Keiko had just finished putting away her clothes and toiletries when someone knocked on her door. However she didn't hear it as her ears were plugged in by earphones.
"Oi! Oi! Daijoubu? I'm coming in!" The voice burst open the door, only to see Keiko bobbing her head to the music. "It's time to eat." No response from her who hasn't realized someone is in her room. "Oi!" The voice holds one of Keiko's shoulders.
Keiko screamed, thinking it was a stranger or an intruder coming to abduct her.
"Why did you scream?! It's me Yuusuke."
Keiko turned her body to face him. She lets out a relief sigh. "I didn't lock the door?" Keiko looked over Yuusuke's shoulder. "Careless of me. So what's up?"
"Dinners ready."
"Oh let's go up together then."
Yuusuke insisted that she go first but she was stubborn. She said they can get to know each other better if they go together. Not able to decline her offer, they walked side by side.
"Now that we're siblings, we should talk to each other more. We don't talk much do we? Even though we are classmates."
"Yeah..." Yuusuke scratched his neck. During their time as classmates, Keiko tried talking to him but he would end up stuttering and blushing, causing the conversation to end shortly.
Besides, she's in a higher league than him. There's no way he can talk smoothly with someone like that without embarrassing himself... but she's now his stepsister. He can use this chance to get closer to her!
"W-we can walk to school together if you want. N-not that I care much anyways but our brothers would probably tell us to go together."
"Sure! It wouldn't be boring if there's someone I can talk to."
"A-and if any of our brothers bother you, y-you can tell me. They can be annoying sometimes."
"That's very considerate of you. I'll keep that in mind." Keiko giggled. "Hey, how's your mother like?"
"Okaa-san? She's a busy woman but she'll love you as if you're her own children. She told us she would've like if any of us were born as daughters so she can hang out with." Yuusuke glanced at her. "If you're worried about getting along with her, then don't be. I'm sure you'll like her. She's a fashion designer and owns her own business, you like fashion right?"
She had a surprised look on her face. "I do, how did you know?"
He blushed. "I-I overheard it when you talked with our class rep."
She giggled. "Yeah we did talk about that. That's considerate of you to remember something insignificant."
"That's cause I like you..." He murmured.
"Hmm, did you say something?"
"N-nothing!"
They arrived on the fifth floor. They walked downstairs and turned right, where the dining room and kitchen are.
Most of the chairs were occupied. There were two empty spots, the first one is between Wataru and Kaname, the second one is by the corner next to Tsubaki.
"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Sit next to me!" Wataru shouted, patting the seat beside him.
"Hmm what if I want to sit next to Tsubaki-san?" Keiko teased.
"Yeay!" Tsubaki cheered.
Wataru puffed his cheeks, pouting. Keiko giggled. "Gomenne Wataru-chan. I'm joking, it would make my day happier if I can sit beside you."
This time, the role reversed. Wataru cheered while Tsubaki sulked.
"You guys often eat together?" Keiko asked when she's comfortably seated.
"We try to do it as often as we can. Sometimes, some of us worked until night time so not everyone can make it." Masaomi answered.
"But now that we have our dear imouto-chan, we'll try to come back home early." Tsubaki said.
"Oh please don't let me disrupt your schedule just to make room for spending time with me. I don't want to burden any of you. Besides, I'm perfectly fine with eating alone, been doing that since I was in elementary school."
"Don't worry, onee-chan. I will always eat with you! I'm not busy at all." Wataru chimed in.
'Me too's' were heard. Keiko patted Wataru's head. "Thank you everyone."
"Anything to help make our imouto comfortable." Kaname winked.
"Oh right! The bathroom in my room isn't working. Is there a spare bathroom I can use?"
Tsubaki was about to answer but was stopped by Azusa. "There's one on this floor." Ukyou began telling her where the bathroom is. After that, they began eating dinner.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
Keiko looked at the clock that's hanging on the wall. Almost 10pm, which means it's time for her to shower. Supposedly it'll help her sleep better.
She grabbed everything she needed and went up. When she arrived at the bathroom, the light was on.
'Someone's using it?' Keiko leaned outside, waiting for the person to exit the bathroom.
The door slid open, revealing one of her brothers. Half-naked.
"Hmm? You..."
'Subaru was it? He was quiet throughout dinner. But he glanced a lot towards my direction.'
"Gomen! I didn't mean to spy or anything. I just wanted to shower." Keiko said, avoiding eye contact. It's kind of awkward seeing someone naked, especially someone you just met today. She did take a quick peek of his body though.
However he seems oblivious. "Are you okay? Do you feel sick?" He came closer, entering Keiko's vision.
"No no! I'm fine. Uh I'll wait until you're finished!" Keiko hurriedly walked away, back to where she was before.
She lets out a huff while holding her chest. 'That would've been bad for my heart... but his body is mouth watering. No Keiko! No! He's your stepbrother... but his body..." She shook her head, along with her imagination.
"There is something that I must tell you."
She tilted her head. Whose voice was that? The lights in the common room were off, only a lamp was on, brightening the dark space. She went closer to the railings, not leaning in too much in case the voice noticed her presence. It was Tsubaki and Azusa.
"Haven't we been together for a long time?" Tsubaki continued.
"That's right."
"But lately, when I'm with you, I feel different."
'Eh? What is this? A love confession... between brothers?!?'
"What's wrong?"
Keiko turned around to face Subaru.
"Tsubaki-san's trying to confess. Shh Subaru-san!" Keiko pulled him so they were both kneeling down.
"My heart starts racing, and I can't calm down. I also get irritated when you get along with other people."
"Ah, those two are-"
"Subaru-san, have you not ever spy on someone? You should be quiet!" She whispered.
"But they are-"
She sighed. "Subaru-san, you're going to uncover us!"
"What's this? What's wrong?" Tsubaki asked as he and Azusa climbed up the stairs.
Both of them stand up. Keiko faced them, hands waving around while telling them nothing was wrong.
"What're you doing up this late, imouto-chan?" Tsubaki asked. "You couldn't fall asleep so you're here to cuddle with me?"
Azusa punched his head. "Don't be such a siscon, pervert."
Tsubaki pouted, saying Azusa's a meanie.
Keiko giggled. "I'm sorry to ruin your fantasy Tsubaki-san but I'm here to shower. Now that Subaru-san has finished, I should take my leave." Before she could go, she turned towards Tsubaki and Azusa. "Um, your secret is safe with me."
"Secret?" Azusa forehead creases, confused with her statement.
Subaru sighed. "She misunderstood you guys."
Tsubaki's eyes lighten up. He put his hand around Azusa and hugged him. "Yeah we're actually dating!"
"Tsubaki, quit teasing her." Azusa smiled at her. "We were reading over our script."
"Yeah. We're practicing for our next job."
"You guys are actors? Why haven't I notice your names"
Azusa chuckled. "We're actually seiyuus, not actors."
"But we could pass as one because of our charming looks." Tsubaki added.
"That's so cool!" She looked at Subaru. "You could've told me instead of keeping me in the dark."
"I tried to but you were interrupting me every time I tried to say it."
"Oops my bad hehe!" She scratched her neck.
"You can be my partner next time imouto-chan, to avoid any misunderstanding like this." Tsubaki said.
Keiko tilted her head. "Won't it cause more confusion, rather than lessening it?"
"Let's stop teasing her Tsubaki. See you guys tomorrow, goodnight."
The four of them bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
Ring! Ting! Ting! Ting!
Keiko groaned. She picked up her phone and turned off the alarm. It took her a minute to realize she's in her new room. She got up from her bed and began preparing for school.
When she arrived at the dining room, there was only Ukyou who was busy serving up four breakfasts.
"Ohayou, I hope you had a nice sleep last night." Keiko greeted, hunching over the counter to see what Ukyou was doing.
"Ohayou, I did have a nice sleep yesterday and I hope you do too. Is your room comfortable? Is the mattress too hard? Too soft? We can change it if you want."
Keiko shook her head. "Everything is comfortable, thank you for your concern. Is there anything I can help with? I feel bad watching you do all the work."
Ukyou thought for a while before telling her she can help serve rice.
"Seems like everyone isn't a morning person like you huh?" Keiko said, striking up a conversation with Ukyou.
Ukyou chuckled. "Unfortunately no. It would be nice if I can get a helping hand to cook breakfast but none of them can wake up as early as I."
"Don't worry Ukyou-san. Starting today, I'll be your assistant in the kitchen! I'm no pro like you but I hope I can help you as best as I could."
Ukyou patted Keiko's head, thanking her.
"Ohayou." Said Wataru who's rubbing his eyes, still sleepy.
Keiko bends down until she's the same height as Wataru. She patted his head. "Ohayou, Wataru-chan. Did you have a good sleep?"
He nodded. "I dreamt we played together and ate lots of sweets!"
"Waaaah, that's so fun. But eating tons of sweets isn't good for you. So let's eat a healthy Japanese breakfast prepared by Ukyou-san, ne?"
Wataru nodded, jumping happily to his seat.
"Ohayou."
Yuusuke and Subaru walked in.
"Oh how rare. Yuusuke doesn't usually show up on time for breakfast." Ukyou pointed out.
"Eh hontoni?" Keiko's eyes glint, her playful attitude coming out. "Did you wake up early because of me?"
Yuusuke blushed. "O-of course not. I accidentally woke up early, that's all."
"Yukkun's lying!" Wataru shouted, pointing his chopsticks towards him.
"N-no I'm not!"
Keiko chuckled. "Well, you better wake up early if we're going to make it in time for school. If you don't, I'll barge into your room and scream in your ears."
"Waking up to you isn't a bad idea..." Yuusuke whispered.
"Did you say something?"
"N-nothing!"
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"I hate riding the train."
Keiko and Yuusuke were on their way to school by train. It was full with people, either going to work or school.
"I hate it too." Was what Yuusuke said. However, what was going in his head was the opposite of that.
'I get to be close with her! I get to be close with her! And not in a perverted way!'
"Are you okay?" Yuusuke asked, trying to start a conversation.
"Hmm? I am, why?"
"You act differently when you're home."
"How so?"
Yuusuke avoided eye contact. "You act... polite around them. I mean it's not a bad thing and I'm not saying you act wild in school but you can be yourself there."
"I'm still trying to get used to living with boys. Don't want to scare them too much with my not-so-chaotic side." She winked. "But thank you for noticing that. You're an excellent observer."
"You don't think it's creepy?"
Keiko looked up, thinking. "I could interpret it like that but I'm sure you're doing this because you're looking out for me, right?"
Yuusuke blushed. "You could say it's something like that."
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Keiko-chan! Ohayou!" A girl with glasses shouted, beside her was a girl with braids. They were waiting at the front of the school gate, probably for her.
Keiko waved her hand to her friends. "Ohayou Ayame-chan, Rika-chan!" She bid him goodbye and left him, running to her friends.
Yuusuke was heartbroken but hey! He gets to enjoy going to school with her everyday and if both of them don't have club activities, they can go back together too!
"Were you walking with Asahina-kun? Since when?" Rika, Keiko's and Yuusuke's class representative asked. They walked together to class with Keiko in between Ayame and her.
"Hmmm remember when I told you my papa's getting married? He's getting married to Yuusuke's okaa-san. So she offered her place and I started living with him and his brothers."
"What? That's so bizarre. One day you're classmates, the next day you're siblings!" Ayame, the girl with glasses said.
"Really? We're cool with it though. Well, actually he freaked out but only for a few minutes."
"We need to visit you. I wanna see your new clean room before it gets messed up." Rika said with a smile.
"Hey! My room is clean."
"Yeah right. The last time we visited, you had your clothes all over the place."
"Totally not what you expect from the 'hot girl' of the school." Ayame added.
Keiko rolled her eyes. "I promise I'll clean my room everyday."
They arrived at their classroom and sat themselves on their own seats. They continued talking until the teacher came in. The first period was Japanese literature. The teacher had picked Keiko to read a few pages of the textbook. Every boy's eyes were on her.
Keiko isn't the smartest nor is she the dumbest. Her features are the standard of what every boy would like in a girl; kind, beautiful, friendly. Those who are close to her get to see her affectionate and teasing side. She's not afraid to voice out her opinions but she can be stubborn sometimes. However people find that charming, not annoying.
That's what Yuusuke thinks as he watches her from her side.
'Becoming siblings with a girl like her... I would never accept it. Never!'
"I'm not gonna lose!" Yuusuke shouted, standing up in the process. "Ah..."
"Such great enthusiasm, Asahina-san! This is what the youth needs these days. You can continue where Hinata-san left off. Everyone, follow Asahina-san's lead okay!" The teacher said, totally misunderstanding Yuusuke's words.
Yuusuke looked to his side. Keiko giggled, showing a thumbs up.
Yuusuke sighed and began reading the text.
At least he didn't expose his love for her.
°~°~°
Gomenne - Sorry (informal, gentle way to say it, usually women use this)
Ohayou - Good morning (informal)
Ne - Right/Isn't it
Hontoni - Really (formal)
Hello again! For the next two/three chapter it'll follow closely to the anime but don't worry, creative chapters are coming! I'm also thinking of publishing a new chapter once a week on Monday (during my time ofc) because I've got college and assignments to do.
Happy reading!
Published on 1 June 2021