MCFW 46

Chapter – 46

The high school I attend is about a 10–20 minute walk from my house, so I don’t need to take a bus or train.
Kana-neesan’s school, a girls’ school, is also about a 20-minute walk, though I’ve never actually been there.
I don’t have any particular reason to go there…
But since our routes overlap for a part of the way, we naturally end up walking together on school mornings.

As usual, I was chatting and walking with Kana-neesan when I noticed a girl in a girls’ school uniform standing there, as if waiting for someone.

Even though the boys’ and girls’ schools are in different locations, the paths overlap partway, so it wasn’t strange to see a girl from the girls’ school there.
And I could tell immediately who she was.
It was Nao-san.
Not many girls at her school have short hair.

“Good morning, Kana. Kae-kun too.”

When Nao-san noticed us, she greeted us with her usual smile.

“Good morning, Nao-chan.”
“Good morning, Nao-san.”

Kana-neesan and I greeted her in unison.
It was unusual for Nao-san to be here at this time.
She had said she couldn’t attend practice, but here she was a week later. (Perhaps Kana and the others saw her at school, but…)
Something must have happened.

“It’s unusual to meet you here, Nao-san. Did something happen?”

I spoke first.
Even if Kana-neesan sees her every day, I hadn’t seen Nao-san in a week. So her showing up like this had to mean something.

Nao-san smiled as usual and said,

“Hm? Nothing in particular. I just thought I’d like to see Kae-kun, so I waited here.”
“Huh? For me?”

I looked at her, puzzled.

“Yes. I wanted to see Kae-kun—”

Suddenly, she hugged me.
Wait… what’s going on?

“Wah! Hey, wait—”

I flailed in surprise.
Kana-neesan, standing beside us, looked shocked and said to Nao-san:

“Hey, Nao-chan! That’s unfair!”
“What’s unfair? I’m just doing this because I want to. If you want to, you can join too.”

Nao-san smiled confidently.
…Nao-san, I understand your feelings, but being hugged like this is really embarrassing…

“I kinda… want to, but… not in front of people…”

Kana-neesan said shyly.
It’s understandable; if you look around, people nearby were staring enviously.
I feel like something similar happened before…

“Well then, Kae-kun. Let’s walk together, at least partway.”
“Y-Yeah.”

I nodded at Nao-san’s words.
If we didn’t leave soon, we might be late.
Then Kana-neesan—

“Little brother!”

She clung to my arm.
Her face clearly showed she was giving up.
At home, she does this all the time.

“What’s wrong, Kana-neesan?”

I looked at her. She had started calling me “little brother.”

“You mustn’t fall for any other girls besides me! …Do you understand that?”
“Uh… well… um…”

I didn’t know how to respond. After all, Nao-san had started this herself…

“If Nao-chan wants to do stuff like that, she has to get my permission first!”
“Hehe… you’re quite sensitive when it comes to Kae-kun, aren’t you?”
“Of course! I don’t want anyone else taking him away from me.”
“So that means I’m included too… I see.”

Nao-san seemed oddly satisfied with herself.

“Of course. You’re my boyfriend after all—”

Kana-neesan said with a pout.
Boyfriend… huh. Well, that sort of makes sense.
It was clear that Nao-san wasn’t the type to give up easily.

“I’m not planning to give up on Kae-kun. If you want him, I have my own plans.”
“What do you mean?”

Kana-neesan’s face stiffened slightly as she looked at Nao-san.
I don’t know Nao-san very well yet, but she is very straightforward and honest in her actions.
Seeing her cling to my arm like this, it’s clear she has no intention of giving up.

“I won’t tell you. But I’ll do whatever it takes to make Kae-kun notice me.”

With that, Nao-san tugged me forward.

“Ah… wait…”

I looked at her helplessly.
Not only did she hug me suddenly, but she was also pulling me along forcefully.
Even with everyone watching, she didn’t seem to care at all.
I looked over at Kana-neesan, who glared at me with a “I won’t lose” expression and walked on my left.

“──So, what about the band?”

After walking for a bit, I asked again.
Nao-san replied casually,

“The band? I guess it’s settled. The leader wasn’t feeling well, but they managed somehow.”

She probably meant my brother.
I had been practicing music with him for a while, so he probably recovered thanks to that.
This is our little secret. I don’t plan to tell anyone.

“I see. Then you’ll be back with us?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I’ll be able to.”

Nao-san smiled.

“That’s good. We’ll make it in time—”

I let out a sigh of relief.
There’s still time before the school cultural festival, so I was reassured in that sense.
I thought it wouldn’t concern me much, but Kana-neesan gave me a ticket, so I can’t be completely uninvolved.
She said she would perform at this year’s cultural festival, so I can’t ignore it either.
I need to do my best as the bassist.

“How about you, Kae-kun?”
“How about me?”
“How’s your condition? Are you doing well?”
“Yes. Very well.”

I smiled.
There’s nothing wrong; I can do everything as usual.

“Of course he’s fine. He’s our little chef.”

Kana-neesan said with a confident smile.
She watches me at home all the time, so she would notice immediately if I was unwell.

“Really?”

Nao-san looked at both of us curiously.
Kana-neesan said firmly,

“Kae-kun is good at cooking. So if something’s wrong, the taste of his food gets weird.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
“Exactly. Kae-kun is pretty sensitive.”
“Then I’d love to try your cooking sometime.”
“Try my cooking?”
“Yes. Would that be so bad?”

Nao-san said cutely, almost pleading.
If it were Kana-neesan, that’d be fine…

“It’s not that it’s bad, but… I’m not very confident.”
“If you’re not confident, I’m even less confident about my cooking.”

Kana-neesan said.
Please don’t praise my cooking that much.

“No, really, I’m not confident.”
“Remember the lunch exchange the other day? Your bento was really delicious.”
“Kana-neesan is almost like family. She’s used to my cooking. Nao-san hasn’t eaten my food, so it might not suit her taste.”
“I don’t think that’s true… right, Nao-chan?”
“Yes, that’s true.”

Kana-neesan said proudly.
Wait, Nao-san has eaten my cooking? When was that?

“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Actually, on the day of the lunch exchange, I let Nao-chan, Rie-chan, and Misa-chan try some of your bento.”
“Wha… that means…”
“Yes! Nao-chan really wanted to try Kae-kun’s cooking, so I gave her a little portion. Not only Nao-chan, but it was a big hit in our class too.”
“Good grief…”

I slumped in disappointment.
I didn’t expect my homemade bento to have caused such a stir.
Kana-neesan continued, ignoring my reaction:

“That’s why I’m looking forward to the cultural festival. I can introduce my boyfriend to everyone.”
“Wha…”

I was stunned by her words.
Kana-neesan is already admired among the boys at school. If they hear she has a boyfriend, it could stir up trouble.

“You’re not just my boyfriend. You’re everyone’s boyfriend too.”
“I was hoping to go around the events of the cultural festival just the two of us…”
“I’ll make sure to take you around during the festival. You don’t need to worry.”
“That is absolutely not allowed! It’s my role to take Kae-kun around—”
“I can’t agree to that. I have the right to escort Kae-kun too.”
“That right isn’t yours—”
“Well, well, you two shouldn’t fight. I’m fine with just wandering around—”

I spoke, and they both glared at me fiercely.

“No, Kae-kun! You go around with me.”
“No, with me.”
“Nao-chan, I told you no—”
“Why? You’re popular anyway. You don’t need to go with me.”
“No! I want to go with Kae-kun.”

Here we go again.
Kana-neesan and Nao-san started arguing again.
I just sighed quietly. I really didn’t want them fighting over this.