[After the confession incident.]
[You no longer dare to look directly at your brother.]
[Seeing how shy you get, Toru only becomes more relentless. He increases his teasing, and with that handsome face of his, he keeps tickling the softest part of your heart.]
[He stirs your feelings, yet because of the age gap, you forcefully shut your heart.]
[You build a strong and solid wall, barely holding back his persistent advances.]
[You press your lips together, resisting each new assault, yet his unending gentleness keeps pulling you under.]
[Nee-san, do you want candy. I will give you one.]
[Nee-san, you have soup on your lips. Let me wipe it for you.]
[Nee-san, can I sleep with you tonight.]
[Every time you want to reject him firmly, but he always manages to make your face burn red.]
[Little by little.]
[Under his powerful attack.]
[You give up the struggle step by step. You accept his care without guilt, no longer resisting his closeness.]
[After graduation.]
[Your band's progress stalls.]
[The album released in the winter did not receive good feedback. It poured cold water on everyone.]
[These past few months, the band's atmosphere has been off. Everyone keeps saying they want to chase their dreams, but during practice, their focus wavers.]
[You fall into the first low point of your life.]
[Chasing a dream is far harder than you imagined.]
[At home, you share your troubles with your brother.]
[Toru smiles and says…]
[Giving up is fine. Failing is fine too. I will take care of you. Just be my little dog.]
[Hearing his joke only makes you more discouraged.]
[Little Toru, am I a useless sister.]
[No. To me, sister is the number one sister in the world.]
[That night.]
[You sleep in each other's arms again.]
[With his warm embrace around you and his scent so close, you stop thinking too much.]
[A few months later.]
[Your band is invited to a television interview. Your popularity begins to rise again.]
[Your music starts shifting toward mainstream taste. The next album sells well, restoring the band's unity.]
[After crossing this hurdle.]
[Your next target becomes the Budokan.]
[It is the dream stage of countless Japanese musicians.]
[These few months.]
[When your life was dim, Toru stayed by your side through countless days and nights.]
[With your sharp perception, you sense something shifting between you and Toru. It is no longer something pure like family affection.]
[There is no doubt. You have fallen in love with a middle school boy.]
[It is a feeling that should never have taken root.]
[But you cannot stop it from growing deep inside.]
[There is a twelve year gap between you.]
[I was born before you. When you were born, I was already old.]
[I hate that you were born late. You hate that I was born early.]
[What separates you is not distance or will, but merciless time.]
…
[You start distancing yourself on purpose.]
[You no longer share a bed with him. No matter how he begs, you refuse to soften.]
[You stop eating his cooking. No matter how he pleads, you silently eat cheap convenience store meals and refuse to bend.]
[You hope these actions will make him give up.]
[But unexpectedly, Toru does not cling to you. In the days that follow, he disappears from your world.]
[Without him, your heart feels empty.]
[You catch yourself looking for him around the house.]
[Sometimes you even hear him calling your name, only to realize there is nothing there, and remember he is really gone.]
[Only then do you understand you have long been unable to live without him.]
[Your chest aches. You want to look for him, but you fear that the feelings you barely managed to suppress will sprout again.]
[These days continue for half a year.]
[Your life becomes a mess, and your mental state worsens.]
[Just when you are about to collapse.]
[Familiar footsteps sound at the door.]
[Toru has returned. When he sees your state, he sighs first, then can't help but laugh.]
[Without me, sister has become a total wreck.]
[…]
[You glance at the empty bottles piled around you and cannot argue.]
[Toru cleans your room first, then asks if you want him to keep taking care of you.]
[You decide…]
[1. Accept him and give him enough children to form a football team.]
[2. Reject him firmly and cut off this feeling.]
[3. Push Toru down on the spot and let your body give him the answer.]
These three options...
Seika thinks for a moment.
She feels the second is the best.
No matter what.
Their age gap is too large. Continuing would not lead to a good ending.
[Hearing your answer, Toru leaves quietly.]
[You watch his back fade out of sight while eating the meal he made. You regret it again and again, but if you had not refused, what should you have done.]
[Accept him, continue nurturing these feelings.]
[Date him and face society's pressure together, the endless disapproval of others.]
[You do not know.]
[But your heart tells you that it hurts.]
[Half an hour later.]
[Toru returns. He sees you sitting at the table, staring blankly, chewing tasteless rice with a lifeless look. He makes up his mind.]
[He walks to your side.]
[Nee-san, I want to make a deal with you, is that okay.]
[You snap back to yourself.]
[His sudden return catches you off guard. You can hardly look at him.]
[You whisper, What deal.]
[Since sister doesn't want to date or marry me, then be my temporary girlfriend.]
Temporary girlfriend.
You do not understand what he means.
[I can give up on nee-san, and stop thinking about marrying you. But I am afraid I will never meet another girl who can capture my heart like this.]
He continues.
[So, before I meet someone else I like, nee-san can secretly date me and help me practice love. Is that okay.]
[No.]
You sense something sly in his words.
[I understand. Nee-san thinks I am still too young.]
[But in thirty years, when sister is fifty four and I am forty two, it won't seem strange anymore, right.]
[Toru changes his phrasing again and again, just to make you accept him.]
[You fall silent.]
[You do not want to hurt him.]
[You think that maybe he really will meet someone he likes. Before that happens, keeping him company and helping him learn about dating is just what a caring sister would do, nothing romantic.]
[After deceiving yourself enough times…]
[If it is only temporary…]
[You and Kitahara Toru become a couple.]
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