"Here, use this."
"Thank you..."
Kirie accepted the bath towel, but her mind was preoccupied with Marin's injury.
"More importantly, we should take care of your knee."
Marin had scraped her knee when she fell down the stairs. Though she seemed oblivious to it, blood was dripping down to her shin.
"Ah, right. But I'll wait until after the shower. Oh, should I go first, Kirie?"
Kirie shook her head at Marin's half-joking suggestion.
"N-no, I'm okay..."
She wasn't thick-skinned enough to borrow a shower after crashing into a stranger's house for the first time.
"I'm not that wet anyway."
"Are you sure? Well, then, I'll go ahead. It might take a while, so please make yourself at home."
"Huh? Oh—!"
And so, Kirie was left behind in the living room.
How did this happen?
Alone in someone else's house. She perched lightly on the sofa, but she couldn't relax at all.
Even if she wanted to leave, it felt wrong to slip away without saying goodbye to Marin. But chasing her into the bathroom to talk felt awkward, too—
"Sigh..."
Resigned, Kirie decided to wait for Marin.
The clock's ticking echoed unusually loudly. Outside the window, raindrops pelted the ground. She tried opening her phone to pass the time, but it wasn't much help.
Kirie had always considered herself fairly resourceful. She tended to get sidetracked when Kazuki was involved, but otherwise, she usually managed things better than most people.
Being around her throws off my rhythm...
It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, though.
Whenever Kirie thought about Marin, whom she had just met, another person inexplicably came to mind.
Then, a noise from the entrance. The door opened, and someone came upstairs. Since there was no chime and the person had unlocked the door themselves, they must be a resident of the house.
But Marin said no one else would be home at this time.
Kirie instinctively stood up and straightened her posture.
To the newcomer, she was just an unfamiliar face. Worse still, Marin, who had invited Kirie, was currently unavailable, taking a shower.
With no idea how to explain this situation, Kirie nervously awaited the approaching footsteps.
After a moment, the living room door opened.
"Marin, I'm home. Do you have a friend over? ...Huh?"
"Huh?"
Ryosuke, carrying shopping bags, appeared.
"Kirizaki?"
"W-What are you doing here?"
"Why? This is my house."
Kirie was thoroughly shaken, but Ryosuke was also frozen, wearing a rare expression of shock.
Suddenly, a flurry of excuses tangled in my mind.
It's not like I was burgling an empty house! I didn't know it was your home! I was forcibly invited by a younger girl!
"Wait, was that Marin?"
"Marin? ...Ah, so it was her."
Ryosuke lowered his head with a bitter expression.
"Marin is my younger sister."
I remembered what Ryosuke had told me before.
He had step-siblings. His younger sister often ran him ragged with her whims. He frequently cooked for her... Perhaps the ingredients for dinner were in the bag he was carrying.
Thinking this, I looked again at his flustered face, and a sudden urge to laugh bubbled up inside me.
"Heh heh."
"What are you laughing at?"
"So that's how it is at home."
Finally, I'd gotten one over on Ryosuke. At the same time, seeing a side of him I'd never seen before—this vulnerable, almost childlike side—strangely made me happy.
"Ugh... So, how's Marin doing?"
"She's in the shower right now."
Kirie briefly recounted the events that had transpired. She explained how she'd coincidentally run into Ryosuke's younger sister and borrowed a bath towel from her.
She hesitated over whether to mention the bullying. If Marin didn't want her brother hearing about this, Kirie might be overstepping. She might even hurt her.
But she quickly changed her mind.
This wasn't something trivial that could be overlooked. It could be a matter of life and death.
When Kirie finished her report, Ryosuke looked stunned.
"Not this again..."
"Has this happened before?"
"Something similar, yeah. Didn't Kirizaki figure it out when she talked to Marin? That girl just attracts enemies, even when she's just being herself."
"But she seems like such a nice kid—"
However, her thoughts have a slightly detached quality, and she's the type to blurt out whatever comes to mind without holding back.
Add to that her miraculous beauty.
Many people probably find her appealing, but I'm sure there are also those who strongly reject her.
"So. Kirizaki was forced to invite Marin home, and she just waltzed right in."
"Th-that..."
Taken out of context, it makes her sound like a flighty girl.
But Ryosuke's expression softened immediately.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm grateful. Thanks for saving that precarious princess."
"It's nothing... Yeah."
When faced with a sincere apology, Kirie couldn't help but accept it.
Just then, Marin returned to the living room after her shower.
"Oh, you're back, Older Brother."
She was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.
Her long hair, still damp, was wrapped in a towel, and she looked utterly relaxed. Yet strangely, her bewitching aura hadn't faded; if anything, her flushed skin seemed even more alluring.
Even with her carefree demeanor, a childlike innocence surfaced in her expression whenever she looked at Ryosuke.
"Welcome home. What's for dinner?"
"...Marin."
"Ah, don't be angry. Kirie's been so kind to me, I just wanted to thank her. Oh, right."
Marin clapped her hands shamelessly and turned to Kirie.
"Would you like to join us for dinner? My brother's cooking is absolutely delicious!"
"Listen here..."
Ryosuke rubbed his towel-covered hand through his unruly younger sister's hair. Despite not being blood-related, the siblings showed no restraint with each other.
"Did you get harassed again?"
"You heard? Heh heh. It's different from the older kids. They don't seem as bold as the previous group."
As expected, Marin seemed completely unfazed by Kirie's tattling.
"You shouldn't have done that, Older Brother. If you come to school again..."
"To school?"
Kirie frowned.
"Yes. You know, like last time. You came to punish the guys who were picking on me."
"You only made it to the gate, right?"
"But they were terrified, you know."
According to Kirie, Ryosuke had ambushed the group of lower-classmen who used to bully Marin as they were leaving school, and he'd confronted them directly.
Ryosuke wasn't particularly intimidating, but when he wasn't grinning foolishly, his eyes were sharp, and he stood tall. More importantly, Kirie knew firsthand how persuasive he could be.
Some of the bullies were boys, but even if a few lower-classmen banded together, they stood no chance against Ryosuke.
However, Ryosuke seemed reluctant to discuss the matter further.
"Never mind that. Marin, your knee..."
Ryosuke abruptly changed the subject.
"Right, Kirie said she'd take care of it."
"So don't make me any more trouble."
"It's fine. I've grown to love Kirie, you know."
Kirie watched the sibling exchange with a wry smile. It was refreshing to see Ryosuke, who usually ran her ragged, being outsmarted by his younger sister. Marin's innocent clinginess was endearing.
"It's alright. Shito, why don't you put down the shopping bags first? Oh, and give me the first aid kit first."
Kirie sat back down on the sofa. "Marin, come sit here."
"Yes, Kirie-san."
"...Honestly."
Ryosuke obediently retreated to the kitchen, looking dejected. He started organizing the ingredients.
Marin, the master of sweetness, and Ryosuke, the ever-attentive caretaker.
The parents were often absent, perhaps for various reasons, but at least between this brother and sister, there seemed to be no lingering resentment.
"Hey, Kirie-san," Marin suddenly said as Kirie finished tending to her knee.
"Hmm?"
"What do you think about my older brother?"
"Huh?"
"Lately, he's been talking about you nonstop!"
"Hey, Marin!"
Ryosuke hurried out of the kitchen.
"What did you—?"
"It's true! He's always 'Kirizaki this,' 'Kirizaki that.' Heh heh. That's so uncharacteristic of him!"
"Listen, I—"
"Heh heh heh!"
Marin sprang to her feet, escaping Ryosuke's advancing interrogation. Caught off guard and unsure how to react, Kirie found herself sandwiched between the bickering siblings.
"So, Kirie-san, what do you think? It might sound presumptuous coming from his younger sister, but I'd say he's pretty recommendable, wouldn't you say?"
"Recommendable?"
With Ryosuke clinging to her back, Kirie felt utterly bewildered.
"R-Ryosuke..."
"She seems tough, but she's actually really kind and a great cook. When she's really mad, she can be scary, but she's pretty childish too."
"Cut the crap already—"
"I won't. I want you two to become friends. Oh, and Ryosuke... you probably put on a tough act at school, right? But you're not perfect at all—you make cute mistakes too!"
"Ugh, seriously?"
Flustered, Ryosuke grabbed Kirie's hand.
"Kirizaki, let's go upstairs. If you keep hanging out with Marin, she'll fill your head with all sorts of nonsense."
"Huh? Wait...!"
Before Kirie could protest, Ryosuke dragged her into his room on the second floor.
*****
Second story of the day at around 8 PM.
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