My Little Sister Can Read Kanji: Volume 3

by Takashi Kajii

  “But, just perhaps...” continued Kuroha. “Maybe something will happen up there in the heavens and the tower will suddenly grow very quickly.”

  “You mean, the times will catch up-nodesu?” asked Amaneko-chan.

  “Right.”

  Oh! This is the first time Kuroha and Amaneko-chan have agreed on something!

  “Kuroha-san, let’s call it, unfortunately, a draw for today,” said Amaneko-chan. “If we keep going like this, Nii-sama will be upset-nodesu.”

  Kuroha nodded in agreement, and said, “Please help Onii-chan with his debut as an author,” as if they were trying to put everything behind them.

  The wind blew. Strangely, it felt gentle upon my face.

  Phew... Finally, things have been settled.

  I let go of their hands, and we all were about to head down from the roof.

  Wait, hold on a second. I still had something I needed to tell Kuroha.

  “Kuroha, I’m so sorry for causing you all this trouble. I’ll try my best not to any more.”

  “Onii-chan...” she said.

  “If you have trouble reading my novels, you don’t have to force yourself to read them, and if I’m in trouble somehow, you can just ignore me.”

  “Tell me, Onii-chan...” she said slowly. “Why do you keep saying that you’re troubling me? Sometimes I think I’m a bother for you, but... you’re going way overboard.”

  “I overheard some girls in your class talking,” I said. “I heard that they thought I was bothering you and that you were ‘troubled’ by me.”

  As soon as I said that, Kuroha raised her eyebrows with a, “Huh?”

  “B-Because of that?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  She continued in stunned silence for a moment and then started yelling like something just burst.

  “You idiot! You giant idiot!” she cried, her voice echoing across the roof. It probably rode the wind to a land far away. “Me... you think you’re troubling me?! Me?! Give me a break! Do you have any idea just how much I...!”

  Something got caught in her throat.

  “But they said you were troubled,” I pried.

  “I was... uh...”

  “Nii-sama, Kuroha is a tsundere,” stated Amaneko-chan. “On the surface she hides her true feelings and is all like, “I’m so troubled,” but on the inside she...”

  “S-Shut up!” shouted Kuroha.

  Um, huh? So in conclusion, Kuroha hadn’t thought I was bothering her? This was all just... a misunderstanding?

  Hahahaha...... Haha......

  All the strength left my body.

  “I thought that I was going to lose you, Onii-chan,” Kuroha said, looking grief-stricken.

  “Why would you think that?” I asked. “I’ll be counting on you still from now on!”

  “...How can you be so flippant about all this! Think about other people’s feelings!” cried Kuroha, looking off to the side muttering, “What an idiot,” and “I can’t believe you,” and “You’re a real piece of work...”

  She even said, “I wish I could knock you straight off this tower.”

  As I looked at her, I felt warmth grow in my heart. Even though she’s complaining, why do I get those feelings?

  The human heart was a mystery.

  Maybe it was because when I saw Kuroha acting childish like this, it made me love her more, or want to protect her, or maybe it tickled my heart as her brother...

  We waited for Kuroha to calm down, and then decided to go down the tower, in order to meet back up with everyone.

  We had worked out all our problems. I would accept Amaneko-chan’s support and debut as an author, and Kuroha would debut as a translator.

  All’s well that ends well.

  Except that was not what happened.

  “Amaneko,” spoke a harsh, male voice from behind us. We all immediately turned to where the voice came from.

  An old man in Japanese-style clothing stepped out of the elevator and began walking toward us.

  Hmm, who is that? His head was bald and smooth, and he had a long beard growing from his chin. He had a stern look on his face and a proud stature, giving off a very powerful impression. The second Amaneko-chan laid eyes on him she began shaking.

  “O-Ojii-sama......”

  Her grandfather?! You mean the grandfather that has come up in conversation here and there quite a bit before this, but who hasn’t appeared yet?!

  He made confident strides right up to Amaneko-chan and asked, “What do you think you’ve been doing, leaving home and not contacting us?”

  Amaneko-chan couldn’t look him in the eye and got a guilty expression on her face.

  What did he mean, “didn’t contact us”? I thought you said that you told him you were staying over at a friend’s house! Don’t tell me that was a lie and you stayed out overnight without permission...?

  Amaneko-chan, what have you done?!

  “H-How did you y-you know where I was?” Amaneko-chan stuttered.

  “Hmph. Sometimes the technology of Outer Japan can be useful,” he said, glancing at Amaneko-chan’s head.

  “......Ah.” Amaneko-chan realized something, and put her hand on the bell that she wore on her head. Was it possible that bell was some kind of tracking device? Yesterday we had been in a fancy apartment building which must have had shielding, I guessed.

  “Amaneko,” the stern man said, “you are forbidden from leaving the house for a little while. Reflect on your actions.”

  “Awww... I am totally against this-nodesu!”

  He ignored Amaneko-chan’s rejection and turned to look at me.

  “So you are Gin Imose.”

  “That’s correct.”

  His face ever-so-slightly got more tense. “I know about you. I know that you aren’t a proper person,” he said, coldly.

  Not a proper person? He must be referring to the fact that I am a 2.5D kid.

  No matter how I looked at it, he clearly was not fond of me. He looked off to the side.

  “Kuroha Imose-san. I know you, as well.”

  Kuroha didn’t answer him. When I heard that unexpected statement, my body stiffened.

  “Even I was not prepared for such a coincidence,” the man added. “It is true that Imose is a fairly rare name. I should have researched further.”

  What? What coincidence?

  “I bet on your genius, but...”

  ...?!

  It dawned on me.

  “So the patron that put forward the budget to publish Kuroha’s translation is...” I started.

  “Myself,” he said.

  I looked right at Kuroha. She shook her head no, that she had no idea her patron was Amaneko-chan’s grandfather. I then looked at Amaneko-chan. She looked apologetic, with her eyebrows sloped downward.

  That expression... You knew, Amaneko-chan?!

  Ah, I see!

  Everything finally clicked. The reason why Amaneko-chan was so antagonistic to Kuroha was also because Kuroha had already been recognized by her grandfather. She must have combined the “past” that Kuroha translated together with the things that her grandfather respected in her mind.

  I moved closer to the man. He didn’t seem to have a good impression of me, but as Kuroha’s brother, I had a duty...

  “Let me thank you in place of my sister. Thank you so much for betting on her genius.”

  “I see,” the man said. “But, I have changed my mind.”

  I felt foreboding wash over my body.

  “So Kuroha Imose is the sister of Gin Imose... I don’t like it. I’m stopping the publication,” he said.

  Kuroha and I couldn’t say a thing.

  “If you want to curse someone, curse your brother,” he said. “It’s because of him there that you have lost your chance.”

  I couldn’t believe it. Could someone with the right... Could a person just do whatever they wanted like that? Could he chose who lived, who died, who was set free, and who was forever trapped?!

 
“Ojii-sama!” cried Amaneko-chan, pleading with him. “This incident is entirely my fault-nodesu! It’s not right that you punish Kuroha-san or Nii-sama for it-nodesu. Please, just punish me!”

  “You are not a child who would do this kind of thing, Amaneko,” the man said coldly. “You must have been influenced by that improper person over there after you met him, yes? 2.5D people... They make me sick.”

  These days people with such narrow-minded opinions about 2.5D kids were very rare. Maybe people in the Special Cultural District were different?

  “Onii-chan makes you sick, you say...?!” growled Kuroha from beside me.

  Oh crap, Kuroha’s gonna say something back to him!

  I cut in front of Kuroha, and said my piece. “Please, Kuroha has nothing to do with this. Allow her translation to be published just as you planned to!”

  “I refuse. Thanks to you, I feel very uncomfortable about this. One Imose’s problem is a problem for every Imose. I won’t allow it.”

  “No matter what?” I asked.

  “No matter what.”

  “Even if I send you panties as a thank-you gift?”

  Nope, doesn’t seem like that’ll work.

  The man had his arms crossed and was staring right back at me. He seemed to me like a ball of narrow-mindedness and intolerance.

  How could I fight an enemy this strong? What should I do? Whatever should I do?

  Ah!

  I dropped down to my knees immediately, and lowered my head down as far as it would go.

  The dogeza. The ultimate form of Japanese apology.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

  My sisters cried out, “Nii-sama!” and “Onii-chan!” one after another. I kind of wanted to tell them to back off, but...

  I lowered my face onto the ground. I wanted to allow Kuroha to debut as a translator.

  “Please, listen to what I have to say,” I pleaded.

  “And if I refuse?”

  “Even so, I will speak.”

  “You’re not giving me much of a choice.”

  I paid him no heed, and went right into what I wanted to say.

  “My little sister can read kanji.”

  “Yes, I know that.”

  If I could somehow convince him logically, that would be for the best, but I didn’t have the brain for that. So all I could do was throw whatever I was thinking at him all I could!

  I talked about Kuroha. About how she could understand kanji, and how she loved modern literature. I also talked about how she would fight against her surroundings and not fit in with groups.

  “Why do I have to hear about your little sister?” the man asked. “I no longer have anything to do with her.”

  I had no idea what Kuroha was thinking herself. But from my perspective, the facts that she could “read kanji” and “liked modern literature” were not things that were positive influences on her life. I continued.

  “But when it was decided that she would debut as a translator, the way people around her looked at her changed. It was the first time that Kuroha’s ability to understand old writing became a plus in her life.”

  “Let me say it again, then. What does this have to do with me?”

  “Ojii-san, I’ve heard you want to bring kanji back to Japan, yes? Then you should want Kuroha, who can read kanji, to believe that is a positive in her life.”

  Once Kuroha’s debut as a translator had been decided, the people around her had finally actually understood her. It had made me extremely happy. After all, it was really sad when something you love causes the people around you to distance themselves from you. Happiness surely came from liking things that make other people get closer to you!

  So please... I’m begging you...

  “Please, don’t bury Kuroha’s happiness!” My forehead brushed the ground. I could feel it scraping across the floor.

  “Onii-chan... You don’t have to exaggerate like that...” said Kuroha.

  “I’m not exaggerating.”

  “Don’t just say things like that. The people around me changed the way they see me? What do you take them for?”

  “Can you really just say it didn’t matter?” I pried.

  “It didn’t... really...”

  See, you couldn’t say it. I saw you smiling, talking with your classmates. As your brother, I wanted to see your unguarded, smiling face like that again.

  “So... will you still not change your mind?” I asked.

  “I will not.”

  “Kuroha has always been there by my side,” I said. “I’m proud of her. Her marks in school are top class, and she’s got super good looks. I really think there’s no one else as amazing as her. Maybe this is self-serving, but I finally felt like Kuroha has gained the one thing she’s always lacked.”

  “Onii-chan...”

  “Kuroha should be able to smile.”

  “...”

  “So, lowering my head alone is not enough? In that case...” I put on the helmet that was near my feet. After it was on, I slammed my head into the ground.

  “N-Nii-sama, what are you doing?” Amaneko-chan burst out. “Please stop doing that! It’s ridiculous-nodesu.”

  I realized that this wasn’t a very elegant method, but all I wanted to do was to somehow get my feelings across to him. This was the only thing that I could think of in that moment.

  I brought my head down, again, and again, and again.

  Bam! Bam! Bam!

  As the helmet bashed into the ground, my head started to get a little woozy, and stars started to appear in front of my eyes. But I didn’t think of stopping even for a second. How long did I do it for? I wasn’t sure, but then finally Amaneko-chan’s grandfather spoke to me, in a displeased tone.

  “Fine. Enough already.”

  I looked up with my face full of anticipation. If he said that, then he must mean he’ll publish Kuroha’s book as planned, right?

  But my luck would not be so kind to me.

  “All I care about is that you stay away from Amaneko. But I hear that you’re going to publish a book thanks to her recommendation? If that’s true, then you will probably come in contact with her again.”

  “Ojii-sama, what are you saying?” asked Amaneko-chan.

  “We’ll do a trade. If you give up on publishing his book, I’ll publish his sister’s.”

  Wha...?

  “Nii-sama, don’t listen to him-nodesu!” cried Amaneko-chan. “There’s no reason to go along with a bad deal like that-nodesu!”

  “Amaneko, that’s enough from you! Silence!” scolded her grandfather.

  I glanced over to Kuroha beside me. She shook her head no. “Don’t worry about me, go on and make your debut, Onii-chan,” she was trying to tell me. I could tell just by looking at her.

  Amaneko-chan was right: There was no reason to go along with what her grandfather was proposing. Everyone was against it, it seemed. And yet...

  “I understand. I’ll stop the publication of my book,” I said.

  “Onii-chan!”

  “Nii-sama!”

  My little sisters both shouted at me as I lifted up my head.

  “It’s not that I’m giving up,” I said. “One day I will win a Newcomer’s Prize fair and square, and people will recognize my talent, and I’ll make my debut as an author then.”

  “Onii-chan...” Kuroha said in a choked voice.

  “You can go ahead first, Kuroha. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up to you, I promise.”

  “But...!” protested Kuroha, in vain.

  “Are you some kind of guy who gets off on self-sacrifice, then?” asked Amaneko-chan’s grandfather with a bitter tone.

  “No,” I answered. “What Kuroha said was right. Right now, the people of the world aren’t ready to understand my works. Things like having a pair of pantyhose as the main character are too avant-garde. And if people can’t understand my novels, then I can’t save anyone with them.”

  “Save people?” he asked.

 
“Yes...”

  He looked me deeply in the eyes as if trying to find something within me. After a moment, he huffed at me and continued: “Guess there ain’t much difference between you 2.5-dimensional people and real folk, after all.”

  It seemed to me like his attitude had changed. He then looked over at Kuroha, and said, ever so slightly kindly, “Kuroha Imose-san, forget everything that I have said here today. I will publish your translated work, just as I promised. You possess an incredible genius, and I wish to borrow upon it.”

  “...!”

  I did it! My feelings must have made it through to him!

  As I was feeling almost weightless with glee, he continued to say something that surprised me yet again.

  “And you, Gin Imose. You may do as you please. I will not interfere. However, do not see Amaneko again.”

  “Wha...?!”

  Something didn’t connect about that second statement. Kuroha and Amaneko-chan were also at a loss for words and exchanged a glance.

  So then... you mean I can publish my book, after all?!

  “Amaneko, I’ll give you 15 minutes. Say your goodbyes and then come downstairs. Do not be late,” he said, and then disappeared into the elevator.

  The rest of us were left in a state of shock. So I guess this means that Kuroha and I can both debut like we planned before?

  “Amaneko-chan, your grandfather seemed to change his attitude there all of a sudden. Why was it, do you think?” I asked.

  “I don’t really understand myself-nodesu,” answered Amaneko-chan. “Maybe him saying all that was just because he wanted to tease you a little, Nii-sama.”

  I think that went a little beyond teasing, if you ask me!

  “Or maybe he was serious about it but he changed his mind after seeing you-nodesu,” added Amaneko-chan.

  “Guess there ain’t much difference between you 2.5-dimensional people and real folk, after all.”

  That’s what he’d said back then. Maybe he’d understood me a little. In any case, it was a happily ever after end to our problems.

  Oh, wait a sec. There’s still a problem...

  “He said not to see you anymore, didn’t he?” I asked Amaneko-chan. He now knew that we’d met before, and it was clearly a big deal. But Amaneko-chan pulled down her eye with one finger and stuck out her tongue.

  “Heh, as if-nodesu! We’ll see each other again, Nii-sama, I’ve got my ways! The higher the wall between us, the hotter my passion will burn-nodesu!”