Chapter 21 | Friends, Affection, Siblings ~Ishida’s Point of View~

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~Ishida’s Point of View~

On the way home from the coffee shop…the words that Sakamoto said to me play over and over in my head. Over and over again.

“First of all, isn’t the fact that Ishida is liked by women a result of his efforts?”

Until now, I have always achieved excellent results in both academics and sports.

However, it does not mean that I was a genius, much less talented. It is all the result of my own efforts.

My sister is the talented one, and I have worked harder than anyone else to be an unashamed older brother to her… But everyone assumed it was because I was born with talent, and no one but my family recognized my efforts.

No matter if it’s a man or a woman… no one understands me.

But he was different.

He let me hear the words I really wanted and needed to hear.

That made me so happy, so happy, so happy…!

─I arrived near my house.

In front of the front door, three junior high school girls are talking about something…one of them is my sister Futaba, so they must be having a good time chatting.

I’m sorry to interrupt them, but the only way to get into the house is through there, I'm sorry Futaba…

“──Haha, that’s a stalker…oh, it’s my brother…well, let’s call it a day, shall we? ─ Bye bye bye, Hiroko! Honoka!”

“See you later! Futaba~!”

“See you tomorrow! Hiroko, can I go to your house today?”

“Sure, but my Onii-chan isn’t home today”

“Ah, well then, see you tomorrow~!”

“…Okay? See you tomorrow, Honoka.”

When Kazuki Ishida’s younger sister, Futaba Ishida, found her brother returning, she split up with her friends straight away.

Kazuki, who was watching her, smiled bitterly and apologetically, saying that he had disturbed her more than expected.

“I’m sorry, Futaba. You were just talking to your friends.”

“What? No, the three of us had been talking for a long time, but we were looking for a good time to break up, so it was rather perfect! You came back at the right time, Onii-chan!”

…She’s a kind sister. Futaba is a really talented girl.

Even if she enjoys playing games all night long before a test, she can still get a 100 on her junior high school test…yeah, I guess I can’t show my sister such a pathetic figure after all…?

“Haha, thanks!”

“I’ll be going back to my room, okay? Well, then…”

“Oh, wait a minute! I need to talk to Futaba about something… can we talk in my room for a minute?”

“Yeah, okay, but…”

“Thanks. You should go change your clothes in your room first.”

“Okay!”

Kazuki went to his room. He changed from his school uniform into his loungewear and waited for Futaba to come.

Five minutes later, his sister knocks on his door.

“Onii-chan? Can I come in?”

“Ah, come in.”

Hearing his brother’s reply, Futaba politely opened the door.

Not many people would open the door violently without knocking. 

“What’s the matter?”

Futaba was dressed in a really cute outfit: a fuzzy, pink jacket and shorts of the same color. Although she was dressed cutely, she was not conscious of her brother, of course… she simply likes to wear cute clothes.

“Actually… don’t be surprised, listen…”

“What’s wrong…?”

Ishida radiated a tremendous sense of tension, creating a strange tension in the room. The younger sister, Futaba, waited with bated breath for the rest of his words.

“I…made a friend!”

“Eeee!? Onii-chan’s made a friend… eeeee!?”

“Yeah! It’s true! Look at this! Look!”

Kazuki happily took out the phone number Yuuji had given him and proudly showed it off to his sister.

“You really…this memo paper is not from a girl…you really… you made a male friend…I’m so happy for you, Onii-chan…!”

Futaba, overcome with emotion, involuntarily cries and hugs her brother. As a sister who had been worried about her brother’s longing to have a friend, she couldn’t help but be happy for him.

However, the person in question was a little troubled, his face downcast.

“What’s wrong… are you worried about something?”

“I don’t know what message to send… what should I do?”

“What’s that… okay, I’ll take care of it!”

“Thank you! I can rely on you! I’m going to laminate this memo paper and hang it in my room as a memento.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that, okay?”

“Why?”

“No, if anyone sees it, they’ll think you’re weird…”

“No! I’ll keep this paper carefully!! This one thing is non-negotiable!”

“Are you seriously going to take my advice?”

“That’s one thing, and this is another.”

“Eeeee…?”

─Futaba was feeling quite uneasy about the current exchange.

(Ummm… he suddenly says something crazy like laminating…)

As Futaba was pondering what advice to give, a notification sounded on Kazuki’s phone at this time. Kazuki took his phone to check the sender.

“…’It’s nothing, so don’t worry’…I didn’t expect to receive a reply I sent yesterday after all this time…”

It was a message from Airi.

Futaba peeked at the contents of the message and tilted her head when she saw the response to a message sent more than 24 hours ago.

“A girlfriend? It’s rare for you to look down on someone…or rather, isn’t this the first time you have a girlfriend like this?”

“…That’s right.”

Ishida is at a loss as to what is going on.

She confessed her feelings to him, and his feelings for Airi are genuine. However, that feeling had cooled considerably by now.

Her behavior towards Ishida since they started dating has been so bad. He's not yet at the level where he can break up with her, but even if they do break up, he probably won’t have any regrets…He’s cold enough to that extent.

“Are you breaking up…?”

Her sister senses Kazuki’s feelings.

The women my brother had dated in the past had broken up with him because of the restrictions they placed on him.

At that time, he had a look of disgust on his face every time she sent him a text message, and now my brother had such a look on his face.

“Well…I don’t know. I don’t hate her enough to break up with her, but…she and Sakamoto don’t seem to get along…and Sakamoto might not think well of me if she’s with me…”

Sakamoto is my brother’s friend.

“You seem to be thinking about a lot of things, but I wonder if you’re not interested in troubles between men and women. Unlike you, I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, that’s right…well, even though I’m thinking about Himeda-san…what’s important right now is Sakamoto! Please teach me how to write a perfect sentence!”

“Yeah! I’ll help you think of a great sentence to say!”

But Sakamoto-san… what kind of a man is he? I’d like to meet him once, I wonder?

…But for now, I have to think of the best sentence that will help my brother get along with his friend!

～Two hours later (Yuuji’s point of view)

──Buruburuburuburu

──Buruburuburuburu

“Hmm? A message from an unknown recipient…Oh, Ishida. It’s faster than I thought… let’s see…”

Yuuji casually checked the contents.

“It’s been a while! It’s Ishida! Yay, peace! How are you, Yuuji-kun? I’m not fine… that’s a bummer! And ramen, tsukemen, and bokutanmen! Aren’t all of them noodles? Where’s the handsome element that’s so important? I’m going to request a search request for a handsome man in distress! I’m not sure why… I’m sorry I couldn’t accept your search request! I’m sorry!”

“… Nuo… this is terrible.”