The Daily Life of the Cat-Like Sister and Her Foolish Elder Brother - Chapter 10: So, Am I Going to Be Attacked Now?

“Come on―if you’re going to do it, do it quickly.”

“Well, no one’s foolish enough to do it right after being told like that.”

“Even though you want to do it, right? Come on, if you’re a man, do it quickly!”

“In that case, without further ado―”

“An opening! …Hey, why haven’t you done it yet? How dare you defy me, you foolish brother… Ah, where did I go wrong in raising you?”

“…Even if you say that”

Despite muttering something stupid, on the screen, a full-force straight went towards the outside course― but it was being read.

Expecting a sneak attack, the course became a bit too open, leading to a hit-and-run plus a simultaneous steal.

Quite elegantly executed, I must say.

“Hey! W-Wait, that’s cheating!! What, are you executing a squeeze play?”

“Well, of course I am. Do you have any idea how much mental warfare I’ve endured from you, sister…? It might not work on Yayoi, but it’s not going to affect me now. There, one-point lead.”

“Grr… After all this time, my foolish brother is still not cute!”

Currently, it was 10:00 PM.

After returning from the shrine visit, the whole family had a New Year’s gathering—father, who wasn’t strong with alcohol, accompanied by mother, and also my brother-in-law who was similarly weak with drinks, all went to bed early.

Even Yui, who was so lively during the day, was now sound asleep in her futon.

She was so lively during the day… I was shaken when she completely defeated Yayoi in Hanafuda, a card game.

So… my maternal grandmother, who was once full of energy, apparently passed down her genes quite strongly. My older sister and I, not being too weak ourselves, were currently engrossed in a certain baseball game.

Oh… That was a wild pitch. No holds barred.

The ball was slammed into the left stands for a home run. Nice start, scoring three runs in the first inning.

“Hehe… hehehe… You’re getting quite good at this. But, the real competition is yet to come!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

My older sister, who was five years my senior, used to always have her way with me.

I’ve now mastered how to deal with her.

And surprisingly, she was quite sensitive to being hit early, so if you striked early enough, she’d likely give up midway.

―The only thing to be cautious of were the mental attacks that came from her cunning maneuvers.

“Come to think of it―”

“What is it?”

“How was Yayoi’s kimono?”

“…Nothing special.”

“Hmm, so it wasn’t cute? It was right up your alley, wasn’t it?”

“…Not really.”

“Oh? Oh my, your face is getting red, isn’t it? What’s the matter? And furthermore―”

“Yet you’re attempting to steal a base, aren’t you? Too easy, too easy.”

“Grrr… You’ve gotten tough. In the past, you’d get flustered and sloppy…”

Internally, there was no room for composure.

―But losing here would trigger further tragedy.

After all, this person took great delight in teasing me.

Perhaps, if I lost― “Provide me with that delightful embarrassing incident from last year! Victory is mine! The world of competition is ruthless!” would be the outcome.

And to make matters worse, Yayoi and my sister get along quite well―meaning she might end up whispering all sorts of things into my opponent’s ear.

Yes― my dignity as a person was on the line here!

“Tsukasa.”

“Yeah, I’m switching pitchers.”

“What a quick change in pitching―no, that’s not it, I have a simple question.”

“Hmm?”

―”Why has Yayoi been using your lap as a pillow since a while ago?”

“Hm? She got a little tipsy and sleepy, I guess.”

“I see.”

“What―”

“You let her do it without objection, didn’t you?”

“Guh… That’s enough.”

“The pitch was too sweet!”

In a moment of distraction, a changeup found its way into a sweet spot and was hit. It was a double.

…Calm down.

I was still ahead. And it was just the seventh inning. Just nine more outs.

I was leading by three runs. I could still hold on.

“Oh my, are you feeling flustered? And―did you secretly stroke her hair just now? That was very gentle.”

“What!?”

“Once again, it’s too sweet!!”

“Ugh!”

This woman… She was too much!

She never hesitated to use any means to win… Huh? In that case, I’ll…

“Hey, sis.”

“What is it? My dear little brother who loves Yayoi more than anything.”

“…How’s it been with your husband lately? Are you two getting along?”

“Of course. I love that man. And he loves me too. We’re thinking of having a second child soon.”

“…I see.”

That’s right… This kind of talk didn’t affect her. 

Actually, it was causing more mental damage to me.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m talking about my dear little sister, the one you love so much it’s unbearable. By the way, you said something in the morning, didn’t you? ‘…Beautiful’, wasn’t it?”

“…I plead the fifth.”

(T/N: right to remain silent)

“I see. But… I wonder who gave Yayoi the ring she’s wearing on her right ring finger? Do you happen to know? Hmm, dear brother?”

Endure, endure…

―Somehow, we managed to reach the ninth inning while maintaining the lead.

If I can get three more outs, I can spend peaceful days without being toyed with, even on New Year’s Day…

“…Seriously, what do you think? Just so you know, if you make Yayoi unhappy, I’ll kill you.”

“I don’t intend to make her unhappy.”

“Hmm. Despite that, when I point it out, you deny it, right? Oh, maybe it’s because you’re so…”

“I love her. Enough that I can’t live without her.”

“Oh… You’re saying it more often than before, aren’t you? Well, still…”

“Is there something else?”

My older sister was grinning.

On the screen, she was relentlessly hitting fouls with astonishing tenacity. Ugh, it was annoying.

―Right after that, a bombshell was dropped.

“Hey, Tsukasa― don’t you think our little sister is quite good at acting?”

“Huh? Why are you bringing that up now― hey, don’t tell me…”

Apprehensively, I looked at Yayoi, who should be asleep on my lap―I could only see her profile, but her ear peeking out from her hair was bright red.

“Ah? A walk, huh? Jackpot.”

“Wa-wait a minute… W-where did this come from… You can’t be serious!?”

“Come on, come on, pitch already! It’s the perfect opportunity!!”

“Argh… you devil…”

Suddenly, realization dawned on me.

This… it was all a trap.

―After that, shaken by the sudden turn of events, I issued walks one after another, ultimately conceding a game-changing, walk-off grand slam, leading to a dramatic come-from-behind defeat.

Th-this was cheating, wasn’t it!?

“Ho ho ho, this is my true strength! There’s no foolish brother superior to me, no surpassing one’s older sister!”

“Guhhh…”

“Well then, I’m off to bed too. Oh, and please don’t attack poor blushing Yayoi just because she’s so adorable, okay?”

“I’ll attack you!”

“Hahaha, farewell, Tsukasa-kun!”

With that, my sister cheerfully ascended to the second floor.

Left behind were just me and…

“This is playing possum… no, playing cat, isn’t it?”

“…Sh-Shut up! And hey, am I going to be attacked now?”

Even if you look at me with those expectant eyes, I won’t attack you!