Author’s notes: This is a chapter from the November’s volume. Maybe this volume will be like the last of Hopeless sister’s story…. Though, I’m probably going to get carried away and write extra volumes called “December to March”, a high school volume, a college volume, etc… In the meantime, I’ll do my best to put it all together properly.
I, Koma Tachibana, have a twin sister called Mako Tachibana… Yes… Shes just the most wonderful, proud Nee-sama in the universe.
Mako-nee-sama is prettier than anyone and anything else.
Mako-nee-sama is a good cook and she is on par with the professionals.
Mako-nee-sama is able to respond cheerfully with a smile, no matter how difficult the trouble she faces.
Mako-nee-sama has the communication skills to get along with strangers in no time.
For me, Mako-nee-sama is the most reliable twin sister in the world. A woman that I truly adore more than anyone or anything else. As a woman, she is the object of admiration and longing.
And then… Wherever and whenever I am, even if it’s in a pinch, she will definitely come running to protect me… She’s my strong, kind, cool and a great hero.
~Side: Mako~
For me, the turbulent month of October has come to an end, and the season has finally entered November, the last stage of autumn and just before winter.
Winter is already in the calendar and the morning and evening chill is particularly severe. My breath is white and so cold that it reminds me of the colour of the snow that will be falling from the sky soon.
“Haaa….”
And then, as if stirred by such a season… I, Tachibana Mako, was feeling cold and letting out a sigh alone in the morning classroom.
“—- Hey, there. Could you stop sighing in the morning… You’re making my mood go down.”
“(*Bump*) Ouch!?”
I let out a sigh and someone lightly touched the back of my head from behind… Not to mention but mercilessly poking me too. Who’s doing that suddenly? I turned around in a hurry and saw,
“… Ah. Ka, Kanakana… Good morning…”
“Yeah, morning to you too, Mako. It’s even colder today.”
It was the figure of Kanakana, my best friend, sitting next to me.
“So? What’s wrong? You look so gloomy. You’re ruining your cute face.”
“Ah, aaah… Un. It’s just…”
“Just what? That’s a very abject reply… Maybe you’re having some trouble? If you want, you can consult with me for a bit.”
Kanakana asks inquisitively while putting her bag on the desk. Am I having trouble… Yeah, well, I certainly have trouble, if you can call it that…
“(… Consulting this with Kanakana who I rejected… I’m slightly hesitant…)”
The problems I’m having right now… they are pretty hard to tell other people… especially Kanakana, who I dumped just last month. After all, my troubles are about my love life, of all things.
“Ahahaha! What are you talking about, Kanakana-san? You think I have the brain to be troubled—”
“…. Haha, I understood it now. Mako’s face says it’s about that. You’re worried about things related to love.”
“Why can you understand me!?”
I try to pretend that it’s nothing to my best friend, but before I can finish my defence, she makes a brilliant point about my problems. I’ve been thinking about it recently, but… Isn’t Kanakana an ESPer just like I thought…?
“I keep telling you. Stop making me repeat myself. I know exactly what my crush is going to think. Mako shows it too much in her face to hide things in the first place.”
“Is, Is that so…?”
“Yes. Leaving that aside. You’re struggling with things related to love— In other words, I take it that you haven’t confessed to Koma-chan, still? … Aah, or maybe you’ve already confessed to her? And after confessing… Koma-chan has dumped you big time? Well, congratulations, Mako♡ We’ll party today♪”
“Can you not throw curses at me with a nice smile early in the morning, my friend?”
Why proceed on the assumption that I’ve been dumped…? And why do you congratulate me with that nice smile on your face, my friend…?
“I’m half-joking. So? What’s bothering Mako in the end? And, did you confess to Koma? You didn’t? Which is it?”
“… No, that’s…”
“I know you’re struggling, so just tell me what’s going on, Mako. Fess up, come.”
“uuuu… I got it…”
After being rushed and a little lost… I have decided that it is pointless to hide things from Kanakana at this point. I had no choice but to talk about the problems I was having.
“… Etto, Kanakana. I… I want to… confess to Koma, but…”
“But, what?”
“… I’m not getting through Koma… it seems…”
“… Haa?”
“I said! The other day, Kanakana gave me courage… And I got ready too. I’ve been attacking Koma ever since then, but… She doesn’t get it at all, not at all, not one bit of my confession, nor one bit of my love…”
“…. Haa?”
Kanakana tilts her head with her eyes dotted and a question mark on top of her head as if to say she doesn’t understand what I mean. U, un… Well, it’s not hard to understand why she reacts that way.
The thing that I’m really worried about right now is that… ‘My love doesn’t get through Koma’.
… For Kanakana, who had given me courage, for Koma and for my love, I have to be honest. I have recently gained courage and boldly confessed to Koma over and over again.
But… Sadly, all of my confessions have come up empty.
◇ ◇ ◇
~First case: Straightforward confession~
“Koma, I have! I’ve something that I always wanted to say to Koma!”
“Something you wanted to tell me…? Eetto, what is it, Nee-sama?”
“I…. I like Koma! I love you!”
“Oh my♪ Thank you very much for caring about me, Mako-nee-sama. As your little sister, I love you too, Nee-sama.”
“….”
→My love got treated as familial and sisterly love.
~Second case: Suddenly hugging you and whispering love in her ear~
“(*Humph*) Koma… Koma!”
“Kya!? Mako, nee-sama… Ehm?”
“I love you. I love you, Koma…!”
“Suddenly hugging me… What’s wrong, Nee-sama? Are you maybe cold? Have you gotten a cold or something? Do you want me to give you medicine?”
“….”
→My love lines are brilliantly ignored and she worries if I’m catching a cold.
~Third case: Calling her into my room and kissing them without question~
“Koma…”
“Nee-sama? Is there something you want to talk about, what —- Nhmhm!?”
“Nhn…mh.”
“… Phew… Ne, Nee-sama…?”
“Ey, Koma. This kiss’s meaning… Do you understand?”
“Ah, yes, I understand it. This— The kiss to return my taste sense, right? It’s fine, Nee-sama. Because, I’m not hungry yet.”
→ She’s mistaken it for the usual kiss to bring her taste sense back.
◇ ◇ ◇
“… That’s how it went, Kanakana… Hahahaha…”
“… That is… You have my condolences, Mako…”
I’m revealing my own bad confession stories of the last few days. Even Kanakana sympathizes with my story. The competition between me and Koma has so far been a total defeat for me— Far from it, it’s not even a competition.
… I know the reason for my feelings not reaching Koma. This is not because Koma is dense or anything like that… The reason is more simpler—
“… Anyhow, I… I routinely shout ‘I love you, I love you, I love you’ in front of Koma… Skinship, like hugging and holding hands, is something that I do all the time… Kissing is more than skinship, because we do it 365 days a year, every day, before every meal…”
“You say you couldn’t get Koma to accept your love as love. I see… You sisters have always been so close that your relationship has gone beyond the norm. That’s a harmful side effect of it.”
“… It’s just like you say. Confessing my love, excessive skinship… Kissing. That kind of thing is too late for me and Koma… They have no effect… Maybe for Koma it feels like a morning greeting…”
“Aah…”
—– My direct confession, excessive hugging, and kissing as a last resort has shown no effects at all. Aah, that’s right! In any case, whispering love, hugging or even kissing Koma… I’m doing that almost every day, don’t I….
“What the hell kind of confession do I make to Koma under such circumstances? How do I approach her!? I’ll cross the line if I do poorly and do more!? I’m ending up with just something unethical!? Any approach beyond a kiss would be a case of R-18, you knooooooooow!?”
“Calm down, Mako. Stop screaming stupid things in the early morning… Even though that’s an everyday thing.”
I’m plonking down at my desk and unintentionally whining to Kanakana. Please, can anyone tell me a confession method that might work for my little sis…?
“… And… And apart from that, I have other troubles…”
“Hm? Other troubles?”
And on top of that, I have other troubles as of late, as much as the ‘I’m not getting my love through Koma’.
“The truth is, Kanakana. Recently… My lovely Koma has been… acting strange.”
“Koma’s acting strange?”
“Un… Like her mood is bad or…”
Recently—Strictly speaking, since the day I rejected Kanakana and decided to confess to Koma, for some reason Koma has been acting strangely… That’s what I feel.
For some reason, she was very distant towards me. She’s spending a lot of time staring blankly. She makes a lot of mistakes which is unlike Koma. Kissing to bring her taste sense back, which was improving, is taking as long as normal… It’s clear that this is not the usual Koma.
Just this morning
◇ ◇ ◇
“—– I’m sorry, Nee-sama. Thanks for the food.”
“”Eeh!?””
“Wh, Wh, What’s wrong, Koma!? You’re saying thanks already!? Maybe the breakfast I cooked wasn’t good enough!? Was there something you didn’t like!?”
“Maybe you’ve caught a cold, Koma? What is the meaning of leaving Mako’s homemade food? If you’re not feeling well, do you want to go to the hospital?”
“Ah… No, I’m okay, Nee-sama and Aunt-sama. Simply… I just don’t have much appetite, that’s all. Please rest assured since Nee-sama’s cooking is really good and that I’m not ill… I’m so sorry for not finishing it, Nee-sama. I’ll wrap the rest of the breakfast and I’ll eat on the way home.”
“”……..””
◇ ◇ ◇
—- And so on…. Even if she had a temperature of nearly 39 degrees Celsius, she would say, ‘How could I possibly leave behind the food Nee-sama cooked for me?’ and she eats it all with a big smile on her face… But she left food? What has happened to her…?
“That’s why… Koma was clearly acting strangely…”
“Fuumu… That’s certainly worrying.”
That’s how Koma has been going for a while now, and she’s not going well. As she says, she doesn’t have a fever or anything like that, but… As her sister, I’m absurdly worried… To be honest, I’m not even talking about confession right now…
“Like I said… Koma being in that state… And my love didn’t get through her at all to begin with… So I thought. I think holding off on confessing until Koma has settled down would be—”
“Discipline! Punishment! Complaints prohibited!”
“(*Thump*) Ouch!?”
The moment I blurted out something like that, Kanakana suddenly raised her voice and hit my head even harder than before. Hurts… Even normally I’m not smart, how will you take responsibility if I end up less smart, Kanakana….!?
“What did you do that for!? It hurts, Kanakana!”
“So noisy. Why are you being so out of character and being timid, Mako? Move forward selfishly. You’re the one who doesn’t care how the other party is doing, you’re the one who doesn’t read the mood and just goes for it.”
“… Well, that’s the truth, but… Could you say it in a more roundabout way, Kanakana-san…?”
Kanakana says such rude things in a slightly pissed-off manner, without caring about hitting my head. Rather, why is Kanakana slightly pissed…?
“Mako who is indecisive is not Mako. Just because Koma-chan isn’t well, that’s not an excuse for you to be so reluctant to tell her. I told you not to run away the other day… You, good for nothing”
“Ughu…”
Kanakana scolds me, with a heavy emphasis on the word ‘good for nothing’. Now that was a bit heart-wrenching…
“Confessing is like that. There must be so many ways of confessing that you haven’t tried yet… Don’t give up just because things went a bit wrong. Did you forget who the hell you rejected? … It was me, you know? You’ve fallen in love with Koma-chan to the point where you rejected me.”
“Aah…”
“Then… Why don’t you just make up your mind and go ahead and tell her, you idiot?”
My best friend says so with a pout while looking away. With her short comment, I finally realized, even though I was not the most perceptive, that Kanakana had my back. Aah, I’m so pathetic… I’m being helped by Kanakana again…
“That’s right… Un, yeah. Why am I being reluctant and wavering around? Really, it’s not like me… I don’t need to think about it, I just love my little sister(Koma)… Isn’t that me?”
“Yes, that’s correct, Mako. That’s the Mako I know.”
… Certainly, it’s like Kanakana says. Whatever the form or outcome. I have to clearly communicate my love for Koma, and then… Honestly talking to Koma is what I should have done, and what I wanted to do.
If that’s so, then why am I still hesitating. Koma’s bad constitution? Is that fine? I didn’t discuss it properly with Koma, including why she’s not feeling well…
“Thank you lots, Kanakana. I… I’ll do my best! I will definitely confess to Kanakana thanks to all the support Kanakana has given me! And then… I’ve been set up so much… Since I’ve come this far, I’ll definitely succeed in my confession, no matter what!”
“Eh…? Make it a success…?”
Kanakana even gave me after-sales service. I’ve gotten fired up and got to act now.
That’s what I thought, and I reiterate my commitment to Kanakana. And when Kanakana hears my declaration of determination, for some reason she tilts her head and replies.
“Ah, wait a moment, Mako. You’re mistaken. Mako is a bit mistaken.”
“Huh? Mistaken? About what?”
“I think you should confess as soon as possible, but… I think that you don’t have to succeed, Mako.”
“Eh…?”
“Instead—- I’m thinking you just have to confess quickly, and then Koma dumps you as soon as possible♡”
“Eeeh!?”
Strange. This best friend of mine, she’s starting to say something weird…?
“Because if that happens… I’ll be there to comfort Mako, who was heartbroken when Koma-chan dumped her… And then, I can violate you.”
“Violate!?”
“Aah, I forgot to say it… I still love Mako, even though you rejected me. I don’t give up after one or two heartbreaks, and I have no intention of giving up at all. I’m ready to enjoy Mako whenever and wherever I get the chance.”
“Ka, Kanakana-san…?”
“That being said. You should go and tell Koma-chan and then get dumped magnificently. If that happens, this time with Mako I’ll be the one to do a fait accompli —- I’ll comfort you the best♡”
You’ve got a rather serious look in your eyes, my best friend… Better yet, Kanakana’s saying of the word ‘comfort’ sounds strange… Was it just my imagination…?
“Yo, you’re joking… Kanakana, right…?”
“What are you saying. I’m always serious, Mako.”
She replies without hesitation. My best friend says that seriously with a nice smile.
… Kanakana, somehow… Didn’t you change your character right after you confessed to me…? Was this who you were at the bottom without a chance…?
“…. (*Mumble*) It’s regrettable, but… It’s because it’s impossible for a certain someone to be dumped by a certain someone, even if heaven and earth were turned upside down… I could say this kind of light-hearted stuff too…”
Tintan 