Even as his heart twisted with unease, Harutaki couldn’t bring himself to look away from the girl’s delicate face, her faintly trembling lips, her eyes glimmering with something unspoken.

He might not truly be Hoshikawa Harutaki anymore, but it was still his name he bore, his life he had stepped into. How could he possibly say something cold and detached to the three girls who’d grown up calling him “Onii-chan”?

Was he really supposed to just tell them, straight-faced, that their “Harutaki” was long gone, and the person standing before them was someone else entirely?

Back when he first inherited this body, pressed for time before the new semester began, he’d skimmed through the original’s memories as fast as possible. To ease the transition, he had deliberately skipped the painful and useless fragments, the emotional baggage, the messy regrets.

It left holes, of course.

He remembered that “Harutaki” had once recommended a siscon game to his sister. He remembered the game’s title, even the theme… but not the content, not the feelings that came with it.

From scattered memories and his sisters’ distant behavior, he could tell that the relationship between them had been rocky at best. But still, he couldn’t believe it had been that bad. Somewhere inside, a little guilt began to bloom.

“Because… I’m no longer your brother,” he murmured at last, the words slipping out almost in relief.

But then,

“The one who makes all those delicious meals for us every day, that’s you, isn’t it? The one who brings home desserts after going out? The one who worries about Ayaka’s health and tries to help her relax? The one who spends time with me, even if it’s just watching TV or playing games, who else could that possibly be?”

“...”

Yeah. Who else indeed.

Even if he thought of the three girls more like childhood friends, or younger siblings in the platonic sense, he’d been treating them like real family all the same.

Their parents worked overseas, only coming home for holidays. Which meant, for the past three years, the household had been held together by three girls: two first-year high schoolers and one about to enter high school... plus one gloomy, perverted shut-in of a “brother.”

It was Ayaka who had carried the family all this time, doing everything an adult should.

How could anyone look at a girl like that, and not feel something like affection, or tenderness, or even love?

Honestly, if he compared her to his female classmates, Nogami or Shihou, Ayaka would make a better wife by far.

Her looks and figure could rival any girl’s, and when it came to housework and caring for others, she left those pampered rich girls in the dust.

“And the one who always helps Chiaki whenever she’s in trouble, who’s patient and kind to her,  that’s you too, right?”

“Chiaki…”

“Hey, do you still remember our birthdays?”

“Of course. Ayaka’s is August thirty-first, yours is September first, born right across the border between summer and autumn. And Fuyuno’s birthday is on January first, New Year’s Day.”

He paused, clicking his tongue. “You’ve got to hand it to your parents though. Had their first kid in June, and just a few months later, bam, two more. That’s some determination.”

“Four kids, all good-looking and talented. Well, except maybe Fuyuno. Poor girl got the short end of the stick, like all the nutrition got stolen by you and Ayaka.”

“Then… do you know what we all like?”

Apparently, Chiaki hadn’t noticed how stiffly he was holding himself, or how carefully he was pretending nothing was wrong under the blanket.

“Ayaka likes cute things, stuffed toys, trinkets, little kids. She wants to be a teacher. Loves sweets but’s always dieting because she’s afraid of gaining weight. You, Chiaki, you’re into computers, right? You’ve got real talent in software, and you like spicy food. As for Fuyuno…”

He hesitated. He couldn’t very well say she likes lewd stuff, could he?

“…Fuyuno loves sweets, especially caramel pudding. She, uh… ”

Glp,

A muffled sound came from beneath the blanket.

What the hell, is she rewarding me or punishing me?!

Harutaki kept his expression perfectly calm, poked at the squirming lump under the covers, and silently prayed Chiaki wouldn’t notice.

“See? You remember everything. So how could you not be Harutaki? You’re just back to being the onii-chan you were always meant to be!”

Chu,

Soft. Warm. Gone before he could even register it, leaving only a faint trace of moisture on his cheek, like a spring breeze scattering petals across his skin.

He followed the pale curve of her arm upward, and in the dim light caught a glimpse of her lips, still faintly pursed.

“But you did get one thing wrong, I don’t like computers.”

Her eyes curved into crescents.

“What I really like is a certain someone who dotes on his sisters. The cool, kind, gentle guy who always looks out for them... that’s the one I like.”

“H-Hey, wait a sec— ”

Knock, knock, knock!

He barely got the words out before the sudden banging at the door made Chiaki jump. She panicked, flustered, and, without a thought, dove straight under his blanket.

“H-Harutaki… are you awake?”

“Asleep!”

Because if he didn’t say something immediately, the chaos under the blanket might explode at any second.

Bang.

As expected, Ayaka stormed in, footsteps thudding heavily across the floor.

“If you didn’t want to see me, you could’ve just said so instead of pretending! Hmph, figures… it’s not that you don’t want to see me, you just don’t dare, huh?”

By the faint moonlight, she caught sight of the tent his blanket had become.

Thankfully it was tall enough to hide both Chiaki and Fuyuno’s heads, or this would’ve been the end.

“S-so, Ayaka-sama… what brings you here at this lovely hour?”

Why were all his sisters visiting one after another in the middle of the damn night?

He could feel two distinct puffs of hot breath rising and falling beneath the covers. He didn’t want to imagine what was happening down there.

“You’ve been holding it in for almost a month now, haven’t you?”

She sat at the edge of his bed, voice trembling slightly. He couldn’t see her clearly, but from the sound alone he could tell, her face had to be as red as her hair.

“After what happened tonight… after Fuyuno kissed you on the cheek and you joked about it… you must be at your limit.”

“…That kind of joke?”

The realization hit him like a brick, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

‘You can taste passionfruit directly from the lips.’

“Didn’t think you were such an innocent girl, Ayaka.”

“Shut, shut up already!”

“I’m just saying, I was worried you’d do something to Chiaki or Fuyuno.”

And just like Chiaki before her, Ayaka lay down beside him, carefully turning onto her side.

“I… I just don’t want you turning back into how you used to be, okay? Can I ask that of you, Harutaki?”

“Ayaka, you too— ”

“I’m not stupid! Some gloomy, gross, perverted shut-in suddenly becomes a handsome, gentle, reliable guy? You’re still my brother. You’re still Hoshikawa Harutaki, aren’t you?”

She cupped his face between her hands, turning him toward her. Her ocean-blue eyes searched his, desperate, as though trying to find an oasis in a desert.

“Ayaka’s birthday is August thirty-first, the end of summer. You’ve been cooking for three years, and your best dish is beef curry. You love sweets but always worry about your weight. And you keep complaining your underwear’s too small— ”

“Enough! Enough already!”

Even though there were “only two of them” in the room, she still covered his mouth in a panic, cheeks blazing, like she was afraid the gods themselves might overhear.

“…This is fine too,” she murmured softly after a while, lowering her eyes.

Then she looked up again, biting her lip, her voice trembling.

“Hey… Harutaki… do you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?”

“Mmgh, mmph!”

Nope! Absolutely not!

If he so much as moved the blanket right now, he’d die.

Ayaka would kill him with her bare hands, guaranteed.

“W-what did you just say?”

“Mm…”

He patted her hand gently, signaling for her to let go. She hesitated, then slowly withdrew.

“I… I’ll manage on my own. Thanks for worrying about me, Ayaka. You don’t have to stay.”

He cleared his throat, putting on his best “righteous older brother” tone.

“It’s late. You should get some sleep.”

“N-no way!”

“…What?”

“What if you can’t hold it in anymore and do something to Chiaki or Fuyuno while I’m asleep?!”

Wasn’t it them who were tormenting him all night long?!

One after another, all barging into his room like this, how was he supposed to survive until morning?!

“Fine! If it ever gets too much, I’ll come to you, okay? I promise I won’t touch Chiaki or Fuyuno. Deal?”

Why did that sound so wrong out loud? He forced his face to stay neutral.

“You think I want to help you with that, you perverted siscon jerk?!”

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind her.

And for the first time that night, silence returned, well, except for the muffled breathing under the blanket that reminded him peace was only temporary.

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