15. Girl Talk (Part 4)

After hearing her greeting, I thought about undoing my arm. It wasn't about me, it was about Yuki's feelings. I thought it would be a little embarrassing for my classmates to see me walking with my arm entwined with my sister, and I thought Yuki would hate it too. 

However, Yuki, whether she sensed my movement or not, protected her arm tightly and tried to maintain her current position. In the end, Sasai-san was facing me with my arm entwined with hers.

I didn't really understand the situation, and Yuki and Sasai-san made eye contact. In the midst of all this, Sasai-san asked me.

"Um, Sato-kun, well... ah, are you sure it's your sister...?"

I wasn't the one to answer her somewhat anxious words.

"Yes! I'm Sato Yuki, Shun's little sister! So... are you Shun's classmate?"

For some reason, Sasai-san seemed to straighten her back when Yuki revealed that she was his little sister. She even had the air of someone older than her.

"Y-Yes! I'm Sasai Asagi, Sato-kun's classmate! Sato-kun and I have always gotten along well."

While I was looking at Sasai-san, who was using honorific language with Yuki for some reason, without understanding why, Yuki was watching with interest. Then she immediately said to me, "Shun-nii, wait a minute, okay?" and the two of them hid around the corner.

It was supposed to be their first meeting, so what would they talk about as girls? I almost thought that she was talking bad about me, but at the moment, I couldn't imagine Sasai-san and Yuki suddenly doing that.

After I had been waiting for about three minutes, the two of them returned. Sasai-san's face was a little red, while Yuki was smiling. I still had no idea what they talked about.

"Well, see you at school... Ah, see you!"

With that, Sasai-san ran off in the direction of the school. Even though we were heading in the same direction, for some reason we said goodbye.

"Shun-nii... Don't you think Asagi-san is a really cute person?"

And Yuki was already calling Sasai-san by her first name. I was impressed at how quickly they became friends, but there was no way I could ask her what had happened.

Yuki looked at me and laughed, "Hehe." Even I could tell that she wasn't making fun of him. 

"You see, right now, Shun-nii doesn't seem to reject girls, so I was thinking maybe he'd found a girl in class that he liked. But I never thought we'd meet at this timing."

My heart leaps. Yuki seems to have somehow noticed that I'm attracted to Sasai-san."Wh-why..."

I answer while feeling shaken. Yuki smiles again when she hears that and tells me.

"...Yeah, after hearing that answer, I think it's true."

It seems I fell for my sister's bluff. I'm really bad at psychological warfare, and there's no way I could hide something from a girl.

"I thought I couldn't win against such a cute girl, but then I talked to her...she's really humble and has a kind personality. That's why I think she might be getting along with Shun-nii, or something like that."

Yuuki is talking like that, but I can only listen in silence. I can't keep up with the story at all.Sure, Sasai-san is very cute and I'm often moved by her. But Yuki is also a beautiful girl, and I don't understand why she's so selfish.

"So if Shun-nii is interested, I think it's a good thing for him to spend time with Asagi-san! Shun-nii, you've been avoiding girls up until now, so if that changes, it's a good thing."

I'm sure that the fact that I've been avoiding girls up until now is undeniable. But even if I'm nervous around girls now, there's no way I'd intentionally avoid them. If a cute girl invites me out, I shouldn't refuse her invitation.

"But, you know, I still want you to be friendly with me, and no matter who you go to school with... I'd be happy if you paid attention to me sometimes. It's really selfish, isn't it?"

Yuuki's eyes were looking at me seriously as she said this. But there's no way I could think that what she was saying was selfish.

"...Well, Yuki is my precious little sister...I won't forget you, and like I said before, I want to go to school and back together...I want you to feel at ease, and I want to treasure you..."

Yuuki muttered "...I'm happy" in response to my reply, and returned my smile. It was clumsy, but I wanted to tell her how I felt as many times as necessary until she was convinced.

Also, there were some parts of what she said that were fundamentally wrong.

"Also, even if I thought Sasai was nice...well, if she wasn't nice, then I don't think there's anything to it..."That was my biggest question. Even if she became friends with me, it's impossible for Sasai to have any feelings beyond that, and I think that would even be rude to her.

However, when Yuki heard that, she turned up the corners of her mouth and grinned. It was a different smile from before, and it was a little devilish.

"Shun-nii, I think that...it depends on what happens in the future."

What does that mean? Is Sasai-san trying to say that she has feelings for me? That's absolutely impossible. We might become friends, but I'm still me, a boring guy who's not good-looking and a bad talker. A beautiful girl who will be more than just friends with me is just a dream within a dream.

"In any case, if she invites you out, you have to reply properly! I don't know when she'll come, though, okay?"

Making this assumption that will never come, Yuki starts walking again. All I can do is follow her, sorting out my feelings in my mind. The start of work doesn't wait for me to be upset.