The cause of her defeat was definitely underestimating Ito. She’s intelligent , humble, and tends to get swept up in things. But it was Nishiyama’s rotten luck to step on the tail of the terrifying tiger sleeping deep inside her.
── By the way, this is something I heard from Minami, one of our club members who went to the same middle school as Ito.
Apparently, Ito was on the ping-pong team back in middle school and was good enough to make it to the national top 4 in girls’ singles. Minami was literally shaking as she told me that Ito’s entire personality changes when she picks up a racket.
Ito can pinpoint an opponent’s weakness with just one shot, completely preventing them from getting into any kind of rally, and on top of that, she totally crushes their will to fight. She was apparently feared throughout the school and beyond for that ruthless, merciless playing style.
That’s how she earned the nickname “The One-Shot Empress.”
It’s such an intimidating nickname that you’d never connect it to the gentle, soft-spoken Ito we know today. When Ito heard that nickname while not holding a racket, she was apparently pretty shocked and gently set down the racket she was holding on the ping-pong table. Then,
“I’m going back to being a normal girl!”
S he declared, and completely shut the door on the ping-pong career everyone expected from her.
And then, after getting into Yuuki Academy, while she was looking for a cultural club to join, she was approached by this girl who was cheerful, hardworking, and a little concerning but totally straightforward.
“Why don’t you join the drama club with me?”
That was Nishiyama Kazusa—the president of our drama club.
And as for that Nishiyama──
“Waaah… that was so scawy~… sob, hic…”
──Having been completely destroyed by Ito, she was pathetically sobbing to Hinata.
“It’s okay, Kazusa-chan. It’s over now. It’s all… over…” Hinata said gently, stroking the sobbing Nishiyama’s head.
This was the first time I’d ever seen Hinata with such a tragic yet compassionate expression. Like I was looking at some religious painting, there was this heavenly light just pouring down on Hinata’s head.
War only begets sorrow. On the other hand, perhaps it further highlights the nobility and beauty that humans possess.
Akira and I just watched this scene, utterly dumbfounded.
As for Ito, on the other hand──
“So then, who’s my next opponent?”
──She was totally in the zone.
Instantly, Akira and I whipped our heads away, and Nishiyama let out this tiny “Eek!” The other club members had already evacuated to the indoor baths.
“Um, Ito-san, I’ll buy juice for everyone, so maybe we can call it a day… ahahaha…”
It seems like most problems in the world can be solved with money. In that case, the money I’m about to feed into this vending machine must have some deeper meaning. We absolutely cannot let the sadness in this world increase any further.
With that thought in mind, I decided to buy juice for everyone here.
For now, I absolutely must not let Ito get her hands on a racket.
I’ll definitely keep that in mind going forward.
──And then came the sensation of her squeezing my hand, as if testing how it felt between her fingers.
Furthermore, she placed the index finger of her free hand against my chest, traced a small circle there, and then—
“…Do we really look like a couple?”
──whispered the question directly next to my ear.
As if to press her overwhelming advantage—
“What’s wrong, Ryouta? Your face has been completely red for a while now, you know?”
The sound of her soft, knowing giggle brushed against my ear like silk.
This was absolutely catastrophic—
“── Th-that’s just because my body’s getting overheated from the footbath…” I stammered desperately.
When her devastating combination attack landed, some desperate psychological impulse to somehow stop the assault kicked in—like frantically mashing controller buttons during a boss fight—but then came a perfect side view of Akira’s profile—
“I think I might be getting a little overheated too…”
──The finishing blow had been delivered with surgical precision.
“Just kidding~ How was my performance?” Akira asked cheerfully, having instantly returned to her normal demeanor.
I remained frozen solid, bright red, and completely bewildered by what had just transpired.
“Aniki, you really like this kind of slyly cute behavior, don’t you?”
──What are you talking about? It’s not that I like slyly cute things in general—it’s because it was you doing it that my heart is pounding like this…
“Alright, number two, Majima Ryouta-kun. Now it’s your turn to perform ‘The handsome boy about to make his move on the girl he’s interested in.’ Go ahead.”
“Absolutely not happening…” I declined immediately.
“So can I claim victory?”
“You can have the win…” I conceded defeat.
“Ehehehe~♪ Victory is mine!”
I’d never intended to engage in this kind of contest in the first place, and there was absolutely no way I could win against a step-sister this devastatingly cute and sly.
But still, I never could have imagined getting hit with such a perfectly executed combination attack while sitting in a footbath…
＊ ＊ ＊
After that memorable encounter, we wandered into a charming back street. Unlike the main thoroughfare with its modern asphalt paving, this cobblestone path possessed a wonderfully atmospheric, old-world charm.
Just after we entered the cobblestone street, we encountered an informational sign explaining that this particular path had once been walked by the famous literary master Fuwata Jinta during his writing periods in the area.
After reading the historical explanation with interest, we began to explore again, when Akira suddenly spoke up with a thoughtful expression.
“Hey Aniki, maybe I should try writing a novel too?”
“Oh? What kind of novel did you have in mind?”
“Let’s see…” she mused playfully. “How about something called ‘She Was Actually My Step-Sister’? And for the subtitle, maybe… ‘Why My New Step-Brother’s Sense of Personal Distance is Way Too Close’ or something like that?”
Akira grinned mischievously, but I did my absolute best to remain calm and not reveal my growing agitation.
“…I’m listening,” I said carefully.
“The protagonist would be a first-year high school girl. Her parents divorced when she was little, and she was separated from her beloved father. Then one day, her remaining parent remarries, and suddenly she’s going to have a step-brother ── that’s the basic setup.”
“…Continue.”
“At first, the girl would be like, ‘spare me the whole getting-chummy routine,’ but her new brother approaches her actively every single day, and it’s just overwhelming. Then, in the middle of playing a game together, he suddenly pushes her down and says something like, ‘You know, you’ve got a really pretty face…’…”
“That’s quite the aggressive brother…” I commented weakly. “Also, if possible, could you please clarify in the setting that his actions were completely unavoidable circumstances?”
“But you know, the girl gradually starts to let her guard down around him, and one day, her brother says something like this to her.”
“Gk—!? I have a pretty good idea where this is going, so I really don’t want to hear what comes nex—”
“‘Want to take a bath together?’”
“──Fugu!?”
What was this feeling? I felt like I’d heard that exact line somewhere before…
“The girl was definitely embarrassed, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse and ended up getting in the bath with him. ── Now, here’s a question for you, Aniki. Why do you think this girl couldn’t refuse his invitation?”
“W-well, I wonder about that…” I said evasively. “I’m pretty good with history, but literature isn’t exactly my strong suit…”
“Think carefully about it, okay?”
“Um, that would be, well, you could probably say…”
As I struggled desperately to formulate an answer, Akira let out a small, knowing laugh.
“Before she realized it, she had already fallen for him completely. He was the only person who truly looked at her for who she really was.”
I felt like I might actually die from the sheer emotional agony of this conversation.
If I’d been alone in this place, I probably would have been banging my head against the cobblestones in pure torment.
“But that girl had misunderstood something crucial. She thought and thought about why her brother was trying to get involved with her so actively, and eventually she wondered, ‘could it be that this person actually likes me?’”
A wave of overwhelming shame washed over me, and my heart began pounding wildly.
This story was genuinely terrible for my cardiovascular health. I could feel myself breaking out in an uncomfortable sweat.
It was so embarrassing that I honestly couldn’t bear to listen to another word.
“And you know, this brother had assumed the girl was his step-brother the entire time. ── The truth was only revealed when they took that bath together. When the surprised brother finally understood, she was like, ‘Yeah, I am a girl, but you’re only noticing now?’”
“Gk─────────!?”
“Well, they had both misunderstood everything, but it all worked out in the end. Toward the brother who became distant after realizing she was his step-sister, the girl starts approaching him more and more actively. Like, ‘You made me fall for you, so you better take responsibility for my feelings!’ ── How’s that for a story?”
“H-how’s that, you ask… that’s—”
──Isn’t that basically an autobiographical novel?
Isn’t that just you shamelessly writing down the exact story of our relationship?
“So, do you think it’s interesting?”
“Well, it’s not bad, I suppose…?” I answered weakly.
“Then what would make it even more interesting?”
“Um… maybe another guy who likes the girl appears, and he and the brother end up fighting over her?”
“Don’t need that.”
“Then perhaps the brother already has a girlfriend, and it becomes a complicated love triangle…”
“Don’t need that either.”
“In that case—”
“A story that makes a girl truly happy is one where she ends up with her prince in the end, you know? So—”
Then Akira linked her arm through mine with decisive action.
“──A happy ending is all that really matters! And with that, Aniki, I’m leaving it up to you to think about the continuation of this story where that girl finds her happiness.”
Her declaration was so refreshingly direct that it was almost breathtaking.
Akira had just casually dumped what seemed like the most important theme of her entire life directly into my lap.
“Akira, can I ask you something?”
“What is it, Aniki?”
“Is that supposed to be pure literature? Because endings in pure literature are usually quite dark, you know? Like crushing the butterfly collection you’d been so carefully maintaining, or stripping an elderly woman of her kimono and running away—that sort of thing…”
“This story isn’t meant to be that kind of heavy, depressing literature,” she replied with a laugh. “── Well, after some twists and turns, maybe a fun and lovey-dovey romance about siblings would work out nicely too?”
Akira said this with a small, satisfied smile.
“So here’s your homework assignment, Aniki. ──Think carefully about how this story should continue.”
“Eh!? It’s homework!?”
“And then we can publish our sibling collaboration on a web novel site~♪”
“Please don’t do that…” I pleaded desperately. “That brother’s ridiculous misunderstanding would spread across the entire world…”
I couldn’t help but empathize completely with the characters in her story, especially the hopelessly clueless brother.
I genuinely hoped for that girl’s happy ending too, but honestly, I had to wonder—would she really find happiness if she ended up with such an oblivious brother?
While silently praying that the fate awaiting that fictional brother-figure wouldn’t result in a bad ending, I walked slowly down the atmospheric back street with my arm linked companionably with Akira’s.
After our memorable stroll through town, we returned to the inn to find Dad and Miyuki-san waiting patiently in the lobby for our arrival.
“Ryouta, Akira, you’re running a bit late, aren’t you?” Dad observed with mild concern.
“Sorry about that, you two,” I apologized. “The restaurants were all crowded, so we ended up just getting food to go and eating while we walked.”
“We tried so many different things, and everything was absolutely delicious! ♪” Akira added enthusiastically.
“I see. That sounds wonderful,” Miyuki-san responded warmly. “── Well then, we’ll be departing shortly.”
“Yeah.” “Okay.”
──The fact that we’d gone on an impromptu date after seeing everyone off, and the creative writing homework Akira had assigned me, would remain our little secrets.
