Chapter 26

"Yukiiiiiiii!"

"Oniiiiiiii-chan!"

"Yuuuukiiiiiiii-chan!!"

"BOOOOOOOAAAAAA!!!"

I woke up to a scream like a vengeful spirit. When I blinked my eyes open, I saw S Rena, in an apron over her pajamas, kneeling by my pillow with a 100-yen megaphone pointed at me.

"A, you're awake! Yuki, you can't just sleep all day!"

As I rubbed my eyes and frowned, Rena blasted my ear with a piercing high-pitched voice through the megaphone. I was extremely tired today, and I knew why: I had smiled too much with Eri yesterday. From experience, acting like a kind big brother is incredibly exhausting. If I could maintain it all the time, dealing with Rena wouldn't be so difficult.

"Hey, Yukiiiiii. Are you still alive?"

"The strain from laughing too much yesterday..."

"Yuki... you've exceeded 100%."

My cheeks ached from overuse, and I felt a muscle ache. When I overdo it, I end up in a nihilistic mode where everything feels too troublesome. In a way, it's my true self. I had recovered somewhat after a night's sleep, but I still thought I shouldn't push myself too hard. I turned over and faced away from Rena, closing my eyes again.

"Goodnight."

"No, Yuki, it's already ten o'clock!"

"I'm sleepy."

"Bad, Yuki is in a lethargic mode!"

Rena, who had circled around me, started slapping my cheeks with her palms. At first, it was just a gentle pat, but the force increased with each slap. It was more like a quadratic function than a linear one. If I didn't wake up, I might die.

"Get up! If you sleep here, you'll die!"

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up."

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and sat up. Just as I did, Rena was about to swing her arm and use her upper body strength. It was a close call.

"Yuki is awake! FOOOOO!!"

Rena dramatically rolled around on the bed, which was a double-sized one originally used by my parents. It was quite large for one person. This room, which used to be my parents' bedroom, is now technically my room, but with the bed taking up most of the space, it doesn't feel like my own room.

"Do it outside."

"Even though there's a typhoon? Yuki, you're a pervert."

"You're not much better, Rena."

My cheeks were tingling, and she had targeted the left side persistently. They would definitely be red if I looked in the mirror.

When I got out of bed and opened the curtains, water droplets clung to the window. The rain was coming down sideways, and the wind was howling. It seemed the typhoon was hitting us directly, as forecasted. There was no way I could go outside.

(I'm glad I went shopping.)

I had bought groceries at the supermarket yesterday. It was fortunate that today was Saturday and I had no school, but I wondered if there would have been delays or cancellations anyway.

"Come on, Yuki, breakfast is ready."

Rena dragged me into the living room. I thought she would be bored with housework after doing nothing yesterday, but it seemed to continue.

"Please wait a moment."

I was seated at the table, where a glass of milk and a banana lay haphazardly. It was oddly surreal. I picked up the glass and took a sip of the milk, which was unusually warm.

"When did you pour this?"

"Quite a while ago."

"The timing matters."

"Because you didn't wake up early."

While I had a bad feeling, Rena brought a plate from the kitchen. On it were two fried eggs with yolks.

"How is it? I made it."

"Not bad. A bit burnt, though."

"They're well-done. You have to cook them thoroughly."

She complains when they're not half-cooked. Anyway, the white, milky substance coiled on top of the eggs was hard to ignore.

"What is this?"

"I put some mayonnaise on it."

"This isn't just a lemon on fried chicken, is it?"

I prefer soy sauce on my eggs. There was no point in complaining, so I started eating. Meanwhile, Rena peeled the banana and tried to feed it to me, but it was a bad match. Still, I finished it all because she had made it.

"Itadakimasu."

"Thank you for the meal."

"Indeed."

After a late breakfast, I went to the six-tatami room at the back of the house. This room is now used by my father when he comes home, and I or Rena rarely use it.

After my mother passed away, my father suddenly became interested in spiritual things. He claims this room has the best vibrations and energy, and it's his favorite.

He often goes on power spot tours and brings back suspicious items like amulets, ofuda, shrines, natural stones, bracelets, cards, and strange aromas that linger in the room.

The room has a storage area behind the sliding door, where my father's personal items that didn't fit in are piled up. As I opened it and searched through the drawers,

"Yuuuukiiiiiiii, what are you doing?"

Rena's voice came from behind, and she peeked in. She had already changed out of her pajamas and was in her underwear.

"Put some clothes on."

"You always say that, Yuki."

"Put some clothes on."

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Put some clothes on."

I wouldn't engage until she put something on. I had been lenient before, but clear boundaries were necessary. She seemed to give up and returned wearing a loose T-shirt. It was just long enough to cover her underwear.

"That's my T-shirt..."

"Hehehe."

"It's not 'hehehe.'"

Rena made a silly face, then suddenly remembered something and turned around to sit in front of the small family altar in the corner. It was a simple altar, about the size of what I could carry with both hands, with my mother's photo and family photos next to it.

"I didn't pray today."

Rena has a habit of facing the altar once a day, and so does Yuki. We sat next to each other and faced the altar.

"Really, in that outfit, Mom would cry if she saw you."

"Mom would be happy to see us in matching outfits. She'd cry tears of joy."

Rena seemed to have been told by my mother to "be nice to your brother," but she had misinterpreted it. Still, I remembered how she used to cry and refuse to leave the photo. I couldn't say anything more. Rena clapped her hands and closed her eyes tightly. I closed my eyes lightly and followed.

"What did you pray for, Yuki?"

"It's not a shrine, you know."

I stood up and started searching the drawers again. As expected, Rena clung to me.

"What are you doing? Looking for another stone?"

"Because you interrupted me the day before yesterday, I made a mistake."

"Hmm? If you make a mistake, you should be able to start over from the prayer points."

"You sometimes say difficult things."

She kept interrupting, and I couldn't find what I was looking for. The items were all mixed up, and it was hard to tell.

I thought about asking my father, but he had messaged last night that he wouldn't come home this week because of the typhoon. I was a bit worried, so I decided to call and ask about the storage area.

I looked for my rarely used phone, which I found in the bedroom. When I picked it up, I noticed a message from Eri. I tapped to read it.

(This is...)