[That night, your little brother held you on his own.]
[Unsure of what to do, you did not push him away.]
[Once asleep, with your long time habit of needing to hug a teddy bear to fall asleep, your unconscious self treated your brother as that teddy bear and kept him buried against your chest the entire night.]
[In the middle of the night, your brother almost suffocated.]
"So dangerous." Seika stared at the scene in the simulator where she slept beside a little boy.
In every possible sense, this situation was dangerous.
It would not even feel strange if the next moment the police kicked down the door of the rental and put silver bracelets on her.
[The next morning, December 24th, the day before Christmas, which was also your birthday.]
[Toru wished you a happy birthday the moment he woke up, and he also gave you a gift.]
[Inside the beautifully wrapped box was a brand new guitar pick.]
[You accepted it happily, not knowing that the pick contained a tiny tracker.]
[Toru knew that you might go out without your phone, but you would never leave behind your guitar or your picks.]
[After gifting this, no matter if you ran to the ends of the earth or the farthest oceans, he would always know where you were.]
Terrifying.
Truly terrifying.
Where did he even buy a tracker?
And also, an elementary school kid using advanced tech like this, how was that reasonable?
[Toru was very handy. Recently he had been ordering electronic components online and having them shipped home.]
[In just one month, many smart devices appeared in your house.]
[Your mother was surprised at first, then gradually accepted it.]
Mom, your tolerance is way too high, right?
This was clearly not normal.
[Since he was a boy, having good hands-on skills was ordinary. That was what your mother thought.]
Good hands-on skills…
Seika rolled her eyes. He was so good with his hands that he started spying on his sister.
A first grader peeping on his sister.
She did not even dare imagine what he would do later.
Too twisted.
[After putting away your brother's gift.]
[Still weak from illness, you stayed in bed for a long time, only getting up around noon.]
[After eating the meal your brother cooked, you suddenly thought that living like this might not be so bad.]
[Always relying on your brother's cooking, hugging him at night, living every day in laziness.]
She was sinking already.
So fast.
Was her willpower really that weak?
[You shook your head and pushed that terrifying thought away.]
[Because it was your birthday, the band members planned to celebrate for you that night, eating yakiniku at Gyukaku.]
[Naturally, you brought Toru along.]
[Among the three members, only Risa had met Toru one year ago. The other two did not know you had gained a brother.]
[After meeting him, everyone teased him a little.]
[Drummer Risa looked at how close you two were and said, "Toru, why are you holding your sister's hand the whole time?"]
["Because I like my sister."]
["I see. Since you like your sister, do you want to marry her someday?"]
["Yes."]
[Seeing his serious face, everyone burst out laughing.]
["…Sorry."]
[Toru seemed to think he said something wrong and lowered his head.]
[The next second.]
[You glared at Risa for joking, then rubbed your brother's head to comfort him.]
["Sister, we cannot get married?" Toru looked up at you, eyes watery.]
[Something tugged at your heartstrings. You opened your mouth to refuse, but the words would not come out.]
["You are still young. When you grow up, we will talk about it."]
["Okay. I will grow up fast."]
[Hearing your exchange, your bandmates looked at each other and smiled.]
[They teased you.]
["When you two get married someday, don't forget to invite us."]
["An older girl with a younger boy, almost ten years apart. Not easy. Good luck, Seika."]
["My girlfriend is two years younger than me. I think younger types are nice. Seika, maybe just go with it?"]
[Seeing that you seemed a bit unhappy, Toru quickly said he was hungry, using it as an excuse to break up the teasing.]
[During the meal, because you were terrible at grilling meat, everything was left to your brother while you only used your mouth to eat.]
[Toru tirelessly served you, grilling meat the entire time.]
[By the end of the meal.]
[You felt the joy of eating.]
[Toru felt the joy of taking care of someone.]
[A win-win.]
[After yakiniku, you all ate cake and separated at the entrance.]
[Because it was late.]
[You did not let your brother return to Shimokitazawa. He went back to the rental with you instead.]
[You spent a warm night in each other's arms.]
[For the next few days, until New Year's, Toru did not leave the rental at all.]
[He took over your home, cleaning and cooking for you.]
[Gradually.]
[You became used to his presence and found yourself relying on him.]
[Even though you were the older one, he was the one taking care of you, and that made you feel ashamed. So you decided.]
[You would not be lazy anymore.]
[You would practice guitar and chase your dreams.]
Seika felt relieved. At least the simulated version of herself had not fallen completely. She still remembered her dream.
[For this resolve, you rolled over on the sofa.]
[Today was December 31st. New Year's was coming soon.]
[You told yourself that you would work hard next year.]
"…," Seika muttered.
So that was the willpower of an adult. Truly laughable.
[During the New Year, you both returned to Shimokitazawa.]
[You still acted cold toward your mother, but stayed home for a week.]
[Your mother thought Toru's dedication might make you realize the importance of family, but she thought too much.]
[You maintained your usual persona with no real sense of family.]
[After winter break, Toru had school and could no longer live with you.]
[You were sad about it for a long time.]
[From then on.]
[Your brother only visited on weekends to clean and take care of you.]
[You two became like a long distance couple, seeing each other only once a week.]
[For the next two years.]
[You kept that routine.]
[The band gradually made progress, and you became even more certain of your belief that dreams mattered more than family.]
[You had not returned home in half a year.]
[Your younger sister Nijika sometimes accompanied Toru to visit you.]
[At twenty one, you had a clear goal.]
[At twenty one, you had partners who shared your dream.]
[At twenty one, you had a wonderful family.]
[Until.]
[The heat of summer arrived.]
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