Chapter 22: Volume 1 - CH 4.1

On this day, a few days after the practice match, I came home from school, and a short while later the intercom rang. I went down from my room to the living room on the first floor and looked at the monitor to see my brother, a flashy and intellectual guy, wearing jeans, a black polo shirt, and a silver bangle on his arm.

I opened the door and let my brother in, remembering that he had said something about "Coming to visit us once in a while."

"Where's Rina-chan?"

My brother asked me as he entered the living room. I replied, " She' s not home yet," and he looked disappointed, so I guessed that his main purpose today was to see Izumi.

My brother was holding a plastic bag in his hand. When I asked him, "What's that?" he replied, "Foodstuffs."

"I haven't cooked for you in a while. I picked out some expensive ingredients for you, you know."

The plastic bag my brother placed on the table contained pasta and canned tomatoes. He had worked part-time at an Italian restaurant when he was an undergraduate student, and Italian cooking seemed to be his forte.

My brother washed his hands and immediately started making salad and tomato sauce in the kitchen. The sound of moving knives and frying minced meat echoed through the living room. After a while, when all that was left to do was boil the pasta, Izumi still hadn't come home, so we sat on the sofa and started playing soccer games on TV to kill time.

My brother, like me, played soccer under my dad's influence. He wasn't that good at playing in real life, but he continued to play in the club until his senior year of high school and still played futsal for fun.

Then, just after nine o'clock, I heard the front door open with a clank. There was no sound of a car, so it was probably Izumi.

Sure enough, from the front door, I heard Izumi's now-familiar, slightly tired voice saying, "I'm home."

Following the sound of slippers, the living room door opened. Izumi, dressed in her school uniform, a cream-colored vest, and a red checked skirt on a navy blue background, walks into the living room.

She looked at me and my brother sitting on the sofa, opened her mouth for an, "Ah," and stiffened.

My brother stopped his hands and grinned at her.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryuichi, Kenichi's older brother."

When he introduced himself, Izumi bowed her head, though she seemed a little stiff.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Izumi Rina. I've heard a lot about you from Kenichi-kun."

"Is that so?"

While smiling and conversing with Izumi, my brother gave me a sidelong glance and said in a teasing whisper, "Kenichi-kun, isn't it?". I ignore him, as I find it annoying that he seems to be thinking something evil.

"Rina-chan, you're going to have dinner, right? I'm cooking today. Wait here for a minute."

"Yes, I thought something smelled good. What are you making?"

"Bolognese and Caesar salad. I make my own pasta sauce. You can count on it."

As I expected, my brother has this amazing communication skills. Izumi, who had been nervous when they first met, had already softened her expression after exchanging a few words. As I sat on the sofa, I watched my brother in the kitchen showing her a dish he was about to make, and Izumi's back in her school uniform. Seeing my brother and Izumi side by side, I somehow felt something unpleasant growing deep in my chest.

While I still call her "Izumi", Ryou-kun calls her "Rina-chan" from the first shot. Something about that doesn't sit well with me either.

---Could it be jealousy? I thought to myself, That's ridiculous, and hastily dismissed the thought myself.

As I was trying to calm the faint buzzing in my heart, I heard my brother's frivolous voice in my ear.

"Hey, Rina-chan, can you try calling me 'Onii-chan'"

"E-Ehh!"

What are you talking about all of a sudden, you flashy guy.

Izumi was also surprised and put her hand on her face, looking troubled. If Yuriko saw this gesture, she would say "burikko" or something like that. But in Izumi's case, unlike Tachibana, I don't think she is aiming for something, but probably just naturally like this.

T/N : Burikko, a woman or girl who acts cute by playing innocent and helpless.

"Izumi, just ignore him. This guy can tell jokes like that."

I turned to Izumi, who was in trouble and said that.

"Eh, h-he's joking?"

Izumi said, still flustered, as she looked repeatedly toward me and my brother. If he really meant it, it would be very scary, I replied to Izumi inwardly.

My brother smiled at that, apologizing, sorry sorry.

"I didn't mean to trouble you. I haven't had any younger girls close to me, and I was interested in that kind of play for once."

P-Pure? said Izumi, tilting her head in confusion as she said it in her mouth. When he behaves and says things like this, it makes me want to destroy the respect I have for my excellent brother. If the brain and the lower half of the body are separate, I think Ryou-kun is really an idiot.

"Ryou-kun, don't tell Izumi those kinds of things."

I said, staring at my brother in disgust, and Izumi smiled in a bewildered way, "Aaha......".

"U-Umm, I've been doing club activities today, and I'm sweating....... Can I go change my clothes?"

"Oh, sure. I'll wait for you. I'm sorry for teasing you."

Izumi replied, "No," with a reassuring smile, and left the living room as if to escape from the living room.

With a thud, the living room door closed and silence descended. Now, I said, throwing a voice at my brother's back as he turned to the kitchen.

"Izumi is a serious girl, so you shouldn't tease her too much."

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"Well, when I see a girl like that, it makes me want to tease her. Her reactions are so cute, you know."

He lit the stove and said in a happy tone of voice again. I buried my back deep in the sofa, saying to myself, "This is not good."

The sound of boiling water echoed through the living room. My brother put a bunch of pasta in the pot. After a few minutes, the warm, somewhat sweet smell of boiling pasta wafted into the living room.

Izumi, dressed in her loungewear and slightly emitting a soapy scent, saw it and raised her voice.

"Wow. It looks delicious."

"Right? Let's eat now. Kenichi, take a seat."

I sat down alongside Izumi, and my brother sat across from me at the seat where our mother usually sat.

My brother's food was still good, as he was so confident. Izumi also said how delicious it was, and he smiled and said, "Thank you very much,"

My brother had been talking with Izumi for a while after he started eating, and when he ran out of conversation, he asked, "Is mom coming home late these days?" He asked in a casual tone.

"It's usually around ten o'clock. Though it is often past twelve these days."

"I see."

He replied, pouring water into his cup and taking a sip.

"I guess she's busy at work."

"I guess so. But she seems to be enjoying life. She never complains, and she never looks tired. She also seems to be enjoying herself when she talks with Izumi."

"Hmmm."

I noticed after the conversation was over that my flashy brother, who always had a frivolous smile on his face, had until just now kept a straight face when he was talking about our mother.

I had been replying in a casual manner, but then I realized what had happened and suddenly turned my attention back to his face again. But now he was already smiling at Izumi and asking her if she had any hobbies, talking in a lighthearted tone.

After dinner, we cleaned up the dishes, wrapped my mother's portion in plastic wrap, and then resumed our game while drinking barley tea.

"Oh, you were playing a game?"

Izumi said so as my brother and I sat side by side on the sofa and picked up the controllers.

"Yeah. Soccer game. Do you want to try it, Rina-chan?"

"Is that okay?"

When my brother suggested it, Izumi said excitedly.

"I've never played a video game before."

"Hee. That's unusual. Is your family strict?"

When my brother asked, Izumi shook her head briskly.

"It's not like that, but I wasn't really interested in it. I've played puzzle games on my cell phone for a little while."

"Hmmm," said my brother, operating the controller and returning it to the team select screen.

"Then, Rina-chan and I are going to play. Kenichi, teach Rina-chan how to operate the controller."

"Okay," I replied, handing Izumi the controller. My brother sat down on the floor so that Izumi could sit on the sofa, and Izumi and I sat side by side on the sofa.

I gave a simple tutorial on how to operate it, and Izumi listened to it with an "uh-huh.".

I chose a strong team for her, and decided on a formation, trying to gather players who were in good condition. And the game that began was still a complete recreation play for Izumi.

"Wow, Rina-chan, you're good!"

My brother was completely intent on keeping the defender away from going to the ball.

A single path is formed toward the goal, and one player dribbles through a long-distance that even Maradona would be amazed at.

"Ah, ah, Kenichi, which button is to shoot?"

A player operated by Izumi stopped suddenly in the penalty area as she asked me in a hasty tone. Izumi's voice tickled my ears as she sat right next to me.

The opposing players, who were moving automatically, were gathering around the player who had the ball, but my brother, who was controlling them all, was doing his best to manipulate them and keep them away from there.

When I replied, "The □ button,",

Izumi looked away from the screen, "Umm," she said, searching for the button for a moment, then,

"Ei!"

She said, pressing the button clumsily.

Her free shot from a close range of the goal naturally shook the net. The live commentator shouted, "Gooooooooooal!",  and Izumi, too, was happy and unexpectedly high-spirited, saying "Yay!" and extending her hand as if to ask me for a high five. 

I could see her armpits and the white fabric of her underwear through the gap in her short-sleeved T-shirt, and while I was startled at her defenselessness, I raised my hand and exchanged a high five with Izumi.

"Uwaa, you beat me!"

I stared at my overreacting brother with blank eyes. I thought again that if we weren't siblings, he would never be the type of guy I would associate with.

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