He didn’t have any strong feelings about it because it had been years since he had quit playing piano, and he didn’t care what anyone thought about him when he was a kid.
“In other words, you knew that my last name was Suou back then, and you had a hunch that we might be siblings, so you tricked us into admitting it.”
“Well, you could have been cousins or something, too, but you totally have the same eyes, so I figured you were probably siblings.”
“…If you knew all this time, why didn’t you ever say anything before?” questioned Masachika.
“Because I didn’t care,” Nonoa indifferently replied as she started fidgeting with her phone once more. It was an answer entirely in character for her.
“…All right, then,” Masachika said with a bitter snort. That was when Sayaka, who had just been watching, suddenly spoke up from her astonished daze:
“Huh… Huh? R-really? Are you two really siblings?”
“…Yep.”
“…Yes, we are.”
They decided there was no use denying it anymore and admitted it.
“But you have different last names… Does that mean you were separated at birth? Like long-lost siblings…?” asked Sayaka, staring at both of them.
“Uh… That makes it sound like a way bigger deal than it really is, but, well…I guess?” he replied, slightly tilting his head to the side.
“I—I…”
Sayaka was having a hard time getting a word out as though she was in shock. She covered her mouth, and…tears began to stream down her cheeks.
“S-Sayaka?!”
Masachika jumped, startled by her abrupt tears.
Wh-what the…? Does she think we’re some kind of tragic siblings who were forced apart? Like we aren’t even allowed to admit we’re siblings? How bad does she think our circumstances are? I mean, our family life might not be ideal, but it isn’t tragic enough to cry about…
Sayaka’s tears continued to flow in front of the flustered teenage boy. Her throat trembled as if she was struggling to speak through the tightness caused by tears and a sore heart.
“Th-this…is…! Yessssss!”
“Sayaka?”
“I can ship that!”
“Is it safe to assume you are a woman of culture, Sayaka?” asked Yuki, leaning forward toward her schoolmate who’d been moved to tears. The moment Sayaka saw her eyes—the undeniable eyes of a fellow closet nerd—she knew. She knew that Yuki was a gentlewoman who shared the same interests as her.
“…! Yes!” she excitedly admitted, grasping Yuki’s hands. It was at this moment that a strong bond was born between them. There was absolutely no logic behind it, but you couldn’t be a nerd moved by the phrase long-lost siblings and be a bad person!
“…The hell?” Masachika apathetically muttered when he saw this sudden twist. However, they were already in their own little world as they passionately discussed the long-lost sibling trope.
“So…what do you want to do about this?”
Masachika shifted his gaze toward Nonoa as a plea for help, because there was clearly no room for any of them in Yuki’s and Sayaka’s conversation.
“Uh…,” she muttered, her eyes wandering before looking back at him. “Wanna go check out the other rides together?”
“What? Why?”
But after giving it a second thought, he figured, Wait. Why not? After all, he was well aware how long nerds could discuss their passions. Checking out the amusement park with someone in the same position as him would be a far better use of his time, rather than simply sitting there waiting for them to finish.
“What about you, Ayano?”
“Me?”
When he looked to his right, Ayano quickly looked back at him as if she was a bit flustered.
“…?”
He followed the direction her gaze had been locked on only a few moments before…and saw the churro stand. He immediately knew what she was thinking. Going for round two, huh? he thought.
“Oh, uh… I’m guessing you’re going to wait here with Yuki?”
“Y-yes… I am here to serve her, after all.”
“…All right.”
Just how much of a churro addict is this girl? But, well…I guess it’s not every day you can eat them, so I get it, Masachika thought while he stood. Today was a special day, so he decided to overlook the fact that she still hadn’t even had lunch yet.
“Hey, uh… We’ll be back soon.”
“Giggle. So you call her Nono when it’s just the two of you?”
“Th-that’s… I…”
“Oh my. There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Yep, they’re not listening at all. No surprise there.” He softly sighed at Yuki and Sayaka, who were still absorbed in their own world, before shifting his attention to Nonoa.
“Anyway, ready to go?”
“No doubt.” She nodded, stuffed her phone into her pocket, and stood. After that, they spent the entire morning checking out rides. They’d been brought together for some strange reason, and they made a bizarre pair, but it was actually a lot of fun. Perhaps it had something to do with Nonoa’s magnetism. Whatever the case, they spent nearly an hour together before returning to the food court for lunch. However…
“But it’s like the canon lore is purposely making sure that I can’t ship them! Every single time! Do you know how that feels?!”
“Y-yes…that usually does happen when you try to ship childhood friends…”
“What’s so great about people who you hardly know?! Like when a transfer student suddenly comes out of nowhere or a new classmate?! A childhood friend, who has been by the main character’s side their entire life, is way better than that! They deserve to be happy!”
“Ha…ha-ha…”
Sitting at the table were Sayaka—who was fervently explaining why childhood friends made the best love interests—and a slightly weirded-out Yuki. Ayano was also sitting at the table, eating another churro (probably her sixth one, judging by how many paper cones were scattered about on the table) as if their conversation was of no concern to her. It was chaos. Masachika looked off into the distance as he asked Nonoa:
“Hey, Nonoa?”
“Hmm?”
“Was Sayaka shipping Yuki and me?”
“Probably.”
“…Wow.”
Masachika gazed up toward the sky. It all finally made sense to him. The reason Sayaka was so angry back when they were preparing for the debate…was perhaps because reality didn’t match her imagination. Shipping is serious business in the world of anime nerds, after all.
Otaku are so annoying.
But the instant he inwardly complained, Yuki suddenly lifted her head and commented:
“Like you have any right to say that, my dear brother.”
“Stop reading my mind.”
“Mmm…! Y-your ‘dear brother’? Ah…”
Sayaka covered her nose and mouth as if she was trying to hold something back.
“…You really are a nerd, huh?”
But Masachika only felt utter disappointment…and maybe a little empathy. Otherwise, he wasn’t really sure what to call that feeling.
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