Ch. 65: Kisaragi Iori Wants To Rebel (Iori POV)

 

I, Kisaragi Iori, have returned home.
My classmate Hoshikawa Aoi was next to me.

I went to the living room and told my mom that Aoi-chan was here. I had introduced her to her yesterday, but today, too, she was asking me a lot of questions.

We managed to escape her, and finally moved upstairs after being handed a pile of sweets instead.
We always have a lot of sweets in our house.

My mom often bought them, but I’m a small eater, so if I eat a snack, I won’t be able to eat dinner, and also Souta Nii-san said, “It’s okay because Yuika doesn’t snack much,” and doesn’t bring them to their room, so they just keep piling up.

Thanks to this, we have a pile of them…Yeah, it was not safe to go up the stairs with these.

“Um, Iori-kun…The pile of cookies is about to collapse.”
“It’s okay…Or so I thought, I’m sorry, it’s going to be a disaster. Aoi-chan, can I ask for you to carry my bag?”
“Yes, here.”

While balancing the tray, I apologetically asked Aoi-chan to carry my bag.

“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”

She shook my bag and smiled at me.
Aoi-chan was wearing a blazer and skirt because she came directly from school.
Her hair was chestnut-colored and fluffy, which fitted her gentle demeanor very well.

Because Aoi-chan has such a kind atmosphere and personality, I felt so sorry for her. I couldn’t help but apologize again.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in my family’s affairs…”
“That’s fine, too. It was my idea. It was I who suggested‘in order to bring your sister and brother Souta together, why don’t we pretend to be together?’”

Yes, yesterday’s confession and the fact that we are going to be together was also a pretense — an act.

After declaring my rebellion to Souta Nii-san on the riverbank at dusk.
I went to a handicraft shop in the shopping district.

It was a habit I’ve had for a long time, but when I want to think properly, I go to a bookstore and look at the rows of books, or an anime store and look at the shelves of DVDs, or a handicraft shop and look at the shelves of fabric bundles.

That day, the closest one to the riverbank was a handicraft shop.
And that was Aoi-chan’s house.

Since we have been together since elementary school, Aoi-chan knew my habits and sometimes listened to me while helping at the store.

I’ve been telling Aoi about my Onee-chan and Souta Nii-chan for a long time now.
Of all my friends, I think Aoi-chan knew the most about my current situation.

When I came from the river, Aoi-chan was helping out at the store and I asked her for advice.

 

—My goal in declaring my rebellion was to get Souta Nii-chan and Onee-chan to go out with each other.

 

It was probably not impossible.

Because I can see their behavioral patterns in my hands.

After all, I’ve heard them…flirting day in and day out, day in and day out! If I’m not careful, I’ll even dream about it! It’s already engraved in my soul!

So, as a result of the simulation, I was able to calculate 142 different patterns of two people becoming lovers.

I wanted to use the strategy with the highest probability anyway.
After careful examination, I found that the top 50 successful patterns were those that Souta Nii-chan had encouraged, and the next 50 were those that Onee-chan had encouraged.

Therefore, I could only use the remaining 42 patterns after subtracting the two.
Then I was in trouble.

Because.
The top of the list was for me to have a girlfriend.

This was indeed difficult. It might be impossible.
Then, as I was staring at the cloth bundle, Aoi-chan said to me with a slightly reluctant look on her face.

“…H-Haven’t seen this in a while, Kisaragi-kun’s mysterious ability… But as long as I’ve been listening, Kisaragi’s predictions about your Onee-san have all come true. …then, if you don’t mind…”

—Why don’t we pretend that we’re going out?

That was what she suggested.
To be honest, I was really worried about it, but in the end I asked her to lend me a hand.
We decided to call each other Iori-kun and Aoi-chan with first names, and the next day we came to my house.

During the meeting, I was so nervous that I askedher something like, “Which is your favorite erotic scene in this book?” The air was terrific, but in the end I even succeeded in faking a confession. Of course, I’ve already confirmed that Souta Nii-chan and Onee-chan were listening.

…By the way, while we were having a great time, Souta Nii-chan started talking about Onee-chan’s bra and started flirting with her, but we heard everything.　

Thanks to that, the atmosphere here was even worse, you know? Ah, I’m not mad at him. I’m not mad at you at all. If it was just me, I wouldn’t be mad at all for involving Aoi-chan in our lovemaking, would I?

Anyway, after yesterday’s confession, we started the second phase of our plan today.
In fact, I’m going to pretend that we’re going to start dating, and I’m going to increase the heat between Souta Nii-chan and Onee-chan.

I walk up the stairs and take a few more steps, and I’m within earshot of my sister’s room.
Before that, I faced Aoi again.

“Thank you so much, Aoi-chan, for lending your strength to such a strange thing. When this is all over, I’ll be sure to thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me. It’s enough for me…to be useful to Iori-kun.”
“Eh…?”

Aoi-chan looked down. She was hugging my bag.
Then she murmured in a fading voice.

“I’ve made up my mind. I have decided that I will do whatever it takes to make Iori-kun happy.”
“Aoi-chan, that’s…”
“Yes. I’m a shy, self-conscious person, and my only wish is to make Iori-kun happy. I’ve been thinking about it every time I heard Iori talk about your Onee-san and Souta Nii-san. I wanted to be useful to Iori-kun. Because I…”

I realized something.

Noticing it was going to be bad, I made a quick decision and intentionally threw the tray on the floor. The bag of cookies and the plate fell to the floor, and Aoi-chan shouted at the same time.

She looked very thoughtful.
But as if to declare firmly.

 

“In the end, I think Iori-kun and Souta Nii-san should go out with each other!”

 

The crisis was over. With the noise of the cookies and the plates, I’m sure the voice I just heard didn’t make it to my sister’s room.

…Yeah, I knew it.
I knew that Aoi-chan wanted me and Souta Nii-chan to get together. I mean, she used say that a lot. You’re not going out with him yet? Why don’t you go out with him already?

I also know that she drew manga based on me and Souta Nii-chan. I mean, she was always letting me read them. What do you think of this connection? I was wondering if it was realistic from her point of view.

I was feeling both sorry and grateful that she helped me with this plan to bring Souta Nii-chan and Onee-chan together because of…Yeah, I see. I guess that was what she was aiming for in the end.

“…Aoi-chan.”

I smiled.
Great, I can see for myself that the highlights in my eyes are gone.

“Let’s go…cool down for a minute, okay?”

We need to have another briefing before we start the operation.
I swore to myself.
I will not lose. No matter what the difficulties, I will not lose.
Even if my only ally was a ridiculous assassin, I’m not going to lose.