Nova_Verse

Ryo Takahashi, a broke high schooler with a silver tongue, thought he had pulled off the perfect scam—conning a Yakuza boss out of a small fortune. Unfortunately, his gambling addiction and a rigged crane game drained his winnings in less than a week. Instead of getting “dealt with,” the boss gave him a new job: hide a runaway ninja princess in his house… or else.

Help! My Fake Cousin is a Ninja Princess

It was the weekend. Ryo and Ayane sat in the living room, both bored out of their minds.

Ryo (groaning): "I hate weekends. No school means no free cafeteria food."Ayane (twirling a kunai): "You could get a job, you know."Ryo: "That's illegal. I'm allergic to hard work."

Ayane sighed, then suddenly perked up.

Ayane: "Let's go shopping."Ryo: "Why? We're broke."Ayane: "I still have my ninja clan's emergency funds."Ryo (suddenly interested): "Wait. How much—"Ayane (smirking): "Not telling."

And just like that, Ryo was dragged into an unwanted shopping trip.

Unknown to them, Haruka and Misaki somehow found out.

Haruka (peeking from behind a lamppost): "They're on a date?!"Misaki (adjusting sunglasses): "Unacceptable. That should be me spending money on him!"Haruka: "Wait, why are you even here?!"Misaki: "Why are you here?!"

Realizing they had the same goal, the two girls reluctantly teamed up to spy on the "date."

Of course, Ayane's ninja senses detected them immediately.

Ayane (grinning): "Oh? I see we have some little spies."Ryo (confused): "Huh? What are you—"Ayane: "Time to have some fun~"

Ayane (clinging to Ryo's arm, loud and innocent): "Onii-chan~! Thank you for taking me out today!"

Haruka and Misaki, who were perfectly hidden behind a clothing rack, snapped their heads toward them in pure horror.

Haruka: "She—DID SHE JUST—"Misaki: "NO. NO WAY."

Ryo, blinking rapidly, turned to Ayane.

Ryo: "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"Ayane (smug, leaning closer): "Onii-chan~?"

Haruka and Misaki, both red-faced, started shaking.

Haruka: "This… this isn't real…"Misaki: "He's—he's not even her cousin—"

Haruka suddenly grabbed a random plastic baseball bat from the store shelf.

Haruka (trembling, gripping the bat): "I—I'm going to kill him."

Misaki's glasses cracked slightly from how hard she clenched her fist.

Misaki: "Takahashi, you absolute DOG."

Ayane hid behind Ryo, fake crying.

Ayane: "Onii-chan, why are they looking at me like that~? I'm scared~!"

Ryo: "STOP SAYING THAT!"

Haruka chased them through the store with the bat. Misaki threw her wallet at Ryo, yelling that he was "tainted." Ayane? Ayane just laughed the entire time.

By the time they got home, Ryo was exhausted.

Ryo (collapsing on the couch): "You nearly got me KILLED today."Ayane (smirking): "You survived. I believe in you, Onii-chan~"Ryo: "I swear, if you say that one more time—"

Ayane leaned in close.

Ayane (whispering): "Onii-cha—"

Ryo jumped out the window.

And Ayane laughed until she cried.

Onii-chan?