Chapter 3: My Sister, My “Fiancée,” and a Hangover Promise

I had a bad feeling the moment I woke up.
You know that strange sixth sense people get before something disastrous happens?
Yeah. That.

My uncle was whistling in the kitchen — never a good sign.
Ayumu was standing near the door, waiting for me to walk her to the train station.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Too peaceful.

And then…

“Onii-chan?”

I froze.
No. No, no, no—

“Naoto!?”

There she was, standing by the gate — short blue hair, sharp eyes, and the kind of smile that spelled interrogation incoming.
She dropped her travel bag dramatically.

“So this is what you’ve been doing in Tokyo, huh? Going on walks with pretty girls?”

“Wait—Naoto, it’s not what it looks like!”

“Oh really? Because it looks exactly like you’re dating her behind my back!”

“Behind your what!?”

“You promised to marry me when I grew up, remember!?”

I nearly choked on my own breath.

“Naoto! That was when you were six! You were crying because you dropped your ice cream!”

“A promise is a promise!”

Ayumu blinked, clearly entertained.

“Oh my… Minato-kun, you’re quite the playboy.”

“Don’t start!”

Naoto’s eyes narrowed, scanning Ayumu from head to toe.

“Who is she?”

“My… uh, government-assigned fiancée.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Ayumu tilted her head, amused.

“So you do think of me as your fiancée?”

“No! I mean—yes—wait, no! It’s complicated!”

Before I could explain further, Naoto marched forward and suddenly wrapped her arms around me.

“I don’t care! I’m not letting some woman steal my brother away!”

“Naoto—too tight! I can’t breathe!”

“Good! Then you can’t leave me!”

Ayumu crossed her arms, feigning disappointment.

“Ah, what a touching family moment. It almost makes me jealous.”

“You should be jealous!” Naoto snapped. “You’re the intruder here!”

I had to physically separate them before my lungs gave up.

“Naoto, this is Ayumu Musashi. Ayumu, this chaos is my sister, Naoto Kurosaki.”

“I’m not chaos!”

“You’re literally chaos in human form!”

Ayumu smirked.

“Nice to meet you, Naoto. You know, your brother and I had a very... close evening last night.”

My heart stopped.

“Ayumu, don’t—”

“We even shared a futon. He was surprisingly gentle.”

“AYUMU!”

Naoto’s face turned red.

“You what!? Onii-chan, how could you!?”

“It’s not true! She’s lying!”

“Liar! You said you’d wait for me!”

“That was ten years ago!”

Ayumu giggled, clearly enjoying my slow descent into madness.

“Oh, come on, Minato-kun. You make it sound like I’m the villain here.”

“You are the villain here!”

My uncle popped his head out from the kitchen.

“Hey, what’s going on—oh! Is this your sister, Minato? My, she’s adorable! And fiery! The Kurosaki blood runs strong!”

“Uncle, please. Don’t encourage this.”

“Too late. I like her already.”

Hours later, the storm calmed.
Naoto finally stopped sulking after I explained everything — the government program, the pairing system, the scholarship condition.

She sighed.

“So it’s really not your choice, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Then I guess I’ll forgive you… this time.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

Then, with a softer tone, she added:

“By the way, Kurumi’s getting married soon. Her mom sent an invitation.”

That name hit me like a cold wave.
Kurumi.

“I see.”

“You’re not going?”

“No. My schedule’s full… and my heart’s not.”

Naoto gave a faint smile.

“You’re still the same soft idiot, Onii-chan.”

Meanwhile, across town…

Ayumu Musashi stood outside a small bar, nervously brushing her hair behind her ear.
The lights flickered softly, the faint sound of music drifting from inside.

Toji Kurayama worked there part-time.
He looked different out of his uniform — sleeves rolled up, casual, calm.

“Ayumu?”

She turned.

“Hey. It’s been a while, Toji.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I just… wanted to talk.”

He gestured for her to sit. They ordered drinks — soft ones, at first.
But Ayumu was clearly nervous, sipping faster than she should have.

A few glasses later, her cheeks were pink, her voice softer.

“Do you remember… that promise we made when we were kids?”

Toji paused.

“Promise?”

“You said… you’d marry me when we grew up.”

She laughed quietly, half embarrassed, half broken.

“Guess the system beat you to it, huh?”

Toji’s gaze lowered.
He didn’t answer.
Didn’t smile.

For the first time since she’d known him, Ayumu saw something fragile in his expression — not rejection, but resignation.

“You’ve changed, Toji.”

“We all did, Ayumu.”

The silence between them was louder than the music.
Outside, rain began to fall again — just like the day their promise was made.

Ayumu looked out the window, eyes glistening.

“Even if it’s a lie…” she whispered, more to herself than him, “I still want to believe in it.”