Chapter 2: I'll Teach You the Method to Seize the Initiative from a Childhood Friend in Love

This is a story from when I was in elementary school. It happened before Ayano transferred away.

Alone in an empty elementary school classroom, Ayano was silently running her pencil across a notebook spread open on her desk.

“What’s up, Ayano? Writing a novel again?”

When I called out to her, Ayano’s hand stopped completely, and she turned her eyes, tinted by the setting sun streaming through the window, toward me. There was something fantastical about the sight, and for a moment, I found myself captivated by the familiar face of my childhood friend.

Confirming it was me, Ayano returned her gaze to the notebook and softly opened her mouth.

“Writing novels… makes me remember my mother.”

Ayano’s calm tone exuded a somewhat mature atmosphere.

I borrowed a chair from the desk in front of hers and sat down, hugging the backrest.

While I was wondering if it was okay to expand on the topic of her mother, Ayano slowly spun her words while continuing to write in her notebook.

“Hey, Ko-chan. Don’t you feel lonely with your mom never coming home?”

“…She contacts us occasionally, and I have Yuina at home. There are a lot of annoying things about it, but… well, I guess I’m fine for now.”

“I see…”

Ayano adjusted her grip on her pencil and began lightly tapping the corner of the notebook with it.

“Finding out my mom was leaving home was truly sudden. Late at night, my mom and dad were arguing about something. I was sleeping in my room, but I woke up and went to see what was going on.”

I watched the tip of her pencil, the lead chipping away little by little every time it lightly struck the notebook.

“My mom and dad noticed me, and my dad told me to go back to my room. He spoke in his usual, gentle voice, completely different from how he was talking to my mom just a moment ago.”

A black dot with no set focal point slowly eroded the edge of the notebook.

“But I didn’t listen to him. Because, somehow, I knew my mom was trying to leave the house… So, you know, I asked her. I asked her why she was leaving.”

The pencil, which had been bobbing up and down, stopped dead, resting against the notebook.

“And then my mom… she said this—”

With a dull snap, the lead of the pencil broke and bent in an unnatural direction.

“‘Because I’m a novelist,’ she said.”

Ayano gripped the broken pencil and pressed it into the notebook with even greater force.

“Hey, Ko-chan… Are novels… more important than family…?”

When I touched Ayano’s hand, she finally seemed to realize she was gripping the pencil so tightly, and she opened her hand as if suddenly brought back to her senses.

I picked up the pencil that had rolled onto the desk.

“Who knows… Then, why do you write novels, Ayano?”

“…Isn’t that obvious—”

Ayano turned a powerful gaze toward me.

“I just want to know. The reason why my mom continues to write novels, even if it means abandoning her family.”

I gently handed the picked-up pencil back to Ayano.

“Whatever the reason is, if you’re going to write novels, I’ll support you.”

“…Will you support even someone like me, Ko-chan? …Even though I only think about myself and don’t consider the readers at all…”

“Isn’t that fine? Besides, I like the novels you write, Ayano.”

“…Is that… so.”

“Yeah. So, when you write another interesting novel, let me read it too.”

“…Y-Yeah. Got it.”

Looking embarrassed, Ayano put the pencil she was holding back into her pencil case.

“A-Anyway, I’ll be done writing this novel soon, so read it properly and tell me your thoughts like always. …But this one… might be a little, you know…”

“You know? What do you mean?”

When I asked, Ayano shook her head evasively.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“What’s with that…”

“More importantly, I’m counting on your thoughts.”

“…Well, I don’t mind that, but…”

“Fufufu. It’s a promise, then.”

At that time, I had no way of knowing.

That sharing my thoughts on the novel Ayano wrote would be the last time I ever did so.

---

My room. In bed.

I had a dream. A dream from when I was still in elementary school.

At the time, with no father and a mother who frequently left the house for work, Ayano’s presence—treating us siblings without reserve, almost like family—was huge for me.

However, because of that novel, I ended up hurting Ayano. Unable to apologize, Ayano transferred schools just like that.

And now that I thought we were finally reunited, she was looking at me with cold eyes, like I was trash…

I thought… she hated me to death because of what happened in the past…

So, why…

“A-Alright! Today is the day I’m absolutely going to confess my love to Ko-chan!”

Ayano’s inner voice swirled around in my head, and I couldn’t understand anything anymore.

That confession… she meant it like that, right…?

No, no, that’s impossible. Because she absolutely despises me, right? Why would Ayano think about confessing to someone like me? …That’s right. I must have misheard. That has to be it.

…But, what if I didn’t mishear?

…………Ah, jeez, I don’t get it.

Repeating unanswerable questions in my head over and over, I threw off the sheets I had been hiding under and clutched my head on the bed.

For the past few days, I hadn’t been able to take a single step out of the house.

Regardless, if I stay holed up like this, my attendance will fall short, and I’ll trigger the ‘you die if you drop out’ rule. I have to find a way to break out of this situation…

“Fufufu.”

Hm…?

“Ahaha.”

What’s that? It’s awfully noisy downstairs.

Did Yuina bring a friend over or something?

“Jeez… ehh… ahaha… yeah, really…”

They’re really having a blast…

“And you know, big brother actually secretly… ahaha! Right?! It’s seriously hilarious~!”

I can’t hear the details, but I’m pretty sure my own flesh and blood is badmouthing me!

I can’t let this conversation continue any longer!

Feigning a look of ‘I just woke up, what’s going on?’ as if I had literally just rolled out of bed, I hurried down the stairs.

Walking down the hallway, the moment I opened the living room door, I launched a preemptive strike with a fake yawn.

“Heeey, Yuina~. Morning.”

Peeking into the room, I spotted Yuina preparing dinner in the open kitchen.

“Ah! Big brother, morning! You’ve got the exact face of an older brother who overheard himself getting badmouthed, so he pretended to just wake up and crashed his sister’s hangout to make it stop!”

Are you an esper?! Also, you really were badmouthing me!

“N-No… It’s nothing like that… I seriously just woke up… Eh? O-Oh, you had a friend over. Hmm, I had no idea………… wait… eh?”

At the back of the kitchen. Peeking past Yuina, for some reason, Ayano was there, wearing an apron over her uniform. Not only that, but she was holding a frying pan and aggressively dedicating herself to cooking.

“A-Ayano?!”

As Ayano shot a quick, stealthy glance in my direction, Yuina hopped up and down, squeezing herself between us.

“Hey, big brother! Why didn’t you tell Yuina that Ayano-chan came back!”

“Ah, no… My bad. A lot happened, and I missed the chance to tell you…”

“Idioooot!”

Please stop with the straightforward insults…

“More importantly… why is Ayano at our house?”

“What do you mean! Ayano-chan went out of her way to come hang out at our house, and she’s even making dinner for us!”

“Hang out…?”

Looking past Yuina at Ayano, Ayano shot a fierce glare in my direction while nonchalantly shaking the frying pan.

“W-W-W-What should I do! Was it too reckless to suddenly come to his house after all?! Ugh… b-but, there are so many things I want to talk to Ko-chan about… He’s been absent from school for days and I was worried… More importantly, Ko-chan has totally gotten so mature! He used to be such a crybaby! Ah, jeez! I’m so nervous my face is getting stiff again!”

Wait, could it be that she’s always glaring at me because she’s nervous?

If that’s the case, if I just talk to her normally, maybe she’ll get used to it eventually…

“Um… Ayano, it’s been a while.”

“…………Yeah. It’s been a while, Kota. You still have a face that looks like bad luck, I see.”

…Hm? That sounded a bit thorny… And ‘Kota’… In her head, she’s calling me Ko-chan…

“Jeezuzzzzz! This is the worst! I wanted to call him Ko-chan normally! I got too embarrassed and called him Kota! Aaaaaagh! And what do I mean ‘a face that looks like bad luck’?! Ko-chan is the coolest guy in the world, and just looking at him has a healing effect! I blurted out something I totally didn’t mean aaaaaaaah!”

Her evaluation of me is way too high…

Even so… this girl, her expression and her inner thoughts don’t match up at all… Is this really what Ayano is thinking? Don’t tell me this is some kind of punchline where my own assumptions and desires are just echoing back to me sounding like her inner voice.

Yuina snuck a bite of the pepper steak currently in the frying pan.

“Mmm! It’s sooooo good! As expected of Ayano-chan! A culinary genius!”

“I-It’s nothing, anyone can do this much.”

Perhaps deciding the pepper steak was done, Ayano turned off the stove with a click.

“…So, why are you cooking at our house, Ayano?”

“…It just happened. Since I came back here after so long, I wanted to properly greet Yuina-chan, so I came here after school. But Yuina-chan said she wanted to eat my cooking, so…”

“Sorry my sister is so shameless…”

“…I don’t mind.”

While untying the apron she was wearing, Ayano continuously stole glances at my face.

“Uwaaaaaaah! W-What should I do! I’m chatting with Ko-chan for the first time in forever! This isn’t a dream, right?! This isn’t a dream, right?! …Ah, crap! If I look at his face directly right now, I’m definitely going to grin!”

…Hmm. There’s no way around it, this definitely isn’t Ayano’s inner voice, right? I mean, she’s still completely expressionless right now… Was that candy ball defective?

“Hey, hey, big brother! You should try a bite too, big brother!”

“Eh? No, I’ll eat late—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Here!”

“Mmph!”

Having the pepper steak forcefully shoved into my mouth, I had no choice but to slowly chew it. The bitterness of the green peppers and the perfectly sweet and spicy flavor of the sauce spread across my palate.

“Mmm! It’s true! It’s delicious!”

“Ufufu~. Right~?”

“Why are you looking so proud… No, but it really is good. You’re a great cook, Ayano.”

While folding her apron, Ayano said,

“Praising me that much won’t get you anything.”

Saying that, she turned her back to me with a hmph, averting her eyes.

Ayano is expressionless as always, huh… Hm?

In the direction Ayano had turned her face, there was a dish cabinet with closed glass doors, and Ayano’s face was perfectly reflected in it.

That expression was completely different from her previous blank slate; the corners of her mouth were relaxed into a wide grin, as if she were unbearably happy to have her cooking praised, and her cheeks were dyed bright red.

“K-Ko-chan praised me! Ehehe~… W-What should I do, I can’t stop grinning!”

Is this inner voice… really Ayano’s?

But why is her evaluation of me so high?

I thought… I was hated by Ayano?

“Hey, Ayano…”

“What is it?”

The Ayano that turned around had returned to her usual expressionless state.

“N-No… it’s nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call my name. “Calling my name even when it’s nothing feels kind of like we’re family, it makes me happy! Call it more!” “

“Ah… my bad.”

What on earth is going on…?

---

In the end, Ayano ended up joining us around the dining table. Looking at Ayano sitting across from me, I recalled the inner voice I heard from her in the classroom the other day for the third time.

“A-Alright! Today is the day I’m absolutely going to confess my love to Ko-chan!”

She doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of confessing right now, though…

“Do you need something? It’s hard to eat when you stare at me like that.”

“Ah! S-Sorry…”

“Ufufu, Ko-chan looks so cute eating the pepper steak I made~”

Um… It’s hard to eat when you stare at me like that…

After that, Ayano and Yuina’s girl talk blossomed, and just as I started to feel a bit awkward being unable to join the conversation, Ayano spoke up.

“So, Kota. Are you feeling completely better now?”

“Hm? Ah…”

Come to think of it, I was absent from school…

“I’m fine. I’m completely healthy now.”

“I see. That’s good. …Also, what was that about the other day?”

“That?”

“…When I introduced myself to the class for the first time, you suddenly blocked my way, didn’t you. What was that about?”

“…A-That was—”

Because I wanted to apologize for the past, I started to say, but swallowed the words down hard.

I had wanted to apologize for so long, but seeing Ayano acting as if she had completely forgotten about it, I couldn’t help but wish she would just keep not remembering.

“—That was… well, you suddenly transferred in, so I was just a little surprised…”

“I was the one who was surprised. I was so surprised I ended up taking a cold attitude, and I felt kind of guilty about it…”

“Ahaha… M-My bad.”

“…Well, whatever. “Actually, I was looking for a chance to apologize after that, but Ko-chan was busy talking to the person in the seat in front of him…” “

So that was the reason she was glaring at me all day…

Ayano lowered her eyes slightly.

“I really wanted Ko-chan to be the one to talk to me… I wonder if Ko-chan just doesn’t care about me anymore…”

—Guh!? W-What the?! Ayano’s inner voice suddenly got way louder, and my head hurts?! M-My head, it’s splitting!!

“Kota? Are you okay? You look pale…”

“N-No… just a little…”

“Ko-chan, could he still be feeling sick?”

T-The pain is… hm? …Huh? It seems fine now… The headache is gone, too… What was that?

But that headache just now felt exactly like the pain I got when I swallowed that candy ball and passed out. Nekohime-sama said it was a temporary side effect, but…

Does that mean the headache just now was also because of that ability… right? If so, under what conditions does the headache trigger?

“Hey, big brother? Are you really okay?”

Yuina peered into my face with a worried expression.

“A-Ah. I’m fine. I’ve just been absent lately, so I suddenly got anxious about the next test, that’s all.”

“Anxious? But big brother, you always just cram the night before.”

“…I-I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

Ayano, gripping her chopsticks, stared at me intently with a serious face.

“I want to teach Ko-chan how to study! I want to teach Ko-chan how to study!”

I’ll take you up on that some other time…

---

After finishing dinner, we gathered around a large plate of cookies, each sipping our tea, when Yuina leaned forward and asked.

“Come to think of it, Ayano-chan, you used to write novels a long time ago, right? Are you not doing that anymore?”

This girl… She effortlessly brought up the topic I had been so elegantly avoiding…

“I’m still writing. I was just about to talk about that.”

Ayano pulled a paperback book out of her school bag, which was placed in the corner of the room, and set it on the table. The title When I Think of You on the Coastline was written on the cover of the book.

“Ah. This is that thing, right? The romance novel that’s popular with high school girls recently. Mizuki was recommending it.”

“I wrote this. I have a bunch of copies at home, so I’ll give you one.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The author, Takeko Utani, is my pen name.”

“…Are you serious?”

While I sat there dumbfounded, Yuina stood up from her chair excitedly.

“Ayano-chan became a professional novelist?! Thaaat’s amazing!”

“It’s still just my first work, so… I don’t know what will happen from here.”

“Even so, it’s amazing! Right, big brother?!”

“A-Ah… I’m genuinely surprised…”

Ayano took a sip of her tea.

“Actually, my editor in charge, a person named Saiko-san, told me to appear at a talk show and autograph session soon.”

“Ayano-chan’s autograph session?! I wanna go, I wanna go! You’re going too, right, big brother!”

“Ah, of course.”

To think the day would come when my childhood friend would hold an autograph session…

“Even so, doing an autograph session as a newcomer already, huh.”

“The theme of the talk show held there is a discussion between newcomer authors and veteran authors. Two newcomers and two veterans will apparently talk on stage. And I was chosen as one of those newcomer authors. So, it’s not like my novel was that highly evaluated.”

“I still think that’s plenty amazing…”

The cookies piled on the large plate had all disappeared at some point, and Yuina stood up from her seat with her mouth stuffed full, mumbling, “I wonder if there are any left~”.

“You’re going to get fat.”

“Shut up~. Yuina exercises enough for what she eats, so she won’t get fat~.”

“Exercise? Did you get asked to be a ringer for a club again or something?”

“Yep. I was asked to help out with the judo club’s practice next time.”

“You were doing baseball the other day, weren’t you? You can even do judo?”

“Unlike you, big brother, Yuina’s motor skills are outstanding~.”

“I-I’m the intellectual type…”

“Hmph.”

This brat just scoffed at her own flesh-and-blood brother!

Glancing back at Ayano, I noticed her expression had changed to something somewhat nervous.

Ayano gulped, and a brief silence descended.

I strained my ears to listen to her inner voice, but heard nothing. In other words, she wasn’t silently thinking about something; she was likely bracing herself to speak her next words.

And then, Ayano opened her mouth.

“Ichika Kaidou will also be attending that talk show.”

Ichika Kaidou. An ultra-veteran novelist; even those with no interest in novels have heard her name at least once. Every novel Ichika Kaidou weaves sells, spreading across the world through various mediums like movies, dramas, and anime.

And, she was the mother who abandoned her own daughter—Ayano’s mother.

Ayano continued.

“My novel doesn’t even come close to hers. The closer I get, the more painfully I’m made aware of that fact… But, I’ve finally reached it. The world that person chose even over abandoning our family.”

I couldn’t even guess how much effort Ayano had piled up to get this far. But in the eyes staring straight back at me, I caught a glimpse of that strong will.

“…Do you keep in touch or anything?”

“Not even once since she left the house. Not by phone, or email… “Not even a single time…” “

Ayano… could it be she’s feeling lonely? I thought she was angry… But I guess that makes sense. Ayano used to be incredibly attached to her mother back then.

“I see…”

Having finished speaking, Ayano let out a small sigh.

“There are so many other things I want to talk to Ko-chan about, but… well, I guess I’m just glad I could give him a status report.”

Just then, Yuina returned with both arms full of snacks, a massive smile on her face.

As she spread the snacks out on the table, Yuina said,

“Come to think of it, Ayano-chan. Your dad isn’t coming home tonight because of work, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“In that case, you should stay over at our house!”

…Say what?

Judging from our conversation, there’s probably little worry of Ayano confessing to me right this second, but… Considering that inexplicable headache from earlier, I’d prefer to keep a little distance for now…

At Yuina’s proposal, Ayano became flustered.

“N-No, but, that’s a little…”

Alright. I just have to piggyback on Ayano here.

“T-That’s right, Yuina. It’d be a bother to suddenly say something like that.”

“Big brother, keep quiet.”

“…Yes.”

Wow… Yuina-chan can make such a scary face…

Yuina tightly grabbed both of Ayano’s hands.

“Come on, it’s fine, tomorrow’s a day off anyway! Right! Ayano-chan!”

“U-Umm…”

“Right! Riiiight!”

“…Then, just for tonight…”

“Yay!”

Since when… did my little sister seize total control of this house…?

---

11:00 PM.

Occasionally, the conversation between Yuina and Ayano leaked from the next room.

“And you know, big brother is sooo—”

“Wow… Is that really true?”

“It’s true, it’s true. And actually, big brother is—”

“Eh?! …A-Are all guys like that?”

“Who knows? But isn’t that just our big brother?”

“A-Amazing…”

They’re talking behind my back again…

Dammit… Why does my little sister never hesitate to diss me…

…No, wait. I don’t know why, but Ayano has high affection for me, and even though it was only for a moment, she was thinking something stupid like confessing to me at school. If Ayano’s affection for me drops, the danger of being confessed to decreases, which means my safety is secured, right?

“Gigggle. And you knooow, big brother is—”

“Uwa… That might be a little off-putting…”

Dammit! I still can’t just accept it!

After that, their idle chatter continued for a while. I turned off my room light, pulled the bedsheets over my head, and decided to stubbornly try to sleep.

…………

……But man.

Knowing Ayano is in the next room is making me kind of nervous; I can’t sleep…

Come to think of it, it seemed like she took a bath with Yuina earlier, but what did she do for clothes? Even if she borrowed clothes from the petite Yuina, they’d be too small for Ayano to wear… Did she just put the uniform she was wearing at dinner back on?

…Or don’t tell me, she forced herself into Yuina’s tiny clothes…

No, let’s stop imagining that right now. I’ll be even less able to sleep.

---

Clack. Patter patter patter. Click. …Whoosh.

I woke up to those sounds right around 3:00 AM. Lying in bed, only my consciousness gradually awakened.

Did Yuina go to the bathroom or something? Maybe I woke up at a weird time because I went to bed early out of consideration since Ayano is here… Well, tomorrow’s a day off, so I guess it’s fine if I stay awake until I get sleepy again.

Eventually, I heard the sound of the toilet flushing again, and the feeling of light footsteps approaching.

Patter patter patter. ………… Click.

Hm?

Wait? The door that just opened sounded like my room’s door, but…

“Ko-chan is sleeping so soundly~.”

Eh?! A-Ayano?! What are you doing in my room?!

Feeling Ayano’s presence right next to my bed, I desperately committed to pretending to be asleep.

“Ko-chan’s sleeping face is so cute… Fufufu. He has no idea I’m looking at him like this.”

I know!

“Ah, but what am I doing… I have to get back to Yuina-chan’s room quickly… If anyone finds out I snuck in to look at Ko-chan’s sleeping face, I might literally die of embarrassment…”

Then please go back quickly!

But if I wake up now, things will probably be super awkward later…

…By the way, what kind of clothes did Ayano end up wearing after her bath? Don’t tell me she really wore Yuina’s clothes…?

…………Should I open my eyes just a tiny bit?

So as not to reveal I was awake, I slightly opened my eyes to check on Ayano.

Then, I saw Ayano in pajamas, smiling so broadly it was hard to look at, staring fixedly down at me from right beside the bed.

Dammit! They’re just normal pajamas! The ideal scenario was Ayano wearing Yuina’s tiny pajamas with her belly button showing! Those aren’t Yuina’s pajamas! Where did you get those, dammit!

…No, no. This isn’t the time for that kind of internal conflict.

Ayano still hadn’t noticed I was awake.

“Huh? Did Ko-chan’s eyes just open a tiny bit…? Must be my imagination. …I need to get back quickly, but… there’s no problem if I enjoy Ko-chan’s sleeping face just a little bit longer before I head back!”

There’s a massive problem! What is wrong with your sense of ethics!

If it gets exposed that I’m awake here, things might be awkward with Ayano starting tomorrow… For my part, I have to avoid being confessed to by Ayano, but I do want to return to our past friendship, and I’d prefer to avoid awkwardness if possible.

In that case, the ‘Rolling Over Operation’ should be effective here.

I’d let out a small groan and roll over dramatically. By doing this, I would instill fear in Ayano—whose thought circuits were shorting out from excitement—that I might wake up and discover her intruding in my room. This would snap her brain back to reality and cause her to retreat from the room voluntarily.

It’s perfect. I drive Ayano away, and furthermore, the very fact that Ayano intruded into my room gets buried in darkness. It’s an overly perfect plan without a single flaw.

Alright! Now that it’s decided, time to execute the Rolling Over Operation!

Fwump.

Hm? What was that? What was that ‘fwump’ sensation just now?

I feel like there’s something like thin threads around my cheek… Also, it feels like the bed tilted just slightly…

Ah… I see. This is that, right?

Ayano-san, you’re sitting on the edge of the bed and peering into my face, aren’t you?

“So cute, Ko-chan’s sleeping face… If I give him a little smooch right now, will he not find out?”

I see through everything!

“But… it really feels like a dream to be able to come hang out at Ko-chan’s house like this again… When I saw Ko-chan at school for the first time in forever, I got completely carried away by myself and thought about confessing to him right then and there with that momentum, but I’m so glad I didn’t rush it… Because if I confessed and got rejected, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with Ko-chan like this again.”

I’d be dead the moment you confessed, though…

Even so, it really is strange…

I’m supposed to have made Ayano angry, so why does Ayano like me this much?

…Hmm, I don’t get it.

Anyway, the priority right now is to execute the Rolling Over Operation and drive Ayano out of the room. It’s turned into closer combat than anticipated, but there shouldn’t be any particular problems.

Clack.

Huh? Did I just hear a noise from the next room…

Patter patter patter.

And the sound of walking in the hallway…

Wait a second… Could this be…

“W-W-W-What should I do! Yuina-chan came out of her room!”

Are you serious!

“It’d be terrible if she found out I entered Ko-chan’s room without permission! I have to get out of here quickly! B-But, if I’m seen leaving the room now, I’m out… I’ll be certified as a pervert who sneaks into Ko-chan’s room late at night…”

You were self-aware?!

“Ayano-chaaan? Where are youuu~?”

Yuina’s sleep-addled voice echoed from the hallway. It seemed she realized Ayano wasn’t in the room and came out looking for her.

“Ayano-chaaan?”

But this is a stroke of luck. Yuina came out of her room to look for Ayano. If so, it’s inevitable she’ll go check the first-floor bathroom, which has the highest probability of Ayano being there. In other words, if she times it right and escapes from this room then, she can get out of here without bumping into Yuina.

Yuina still seems half-asleep, so after Ayano gets back to the room, if she just pushes through with a ‘Eh? I was sleeping here the whole time?’ kind of face, she should be able to play it off.

“Yuina-chan will definitely go look in the bathroom first, right? If I slip back in during that opening…”

That’s right, Ayano. That’s fine.

Yuina’s footsteps slowly crossed in front of my room.

If Yuina opens my room door here, she might misunderstand and think I brought Ayano into my room… If that happens, my position as an older brother…

Yuina’s footsteps stopped dead in front of my room.

Don’t tell me… is she planning to come in?!

Ayano, hide in the corner of the room just in case!

“Don’t come in! Don’t come in! Don’t come in! Awawawawa!”

It’s no use! Her brain isn’t working at all!

I anticipated the worst-case scenario, but Yuina’s footsteps, which had stopped in front of the door, started moving again, heading straight toward the stairs.

T-Thank goodness… She really did head toward the bathroom… Then if Ayano goes back to Yuina’s room right now, there won’t be any prob—

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Wha-?! Y-Yuina’s footsteps are approaching this way with incredible speed?! Why?!

“It’s over… From now on, I’m going to have to live my life with Yuina-chan thinking I’m a pervert…”

Don’t give up!

…Ugh! I have no choice!

Yuina arrived in front of my room, and without even knocking, opened the door with zero hesitation.

Opening my eyes slightly, I saw Yuina with her eyes gleaming intensely, scanning the inside of the room.

However, unable to confirm Ayano’s presence there, Yuina clicked her tongue with a tch and muttered in a low voice.

“…It would have been funny if she was there…”

It wouldn’t have been funny!

Looking disappointed, Yuina closed the room door, and her footsteps disappeared downstairs.

Thank goodness… I somehow managed to keep Yuina from finding out about the current situation… But, what do I do about this…

Inside my futon, Ayano was frozen stiff, her eyes wide as saucers.

The reason being, the moment before Yuina opened the door, I impulsively pulled Ayano into my own bed, hiding her from Yuina.

“…Huh? Is this inside Ko-chan’s bed? Eh? What does this mean? Could it be Ko-chan was awake? Eh? Eh? Since when?”

I was awake since right around ‘Ko-chan is sleeping so soundly~’.

So as not to be noticed by Yuina, who was still wandering around the house, I spoke in the lowest voice possible.

“Um, Ayano?”

“Yes?!”

“Quiet.”

“…Yes.”

“…Um… well… Ayano was half-asleep and came into my room… and so… I figured if Yuina found out Ayano was in my room, she might get the wrong idea, right? So I hid you on impulse, but…”

“…Eh? Ehh? Oh my? Wasn’t this Yuina-chan’s room? Oh myyyy? That’s so weeeird.”

What incredibly unnatural acting…

Whatever. Let’s just go with that and get this situation under control quickly.

“Anyway, Yuina is on the first floor right now, so hurry up and—”

I swallowed my words right as I started to speak.

If there’s a girl with an anxious expression lying in your own familiar bed, there’s no way anyone could keep their composure.

Ayano had grown up so much compared to the past, and she had gotten much taller. But when I pulled her close, her shoulders were small, and she felt surprisingly fragile.

“—Hurry up and… um… well…”

Ayano, too, had dyed her cheeks red and was staring intently at me.

“S-So close! Ko-chan’s face is right there! Ahhh! What is this, heaven?!”

I mean, what is this amazing smell… We use the same shampoo, right? So why does she smell so good? Eh? Is Ayano actually an angel? A messenger of God?

As I was stammering, Ayano gently rested her head against my chest.

“K-Kota…”

Eh?! Don’t tell me she’s going to confess?! She’s not going to confess, right?!

“Kota… I… there’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time…”

You were just saying in your inner thoughts that it was good you didn’t confess, so I’m safe, right?!

“Um, you see…”

What do I do?! If I cover my own ears, is it fine even if she confesses?! No, to completely prevent the confession, should I cover Ayano’s mouth instead?!

Completely ignoring my internal panic, Ayano spoke words I completely didn’t expect.

“I’m sorry… for transferring schools without saying anything…”

“…Huh?”

So it’s not a confession…?

“Back then, it was suddenly decided we would move because of my dad’s work… I had enough time to at least tell you guys about it, and I could have contacted you anytime since then… But… I just couldn’t bring myself to say it…”

When we were in elementary school, I hurt Ayano, and then, Ayano disappeared.

If she couldn’t bring herself to say it, I thought in the back of my mind that perhaps what I did was one of the reasons.

“…Don’t worry about it. We’re both at fault for that.”

“Both at fault…?”

“…I’ve regretted it ever since that day. Why couldn’t I be more considerate of your feelings, Ayano… Why didn’t I chase after you right away…”

“…………Kota?”

“I… I’ve always wanted to tell you—”

It was at that exact moment.

The blanket covering me and Ayano was forcefully ripped away.

Startled, I looked up to see Yuina standing there, having thrown off the blanket with both hands.

The moment Yuina confirmed the sight of me and Ayano, she let out an inner monologue with astonishing speed.

“Two people snuggled up in bed. Neither has disheveled clothing. Judging from the fact that Ayano-chan is sleeping on the side closer to the door, there’s a high probability that Ayano-chan crawled into the futon herself, or that big brother pulled her in. At the very least, it doesn’t look like big brother pushed her down. I don’t think Ayano-chan has a bold enough personality to crawl into the futon on her own, and even big brother wouldn’t drag someone into his bed if they hated it. In that case, it’s reasonable to imagine that a half-asleep Ayano-chan mistakenly entered big brother’s room, was about to be caught by me, and big brother panicked and pulled her into bed. Yep. I suppose there’s room for extenuating circumstances.”

Yuina’s mental courtroom wrapped up its session in a mere few seconds.

Yuina grabbed Ayano, who was lying in the bed, and just started dragging her away.

Ignoring Ayano, who was being led away as docilely as a borrowed cat, Yuina flashed a creepily bright smile and fired off a single line at me.

“Big brother, you’re the worst.”

“Eh?!”

What happened to the extenuating circumstances?!

---

The next morning. When I went to the living room, Yuina and Ayano, already in her uniform, were sitting in their chairs.

“G-Good morning…”

As I bowed my head low in greeting, Yuina glared at me with cold eyes.

“Ah, yeah. Morning.”

Huh? Is she m-mad? She really is mad, isn’t she?

“Um… Yuina, actually, about yesterday… well—”

“…P-Please take care of me.”

Glancing to the side, I saw Yuina standing at the entrance of our house, giggling and making fun of me.

“Don’t get lost on your way home, big brother!”

“As if I would!”

---

That afternoon. Kagura Neko Shrine. The precinct.

To think Ayano had actually moved in right next door… Things are going to be rough from here on out…

I need to learn the details about this ability more than ever. The quickest way to investigate it would be to spend a long time in a crowd or use Ayano and Yuina to experiment, but that comes with its own dangers. For now, if I can at least pinpoint the cause of the headache that occurred during my conversation with Ayano yesterday, that would be enough…

The moment I passed through the torii gate, Byakuya appeared out of nowhere and leaped into my chest with a “Meow.”

I vigorously rubbed Byakuya’s belly as the cat purred happily.

“Hey there, Byakuya. Have you been doing well?”

“Meow!”

“I see, I see. That’s great. By the way, where is Nekohime-sama? Has she finished deciphering all the precautions yet?”

“…………”

Byakuya, why are you making such a sad face?

Feeling a sense of foreboding, I confirmed there was no one else around, took off my shoes, and intruded into the worship hall.

In the center of the room sat a fluffy, soft-looking cushion, and on top of it, Nekohime-sama was curled up, sleeping soundly.

“Nekohime-sama. …Heeey, Nekohime-sama.”

“…Unya…”

Her ears twitched, and I was overcome with the urge to touch them, but I suppressed it and shook Nekohime-sama’s body instead.

“Nekohime-sama. Nekohime-sama, please wake up.”

“Unyaa…?”

As Nekohime-sama sat up with sleepy eyes, the celestial scarf draped around her body floated softly into the air.

“Nyaat is it…?”

“What happened to the deciphering you were doing?”

“Hm~? …Ah, it is you… Um, if I recall… Nibu? Nibu-something…”

“It’s Nibuke. Kota Nibuke. Stop being half-asleep and pull yourself together.”

“Ah, yes, yes. That is it. …So, what is your business?”

“Don’t give me that ‘what is your business’. What’s the status on the deciphering? Did you figure out the new precautions?”

“…O-Oh. That matter. Umu. Everything is flawless.”

Nekohime-sama dropped the thick instruction manual onto the floor with a thud and traced a sentence inside with her finger.

“The new precaution was written in this section.”

“Oh! So, what did it say?”

“Precaution Number Four: ‘If the user causes a sudden drop in the affection of the opposite sex and inflates their negative emotions, the inner voice will amplify in proportion, causing headaches for the user. If it worsens, they will die.'”

I die again…?

“…So simply put, it means if I lower the opposite sex’s affection too much, I die?”

“Umu. Most likely. This is probably to prevent the user of the candy ball from thinking it is better to be hated from the start than to die from being confessed to, and intentionally acting that way to reduce the risk of a confession.”

“Why on earth would they do that… The ‘God of Jealousy’ who created this weird ability hates people enjoying their youth, right? Then if the user intentionally makes themselves hated and distances themselves from their youth, shouldn’t their goal be achieved?”

“…No, the ‘God of Jealousy’ does not have that kind of personality. They are a pervert who likes to slowly torture their target to death, eventually making them beg to be killed.”

“Why is a psycho like that working as a god…”

“That is simply how gods often are.”

“…………”

Anyway, at least the reason why I was struck by a headache during my conversation with Ayano is clear now.

Back then, Ayano remembered that I didn’t talk to her in the classroom, and she felt indignant about it. As a result, those negative emotions amplified her inner voice, which assaulted me as a headache.

But the headache subsided quickly back then, so maybe this precaution isn’t that much of a threat. It’s strictly meant to prevent me from intentionally making Ayano hate me.

Since it says ’causes a sudden drop in the affection of the opposite sex’, does that mean their baseline affection toward me plays a big role?

For example, acting coldly toward a girl whose affection for me is already low won’t cause a headache, but taking the exact same attitude toward a girl whose affection is high will trigger one.

If that’s the case, the only person I need to be on guard against right now is Ayano, whose affection for me is abnormally high for some reason.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the open instruction manual.

“So, Nekohime-sama? What was written in the other parts of the instruction manual?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I mean, look. Even though it’s in code and I can’t read it, there are a bunch of other things written there, right? You deciphered all of it, of course?”

“Not yet.”

“…Not yet?”

“Are you an idiot? I was taking a nap until just now, was I not? How am I supposed to decipher it in that state?”

“Please don’t prioritize your nap over my life!”

Nekohime-sama snorted in displeasure, then flopped back down onto the cushion on the floor.

“I am still in the middle of my nap. Go home.”

Seriously… there isn’t a single decent person among these gods.

“I mean, I’m seriously in a bad spot right now! Ayano, who was supposed to hate me, is for some reason incredibly—”

“I knoooow, I know! Say no more!”

“What do you mean you know… I haven’t even told you anything yet…”

With her tail, Nekohime-sama pointed to a crystal ball rolling around at my feet.

“I have been monitoring your every move through that, and I can hear the inner voices of the girls through you as well. Therefore, I have grasped what is occurring. You do not need to report every little thing.”

“I see…”

Goodbye, my privacy…

“…U-Um, could it be that the reason Ayano’s affection for me is so high is because of that weird candy ball?”

“No, that is impossible. It is not the kind of thing that directly affects a third party other than the user. Therefore, your popularity with that girl named Ayano has been there from the start.”

“B-But… I said some terrible things to her in the past… she’s supposed to hate me…”

“I care not for such things. Manage that yourself. …I am… already…”

“Nekohime-sama? Hey… …She fell asleep.”

---

After my days off, I finally made the decision to head to school.

Regardless, there’s no point in continuing to skip school. Judging from how things went the other day, it’s unlikely Ayano is going to confess to me right this second. If that’s the case, as long as I live carefully so as not to raise her affection any further, there shouldn’t be a problem… probably.

Right after leaving the house, a voice echoed from somewhere.

“He’s finally here! It’s Ko-chan! A-Alright!”

The door of the house next door clicked open, and Ayano emerged from within. The moment Ayano confirmed my presence, she sharpened her eyes with what felt like genuine bloodlust.

“I’m going to say good morning! I’m going to say good morning! Ah, jeez! I’m so nervous!”

We talked so much the other day, why are you getting that nervous just from not seeing me for a little bit? …I mean, your face is terrifying!

“I’m just going to say good morning! I’m just going to say good morning!”

If this keeps up, I feel like she’s going to eat me alive… Can’t be helped…

“…G-Good morning, Ayano.”

Ayano twitched her eyebrows for just a split second, then brushed her hair back as if it were nothing.

“Oh my, good morning, Kota. What a coincidence.”

What do you mean ‘coincidence’. You were definitely looking through the peephole and ambushing me.

Brazenly acting as if nothing was amiss, Ayano matched my pace and started walking right beside me.

“Yaaaaay! I get to go to school with Ko-chan for the first time in forever! WOOOOO!”

She’s got a lot of energy for this early in the morning…

---

Inside the somewhat crowded train. Ayano and I were holding onto the straps side-by-side.

I’m still not used to places with this many people. Inner voices are flying around everywhere…

Amidst all that, the inner voice of Ayano next to me was exceptionally loud.

“Ahhh… Ko-chan is so close… Ufufu. From now on, I can go to school with Ko-chan every day.”

I’d really appreciate it if it wasn’t every day…

…Even so, if I couldn’t hear her inner voice right now, I’d definitely mistake the mood for being openly hostile… We aren’t talking, and whenever I look at her eyes, she looks away… But…

“Fufufu. Ko-chan is spacing out. If I stare at him now, he won’t notice.”

While thinking that, Ayano was staring a hole into the side of my face. However, that behavior was perfectly and clearly reflected in the train window for me to see.

She’s glaring so hard…

“Ah, the moment the train swayed just now, my shoulder bumped into Ko-chan’s a little bit! Fufufu. Lucky!”

Even so, her inner voice is pretty cute. If I let my guard down, it feels like I’ll fall for it…

Ayano kept glancing at my hand.

“I-If I secretly hold Ko-chan’s hand, will he find out…?”

Of course I’d find out.

What exactly do you think I am?

---

Arriving at school and entering the classroom, Ayano, who had been walking near me until then, briskly walked to her seat.

As I sat down in my seat a little later, a cheerful voice flew at me from the front.

“Kota! It’s been a while!”

“Ah, Mizuki. Long time no see.”

“Is your body okay now?”

Tilt.

Cute as always. It’s so healing.

“Ehehe. My body? Ah, yeah. I’m fine, I’m fine. No problems at all.”

“I see! That’s good then! …But why are you smirking like that?”

“My face is just like this. Don’t worry about it.”

Mizuki stole a quick glance at Ayano.

“Kota and Yumemigasaki-san just came into the classroom together; did they come to school together? I heard before that they were childhood friends, but could they be in that kind of relationship? …No, probably not. I mean, it’s Kota. …But I’m totally going to tease him about it later!”

“Hey. Don’t go having weird misunderstandings. Ayano moved in next door to my house. We just happened to run into each other this morning—”

“Eh?!”

For some reason, Mizuki was pressing a hand to his mouth in a panic.

“D-Did I just say that out loud?!”

“What do you mean ‘out loud’…”

…….Wait? Come to think of it, Mizuki’s mouth didn’t seem to be moving just now…

Does that mean I accidentally replied to Mizuki’s inner voice?

Mizuki continued in a panic.

“S-Sorry, sorry! It was just a little joke! I won’t tease you, Kota!”

…….No, wait a second.

My ability was supposed to be hearing the inner voices of the opposite sex, right?

But, even though Mizuki has a face like a girl’s, he’s a guy…?

Once again, Mizuki’s voice reached my ears.

But sure enough, Mizuki’s mouth wasn’t moving at all.

“I really messed up… Looks like I accidentally blurted out what I was thinking in my head… I need to be more careful. …At this rate, one of these days, I might just let slip that I’m actually a girl… That was close, so close.”

What the heck did you just let slip?!