My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

"Hmm... she seemed to be sleeping quite well. However, she was clearly unhappy after reading your letter last night. Did you write something lewd again?"

"Didn't I tell her not to treat me like a sexual predator? I was just conveying a few things; she has absolutely no reason to be angry, right?"

Yukino and I looked at each other in bewilderment. Just then, Komachi suddenly appeared.

"Oh dear~ As expected of my older brother~ He's so slow at crucial moments."

"Oh, Komachi, can you please not start yelling at your brother the moment you show up?"

"Brother, saying you need to communicate is usually just an excuse to write a letter~ If it were really just about communicating, no one would want to send a letter~"

"Did you bring your sister along too?"

There was something unexpected under the snow.

"Yes, I asked her for a favor. Komachi, did she bring her along?"

"Um!"

Komachi responded, pointing to the spot where Kawasaki Taishi was standing.

"Dazhi... what are you doing here at this time?"

Kawasaki glared at his younger brother, both anxious and angry, but Daishi refused to back down.

"Isn't that the question I should be asking, sister? What are you doing? Why aren't you home yet?"

"It has nothing to do with you..."

Kawasaki abruptly ended the conversation, unwilling to continue. However, while this tactic might work on others, it wouldn't work on her own family. Previously, Kawasaki and Taishi had always communicated one-on-one, so she could easily avoid answering. She could always unilaterally end the conversation or simply walk away; there was always a way to get away with it. But now she couldn't do that. We were blocking her way, determined not to let her escape. More importantly, everyone had witnessed her loitering outside early in the morning, leaving her with no way to deny it.

"It doesn't matter where we are, we're family!"

"...Didn't I tell you you don't need to know?"

Despite Kawasaki's softened tone when confronted with Daishi's questioning, he remained determined not to reveal the truth.

In other words, is it because the other party is Dazhi that she is unable to say it?

"Kawasaki, let me guess why you need to work part-time and why you need money."

Kawasaki glared at me, while Yukinoshita and Yuihama looked on with great interest.

She refused to explain her reasons for wanting to work, but upon closer examination, one can find that there are clues to her reasons.

Taishi once said that his sister only became a delinquent in her second year of high school. From Taishi's perspective, that's certainly true, but from Kawasaki's perspective, that's not actually the case.

For her, the time when she started working was when her younger brother entered the third year of junior high school.

Therefore, the answer actually lies in Taishi Kawasaki's timeline.

"Dazhi, how has your life changed since you entered the third year of junior high school?"

"Hmm... I think it's time to start tutoring?"

After giving this answer, Taishi continued to ponder whether there were any other changes, but this answer alone was enough. Kawasaki probably realized what I was about to say and bit his lip unwillingly.

"I see, it's to raise money for your younger brother's tuition..."

Yuihama said in an understanding tone, but I immediately interrupted her.

"No. Dazhi started attending tutoring classes in April, so his tuition was already covered; the entrance fee and textbook fees have all been paid. I think his family must have planned these expenses in advance. In other words, only Dazhi's tuition is not a concern."

"I see. Indeed, it's not just my younger brother who needs tuition fees."

Yukinoshita seemed to understand everything, and looked at Kawasaki with a hint of sympathy.

That's right, our school, Zongwu High School, is a college-preparatory school. More than half of the students plan to go on to university, and they actually do. Therefore, starting from this time in the second year of high school, many students begin preparing for university entrance exams and seriously consider attending summer intensive courses.

From the preparation stage before entering university to the moment of entering university, a considerable amount of money is required.

"Dazhi once said that you've always been very serious and gentle with him, so that's why you decided to do that, right?"

After I drew my conclusion, Kawasaki slumped his shoulders listlessly.

"Sister...it's all because of me, because I went to tutoring..."

"...So you don't need to know."

Kawasaki gently patted his younger brother's head to comfort him.

Wow, it seems this incident can have a happy and touching ending. That's wonderful! Congratulations!

Although that's what I thought, Kawasaki still looked worried.

"However, I still don't plan to quit my job. I want to go to university, and I don't want to burden my family and Dazhi with this."

Kawasaki's voice rose, her determination evident in her words. Faced with her strong resolve, Taishi fell silent once more.

"Um... Komachi, is it convenient for you to say something?"

Komachi's lazy voice broke the silence, and Kawasaki looked at her blankly.

"What is it?"

Her tone wasn't very friendly, and it seemed like she was about to start a fight, but Komachi just smiled and dealt with her.

"Well, the Komachi family has always been a dual-income household, so when Komachi was little, she would never see anyone when she came home, and no one would respond even if she said 'I'm home'."

"Wait a minute, it would be scary if someone responded. Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"Ah~ Brother, please be quiet for a moment~"

After Komachi said that, I had no choice but to shut my mouth and obediently listen to her continue.

"Komachi started to hate going back to that house, so she ran away from home for five days once. Later, it wasn't her parents who picked her up, but her older brother, and after that, he started coming home earlier than her. So, Komachi is always very grateful to her brother!"

How could there be such a wonderful older brother in the world... Ah, it turns out it's me.

Hearing this heartwarming story almost brought tears to my eyes. Although I didn't mean anything by it at the time, I simply wanted to get home quickly to watch the 6 PM anime on TV Tokyo since I didn't have any friends to play with.

Kawasaki looked at me with a gaze that seemed to show some affection, while tears welled up in Yuihama's eyes, and only Yukinoshita looked puzzled.

"Is it because Hachiman went home so early that he stopped having friends around that time?"

"Hey! How did you know? Are you from Xueji Encyclopedia?"

"Ah~ Actually, Komachi knows perfectly well that too, she just thinks saying it this way will earn her points~"

Komachi readily admitted it, causing Yuihama to gape, looking as if she was about to faint.

"...She really is the autistic guy's sister."

"Hey, what does that mean?"

Does that mean I'm cute too? Hmm, I understand.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Kawasaki questioned Komachi impatiently, his expression truly terrifying, but Komachi maintained her smile and answered his question directly.

"Although Komachi's brother is useless, he would never cause Komachi any trouble. Just that alone makes me feel reassured and happy as his sister—ah, I'm just saying that to earn extra points for myself."

"You don't need to keep saying that unnecessary thing..."

"Ugh~ Of course, Komachi is just hiding her shyness~ Oh, that line is a bonus too."

"That's enough, that's enough..."

Honestly, it's because I have a sister who talks so casually that I still don't quite trust girls. Seeing my expression of displeasure, Komachi snorted in dissatisfaction, but seeing that I still ignored her, she gave up and returned to her conversation with Kawasaki.

"In short, just like Saki-neechan doesn't want to be a burden on her family, Taishi-kun doesn't want to cause trouble for Saki-neechan either. If you can understand this, your younger siblings will be very happy."

"..."

Kawasaki fell silent, and so did I.

...Oh no, what's wrong with me feeling like this? I never thought Komachi would have those kinds of thoughts. She's usually the one causing me trouble, so I didn't even notice.

"Hmm...that's what I think too."

Dazhi muttered a word, then turned his flushed face away.

Kawasaki stood up, gently patted Taishi's head, and a tender smile appeared on his tired face.

However, the problem is not completely solved yet; it's just a matter of getting the siblings to rebuild their communication.

Being fulfilled spiritually does not mean that everything is satisfactory. Even though tangible things will one day disappear, it does not mean that they are without value; both material possessions and money are indispensable.

For high school students, money is a very serious issue. This becomes even more apparent after they've worked part-time and earned some money. Tuition at private universities can easily reach several million yen. How long would a student have to work to earn that money? The figure must be quite substantial.

If we directly donated one or two million to Kawasaki, the matter could certainly be resolved satisfactorily, but we don't have that much money, and that approach would violate the principles of the Service Society.

Yukino once said that the Service Society doesn't feed people fish, but teaches them how to fish.

Well then, I'll pass on my alchemy skills.

"Kawasaki, have you ever heard of 'scholarships'?"

× × ×

The air was still a bit chilly at 5:30 in the morning. I yawned and watched the two figures gradually disappear into the distance.

The two were neither too close nor too far apart. If one of them realized he was walking too fast, he would slow down and wait for the other. They laughed occasionally, their shoulders bobbing up and down in response.

"That's what it feels like to be brothers and sisters..."

He whispers to himself in the morning mist beneath the snow.

"I don't think so. Everyone's situation is different. There's even a saying that the closest people are 'strangers'."

In our interactions with our siblings, we've all had moments when we were so angry we wanted to punch them, and at those times we felt they were nothing like us. However, sometimes they'll unintentionally do the exact same things we do, evoking a feeling that's hard to define as pity or affection. To put it simply, that elusive sense of distance is what we call "siblings."

Therefore, "the most familiar stranger" is a truly wonderful saying. Someone who is closest to you is a stranger; someone who is a stranger is also the closest to you.

"The most familiar stranger... That makes sense, then I can understand."

After nodding, Yuki kept her head down.

"Xiao Yukino?"

Yuihama was surprised by Yukinoshita's reaction and watched her quietly. At that moment, Yukinoshita quickly raised her head and smiled gently at Yuihama.

"Let's go back too, we have to go to school in three hours."

"Okay, sure..."

Although Yuihama was still resentful of Yukinoshita's attitude, she nodded, put her backpack on, and went to unlock her bicycle.

"Yes. Komachi, get up."

Komachi was dozing off on the edge of the sidewalk outside McDonald's. I gently patted her cheek, and she rubbed her sleepy eyes, making a half-asleep sound.

She stood up, swayed like a ghost to the bicycle, and sat on the back seat. Normally this time is for sleeping, so she had no choice but to slowly ride home along the flat road.

I hopped on the bicycle and put my feet on the pedals.

"We're heading back now. You've had a long day."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow... no, I mean see you at school later."

Yuihama waved her hand slightly in front of her chest. Yukinoshita didn't say anything, just stared blankly at me and Komachi until I stepped on the pedal, then she spoke softly:

"Carrying two people on a bicycle is not something to be encouraged... Be careful to avoid another accident."

"Well, bye."

After responding, I rode off. Sleep-deprived, my mind was foggy; just watching oncoming traffic and the road conditions had exhausted all my energy, so I could only give a perfunctory reply to Yukino's warning. However, she seemed to have mentioned the word "accident" earlier…

I rode slowly along the straight section where it intersected with County Road 14. Usually, the wind blowing on my way to school is headwind, but today it was tailwind.

As I waited at the second traffic light, the aroma of a bakery wafted out from across the street.

My stomach made a rumbling sound.

"...Komachi, do you want to buy some bread to take home?"

"My brother is such an idiot! He should have pretended not to see it, or just casually approached the bakery! But Komachi is hungry, so I'm going!"

Komachi's fists kept landing on my back, and I steered the helm towards the bakery.

"Sigh... Brother is really useless. I should have known better than to keep praising you."

"You weren't praising me at all, were you? In the end, you were the only one who became a good girl, and most of what you said was made up."

"Oh, well..."

At that moment, her fist stopped.