Chapter 20: Kouta and Kanae’s bond.

“It all started a year after I was born.  Kanae was six…”

I proceeded to tell Nakada-san about what Nee-chan told me at that time. 

Mom had just begun the job she’s enjoyed for almost my entire life.  That left dad and Kanae to take care of me.

Dad at first had help, but by the time I was 3, Kanae was left in charge of me at the age of 8.

Well, I say in charge, but Kanae took to the role of Onee-chan like a fish to water.

“Nee-chan took care of everything for me growing up, you know?” I explain.

Whatever aspect of domestic engineering needing doing, Kanae was able to handle without much difficulty it seemed.

“I don’t remember much about when we lived in the place before this one, but do I know at that time,  our unique relationship started to form because of my unavailable runaway mother and irresponsible workaholic father…”

From young, I was told by Nee-chan that I was a handful.  I was sneaky, and stubborn, and all kinds of trouble.

Our unique relationship started with a few choice words, words that I didn’t understand the meaning to, but that were both absolute.  Sometimes they would lead to a good outcome, sometimes not.

“Whatever belongs to Kouta, is Kanae’s also!”

Now, at first, those words seemed strange.  That meant Onee-chan would take my toys.

While she did so on occasion, in order to get them back, I had to perform a dogeza.

“Kanae was neglected.  I just didn’t know it...” I pass on the realization I missed until I reached middle school. “...that translated into her strange behavior.”

Whenever my mother was home and doted on me, maybe giving me a kiss on the cheek and Nee-chan saw it…

When I got to a place out of sight, she would appear before me, say those words, and kiss the same spot mom did, to ‘steal’ it for herself.

Even dad, who used to ruffle my hair from time to time when he’d get home from work and have some free time before dinner was served. 

After dinner, Onee-chan would ‘un-ruffle’ my hair, stealing dad’s affection in her own way.

So nee-chan was overly physical with me, but we never did anything that could be considered over the line between blood-related family members.

Of course, I from time to time was a picky eater growing up.  And nee-chan would come to my rescue with those words as well…

“Onee-chan bell peppers are yucky?”

“Kouta doesn’t want to eat them?”

“Un un.”

“Then, whatever belongs to Kouta, is Kanae’s also!”

If I quickly did a dogeza there praising her,  she would eat the vegetables I hated.   She was considerate of me, and when I needed her to, she would steal my problems away when she could, while demanding respect from me in dogeza form.  She cooked for me, cleaned for me, helped me study, and was somehow an irreplacable existence in my life.

At least it went like that for a while.

By the time nee-chan had entered high school, she was burnt out emotionally, I think.

She had started doing things minors shouldn’t do, and would curse out our father from time to time.  She became a bit of a delinquent as well.

However she always took care of me.  No matter what. No matter how bad nee-chan became, she took care of me.

I was in seventh grade, and nee-chan was a senior in high school.  I had brought home a girl I liked to study with me for a text.  It didn’t occur to me, that nee-chan would use that as an excuse to deal with something that was bothering her lately.

“Kouta, who’s this?”

Suddenly in the middle of studying, Onee-chan entered my room without making a sound, and asked who the girl I was studying was.

I don’t remember to be honest, she was just a girl who was in the same class as I was. I was heavily into the world of 2D by then.  I think we only became friends because I noticed a certain trinket she had on her bag, and dared to asked if she liked that manga or anime.  We became friends just enough to get to this point.

“She’s a friend from class.” I replied.

“Oh, Kouta got a girlfriend finally?”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that…”  I denied it because we were just classmates.

The girl on the other hand, was blushing a lot, and became a target of Onee-chan.

“Eh, could it be you want to be Kouta’s girlfriend?”

Nee-chan managed to coerce a yes out of her.

I was stunned, a girl liked me?

“Great.  Kouta. You have a girlfriend now.”

I was kind of happy.  Nee-chan was a reliable wing-man.

Except…

“Nee-chan, right before my eyes, stole this girl’s lips.” I describe it to Shi-chan

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I was confused to say the least.

But this girl let herself be kissed a whole bunch by nee-chan.  Then, when it was over… she got up, grabbed her books, and left both of nee-chan and I alone, as she fled the room.

“That girl never looked or spoke to me again. There was no girlfriend.  It was just a one time friend... and now not even that."

I was furious with nee-chan later, but she threw those words at me, like it was an expected course of action. That it perfectly explained her behavior.

“I tried to reason with Nee-chan…” I sigh, understand why I chose the otaku life after all...

Shi-chan is following along, and has given me a tight hug.

“Nee-chan, you can’t do something like that.  People don’t understand that kind of behavior.”  I try and explain. “Whever Belongs to me, is yours too… no matter how you look at it, it’s strange when it comes to people other than us, right?”

It made sense only to us.

“Kouta.  All I have in this world is you.   It’s not for a lack of trying.   I’ve tried to enter into a relationship with other people.  But I’m no good as a person either.  The only thing I can seem to talk about, is taking care of Kouta and the house, and no one my age wants to be with a boring girl like me and  listening to that kind of stuff!”

I’m stunned to hear this from nee-chan.  I mean she never brought anyone home, boy or girl, after all these years…  I always figured she kept someone or something private, but that wasn’t the case. 

“Whatever belongs to Kouta, is Kanae’s too… so when you find a girl, make sure that she isn’t too close minded… okay?”

Nee-chan graduated from highschool after that.  I had a small accident sometime around then, and it prompted nee-chan who was attended college to make a couple of acquaintences who were taking  courses in social media influencing. 

The next thing I know, I’m being harassed to help make some Insta* and Pin* pages soon after, as well as show her how to manage a Tweet* and all the latest stuff.

It was around this time that I entered high school, and saw Shi-chan for the first time…  and I had no idea things would ever get this far…

---

“So you and Kanae-san share everything?”  Shi-chan asks me.

“Weren’t you listening?” I say

“I was.” She lies.

“Whatever belongs to Kouta, is Kanae’s also…  that’s how it works with Onee-chan...”

“...”

“This is why I didn’t want to bring you home.  My family are all problematic individuals.”

“...”

“Anyway, I must be crazy.   I have to go to the office tomorrow morning.  After that, I’ll just look for a small 1LDK I can afford, maybe I can get away without a guarantor?  I’m sorry to not have consulted you… I hope you can forgive me…  With what happened to day with Onee-chan…” I said it, but I wasn't sorry.  My bond with nee-chan is that deep.

“...”

Sigh.  She doesn’t want to talk to me anymore, huh? I can't blame her.

“Is Kouta really okay with that?  Kouta only keeps seeing others taking his woman.  Won’t that cause Kouta problems?”

…

…

Will it?

How do you return a lifetime of favor, though?

It’s not like I dislike onee-chan.  I just understand the line, and would never cross it with her anyway, I’m not into that stuff… incest.  I’m also not a sis-con, or any of that other weird stuff as well.  Nee-chan is just nee-chan to me.  Another lonely person like myself, on the inside.  Only where I am lucky and have found someone who can somehow love me, nee-chan hasn’t had that yet, despite being older than me...

Somehow, Onee-chan can fill her emptiness, by taking what is mine from me.

It’s just how we are.

Maybe she just needs to fill that emptiness up even once, and she’ll change for the better?

I would like to see that, but it comes at a cost.

That cost is Nakada-san.

“I have no right to ask you, but I wonder if you’ll consider it at least until tomorrow.  Whatever your decision is, is what we’ll do.” That is the only way to do it.  If I force it, I think it would make me a villain.  

It’s wrong to force people when they are in a hard place.

Right now Shi-chan might be scared, because she only has me now.  And I’m asking something unreasonable.

“I don’t want you to think I’m asking for something unreasonable.   After all, the person I care about most, is Shi-chan.  So she can be as selfish as she wants with me.  And it was said to me before right? With women, it's a no-count.”

She reaches up with one hand, and ruffles my hair.  With her other hand, she reaches down, and ruffles my son.

“Nee~ Kouta.  I think I really, really, want to fool around<3”

--

(Secret 20:  Kanae’s main source of money comes from her livestream account.  She playes a v-tube character called Kana=Tora, who looks like a chibi version of kanae but wearing a Tigers* uniform, who says abusive things to her audience that pays her for it…  It’s lucrative!)

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