Social Anxiety and the Rock of Loneliness

"Brother, you're way too late coming home..."

But when she noticed what Ishikawa Hayato was holding, she blinked blankly, then stomped her white-socked foot in anger.

"Don't bring corpses into the house!"

Here, let Ishikawa Hayato clarify: his family was perfectly ordinary, not some clan of assassins.

What was going on in that dumb sister's head?

After his sister's shout died down, a commotion erupted from the kitchen.

"Ehhh?!"

Amid the clatter of pots and hurried footsteps, their mother rushed out, looking worriedly at Ishikawa Hayato.

She nervously scrutinized the thing in his hands.

"I believe Hayato is definitely not a bad kid."

Mom, when you say you believe me, could you not look so tense?

Ishikawa Hayato was starting to wonder what kind of image he had in his mother's mind.

"It's a musical instrument, you idiot."

Ishikawa Hayato kicked off his shoes, slipped into house slippers, walked up to his sister who was still staring at what he held, and gave her a headbutt.

His mother let out a sigh of relief, glanced back at the kitchen, yelped, and hurried back inside.

Ishikawa Hayato peeked into the kitchen too, saw nothing needed help with, and added the words he'd missed saying when he came in.

"Good evening, Mom."

He turned to look at his sister, who was rubbing her head and getting ready to go back to the living room to watch TV.

"And my foolish little sister, too."

"Hmph."

He got a cold snort from his sister, and a warm welcome from his mother.

Just as Ishikawa Hayato was about to haul the synthesizer and speakers up to his room, he spotted his sister lounging lazily in the living room, legs tucked up, watching TV. Feeling obligated to give the idle girl something to do, he walked in.

"Hm?"

Ishikawa Hibiki saw her brother approaching with what looked like a person's head (the speaker) and a headless corpse (the keyboard), immediately tensed up, shrank back into the sofa, and pressed her little feet together.

"What are you doing?!"

"Come upstairs with me."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't care about the extra weight at all; he just hooked his arm around his sister's neck and dragged her along.

"Ehhh, Mom, help!! Big brother's going to kill me!! If you're cooking dinner, there'll be one less mouth to feed tonight!!"

6. Dinner

"Dinner's almost ready."

Their mother completely ignored Hibiki's cries, just reminding them.

"Okay, we'll be down in a bit."

Ishikawa Hayato, loaded down with bags and dragging his sister, replied.

As for Hibiki, her neck trapped and her pleas ignored, her gaze turned resentful and limp, like a dead fish, as Ishikawa Hayato hauled her to the door of her room.

Then she stared blankly as he calmly opened her door, as if it were his own.

"This is my room!"

"Your room is my room, and my room is still my room."

Ishikawa Hayato nodded with utter confidence.

"Are you Nobita?! Even Nobita wouldn't do this to his own sister!"

Ishikawa Hibiki couldn't take it and started struggling.

"Sister?"

Ishikawa Hayato let her go, put on a clueless expression, and looked around.

"Where? All I see here is a keyboard, a speaker, and an idiot."

"I'm not teaching you anymore."

Hibiki, now free, walked into her room, turned around, crossed her arms, and said coldly.

Looked like she wasn't that dumb after all—she'd clearly guessed her brother's intentions, seized the upper hand, and put on airs.

"Oh~"

Ishikawa Hayato nodded. "Wait for me."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room. Hibiki curiously poked her head out and watched him head downstairs.

A moment later.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at his sister, who was sitting crossly on the pale blue bedsheets, still in her school uniform, and extended one hand.

In his hand was a freshly bought pudding.

"Pudding."

A fawning smile was plastered on his face.

"What do you take me for... I'm not about to be tricked into slave labor over some snacks."

Hibiki sighed and pouted.

Tch, usually so dense, but when it counts, she gets smart. Guess I'll have to bleed for it.

Ishikawa Hayato grumbled inwardly, but his fawning expression didn't waver. He extended his other hand, and in his palm lay a few slips of paper.

And true to form, this was his trump card. Hibiki's gaze flicked over, first lingering casually on his hand, her little head tilting slightly as if counting the slips, before a smile she couldn't quite suppress tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Well... teaching you isn't out of the question."

She took the slips with a motion that seemed slow but was actually quick, not forgetting to throw out a threat.

"But let me be clear—if you're too dumb to learn, I'm not responsible."

Even while asking for a favor, Hayato couldn't help but snort at that.

"Hah."

Hibiki instantly bristled, waving her little fists and glaring at Hayato through gritted teeth.

"How dare you snort! Just you wait!"

When mealtime came.

The siblings walked downstairs together.

One wore a thoughtful expression, while the other, as if having lost all hope in life, staggered unsteadily behind her brother.

"What's with you two?"

The recently returned head of the Ishikawa household, Ishikawa Jinpei, sat at the dining table, taking a small sip of sake, ready to start eating. But he looked up at his children's unusual states.

Hayato snapped back to reality and said, "Oh, right. I joined a band today, so I'll be coming home late from now on."

Ishikawa Jinpei nodded, indicating he had no objections, then cracked a smile.

"Planning to build a harem as a band member? Not a bad idea."

He said this with a proud expression that screamed, You've still got a lot to learn.

"No, I couldn't accept a harem built with such third-rate methods."

Hayato sat down in his seat, shaking his head dismissively at his father's outdated thinking.

Once his sister sat down, her first words were directed at Ishikawa Jinpei—her father.

"Dad, did you know your son is a pervert?"

Ishikawa Jinpei froze, blinking in confusion, his face showing a surprised expression that seemed to say, You're just figuring this out now?

Seeing her father's habit of wearing every thought on his face, Hibiki got annoyed and decided not to bother with him. Instead, she turned to the kitchen, where her mother hadn't yet emerged, and called out in a whiny tone.

"Mom~~"

"Coming."

Ishikawa Shizuka dried her hands and walked out of the kitchen with a smile.

Seeing his wife arrive, Ishikawa Jinpei's expression sobered slightly, no longer daring to show the shifty look he'd worn while chatting with his son.

Hibiki asked Ishikawa Shizuka seriously, "Is big brother really Dad's son?"

At this earth-shattering question, the two males in the Ishikawa household stared blankly at Hibiki, then exchanged glances, and finally turned to look at Ishikawa Shizuka.

The mistress of the Ishikawa house, who had been about to pick up her chopsticks, froze mid-smile, then narrowed her eyes.

"Does Hibiki not want her allowance this month?"

Faced with the issue of her allowance, Hibiki instantly regained her wits.

With clean, polite movements, she set down her chopsticks, pushed back her chair, walked to the side, and knelt.

"I'm sorry!"

Watching his sister's display, Hayato rubbed his chin. Looks like my sister has the potential to be a pervert too.

"But isn't it too much? Why is my brother such a pervert?"

After Hibiki explained, her parents understood the situation.

It was just that in a few minutes, he'd gone from not knowing how to play the piano to being able to play a full piano piece.

They were long used to it.

"That's just a thinking ability infinitely superior to your almond-sized brain. Please call it intelligence, not perversion."

Ishikawa Hayato ate his meal properly. He had his own views on perversion—it wasn't just anything strange that deserved the label.

"But big brother, you are a pervert, right?"

Hibiki said with certainty.

After all, this was something her brother had called himself for over a decade.

"Of course I'm a genuine, upright pervert."

Ishikawa Hayato answered proudly, as if he'd never change his name or alter his ways.

Seeing her son like this again, Ishikawa Shizuka sighed. She began to worry about her underage son's future prospects.

"Hayato... girls won't like you like this. You won't even be able to start a harem."

Hearing his mother say that, Ishikawa Hayato boasted about the afternoon's events.

"Oh, right, speaking of girls—I met two angels today! They spent over an hour with me, helped me buy books, a keyboard. Ah, so nice~"

He swayed happily from side to side.

Hibiki slowly set down her chopsticks, pressed her palms together, and offered a silent prayer.

"Poor salesladies. I hope they encounter something joyful later to forget today's miserable experience."

She didn't take a single word of her wise, perverted brother's story seriously.

Ishikawa Hayato turned to look at his parents. Seeing that they too seemed to agree with his sister's view, he quickly finished the rest of his meal.

Then he picked up his bowl and stood.