My Cute Childhood Friend Can't Sleep Peacefully Unless She's Holding Onto My 'Thing'... ~Could My 'Thing' Be Her Secret Comfort for Peaceful Sleep!?~

"Please Rate this Novel 5★ in NovelUpdates!"

Chapter 02: It Seems My Cute Sister Can’t Sleep Peacefully Unless She’s Holding “That” of Mine… Miyu side

“Meow, meow.”

I woke up to the sound of scratching at the door.

The noise sounded familiar; it must be Mugi, our pet cat.

Normally, I would scold him, but this time I was grateful for Mugi’s wake up call.

I had been disturbed by a frightening dream until Mugi came.

Even though my mother had recently bought a new futon that should have been comfortable, I found myself drenched in sweat in particular today.

Removing the futon, the cool air of the room felt refreshing on my skin.

As I searched for my smartphone beside the bed, my gaze fell upon my school uniform hanging on the wall.

The distinctive sailor blazer and the checked skirt peeking out from under it caught my attention.

“This uniform is really cute…”

To wear this uniform, I, Miyu Akaboshi, studied incredibly hard—more than I ever had in my whole life.

… All to pass the entrance exam for a prestigious private girls’ school.

“Mugi, didn’t you eat the treats before bedtime?”

Opening the door, Mugi waltzed into the room, his belly swaying like a sumo wrestler’s. He started rubbing his body and tail against my leg, begging as he always did.

“Fine, you’re really helpless. I’ll give you a little bit of dry food.”

At this point, if he didn’t get some food, he’d continue crying in a pathetic voice.

To avoid disturbing the neighbors, I decided to give him a small amount of cat food in the meantime.

“I’ll get scolded by Takuya-nii again; he always says I’m too soft on Mugi…”

The thought of my brother scolding me, oddly, made me smile.

“Oh my, why am I grinning like this? It’s so silly…”

My reflection in the room’s mirror showed my face turning red up to my ears. Lately, thinking about Onii-chan made me act strange. While Mugi clung to me, I walked over to the cat food bowl placed in the room.

“Here, eat this and go back to your sleeping spot, Mugi.”

After quickly finishing his food, Mugi hastily left the room.

Cats are really practical, aren’t they? They’re not affectionate anymore once their needs are met.

I wish I could be more like Mugi. If I had to compare my personality to a cat or a dog, I’d definitely be a dog.

Whenever I see Onii-chan, whom I adore, it’s like I can’t help but wag my tail—figuratively speaking, of course.

Taking a deep breath to calm my heightened emotions, I returned to bed.

I hope I won’t have any more nightmares…

Until middle school, I used to share a room with Onii-chan.

I insisted on it, telling my parents and Onii-chan that I was scared to sleep alone.

It’s not entirely a lie; I’ve had trouble sleeping because of nightmares since elementary school. But the part about the dreams being the only reason is half true, half not—something that’s my own little secret.

Even now that I’m in high school, I’d actually still like to share a bed with Onii-chan.

Is it because I’ve been having even more nightmares recently? That’s probably not the only reason. I have a secret that I can never reveal to my parents or Onii-chan, and that is…

I’m in love with Takuya-nii—not as a sibling, but as a romantic partner.

I still vividly remember the first day I visited this house with my mother.

The mischievous-looking boy I met for the first time couldn’t even look at me, probably out of shyness.

If anything, I was far more mature during our first meeting.

On that hot summer day, that boy and I became siblings…

With that thought, I was pulled into a deep sleep.

I had no more nightmares, at least until I heard that scream…

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“Chocola, please don’t leave me alone…”

“W-w-whoa, w-what, who is this!?”

…Is that coming from Onii-chan’s room!?

I hurriedly headed towards Onii-chan’s room.

I heard a voice like that of a girl—could there be someone else in there at this hour?

I wanted to check right away, but the thought of a scene I’d rather not witness crossed my mind, and for a moment, I hesitated.

Whew…

Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on Onii-chan’s door.

“Takuya-nii, you’re being so loud Miyu can’t sleep!”

The dark room was faintly lit by a nightlight. From my angle, I can’t see the loft bed, but there’s a lot of noise coming from a particular area in the room.

“Kyaa!?”

What was that? Who just screamed? Is there someone else in here besides Onii-chan?

“Is that you, Miyu? I was having a bad dream, I’m sorry.”

Onii-chan was having nightmares too? His voice even sounded like it was breaking. Just like me, he’s sweating in his sleep—if he catches a cold, that would be terrible.

“Takuya-nii, are you okay? Your voice sounds weird, but if you catch a cold from sweating, Miyu will be worried.”

I felt relieved that my worst fears were not realized. I’m glad he wasn’t with that person.

“I’ll leave the cold medicine in the washroom, don’t forget to take it, okay? Goodnight…”

I hurriedly left the room, painfully aware of the reason why.

I wanted to go up the loft stairs to see Onii-chan’s face.

How happy I would be if we could sleep under the same blanket again like before.

If I saw his face, I might not be able to stop myself from throwing myself into his arms.

I long for him to the point of wanting to cry—that’s how much I’m in love with Onii-chan.

But I’m scared to say it, so I ran away.

I return to my own room and jump into my bed, tears flowing.

Since entering high school, Onii-chan seemed somewhat lonely.

I quickly realized the reason—it was because of his childhood friend, Manami Ninomiya.

Since she went to a different high school, Onii-chan had completely changed.

As much as it hurts to admit, it’s a void I can’t fill.

She’s been his childhood friend longer than I’ve been his sister. She knows aspects of him that I don’t.

Even though I now spend more time with him than she does…

But Manami-chan is a wonderful girl who treats me like a real sister.

We were always together since childhood, and I love Manami-chan too. But when it comes to Onii-chan, I don’t want to lose to her, no matter what.

Driven by such childish stubbornness, I applied to the same girls’ high school as Manami-chan.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

One day when we used to share the same room, I secretly hid in Onii-chan’s bed.

He usually expected me to be on the lower bunk, so when he saw me hiding in his bed, he bumped his head on the ceiling in surprise.

Even now, thinking about it makes me burst into laughter! The look on Onii-chan’s face at that time was priceless.

“M-Miyu, this is Onii-chan’s bed, you know. Are you sleepwalking again!?”

A memory of Onii-chan scolding me while he clutched his self-inflicted head injury.

“Onii-chan, I had another nightmare. A ghost was going to take me away. Please let me sleep with you in your blanket.”

“Hey, hold on. Didn’t we just agree to sleep in the same room, not the same bed?”

I could tell even in the darkness that he was flustered. Onii-chan is so naive and cute.

“Ehh, Onii-chan, you don’t want to sleep in the same blanket with me? Do you hate me?”

This was the moment to press my advantage. Sorry, Onii-chan.

“No, no, that’s not it. I can’t hate Miyu, you’re my adorable, pride-and-joy little sister, but…”

“But?”

“Look, you’re becoming a young woman and it’s kind of awkward…”

“Awkward? What’s awkward, Onii-chan?”

“Ah, just, just—nevermind, it’s complicated! You also have that really nice smell…”

Yes!! It was the effect of the budget-friendly perfume I got from my best friend, Akane. It has a lovely citrus scent.

“Onii-chan, do you remember the summer festival when I was in fourth grade?”

“The one when I was in fifth grade?”

The long alleyway leading to the shrine, the red goldfish, the sweetness of cotton candy. When he saw me in a yukata, Onii-chan had said, while blushing…

“If you act gracefully like that, you’ll seem more like a young lady,”

Hearing those words, I got so excited that I ended up tripping on the stairs of the shrine.

My treasured yukata was covered in mud, and I was on the verge of tears. Silently offering me his back, Onii-chan piggybacked me on the way home and made a promise.

“Miyu, stop crying. I’ll always protect you from now on.”

“Really? You promise, Onii-chan? Not just from pain but from all the scary things too!”

“Yeah, I promise, so don’t worry. I’ll protect you from everything!”

From that day on, Onii-chan’s place in my heart changed significantly.

“Hold me tightly, just like you piggybacked me that day…”

I finally said it… It’s so embarrassing after all. Onii-chan pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Is it okay if it’s from behind, like a piggyback?”

Eh, what do you mean by ‘from behind’?

“If it’s a piggyback, I can’t see your face, right? And, I won’t be able to pat your head either…”

I finally understood what Onii-chan was trying to say. Those warm hands that comforted me when I was a child and cried.

“Don’t cry, Miyu. If you cry too much, you’ll lose your eyeballs!”

With a crumpled smile, he patted my head with his gentle palm.