After I Comforted My Younger Stepsister Who Had Her Boyfriend Taken From Her, She Started Becoming Obsessively Sweet - 17

Chapter 17: A Playful Moment Before the Storm

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“It’s not that I want to be involved in some kind of rebound relationship out of spite. I really see Shikino, my stepsister, as a girl. I love her more than anything in this world. That’s all there is to it. Orihara-san and Sugisaki-kun have nothing to do with my relationship with Shikino.”

Finally, lunchtime had arrived. I was sitting across from Takumu with a desk between us. Shikino was sitting beside me, practically glued to my side as she ate her lunch box slowly. Her face was flushed, even the tip of her ears were red from embarrassment. She kept her head down, barely speaking since this morning. Well, I understood the reason why though, so I didn’t urge her to talk or anything. This was fine. When we could have a more private time, I would try to make her talk. She must be waiting for the right moment to talk about everything. That being said, I doubted our conversation would be smooth sailing judging from our current situations.

“…Hm… I see. I understand, my friend. I can see the reason behind your actions now. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“As expected of Takumu, you’re quick to understand. Ah, I knew it. You’re really the best. Here, have some of my rolled eggs.”

“…Onii-chan, Shikino wants rolled eggs too…”

“Yeah, alright. Here you go. Shikino too. Say ‘aaahn’…”

“…”

Even though she was the one who asked for rolled eggs, but Shikino was opening her mouth shyly, looking obviously embarrassed. I held out a piece of tamagoyaki to her even though she had the same rolled eggs in her own lunch box, but I decided that I shouldn’t point it out to her. While Shikino was chewing on her rolled eggs, I gently patted her head and asked. 

“Is it good, Shikino?”

“…Y-Yes… it’s delicious… The best rolled eggs in the whole world…”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now then, I wonder which one I should eat next?”

“Onii-chan.”

“Hm? What is it, Shikino?”

“I… I want to return the favor… Since I ate your rolled eggs, I will give you one of mine in return…”

“Huh? Really? Sure, that’d be nice.”

“Yeah… Here, say ‘aah”…”

“I see… Okay, ‘aaah’…”

“Alright. Hold it right there.”

“”Hm?””

My voice overlapped with Shikino’s. My mouth was half-open and Shikino’s hand was pausing in the air as she offered me her rolled eggs. Takumu was sighing deeply, his shoulders slumping. I wondered what happened to him since he suddenly told us to ‘hold it’ out of nowhere. 

“Mamori? Unami-san? I’m fully aware that you two are dating and your relationship is very good, but… But please hold it right there for a bit.”

“”Hm?””

“Yeah. I admit it’s cute how you both tilted your heads to the side at the same time, but… Please. Just stop. Really, stop. Let me say my piece first.”

“Is there anything you need to comment on though?”

“Of course there is! Tons, even! How can you even ask that?! Don’t mess with me! Good grief!!”

To my surprise, Takumu was losing his sanity. Both Shikino and I just stared at him in shock, genuinely unnerved by how upset he was. However, our reaction only seemed to make him even more irritated. 

“That’s it! That’s the one! Just stop it! Quit with that whole ‘Oh, we’re so surprised, how sad’ vibe at the same time! Like you’re just holding hands and innocently surprised even though that’s not what’s going on here at all!”

“Ta-Takumu…. Are you speaking in Kansai dialect now…?”

“I’m not even from Kansai! What a surprise, right?! I guess my inner Kansai spirit just woke up from watching you two! Darn itttttt! I want a girlfriend too! Arghhhh!!!”

Takumu collapsed onto the desk, burying his head as he started bawling and we just stood there, silently watching him. Well, there wasn’t much else we could do anyway.

“Now look here, Mamori. The thing you did this morning was seriously too much, okay? I’m talking about you kissing Uanmi-san,okay? A bunch of people saw that and even during lunch, everyone won’t stop whispering about you!”

“Yeah, I know that.”

“What? Really…? How come you look totally unfazed? Are you saying you actually expected this outcome?”

“Yeah, I did. Don’t get me wrong, I want to have a normal relationship with Shikino. I really do, but there’s this problem that I need to take care of first.”

“A problem that you need to take care of…?”

“Takumu, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s Orihara-san. Orihara-san.”

“What about her? Don’t tell me… You’re trying to flaunt your relationship with Unami-san to keep Orihara-san at bay?”

“That’s right.”

“You idiot. Your action is only going to backfire on you. She already snatched Unami-san’s ex-boyfriend and we now know she’s going after you too. I think you need to avoid provoking someone like her.”

“Yeah, I understand the risk.”

“Huh??? Do you even understand what you’re talking about?? You’re not making any sense here! Unami-san too! Come on, don’t just agree with him! You need to tell him that this is a bad idea!”

Takumu said so, but Shikino didn’t nod to his suggestion. Instead, she only stared at the floor, seemingly deep in thought. Then, after a moment of hesitation, Shikino said to Takumu.

“…But… I don’t even understand what’s going on inside her head…”

“Huh?”

“She already stole my ex-boyfriend, so why would she be clinging to Onii-chan now? I really don’t get it and that’s precisely why we need to stir up things a little bit more to get some kind of information. Hence why, I’m not going to tell Onii-chan to stop what he’s doing.”

“…But still…”

“Besides… The two of us are lovers. We’re lovers, so we should be free to do what we like, no matter where we are…”

“N-No, you definitely need to consider the time, place, occasion! TPO! TPO! Especially when you’re flirting out in the ope—”

“Like this chopstick that I just used to feed my Onii-chan… I will treasure this chopstick. If possible, I’d love to have three sets of this chopstick. One for display, one to carry around and one for… Use.”

“WAIT WAIT WAIT??? WHAT’S WITH THE LAST ONE?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR ‘USE’??? No, no. I have a feeling I shouldn’t ask that… BUT I HAVE TO! UNAMI-SAN, WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR ‘USE’???”

“…That’s…”

Shikino’s face was flushed in red as she wrapped her arms around my right arm. On the other side, Takumu’s bloodshot eyes were drilling into me. His nostrils were flaring like a bull, like he was eager to charge straight at me.

“We-Well, that’s just how it is for now, Takumu. We just want to enjoy our life as a couple, but at the same time, we need to tie up some loose ends too. That’s why I want to stand on our ground, even though we’re going to cause a ruckus. I just want you to understand that. I know you have a lot to say about how we’re dealing with this stuff, but still…”

“Fret not. I’ve already killed you at least 10 times in my mind, my dear friend…”

“A-Aren’t you killing me a bit too much?! I mean, I understand your pain, but still…”

I flinched and Takumu continued on. 

“But still, there’s something I’m still bothered about…”

“Hm?”

I tilted my head to the side in confusion, but Takumu shook his head as if to say,”No, not you.” Then, he directed his gaze at Shikino. Noticing his gaze, Shikino stared back at Takumu, meeting his gaze.

“Unami-san, if you’re that deeply in love with Mamori, then why did you go have a boyfriend?”

“…Huh…?”

“I heard that you two used to have a good relationship, but you’ve been pretty cold to Mamori up until recently. Not to mention, you were really dejected when Orihara-san snatched your ex-boyfriend, right? Just what’s the meaning behind all that?”

“….”

“Listen here, I’m not trying to be suspicious of you or anything. I’m not trying to attack you here, I’m just genuinely curious. It’s really bugging me, especially since Mamori always told me stuff about you all the time.”

“Tha-That’s…”

Shikino hesitated. She was preparing her heart before she answered Takumu’s question, but then… A knock came from the door to this empty classroom. We all turned our gaze toward the door at the same time. Slowly, the door opened. Someone entered the room… That person was…

“Huh…?”

…Orihara-san.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

T/N: Takumu is a real bro here. I’d be suspicious of Shikino too. I don’t want my friend to serve as a rebound.