My Girlfriend is a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 15: The Lying Aniki and the Fragile Imouto

My name is Sakisaka Ruri. A pitiable little sister with an older brother who has a tendency to lie… or so it seems. Perhaps my brother thinks of me as a rebellious little sister or something, and maybe our parents think the same. But that’s not it. I’m not going through a rebellious phase. Just as my brother’s words are unbelievable to anyone, I suffer from an illness where nobody believes me either.

Memory Collapse Syndrome.

Such an illness doesn’t exist. It’s not even on the internet. No matter how prestigious the hospital, this illness will never be understood. But I’m definitely afflicted by it. It’s not a delusion. That’s why it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’m on my brother’s side.

Memory Collapse Syndrome progresses with age. It destroys my memories and connects them randomly. It’s like breaking concrete or a block wall, where only fragments of memory accumulate. I hardly have any memories left concerning my parents.

…I misspoke. I do have memories of my parents. It’s just that those memories are tangled up with completely unrelated ones. To give an example… um, it’s like after ‘taking photos with friends on a school trip,’ then ‘having a family dinner.’ I’m aware it’s absurd when I think about it normally. But in my memories, that’s how it is, so it can’t be helped.

For me, ‘winning first place at the sports festival’ means ‘having my parents attend the open house,’ and ‘getting my first school bag’ means ‘getting scolded by Dad.’ Memories connecting randomly with other memories. Memories that don’t link together have no value. I know that more than anyone.

But memories about my brother, for some reason, remain intact.

Even though my memories are breaking down, why doesn’t it affect my mental state? That’s thanks to my brother. Because only my brother’s existence is properly established within me, I can live as an ordinary person. Whether called a pathological liar or whatever else, my brother is the only truth for me.

――― My brother seemed unusually hurried today.

I observe my brother closely, so I can somewhat understand. Today, he seemed different. I want to check on him, but I really don’t want to be treated like I have a brother complex. I don’t have a brother complex. I just care because my brother is the only one I can recognize as family (due to my deteriorating memory, I actually don’t feel that way about our parents). Is it called a brother complex in society? I’m not sure. That’s why I don’t want to go.

“Let’s go!”

It was unusual to hear his voice from here. It was the first time I had heard my brother so high-spirited. My parents feigned indifference, but since they were only feigning, they ended up looking in the direction of his room.

“What’s up with him? He’s unusually energetic.”

“Maybe he made plans to go on a date with his girlfriend?”

“Fantasizing about a nonexistent girlfriend… Even though he’s my son, it’s empty, sad, pitiful, foolish, or rather, ridiculous…”

“I think that’s going too far.”

“No, it’s just as your dad said! How many years does he think he’s been his parent? I’ve said it before, but people with a habit of lying eventually start lying to themselves to enhance the reality of their lies. They build lies from every direction, every kind. Then, they lose track of what they were originally trying to hide. That’s what habitual lying is. Ruri, he’s your brother, so you have to understand!”

“Neither of us was a liar. Honestly, it’s hard to believe they’re our kids.”

For me, only my brother was a true family member. If I were to doubt his existence, I would have to doubt the existence of the two of us. Are they really my parents?

I got up from my seat with a sigh.

“I’ll go check on him because I’m worried.”

“Leave him be, leave him be. He’s just trying to get our attention. Like a boy who cried wolf… well, you know. He’s sick.”

“There’s nothing else to do anyway. I’m going back to my room, too.”

Whether I should worry about my brother being a liar or not is a different issue, but saying something like that seemed like it could start a fight, so I just dropped it. I climbed the stairs and knocked on the door to his room.

“Onii? You seem awfully high-strung. What’s up?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing, really, nothing at all.”

“Seriously, though, you’ve got a serious high going on. What’s the deal? Talking to your sweetheart on the phone?”

“Ehh, you didn’t believe me before… Well, whatever. Can’t blame you, since I’m a liar and all. Yeah, I’m on the phone.”

“Mind if I join the conversation? If I’m there, it’ll prove you’re not lying.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea! Even if it’s a request from my cute imouto, that’s still… I think it poses a very serious danger to you!'”

Danger?

Assuming all of my brother’s statements were true, where exactly was the danger in probing about his girlfriend? I pondered for a moment, but couldn’t think of any. Yet, there was an ominous vibe in my brother’s voice that made me hesitate to call it a lie. Though it lacked credibility since we were just separated by a door, I hadn’t become a sister for no reason. While I wouldn’t recommend it to others, I decided to trust my gut feeling.

“Hey Onii, assuming your girlfriend story is true, let’s go along with that. But aren’t you two going on dates? If you have a girlfriend, you’d normally go on dates, right? Or is it just me thinking it’s normal because I don’t have a boyfriend, and actual girlfriends are unexpectedly indifferent?”

“That’s not it! Actually, our schedules haven’t matched up lately, but we just decided to go on a date a while ago! It’s this weekend, and I can’t stop being excited, I might not even be able to wake up tomorrow morning!”

“You won’t be able to go on a date if you don’t wake up. So, that’s the reason for your high spirits, huh? Why did you hide it?”

“Who says ‘I’m going on a date this weekend’ to their family that easily!? Subjectively, it’ll just be treated as a lie again, so I tried to stick to well-known facts as much as possible. Plus, we’re not exactly the most harmonious family, you know.”

The joy in his voice when talking about the date was so obvious that it made me feel happy too. Emotions seemed to be infused in every word he said. It was surprisingly easy to understand, considering he’s supposed to have a habit of lying. While it’s said that communication without visual cues can lead to misunderstandings, I seemed to grasp my brother’s emotions as if they were tangible.

“…So, this weekend, huh? That means the day after tomorrow. Where are you going?”

“I haven’t decided.”

“Where are you meeting?”

“Dunno.”

“…Sorry, I didn’t ask properly. What’s been decided?”

My brother confidently and loudly proclaimed, “We’re going on a date!”

——————————

The voice from behind the door fell silent. Hearing footsteps fade away, I wondered if Ruri had been taken aback. There was a good reason for it. In fact, there was only one reason.

Firstly, there was a plan that wasn’t planned at all.

No location decided, no meeting point arranged. With things so uncertain, it was less like a date and more like a chance encounter outdoors. But wait, let me explain. The reason there’s no location is because we want to be free to choose, and there’s no meeting point because it’s unnecessary. Why? Because my girlfriend—Shizuku Nanagi, also known as the death row convict—is right here.

Next, there’s me, absurdly ecstatic despite the unstable plan.

No explanation needed. Fantasizing about a date without being informed of the details is worse than daydreaming about ‘getting to know an idol through miraculous luck’. Ruri must have thought so. Whether it’s true or not, if it were her, she’d definitely feel toyed with.

A brother with no luck in love due to his habitual lying and unreliability. It’s not surprising if she’s exasperated to the point of speechlessness. If I were Ruri, I’d cut ties with myself on the spot.

“…I understand your feelings, but wasn’t that a bit reckless?”

“I have no excuses. I’ll be more careful next time.”

It’s understandable why Shizuku would purse her lips, but she wasn’t as angry as one might expect. It’s a relative evaluation compared to when I caught Kusune’s eye, but still. They say complacency is one’s greatest enemy, and I had been complacent in a situation where I shouldn’t have been. Feeling like I wanted to crawl into a hole, I burrowed into the futon, guided by her.

We gazed at each other for a moment.

“…Nnfufu. It’s a bit late, but we can’t really do anything naughty in a room like this, can we?”

“Huh?”

“I’m quite sensitive, you see… If we started something in a room without soundproofing, I’m sure people would notice. It’s a shame, in a way.”

“But we’re not going to do anything like that, so you don’t need to worry. It’s just a needless concern.”

“Really? You’re not secretly fondling my chest while I sleep or anything?”

“I’m usually the one who falls asleep first. Doing something like that secretly… that’s absurd! It’s absurd to sneakily do something you’re allowed to do as much as you want!”

If it’s said that turning thrill into excitement, that’s fine. Whether I’d be caught or not, there’s meaning in engaging in taboo acts while straddling that boundary… If I were to passionately argue that, would suspicions on me be cleared? But I’m already committing the taboo act of sheltering a death row convict; I don’t need to earn any more trouble.

Even without engaging in dubious activities, the current situation is already the ultimate thrill. Once caught, who knows what will happen.

“That’s true, but in reality, you haven’t tried touching me spontaneously yet, so it’s understandable that you’d be suspected. If you really don’t want to be suspected, why not try touching me here and now?”

Shizuku flashed a seductive smile.

“Huh…? W-Why did the conversation suddenly turn to that?”

“An accent from a place you’ve never been to would be unnatural. If you say you don’t do it secretly, that means you can do it openly, right? Right now, my body is hidden under the covers and no one can see it. The only one who will notice that you are rubbing my breasts is me, the one being rubbed. There’s …… nothing to be afraid of, okay?”

“………… No. No, I don’t want to. You said it yourself just now, that you’re sensitive. Doing that would be suicide.”

“Then let’s kiss so deeply that I won’t even be able to raise my voice. Do you need a knife? These clothes will get in the way soon, and above all, clothing will only be a distraction when I’m about to lay skin to skin with you…”

“Please don’t proceed with the conversation on your own without permission. I’m not talking about the clothes, but rather the tricks you’re playing with, Shizuku-san.”

“I’m fine with it. I’m a slave after all. My job is to satisfy my master. You’re that excited just from the idea of a weekend date, but there’s no way we won’t be doing something like this in the future too. I’m just making preparations in case something happens. You don’t have breasts, but I do. We don’t know when something happens so if I let you rub them now, you’ll be able to experience pleasure that you will never know even if you try to make sexual advances on me. Isn’t that a pretty good idea?”

That’s not how it works.

I wonder if she just wanted to be touched by me.

I’d never had an image of Shizuku Nanagi as a bitch, but whenever she pushed me this far, that image comes to me whether I want it or not. She said she was a virgin, but there was no guarantee that she was not lying. There was no way that a virgin would be this predatory.

Or is she trying to provoke me in anticipation of my lashing out?

“I won’t force you to do anything. You are the master. Now, what are you going to do?”

I don’t know how far she is thinking.

The story has gone off on a tangent into erotica, but Ruri was certainly planning to follow me around as she was so interested in the subject. From her point of view, she probably just wanted to find out if my lover was real or not, but that’s not the place for this. My lover is Shizuku Nanagi. She said she wouldn’t touch me, but she didn’t say she wouldn’t touch my family either. She is a woman who doesn’t hesitate to kill, and if Ruri knew too much, she could die.

There was no way Shizuku would overlook that. The immediate danger is clearly in the exchange ahead, yet she is still thinking only of countermeasures against Kusune. What in the world could make her that cautious? She has great physical ability, but that’s all. It’s not the same as a special ability like Shizuku’s. She said she can’t be manipulated, but I wonder if that’s the only reason.

“……”

Where there’s trust, there’s a way. If I don’t believe in her, eventually she won’t trust me either. In other words, here—never with any ulterior motives or anything like that. It’s purely as a part of maintaining trust.

“――――♪♪”