Me who was the Older Brother, and the Girl who was my little sister.

Chapter 4 Shut Up

“Shut upp~shuut uup~shut up~”

After dinner, I was in my room working on an assignment from the cram school. For junior high school students preparing to take the high school entrance exam next year, studying at this time of year is one of the most stressful factors.

I was humming a popular song to express my exasperation over the unsolvable problem, but my voice was getting louder and louder as I was filled with feelings.

Kon kon

“Nii-san, may I come in?”

My little sister knocked on the door and called out to me.

This is bad. Did she hear me? It is pleasant to hum alone, but I suddenly felt embarrassed when I thought that someone was listening to me.

I tried to be calm and pretended to be writing something in my notebook with a mechanical pencil in my hand, as if I was concentrating on my studies.

“Oh, oh, I was just studying. What’s up?”

After hearing my reply, my sister quietly opened the door and entered the room. My sister was looking at me worriedly.

“Are you okay ……?　Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? what’s wrong?”

Aaaaaaaaaaa!

She definitely heard me! I tried playing dumb on the spur of the moment, but even I could tell it was painful. Please, please, little sister!! Just ignore me!

“You were shouting so much, I could hear you all the way down to the first floor.”

“………”

Fo-o-o-o-o! Oh, my God. So that means our parents heard it too!

No, but wait. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Because it’s a famous song. It gets a lot of views on the Internet, so there’s nothing strange about trying to sing it.

“It’s a popular song. eeh, you don’t know it by any chance? Usse Watte.”

I was singing. What’s wrong? I was in a strong-willed position. In fact, I was about to mount my sister, asking if she didn’t know.

You’re the one who made me so mean, sister. If you hadn’t pushed me over the edge, I would have remained at peace. I am sad. Why do people have to fight?

“There’s no way such ridiculous lyrics exist. Please don’t try to cover it up.”

“Nononono! I am not lying!!”

I hastily pulled out my phone, searched for the video and played it. My sister looked at my phone suspiciously and listened to the song playing.

“To think this was it. It was introduced on that program the other day.”

“See!”

“Your singing was so tone-deaf… no, it was hard to tell with the heavy arrangement.”

“…….”

I’m an adolescent with a sensitive heart, if I do say so myself. A teenager made of glass. We are at an age where we are easily hurt when people say they are not cool, not smart enough, or not athletic enough.

To me, being tone-deaf is just too cruel.

I turned red as the blood rose to my face in shame. There were also some tears in the corners of my eyes.

“Nii-san, what’s wrong? Your face is getting red. It looks like you have a fever.”

My sister put her hand on my face and worries that I’m not feeling well.

But to me now, that was pitying and infuriating. I just want to be left alone.

“Shut up! Get out of here!!”

“───eeh”

My sister was stunned by my sudden anger. I forced my sister into it and chased her out of the room.

“Haaa..…”

In order to calm myself, I exhaled to release the heat that was trapped in my body.

A few seconds passed and I went back to my desk to work on my assignment.

Strangely enough, assignments that I thought were unsolvable were being solved with ease. It must be because I was concentrating on my assignments. It’s because I was not distracted by anything else, just immersed in it.

Because if I don’t……, if I’m not focused on the task, I’m going to cry from this gushing guilt.

I read the question sentence, and as my pen raced, I suddenly reflected on the events that took place earlier in my mind.

I got angry over something really trivial. Perhaps my sister did not intend to poke fun at me or make fun of me. She should have been seriously concerned and came to check on me.

Even I knew that. It’s just that I can’t forgive myself for being so childish, and I blamed it on my little sister… I’m the worst.

Tomorrow, I will apologize. If she hates me, then there’s no helping that. Still, it was much better than staying like this.

A short time later, the assignment was finished.

The time is 23:00. I find myself sitting at my desk studying for two hours.

“Phew, I’m exhausted. I’ll go wash my face before I go to sleep.”

I stand up from my seat and stand on my tiptoes as I open the door to the room.

And there…….

Gacha

“uu Oh! Sa-Saki!”

My little sister was sitting in the hallway like she would be in gym class.

She had her face buried in her knees and sat still, curled up in a ball.

“Don’t tell me, you were here the whole time!”

“…..”

There was no reply.

She was not sleeping.

The slight sound of my sister’s crying that I could hear told me that this was so.

“Saki……….sorry, ………I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“…….I, did I do something wrong”

“sorry…….Saki did nothing wrong……sorry.”

I kept apologizing to my sister, who wouldn’t face me, as if begging for forgiveness.

When I hugged my small little sister, my body felt cold, probably because She had been in the hallway the whole time.

Just thinking about how bravely she waited here for so long brought tears to my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m such a stupid brother.”

“……..”

“If you don’t want to talk to me anymore, I won’t talk to you. So please, just go back to your room already. Your body is so cold …… and you’ll catch a cold.”

I gently let go of her arms. Everyone has times when they want to be left alone, just as I did.

As I moved away to keep my distance, my little sister looked up and reached out her arm to grab me by the chest. I was pulled with a strong yank and my face was pulled so close to my sister’s that our noses were almost touching.

“Wh-What is it”

Just as I was about to say “let go,” my little sister spoke up, as if burying my words.

“────like this, kiss me”

My mind went blank.

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TL: SHINIGAMI-san