111: "Jabami Yumeko is his girlfriend~"
"Ehehe."
Grimacing in pain, Komachi Hikigaya covered her forehead. "That move just now really lost you some Komachi points!"
Pouting, she shoved her older brother aside and, as if they'd known each other forever, cheerfully threw herself at the dazed Jabami Yumeko nearby, affectionately wrapping her arm around hers.
"This big sister, what's your name?"
"Eh... I'm Jabami Yumeko. It's nice to meet you, Komachi."
A sweet smile bloomed across Yumeko's face, leaving the youthful Komachi momentarily stunned.
'He actually… already introduced her to Yumeko-nee?!'
In her heart, Komachi mourned for Yukinoshita Yukino.
'Komachi wanted to fight for you, Yukino-nee, but she's powerless against fate~ I'm sorry, Yukino-nee o(╥﹏╥)o'
Komachi pulled Yumeko over to the sofa and sat her down.
She dug out a bunch of snacks from hidden nooks and crannies and laid them out on the table. "Yumeko-nee, sit and relax a bit. I'll get some fruit ready with my brother."
"Ah... no, really—"
Yumeko wanted to refuse the trouble, but before she could, Komachi waved her hand in a grand gesture and turned back around, dragging her brother—who hadn't even caught his breath—toward the kitchen.
That her own brother had brought a girl home—and it wasn't the Yukino she was most familiar with—shocked Komachi deeply. But she quickly accepted the reality and started formulating the next steps.
In a way, she really was her brother's sister.
She nudged Hachiman Hikigaya with her elbow, and with a mischievous glint, cupped her hand over her mouth and whispered sneakily, "Alright, spill it, big bro. What's the story here?"
"What story?"
"How'd you trick her into coming home with you? Yumeko-nee's family must be pretty well-off, right? Don't tell me you seduced her with some fancy words or something."
Komachi even put on a fake crying voice. "I can't believe it—my big brother's only been in Tokyo for a little while, and he's already turned into a playboy!"
"..."
With veins popping on his forehead, Hikigaya silently took the best-looking red apple from a bag and rinsed it under the tap, preparing to peel it.
He was long past the chuunibyou phase where he needed to earn "Komachi points."
If this had happened in middle school, he might've bothered to argue.
But now… well, he really might be a bit of a scumbag.
There was no defending it.
"Is it because Yumeko-nee sounds a lot like Yukino-nee? Is that why you..." Komachi raised an eyebrow. "Come on, just tell me—how far have you two gone? Have you done that yet~?"
Blushing, Komachi extended two index fingers and tapped them together in the air suggestively.
Snap—
The veins on the back of Hikigaya's hand bulged, and before he could stop himself, he snapped the red apple clean in half.
His messy, lazy bangs fluttered despite the absence of wind. Despite everything, the passage of time had not changed the core of his siscon nature.
'Ahhhh, where did the pure little Komachi go?!'
'Did some boy from junior high corrupt her?!'
'Should I get the Momobami clan's assassins to "handle" him?!'
'N-no, that would traumatize Komachi. Better to just kidnap and lock him up instead.'
One outrageous thought after another bubbled up in Hikigaya's mind—each one treating the law as mere suggestion—as a gloomy aura began to spread from him like a storm cloud.
"O-Onii-chan?"
Komachi nervously shrank back. Her brother was usually fine, but every once in a while, it was like some switch flipped and he entered his second, dark form.
She mumbled with a bit of grievance, "All I asked was whether you kissed Yumeko-nee. Was that really so…"
Hikigaya's terrifying aura dissipated in an instant.
So she just meant kissing?
He'd thought she meant… well… closer contact.
This kind of Komachi, he could still accept.
"Don't overthink it," he said, cutting off Komachi's train of thought. "We're just… um…"
What were they, anyway?
Hikigaya suddenly couldn't define his relationship with Jabami Yumeko.
Were they a couple?
Neither of them had ever confessed. Aside from this trip, he'd never even gone on a proper date with her. No matter how you looked at it, they didn't really seem like lovers.
Close male and female friends?
Would a "friend" really come alone to spend the weekend at a guy's house? Even meet his family?
"I get it, Onii-chan," Komachi said with the air of someone far wiser than her age, casting a meaningful glance at Hikigaya.
'I thought for a second that my brother had been possessed by some monster, but nope, he's still the same as ever.'
'Still all awkward and shy like with Yukino-nee. But this time, the Komachi Operation is definitely going to succeed!'
'My dear brother's happiness will be protected by me, Hikigaya Komachi!'
'It'll be Komachi who allows it, Komachi who approves it, Komachi who carries the burden!'
Now a second-year in middle school, Komachi was suddenly overcome with righteous determination. After all, with a brother this emotionally clueless, it was up to her—his emotionally intelligent little sister—to step in and help!
Who Hikigaya's future wife would be didn't matter. Komachi only cared about being the legendary sister-in-law!
'Sorry, Yukino-nee, but right now it looks like Yumeko-nee has the upper hand.'
'But that's okay. I won't abandon your route either! Komachi will keep that flame alive for you!'
Meanwhile, Hikigaya Hachiman, known for his ability to see through people, had no idea that his little sister had already made all these plans for his love life.
Soon, the brother-sister duo returned to the living room, carrying a beautifully arranged fruit platter.
To ease the awkward atmosphere—and the strange feeling in his chest—Hachiman turned on the TV. For someone as socially "evolved" as him, the TV wasn't for binge-watching shows on a big screen—it was a social tool.
Komachi immediately picked up on his intentions.
No one knew a brother better than his sister.
'My dearest Onii-chan, if you think you can escape that easily, Komachi will not allow it!'
As soon as the TV started making noise, Komachi flopped onto the coffee table, gazing up at Yumeko with innocent, sparkling eyes and asked sweetly:
"Hey hey, Yumeko-nee, what's your relationship with my brother~?"
"I'm his girlfriend."
"Komachi!"
The two siblings shouted in unison, turning to look at each other in shock.
The air instantly froze, thick with tension.
"I'm his girlfriend~" Yumeko repeated cheerfully with a beaming smile, causing both Hachiman and Komachi's faces to flush red.
Komachi's cheeks looked like they'd just been steamed—right now, all she wanted was to bury her face in the floor and roll around from secondhand embarrassment.
'OHHH MY GOD!! Yumeko-nee actually admitted it! What is that stupid brother of mine even doing?!'
"I… you…"
Hachiman was stammering, staring dumbfounded at Yumeko, completely at a loss for words.
Sensing his flustered state, the ever-considerate Yumeko stood up and walked over to Hachiman's side. She gently smoothed her skirt down along her hips with both hands, then sat down close beside him, knees pressed together, body leaning ever so slightly.
Her flushed face leaned gently against Hachiman's shoulder as she looked directly at Komachi and said softly:
"From the moment Hachiman agreed to bring me here to meet you, I already was~"