Chapter 114: Being Observed

“Oh! Big Sister Sakuya, welcome home!”

“…huh?”

One day, just as I finished my lessons and headed home, Sakura was at my house as if it was normal. I didn’t know what he was saying, but… hm, I also didn’t know what to say.

Wait? This was my house, right? Did I accidentally come to the Nijou house? …yeah, that wasn’t it. This was the Kujou house.

Then, why was Sakura at my house? Were we having some sort of playdate today? We weren’t, right? …yeah, we weren’t. Besides, I had no reason to have a playdate with Sakura in the first place.

“No matter how much time passed, you didn’t tell me the days when you could play, Big Sister Sakuya, so I asked Yoriko-sama!”

“Huh!?”

Yoriko was my mom. Kujou Michiie and Kujou Yoriko’s children were Yoshizane and Sakuya. Was Sakura thinking that he’d get nowhere with me, so he directly asked my mom?

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Ebyv y twu… y dsaxyz rlapsd oswzed’v cl yczl vs es vbyv. Jwv xu “nswpkd” Fyjway nswze wpl vbyv alzyvksdpbkr yde pwnnlle kd hkpkvkdt xu bswpl wdkdhkvle.

Jwv… vbyv oyp fwpv nsdhldkldv. Rq xu xsx alqwple vs zlv Fyjway rzyu okvb xl, vbld R oswzed’v osaau ycswv bkx qszzsokdt xl. Mbl sdzu rlsrzl obs’e ts ytykdpv xu xsx olal Iyuy-pyd yde Ggyxk-nbyd. Ohld vbl snnypksdyzzu-lhkz Fyvpwjk-nbyd xktbv tlv kdvs psxl qktbv okvb xu xsx. Mbswtb pbl dsaxyzzu bke bla vawl dyvwal, pbl oyp iwkvl lhkz.

Elzz, yduoyu, Fyjway oswzed’v cl yczl vs naspp posaep okvb xu xsx. Rq xu xsx bye nzlyazu alqwple, vbld vbl xyvvla oswze cl nsxrzlvlzu alpszhle. Tl oswzed’v lhld cl yczl vs qszzso xl yv vbl ynyelxu, ps kv oyp nsdhldkldv qsa xl.&dcpr;

“Lso! Jkt Fkpvla Fyjwuy! Vzlypl bwaau yde ldvla!”

“Xb! Eykv!”

Fyjway vssj xu byde yde pvyavle oyzjkdt. Tl oyp ynvkdt zkjl bl jdlo oblal bl oyp tskdt… Rv oyp zkjl bl’e clld vs xu bswpl y nswdvzlpp yxswdv sq vkxlp, cwv… bye bl nsxl obld R eked’v jdso qsa alypsdp wdalzyvle vs xl? Okvbla alypsd oyp qkdl, cwv…

R byed’v clld vs vbl Lkfsw bswpl. Rd vbl qkapv rzynl, vbswtb ol olal nswpkdp, vblu olal ralvvu xwnb pvaydtlap vs xl. Mbyv oyp clnywpl R’e clld qsackeeld qasx ryavknkryvkdt kd yzz sq bktb psnklvu. Ohld okvb dsaxyz rlsrzl, vblal olal alzyvkhlp obspl bswplp usw’e yzxspv dlhla clld vs. R bye vbyv psav sq alzyvksdpbkr okvb vbl Lkfsw qyxkzu.

“Fyjwuy, byhl usw alvwadle?”

“Yes, I am back. I have just returned.”

After being dragged by Sakura and coming to the living room, I saw my mom drinking tea. Her back was perfectly straight and there wasn’t a single gap. That couldn’t have been because of martial art skills like Master’s or because she was a ninja, but… from my perspective, there wasn’t a single gap in her defences. Maybe that was because extremely refined etiquette was akin to martial arts.

Well, if I hit her from behind, she probably wouldn’t be able to dodge like Master, but… I kind of wanted to check, but I was scared of what would happen after, so I didn’t do such a foolish action.

“Yoriko-sama! May I discuss that matter with Big Sister Sakuya?”

“No, I shall tell her myself.”

What…? I got a really bad feeling. For Sakura to say that, it probably meant he wanted to ask my mom if he could play with me. Then, from my mom’s actions, it looked like she had something to think about…

“Sakuya, you are playing with Sakura on the next break. That is okay, yes?”

Ugyaaaaaaaa!!!

I knew it! I knew it! I thought that’d happen!

Why did my mom permit Sakura to play with me, even though I resisted so strongly? Even though I had never said “okay”, my mom explicitly told him to come to my house. My mom should’ve known about that. My mom also should’ve known that me not saying “okay” meant that I didn’t want to do it. Even so…

“M-Mother… what is this?”

My question had many layered meanings. My mom should’ve been conscious of that.

“Sakuya, you and Sakura are “cousins”… there may be times in the future when you need to join hands and help each other…”

“I… understand…”

I knew what my mom wanted to say. I might have to borrow the Nijou family’s power from now on. She was telling me to get close to them.

At the very least, the Nijou family and I had a distant relationship. We were like distant cousins who I had never met before. But considering that we were cousins and things that might happen in the future, there was a high possibility that it would work in my favour. Right now, I should get close to them and make them my Allie’s.

I knew that. I knew that, but…

“Ehehe! Now, Big Sister Sakuya! Let’s play a lot this Saturday!  

“Haa…”

Since my mom had decided, I couldn’t do anything. And I knew what she wanted to say. Now that the conflict with the Ichijou family had become clear, it was viral to get closer with the other Five Norths families. If I acted coldly towards them and made them my enemies, that’d be a problem. Resigned, I agreed to pay with Sakura this Saturday.

　　～～～～～～～

No matter how much I thought I didn’t want to, the day came quickly. Why was that… The days I looked forward to came slowly, but the days I didn’t want to come came quickly.

Today was the day I’d play with Sakura. Today was a break from school and so was tomorrow, so it was hard to cut it off quickly. It would’ve been nicer if I could play with everyone.

But since he’d come to my house before, didn’t that count as playing with me once? That should’ve been the end. Even so, why did I have to have another playdate with him… I was already playing with him twice.

“Big Sister Sakuya!”

“Haa… greetings, Sakura.”

Sakura had come a little late. That was good manners. It was different with business discussions and interviews, but when visiting someone else’s house, it was better to be a little late. Coming early meant that the other person wouldn’t have time to prepare. But if you were too late, that was rude, so it was best to be only five minutes late. If you were any later, you would need to contact the person.

“Then… you have not contacted me about today’s plan, but… what do you plan to do?”

I hadn’t been asked a single thing about today’s plans. That was because he told me to look forward to today and didn’t tell me about them. Even though he wanted this to be a surprise, he still had to consider what the other person wanted. But Sakura was my relative, so he could do things that normal people couldn’t.

“First, may I go to your room, Big Sister Sakuya?”

Woah… I didn’t want him to… It was horrible to think that the first guy to enter my room apart from my family was Sakura. Let’s clearly refuse.

“Apart from my family, a man has not entered my room. Therefore, you may be my “cousin”, Sakura, but I will not let you enter.”

Why was he asking like he was a chaste young lady? I didn’t want to simply let a guy enter my room, but if he wanted me to misunderstand, then so be it.

“As expected of Lady Sakuya! I understand! Then, let us kill some time until the shop opens!”

Hmm… something was off. He said that she understood my refusal in the very beginning? Or maybe it was something like “If you accept it’s fine, but if you reject that’s fine too”?

It was just something like… when I rejected his offer, his eyes were sparkling. Maybe that was just my imagination, though. Normally, if a plan failed, you’d feel regret or that it was a pity, but… I didn’t get it anymore…

We didn’t go to the reception room and instead went to the living room to play and kill some time. By “playing”, I didn’t mean we were playing ohajiki or otedama, but… my brother was in the house too, and he and Sakura talked. Those two were quite close, right? It looked like Sakura had met my brother more than me.

Well, I had been frequently meeting Sakura at the academy, so maybe I had met him more often, but…

We then killed time up until about lunch, then Sakura suddenly declared that we’d be going out.

“Now, Big Sister Sakuya! Let us go and eat lunch outside!”

“*sigh*… if we are heading out, should those plans not be conveyed in advance?”

Girls had to do a lot of preparation, you know? Sakura-kun? I couldn’t just change and go out immediately after. Even though I was a guy on the inside!

Well, I did think that there was a possibility we’d be going out, so I had prepared for that. I left my brother to talk with Sakura and then made preparations. I was still a second-grader, so I wouldn’t put on makeup. I’d just change a little and fix my hair. I had already done that since Sakura was coming.

“I am sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Woah! As expected of Big Sister Sakuya!”

He said that with shining eyes, but I had no idea what he meant by that.

We weren’t playing with my brother, so I went out with just Sakura to eat. He seemed to have made a reservation before. Just because he didn’t tell me about today’s plans didn’t meant that he hadn’t properly prepared. I didn’t know why he needed to keep it a secret from me, but…

“Hmm! I know!”

“Sakura?”

I got the feeling he was staring at me. Was he looking for something I had done wrong? If I messed up, he’d take a picture for proof and show it to everyone?

“As expected of Big Sister Sakuya!”

What were you talking about?

　　～～～～～～～

After we finished eating, we went to buy things. The shopkeepers thought that we were two girls. That was why they recommended Sakura items for girls when we entered a shop for girls and browsed the girls items…

Well, with that appearance and manner of dress, it was impossible to tell that Sakura was a guy at first glance. When we got older, various differences between the sexes emerged like skeletal structure, muscles, and voice. But it was hard to tell normally what sex prepubescent first graders were.

You didn’t know if someone was a girl or not when children, so you mostly guessed based on their clothing. That was why you would think someone wearing girl’s clothing was a girl. That was true normally, but Sakura even had the facial structure and mannerisms of a girl, so it was hard to think of him as a guy.

“Oh! This seems as though it would suit you, Big Sister Sakuya! Please try it on!”

“I see…”

How annoying… and what kind of punishment game was this that I had to show a guy something I was trying on…

“Then, I shall lead you to the fitting room.”

Oh… I got the feeling that it was too late to refuse? Well, it was fine, but…

“Oh! Then may I accompany you as well?”

If I was going to be forced to try on something, I might as well try on the things that I liked. There were lots of other cute things, but for now, I’d go with what interested me the most.

“That is also cute! As expected of Big Sister Sakuya!”

“Yes. Then, I shall lead you.”

Holding two articles of clothing, I entered the fitting room. I’d first try on what Sakura suggested…

“How is it?”

“Woah! As expected, it truly suits you, Big Sister Sakuya!”

“…thank you.”

I didn’t really like it, but… it certainly wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t something I was interested in. It was something a gyaru would wear, but more like… it was too showy. It was a high-end shop, so it wouldn’t have gyaru fashion for young children, but it was still quite showy. Sakura seemed to like that. It wasn’t my interest.

Sakura and the shopkeeper were complimenting me quite a lot, but I didn’t like it, so I quickly tried on the second one. This was something I liked… well, no it wasn’t. It just looked like the same type of clothing that I was usually made to wear.

“The next is this one.”

“Yep, yep! It looks good! As expected of Big Sister Sakuya!”

No, what was up with that?

After that, I tried on countless things, was made to try on things, and tried on more things after we went to a different shop… today, I was just going along with what Sakura said. I wasn’t physically tired, but I was mentally quite exhausted. On top of that, I had no idea what he wanted me to do…

“Now… Sakura, what were you trying to get me to do in the end?”

I finally asked him that after we returned home and were relaxing in the living room. I didn’t understand what Sakura’s goal was today. If he was just planning to buy things, he should’ve said that from the beginning. I didn’t know why he had acted so secretive nor why he didn’t buy anything and just got me to try on things.

“Huh? You didn’t hear? Sakura looks up to you, Sakuya. That’s why he was studying what he should do with you, how he should spend time with you, and how he should act with you.”

“Aah! Yoshizane-sama! Why did you say that!?”

Hm…? So basically? What? What did that mean?

Was Sakura observing me everyday so that he knew how to act and what actions he should take? Was that why he was always looking at me? But why?

“Then, I must ask why he would do that…”

“I said that he looks up to you, right, Sakuya? He’s been studying hard so that he can become like you.”

“Uwaaaah! You idiot, Yoshizane-sama! I’m going home now!”

Sakura got mad at my brother, who spilled all his secrets for some reason. He then cried and left. Was my brother being serious and not joking?

Well… I was a guy wearing the skin of a girl, so maybe Sakura sensed that in me. Maybe he thought that he could take some inspiration from me? It was quite the annoyance for me, but… there wasn’t any ill-intent behind it… so maybe it wasn’t something I needed to worry about.