"I wonder why Louis-nii went to his room early..." Yuusuke muttered. "He's gonna miss his favourite show."
He along with Matsuomi, Kaname, Keiko and Wataru were watching television while Ukyou was preparing snacks.
"Maybe he's tired from working." Kaname suggested.
'Or maybe it's got something to do with the foreign man he met this afternoon...' Keiko thought to herself as she remembered it.
"Ah it's Fuutan!" Wataru pointed to the television where an ad is playing with Fuuto in it. He was advertising a travel service.
Yuusuke crossed his arms behind his neck, a pout visible on his face. "Ugh... I can't listen to this."
"Fuu-chan, not bad."
"Once more!" Wataru replayed the ad again.
"Hey haven't you had enough? Give me that." Yuusuke took away the remote forcibly from Wataru, his hand up in the air so Wataru couldn't reach for it.
"Ah Yukkun!" Wataru pouted. He looked towards Keiko and pointed towards Yuusuke. "Onee-chan, look at Yukkun. He's bullying me!"
"There, there." Keiko patted his head.
"Wha-? No- why do we have to look at Fuuto's face again and again? I see his face everyday in school, it's so annoying!"
"That's because Fuutan is cool!" He shoved himself so he's in Yuusuke's face. "People from my class tell me that 'It must be nice to have Fuutan as a brother!'."
Yuusuke scoffed. "That's crap."
"But this commercial is quite popular. The staff in the hospital wouldn't skip it." Masaomi said.
"Fuu-chan seems popular with older ladies too."
"There seems to be a big commotion about this." Ukyou said as he brought in a tray of teas and Japanese cookies. "The travel agency has never hired idols before."
"That is a big deal." Masaomi agreed.
"As a result, the resort used as the location of the filming is receiving a rush of reservations."
"The power of being a popular idol is really big huh? That's terrifying and amazing at the same time."
"Heeeeeeeh! Just what is so good about him? He's an annoying two-faced idol!"
Kaname chuckled upon hearing Yuusuke's statement. "The usual name-calling as always."
"Yuusuke!" Masaomi called out. "Do you think those words are something that an older brother should be saying about their younger brother?"
Yuusuke grunted before murmuring an apology.
"Ne, ne! I want to go there too!" Wataru pointed to the screen.
"Sounds good!" Kaname inched closer to Keiko and grabbed a handful of strands of her hair. "I would love to go together with just the two of us, imouto-chan."
Bonk!
"Ah thank you Ukyou-san." Keiko smiled at him. A pan had appeared out of nowhere in Ukyou's hand to hit Kaname's head. Ukyou nodded in acknowledgement.
"Hmm overseas to that resort? Some people might not make it... Ah! How about going to Okaa-san's private island?" Masaomi suggested.
'Private island?!? How rich are they?....'
"Ah it's been a long time since we went there!" Wataru said, jumping from his seat. He held both of Keiko's hands. "Let's go there, onee-chan!"
"During summer vacation huh?"
"What do you think?" Masaomi asked, looking at Keiko and Yuusuke's direction. "The one who I would want to enjoy the most is you and Yuusuke. I know both of you have your university exams, but you need to take a breather once in a while."
"Masa-nii..."
Keiko clapped her hands, smiling while nodding. "Let's go! It's been a while since I went on a family trip! Usually me and papa would have our annual summer camping trip but it seems like that won't be the only thing to happen this year."
"Annual summer camping trip?"
Keiko nodded her head to Yuusuke's question. "We would explore a prefecture and spend a week touring the selected prefecture by sleeping at the campsites. It's so tiring but worth it!"
"That sounds interesting." Ukyou said, taking a sip of his tea.
"It is." She said while nodding her head. "Ah! You guys should join us too! It'll be super fun, I promise."
Masaomi and Kaname chuckled.
"I've never gone camping before... but now I want to! I want to sleep in the same tent as you, onee-chan!"
"Haaaaaah?!? You can't Wataru!" Yuusuke said, grabbing Wataru's collar from behind.
Wataru crossed his arms, mouth puckered. "Why? Onee-chan must be an expert in camping, so I want to stay by her side."
Keiko giggled. "Of course, I'm the daughter of an adventurer. It's not a surprise I'm a master of camping in style."
"We'll add that to the list of things to do during summer." Masaomi said before looking at the clock. "It's getting late." He stood up, looking at Wataru. "It's time for bed, Wataru."
Wataru pouted. "I'm not a kid... I don't want to sleep yet. I want to hang out with you guys."
'Ah!' Keiko suddenly yawned, arms stretching in the air. "I'm sleepy, I'm gonna go to bed first because I'm such a good sister."
Wataru looked at her before looking at Masaomi. "I'll go to sleep because I'm a good brother!"
Keiko patted his head. "You're such a good boy, Wataru."
Wataru laughed. "Of course I am!... Can you tuck me to sleep? I'll be a good boy, I promise."
"Eh getting tucked to bed by imouto-chan? I want it too-"
Bonk!
"Ouch! Kyou-nii, where do you even get that pan?!?"
Keiko giggled before holding out her hand. "Let's go Wataru-chan."
'Might as well check-up on Louis-san too.'
After tucking Wataru to bed, she knocked on Louis' room.
The door opened, revealing Louis with his shoulders slumping.
"Oh Chii-chan, hello."
"Hi Louis-san... Are you okay? You look down."
"...I'm thinking about some stuff."
Keiko bit her lips. 'It's better to tell him right?' She cleared her throat. "Actually, Fuuto and I saw you talking to a foreigner in the afternoon. Does it have something to do with that man?"
Louis' eyes widened. "Did Fuuto ask anything about the man? Or was he suspicious about me seeing the man?"
She shook her head. "Nope. All he said was that guy was probably recruiting you to be a hairstylist for S-grade celebrities. Was that what it's about?"
He lets out a sigh of relief. "No, not at all. I'm glad Fuuto didn't suspect anything." He looked at her. "The man was sent by my father, my birth father to bring me back to France."
"What? Back to France?"
He nodded his head solemnly.
"... What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. The five youngest doesn't know I'm adopted. I don't know if I should tell them or not. I don't know if I should tell Masa-nii and the others about this too. I-i-"
"Louis-san, deep breaths. Take deep breaths." Keiko said, rubbing his arms. "You can decide how long you want to keep it a secret, you can decide who gets to know about this whenever you want. Just remember that we, your family, are here for you. If there's anything you need, we can help you."
"Thank you, Chii-chan." He pats her head. "You should return to your room. It's getting late."
"Yeah... hey, whatever you decide, we will still love you." They bid each other goodnight, waving their hands.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
The next day, Keiko and Yuusuke were walking to class together, chatting about the summer vacation plan.
"Okaa-san's private island is open to everyone. She's promoting it as a tourist spot so it won't be just us."
"Then it must be big huh? I can't wait to go swimming!"
Yuusuke stopped in his tracks. 'That means... she'd have to bring a swimsuit.' He quickly shook his head.
"The idiot is imagining erotic things!"
The two of them looked behind.
"F-fuuto!"
"Imagining erotic things right in the morning, is so morbid." He said, walking towards Yuusuke.
"W-what are y-you-"
Keiko tilted her head. She wasn't near them so she didn't hear clearly what they're talking about so she walked near them.
"I know." Fuuto smiled, head tilting to the side. "You were fascinated by my cute nee-san's behind, weren't you?"
"Huh?" Keiko's eyes widened as she covered her butt. She looked behind her, spinning around to check whether her skirt got caught in her panties or not.
Yuusuke caught Fuuto's collar and brought it near him. "You! Quit it already!"
This causes the people nearby to pay attention to them.
"Oh look, isn't that Asakura Fuuto-kun?"
"Ah it really is!"
People start murmuring, asking what the relationship between Yuusuke and Fuuto are.
'Uh oh. Yuusuke's reputation!'
The gossip about her, Daiki and Yuusuke had gone down, thanks to a new rumour spreading around. Thankfully, no rumour about Sasakura getting rejected was spread.
She was about to step in when Fuuto thanked him, "Thank you for fixing the button for me, Yuusuke nii-san."
"Wha-"
"Oh, that's Fuuto's nii-san." Pointed out one of the fans.
"Hai, this is the nii-san that I respect." He said loudly, showing his charming smile to everyone.
"Wow, really?"
Keiko glanced towards Yuusuke. His hands were balled into a fist, probably to keep himself from hitting Fuuto.
"Well then, good luck studying for your university exams, nii-san." Fuuto said, waving him goodbye as he walked towards the school building.
As Fuuto walked past her, she looked at him disappointingly. Poor Yuusuke.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Okay everyone, take a seat. We're going to discuss the school sport's festival for homeroom. Then we'll continue with our lesson." Her homeroom teacher shouted as she walked into the classroom.
"The sport's festival huh?" Keiko turned towards Yuusuke. "What are you planning on entering?"
Yuusuke wondered for a while. "Probably tug-of-war and some running events. What about you?"
"I'm not good at running so maybe a sport that needs teamwork."
His mind went to his imagination. 'Teamwork? The three-legged-race would be fun if I could pair up with her...' He imagined them running together while hugging each other. He shook his head, face getting slight red from the image of being able to be that close with her.
"Even though it'll be held two weeks from now on, I want you guys to choose which events you are joining so you can have a head start and practice." The teacher was about to write something on the chalkboard when she remembered something. "Ah, Hinata-san, Fujimoto-san, don't forget to do your cleaning duty today. The last students didn't clean up so I'm reminding you guys." She said as she eyed Ayame and the student behind her sharply.
"Gomenne sensei, I forgot. I had club activities." Ayame said, arms clasped together.
Keiko looked towards Daiki. He was looking towards her too. He gave her a sheepish smile before focusing back on the chalkboard.
'Adorable.' She thought as she also turned towards the chalkboard, her hands on her cheeks to hide her giddy smile.
Yuusuke frowned as he looked at Keiko and Daiki. 'I'm not letting you guys be alone together!'
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Don't you have club activities?"
"I already told a member I'll be a bit late."
Keiko and Daiki were in their classroom, everyone had long gone, either to return home, hang out with friends or attend their club activities.
Keiko was cleaning the blackboard using the duster while Daiki was sweeping the floor. They had already dust and arranged the tables. The only thing left to do was to throw away the trash which Daiki has voluntarily said he'll do. When asked why, he said the school dumpster is on the way to the school field.
"What about you Keiko? No club activities either?"
"Nope. I'm going back home to do my homework."
Daiki scoffed. "What a nerd..."
"Hey at least I'm a cute stylish nerd." Keiko took a few steps back to look at the blackboard, making sure it's clean from any chalks left. "I'm almost done here. Just need to clean the dusters. What about you?"
"Almost done too."
Keiko walked towards the open window and began clapping the dusters against each other to get rid of the chalk dust. She was almost done when a gust of wind suddenly blew by. The dust from the chalk went into her eyes.
"Ouch!" She stepped backwards before letting go of the dusters. Her hands rubbing her eyes to get rid of the dust.
"Hey hey hey! Don't rub your eyes!" Daiki, who heard her yelping, stopped sweeping the floor and went to her. He moved her hands to the side before holding her face. He began blowing towards her eyes.
In another part of the school...
"Argh!!! How could I forget?!?"
A certain red-head was in his school tracksuit, running down the hallways towards his class. He forgot Keiko and Daiki were together in the class... all alone!
He remembered it when he went to his club room, only to notice Daiki was nowhere to be seen. When he asked other club members, they told him he had cleaning duty so he'll be late. His eyes widened before he quickly shouted an excuse to go to his classroom.
When he arrived in front of the door, he quickly slid the door open. What he saw made his anger boil.
Keiko was crying. And Daiki was near her.
'He must've hurt her!' He thought as he walked towards them, his hands already clenched into fists. "What did you do to her huh?!?"
"Yuusuke-kun?"
"I was just helping her. Some chalk dust has gotten into her eyes."
"There's no way that happened." He grabbed Daiki's collar. "You hurt her didn't you?!?"
"No, I didn't!"
"Lies! You're playing with her feelings aren't you? Making her feel like you guys got some chemistry together when in fact you're just using her!"
"What? Yuusuke-kun, you're misunderstanding!"
Yuusuke ignored Keiko. "This is for making her cry!" He let go of him and pulled back his arm, hand clenching.
"Yuusuke, stop!"
"Guargh!"
Yuusuke had punched him in the face, targeting his cheek. Daiki's leg faltered to the side, his hand quickly holding his now red cheek. Thankfully there was no blood spilled... yet.
"Yuusuke, stop it!" Keiko holds his hand, hugging it to her body. "Don't punch him! What he said was true! Some dust got into my eyes and he was helping me get rid of it. That's why there were tears down my face. So, please stop it!"
"Yeah." Daiki grunted in pain, rubbing his sore cheek. "I'm out. Staying in the same room with that tomato-head will just anger me more."
Keiko didn't get to stop him as he quickly got his bag and the bag of trash, exiting the classroom by closing the door with a loud thump.
Keiko sighed. He looked at the door then to Yuusuke. "Let me see your hand." She quietly checks his hand to make sure there was no injury to it. Yuusuke was quiet, eyes down to the floor. "Why did you do that?"
"I thought he really did hurt you..." He whispered, guilty for his action. He leaned on a desk.
"He would never hurt me. He's a nice guy even though he could be annoying sometimes. He's your teammate too!" Yuusuke didn't respond, causing Keiko to sighed. "You could get in serious trouble if he reports it to the teachers. What if they call Miwa-san... or worse! You could get suspended!"
"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I... I got mad seeing him being so close to you."
"Why?"
He gazed straight into her eyes. It's now or never. "I like you. Before we were step-siblings. I've liked you since we were first year."
Keiko lets go of his hand, stepping backwards until her back hits someone's desk. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and hopped on to the desk.
"Yuusuke-kun. I don't have such feelings for you." She bit her inner cheek. "I'm in love with Daiki-kun."
Yuusuke blinked a few times, not wanting his tears to fall down but failed. He inhaled a deep breath, looking up. "I-i know. I know yet... it hurts so much." Tears fell down his face as he covered his eyes with his arm.
Keiko bit her lip, looking down. She stayed quiet while Yuusuke sniffed.
An hour had passed. Yuusuke's sniffing had stopped but the pained look in his face was still present.
"Feeling better?" She asked carefully while looking at his face.
"... Yeah."
"Wanna go home together?"
"... Can't. Club activities."
"You're still going?"
"Yeah." He pushed himself off the desk. "Besides, I gotta apologize to Daiki."
"... You're not mad at him?"
Yuusuke looked at her before flashing her the brightest smile he could muster. "I don't want to make an enemy of my future brother-in-law."
Keiko blushed. "Wha- He isn't- He- I- We're not a couple or anything..."
"Not yet." He began walking towards the door. He stopped before going out and turned to Keiko. "I'll help you so you guys will be together."
He was about to exit the classroom when Keiko called him. "How can you be so supportive after getting your heart broken?"
"I want to see you smile more, even if it means not being with you." He said before exiting the classroom, walking towards his club room.
Keiko's shoulder slumped downwards. She lets out a huge sigh. "Yuusuke-kun, you're really strong."
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
She was in the lobby, waiting for the lift to open up. She wants to quickly go up to her room and take a long, relaxing bath. But before that, she's hungry for a snack.
The door opened, revealing Azusa... and no Tsubaki to be seen.
She gulped. It's been a while since she was alone with Azusa. The last time they were together... was kind of in an awkward situation.
"Um, are you going out?" She asked as he exited the lift.
"Yeah. There was a last minute-change in the script for the anime I'm working on, so I'm going to go and record it again."
"Ah that anime! It's almost time for it to air right? If I'm not mistaken, next season?"
"Yeah..." Azusa holds his head, face wincing in slight pain.
"Azusa-san, are you feeling well?"
"No, it's nothing. I have to give all I have for Tsubaki as well."
"If you say so... Well, good luck with work!" She cheered.
He thanked her before excusing himself to go first.
She entered the lift and pushed the fifth floor button. When she arrived, she ate a bag of potato chips while thinking about her life.
"Maybe I should act mean to them, act distant so they don't misunderstand anymore... but it's not like me to be like that." She sighed before munching on a chip. "Have they never met a kind girl before? Being nice isn't a sign that someone likes you. It's called being human."
After throwing away the bag of chips, she wandered around the dining room, then the living room before going up the balcony. She looked down towards the living room.
Images of her brothers and herself spending time in the living room went through her mind. She held her love-shaped locket on her necklace. 'If mama was here, papa wouldn't have to remarry. I wouldn't have to go through all of this.'
She looked to the side and laid down on the sofa. She looked at the ceiling, her right hand reaching out to it. 'Maybe it was a bad idea to stay here?'
She sighed and closed her eyes. 'Just a little nap wouldn't hurt right? Too tired to move...'
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Mhmm?" Keiko's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Why is there a huge tomato?" She murmured as she rubbed her eyes. When her sight was cleared, she shrieked upon seeing the big tomato... Yuusuke near her.
This causes Yuusuke to scream back and back away from her. "W-wait! I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to do anything to you!" He stood up, showing a blanket. "I thought it would be bad if you caught a cold so I thought..."
"Oh..." She smiled and thanked him. She patted the empty seat next to her while asking him a question, "Did you just return?"
"O-oh one or two minutes ago... Probably."
"That's a lie."
They looked to their side.
"What do you mean by that Fuuto?"
"He was watching for so long." He said, walking towards them. He sat beside Keiko. "He was watching you for five minutes. What a creep."
This causes Keiko to look at him questioningly.
Yuusuke flailed his arms around. "B-but I wasn't doing anything. I'm serious!"
"But, in this case, it's nee-san's fault." Fuuto said, looking straight towards Keiko.
"Huh?" She tilted her head. "Why me?"
"You were bold enough to sleep in this shared space where people come and go. Could it be that you did it on purpose?"
She frowned. "No, I didn't do it on purpose." She squinted her eyes. "If it bothered you, you should've woken me up... Even though it shouldn't."
"Yeah! You arrived first, yet you didn't wake her up. You're a cold-hearted one."
Fuuto shook his head. "At least I wasn't creepily admiring nee-san unlike a certain someone. I guess there's no helping an idiot like you to be attached to nee-san."
"Wha- stop screwing around!"
"Oh? Why are you being so serious? Maybe I was right on the mark?" He asked, smirking proudful.
Yuusuke gritted his teeth. "So what if it was?"
"Liking your own step-sister? What a scandal. If the school hears about this..."
"You!!!" In a flash, Yuusuke grabbed Fuuto's collar.
"Yuusuke, don't!"
"Ah, you guys are so noisy. Are teenagers usually like that?"
"Tsubaki-san." She whispered.
Tsubaki was on his way to exit the room but stopped to break them up. "I'm begging you, can't you be quiet?"
"But Tsuba-nii..."
"Yuusuke." He started. "Don't make me say this so many times. I'm tired of this. Do it outside if you wanna fight."
"Hmph/Tch!" The two of them moved away from each other.
"Fuuto." He looked at Fuuto. "You better learn to respect people older than you. You're going to be seen as a brat if you don't fix your personality."
"Hmph whatever." He puts both of his hands behind his back and looks toward Keiko and Yuusuke. "Seems like you trust each other more than I thought." He began moving towards the lift.
Tsubaki sighed as he glanced behind. "Good grief. I wonder how rebellious ones like him can get on television. I seriously don't understand it."
Fuuto stopped walking. "You want to know? That's because I can play any role given. The resolution I have is different from some flirty voice actor."
"Wha-"
"Later~"
Tsubaki sighed, saying he came here to rest, not to put up with them fighting. He lightly hits Yuusuke's head, causing him to yelp. He waved them goodbye before exiting.
The room was silent for a few seconds before Keiko decided to speak up.
"So..." She quirked her eyebrows, hands on her hip. "... was what Fuuto said was the truth?"
Yuusuke looked down, shame in his face. "... yes. B-but I swear I d-didn't do anything! I'm sorry."
Keiko sighed, holding her head. "And here I thought you were my knight in shining armour."
"Please let me protect you! I spaced-out looking at you because I was thinking of ways to protect you... unless Daiki's there."
"You're serious?"
He nodded his head. "Please let me protect you. I know you can pack a punch but just in case, I want to make sure you're safe. B-besides, I already apologized to Daiki... or is that not enough?"
Keiko hummed while looking up to the ceiling, her index finger on her chin. "Ah!" Her face lightened up. "Let me punch you!"
"What?"
"I'm super frustrated right now but don't worry! I'll punch you somewhere that wouldn't hurt a lot."
"U-uh, if that makes you feel better then s-sure. N-not too hard though... please."
She clenched and unclenched her hand a few times before pulling it back and hitting him at his sides.
"Ooof!" He stepped away from her, holding his sides. "T-that was so p-powerful..."
"Was it? I didn't even put all of my strength." She said looking at her hand to make sure there wasn't any injury. "Since I've re-pledge you as my knight, you better protect me."
He smiled. "I will."
The two of them began chatting, talking about how Yuusuke and Daiki made up while making their way to their rooms.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
The next day, Keiko woke up early as she had club duties to do. She was eating breakfast when Azusa came down the stairs... tired?
She bid him good morning, noticing his pale face.
"Azusa-san, you look tired. Did you not get enough sleep?"
He made his way carefully to the dining table. "Probably, but I'm fine."
"Let me prepare breakfast for you."
She was about to stand up when Azusa stopped her. "No it's okay. I don't have any appetite."
"But you look like you're sick..."
"Lately, I've been getting these bad headaches." He said knocking his head lightly as if it would lessen the pain. "I have to leave soon, have fun in school."
He was about to walk away when his feet staggered. He quickly holds the chair to steady himself.
"Azusa-san!" Keiko quickly went to his side.
"Sorry. I feel a bit dizzy."
"You should rest, Azusa-san. Tell your manager to postpone your work to another day."
Azusa chuckled. "Thank you for worrying about me, imouto-san. But, I have an important recording today, so I can't cancel it." He pushed himself to walk... but a sharp pain suddenly hit him, causing him to lose balance.
"Azusa-san!"
Keiko quickly grabbed his arms so he wouldn't fall face first. She slowly lowered his body on the floor so he's sitting, leaning on the chair behind him. His eyes were closed as if it would help lessen the pain.
She sat in front of him, a hand holding his cheek while the other was checking his forehead.
"Eeeeeh? What indecent things are you two doing hmm?" She looked behind to see Hikaru in men's clothes. "I didn't know our imouto is this bold."
"Hikaru-san, stop joking! Azusa-san needs help!" She said sternly.
"Hai, hai~" He walked to them and crouched. "Azusa, you didn't hit your head right?"
"Hikaru-nii-san..." He murmured as he slowly blinked his eyes open.
"Imouto-san." Hikaru looked at Keiko with a serious look. "Since when was Azusa in this condition?" Keiko shrugged her shoulders. "Hmm he has a fever and his cold sweat is getting worse. We need to get him to rest and tell Masa-nii."
Keiko nodded her head.
They were about to help Azusa up when he shook his head. "I can't. I have work to do."
Hikaru "Do you really think you can act well when your physical condition is like this? If it's so important, do you think you can do it in the best condition possible?"
"But..."
"Azusa-san." Keiko said sternly. "Please listen to Hikaru-san. You need rest."
"Fine..."
The two of them helped Azusa into his room, making sure that he's tuck in bed and there's bottles of mineral water beside him. Hikaru told Keiko to go to school, saying he'll take care of everything else.
She was worried of course but she also couldn't be late to do her club duties. She bid both of them goodbye, wishing Azusa-san a speedy recovery.
°~°~°
I feel like it's been a long time since I update this story. I wanna write so badly but my assignments are piling up and I have a test coming up next Wednesday. I'm not sure if I can update next week either :( But, I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!
Happy reading!
Published on 12 November 2021