“You really do have a lot of stuff...”

  She was admiring(?) my shelves filled with light novels and anime.

  “Yeah, not all of it fits on the shelves, so I have some stored away elsewhere too.”

  ‘I’m an even bigger loser than it appears at first glance’ is basically what you just said.

  It’s not like I’m trying to impress her or anything...

  “What’s this up here?”

  “!”

  She went straight for the top shelf too!

  “All You Need Is Little Sister...”

  Time to pull out my prepared spiel.

  “Well, you see, it’s actually ironic because the main character is an author who is comically obsessed with the little sister archetype.”

  “Hmm, I see...”

  She reached up to put the volume back.

  Oh. She believed me that easily. It is the truth, after all.

  “It’s actually one of the inspirations for my recent attempts at writing.”

  She turned her back to the shelves and faced me.

  “Is that why you’ve been spending time in the library with Kondou-san after school?”

  Huh? Why is she bringing up Kondou?

  “Yeah. We talk about anime and light novels and she gives me writing advice.”

  She gave a faint smile.

  “That sounds fun. You don’t talk about those things with me, so it’s nice that you have someone else to talk about them with...”

  “Yeah...”

  I don’t really know what to say. I feel like the atmosphere is kind of awkward now. Maybe it’s just me.

  “May I lie down on your bed?”

  “Sure...”

  Where was this going?

  She walked over to my bed and lay down on it before patting next to her.

  “I want you to join me.”

  “!”

  I lay down next to her. We were both on our backs, looking up at the ceiling.

  My heart was pounding.

  Calm down. Nothing’s going to happen. Just two friends lying next to each other.

  “I want to cuddle. Is that okay?”

  Her breath tickled my ear.

  “Sure...”

  I didn’t have any reason to refuse.

  What was the point of implementing this system if you never refuse?

  I have the option of refusing—I might want to use it one day.

  She rolled onto her side and wrapped her arms around me. As she did so, I also rolled onto my side, facing away from her.

  I believe I just naturally assumed the position of what is known as the ‘little spoon.’

  ...

  I’m kind of submissive, aren’t I?

  She continued to hold me from behind, her breasts pressing into my back. I could feel the heat of her body against mine.

  ...

  I think my brain is becoming jellified, like a gelbana from Stones;Gatter.

  You’re thinking about visual novels in a situation like this?

  I can’t help it! What else am I supposed to think about?! Would it be better if I indulged in a delusion like in Chaos;Bed? Of course not!

  You’re hopeless.

  She held me tighter.

  Brain is Dead. Mismatch.

  You really can’t think about anything else, can you?

  My thoughts were interrupted by a voice whispering in my ear.

  “There are some things you only do with me, right?”

  It took me a second to understand what she meant.

  Is she jealous of Kondou? Or am I misunderstanding?

  “Yeah...I only do this kind of thing with you...”

  “I’m glad I can do this with you...”

  “Umm... Do you want me to...only do this kind of thing with you...?”

  What am I saying?

  “You can do whatever you like with whoever you like. I don’t have any exclusive rights to you...”

  “But...what do you want?”

  “I...”

  “Do you want exclusive rights to me?”

  “I don’t know what I want...”

  I can relate. Sometimes, it’s hard to understand your own feelings. I don’t know what I want out of this relationship either. It certainly feels like more than friendship, but...

  “That’s okay...”

  “I do know what I don’t want though...”

  “What is that?”

  “I don’t want you to leave me.”

  “Umm, I’m going to have to get up to go to the toilet at some point...”

  She playfully slapped my chest.

  “You know what I meant. Not just right now, but in the future.”

  “How far in the future?”

  “I don’t know... I don’t want to think about it.”

  I don’t want to think about it either.

  “...”

  “...”

  We continued to cuddle in silence for a while.

  “...”

  “...”

  I didn’t think about anything—I just listened to the sound of her breathing next to me.

  “...”

  “...”

  I really am going to have to go to the bathroom at some point, though...

  18 - Quarantine

  Eventually, Haruhi’s breathing fell into the steady rhythm of a light sleep. I took the opportunity to carefully untangle her arms from me and slip out of the bed. I quietly closed the door behind me and headed down the hallway towards the toilet.

  Upon opening the door, I came face-to-face with Mia.

  “!!!”

  I stumbled backwards a few steps out of surprise, before realizing it was just the life-sized cardboard cutout Fuyuko had received.

  Ever since she got it, she had been placing it in random places and it scared the shit out of me every time. The worst was when she placed it outside my door late one night, and I almost had a heart attack when I opened my door in the middle of the night and came face-to-face with a shadowy figure.

  I sighed and moved the cutout back to her room before returning and using the toilet. As I exited, my phone rang. Based on the ringtone, I knew it was a call from dad.

  Did something happen?

  “Hello?”

  “How’s it going, son?”

  “Haven’t died yet, so I think things are going well.”

  “Bedded any chicks yet?”

  I looked over at the door to my room. On the other side, Haruhi was probably still sleeping peacefully in my bed.

  “No. Not yet.”

  When he spoke next, he sounded more serious compared to his usual joking tone.

  “You know, I didn’t meet your mother until after university.”

  “?”

  “I’m no good with this sentimental stuff. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t need to worry about finding ‘the one’ immediately. You still have plenty of your life ahead of you, so it doesn’t have to be something that lasts forever. Don’t let that hold you back.”

  “I know that...”

  “That’s good. You’re my son, so I know you’ll find the perfect girl someday.”

  “Yeah... Did you call me just to talk about that?”

  “Actually, we’re going to have to stay a little longer.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “There’s currently an outbreak of an infectious disease on the island we’re staying at. The whole place is being quarantined to prevent the spread, so we won’t be able to come back for a while.”

  That seems way more urgent than the romance talk!

  “Are you two okay?!”

  “We’re both fine, there’s no need to worry about us. Really.”

  I sighed.

  “If you say so...”

  “Like a little disease could kill me, anyway. HA HA HA HA HA!”

  That sure sounded like a death flag to me.

  “Don’t tempt fate like that, Dad!”

  “Fate’s my bitch!”

  I could barely make out the voice of Mom in the background.

  “Honey. Language.”

  “Sorry. Anyway, make sure to tell Fuyuko.”

  “She’s out with Yuriko right now, but I will when she gets back.”

  “Mom wants to talk to you too.”

  I heard muffled sounds of the phone being passed before Mom’s voice came from the speaker.

  “Hello, dear. Will the two of you be okay by yourselves for a few more weeks? You’re eating properly, right?”

  “We’ll be fine. Fuyuko’s not the best cook, but she’s getting better.”

  “One of my old university friends lives in the area and has a daughter your age who is apparently a great cook. She might be able to lend a hand.”

  What kind of development is this? I don’t need another girl to show up and make things more complicated.

  “Mom, you worry too much. We’ll be fine. Even if we ate nothing but food from the convenience store the entire time you were gone, we would still probably be fine.”

  “If you don’t eat right, you won’t grow up big and strong, dear.”

  “I know...”

  “We’ll call if anything happens, so don’t worry about us. Stay safe. We love you, dear.”

  “Me too.”

  “Ah! Honey, I haven’t hung up yet—”

  Click.

  I let out a long sigh as I put my phone back in my pocket.

  Those two...

  The door of my room swung open and Haruhi was standing there, looking like she had just woken up.

  “Where did you go? Who were you talking to?”

  “Just my parents. Apparently, their trip is going to be extended for a few more weeks.”

  “Hmm... May I hug you?”

  “Ah, sure...”

  She pressed her body up against mine and my heart nearly stopped.

  Is she an assassin sent by SERN to kill me?

  “I thought I told you... I don’t want you to leave me...”

  “And I thought I told you I was going to have to go to the bathroom at some point. We can’t be together all the time...”

  “Can you be together with me right now?”

  “Well, I don’t have anywhere else to be...”

  I was hoping to get more writing done this weekend, though...

  I guess that can wait.

  Her head was buried in my shoulder, her hair tickling my face.

  “...”

  “...”

  “Do you love your parents?”

  “They’re my family.”

  “Do you have to love your family?”

  “I guess not...”

  Yeah, I’m lucky my family doesn’t suck.

  19 - Teatime

  “Have fun, you two.”

  I waved goodbye to Fuyuko and Shinji.

  Shinji had come by to pick up Fuyuko for their date. I had thought that tailing them might be fun, but I decided against it. This wasn’t some rom-com—it would be weird to follow people around like that. Once the two of them were out of sight, I returned inside.

  Just as I finished taking off my shoes, the doorbell rang.

  Who could that be?

  I finished preparing some tea and set the steaming hot cup down in front of Yuriko, before taking a seat across from her at the dining table.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  Her fingers gently caressed the hot teacup.

  “Sorry for showing up uninvited.”

  “You’re always welcome here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  She lifted the teacup to her lips and took a sip.

  “It’s delicious.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  It’s just cheap stuff made with a tea bag, though.

  “So...what brings you here?”

  She stared down into the teacup.

  “Actually, I was planning on following them, but then I decided against it. I was already here, so I figured we could talk.”

  “I also thought about following them.”

  She giggled and looked up from the teacup at me.

  “Really? We’re kind of similar, aren’t we?”

  “I’ve thought that before too. Maybe that’s why Fuyuko loves you so much.”

  Her expression darkened as her gaze dropped back to the teacup.

  “I’ve also thought that before—that she only likes me because she sees some of you in me, that I’m just a replacement for when she can’t be with you...”

  Ah crap. I might have accidentally brought up something she’s insecure about.

  “I don’t think that’s the case at all! You two spend a lot of time together outside of school—if she really only thought of you like that, she would spend all that time with me instead.”

  She smiled.

  “Yeah, I know. I just can’t help but think that sometimes...”

  It was a weak smile that couldn’t hide the doubt in her heart.

  You two really are pretty similar.

  “Well, if you ever think that again, just tell me and I’ll tell you that you’re wrong.”

  Her faint smile widened slightly.

  “Are you trying to sound cool?”

  “Maybe...”

  “Thank you... You really are nice. Unlike me...”

  Her smile slowly disappeared as her voice quietly trailed off.

  “Why would you say that?”

  She took another sip of tea.

  “...”

  And another.

  “...”

  Before finally speaking again.

  “I should be wishing for my best friend’s happiness, but instead...”

  She sighed and laid her head on the table, the index finger of her right hand repeatedly tracing the lip of her teacup.

  “Do you not want their date to go well?”

  “When I think about a future where they’re going out together...”

  Her finger traced another loop.

  “How does it make you feel?”

  “I don’t like it. I don’t want that... I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I? I don’t actually care about Fuyuko at all—I just care about myself.”

  She turned her attention from the teacup to me, her eyes sad and searching for solace in mine.

  I met her gaze briefly before looking slightly past her.

  “You know that’s not true. It’s because you care about Fuyuko so much that you don’t like it. I think you might be jealous of Shinji-kun. You feel like he’s going to take her away from you. That just goes to show that you do care about her, though.”

  “But if I really cared about her, shouldn’t I be happy as long as she’s happy?”

  “It’s not that you don’t care about her—you just want her happiness to include you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

  “Doesn’t that seem selfish, though?”

  “I think it would be selfish if you tried to force it to happen, but it’s not selfish just to want it to happen. For example, if you followed them on their date and tried to sabotage them, that would be selfish. But just hoping that things play out in your favor wouldn’t be. Maybe.”

  She sat up and took a long sip from her teacup.

  “Hmm...”

  “It’s normal to prioritize certain people’s happiness over others. Do you think that such a completely selfless love actually exists?”

  “I think Fuuko is capable of it.”

  “Do you really think that? If she had to choose between me and Shinji-kun, who do you think she would pick?”

  She looked at me like I was dumb.

  Maybe I am.

  “You, obviously.”

  “See? Even she prioritizes certain people’s happiness over others.”

  “I guess...”

  I went to take a sip of my tea, but I had already drunk it all, so I set the teacup back down.

  “...”

  I must have unconsciously drained it during our conversation. I was too focused on Yuriko to notice.

  “...”

  “I think you’re getting worried over an unlikely hypothetical anyway. I don’t think she’s going to drop everything and love Shinji-kun more than you.”

  “You never know with her...”

  “Well, yeah. But, based on my observations, I don’t think it’s going to work out at all. She didn’t seem that excited by the date.”

  She thought for a moment.

  “That’s...probably true. Yesterday, she bought some new clothes. I thought they were for the date today, but she wasn’t wearing them.”

  “Hmm...”

  She finished off the last of her tea.

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see...”

  “Yeah...”

  She bowed her head.

  “Thank you for talking to me.”

  “No problem.”

  “You’ve been a big help in me working through my feelings. I don’t have anyone else to talk to about things like this—it would be too embarrassing to talk directly with Fuuko about it.”

  It might have been better if she talked with Fuyuko directly, but that was easier said than done.

  “I’m glad I could help. Have you figured everything out now?”

  Her fingers played with the empty teacup as she shook her head.

  “Not everything, but I think I might have an idea...”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  I’m glad one of us was understanding ourselves better.

  Because we all know you’re too scared to try.

  Her fingers tightly gripped the teacup as she looked at me. Her eyes seemed much clearer than before.

  “Umm, I would feel bad if I was the only one who got anything out of this. So, if there’s anything you want to talk about, I can try and help. I don’t know if I’ll be able to though...”

  I waved my hand dismissively.

  “I do get something out of this, though. I’m satisfied just seeing you be happy.”

  She looked down, her face slightly flush.

  “Are you trying to sound cool?”

  “Maybe...”

  20 - Aftermath

  “Onii-chan! I’m home!”

  I came downstairs to greet Fuyuko.

  “Welcome back.”

  She hugged me and buried her face in my chest. It wasn’t some kind of flying tackle or other physical assault—just a normal hug. After a few seconds, she pulled away and looked at me with a grin.

  “I really do love you the most, Onii-chan.”