The Same

"Actually... I'm a fan of Ai Kyouka."

"Huehh?!!

Mai suddenly flustered and turned red by my declaration. Was it that surprising? But she composed herself.

"Y-yeah, and I said that because of the reactions of her fans."

"H-her fans'?"

"I thought that some of them were fake fans."

"Fake fans?"

"Yeah. I figured if they were genuine fans, they should respect her decision to retire."

Her eyes widened, seemingly shocked by my opinion. It was the first time I revealed to anyone that I was Ai's fan. Not even Akira-san knows the fact that I secretly watch V-tubers. 

Ai was so popular that most students in the university knew who she was. Even girls knew her and some idolized her for what she did. Single boys thought of her as their girlfriend. But no one was as big of a fan of her as I. Did I make her uncomfortable?

"S-sorry for blurting that out."

"N-no, it's okay..."

Mai's cheeks were getting redder by the minute.

"To be honest, I kinda agree with you."

"Eh?"

"D-don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm a huge fan, but I agree that people should respect her decision if that's what she wanted."

"I-I see..."

It was the first time someone ever agreed with me. I never expected her to say that we have the same perspective.

"Th-their comments were making me feel sad for Ai."

"M-me too!"

Most of Ai's fans didn't like that she would retire at her peak. Some thought it was a waste, some felt betrayed. I read little to no comments supporting her. But it felt nice that someone else had the same opinion.

"I-I should go. It's still raining.

"Ah, y-yes, of course. S-sorry for stopping you."

"It's okay, it was nice to find out someone felt the same..."

"I see..."

Mai nodded, and I walked towards the exit. I turned around when I reached it. She was still at the bottom of the stairs looking at me. Taking her left hand off her bag's strap, she made a wave gesture.

"P-please, be careful!"

"I-I will!"

I shouted and waved back at her. Mai made her way up the stairs and I started walking home.

I turned left at the intersection and soon enough; I reached my house. As soon as I opened the door, a girl greeted me with an angry voice.

"I'm home."

"What took you so long?!"

A long, dark blue-haired girl with blonde eyes snarled at me. She was Akane Nagai, a senior in high school, and my little sister.

"My bad, it was raining."

"You don't think I knew that?"

"I-I..."

It was 6:00 pm. I usually come home an hour earlier. There was no way I could tell her the reason I'm late.

"Hmph. Never mind. Take a bath first. Dinner's almost ready."

She scorned and entered the kitchen. My little sister is the student council president in her school, so she's strict. Even though I'm the older sibling, she doesn't treat me as one. Even though we're related by blood, Akane still distances herself.

Akane got our mother's beauty and our father's intellect. She was the perfect child. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit any of that. My academic performance in school was average - not the brightest, nor the least bright. I was just average. Despite that, my parents treated me fairly. They never felt disappointed, but my little sister did. She always felt ashamed for having such an incompetent brother.

I put my shoes back on the rack. When I got to the kitchen, something grabbed my leg.

"I'm home, Bunta."

Bunta, our terrier dog, clawed at the fabric of my pants. I patted him on the head and he smiled. He always welcomes anyone in the family.

"What's for dinner?"

"Hamburg steak."

Akane always spoke with a stern voice to me. I'm used to it. She had already set the table for the two of us. Despite her attitude toward me, I feel that she somewhat cares for me, even a little.

After I took a shower, Akane had already set the table. The food sparkled in my eyes. It looked delicious. She wasn't just intelligent, she could do any housework. We both sat down and Akane began eating. 
As I was about to take a bite of the steak, Ai suddenly came back to my mind and I stopped midway. 
"What? You don't wanna eat it?"
"N-no, it's not that..."
I shook my head, trying to get it out of my mind. I asked her about high school, trying to redirect the focus, but I got immediately rejected. 
I finally began eating. As usual, the food was delicious. She was the better cook. For the rest of dinner, none of us tried to utter a word. 
Soon enough, we finished eating and we placed the dishes in the sink. I offered to wash the dishes.
"I'll wash 'em. You can take a bath."
"Fine."
She took the offer and went to the bathroom. While she was bathing, I washed the dishes. After I finished washing, I grabbed some dog food off the shelf and fed Bunta. As I watched him eat the food happily, I noticed that Akane had left her towel. I knocked on the bathroom door.
"Akane, you forgot your towel."
"Leave it there."
I did as she said and hung it on the door handle. I made my way upstairs and entered my room. The room was full of V-Tuber merchandise. There were posters stamped on the walls and my shelf was full of V-Tuber figurines. Anyone who entered the room would think I was a weirdo. But these were my treasure.
As I lay down on my bed, I looked at the poster with Ai's face winking. It was hard to accept the fact that the person I admired for over a year suddenly disappeared. But for some reason, when I looked at her face, I see someone else. A girl with black hair and red eyes. Somehow, they both looked the same and the girl felt familiar. 
But, maybe it was just my imagination. I have been out for quite a while and so many things happened today. Then, I remembered the situation on the rooftop. I couldn't wrap my mind as to what she was doing. But, just as I promised myself to respect Ai's decision, I promised not to think about it. It was probably not that major. 
I turned off the light, tucked myself in, and closed my eyes. Today was an eventful day. I felt so tired that I quickly fell asleep...