"Really, really really thank you so much"
"No need to dwell on it."
Kaito shook his head with a light smile, "After all, we're friends."
"Friends?", The blonde girl gazed blankly at his eyes, deep as the stars, radiating infinite gravity. After a long time, it was as if she made some decision, and finally showed a smile as beautiful as spring flowers.
"Yeah, best friends!"
Though Nijika's behavior seemed completely normal, as her sister, Ichiji Seika still keenly sensed something unusual.
Though her figure was a bit disappointing, Store Manager Seika was still a reliable adult who had stepped into society for many years. Even without personal experience, she could tell, her sister seemed to have made some kind of decision in her heart.
'Is Nijika planning to take the initiative?'
Watching her sister drink one cup after another, her cute little face soon dyed with a beautiful crimson like a slowly blooming red rose, the tsundere store manager became a bit melancholic, even the chilled beer in her mouth lost its flavor.
To be honest, she herself didn't even know clearly. Was this feeling of loss because her little sister was growing up and going after her own happiness?
Or for some other reason?
However
Ijichi Seika took a deep breath, eyes resolute.
'As an older sister, I must be the support my sister needs when she needs help.'
'So, Nijika, just go for it.'
'No matter what, I'll help you.'
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Chapter 151: Nijika: A Good Opportunity!
Night was deepening.
In front of the yakiniku restaurant, Kita and Ryou had already answered calls from their families and left together in advance.
Ijichi Seika looked at her younger sister, who was already drunk, and Hiroi Kikuri, who was unconscious, with a bit of a headache.
Nijika's alcohol tolerance was still too poor. Though it wasn't as bad as collapsing after just one drink, it wasn't much better either.
But considering she had never touched "alcohol" before, it was understandable.
As for Hiroi Kikuri though the tsundere manager always verbally scorned this drunkard kouhai, it wasn't like she could actually leave her lying at the restaurant entrance unattended.
Noticing her headache, PA-san beside her covered her mouth and laughed, then considerately said, "Hiroi-san just leave her to me for now. I happen to have a spare guest room at home, so it's no problem to make do for one night."
"Then I'll leave it to you, PA," Ijichi Seika let out a sigh of relief. Watching the two of them get into a taxi and leave, she then turned her gaze to Kaito, who hadn't left yet. She hesitated a little, then awkwardly and embarrassedly said, "As for Kaito-kun would you mind doing me a favor and taking Nijika home?"
The tsundere manager was of the petite type. Nijika was 154 cm tall and weighed 48 kg. For her to support her sister upstairs alone would indeed be quite a problem.
Of course, that was just an excuse.
Since she had decided to play wingman for her sister, Ijichi Seika naturally wanted to create as many chances as possible for close contact between the two.
And right now, it was clearly a very good opportunity.
"It's no trouble at all," Kaito didn't refuse her request. He simply nodded and carried the still-sound-asleep Nijika on his back.
The girl's warm breathing was close to his ear, carrying a faint scent of alcohol, brushing against his ear and making it a bit ticklish.
If there was only one drawback it might be that the imagined soft sensation on his back wasn't there.
It was a bit bony.
In this kind of case, even without using spiritual energy, it could be improved through medicinal diets or massage.
But not all girls liked such burdensome size. Even just moving around became inconvenient. Maybe Nijika thought that way too?
Besides, even if the girl was a bit ordinary overall, perhaps because she often stepped on pedals, her legs had beautiful lines and felt pretty firm to the touch.
Kaito shook his head, suppressing those miscellaneous thoughts and stopped thinking further.
The Ijichi family's apartment wasn't far from here, so they didn't take the train and simply walked back.
Manager Seika didn't speak again, and Kaito didn't bring up any topics either. The atmosphere along the way was somewhat quiet.
Half an hour later
The two of them returned to STARRY. The apartment where the Ijichi sisters lived was upstairs.
As the elevator made a "ding" sound and the door opened, they entered the room. Kaito carried the sleeping Nijika into the bedroom, and only then did manager Seika let out a breath of relief, "Really, thank you for today I'll go pour some water. Is there anything you'd like to drink?"
"Just plain boiled water is fine. Thank you, manager."
The tsundere manager wanted to say, 'It's not working hours right now, there's no need to address me by title. You're Nijika's friend, so just call me 'Onee-chan' like she does.'
But a tsundere is tsundere precisely because they can't express their true feelings honestly most of the time. So after hesitating a bit, she ended up saying nothing and silently turned to the living room.
Once the manager left, only Kaito and the slightly frowning, dream-bound, fragile-faced Nijika remained in the bedroom.
Seeing the girl's uncomfortable expression, Kaito thought for a moment and held her hand, gently transferring a trace of spiritual energy.
Alcohol, having some occasionally wasn't a big deal, but overdoing it wasn't good.
Lately, because of the live event, Nijika had been like a taut bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.
Now that the live had ended perfectly, letting her get drunk once might be a good way to release all the built-up pressure in her heart.
But the headache and dizziness of a hangover, those negative debuffs, there was no need for her to experience.
Suddenly, a warm current surged into her body.
As if she had returned to a lazy afternoon of childhood, she curled up in her mother's warm embrace, soft lullabies echoing by her ears. The old tree in the courtyard swayed with the wind, making gentle rustling sounds. A summery fragrance drifted from afar.
Nijika's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. She unconsciously reached out her hand, trying to wrap it around her mother's neck, like when she was little, snuggling and acting spoiled.
But then she suddenly frowned again.
'My mother's chest why is it hard?'
'Even the shoulders seem broader than before.'
'Also'
'Since when did Mom have an Adam's apple?'
'Th-this can't be right?'
Finally realizing something was wrong, Nijika awoke with a start and instinctively opened her eyes, locking gazes with a pair of light chestnut-colored pupils.
Kaito cleared his throat, "Since you're awake how about letting go first."
No wonder he said that.
Their current posture was rather awkward.
The drunk girl seemed to have mistaken him for a body pillow or stuffed toy or something, clinging to him like a koala, arms tightly wrapped around his neck, as if afraid he'd suddenly disappear.
"S-Sorry!", Nijika's face turned red with embarrassment. She was just about to let go when she suddenly hesitated.
'Should I really let go just like that?'
'So much time had passed, yet there is still no progress with Kaito-kun.'
'We are close friends, but only friends.'
'Does that mean that for the decades to come, I will always be stuck in this role?'
'I don't want to.'
She was clearly the band's leader, but losing to Bocchi was one thing. After all, the little introvert had the geographical advantage and was the first to arrive, proximity breeds intimacy.
But even Kita and Ryou were bolder in their actions and behavior than she was.
In the past, due to shyness, Nijika had always been too embarrassed to express her true feelings.
Right now, without a doubt, was a very good opportunity.
She had just drunk a lot.
What people say or do when drunk never surprises others too much.
So
She recalled that night in the town of Hoori, hiding in the closet, personally witnessing the moment when Kita stole a kiss from Kaito while he wasn't paying attention.
A surge of courage suddenly rose in Nijika's heart.
In terms of figure, she and Kita were on par.
In terms of personality, they were both sunny extroverts.
'If even Kita can do it, why can't I?'
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell"
Kaito was just about to ask why Nijika suddenly spaced out.
But the next second, the blonde girl in his arms slowly raised her head, those wine-red eyes brimming with tears.
And then, she leaned in.
The warm and soft sensation flashed by, mixed with faint moisture, like a fish kissing a sheet of ice.
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Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining. You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
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Chapter 152: Total, Even Nine-Tenths of Social Death!
'R-Really kissed him?', Outside the door, Ijichi Seika's steps came to a halt.
She was still holding two cups of water, both fetched from the living room.
Originally planning to bring them back to the bedroom, but when she approached the door, she saw something extraordinary.
Nijika, like a newborn baby, was tightly hugging a boy's neck. The distance between them wasn't just close, it could only be described as cheek to cheek.
In this kind of situation, suddenly pushing the door open and going in would only make everyone embarrassed.
The tsundere store manager thought to wait a bit at the door first. After all, there were still people at home. These two couldn't possibly hug each other until the end of time, right?
After they separate, she could pretend nothing happened and walk in, no rush.
But...
'Since when did my little sister become so bold?'
"T-That Kaito-kun, don't misunderstand!", The air in the room was very quiet. Nijika, flustered, broke away from that embrace she was reluctant to leave, like a startled baby animal, stammering, "It's just just gratitude! The reason today's live was such a big success is all thanks to your help, so so"
Her voice got lower and lower, her pretty face like a freshly cooked shrimp, and she didn't even know how to smooth things over anymore.
'The last person who kissed me secretly and stubbornly claimed it was just gratitude was Kita.'
'And then that friendship changed in nature.'
Although he used to always be called dense, Kaito was no longer that emotionless robot. Not to mention he had already experienced this kind of thing once before, if he didn't react now, it would seem like he was pretending to be clueless.
'But can someone tell me'
'When did Nijika's friendship toward me start changing?'
'This kind of "I thought we were friends, but you want to X me", feeling is kind of subtle.'
'Not that it's unpleasant, of course, who can really dislike a gentle, kind, considerate girl, like a little sun full of vitality?'
Kaito's current mood was mostly contemplative.
'If things keep going this way will Bocchi be next?'
'No no no, that little social-phobic clearly doesn't have the guts.'
'If she really had the courage to do something like this, she wouldn't have gone all three years of high school without making a single friend.'
'Then maybe Ryou?'
'Hard to say.'
'Even though Gremilin Ryou always runs her mouth, she rarely takes real action. To this day, she's still maintaining a pure friendship with me, practically the last line of defense in the band. Glorious, nothing more needs to be said.'
'Oh well, leave future matters to the future me.'
Kaito threw these trivial thoughts to the back of his mind. After thinking for a moment and just about to speak, from behind the door not far away suddenly came a small "creak."
"Sis Sister? When did you get here?", Nijika didn't hear that faint sound, but followed his gaze, and just so happened to meet a pair of familiar eyes.
Store Manager Seika was a little regretful. If she had known, she wouldn't have secretly pushed the door open wider to watch the show. Now she didn't even get the juicy part and instead got exposed herself.
But facing her sister's gaze, she could only show an awkward yet polite smile, raising the cups in her hand, "Just went to the living room to get two cups of water I didn't see anything, don't mind me."
'People who say things like that usually saw everything, right?', Nijika covered her face, feeling the urge to end the world right there.
'To be seen by my sister while forcibly kissing a boy and then giving such a clumsy excuse afterwards'
'What kind of weird social death challenge is this? This is, like, totally, maybe even 90% pure shame.'
'Surely it's all just a dream, right? The sister is fake, Kaito-kun in front of me is fake Actually I haven't even woken up yet, it's all just a delusional fantasy of Alice.'
But the ironclad reality will never shift according to one's will.
Seeing Nijika turning pale like she had lost the will to live, the tsundere siscon store manager quickly comforted her little sister, "Actually, this kind of thing isn't a big deal. Girls at this age inevitably have impulses like that. Proper venting is good for mental and physical health"
"So, have you done things like this too, Sis?", Nijika asked quietly.
Ijichi Seika, twenty-eight years old and single since birth, had nothing more to say.
Don't be fooled by how the tsundere store manager usually puts on a cold and hard-to-approach face. Inside, she's surprisingly pure. Nearly thirty, yet still has to hug a plush toy to fall asleep at night.
As for romance she's never even held a boy's hand in her life, let alone forcefully kissed someone, that's way too punk rock.
Although she's had a few moments of self-generated fantasies, they were just fleeting indulgences to satisfy curiosity. After that, she rarely ever did such things again.
Seeing the atmosphere getting more and more silent, Kaito had no choice but to step up and break the awkwardness, "It's already late. Since Nijika's sobered up, I'll take my leave now."
"Oh," As a working adult, Ijichi Seika quickly seized this opportunity, "Then I'll walk you downstairs."
After the two of them left, one after the other, the girl with the yellow side ponytail suddenly dove into the blanket, rolling around in shame and frustration, then suddenly sat up. Her slender hand unconsciously touched her cherry-pink lips. Not sure what she remembered, her pretty face slowly turned red, and she spaced out while staring at the wall.
