02: The Movie Plan.
"What do you want to watch, Komachi-san?"
Not bad, Saki thought. Her younger brother was definitely making some real progress in his relationship. Meanwhile, she was stuck playing host to the Hikigaya siblings. Especially the older brother who might need a trip to the dentist soon. No, she was not gonna break his teeth. Hikigaya was doing a damn fine job himself, grinding his teeth real hard, whenever her younger brother called his younger sister using her first name. Of course Komachi was okay with it. In fact, she probably liked it because it annoyed the hell out of her older brother. To his credit, Taishi had played it smart. He had used logic, arguing it would be really confusing to use last names because there were three Kawasakis and two Hikigayas in the living room, about to watch a movie, eat popcorn and hopefully have a bit of fun time.
"Ah, Taishi-chan, how about -"
"A trip to the hospital. Komachi, there is something wrong with your onii-chan." He grabbed his arm. "I can't feel my arm." He clutched his chest. "And there is this horrible pain in my chest. Quick, call an ambulance. I think I am having a heart attack."
Kawasaki Saki placed a bowl of popcorn on the table. "Pretty sure the heart's on the left side."
"And you are holding the wrong arm, onii-san." Taishi helpfully added.
Hikigaya Hachiman stared at them for a moment. Not gonna lie, Saki was kinda curious what he would say next. Sitting beside him, Komachi chuckled without a care in the world. Obviously she didn't give a damn and just found her brother's antics kinda funny. It made her feel a bit worried about her own brother. Would she also laugh at Taishi if he ever did something stupid? She better not, Saki grumbled to herself. By now Hikigaya was done feeling embarrassed about himself and he just stared blankly at the television set.
"I will have you know some people have their heart on the right side of their chest." He grumbled.
Keika-chan, god bless her, simply asked in a sweet and innocent voice. "Haa-chan, is your heart fixed wrong?"
Say what you will about him, but he did know his way around a kid. Hikigaya might not like her younger brother, but since he came to her house today, and discovered to his surprise that she also had a younger, much younger little sister, upon meeting her for the first time, he became this completely different human being. Don't get her wrong, he was still himself. But he was gentler, kinder and very soft spoken. He knew how to talk to kids and he had a lot of patience. It was at times like these that she was reminded of the fact that he was an older brother. Talking to Keika-chan probably reminded him of the time he had with his own sister back when she was little. It was almost like she was getting a special look at this new side of him. And she was kinda impressed.
"Keika-chan, my heart is fixed wrong and only you can fix it right."
Okay. Kinda weird, kinda creepy.
"Call me Haa-chan."
Keika-chan laughed. "Haa-chan!"
Hikigaya smiled. "Ah, can you say it again."
"Haa-chan!"
"Two more times."
"Haa-chan! Haa-chan!"
He held up his fingers. "Three more times."
Saki had seen enough. He was like an alcoholic who had been sober for years. But then someone took him out and bought him a bottle and he started drinking again. Before you know it, he was back to his old ways again, getting drunk, getting high, becoming an addict. It was painful to watch. Besides, Keika-chan was her little sister. Taishi was already calling him onii-san, despite her telling him not to do so on numerous occasions. She would be damned if she lost Keika-chan to the likes of him.
"Stop bothering my little sister, Hikigaya."
He almost pouted. "I'm not bothering Keika-chan." He turned to her little sister. "Am I bothering you Keika-chan?"
Keika-chan shook her head and held up her stuffed toy animal, shaking it in his face. "Haa-chan is Pan-san the Panda."
Hikigaya nodded his head energetically. "Absolutely, I am Pan-san the Panda!"
Saki looked at the stuffed toy animal. It was the mascot for Destinyland. Personally she didn't know why Keika-chan loved that stupid thing. It had evil looking eyes, sharpened claws and fangs. And she had seen some variations of the same stuffed animal holding a bottle of alcohol. Really, were drunken stuffed toys a thing now? No way in hell was she going to buy her little sister a stuffed animal toy with a drinking problem. Ultimately Keika-chan got what she assumed was the toy marketed towards normal kids - ugly, non-alcoholic pandas. But why was Keika-chan comparing Hikigaya to the ugly panda. Oh, right. They both had ugly eyes.
"Taishi-kun, I want to watch a horror movie."
Well, that settles it. Kawasaki Saki didn't like Hikigaya Komachi. She saw her brother's eyes glisten with excitement and he almost caught himself pumping his fist, because of course, this is what he wanted. He had a plan. Invite Komachi to their house for a movie night. Watch a horror movie. Of course, Komachi will get scared. And Taishi will be the hero, comforting her, telling her it's just a movie, no one actually died and you can grab my arm if it makes you less afraid of the horrors unfolding on the screen. According to her younger brother it was the perfect plan. He even made special arrangements, knowing beforehand that there was no way Hikigaya Hachiman was going to send his sister alone to a boy's place to watch a movie. That's where she came in. Saki would somehow keep Hikigaya busy and Taishi would have Komachi all to himself. Of course, her brother had left it up to her own discretion as to how she would keep Hikigaya busy. He couldn't come up with anything which was practical. No, the two of them couldn't stay in the kitchen the entire time making popcorn.
But she wasn't hurt by the way her younger brother treated her, as someone who could keep another guy busy, whatever the hell 'busy' meant, while he had fun with the guy's sister. It hurt a little, but she let him off the hook, because he was young and stupid and in love. But he was still her younger brother and he should have probably remembered that even though she was older, Kawasaki Saki didn't handle horror well. In fact, she had never sat through an entire horror movie even once in her entire life. So, what? If you call her a pussy, she will smack the shit out of you.
But now she had to put up with this shit, because it was her brother's dumb plan to get close to Komachi. And the breast-less brat made it practically easy, saying she wanted to watch a horror movie in the first place. Her brother didn't have to do anything. Taishi was practically beaming. But of course, her dear brother might have forgotten one crucial thing. If a girl asked to watch a horror film, then there was a good chance she might be into that weird stuff and not get scared at all by all the gore and blood. So, in other words, despite all the planning, her dear brother might not get what he wants after all. Komachi would be fine. Komachi won't grab onto his arms for dear life throughout the entire course of the movie. But there was a chance she might. And wouldn't that be an embarrassing sight for the Kawasaki siblings. Yet, her younger brother was gonna go through this shit and there was nothing she could do to stop it, because she didn't want to foil his plan and be termed the horrible older sister.
"Sorry Komachi, we can't watch a horror movie."
Could it be, could she have someone who shared her miserable plight and her distaste for horror and wasn't afraid to say something about it. If Hikigaya stopped them from picking a horror movie to watch tonight, she was gonna do something nice for him. He deserved something nice to happen to him. Even though he was a spineless, gutless, pansy, who apart from his other moral failings, didn't deserve to be called a man, because he was scared of horror movies. No, don't give her that look. It was okay for her to be scared. She was a woman. It probably made her look feminine. But what was his excuse. Hikigaya was a guy. He was supposed to be big and strong and not be afraid of anything. Next thing you will know, he will say he is afraid to leave the house after dark.
"Onii-chan, what's wrong? You love watching horror movies."
Hikigaya looked conflicted. "Normally, I wouldn't mind watching beautiful people getting chopped up and killed for over an hour, but we have a child present." He lowered his head and spoke to Keika-chan in a soft voice. "Keika-chan, what do you want to watch?"
"Um, Onii-san, Keika-chan doesn't have to watch the movie. She probably wants to play with you. So if you want, Onee-san can take you to her room and you two – I mean, the three of you can spend some quality time together." Taishi turned to Komachi. "What do you think?"
Komachi grinned. "Sounds like a plan."
"Pass."
"Pass."
They had almost said it together. Her head turned towards his face, before snapping back to the opposite side. He probably did something similar. It was kinda embarrassing to know the two of them thought the exact same thing. It kinda reminded her about how her mom and dad would sometime say the same thing, how they would say it together, look at each other and smile. There would be this unspoken emotion in their eyes and she knew it had to be love. Funny, how married couples found love while saying 'no' over and over again to the demands of their children. But she was pretty sure, she was over-exaggerating stuff. There was no way, Hikigaya was thinking the same thing she was thinking. And why the hell was he placing both his hands over Keika-chan's ears, like he didn't want her to hear what he had to say next. And why in the hell did she find it really cute.
"Leaving you alone with my dear little sister. Not gonna happen, you bug."
Oh. So he covered Keika-chan's ears because he didn't want her to know that he called her older brother a bug. Huh. Not sure whether he was worried about ruining his image or her brother's or just worried about keeping Keika-chan safe from the wicked world's - wait, he called her brother a bug. Again.
"Yeaouch!"
"Don't call my brother stupid names, Hikigaya. I will end you."
"Kawasaki, y-you just threatened me." He stammered.
She arched an eyebrow. "Yeah. What about it?"
"At least tell me beforehand. I would have covered Keika-chan's eyes and ears." He lowered his head and started talking to her little sister. "Keika-chan, your onee-san is a-"
"Saa-chan!" Keika-chan repeated. She even pointed at her like she thought Hikigaya was really, really dumb person, who didn't understand who she was talking about. "Saa-chan. Call her Saa-chan, Haa-chan."
"Keika-chan, well." He rubbed the back of his head and looked at her for a second. Saki was not surprised to see him blush. Hell, she was blushing herself. If she thought her brother's idea to call each other by their first name's was awkward, then what her little sister wanted to do was a thousand times more embarrassing. Now, if it had been her, she would have been able to convince her little sister that it was not okay to ask people to do this kinda embarrassing stuff. And Keika-chan would have listened to her, after a little bit of pouting which she found adorable. But someone like Hikigaya, who hadn't dealt with such a little sister for years, perhaps even forgot how to work around their childish charm, he had no chance. The moment she pouted, he gave in. And he probably had no idea what he was even saying, because he was too high on Keika-chan's cuteness.
"Like I was saying. Keika-chan, your onee-san, Saa-chan." Bear with it. Just bear with it. It will be over soon. "Saa-chan." Don't repeat, you idiot. "She is really nice. And when she said 'I will end you', she meant she will end my subscription. Of life magazine."
Everyone in the living room was quiet. Everyone had heard this dumbass say whatever the hell he just said. His dumbass sister shook her head and muttered something which sounded like 'gomi-chan'. Kawasaki Saki was beyond embarrassed at being called Saa-chan. It was cute when Keika-chan called her that, but hearing Hikigaya Hachiman call her that made her want to shoot him in the head, then shoot herself and have Taishi bury the two of them in the backyard. Wait a second, their graves would be right next to each other. Isn't that kinda romantic, like they were some star crossed lovers, who couldn't be together in this life, so they decided to end it and be together in death. What the hell, it was kinda morbid. But definitely romantic. And something she could probably see him going for. What a weirdo.
"Ah, there is actually a magazine named 'LIFE'." Taishi broke the silence, checking his phone. "Nice one, Onii-san."
Meanwhile, Keika-chan, rather unknowingly used her charm to break a man's will completely. "Keika wants to watch My Neighbor Toroto."
Hikigaya chuckled. "It's My Neighbour Totoro, Keika-chan."
Keika-chan cocked her head to the side. "Tororo?"
Unable to bear such high levels of cuteness, Hikigaya turned to Komachi and said in what she assumed was his older brother voice. "Komachi, tell your friend that we will be watching My Neighbour Tororo – I mean, My Neighbour Totoro."
"Tell him yourself, gomi-chan." Komachi harrumphed.
Hopeless. This guy was completely hopeless around women. His younger sister had him wrapped around her little pinky. And this was his first time meeting Keika-chan, but she was certain he would do anything she said, even if it was something really outrageous. Was he like this around all women, was he like this with those bitches in his club, Kawasaki Saki couldn't help but wonder.
"Onee-san! Onee-san!" Taishi was whisper-shouting her name. "Did you see that? Onii-san used my first name. And he called you Saa-chan. It's working!"
Taishi was really excited about it, but Kawasaki Saki just wanted to know what the hell was working. For all she knew, it could be the DVD player which played the movie. Or it could be something else entirely. As they watched the movie, their eyes glued to the television, eating popcorn, she noticed how they were sitting. Keika-chan was in the middle, sitting on her lap, watching the movie. Hikigaya was next to her. Taishi was on her other side. And Komachi was beside her brother, sitting the farthest away from her younger brother. Huh, guess Taishi's plan failed spectacularly.
"Popcorn?"
Kawasaki Saki stared at his face, his eyes, his lips. Now that she thought about it, weren't they sitting just a bit too close. How did that happen? Well, it's not like she could do anything about it. If she moved, her brother would have to move too and then he wouldn't be able to watch the movie. The same goes for him and his sister. But still, there bodies were practically touching. It made her blush. Really, her brother's plan sucked.
"T-thanks."