Farewell

“Tomo, let’s break up…”

“What? Why are you suddenly saying we should break up?”

My girlfriend, Kazuha Izawa, brought up the breakup conversation while we were having tea at a café.

With her long black hair and well-defined nose, she was slender, but her skin and lips often looked pale, leading me to constantly ask, “Are you eating properly?” I was attracted to Kazuha, who seemed somewhat fragile and in need of protection.

“At least tell me the reason…”

“Tomo… you train too much…”

Kazuha averted her gaze from me, looking embarrassed. Breaking up because I trained too much didn’t make any sense to me.

“No, I don’t get it! You said you liked strong guys, didn’t you?”

“Y-yes… I did say that, but…”

Kazuha fiddled with the plastic straw wrapper, hesitating to speak.

“Tomo… you can’t even stand at attention! None of my friends’ boyfriends are like that!”

Because of my developed trapezius and triceps muscles, I couldn’t straighten my arms when trying to stand at attention.

When I tried to wear the clothes I had when we started dating, they were so tight that they would tear instantly if I coughed or sneezed.

Not being able to stand at attention was, in a way, a badge of honor for a trainee, but for Kazuha, it was apparently an unbearable reason for breaking up.

“Then, Tomo… from tomorrow, please call me Izawa-san…”

“……”

Kazuha said as she stood up, holding her empty drink cup.

Being told to reset our relationship by a girlfriend I had been with for five years left me speechless. I could only watch her throw away her trash and leave the café as if nothing had happened.

After being dumped by Kazuha, I somehow managed to make it back to my house, feeling like I had been knocked out after a brutal beating.

The nameplate with “Okada” written on it on the company housing… looked the same as always, but today those symmetrical characters seemed distorted. When I opened the front door, I saw familiar dark brown loafers.

Expecting to be ridiculed for being dumped, I steeled myself and walked into the living room.

“I’m home~”

“welcome~”

Trying my best to stay calm, I called out to the JK in a blouse and a pleated checkered skirt. She responded with the typical casual greeting of teens while being engrossed in her handheld game console.

Her navy blazer and socks were draped over the back of the sofa. Thinking they might get wrinkled, I hung the blazer on a hanger for her, and she gave me a thumbs-up with her right hand while still staring at the screen.

She is my much younger sister, Megumi, who is now a second-year high school student. Not too long ago, she was flat-chested, but she has grown significantly, her chest, buttocks, and thighs starting to transform into those of a mature woman, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

“Megumi… are you playing games at my place again?”

“Yeah, Mom complains when I play at home. It’s most relaxing to play at your place, Onii.”

Despite her physical growth, she still acts like a child, lying on the sofa on her stomach and kicking her legs. Her bare feet, after removing her socks, had long toes and well-formed soles.

Wait, what?!

I gasped involuntarily. Her skirt had flipped up, revealing her butt and panties.

Despite her slightly gyaru-like appearance, her underwear was plain white, not leopard print or anything flashy.

The way her panties dug into her buttocks made me, her own brother, swallow nervously.

“Training is such a hassle~ but DLC packs are expensive~”

Megumi, seemingly unaware that she was exposed, continued mumbling while staring at the screen.

“I wish there was a kind brother somewhere who would give me pocket money for getting excited over seeing my panties.”

“So, you noticed…”

“Well, something like that.”

Megumi rolled over and flashed a seductive smile, demanding a fee for the view.

“Here, take this.”

Her languid, three-white-eyed gaze, framed by purple-tinged semi-long black hair, focused on me. Though her eyes weren’t smiling, her raised lips made it clear she was pleased.

When I handed her my treasured gift card, she responded with a chant-like expression of gratitude.

“Thaaaanks, thaaaanks, abracadabra, thaaaanks.”

Whether today’s high school girls are strange or if it’s just Megumi, I had no way of knowing.

Finished with her chant, Megumi, pressing her notably grown bosom against my arm like a girlfriend, asked me:

They’re bigger than before…

“As a thank you, should I give you a kiss, Onii?”

“N-no, that’s okay.”

“Don’t be shy; if it were a guy in my class, he’d be begging for one…”

Megumi pouted, puffing out her cheeks, and turned her head away sulkily. If a freshly dumped corporate slave like me received a kiss from a Jk, I’d probably be overjoyed—if Megumi weren’t my sister. 

Well… as long as a high school girl doesn’t bring home boys and only plays otome games, I should be relieved as her brother. But I do worry she might end up as a shut-in.

“Oh, I have some news for you, Onii.”

“What is it?”

“Yesterday, I got confessed to.”

“Hmm…”

“Aren’t you interested?”

I tried to maintain my composure so that Megumi wouldn’t notice.

But inside, I was freaking out!!!

Someone confessed to Megumi!?

Of course, I’m interested! Who confessed to my sister? Was he handsome? Athletic? Smart? Serious? Cheeky? If he’s a playboy, I’ll be dead set against it!

Although we share the same blood, Megumi and I look nothing alike. She gets hit on just going to the convenience store or gets contacts from clerks. When we go out, talent scouts swarm her, and she once returned home with a whole group of them…

My “No way am I letting her marry anyone but a guy I approve of” mode was activated.

“Onii, you’re sweating a lot. You’re really easy to read, you know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s obvious you’re flustered.”

“N-no, that’s not true.”

“It’s okay; I know you’re worried about me. I properly turned down the confession; he wasn’t my type.”

I let out a deep, deep sigh of relief.

“Hehe, you’re so cute, Onii.”

“Don’t tease your brother too much.”

“Okay, I understand. I’m going back to my game.”

Not wanting Megumi to notice I’d been dumped, I kept my distance. As I watched her engrossed in her game from the kitchen chair…

“Onii, something happened, didn’t it?”

What!?

She asked as if she could see right through my heart. Despite being my downer-type, indifferent, and airheaded little sister.

“Nothing, nothing at all!”

“Don’t underestimate a woman’s intuition.”

Megumi tossed her game console onto the sofa and began to pat my head.

“Megumi, what are you doing…”

“When someone tries hard, they deserve a head pat and praise. That’s my own rule.”

Without prying further, Megumi sat down and gently stroked my head as I wallowed in my misery.

“How many years do you think we’ve been together? Since I was born, you’ve been my brother, and I’ve been your little sister.”

Despite being younger, my little sister’s motherly tenderness made tears well up in my eyes.

“Oh, mom’s calling me. Such a buzzkill, such a total buzzkill. I’ll come back to your place again.”

Since it was already nine o’clock at night, I walked Megumi to the nearest station.

As we parted, Megumi stood on her tiptoes and patted my head.

“If you’re feeling down again, I’ll come pat you again.”

“Thanks, Megumi.”

When I got back home… Megumi had left her precious game at my place. Or maybe she intentionally left it?

―――― The next day at work.

“Okada! Is it true you broke up with Izawa!?”

My coworker Misako asked as soon as he sat down. He had the latest information that only Kazuha and I should have known…

Since the news had already spread, there was no point in hiding it, so I confided in Misako.

“I see… I couldn’t tell you before, but…”

Misako pointed to the section manager’s seat and said,

“Is there something up with Section Manager Ichinose?”

“I have something to show you.”

He called me to the break room and showed me an image on his smartphone.

“Why are Section Manager Ichinose and Kuzuha…?”

The image Misako showed me was of the two of them just before entering a love hotel.