The Daily Life of the Cat-Like Sister and Her Foolish Elder Brother - Chapter 14: Idiot... Me too... I'd rather…

“Yeah, it tastes good. I guess the preparations are done now. Well then…”

Turning off the stove with the pot of hashed beef rice, I took off my apron.

Checking the clock, I saw that it was 5:30 in the evening.

Older sister and Yui-chan still haven’t returned yet, huh? I already finished making the salad, what should I do now?

For now, I checked my cell phone—no missed calls. It’s been three days since I last heard from them.

“I want to focus on my novel”—I get it, I get it… But leaving behind your cute little sister and being cooped up in a hotel all alone? Not fun at all!

And… that idiot brother of mine, did he think I’d be the one to contact him?

Usually, it was true that I was the one who did all the contacting, but…

Hmph! I absolutely won’t do it this time! I won’t let him come back until he cries and starts begging.

Well, if he really insisted, then maybe I’ll let him come back right away—

Just as I was thinking that, my phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?”

[–Sorry, it’s not who you were expecting, huh?]

“N-No, sis… I-It’s not like that! It’s not like I’m expecting a call from Tsukasa or anything!”

[Huh? I didn’t say anything about Tsukasa, did I? It seems like Yayoi thought it was her dear older brother. Are you so eager to hear his voice that you picked up without even waiting for a ring? Feeling a bit lonely, hmm?]

“Ugh…”

[Hehehe, you are still as cute as ever. But leaving such a child alone like this, that foolish brother of yours needs to be punished next time.]

The voice on the other end of the line sounded genuinely amused. Seriously!

I love my sister, but I wished she’d stop teasing me like this. Save that for that idiot brother of mine!

“So, what’s up? It’s about time to pick up Yui-chan, isn’t it?”

[Yeah, a sudden meeting came up… I might be able to make it home by dinner though…]

“I see. Then I’ll go pick up Yui-chan.”

[Can I count on you? My husband is away on a business trip until tomorrow, so it’s a big help. Yayoi, you’re beautiful, perfect at housework, and have a great personality. You’d be fine no matter who you marry! Your big sister would give you a gold seal of approval!]

“G-Get married… I-I mean, it’s not like I have anyone like that… um, um, well…”

[Okay then, I’ll introduce my colleague to Tsukasa.]

“No! Absolutely no!! He’s mine–ahhh.”

[Hmm, I see. So that’s how it is… Yayoi doesn’t want to give up Tsukasa to anyone, huh?]

“Ughhh…”

I can kind of understand my foolish brother’s feelings now.

Enduring this… it was quite something.

[Oops, it’s starting soon. Please take care of Yui. And, um… don’t worry, it’ll be okay. Tsukasa is faithful.]

“!”

[Ah, sorry about that. you knew that already, right?]

“Ne-Nee-san!”

[Hehe, he’ll probably call you soon anyway. I think he’s reaching his limit. Oh, and when he does, you better be honest, okay? Well then, see you later!]

The call ended without waiting for a response. Ugh!

…Anyway, I needed to go pick up Yui from her piano lesson.

She played for me the other day, and she was really amazing. Maybe she could become a pianist in the future?

Unfortunately, I was not skilled with musical instruments— I only went through organ lessons in junior high and high school— so I couldn’t really say much.

Surely, if it were my brother, he’d kindly say, “Yui is amazing,” and offer some encouragement… No, wait! Ah, but I don’t really know much about that foolish brother.

I put on my coat and tidied myself up a bit—do I need makeup? It’s not like I was showing myself to anyone. Besides, I knew that my brother didn’t really like it—no, this wouldn’t do. I couldn’t explain what was wrong, but something definitely was.

I… I don’t want to admit it too much, and maybe it’s not really true, but perhaps… could it be that I’m just a little too dependent on that foolish brother…?

I let out a sigh involuntarily.

Oh well. I better go pick up Yui—my phone started ringing. It was probably nee-san again.

“…Yes. Is there something else?”

[—Even though it’s been three days, you still have quite the thorny attitude, huh?]

“!?”

I was so surprised that I almost dropped my phone.

No way… my foolish brother was calling me?

—Ehe, ehehe, ehehe♪

Happiness welled up inside me. This wasn’t good.

I had to keep up the facade of being angry.

[Hello? Yayoi?]

“—I can hear you. So, what’s up?”

[What’s up…? I just finished my work, so I called. I’ll be coming home today.]

“Hmm.”

[What’s with that response?]

“…You didn’t contact me for three whole days.”

[Well, you see…]

“I was waiting! And I told you, ‘I’ll go with you!'”

[But, you know…]

“You probably don’t like me that much, do you?”

[Why would you say that? That’s impossible.]

“What do you mean?”

[A-about that…]

Through the phone, I could hear Tsukasa’s voice– my expression reflected in the mirror had been softening since a while ago.

I couldn’t let my older sister see me like this.

Tsukasa seemed to be hesitating about something– I wonder what was wrong?

[―Listen, okay? I’ll only say this once, got it?]

“Yeah.”

[When I’m with you, inevitably― well, be conscious of you, you know? When I need to concentrate on work, it’s better to be alone.]

“Why though?”

[Ugh… well, you see…]

“Oh my, oh my~? Can’t put it into words, can you~?”

[…You understand what I mean, don’t you? Oh well, forget it―Anyway.]

“Huh?”

The call ended.

No way, right? Could it be that… he was actually angry…?

―The doorbell rang.

Seriously! Who on earth was it at a time like this?!

The moment I opened the door― I was embraced.

“Wow.”

“When I heard your voice, I couldn’t help but do this, you know?”

“Idiot… Me too… I’d rather…”

―Afterwards, we went together to pick up Yui-chan, just the two of us!