“My turn, I guess.”
“Wait — Onii-chan picking something that isn’t an anime song? I am shocked.”
“Stop describing me in such depressing terms.”
“You’re Onii-chan.”
Mio had reacted to the song title on the monitor, and to my push-back she remained blissfully unbothered. Just a bit of bias here.
“Now, now — looking forward to seeing how Ryouya-kun sings.”
“Ryouya, fight.”
I was somewhat tense, having never sung in front of anyone outside family — but at this point I had no option but to commit. I started, and the nerves dissolved into the song.
“Oh — Ryouya-kun, you’re surprisingly good.”
“Mm. Nicely done.”
The two of them gave me a thumbs-up after I put the mic down. I’d picked something safe and current that pretty much anyone would know.
“Singing in front of Reona-san and Riona-san feels intimidating.”
“We’re going to be family, so don’t worry about it.”
“Mm-hmm. Let Riona and me hear your voice, Mio-chan.”
Their persistent attempts to absorb Mio into the family were obvious by now, and there was no point pushing back. The intro started, Mio stood up, mic in hand, and sang.
She picked the theme song of a recently popular anime movie. Not technically virtuosic, but very cute. Yeah — once again, hard to believe she’s my sister.
“Mio-chan is so cute.”
“Mm-hmm. I want to bring her home with me right now.”
“Hey — please do not use lines like that in front of Mio. What if her soul gets corrupted.”
If Mio acquired questionable vocabulary I would be bedridden with shock for days. I want her to stay innocent as long as possible.
“Ryouya really is deeply a sister-con.”
“You’re overprotective. Twelve-year-old girls are much more grown-up than boys realize, you know.”
“Onii-chan is gross.”
The three of them gave me unified flat looks, and I shut up. We kept rotating through songs, sometimes solo, sometimes together, and an hour went by in a flash.
“We got so into singing I forgot — we haven’t eaten lunch, have we?”
“You’re right. The whole point was karaoke plus lunch.”
“Hungry.”
“Let’s order off the tablet.”
We ordered between songs and waited. The food arrived while we sang — and there was a problem.
”…There’s only one set of chopsticks in here.”
“You’re right. Reona and Mio-chan have pizza, but Ryouya-kun and Riona need them.”
The staff had probably misjudged the count. I was about to call the front desk for an extra pair when Riona made a suggestion.
“Or we share these chopsticks.”
"" Eh?! ""
“Excellent idea, actually.”
To Mio’s and my shock, Reona looked unfazed. Reona and Riona’s wiring was definitely loose somewhere.
“No, no, that is definitely not okay.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Th-that’s an indirect kiss—”
Riona, at her usual register, dropped the following bombshell:
“We kissed, so it’s a bit late for indirect issues.”
“You kissed?! Onii-chan, you and Reona-san—!?”
“Mm-hmm. Ryouya-kun and I shared quite the heated lip-lock.”
”…And here I thought my shy, friendless older brother was incapable of being a player.”
The look Mio shot me had the energy of someone observing a discarded sock. Receiving that look from my most beloved sister was almost more than I could bear.
“So, Ryouya-kun, just share with Riona. It’ll be less disruptive than calling staff again.”
“Decided. Ryouya, no veto.”
There was no version of this I could win, so I gave up. The shared chopsticks with Riona were embarrassing enough that the food was effectively flavorless. Needless to say.