Ch. 25 - First Family Meeting of the Hoshikawa Household

Knock, knock, knock.

“Harutaki, come down to the dining room.”

The sudden pounding on his door nearly made Harutaki jump out of his chair. Quick as lightning, he slammed Win + D, hiding the screen behind a blank desktop, before calling back:

“Just a sec.”

“Hurry up already! Don’t dawdle!”

That’s more like it… That fake gentle voice just now sounded like hospice care, not anything like what his sister Ayaka would ever say.

Not that he was doing anything bad, per se—

…Okay, maybe “not for others to see” was more accurate. After all, the reason he cut to the desktop was to keep his sister from barging in and spotting the love hotel pictures open on his screen.

Two days ago, with Akihisa’s help, he’d shot a set of green-screen mannequin photos for editing. Since then, he’d been hunting for chances to snap usable pictures of Nogami herself.

The problem was that every domestic device in this country made a loud shutter click when taking photos. He’d thought about buying an overseas phone just for stealth shots… until he saw the prices on Mercari. His wallet had politely but firmly talked him down.

Well, video footage and screenshots would have to do.

Even with mosaic filters slapped on afterward, picture quality hardly mattered. He chose to think of it as “practicing frugality” rather than “failing to resist impulse spending.”

Besides, he already owned the latest flagship phone. Buying another one just to sneak pictures? Absurd.

Before leaving, Harutaki saved his half-finished files, powered off the screen, and stepped away. If one of his sisters touched his PC, at least he’d have a fighting chance.

Old habits die hard; his parents used to do surprise room checks in his previous life.

…

“…What’s this supposed to be?”

The moment he stepped into the dining room, Harutaki froze.

Under the chandelier, his three sisters sat stiff and solemn, staring straight at him.

What the hell was this vibe? A witch trial? An inquisition?

And why were they all glaring at him like he was a criminal?!

His steps grew heavier. Heart pounding, he lowered himself into his usual seat. Hands folded tightly on his knees, back ramrod straight.

What had he done? What slip had they caught? If he confessed now, maybe the sentence would be lighter—

That time when he accidentally tossed Ayaka’s underwear into the wash with her clothes?

That time when his thoughts wandered while watching the news with Fuyuno on his lap?

Or… those photo exchanges with Chiaki?

Each possibility sounded worse than the last, like his sentence was climbing from one year, to ten, to life, to the death penalty.

“I-I’m sorry, I—”

“You don’t have to apologize, Aniki. We know this isn’t your fault.”

Ayaka cut him off before he could even finish.

“You don’t blame me for mixing your underwear and clothes in the washer—”

“Aniki, at school, you…”

Both spoke at once—then trailed off. Harutaki blinked. Ayaka blinked.

And then it hit.

“You put my underwear and clothes together in the washing machine?!”

“It was an accident! Totally by accident—I’ll be careful from now on, promise.”

Harutaki bowed his head immediately. It really had been his fault. Luckily, the dryer’s high heat had sterilized everything. Once wouldn’t hurt. Probably.

“You’re hopeless. Just don’t expect your sisters to take care of you when you can’t get a girlfriend.”

Grumbling, Ayaka crossed her arms, chest straining against her blouse, and sat back down.

“But then, we don’t need to worry about that rumor online, right?”

Fuyuno’s eyes flicked at Ayaka’s chest, then away. Out of sight, out of mind. She turned to Harutaki with a mischievous smile, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Pfft. Like, ‘he went limp with his ex-girlfriend’…”

Harutaki: !!!

How the hell does she know about—wait, no!

He swept his eyes over them. All three wore barely suppressed grins.

Fuyuno smirked like the little devil she was.

Chiaki ducked her head, blushing furiously; well, she would know better than anyone how capable her brother was, considering their private photo exchanges.

As for Ayaka…

This usually straight-laced, dignified little sister of his—why did she suddenly look… almost curious?

The second her brother’s gaze landed on her, Ayaka stiffened. She snapped her face back into stern mode, glaring at Fuyuno, then addressed Harutaki seriously:

“You’ve been shutting yourself in your room again. Chiaki and Fuyuno were worried, so—”

“Liar! You were pacing outside his room forever. When I caught you, then you called this family meeting!”

Busted, Ayaka flushed scarlet.

“I-I was thinking of family harmony! What if something happened to you, Harutaki? What would I tell Mom and Dad?!”

“Relax. I’ve just been busy with some stuff lately, that’s all…”

He hurried to cut in before the bickering exploded.

But that only put the spotlight back on him.

“So… so we wanted to ask.” 

Because of how sensitive and serious this topic was in Japan, Ayaka only managed to ask after much hesitation.“At school… you haven’t been… bullied, have you?”

“…How do you know about that?”

“It was when I was bored and wanted to see how you were doing at school, Harutaki. That’s when I stumbled across it on Nichiya High’s anonymous school forum.”

Fuyuno smirked proudly.

Thanks a lot. And stop trying to copy Ayaka’s chest-folding pose—you’ve got nothing there to squish.

“Thanks for worrying about me. Anyway, I’ve got my own plan.”

The revenge plan did have a hint of pettiness to it. Guiding public opinion, weaponizing online shaming—it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing worth bragging about, and there was no way he could explain it to his sisters.

But Ayaka seemed to misunderstand what he meant. She sighed helplessly and asked:

“Don’t tell me… this is the price you’re paying for saying you wanted to start dating?”

Ayaka still remembered all too clearly how fired up Harutaki had been when he declared he was going to enjoy his youth.

“I’m not that stupid. All that nonsense on the forum about me confessing to two people in a row, and the comments about my ex-girlfriend—that’s all fake. One hundred percent made up.”

“Exactly. I mean, with how you used to look, scruffy, gloomy, gross otaku and all, who’d ever date you, let alone sleep with you?”

She mercilessly roasted her own brother… then realized the handsome Harutaki sitting in front of her now looked more and more pleasing to the eye. Her heart skipped a beat—or maybe two.

But the usually silent Chiaki suddenly caught the flaw in his explanation—

“Harutaki-nii… don’t tell me… you actually molested someone?”

“……”

At those words, the relieved look on Ayaka’s face froze, while Fuyuno, who smelled new entertainment, turned eagerly toward her brother at the end of the dining table.

“I did not—”

Trying to shake his head and deny it, Harutaki faltered under his sisters’ stares, finally surrendering and admitting to his “crime.”

“—I was forced into it. They made me… grope their chests.”

“Wha—?! You stupid Aniki, what the hell is wrong with you! Groping your classmates at school?!”

Ayaka practically exploded, slamming the table as she shot to her feet.

Beside her, Fuyuno eagerly fanned the flames, nodding so hard her head might fly off.

“Yeah, yeah! If you wanna grope boobs, aren’t Ayaka-nee’s big enough? Soft enough? Why’d you have to touch some other stinky woman’s instead?”

Harutaki braced himself, expecting Ayaka to lash out and shut Fuyuno up in embarrassment, but instead, her eyes darted away, her voice faltering as she stammered out a hesitant agreement.

“A-at the very least… I wouldn’t report you… If you really couldn’t hold it in…”

“M-me too…”

Chiaki, what the hell is your deal now?!

And what’s with just poking five fingers up above the table like you’re taking roll call—who are you even signaling to?!

“Is… is it really okay if I squeeze them?”

“Go to hell, you perverted siscon scumbag! Who in their right mind wants to grope their own sisters?!”

How can I be called a scumbag when I don’t even have a girlfriend?!

“I don’t mind, you know~”

A washboard isn’t worth groping!!

“Not one of you is allowed, you hear me?!”

Ayaka—did you forget you still have another sister?!

And so, amidst Ayaka’s flustered outrage, Fuyuno’s relentless pestering, and Chiaki quietly sneaking around to hide behind her brother for cover, the first impromptu “family meeting” since Harutaki’s rebirth came to a chaotic end.

Click.

Opportunistic as ever, Chiaki snapped a cheerful selfie with her brother Harutaki, the background perfectly capturing Fuyuno and Ayaka in the middle of their noisy squabble.

Comments