Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Fourth Question
The Fourth Question
Please indicate the accented syllable of the underlined words in the English sentence below.
“Don’t mind. It's your imagination. He had stayed on business in New York yesterday.”
Himeji Mizuki’s answer:
"It’s your imaginátion."
Teacher's comment:
Correct answer. Normally, words that end with ‘tion’ will have the syllable before it, so it’s best to remember it.
Tsuchiya Kouta’s answer:
"It’s your íḿáĝíńáťíóń."
Teacher's comment:
You won’t be necessarily correct if you accentuate every single letter.
Yoshii Akihisa’s answer:
"It’s your imagination!"
Teacher's comment:
Sometimes, I would suspect if you’re really a genius, but that’s just a wrong impression.
I’m living together with that dangerous sister of mine under the same roof
Maybe it’s because of such a tense feeling that my senses became abnormally sharp, or is it that my pre-recognition ability got sharper?
I suffered for an entire day yesterday, and I really felt tired because I studied, which I rarely do. However, for some reason, I opened my eyes before the alarm clock rang.
“…”
“…”
The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself holding onto a pile of cosmetics with both hands and exchanging looks with my sister.
“…Ah…erm…”
What is this person doing in my room so early in the morning?
“Good morning, Aki-kun.”
“Ah, un. Good morning.”
As she said good morning to me so casually, I answered without thinking too much. Wait, now’s not the time to say good morning now!
“Nee-san! Why did you come over to my room!? And what’s with the cosmetics? Are you thinking of bullying me again?”
Is she planning on doodling on my face while I’m sleeping!?
“What do you mean by bullying? That doesn’t sound nice. You should be saying pampering you or playing a little prank on you.”
“Ahh, whatever you say doesn’t matter! Fine, then tell me what kind of prank are you playing!?”
“Sexual related.”
“GET OUT!”
“I understand. Then treat it as revision for last night. I’ll leave if you can translate that into correct English.”
Damn it! A test at this moment? My sister’s too damned despicable! Anyway, I just need to get her out of my room,
“Take off!”
“Deduct 10 points.”
Damn it! Deducted again! Isn’t it like this? Let me see…’take’ has the meaning of ‘walk’ or ‘go’, and ‘out’ will have the meaning of ‘out’ here. If I match them up…
“Take ou—”
“Unfortunately, if you want to say ‘take out’, nee-san will have to take Aki-kun ‘back’ to her own room and dress you like a doll.”
“Take ouch!”
This is bad! Got to hurry up and get away—
“Did you say ‘take ouch’?...deduct another 10 points.”
—I failed again.
No no. What’s the English form of ‘get out’…what, what is it…
“Aki-kun, did you want to say ‘take off clothes’?”
Perhaps she couldn’t stand seeing me panicking as nee-san helped me out. This is great! I don’t know what that means, but I should be able to escape then!
“Tha, that’s right! That’s it! ‘Take off clothes, hurry!’”
“I understand that. If Aki-kun says so, nee-san can only give up on marriage.”
What! What does ‘take off clothes’ mean? Why did nee-san say that she can only give up on marriage!
“Alright, considering all the punishment from yesterday, that should be enough with the jokes.”
“Eh? Jokes? Then what about the point deduction?”
“I’m serious with that one.”
“YOU DEMON!”
In that case, I will have 240 points deducted. I’m doomed. It’s getting worse day by day…
“On a side note, ‘take of clothes’ is translated as ‘taking off clothing’. Really, our Aki-kun here is so perverted.”
“Ahaha, what are you saying. It doesn’t benefit me one bit even if I see nee-san’s naked body.”
“…Deduct 30 points from you.”
“YOU’RE THE DEVIL!”
There will be real problems if the younger brother is interested in his sister’s naked body.
“Speaking of which, while Aki-kun was sleeping in the morning, nee-san used the excuse of cleaning to check your room.”
“Excuse…that’s not something you can just say…”
“I found two more H-books.”
“HAAAAUUUU!!”
How did this person find those old books that even I've completely forgotten…
“So I’m going to deduct from you another 20 points.”
“Uu…so you’re deducting one book for 10 points, and two books for 20 points?”
“Nope, you’re mistaken.”
Eh? That’s not it?
“I found 6 books up till now, but none of them were about affairs with older sisters, so I deducted 20 points from you.”
“ISN’T THAT WAY TOO UNREASONABLE!?”
I already have a sister, how can I even go and buy those kinds of ero-books! Speaking of which, since she’s my real sister, shouldn’t she feel disgusted if she saw such things?
“I might be a little bit too strict, but I hope that it all will serve as a good lesson for Aki-kun. This is nee-san’s love for Aki-kun.”
“WHO WOULD BELIEVE SUCH A LAME EXCUSE AFTER YOU'VE CLEARLY SHOWED ALL YOUR PERSONAL INTERESTS?!”
“Alright, you should leave after having your breakfast. Nee-san has to go to work today.”
“Uu…I can’t stand such a life…”
How is it that living together with a relative under one roof could be such a pain?
“That’s the case, Yuuji. So let’s have a happy study group later again!”
After school, I packed my bag at the fastest speed possible and hurriedly ran over to Yuuji’s seat.
“…Akihisa. These words sound really disgusting when they aren’t things you’ll normally say.”
“Whatever you say. I’m not bothered with thinking about what other people say.”
The more my points got deducted, I have nothing to do other than to try to improve my grades.
“What the heck, you got deducted again?”
“Un…nee-san tested me English early in the morning…”
Testing me just when I woke up; there has to be a limit to how despicable one should be! But I guess it doesn’t matter what the time was, since I just couldn’t think of the answer…
“ReallY? Then how much were you deducted?”
“In all, 290. This is bad.”
“290, huh. Looks like you have to get at least 1090 points for your end-of-term exams.”
“Yeah. Even if I’m in good condition, my maximum will be about 1000. If I can’t get more than 50 points more…”
If I can get 1100 points, it will be the average in E class. To be honest, I have no confidence about that.
“If it’s just like that, you should be able to do it.”
“Eh? Really?”
“If you’re willing to work like crazy memorizing things that you have to remember, you should be able to improve your grades. In your case, world history should be your big chance. I remember it was only about 50, 60 points?”
“Un. You really remembered that.”
“I’m the class rep of F class after all.”
Yuuji would check everyone’s scores before starting a summoning war. As a commander, he definitely has to know his own class’ grades.
“It seems that the one responsible for the end-of-term test is going to be different from the one for the streaming exam - it's going to be Tanaka-sensei. This should be a good thing for you, right?”
“Tanaka-sensei…if he’s the one making the questions, it will be a lot easier to get the points.
Tanaka-sensei, who’s in charge of world history, is a kind middle-aged man. As the questions he sets are very simple, he’s highly regarded amongst the students.
Normally, simpler questions wouldn’t determine how good or bad the grades are, and a test that doesn’t determine how good or bad the standard is would be meaningless.
But to me now, this is something I really need. Besides, the important thing isn’t to compete with the other classmates, but to get points.
“It should be easier to get points from subjects that only needs memorizing than those subjects you’re good at.”
“You, right. Even if I start studying maths now, I probably won’t get any good grades.”
To me, the key to getting points at this end-of-term tests will be world history.
Just when Yuuji and I were discussing about how to deal with the tests and things like that, Hideyoshi, who was holding onto his bag, came to us.
“What are you discussing about? Are we having another study group at Akihisa’s house?”
“My house? Un…nee-san’s out to work, so she won’t be around at night, so you can come along. But…”
“But?”
“It’s better to go to Yuuji’s house to study. It’s better to change places once in a while other than mine. And my house doesn’t have any reference books, so we can’t study if there’re things we don’t have.”
I immediately suggested that we study at Yuuji’s place.
It’s not a lie when I say that I don’t have any reference books at all, but the reason why I chose Yuuji’s place is actually because I want to drag him down. That Yuuji always has no interest in things he’s not interested in, so if I don’t do this, I will worry that he won’t teach me. He said that he will help me for the sake of the next summoning battle, but I have to be prepared.
“Can we, Yuuji? You did come over to my house forcefully yesterday.”
“Well, we did force our way to your house yesterday alright…”
Yuuji pondered for a while,
“Alright then, we’ll come over to my house then. My mom’s going to a hot springs trip and isn’t at home now. That’s really lucky.”
I don’t know what’s worth being happy about Yuuji’s mother not being at home, but he agreed rather heartily. Now I can ask him to teach me today.
“In that case, can I join in too? It’s really hard to be motivated studying alone.”
“Of course it’s okay. Or rather, the same few will be gathered here, right? In that case, might as well gather the to save time.”
“You’re right. Oi, Muttsurini, Himeji-san, Minami!”
I hollered out to the other three who were waiting in the classroom.
“Yes, what’s the matter, Akihisa-kun?”
“What?”
“…Where’re we going?”
Having packed their bags, the trio carried them and walked over.
“Un. We intend to study at Yuuji’s house. If you guys are alright…”
Perhaps it’s to prepare for the upcoming end-of-term exams as everyone agreed wholeheartedly.
After a 15 minute walk from the school, we arrived at Yuuji’s place, located in a corner of the residence district.
“““Please excuse us.”””
After taking off our shoes at the corridor, we entered the house one by one.
Unlike my house, Yuuji’s house is a 2-storeyed bungalow and looked wider than mine. It should be easier to study here.
“Yuuji, isn’t anyone else at home?”
I walked forward and asked Yuuji who was about to lead us to his room.
“Ahh, my dad’s still working at this time, and my mom went off to a hot springs trip with her high school friends, so please don’t feel restrained and make yourself at home.”
“I see. The last time I came here, it seemed that your relatives weren’t at home, Yuuji.”
“Yeah. But it’ll be better if they’re not at home in more than one way.”
Yuuji smiled cheerily and opened the door leading to the living room, and then,
“……(Guchi guchi guchi guchi)!”
There’s a woman focusing on squeezing a bubble bag.
“…”
—BATAN!
Yuuji wordlessly closed the door.
“Yu, Yuuji? That person who’s squeezing the bubble bags that’s piled up like a hill is—”
“…Someone I don’t know.”
“Is, is that Sakamotos mother…? Why is she squeezing so many bubble bags…”
“Ye, yeah. Aren’t there too many of them? If she wants to squeeze so many of them, it will take about 1, 2 hours.”
“…Such amazing concentration.”
“Is Sakamoto-kun’s mother line of work squeezing bubble bags?”
All sorts of ideas appeared in everyone’s mind. What was that just now…
“Must be some patient with a psychiatric disorder. Don’t know how she got into my house, because my mom’s should be off on the hot springs trap.”
It’s really rare for Yuuji to make such a lie that anyone could see through. This Yuuji can cheat other people’s hearts like a professional con-man and I thought that such an evil Yuuji is no different from the devil, so I’m rather surprised by his response now.
Yuuji closed the door leading to the living room, and we can only stay on the corridor. At this moment, the voice of that so-called stranger Yuuji said could be heard.
“Oh my? I didn’t think it would be that late now. I remember Yuuji just went to school.”
Looks like the person inside the room has been squeezing bubble bags for almost 8 hours.”
“I’ll finish the rest after I have lunch.”
And it looks like she wants to continue.
“DAMN MOM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”
Seemingly unable to stand this any further, Yuuji finally stepped into the living room. Really? That person’s really Yuuji’s mother…
“Oh my, Yuuji. You’re back.”
“TO HELL I AM! WHY THE HECK ARE YOU AT HOME!? DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT YOU’RE GOING OUT ON A HOT SPRINGS TRIP AND STAYING OUTSIDE!?”
“About this, it seemed that okaa-san here mistook the time. July and October look really easy to mix up on first glance. How troublesome.”
“HOW IS IT EASY TO MIX UP!? THE NUMBER’S DIFFERENT, AND ONE’S A SINGLE DIGIT WHILE THE OTHER IS A DOUBLE DIGIT! THEY’RE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!”
“Really, you, Yuuji, treating okaa-san as a naive female high school student.”
“STOP USING THAT SHAMELESS EXCUSE TO ESCAPE THE PROBLEM! YOUR GOLDEN AGE ENDED MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO!!”
“Oh my, are these Yuuji’s friends?”
“ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?”
We were already stunned by such a crazy conversation. A, amazing…how should I describe it? Anyway…it’s amazing…
“Everyone, welcome here. Our Yuuji has bothered you a lot. I’m his mother. Just call me Yukino.”
Aunty Yukino smiled kindly at us and said gracefully. The gentle presence that she gave really made it hard to imagine that she would have any blood relation to Yuuji.
And also, after seeing her look, there’s one thing we’re all shocked by.
“Sa, Sakamoto? Your mother’s…way too young, isn’t she?”
“Yeah…I’d feel that Yuuji’s mom is so young that she never gave birth before…”
“…A beauty”
“I feel that she’s more like Sakamoto-kun’s sister~”
Just like what everyone said, she looked more like an older sister who was somewhat older than Yuuji more than a mother. Speaking of which, how old is she anyway?
“Ever, everyone, just pretend that you never saw met my mother before and head to my room.”
“U, un. Pardon us for intruding then.”
After bowing to his mother, we head over to Yuuji’s room on the second level.
“Everyone, I’ll bring tea over to you later.”
A voice came from the living room. It’s great to have a young and pretty and kind mom…even though it feels a little weird.
“My room’s here. Please enter.”
We entered Yuuji’s room as he led us in.
Once we went up the stairs, we arrived tat Yuuji’s room. It’s rather neatly packed, which is surprising. For a one-person room, it’s rather wide.
“Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I came to Yuuji’s house.”
“I’d say so too.”
“…Me too.”
It seemed that ever since I came here last autumn with Hideyoshi and Muttsurini, we never entered Yuuji’s house again.
“Eh? Don’t you normally come over?”
“Normally, they would come over to my house. We hardly come over to Yuuji’s house, and even Muttsurini or Hideyoshi’s house.”
“The place’s great and it’s wide. Akihisa’s house still the best.”
“That’s because Akihisa-kun’s being too luxurious living in such a large house.”
“Other than the three meals.”
Yeah yeah, but I will have to see the grades of this end-of-term tests to decide whether I can live my luxurious happy life of living alone.
“But…with so many people inside, my room will be too small, which is troublesome…”
There was 6 people altogether. If we were chit-chatting, it would still be alright, but if we open all our textbooks and notes, the place will be rather small and hard to move in.
“Can’t we go to your living room?”
“It’s not that we can’t, but my mom’s over there. With her around, we can’t possibly study.”
Yuuji showed a thoroughly irritated look. It may be my lucky day to know of this guy’s weakness other than Kirishima-san.
“Really, how can you say that, Sakamoto-kun? Treating your own mother as a form of trouble.”
“Himeji, you’re saying that because you’re not living with such a mother. If you have to live with her for 24 hours a day under the same roof, you’ll find that there’s a lot of points you have to snark at her about—”
Prrr! Prrr!
Just when Yuuji was arguing back, a certain electronic sound suddenly rang inside the room. Someone’s handphone probably rang.
“Ah, it’s my phone. Sorry, I’ll take the call.”
Minami took the phone from her skirt pocket and put it at her ear. It’s not a message but a direct call. Is there something urgent?
“Hello? Ah, Mut—okaa-san. What is it? …Un…un. I see, got it then.”
This call lasted less than a minute as Minami put the phone back into her skirt pocket.
“Did something happen, Minami?”
“Un…my mom originally didn’t need to go to work and could stay at home…but it seemed that the company suddenly got something urgent, so she has to go out.”
“Ah, is that so? Then Hazuki-chan’s the only one at home, is it?”
“Ya. Sorry everyone, looks like I have to go home today. Let’s work hard together next time.”
I see. It’s a pity, but it couldn’t be helped. Besides, it’s too much leaving a primary school kid at home.
Minami then took her bag and got ready to leave Yuuji’s room. But at this moment, Yuuji called Minami.
“Wait, Shimada. In that case, why don’t we move the study group over to your house?”
“Eh? My house?”
Minami’s house. I see, that’s a good idea.
“That’s not a bad idea too. Shimda’s little sister knows us, and Yuuji’s rooms so full of people that it’s a little cramped here..”
“And we can meet Hazuki-chan too.”
“…I can cook dinner for you.”
The rest of us agreed with this proposal. Most importantly, it looks like Yuuji, who proposed this, wants to change the place no matter what.
“If you’re willing, Minami, can we go over?”
“U…you, you’re right…”
That’s weird? It sounds like Minami’s not willing. I do find this a good idea.
“The, then, let’s go over to my house then…”
After pondering for a while, Minami still agreed in the end. That’s great, now Hazuki-chan won’t have to feel lonely, and everyone can gather together and study.
“But you must never enter my room!”
For some reason, Minami stared at my eyes as she said that. Do I look like someone who’ll enter a girl’s room on my own? And to think Minami’s more wary of me instead of Muttsurini? How regretful.
“Alright. Since it’s decided, let’s hurry up and leave! That pipsqueak will feel lonely if we leave her alone at home!”
After saying that, Yuuji pushed us from behind and hurriedly moved over to the corridor. Does he really hate having a mom at home while studying?
Yuuji entered the living room while we were putting on our shoes at the corridor to talk to Aunt Yukino.
“Mom, I’m going out. There are leftovers from yesterday in the fridge, so take it out and reheat it for dinner.”
“Oh my, are you going out? I just brewed tea.”
“Sorry, there’s some sudden situation…speaking of which, why are you holding onto that bottle of noodle sauce?”
“Noodle sauce? Oh my, I thought it was coffee.”
“Mom…I won’t ask you to take note of the color or taste, but at least you should read the label on the bottle…”
What’s going on? Why do I feel that Yuuji feels even more lethargic at home than at school?
“I’m back. Are you here, Hazuki?”
Minami immediately called into the house once she opened the door to the corridor.
“Waa, onee-chan? You, you’re back?”
A little profile dashed out from the other side of the corridor.
The girl with the almond-shaped eyes that were twitching upwards and two ponytails tied in butterfly knots is Minami’s little sister—Shimada Hazuki.
“? Hazuki? Did you come out form onee-chan’s room?”
Looks like Hazuki-chan just came running out from Minami’s room.
“Ah, auu…actually it’s because…it feels lonely being alone, so Hazuki went over to onee-chan’s room…”
Hazuki-chan sounded like she really had something she didn’t want to say, and there seemed to be something hidden in the pocket of her parka.
“Did you go over to my room to get the doll? Onee-chan won’t get angry over that.”
“Re, really? Thank you, onee-chan!”
Good good. Minami patted Hazuki-chan gently on the head. I saw that their conversation has ended, and took a step forward from behind Minami and said hello to Hazuki-chan.
“Hello there, Hazuki-chan.”
“Ah! Baka onii-chan!”
On seeing that I came over, Hazuki-chan leaped into me with her arms wide open without a second word. After hugging at my waist, Hazuki-chan rubbed her forehead at my waist a few times. Un un, as expected of Minami’s little sister…her forehead reached my torso many times.
“Hello there, Hazuki-chan. We came along.”
“Waah. Even pretty onee-chan is here. There’re a lot of guests here today!”
It’s really lonely for a primary school kid to be alone at home, as Hazuki-chan immediately showed a smile the moment she saw that we came here and looked extremely delighted. Such an honest kid is really suited for the term ‘innocent’.
“Okay, Hazuki, let go of Aki, or else everyone else can’t enter the house.”
“Okay, I got it. Baka onii-chan, everyone, please follow me.”
“Okay okay, Hazuki-chan, you don’t have to pull me. I’ll follow—nn?”
As I was pulled over down the corridor by Hazuki-chan, I accidentally glimpsed the inside of a door that wasn’t locked. There are a few dolls inside, and at the middle is a familiar large doll. The doll looks like it’s holding onto something.
What’s in the grasp of that fox doll? It looks like…a photo frame…?
“Wa, wait a second, Aki!?”
“Houe?”
On hearing Minami call me, I consciously turned around. At this moment, my forehead, nose and chin were struck with a strong force. Just when I lost my balance, the joints on my wrists were twisted with such violent force that they were dislocated.
“What are you looking at?”
I suppose I’ve seen hell?
“Listen! This is the room that you’re not allowed to enter!”
Minami hurriedly closed the door, and at this moment, Muttsurini joined my dislocated wrists back. Minami then turned around and furiously pointed at me. Un, relax, I definitely won’t open this door. I know clearly that this door leads straight to hell.
“Really, what in the world are you guys doing…how have you been doing, pipsqueak?”
“Hazuki’s doing well, muscular onii-chan.”
“Really? That’s good.”
Yuuji reached out and patted Hazuki-chan’s head twice before putting his hand on her head. It seems that Yuuji likes to put his hand on Hazuki-chan’s forehead because of the difference in height.
“Oh yeah, is your living room in this direction?”
“Yes, it’s this way.”
Yuuji looks like he regained his composure and attitude the moment he left his house. If I had known, I would have mocked him further.
“Find a place to sit then. I’ll move a table over.”
Minami walked over in front of us and got ready to move a table so that we can open our textbooks and read.
“? Onee-chan? Why do you need the table? Are you playing cards?”
Hazuki-chan tilted her head in a puzzled manner as she saw Minami’s actions.
Ahh, that’s right. We haven’t told Hazuki-chan the reason why we came over to her house.
“Hazuki. Onee-chan’s school is going to have end-of-term tests soon, so onee-chan brought her classmates over to study.”
On hearing Minami’s explanation, Hazuki-chan showed a lonely expression and looked down slightly.
“Auu…so you’re going to study…Hazuki can only go back to her room and not bother you…”
I should say she’s either really knows how to read the mood or is very cognitive. Hazuki-chan was ready to go back to her room without us talking.
This is really a response a good kid should have, but…
“Wait a moment, Hazuki-chan. If you don’t feel bored, why don’t you study with us? You can do your homework or study.”
It’s not a good thing if a kid can really read people’s moods. She was already happy when she saw us come over. Wouldn’t it be really lonely if she’s to hide back into her room alone like that?
“Eh? Hazuki can stay behind to study?”
Her expression immediately brightened.
“Of course you can. Right?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s teaching one or two people.”
“Yuuji, are you saying that I’m only on the level of a fifth-grader?”
“Hazuki-chan. Let’s study together.”
“I’d don’t think I have anything to teach you, but I’d be willing to welcome you to study with us.”
“…If it’s health education, I can teach you.”
Muttsurini, those words of yours are just within the limit (it’s nearly an out there).
(Aki, are you really alright with that? Don’t you have to work hard for the tests this time?)
Minami kept her voice down to prevent Hazuki-chan from hearing that and whispered to my ear. She really seemed concerned with my grades.
(It’s alright. Hazuki-chan’s a good kid and won’t bring about trouble. Also, it’ll be too pitiful if she’s to stay in her room alone. I won’t be able to work hard like that then.)
You’re really thinking too much…of course such a response for me is,
(…Thank you, Aki.)
She whispered to me in a shy manner.
Minami will occasionally look at me in a gentle manner. After seeing her like this, I…well, about this…what should I say..
“Hazuki wants to study with everyone!”
“Very good. Bring your homework over then.”
“Got it!”
Tototo. Hazuki-chan scampered away. Even though she’s just studying with us, she looks really happy there.
“Alright. We’re going to move the table. I’ll help.”
“Ah, there’s no need. I can do it myself.”
“Really? Yeah. If there’s a ‘photo of a certain person in the house’, of course you won’t wish that other people will go around, and I won’t insist on helping.”
“Wh-wha-what, what are you saying, Sakamoto!? Did you…see what’s inside that room!?”
“Nothing, I’m just joking…”
“To think that Shimada still have the heart of a girl.”
“…Sorry for using your generosity to help my business.”
Looks like Minami does go over to buy photos from Muttsurini. Muttsurini Company is really the real deal.
“Oh yeah. We can talk about the hidden things later. What about dinner?”
“…Should I cook something?”
“I don’t mind.”
It’s 5pm now. If we want to cook, we have to buy the ingredients, and we won’t be able to make it later.
“Why don’t we order pizza? It’ll take some time to cook something.”
“Yes. Akihisa-kun has to study quite a bit. We can’t waste time cooking.”
It’s great that the two girls were so kind. Besides, I do have some spare cash now, so it’ll be great if we can prioritize cooking.
“Well, I’d thought we would be able to see Shimada cook personally.”
“After last night, my confidence was so shaken thoroughly, so…”
“I see. I’d understand.”
“Everyone, find a place to sit. I’ll move the table over.”
Minami went away, and Hazuki-chan seemed to brush past her as her arms were full of textbooks while she came over.
“Sorry to keep everyone waiting.”
“You look rather motivated, Hazuki-chan.”
“Yes. Ah, baka onii-chan, please sit here.”
Hazuki-chan put the books in her hand onto the living room table, and then put a cushion onto the carpet. Is she asking me to sit on it?
“Thank you, Hazuki-chan.”
“It’s nothing much.”
I obediently sat on the cushion, and then—
“Hazuki’s seat is over here.”
Hazuki-chan then sat on my knees. I see, so that’s how it is.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll put this table—hey, Hazuki, what are you doing?”
“Ehehe~ Hazuki wants to sit here and study.”
“No way. You’ll get in Aki’s way!”
Minami started lecturing in a way an older sister should be doing. It’ll be great if she just tell me off instead of taking action for real when she faces me…
“I’m fine here, Minami. Hazuki-chan’s so small anyway.”
As compared to support pile of stone slabs and being forced down hard, I don’t feel hurt at all when Hazuki-chan’s sitting on my legs.
“You’re so kind, baka onii-chan.”
It will be problematic if I have to take out my notebooks or start writing, but my main aim today is to memorize history thoroughly, so there won’t be any problems. I just need a memorization sheet to study unlike homework where I have to write.
“It’s alright if you’re fine with that…but Aki, don’t you feel weird somewhere?”
“Akihisa-kun, if there’s any strange feeling, something bad will happen!”
“Yes, ladies, I have no evil intent at all.”
With this, we’re finally able to finish our preparations. The few of us plus Hazuki-chan were finally able to start studying for the end-of-term tests.
After about 2 hours of studying and a luxurious meal of pizza, we continued to study. It’s rare to have nothing troublesome, and time peacefully passed.
“Un? It’s so late already. Shouldn’t the study meet be over or something?”
Before I noticed it, the clock was showing 9.30pm.
“Wow, time sure does fly by fast.”
“…We were very focused.”
“It’s already pitch black outside.”
Once Yuuji said that, everyone put down their pens. I made quite a bit of progress because Himeji-san and Yuuji’s teaching methods were very easy. If I can continue on like this, I should be able to chase nee-san back overseas, I suppose?
“That should be it for today. We should be going.”
“You’re right, thank you Minami-chan.”
“Ah, un, I should be the one thanking you. Hazuki, you should be—Hazuki?”
“Zzzz…”
“Ahaha, looks like she’s tired.”
Unknowingly, Hazuki-chan fell asleep in my lap.
“Really, Hazuki…sorry Aki. Can you help me move her onto the sofa?”
“Ah, okay, I was planning on doing so.”
Hazuki-chan was tugging at my shirt even when she was sleeping as she didn’t let go even when I carried her to the sofa. I won’t be able to go home like this.
“Oi, Hazuki, wake up. How is Aki going to go home if you continue to tug at him?”
Minami patted Hazuki-chan on the shoulder.
“Nu…”
At this moment, Hazuki-chan finally opened her eyes slightly.
“Don’t…go home…”
Hazuki-chan muttered and tugged harder at my shirt.
“Hazuki, onee-chan’s going to be angry if you say such stubborn things.”
Minami spoke with a heavier tone. At this moment, I can see that Minami is a kind and yet strict older sister to Hazuki-chan when it comes to it.
“…Onee-chan doesn’t understand…”
“Eh? What?”
“…Onee-chan can often play with baka onii-chan…but Hazuki can only be with baka onii-chan at such a moment…”
“““…”””
She’s all sleepy, which is why she said such things, but the few of us who are awake were stunned to actually hear Hazuki-chan’s true thoughts accidentally. So Hazuki-chan really admires me that much…
“Eh…Minami, if you’re not bothered, can I stay over to study for a while longer?”
“Eh?”
“Yeah. Since the pipsqueak said so, Akihisa should stay behind.”
“I’d feel that way too. Akihisa, being a popular guy is tough.”
“…You’re relaly popular.”
Everyone started to make fun of me as they jabbed at me, but this isn’t a bad feeling. I’m really happy to hear such words of goodwill that can ease my emotions, especially with that out-of-sorts sister of mine launching perverted attacks on me.
“Is, is that so…sorry Aki. Please accompany Hazuki for a while more.”
“Un.”
Since Minami allowed me, I should stay behind to study more. Besides, there’s some parts of the lesson today that I don’t really understand.
“Ah, well…in that case, I should…”
“Eh? Himeji-san, you can’t stay behind. It’ll be dangerous for a girl to go back home alone if it’s too late. Better get Yuuji to send you back home.”
“But I’m really worried, in many ways…”
“I understand your feelings.”
“No, you don’t understand what I’m worried about, Akihisa-kun!”
“???”
For some reason, Himeji-san seemed to be angry.
“I’ll send Himeji home. Muttsurini, bring Hideyoshi home.”
“…I accept.”
“I’d won’t really accept this, but this couldn’t be helped…”
As we continued to drag on, time continued to fly. Cute kids like Himeji-san and Hideyoshi will really be in danger if they walk back home alone at night. They were hounded by some malicious weird guys before in the Cool Summer Festival, so we have to take note.
“Then, I’ll…”
But even so, Himeji-san just wouldn’t agree. It’s not that I don’t understand that she’s worried about Hazuki-chan, but…
“But no matter how much you ask, no means no, Himeji-san.”
“But but…”
“No buts. There’s a lot of dangerous people outside, so you have to watch out for your own safety and go back home early!”
“Give it up, Himeji. No matter how much you say, Akihisa won’t change his mind.”
“…Uu…why did it end up like this…”
On hearing Hazuki-chan’s lonely words, kind Himeji-san definitely won’t leave her alone, but it’s very late now, so I’ll take over here.
“We’ll be going then. Thank you for today, Shimada.”
“I’d feel bothered for disturbing you for too long too.”
“…Thanks.”
“Thank you, Minami-chan…”
Including Himeji-san, who looked somewhat stressed out, everyone thanked Minami and head off to the corridor.
“Everyone, see you tomorrow.”
My shirt was still being tugged at by Hazuki-chan, so I could only remain there and wait for everyone else to leave.
“Wait, I’ll send you off.”
Minami then got up and followed everyone out.
“Alright, I should be studying now.”
I sat in the living room that felt immediately empty, and reached out for the notes Himeji-san specially made. Himeji-san’s words are pretty, and it’s easy to read. The notes are really so good that I can grasp the important points of the exams. With these notes, my grades will definitely improve.
I took the notes that was left behind on the cushion and stuffed its content into my brains.
“Suu…suu…”
A steady breathing sound could be heard at my knees.
Sleeping Hazuki-chan feels very warm, and it feels even more comfy with the air-con switched on in the room. No, it’s not because of the warmth, but it’s that her fawning over me like this made me really happy. Besides, nee-san’s been talking about exam grades and living lifestyles and nagging about all these recently, which made me feel that such a time is really precious.
I held onto the memorizing sheet and continued to memorize in a dazed manner, and time passed by just like that.
“Sorry for that, Aki, troubling you like that.”
Minami, who sent everyone off, soon came back.
“Uun, I don’t find it troublesome.”
“…Thank you.”
After thanking me in a shy manner, Minami sat beside me and gently patted Hazuki-chan on the head.
“Nyuu…”
“This kid’s really…”
Minami sat beside me and patted Hazuki-chan’s head, and Hazuki-chan, who was lying on my leg, seemed to twitch due to itchiness.
“Minami and Hazuki-chan are really close.”
“Yeah. It’s not bad.”
“Looking at you two, I really want to smile there.”
“What are you saying? Aren’t you on good relations with your sister, Aki?”
“Eh? Since when! I’ve been watched by her, and everything family related ended up with me. She will even nag at me. There’s nothing good about it at all!”
“But didn’t you sister say ‘I love Aki-kun the most’?”
“…Please forget about that.”
“Uu, I feel that she was joking at the last bit.”
“Of course she is!”
Or rather, I’ll be really bothered if she wasn’t joking.
““…””
As we looked at Hazuki-chan’s sleeping face, Minami and I went silent.
“Well, Aki, that…”
“Nn? What is it?”
“That doll in my room…”
“Ahh, are you talking about the large fox doll in the room?”
“Un, that fox doll—Aki bought it for me, right?”
Nn?
Speaking of which, Hazuki-chan back then said that she wanted to buy the doll for her older sister, and Hazuki-chan’s sister is Minami…
“I see. So I helped Hazuki-chan buy the doll for Minami.”
“Eh? Don’t tell me you didn’t even realize this?”
Minami gave me a look as if she’s treating me like an idiot again.
How rude. It’s not that I didn’t notice it. I just didn’t think of it.
“Well, this can’t be helped since Aki’s like that.”
“Minami, are you actually secretly mocking me now?”
“Yeah, because you’re an idiot, Aki. It can’t be helped.”
“Minami, are you actually mocking me now?”
There’s no need to deliberately pick on it.
“After the Cool Summer Festival, I wondered how Hazuki knew about Aki, so I asked Hazuki about everything.”
“Ahh, is that so. Speaking of which, I don’t think we told you about that.”
It’s no wonder she would be wondering how her little sister who’s in primary school would know about her classmate.
“After hearing Hazuki explain it, I felt…really happy.”
“This is to be expected. You should be happy after knowing that your sister worked so hard to cheer you up.”
“…”
I’m so envious that Minami has such an understanding sister.
“Haa…really, you’re a blockhead.”
Minami sighed hard and said this to me.
Whether it’s the brain, looks or lifestyle, it looks like I have an inexplicable link to the word ‘lousy’.
“You saw that doll when my doll wasn’t unlocked, right?”
“Ah, un. I only saw the large doll holding onto a photo frame or something.’
“That photo frame…”
“Un.”
“Don’t you want to know…whose photo I put on it?”
“Eh?”
What’s with this mysterious conversation? I suppose the photo frame has the picture of Hazuki-chan who gave her the doll, or a family photo or something like that, isn’t it...? If not, it should be the photo of someone Minami likes—
“Nyuu!”
““HYAAA!!””
At this moment, Hazuki-chan, who was all sleepy, suddenly sat on my legs. Tha, that scared me!
“Nyuu…”
And Hazuki-chan leaned back down again. Did, did she really fall asleep?
“A, ahaha…that scared me.”
“Ye, yeah. Me too.”
During this time, Minami and I could only laugh awkwardly.
To change this strange atmosphere that’s flowing between us, I suppose I should look for something else to talk about. Let me see…
“Ah, Hazuki-chan let go of my shirt when she moved.”
“Eh? Ah, really.”
Most likely, she let go when she got up. That’s good.
“I suppose it’s about time for me to go.”
I carried Hazuki-chan and laid her down on the soda. Yuuji and the rest didn’t leave for long, so if I walk faster, I should be able to catch up to those guys.
“Really…then see you tomorrow.”
“Un.”
I kept my textbooks and notes into the book and reached out for the door handle of the living room.
Just when I was about to open the door and got ready to step out of the living room,
“…Aki.”
“Nn?”
“…You can go over to my room…to look at that photo…”
Minami said to me.
“U, un…”
With such a ridiculous pressure, I could only nod my head.
Minami didn’t say anything much after that and silently turned her head away.
“I, I’ll be going then…”
After closing the living room door, I walked towards the corridor.
“…The photo in Minami’s room…”
Since she said so, I can’t go home directly without taking a look at it.
From the conversation just now, I can guess that the big fox doll is holding onto the photo of the person Minami admires, and there’s a chance—it’s my photo.
“…(Gulp).”
I reached out for Minami’s door with my sweaty and tense hand and peeked into the room. I checked the photo in that frame. I then put on my shoes and opened the corridor door to leave Minami’s house.
Is that so…so Minami—
“A, Aki should have seen it, right? That photo…if he sees it, even an idiot should be able to understand…in that case, I can finally…”
“Nyuu…”
“Ah, Hazuki? You’re awake?”
“I’m awake…”
“Since you’re awake, change into your pajamas and go to sleep. If you feel lonely, onee-chan will sleep with you.”
“No…Hazuki borrowed a photo from onee-chan’s room, so Hazuki won’t feel lonely…”
“Really? It’s good that you won’t…eh? Wait, photo? The photo from my room?”
“Hazuki went over to borrow baka onii-chan’s photo from onee-chan’s room, so Hazuki won’t feel lonely…”
“Eehh? The, then, the photo in my room is…”
“Hazuki replaced it with the Mr Gorilla that’s used as the theme for the arts lesson at school…”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
—So Minami likes gorillas…well, how to put it. it really shocked me in many ways…
