Chapter 233: Idiot Brother  

Ever since Hikigaya left home to study in Tokyo, Komachi hadn't seen her brother for almost half a year. 

At first, she didn't feel much different. In fact, she even thought it was nice not having her idiot brother around—she could do whatever she wanted without worrying about him suddenly showing up and nagging her like a strict old lady. 

But as time passed, Komachi slowly realized something she had always ignored. 

A feeling she couldn't quite put into words—loneliness. 

Even though she had plenty of friends in her contact list, even though she hung out with them before and after school, every time she came home to an empty house, every time there was one less person at the dinner table, she started to realize something. 

She actually cared about that idiot brother a lot. 

Growing up as an only child would have been really lonely. She often found herself remembering the times they argued and bickered, the moments she teased and messed with him. 

That's why she was so excited to see him today. 

But people are weird sometimes. One second, she was looking forward to it, feeling all excited. The next second, when she actually saw him, she just couldn't help but find him annoying again. 

Maybe that's just how family works. That's what being siblings feels like. 

Hikigaya opened the bento. There were two meals—one was a neatly packed bento, and the other was just two large rice balls. 

"Did you make these rice balls, Nishimiya?" 

Hikigaya looked up at the tomboy sitting across from him. If he wasn't paying close attention, it'd be easy to mistake Nishimiya for a guy. Her neutral style was really misleading. 

At least, the first time he met her, he really thought she was a boy. 

And since he knew his sister's cooking skills all too well, it wasn't hard to guess who had made the rice balls. 

Nishimiya looked a little embarrassed. She didn't say anything, just gave a small nod. 

"Onii-chan, Yuzuru knew you eat a lot, so she specially made two big rice balls for you. See how thoughtful she is? You better thank her properly!" 

Komachi lectured Hikigaya with a serious face. 

"Speaking of which, I'm already kinda hungry. Can I eat one now?" 

As he spoke, Hikigaya had already grabbed one and started eating. 

Seeing him eat, Nishimiya couldn't help but smile. Komachi and Shizuka-sensei exchanged a glance and also smiled. 

"Alright, alright, take the rest home with you. Look at the waiter over there—they look like they're about to come over and start a fight." 

Shizuka-sensei sighed as she saw Hikigaya about to keep eating. 

After all, this was a family restaurant, and bringing in outside food to eat? That was just asking for trouble. 

"By the way, how's school going for you lately, Nishimiya?" 

Hikigaya suddenly asked. 

"It's going fine." 

"Nobody's giving you trouble, right?" 

Nishimiya shook her head. "They wouldn't dare." 

Shizuka-sensei sighed helplessly and said, "Hikigaya, I know you're worried, but after everything that happened, no one would have the guts to pull anything anymore. Plus, I have friends at school keeping an eye out for her, so don't worry." 

"I'm sorry, Hachiman." 

Nishimiya said, looking guilty. "It's all because of me..." 

"Stop, stop!" 

Shizuka-sensei quickly cut her off and reached out to ruffle Nishimiya's hair. 

"It's all in the past, so don't bring it up again. Instead of wasting time on things that are already over, why not focus on enjoying the present?" 

With Shizuka-sensei firmly shutting down that unpleasant topic, the conversation shifted to lighter things. 

Most of the time, Komachi did the talking. She was great at keeping the atmosphere lively. Slowly, Nishimiya started to join in as well, looking much more relaxed than before. 

Hikigaya and Shizuka-sensei mostly played the role of listeners. It seemed like Shizuka-sensei had already given Komachi and Nishimiya a heads-up, so Komachi didn't really ask much about Hikigaya's school life. 

At first, they talked about everyday stuff—funny moments, little troubles. Then, the conversation naturally shifted to schoolwork and grades. 

That's when Hikigaya seemed to remember something and turned to Nishimiya. 

"Nishimiya, how are your grades these days?" 

Nishimiya's smile froze for a moment. 

"Uh… yeah, pretty good." 

Hikigaya could already guess what was going on. Before he even met Nishimiya, she used to skip class a lot, so her grades weren't great. Of course… that was also how he ended up meeting this underclassman. 

"Yuzuru is working really hard now, okay? Can't you be a little more encouraging? We even started a summer study group!" 

Komachi spoke up to defend Nishimiya. 

"A study group?" 

Hikigaya looked at his sister and immediately saw through her. 

"You just want an excuse to ask Dad and Mom for more allowance money!" 

Komachi's eyes darted away. 

"I-I totally wasn't thinking that! You're such an idiot, big bro!" 

"Oh, right! What about my birthday gift money?" 

Hikigaya suddenly remembered. Komachi's face stiffened for a second before she pointed at the bento on the table. 

"What do you mean?" 

"The money Dad and Mom gave you—I used it to make this delicious, lovingly prepared bento for you! Aren't I such a thoughtful sister?" 

Komachi grinned proudly. 

Hikigaya: "..." 

Unbelievable, Komachi! 

"It's about time." 

Shizuka-sensei spoke up. 

"Huh? Already?" 

Komachi pouted. 

"It felt like we just got here, and now we have to leave again." 

Nishimiya nodded in agreement, then suddenly seemed to remember something. She quickly took out a DSLR camera from her backpack. 

"Hachiman, let's take a picture together." 

She had clearly planned this in advance, and her face was filled with excitement. 

After asking a waiter to take a group photo of the four of them, Komachi handed the camera to Hikigaya and had him take a few more pictures of her, Nishimiya, and Shizuka-sensei. 

"Huh? Onii-chan, you seem really good at using the camera." 

Komachi looked a little surprised. 

"I remember your photography skills used to be terrible. How did you suddenly get so much better?" 

"Yeah, Hachiman used to not even be able to focus properly." 

Nishimiya also looked confused. 

Hikigaya's face stiffened. 

How was he supposed to explain this? He couldn't exactly tell his sister, "I got good at it because I kept taking pictures for a certain girl in my class." 

There was no way he could say that out loud! 

Later, as Hikigaya picked up two bentos and was about to say goodbye, he crossed the street and suddenly heard someone call out behind him. 

"Hachiman!" 

He turned around and saw Nishimiya standing on the other side of the street, using sign language. 

Shizuka-sensei and Komachi stood next to her, completely clueless about what she was trying to say. 

Nishimiya was thinking the same thing. 

She had finally gathered the courage to "say" the words she had never been able to say before. 

It was fine—because the guy on the other side wouldn't understand anyway… 

But then, her face froze. 

Hikigaya had put down the things in his hands and was signing back. 

Right in front of her, Nishimiya's face turned visibly red.

一 一 一 一 一

You can read 30 advanced chapters on

pat reon.com/GMadman

一 一 一 一 一