pajamas with slightly damp hair.
She turned off the light as soon as she entered.
"...."
"...."
Miyuki turned off the light and didn't move for a while.
I was nervous and couldn't speak.
"...You've been coming home late a lot lately."
"Huh? Huh."
Miyuki took a step closer.
"Who is it?"
"...."
Another step closer.
"What kind of bitch are you dating?"
"It's Miyuki...."
The prickly tone of his voice made me feel like a jilted Westerner.
I'm not.
"Who is she? Answer me."
"Miyukiya.... Stop it, it's not like that."
"It's not like that? You're asking me who the bitch is who possessed my brother."
One last step.
Miyuki stepped in front of me.
I can't read her eyes in the darkness.
But I could feel the anger and bitterness in her words.
I steeled myself and spoke firmly.
"Miyuki, you can't use words like that. Holly. Do you see your brother as someone who would do that?"
"...No."
"That's right. It's Miyuki. Trust you. You don't think he'll abandon you, do you?"
"...."
Miyuki buried her head in my chest and hugged my waist.
"Okay. I'll trust you. But I don't want to see you anymore."
"...It's Miyuki."
"If you're not really possessed, you can at least listen to your sister, right, big brother?"
I cut him off abruptly.
That's rude, even for Kaori.
I shake my head, and Miyuki gives me a disappointed look.
"Why? Why won't you do me a favor?"
"I would do anything you want, Miyuki, but...."
"Want to?"
"...Well. She's like a poor little sister I want to help."
"!"
At that moment, Miyuki stood up angrily and pushed me back to the bed.
"Traitor!"
"It's Miyuki...."
"Don't call me by my name! Your sister... I'm the only one in this world! But you have a kid who's like your sister? What are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous!"
"Miyuki, calm down, a dog can't replace you."
"Calm down? I'm supposed to calm down when you're prioritizing the dog over me! What the hell do you think I am!"
"Miyuki!!!"
Miyuki was stunned by my rant.
I said again and again.
"Poor girl, I'm just helping her out for a while, and once she gets over it, the contact will naturally decrease. Just wait until then. I won't make her feel uneasy, okay?"
"...."
Miyuki left the room, her footsteps trailing behind her.
I can't tell if Miyuki believes me or not.
But I was surprised by my sister's vehement reaction.
I thought it was a simple matter....
I guess it's not as simple as I thought....
******
Miyuki went to school with a dark look on her face.
Unable to concentrate on her morning classes, she kept closing and opening her eyes.
When she closed her eyes, she heard her brother Keigo screaming her name, and when she opened them, she came back to reality.
She realized she had made him angry.... The feeling of despair plunged Miyuki's mood into a pit.
"Is that you, Miyuki?"
"...?"
She turned her head at the sound and saw Kaori looking at her with a worried expression.
"It's lunchtime, let's go eat."
"...Yeah."
I follow Kaori up to the roof.
As soon as they reached the roof and sat down on the bench, Kaori grabbed her hand without even taking out her lunch box.
"What's going on?"
"...haha."
"Did you and your brother have a fight?"
Yusuak nods solemnly at Kaori's question.
"...Uh, yeah. I made him angry."
"If you like him so much, why did you make him angry?"
"...It's all my fault, because of my filthy jealousy...."
"Jealousy?"
Miyuki brought up everything that had happened. How she hadn't gotten much response to her calls, how she had spent less time waiting at the school gate, how she had spent less time eating dinner with her, and so on.
Kaori shrugged.
"That's... jealousy, for sure."
"...Exactly."
"Do you know who the other person is?"
"I don't know.... But if I do something like stalk him, he'll be even more upset... I don't have the courage...."
Kaori thought to herself.
'Stalking... you'd have to be a real bracon'
Kaori spent the rest of her lunch break comforting Miyuki without eating.
Miyuki was sullen the rest of the day at school.