Chapter 1978: Temporarily

Several minutes later, Anzu-nee walked me to the door to see me off. There's a conflicted look on her face that somehow conveys what she's feeling at the moment.

Helplessness.

What I said earlier killed off the somewhat intimate mood between us. She started overthinking and eventually, she tried to leap off of the sofa and get away from me.

I managed to hold her down but that didn't really improve our situation.

I know she's curious about what I meant back there but Anzu-nee didn't press me to clarify it

Most likely, she's afraid about seeing me in a different light coming true. Or maybe that was just my assumption and there was a different reason why she didn't ask me.

Whichever the case, there's nothing I could do about it. I could only hope that the next time we have this chance to be alone together, she'd still be the same Anzu-nee-san who's oftentimes candid and mischievous at the same time.

"Hey, naughty little brother, take care on your way back... And thank you."

As I grabbed the door handle, Anzu-nee called out to me.

I glanced back at her and smiled.

"I will. But Nee-san, what are you thanking me for?"

"For a lot of things... Hearing me out, helping me with that bastard and also... the other things we did."

"I see. Then I should be the one thanking you, no? You didn't get mad at me even if I kind of overstepped there."

"Do I have the right to be mad? I liked the time I spent with you. You said I wasn't the type to do something that has been done to me. But you're wrong, there were moments that I truly thought of stealing you from Eimi-chan or wished that you weren't already taken by her."

With a wry smile, Anzu-nee opened up what she was bottling up in her head.

I would be lying if I said that she's just acting right there. I mean, while she prepared to stop at a certain point, the intimacy that we shared right there was genuine.

Likewise, even if I blamed my body for moving without my prompt, it's undeniably something born out of my desire to hold her.

"Is that true?"

"Un. I'm a bad older sister, no?"

"Nope. At least, in my eyes, you're not."

Yeah. I can't speak for everyone but as someone who's already out of the norm, she's doing well as my and Eimi's older sister. It's only wrong because she's still following the norms of our society.

I am the sole culprit as to why all my girls deviated from it. I keep pulling them here with me. Because I'm too greedy to fall in love with everyone.

"Pfft. Don't comfort me, naughty little brother. Let your older sister repent. I'll get ready to face Eimi-chan's wrath for putting my hands on you."

"Are you sure she'll be mad at you?"

"Why won't she? You're going to tell her what happened between us."

"Like I said, it's complicated. I can tell-"

"No. Don't. I don't understand what's complicated but Onoda-kun, I'm more afraid of the outcome. Stay as my sweet little brother for a little longer, will you?"

If she said it like that, how could I still try and bring it up to her? I couldn't help but feel dreadful that of all the girls, she might really be the first one to not accept our complicated relationship if ever she became aware of it in the future.

"I will... Then, Nee-san, I'll get going. See you next week."

"Un. See you. I'll tell you some good news by then.

"Ah. Don't hesitate to contact me if he becomes a pain in the ass. I'll put him in his place."

"Sure. Sure. I'll rely on my reliable little brother if it comes to that... Also..."

As Anzu-nee's words trailed there, I heard her footsteps approaching me. I reflexively let go of my hold on the door and turned around.

Since she was probably only planning to hug me from behind, Anzu-nee froze just a few steps away from me.

I shook my head, put down the grocery bag I was carrying, and closed our distance.

Before she could properly react, Anzu-nee was already enclosed within my embrace.

As she lifted her gaze to look at my face, she blinked a few times before her conflicted expression slowly melted away.

"... What a naughty brat." With a shake of her head, Anzu-nee slowly sank further into my embrace.

Her arms also wrapped around my back before her hand reached for my nape, maintaining our eye contact.

I put on a helpless smile, basically admitting my failure to control myself.

"Sorry. I can't help it, Nee-san. Since there has yet to be someone who can take care of and appreciate you, can you allow this little brother to fill in that role temporarily?"

Upon hearing that, Anzu-nee pulled my head down, giving me a headbutt. That made her wince in pain.

I don't know why she did that but I guess it's her unique way to express her disbelief at what I said.

Shortly after, her almost inaudible response reached my ears.

"... Okay. If you insist, naughty little brother."

I know I offered myself up there but I didn't expect her to agree right away. But with this, a certain connection was formed between us. She already knew that it might also reach Eimi's ears but Anzu-nee agreed for a reason. She also cannot help it...

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at our house.

Akane was still out with Machida. Her latest update was three minutes ago. After the interview, Machida asked her to accompany her in going around the commercial district near our neighborhood.

Her interview went well and she's in a festive mood because of it.

Understanding that she might accompany Akane back to our house, I asked the silly girl to bring her home and have lunch with us.

Although I've just eaten with Anzu-nee, I still have room for more.

Besides, I'm going to cook for my wife today before I leave for my part-time job so it's not going to be a problem even if Machida returns.

Anyway, Akane already finished her probe. She concluded that Machida was fairly innocent and harmless to boot.

She's reliant on her friends since she keeps mentioning them to her but at the same time, she also sees herself as the leader of that group.

She expressed her awe at our relationship and wondered if she could also find someone like me.

But when Akane told her someone in their group might be interested in her, she immediately shot that down saying that it was impossible.

Either she's clueless or she truly only sees them as friends.

Akane also brought up the rumor that she's dating that one dude and Machida reacted to it as if she's already tired of answering it.

Most likely, it was constantly brought up to her by their classmates or those around them.

Although I have no idea if that guy is just biding his time before confessing to her, he already lost the battle.

Apart from that, when Akane brought me up again to gauge whether her reaction to me would be different, Machida said she was just intrigued by the changes in me. Last year, I was the enigma of our class but after interacting with me, she said, I became like an open book. According to her, it was too obvious how much I love Akane because of how cold I acted with her.

At least she got that right, no?

In any case, it looks like there's nothing to worry about her. Nothing will change even if I encounter her again in the future.

Or so... that's what I'm hoping for.