“How about I give a lecture at the school assembly? If I couldn’t, then I could get Odaira-sensei to do it. He looks like a little girl, so that’s sure to be effective!” After all, the prime minister was a cute little 2D girl in the future!
“Nobody is going to listen to a little brat’s propaganda in this era,” Kuroha said flatly.
“Propa...? You’re using big words to make fun of me again! Cut it out!”
“You’re the one who needs to cut it out already!”
“Um...” Yuzu-san interjected, trying to stop our little face-off. “I have something like this.” I wasn’t sure when she had pulled it out, but she was holding a thin book in her hands. It was black and white and was bound with tape. It looked like something that was handmade, rather than mass-produced for sale. “This is the literature club’s magazine.”
“Magazine...” I repeated. Yuzu-san, what are you saying we should do with that magazine?
After school the next day, we headed to the literature club, holding applications in our hands. According to Yuzu-san, the literature club’s quarterly magazine was handed out to all the classes in the school. If we could publish a short story in the magazine, we might be able to spread moe.
When I volunteered to write the story, Kuroha was dead-set against it. She said that if there was some mistake and it actually got published, that it would just confuse and provoke everyone at the school.
I guess the Heisei era isn’t ready for my novels yet.
In that case... I had a wonderful idea. With this plan, we were sure to succeed.
We had reached the literature club room. Opening the door, we saw a single student. She was sitting in a chair reading a book, and she glanced at us when she noticed us.
She stood up, and I saw she was wearing glasses and had her hair pulled back in a bun. She had straight eyebrows. She looked like someone who was extremely serious.
“Oh? Aren’t you the first-year Mirokuin-san?”
“Are you two acquainted?” I asked, and the glasses-wearing girl turned toward me.
“No. Mirokuin-san is quite famous,” the girl responded.
I see. Yuzu-san would naturally draw people to her, and the Mirokuin family clearly had a lot of power at this school, so it wasn’t surprising that she was so well known.
“What business do you have here?” the glasses girl asked.
“Right. We’d like to join your club.” Yuzu-san handed over our three club applications.
“...Understood. Please sit over there. I am the club president.” Kuroha, Yuzu-san, the club president, and I sat down around the long table. It seemed like she was going to explain the activities of the club to us.
“There are many people who come in with incorrect expectations, so let me make myself clear right from the start. Our club is for writing works of literature, not mere stories for people’s amusement.”
She spoke with conviction, emphasizing each individual word clearly. At first I thought she was angry, but it seemed like this was how she usually spoke.
“There are some novels that are written like... manga... But if you wish to write trash like that, then our club is not for you. Feel free to take your business elsewhere.”
“I prefer works of literature over frivolous entertainment,” I answered with complete honesty.
“Excellent. What kinds of books do you enjoy?”
What books do I like? There were many, but if I had to pick one, it would have to be—
“I Want to Have Onii-chan’s Baby!”
She was silent for a moment.
“...That is not a title that I have heard of. What is it about?”
“If I had to summarize, I’d say it was a crying-non-blood-related-little-sister-moe work.”
“Little sister moe?” She grimaced. “I was pretty sure I explained earlier about the type of literature we valued here...” Her words were filled with disdain.
“Oniaka is the very definition of literature. The epitome of the Orthodox style,” I argued with passion.
“Onii-chan.” Next to me Kuroha started speaking to me in a quiet voice. “Oniaka hasn’t been released in this time yet.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
The club president looked at us mistrustingly, but then suddenly stood up. She took a book off of a bookshelf and returned to the table.
“We make a magazine. Take a look, as it should show you the kind of work we are inclined toward.” She pointed to the magazine.
On the cover in big letters was written 青雲 (seiun/blue sky). I flipped through the pages, and as expected, I could hardly read anything at all. I pretended to read some, and then handed it to Kuroha.
I decided to continue the conversation as Kuroha was reading it. I winked at Yuzu-san. She nodded, and pulled out an envelope from her bag.
“Please, let us join your club. We will write a story for your magazine’s next issue.”
“I have no problem with that, but I should let you know that there is no guarantee you will be included.”
It seemed like only works that got her approval were included.
“Yes, we understand that.” Yuzu-san opened the envelope and took out the contents. It was a stack of paper.
What we had brought with us was Odaira-sensei’s manuscript. The previous night, we had explained to him the situation, and he had let us borrow it.
His work should be relatively close to a moe work of the Heisei era. And of course there was nothing to be worried about when it came to the quality. If we could get it published in the magazine, moe would be sure to spread throughout the school.
Of course we realized that people of this time period wouldn’t be able to understand 23rd century Japanese writing. The Japanese used was just too different. That was why we had brought the manuscripts he had written in modern Japanese to help him clear his mind instead.
“Please read this.” Yuzu-san handed over the manuscript to the club president.
“I will.” She adjusted her glasses and looked down at the manuscript.
It was Odaira-sensei’s newest work. It was based on real people, and was a tragic love story.
You should be honored to read the newest work from a famous author in the future, you know. Just take it all in!
“Ah!” Suddenly, Yuzu-san’s face turned pale.
“What’s the matter?”
“I messed up.”
“Messed up?” I had a bad feeling about this.
“Sensei said to take whichever one we wanted, right?”
“Whichever?”
“The one that looked normalish, or the one that had all the hiragana...” She must have meant the one written in 21st century modern Japanese or the one in 23rd century current-day Japanese.
Which means...
Yuzu-san must have taken the manuscript written in current-day Japanese by mistake. This meant that the club president was currently reading a tragic family love story that went like this...
COMESIN→MIU IMORE=PANTIESONDISPLAY
COMESIN→RAI ORAIRA=ONIINYAN
MIU=PANTIESONDISPLAY: “ONIINYAN, ONIINYAN, LUV U”
ORAIRA: “LUV U 2”
MIU=PANTIESONDISPLAY: “LUV U MORE THAN REAL BROTHER”
ORAIRA: “SO HAPPY-NYO”
MIU=PANTIESONDISPLAY: “LUV U MORE THAN REAL SISTER”
ORAIRA: “SO HAPPY-NYO”
MIU=PANTIESONDISPLAY: “ONIINYAN SMART, RICH”
ORAIRA: “NYO-NYO-NYO”
MIU=PANTIESONDISPLAY: “HURRY AND PROPOSE”
ORAIRA: “I WILL LOTS AND LOTS”
TWO LOVEY DOVEY
BUT
REAL BROTHER REAL SISTER GET IN WAY!
HARUMPH☆
COMESIN→KIN IMORE
KIN: “LUV MIU”
PANTIESONDISPLAY: “MIU LUV RAI-NIINYAN”
KIN: “SHOKKU”←*dies*
COMESIN→KUROHYA IMORE
KUROHYA: “MIU COME HERE”
PANTIESONDISPLAY: “NO”
KUROH
YA: “HYAA”←*dies*
—We were thrown out of the clubroom.
Our plan ended in utter failure.
Far from being chosen for publication, we had been thrown immediately out of the clubroom as if banished like evil spirits. The look on the club president’s face was as if she had just seen some sort of horrible crime.
So frustrating!
But we were not going to throw in the towel just yet.
That evening, after we had cleaned up after dinner and were all gathered around just hanging out, Yuzu-san came over to us.
“I’ll write it myself!” she proclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
But I knew from experience that writing a novel was not something you could do so easily.
“The problem was that it was written using current-day Japanese. If we showed her the modern Japanese version, I’m sure she we could win her over,” I explained.
“No, I think that this is really something that I need to do myself.” Yuzu-san had her hands clenched tightly into fists. She looked very determined.
“All right, then. I will do anything and everything in my power to assist you.”
“Honestly, it’s probably better if you assist her as little as possible, Onii-chan,” said Kuroha, coldly. “The types of stories in the club magazine and the ones you like are just way too different.”
“Oh, shut it. You know, no one asked for your opinion. I’ll help her out all I can.”
“Yeah. You go do that.”
While we argued, Miru trotted over and looked up at me, “What’s this about?”
Should I tell Miru about the literary club magazine? As I wondered, Odaira-sensei interjected. “Why don’t we all help?” he said, rubbing his forehead.
I looked over at Yuzu-san to gauge her opinion. This was all in order to fulfill her brother’s wish. She shouldn’t allow other people to participate without careful consideration. What will you do, Yuzu-san?
“Everyone, I’ll be glad for your help!” she nodded, bursting out in a smile.
Okay then, we’ll all work together!
After some discussion, it was decided that Odaira-sensei would help with the prose, and Miru would provide the insert illustrations. I was the special adviser, which it seemed primarily consisted of cheering her on. Odaira-sensei urged me multiple times not to give my opinion on the content.
Of course! I understand that this is Yuzu-san’s work, not mine.
“What’re you gonna do, Nee?” asked Miru.
“Me...?” Kuroha was in an awkward position. After saying what she had, it must have been hard for her to help out.
“Kuroha-san, would you like to help check the clothing of the characters?” Yuzu-san looked over to Kuroha with her saving smile.
“Clothing?”
“Right. I am not very knowledgeable about fashion. I’d probably have all the characters wearing jerseys. Kuroha-san, would you give me advice?”
“But, I’m not from this time period...”
“Please,” Yuzu-san said. “I really don’t have the confidence to do it myself.”
“Okay, then let me ask you something,” Kuroha said. “What do you think about my brother’s outfit?”
“I think it’s black and cool-looking. I was actually curious about where to get something like that. Did you buy it in the city?”
“‘In the city,’ she says...” muttered Kuroha, laughing a little.
Hey, what’s funny? I totally bought it in the city!
I had bought my SCHOOL UNIFORM at a men’s clothing store in front of the train station called “Fashion Murata.”
“You two are siblings, and it shows in your similar fashion sense,” Yuzu-san added.
“What?! In what way?”
“Well, your stockings are black, right? They match Gin-san’s clothing.”
“Color isn’t the only thing that matters about fashion! And besides, I wear them not because of fashion, but because of family tradition.” The Imose family has a tradition where women all wear black stockings after they turn 15 years old.
“Oh, my. What a wonderful tradition,” Yuzu-san said.
“I’m gonna wear black stockings. Then I’ll rip ‘em, and rock Nii’s world,” Miru put in.
“Miru-chan, don’t do it! You’re thinking like a dirty old man! Don’t cover your so-smooth-I-could-just-rub-my-cheeks-on-them baby-white legs!” Odaira-sensei cautioned.
“First: Not a wonderful tradition. Second: Miru, you’re too young for that. Third: Sensei, you’re a disgusting pervert and I hate you.” After Kuroha finished her series of comebacks, she nodded to Yuzu-san. “Fine, I’ll help you out.”
Yuzu-san must have asked Kuroha for fashion advice out of consideration. Here she was, participating in the group again. Yuzu-san really is so considerate.
Yuzu-san’s brother, please look at us! We’re all working together to encroach on the school. And one day, the world will be a place where anyone can laugh, proudly proclaiming themselves to be Sadie’s manslave!
The next morning, I saw Yuzu-san and Kuroha head out into the garden.
Are they going to tend the garden?
I wanted to help, so I followed them.
After entering the garden, they sat down on the bench that was there; Yuzu-san with her blonde hair and Kuroha next to her with her black hair. I was walking up behind them and was about to call out, but I stopped myself.
I could only see Yuzu-san from the side, but she had a serious look on her face that I had never seen before. It made me hesitate to get any closer.
“—About the story... I was thinking to write about a girl who has feelings for her non-blood-related older brother.” I could hear Yuzu-san faintly. It seemed like she was talking about the story she was going to write.
I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I hid myself behind the shadow of a tree and listened in on their conversation.
“You see, actually, I’m not related to my brother by blood,” Yuzu-san continued.
“You’re not?!”
I could sense how shocked Kuroha was. Oh, Yuzu-san hadn’t explained that part yet?
“That’s right. I was adopted.”
“I see... So you’re going to write about yourself?”
“That was my plan, but Sensei said something to me. He said that it wasn’t good for your work to reflect yourself too closely.”
“...I’m impressed he can say something like that.”
“That’s why I decided against just writing about me and my brother.”
“You’re not going to write about a brother and sister?”
“I am, but I decided to make the brother adopted instead of the sister.”
Kuroha was silent for a little bit. I wonder what kind of look she has on her face?
“...So then, you’re asking me how I... place my brother in my mind?” she said at last.
“Yes.”
“Okay. By the way, Miru-chan doesn’t know he’s adopted, so don’t say anything.”
“Of course I won’t say a thing. I would really like to hear your feelings for Gin-san. To help inspire my story, of course.”
Kuroha’s feelings about me? Whoa, I’m getting kind of embarrassed for some reason. I started to feel itchy all over.
“I just think of him as my brother, that’s all,” replied Kuroha plainly.
“Is that really all?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah.”
“But, you really seem to worry about him a lot, Kuroha-san.”
“Uh...” She was silent for a moment. But then I heard her continue, seeming defeated. “I want you to promise not to tell him anything I’m about to say, okay?”
“I promise.”
“Well... I can’t help but worry about him. After hearing the things he heard, he was really depressed for a time.”
“What things?”
“He overheard some things that a really inconsiderate relative said to our parents back
when he was little. ‘If only you’d known you were going to have Kuroha, then you would have never gone and adopted Gin.’”
“Oh, my...”
“Thinking about it now, it wasn’t said to be mean or anything. But he was very little, and he didn’t know that he was adopted before that. It was a huge shock to him.”
Was that the first time I learned I was adopted? My uncle had thought that Kuroha and I were asleep, which is why he had let his guard down like that.
“So, you feel responsible for him, Kuroha-san?”
“I’m not that nice a person. But when I think about the times he’s had this sad look on his face when I wasn’t looking, I get worried about him.”
Kuroha... I worried you, didn’t I? I’m sorry. But I’m better now.
At the time I had been really down, but then I met Oniaka for the first time. My innocent obsession with Homyura had healed my wounds. It was actually that uncle who had been the one to introduce me to Oniaka, so I felt thankful to him.
“So you want him to be by your side because you worry about him,” continued Yuzu-san.
“It’s not like I want him by my side, exactly...” Kuroha stopped herself. There was a brief pause. “Actually, if I’m being honest with myself, what I really want is to put a collar on him and keep him from wandering about.”
A collar?! Am I a pet dog?! I pictured myself with a collar and a leash, with my owner Kuroha next to me. Oh, and since I was the dog, I was naked.
“So in other words, you love him?”
“Huh?!” Kuroha let out a hysteric yelp. I almost stood up myself.
Yuzu-san, what in the world are you saying?!
“How in the world did you get ‘love’ from that?!”
“Those are exactly the feelings I want to write about. I don’t want the feelings of the little sister I’m going to write about to be vague.”
“O-Okay...”
“Do. You. Love. Him?” Yuzu-san asked with all her conviction. Kuroha was silent for a few seconds, and then sighed out a few words.
“I love him... maybe.”
The world came to a stop. I felt like my head was going to go completely blank. Kuroha thinks that way about me? This has got to be some kind of joke, right?!
“Oh no! It seems I have asked you something I shouldn’t have.”
My Little Sister Can Read Kanji: Volume 1 Page 11