Chapter 6:

Chapter 6 : Yama Akira

I Think I'm in Love with the Brain-Rotted Boy Who Shouts "67!" in Class.

"I'm home," I announced, pushing the front door open and stepping into the hallway.

Satono hovered awkwardly behind me, carefully taking off his shoes like he was afraid he might break the floorboards.

"Welcome home," a lazy voice called out from the living room.

I froze. A very familiar, very annoying scent drifted through the air. I marched into the living room. Sure enough, sitting perfectly comfortably on our couch, playing a mobile game, was my older brother, Akira. And between his fingers was a lit cigarette.

"AKIRA!" I snapped, dropping my bag on the floor. "I told you a hundred times, stop smoking inside the house! It stinks!"

Akira didn't even look away from his phone. "Chill, Nao. The window is open."

"I don't care! Get out! Go smoke on the porch!"

Akira let out a long, exaggerated sigh, finally standing up and scratching the back of his messy hair. He shuffled past me toward the front door.

I glanced back at Satono. He was standing completely frozen in the entryway, his eyes wide. He looked absolutely terrified of me. He took a tiny step backward, like he was seriously considering just making a run for it.

"Don't even think about it," I ordered, pointing at the couch. "Sit down. Don't touch anything. I'm going upstairs to get the book."

"Y—Yes, ma'am," Satono squeaked, stiffly marching over to the couch and sitting down like a soldier at attention.

I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs to my room.

I walked over to my bookshelf, scanning the messy rows of textbooks for my old Literature notes. As I moved a stack of papers out of the way, a small, framed photo caught my eye.

It was an old elementary school picture. A tiny, seven-year-old me, looking entirely unbothered, standing next to a grinning boy with missing front teeth.

Idiot. I quickly shoved the photo behind a dictionary and grabbed the annotated Literature book. I did not have the mental capacity to deal with that right now.

I hurried back downstairs.

"Here, I found—" I stopped.

The living room was completely empty.

Where did he go? I walked toward the front door. It was slightly cracked open, letting in the cool late-afternoon breeze. And then, I heard voices coming from the porch.

"Satono Eriko... long time no see. You look taller now, bro." It was Akira's voice, laced with his usual lazy amusement.

"Y—Yeah..." Satono replied, sounding incredibly stiff.

"You smoking yet? Here... take one."

"No... I don't smoke, Bro Akira."

"What a wimp," Akira teased.

"Haha..." Satono laughed nervously.

I stopped right behind the door, pressing my back against the wall. What are they even talking about? "So, what are you doing here?" Akira asked, the sound of his lighter clicking echoing through the crack in the door. "Finally brought my little sister home?"

"I—I have low scores in school!" Satono quickly defended himself. "I'm just doing a study session with Nao so I don't fail!"

"Ba—bahaha!" Akira burst out laughing. It wasn't a small chuckle; he was genuinely losing his mind out there. "Low scores?! Wait... so where's your promise to become a proper adult, huh?"

There was a dead, heavy silence on the porch.

"Wh—.??" Satono choked out.

BAM!

I violently kicked the front door open, entirely unable to handle another second of this conversation. Both Akira and Satono jumped, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Here," I snapped, practically shoving the heavy textbook right into Satono's chest.

Akira smirked, taking a drag from his cigarette. "What's with that face? How cute, Nao."

"S—Shut up!" I yelled, my face burning so hot it probably rivaled the tip of his cigarette.

I forced myself to look at Satono. His face was entirely bright red, his eyes darting everywhere except at me. He was totally flustered.

Wait... why is he so flustered?

"I'm sorry my brother is so stupid," I muttered to Satono, crossing my arms defensively. "You have the book. You can go home now if you want."

"O—Okay," Satono stammered, gripping the book like a shield.

Without another word, I spun around, stomped back inside the house, and slammed the door shut behind me.

But I didn't walk away.

I pressed my ear flat against the cold wood of the door, holding my breath.

Outside, Akira let out a quiet chuckle. "Cute."

"Indeed," Satono replied softly.

My heart completely stopped. HE AGREED?!

"Hey," Akira's voice suddenly dropped, losing all its lazy humor. "That's my little sister, bro. Stop hitting on her."

"S—Sorry, sir!" Satono panicked instantly.

"Ahahahaha, you guys are funny."

"Ah--hahah--ahaha-"

I AM SO CURIOUS ABOUT SATONO'S EXPRESSION RIGHT NOW! I screamed internally, pressing my ear harder against the door.

Akira laughed again, clearly enjoying the torture. "Nah, just kidding." Then, his voice shifted, becoming surprisingly gentle. "Hey, listen, Satono. I know it's really late to be telling you this... but my condolences."

"Ah... Thank you, Bro Akira. That means a lot."

(...Condolences? What are they talking about?)

"Yes, Big Bro. So you heard about it."

"Yes. Are you doing okay now?"

"Well, it's been years. I'm doing fine now."

"Good. You're strong... Here, take my box of cigarettes, it will help."

"No—no, stop! I don't smoke!"

"I INSIST. Take it!"

That stupid brother....!!!!

"Stop! Don't put it in my pocket!!"

I heard a scuffle outside.

"It's already late. You still have to walk back, right, Satono?" Akira said casually, completely ignoring Satono's protests.