Trapped 11
“The current Kaguya’s knack for being spoiled is a remnant of her childhood loneliness, a vestige of those days.”
While being doted on was enough when she was young, as she grew up, she began to stir romantic feelings in the opposite sex.
“You really understand your stepsister well. As expected of an Onii-chan.”
“It was tough until we could talk like we do now.”
“At first, she ignored you and hardly spoke to you, right?”
“She must have thought that her beloved stepfather was stolen by my mother when they remarried I was treated as an accomplice and was thoroughly seen as an enemy.”
“It’s tough for anyone to start living with a stranger.”
“Fortunately, she played the good daughter when both parents were around, but she quickly beca aloof when it was just the two of us. It was mostly her taking her frustrations out on , and I had quite a hard ti.”
After all, it was the first ti I had a stepsister close to my age.
It was an age when even talking to girls in my class was embarrassing, let alone figuring out how to interact with a girl close to my age under the sa roof.
“Nishiki-kun, how did you beco close?”
“Our parents were busy with work, and I was the one who spent the most ti at ho. There wasn’t much to talk about, so I passed the ti doing housework. When they ca ho late, I’d cook dinner, and we gradually started talking more over als.”
“As expected, you’re good at winning hearts with food.”
“It’s convincing when you say it, Tenjō Sensei.”
After all, she’s the one who cried over my curry.
“Forget about ! Okay, continue.”
She urged to continue.
“I started helping out with the household chores, and we began going to school together in the mornings. We even started going out together on our days off. I was happy to be so relied upon.”
“It sounds like you grew closer gradually.”
I was getting used to playing the role of a brother.
“Well, everything was good up to that point. As you can imagine, Kaguya was popular in junior high school too.”
“Kaguya-chan is bright and has a good vibe, so it’s natural that the boys easily fall for her.”
I can’t disagree with Nishiki Kaguya’s evaluation from a teacher’s perspective.
“Sensei, you must have been popular back then and now too.”
“I lacked charm. As I’ve told you before, I was sharp-edged and had zero interest in romance. I despised the guys who approached too casually and found them utterly annoying.”
She was relentless.
“…It’s surprising that soone who used to be like that actually accepted the Neighbor Agreent and a relationship with .”
“That’s because I——Don’t change the subject! We’re now talking about your relationship with Kaguya-chan! Continue!”
The conversation was forcibly steered back on track.
I wanted to hear more about Tenjō Reiyu’s high school days.
“Well, Kaguya was the kind of girl who stood out so much that you’d hear about her even if she was in a different grade. At one point, she had five boys confessed to her at the sa ti.”
“How did you feel about Kaguya-chan at that ti, Nishiki-kun?”
“She was my stepsister, so I thought, ‘Oh, she’s cute,’ but I was like, ‘Wow, she’s that popular?’ “
“Wow, that’s quite indifferent.”
“I an, even if she reported every single confession and her rejection to , there’s not much I can do as an ‘Aniki’. Sotis, my friends even ask to introduce them to Kaguya. Because I showed so little interest, Kaguya beca even more determined.”
“it’s like a girl who’s good at being liked by others becos all the more conscious of soone who doesn’t pay attention to her.”
Sensei’s cool analysis is a relief.
“Probably, since I was always with her at ho and school, I was the first person she could fully rely on. Day by day, our distance closed, and we beca very close at ho.”
“A junior high schooler who loves her Onii-chan that much, huh? I guess there are girls like that.”
She too sensed the ominous turn of events.
Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter.
“Because she was so clingy both at school and ho, I finally got angry. There’s a limit, considering we’re not blood-related siblings. I’m a guy, and I didn’t want to start feeling awkward around her as a woman… And what do you think Kaguya said?”
Tenjō Sensei waits silently for the next words.
“『I don’t want to be siblings with Yuu-kun!』”
“Kaguya-chan really fell for you.”
Tenjō Sensei speaks on behalf of Kaguya’s feelings.
“And, just at that mont, my mother happened to co ho and see it.”
“That’s…”
Tenjō Sensei is left speechless.
“It was more than just awkward. It was nearly a step away from destroying our family.”
Even rembering it makes my stomach hurt.
“I can understand why you’d say you’re on bad terms with your mother.”
“My mother must have been at her wit’s end too. Imagine, her new stepdaughter suddenly falling for her real son—it was like a bomb had been planted in a freshly remarried family.”
“It’s a difficult situation. You can’t just ignore it.”
“In the end, soone had to take the hit. The least problematic solution was for to leave, so that’s what I decided.”
“Did your parents agree with that?”
“I’m not sure. They seed to have had an inkling about Kaguya’s attitude and eventually gave their consent.”
“To let their important son go off on his own?”
She looked skeptical.
“I took the initiative there. I secured support from my biological father who I had separated from before getting their retrospective consent. I told them I wanted to focus on my studies in high school and that I couldn’t fit in with the new family… it’s a good enough excuse.”
“That’s a bit of sophistry.”
“It’s a choice where no one gets hurt. My parents just respected their son’s wishes.”
Tenjō-sensei didn’t miss even the slightest quiver in my voice.
Reviews
All reviews (0)