Although that dangerous night had passed safely, for Tetsuya, the "aftershocks" it left behind had not completely disappeared.
Especially in the last two days, whenever he was with Sakiko, he would always find himself inexplicably... unable to calm his heart.
"Chihaya-nii, about the production guidance here..."
"Chihaya-nii! Please take a look at this."
"..."
Sakiko had often sat beside him before, but recently, whenever she leaned in, an indescribable panic would immediately rise in his heart.
It was just like that night when he was cornered against the wall by Ai.
Had Sakiko undergone some subtle, imperceptible change?
...
No, she hadn't. She wasn't doing anything strange at all, just being as eager to learn as ever.
So... was the problem really with him?
But what kind of problem could cause him to react so strangely?
What kind of effect did what Ai had done to him that day have—
"Hey! Nii-san, look, the video of our live has already hit fifty thousand views!"
Just as Tetsuya was lost in thought, Anon came to his side, excitedly holding up her phone.
"Look at the comment section, so many people are praising our singing! And a lot of people are praising the outfits you made!"
"..."
Meanwhile, the moment Anon sat down beside him, Tetsuya's first reaction wasn't to listen to what his sister was saying, nor was it to look at the phone screen she was showing him, but rather—
"...Anon."
"Hm?"
"Do you smell anything?"
"? Nope."
Anon looked at Tetsuya strangely.
"What's wrong, Nii-san, do you smell something?"
"..."
Tetsuya fell silent for a moment, then leaned his body slightly in Anon's direction and sniffed gently a few times—
"Kyaa!!! Nii-san, what are you doing?!"
Thinking she had some kind of smell on her, Anon immediately blushed and pulled away in the opposite direction. She then quickly looked down at herself, checking repeatedly.
"There's no strange smell, is there? And I definitely took a shower after I got home..."
"No, it's not like that."
Tetsuya quickly explained.
"It was probably just my imagination. Sorry, Anon."
"Geez, don't scare me like that!"
Anon pouted and moved close again.
"I'm very careful about my image in front of you! If you really smelled something bad on me, I'd totally want to die..."
"Don't say things like that. Besides, what I smelled wasn't a bad smell."
Tetsuya shook his head.
"If anything, it was the complete opposite, a very pleasant... floral-like scent."
"Eh? Oh, then you should have said so earlier!"
Hearing her brother's clarification, Anon immediately relaxed.
"That must be the scent of the new body wash I bought. It's a mixed floral fragrance! I didn't think you could still smell it after all this time."
As she spoke, she walked right in front of Tetsuya and, before he could react, sat right down on his lap—
"If it's a nice scent, then there's no problem! You can sniff as long as you want, Nii-san!"
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Tetsuya shook his head with a resigned look.
However, just as he was about to adjust his posture as usual to make it more comfortable for Anon to sit, a familiar yet strange sensation made him freeze on the spot.
Anon had sat on his lap like this countless times before, but he had never felt such a distinct softness so keenly.
Eh? Was it like this before? But in my memory, whenever Anon sat down, all I ever felt was a comforting warmth and a sense of fullness...
Something's wrong. Something has definitely become wrong!
"Um... Anon."
"What is it, Nii-san?"
"Could you, um, get off my lap?"
"Eh? Why?!"
Anon was shocked.
"Don't tell me I'm too heavy?!"
"No, it's... the reason is a little complicated to explain."
Out of Anon's sight, Tetsuya wore an extremely conflicted expression.
Because her surprised turning motion caused a very subtle friction at the point where their bodies were in contact.
The stimulation from this touch filled Tetsuya's heart with a panic mixed with a sense of wrongdoing and self-blame.
"But anyway, it's not because you're heavy, and it's not because I'm uncomfortable. It's a problem on my end..."
He quickly explained.
"Please, Anon, just get down for now... okay?"
"...Okay."
Although she didn't know what "problem" Tetsuya was talking about, Anon obediently got off his lap.
"Nii-san is acting so strange today... Oh, right, we're planning to have a party to celebrate the success of our first live! When are you free, Nii-san?"
"Let me see..."
Tetsuya thought for a moment before replying.
"This weekend, probably. Before that, I might have to draw the design for Uika."
"Mmm, Uika..."
Hearing her name, Anon looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.
"The party... should we invite her too? After all, if she hadn't been there that day, our performance wouldn't have started so smoothly..."
"About that, you should probably discuss it with your bandmates first, right?"
Feeling the heat in his lower body gradually subsiding, Tetsuya also regained his composure.
"Besides, Uika might not have time to come."
"That's true~"
Anon nodded.
"Okay, I'll go ask everyone if we can invite Uika first, and then you can ask her if she has time, Nii-san!"
"...Alright."
Regarding that day, Tetsuya also felt a certain gratitude towards Uika.
If she hadn't been there, who knows how Anon and the others' first live would have turned out.
"Then it's settled. It just so happens that Uika is coming to our studio the day after tomorrow. Just let me know tomorrow once you have an answer."
"Okay!"
Anon nodded, then prepared to get up and go back to her room.
But before she went in, she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention, the party is at Soyo's house!"
"...Eh?"
"That's that, goodnight, Nii-san!"
With that, Anon closed the door, and Tetsuya finally blinked, the realization slowly dawning on him.
"So this... has she discussed it with Nagasaki-san?"
...
Oh well, I'll let them sort that out themselves.
As for him... he had his own things he had to deal with.
And so, Tetsuya returned to his room earlier than usual.