August 19, still summer.
Yuu closed the front door; it was already dusk outside.
"I'm home."
"Wel-come ba-ck. Another date today?"
At the entrance, Sora had been waiting for a while, her face full of annoyance.
The little gray-spotted cat beside her mimicked her movements, widening its cat eyes, pretending to stare at him seriously.
"Work, work, don't be so sensitive." Yuu said with a flattering smile, pulling a dolphin plushie from his bag. "Here, a gift."
"Your job involves reviewing aquariums?" Sora wrinkled her small nose. Though her tone was irritated, her hands obediently took the plushie and hugged it to her chest.
"You're using work for personal gain—truly filthy adults!"
"Dating while working is called good time management… Well, Sora, you wouldn't understand."
With a wide grin, Yuu waved, slipped off his shoes, and was about to pass her.
Clenching her silver teeth, Sora kicked his shin in frustration: "Who says I don't understand? I know more than you! Hurry up and cook!"
But Yuu wasn't hurt at all, while Sora clutched her foot, her face pale, hopping into the living room.
"Seriously…"
Yuu shook his head, amused.
Over these two weeks of dating, the physical fitness boosts from the system's rewards had gradually accumulated to a significant level—he'd once swung a wooden baseball bat against his arms and legs. As long as he tensed his muscles, the bat broke, and he didn't even bruise.
His skin, muscles, bones, even internal organs felt stronger than before… For some reason, Yuu always felt the system was subtly turning him into a superman.
Could this system actually be the key to facing an apocalypse, where he'd have to save the world alone?
Dismissing this absurd thought, Yuu placed his things in his room, then went downstairs to start preparing tonight's dinner.
"Yuu, why don't I ever smell that woman's scent on you? Do you always keep social distance when you go out?"
Hearing Sora's question, Yuu answered casually: "I always clean myself before coming home, so of course you don't smell anything."
"…At a hotel?"
"Right in front of the house! God, what are you thinking about all day?!" Exasperated, Yuu brought out the dishes. "Besides, you don't like other people's scents coming into our home, right? So until I introduce her to you, I'll clean off any smells before entering."
"Mhm, very good. I'm not mad at you today." Sora nodded, satisfied, her small face finally showing a cheerful smile.
They started eating, but Sora noticed her brother's movements were off.
Yuu wasn't focused on the delicious food, instead picking at it with one hand while tapping his phone screen with the other. He seemed to be looking at something interesting, the corners of his lips faintly smiling.
"Yuu."
His movements paused. Yuu looked up from his phone, gazing at her in confusion.
"What's up?"
"Still asking what's up with me…"
Clenching her chopsticks, Sora forced a friendly smile and said, word by word, in a low tone: "When you eat, just eat. Can you stop doing other things?"
Sensing the threat in her words—if you dare say no, I'll go back to my room and eat chips—Yuu could only nod obediently: "Of course I can."
Then, lowering his head, he sent a message to Haruno: {My sister's mad, let's talk later.}
"Sss… Haaa…"
Closing her eyes, Sora took a deep breath, her small chest almost swelling with anger, before slowly calming down.
"Later, play games with me."
She issued an undeniable command.
Yuu shrugged, saying nothing.
Perhaps because she felt his attention, which had always been on her, was gradually shifting to another woman, Sora had become more clingy and selfish than usual.
Last week was similar—Yuu had just returned from a date and hadn't rested long when Sora brought her PFP into his room, forcing him to play Monster Hunter with her. If he refused, it would mean breaking a promise he'd made to her.
Since Sora had gone this far, Yuu couldn't refuse either—as long as it wasn't some inappropriate game played in her room on her computer, he was actually happy to enjoy family bonding time with his sister.
The atmosphere finally settled back into peace. After dinner and washing dishes, after playing Monster Hunter for an hour in Sora's room, Yuu made an excuse, intending to return to his own room.
"Hmph, fine, go back then, and keep being lovey-dovey with your little girlfriend! No matter how bad it gets, you'll never abandon me—what kind of sister could be left behind so easily!"
Her pale cheeks puffed up high, Sora turned her face away, pretending to ignore him.
Yuu knew Sora was just speaking out of frustration, so after comforting her with a few words as usual, he closed the door and left her room.
The atmosphere grew quiet, feeling stifling.
Taking a deep breath, Sora tossed her PFP carelessly onto the bed, stood up, and looked at her slender, sweet figure in the mirror.
"Two weeks have passed… I can't stand it anymore, no need to hold back!"
Her gaze suddenly became resolute. She bit her pink lips slightly, slipping off the white dress she always wore, letting her soft, milky skin be exposed to the air.
Today, Sora intended to be a little bolder!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Yuu returned to his room, picking up his phone to call Haruno.
The call connected quickly, and Haruno's lazy, mature voice sounded in his ear, making him smile unconsciously, his tone cheerful:
"Can we talk now?"
"Sure~ I'm drinking while watching TV."
Indeed, the faint noise of a variety show could be heard in the background.
Yuu smiled resignedly, no longer intending to tell her to cut back on drinking, and continued: "We've been to the aquarium—where do you want to go next?"
"Hmm, let me think~" Haruno's slightly tipsy voice was alluring. Yuu loosened his belt, stepping onto the balcony for fresh air to calm himself.
"Oh, how about an amusement park?" Suddenly remembering something, Haruno suggested enthusiastically, "Let's go to Disney! That plushie you gave me—my sister loves it, so I'm planning to put a few in my car, even buy all the limited-edition, special, latest-model Panda merchandise and such, to take photos every day and make her insanely jealous!"
After finishing, Haruno let out a proud, sly chuckle: "Hmph hmph hmph~ Even though Yukino-chan has an annual Disney pass, her allowance is limited, so she can't collect all the Panda merchandise… Ugh, I'm already imagining her face green with envy!"
"You're not just bad—you're a warped siscon too."
Yuu couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, silently offering condolences to Yukinoshita Yukino.
Soon after, he steered the conversation back on track: "So, it's settled? I'll book the tickets now—when are you free again?"
"The 24th… No, I'll handle the tickets." Haruno suddenly changed the subject, saying so. "I might get a few from Yukino-chan, so no need to trouble you."
"Okay."
"Hey, Yuu-chan…" She paused, then asked softly, "The amusement park—you're really looking forward to it?"
Yuu didn't understand why she asked this, but answered anyway: "Of course I'm looking forward to it. Today at the aquarium, I was looking forward to it from the zoo until this morning. Never not looking forward to it."
"I see." Haruno seemed to sigh, but also seemed to smile. "Good, I'm really looking forward to it too."
Yuu smiled: "Have fun on our date?"
"Have fun on our date. I'm hanging up… See you."
"Mhm, bye-bye."
The call ended, Haruno sent a goodnight message, and Yuu quickly replied.
But as he looked at their chat history, the relaxed, cheerful smile on his face slowly faded, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Maybe it's just my imagination…"
Recalling Haruno's tone just now, Yuu couldn't shake the feeling that something was off in his heart.
Shaking his head, Yuu put down his phone and sat at his computer desk.
While waiting for the computer to boot, he opened the system panel, checking his current status and skills.