Intermission: Little Sister Is Watching You

Intermission: Little Sister Is Watching You

Intermission:

Little Sister Is Watching You

J R EAST. THE TOKAIDO LINE. SPECIAL RAPID TRAIN. Ogaki-bound. A small girl steadied herself using the strap hanging above, her arm stretched so high it went nearly straight up. Nukumizu Kaju could not hide the excitement plain on her expression, even as the train jostled her to and fro.

Her dearest Oniisama was going on a date.

He’d spent time alone with women in the past, but he was always loathe to call those outings “dates.” This time was different. This time, clear as day in his search history, Kaju had seen that four-letter word in all its glory, together with other queries such as “Takeshima Aquarium,” “first time,” and “what to wear.” Taken together, it had been a simple thing for the younger Nukumizu to deduce what exactly her brother was hiding from her. His searches for weather and traffic forecasts had further pinpointed a specific date and time.

Kaju wanted everything to go perfectly, even going so far as to bust out the clothing she’d badgered her father into buying. For her dearest Oniisama’s benefit, of course.

What she didn’t know, however, was his all-important partner. The lucky girl. She’d probed Yanami to no avail. That left either Komari or someone on the student council. But it also could have been someone else entirely that she was as of yet unacquainted with. After all, her Oniisama was the catchiest catch in this whole big, blue world. It was only a matter of time before all of its women fell to his charms.

The conductor rasped something over the speaker. She’d been riding for about ten minutes. They’d be at Gamagori soon.

“I must see it to believe it,” Kaju muttered.

With an expression like tempered steel, she alighted at the station, then descended the escalator while she reviewed the plan in her mind’s eye. Her brother would be at the aquarium right about now. Through the ticket gate she went, imagining the things he and his partner might have been doing. And there, she found a girl. A very minuscule thing in a yellow hoodie, short shorts, and a loud, green backpack.

“Komari-san? Is that you?”

“ Whuh?! K-Kaju-chan? Wh-wh-what are you doing here?” Komari shrank. A defensive measure.

Kaju trotted up to her. “So you’re the one he’s going on a date with! I love your outfit! Very cute! I wasn’t aware this was your taste in fashion.”

“Th-they’re hand-me-downs.”

“Oniisama’s as good as beguiled. I assure you.”

“A-as good as what?” Komari blinked.

Kaju edged closer, her enthusiasm ballooning, but before she could continue her verbal barrage, a familiar voice came from behind her. “I knew that boy was going on a date.”

Kaju turned. It was Yanami Anna. She threw a lock of hair behind her shoulder with a dramatic flick of her wrist.

“Yanami-san?!” she blurted. “What? B-but it was only supposed to be with one.” Kaju covered her hand over her mouth in disbelief.

Yanami smirked. “Something about Nukumizu-kun last Friday just felt off. Lemon-chan was being all secrety too, and then you came asking about my plans on Sunday and how I felt about aquariums. I figured something was up.”

“Um, but why are you here? That’s what I want to know.”

Yanami strode closer to Kaju. “Same reason as you, little sister. We understand you on a spiritual level.”

“You do?!”

Clasping Kaju’s hand in both of hers, Yanami declared with the utmost confidence, “You’re here to take a big fat dump on their day!”

She wasn’t, as a matter of fact. She started to say so, but she was simply at a loss for words.

Yanami smiled gently, a gesture of understanding. “It’s scandalous, isn’t it? Going out all alone with another woman, and without a chaperone?” She winked. “I get it. I do. But you can’t go ruining their date just because it’s stupid.”

Ruin their date? Kaju wanted to deny it, but try as she might, her voice simply refused to come to her. This wasn’t about selfishness. She just wanted to burn every second of her big brother’s life into her heart while she still could.

Silencing her doubts, Kaju recomposed herself. “So you’re here to monitor him. But why?”

“Because love is banned in the lit club!”

Kaju flinched at the sheer volume of Yanami’s declaration. Gamagori Station was quickly descending into chaos, and the appearance of yet another participant certainly didn’t help things.

“Oh, you’re Nukumizu-kun’s sister,” said the mysterious fourth. “Yanami-chan invite you?”

It turned out to be the literature club’s former vice president, Tsukinoki Koto. She twirled a car key around her finger.

“Just a coincidence,” Yanami replied. “She’s here to spy too.”

“The date thing was true then. She’s really going for it, huh?”

Kaju, resigned to entropy, started reorganizing her plans in her head. Once her inner itinerary was rebalanced, she let out a small breath, then bowed to Koto. “We briefly saw each other at Tsuwabuki, during the festival. You’re here to take a…monitor my brother’s date?”

“I guess? I dunno. I’m just here for the bit, to be honest.”

Immediately, Kaju knew everything she needed to know about this newcomer. She shot a glance at Yanami, who was busy staking the place out.

“Is he about to be here, sister girl?” she asked.

“He took an earlier train, so I imagine he’s at the aquarium right about now.”

This wasn’t the plan, but Kaju could work with this. Even the size of their group would work in her favor. While they kicked up a fuss and drew her brother’s attention, she could get close and observe as much as she liked.

With a polite, parent-winning grin, she bowed to her senpai. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to join you.”