"Umm... where am I...?"
When I opened my eyes, I was looking at a familiar ceiling.
"My room?"
Sure enough, I had woken up in my own room.
I was certain something had happened, but I had no memory of anything before opening my eyes.
"Hiss. I feel like I was in the middle of something."
I had this strangely unpleasant feeling, but since I couldn’t remember anything, it probably hadn’t been that important.
"Was my room always this messy?"
Clothes were scattered everywhere, and the computer was still on.
On the screen was the game over screen from the game I’d been playing.
"Ah. Ahhh. I think I get the situation."
At a glance, it looked like I’d come into my room, taken a shower, changed clothes, then left the dirty clothes lying around, died while playing games, got pissed off, and passed out in bed.
"Man, I really am lazy."
What could I do?
It was just my nature.
Still, if I kept going like this, my room was going to turn into a pigsty, so I gathered up the clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Hm? Who is it?"
I heard knocking just as I was putting the last piece of clothing into the basket.
It wasn’t often that anyone came to my room, so who was knocking on my door?
"H-hi...!"
"...Huh?"
When I opened the door, I saw a cute little blue-haired creature.
Yoshino called my name.
My name.
‘What? She used to call me by my last name, didn’t she?’
I had no idea why Yoshino was calling me by my first name, but it didn’t really matter, so I let it slide.
"What brings you here?"
"What brings you here... isn’t it!"
"Umm...?"
The more we talked, the more it felt like we were sinking into a maze, and Yoshino continued with an annoyed expression.
"H-hi... what on earth is this... what happened?"
What Yoshino held out to me was none other than my underwear.
"Huh? Why is that there...?"
"You left your clothes off and your food all over the place... Are you seriously asking me that?"
"N-no, this is—"
"Hey, Hii-kun~ Isn’t this a little much? Even if Yoshino isn’t usually home, still~"
Yoshinon, unlike usual, also called me by my first name instead of my last.
And Yoshino wasn’t usually home?
Already confused about why Yoshino was lecturing me in the first place, now Yoshinon was saying something even stranger, and my brain couldn’t keep up with the situation.
"You must have been slacking off like this the whole time, just because I looked away for a second~? Even Yoshinon can’t defend you this time~"
"Looked away...? What do you mean...?"
While I was still wondering about Yoshinon’s words, memories gradually began to return.
Even though Yoshino looked this cute, she was a college student attending a university nearby.
My older sister.
Normally she lived alone a little ways away from the apartment I stayed in because of the distance to her university, but every now and then she came over to our place with her best friend, Yoshinon.
Now that I’d finally remembered, I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and said,
"S-sorry, Yoshino. Yoshinon. Lately, because of school, I’ve been getting a little lazy about cleaning up—"
"Hii...!"
"Y-yes!"
"U-uuugh...!"
"W-what is it, Yoshino?"
Yoshino glared at me with wide eyes.
She looked like she had something to say, but she didn’t say it.
What, was I supposed to guess?
"Uh, Yoshinon. Do you know what Yoshino is trying to say...?"
"Mm, you’re asking Yoshinon something like that?"
"Mmm... no."
When I asked Yoshinon, Yoshino only glared harder.
What the heck?
I tried to figure it out by carefully thinking back over our conversation, but I couldn’t come up with anything.
‘Besides, even when she’s angry, she’s still cute— no, wait, that’s not it.’
I forced my thoughts back on track and kept searching for the answer.
"Hmm! Hmmm!!"
When I stayed silent, Yoshino started making noises too, as if she couldn’t hold back anymore.
She was cute, but if I dragged this out any longer, she really might get angry, so I decided to ask Yoshinon for help.
"Sorry. I really don’t know. Please, tell me, Yoshinon."
"Haah~ You really can’t help it, Hii-kun. This is special service, okay? Yoshino probably just wants you to call her the way you usually do."
"Ah! Ahhh~!"
So that was it. She wanted me to call her like usual.
"...Hmph. Hii, idiot..."
"Ah, haha. Sorry. Sorry, Yoshino, noona."
When I called her noona, Yoshinon noona’s face blossomed into a smile, and I let out a small laugh too.
"Mm, mm! ...I’m Hii’s older sister...!"
"Oh, welcome, Yoshino noona. Yoshinon."
I invited the two of them into my room and looked at the disastrous state it was in.
In truth, it wasn’t just the clothes that were scattered around; various odds and ends were strewn everywhere too.
"Hiss. While I’m cleaning, do you want to rest in the living room, noona?"
"...Mmm!"
What was the problem this time?
I wondered what I’d done wrong to make this cute older sister glare at me like that every time she had a complaint.
‘I can’t exactly ask Yoshinon for help again.’
It would be way too shameless to ask for help a second time after already getting assistance once.
"Ah, could it be... you want to help...?"
I asked, but even as I did, I felt like this wasn’t it.
"...Yeah, that’s right!"
And yet that was the correct answer.
This older sister really did still seem to think of me as a kid.
"...But honestly, it’s not like I need that much help. I appreciate it, but you can just sit there—"
Just as much as my sister wanted to help me, I didn’t want to make her help me.
She probably had plenty to do while attending university, so I felt too guilty making her worry about me too.
"I, want to, clean with Hii..."
"Ghk!"
That was a lethal dose of cuteness!
"H-hii!?"
"Ah, ahhh. It’s okay. Then let’s clean together, noona?"
"Mm, yes!"
******
While we were cleaning together, Yoshino noona shot me a sharp look.
"Mmm..."
"H-huh?"
Why was she angry again?
There had to be a reason, but I couldn’t figure it out.
If I thought back on what had happened earlier....
-Hii, over there...
-Ah, thanks.
-Hii-kun~ Here!
-Oof. Thanks, Yoshinon.
-...
Hmm.
I thought I more or less understood.
I was putting away the things Yoshino noona and Yoshinon found.
In other words, Yoshino noona seemed to feel like she wasn’t really cleaning with me.
Because she wasn’t the one actually putting things away.
How was I supposed to fix this situation?
"Ahhh~ I’m getting tired now."
What I chose was to act tired, so that Yoshino noona would get to participate in the cleaning too.
"Hey~ Yoshino? Hii-kun looks like his biological battery is running low."
Nice one, Yoshinon!
"Biological battery?"
"That’s right, that’s right! If cute Yoshino cheers him on, Hii-kun’s power-recharge miracle charge will boost his cleaning efficiency up!"
‘...Huh?’
I thought Yoshinon would tell Yoshino noona to help clean with me, but instead she suggested that my sister cheer me on.
"O-okay. For Hii..."
And Yoshino noona even accepted it and cleared her throat.
"P-play~ play~ H-hi, i, Hii-kun!"
She was definitely cheering me on, but her voice was way too quiet.
I wasn’t in any position to complain, but hearing it like that made me want her to say it louder.
"That won’t do, Yoshino. That won’t reach Hii-kun at all! Louder, louder, and cuter!"
"Do your best! Do your best! Hii!"
Seeing my sister cheer for me in an even louder voice than before, I found myself wanting just a little more.
"How is it? Hii, do you think you can get motivated with that?"
"J-just a little more..."
"Yoshino, here, you should say..."
Yoshinon whispered something into Yoshino noona’s ear.
Then Yoshino noona’s face turned bright red, as if she were incredibly embarrassed.
What on earth did she tell her?
"D-do your best, Hii. N-noona really likes it when Hii works hard. I really, really like it when Hii works hard at cleaning...!"
"Ghk!!!"
So cute!
Too cute!
If I got an encouragement like that, there was no way I could keep pretending to be tired!
******
After the cleaning was done, I handed Yoshino noona an ice cream and said,
"Thanks so much for today, noona."
"It was nothing."
"Ah, you’re staying over tonight, right? I’ll make dinner, so look forward to it."
As I rolled up my sleeves, Yoshino noona smiled and said she was looking forward to it.
She really was a cute older sister with a slightly childish side, but she was also a kind sister who thought about her little brother.
Man, I really was a lucky guy.
Just as I thought that, my vision was engulfed by light.
******
"Hah!"
"Kyaa!"
When I came to, I was in the middle of the road with Yoshino.
What on earth had I just been thinking?
Self-loathing came crashing down on me.
"H-hii, no, Hieta-san! Just now!"
"I-I know! I know!"
Yoshino and I flailed our hands in the air as we looked at each other and desperately made excuses.
"In a different relationship and situation than usual, we confirmed the reaction of Higakieta Hii and the chosen target."
"So it was Arus after all."
The very first one was already this kind of roleplay scenario. Thinking about what came next made my head spin.
"Then, moving on to the next."
"W-wait!"
My vision went dark again.
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