My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

The Ex-Girlfriend Nurses Back to Health

“Is it true catching someone else’s cold will make them feel better?”

Yume Irido

Here’s a one-sentence summary of the events up until now: I screwed up everything.

“Hey, do you know where the cup I left here went?” I asked.

“I took it to the sink,” Mizuto replied.

“Why? I was still using it.”

“How was I supposed to know? Maybe try not leaving it somewhere random next time.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hmph.”

Witness the conversation between two people who’d kissed just a few days ago. We were supposed to be on better terms after getting used to living with each other, but we were back where we’d started: hating each other’s guts.

I didn’t even need to ask how things had ended up this way. I knew. But still, was I really the only one to blame? All I’d been doing was hiding my embarrassment. I’d fallen back into old habits in an attempt to deal with the embarrassing reason I had for kissing him.

But then all that stuff happened with Higashira-san, bringing me to this turbid emotional state. I could feel myself being even meaner to him than I had been before summer vacation started. Ugh, but this isn’t what I wanted! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!

I was supposed to be taking the lead—teasing him and making his face go red. He was supposed to be sheepish around me! I had to find some way to get things back on track. Was my best way forward telling him it was all an act to cover my embarrassment? No, it’s too late for that. If I showed weakness like that, I’d never be the one on top.

I glanced over from the couch as Mizuto poured water from the pitcher into a cup. I had to at least stop reflexively lashing out at him. Snapping back at him only made things worse. I was the type that learned from my mistakes. I implemented PDCA into my life—plan, do, check, adjust.

Suddenly, I heard something crash. I quickly turned towards the kitchen to see Mizuto looking down at the ground. I walked over to him and saw that the pitcher had fallen, spilling all the filtered water across the floor.

“A-Are you okay?”

Fortunately the pitcher was plastic, so there weren’t any glass shards. He was probably fine, then.

Mizuto silently got a rag and crouched down to wipe up the water. I moved closer to help, but was promptly stopped. “Don’t,” he said in a firm voice. “I can handle this myself.”

Even though I was right there, I couldn’t do anything to help. Do you... Do you really hate me that much? Sure, we broke up, so those negative feelings might still be there, but still... We loved each other once, didn’t we? Do you really hate who I am now that much? Am I really that different from who I used to be?

After he finished cleaning the floor, he refilled the pitcher and put it in the refrigerator. Then he walked past me without a single word. I watched as he left the living room and I noticed something. He doesn’t look too good.

Mizuto Irido

I couldn’t think straight. My body ached. My throat felt uncomfortable and dry. Breathing felt like torture. I was pretty sure I was sick. I crashed onto my bed after finally reaching my room. It’d been a while since I’d last caught a cold. Maybe I’d picked something up on our trip. I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the festival.

She’s okay though, right? I didn’t give her my cold, did I? I tried to erase the feel of her lips from my memory as I crawled under the covers. The best thing I could do now was rest and recover. This had been my routine ever since I was a kid.

Cold...? I felt something cold placed on my forehead, prompting me to wake up. My mind was hazy, my throat sore. I felt so lethargic. I guess I needed to sleep more. If I wanted to get better as fast as possible, I needed to fall asleep again. But one thing prevented me from doing so: I wanted to know what was on my forehead.

It felt like a cooling patch, but I had no recollection of putting one on. I slowly opened my eyes.

“Oh.” My vision was still hazy, but I saw a familiar face. She noticed that I’d woken up. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking closely at my face while moving her long black hair behind her ear.

She was acting like a normal family member. It made me doubt that I was actually awake. In fact, maybe I was still dreaming. She’d been in a bad mood and had been keeping her distance from me. But now, she looked like she was genuinely concerned about me.

“Can I get you anything? I brought you a sports drink. Do you want it?” she asked.

“Yeah...”

“Okay. Can you sit up?”

I slowly moved my body while Yume opened the bottle, poured the contents into a cup, and stuck a straw in it before bringing it to my mouth.

“I can drink by myself...”

“You’ll make things worse for yourself if you spill it. Just drink it like this, okay?” she insisted.

Still, I tried holding the cup as I drank from the straw while she supported it. I could feel the sweet, cold liquid flowing down my throat.

“You should’ve said that you weren’t feeling well,” Yume scolded. “What if your cold got worse? You’d ruin your summer vacation.”

“Shut it...”

“What’s with the attitude? Am I not allowed to take care of you?”

“I...” I still couldn’t think straight. The words naturally fell out of my mouth. “I was just scared...”

“Huh?”

I collapsed back onto my pillow. I must’ve tired myself out from talking.

“Are you going to sleep again? How’s your fever? Did you already take your temperature?”

I didn’t. As much as I wanted to say that out loud, I’d already passed back out.

Yume Irido

He really fell asleep. I took out the thermometer and began undoing the buttons on his shirt as he peacefully slept. I had to keep reminding myself that I needed to do this. I didn’t have any ulterior motives. I was doing this with only pure intentions.

I pulled back his shirt and saw his chest. My face felt hot. Stop! This isn’t the time! Calm down! Stay cool! I stuck the thermometer in his hairless armpit.

The thermometer beeped, snapping me back to my senses. I pulled it out. That was close. Too close. I need to get a hold of myself. I shouldn’t be ogling a sick person.

Then I saw the reading on the thermometer. Thirty-seven point nine degrees Celsius. It wasn’t too high of a temperature, but it wasn’t quite low enough to be normal. He’d probably be able to sleep it off.

“That’s a relief...”

If he stayed like this, I wasn’t sure if I could show the same kind of self-restraint that I’d demonstrated today. Being aware of your feelings is scary. I buttoned up his shirt and exhaled after it took every last fiber of my being to look away.

His words played over and over in my head as I stared at his face. What was he scared of? Had I been so harsh with my words to the point that he would talk about it in his sleep? I wasn’t trying to lash out at him on purpose!

But our relationship had already taken a turn for the worse, and we had failed to repair it. Just looking at each other triggered anger inside us. If he said something, I’d snap back at him. This had become our default.

I knew that things wouldn’t go back to how they used to be just because I wanted them to. But then again, that shouldn’t have been what I wanted. Why would I want things to go back to how they used to be? History would repeat, and we’d end up making the same mistakes that had led to our relationship’s demise in the first place.

I wanted the current Mizuto to fall in love with my current self, just as I’d fallen for him. It might’ve been too much for me to wish for, but there was no other way for us to get back into a relationship. We weren’t just a guy and a girl anymore—we were stepsiblings.

We weren’t in a position to test the waters of what it’d be like to be a couple. But what should I do? If I tried to be honest with him, he’d put his guard up. I was fully aware of how much trust I’d made him lose in me.

Can he just fall in love with me on his own and ask me out without me having to lift a finger? These kinds of thoughts made me realize that I hadn’t really matured. If anything I’d regressed past my middle school self.

“Maybe I should make him some rice porridge.”

I’d never made it before, but as long as I followed any old recipe I found online, I’d probably be okay. I stood up and left Mizuto’s room.

Mizuto Irido

I immediately knew I was dreaming.

“Do you want any water? Do you need help drinking it?”

Yume Irido was fawning over me as a mother would her child—thoroughly, selflessly, and lovingly. I had to be dreaming.

“I’ll take your temperature. Lift your arm.”

Why are you acting like this now? Nothing was going to change from this tender treatment. No matter how kind she acted—no matter how friendly we acted towards each other—everything would come crumbling down from some kind of trivial disagreement. That’s how it’s always been, right?

People can’t change who they are at their core. Neither of us had changed since we’d dated, and just like back then, one of us would inevitably encounter some trait of the other that we couldn’t get past. The only question was: who would be the first to break? My guess was both of us, at the same time.

We’d stubbornly continue as if nothing was wrong despite the storm of emotions welling within us. By the time we’d realize things had worsened between us, it would be too late to even attempt to rectify the situation. We knew how it would end, so why go there? Why not just stay stepsiblings?

We were just getting to the point where we were finally able to put our past behind us, where our old emotions weren’t dragging us down. So why’d you have to go and do that?

Whenever things looked like they would go well, they wouldn’t. When we should’ve been happy, we weren’t. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to be as good as today. Our relationship was never anything but chaotic. Everything would always fall apart, bringing us back to square one. I’m sick of it.

Love is just a temporary lapse of judgment—a horrible dream shown to us by youth. I never want to go through that again.

I slowly opened my eyes to the ticking of my clock. Nobody else was around, but a sports drink sat on my nightstand. I slowly sat up and stretched my arms, which weren’t as sore as they had been. My head didn’t feel as heavy or hazy either.

I’d sweated a little, but maybe that was the price for my recovery. My throat still hurt a little, but overall it seemed like whatever cold I’d had was on the verge of passing. I chugged the rest of the drink and stood up. I didn’t really want to be in bed anymore, so I left my room, went downstairs, and noticed that someone was in the kitchen. Curiously, I opened the door slightly.

“So...a tablespoon of salt. Wait, how much is a tablespoon?!”

Lo and behold, the head chef of literal Hell’s Kitchen herself. An apron-clad Yume stood at the stove, her hair tied into a neat ponytail. It may have looked like she knew her way around the kitchen, but her actions told a different story. She was seriously debating whether or not the mound of salt that she’d scooped out was actually the correct amount. Do you have the culinary skills of an elementary schooler or something?

“One tablespoon... Well, this fills it up entirely, so I think it should be fine.”

“Think again.”

“Huh?”

I grabbed her hand before she could dump in the mound of salt. Yume blinked at me in surprise.

“You’re feeling better already?” she asked.

“Did you even pay attention in home ec? You’re supposed to level it off, not heap it up.”

“Huh...? Really?”

I let go of her and went to the sink to wash my hands. Afterwards, I went back and used my finger to level the salt before pouring it into the pot full of rice. She’d left eggs to the side of the stove, which led me to conclude that she was most likely attempting to make rice porridge.

“Don’t do something you’re not used to while I’m asleep. What if you had started a fire?”

“I-I’m not that bad! I can at least make rice! I’ve done it by myself before!”

“Oh, right. I taught you how to do that. Good thing I did, otherwise you’d never know.”

“Urgh.” Yume looked away from me, frowning. “Shouldn’t you be praising me for trying my best? I am making it for you, after all...”

“Oh, I get it. Is having your patient worry their ass off part of your treatment plan?” I asked, staring at her.

“Nnngh!” Yume made a childish sound while glaring back at me.

I could tell she was annoyed that I’d recovered to the extent that I could throw insults at her. I was okay with that, though. This was the way it should be.

I went to the refrigerator and opened the vegetable drawer. “Were you seriously just gonna give me eggs and rice? Where are the nutrients? At least chop up some green onions,” I said, placing them on the cutting board.

“I-I’ll take care of it! You should rest more!”

“I’m more or less fine now. If anything, it’s better that I intervene now than be sent into a worse condition by your oversalted creation.”

“But you’re still recovering, so you should—”

“How about you crack the eggs? You can at least do that, right?”

“Of course I can! If you can be this mean, then you’ve recovered enough! Fine, I’ll crack the eggs, okay?! Will that make you happy?! I practiced, so I’ll be fine!”

Spoiler alert: she was not fine. When she went to crack the first egg over the mixing bowl in the sink, she lightly tapped it on the rim, making a small crack. She tilted her head in confusion, and tried cracking it again...and again. Predictably, the egg broke in her hand, and the yolk and eggshell spilled out. She frantically tried to pick out the shards.

Yeah, I can’t let someone this clumsy handle a knife. I continued chopping the green onions. If I left her to her own devices, I could foresee my condition getting worse.

After beating the eggs, I poured them in a circle over the rice before sprinkling the green onions on top. Presto—rice porridge. When I went to carry the pot, though, Yume rushed in and scolded me, saying that she was worried I’d drop it. She swiped it away from me.

Truthfully, I wasn’t really back at a hundred percent; it was within the realm of possibility that I’d drop the pot. As much as I hated to admit it, in terms of risk, she was right, so I didn’t argue with her and let her take care of it. Instead, I put a trivet on the dining table for the pot. Then she grabbed bowls for the both of us and placed them across the table from one another.

“You’re having some too?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m curious how it turned out.”

The sun hadn’t set yet even though it was seven in the evening, aka dinner time, and Yume had apparently forgotten to make her own meal. I doubted it would be all that filling for someone who wasn’t sick.

She was completely oblivious to this fact and proceeded to fill our bowls before realizing...

“Oh, I forgot our chopsticks. Or wait, would a spoon be better?” she muttered to herself before getting up and grabbing spoons for both of us and sitting back down. She put her hands together and proceeded to dig in. Even without our parents around, she’s so polite. “Hot!” she exclaimed as soon as she brought the spoon into her mouth. What an idiot.

“Why didn’t you wait for it to cool down?”

“I-It’s better when it’s hot!” she argued. But contrary to her words, she proceeded to blow on her food a few times before eating it.

My guess? She was hungry and couldn’t wait. Anything further than that, I decided not to think about. There wasn’t any point in thinking about a girl who’d try to cook while she was hungry when she had little to no experience.

Yume slowly brought the spoon to her mouth and bit down. “It’s good...”

After blowing on the rice enough for it to cool down, I brought the spoon to my mouth and took a bite. After a few seconds, I gave my opinion. “The rice is watery. You probably put in too much when you made it.”

“S-Sorry...”

“Rice porridge needs to be a little watery though, so it’s fine.” I took another bite. Fortunately, I was hungrier than usual. Seeing me shovel spoon after spoon into my mouth elicited a smile of first surprise and then relief from Yume.

“Making food together and then eating it together...” Yume started saying as I began filling up my bowl with more food. And then, under her breath, she continued, “I wonder if this is what it’s like to be married.”

I glanced at her. “It’s not too different from how we already are.”

“You think so?”

“We live in the same house and have the same last name.”

“That’s true... Huh?” Yume tilted her head in confusion. “Did you just...”

“What?”

“No, it’s just that, uh...” Yume’s cheeks flushed pink and she fixed her gaze on the table. “You’re just making it sound like we’re already married.”

“Hm? Oh...” I wasn’t thinking as clearly as usual, so it took a while for my brain to process what I’d said. “It just feels that way because we only talk like this when it’s just the two of us. If you’ve got a problem, why don’t you get a boyfr—”

“No.” She immediately refused.

I was so taken aback, I fell silent.

Yume stared at her now empty bowl. “I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to...what?”

“What do you think?” she asked, looking up at me expectantly.

Suddenly, it was like something had gotten stuck in my throat. I couldn’t make so much as a sound.

Yume giggled. “Okay, I think I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about how I had a really great boyfriend in middle school that made all the other boys seem inferior in comparison.”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding.” She grinned at me like a child who’d gotten away with a prank.

Had this total klutz of an honor student just toyed with me?

“You should sleep some more after you’re done eating. You still can’t think straight, right?”

“Yeah... I’ll do that.”

That had to have been it. I couldn’t think straight. Otherwise, there was no way I would’ve fallen for this girl’s idiotic prank. Seriously, what’s your game here? You’re not being as pissy as usual, nor are you fawning over me like you used to. It’s like you’re a completely different person.

Yume Irido

I exhaled deeply after I confirmed that Mizuto had gone back to his room. I sat down and leaned against my chair. This was my limit. I could only express my true feelings by obfuscating it in the guise of a joke. It had been kind of fun, though.

I found myself giggling. Thinking about how he was most likely still agonizing over the true meaning of my words had me grinning from ear to ear. This was how women—adult women—enjoyed themselves. I really had matured. There was no way that my middle school self would have been able to pull off a high-level ploy like this. Suddenly, my laughter grew out of control.

“Yume? What are you giggling about?”

“Huh?!” I jumped.

My mom had showed up out of nowhere. When the heck did she get home?!

Mizuto Irido

“I’ve heard catching someone else’s cold makes them better, but...is that true?” I heard Yume whisper.

I immediately knew I was dreaming. She was all bark and no bite—gung ho on the surface without the ability to follow through. Someone like that could never wear such an alluring, captivating smile. Was she trying to pull a fast one on me?

The closer she came to me, the more I started to awaken from this dream. But even as I started waking up, I could still vividly see her smile as if it’d been burned into my eyelids. I was surprised by how simple of a guy I was if, after getting toyed with, I was having this kind of dream. I knew there was no way she was capable of being so bold and forward to make a move on me while I was asleep.

Even when we were dating, she rarely ever initiated kisses. I mentally scoffed and slowly opened my eyes. By now, it was probably already late at night, but I wasn’t all that tired, most likely due to the fact that I’d already slept a good deal during the day. Maybe I’ll read a book to kill time.

For a second, I thought I might’ve still been dreaming. When I fully opened my eyes, I was met with Yume’s very real face. I softly gasped. I felt her warm breath gently against my lips. I saw her moving her hair behind her ear as she moved her face closer to mine. If I moved, she’d know I was awake. All I could do was watch as the scene unfolded in front of me.

The incident from the festival replayed in my head. It was one of the few times that she’d been the one to kiss me—no, wait. She’d “lost her balance.” So what was this, then? Did she lose her balance again? Wow, what a coincidence— Of course it wasn’t a coincidence! I needed to calm down and get my thoughts in order.

How many times is this going to happen? Please, no... Let’s look at the facts. We live in the same house. There are a lot of opportunities for the two of us to be alone. Sure, that’s okay for family members, but if our relationship changes, we—

“Just kidding...” Yume pulled her head back.

I felt relief course through my body. I closed my eyes, quickly pretending to be asleep as Yume began looking down on me.

“If colds were that easily healed, nobody would be scared of them,” she muttered as if she was laughing at herself.

Then I heard her walk away. After I was absolutely sure that she’d left, I slowly sat up. The cooling patch that’d been on my head fell off and landed next to my bed. I silently stared at it.

What’s your goddamn deal?! Had she been making a joke for some nonexistent crowd when she’d said that she was kidding?! Even comedians don’t make jokes when they don’t have an audience!

I groaned. I could still feel a faint pain in my throat, but my body had mostly recovered. Even so, I had something new to be worried about. I felt dizzy. Why? Seriously, what the hell? I have no clue what I’m supposed to do.

“Oh, Mizuto-kun, you’re up,” Yuni-san said as she poked her head into my room. She walked in and sat in the chair that Yume had just been sitting in. “How are you feeling? Better?”

“Yeah... Pretty much.”

“Ah, to be young. I wish I could’ve taken care of you like a mom would while you were sick, but I missed my chance,” Yuni-san lightly giggled.

I checked the clock. It was almost midnight. By my calculations, I’d been asleep for three to four hours. If she hadn’t had the chance to take care of me, did that mean she’d only just gotten back home?

“Truth be told... Oh, and if Yume asks, you didn’t hear this from me,” she said happily while holding her finger up to her mouth. “I asked Yume if she wanted me to take over for her, but she flat-out refused, saying that she wanted to take care of you by herself.”

She wanted to take care of me by herself?

“She gets dead tired doing new things, but she insisted on this. I’m so glad to have raised such a responsible kid!” Yuni-san beamed proudly.

She wasn’t trying to imply anything; she truly was proud of her child’s growth. I wasn’t, though. I knew Yume hadn’t tended to me because she’d grown more responsible. No, there was something else behind it. Do you like me? Or do you hate me?

As siblings, the answer to that didn’t matter whatsoever. After all, we’d be stepsiblings regardless of whether she hated me or not. Are you trying to change our relationship? Are you trying to be more than what we are? I couldn’t calm myself down. These emotions were swelling inside me, and I had no way of quelling them. Despite that, there was one thing I was absolutely sure of.

“Can you thank her for me?” I asked.

“Huh? You should thank her yourself.”

“It’s...too embarrassing,” I muttered, looking away from her.

Yuni-san blinked before grinning. “Oh dear, you really do have a cute side, don’t you, Mizuto-kun!”

“Please don’t tease me.”

“All right, that settles it.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not going to thank her for you! If you’re really grateful, you should do it yourself—but it can wait until you’re ready. Make sure you do, though, okay?”

“Uh...”

Yuni-san giggled. “Did that sound mom-like?” she asked with a soft smile. “That is the secret to successful cohabitation. Take it from me—a person who’s already failed at it once.”

She made it really hard to argue. “Okay.” As her stepson, I had no choice but to agree.

Yume Irido

I woke up a lot later than usual. I’d stayed up so late the night before waiting by Mizuto’s side until I knew he was in good enough shape that I could leave and not worry. Sure, he might’ve looked really adorable while he slept, but I also wanted to return the favor from when he took care of me while I was sick back in April. Eventually, mom told me that he was feeling better.

Now, I was in the living room, considering what to do for lunch, when I heard someone coming down the stairs. In the next moment, the door opened and in came Mizuto in his pajamas. He had a serious case of bedhead.

“Oh, morning,” I said.

Mizuto glanced at me and silently walked to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of water, and gulped it down. He looked perfectly normal.

“Is your fever gone?” I asked, walking towards him.

He didn’t say a word.

“Are you hungry? I was thinking about making some lunch.”

Mizuto kept quiet as he moved to the fridge, pulling out some fried rice and placing it in the microwave. H-Huh? Why is he ignoring me? He can’t be worried about getting me sick too, right? He’s not contagious anymore.

“Hey, why are you—” I reached out to grab his shoulder, but he dodged and stepped away.

“Huh?”

Mizuto glanced at me as I grabbed the air where he’d just been standing.

“Don’t come too close to me,” he said in a soft voice before shutting the microwave door.

He kept his eyes firmly on the microwave as it heated his food up, not saying anything else, leaving me completely confused.

“Wh-What’s your problem?!” After all I did for you yesterday, you could at least be a little more grateful! How about a “thank you”?!

Suddenly, I heard a short giggle from the dining table. I looked back and saw mom looking at us, smiling.

“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later.”

Uh, can you just tell me now? Neither Mizuto nor mom seemed to have any intention of filling me in.