Just Supposing…

It was just another normal day in May; Chihiro was wrapping up dinner preparations and sitting down to eat with Itsuki as usual.

The menu that day was seafood curry with shrimp and avocado salad, along with a potage soup made with a broth flavored with shrimp shells. Chihiro was particularly proud of that.

“You’ve sure been busy lately, Bro.”

Deep lines circled Itsuki’s eyes. Stubble was prevalent across his face. He was clearly tired out, but there was still bold ambition behind his smile.

“Yeah, kind of. Writing an anime script requires a different approach from a novel. It’s not even like the drama CD I wrote before…but I think I’m getting the hang of it. Now I just need to bang it out.”

“Sounds like you’re working really hard.”

“I am. It’s do-or-die with the anime now. We’re right at the point that it either turns out decent, or it doesn’t. And Mr. Hirugano’s pouring everything into this, too…as well as editing the script I’m writing. I gotta keep up.”

Itsuki’s eyes were dead serious, as if he were eyeing some distant foe.

“Mr. Hirugano’s the screenwriter, right?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Did you speak with him, Chihiro? He’s got four real-life little sisters.”

“Wow, a family with five kids? That’s a lot.”

“Totally… He showed me a photo a while back, but they don’t look like him at all. They’re all so young and beautiful…! And plus, he’s married to that goddess Kohime Shiratori, the actress who does all those little-sister roles! And I guess reading All About—or hanging out with me anyway—has brought him around to the whole little-sister thing, so he’s even taking baths with them now…! Gaahhhh, why does he get to star in a real-life dating sim, and I don’t?! Dammit…! I’m so jealoussssss…”

His voice heated up as he spoke, until his frustration so vivid that he was liable to burst out sobbing.

“Ch-chill out, Bro!”

“…Huff, huff, huff…” Itsuki took a few moments to catch his breath. “…But thanks to that, he’s become the one man I can trust as the All About screenwriter. On the other hand, I can’t lose out to that little-sister gigolo when it comes to writing. No way his real-life experiences can beat my sister-magination!”

The complex mixture of trust and hostility in Itsuki’s voice was clear as he spoke. It made Chihiro extra-careful when she spoke up.

“Um…by the way, Bro…”

“Yeah?”

“Like…just supposing… Let’s say you actually did have a little sister. What would you do then?”

“Hmmmm…” Itsuki thought for a moment. “It’s hard to say unless it actually happened, really. But I’d definitely give her a ton of love, and I’d definitely enjoy life with her… It’d also mean that I couldn’t scratch and claw my way to the ultimate sister ideal, maybe, like I do with my creative endeavors.”

With an indiscreet smile, he approached the question with just a tiny pinch of seriousness. Chihiro reacted with a vague sort of smile.

…No, now’s not the right time to tell Itsuki the truth. My presence would just be an obstacle on my brother’s road…

…But I want him to love me as his sister.

The thought was definitely in Chihiro’s mind.

“But no point talking in hypotheticals. I’ll just let Ashley and Aoba call me Big Bro and be happy with that!”

“Oh, Itsuki…”

Itsuki tried to joke about it, hiding his embarrassment. Chihiro snickered at him, but inside, she was beginning to feel some honest frustration.