Chapter 70: Afterstory & Prequel – 13: The Distance During a Quarrel

“So… basically… if they find out I’m kasei houkei, it’ll ruin Nakano’s dreams of me? Shatter her ideal image of a man…?”

After barely surviving the afternoon following the Nakano art exhibit, I managed to return home, take a quick shower, and—despite my gloomy mood—devour Maika’s dinner. Now, sitting on the bed in my room, I buried my head in my hands.

Damn it… Women these days really lack cultural education.

Back in ancient Greece and Rome, the men depicted in their art—and even during the Renaissance, which drew heavily from those styles—were all short and covered! That was considered the pinnacle of intelligence! I know this because I’ve researched foreskins extensively!

And yet, they impose their absurd ideals on us… But, wait. Thinking about it, doesn’t that mean Nakano sees me as the kind of guy who’s fully exposed? Yeah, it does.

I knew it. I’ve always been conscious of it. Outside the house, especially on the field, I played the role of a dependable, strong man.

In ancient Greece and Rome, foreskin symbolized intelligence, but in modern Japan, being fully exposed symbolizes strength. To take Riko to Koshien, I needed the unwavering trust of my teammates. I had to be the man who could lead the team.

But being seen that way was both a source of pride and a burden.

In reality, I’m weak and pitiful—a small, kasei houkei man.

Still, I had to keep up the image of an ideal Kyugo for Nakano and for my baseball team. I must keep the promise I made to Riko.

Come to think of it, Nakano’s fantasies might not be entirely misplaced. Living up to her expectations, becoming the man of her dreams—that might just be my duty.

“……Haa……”

I let out a massive sigh. But there’s no running away. I have to remain the ideal Kyugo for Nakano and for my baseball team. I must keep the promise I made to Riko.

“If that’s the case… no choice then…!”

I grabbed the cardigan Maika left behind two days ago. Taking in its soft texture and floral scent, I slipped my hand into my tracksuit pants—

“Kyugo, have you seen my cardigan in here?”

“It’s here. I was just about to deliver it.”

Without so much as knocking, Maika opened the door and peered inside.

Damn it, why does she always erase her presence when she approaches my room? Her stealth skills improve every year! Despite the thin walls of our rundown house, I can no longer sense Maika’s approach when she’s serious. She’s like a master thief, stealing even the pitching form I was once famous for. Slow runner, but excels at stealing bases—that’s Maika.

“Oh, I see. Just don’t touch my clothes with those hands if you’re in the middle of… y’know.”

“I-I wasn’t doing anything like that! I was just, uh, adjusting my… position!”

I quickly pulled my hand out of my pants and tossed the cardigan to her. Safe. Right? I totally covered up the fact that I was about to lose myself in Maika’s cardigan to escape reality, didn’t I?

“Hmm, I guess. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it’d be weird if you were doing that with my cardigan. Not that I want you touching it even with hands that adjusted your… position.”

“Of course not. I only touched it with the other hand, so relax.”

For now, the crisis was averted.

“………”

“………”

…Or so I thought. But then, Maika walked into the room, uninvited. She slipped the cardigan—now her “scandal cardigan”—over her long-sleeve T-shirt and said to no one in particular, “Nights are still kinda chilly, huh?”

If she’s cold, she should start by reconsidering those short shorts. Not that I can say that out loud. I’m too busy enjoying the sight of her soft, pale thighs, though I’d rather die than let her catch me staring.

“………”

“………”

What even is this moment…?

Neither of us knew what to do, avoiding each other’s eyes.

The truth is, my relationship with Maika hasn’t been fixed yet.

Recently, things had already gotten awkward due to my weird awareness of her, and the incident two days ago only made it worse. The whole “Don’t be the manager” issue hasn’t been resolved yet. Or, as I secretly call it, the “I said don’t be the manager, but I actually want you to, and I just can’t admit it” problem. Since then, nothing’s happened to change Maika’s mind.

“……”

“……Haa… My shoulder hurts.”

And yet, why? Why is Maika trying so hard to fill the awkward silence with a dumb lie like her shoulder hurting? Why has she plopped herself on the floor, rotating her right shoulder like she’s settling in for the long haul?

“…Hey, just sit here. You said it’s cold, right?”

“…Ehh, but if I sit on your jerk-off futon, I might get pregnant or something~.”

“Shut up! What kind of nonsense is that!? Pregnant, seriously… You…! We’re siblings, dammit!”

“Chill, it’s just a joke… I was teasing my non-virile big brother… Why’re you taking it so seriously…?”

“Oh, y-yeah, right…”

I screwed up. And Maika did too. She turned toward me reflexively as I snapped back, and for the first time in a while, our eyes met. We both turned bright red at the same moment.

If I looked away now, it would feel like admitting I was having inappropriate thoughts. I couldn’t run, but I couldn’t advance either. All I could do was freeze. What a pathetic big brother I am.

“…Well, maybe it was my fault too. But we’ve always joked around like this, haven’t we? You’ve been acting weird lately, Kyugo. Are you going through puberty or something?”

Maika broke the unbearable silence first. But couldn’t she have done it in a better way…!?

“You’re the one acting weird. Dying your hair blonde out of nowhere… I’ve just been trying to deal with my pubescent little sister being a pain, that’s all.”

“Haa? Why’s this my fault? Yeah, I’m in high school now, so I might change things up a bit, but how is this not totally on you, Kyugo?”

“What the hell? What did I even do?”

“…The manager thing…”

Fair enough. It’s entirely on me. I unreasonably shot down my little sister’s request to be the manager of my team. Of course she’d rebel, dye her hair, and act out.

But if I were the kind of guy who could apologize honestly, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I just wanted her to read between the lines, join the team anyway, and roll her eyes at me with a “Whatever, Kyugo. You’re hopeless.”

What a piece of garbage I am. But I can’t help it—I’m a teenager. And… I’m hopelessly in love with my sister. Not just in love, either. I’m fully obsessed.

“……Agh, my shoulder hurts.”

“Hey, Kyugo, about that Nakano girl—wait, what? Your shoulder? Is it hurt? Where? What part!?”

“Oh, sorry, no. I mean, not really. It’s just my traps are a little tight.”

I tried to fill the silence with a lie, but Maika panicked, her eyes wide, and rushed to my side. She ended up sitting next to me on the bed. If she gets pregnant, what will I do…? No, she won’t—I make sure to use tissues for that stuff.

“Oh… Good. Don’t scare me like that…”

“…Sorry.”

“Maybe your posture’s bad when you’re sitting? At meals, you look fine from what I’ve seen… Could it be during class?”

Probably during… you know. Not that it lasts long enough to cause this much tension.

At least when it comes to baseball, we can sit together, face each other, and talk. No matter how much we fight, no matter how tense things get, Maika will always take the bait.

She really loves—oops, I mean, she really loves baseball.

“I’ll work on my posture. So, Maika. About Nakano, did you bring it up because there’s something to talk about?”

Not missing the chance, I tried to move the conversation forward. Nakano’s been on my mind too, but I hadn’t worked up the courage to bring her up.

“Hmm? Not really? I just came to grab my cardigan~.”

What a pain she is. You literally mentioned Nakano earlier! She’s clearly trying to play it cool, like “I don’t really care, but if you’re bothered by it, I guess we can talk.”

Fine. You were the braver one this time, so I’ll let it slide.