The Daily Life of the Cat-Like Sister and Her Foolish Elder Brother - Chapter 9: So...I Think This Was Cheating!

I walked hand in hand with Yui-chan, heading towards the nearby shrine— Even though New Year’s Eve was over, there were still so many people around.

As we walked, hand in hand— Yui-chan in the middle— I caught glimpses of glances and whispers around us.

“Wow… She’s so beautiful…”

“Is she a celebrity? Maybe a model? So pretty…”

“Even the little one is cute— Must be family, right?”

“Are they really family? They seem pretty young…”

“The man seems normal enough— but kind. The way the girl is clinging to him…”

Fu-Fufufuf-Fufufu…, I couldn’t help but giggle. But this wasn’t home, so I should keep my composure.

We looked like a family, huh? That means— me and Tsukasa are… hehe.

Tsukasa was beside me, taking care of Yui-chan with a smile, walking slowly in step with us.

Kids just love him. He was good at playing with relatives’ children too.

Well, it was only natural, I suppose.

He was fundamentally kind, sweet, he matched my gaze, listened to my whims, surprisingly… he was kinda cool. He complimented me even though he was embarrassed, and he remembers promises I’ve forgotten. He was good at household chores, knowledgeable— if I asked him something, he’d do it right away… huh?!

W-What was I thinking right now…

“Yayoi.”

“Y-Yeah!”

“…W-What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“I see… Anyway, let’s finish our prayers first. Yui, after that, let’s draw omikuji and choose charms.”

“Yeah! Last year, mine was Chuukichi(moderate luck)!”

“I see, I see. I hope it’s Daikichi(excellent luck) this year.”

“Exciting♪”

Tsukasa looked puzzled but didn’t ask anything, just smiled kindly at Yui-chan.

Hmm… I wasn’t jealous. I was not thinking stuff like, “That smile is for me!” or “Why doesn’t he smile at me like that every time?!”… I wasn’t thinking that at all!

―Feeling a bit unsettled, we finished our prayers and headed to the souvenir shop.

“There are so many different kinds here.”

“Omikuji! I want to draw omikuji!”

“Alright, alright… Okay, let’s draw one together, all three of us.”

I kept Yui-chan entertained while she drew her fortune slip.

I drew mine too—let’s see what it says. Hmm.

Overall luck was Chuukichi. Not bad.

As for the specifics—Hehe, hehehe, hehehehe♪ I couldn’t help but grin with joy.

Seeing that, Tsukasa muttered softly.

“Hey, your ‘cat mask’ is slipping off?”

“Huh?! I-It’s not like I’m wearing a cat mask!”

“I see, my bad, my bad.”

“…Are you making fun of me?”

“Who, me?”

“…I’ll punch you.”

“Eek!”

“…You’ll regret it when we get home!”

Honestly, this foolish brother of mine! Always teasing me!

―I checked my fortune slip again.

Hehe.

“―I got Koyuki. Neither good nor bad.”

“I won! Mine is Chuukichi!”

“It’s not about winning or losing, you know?”

“Hmm.”

“Argh… Yui, you…”

Realizing his disadvantage, my foolish brother called out to Yui-chan―huh?

She seemed a bit teary-eyed. What happened?

“I got a bad fortune. What should I do…”

“Ah… Alright, let me see that.”

“Tsukasa Onii-chan?”

Combining his fortune slip with Yui-chan’s, he bent down to meet her gaze.

“My fortune was small luck while Yui’s was bad luck. But since we tied them together―let’s do some math. What do you think will happen?”

“Um… Um… It’ll become good luck?”

“Correct. By doing this, everything will be fine, right? Now, let’s choose our charms.”

“Yeah! Thank you, Tsukasa Oniii-chan♪”

“You’re welcome.”

This kind of thing… I couldn’t help but think it was a bit unfair. Tying together small luck and bad luck wouldn’t necessarily make it good luck. But in the end, Yui-chan smiled. Moreover, he did it so casually.

Hmm… Yui-chan aside, I couldn’t introduce him to my friends like this!

“Yayoi, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing! I want to tie mine too.”

“By the way, what about the individual content? Mine was as I said earlier, neither good nor bad.”

“Huh?”

“Hm? I don’t think I said anything weird… Was it bad?”

“Um, well… C-come over here for a moment!”

“Careful!”

“Aah!”

When I pulled his hand, Tsukasa seemed unprepared and stumbled towards me. I instinctively caught him―wait, did this look like I was hugging him? I do this every morning, so it didn’t feel weird, but in public…

“Ah, Yayoi Onee-chan, that’s not fair― Me too, me too!”

“That’s what they say…Yui, please wait a moment.”

“…It’s an accident, this is an accident. Yui-chan, wait for me just a little,.”

“…Okay?”

“…Yes.”

Blushing slightly, we both stepped back.

―We restarted in a hushed tone.

“Ahem―wanting to know your little sister’s fortune is quite a perverted thing to do, big brother.”

“…Then, I won’t ask.”

“I guess I have no choice but to show you, here.”

“No, that’s not what I meant―”

Silence fell as Tsukasa read the fortune.

He then casually returned the slip.

Huh? No reaction??

“Mm… What’s wrong?”

“No comment.”

“…You’re not happy about it?”

“Sigh… Why would I be?”

“Geez―”

This time, Tsukasa wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

――My head leaned against his chest.

He rarely initiated such gestures, so it was a bit heartwarming… No, that’s not it! I shouldn’t let this ambiguity go on…

“‘Good as you are now’… No, it’s more like ‘Only you as you are now’―right? Both you and I.”

So… I think this was cheating!!