Chapter 14: Sibling Conference

Sibling Conference

“Yuki, are you okay?”

My sister must have noticed my anxious state, caught in a whirlwind of thoughts.

“I’m fine. I just got lost in my thoughts for a bit.”

“Songwriting?”

“No, I was just thinking about you for a little while.”

I stared straight at my sister, voicing my thoughts absentmindedly.

“Wha—!?”

In an instant, my sister’s face turned bright red.

Was the spiciness of the mapo tofu just kicking in?

“Besides, the song is almost finished. I just need to tweak it to fit the singer’s characteristics.”

She seemed flustered, but I hadn’t said anything strange.

“I-I see. That was quicker than I expected. I thought you’d struggle more.”

My sister hurriedly took a sip of water, trying to cool down. The spice level wasn’t different from usual, but maybe it was too much for her delicate palate. She hadn’t eaten much either.

“So, I was thinking of meeting up tomorrow.”

“Alright… wait, with who!?”

It was rare for my sister to be this slow to catch on.

“I mean, I was planning to meet Takato-senpai to let her hear the song.”

Hearing my words, my sister took another sip of water and let out a deep breath.

“I see. Got it. I’ll go with you. I looked into her, and that Takato girl doesn’t seem normal.”

It seemed my involvement had caused unnecessary trouble for my sister, and I felt bad about it.

“Sorry, Nee-san. For dragging you into this.”

“Huh? Why are you apologizing? I’m happy to take care of you, especially after Yuna-chan kept you all to herself for so long.”

“But, if it becomes…”

If it became a burden, like with Yuna…

“Listen, I’m sorry, but don’t lump me together with Yuna-chan. I might not have known you as long as she has, but my feelings for you are on a whole different level. You’d probably be shocked if you knew how deep they ran. So, this is nothing close to a burden for me, got it? I… I would never think of you as a weight, Yuki. Ever!”

I was a little curious about what she meant by “feelings so deep they’d shock me,” but maybe it was just a joke to lighten the mood.

Still, her feelings were clearly conveyed.

“Thank you, Nee-san.”

This time, I expressed my gratitude honestly.

“Yeah, as long as you understand. So, can you meet Takato soon?”

After showing a pleased expression, my sister quickly turned serious and asked me.

“I got her contact info, so if I send a message, I think we can arrange it.”

“I see. Don’t tell her I’m coming—I want to see her reaction.”

“Okay, I don’t mind. But for you to be this cautious, she must really be something, huh?”

“Yeah. I still can’t determine the direction of her malice, though.”

“Oh, if that’s what you’re worried about, it’s fine. She doesn’t have any malice.”

My sister seemed concerned that Takato-senpai’s intense emotions might be directed at me.

So, I reassured her that wasn’t the case.

“Why do you think that, Yuki?”

“After writing the song and finally linking it with the lyrics, I felt something—Takato-senpai’s emotions. They were intense, but not malicious.”

“…They might not be malicious, but they’re not benevolent either, right?”

My ever-worrying sister still looked uneasy.

“Yeah. It’s more of an intense, desperate yearning.”

“Strong emotions, regardless of intent, tend to affect those around them… You too… No, never mind. Anyway, I’ll see for myself tomorrow. This Takato Mizuho person.”

My sister started to say something but stopped.

Then, with a determined look, she firmly stated that she would accompany me tomorrow. I had no reason to refuse, so I nodded.

Takato… senpai?

According to my sister, she wasn’t a student at our school, so I wasn’t even sure if she was actually a “senpai.” Regardless, I sent her a message asking if she was free to meet tomorrow.

The message was read immediately, and she replied that she was available in the evening.

I suggested we meet at the same family restaurant where we had talked before.

The response came quickly.

[That’s fine. Feel free to bring someone along.]

Surprised by the reply, I showed it to my sister.

“…I see. She must have realized she was being investigated. She might not know I’m your sister, though.”

“What should we do? Should we cancel?”

“I don’t mind. I just wanted to see the reaction, and it’s not like I was trying to hide it. Just reply with ‘I’ll take you up on your offer’ or something.”

Following my sister’s instructions, I sent back, [I’ll take you up on your offer.]

Takato-san quickly replied with, [I’m looking forward to tomorrow,] and that was the end of our message exchange.

“Still, how did she find out about you, Nee-san?”

“There are several possibilities, but it doesn’t matter right now. More importantly, there’s something else you should know about Takato, besides the fact that she’s not a student at our school.”

What my sister told me was completely unexpected, but there was no way she’d lie about something like this.

To process everything properly, I asked her to confirm.

“So, just to be clear—Takato Mizuho is actually dead, right?”

“To be precise, it’s someone who looks like Takato Mizuho. After looking into it, I found that the real name of the deceased was Tendouji Mizuki (天童瑞希).”

This was information obtained from the internet, and while it had not yet been verified, it was almost certainly accurate.

“So, the key point is that Takato Mizuho is likely a relative, right?”

“Yes, though this is just speculation. The most probable case would be a twin, but judging from Kashiwagi’s reaction, that doesn’t seem to be the case. That leaves the possibility of an older or younger sister, who could use makeup to closely resemble the original person.”

My sister explained that if there were twins, Kashiwagi-senpai would have known. Instead, he likely mistook the person in the photo for someone still alive.

“In other words, she’s impersonating her sister to approach me. But if I were the target, there’d be no reason to disguise herself as the sister. That means Takato Mizuho’s real target is Kashiwagi-senpai, right?”

“There’s no need to use honorifics for that man. Anyway, back to the topic. We don’t have enough information yet, but the most plausible explanation is that Kashiwagi caused the original Takato’s s🬀🬀cide, and this is some form of revenge.”

My sister proposed this as one possible theory.

“Hmm, I still don’t think it’s revenge. Like I said before, I don’t sense any malice in the lyrics. What I feel is an insatiable thirst—an obsessive yearning.”

“Sorry, you did say that earlier… I guess I might be looking at things too negatively right now.”

“That’s probably because you’re trying to protect me. Thank you, Nee-san.”

I always felt like I was just being protected, unable to do much in return, but at the very least, I wanted to properly express my gratitude.

“Thank you, Yuki. But you might not realize it—I’ve been saved by you countless times as well. That’s why I need you. I can’t even imagine a world without you in it.”

As she said this, my sister stared straight into my eyes.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I looked away.

“Fufu, now we’re even for earlier. Anyway, I’ll do some more research on Takato tomorrow and pick you up after school.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but she wore a triumphant expression. Strangely, though, I didn’t find it frustrating.

“Okay, got it. I should finish up the song now.”

“Take a bath first. You always forget when you get too focused.”

“Yeah, it’s a hassle, but I will.”

“Oh? If it’s such a hassle, I can wash you like I used to. Shall we bathe together like in the old days?”

“Wha—What are you even saying, Nee-san? There’s no way that’s happening! I’ll take a bath properly!”

Panicking, I hurried to the bathroom.

I could already imagine my sister watching me go with another victorious smirk on her face.