Believing She Has Been Reincarnated into a Baseball Game, My Little Sister Is Aiming for the Koshien, While I Give It My All to Keep Her from Finding out That It’s Actually an Ntr Game - Chapter 26

Two minutes had passed.

I leaned against the wall, pressing my forehead, while Maika listlessly released her grip on my uniform, standing still as if frozen.

“Huh? Wait, what’s going on?”

The promise I thought I made with Riko—to take her to Koshien… Was it actually with Maika?

“Huh? No, that can’t be right. Because I clearly remember making that promise with Riko at Koshien Stadium, 14 years ago. And Riko promised me she’d be reborn as my sister no matter how many times.”

So, was it actually Maika and not Riko?

“No, no, no, no. That’s impossible. There’s no way I’d make such a mistake.”

“2009/08/24.”

“Huh? Throwing out random numbers like that isn’t helping.”

Maika murmured, her voice eerie as she looked down.

“02101000000612105×.”

“Scary, scary, scary, scary, scary. What’s that, some kind of curse number?”

“9 vs 10.”

“But… huh? 9 to 10… Wait, those numbers, the last one was a 5? And then, ×…”

“Nippon Bunri vs Chukyo University Chukyo.”

With that last phrase, I realized what she was trying to say.

It was about the legendary final match of the high school baseball championship from 15 years ago.

Indeed, that game was incredible.

The pre-game predictions had Chukyo University Chukyo heavily favored, and they were leading 10-4 by the eighth inning. Nippon Bunri was down to their last out with no runners on—everyone thought Chukyo University Chukyo’s victory was certain. But then, Nippon Bunri’s inning just didn’t end.

They connected hit after hit, scoring five runs. There were divine mishaps in Chukyo University Chukyo’s defense.

And then the score was 9-10. With the tying run on third and the winning run on first, the eighth batter hit a sharp liner—straight into the third baseman’s glove, who had just made a miraculous error.

Game set. Nippon Bunri’s miraculous comeback fell just short, and Chukyo University Chukyo claimed the pinnacle of high school baseball.

A legendary championship match indeed, but,

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Look, you’re forgetting.”

I totally remember it. I remember the game’s details vividly.

Back then, I was… 5 years old. It was about when I had started playing baseball.

A kid remembering the details of a baseball game he watched during summer vacation…

“Hmm?”

“Look.”

Wait, what? Something’s off. The TV? Did I watch that game on TV?

But, that’s right, I do remember. The Chukyo third baseman dropped an easy foul fly—I watched that scene from above.

That’s right. On that day, the baseball players who should have been like big brothers to me seemed unusually small. Under the blazing sun, wearing a straw hat, holding my little sister’s tiny hand,

“Ah! Holding my sister’s tiny hand under the blazing sun!”

“Yes, this was the tiny hand held under the blazing sun.”

“It’s true… Still smooth… Smooth just like that day. And hey, make sure to wash your hands after touching sugary stuff.”

That’s the advantage of my sugary syrup—it wipes off easily. Anyway, you shouldn’t need to touch sugary stuff at all, but let’s not quibble.

“So, my first Koshien was 15 years ago.”

“Back then, Riko was too small, so it was just you, me, and Dad.”

I always thought my first time at Koshien was the next year, with Riko and Mom included, a family of five.

Why had I forgotten? Well, it’s a story from when I was five, so forgetting isn’t unusual… but I remember the game’s details quite specifically.

So, why—

“You erased it, Kyugo.”

“What do you mean…”

“Because you made a promise you couldn’t keep. No, it was a promise that was impossible from the start. You probably had to forget.”

Maika said this with a self-mocking smile.

“That was the promise I made with you, to take you to Koshien? Huh? What do you mean by ‘couldn’t keep’? ‘Impossible’… I don’t understand.”

I truly intended to go to Koshien until the day Riko died, and realistically, I believed it was possible. Until I gave up two years ago, I never thought it was a promise I couldn’t keep.

“You can’t keep it. I can’t, not really. Because, your sister can’t become a bride.”

“Huh?”

Maika can’t keep the promise? Wasn’t it about “me not being able to fulfill the promise”? And what’s this about a bride?

A bride… bride? Did she just say bride? That kind of expression isn’t something a modern adult would use. A bride…

A bride, a bride… a bride?

“A bride… Eh, what? Ah?”

“I promised to marry you if you took me to Koshien, that day at Koshien. You even sealed it with a kiss of promise. But I guess, since you forgot the promise, it makes sense that you don’t remember the kiss either.”

“Seriously…?”

No, it’s real. Maika’s eyes are moist as she forces a smile on her lips.

Is she fabricating this whole story about the promise being hers just to claim it as her own? No way.

Riko might pull off something this cunning, but Maika? She’s too straightforward when it comes to matters of the heart, which is why our situation has become so complicated.

No, that’s not it either.

It’s not about being skillful or clumsy. This wasn’t even a matter of being good or bad at love.

We were in a relationship where love wasn’t supposed to happen.

Our promise—the promise of marriage—was never viable from the start. Indeed, just as Maika said.

“Do you remember what you were told back in kindergarten?”

“…Ah, that’s right. That shock probably made me…”

Erase it from my memory. The fact that I couldn’t marry Maika, my sister, despite her promise to become my bride.

Because that hope was lost, the condition of “taking Maika to Koshien” was also erased from my memory.

I must have wanted to forget that day.

“Riko mentioned it too, afterwards. Using the newly learned word ‘marriage.’ She said she’d marry Onii-chan when she grew up.”

“…I sort of remember that.”

I had clearly refused. I told her that siblings can’t marry.

Three-year-old Riko cried. There was nothing I could do about it. Siblings can’t be united in marriage.

I knew that even back then.

“It was really shocking when you forgot our promise, and the next year at Koshien, you made a promise to take Riko there instead.”

“Sorry…”

I truly feel terrible about that. If Maika had done the same to me, it would have traumatized me for life. It probably would have made me distrust all women—or at least, all sisters.

But Maika, seeing my face, lets out a natural chuckle.

“Even so, it was kind of like being sweet-talked by Riko. It’s hard to refuse when your cute little sister begs you so adorably, right?”

“That’s not really an excuse.”

Those cunning pleas… I remember them. She’d grip my little finger and say with her wide, innocent eyes, “Aren’t you going to play baseball here? You’d definitely be the coolest.” It was almost like she had a halo behind her.

Of course, I swore I’d bring her here. It was inevitable after seeing something like that. Even Trump, Putin, God, or Buddha would be sweet-talked in an instant. Irresistible.

“And she knew, didn’t she? That while she was left at home, her beloved Onii-chan and the hated Maika-chan were making promises, just the two of them. She knew about the Koshien promise and the bride promise. It was obvious because we weren’t even trying to hide it.”

“So, she just imitated it? The marrying and Koshien promises?”

“Yeah. But by then, you knew siblings couldn’t marry, so you rejected the former. Since you had forgotten the promise with me, you accepted the latter as a unique promise.”

I see, so that was the backstory… She’s too insightful about the emotions and memories of her brother’s childhood. It’s scary.

“And as a substitute for ‘marriage,’ I think Riko offered ‘forever little sister’ as a reward. For her, being ‘Onii-chan’s sister’ was as significant a title as being a bride.”

Indeed, to me, Riko remaining my loving little sister is just as precious as Maika being my bride. I’d definitely take her to Koshien.

“Yeah, you’re too sharp about our little sister’s motives and actions. Creepy.”

“But the more I hear, the more it seems like it’s all my fault. Unilaterally. Toward you… I can’t make it up to you.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration. Because if it were done to me, I wouldn’t forgive it. I’ve been treating you like that. It’s basically NTR. A depressing arousal.”

“You get aroused by that?”

“Because I love you. I love you more than anyone in the world, so even the slightest neglect from you gets me aroused.”

“That’s the worst confession ever. What? No way? Is this your love confession after 15 years? Can I forget this for now and have you redo it later?”

“Yes, I’d appreciate that.”

“Okay, I’ll forget. There, I forgot… So it’s really an exaggeration. Honestly, I don’t care about that promise.”

Wow, she really erased her memory just like that. It’s as if time rolled back a few seconds. Just like my sister. Just like I erased my memory 15 years ago…

So, I should keep acting in accordance with her memory for the past 15 years.

“Things like ‘don’t care’ and ‘that kind’ of resignation, I really hate that, seriously. If you’re just seeking attention, it’s cute, but that’s not the case now, is it?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not seeking attention, nor am I engaging in self-harm. I haven’t given up on anything.”

After squeezing out what seemed like a fitting line, Maika looks genuinely puzzled and tilts her head, seemingly thinking I got it all wrong. Embarrassing.

“Really, don’t you understand, Kyugo?”

Maika, still blushing furiously, lifts her face desperately and tells me,

“Now, I can become your bride.”

“————”

Ah, the impact of that.

The literal and profound meaning of those words, her trembling voice and body, her moist eyes and lips, everything at this moment pierces through my brain and heart.

“I can become your bride, huh…”

“I can, right?”

“I guess… you can.”

Too fatal. I can barely manage a blurred response.

“Can’t I?”

“You can.”

I said it with a clear face. With a crisp voice. Though Maika’s pitifulness inflicted a fatal wound, her vulnerability completely healed me. Unknowing little devil…!

“That’s right.”

Her little devilish expression brightens instantly. Yes, little devil.

“Unlike Riko, I haven’t been officially rejected yet regarding the bride promise.”

“So, it is so… Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, it does.”

Because I forgot before I could refuse.

“So, it’s still valid, right?”

The cautiously hopeful little devil looks up at me, but I can’t just say yes.

“Because that’s up to you. The bride is a reward for fulfilling the condition of taking you to Koshien. Rather, I’m the one asking. Please, Maika. That promise, it’s still valid, right? Please, let it be valid.”

“Uh… Oh, okay, I guess it’s valid. Because it was a promise. Really troublesome, but a promise is a promise.”

Doesn’t seem troublesome at all.

“So, it’s settled then? No taking it back later, because I won’t accept it.”

“Yeah, can’t help it…”

“…………”

“………… What? Hey, what’s with the silence?”

“Say it properly. I won’t forget it again. Just say it once more.”

“Ugh… Really troublesome…”

“Please.”

“Fine… Hey, Kyugo. I…”

The memory of that far-off day, colored by the blue sky, floods back into my mind.

Under the endless blue sky, on the field, the smell of dirt, the unceasing warmth. In such a world, young me was holding the tiny hand of my little sister. Pretending to protect my beloved in a strange land, feeling elated. My beloved clung to me as if I were a prince, looking up at me with pleading eyes, and with a melting voice, she said—

“If you take me to Koshien, I’ll become your bride.”

“————”

“Okay, there, done. I’ll be your bride… I will.”

I remembered everything. Clearly.

And then we kissed.

That was the first time.

That was the first, and after that, we kissed every day. Then we learned we couldn’t be together.

But now it’s different.

I am, with Maika…