Chapter 06
After finishing my part-time job for the day, I hurried home.
There wasn’t any real reason to rush—but for some reason, I had this strange feeling that I needed to get back quickly.
That spare room’s door was unlocked, so if Nao and the others showed up first, they could just ask my mom for permission and start using it right away.
The real reason I wanted to get home fast was because of them—Nao and her friends.
I couldn’t help worrying they might start snooping around.
Naturally, that spare room had a few of those… magazines like before.
They turned up when I was practicing alone the other day.
They weren’t mine, of course—they belonged to my older brothers.
But unlike last time, when Nao accidentally found one in my room, if she discovered those in that spare room, there’d be no way to explain myself.
Just thinking about it made my face burn with embarrassment.
I needed to get home fast and take care of those magazines—
But of course, trouble always seems to find you when you’re in a hurry.
“—Kyaa!”
A girl in a school uniform walking nearby tripped and fell.
Her skirt flipped up, flashing a glimpse of pure white underneath.
But now wasn’t the time to be staring.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine—ow!”
The girl tried to stand, but winced and crouched back down.
Blood was running from her knee.
Great. Just my luck.
I couldn’t just ignore her now. That’s not who I am.
“That’s a nasty cut.”
“What should I do…? I still have plans after this…”
“For now, let’s go to that park over there.”
I offered her my shoulder, and she leaned on me as we walked.
“Thank you. Um…”
“Don’t worry about it. I couldn’t just leave you like that.”
Ugh… my bad habit from being a member of the disciplinary committee was showing again—even outside school.
Well, since it happened nearby, I guess it couldn’t be helped.
Once we got to the park, I went straight to the water fountain.
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and soaked it with water.
“This might sting a bit, but… try to bear with it.”
I wrung out the cloth and pressed it gently against her scraped knee.
“Ahh…!”
She winced in pain as the wound stung.
At least the bleeding stopped, so that was good.
I rinsed and wrung the handkerchief again, then tied it around her knee as a makeshift bandage.
“Sorry, I don’t have any band-aids on me. It’s not much, but you can keep this handkerchief.
Once you get home, make sure to clean it properly.”
“I will. Thank you so much for your help.”
“No need to thank me. Take care, okay?”
With that, I left the park.
Now that I thought about it, I never even asked for her name—but oh well.
Not that I was all that interested anyway.
The only thing that stuck with me was that her school uniform was from the same all-girls’ school my sister Kana attended.
Speaking of Kana… I wonder how she’s doing right now.
Probably still working at her part-time job.
I’ll be practicing in that spare room again tonight, so no point worrying about it.
For now, I just need to get home.
As I got closer to the spare room, I could hear the sound of guitar and drums.
When I stepped inside, Nao and Misa were already there, practicing.
Still in their school uniforms—they must’ve come straight after class.
“Hey, Kaede!”
“Hi there, Kaede. We’ve been using this room for practice… hope that’s okay?”
“It’s fine. No one else uses it anyway. I came here to practice too.”
“Thanks!”
“Then, shall we try playing together?” Misa suggested.
“Yeah, let’s give it a go.”
“Perfect. Let’s do it!”
“Wait, hold on a sec—I’m not ready yet…”
I hurried to grab my bass.
“No rush, Kaede,” Misa said with a smile. “We only just got here ourselves.”
Still… with her practicing the drums in that short school skirt, it was kind of hard not to notice certain things.
All-girls’ school uniforms really are short, and whenever she spread her legs to hit the pedals—yeah, her pink underwear peeked right out.
Well, since she’s used to being around only girls, maybe she doesn’t even think about it.
I’ll just… try not to look.
“Just give me a moment—I’ll be done tuning soon.”
Right then, the door opened, and Kana and Rie walked in.
“Sorry we’re late…”
“Did you wait long?”
Nao shook her head.
“Nope, we just got here too, so don’t worry.”
“Good. Our shift ran a bit long, and we couldn’t get away sooner.”
“Yeah, we were really busy.”
“Rough day, huh?”
So Kana and Rie worked at the same part-time job.
And of course, they were still wearing their school uniforms too.
“Hang on a sec, we’ll get ready right away,” Kana said.
I didn’t complain, but honestly… practicing in uniform? It’s not like this is a club activity.
Then again, I wasn’t really in a position to criticize anyone.
After that, we practiced as usual.
Thankfully, no one found the hidden magazines, so I could finally relax.
When night came and practice ended, Kana and the others came to hang out in my room.
They didn’t seem to have any particular reason for it—they just made themselves comfortable, sitting on my bed or on the cushions I’d set out.
Sometimes Mom peeked in, looking a bit worried, though I had no idea why.
“Ahh, being in Kaede’s room always feels so relaxing.”
“Right? It’s weird—this is a guy’s room, but it’s strangely cozy.”
“Yeah. I always thought guys were like wild beasts, but Kaede just feels… safe.”
The three of them laughed and relaxed completely.
Honestly, they were way too relaxed—skirts riding up, legs sprawled out… completely defenseless.
Please, have some modesty.
I am a guy, you know. I can only ignore so much.
Even Nao, who usually acts all cool and composed, was lying on my bed looking totally at ease…
Naturally, the one who got mad about it was my sister.
“Hey, you three! Relax all you want, but not in front of my little brother! Try to sit properly!”
“Ehh, but we just wanted to rest for a bit… We need some healing too, just like you get from your cute little brother.”
“That’s not—!”
“Oh, come on. You don’t have to hide it—we can all tell.”
“T-that’s not true!”
Rie’s teasing left Kana flustered and speechless.
Then Nao turned to me with a curious look.
“By the way, Kaede. You were hiding something in that room earlier, weren’t you? What was it?”
“Wha—!? It’s nothing important, really…”
I froze.
Misa immediately jumped in.
“Ooh, that sounds suspicious! Were you hiding something weird~?”
“N-no, of course not! There’s nothing like that!”
I tried to sound calm, but my voice cracked.
If they found out about those magazines, I was doomed.
Even if they weren’t mine, they’d still judge me.
Kana gave me a sharp look and stepped closer.
“Kaede. Tell us the truth. Keeping secrets from us isn’t a good idea.”
Ugh… even Kana’s suspicious of me now?
All this… just because of my brother’s stupid magazines?
“Wait, it’s not like that! I wasn’t hiding anything. I was just thinking about what to do with some of my brother’s stuff.”
“Your brother’s stuff? What kind of stuff?”
“It’s nothing important… really. Just forget about it.”
“When you say that, it only makes me more curious.”
“I get that, but I’d rather not mess with his things. He’d be mad if he found out.”
“I see… well, in that case, I guess we’ll drop it. Still kinda curious though.”
“—Oh wow, it’s already this late?” Rie said, glancing at the clock beside my bed.
It was already 9 p.m.
If any of them had a curfew, they’d be in trouble by now.
“Ah, you’re right. Nine already? I still have homework to do when I get home.”
“Yeah, I should head out too.”
“Be careful, Rie.”
“You too, Kana. Don’t let being around your adorable brother make you too careless~”
“Geez! It’s not like that!”
Adorable brother, huh? Yeah, no. Kana and I are definitely not like that.
Sure, we promised to go shopping on Sunday, but that’s all.
The three senpai grabbed their bags and headed for the door.
I walked them to the entrance to see them off.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you.”
Nao and Rie waved goodbye and left.
Then Misa suddenly turned around as if she remembered something.
“Oh, right! Make sure you take good care of Kana, okay? Escort her properly!”
Then, before I could react, she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek—
—and hurried out the door.
I just stood there, frozen.
Kana, however, radiated an aura of pure murder.
“So… you’ve gotten close to Misa lately, huh?”
“N-no! That wasn’t my fault—she just suddenly—”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Kana pouted, looking… kind of sulky?
“Anyway, I’m going home too.”
“I’ll walk you partway.”
“No need.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to walk next to a brother who lets other girls flirt with him.”
Wait, what!? That’s not fair!
“I wasn’t flirting or anything—”
“Really? Then tell that to your conscience. You were staring at Nao earlier, weren’t you?”
“Staring? I was just… uh, trying not to look! They were sitting way too carelessly!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! I was the only guy in the room. What was I supposed to do?”
“…I see. Guess I misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood what?”
She tilted her head slightly, expression softening.
“Nothing. Forget it. Anyway, I’ll get going.”
“I’ll walk you.”
“No, it’s fine tonight.”
“Why?”
“I just… want to walk home alone today.”
Well, I couldn’t really argue with that.
“Alright… if that’s what you want. See you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Kana left the house.
She didn’t seem too angry, at least.
Still, I couldn’t help worrying—
Would our Sunday shopping trip still be okay…?
