For Kyousuke, life was going great. He was happy, his grades were good, and his sister was talking to hi-
"Achoo!" Speaking of his sister, her sneeze could be heard through the thin wall as she laid in bed sick with a cold. "Ahhh! I hate being sick!" Kirino was obviously aggravated with being sick obviously. Kyousuke sighed as he got up from his desk and made his way to her door. Raising his hand and knocking gently on her door, he waited for Kirino to reply.
"What?" Kirino replied, her voice sounding more nasally and stuffed up than usual.
"I was just wondering if you wanted anything before I go." Kyousuke ask sincerely
"Eh? No. Just leave me along, idiot." Kirino said with a huff. "Why am I stuck at home with my perverted idiot of a brother anyway?"
Kyousuke clenched his fist in anger trying not to yell at her, but something snapped. "Damn it, Kirino! I try to be nice and yet all you do is make fun of me! The only time you're nice is when we do those life counseling sessions and that's on occasion. You know what? Forget it! Forget I ever asked!" Kyousuke said angrily as he stomped away from the door and down the stairs leaving the house.
Kirino watched from her bed staring out the window watching her brother walk to school. "Stupid Aniki…why can't you get the hint?" Kirino asked as she fell backwards onto her bed pulling the blankets up to her neck closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep.
Kyousuke walked down the street, his hands stuffed into his pants pockets. At the end of the road stood Tamura Manami, his childhood friend of several years, waved at him when she saw him. "Good morning, Kyou-chan!" she greeted him just like every morning. "Huh? What's wrong Kyou-chan?" Manami noticed the dark look on his face and was quiet worried for her friend.
"It's Kirino. She's sick and just pissed me off this morning."
"Kirino-chan's sick? I hope that she gets better and I'm sure Kirino-chan didn't mean it, Kyou-chan."
"Yeah…sure." Kyousuke said sarcastically. Manami knew that would be the end of the subject for now just from the tone of his voice. So Manami quickly changed the subject.
"So my little brother…" The conversation went on from there till they arrived at school and class began. The first part of the day went by slowly, but it couldn't cool Kyousukes' temperature. Manami smiled softly as she approached Kyousuke once more, lunch in hand.
"Are you feeling better, Kyou-chan?" Manami asked as she sat across from Kyousuke who was munching on his Yakisoba bread from the school food cart.
"Feh, it's still pissing me off even after a few hours at school."
"Well Kyou-chan, maybe Kirino-chan didn't want to look weak in front of you? Or maybe she wanted to be taken care of?" Manami offered trying to be as helpful in any way possible. "What did your mother used to do for you when you sick?"
"She-"Kyousuke paused as he sat there thinking on what she used to do for him and Kirino when they were sick. 'Hmm…she used to read me stories, tuck me in, take my temperature, feed me okayu, and clean my back of sweat…' Kyousuke couldn't help but smile at the fond memories of back then. 'Maybe Kirino would like that.' Turning towards his friend, he gave her a smile of thanks.
Manami blushed at the smile, but gave him back on in return. The two returned back to their respective lunches and made idle chit-chat until the bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the start of afternoon lessons. The second half of the day went by much faster this time, so when the bell rang, Kyousuke waved goodbye to Manami and left for home.
Upon arriving at home & and giving the usual greeting 'I'm home.' Kyousuke got himself drink relaxing from the day. When he finished, he went upstairs, stopping in front of Kirinos' door. He took a deep breath & raised his hand knocking on her door quickly.
"…What?" Kirino asked sounding a tiny bit better than this morning.
"Kirino…I was wondering if you were hungry? I was thinking you might want something to eat and figured I'd make you okayu…if you're up to it." Kyousuke said as he leaned against the door.
"Really? I mean…yeah sure, I could probably stomach some."
Kyousuke smiled as he stood back up. "Great, I'll make you some and bring it up to when in a little bit." Kyousuke headed off towards the kitchen, grabbing the pots and other materials he would need, he set off to work on Kirinos' okayu. Sometime later, Kyousuke nodded his head at the finished product as he took a bowl of the stuff to Kirinos' room. Giving a quick knock once more, Kyousuke was surprised to hear how fast the lock on her door was undone; the padded footsteps let him know that Kirino was back in bed. Opening the door, Kyousuke saw Kirino sitting up in bed with the blanket across her lap.
"Finally! I'm starving!" Kirino said her face still flushed from her fever. "It'll be great to finally get some food in my stomach."
Kyousuke chucked softly as he made his way over to Kirino. "So how are you feeling, Kirino?"
"Better I…I guess." Kirino said as she looked away out the window.
"That's great…I guess." Kyousuke said uncertainly before setting the tray of food in her lap. "Hope you like it Kirino."
"Right, but uhh…I…don't think I have the energy to pick up the spoon…" Kirino said her face quickly turning redder then it did with her fever. She quickly looked away in embarrassment.
"Eh? You can't eat?" Kyousuke asked in confusion "But I thought you said you were hungry?"
"I didn't say I wasn't hungry, you idiot! I just said I…couldn't pick up the spoon…" Kirino trailed off quietly as she looked away once more.
"Ehh? Ehhh!" Kyousuke couldn't believe it. Here was Kirino, the independent girl that she normally is, was asking him –HIM, her, as she put it, idiotic brother- to feed her, like a baby or some type of cou- 'No! I can't be like that! She-she just needs some help that's all…That's right, just some help.'
The whole time Kyousuke was fighting in his head, Kirino just stared at him, hope in her eyes, a small blush on her face, but by the time Kyousuke noticed, he couldn't be sure if was from embarrassment or from her fever. Sighing softly, Kyousuke nodded his head.
"All right Kirino, I'll help you." Kyousuke said as he took a seat at the edge of her bed. Grabbing the spoon, Kyousuke held up a spoonful of the food for Kirino. "Say 'Ahhh' Kirino."
Kirino leaned forward taking the entire spoonfuls in one go, swallowing it easily. They continued on like this for several minutes, Kirino's face slowly growing redder and redder with each spoonful she ate till she finally reached critical mass.
"I-I-I can take care of the rest!" Kirino said as she stole the spoon from his hand and began feeding herself, her eyes avoiding his the entire time. Kyousuke just shook his head in exasperation as she watched Kirino eat her food. "What? I got something on my face?"
"No. Just making sure you're okay, Kirino."
Kirino just shook her head before going back to her food. As he watched her, Kyousuke couldn't help but feel like something was off about the whole spoon-feeding thing, but Kyousuke felt that in the end, it backfired on her. Before long, Kirino set the spoon back in the bowl, her food finished. Reaching over and taking the bowl, he got up, ready to take the dishes downstairs. He didn't get far before the sound of Kirino got his attention.
"It…was good. Thanks." Kirino said softly. Her response was so quiet, Kyousuke almost didn't hear her.
"No problem, Kirino. I'm glad you liked it. I'm also glad you're feeling better, but I'll leave you alone now to get some read." With that said, Kyousuke left Kirinos' room never looking at her when talking to her at the end. If he had…he would've seen a true and genuine smile on her face. After cleaning the used dishes, Kyousuke went back to his room and began to do his homework.
"So if x equals 3…then this would this and this would be that…" Kyousuke said sometime later as he finished the final math problem. Upon hearing the familiar buzzing of his phone, Kyousuke looked and checked his phone, noting he had gotten two messages, one from Saori and the other from Kuroneko. He quickly pulled up Saoris' message first.
'Mr. Kyousuke, I heard from Ms. Kiririn that she was sick. How is she doing? Is she feeling better? I sincerely hope that you do not catch was she has. –Saori'
Kyousuke still couldn't believe how much of a difference Saori had when she talked in person and when she talked online. None the less, he replied that Kirino was doing better and had gotten something to eat, but was now resting. Turning to the other message, Kyousuke read Kuronekos' message.
'Onii-san, I heard from that girl that she was sick. I hope you do not catch what she has. She should not be dragging you into her disease ridden world. –Kuroneko.'
Kyousuke couldn't help but chuckle at Kuronekos' message. Sending back the same reply he sent to Saori, Kyousuke checked the time noting that it had been nearly 3 hours since he left Kirino to sleep. I suppose I should go check on Kirino…just to make sure she's doing all right.' Kyousuke thought to himself as he got out of his seat. Making his way to Kirinos' door, he knocked gently, but after not receiving a reply, he tried the door handle. It came as a surprise when the door opened easily. Kirino ALWAYS kept her door locked. It was strange, but his question was quickly answered when he saw Kirino fast asleep with the lights off. Kirino was dressed in her usual sleepwear, her shirt soaked in sweat and clinging to her back showing off her curves. The blanket was laying half on her, half off. The one thing that drew Kyousukes' attention was Kirinos' face. Though it was still flushed with fever, it had the most serene look of peace and happiness. It seemed like Kirino was at peace with the world or she was having a dream about Meruru or little sisters…maybe both. Making his way into her room, Kyousuke readjusted the blanket pulling it up for her, in which she snuggled into her blanket quite happily. Kyousuke gave a small smile as he left her room just as quick as he had come in.
'I guess she can have a- nonono...there's no way!' Kyousuke thought as she shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. 'Maybe some TV will help clean my head.'
Making his way into the living room and turning the TV on, Kyousuke began flipping through the channels.
"-yama's little sister was seen in Akihabara with her brother buying games –"'click' the channel was changed "Why must you go, Onii-san?" click "Aniki?" click "I love you Onii-chan!" Kyousuke couldn't take it anymore as he shut the TV off. Kyousuke couldn't understand WHY every channel he tried featured little sisters. Everything. Even the news was talking about them.
'What? Is it little sister app-hmm? Didn't this happen once before?' Kyousuke thought as he tried to think back '…The day I found about Kirinos' hobby!' Normally Kyousuke wasn't one to believe in fate, but he DID believe in coincidence. "It's just coincidence that's all…it couldn't happen twice right?" Kyousuke asked himself out loud as he tried to push the nagging feeling & thoughts out of his head. Brave last words. Putting the remote down, Kyousuke headed back upstairs to his sisters' room, raising his hand up to knock, Kyousuke remembered the door was unlocked. Believing Kirino was still asleep, Kyousuke opened the door to see the sight of Kirino facing him, the bottom of her shirt in her hands pulling high enough to reveal her smooth stomach and belly button to him. Upon seeing him, Kirinos' face quickly went redder then a tomato, her eyes wide open in shock, clearly embarrassed. Kirino did the first thing that came to mind and THAT was to scream. Loudly.
"KYAAH!" Kirino shrieked as she let go of her shirt to reach out and grab the nearest object, a pillow, and threw it at him as hard as she could. "Idiot! Pervert! Jerk! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"
As Kirino threw more things at him, Kyousuke dodged what he could as he ran out of Kirinos' room slamming the door behind him before quickly dashing into his room. Kyousuke panted as he crawled into his bed, turning over so he could look at the ceiling. Kyousuke could hear her sobs of sadness through the thin wall between their rooms. Sad thing is Kyousuke had no idea on what to do. The obvious thing was to go and apologize, but he knew that she would never accept it at this point. She'd probably ignore him if he tried to get her attention.
'Man…what a pain.' Kyousuke thought as his eyes slowly closed, his thoughts drifting off to dream land. 'I just wanted to…make…surrr…'
SLAP!
The sound resonated within his head before the hot stinging of his cheek woke him up, his eyes opening up. He was greeted to the sight of Kirino on top of him straddling his body. She was staring at him with her bright blue eyes.
'How-how does she do that? How she get on top of me without waking me?' Kyousuke thought before turning his attention to the matter at hand. "Wha-what do you want, Kirino?"
"Life Counseling."
"At this time of night? Can't it wait till morning?"
"You said if I needed help, I could come to you."
Kyousuke sight as he nodded. "Fine. Now can you get off of me?"
Kirino nodded as she slid off of him taking a seat next to him at the end of his bed, her eyes never once leaving him.
"All right…what's the problem?"
Kirinos' face went flush, despite his room being in the dark, was clearly visible as Kirino tried to form the right words. "Remember what mom used to do for us when we were sick?"
Kyousuke moved to a more stable sitting position as he looked to the ceiling. "Hmm…she took our temperature…feed us food…tucked us in…cleaned our back."
"Well I want you to finish what you started." Kirino said as she looked at him, her eyes lighting up with fire.
"Ok then…I should just have-EHH!" Kyousuke as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "You want me, your brother, to clean your back?"
Kirino's face remained red as she looked away before nodding her head. "Wh-what? You think it's gross to clean someone's back? Or is because I'm your little sister? This is part of the Life Counseling!" Kirino said with anger in her voice.
"I know that, but…you get pissed when you show any skin to me…like earlier when I walked in on you." Kyousuke shot back defensively.
"That was because you walked into my room suddenly!" Kirino yelled as she balled her fist. "You're supposed to knock first, idiot!"
"Then you should've locked your door then!"
"How did you even know it was unlocked to begin with?"
"I found out when I checked up on you ear-"
"Gross! A pervert watching his little sister sleep!" Kirino interrupted. "I knew you were nothing more than a perverted Sis-con!"
"Grah! Stop it Kirino!" Kyousuke couldn't take the madness anymore and quickly put a stop to it. "If you want me to help you, than fine!"
"…Fine. Meet me in my room in five minutes." Kirino said as she got off Kyousukes' bed. "You better not get any perverted ideas!"
Kirino slammed the door shut as she left the room heading back to hers. Kyousuke shook his head in exasperation as he crawled out of his bed making his way to the hall closet. Pulling out a small wash basin and a dry wash cloth, he made his way to the bathroom and filled the wash basin with cool water. Heading to Kirinos' room, he hesitated in front of her door before gently knocking and waiting for her response. Hearing the click of her lock, Kyousuke opened the door and made his way into her room. Kirino was sitting at the foot of her bed staring at him the entire time.
"Hmph. You better not be getting any perverted ideas. You're so gross just for watching me sleep. Just do the job and you can go." Kirino said with all the seriousness she could muster at the moment.
"Right, right. If you just lift your shirt, we can get started." Kyousuke said as he set the bowl down on her night stand taking a seat behind Kirino at the edge of her bed.
"I know that. Look away." Kirino said as she turned to look at him making sure he obeyed. Kyousuke after his gaze quickly. The sound of Kirino taking her shirt off quickly followed. "All right, you can look again. You better not get any perverted ideas!" Turning his attention back to Kirino, he noticed that she had pulled her legs as close as she can to her chest using her shirt as a cover for her chest as well. Her face was red with a blush.
"Haa…right, right." Kyousuke said as he took the dry wash cloth and dipped it into the cool water before wringing out as much water as he could. He applied the wet rag to her back, eliciting a small 'eep!' from Kirino as she stiffened quickly. "Relax, Kirino. It's just the rag."
"I know that…the cold just surprised me. Did you wring it out enough?" Kirino asked never turning to look at him, though her face was red with a blush.
"Yes, I did Kirino. Now just relax." Kyousuke said as he began to slowly run the rag across her back making sure he got as much as he could. 'I can't I'm in my sisters room cleaning her back…Did I trigger a flag somewhere or something?' Kyousuke shook his head trying to rid his head of such thoughts.
"Neh…Aniki…thanks…I guess." Kirino mumbled as she pulled Kyousuke out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Uhh…yeah…no problem, Kirino." Kyousuke trailed off feeling the oddest sense of déjà-vu. 'This…has happened before, hasn't it?'
Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind, something clicked and memories of a time past came rushing back in an instant.
/FLASHBACK/
"Hehehe that tickles onii-chan!" giggled a five year old Kirino as she sat shirtless in front of her eight year old brother, Kyousuke, who was running a wet cloth over her back.
"Ha-ha, sit still Kirino-chan. I won't be able to finish if you keep moving around like that." Kyousuke said as he tried to hold his little sister still before finally succeeding in doing so and finishing his job. "Annnnnnd there! Done!"
"Yay! Thank you onii-chan!" Kirino said happily as she turned around in a flash, tackling him to the ground, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck. Kirino looked up at him, then biggest smile on her face. "I love you onii-chan!"
Kyousuke smiled affectionately at his sweet little sister before nodding his head and returned the hug, his arms around her waist. "I love you too, Kirino-chan!"
"Awww…you two look so cute together." A voice said spooking both kids as they drew their attention to the source of the voice. It was their mother standing at the doorway watching the both of them. They relaxed upon seeing her. "It'll be sad when you two grow apart or when one of you two get married…like Kyousuke to sweet little Manami-chan."
Kirino shook her head vehemently, objecting to what her mother said. "Nuh-uh! I'll become onii-chan's bride, so that was we won't have to become sad." Kirino said with all the conviction in the world as she retightened her hold on her beloved onii-chan.
Kyousuke and his mother shared a look before both mother and son started chuckling, Kirino just buried her face in her brothers' chest.
/END FLASHBACK/
Kyousuke stopped moving the rag as the memories of a time past flashed through his head.
"Huh? What's wrong with you? Getting perverted thought about your sister? Gross!" Kirino said as she attempted to scoot away while keeping her legs close to her chest. Suffice to say, it wasn't effective.
"Huh? Oh, I was just remembering the last time you got sick is all." Kyousuke said as he went back to cleaning Kirinos' back.
"Hrm? What's so special about last year?"
"Last year?"
"Yeah, last year I stayed home with the flu."
"Oh…I wasn't remembering the year then."
"Ahh…then when were you remembering?"
Kyousuke debated on whether or not to tell before deciding it wasn't worth the trouble. "It's not important." Kyousuke took the cloth off her back. "Ok then Kirino. We're done here."
"Good, now close your eyes." Kyousuke complied quickly closing his eyes. The sound of Kirino putting her shirt on was the only thing he heard for a few seconds. "Okay, you can open your eyes again." Opening his eyes, Kirino did indeed have her shirt on.
"Since we're done here, I'm heading back to bed. Good night, Kirino." Kyousuke said as he moved to get up, but was stopped when he felt Kirino grab his wrist. "Kirino?"
"Before you go…please…tell me what you remembered." Kirino pleaded a begging look in her eyes.
Kyousuke just stared back at her for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "I remembered the last time we did…this." Kyousuke said as he motioned to the wash basin on her nightstand. Sensing he should go, he grabbed the bowl and headed out. "Good night, Kirino." With a click, the door shut behind Kyousuke as he left the room, making sure he took care of the used wash basin and wash cloth, leaving Kirino alone in her room. If he had paid any attention, he would've seen a smile growing on Kirinos' face.
Kyousuke sighed deeply upon entering his room, falling face first onto his bed. "Geeze…what's wrong with me?" Kyousuke asked himself as he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.
The next morning, Kyousuke headed downstairs, fully dressed for school, making his way into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Kirino cooking breakfast this morning.
"Good morning, mom and dad still gone?" Kyousuke asked as he took a seat at the table.
"Good morning. Yeah, they won that trip for two up at that famous couple's hot spring up north." Kirino said as she sat a plate of food in front of him.
"Huh? For me? This food is for me?" Kyousuke asked in disbelief that Kirino actually made him something for breakfast.
"Yeah, it's yours, but you better not get any strange ideas. It's just as thanks for last night." Kirino didn't even bother to look at her brother as she answered taking a seat next to him with a plate of her own food.
"…Right. Thanks."
""Itadakimasu!"" Both said as they dug into their food. The meal remained silent save for the sounds of eating and the clatter of utensils.
"Thanks for the food." Kyousuke said as he got up and took care of his dishes. "Thanks for the food, Kirino."
Kirino, keeping her mouth shut, gave him a curt nod. Kyousuke made his way to the front porch and began to put his shoes on. Moments later, the sound of Kirino finishing her food and putting her dishes away was heard, before she too came out to the porch and begin to slip on her shoes with relative ease.
"Well, I'm off. See you later, Kirino." Kyousuke said as he waved bye and headed out. He didn't even reach the gate before a pair of arms wraps themselves around his waist from behind. "Huh? Kiri-."
"Shut up. Just shut up and hear me out…" Kirinos' voice trembled softly, but Kyousuke heard her plain as day. "Tha-thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you for sticking with me through everything. I'm sorry for every mean thing I've done. So once again…thank you so very much…onii-chan."
Kyousuke was…stunned. Kirino had never really apologized or thanked him for much. So it was a surprise when she did. His surprise rose even more when he felt a pair of lips suddenly kiss his cheek. Kirino had kissed him before shoving him out of the way running full spring out of the gate and down the road.
'Kirino, I guess…DOES have her cute side.' Kyousuke though as Kirinos' footsteps faded into the echoing distance. With a quick shake of his head, Kyousuke slipped his hand into his pocket and began walking. He only stepped outside the gate before feeling a sheet of paper in his pocket. Pulling it out, Kyousuke opened it and began reading.
'Dear Onii-chan,
Thank you for everything you've done for me. I know I can be a pain to deal with, but it's just that I don't know how to express myself with words sometimes. I can't promise I'll always be kind, but I'll try my very best. Also…I won't give you up without a fight. I WILL keep my promise. –Kirino.'
Kyousuke couldn't but smile as he refolded the slip of paper and putting it into his bag. Making his way down the road to school, Kyousuke knew that today would a good day.