Chapter 28: There Is No Such Thing as Fate; It’s Mostly the Result of Your Own Actions

“Hehe, Kii‑kun, you’re so cute.”

Sazanka Tsubaki’s thighs had a strangely soothing, pleasantly soft feel, and Daikichi Sakoda even thought, “I wish this could last forever.”
But then Daikichi remembered that he had fallen asleep outside, and he abruptly sat up. At that, Tsubaki gasped, “Wha!”

“He sure slept well.”
“Don’t just jump up like that—you really startled me. …How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, but… more importantly, I feel bad for making you give me a lap pillow.”

“Really, it’s true. I got a message and rushed over only to find you collapsed. Sakurazaki-san was shaking your shoulder, saying, ‘Wake up, wake up,’ and then I said I’d take care of it. I ended up having a little bit of a thing with Hanakumori senpai, but anyway—I gave you a lap pillow because you must not catch a cold.”

Tsubaki’s explanation was a bit muddled, but since Daikichi had known her for so long, he managed to grasp the overall picture.

(In short… when they came looking for you, you were already passed out, and Sakurazaki, confused, handled it well.)

Daikichi simply processed Tsubaki’s explanation.

“So, you took care of everything while I was asleep, huh?”
“Y-yes! Exactly!”

Clearly pleased that Daikichi understood, Tsubaki nodded repeatedly with a cheerful smile.
But that cute expression lasted only a moment; she soon switched it up, whistling as she resumed her usual teasing attitude.

“Kii‑kun, you’re such a weakling—you can’t do a thing without me around!”

Normally, Daikichi would have retorted at Tsubaki’s teasing, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He felt guilty for having her help search for Sakurazaki and even for tending to him like this.

With a wry smile, Daikichi said, “Yeah. Thank you.” His sincere gratitude caught Tsubaki off guard, and she recoiled with an “Uh!”

“Getting all sweet on me all of a sudden—you’re so unfair, Kii‑kun.”

Tsubaki blushed bright red up to her ears and turned away sharply. Her reaction was clearly different from what Daikichi had expected.

(Normally, Tsubaki would be saying something like, “Yes, yes, be grateful to me~”…)

Daikichi tilted his head in confusion, but then he quickly noticed that Tsubaki was giving off a vibe similar to Sakurazaki’s. Soon, an earlier thought crept back into his mind: Could it be that Tsubaki sees me as…?

However, since the Sakurazaki incident had just ended, Daikichi felt he might be a bit hypersensitive. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

(Tsubaki thinking about me? I’m overthinking it. Maybe she just wants to keep the old sibling-like distance between us. If the old Tsubaki felt the same as she does now, I’d probably think she just wants someone to play with and give her attention.)

That interpretation made sense to Daikichi—a plausible deduction. But it also made him worry that Tsubaki might start calling him “Onii‑chan” instead of “Kii‑kun.”

Determined to set some boundaries in their relationship, Daikichi began to search for his usual roundabout way of doing so. However, having just experienced the fallout from that very approach with the Sakurazaki incident, he decided to try a different method.
After all, suddenly changing his approach would likely end in disaster, and Daikichi was no exception.

He wavered, wondering if perhaps he should do the exact opposite of what he’d done so far. In the end, he concluded that he should respond in a way that would completely repel her—a way to adjust the distance between them.

“So then, how did my thighs feel? You don’t get to experience a middle school girl’s thighs very often ♥”
“Yeah… they were soft, and they smelled like a girl.”

Though an ordinary girl might have reacted with disgust to such an answer, Daikichi simply smiled gently. His face was filled with a sense of achievement and relief, thinking that he had accomplished his goal.

Daikichi had never imagined that his choice of words would only work effectively if the other person didn’t see him as a potential lover. Conversely, if she did see him that way, the effect would likely be the exact opposite.

It means that it becomes inevitable for the other party to feel “I’m being seen as the opposite sex” and to interpret the situation as hinting at a progression of their relationship in that direction.

Sazanka Tsubaki suddenly looked down and fidgeted, clearly embarrassed.

That reaction was by no means that of a little sister but rather that of a girl tormented by romantic feelings stirred by an awareness of gender differences.

Daikichi Sakoda was taken aback.

“Tsubaki…?”

“This time… it’s from you, Kii‑kun.”

With her eyes welling up, Tsubaki stared intently at Daikichi’s face for several seconds before gently lowering her eyelids and closing her eyes.

In other words, it was a “kiss‑waiting face,” and even Daikichi came to realize the kind of feelings Tsubaki was directing toward him.

Daikichi’s thoughts began to whirl.

He even wondered, albeit belatedly, where on earth Tsubaki had started directing such feelings toward him—but no answer came.

Anyway, just when he thought he had smoothly gotten over the incident with Hanakumori Sakurazaki, it was Tsubaki’s turn—and that reality weighed heavily on him.

However, relief soon came for Daikichi.

The uncle Tsubaki had called for—in other words, Joji—arrived. Joji parked his sleek, black luxury car at the entrance of the zoo, rolled down the window, and called out to Tsubaki.

“Tsubaki! Daikichi is in trouble—what’s with that… weird look on your face? Did I mishear, or is it actually you who’s in trouble or something?”

Daikichi’s cheeks relaxed in relief, but Tsubaki began trembling and, with an angry expression, headed toward Joji—starting a parent–child quarrel.

“—Dad! Why are you coming!?”

“—Why am I coming? You’re the one who called me.”

“—That’s not it!”

“—I don’t have any other reason for coming. Is this what you call being a girl of that age? Flashing that weird face in front of a relative’s boy, and then complaining to your dad who even came when summoned… How did you end up growing like this? You aren’t causing trouble for Daikichi, are you? You know all about his past and everything, after all.”

“—I’m not causing any trouble.”

Daikichi thought the parent–child quarrel might drag on, but in the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a needless worry.

Before the argument could escalate any further, Joji changed the subject and de‑escalated things.

“—Well, whatever. More importantly, I thought I’d get to see you, Daikichi‑kun, and I was planning to give this to you eventually. This is from my last business trip… I altered my return flight a bit, got off in Scotland for a stop, and bought this. Tea.”

“—Eh? Tea? I don’t think you have a taste for that sort of drink, Kii‑kun…”

“—It’s my own kind of thoughtfulness. And if you’re alright with it, I can send it over to you—just tell me what you’d like me to do with it when I hand it over.”

“—Ask me yourself.”

“—I wish you’d at least do as your dad asks. I pushed my tired body to come running at your call, after all.”

　 “—I suppose I have no choice…”

Tsubaki then came over to Daikichi carrying a box that looked like a gift.

“Uncle… you look well.”

“I’m doing fine. You’ll probably live another hundred years, won’t you?”

“—I don’t think that’s possible, though…”

“Also, this is from Dad. He got this tea in Scotland as a souvenir from a business trip abroad.”

“Now that you mention it, Uncle, you did say something about a business trip for a joint development with Europe recently,” Daikichi remarked.

“Exactly. And if you’re alright with it, I can send it over to you—”

“—No, it’s fine.”

After Daikichi curtly declined, Tsubaki said, “Oh, I see,” as she turned on her heel. Then, standing in front of Joji’s luxury car door, she turned and blew Daikichi a kiss.

“I loooove you ♥”

Tsubaki’s actions in front of their real father, Joji, were likely genuine—but Daikichi could tell that the teasing element was strong.

“Uncle, you’re exasperated! Enough with the jokes already!”

When Daikichi admonished her, Tsubaki lightly waved her hand and climbed into the luxury car.

Perhaps as a farewell to Daikichi, Joji honked the horn just once before driving off.

Left alone, Daikichi stared at the souvenir he had received. Hearing that Joji had bought the tea in Scotland as a gift, Daikichi realized that it wasn’t meant for him.

It was meant for Eleanor.

Daikichi recalled that Joji had once directly told him that he held a special affection for him. The direct line of the Sako family consisted only of Daikichi and his younger brother—and because it was his precious younger brother’s child, Joji had originally intended to be the guardian.

But due to various circumstances, that plan couldn’t be realized, and he had bowed his head in apology.

In other words, because Joji felt such deep attachment toward Daikichi, he must have wanted to say to Eleanor, “Please take care of him for a while,” but since he couldn’t say it directly, he decided to convey it through Daikichi.

It was a gesture deeply rooted in Japanese sentiment, and it was uncertain whether Eleanor would fully understand it, but…

In any case, after returning to his room in the apartment, Daikichi visited Eleanor’s place next door and handed over the tea leaves.

“Daikichi, have you been out somewhere? Shopping?”

“It’s a souvenir from my uncle.”

“Daikichi’s uncle…? This is tea from Scotland…? I haven’t done anything to deserve a souvenir, you know.”

“Well, it’s a token of gratitude for taking care of me, I suppose.”

“Gratitude? I don’t really understand… If you didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have agreed to it in the first place.”

The uncle’s thoughtfulness hadn’t come across very well, as Eleanor appeared puzzled—as if to say, “『I don’t really understand』.”

Although she had lived in Japan for a long time and had a certain grasp of Japanese cultural nuances, she still struggled with even the slightest subtleties of sentiment.

When it came to such matters, her daughter Sachiko—who had been born and raised in Japan—seemed to be more perceptive.

In fact, Sachiko understood it quite well. Suddenly appearing from behind Eleanor, Sachiko snatched the tea box and said,

“Mom, for these things it’s right to say ‘mm’—that’s the proper response.”

“Sachiko~! I don’t think that’s the case~?”

Daikichi, who knew Joji well, thought that Sachiko was probably right. If Eleanor were to simply retort, “『I don’t really understand』,” then Joji—who tended to get flustered—would be in trouble.

In any case, he managed to deliver what he had to.

Afterward, Daikichi, while soothing his fatigue in the bath once more, flopped onto his bed and fell asleep again.

A slight loneliness touched Daikichi’s cheek—perhaps because the memory of the pleasant warmth of Tsubaki’s thigh still lingered.