I sat down on pure impulse... Uwaaa! This is so awkward!
Sitting at the opposite end of the bench, her head slightly bowed and her gaze fixed on the floor without uttering a word, Kei was currently a bundle of nerves and completely at a loss.
Just a moment ago, while browsing clothes, she had seen Kaguya walk out of the store looking dejected. For some reason, Kei suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. As if possessed by some unseen force, before her brain could even process the thought, her body had already moved on its own.
Without a second thought, after putting the item back, Kei had followed Kaguya out of the store step-by-step. However, even though she had followed her outside, it was as if she had forgotten her own initiative, carefully trailing three or four paces behind Kaguya the entire time.
It wasn't until Kaguya sat down on the resting bench, leaving Kei with nothing else to hide behind, that she finally stepped forward and sat down on the opposite end of the bench, feigning a calm and natural demeanor.
Then, finally realizing what she had just done, Kei fell into a dead silence.
'Ahhh! Seriously!' Slightly pursing her lips, Kei's cheeks faintly flushed. 'I was clearly trying so hard to find an opening to talk to Kaguya-senpai just now! But now... such a perfect opportunity is right in front of me, why can't I get a single word out?!'
In truth, much like Kaguya, who was constantly searching for an opportunity to strike up a conversation, Kei was also desperately trying to find a way to talk to the senior she so deeply admired.
'Ah, screw it! Whatever!'
Taking a leap of faith, Kei raised her head and bravely directed her gaze toward Kaguya beside her. "Um..."
However, reality threw her a curveball.
"Yes!" Hearing Imouto-san take the initiative to speak to her, Kaguya's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she replied in a slightly flustered tone, "What is it, Imouto-san?"
"Imouto-san?"
Hearing her respected Kaguya-senpai affectionately use that specific nickname for her, Kei unconsciously froze for a moment.
Realizing her slip-up, Kaguya immediately recovered and smoothly steered the conversation. "How should I address you, then? Should I just call you Shirogane-san?"
"Just call me Kei. After all, you're my senior." Without a second thought, Kei blurted out.
"Then, Kei-san."
"Kei."
"Kei-chan?"
"Kei... desu."
Noticing Kaguya bowing her head slightly, seemingly embarrassed, a slightly disrespectful thought suddenly popped into Kei's mind for some reason.
'Kaguya-senpai... is so cute...'
"Kei."
Mhm, mhm! Especially when she acts all shy and bashful, clearly happy but trying not to show it too obviously. She's just unbelievably cute!
"Yes!" Lowering her eyelids slightly, Kei maintained a perfectly stoic expression while silently marveling in her heart about how cute Kaguya-senpai was.
At the same time.
'In my entire life, this is the first time I've called someone by their first name... without any honorifics.'
A mix of secret delight, slight embarrassment, and a touch of guilt—as if she had done something terribly wrong—caused Kaguya's eyebrows to furrow slightly.
But on second thought!
Being able to address the President's sister by her first name, completely dropping all honorifics.
'This counts as massive progress!'
Pulling herself together, Kaguya wiped the unhelpful emotions from her face.
'Alright, I'll just go with the flow and ask what kind of gift would be good for the President's birthday! Mhm, mhm, let's do this!'
Although she psych-ed herself up like this in her head, Kaguya couldn't just bluntly ask Kei something as forward as, "By the way, for a birthday gift, what kind of things does your brother like?"
So, when the words finally reached her lips, what actually came out was:
"It's already autumn."
"At this rate, Christmas will be here before we know it."
"What kind of gifts do you guys exchange for Christmas in the Shirogane household?"
Good! Very good! The topic transitioned perfectly naturally!
However, just as Kaguya was internally patting herself on the back for the smoothness of her segue...
"Christmas... is it....."
Huh? Why does it suddenly feel like the temperature in the air just plummeted?
Turning her head, a slightly dazed Kaguya looked at Kei, whose face had instantly darkened, and her brain completely short-circuited.
"My family... well... we don't really do anything special to celebrate Christmas."
"At most, Dad might give me a 2,000 yen bookstore gift card or something like that... other than that, there's really nothing."
Aaaaaah! Right! I completely forgot, aaaaaah!!
The little person inside Kaguya's mind violently slapped her own forehead, looking up with an expression of utter despair at her real-life counterpart, who was acting smart and relentlessly stepping on landmines.
"I'm so sorry!" Kaguya, cold sweat practically beading on her forehead, hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. "Then what about birthdays? Do you guys exchange gifts for birthdays?"
...Oh crap. Stepped on another landmine, didn't you, Kaguya.
"My relationship with my brother isn't actually that good...."
"!"
Shocked! Kaguya was instantly stunned by this revelation.
"Why is that?!"
In the blink of an eye, Kaguya felt as though she could see a blazing, scorching fire igniting within Kei's clear blue eyes.
"Just look at him. He's stupid and gross."
"He tells stupid little lies at the drop of a hat, and he just leaves his clothes inside out after taking them off....."
Ah, so the President is actually this terrible at home?
"Birthdays are the same way....." Saying this, recalling her birthdays in past years, Kei couldn't help but clench the hands resting on her lap. "In our house, exchanging gifts is just a waste of money."
"So, we made a decision not to do any of that."
"But! That guy!"
The atmosphere instantly turned razor-sharp and tense. It even made Kaguya so nervous that she involuntarily swallowed hard.
"He would just sneak 1,000 yen into my wallet without asking!"
...Kaguya's brain completely short-circuited.
"Even when I interrogated him, he just played dumb and acted like he didn't know! I mean, he's exactly the kind of person who tells stupid little lies! (Grr!)"
That's actually a really good thing!!!!
Kaguya screamed internally.
What do you mean he's terrible at home... I thought it was something serious... He's just acting exactly like the President normally does!
You had me all worried for nothing! Good grief!
Unaware of what was going through Kaguya's mind, Kei, having been prompted by her senior to vent about her brother, couldn't help but think of her good friend.
Simultaneously, she involuntarily thought of her friend's older brother—the senior who lived right next door to her and her own brother.
"Sigh... If only my brother was even half as good as Miyahito-nii when he's at home."
...Miyahito-nii? Is that Aragaki-kun?
Kaguya stared blankly at Kei, who looked like a worrying mother, and the images of Miyuki and Miyahito popped into her mind.
"Well, um." The corners of Kaguya's mouth twitched, her smile a bit forced as she spoke to Kei. "The President is actually quite excellent, you know."
"Sigh... I admit he's excellent in his own way." Looking a bit dejected, Kei propped her chin on her hand, her elbow resting on her thigh, and gazed calmly at the shop window in front of them.
"But compared to Miyahito-nii, my brother can't sing, can't compose, can't cook, and is completely outclassed at making sweets... More importantly..."
「When it comes to how siblings should get along, my brother isn't even half as good as Miyahito-nii.」
Sigh.