"Rui, huh..."
Tachibana Hina smiled and drained the beer in her hand, then showed a nostalgic expression.
"How should I put it... since she was little, she's been a very well-behaved child, but one who didn't fit in well with others."
"Oh? How so?"
Murakami Yuu quietly reached for the beer on the tea table, but Tachibana Hina snatched it back with quick reflexes, swiftly pulling all the beer in plastic bags to her side and giving him a challenging look.
Are you some kind of kid hoarding snacks?
Murakami Yuu sighed with a "what can I do with you" expression, compromising by picking up the orange juice and taking a lifeless sip. Only after drinking did he realize this was the bottle Tachibana Rui had been drinking from earlier.
"Where was I just now... oh right, Rui has been quite introverted since childhood. Because she wasn't very good at expressing her emotions, she didn't fit in well with other children.
Later, as she grew up and entered elementary school, she always had that poker face with a 'strangers keep away' expression. Although her grades were good, she still didn't make any friends. Then came middle school..."
Tachibana Hina accurately expressed the memories in her mind with words while occasionally taking sips of beer.
Murakami Yuu listened quietly from the side, picking up small snacks from the tea table and putting them in his mouth.
"...You know, although Rui is a cold person, setting that aside, she's actually quite cute in appearance. When she reached middle school age where kids start developing romantic feelings, boys gradually began expressing their interest in her.
Things like stuffing love letters in her shoe locker, stopping her on the street to confess directly, waiting for her at the school gate to walk home together... these all happened many times."
"Eh... so popular."
Murakami Yuu glanced at the sleeping Tachibana Rui and made a casual comment with a drawn-out tone.
"Of course! Rui's cuteness is completely on par with mine as her sister! Hic..."
Tachibana Hina, who was getting a bit tipsy, let out an unladylike hiccup.
"So what was Tachibana Rui-san's usual response?"
"Well, of course... of course she rejected them all without exception! The kind of merciless, decisive rejection!"
"I can imagine that scene. Combined with her expressionless face, the damage dealt must have been considerable."
"Hic... It was exactly as you said, so after entering high school, the number of boys confessing to her gradually decreased... hic..."
"Are you okay? If you can't handle it, how about giving me one bottle? At least temporarily forget my student status in this setting."
Murakami Yuu suggested to Tachibana Hina.
"No, no way! They're all mine! To prevent you from sneaking drinks when you get up at night, I'll finish them all!"
"Hah... do as you like..."
...
The time was midnight.
"After drinking so much beer, if you're going to sleep, you should go to the bathroom first, or you'll wake up from needing to pee."
Murakami Yuu gently shook Tachibana Hina's body.
"Mmm... okay..."
Tachibana Hina stood up shakily, walked to the bathroom while supporting herself against the wall, and soon returned to where she had been sleeping before, lying down softly.
Murakami Yuu took a thin blanket from the cabinet and covered her with it.
"Good night."
"Mmm..."
An unconscious response.
Good, this way she shouldn't wake up midway from needing to urinate.
He turned around and cleaned up the messy tea table, then went to the bathroom to wash his face.
Murakami Yuu had an inexplicable smile on his face as he quietly walked to Tachibana Hina's side, slowly brought his face close to hers, and gently blew a puff of air at her closed eyelids.
After carefully observing that her eyelids didn't react to his action at all, Murakami Yuu smiled. The troublesome sister was completely asleep.
He then turned and came to Tachibana Rui's side, gently poking her face.
"I came here with hopeful expectations, and it would be very troubling if you just fell asleep like this, very cute and popular-with-boys Tachibana Rui-san."
Tachibana Rui slowly opened her eyes, then turned her face and bit the finger that was poking her cheek into her mouth.
She didn't use force, so Murakami Yuu didn't feel any pain.
"This is payback for when you bit me earlier."
Tachibana Rui said...
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