“Good morning, Riko.”
“Good morning, Mother.”
When I finished getting ready for school and headed to the kitchen, my mother was already busy preparing breakfast.
It was a sight I saw every morning, but lately, I’d felt like I should be pulling my own weight, so I stepped in to help. I’d started helping with dinner as well. I could still only manage simple dishes, but I wanted to at least become a little more capable.
The reason for this change was Satsukawa-san.
Apparently, she went to Takanashi-kun’s house every single morning to prepare his breakfast and pack his bento. After school, she headed over again to make dinner, and she spent her days off cleaning and doing his laundry. With such a massive gap in our femininity, I didn’t even feel like trying to compete.
Well, it wasn’t like I needed to compete with someone who was basically a wife, but I felt somewhat pathetic as a sister.
Lost in those thoughts, I finished the breakfast we’d made. Before leaving the house, I pressed my hands together in prayer at the Buddhist altar.
Kazunari... I’m off.
That was my morning routine, the start of my day. From there, I headed toward that boring school once again.
It wasn't that anything specific happened there, nor was I dealing with any particular trouble or unpleasantness. It was just boring. I’d never thought school was fun to begin with, but the time I’d spent with Takanashi-kun—with everyone—even if only for a few days, had been so incredibly enjoyable that school now felt more tedious than ever.
It was a real problem.
My name was Riko Hanasaki.
My appearance was average... or maybe a bit... unique. Breasts were just for show; the perverts out there just didn't get it. Anyway, I considered myself just one of the many background characters you could find anywhere.
My grades weren't bad. I’d studied more than necessary during my period of school refusal, so I figured I’d be ahead of the curve for a while. My family structure consisted of my parents, my grandparents, and... I used to have a younger brother.
His name was Kazunari Hanasaki.
The baby photo displayed on the Buddhist altar I prayed to every morning was him. My brother had passed away from an illness before his second birthday. I was so young at the time that I didn't actually remember him. Because of that—and I felt sorry to Kazunari for this—I don’t think I’d ever truly felt the weight of that loss.
However, in my favorite Sacred Texts and Forbidden Tomes, older sisters who doted on their younger brothers—whether they were biological younger brothers or a younger brother-in-law—appeared quite often. To be honest, I felt a deep longing to experience that role myself.
I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if Kazunari were still alive. I’d even entertained the thought that if I were ever reincarnated into another world, I might finally get a younger brother.
Having developed such a complex, I eventually began to frequently imagine my ideal younger brother. What kind of boy would Kazunari have grown up to be? Would he have been the clingy type? I wanted him to have enough boyishness to step up when it really mattered, but fundamentally, I wanted to be the one to spoil him.
Perhaps because I spent all my time thinking about things like that, I never developed an interest in romance or boys in general. That was why I would never forget my own stupidity as a self-admonition for the rest of my life—the way I let my guard down around Yamasaki, thinking of him as a comrade rather than a boy.
The humiliation of being dumped by someone I didn’t even like after being deceived would remain a lifelong stain. To make matters worse, the way everyone around me mocked me was both shocking and exhausting, which was why I had retreated into school refusal. I didn't want to see those idiots' faces, and I didn't want them commenting on my life every single time I turned around.
My top priority became taking revenge on Yamasaki. Until I accomplished that, I sealed away my existence as the girl he’d made a fool of, along with my name. I sealed away my Sacred Texts and Forbidden Tomes, too. I was no longer Riko; I was Hanako, fighting until my long-cherished wish was fulfilled.
Well, that was the resolve I’d made, but I couldn't make any real progress. At most, I could only conduct a follow-up investigation to see if I could discover anything useful. I never dreamed back then that those efforts wouldn't be in vain, or that the day would come when I would finally be rewarded.
Kazunari Takanashi-kun.
It was a secret that, in my head, I’d started calling him Kazunari without the honorifics. It would be bad for his girlfriend, Satsukawa-san, if she knew.
Though the kanji were different, the fact that his name was the same as my brother's was the initial spark that drew my interest. His appearance was... average, I thought. I couldn't quite decide if he looked like the Kazunari I’d imagined or not.
My first impression was that he was "clingy." He was pampered by his girlfriend (wife?), Satsukawa-san, who fussed over him and took care of his every need. On top of that, I was constantly fed up with how the two of them flirted whenever they had the chance.
But I didn't think he was pathetic. As I interacted with him, I gradually started to envy Satsukawa-san. I probably wouldn't be able to go as far as she did, but in Satsukawa-san, I saw the image of exactly what I’d wanted to do for my own brother.
Takanashi-kun possessed every element I looked for in an ideal younger brother. Plus, having the same name as Kazunari gave me an immediate sense of familiarity. Although we were in the same grade, considering my birthday, there was a high probability that I was the older sister.
When I heard about Takanashi-kun’s past, I learned that he’d been treated far worse than I had—it was truly horrific. While I had chosen the easy path of running away, I realized that Takanashi-kun had the strength of character to stubbornly refuse to flee.
That part of him also perfectly matched my ideal younger brother. When I instinctively patted his head, I felt a surge of joy that I couldn't quite stop. At that moment, I clearly realized that I’d taken a real liking to Takanashi-kun.
I told him the simple fact that I liked him, but since he was always flirting with Satsukawa-san, I made sure to act fed up or exasperated around them. In truth, though, I envied her.
Then, before I knew it, Takanashi-kun had gathered allies around him like the protagonist of a story and finally defeated the evil that was Yamasaki. He achieved a result that I could never have accomplished alone. He was usually clingy, but he stepped up when it mattered.
As I thought, Takanashi-kun was the ideal younger brother I’d been searching for. That was why his reward was, of course, the promised kiss from a big sister. I’d worried he might hate it, but his embarrassed, cute expression was a reward for me as well.
It wasn't that I wanted to become Takanashi-kun’s lover. I celebrated his relationship with Satsukawa-san, and I had no intention of stealing her role. I believed I understood my own feelings.
I would be happy if I could at least continue with our current dynamic—something between a friend and an older sister. To do that, I really needed to talk to Satsukawa-san. I was surely being misunderstood, and I didn't want to complicate things for them.
Satsukawa-san’s personality changed completely when it came to Takanashi-kun, but she wasn't someone who was impossible to reason with. She was the type who would answer seriously if spoken to seriously... probably.
Besides, there was one more important thing I wanted to consult with her about. I’d keep that a secret from Takanashi-kun for now.
And so, another day began.