My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

“Hello?”

Summer break was a time of nothingness. I watched the fireworks by myself in this deserted countryside shrine. The world kept spinning long after we broke up. It was almost like the past year had been fake. I looked at my phone. You were just a call away. Calling you would have been so, so easy—but I couldn’t do it.

You’d already gone so far from me, to a place I couldn’t reach even by phone. If possible, I wished that it were all fake—this past year and the time I’d spent with you. I didn’t want to know that the end was coming.

Yume Irido

Now that every class had decided what they’d be doing for the cultural festival, everyone had begun preparations for real, and our class was no exception. We started to put together decorations to fit the Taisho Roman theme and practiced cooking the items on our menu.

Unfortunately, due to our responsibilities as committee members, Mizuto and I were in and out of meetings and working on other miscellaneous tasks, so we were too busy to help our class, despite having put in so much work to get the idea approved.

Instead, as committee members, we worked as the facilitators between our class and the organizing committee. We also made invitations and posters to advertise to the nearby general populace. In essence, we had to take care of a lot of smaller things for the festival.

“How’re things going?”

“Wah!” I’d been so focused on the laptop screen as I worked that I jumped a little from the serene voice that suddenly whispered into my ear.

I turned around to see the vice president, Suzuri Kurenai, softly giggling.

“S-Senpai... Do you need something?”

“Apologies for the surprise. Everyone else is concentrating, so I didn’t want to speak in a loud voice.”

That’s not true. She just enjoys teasing people. Kurenai-senpai was known as the greatest prodigy the school’d ever seen. She had so much charisma that even third-years respected her, but despite all that, she was surprisingly friendly. In fact, these days, she tried to chat with me often, which was probably a result of my outburst at the presentation. That being said, maybe it was all in my head, because she really was friendly all around.

Kurenai-senpai bent over and peered at my screen. “How’s the debugging going?”

“Not too bad. There haven’t been any noticeable bugs so far.”

Currently, I was testing out the system that we’d proposed to prevent troublemakers. We had several distinctive students go around school and instructed committee members to take pictures of them and then enter them into the system. Then, we’d predict their movements. While it may have been a convoluted game of tag, it was perfect for testing whether or not the system worked.

I wasn’t very familiar with computers, but since I had come up with the idea, I was assigned to help with debugging the system. Mizuto was at a desk not too far away, quietly doing the same.

“Yep, looks like things are going well.” She nodded at the screen. “Not that I had any doubt, considering Joe set it all up.”

“Who?”

“Our treasurer. He doesn’t stand out much, but he’s very talented, especially when it comes to computers.”

She turned around, glancing at the end of the long table before the white board. Sitting there was a guy who had naturally curly hair and wore unfashionable glasses, silently typing away at his keyboard.

Then I remembered his actual name: Joji Haba. I had no idea she called him by a nickname. Huh. I wouldn’t be surprised if wherever she went, he wasn’t too far behind. I wondered if they were friends.

“I’d say we are.”

“Huh?” She read my mind?!

Kurenai-senpai chuckled again. “It’s rather amusing how you wear your heart on your sleeve. Oh, I should add that, unfortunately, we are just friends. For now.”

“You’re way too perceptive...” Hm? What does she mean by “unfortunately” and “for now”? No way. Does she...?

“Who knows?” Kurenai-senpai winked as she flashed me a cryptic smile. “Well, keep at it,” she said before going to check on other members.

No, seriously. What is your relationship?! I need to know! I couldn’t help but follow her with my eyes as she walked away. In contrast to her strong presence, she was somehow still so delicate. If there really was something between the two of them, then they’d be one of the most unexpected couples out there. But at the same time, it felt like she had just been teasing me. Ugh, which is it?!

Just as I was getting worked up by all of this, someone called out to me. When I turned around, I saw that Mizuto had walked over.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Is it just me, or are there more entry errors on the second tab than the others?”

“Huh? Uh...yeah. Now that you mention it. I wonder if the person isn’t paying too much attention.”

“They might just not understand the UI that well. Maybe it’s worth it to try and simplify it more.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll collect some data and make a report.”

Mizuto nodded before returning to his seat, hard at work as usual. I hadn’t seen him interact with any of the committee members aside from me. Oh, and Kurenai-senpai, since she pestered him often. This was normal—Mizuto was slow to warm up to others. But it felt like such a waste, after all the praise he had received.

Kogure Kawanami

“Okay, Ko-kun, open wide!” a sickeningly sweet voice rang out.

Akatsuki, tilting her head and smiling, shoved an orange slice into my mouth. I shot her a quick glare before she continued speaking.

“How is it?”

“Hm... A little too sweet.”

“Just how you like it!”

“What good does it do if it only suits my taste?!”

I was in the middle of taste-testing items our class was planning to serve at the cultural festival. Apparently, the typical Western food items associated with the Taisho era were curry, croquettes, and pork cutlets, but we were restricted from using open flames and oil at school. So we tried going in a different direction instead.

We took out the canned fruit and threw them in seltzer water to make some fruit-infused sparkling water. We were also thinking about preparing sandwiches with prepared ingredients, such as ham, lettuce, and scrambled eggs. The idea was to make a menu focused on lighter items like snacks.

“Is there really any point in only taste-testing this?” I asked. “Aren’t cafés supposed to focus more on black tea or coffee?”

“Yeah, but Kine-chan got real fussy about it. She’s grinding the beans in the home ec room right now.”

“That’s where she’s starting from? I guess perfectionism’s par for the course for a tea ceremony club member...” Wait, what does coffee even have to do with tea?

Turns out perfectionists were more common than I’d thought. I looked around the classroom. We’d decided that we’d get some café-styled wallpaper so that we could make the Taisho immersion stronger. That being said, there were a lot of different styles we could choose from. The members were still fighting over whether to go with a wooden panel or a brick look. I looked towards the blackboard and saw others using it to discuss seat placement.

According to Irido-san’s research, in the Taisho era, intellectuals would gather at a salon, which eventually became the first café. The discussion of whether to follow that or follow the theme of a more modern café was still ongoing as well. I kinda enjoyed the atmosphere. It almost felt like playing Minecraft, using the classroom as the subject. But just like with romance, I preferred to observe.

I took another spoonful of the fruit punch, continuing to enjoy my lawful slacking off.

“Oh?” Akatsuki said. “Higashira-san?”

“Hm?”

I turned around and saw a girl nervously peeking inside. It really was Isana Higashira. She seemed to be scanning the classroom for someone—well, obviously for Irido. We approached her.

“Irido’s not here.”

“H-How did you know my objective?!”

“Why else would you come to our classroom?” Akatsuki asked dryly.

Higashira stretched upwards to see over Akatsuki’s head in an attempt to take another look into the classroom. “Do you know where he is? At this rate, the hustle and bustle of the cultural festival will literally kill me!”

“Why are you so proud of slacking off? Just help out, for a change.”

“Exactly,” I agreed with Akatsuki. “Doesn’t your class need help?”

She confidently chuckled. “Do you truly think that they would have assigned any tasks to me?”

In other words, she wanted Irido to pay attention to her since she didn’t have a place in her own class.

“Listen,” I said, mildly annoyed, “Irido’s with the other committee members. He’s busier than us, so don’t bother him.”

“Oh, I see... How disappointing. I have no desire to cause him any trouble.” Higashira slumped her shoulders.

I was starting to feel bad for her, but then again, it was her own fault for not making any friends in her class. The cultural festival was the perfect chance to get closer to them. If only she hadn’t run away.

“Oh, I know. Higashira-san, do you wanna try some sparkling water? We’re doing a taste test.”

“M-May I?”

“Of course! No biggie. His feedback is useless anyway.”

“I am not surprised.”

“Why are you so rude to me but so nice to others?!”

Just as Akatsuki began to beckon Higashira in, we heard a voice.

“Hm? Isana?”

“Mizuto-kun!”

As soon as he appeared, she spun around and ran up to him like a dog who’d found its master.

“I thought you were busy with committee work.”

“I’m done for the day. I was gonna check on things before coming to get you.”

“What a coincidence! I just arrived after being unable to withstand the awkwardness of not having a place in my own classroom!”

“Oh. Well, sorry I’m late.”

I could almost see her tail wagging. She really had become attached to him. Ever since the classroom confession, she hadn’t seemed to pay too much attention to the gazes of others either.

I slightly raised my hand towards Irido. “Hey. Where’s Irido-san?”

“No clue. Probably still working.” I was a little surprised—his tone made it sound like he didn’t care at all.

Irido put his hand on Higashira’s shoulder. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything to do, so let’s get going. The library’s closed, so do you wanna come over?”

“Yes, I would! I will grab my things!”

“I’ll go with you.”

Just as he was leaving, he turned back to us as if he’d forgotten something. “Later, Kawanami, Minami-san.”

“Yeah...later.”

“See ya, Irido-kun!”

Irido nodded and disappeared into the noisy hallway with Higashira. After seeing them off, Akatsuki and I made eye contact.

“So...”

“Yeah...”

The plan was to have the two siblings get closer to one another while working on the committee, but...if anything, it felt like they’d grown more distant.

Isana Higashira

As soon as I entered Mizuto-kun’s room, I made my way to his bed, sat down, and removed my socks. He was no longer surprised by my selfish habits. As such, he casually placed his bag on a hanger and loosened his tie.

“Phew. Finally, I can relax,” he said.

“Are you especially busy as a committee member?”

“The job itself isn’t too bad, but the vice president keeps trying to talk to me. I can’t stand people like that.”

“By ‘vice president,’ you mean that of the student council?”

“Yeah. I’m sure she means well, but I just can’t deal with her.”

It was rare for Mizuto-kun to speak like this. He tended not to pay anyone mind aside from Yume-san.

“That sounds quite difficult. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no tasks entrusted to me, so I’m completely free and full of energy!”

“No need to act tough. You should try and help at least a little bit, or you’re gonna get stressed out.”

“That’s true... I certainly do feel somewhat guilty.”

“Can you even imagine how crappy it’s gonna feel when you wear your class’s T-shirt after having contributed absolutely nothing?”

“Ugh... Class T-shirts aren’t merely a legend? We really do live in a society, huh?! I was confident that I’d avoid that by going to a prep school!”

“We may be at prep school, but it’s still high school. At least they take the cost of the shirts out of the class’s budget, so you don’t actually have to pay for them.”

“Are you not fond of class T-shirts either?”

“Of course not. Why would I like something that’s manifested by peer pressure?”

“I am in full agreement! What am I to do when I already feel little to no affinity for my class?”

“They can try and make it seem as if everyone’s all buddy-buddy with the shirts, but it’s all superficial,” Mizuto lightly exhaled.

Hm...he certainly does seem fatigued. “Mizuto-kun, if you are lacking energy, perhaps I could share some of mine with you?”

“Huh? How?”

“Come right this way.”

I called Mizuto-kun over, placing him at the edge of his bed, his back to me. Next, I laid my hands on his shoulders and exerted pressure.

“Shoulder rub!”

“A massage? That’s your big idea?”

“How is it?”

“Hm...”

“Are you conscious of my breasts? That is, the ones right behind you. They could make contact with the back of your head at any given second, you know?”

“That’s what you’re talking about? I couldn’t care less.”

“Is that so? Then, you claim that my breasts are not stimulating for you?”

“Yeah, in the sense that I’m tired of how they’re always the punch line.”

Good grief. How blissful a life he leads. Did he really not want to feel them even once? When he turned me down, he’d stated that it wasn’t because he found me unattractive, so he must have been at least somewhat interested.

I started up the conversation again with a random topic while I rubbed his shoulders. “Your class is doing a cosplay café, right?”

I’d heard from Minami-san that their presentation had been successful.

“Yeah, they are,” he said in a relaxed position. “I’m not.”

“I saw the pictures! The costume suited you very well!”

“That was a huge pain in the ass...” So he did view it as a tiring experience. I’d witnessed him being fawned over and had assumed that was the case.

“I’m envious that your class came up with such an interesting idea. My class is not very motivated, resulting in something rather boring.”

“All this from the least motivated person of them all?” Mizuto-kun quipped.

“You’re not wrong. However, if we were doing a cute cosplay café, I would undoubtedly be much more interested.”

“You? Cosplay? In front of other people? We’re still talking about you, right?”

“Indeed, though perhaps your doubt isn’t unfounded. Cosplaying in front of a large group of people while also serving customers would prove to be quite the herculean task. Hm...” I began thinking about what I was and wasn’t capable of. “Mizuto-kun...” I leaned forward, peering at Mizuto’s face from above.

“Hm?” He looked up at me, our gazes locking.

“Would it be all right if I tried cosplaying here?”

“Here? What cosplay? I don’t have any costumes.”

“Oh, it’s all right. I would simply need to peruse the items in your drawers.”

“In my drawers? How about no, pervert.”

“I promise not to touch any of your delicates! Simply lend me this—that will suffice!” I tugged at the dress shirt he was currently wearing.

He gave me an even more suspicious look. “My shirt? Well, I guess I do have a spare in my drawers...”

“I’ve been interested in trying your clothes on for some time now!”

“It’s kinda nasty how openly horny you are.”

“I no longer feel that way—I swear!” I protested. “Wearing a guy’s shirt is something that every girl wishes to try!”

If I were truly lustful, I would have specifically requested the shirt he had on right now. After all, it was covered in his scent! Oh my god. Maybe I am “nasty.”

“Isn’t that only when they have nothing else to change into?”

“Think about it this way: what clothes would you offer me if there was a sudden downpour and I was drenched?”

“If that happened...I’d probably lend you Yume’s clothes.”

“Precisely! I won’t have another opportunity like this!”

Somehow or other, I was visiting a boy’s room. I’d be lying if I claimed not to have even the smallest hope of trying this! I’d even purposely “forget” to bring an umbrella on days when there was a chance of rain! But after giving it some thought, it never would’ve really worked out! I was at an impasse!

“With that in mind, I thought this would be the best time to be bold—and cosplay.”

“There’s not even a trace of emotion in your words. But...fine. Just for a little. I’ll leave, so you can change—”

“Oh, no need. Turning your back will suffice.”

“Huh?”

I felt bad about kicking him out of his own room. Also, I had become aware that I was, in fact, rather lustful. I didn’t trust myself to be alone right now.

“Pardon me,” I said, halting his shoulder rub in order to go peruse his drawers.

I opened the top one and found exactly what I was looking for. I pulled out a folded dress shirt and returned to the bed with it before I started undoing the buttons of my shirt.

“I will begin to change now, so please...don’t look. Whatever you do, don’t look this way, okay?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I really won’t,” Mizuto-kun scoffed.

He got up to grab a book from his bag before returning and reading it. Admittedly, I found myself a little irritated that he truly seemed to have no interest in peeping. Are you really a high school boy?! Have a little taste of high-school-girl-changing ASMR! I loosened my tie before removing it, then slowly unfastened my shirt’s buttons one after the other, making sure to emphasize the sliding of the fabric and the click of each button.

Oh... Oh my. This is much more heart-racing than I anticipated. There I was, undressing with a guy right in front of me. Sure, I’d almost exposed my bare breasts to him in my half-asleep state during summer vacation, but having my bra exposed to him in a way that he couldn’t see was... Well, it was very uncouth. Heh heh.

I removed both arms from my shirt and tossed it aside. Oh, a freshly removed woman’s shirt is on his bed! My, this is dirty! Ever so dirty! I would’ve liked to leave my bra rumpled up somewhere on his bed too, but I used my better judgment and decided against that course of action. That was close. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself if Mizuto-kun had waited outside his room. He would have witnessed me making a fool of myself as I photographed his bed with nothing on it while my bare breasts bounced around unrestrained.

Anyway, my next task was skirt removal. Just as I went to unzip it, I was struck by a brilliant idea. I glanced at Mizuto-kun, who still showed no sign of looking this way. He continued to silently flip through his book. It didn’t seem like he’d slowed down whatsoever to hone in on the sounds coming from behind him. Romantic partner I may not have been, but it wouldn’t have hurt him to try and bolster my pride as a girl, would it?

With that in mind, I moved my bottom and positioned my skirt’s zipper as close as possible to Mizuto-kun’s ear, and then...I unzipped.

“Why did you purposely move closer to me?”

“U-Uh. Huh? Wh-What could you be referring to?”

“Whatever.”

I was somehow able to fool him. I’d been a little too ambitious. I removed my skirt and was now wearing nothing but my undergarments. Wow... I almost want to begin striking erotic poses. Fortunately, I was just barely able to restrain myself. If I were to do that, I needed to be wearing more alluring undergarments.

Next, I put my arms through both sleeves of his dress shirt. Just as I’d expected, the sleeves went past my hands. Ehe heh heh. It’s so baggy! Oh wait, I should say this out loud.

“E-Ehe heh heh. It’s so baggy!”

But there was no reaction at all from him. He’s ignoring me?! I was used to his cold attitude, but would he have perished if he was a little kind to me on occasion?

I began fastening the buttons, but stopped when I reached my chest. How far up should I button this shirt? Buttoning it all the way would be too tight, but not enough buttons would leave my bra visible. Without a mirror, it was tough to know what the best solution was. I decided I would use my phone as a replacement and began reaching for my bag at the edge of the bed, right next to Mizuto-kun.

“H-Hey!” he said frantically as his eyes landed on me.

That’s right. His eyes landed on me. Huh? Is he currently viewing me in my entirety? I froze and looked down at my chest. Since I’d wanted a mirror to check whether or not my bra was barely hidden, I’d only buttoned it up to the third button, meaning that my simple pink bra was peeking out.

I practically yelped as I frantically closed the shirt, but that made things worse—now my panties were visible too. “Ah!” I quickly closed my legs in order to hide them. I was amazed at how little defense this garment provided. Wearing this in front of anyone but someone you were about to have intimate relations with was impossible!

“You’re all over the place... You only have yourself to blame for this mess.”

“B-But... My undergarments aren’t very cute today...”

“It’d have been more problematic if you’d worn cute underwear on purpose.”

Making the situation more problematic for you is the point, though! Sure, he’d rejected me, and I supported Yume-san, but I wanted all the chances I could get to fluster him!

I fastened one more button and searched for a safe position. “What do you think?” I asked.

I slightly raised both baggy sleeves in an attempt to seem dainty. I had secured the length of the shirt now too, so I was able to comfortably reveal a little more of my thighs.

Mizuto-kun looked right at me as if he were watching the news immediately after waking up. “Cute, I guess.”

“Oh?! Did you, perhaps, just compliment me?!”

“I know that you’ll get a big head if I say it, so I usually don’t, but honestly, I do think you’re pretty cute,” he said before returning to his book.

Uh... That’s odd. Your words and your actions are not matching up. I got on all fours and approached Mizuto-kun.

“Um... By ‘cute,’ do you mean in the way that a pet is cute?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“That’s horrible! That is not the type of compliment I’m looking for! I want you to be more physically aroused!”

“That’s really what you want?” He turned around and looked me straight in the eyes, not breaking eye contact once. It was as if he was looking into my soul.

“W-Well... Uh... I-I’m not quite prepared...” I reflexively looked away and retreated.

Mizuto-kun let out a short snort tinged with contempt. “Wimp.”

Excuse me?! “That’s even worse! I don’t want to hear that from a boy who’d turn down a girl for some incomprehensible reason and then ignore her advances!”

“You’re not wrong about it being incomprehensible, but also, don’t call it that.”

Hmph! At this rate, you will never get on good terms with Yume-san, no matter how long you try!

Yume Irido

Preparations for the cultural festival were steadily progressing. The clock was ticking and the school’s atmosphere was beginning to reflect that. The areas that were usually dull in appearance had become brighter and more expressive. It even had me feeling festive.

Today, the committee members had a very important job: we had to start working on the school gate’s arch. We moved out the desks that we’d been using from the conference room and began covering the cardboard boxes laid out on the floor with paint.

Working on the floor hurt my back, so I found a good stopping point and took the opportunity to stretch and go to the bathroom. I let a girl that I’d become acquainted with know and headed out.

Signs that classes were going to use during the festival lined the hallways, which bustled with so much activity that I could hardly believe classes had ended for the day. A myriad of voices rang out from all the classrooms. One class was even holding a karaoke contest, for some reason. The atmosphere that had developed during this time had people acting strangely.

I looked outside into the courtyard and saw people practicing a dance as I entered the girl’s bathroom.

“Hello there.”

“O-Oh. Hello, senpai.”

Kurenai-senpai was at the sink. Her makeup pouch was on the counter and her hair straightener was plugged in. I guess she’s fixing her makeup? As I entered a stall, I thought about how, despite giving off such an otherworldly vibe, at her core, she was a normal girl too. I guess that should’ve been obvious.

After finishing my business, I went to the sink, and to my surprise, she was still there. The makeup she had out shouldn’t have taken that much time to put on. I was a little confused, but I shrugged it off and washed my hands next to her.

I checked myself in the mirror while I was there and saw that my ponytail was falling out, so I took out my hair tie to fix it.

“Would you like a comb?” Kurenai-senpai asked, extending her hand towards me.

She caught me off guard, but I recovered quickly. “Thank you,” I said as I accepted it from her.

As I began combing my hair, she suddenly began speaking again. “It seems you’ve gotten used to the committee.”

“Oh, yes. I’m shy, honestly, but everyone’s been so friendly. That really helped.”

“Glad to hear that. I wish that your counterpart could do the same.”

“My counterpart? Do you mean Mizuto?”

“Yes! Your...older brother?”

“Younger.”

I wasn’t as against the idea as before, but I still had no desire to be his little sister. There was no way I could ever handle calling him “onii-chan” again. I’d be going past my limits. I’d have a heart attack!

“I’ve been trying to get better acquainted with your younger brother by chatting with him, but it’s turning out to be much more difficult than I expected.”

“Huh? B-By ‘better acquainted,’ do you mean...” I unconsciously stopped brushing my hair.

This didn’t slip past her. She chuckled. “Of course, I mean as the next student council president. It’s not every day that you come across a student as excellent as he.”

“O-Oh. I see...”

That freaked me out! Her words always feel more cryptic than they need to be!

“It seems that he’s created a wall between himself and others. I get the impression that he’s uninterested in others. I can deeply relate to that.”

“Huh?”

“Effective communication is key to efficient work. I’d very much like it if you became the bridge that brings him into the fold,” she said, sticking her hand out right as I finished combing my hair. “You have beautiful hair. I’m jealous.” She smiled, accepted the comb from me, and then left the bathroom with her makeup pouch.

I mulled over her words as I watched her go. Mizuto did emanate an aloof aura, but what exactly about him could Kurenai-senpai—the very same Kurenai-senpai that kept trying to chat up an underclassman she didn’t even know—have in common with him? So cryptic. I had no clue what was going on in her head.

I couldn’t imagine that Mizuto would willingly become a part of the group, making Kurenai-senpai’s request difficult. But after seeing him hang out with Higashira-san, I couldn’t say for certain that he hated being around others.

Plus, I remembered the way he’d looked as he sat at that deserted shrine while gazing at the night sky. Isolation and loneliness had been carved deep into his heart, but they weren’t what he wanted. Maybe the cultural festival would be the perfect chance to break down those walls around him, if even a little.

“Okay.”

This was undoubtedly a job for an older sister. Oh, the things I have to do for my troublesome younger brother...

“Yume-chan! You free?”

Just as we finished coloring the arch, a certain upperclassman, Yasuda-senpai, approached me. She was tall, cheerful, and easy to talk to. I saw a lot of Akatsuki-san in her, especially with how she could hit it off with anyone—even me. For reference, she was the type of person who would think of you as a friend and start calling you by your first name if you talked to each other for ten minutes.

“Yes, is there something I can help with?”

“I’m going to put a poster up on the bulletin boards. Could you accompany me, youngster? Oof, ouch, owie, my back...”

I giggled at her joke. “Of course, no problem.”

Then it hit me—this was my chance. I turned around and saw Mizuto, who’d just finished his section, heading over to the windowsill where he’d left his stuff. Seriously?! You’re trying to go home?!

“Oh, actually, in that case, we probably need a guy’s help.”

“True, but I’m not sure if any of them are free.”

I rushed up to Mizuto and lightly tapped him on his shoulder.

“What?” he asked with a sour look on his face, but I wasn’t about to be deterred.

“Are you done with work?”

“Yeah, so I’m going home.”

“Can you stay just a little longer? I need help.”

Mizuto looked at the clock, trying to make it seem as if he was worried about the time, but I knew that he didn’t have any plans. He just wanted to go home as soon as possible. As soon as he realized I wasn’t buying it, Mizuto resigned himself.

“Fine. I finished work earlier than I expected anyway.”

“Thanks! Okay, come with me.” I grabbed him by the arm and brought him back to Yasuda-senpai.

“I got a guy to help. Sorry he’s so scrawny though.”

“Oh, so you’re the famous little brother? Nice to meet you. I’m Yasuda!” she said, brightly smiling and sticking out her hand.

I started freaking out a little. An asocial guy like him would never shake the hand of someone he just met. I needed to do something—

“Nice to meet you, Yasuda-senpai. I’m Irido from class 1-7.”

I was speechless. He may not have been smiling like Yasuda-senpai, but his face had softened a good deal. He even called her by her name and shook her hand. He did. The same person who pretty much ignored his own relative, Madoka-san, did!

But the unexpected events didn’t end there. While firmly shaking his hand, Yasuda-senpai suddenly brought her face close to Mizuto’s. Oh no, his personal space! He preferred people not getting any closer than a meter and a half to him. He even got annoyed when he had to stand close to people in line at a grocery store. I was absolutely certain he would be angry with Yasuda-senpai!

“I’ve heard rumors, but you really are pretty cute. You must be popular with the girls!”

Senpai, no! You can’t tease him like that! He hates that more than anything. I’d thought that in order to ease him into the social circle of the committee members, it’d be best to start with someone bright and friendly, but I hadn’t expected her to invade his personal space so quickly. This might have the opposite effect! It might make him even more guarded!

“Oh no, not at all,” he said in a soft tone, faintly smiling.

He’s faintly smiling?! He is?!

“I’m so bad at talking with people that I barely have any friends as it is. I can’t even imagine getting a girlfriend.”

“Really? But, like, I’ve heard rumors. Don’t you have a girlfriend you’re really close with?”

“That one’s just a rumor. The girl in question is one of my few friends. My sister can attest to that.”

He’s holding a conversation. He’s amicably holding a conversation.

“Is that girl really not his girlfriend? You can tell me the truth, Yume-chan. It’ll be our secret!”

I was still in so much shock that all I could do was blankly reply, “Yeah, probably...”

What was going on? Were the more intimate types of people actually easier for Mizuto to talk with? Thinking back, Higashira-san had been that way and latched onto him pretty fast. I had the feeling that I’d been pretty aggressive—at least by my standards—when we first met.

It was hard to trust my assumptions, especially since I’d wrongly guessed that Madoka-san had been his first love, but at the very least, it went without saying that Yasuda-senpai’s first impression of him wasn’t bad. She was the mood maker of the committee members, so being on her good side meant that you were guaranteed not to be a loner.

Following the surprisingly easy success of their handshake, we took the posters and left the meeting room to go put up posters around the school. Yasuda-senpai continued to cheerfully chat with Mizuto while we worked.

“Irido-kun, you have good grades, right? How do you study?”

“I cram the night before. I usually take notes during class.”

“You cram and you’re second in your grade? Wow, smart people are just built different.”

At first, she’d talked about more surface-level things, but it seemed that she’d begun to be able to dive into more personal topics.

“Oh, right, you and Yume-chan aren’t blood relatives, right? What did you think when you first started living with a girl as cute as she?”

“I was surprised. It was all so sudden—it took everything I had to get used to my new life. Nothing racy ever happened, though.”

“Really? Well, I guess reality is pretty boring.”

He’s better than I at small talk. I had gotten used to it by now, but in the beginning, I stiffened up whenever people asked about us living together. How could he give such a fluid answer? He definitely had the ability to communicate with others; he just didn’t want to.

I’d been saved by his ability to communicate countless times when we were dating. So maybe it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise that he could speak so easily with an upperclassman he’d just met.

Now that I thought about it, he’d been able to speak with mom, no problem. He had the ability to communicate effectively, so he’d be fine as long as he was in the appropriate situation. I would’ve tried making this kind of situation happen sooner if I’d known. But wait...didn’t Kurenai-senpai say something about it being difficult to talk to him?

“A little more to the right.”

“Here?”

“Yeah, perfect!”

I felt an itch on the back of my mind, alerting me that I was missing something. Something...strange. Even so, our work continued without any problems.

After putting up the second poster, Yasuda-senpai whispered into my ear.

“Hey, Yume-chan?”

“Yes?”

“I was worried about your younger brother since he always goes straight home, but now that I’ve talked to him, he’s a really good kid. I had no clue! Why does he always leave so promptly?”

“I think it’s because the girl he mentioned—his friend—is shy, so she doesn’t really have a place in all the hustle and bustle of the cultural festival preparations.”

“So he goes to hang out with her to prevent her from feeling lonely? Holy crap, he’s so nice! My affection points just skyrocketed!”

Uh, yeah, but I just said that she’s his friend, not his girlfriend. I groaned a little. I guess people really do see them that way.

“Well then, let’s get this done quick so he can get to her!”

“Right...”

Mizuto idly looked at his phone while I was struck by a sense of powerlessness.

“Good work today! See you tomorrow!”

After we finished putting up the posters, we went back to the meeting room to grab our things and said bye to Yasuda-senpai and the other committee members. I watched Mizuto’s face while the other committee members were leaving.

“Thanks. Looks like you and Yasuda-senpai really hit it off. I was worried that you might say something rude.”

Mizuto glanced at me. “It was easy, since she’s not a certain person who can only speak in snark.”

“Wait... So am I the only person you talk to like that?”

“No, Kawanami too.”

Oh, right. Wow, he got my hopes up. “I wish I could’ve recorded you peacefully engaging in small talk. I bet if I showed it to Higashira-san, she would’ve burst out laughing.”

“Don’t. She’d either never let me live it down, or it’d hurt her. She’s a real pain in my ass.”

“You’re even worse.”

“Looks like you don’t know what happens when people who are bad at communicating lose all inhibitions.”

Uh-huh, okay. I know you’re talking about me too. I fought back a smile. He might’ve been trying to drive home that I wasn’t as unique to him anymore, and even though this was a conversation that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t broken up, it felt comforting.

“I really should’ve recorded you. When you sulk, I can’t even compare you to Higashira-san. You’re—”

“Sorry, hold that thought,” he said, casually shaking his phone at me.

From what I could tell, something important had come up.

“Higashira-san?”

“Yeah, I’m a little later than I said I’d be,” he said as he began calling her, bringing his phone up to his ear.

The angle he held it at blocked his profile, making it impossible for me to see his face. The casual conversation we’d been having was over. If he was running late, then there was nothing I could do. He should’ve prioritized her in the first place.

It seemed like it took a little while before Higashira-san answered.

“Hello?”

I was silent as I heard what Mizuto said to Higashira-san. The conversation lasted about ten seconds.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” he said before hanging up. He turned to me and said, “I’ll see you later. I need to stop somewhere before going home.”

“Oh...okay. Don’t come back too late. The days are getting shorter.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said shortly before quickly walking away.

He was most likely going to the library, which had nothing to do with the cultural festival, so Higashira-san was probably there. If I went home now, I’d see him again soon enough. If there was anything else I wanted to talk to him about, I’d be able to then, but still...

“Hey!” I called out to him, making him stop in his tracks.

“What?” he asked, turning his head.

“Um... Well...”

Why did I stop him? I didn’t even know, but I tried to find the words. “Th-The class T-shirts are supposed to arrive tomorrow!”

The rays from the sunset reddened half of his face. The other half was covered in shadow.

“Oh. I look forward to it.” Then he continued on his way, leaving me with just those few words.

I stood there for a little, watching him disappear down the stairs. He’d been like this forever. Our relationship had soured; it had essentially been the Cold War, what with the nasty comments back and forth. That’s just how we interacted with each other. I’d come to like this current state of ours.

This was how we usually were. This was how I liked it. But even so...why did I feel as if there was a wall between the two of us?