Episode- 17

"…………Umi-chan?"

"...Big brother!!!"

"big brother!!!!"

"... Ugh."

　I wake up and squint my eyes at the sunlight streaming in through the window.

"Big Brother! How long are you going to sleep?it's already morning, the teacher will give you a wry smile!"

"...That's an accurate observation, I'm starting to feel a bit guilty."

"That's the aim!"

"I'm looking forward to the future with Xiao Si, who is targeting guilt."

　Stand up and stretch your body.

　I finally managed to push the sleepiness and the drowsiness that was slowly building up from my body and get out of bed.

"Has Umi had breakfast yet?"

"Yup! I made my own fried eggs."

"That's great. Then make one for your brother too."

"Sure!"

　Yeah, she's a great little sister after all.

"yeah!"

"yeah?"

"Hm!"

"6poq9……picture?"

　Umi holds out her hand to me as if it was natural.

　Could it be...?

"One hundred yen each!"

"...Isn't this a rip-off?"

　But I wanted my sister to fry an egg for me, so I paid for it.

　The satisfaction level was over 100 yen, so I think I made a reasonable profit.

　after that.

　Having finished my lunch almost immediately after breakfast, I was getting ready to head to the nearby park to meet up with the beach.

"Big brother! It looks like it's hot today, so make sure you dress cool!"

"Okay."

　Taking Umi's advice into consideration, I changed into the clothes that caught my eye and left the room.

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"Big brother, hurry up!"

"Yees."

　A bouncy voice rang out from the first floor.

　It seemed like Umi was already at the entrance, and was urging me on as if she couldn't wait any longer.

"I'm on my way."

"Hurry up!"

　Hearing the voice of Umi, I hurried down the stairs.

　I suddenly stopped there, hesitated for a moment, then turned around.

　Heading to the room next to mine.

　I slowly opened it and could hear the faint sound of sleep.

"Dad? It's already noon."

"Hmm... Ah, it's Rintaro. I'll be waking up soon."

　My dad's voice came from under the covers.

　After some hesitation, I pretended to be calm and called out to the him.

"I'm going with Umi to the park now. What do you think, Dad?"

"... I think I'll sleep a little more. I was working late last night."

"Okay."

　Confirming the obvious answer, I put my hand on the doorknob again to leave the room.

"Rintaro! ...I'm so sorry."

"...Tell that to the Umi."

"Uh, yeah."

　Dad still seemed to want to say something, but I turned my back to him and closed the door.

　I shook off the slightly cloudy feeling in my mind and this time I finally made my way down the stairs.

　　　　　♦ ♦ ♦

"I'm off!"

　I leave the house, do some stretching, and then start running.

　I like to run. Or rather, I like to move my body.

　I also love sunny days, so I often go running on my days off like this.

　I run comfortably through my usual route and then step into the largest park in the neighborhood.

　This is my favorite running spot, with lots of greenery and a relaxing atmosphere.

"What nice weather."

　As I was silently muttering to myself, I suddenly saw a familiar face on the bench.

　She has fine hair and a listless look in her eyes that makes it hard to tell whether she's awake or asleep.

"Fujita-kun?"

　She came to a halt, out of breath, and from her gaze shifted towards the playground equipment she was looking at me.

"Oh, Tohsaka. What a coincidence."

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah, that's――"

"big brother!!!"

"big brother?"

　The sound of pattering footsteps approached.

　A girl stopped in front of Fujita.

"Oh, Umi. It's perfect. This is my classmate, Tohsaka Kouko. Make sure you remember her well."

"Hello! My brother is in your care! I'm his sister, Umi! From now on, please be kind to me!"

"Th-Thanks. Nice to meet you, Umi-chan."

　What, who is this kid?

　This is too polite.

"Now that I think about it, Fujita-kun, you said you have a younger sister."

"That's right. She's my proud little sister. That's why I'm bragging about her now."

"Ahaha, I see..."

　Indeed, it seems like Fujita-kun is about 20% more excited than usual.

"By the way, Onii-chan! I had no idea you had such a cute friend!"

"C-cute!"

"I guess Umi thinks the same, doesn't she? But, this girl just can't accept that she's cute."

"Eh! Why? I've never seen anyone so cute!"

"Huh?! T-that's... thank you..."

　Perhaps because they are children, it is clear that they are not lying.

　The embarrassment is not complicated because of that, but...it's still quite devastating in its own way.

"Umm, please take care of my big brother! Big brother is really lazy, and on top of that he's a sister complex... his future is in danger!"

"Hey Umi. You shouldn't entrust your brother's future to someone you've just met, you know?"

"We need to increase our efforts now!"

"That mindset is important, but it would be a disgrace to Onii-chan. It would be perfect if you could take that into consideration."

"Got it!"

"Okay, then you're the best little sister ever."

　The two of them have a truly intimate conversation.

　…What on earth am I being shown? Or rather.

"You two really get along well."

"Yeah."

"Big brother is so shy!"

"Ahaha, I see."

　I couldn't help but smile.

　Seeing Fujita interacting with his younger sister, I felt like I understood him better as a person.

　　　　　♦ ♦ ♦

　Bask in the orange sunlight while watching the sea filled with happy smiles.

"It's already evening."

"Yeah. I was playing and before I knew it, it was already this time."

　Tohsaka was sitting next to him, eyes narrowed in the same way.

"Thank you for playing with Umi. You were having more fun than usual. To be honest, it's not even comparable to when you play with me."

"Really? That's good. I had fun playing with Umi-chan too. It was great exercise."

　Tohsaka said with satisfaction.

　Fufufu, an overflowing smile spreads across her face.

"Really, I was really grateful."

　Looking at that smile, I couldn't help but bring up a memory that was very close to my heart.

"Umi lost her mother when she was young. So she has never had the experience of being played with by her mother."

　Suddenly, a boy walking hand in hand with his mother comes into view.

　Under normal circumstances, I'm sure I would still be spending my time like that.

"I would never normally say it, but sometimes Umi looks jealous. I'm not her mother, so there's nothing I can do about it. But today, I felt like Tohsaka had somehow granted Umi's wish."

"Fujita-kun..."

「Thank you so much. I was also happy to see Umi having fun. But it would be a bit harsh to say something like this to a classmate. Sorry, I'll forget about it――」

"That's not true!"

"picture....00.....?"

　Tohsaka, illuminated by the sunlight, looks at me with her straight eyes.

"It wasn't a heavy thing. In fact, I felt like I had somehow touched Fujita-kun's heart, and I was really happy."

　Tohsaka's expression was gentle as she turned her gaze back to the sun.

"Besides, important things are bound to be heavy. It's a given."

"Tohsaka..."

　Tohsaka's words sink smoothly into the depths of my heart.

　I'm sure the sentimental scenery and atmosphere have contributed to this.

　But more than that, Tohsaka's tone of voice, the way she spoke and her facial expressions spoke to me warmly.

"Fujita-kun is amazing, seriously. I learned a lot today, and I wanted to understand even more... but I realized that Fujita-kun is amazing."

　Tohsaka said with a clear expression.

"You're amazing, seriously."

　Like a sudden wind blowing, something new caresses the depths of me.

"Big brother! Kouko-san!"

　Tohsaka turns around with a smile just as big as Umi's.

"Really, so cute."

　Tohsaka muttered.

"...That's true."

　I couldn't help but smile and waved back.