"Woo-hoo!" Mahiro yelled as he raised his fist into the air.
Putting his arm down, he continued to walk down the sidewalk with a full bag at his side and a large smile on his face. He was smiling because he was having a truly wonderful day. Normally his days were nothing special, and there was never anything interesting enough to make any of them stand out. Today, however, was the exception to the rule.
Today was the day that the video game Lost Quest VIII was released. Mahiro had been a fan of the series for as long as he could remember, and as a result he could hardly believe that the day had arrived for the release of the latest installment. He had every game in the series in his collection, and had built up an equally impressive collection of numerous gaming systems over the years that had allowed him to experience them all. Going to the store, purchasing the game on the day of its release, and getting to hold it in his hands gave Mahiro an immense rush and only increased the desire to play it as soon as possible. Fortunately, the game had been released on a Friday, and that meant that he would be able to play through the entire weekend if need be in order to finish it as soon as possible. Just thinking about it made Mahiro even more excited.
If that wasn't awesome enough, Mahiro had also heard news about a massive sale happening that afternoon at Tachikawa Bookstore; Mahiro's favorite place to buy manga. Even though he had spent most of his allowance to buy the game, Mahiro still had about ¥1300 remaining which would be enough left to buy a single issue or two depending on how much the titles were discounted. A sale like this did not come around often, and even if he would be broke for a few weeks afterwards Mahiro was not going to waste such a precious opportunity.
As soon as school had let out for the day, Mahiro headed over to the gaming specialty store at the Neon mall that had opened the previous month and purchased the game. After also browsing through a shelf of used titles for anything of interest, of which he could find none to speak of, he had left in triumph with the intention of getting to the bookstore as soon as possible. The forecast today had called for rain, and he wanted to get home before it had a chance to start.
As he continued to think about how great this day was, Mahiro couldn't help but imagine what the game in his bag would contain.
"I wonder if they'll stick to the ending of the previous game or go off in a new direction." Mahiro thought. "I wonder if they'll bring back drop assist tactics or triple insta-kill. The last game felt so empty without those features, so they'd be fools to not bring them back. I can't wait to find out what they've done."
As Mahiro finished this thought, his smile faded a bit and he began to stare at the ground as he continued to walk to his destination. As excited as he was about the game, he was a bit disappointed that he still didn't have anyone outside his family to share his excitement with. Despite now being a first-year high school student, Mahiro had never managed to find a single person his age that was into video games the way that he was. There had been a few people he met during his first year of grade school that were somewhat into playing video games, but they had all stopped playing not long after that due to a desire to play physical sports. The reason that Mahiro never joined them was because he had absolutely no aptitude for physical activity. As a result, he remained the sole person in the sphere of influence that was his life that had retained an interest in gaming.
Unfortunately, this love of gaming had left Mahiro somewhat isolated from his peers. He had never had a single friend with whom he could hang out and have long conversations with, and the situation never seemed to improve no matter how old he got. He had hoped that this would change when he started high school, but here he was a few weeks into the first term with absolutely no luck. Granted he still had almost three years to still turn things around, but he didn't like his odds. Going to high school was hard for him because he didn't seem to fit in with any of the groups and cliques that littered the halls. He was never good academically, he was terrible at all athletic events, and most people looked down on gamers unfavorably for no particular reason. No one ever came up and bullied Mahiro or anything, but they weren't exactly reaching out to him and asking him if he wanted to hang out with them and be their friend. It sucked that his chances of finding true friends seemed nonexistent, but he was used to it at this point and it didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to. He wasn't totally alone in life though. Despite his lack of friends, he still had his little sister Mihari to keep him company.
Mihari was three years younger than Mahiro, and had recently started her first year of middle school. She had complained a bit about not being able to walk to school and back every day with Mahiro, but Mahiro pointed out that he would always see her in the afternoon and that gave Mihari some comfort. Mihari had always adored Mahiro, and the feeling was mutual. From the moment that Mihari was born, Mahiro was told by their mother that as her onii-chan it was his job to love and protect her. Seeing the cute bundle of joy that was his newborn sister had caused Mahiro to take those words to heart and fall in love with her right away, and he had always done his best to love her and keep her safe over the years.
Mahiro comforted Mihari whenever a thunderstorm struck; Mihari was afraid of thunder and lightning. He had bought her a pack of stickers the instant that she showed interest in it for no other reason than a desire to see her smile once he did. He also made sure to ask her about her day, just as she always asked him about his. Whenever the two did things together, Mihari always seemed so happy and this in turn made Mahiro happy. He would do anything to see that his sister was happy; that was his purpose as her onii-chan.
Thinking about Mihari had caused Mahiro to feel better. He soon lifted his head back up and increased his pace, smiling while doing so.
"She should be getting out of her last class pretty soon." He thought. "I wonder which one of us will make it home first."
Soon enough, Mahiro reached Tachikawa bookstore. Outside, there was a large sign that advertised the sale going on inside. From what Mahiro could see by looking inside, there were a great deal more people inside than there usually were at this time of day. There were also numerous individuals going in and out of the store in a hurry; a sign of a truly wonderful sale.
"Well, I guess I'd better go in before all the best stuff is gone." Mahiro said.
Stepping inside, Mahiro took a deep breath, inhaling the fine odor of ink on paper that was typical of places like this. Noticing that the scent was particularly strong today, Mahiro smiled knowing exactly what it meant.
"Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to find something good today."
Mahiro walked to the left side of the store where the shelves containing manga could be found. As he neared it, his eyes drifted to the "Adult's Only" section which was marked by a black banner covering a doorway leading to a back room. Mahiro had more than once snuck into that section to take a peek at the explicit manga found within when no one was looking. He had no intention of doing this today though. He was only ever able to do so when the store had few patrons inside, and with the sale the sheer size of the crowd inside would make it impossible to slip in without anyone seeing him. Besides, it wasn't his goal anyway. He came here today to buy manga, and he was definitely still a few years too young to purchase the books in that section.
Putting the thought of the "Adult's Only" section out of his mind, Mahiro walked up to the manga section and began to scan the shelves for anything that stood out. It was clear from the selection that they had just gotten a large variety of new titles, and Mahiro was intent on finding something truly special out of this batch.
After a few minutes, Mahiro had filled his arms with numerous titles from multiple genres. It sucked that he didn't have much money leftover from buying his game, as he would need to pair down his many finds to only one or two titles. It was difficult indeed to pick only two titles out of such a golden stack, but Mahiro was eventually able to do so. He memorized the names of the other volumes with intentions to come back and purchase them all once he had some more money. Hopefully, they would still have a few copies left in stock.
"Perfect." Mahiro said. "I was still able to find some great issues. Now, all that's left is to pay for them."
Mahiro began to put the issues he had decided to leave behind back on the shelves where he got them from. As he prepared to put the last issue back in place, something caught his eye. There appeared to be another volume that was hidden at the back of the shelf, hidden by the other books.
"How interesting." Mahiro thought with a smile. "A volume hidden behind all the others. The telltale sign of a collector hoping to hide one copy away and then purchase it later. Bet they didn't expect that anyone would find their little stash, but it is very well hidden."
Mahiro remained silent for a few seconds contemplating what to do.
"Well, maybe just a peek." he said.
Mahiro reached to the back of the shelf and slowly wiggled the hidden volume out of its hiding place. Dusting it off and turning it over, Mahiro gasped when he realized what this was. This was the rare limited edition deluxe release of Voyager Star Crystal Volume 11, with a bonus drama CD included. They had only printed 1000 physical copies and were known to have sold out almost immediately after they were released. Mahiro had been content to settle for the standard edition as there was almost no chance that he would've been able to obtain one of these ones anyway, and yet the universe had given him a golden opportunity by placing an unsold copy right in front of him.
"What luck." he cried out. "I never thought that I'd ever see one of these for sale again."
All of a sudden, Mahiro's smile faded as he realized the full implications of this.
"Oh, but this means I'll have to leave the other issues behind." he said with a bit of a depressed expression.
It was certainly true. Due to the limited print runs of volumes like this, they were priced much higher than a standard manga issue. Even with the sale going on, Mahiro estimated that he would only have enough to pay for this single issue with very little left over. It was difficult to leave the other volumes behind, but as those weren't limited edition releases he had a much higher chance of seeing them again.
"Oh well," he shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers. I don't think that I'll ever get another chance to find this again. Better go and pay for it quickly while I still can."
Mahiro quickly placed the other two volumes he had chosen earlier back on the shelf and quickly turned to walk towards the registers. He was doing it in such a hurry that he failed to notice a young blue-haired girl carrying a box who was walking directly towards him at a very fast pace. As soon as Mahiro turned, the girl collided with him, dropped the box, and fell backwards onto the floor, spilling the box's contents in the process. Mahiro was surprised and immediately reached his hand down to help her up.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Mahiro exclaimed. "I was in such a hurry that I didn't see where I was going."
The girl took his hand and stood up, brushing herself off.
"Don't worry about it." the girl replied. "The box was so heavy that I was trying to race to the storeroom to put it back before I dropped it."
"Storeroom?" Mahiro asked, a bit confused. "You work here?"
"Well, sort of." the girl said. "My parents own the store, and I always do my best to help out whenever I can."
Mahiro smiled a bit.
"You're so lucky." Mahiro said. "I would love to have a family that owned a store like this. Then I could read all the manga in it a thousand times over."
"I know what you mean." the girl said. "I've been reading books from here for as long as I can remember. It really does rule to be able to access everything here whenever you want."
Mahiro chucked at that statement before noticing the mess on the floor.
"Here, let me help you clean that up."
Mahiro kneeled on the floor with the girl and began to pick up the scattered contents of the box. Looking more closely at what he was picking up, Mahiro noticed that they were a bunch of clips wrapped in small plastic pouches. As he finished picking them up, the last one caught his eye. It had a golden shine and was much larger than the others. Looking at it left Mahiro feeling very intrigued.
"Hey, do you know what these things are?" Mahiro asked.
"They're hair clips." the girl answered. "I don't think that a boy would really want to wear them though."
Mahiro blushed a bit before replying.
"I thought that's what they were. And don't worry I wasn't planning to wear them myself. I have a little sister, and I think that she might like this one. There's just something about it that makes me think of her."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful." the girl said while picking up the box. "I hope she enjoys it. Best of luck."
Despite the fact that she was struggling, the girl quickly hurried along, disappearing through a door leading to a back room. Mahiro stood back up, looked at the hair clip, and smiled.
"Mihari's going to like this. I just know it." he thought. "I'm sure that I have enough to get this as well."
Mahiro picked up the volume he had previously found and walked towards the registers. When he got there, a friendly-looking woman with brown hair greeted him.
"Hi, find everything okay?" she asked.
"You bet." Mahiro exclaimed. "This place rules."
"Glad to hear it." the cashier replied as she scanned the manga volume Mahiro had placed on the counter. "That'll be ¥1029 after tax."
"Sounds good." Mahiro answered, happy that he had enough for the issue. "Just wondering though, how much is this?"
"Can't be any more than ¥200"
Mahiro handed the cashier the hair clip and the cashier scanned it.
"¥1129 after tax." she answered.
Mahiro's jaw dropped.
"Are you serious?" Mahiro asked. "That hair clip is worth more than the manga volume I want to buy?"
"Sure." the cashier said. "That one is not only a good size, it's also in a limited edition golden color. It's also made of metal instead of plastic ensuring that it can be used for many years to come without breaking."
"I never thought that it would cost so much." Mahiro said in disbelief. "I just spent most of my money on this new game that just came out. With what I have left, I can only afford to buy one of these two things."
"Well then, which one will it be?" the cashier asked. "What's the thing that means the most to you right now?"
Mahiro remained silent for a few seconds while looking at the floor in thought. After a few seconds, he lifted his head back up and smiled.
"Well that's a no brainer." Mahiro answered. "It's obvious what I consider to be the most important thing to me…"
"Tadaima!" Mahiro called out as he opened the front door.
"Onii-chan!" Mihari called out in joy from the living room.
Soon enough, Mahiro saw Mihari rushing towards him and she soon hugged him tight causing him to smile and hug her back.
"It's so good to see you." Mihari said. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." Mahiro said.
"Oh, I just wish we didn't have to be apart so much." Mihari exclaimed. "I never get tired of getting to hug my onii-chan every chance I get."
"And I never get tired of having a chance to be hugged by my little sister." Mahiro added.
Mihari soon broke off the hug. Mahiro kicked off his shoes and began to head upstairs to change.
"I just need to get changed out of my uniform." Mahiro said. "I'll be back down in a few minutes."
"Okay, Onii-chan." Mihari said. "I'll be waiting."
A few minutes later, Mahiro walked back down the stairs. He had put away his uniform and changed into a long-sleeved olive green tee-shirt and a pair of navy-blue sweatpants. He noticed Mihari sitting on the couch and went to join her. The instant that he sat down, Mihari started to smile once again.
"So what's new today, Onii-chan?" Mihari asked.
"Not much happened." Mahiro exclaimed. "We had a test, but I don't think I did so well on it. But on the bright side, today was the day that Lost Quest VIII was released. I picked up a copy from that store I found a few weeks ago in the Neon once school let out for the day. I'm gonna start playing it as soon as I can."
"Wow, that's so awesome." Mihari exclaimed. "You always get so excited when you get a new game. I hope that means you'll still have time for me."
Mahiro rubbed Mihari's hair causing her to laugh.
"Don't be silly." Mahiro said. "You're my little sister and I love you with all my being. How could I ever not make time for you?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Mihari giggled. "Anything else of interest happen?"
"Yeah, there was also a great sale going on at Tachikawa bookstore." Mahiro answered. "I knew I was going to find some good deals, but I ended up finding something that I never thought I'd buy. Luckily I had just enough to pay for it. But enough about me, how was your day?"
"Oh, it was awesome." Mihari beamed. "The stuff we learned in class today was so interesting, I'm considering joining the track team, and my new friend said that we might be able to have a sleepover next weekend."
"Sounds pretty great." Mahiro said, feeling a bit envious of the fact that Mihari had made a new friend so quickly.
"Also, we got back the results of that big test we took last week."
"Oh?" Mahiro said while raising an eyebrow. "And how'd it go?"
"See for yourself." Mihari answered while opening up her bag. She quickly took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Mahiro. Scanning the page, Mahiro could tell that it was the test, and looking up at the top Mahiro saw a large circled "100" written in blue ink. Mihari had gotten a perfect score, and this caused Mahiro to smile.
"Wow, just wow." Mahiro said. "You really did well, didn't you?"
"Yep, I gave it my all and it paid off in the end." Mihari said. "Like they always say, work hard and you will be rewarded."
"But it doesn't have to be the only reward." Mahiro said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mihari asked.
Mahiro slipped his hand into the right pocket on his pants and placed his fist upwards on his knee. He soon opened it, revealing the golden hair clip resting in his palm. Mihari looked at it in confusion.
"I don't understand." Mihari said.
"I saw it while I was out and immediately thought of you." Mahiro said. "It's a reward for doing so well on that test."
Mihari beamed as she processed this and looked it over.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yep, it's all yours. I bet it'll look very good on you." Mahiro said. "Now close your eyes and hold on for a second, I know just the place to put it."
Mahiro proceeded to fasten the hair clip on Mihari's center bang. Once he was done, he took out his phone, switched on the camera, and held it up to Mihari's face.
"Okay, now open them."
Mihari opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. She proceeded to tilt her head in various directions as she looked at her reflection from the camera. She soon lit up with one of the brightest smiles Mahiro had ever seen from her, and tears began leaking out of her eyes.
"I love it. Thank you so much, Onii-chan. I don't think that I'll ever be able to part with it."
"Glad you like it." Mahiro said while smiling.
Mahiro was just as happy as Mihari. He was never going to tell her that he had given up such a rare manga issue so he could buy that for her. Manga was just a way for him to get a momentary amount of pleasure. Instead, he had been able to see his sister emit a type of happiness that was not so easily won. If there was any doubt in his mind about the decision he had made, seeing Mihari's smiling face was all that was needed to erase it. He knew right then and there that he had made the right choice, and that it was well worth giving up a sold-out limited edition volume that he would likely never see again. It was the true sign of his love for Mihari.
"Okay then, I'm going to go get started on my game." Mahiro said.
"And I'll get a head start on my homework." Mihari said in response.
"Sounds good." Mahiro replied. "Mom will be home in a few hours, and I guess we'll have dinner then. See you later."
"See you later, Onii-chan. And thanks so much. I promise that I'll always think of you when I wear it."
Mihari raced upstairs, and Mahiro followed slowly behind her. He heard her door slam before he reached the top of the stairs. Shortly after, he reached his room and closed the door behind him. As he did, he leaned back on the door and sighed with relief.
"Yep, it was totally worth it." he thought.
"Okay then, time to start Lost Quest VIII."
Mahiro turned on his TV and game system. He soon went over to the bag containing the game and took it out. After ripping off the plastic, Mahiro inhaled the aroma of the new game smell and smiled. He opened up the case and quickly proceeded to insert the disc into the system. After a few minutes of loading screens, the title screen containing the words "LOST QUEST VIII" blared to life with a massive musical anthem. Mahiro smiled tremendously.
"Well, this is it." he said. "Time to get started."
All of a sudden, a blast of thunder and lightning flashed outside the window. Looking out, Mahiro noticed that the rain was finally falling. It may have been falling for a while and he just might not have noticed it until now. It was looking pretty bad just before he got home, and he considered himself lucky that it hadn't started before he made it all the way back.
Out of nowhere, another loud rumbling and flash of lightning echoed outside, only this time it was accompanied with a scream that seemed far away. Mahiro knew that sound more than anything, and quickly dashed towards Mihari's room. Opening the door, he saw her sitting on her bed in a fetal position with her head buried into her chest.
"Mihari, are you okay?" Mahiro asked.
Mihari proceeded to lift her head up a bit.
"Onii-chan?" she asked with a sniffle.
Out of nowhere, another flash of thunder and lightning sounded outside causing Mihari to shriek in fear once again.
This was a sight that Mahiro was all too familiar with. Mihari had been terrified of thunder and lighting for as long as he could remember. Luckily, he knew the one thing that could always make this problem disappear.
"It's okay Mihari, I'm right here." Mahiro exclaimed.
He quickly grabbed the comforter on Mihari's bed and climbed onto the bed next to her. He then proceeded to wrap the comforter around the two of them and began to hug Mihari from the side, stroking her hair as he did so.
"There's no need to be afraid." he continued. "I'll keep you safe."
Mihari started to calm down a bit, then looked up at Mahiro directly in his face.
"But what about your game, Onii-chan?" Mihari asked. "You were so excited to start playing it."
"My game will still be there later." Mahiro answered. "When my little sister needs me I will always heed the call."
Mihari soon began to smile with her eyes closing.
"Thank you, Onii-chan." she said.
Within a few minutes, Mihari was fast asleep, resting her head on Mahiro's shoulder. The smile had not faded from her face, and it caused Mahiro to smile in return. Mihari was always so adorable whenever she slept, and the fact that he was able to make her smile this way made Mahiro feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It didn't matter that he wouldn't be able to start his game right away, this was what truly mattered right now and he was eager to enjoy it for as long as he could.
It was his duty as Mihari's onii-chan after all.
"That was the start of the long decline." Mahiro thought as she walked down the sidewalk. "From that point on, Mihari started excelling at everything while I stood out as an absolute failure by comparison. It hurt me so much inside to be compared to her, and I stopped making time for her. By the time I finished high school, I had no prospects and no future. I couldn't possibly compete against what Mihari was doing and gaming was all I had left. As a result I became a home security officer, able to ignore everything that bothered me while focusing on the few things that still gave me comfort. And for a long time it seemed like that would be how I would spend the rest of my life."
Mahiro remained silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"And yet, it's so funny to think about how things turned out. I thought that high school was my last chance to find true friends, but thanks to Mihari and her experiment I got another one. This time, it was successful. Now I have amazing friends that accept me exactly as I am. I even have extended friends that share my love of gaming. I may have had to become a girl to do it, but there's no way that I can possibly complain. Here I am five years later, and my life is so much better than it ever was before."
Mahiro rounded a corner.
"Mihari really is the best. I was so angry with her when she forced me out of my comfort zone, but she did it out of love. It was almost like the same kind of love I used to give her growing up. Back then, I did everything I could to make sure that she was happy, and she's now been able to do the same thing for me. It still brings me so much joy to see her that way, it means that deep down I did my job as her onii-chan right."
Just then, as Mahiro passed a nearby shop, something in the window caught her eye and caused her to stop. As she looked into the shop through the window, she began to smile.
"Tadaima!" Mahiro called out as she opened the front door.
"Welcome home, Onii-chan." Mihari exclaimed. "How was your day?"
"It was good." Mahiro answered with a smile.
Considering what she had just been reminiscing about, Mahiro couldn't help but feel a strange sense of deja vu.
"Glad to hear it." Mihari replied. "Dinner should be ready in a few hours, so why don't you relax for a bit before then."
Mahiro was surprised to hear this, but quickly resumed smiling.
"She really does have that older sibling love flowing through her." Mahiro thought.
Mahiro handed Mihari the bag in her hand, and Mihari got a confused expression on her face.
"Here, this is for you." Mahiro said.
"What's this?" Mihari asked.
"When I saw this it made me think of you." Mahiro explained. "I know that I can be a handful sometimes, but I really do appreciate everything you've done for me over the last several months. Now open it."
Mihari opened the bag to find a white box inside. Opening the box further, she found a large heart-shaped chocolate-chip cookie that was still warm from having recently been baked. On the top was red icing that read "THANKS FOR EVERYTHING MIHARI-ONEE-CHAN."
"Seriously, thanks for everything Onee-chan." Mahiro exclaimed.
Mihari stared at the cookie for a few seconds without saying a word. Then, out of nowhere, she started bawling her eyes out.
"That's not fair, Onii-chan." she cried. "How is it possible that I can have someone so caring in my life that can always find a way to make me so happy?"
"I don't know." Mahiro shrugged. "It's just who I am, and who I'll always be."
Mihari set the box down on a nearby table and began to hug Mahiro.
"I love you, Onii-chan." she said while still crying.
Mahiro smiled and began to hug her back.
"I love you too, Mihari." Mahiro said in response.
It may have been a rough road, one with a few years of roadblocks and setbacks, but Mahiro knew that this was a feeling that she didn't want to ever go away again. She had always loved Mihari, and the experiment had allowed her to find that love for her once again. Even with their roles reversed, and even with the bizarre nature of their new lives, they would always have that overwhelming onii-chan love that was shared between the two of them.
THE END
11/1/2023
Author's Note: Hi everyone. Glad you could read my new short story. I have been working on Chapter 8 of The Oyama Project, but I got the idea for this story out of the blue a few days ago and I just had to get it out of my head. It felt very nice knowing that I could write another fic from the same series, and the it's short format made it very easy to write. Please feel free to like, comment, and follow. Also be sure to check out the Afterword Q&A section of the story for some greater insight into the process behind the production of this story.
A special thanks my Patrons: Homura VanRoyen.
If you enjoy what you've seen so far and you're interested in seeing more, consider supporting me on my P-A-T-R-E-O-N (instructions on how to reach it can be found on my profile). Your support will give me the resources to write more often, and anyone who contributes will be have their name appear in a 'special thanks' section of all future stories that I write.