Chapter 29: Sister’s Madness

Sister’s Madness

In the evening, my sister came home looking exhausted.

When I asked, she told me she had met with Yuna.

From what she said, their conversation was something I couldn’t believe had come from the Yuna I knew.

To me, as long as we kept our distance and didn’t interfere with each other, that was enough. But when I wondered why things couldn’t be that simple, my sister’s words made me understand.

“Yuna-chan was just like Tendouji Yukari.”

In other words, just as Kashiwagi-senpai was to Tendouji-san, I was to Yuna…

And I realized something else.

I don’t know the reason, but Yuna has broken as well… My sister seems to want to do something about it, but I doubt just talking to her normally will solve anything anymore.

At school, I treat her like anyone else, keeping things neutral. But when it comes to Yuna, I can’t help but feel discomfort, as if a thorn were stuck in my throat.

Leaving it to my sister is an option, but even if it’s in the past, I should settle things myself. However, when I thought about how to get through to Yuna, who no longer listens to reason, I came up with one idea.

“Nee-san. About Yuna…”

“Ah, you should avoid getting too involved with that girl, Yuki. Just treat her normally at school and ignore her otherwise.”

My sister said that, but I couldn’t just let her handle everything. So I told her my idea.

“I was thinking… if words won’t reach her, maybe I could communicate through a song?”

“…It’s not a bad idea, but depending on the content, it might make things worse. That girl is completely absorbed in that song, so even I can’t predict how she’ll react.”

Despite my sister’s warning, I decided to compose a song as a means of communication. Though I hadn’t yet sorted out my emotions properly, I felt that if I could put them into form, they might reach Yuna.

“More importantly, Yuna-chan—no, just Yuna now. That girl is trying to find you a girlfriend.”

“What?! Why would she do that?”

Even I was shocked. I could understand pretending to be acquaintances at school, but why would she want to set me up with someone?

“Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand.”

“…”

“Ah, you just got curious and wanted to know, didn’t you? But no. The current Yuna is too dangerous. It could turn into the same situation as with that woman.”

Just as my sister said, I found myself wanting to directly witness Yuna’s twisted state of mind.

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

“Yes. Really, be careful. You never know what Yuna might do now.”

She looked straight into my eyes, speaking to me as if she were a mother lecturing her child.

Ever since our parents were gone, my sister had been both my older sister and, in a way, my mother.

Even though we weren’t related by blood, she had always taken care of me.

When our parents passed away, there was talk of my sister returning to the Saijo family, her biological father’s side. I told her to forget about me and live freely, but she was so shaken that she cried and demanded to know why.

“I don’t want to waste Nee-san’s precious time on someone like me.”

When I told her that, she shed even more tears.

“If you can still think that way, Yuki, then you haven’t completely fallen apart. You’ll be okay.”

Saying that, she gently embraced me.

Without my sister and Yuna, I probably would have completely fallen apart by now.

But if my sister were to betray me like Yuna did… No, she isn’t my lover, so finding someone she loves wouldn’t be a betrayal.

Normally, siblings are supposed to gradually grow apart, but thinking about that filled me with a suffocating pain deep in my chest.

“…Are you really okay?”

I must have gotten lost in thought, because she looked at me with concern.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Could it be…”

“No, I was just thinking about you, Nee-san.”

My words made her freeze for a moment.

“…Fufu, you’re not going to fool me twice.”

She averted her gaze and muttered something I didn’t understand.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘twice,’ but I realized something: the most important person to me is you, Nee-san.”

“W-W-Wha… Haa…”

She panicked, then took a deep breath to calm down.

“Nee-san, are you okay?”

“Yes, you caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting a two-step attack.”

“I have no idea what you mean by that, but I’m going to take a bath now.”

“So… should we take one together this time?”

“Yeah, maybe once in a while.”

I responded to her joke with another joke.

“…Eh? W-Wait, if Yuki is going to see me, I need to make sure I’m perfectly clean first… Maybe I should take a bath before the bath…”

It was just a joke, but she panicked and started saying nonsensical things about bathing before bathing.

“No, Nee-san, it was a joke. Just a joke.”

“Eh? Ehh? A joke!?”

When she realized, her face turned bright red, and she looked down.

At this point, saying anything else felt impossible, so I quickly retreated to the bathroom.

Somehow, though, I felt like I had won against my sister for the first time in a long while.

…That victory was short-lived, as she suddenly barged in and turned the tables on me.

Even though she covered herself with a towel, her well-proportioned figure was on full display. She was starting to resemble her mother more and more, exuding an elegant beauty.

I regretted provoking her as I shyly let her wash my back. Then, at her insistence, I washed hers in return with my bare hands.

Apparently, using hands instead of a body towel is better for the skin, so I followed her instructions carefully.

By the time we had washed each other’s hair and soaked in the bath, the tension had eased, and I felt like we had gone back to the past.

My sister also seemed completely relaxed, and we shared a peaceful moment, as if the awkwardness from before had never happened.

“Baths really are nice. We should go to a hot spring together sometime.”

“Yeah, just zoning out in the hot water sounds good.”

“Fufu, that’s so like you, Yuki. How about around the New Year?”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

“Then, let’s pick a place with a private open-air bath.”

“Why?”

“Oh, so we can bathe together like this again.”

My sister smiled as she said that, and I couldn’t help but recall the alluring image of her from earlier.