Bonus Story: When Your Sister Might Have Problems

Bonus Story: When Your Sister Might Have Problems

Bonus Story:

When Your Sister Might Have Problems

I STOOD AT THE FRONT DOOR, BACK HOME AFTER MY impromptu trip to Shinshiro. I’d gotten permission from my parents to spend the night, so that wasn’t what worried me. No, what gave me pause was something else entirely.

Kaju.

She never liked me being away for long. She got lonely. Our mom had to physically hold her back to keep her from chasing after me at the train station during a field trip back in junior high. To make matters worse, I hadn’t heard a single peep from her in almost twenty-four hours.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. “I’m home,” I called out hesitantly, then bent over to take off my shoes.

In came running an apron-clad Kaju. “Oniisama! Welcome back!”

“H-hey, Kaju.”

She was in a good mood. Odd.

“What’re you standing around for? Come in! Would you like lunch first? A bath? Or maybe… Oh, Oniisama, we mustn’t !” Kaju grabbed my face and squished and pinched my cheeks.

What was happening right now?

“You didn’t eat any wild mushrooms out of the garden, did you?”

“You are such a jokester, Oniisama. Do you have any laundry? I’ll take care of all that for you.”

“I’ll, uh, bring it over later. I’m gonna go change first.”

“Of course! I’ll get on lunch!” Off she scurried.

Again. What? A question I would have to answer after getting settled, first and foremost.

I made it up to my room and was pulling my shirt off when I noticed a bunch of stuff crammed onto my desk.

“Books?”

Probably the ones I’d lended her. I reached for one and froze solid almost immediately. They were books all right. Ones I had kept purposefully hidden on account of their titles.

Who Says Little Sisters Can’t Have Their Own Rom-Coms?

That Time I Told My Sister Siblings Can Get Married for a Laugh and She Took Me Seriously .

I Can Act Spoiled If My Little Sister Is Older than Me, Right?

I Think My Sister and I Aren’t Blood-Related, but That’s None of My Business .

My Sister Has Problems .

These were titles Kaju was never meant to see. All sister-related light novels went as far back behind my dresser as they could go.

I could explain, of course. Sometimes a particular book would be accredited for, say, the Upcoming Light Novel Award, and sometimes I would buy them out of curiosity, and sometimes they would happen to be about sisters. That was all there was to it. Seriously. On my life, it was not a thing .

The question remained, though.

“What are they doing out here?” My camouflage had been perfect.

Hands trembling, I picked one up. It was worse than I thought. Several pages were bookmarked with sticky notes.

But marking what?

As I began to open the book, morbid curiosity getting the better of me, I sensed a pair of eyes boring into me.

I whipped around. “Kaju!”

She stood on the other side of a door that had been closed just seconds prior. Smiling. “Lunch is ready, Oniisama.”

“O-okay. Be right there.” I replaced the book on my desk and followed her to the living room. I would cross this bridge after food.

And figure out a better hiding spot.