MCFW 03

Chapter:03

By the time we finished practice, it was already night.
They had said they’d just play one song, but that wasn’t enough for them—before we knew it, they’d gone through several more, and the evening had completely fallen.

After dinner at my house, Kana-neechan and her friends somehow ended up in my room.

“It’s the first time I’ve gone to a boy’s house and been treated to dinner.”
“Yeah, usually we each bring our own food to Kana’s place, so that never happens.”
“That’s what I thought too, so I brought some sandwiches for dinner today… I guess that was pointless.”
“You can still eat them later, no problem. But more importantly—”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Exactly.”

Kana-neechan and the others turned their eyes toward me.

“So… the fact that you all came to my room—does that mean you still have some business with me?”

I had thought we’d be breaking up after dinner, but since they all came into my room, I decided to ask directly what they wanted.
Then, Misa stepped up close to me.

“Yeah. We came to your room because there’s something we need to talk about.”
“Right. You’re the only one we can really ask.”
“What kind of business?”

This didn’t sound like something music-related.
Something else entirely.
But by the time they’d already come into my room, it was too late to avoid it.

Misa took my hand and said:

“How about going out with me?”

“Huh?”

I froze in shock.
And it wasn’t just me—Kana-neechan and the girl with the semi-long hair were staring at Misa in disbelief too.
Nao, standing nearby, sighed and spoke up in exasperation.

“Is that really something you just blurt out like that? You don’t even know what kind of person he is yet.”
“Oh, come on, what’s the big deal? We go to an all-girls school—you hardly ever get to hang out with a guy. He’s good on the bass, pretty decent-looking too. So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that he’s not your plaything, Misa!”

Kana-neechan shot back immediately.

“Aww, but I finally found a decent guy…”

A “decent guy,” huh?
I really don’t get what their standards are supposed to be.
Just a while ago, they were all looking at me skeptically, wondering if I could even play.
Girls’ preferences really are all over the place.

“Anyway, don’t you dare try any weird seductive tricks on my little brother.”

Seductive tricks…?
Did she really just say that right in front of me?
If anything, it feels like Kana-neechan is the one doing the seducing.

“Even if you tell us not to, that’s kind of impossible,”

Nao chimed in.
What on earth did she mean by that?
Kana-neechan tilted her head, curious.

“Why not?”
“Because everyone in our band except Kaede is a girl. Even if we don’t mean to, just one gesture or expression could be taken that way.”
“That’s true, but still…”
“Besides, Kana, that whole ‘little brother’ thing you keep saying—it doesn’t really work for us.”
“What do you mean?”
“It just feels weird for us to call him ‘little brother.’”
“Well… it’s just easier to call him that, that’s all…”
“If you’re going to tell us not to flirt, you should at least start calling him ‘Kaede.’ Otherwise it’s not convincing.”
“But… he is my little brother…”

Well, yeah. We’ve grown up together since we were little.
I can understand her feelings, but from her friends’ perspective, I’m just another guy—just a junior.
And for me, they’re all my seniors, even if they go to an all-girls school.
It’s my first time actually meeting Kana-neechan’s bandmates in person.

“Whatever. Personally, I don’t care much about that kind of stuff anyway,”

Nao said, sitting down on my bed and crossing her legs.

Um… could you not do that?
It’s not that crossing her legs is a problem, but from my angle, I can see right up her skirt.
And even worse, her underwear—cute pink ones that totally don’t fit her boyish image—peeked out.

“Well, Nao doesn’t seem all that interested in romance, so it’s fine,”

Misa said, glancing at Nao’s face.
Apparently, Misa, Rie, and Kana-neechan hadn’t noticed what I had.

“Yeah, I’m more into band stuff than romance anyway,”

Nao said proudly.
She could say whatever she wanted, but that pose was definitely seductive.
Though she didn’t seem aware of it at all…
Still, it would look weird if I suddenly changed where I was sitting.

“That’s so like you, Nao. You’ve always been so strict about that stuff.”
“I don’t need you telling me that, Rie. I just—”
“I know. You’ve got your dreams riding on our band, right?”
“Exactly. Which is why… we just have to keep practicing.”

Nao picked up her guitar and softly strummed the strings.
She was so focused on the music that she didn’t even realize how she was sitting.
Maybe letting them into my room was a mistake after all.
I shouldn’t have assumed it was fine just because Kana-neechan came in too.

“If that’s the case, maybe I should practice more too. Every minute counts right now.”
“Yeah, like we said earlier—the school festival’s coming up soon. Between that and prep work, our practice time is limited.”
“Anyway, today’s practice is done. If you still want to play, do it at home.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just habit.”
“Habit, huh? You say that, but Nao, weren’t you practicing in your underwear the other day? That’s too careless!”
“That’s only because I was too lazy to change out of my uniform. I was practicing though.”
“Even so, I could never do that.”
“It was hot that day!”
“Well… yeah, it was hot, but still…”
“I was alone, so who cares?”
“I mean, if you’re alone, sure, but still…”

Misa looked at Nao with an incredulous smile.
I seriously hoped she wouldn’t get any ideas about pulling a stunt like that here.
I already had my hands full just trying to keep track of the four of them.

“If you’re going to keep practicing, do it in the other room, not mine.”
“That room’s still free to use, Kaede?”

Nao asked thoughtfully.

“Yeah, my brother’s not home yet, so it’s fine for a bit. Just don’t stay the night.”
“Stay the night? Someone actually sleeps in there?”
“Yeah. My brother’s bandmates sometimes crash here for practice.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yeah, I know who you mean—Tetsu, right?”
“That’s him. He’s my brother’s best friend and comes over a lot.”

So Kana-neechan knew him too.
Not surprising—she’d been invited to join my brother’s band before.

“I see. Ryuichi invited me once too, but I didn’t join.”
“Oh, really?”

I decided not to ask why.
She had her own band now; probably just a matter of different goals or ideals.

“Anyway, I can’t help but notice—what’s under this bed?”
“Huh?”

Nao suddenly reached under my bed, feeling around.
Hey—stop that!
There’s nothing down there, I swear!

“Oh, I was curious about that too.”
“Boys usually keep naughty magazines under their beds, right? What about you, Kaede?”
“Ooh, your little brother’s secret—I kind of want to know too,”

Kana-neechan added with an amused look.
Before I could stop them, Nao started pulling something out from under the bed.

But what she found made both of us freeze.

“What… is this?”
“Huh?”

I looked—and my blood ran cold.
It was an adult magazine.

“Unbelievable…”

Misa frowned, while Nao and Rie gave each other knowing smiles.

“So Kaede’s a normal boy after all.”
“Honestly, I’m relieved. I was starting to think you weren’t into girls at all.”

“No! That’s not mine!”

I tried to defend myself, but Kana-neechan’s terrifying aura made my voice die in my throat.
Anything remotely “adult” was strictly forbidden in front of her.

“Little brother… what exactly is this?”

Her smile was pleasant—but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“It’s not mine! I swear! I’ve never even put anything like that under my bed!”
“Hmm… is that so?”

Ah…
She definitely didn’t believe me.

Then Nao reached under again and pulled out something else.

“Wait—what the…!?”

I was speechless.
It was that—the thing used when a man and woman… you know.
Still in its wrapper, thankfully.
Even Kana-neechan went bright red.

“Why would that be in your room!?”
“I have no idea! I didn’t even know it was there!”
“So if it’s not yours… it must belong to your brother?”
“Probably… yeah. And honestly, I’ve never seen a real one before…”
“You’re too young for that stuff! And Nao—put that down already!”
“I wasn’t doing anything! I was just curious—”

Kana-neechan snatched it away from Nao in a panic.

“I’ll be holding onto this. And Nao, stop snooping around my brother’s room!”
“Sorry! It’s just—it’s my first time in a boy’s room, so I got curious!”

First time or not, sitting on my bed and rummaging underneath it is definitely not okay.

“Don’t give me that. You’ve got a little brother yourself.”
“Yeah, but he’s still in elementary school! He wouldn’t have stuff like this.”
“Even so, that’s no excuse to snoop.”
“I know, I know—but come on, I just couldn’t help it! I got the urge to look!”

Nao said with a grin, completely unrepentant.
Honestly, if she’d only found music magazines, she’d probably have been disappointed.

“Kaede. We need to talk later, after everyone leaves.”
“Uh… I’ve got homework tonight, so maybe—”
“It’ll only take a little bit. You have time, right?”

She said it quietly, still holding both the adult magazine and that other item.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. The pressure was terrifying.

“O-okay… just a little.”

I couldn’t refuse. Not if I valued my life.

After that, Nao and the others went to practice a bit more in the other room, and then everyone finally went home.