Chapter 59 - Subst.i.tute for "I Like You"

The long short holiday approached its end.
Still, there are several days left, so I was considering how I should deal with that period.
Right, presently, Ichijou Jun and Tachibana Karen can"t spend even two days without meeting each other. Not to mention that time is the only thing you have during holidays. There could not possibly be a reason not to meet.

However, my wallet is too broke to take strolls in the city every day.
I won"t push that important person aside ever again. That being said, financial difficulties are either way difficulties… And so, this is the result of the solution born of desperation.

– Ara~. Ara, ara, ara, ara~

My aunt, who came up to the entrance, put her hand against her red cheek while her upper body was shaking. Although, a nephew, who departed for the sea during the summer holidays, bringing a showy blonde girl home is something that would make her raise her voice.

This reaction, it"s not something I didn"t expect…
But, I didn"t have other choices…

In contrast to me having my consciousness sinking below the floor from the embarra.s.sment, Tachibana Karen"s brilliant smile illuminated the entrance of my own house.
And then, my aunt"s eyes gleamed from that cheerfulness.

– Jun-kun!! Hey!!!

– Ye-, yeah…

Flooded with boisterous voice of Aunt Arika, who was so super excited that she emitted violet aura, I stood up straight.

– This summer, how far did you go!!!!!?

– The way you"re asking is too wrong, aunt!? Rather, this is nuisance for neighbors…

– Ehehe… Nice to meet you…

At a time like this, whose side is Tachibana Karen on?
That is obvious, if it is to kill me with embarra.s.sment, she would probably even side with demon. Even right in front of my family, she suddenly gripped my hand. Aunt"s bloodshot eyes concentrated on that small dot and her breathing got rough.

– I"m… Tachibana Karen. I"m Jun-kun"s, umm… ex-girlfriend?

– Don"t, don"t ask me!

– Well, after all. Formally speaking, haven"t I been a girlfriend for only a day? For the penalty game, you know.

– Ugh…

I can"t exactly say ex-girlfriend.
In order to say girlfriend, I still haven"t said the words that I should have to Karen.
There are probably no obstacles to say friends, but… it"s not truth in the first place.

Not to mention that I will feel guilty if I declare that we are normal friends with Karen before my eyes, my will would not allow that. We"re not just simple friends. She is a much, much more important person. I have to properly say it to the person herself in clear words.

That"s why, super rotating bookworm hang his head and somehow said this in a low voice.

– ………… We"re, lovey-dovey kiss friends……

Obviously, this was a case belonging to the immediate family council.
It is natural. No matter how well we get along, it was a mistake to bring this showy blonde girl. Is that so? Please go up. No way it could go like that. On the contrary, it of course turned into a dinner course.

Rather, what is lovey-dovey kiss friends?

– Weell, what a pity! If I knew Karen-chan was coming, I would"ve been more pa.s.sionate!

Oi, there are turkey, red seabream and fried oysters on the same table. Don"t say it as if it"s always like this.

Well, it"s probably today only, that Aunt Arika made an effort.
Come on, just how much do you want to recommend protein. By the way, red rice was one of the side dishes. I want to question just what in the world are you planning to celebrate?1 However, I say, there is absolutely nothing to celebrate.

I just simply, wanted to be together for a little while…

– Umm, excuse me…♪

– It"s okay, it"s okay. Haa… In any case, you"re so cute…

– Ya… I"m feeling shy…

Tachibansan who doesn"t seem so shy.
You would get it if you were together with her. She has a trait of considerable self-confidence in her own looks. So, as she is only feeling shy in her words, this girl is most sly.

… Well, she is cute……

The four of us sat around the dining table in the living room, with Tachibana next to me and aunt sitting with Keyaki on the opposite side. Before long, the two of them were grinning and in high spirits.

Stories of the time when we just met.
Or how we were always together after school.

Should I say naturally, but it seems that aunt has really taken a liking to Tachibana.
Even after promptly finishing flirting… I mean self-introduction at the entrance just earlier, unexpectedly, she was polite in her interactions. They even made the dinner together.

However, even if aunt stage is clear, there is still a final obstacle.

– …… Thanks

My younger sister was looking at that situation with her hand supporting her chin.
Just like when a cat beckons to the guest. She"s not flaring up, but it is as if she"s not feeling good and blaming me without actually saying "This person, how long is she going to stay…?".
Well, apparently, it cannot be helped that she"s in tsun-tsun mode, since I suddenly brought Karen without any prior notice and even shared the table.

I"m scared, but it is a relationship, which will be known sooner or later.
That"s why, just like in regard to the cla.s.s, there is a need to at least let them know about her. I"ve brought her for that, despite being aware of the risk of aunt making fun of me.

Still, in any case, it"s Keyaki and Karen. They are too much of opposites.
Whether they get together or not, I don"t have any confidence.

As I met eyes with my little sister, a delicate silence descended on the dining table.
Most likely, aunt has thought of the same thing and is worried. Moreover, I was out of house for a long time. Keyaki made a displeased face, but well, I certainly ought to make amends. But right now, about me and Karen…

– Umm, I…

When Karen wanted to leave, I stopped her with my hand. It"s fine, I"ll speak.

– Err, Keyaki… This is my cla.s.smate, Tachibansan

– Right. … I"m Ichijou, Keyaki

Keyaki has said only that and reached for food, but I still kept my eyes on her.

Although I was feeling completely awkward, I tried to hold my next words.
Somehow, this is funny. This maybe the first time that I"m thinking how I want somebody else to understand something so much.

– It"s not like I"m telling Keyaki and Tachibansan to forcibly get along. But I want you to at least understand… I"ve been telling aunt utter lies, but exactly as you have suspected, I"ve always been a loner. Thanks to this person, I stopped being one. Therefore, what I"m trying to say is, what I mean, umm, that is…

She is a kind person. Very kind.

After I finished speaking, my face turned red from realizing what I was saying so desperately.
Actually, it seems that strangely tense older brother was weird in this little sister"s eyes. She shrugged her shoulders with composed face and said,

– That is to say, I have an onee-san now… huh

Even without making a joking face, that was a joke told in my sister"s manner.
Both me and aunt understood that, so gradually, the tension surrounding the table dissolved. Karen seemingly relaxed as well and her trademark complacent smile immediately returned.

– Ehehe, that"s right… I"m onee-san, you know…?

And then, she was supposed to sit next to me, but she carried her chair next to Keyaki"s.
My younger sister drew her small body back as if bewildered, but that reaction is a road that onii-chan has thoroughly used. Obviously, if Tachibana Karen is the other party, the effect will be lacking.

– Keyaki, chan…

– Y-yes…

– Call me, Karen nee-chan…? Come on, please…?

– Uh. We"re dining… We have to eat…

– It"s fine, it"s fine ♪ Just once ♪

– Karen, nee-chan… Look, it"s fine now, right…?

– Ya, she says nee-chan… I"m truly happy…

I exchanged glances with aunt, without saying or exclaiming anything, having warm feelings, I smiled. A tsundere-like young girl and a girl whose smile is like a sun. This is an actual observation, but it is the best combination.

My dear sister, just wait and see. It is alright if it is Karen, I guarantee.
If it is her, she"ll surely pry open the door to anybody"s heart.

Now that it has come to this, it seems that I am the nuisance instead. As the three ladies of the house including Karen have started a lively conversation, I went back to my own room and made a start on the summer homework.

This is something unusual for me.
The practice drills, which I would normally finish by the middle of the holidays, are now completely covered in dust because of the dates in the city, trip to the sea and stuff. And as that fact was encouraging the completely transformed me, I started wanting to shrug my shoulders.

While I was doing that, a familiar face of the blonde girl suddenly reflected in the room"s window.

– Jun? I"ve already taken a bath ahead…?

– Okay

As I turned around, Karen was standing near the door in wrong-sized pajamas. It"s most probably Keyaki"s or aunt"s, but she"s taller than both of them. It was too tight and even she herself was embarra.s.sed.
Even so, she showed me her relaxed face and it made me feel kind. That"s right, it"s exactly how I have said in that forest. This girl"s kindness makes even me feel kind. That"s why I can be so strongly connected to her.

She sat down on the bed with a thump.
I knew that I would be bringing her today, so I moderately cleaned up the room, but I can"t calm down. Blonde girl is making herself comfortable in my room. Getting uneasy about it now, I think that it is somehow funny…

– Well, I"ve got to quickly take a bath too…

However, my sleeve got pulled.
After a long time, the sleeve… Indeed, it was like this in the beginning. The time to leave the library, when we were not yet going home together. When she has something left to say, she will certainly hold my sleeve.

"What is it?"… As I asked with my face, Karen smiled with upturned eyes as if teasing.

– Just a bit… let"s talk?

– Okay, yeah…

Huddling together, for a while we were looking fixedly at each other in a peaceful atmosphere.
Now, we have even silence and awkwardness on our side.
As both of us were silent, Karen decided to amuse herself an poked my side with finger. What, so I did the same thing. Kyahaha, as I looked at her laughing, I let out a small voice of happiness, ahaha.

– Fu. Fu, fufu… Hey, didn"t you want to talk about something?

– Earlier, I"ve gotten along with Keyaki-chan…♪ I"ve made a braid out of her beautiful hair…

– She is kind at her core, but she likes to be alone. Don"t cling to her too much

– Jun was like that too… right?

– Well, that"s not wrong

– Hey? It"s like, you accepted me into the family, right…?

That right, I replied with a silent smile without saying anything.
It seems she"s happy that I haven"t denied it. Both of us silently grinned at each other, it turned into a sweet calm atmosphere.
And then, clasping each other"s hands, bringing our shoulders close, falling on the bed just like that…

– We have done something like this in the infirmary before, right…

– At that time, I was sullen

– There"s no one, to hinder us now. Hey, let"s flirt…

– Yeah, yeah, flirt…

Hot, close, I could feel her pulse.
Karen"s warmth started to numb my five senses. Clinging like this, cuddling, frolicking. Even her faint emotions that I was rejecting with "This is impossible" somewhere inside, I can honestly accept them now.

And as we were gazing at each other, the girl"s gaze started being filled with pa.s.sion.

– I always wanted to do stuff like this with Jun… I"m so happy…

– … Sorry I was always tsun-tsun…

– No, it"s okay… I have gotten along with Jun and understood your feelings, which I previously didn"t… Haa, it makes me happy

– That"s exaggeration, being happy from something like this

– I mean, you"ll be my family from now on…

Just like that… Forever, just like that…

Putting one hand on her shoulder, I stroked her hair with the other.

– Ah……

After I did that, as if feeling relief, she completely relaxed her body… After some time of stroking, her breath soon calmed down.

– Don"t say that you"re happy from this. I still, haven"t made you happy.

– Jun…

– I may turn into a normie. But I"ll make you happy…

Right now, that is the subst.i.tute for "I like you".

I like you so much. I love you.
The road before I can say so might be long. Still, I have come to the point, where I know my own feelings. You can call it a superior result for a bookworm loner.

This girl… Karen has made my every moment sparkle.
I won"t ever forget it in my life. As my silent feeling made even the brushing kind, before long, she started sleeping by my side.