Chapter 10: CH 10

(POV Chiharu)

As the morning sun gently shone on my face, I slowly rose from my futon and stretched my back, feeling a lingering drowsiness tempting me to drift off again. Nevertheless, I folded up the futon.

No one else in the house was awake yet. My beloved younger sisters, with their angelic and goddess-like faces, were still soundly asleep, their innocence and beauty captivating enough to give even angels pause. It made me realize that their charm extended beyond my home; they were the cutest in the the region, no, the prefecture, no, wait, in Kanto, no, no, no, in the world, no, no, no, no, in the whole universe.

As I gazed at Chiaki’s peaceful sleeping face, I couldn’t help but be captivated. Ah, so cute.  Her soft, fluffy brown hair framed her face, and her slightly open mouth gave her a carefree expression. I wished I had a camera to capture this moment with a simple click of the shutter. Well, even though we are sisters, they might not like being photographed without permission, so I won’t do it.

Moving on to Chiaki, I noticed her silver hair shimmering in the soft ligh. Ahh, so cute. Huh? Her eyes seemed a little swollen… I wonder what happened. Could it be that she cried alone last night?

I wondered if Chiaki had a bad dream. We’ve been through a lot after all. Even though we’re happy now, there are times when we’re reminded of the past. I’ll hug her later and pat her head to comfort her. Maybe I’ll even clean her ears with a cotton swab…

Now, onto Chiharu. She’s like a nugget of gold with her golden hair. Even drooling in her sleep, she’s still so cute. So cute. I can’t help but think about that over and over again. She always has those dignified eyes closed, with long, perfect eyelashes. She’s the perfect sister.

My sisters are just too cute today as well.

As much as I would love to spend endless time like this, I can’t. Because starting today, we had to go to school. We will be enrolled in the nearby elementary school from today onwards.

During the summer vacation, we could sleep until around nine in the morning, but now we couldn’t afford to do that anymore.

“Everyone, wake up. It’s morning. Time to get ready for school…”

“Mmm…”

“Snore, snore…”

It was Chifuyu who responded to my call. As expected of the responsible Chifuyu, always reliable. Thank you.

“Good morning… Haru-nee…”

“Yeah, good morning.”

Chifuyu had woken up, but she still seemed half-asleep, blinking her eyes open and closed repeatedly. She was probably still feeling groggy from sleep.

“What happened to the jellyfish?”

“Wake up, Chifuyu; it’s time for school.”

“Huh?! That’s right!”

It seemed like Chifuyu had finally fully awakened. But even in her groggy state, she looked adorable. She woke up and immediately shook Chiaki’s body.

“Aki-nee, it’s morning.”

“Mmm…”

Chifuyu shook Chiaki’s body, but the latter seemed unwilling to wake up. She hid her head under the only remaining blanket, like a mole burrowing underground.

“Don’t hide; wake up! Chifuyu wants to sleep too!”

“Mmm!!”

Chifuyu and I were pulling on the blankets, trying to wake them up. I wanted to stay and watch her, but I had to wake up Chinatsu .

“Chinatsu, wake up.”

“…”

“I know Chinatsu is not a morning person, but please wake up!”

I shook Chinatsu’s body, but she didn’t wake up. She didn’t open her eyes or move at all.

“Chinatsu!”

“Mmm…sleeping…”

For a moment, she reacted, but then drifted back into the world of dreams. I wanted to let her sleep, but I had to wake her up.

I steeled my heart and shook her body forcefully. Among my sisters, Chinatsu was the least morning person, so I had to shake her quite firmly.

“Chinatsu!!”

“Mmm!”

“Good morning!”

Finally, she stirred and woke up.

“Snore.”

“Chinatsu!!”

But just as I thought she was awake, she drifted off again, completely unresponsive.

“Aki-nee! Wake up!”

“Mmmmm!!!”

Chinatsu was still tucked in her futon. This was never something I wanted to do, but there was no end to it. I gently pulled her futon, shifting her position to where the sunlight was streaming in.

“Mmm, it’s so bright! Stop it!”

“I’m sorry, but you need to wake up for school.”

“S-school… Ahhh, it’s too bright… I feel weak…”

I shifted her futon back to where the sunlight wasn’t reaching. Chinatsu seemed to have woken up, her eyes wide open and fully alert. There was no trace of sleepiness. However, she was giving me a slightly annoyed look.

“Isn’t this a bit too harsh? The way you woke me up just now… I really can’t stand sunlight, you know?”

“I’m sorry… but I had no other choice.”

“You could have just shaken my body.”

“I tried that, but you didn’t wake up.”

“…What about yelling loudly?”

“I did that too. Come on, you have school starting today, so hurry up and change.”

“…Fine.”

She started changing with a slight grumpy expression. Now I need to finish pulling the futon next to her.

“Come on, Chiaki. Let’s wake up already.”

“Mmm!”

“Ugh, this isn’t working…”

“Ugh… Sorry.”

I forcefully pulled the futon away, causing Chiaki to be thrown off and do a somersault on top of the futon, ending up facing the sunny side.

“It’s so bright…”

“Good morning.”

“I’m still sleepy…”

“Still, good morning.”

I helped Chiaki up and cheered her on as she changed, taking off her jacket.

“Haru-nee, you take care of Aki too much.” Chinatsu said.

“It’s fine. It’s normal for sisters to take care of each other.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“That’s right. Come on, Chifuyu as well, get changed, get changed.”

Afterwards, I helped them wash their faces, brush their teeth, and tidy up their hair, then we headed to the living room. Since Chinatsu and Chifuyu were still not used to interacting with Onii-san, I let them go back to their rooms for the time being. As we entered the living room, I noticed that Onii-san had already prepared breakfast.

“It’s impressive that you can wake up on your own.”

“Hehe. Well, of course!”

Chiaki said proudly, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest. Well, I guess it’s okay to assume she woke up on her own.

“Speaking of which, Kaito, what’s for breakfast today!?”

“Grilled omlette, miso soup, and white rice. Also, barley tea.”

“Yay! I love Kaito’s Grilled omlette!”

….Huh? Chinatsu, you rarely use the word “I love” like that… No, actually, you do use it, but Onee-chan hasn’t been told “I love” that often, maybe like 328 times at most… And now he’s earning an “I love” in just one easy shot like this…

Is this counted for the grilled omlette… No, wait, is it even fair to count it for the grilled omlette? I wonder if Onii san’s counting too?

Hmmm? And to add to that, it seems like Chiaki and Onii-san are getting closer than before… Am I imagining things? No, it’s definitely not just my imagination. What’s going on?

Well, it’s okay. It’s actually good that Chiaki and Onii-san can get along and have enjoyable conversations. It’ll make living in this house more fun; after all, it’s not healthy to keep avoiding each other.

But all of a sudden, seeing the distance between them shrink like this feels lonely. It’s not fair, Onii-san.

I was certainly grateful to Onii-san and indebted to him. I understood that Chiaki was becoming attached to him, and we had enjoyable conversations. But the fact that our rapport had increased so much in such a short time made me feel like it might eventually turn into a special relationship or something. Despite the age difference, I wondered how it would all play out.

But Chiaki was the one thing I couldn’t give up.

Of course, it could all just be my imagination. So for now, I’ll try to keep things at the level of just understanding the current situation. In case it’s not just my imagination…

Even if Onii-san turns out to be a good person, I won’t give up Chiaki!

◆◆

“Hey, Kaito! What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Oh, let me think…”

“I’d love some hamburgers!”

“But we just had that recently.”

Onii-san gave us a ride in his car on his way to work, so we were all in the car. Chiaki was sitting in the front passenger seat, while Chinatsu, Chifuyu, and I were in the back.

“Hey, when did Chiaki become so attached to him?” Chinatsu asked.

“Well… Chifuyu doesn’t know either,” Chifuyu responded.

The two of them were having an animated conversation in the car on our way to school. More importantly, Chiaki was talking to Onii-san nonstop.

Certainly, I had never had the opportunity to talk with adults before. But even I, as an Onee chan, can handle something like that.

“Wow, Haru is giving quite the look, isn’t she?”

“Could it be that she’s mistaken that Aki-nee may be taken away?”

“Well…that might be true. I do have my own thoughts on it…”

The other two were whispering to each other next to me, but I couldn’t hear everything.

“I want hamburger! I won’t accept anything else!” Chiaki exclaimed.

“Hmm…but eating the same dish all the time isn’t really…there are health concerns too. How about stuffed peppers with meat…”

“I absolutely refuse! I hate peppers! I love Kaito’s hamburgers, so I want hamburger!”

Ahh! She said ‘I love it’ again! She said it again!

That hamburger jerk…

Wait, no, that doesn’t count for the hamburger, right? Does that mean it’s already the second time for Onii san!? What!? That’s not fair, Onii-san!

“It looks like Haru is feeling frustrated,” Chinatsu remarked.

“She’s definitely jealous. Her usual cool facade is completely crumbling,” Chifuyu added.

With my heart consumed by jealousy, we arrived at the new elementary school we would be attending. It was called Municipal Tokorozawa Central Elementary School. There were several pieces of playground equipment, soccer goals, and an old school building in the schoolyard. As I looked around, taking in the surroundings, my eyes also fell on Onii-san and Chiaki, and a mix of emotions washed over me.

On the way, Onii-san talked to various teachers and entrusted us to their care.

“See you later, Kaito! Don’t forget about the promise of hamburgers!” Chiaki waved her hand as she bid farewell to Onii-san. Despite feeling jealous, I also felt a sense of happiness that Chiaki seemed to have grown up a bit.

However, jealousy still prevailed within me.

While feeling jealous of Onii-san, I entered the school building, and even from the outside, I could tell that the building had a seasoned feel to it. It seemed that this school had two classes for each grade, with me and Chiaki in the first class and Chinatsu and Chifuyu in the second class, as it turned out.

Although I thought it would have been better to stay together, we parted ways midway. Chinatsu and Chifuyu went with their second class homeroom teacher, while Chiaki and I held hands and followed our female homeroom teacher.

“Hehe, let’s surprise the trapped humans here with our mysterious transfer student vibe,” Chiaki said with a mischievous smile.

“Don’t worry… I’ll introduce you on your behalf if you can’t,” I replied.

“No need to worry, my dear sister. I’ve got this,” Chiaki said confidently.

With that, our teacher entered the classroom, saying, “This is Class 1 of the fourth grade, so please wait here for a moment.” After speaking with the students for a while, the teacher turned to us.

“Alright, come in,” said the teacher.

“Yes,” I replied, and Chiaki timidly said, “Hya, hi.”

Chiaki was incredibly nervous. She held onto the hem of my clothes, peeking at the students in the classroom from behind my back.

The classroom wasn’t too big, nor too small; it was just the right size. There were shelves with books and cleaning supplies at the back, and pictures were pinned to the walls with thumbtacks.

There were about forty students in the class, and being a transfer student seemed to pique their curiosity. I didn’t really like the attention from their curious gazes. I’m sure Chiaki felt the same way.

“Can we do self-introductions, please?” The teacher asked.

“I’m Chiharu Hitsuji. And this is Chiaki Hitsuji, the one behind me. Nice to meet you,” I said.

The students in the class broke into applause and excited whispers as they heard our introduction. Soon, a curious student raised their hand, and the teacher acknowledged them, asking, “What’s the matter?”

“Are they twins?” the student inquired.

“No, Chiharu-chan and the others are actually quadruplets,” the teacher clarified.

“Wow!!!” exclaimed the students in unison, their excitement palpable.

Meanwhile, Chiaki, who was standing behind me, seemed to be trembling at the loud voices. It was unusual for such a commotion to arise, and I secretly wished for it to quiet down. Although there were a few students who did not join in, the majority of them naturally raised their voices when they spoke in a group.

As for me, I wasn’t a fan of loud noises.

At our seats, Chiaki and I were positioned towards the back, slightly sticking out from the row as we sat side by side. It was a spot where we could easily assist each other if needed.

“This is perfect,” I thought as I positioned Chiaki , who seemed nervous, by the window, and took the seat next to her. The attention we were getting was overwhelming.

It would be a while before this attention settled down. I didn’t want Chiaki to be stared at too much, as it would startle her. However, I couldn’t just say that out loud. So I only let out a sigh.

I wondered if Chinatsu and Chifuyu were doing okay. I didn’t feel too comfortable here. Maybe they were feeling the same way?

I became worried about my two sisters in the neighboring class.

◆◆

(POV Kaito)

As I was organizing some documents, my mind wandered to the four sisters. They were originally supposed to be living with their relatives and attending a different elementary school. It was a minor change, but I couldn’t help but wonder how it would affect them.

While lost in thought, my colleague, Sasaki Kojirou, approached me.

“Hey, what happened to the four sisters you took in?” he asked.

“I’ve been able to communicate with one of the children a little bit… I think,” I replied.

“I see…” he said, his face showing a hint of concern, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I had a lot on my mind, like dinner plans and the well-being of the four sisters.

“Do you know what those women in the restroom are calling you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hikaru Genji.”

“I’d slap them for that.”

“Cut it out.”

“I’m not a lolicon; I’m normal. I like people with good figures. Even if I say that, they won’t understand, though.”

“That sounds like something a potential lolicon would say.”

Well, I guess it might seem that way to others. I don’t want to accept or understand it, but sometimes things end up like that.

With a resigned sigh, I continued organizing the documents. I tried to switch my focus to dinner plans.

*******

So from what’s written in the chater Hikaru Genji should be someone who like or at least had some interest in young girls; I searched and that’s indeed the case, Hikaru Genji had numerous relationships with women of various ages, including young girls.