“Oh, hey — Yuito? Crazy running into you here.”
“Oh — Kano-san, hello.”
After Saturday morning classes I’d dropped by the bookstore to do some standing-and-reading, and I bumped into Kano.
“We really keep running into each other lately.”
“Yeah. I drop into some place on a whim and there’s Yuito — I keep being surprised.”
“We’re not actually meeting up, but we keep crossing paths. That’s an insane coincidence — kind of freaking me out.”
Ever since the café-and-shopping outing about two weeks ago, for reasons I genuinely can’t pin down, my Kano-encounter rate has skyrocketed.
After school and on weekends I tend to head out wherever the mood takes me, so anticipating my destination and lying in wait for me ought to be functionally impossible.
It’s almost like I’m being surveilled. Well — Kano wouldn’t do something like that, so out of the question, I’m sure.
“This many coincidences piling up — maybe we’re tied by destiny’s red string.”
“I don’t believe in the red string at all, but yeah, it does start feeling like some kind of fate.”
”…I’m being uncharacteristically romantic here, I feel like you could give me a more spirited reply.”
“That’s just who I am.”
She made a slightly dissatisfied face, but I went on. My brother might have rolled with it, but it’s not in my character.
“By the way, what are you doing after this?”
“No plans. Going home, doing the weekend assignment that’s due Monday, I guess.”
“On a Saturday? That is a tragically lonely way to spend your youth. Such a waste, you know?”
“Mind your business.”
I shot back at her teasing tone. We’d had Saturday classes today, which had eaten up the morning — I really wasn’t in the mood to do anything.
“Lucky for tragic Yuito, your big sister will roll up her sleeves to help.”
”…What exactly are you planning?”
“I’ll specially hang out with you today.”
“Uh, that’s fine, I really —”
“Don’t be shy — it’s us.”
And she grabbed me in a full hug. Realizing escape was impossible, I waved the white flag immediately.
“Fine, I surrender — now please let go right now.”
“What? It’s fine like this.”
“It’s not — everyone’s watching us.”
People around us were giving us death stares of the don’t-flirt-in-public variety, and I was beyond uncomfortable.
This was also right near the school, so on the off chance any classmates saw us and started spreading weird rumors, that would be a nightmare to deal with.
“Fine. I’ll let you off this time. All right — let’s go.”
“Where exactly are you taking me?”
“I want to play a bunch today — I was thinking Phase One.”
“Yeah, that place is built for it.”
Phase One is a combined amusement complex with a bowling alley, karaoke rooms, an arcade — perfect for killing an afternoon.
We left the bookstore and headed over on Kano’s bike. It’s pretty far from my house, so it had been a while. After a stretch of riding we pulled up and went inside.
“So what do we do first?”
“You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s start with karaoke and eat while we sing.”
“Sure, I’m in.”
I had no objections, so we agreed on karaoke first.
“How long do we book?”
“Two hours seems about right? We can always extend if we haven’t sung enough.”
“Okay, two hours then.”
We checked in and headed straight into the room. It was a two-person room — narrow — meaning we were going to have to sit pretty much in contact.
“Hey, a closed room just the two of us — doesn’t that get you a little excited?”
“W-where is that coming from?!”
The smug look on her face when she said it sent me into a full panic.
“The soundproofing in Phase One’s karaoke rooms is very good, so even if a guy and a girl crossed some lines in here, probably nobody would know.”
“True, I have heard people use karaoke rooms for that kind of shady purpose…”
“So if Yuito got worked up and put his hands on me, the chance of anyone catching us is pretty low, don’t you think?”
“P-please don’t tease me. I’m going to the drink bar.”
I bolted out of the room as if escaping her. I am, technically, a high school boy in his prime — please refrain from saying provocative things.
Especially since all my favorite saved porn videos and images had mysteriously disappeared from my phone two weeks ago, leaving me a bit pent up to begin with.
”…So I really am just a healthy guy after all.”
My lower half had reacted to Kano’s teasing, painfully so. I was supposed to be in love with Suzuno — getting hard for Kano was honestly pathetic.
Sexual drive really is one of the three great human urges; you can’t resist it biologically, I guess. With those thoughts I waited in front of the drink bar for things to settle down.
Then I poured drinks for both of us into cups and headed back to the room.
“Oh, you’re back. I was lonely — don’t leave your big sister all alone.”
“Whose fault was that exactly…”
I muttered, looking at her casual face. After saying that earlier and now sitting there acting normal — clearly, the goal was to enjoy my reaction.
I mean, to her I’m essentially a little brother figure, so the idea that she’d genuinely be propositioning me is, obviously, impossible.