For Some Reason, My Little Sister’s Friend, Who Is Totally Devoted To Me

“…I mean, come on. Shouldn’t you change the way you call me?”

　I asked Shiori-chan, who was still clinging to my arm.

　Shiori-chan tilted her head and turned her brownish eyes to me.

“The way I call you, Onii-san?”

“Yeah. Don’t you think it’s strange to call me Onii-san when we are dating? I’m not Shiori-chan’s brother, you know.”

　I’m being called Onii-san because I’m Yuzu’s brother. However, if I’m going out with her, even on a trial basis, I don’t think calling me Onii-san is right.

　To a stranger who doesn’t know anything about the situation, “Are they dating as siblings?”, they might get the wrong idea like that.

“But Onii-san is a person who loves his sister, right?”

“Ha?”

“Yuzu-chan said that Onii-chan is a genuine siscon and a pervert.”

“No, no, no, I’ve never heard that before. I’m not a siscon, you know?”

　I was surprised at how much my self-evaluation deviated from that of others. Just how did I become a siscon?

“But if Yuzu-chan asks you to buy something, you’ll buy it, right?”

“Yeah, well, if I don’t buy it, she’ll be upset.”

“What would you do if Yuzu-chan got a boyfriend?”

“I’ll hire a detective to do a thorough search and determine if he’s a suitable boyfriend for Yuzu.”

“And if he’s not?”

“Of course, he’ll have to give up on Yuzu.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“It’s going to get physical.”

“Isn’t that being a siscon?”

“No, I’m not being a siscon.”

　Shiori-chan stares at me in dismay. I’d like her not to look at me like that.

“Anyway, I thought that calling Onii-san a siscon would be the most effective way to deal with him.”

“Effective?”

“Yes. I thought it would be more exciting to call you Onii-san than to call you by your name!”

“Are you saying that I’m a pervert?”

“Isn’t that right?”

“Of course not. That’s a given.”

　I let out a small sigh.

　It seems that I’ve been misunderstood.

　Shiori-chan looks me in the eye which tainted my cheeks red for a bit. She coughed, and then said, “Well, then.”

“…Junpei-kun.”

“O-Ohh.”

　She called me by my name.

　I felt embarrassed when she called me that while chewing her honey.

“Which one do you prefer, your name or Onii-san?”

“No, I don’t really have a preference… Well, if we’re going out, I think I’d prefer to be called by my name.”

“Are you sure? By the way, for Onii-san who has a thing for little sisters, I have prepared a lot of variations.”

“Like what I’ve said earlier, I’m not a sis─…Eh? A lot of variations?”

“Onii-chan, O-ani, Aniki, Nii-nii, Nii-san, Ani-nii, Onii-sama, Ani-ue, An-chan, Junpei Onii-chan, Junpei nii-san, Junpei ani─”

“Wait, that’s so many! How many kinds are there!?”

　There are so many different ways to call a brother.

　Foreigners will have a hard time learning Japanese…

“There are more, but which one do you prefer? I’ll go with Onii-san’s preference.”

“No, just use my normal name.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“…Well, if it’s too much trouble for you to change my name, you don’t have to.”

“You’re not being honest. That’s part of Onii-san’s charm.”

　Shiori-chan wraps her arms around me tightly, her cheeks slackening lazily.

　I scratched my cheeks with my fingers and hesitantly cut her off.

“Why does Shiori-chan like me to this extent? I have no idea…”

　This was a question that had been bothering me for a long time.

　I don’t remember gaining any favorability rating from Shiori-chan.

　Shiori-chan smiled and looked up at me.

“It’s an accumulation of many things, but the most important is… It was during my first year.”

“Did anything happen a year ago?”

“No, that’s wrong. It wasn’t in middle school, it was in elementary school.”

“Ha!? Elementary school!?”

“Yes,” nodded Shiori-chan and then continued.

“When I was lost, Onii-san was the one who reached out to me. I remember how reassuring it was when you helped me find my mother.”

　If Shiori-chan was in the first grade, that would have been when I was in the fourth grade. It was too long ago for me to remember.

“After that, I became friends with Yuzu-chan, and when I went to visit her house, I just happened to meet Onii-san again.”

“E-Ermm, that’s it?”

“That’s all it was, in terms of a chance encounter. But the more I saw Onii-san’s kindness, dependability, and the way he took care of me, the more I fell in love with him.”

“…I see.”

　I didn’t know that.

　So, does this mean that Shiori-chan has been aware of me ever since she was in first grade?

　When I think about it that way, I can see Shiori-chan’s behavior differently. Every Valentine’s Day, she gave me heart-shaped chocolates, and she often talked to me. There were times when she asked me to go out with her. I thought it was a joke, so I refused every time.

　…I don’t know what to do. My face started to get hot.

　For a while after that, I couldn’t look at Shiori-chan’s face.

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Translator’s Afterword: Yooo, I guess you could say that they’re actually childhood friends in that regard? After all, it’s been that long already since they first met.