Childhood Part XIII – Jealousy – Start
It took Komaru some time to choose which dress she should wear for their shopping trip.
While the brunette herself never took that long to dress up, today she just felt like going all out.
It was weird really. She talked about going shopping for costumes with her friends before, yet she never felt like dressing more than necessary.
Of course, Komaru knew deep down why she wanted to look pretty this time.
Her brother was going after all.
Komaru liked to be praised by her brother, whenever he said she looked cute or that her hair was beautiful, it made her heart skip a beat.
It made her so happy that Komaru felt like exploding.
And it wasn't just the fact the she was being praised, her mom and dad praised her too, and it didn't elicit the same feelings of when Makoto did it.
She knew it was wrong of her to feel like that, but she couldn't help it!
"Annnnnd done!" The brunette says while finishing putting on her bright blue dress. Standing in front of the mirror, she does a little twirl and smiles. "Perfect!"
Her striped white socks together with the blue dress and cute gray jacket are sure to knock Makoto off his feet.
'Or maybe he won't even notice.' A voice deep in her mind says.
' Of course he will! Onii-chan always notices!' Another part of her brain shouts back.
' Maybe, but do you really believe you have a chance?' That mean part retorts. ' Chiaki-chan is going together with us. Do you really believe we have a chance against her?'
'O-Of course we do!' The hopeful side shouts back.
' Of course we don't.' Annoyed, the mean part replies. 'She's cute, sweet and different from us, actually has talent.' Although her hurtful words, that side of Komaru's mind had a certain sadness in her voice. ' Onii-chan only sees us as a sister. Nothing more. We don't stand a chance against her.'
'B-But-' Before the hopeful side can say her comeback, a knock on the door takes Komaru off her mind's battlefield.
"Komaru?" Makoto calls from the other side of the door. "Are you ready? Because Shirogane-san is waiting downstairs and Chiaki-chan is almost here!"
"I-I'm almost ready!" Komaru yells back. "Tell Tsumugi-chan that I'm almost ready!"
"Komaru? Is something wrong?" The brunette boy asks. "You sound sad."
"I-It's nothing!" Of course he would notice.
Makoto blinks, before sighing. "If you sure, then we'll be waiting for you downstairs."
Komaru slaps her own cheeks. "What I am thinking?" She whispers to herself, before taking a deep breath. "This isn't a competition." Turning towards the door, the young girl steers her resolve. "I'm going to have fun with my friends and that's that!" She smiles and goes for the doorknob.
Although her seemingly confident declaration, the truth was that deep down, Komaru still wasn't sure of what to feel.
Tsumugi was sweating heavily and with a deep blush on her face.
She didn't exactly knew why, but she felt butterflies fly up in her stomach however she was close to Makoto.
In truth, Tsumugi always wanted to have a big brother, or at least a friend that filled that role for her.
Someone that she could trust and be sure that it would be there for her.
And the raunchy brocon manga that she was too young to be reading most definitely didn't made her wish for an older brother.
Nope. Definitely not.
"You look great." Makoto comments while sitting on the armchair by the side of the couch.
Tsumugi blushes even more. She didn't thought that her white sleeveless shirt, blue with black stripes pleated skirt, blue socks and black shoes was that interesting of a outfit.
"D-Do you really think so?" She asks while looking towards the brunette who just smiles softly, making the butterflies in her stomach fly even more hectic than before. "I-I thought it looked plain on me."
"I don't think you're that plain Shirogane-san." The boy replies. "I actually believe you're way prettier than you give yourself credit for." He smiles reassuringly. "Outside of that, I think the blue on your skirt complements your long hair pretty well. It looks great, honest."
Maybe it was because outside of Eiji, most of Makoto's closest friends are girls, but he was getting better at complementing them without feeling embarrassed, still, he had a very faint shade of pink in his cheeks.
Which could not be said for Tsumugi, who had her face completely red and smoke was coming out of her ears. "T-Thanks O-Onii-sama!" She blurbs out.
Makoto blinks. "Onii-" She finally notices what she said. "-sama?" The blue-haired otaku slaps her hands over her mouth.
"Ah- Ah- Ah-" Feeling like digging herself into a hole, Tsumugi bows her head. "I-I'm s-s-s-sorry! I-It j-just I-I d-d-didn't k-k-knew I-I w-was t-thinking!"
Great! Now she done it! Her best friend's brother, of whom she has a slight crush on, now probably thinks she's a weirdo!
Not that he would be wrong, but that's not the point!
Now blushing too, Makoto just giggles awkwardly. "I-it's okay." That was probably the end of that, but something inside of the boy made him say the next words in a whisper. "B-But I wouldn't mind if you wanted to call me that."
Snapping her head back up, Tsumugi's eyes widen behind her round glasses. "R-Really? Y-You wouldn't?" Makoto nods while looking away and Tsumugi smiles widely. "T-Then t-thanks-" She bites her lips. "O-Onii-sama."
The brunette nods with a deep blush in his cheeks, then he starts looking around the living room to distract himself of what he just said.
Meanwhile Tsumugi was in cloud nine, with the biggest smile possible in her lips. ' Now I have a Onii-sama!' She thinks to herself.
Just at that moment, Honoka and Komaru walk in on the living room. "Okay kids! Now that Komaru-chan is here, we can go to the shopping!" The brunette woman declares while clasping her hands together.
"Huh? But what about Chiaki-chan?" Makoto asks while getting up from the armchair.
"Higashi-san and Chiaki-chan are already there." The boy's mother replies. "So we'll meet them there."
"Oh, okay then." Makoto nods and looks towards Komaru with a soft smile. "You look cute, Komaru."
The brunette girl blushed and smiles back. "You would look pretty good too-" She then smirks. "-is what I would say, If it wasn't for that hoodie."
"C'mon Komaru, what do you have against my hoodies?" Makoto rolls his eyes and Komaru shows him her tongue.
"It's because you're always using them!" She walks past her brother and smiles to herself. ' Yay! He praised me!' Turning to face a still-sitting down Tsumugi, Komaru says. "And you look pretty cute too, Tsumugi-chan!"
The blue-haired girl is still completely lost in her own little world, giggling to herself while looking towards the ceiling.
"Tsumugi-chan?" The younger Naegi calls yet again, this time taking the other girl out of her trance.
"W-Wha!" The otaku looks to both sides, before landing her gaze on Komaru. "Oh! H-Hey Komaru-chan!" She adjusts her glasses. "It's already time for to go?" Komaru nods and Tsumugi jumps off the couch. "Great! Then let's go!" The blue-haired girl yells, before running out of the living room. "Oh, and one more thing." She stops at the door and turns to face Makoto, her cheeks turning red. "Y-You can call me T-Tsumugi, Onii-sama!" She then runs out of the door.
"Onii-" Honoka starts while raising a eyebrow.
"-sama?" Komaru finishes, with a tinge of jealousy in her voice.
Makoto scratches the back of his head. "Hehe, I'll e-explain on the way!"
During the entire car ride, Tsumugi insisted o sitting by Makoto's side, much to the displeasure of Komaru, although she didn't say anything to the other girl, the fact that her answers to whatever the others are talking about are 'yes' and 'no' in a very harsh tone, should show them that she wasn't very happy.
Which was the exact opposite of how Tsumugi was right now, she was chatty and excited about every little thing, like how the Naegi's family car was so small and cozy, different from the limousine that her butler insisted she rode to school everyday, which was cold and lonely.
It didn't took too long for them to finally reach the mall.
Once Honoka parked the car and everyone had come out, she locked it and turned to them. "Now, let's meet up with Higashi-san and Chiaki-chan!" She turns around and they all follow her. "They should be waiting for us at the entrance."
After walking for some minutes, the group finally meets with the older Nanami.
"Hello, Honoka-san, children." Higashi waves with a friendly smile as he approaches them.
"Good afternoon Higashi-san." The brunette woman waves back. "Uh, where is Chiaki-chan?" She asks as the others are greeting the older man.
"Oh, she's at the toiled." The mauve-haired man replies. "She should be back soon."
Just as he says this, Chiaki's walks in from the crowd of people that are entering the mall. "Otou-san, I'm back."
Everyone's eyes widen as they see the mauve-haired girl.
Chiaki is wearing a purple shirt with the drawing of a black cat, a black skirt and a jean jacket. Her hair is also slightly more messy than usual, which gives it a more natural look. She also seems to be using makeup, even if only slightly.
A silence falls as everybody looks towards the mauve-haired girl, which makes her blush slightly.
"Wow, Nanami-san!" Tsumugi is the first person to speak. "You look so cute!"
Makoto smiles and nods. "Y-Yeah!" He blushes and looks to the side. "You look really adorable, Chiaki-chan."
The girl blushes as she is praised by her friends.
Meanwhile Komaru just stares at her, with a look of jealousy, admiration and also a little bit of sadness.
What if she can't compete with Chiaki?
Childhood Part XIII – Jealousy – End
Welp, that sure was a chapter.
I decided to tackle the jealous sister part of Komaru's arc now, because once we get into the Hope's Peak part of the story, she won't be as present.
But don't worry, I know how annoying this type of character arc can get, so I won't make it too long.
Also, Tsumugi is a brocon.
Why?
Because I think its funny.
Anyways, hope ya'll liked the chapter.
See you around!