Onii-chan, It's Bad!

Fukayama Natsuki ran home in a blur, dropping the pot she was holding.

She opened the refrigerator and took a large gulp of milk.

Once she finally calmed down, she turned around and ran toward the second floor without looking back.

"This is bad! Onii-chan! Onii-chan, it's bad!" She burst into the room, storming in with a flurry of motion, and rushed to the side of Fukayama Midori, who was still lying in bed, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Harassed in such a manner, Fukayama Midori had no choice but to stop pretending to sleep; he opened his eyes and looked at his noisy younger sister, asking.

"What's so bad? Did you spill the food, or did your favorite idol group get caught in a scandal? Or did someone find out about the BL manga you're drawing?"

Fukayama Natsuki, who had originally intended to discuss serious business, turned bright red with anger upon hearing her older brother tease her like that.

She grabbed a slipper from beside the bed and threw it at Fukayama Midori.

Fukayama Midori tried to dodge, but it was too late; the slipper smacked right into his head.

"You idiot brother! Who said anything about that? Even though I did spill the curry today! But I'm trying to tell you about something else! Something else that's important!"

Fukayama Natsuki, feeling that her brother was a lost cause, glared at him and said huffily.

"Ah? You really spilled the curry? Then we'll just have to keep eating instant noodles today." Fukayama Midori, completely uninterested, wasn't listening to a word Natsuki was saying.

"You idiot brother! Go ahead and eat your instant noodles! But Ayano-nee is about to be snatched away by someone else! And you're still here sleeping! Go! Go find Ayano-nee!"

Fukayama Natsuki ran to the window and yanked open the curtains of Fukayama Midori's room.

Instantly, from Fukayama Midori's room, one could see the window glass with hydrangea patterns across the way, as well as the girl's room, which was neat and tidy, featuring a snow-white bookshelf and pretty, cute doll decorations.

It just so happened that Suzuran Ayano was looking for something in her room, and upon seeing Natsuki, she immediately waved with a smile to greet her.

However, before Natsuki could even greet her back, Ayano had already left the room carrying what was clearly a man's piece of clothing.

Fukayama Midori and Suzuran Ayano were childhood friends; their rooms faced each other, and the balconies between them weren't very far apart.

It was just a pity that because Fukayama Midori had always been obsessed with 2D media and had a weak constitution, he had never jumped across the balcony.

As Fukayama Midori's younger sister, Natsuki naturally knew the relationship between Fukayama Midori and Suzuran Ayano very well; when she was little, Natsuki had even been jealous of their closeness.

She had a feeling that her brother was being snatched away by Ayano, and Natsuki had always treated Ayano as a rival.

Although Natsuki usually got along well with Ayano, whenever Ayano and Fukayama Midori were alone together, Natsuki would always find a way to join them.

However, the situation was a bit different now.

"Just now, a guy with yellow hair, bandages all over his face, and who was quite tall came home with Ayano-nee! Ayano-nee called him Akimoto-kun!"

"Even though you, Onii-chan, were still lying in bed, Ayano-nee didn't call for you, but called that Akimoto-kun instead!"

"Onii-chan, do you still have the heart to lie here? You should go find Ayano-nee right now! You can't let Ayano-nee be snatched away!"

Although Natsuki had often hindered Ayano and Fukayama Midori, seeing the Ayano-nee she liked so much get so close to a blond guy gave Natsuki a sense of crisis.

It was for the sake of her brother, Fukayama Midori, that Natsuki was so anxious.

Even though her brother was a loser, he had indeed been inseparable from Ayano when they were children; if Ayano-nee were snatched away by that blond guy, her brother would definitely regret it later.

"Oh, you mean Akimoto-kun." Who would have thought that even after hearing Natsuki say all that, Fukayama Midori just blinked and then continued to lie back down.

"I heard they're putting together some kind of cooking get-together. Besides that Suzuran person, Kuroo Maya is going too, so it's no big deal."

Fukayama Midori, completely indifferent, lay back down on the bed; this was something he had already known about.

Besides, what did it have to do with him who Suzuran Ayano liked?

The memory of that Suzuran Ayano person inexplicably slapping him at the entrance ceremony was still fresh in his mind.

Furthermore, she was almost inseparable from Akimoto Yoichi at school on a daily basis, busy with student council matters.

Recently, Fukayama Midori and Suzuran Ayano had spoken much less to each other.

Fukayama Midori was also feeling a bit sulky about this; he had also participated in the student council election, but he wasn't very willing to talk to Suzuran Ayano about it.

"You can't say it like that! Onii-chan! Are you an idiot?" Natsuki looked at the still-carefree Fukayama Midori in front of her, feeling furious.

With her hands on her hips, she picked up a manga book that had fallen by the bed to use as a weapon, and Natsuki smacked Fukayama Midori several times, trying to knock some sense into her brother.

This brother of hers had no other merits besides being kind.

Even so, Fukayama Midori was still her brother; when their parents were often away on business trips during their childhood, it was Fukayama Midori who had taken care of her.

Now, it was Natsuki's turn to take care of her brother, Fukayama Midori.

In another year, Natsuki would also be a high school student; if Fukayama Midori still didn't have a girlfriend by then, Natsuki was prepared to support her loser Onii-chan for the rest of his life.

This was what Natsuki thought in her heart, but for now, she still wanted to remind Fukayama Midori not to ignore his childhood friend, Ayano.

"Even if it's no big deal, you idiot brother should still be inseparable from Ayano-nee! Any man who approaches her should be kicked away!"

"Do you really think it's fine like this? If Ayano-nee ends up with that Akimoto-kun, does it really not matter to you?"

"From childhood until now, hasn't Ayano-nee always been with you, Onii-chan? You've never been separated, so are you really going to give up now? Show some backbone, will you! Even though that blond guy looks like a good person, it's dangerous for him to be getting close to Ayano-nee!"

Although she was a bit young, Natsuki's analysis was logical and sound, looking every bit like a little military strategist.

Hearing these words from Natsuki, Fukayama Midori also adjusted his mindset a little.

Looking back at their time in school, Suzuran Ayano and Akimoto Yoichi had unknowingly become people from another world in the eyes of others; even though everyone had originally been together, Fukayama Midori had been left behind without realizing it.

"Fine, I'll go take a look then..." Just as Fukayama Midori felt a spark of interest and prepared to roll out of bed, the phone sitting by his hand rang.

He picked up the phone and saw a message from Nagase Kumari.

It seemed Nagase Kumari had woken up as well.

"I'll be there a little later! You hurry up and get out, Natsuki. I have serious matters to discuss, so I hope you can be quiet."

With that, Fukayama Midori pushed Fukayama Natsuki out of his room.

"Hey! Big brother, are you really deciding to ignore Sister Ayano being... Bang!" Watching the door slam shut in front of her, Fukayama Natsuki was instantly as furious as a cat with its fur standing on end.

Giving the locked door a hard kick, she walked down the stairs in deep thought.

Looking at the childhood photo of herself, Fukayama Midori, and Suzuran Ayano hanging in the living room, Natsuki's expression gradually turned resolute, and she slowly clenched her fists.

"Since Onii-chan... no, since that idiot brother of mine won't deal with it, then I will! I'm going to keep an eye on that blond guy and Sister Ayano! Yes! That's what I'll do!"

Scanning the house, Fukayama Natsuki grabbed a frying pan and a spatula from the kitchen counter, took a deep breath, and stepped out the door.