Ah, this took me a while to write. But I did it! Take that writer's block and real life stuff!

Thanks for all the support again! And please, if you have anything on your mind, reviews, comments, theories for what'll happen down the series, feel free to send me them and/or write in the review area. Let's see just how predictable I am ;)

Disclaimer: I blah don't blah own blah Kagerou Project BLAH

It wasn't long before Shintaro began to like playing 'big brother'.

No, wait. Scratch that. He loved playing it.

He loved it enough to say that his sister's birth was one of his favorite memories, no matter how confusing it had been. And as the years passed by all too quickly, more and more memories of time spent between the two of them began to store up in his mind.

Perhaps he missed when Momo had still been a newborn baby the most. He could still remember her from back then as clear as day: bright-eyed and growing more sunset-colored hair by the day, she had been a constant source of adorable smiling and giggling. Sitting on Shintaro's lap, all he had to do was make a funny face or sing a silly song and his little sister was sent howling with drolly, infant laughter.

"Ohii-fan!" she had kept trying to pronounce while grabbing at her brother's hair. The words made his heart swell even if the grabbing hurt his head. Onii-chan. Their parents swore that it was Momo's very first word. Shintaro secretly hoped that it was too.

"'Onii-chan,' Momo," he would calmly coo back and rub her head. It was a big contrast to her guffawing and kicking; it seemed that she already wanted to run even before her legs were ready to let her stand. Unlike Shintaro, whom kaa-san said had been much shyer and sensitive when he was born.

By then it was already clear how different the two of them were and how they would continue to differ as they grew. Even now, Shintaro was still on the quiet, reserved side. His sister, however, seemed to always be laughing, screaming and crawling into unknown places. (Laundry baskets weren't proper places to take naps, Momo. Tou-san nearly fainted).

Yet, Shintaro couldn't help but adore his sibling, however unnecessarily energetic she was. He had done his best to play fun games with her, protected her from the scary vacuum and electric outlets, and helped her learn to properly walk and run and jump once she finally turned one. They were all memories he would never let himself forget. Not that he was able to forget them anyway, especially that last one. It was amazing how many times a little infant girl could fall down, yet keep getting back up, and with a toothy smile each time...

"Ohii-chan! Onii-can! Look! I walkin'...!" The orange-headed toddler squealed and bounced on her shaky knees in front of him, simultaneously pulling him from his thoughts.

Soon enough Shintaro was grinning warmly down at her. "Yes! Momo is!" Holding her plump hands and twirling her around the room, their parents watching on the side, Shintaro had hoped that these happy, peaceful days would never end.

They did end of course like all things had to, and before he really knew it, Momo had turned two, three, four, and then five. Their parents watched proudly as Momo grew from a hyperactive baby to a hyperactive little girl, and as Shintaro grew from a quiet little boy to a quiet older boy.

Even if he missed Momo being a baby, Shintaro could admit that five-year-olds were more interesting than newborns and a whole lot more exhausting.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan, hurry up!" she called; finally able to pronounce his title properly.

She had definitely developed much better stamina than Shintaro, who was already kneeling and panting for breath after following her all the way to the park.

"Let's play 'movie actors' today!" Momo demanded, impatient for her brother to join her game.

"We played that yesterday Momo! Can't we play 'stay inside and read' instead?" Shintaro asked. "It's fun too."

"But acting is so much more fun!" she insisted. Watching actors and idols on television was one of Momo's favorite pastimes, and regardless of her brother's own preferences (he preferred listening to music and reading manga and playing games online.) However, just watching them dance and sing and sparkle beautifully often wasn't enough for his sister and would to pretend to be one herself, always dragging him outside to do it with her.

Even now, Shintaro couldn't deny her wish. "Alright Momo, we'll play it again." He made sure to hide his weary sigh with a smile.

She beamed. "You're the best onii-chan! Don't worry; we'll read girly manga inside tomorrow. I promise!"

"Heh?! Th-they're not girly!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"ARE TOO!"

"That's it! I want to play actors too now; I'm gonna be the villain who ruins the brave hero's story!"

"Wahhhhh, you only wish, haha!"

As they reenacted scenes from different movies under the hot sun over and over again, Shintaro could also admit that exhausting things could be fun as well, and still be just as lovable.

Happy day after happy day kept passing by until Shintaro almost didn't realize that he himself had turned nine and was going to turn ten. The days until Momo's seventh birthday were a constant countdown in his mind, however.

Strange how he'd rather keep track of her age and well-being than his own. Kaa-san's and tou-san's too; it seemed that almost everything Shintaro did and thought was family-centered... but it was also strange how he could clearly remember most other things too, even if they didn't concern his family.

Little things, for example; most areas of math, science, and history that his school had covered - all of it came directly to him the moment he wanted to think about them. Anything he learned was permanently etched into his mind. Thus he kept receiving homework and test scores graded with one-hundred-percent, even when he forgot to study or didn't put any effort into his work at all.

Nothing ever changed. Day by day, paper by paper, grade by grade; all of them came back branded with shiny 100%'s written in bright red ink.

While Shintaro never complained of course (he was getting perfect grades, how could he?) he had long grown past the point of trying to dismiss it. It was positively uncanny. While his parents kept saying that it was simply because he was 'gifted with a good memory' and should be proud of his abilities, Shintaro couldn't help but wonder if it was normal to have such a perfect memory...

He almost came to hate his 'gift' even, when it made Momo cry.

"Momo! What's wrong?" he had asked her worriedly one evening. He had caught his sister crying on her bed in the room they shared.

"I-it's nothing onii-chan! I'm fine!" Momo hiccupped into her pillow, suddenly trying to wipe away the tears staining her cheeks.

Shintaro persisted, "Please Momo, what's the matter? Remember, you can tell me anything."

"Well... it's j-just, earlier, I tried showing kaa-san and tou-san a picture I made at school... b-but they were too busy talking about your perfect test, so they didn't pay any attention...!" A fresh batch of tears welled up in her eyes, and she covered her face with the pillow.

"I'm so sorry, onii-chan," she whimpered muffledly. "Kaa-san says I should be happy for you, b-but it feels like nobody sees me at all. I... I just, wish people would notice me a bit more. Even if my grades aren't very good like yours. Just a little attention, t-that's all..."

The pillow dropped from her arms and tears pooled into her hands. As she cried again, Shintaro couldn't do anything but look down at his in guilt. What could he do? For once he had no idea. Unlike before he couldn't just chase his sister's sadness away like a monster under her bed if he himself was the monster making her upset.

This is my fault, maybe I should have purposefully gotten a few answers wrong, he thought while helplessly watching his kid sister weep. All because of a test. For once, Shintaro hated being smart. What good was it if he made Momo feel bad? If he couldn't use it to make her feel better?

Some big brother I am. Still... I have to try.

"Can I see your picture?" he asked gently, bringing her hands down so he could look her in her wet eyes.

She sniffled. "No... it's bad anyway. I'm just being dumb for crying about it. Sorry again onii-chan, but I don't think you can cheer me up right now."

"Just let me see," Shintaro repeated, patient as ever. "Please?"

Momo complied eventually and handed him the piece of sketch paper, head hanging down.

As Shintaro scanned the paper, he felt a familiar warmth in his chest. It was a crayon drawing of their whole family; kind kaa-san, laughing tou-san, and both himself and Momo smiling on either side. Judging by the snowflakes drawn in the sky, the four of them were spending a nice wintry day outside.

While Shintaro knew that, yes, it wasn't the best picture in the world (in fact it was quite a bit crude) it definitely wasn't bad. It was their family, of course, that alone elevated the picture's worth in Shintaro's eyes.

With that thought, he had an idea. I knew what to do.

"Wait here!" he yelped suddenly, running outside the room with the picture still in hand. Much to Momo's confusion, he came back with another paper in hand.

"Is... that your test onii-chan? You didn't come just back just to brag about it did you?!" she pouted indignantly after looking at the second paper more closely.

Shintaro shook his head frantically. "No, no, no! Uh, it's, ahhh-!" Why am I so bad with words...? "Here, just look!"

Setting Momo's picture on the ground carefully, he took his test (math, he remembered) and not so carefully, began ripping it up.

"Huwaaa! O-Onii-chan!" Momo cried out, shocked as she stared at her brother pulling his perfect score to shreds. "Don't destroy it! You worked hard on it! Onii-chan!"

Shintaro didn't listen, however, and kept tearing until all he had left in his hand was the white piece with the red 100%. The rest were scattered all over the bedroom floor, decorating it with numbers and letters.

"...onii-chan, are you okay? I don't understand..."

Taking a deep breath, Shintaro threw the last piece into the air and both of them watched as it fluttered down to join the rest. He then faced his stunned sister. "What do you see Momo?"

"You being weird? Your test paper on the floor? All broken into bits?" she asked as if it was obvious.

Her brother smiled. "Exactly. Just paper and pencil writing. That's all."

Reaching down, he picked up her drawing. "This, though? This has a meaning; it's our family! If I were to rip this up as well, something would be lost. Something nice would be taken from the world. Unlike a test, which I wouldn't miss at all. If I had to choose, I'd pick this picture over a good test score any day. For me, this is the thing worth paying attention to."

He handed the paper back to Momo and patted her pigtailed head. Her tears had all dried up at this point and her eyes glistened with happiness instead.

"You really mean it onii-chan? You like my picture better than your test?"

"Yup," he replied with a smile.

"You're the greatest onii-chan ever!" Momo exclaimed and barreled into his chest for a hug.

"Heh. You're not bad either, Momo. I'm glad you feel better," he said, returning the hug gladly. "Don't be mad at kaa-san and tou-san either; I'm sure they didn't mean to ignore your picture. Now that my test's busted we'll show it to them properly. Come on, I think I heard kaa-san calling us for dinner anyway. We can show them now and I'll make sure they pay attention this time."

"Yay! But uhh, we're gonna clean up your mess, right? Kaa-san gets scary when we don't clean up, remember?" Momo pointed to the scattered clumps of white on the ground.

"..."

Shintaro hadn't thought of that when he made his plan. Perhaps he wasn't so smart after all.

"AHHH! O-of course, you're right, you're right! Don't worry, I'll clean it up! Go to the table and I'll follow quickly."

"Okay, onii-chan~!" Momo sing-songed, cheerful once more. She skipped out of the room with the picture in hand. Shintaro winced a little bit, however, when he heard her stumble on something, but relaxed when he heard her quickly pick herself up and continue skipping. Seems that neither of them had been spared from the 'Kisaragi clumsiness' as his father called it.

One thing we have in common, at least.

As Shintaro hummed to himself while picking up the pieces of paper to throw into a garbage can, he thought back on the drawing. Family...

The four of them... would they always be together like in the picture?

Ah, of course, we will. We're a big happy family after all. Shintaro shook his head and laughed to himself. So asking crazy things like that, it's just silly, right?