Yandere and Menhera - Suddenly Having a Yandere Older Stepsister and a Menhera Younger Stepsister Makes Every Day Difficult - Chapter 1 - 37/38

An hour after leaving the house, I arrived at the meeting spot I had arranged with Sakagami and the others. The place, marked by a large, easily recognizable white object, seemed perfect for meeting up, and I figured everyone would be able to gather there without any issue.

A few minutes after I got there, everyone arrived, holding paper bags. Then, Sakagami forcefully handed his bag to me, saying,

“Take this with you to the tournament.”

“What’s this?”

“Just open it when you get home!”

I stored the bag in my backpack and followed everyone to our next destination. We spent several hours wandering around — visiting a game center, clothing stores, bookstores — while discussing our exams and future plans.

“Is that you, onii-chan?”

“Ri-Ririka-chan?”

“Have you been playing?”

“Yeah. See you later. Be careful on your way home, okay?”

I had unexpectedly run into Ririka. It seemed she was also out playing with friends, and by sheer coincidence, we ended up crossing paths. Then, Ririka, with a glare towards the two girls with Sakagami other than me, said,

“There are some cute girls here, huh?”

“Eh?”

“Hmm, I see. Well, bye then.”

I could almost smell the anger coming off Ririka. Something seemed to have upset her, and feeling a bit scared, Sakagami quickly suggested we head back to where everyone else was waiting.

“Younger step-sister?”

“Yeah. Well, we’re not related by blood.”

“I see. Man, I’ve always wanted a younger sister.”

“You have an older brother, isn’t that enough?”

“An older brother is great, but I’ve always wanted a cute younger sister. Maybe I should ask my parents?”

Sakagami’s nonsensical remark made the two girls look at him with disgust, saying in unison,

“If we were the mothers, there’s no way we could handle that!”

Despite their surprise, Sakagami kept the mood light with his usual mix of jokes and banter. I couldn’t help but admire him as we arrived at our next stop, a karaoke bar.

We ordered drinks and dinner, including fried potatoes, and sang together, enjoying our time immensely.

Past 9 p.m., as calls from our parents began to demand our return home, everyone started to leave. Sakagami, visibly in high spirits, skipped his way home.

Checking my phone, I noticed hundreds of messages from Matsuri-nee-san and around 200 from Ririka, prompting me to rush home and catch the subway.

I arrived home around 10:30 p.m. With trepidation, I opened the front door to find Matsuri-nee-san and Ririka sitting in seiza, waiting for me.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back. You’re late, Ryusuke-kun.”

“I’m sorry, Matsuri-nee-san.”

Matsuri-nee-san seemed quite angry, worried about me being out so late.

Glancing at Ririka, she didn’t appear angry, but rather sad, as she said,

“Onii-chan chose his friends over us.”

“Eh?!”

“Yeah. I understand. Friends are important to you.”

“Ah, yes.”

“But you know…”

◆　◇　◆

Ririka looked at me with a serious face, her eyes locked on mine as she spoke words that seemed to pierce my heart forever.

“We love Onii-chan so much, we worry about you so much, and we really want you to do your best in the tournament, isn’t it strange for you to be out having fun?”

“There’s such a thing as taking a break, you know…”

“A break? From what?”

“Well, from the usual stress, for instance.”

“Stress? Are you saying living with us is stressful?”

“No, that’s not it!”

“Then what else is stressing you out?”

“…”

I couldn’t respond. It would be impossible not to feel stressed by a clingy yandere older step-sister who always sticks to me and turns teary-eyed at the slightest thing, and a younger step-sister who easily gets upset over anything.

I just looked down silently, and Matsuri-nee-san, while patting my head, whispered in a trembling voice close to my ear.

“I’ll overlook what happened today, but remember, Ryusuke-kun, you are neither a high school nor a college student. More importantly, you are someone with a promising future, especially with the tournament coming up. Try to understand our worries.”

“Yes.”

I just felt so fond of the fun times I had had. Although it was just a memory from a few hours ago.

Ririka and Matsuri-nee-san glanced at me before returning to their rooms. Following suit, I took off my shoes and walked down the unusually quiet hallway back to my room.

Lying on my bed, I glanced at my smartphone to reflect on the day and saw three new messages. All from my coach.

The messages included a PDF of the matchups for the upcoming national tournament, a video of a match featuring my opponent, and words of encouragement for me. Reflecting on my actions, I spent the entire night until morning watching the video of my opponent’s match, regretting my earlier frivolity.

☆☆☆

At 7:30 AM, I left my room to find the usual bustle had returned, and both Matsuri-nee-san and Ririka greeted me cheerfully.

“Good morning, Onii-chan!”

“Good morning, Ryusuke-kun!”

The scene was as if yesterday’s events were a lie, and I found myself shedding tears of relief.

“Ry-Ryusuke-kun?!”

“Onii-chan?!”

“It’s nothing. Good morning, both of you.”

I resolved never to repeat such a mistake, to always value communication, and spent my days until the national tournament with that resolve.