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Recently… Actually, for some time now, there’s something that’s troubling me. I don’t know exactly what caused it, but I do know when it started. It was when I got seriously angry and beat up my father.

“My sister’s love is too intense…”
“But isn’t it great that you two get along?”
“There’s still a limit to what’s bearable!”

A father who wouldn’t care about his family. An older sister who was extremely irritable due to being ignored by that father. A mother who was getting depressed over being unable to do anything about this. In the midst of this, I reached the limit of my patience, which resulted in me unleashing my unfiltered thoughts to my father via extreme body language. After that, I reprimanded my older sister, with words this time.

“Why did that make her fall in love with me?”
“Isn’t it due to her being twisted from the start?”

I really don’t want to believe that’s the case, though. My friend Kaori has caught a glimpse of my older sister’s true nature, so she tends to not hold back on the venom. At the academy, she’s a composed and dependable big sister… But she instantly changes when I get thrown into the picture, to the point where there’s a belief that she might have a split personality.

“According to the senior students, Ms. Kotone was prickly and hard to approach last year.”
“She was like that at home too. She changed after I made a huge ruckus.”

A calm and composed mature lady. That certainly is part of her nature. But so is being an extremely doting big sister, no doubt about it. Moreover, she doesn’t even try to keep it hidden, so my embarrassment only continues to skyrocket.

“So, what did she do this time?”
“She arbitrarily signed me up for an idol audition.”
“Yeah, that sounds pretty hard on you, Sou.”

✦✧✦✧✦

When I got home, I was summoned by Mother. I don’t remember doing anything that would warrant a warning from her lately, even after looking back on what I did these few days. And as I sat down face to face with Mother, she showed me a printed invitation to an audition venue.

“Souka. For matters like this, I really would have wanted you to consult with the family first.”
“I don’t remember doing this at all, though.”
“It’s not that I’m against it. You have the freedom to choose your own future, I assure you. However, becoming an idol while being a high school student? You really should discuss it with us prior.”
“Like I said, I don’t remember ever signing up for that!”

Me? An idol? Like hell I’d ever do that. Even by mistake, I would never think of becoming one. And yet there it is, a letter which informs me that I passed the first screening and details the location of the second screening venue as well. There’s only one person who could be behind this.

“The only possible suspect I can think of is Koto-nee.”
“Certainly, that is something she might do.”

Mom finally regained her sanity. Being an idol is a future path I would never choose. Seeing the letter of invitation must have left her in complete shock. More importantly, where did the suspect go? She should have been with me on the way home.

“Koto-nee.”
“You called?”

I think about it every time, but how does she immediately appear when I just call her with my normal talking volume? Just how good is her hearing? Moreover, she says it only reacts to my voice, I don’t get it. In the past, it apparently reacted to father’s voice too, but these days, it doesn’t react no matter how much father calls her.

“What is this all about?”
“Naturally, it’s all because I want to see Lil’ Sou shining brilliantly as an idol!”
“Oi, at least try to hide your true intentions.”

It wasn’t something like wanting to show me off to other people or to let others know my charm; it was all for self-interest. More importantly, there’s no way I can sing in front of an audience. My sister should know that well. Who was it again that boasted that she understood me the most?

“But if that happens, you won’t be able to keep Souka for yourself, you know?”
“Alright, rejected.”

With mom’s words, she immediately tore up and trashed the letter. This sister of mine… Her behavior is absolutely inconsistent, but it’s a common sight in our household. After all, I’ve seen my sister go out of control over things related to me nearly every day.

“Still, I won’t wear any idol-ish clothing either, okay?”
“How did you know!?”

It’s because your motivations are extremely easy to guess. “If you don’t want to do it in public, you can show it to me and only me instead.” Anyone can think of that. Due to this, she occasionally gets into a fight with Kotori, which I always opt to completely ignore. I really don’t want to get dragged into that.

“This sister of mine… How will you fare when I leave home in the future…”
“Eh. You’re going to be living here with me for the rest of our lives, Sou.”
“Stop saying such dark and disturbing things.”

She showers me with more love than she previously had for father, so there are many times when I get considerably perplexed. Every time, it just sends chills up my spine. I’m just glad that she hasn’t gone crazy yet. Please let that be a line that will never be crossed.

“Seeing you two like this reminds me of your childhood.”
“I don’t really remember much of our childhood.”
“Me neither. It’s such a disgrace of me to forget about Sou’s younger days.”
“Back then, Souka felt more like the older sister between you two. I remember Kotone always following Souka from behind.”

It’s still somewhat like that even now. The way she gets interested in what I do and wants to do it with me hasn’t changed, in my opinion. Sharing in fun isn’t a bad thing. And it’s not like we fight over things.

“I’m the older sister!”
“That’s an undeniable fact, but you should really stop clinging to your little sister so much.”
“Our current relationship is much better than previously, when we kept distance from each other, isn’t it?”

When my sister still had love for father, we didn’t even talk to each other. Even when we passed each other in a corridor, we wouldn’t even greet each other. As family, I didn’t find it to be a good thing, but I thought she’d just ignore me if I talked to her anyway. Unable to get used to that environment, I unleashed all of my discontent on Father. You could say that resulted in our current relationship.

“If you stop being so overprotective, I’ll stop treating you coldly.”
“But you said that you want to have a part-time job, even when I’m here all ready to support you.”
“Stop trying to give me hyper dependency.”

I consulted with the family about getting a part-time job as a way to learn about society, but my sister was vehemently against it. I also refuted her objection, which resulted in our first sibling argument. Since it’s the first time something like that has ever happened, mom was completely flustered and couldn’t do anything about it.

“You do understand that, as a member of the twelve families, you having a part-time job won’t be a good look for us, don’t you?”
“I understand that. But that doesn’t mean it’s forbidden to do so. Just because no one else does it, doesn’t necessarily mean that I shouldn’t do it.”
“Well, you do make a fair point, but… Hmm… It’s really hard to win arguments against you.”
“Mother, please do your best. At this rate, I’ll end up having less time to interact with Sou.”

At least hide your true intentions a little. Just as mom said, having an individual of the twelve families working for a living at a part-time job wouldn’t be good in the eyes of society. However, what if people think I do it for amusement instead? It isn’t like I want to work because I need money. I’m just thinking about the future, and doing everything I can do right now.

“Since Koto-nee will be taking over the family, there’s no reason for me to stay here, is there?”
“Being Kotone’s emotional pillar, living by yourself is the one thing I can’t permit you to do.”
“Yeah, I’ve already given up on that. After all, even that once apathetic idiot father begged against it.”

Ever since I smacked him, father has shown signs of self-reflection, but the idiot is still incapable of grasping the proper sense of distance with family. Even he seemed to be genuinely afraid when I said that I wanted to live alone. Just what was he imagining?

“Still, even if I do eventually live on my own, that won’t happen until I graduate from the academy, so there’s still a long way to go.”
“If that ever happens, Kotone might just fall to the dark side.”
“Then I’ll have to prepare various sabotage plans. I’ll do everything I can, legal or otherwise.”

I see, so that was what my stupid father was concerned about. While I am curious about what exactly “otherwise” entails, there’s no need for me to know it at all. Our family collapsing aside, I feel like society’s criticism will be a larger issue.

“That’s so dark.”
“It’s the Kisaragi family’s karma; I’ve already given up on it.”
“But I’m normal, you know?”
“No, that’s absolutely not true.”

In what world is it normal for an older sister to use any methods, legal or otherwise, to prevent her younger sister from living alone. The conversation continues like it’s normal because our family is used to this, but if a normal person were to hear this, they’d definitely be freaked out.

“The only normal people in this family is me and mom.”
““Eh?””

Why do you two sound confused about it? While it’s true that I am a bit out of the norm in some aspects, I should be one of the normal ones in our family. I’m pretty sure about it…

✦✧✦✧✦

And so I told Kaori about our family discussion, but I’m really curious why she has a complicated look on her face. Is there something wrong?

“Leaving aside whether you’re normal or not for now…”
“Hey, don’t leave it aside. Recognize it.”
“So, were you able to get permission to work part time?”
“With a presentation, I explained to them that it was your family’s place, that the job doesn’t involve anything difficult, and that it would benefit me in the future, and I managed to convince them.”
“I really don’t understand why you need to make a presentation to get a part-time job.”

It’s because they wouldn’t be convinced unless I really explained in fine detail. I got my parents’ agreement and we worked together to try and convince my older sister and it was really tough and exhausting. When she said she’d work with me as well, I seriously begged her not to do it.

“And that’s why you promised to come to my place today.”
“I can’t just go without a proper greeting, after all.”
“You’re really earnest like that. What about Ms. Kotone?”
“She won’t be coming along. Why does my sister have to come along for a greeting?”
“I’m glad to hear that. Sometimes I feel hostility from Ms. Kotone, you know?”
“You’re just imagining it.”

With that, we stood up to leave when suddenly I received a message on my phone. The message was short and succinct. However, since I can’t ignore it, I let out a heavy sigh and apologized to Kaori.

“Sorry. I have something that needs attending to. I’ll settle it quickly, so you can go ahead of me.”
“What happened?”
“I received an SOS from Aya.”
“Ah, that again. Finish it up quickly.”

When conversing with Koto-nee, you’re practically playing minesweeper, as there’s no way to know what topic could set her off. And what happens if you set off a mine? That would mean an endless little sister talk for you to receive. According to Aya, she sets her off 70% of the time, but she honestly can’t see the trend.

“A chat with a mere 30% safety net; if it were me, I’d never do it.”

“Hurry and help me!” She sent me a message once again, so she’s probably at her limit now. As such, I steel myself and climb up to the upperclassmen’s floor.

“Good luck~” I heard a cheer from behind me, but seriously, what for?

My older sister is a troublemaker, but I don’t hate her. After all, she’s my one and only older sister in the world. There’s no way I would hate her. But on whether I like her… It’s a bit complicated.