Yandere and Menhera - Suddenly Having a Yandere Older Stepsister and a Menhera Younger Stepsister Makes Every Day Difficult - Chapter 1 - 17/18

After Sakagami threw down the gauntlet, for months, I nearly severed all my commitments, including plans to hang out with Saeka-chan and any interaction with Ririka-chan and Matsuri-nee-san, immersing myself in weight training and Judo practice, until the July middle school tournament came around.

Sakagami and I, being in the same weight class, were arranged in the tournament brackets in such a way that we wouldn’t face each other until the finals. This day had escalated to an unusual situation where Matsuri-nee-san, Ririka-chan, and all my classmates came to watch.

While I was loosening up my body with warm-up exercises, the coach called out to me.

“Ryusuke, come here.”

“Yes.”

“Can you win against Sakagami?”

“Yes, I intend to win. I’ve been devoted to practice for these past few months.”

“Good. But never let your guard down.”

“Yes.”

While waiting for my first match, I decided to grab some food with the two step-sisters, who seemed to be having a fun time laughing together in the venue.

“Nee-san, Ririka-chan.”

“Hmm. Ryusuke-kun!”

“Onii-chan, do your best, okay?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Having finished our meal, I began my warm-up exercises anew and, while observing Sakagami’s first match, noticed he had become astonishingly stronger, almost like a completely different person.

“Sakagami…”

“Ryusuke. Show your strength as well.”

“Yes, Coach.”

My first match began. Encouraged by my classmates’ cheers and the referee’s starting signal, I was filled with energy.

I aimed to conserve my energy by quickly taking down my opponent, swiftly grabbing their sleeve and collar and throwing them for an ippon.

The cheering for me and Sakagami from our supporters strongly motivated us.

Hours later, before the final, I went back to the step-sisters. Ririka-chan, perhaps bored, had fallen asleep.

“Nee-san.”

“Yeah. You can win.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, Ryusuke-kun, come here?”

“Hmm?”

As I approached Matsuri-nee-san, she kissed me on the cheek as a way to wish me luck. I was incredibly embarrassed, hastily moving away and heading towards the venue for the final.

It was then, with a fleeting glance, that I saw Saeka-chan. She was glaring at Matsuri-nee-san with an intensity I had never seen from her towards me, leaving me so surprised that I did a double-take.

Then, a pat on the back and a stern “Focus!” from the coach snapped me back to reality.

“…Alright. Let’s go.”

“Yeah. Ryusuke, don’t lose. I’d cheer for Sakagami too, but his motives are impure. Don’t let him interfere with someone genuinely aiming for the nationals.”

“Yes.”

My name was called, and with each step on the tatami, I walked forward to face my opponent, and with the greeting at the start, the match began.

◆　◇　◆

The match started, and in what seemed like an instant, three minutes passed, transitioning into a “Golden Score” situation where the match wouldn’t end until one of us scored a point. Honestly, I hadn’t expected to struggle so much, being toyed with by Sakagami’s strength.

“Come on, Ryusuke!”

“Shut it…!”

As I was losing the gripping fight, my chances of winning seemed to diminish. Sakagami’s cheering squad in the venue began to grow louder. My classmates, sensing my slim chances of victory, started to rally behind Sakagami.

“This is the difference between you and me. I’ll defeat you and win Saeka’s heart too.”

“That’s not something a middle schooler would say!”

“You’re the one going around, acting like a middle schooler, spreading rumors about who someone likes.”

“I told you, that wasn’t me!”

My hand finally reached Sakagami’s back collar, and as I desperately attempted an inner thigh sweep, he, perhaps due to dropping his weight or weakening core, couldn’t avoid it and fell to the mat.

In that brief moment of victory, I sat there stunned on the mat, hearing the greatest cheers.

“Well done!”

“You both were awesome!”

“What a fantastic final!”

Glancing at the step-sisters in the cheering section, I saw both smiling happily at my victory. Then, catching a glimpse of Saeka-chan, I saw her crying tears of joy for my win.

“Come on, both of you, stand up.”

“Ah, yes, sorry.” 

Following the instruction, I stood up, bowed, and the match was concluded. Stepping off the mat, the coach, slightly teary-eyed, was happy about my national competition qualification. Sakagami ran off crying towards the bathroom.

As the cheering from the venue died down, I rushed to the step-sisters to thank them for their support, but they both kissed me on the cheeks, saying,

“You were so cool!”

“Ah, thanks. Nee-san, Ririka-chan.”

Heading to the classmates who supported me, they patted me on the shoulder, happy about the victory.

“You were awesome!”

“It was the best fight. Spreading that rumor about Sakagami liking Saeka really stirred things up!”

I said “thanks,” then suddenly realized,

“Who just said they spread the rumor about Sakagami!”

“Eh?”

“Was it you?!”

“Yeah, it was me.”

“You caused us to fight over nothing…”

As I was about to punch him in anger, someone grabbed my arm.

“Who’s that!”

“It’s me.”

“Sakagami.”

“Sorry for suspecting you, Ryusuke. Forgive me. And congratulations on winning.”

“Sakagami…”

Sakagami took the person who spread the rumor away. I was half happy that the misunderstanding was cleared and received the best words from Sakagami, and half sad that I couldn’t go to nationals with him as the middle school tournament came to an end.

The coach decided to drive Sakagami, the step-sisters, and me home. After Ririka-chan and Nee-san fell asleep in the car, the coach said to Sakagami and me,

“Your fight was beyond middle school level. Sakagami, I want to see you compete at nationals in high school. Ryusuke, nationals are waiting for you. Use this fight to secure a spot in a good high school.”

“Yes!”

Touched by the coach’s words, Sakagami and I teared up on our way home.

“Sakagami. See you tomorrow.”

“Ryusuke. Can we still be best friends from tomorrow?”

“Of course. There’s no one better than you, Sakagami.”

“Thanks. Thank you too, Coach.”

Sakagami entered his house a step ahead of us. Minutes later, we arrived home.

“Thank you, Coach!”

“Yeah!”

The step-sisters sleepily thanked the coach and went inside.

“Nee-san, Ririka-chan, thanks for today.”

“Yeah.”

After carrying a completely sleepy Ririka-chan to bed and covering her with a blanket, I went to the kitchen to talk with Matsuri-nee-san. The moment I sat on the sofa,

“Hey, Ryusuke-kun. Who was that cute girl you were talking about today?”

“Ah, you mean Saeka-chan?”

“…So her name is Saeka-chan. Huh.”

“Nee-san?”

“Well, it’s fine. You must be tired. I’ll prepare the bath.”

Feeling a bit scared of Nee-san’s cold gaze, I ended the day.