"Hmm... so boring, really boring."
Crouched in front of a vending machine, Eriri was straining to reach a drink on the top shelf.
While struggling to get it and silently cursing Yukino as a hopeless bro-con, just as Eriri was feeling frustrated, someone pressed the button for the iced tea she wanted.
"Ryuya?"
Turning her head, Eriri saw the tall, exceptionally handsome young man behind her.
Even though he was the same age as her, he carried an incomparable sense of maturity and charm.
As the sunlight spilled over Ryuya's shoulders, his silver eyes seemed to radiate a charm even women couldn't resist, making Eriri's heartbeat quicken.
"Here you go."
Handing the drink to Eriri, Ryuya spoke apologetically, "Sawamura, Yukino isn't used to going out with friends her own age. If she did anything inappropriate, I apologize on her behalf."
"Ah... no, no, it's fine! I understand Yukino means no harm. Besides, I was the one who wanted to go out shopping today. This is already great."
Momentarily captivated by some strange magic, her usual tsundere demeanor completely vanished, and even her speech became slightly halting.
Eriri took the drink from Ryuya, feeling like the summer heat wasn't so bad anymore.
"By the way, where's Yukino? She's not with you?"
Not seeing Yukino beside Ryuya, Eriri remembered the girl's bro-con had reached an extreme level.
For example, whenever Ryuya appeared, even from hundreds of meters away, Yukino could sense his presence. That automatic radar was something else.
So finding out Yukino wasn't by Ryuya's side now shocked Eriri.
"She's over there."
Pointing towards a cat café across the street, Eriri followed Ryuya's direction and saw Yukino playing with several kittens, with a radiant, angelic smile on her face.
"Yukino likes cats?"
She saw Yukino displaying a completely different aura from her usual self, a side of the girl Eriri had only seen during her naps.
"Yeah, she really likes cats. Likes them a lot."
Shrugging, Ryuya recalled how, as a child, Yukino would interact with the stray cats near their home whenever she felt lonely. He thought that perhaps, deep down, Yukino already considered cats her friends.
Knowing Yukino loved cats, or more accurately, cat-like creatures, Ryuya even considered using his simulation points.
After completing one Epic and one Legendary evaluation, he had gained another 2500 points, bringing his total to 5960. He wondered if he could exchange some for a Digimon or a Pokémon for Yukino to raise and play with. (A/N: SS rank gives 1000 points, SSS gives 1500 points.)
"Ahh, likes cats? Well, that makes sense. Cats are pretty cute."
Squinting slightly, looking at Ryuya beside her, Eriri felt a pang of envy towards Yukino for having such a good older brother.
If she were in Yukino's position, she'd probably fiercely protect her brother too.
She prepared to pick up her shopping bags and go with Ryuya to find Yukino in the café. However, just as Eriri's slender arm reached for her bags, the sack full of paints and brushes was already picked up by Ryuya.
"Let's go, Sawamura-san. Let's grab some coffee."
His smiling face seemed to gather all the light upon himself. Looking at Ryuya, who seemed to embody the very word 'warmth', Eriri took it all in, and her heart began to pound fiercely.
Clearing her throat lightly to collect her slightly dizzy thoughts, she smiled back. "Alright, Ryuya."
For the rest of the time, they had a slightly peculiar lunch with Eriri and Yukino at the cat café. Then, they spent the afternoon at the aquarium, a 3D game simulation room, a museum, and various other entertainment spots before evening quietly arrived.
"Yukino, Ryuya, I had a really great time with you today. Let's hang out again next time we're free!"
Laden with shopping bags, Eriri got into a taxi. As it was the weekend, she had to go home for dinner with her parents, so the blonde failure chose to head home first.
After saying goodbye to Eriri, Ryuya strolled around with Yukino.
Night fell. The rain forecasted for the evening never came, but that was normal. Summer rain was like a girl's mood… bright one moment, dark the next, impossible to predict.
Walking side-by-side with Yukino on the streets of the vast city, their shadows seemed to gradually merge.
"Yukino, what do you want for dinner?"
"Ah... dinner?"
Seemingly lost in thought, Yukino hugged the Pan-san plushie Ryuya had bought her today.
Her small ahoge twitched. Distractedly, Yukino pointed towards a certain restaurant.
It was a couples' restaurant.
"Mmph...! No, no! I want to eat there!"
Her face instantly turned as red as blazing sunset clouds. Shaking her head vigorously, Yukino pointed to a Western-style restaurant next to it, 'Yeah, that seemed much more normal.'
"Let's go then."
Taking Yukino into the Western restaurant, Ryuya ordered some dishes they both liked.
"Ryuya, can I ask you something?"
Stirring the lemon water in her glass absentmindedly while thinking about the day's events, after a whole day of careful consideration, Yukino was convinced of one thing.
The 'sister-in-law' Ryuya wanted to find for her was probably Eriri.
It couldn't be helped. After all, her brother was always within her field of vision. Having great faith in the effectiveness of her special skill, 'Brother Radar', Yukino didn't believe there could be any other girl around Ryuya.
'He couldn't possibly be finding girls after going to sleep every night, right?'
Thinking this, Yukino felt the only one who could possibly trigger this crisis was Eriri, whom they had been spending time with recently.
"Ryuya, what do you think... of Eriri?"
"Eriri? A very talented girl. Excellent looks and family background, personality is alright too..."
Quietly listing Eriri's good points, Ryuya was now absolutely certain his little sister had truly fallen for him.
He smiled. Noticing Yukino's expression darken slightly as he spoke, he stopped his teasing.
"Of course, although Eriri is quite good, she's still far from matching my Yukino."
Smiling as he watched the girl's expression change rapidly, Ryuya realized how dense he had been in the past, not noticing Yukino's feelings until now.
Secretly pondering how to take care of his silly little sister in the future, sure enough, after he said this, Yukino's face visibly brightened.
"Silly Ryuya. Even though Eriri isn't as excellent as me, she's still pretty great."
"Really, how many good little sisters like me do you think there are in the world? Honestly."
Using a light tsundere act to cover her flustered joy, her black eyes held a shy gaze as she looked at Ryuya.
A girl's heart is sensitive, and Yukino could fully feel that Ryuya's attitude towards her was different from before.
Eyes don't lie. Before, her brother saw her purely as family. But now, Ryuya seemed to have changed his perspective somewhat. It was as if he was starting to see her as a woman.
'Could it really be... that the hope I, Yukinoshita Yukino, had been waiting for had finally arrived?'