The next day was a clear spring morning.

Kazuki opened his eyes to the bright morning sun.

"–Uhh."

His little sister, who abruptly appeared yesterday, was mounting him.

The mount position: A position highly regarded in mixed martial arts as a position that was very advantageous and simple to execute.

"..."

Sabrina looked down on Kazuki wordlessly. Her expression was as cold as ice.

There wasn"t an ounce of sleepiness left in Kazuki.

Waiiiiiiit!

Wait wait wait!

Why was I in this situation again?

Why does Sabrina look angry?

Did I do something while she was asleep!?

Did I snore? Do I grind my teeth? Do I have any bad sleeping habits?

Ah, don"t tell me I touched Sabrina"s breast or something while she was sleeping!?

Since the bed was small, it"s not out of the question - ack.

"I"m sorry."

It looked like the situation would get worse if he kept silent, so he apologized just in case. However, Sabrina looked at him with a blank expression and tilted her head.

"Isn"t the morning greeting usually "Good morning"?"

"No, I just thought that I did something that made you angry."

"No."

Looking amused, Sabrina tilted her head the other way. Thankfully, it looks like he hadn"t done anything wrong.

He sighed in relief.

"So... why are we in this situation?"

All males have "that" first thing the morning, and Sabrina happened to be mounting his waist. He tried to think of a way to keep her from finding out.

"Si. When I woke up, Onii-chan was still asleep. While I was looking at your sleeping face, you turned around and I couldn"t see it anymore. So I moved you here. If you"re here, then I can see you clearly."

"Ah... ha ha... is that right."

Although he laughed bitterly, Sabrina looked quite proud of herself, so he didn"t tell her to get off.

While still in that position, Kazuki searched for the alarm clock with his hands. Since the clock was in its usual position, it was quite easy to find without looking.

"Hmm? What"s this?"

What Kazuki picked up was definitely his alarm clock. Although, it was now unusable because of a hole in the middle.

Pieces of metal and plastic fell out of the destroyed alarm clock.

"Si. It was making a ruckus and disturbing your sleep, so I eliminated it."

Her expression hasn"t changed, but she said "Eh heh" and somehow looked proud of her achievement.

"Eliminate!? But that"s what an alarm clock does! Wait, then that means that the alarm went off. What time is it?"

Kazuki looked at the clock on the wall. Its hands were pointing to 7:45.

"Whoa! Not good! I"m going to be late!"

"... Uuu."

Kazuki kicked off his blanket as he got up. Sabrina, who was on top of him, was now covered by the blanket and rolled backwards.

"Ah, sorry about that Sabrina."

Like a hamster looking out from its home, Sabrina peeked out from the blanket.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Onii-chan?"

"I"m going to be late for school at this rate."

"School?"

"Yep. Don"t you know what school is, Sabrina?"

"Si."

Since Sabrina wasn"t allowed to leave her cottage, it seems like she didn"t know much about schools. It was going to be difficult to explain schools to her, so he rushed his explanation.

"Hmm... school is a place where children in the same age group study together."

"Why do they have to study together?"

"Mh–mm, because it"s compulsory education, but you wouldn"t understand would you...? To put it simply, it"s like work for the children."

"Work...? Is it painful to do?"

"It is~. Since it starts in the morning and continues until the afternoon."

Although he said that, Kazuki had friends at school and he fit in with the other students. He was enjoying his likeable school life. But since there were no students who actually enjoyed studying, he could only explain it like that.

"Ah! Now that I think about it, I didn"t have a bath yesterday since it was so hectic. The bath should be heated up; I guess I"ll take a bath before I go."

"Bath..."

Sabrina, who looked like she had something to say, bobbed her twin tails.

"You haven"t had a shower yet, have you? Sorry, do you mind if I take one first? I think I"ll be late if I don"t take one now. That is, unless you don"t want to go in after me?"

"No, I don"t mind. I need to prepare a few things before I go in the bath, so please go in first."

Kazuki thought she meant that girls had to prepare things that boys didn"t know about and said:

"Thanks, then I"ll do what you say and take a bath first."

"Si. See you later."

Not deeply thinking about what Sabrina said, he headed to the bathroom.

Kazuki"s bathroom was larger than a normal household"s. This was because his parents liked to rest after their travels and so they choose a bathroom that suited their preference.

Of course, Kazuki really liked it as well.

Whew, it feels good.

Since yesterday was quite tiring, his body was stiffer than he thought.

Whew, this is heavenly. Didn"t a famous person once say, "Baths are the essence of humanity?"

... I might be wrong, but who cares.

With a viva nonno[1] like feeling, he placed a bath towel on his head and stretched out his legs in the large bathtub. Even though he didn"t have the time, he was submerging himself happily.

Kazuki"s face relaxed and anyone would"ve been able to see how happy he was.

Knock knock.

Just when Kazuki was getting relaxed, someone knocked on the frosted gla.s.s door. 

"Onii-chan, may I?"

"Yes, what is it?"

It was Sabrina. Pondering what she wanted from him, Kazuki lazily replied.

Subsequently, the door opened with some unexpected words from her.

"Thanks for waiting."

"-Eeh?"

Surprisingly, Sabrina walked in.

She only had a bath towel around her. It was too short, so that place was nearly visible.

 Realizing what was going on, Kazuki jumped up from the bathtub purely by reflex.

Kazuki was obviously naked, his towel was on his head. Getting up like this meant...

"Ah-."

"..."

Sabrina looked at Kazuki with a blank face. She looked down slightly, but quickly blushed and turned her face away.

"Whoaaaaaa!"

He hurriedly wrapped the bath towel that was on his head around his waist, and rushed away from her to widen their distance.

"Wwwwwhat is it!? Why did you come in, Sabrina!?"

Her twin tails were gone and her straight hair flowed down her back. Her white skin looked like it would be melted away by the hot air. He was able to tell by looking at her small but puffy b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her slim waist, and her small but firm b.u.t.t, that her body was clearly superb.

He was amazed by her body as much as when she was in the box, but this look was just as appealing.

He was unable to tell what she was thinking by her expression, but she was slightly wobbly and her face was dyed bright red.

"I- I read that j.a.panese family members wash each others" back while in the bath. I-I"m really embarra.s.sed, but there is the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and since we"re siblings... please look after me."

"What?! What are you going to do?"

Step. Sabrina took her first step towards the bathtub.

"Whooaa, no, Sabrina! You can"t come in!"

"No, we"re brother and sister. I will wash your back."

"Heeeeeeeeek."

For some reason, he yelled out loud.

With an overwhelming spirit, Sabrina shortened the distance step by step.

She was right in front of hi-.

At that moment, Sabrina slipped on the wet tiles and lost her balance. The bath towel slipped off her.

"Watch out!"

Kazuki reached out to Sabrina by reflex. He ended up holding her tight in a hug.

They came into contact, and Sabrina"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s were touching Kazuki.

"... Onii-chan."

"Whoaa. I"m sorry Sabrina. It wasn"t on purpose!"

He hurriedly backed off from Sabrina who hung her head low in embarra.s.sment.

He couldn"t look at her, so he covered his eyes with a hand and stretched out the other one in an apologetic pose.

"W-wait! Wait for a second, just calm down! And about what you just said, Sabrina, the thing about family members washing each others" backs! It"s not true at all!"

"Not true?"

Sabrina, who had covered herself with the bath towel, widened her eyes in surprise.

"That"s right, it"s not true!"

"Then, what about entering baths together?"

"They don"t."

"What about washing other people"s backs?"

"They don"t do that either."

"Washing other people"s backs?"

"They don"t! Why are you asking twice!?"

After a long silence, Sabrina opened her mouth.

"... Si. So I was mistaken, but it"s a bit disappointing -achoo."

While she was talking, Sabrina cutely sneezed. Even though it was spring, being in a single bath towel wasn"t enough.

"W-why don"t you take a bath now Sabrina. Y-y-you might catch a cold like this."

Still shaken up by the experience, Kazuki stuttered.

"But Onii-chan will..."

"I"m fine. I needed to get out anyway. So come in, warm yourself up in the bath."

Kazuki who wanted to escape as soon as possible fled from the bathroom as he said that.

"Why did such a troublesome thing happen so early in the morning!? A-achoo!"

Kazuki"s loud sneeze echoed through his house.

He cooled down his body that got hot in many different ways. He dried his hair with a hairdryer and changed into his school uniform. Kazuki then grabbed the bag hanging from his desk, and ran down the stairs.

"Ah, I should probably tell Sabrina before I go to school."

He was going to head out the door, but Kazuki turned around and went to the bathroom.

There was only a door between Sabrina and him. Knowing that made his heart beat faster, but he tried to keep a straight face and talked to the frosted gla.s.s door.

"Sabrina, have you warmed yourself up?"

"Si."

"Good, then I"m off to school now."

"Umm, what about me...?"

Sabrina"s voice clearly had a sense of perplexity mixed in.

That"s right, Kazuki knew nothing about what Sabrina was supposed to do from now on. He hadn"t thought about it either.

"I see, I guess you"ll be uncomfortable if you"re in a situation like this. Sorry, Sabrina. Umm, so... why don"t you look after the house today? I"ll ask my parents what you should do from now on."

"... Si. Umm, Onii-chan... what time will you be coming back?"

"Some time in the afternoon, I think. I"ll come back as soon as I can when school finishes."

After telling her that, Kazuki left his house and started to run.

2

Ding dong dang dong.

The morning bell at Ouba Middle School, the school that Kazuki attended, rang.

Kazuki made it just in time, and slumped down into his seat.

"Hey. That was quite a close one today, even though you normally arrive pretty early."

Kazuki was still out of breath. When he looked up, he saw Ryouta Miyamoto - his childhood friend, whom he"s known since primary school, standing there.

"...Oh, it"s only you Ryouta. Something happened at my home this morning... so I barely made it."

"Something happened? It sounds like quite a scandal, what happened?"

"You see, today-"

When he woke up, his little sister was mounting him and examining his face.

While he was taking a bath, his little sister tried to wash his back wearing only a bath towel.

"...Nothing, really."

He couldn"t say either of them.

"Tell me. Please? I said tell me!"

"It"s really nothing. Ah, don"t bother me like that."

Ryouta clung to him like a leech. While Kazuki tried to think of something to say, a girl walked towards him.

"h.e.l.lo, Ootaki-kun."

The girl had brown hair held in place by a hairpin. She had round, cute eyes and always wore her characteristic smile that warmed peoples" hearts.

She was Saki Kinos.h.i.ta, starting this year, she was Kazuki"s cla.s.smate.

"H-h-hey!"

"Ouch."

He bit his tongue trying to answer quickly. Kazuki flung Ryouta off him and sat up straight, pretending that nothing happened.

Saki only blinked at Ryouta, who fell on the floor brilliantly.

"H-hey Kinos.h.i.ta! The weather is nice today!"

"Y-yeah, it is. But is he alright? I don"t think Miyamoto-kun is moving..."

"It"s ok, it"s ok! Ryouta is like that sometimes. He said he"s entering the "Nirvana" state, or something. So you don"t need to worry about him."

"Hu hu, how unique. But Ootaki-kun, you were late to school today. I thought you were going to be absent since you usually arrive early.

Her gentle smile was really charming.

He just realized something.

Kazuki and Saki had never talked like this before. In fact, it"s the first time he"s had a proper conversation with her. However, what surprised him the most was that she knew that Kazuki always came to school early.

Why did she?

Was she always looking at me...? Well, that"s not likely.

Kazuki shook his head to shake off his delusional thoughts.

It was probably because she was the cla.s.s president. She must"ve known about the individuals in the cla.s.s. Even though he knew that there was no special meaning behind it, he felt slightly happy knowing that someone cared about him.

"Did something happen?"

"A few things got messy yesterday, so it was problematic."

"Are you having trouble? Are you ok? If you"re ok with me, why don"t you tell me about it?"

"N-no, it"s alright. It"s not a big deal anyway."

He was happy that Saki offered to listen to him, but he couldn"t just shout out "Somehow, I"ve got a little sister!" Furthermore, he couldn"t say that his new little sister happened to be "the hidden child of a mafia"s boss who is also an amateur a.s.sa.s.sin," even if his life depended on it.

"I see. Well, that"s fine then. If there"s anything that I can do, just ask me. Let"s try our best this week!"

Being called over by her friend, Saki said "see you," and went to her group of friends while waving her hand at him.

Kazuki was looking at her in a trance when Ryouta who has revived put him in a headlock.

"Who"s going to Nirvana? Why you!"

"Whoa, Ryouta. I didn"t say that!"

"Anyways, I was trying to take a peek at Kinos.h.i.ta"s panties while she was distracted, but I failed."

"If you try something like that, Kinos.h.i.ta really will send you to Nirvana."

"I"m only kidding. But give it up, she"s way out of your league."

Flinch. Kazuki"s body stiffened.

"W-what are you saying?"

"I"m talking about Kinos.h.i.ta. I"ve known you for a long time, so I can read you like a book."

Ryouta poked out his mouth and puffed his chest out. Kazuki who was completely defeated couldn"t even make an excuse.

"Saki Kinos.h.i.ta... her father works at the city council and her mother teaches gardening. Her hobby is gardening thanks to her mother"s influence. Her grades are above average and she"s a friendly person who cares deeply about other people. She doesn"t discriminate between males and females, so she is ranked first or second within our grade."

"...Why do you know so much about her?"

"Heh, what a foolish question. I am the school"s information broker. For your information, the number of boys who asked her out last year is 36, and everyone was shot down. The rumors say that the former captain of the soccer club Wakabiyashi-senpai was one of them."

"Really!? You mean the same Wakabiyashi-senpai who"s famous for being popular!? The guy who receives enough chocolates on Valentine"s Day to count to three digits? He actually liked someone!? ...What"s with your hand?"

"It"s obvious, pay me. Information isn"t free. I can look into it for you."

"You"re charging me!? We"re friends!"

"So we need to get this over and done with."

"I see... I have helped you countless times during tests, but we should get that over and done with. Do your best in your studies while you"re gathering your information."

The two of them looked at each other. They were about to go at each other, but their homegroup teacher walked in.

"Aren"t you the lively one?"

"I should be saying that to you, Ryouta."

The two of them glared at each other, but since homeroom had started, they snorted at each other and Ryouta returned to his seat.

Kazuki softened his expression as he saw his friend"s back.

Their usual dialogue.

The everyday life that he had lost yesterday could be found here.

He looked outside the window.

"How peaceful."

The sky was cloudless outside.

◊          ◊          ◊

Under that cloudless blue sky, a blond girl was on the streets, holding onto a briefcase which did not suit her.

"...Where is this school place?"

This girl was Sabrina. Although she was on her way to Kazuki"s school, she didn"t know where it was and has subsequently gotten lost.

Grumble.

From her back, she heard a loud noise.

Sabrina looked back and saw a collapsed woman dressed in nun"s robes.

The woman looked to be approximately 20 years old. While she was still lying on the ground, she looked up and started to talk while grinding her teeth at the same time.

"My dear lamb"s meat... no, my dear lamb... What"s the matter? Why do you seem so lost...?"

Gruummmble. The grumbling sound was heard again. The nun"s stomach seemed to be the source of the noise.

"Who are you?"

"My lost lamb, you have been wandering around for a while. Are you looking for something?"

"Si. I am looking for the school my brother attends."

"School? There are a lot of different ones, but the closest would be Ouba Middle School over there."

The nun pointed off in the distance. On top of the hill that she was pointing at, a building was visible.

"So that"s the school.... Si. Thank you."

"No no, it was nothing. Eh, what? I don"t need to be compensated, but if you want to pay me back somehow, why don"t you give me some foo- huh, what?"

Finding out where she had to go, Sabrina left the nun who was still talking and started walking towards the school to see her dear brother.

◊          ◊          ◊

Kazuki"s cla.s.s had a PE for the second lesson. The boys were playing soft ball in the middle of the field, while the girls were doing long distance running at the nearby tracks.

The refreshing sound of a metal bat hitting the ball echoed through the field.

Ryouta, who was the pitcher, yelled out:

"Right! Kazuki!"

"Alright!"

It was a strong hit. However, Kazuki leapt up and caught the ball.

"Nice catch. You"re in a good form today."

"Well, of course~."

He threw the ball back to Ryouta.

That"s right. This was his usual life.

Kazuki felt a brief sense of peace, being free of Sabrina.

He glanced at the tracks. Over there, he spotted Saki amongst the girls who were running at their own pace.

"Ha... Kinos.h.i.ta is pretty even when she"s running."

"Kazuki, another one!"

Hearing Ryouta"s voice, he turned around. This time, it was a high right flyer. It would be quite easy to catch the ball as it was falling.

It was alright, he could catch this normally.

He placed his glove beneath the falling ball. Right at that moment, he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"Sabri- kuh."

As he was about to say her name, the ball landed on Kazuki"s head.

Dong.

With a sound of a giant bell, the impact sent a shockwave through Kazuki"s body.

While he was still uneasy on his feet, he looked towards the school gates where he spotted Sabrina.

"Why is Sabrina here...?"

He wasn"t delusional.

Standing at the school gates was Sabrina, who should"ve been looking after the house.

She was holding the briefcase, also known as the "toolbox," in her hands.

Sabrina must"ve noticed Kazuki as well, because she headed straight towards him.

Step step step.

Without any hesitation, she walked through the school gates and inside the school. A few students noticed her as well.

But the PE teacher Kitajawa stood in her path.

Kitajawa was a very muscular teacher, to the point where some people thought that his brain was muscular as well. He practiced judo moves on the male students and touched female students in inappropriate ways in the name of education.

Wow, it just had to be Mr. Kitajawa!

"Sabrina, please don"t do anything stupid-"

However, a man"s dream is fragile.

As soon as Mr. Kitajawa tried to stop Sabrina, the 2 meter tall man was sent flying by a girl almost half his size.

Drop.

A puff of dust rose up from the ground.

She... she"s done it now...

Kitajawa didn"t even move after being thrown on the ground.

The blond girl was even more expressionless than before after taking down a fully grown man.

The students froze after witnessing the situation.

In an instant, the school yard which was so peaceful before became a battlefield.

"Sa...brina?"

Kazuki slowly walked towards her. As he did, Sabrina"s Noh[2] mask-like face softened. She started running towards Kazuki.

"Onii-chan."

Squeeze. She hugged him.

"Her brother...?"

"Ootaki-kun knows that girl?"

"How can she be his little sister when she"s clearly not j.a.panese?"

As if they were seeing a rare sight, everyone"s eyes fell on Kazuki. So this was how it felt to be in the hot seat. Kazuki found out for the first time in his life how hurtful peoples" stares were.

How did this happen?

Ah, if my life was a game, I would restart it from this morning.

Should I have said yesterday morning? Then I wouldn"t have opened that box.

No, if he hadn"t been born to those parents of his in the first place–.

"Do you know that girl, Ootaki-kun?"

The one representing the cla.s.s in finding out who the girl was was Saki. Kazuki, who was half denying the reality of her question, came back to his senses.

"Huh? Yeah. It"s like this, something happened to her family, so my parents decided to look after her and let her stay at our house. Ah ha ha ha..."

"Ehh!? But that means that you guys are living together? But, weren"t your parents away from home all the time Ootaki-kun?"

"No that"s... huh? How did you know that my parents were always out of the house?"

"Ah! T-that"s uh, I overheard it somewhere, and I remembered because I thought that it was really amazing of you. Anyway... does that mean that you guys are living by yourselves?"

"Si. It is exactly as you"ve said. In j.a.panese, it was... "sharing beds"?"

"Sharing beds!?"

"Sabrina! You mean sharing houses! No, that"s wrong as well! Kinos.h.i.ta, we are living under the same roof... but it"s different! Sabrina is just my little sister, so nothing weird will happen!"

"But this girl might not think of it like that... no, wait... Hold on Saki... it"s too early to think of it like th..."

Saki started talking to herself, so what Kazuki was saying didn"t reach her ears.

"Umm, Kinos.h.i.ta?"

"Huh? Ah, sorry."

Saki came back to her senses.

Sabrina, who was still hugging Kazuki, abruptly removed a gun from her sleeves. She aimed at Saki, and pulled the trigger.

"Wh–oa"

Kazuki was able to push the gun far enough away for the bullet to miss Saki by a hairs" breadth.

"W-wha-wha-wha-what are you doing, Sabrina!?"

"My intuition told me to a.s.sa.s.sinate this woman. This woman is dangerous."

"You"re a lot more dangerous than her!"

Sta–re. Sabrina looked up at him.

"You"ve been acting funny towards this girl, Onii-chan."

"Ugh...."

Flinch. She was quite sharp.

"Who is this woman to you, Onii-chan?"

"I-I don"t know what you mean, Sabrina."

"Don"t tell me... even though you have me. Onii-chan... me or that woman, which one of us do you consider your little sister?"

"What"s with the 2 choices!?"

While Kazuki was being asked the puzzling question by Sabrina; Saki, who was previously frozen solid, finally talked. After all, Saki had been shot at by Sabrina just moments before.

"Huh? Huh? Hold on! That thing that she"s holding is-"

"I-it"s just a toy! Sabrina likes these kinds of things, you see!"

"But the noise was..."

"I-it"s just blanks! It was made overseas, so it"s quite detailed!"

"But, I think something flew past my face..."

"You"re imagining things! Ah ha... ha ha ha... ha."

Saki didn"t look convinced, but Kazuki forced himself to laugh it off.

Anyway, that was settled. Well, let"s just say it was.

Kazuki faced Sabrina and started to talk about the main issue.

"Anyway, why are you at school Sabrina?"

"Si. I didn"t know the way and got lost, but someone told me the way to get here."

"Ah, so you got lost. Sorry, I guess I didn"t tell you where the school was. You did well coming here by yourself- is not it! I didn"t ask how you got here, I told you to look after the house didn"t I?"

"... Si."

"So why did you come?"

Kazuki changed his voice to a slightly intimidating tone. Sabrina looked down to the ground. As if mimicking her heart, her twin tails drooped as well.

"You not talking is troublesome as we-"

"I wanted... to help you with your work, Onii-chan."

With a voice that felt like that was about to disappear, Sabrina stuttered her words silently.

"This morning, you said that... there was painful work for you at school. I know that you told me to stay at home, but I can"t sit around comfortably when you are working so hard at school.... So, I came to help you even if it was only slightly."

"Sabrina..."

"I"m sorry for going against our promise."

Sabrina"s shoulders were slightly trembling. She must"ve thought that she was going to be punished since she went against their promise.

She came here for my sake.

I couldn"t get angry at Sabrina.

"...The one who should be apologizing is me. I didn"t explain it well enough and caused the misunderstanding. I have to go to school, but it"s not a painful place to be. Thanks for worrying about me."

He patted her head instead.

"... Onii-chan?"

Sabrina looked up as if she wanted to check Kazuki"s expression. When he smiled, Sabrina hugged him with a satisfied look.

"Kinos.h.i.ta."

"Huh? Ah, yes?"

Saki answered in surprise because she had been looking at Kazuki and Sabrina with a stern face.

"I"m sorry for troubling you today, but I can"t just leave Sabrina here, so I think I"ll need to take the day off. I"m sorry, but could you let me go for today?"

"Huh? Ehh!? That"s ok, but..."

"Hold it right there!"

Ryouta suddenly popped in.

"Your cute little sister came all the way here for you. So we"ll look after her today in our cla.s.s. What do you guys think!"

「Yeah!」

Everyone in the cla.s.s agreed.

Kazuki"s cla.s.s was quite quick to adapt to good or bad circ.u.mstances. Everyone was welcoming.

"Looks like you don"t have to take the day off, boss."

"Who"re you calling boss."

He shook off Ryouta"s hand on his shoulder.

"But it"s too sudden to look after Sabrina in our cla.s.s, and it"s impossible. Right, Kinos.h.i.ta?"

"Hmm, you"re right. It"s a bit..."

"I guess you can go ba–... sharing beds."

"Alright, why don"t we ask the teacher!?"

"Huh!? Kinos.h.i.ta!?"

For some reason, Saki decided to go along with Ryouta"s idea.

"Is that really ok?"

"Sure. Since Sabrina is cute, she"s very welcome. ... And there are a few things that I want to hear about."

With a clenched fist, Saki looked at Sabrina with a serious expression.

At that moment, the school bells rang.

Everyone in his cla.s.s and Sabrina walked off the field.

And Kitajawa who was still not moving had been left behind.

3

Next break, a crowd of people stormed Kazuki"s cla.s.s - second year cla.s.s six. In the middle of this crowd sat Kazuki, and next to him was Sabrina.

Everyone in his cla.s.sroom asked their homeroom teacher for permission, and the teacher allowed them straight away.

Sabrina was now surrounded by a bunch of people like she was holding a press conference.

"What are your hobbies?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Is naporitan called naporitan because it was made in Naples[3]?"

It looked like Sabrina wouldn"t speak to anyone but Kazuki.

Sabrina"s sleepy face while leaning on Kazuki"s shoulder was quite cute, but Kazuki couldn"t answer all the questions by himself. And for the record, naporitans actually originated in j.a.pan.

"Sorry, Sabrina hasn"t been in j.a.pan long, so she doesn"t know j.a.panese very well."

His cla.s.smates" excitement wouldn"t die out no matter what Kazuki said. The festival like excitement continued.

"She"s like a doll." "She"s so cute." "Moe~." "Sabrina"s my wife."

The last comment was completely random.

"Everyone calm down. If you make a ruckus like this, then Sabrina will be scared."

Saki stepped in to take control of the situation. It was difficult for Kazuki to silence the cla.s.s by himself, but thanks to Saki, the crowd started to settle down.

"Thanks Kinos.h.i.ta."

"No, don"t mind it. This is a cla.s.s president"s duty as well. Anyway, just ask me when you need something."

Saki didn"t look grumpy at all. In fact, she was actually worried about Kazuki.

Kinos.h.i.ta is really nice...

It was troublesome that Sabrina came to school, but I"m really glad that I"m able to talk to Kinos.h.i.ta like this.

This must be what they call a "blessing in disguise."

Maybe it wasn"t so bad to live with Sabrina after all.

Saki smiled at Kazuki and turned her focus to Sabrina.

"h.e.l.lo, Sabrina, my name is Saki Kinos.h.i.ta. Nice to meet you."

She  extended her hand towards Sabrina for a handshake.

Hmm, what awonderful sight.

Kinos.h.i.ta might make a good older sister for Sabrina.

If the two of them were on friendlier terms, would I be able to invite Kinos.h.i.ta to my house?

If I do, I"ll be able to talk to Kinos.h.i.ta naturally.

That might be nice, almost like a bonus.

Bite.

Without warning, Sabrina bit Saki"s hand.

"Kyaa? Ouch! That hurt!"

"Whoo- ah. What are you doing Sabrina!?"

Kazuki quickly separated the two of them.

"The only one who can stand behind me is Onii-chan."

"Why are you talking like an a.s.sa.s.sin from somewhere!? Also, what you said was wrong! She wasn"t even behind your back!"

Saki, who had just been bitten, crouched in a corner of the cla.s.sroom trembling and holding her hand.

"K-Kinos.h.i.ta, are you alright!?"

"As I expected, she declared war... If she"s going to play like that, then I"ll..."

Just like before, Saki seemed to be deep in thought again. Kazuki"s voice didn"t reach her .

"Uuu... if it"s like this, not only will my school life be affected, but Kinos.h.i.ta might hate me..."

Somehow, they made it to the end of the fourth lesson.

Sabrina has been sitting fairly quietly next to Kazuki (as long as Saki didn"t approach her). Although, when Kazuki was going to the bathroom during the break, Sabrina followed him to the boys" toilets. Even so, it was nothing compared to what Sabrina did before.

Since he didn"t know what Sabrina might do, Kazuki has been on the edge of his seat.

"Uuu, somehow, my head is hurting..."

After the fourth lesson, it was lunch time. Some students from other cla.s.ses came into the cla.s.sroom to eat with friends, or join tables together to form a larger table for themselves. The cla.s.s was starting to get noisy again.

"Onii-chan, is something starting?"

"Ah, it"s just lunch time. We didn"t bring our lunch, so we"ll get something from the canteen."

"Si. I understand."

While the two of them were about to exit the cla.s.sroom, Saki (who was near the door) called out to them.

"H-huh? Ootaki-kun, y-you didn"t bring any lunch today, right?"

For some reason, Saki"s voice sounded unnatural, like a robot.

"Yeah, I didn"t bring any since I was busy with this and that yesterday."

"I-I see..."

When Kazuki replied like that, Saki was squirming, as if she wanted to say something to him.

"Umm, well... then."

Sss.

She hesitantly took out something from a pouch[4] with cute patterns on it.

"T-this is the lunch that I packed.."

"Hmm, so you can cook as well Kinos.h.i.ta. That"s amazing."

"...Y-yeah. I"m not great, but I can."

"I usually bring frozen food or leftovers from dinn-"

Wait, hold on!

Kazuki gulped.

Huh? What"s this atmosphere?

Why is Kinos.h.i.ta giving her lunch to me?

Could this be, could it, could it...

It"s only a possibility, but am I about to receive a hand made lunch from Kinos.h.i.ta!?

Kazuki started to imagine all of the possibilities.

Kinos.h.i.ta opened her mouth to talk.

"You know, I don"t have much of an appet.i.te today, so if you"re ok with it, you can have min-"

This!?

"Ootaki-kun can—."

I can!?

"Eat it-."

Eat it-!?

Bite.

Bite!? ... Huh?

"Kyaa! S-S-Sabrina!? It hurts!?"

"Ahh-ah! Wait Sabrina, what are you doing!?"

"I bit her."

"I can see that! You don"t need to tell me! Sorry Kinos.h.i.ta, are you alright?"

"... Y-yeah, I"m fine. You don"t need to worry about me. Moreover, you can take th... huh?"

Saki checked her hands for the pouch she was holding moments before, but it was gone.

"Heh? What"s this?"

There was a voice coming from the corridor. Just outside the door, there was a very fat boy holding Saki"s pouch.

It looks like the pouch flew outside when Sabrina bit Saki"s hand.

"Ah! That guy is Futomaru Oujeki-kun, who"s infamous for his appet.i.te!"

"A flying lunch. Yes, thanks for the food."

"Kyaa- ah. W-wait! That"s my lunch!"

As her face glistened with tears, Saki chased after the boy who ran away with a speed that didn"t match his size.

"What was that just now..."

Kazuki muttered to himself, as he looked blankly at them.

When the siblings headed to the canteen, it was overflowing with students who were also there for lunch.

To make it even worse, all of the students here were in middle school. They all had a large appet.i.te. When they were hungry, no-one could stop or calm the students down.

The canteen resembled a battlefield.

"Hmm, we"re too late.... Sorry Sabrina, I wanted to buy lunch here, but it looks like it"ll be a challenge."

Kazuki didn"t have a solution. Next to him, Sabrina looked at the crowd of people expressionlessly.

"Ha, this isn"t good. I think I might die from hunger..."

Hearing Kazuki"s complaint, Sabrina twitched her eyebrow.

"Onii-chan... will die?"

"Yeah, I haven"t eaten anything since this morning, so I think it"s over for me."

"Leave it to me. I"ll take care of the crowd of people."

Sabrina slowly opened her "toolbox," and tried to remove a small pineapple shaped object, most likely a grenade.

"Whoa- ah."

Kazuki quickly closed the case. He looked around him, thankfully it seemed like the other students were so busy getting food that they didn"t notice the contents of the briefcase.

"What are you trying to do out of the blue!?"

"It was an emergency, I will remove all obstacles."

"What do you mean, remove...? Anyway, weapons are not allowed!"

"Si. Then I will go unarmed."

After saying that, Sabrina stood up and silently tried to launch an attack against a male student who was struggling in the crowd of people.

"Wait—!"

Before she was able to execute her attack, Kazuki picked up Sabrina from behind her.

That was close...

It was really close. Since Kazuki picked Sabrina up, the karate chop didn"t come into contact with the male student"s head. Instead, it cut through the air, barely missing him. It still managed to rip the collar of the male student"s uniform.

Hieeeeeee.

What monstrous strength. If someone was. .h.i.t with a chop like that, then it would have ended in tragedy.

"... Onii-chan."

Sabrina, who was in a hug, blushed with embarra.s.sment. She then turned around to hug him back.

"..."

Kazuki didn"t have the strength left to say anything in response. Anyway, he was now able to let go of Sabrina and put some distance between them and the crowd of people. Sabrina was still dangling from his neck.

"Hey Sabrina, it doesn"t matter if you"re attacking with or without a weapon. The point is, you shouldn"t attack anyone in the first place."

"Why is that?"

"You"re asking me why!?"

"Si. I really don"t know."

"Huh?"

"I was taught to remove anyone who was in my way. So in order to secure your lunch, I tried to do my job and remove all obstacles."

"When you say remove-"

"...?"

Sabrina tilted her head in confusion.

It looked like she really didn"t understand.

It was quite worrying how little common sense she had.

But Kazuki could somewhat understand her. When Sabrina was back in Italy, she never set foot outside her home, and was taught how to become an a.s.sa.s.sin.

The girl who was even younger than him only knew how to kill and didn"t question it.

Kazuki felt saddened by the truth and it hit him deep in his heart.

... Also, Sabrina didn"t try to harm others for herself.

She tried to harm other people to get food for me when I said that I was hungry.

She had a kind heart.

When he stopped thinking about it:

"Hey Sabrina,"

Kazuki slowly opened his mouth to talk.

"I hate fighting and I try my best to live a peaceful life. When people fight, they can get hurt. The injured person will obviously feel saddened, and the one who caused the injury will be also saddened in the end."

Kazuki suddenly remembered what happened at the sports carnival during his second year of primary school when he had a fight with a senior.

"Well, sometimes a fight is unavoidable. But even then, you need to do your best to avoid it."

Because he only met her yesterday, talking to her like this might be presumptuous. But what Kazuki was saying was from his heart.

"Will you be sad when I hurt a person, Onii-chan?"

"Yes, I"ll be sad."

"Even if f  I use a weapon?"

"Yes."

"Unarmed as well?"

"Yes."

"Si. Then I will stop. I will also stop trying to become a full fledged a.s.sa.s.sin."

"It can"t be helped, I knew that it would be hard for you to give it up so easily when all you have learned in your life was killing. But do you think you can change a little bit at a time? I"ll be cheering for you as we- ehh!?"

Kazuki was actually responding to what he expected to hear from Sabrina, but when he realized what she actually said, it was like he was making fun of her.

"Are... you really going to give it up?"

"Si. I don"t want to make you sad, Onii-chan."

Sabrina nodded her head. It seemed like Kazuki didn"t misunderstand her.

"If you do that, then I"ll be really thankful... but will you be ok? Deciding it so easily."

Thinking that things will turn out ok somhow, Kazuki happily gave Sabrina"s head a pat. As he did, Sabrina smiled gently and put on a dazzling expression.

"Then, it"s a promise?"

"Promise...? So it"s an "Omertà"."

"Omertà?"

"Omertà is the mafia"s code of silence. If you break it, then you will be severely punished."

"Severely punished!? Uuu, it sounds dangerous. But Omertà huh... Well then, this will be our Omertà Sabrina. But without the punishment."

"An Omertà with Onii-chan..."

Sabrina repeated the word Omertà again happily.

It looked like she really was determined to give up on being an a.s.sa.s.sin. So now, there shouldn"t be any need for the contents of her "toolbox."

Now he was able to return to his everyday life. Now things were looking up for Kazuki, or so he thought:

"Yes, then I will use non-lethal attacks. I will also use non-lethal ammunition as well."

His hopes were dashed.

"Huh? T-that"s not what I meant at all!"

"The effectiveness will be significantly reduced, but it"ll be ok. I will definitely remove them all."

"Remove what!?"

"The obstacles, of course. Now then."

Sabrina escaped Kazuki"s grasp with a jolt. Kazuki quickly set out to stop Sabrina attacking the students.

"She doesn"t" understand at all!"

4

In the end, they didn"t get any lunch. Afterwards they were able to finish their cla.s.ses without any trouble.

It was now after school. Since Kazuki wasn"t involved in any club activities, he decided to go home with Sabrina.

Ta da da da da.

As he was about to leave through the main gates, he heard someone"s footsteps behind him.

Skid—

And the person stopped right before the two of them.

"What a coincidence, Ootaki-kun!"

"It wasn"t a coincidence. You followed us on purpose."

"Ugh."

Sabrina curtly cut Saki off, as she came waving to them.

"Stop that Sabrina. So, what"s up Kinos.h.i.ta? What"s the rush?"

"I-I wasn"t rushing. I wasn"t rushing at all. I saw you by chance and by chance alone. My mother gave me some ch.o.r.es to do at the cathedral today, so I have to head over there. I remembered that your house was near the cathedral, Ootaki-kun! S-So, um, why don"t we- why don"t we walk together? How about it?"

A long silence fell.

"What... did... you."

Kazuki was stuttering as he tried to ask.

"Huh? S-since it"s on the way, I thought we might be able to walk together..."

Saki anxiously repeated herself as Kazuki stood there in shock.

Walking home together with a girl. It was a great privilege for a middle school boy like himself. And if the girl happened to be a girl that he had a crush on, it was an even greater privilege.

What happened? Kinos.h.i.ta wasn"t acting like herself today.

He was so happy, but he was getting too lucky.

Was he being repaid for all the trouble he went through with Sabrina and his parents?

Or was he about to use up all of his luck and die the day after?

While Kazuki was deep in thought, Saki nervously asked.

"Could it be... a bother for you?"

"Not at all!"

He objected at the speed of sound.

"It"s not a bother at all. Alright, since you helped me a lot today with Sabrina, I"ll even help you out with your work at the cathedral."

"Wow, thanks so much. It might require a lot of strength, will you be ok with that?"

"Sure, I"ll be fine. Right Sabrina?"

"No, it"s such a bother that it can"t get any worse."

""Ehh?""

Without a second thought, Sabrina rejected the idea completely.

Kazuki and Saki voiced their grumble at the same time.

"I reject helping you out with the ch.o.r.e, and walking home as well. Let"s go, Onii-chan."

She tugged at Kazuki"s arm and tried to go.

"Huh? Huh? Wait, Sabrina."

"S-Sabrina, wait."

"I don"t want to return home with this woman."

Sabrina tugged at Kazuki"s arm even harder than before. It really looked like Sabrina disliked Saki.

"Why do you keep saying that? Why don"t you get along with her?"

"That"s right, that"s right. Let"s get along, Sabrina."

Saki smiled brightly at her. Seeing that, Sabrina tried to drill a hole in Saki with her defiant stare.

"Si."

And she nodded her head.

So she finally accepted Saki.

"I will take her down."

"What does that mean!?"

He couldn"t understand her.

"I-I won"t lose either."

"Kinos.h.i.ta as well?"

And consequently, the three of them walked together with troubled hearts.

The three of them were walking along side by side. Sabrina was walking between Kazuki and Saki while clinging to Kazuki"s arm.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere got even heavier.

There were conversations, but they didn"t last long enough to brighten up the mood.

...So what was with the mood?

Kazuki was feeling nervous for reasons he didn"t understand. The inside of his mouth felt dry, he was sweating endlessly and his stomach started to ache.

Kazuki looked at Sabrina. Her expression had softened compared to before.

He looked at Saki. Her striking smile greeted him

There wasn"t anything particularly strange.

Kazuki frowned and closed his eyes to think.

At that point, Sabrina and Saki"s eyes met and sparks flew between them.

They were like a tiger and dragon.

Shiver.

"Whoa."

Kazuki, who just felt a chill down his spine checked his surroundings.

He didn"t sense anything unusual.

Since the two girls were now facing away from each other, Kazuki didn"t realize what was going on.

Hm, hmm.

Did I catch a cold because I had a bath before coming to school?

I don"t think it"s a cold because I don"t have a fever.

Ring, ring. A bicycle approached them from the front.

Saki stepped back to let the bicycle pa.s.s and walked over to the other side of the street (where Sabrina wasn"t standing).

After the bike pa.s.sed, Sabrina stepped with perfect timing between Saki and Kazuki.

"..."

"..."

Shiver shiver. Kazuki felt the same chill running through his entire body.

Something wasn"t right. But Kazuki didn"t understand what.

"Hu hu... Sabrina really likes to follow Ootaki-kun around."         

"Si. It"s obvious, because I love my brother."

"Wow, it"s quite bold of you to say love. But I guess it doesn"t matter, because you guys are just siblings~. Si-bl-ings."

"..."

"..."

A smiling and inexpressive face. The two of them exchanged glares with each other.

Shiver shiver shiver. Kazuki has never felt as chilly as he did today.

Before Kazuki"s mind got broken, the three of them arrived at the cathedral.

"Uhh, so we finally arrived... but huh? If my memory serves me right, isn"t this cathedral empty...?"

"Yeah, but recently a nun was stationed here. She apparently asked for my mother"s help when they met yesterday."

They walked through the main doors of the cathedral. Sabrina appeared to be dissatisfied, but she wordlessly followed Kazuki.

When the trio walked in the cathedral, they saw something they weren"t expecting.

"Kyaa!"

Saki yelled out first.

To their surprise, near the entrance of the cathedral there was a collapsed woman in nun clothes.

This person must be the nun that moved in.

"A-are you alright!?"

Kazuki called out to her, but there was no response.

"Don"t tell me she"s dea-"

Twitch.

At that moment, before Saki could finish her sentence, the nun grabbed Saki"s ankle and slowly raised her pale face. In some ways, she was more like a ghost under the willow tree[5] instead of a nun.

"K-kyaa! It"s a ghost-!"

Saki started stomping on the nun"s head in a state of panic.

"Not bad, her kicks are suitable."

"Don"t praise her Sabrina! Kinos.h.i.ta! Look carefully, she"s alive."

"Heh?"

With tears glistening in her eyes, Saki stopped her foot. With a barely audible voice, the nun spoke.

"I... I"m... so hungry."

Grooowl.

The sound of the nun"s stomach rumbling echoed loudly.

"Whew— I"m alive!"

The nun instantly devoured a heap of food that Kazuki bought from a local convenience store. They didn"t know about Sabrina, but Kazuki and Saki were stunned at the speed the food was eaten.

The nun"s face regained its color and returned to a healthy pink tone. Her previous expression was nowhere to be found (including the marks from Saki"s kicks).

Now she beamed with a smile and patted her full stomach.

"Ha-, thank you. Thanks to you, I feel alive again. I moved i