The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break. Ai stretched with a quiet yawn, gathering her bento box as students shuffled around her, chatting and laughing in little groups. Rika followed close behind as they made their way to their usual spot near the window—a quiet little nook in the classroom where the sun always hit just right.
Ai sat down and immediately pulled out her phone, her fingers already dancing across the screen before her food was even unwrapped.
Rika raised a brow, chewing the corner of her lip as she opened her own bento. "You texting Onii-san again?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Mmhm," Ai hummed with a little smile, eyes sparkling. "He said he was in math class but it's boring so he's sneaking a reply."
Rika glanced over at her screen, catching a glimpse of Shin's name with a heart beside it. Her stomach gave a small twist, but she masked it with a teasing grin.
"You guys text nonstop," she said, popping a piece of tamagoyaki into her mouth. "Isn't he, like, in the middle of high school drama or something? Let the man live."
Ai giggled. "He likes talking to me, dummy. He said my messages help him stay awake."
Rika sipped her juice, leaning her cheek on her hand. "Right. Of course. Nothing keeps a guy more alert than constant texts from his little sister."
Ai didn't even pick up on the sarcasm. She was too busy typing away, her thumbs quick and practiced. "I just told him I miss his lap," she said without a trace of embarrassment.
Rika choked on her rice. "You what?!"
Ai blinked. "What? I do miss it. It's comfy. And he plays with my hair while I lie there. It's relaxing."
"Still," Rika coughed. "You make it sound like..."
Ai tilted her head again, genuinely confused. "Like what?"
"Never mind," Rika sighed. Then muttered under her breath, "You two are so weird."
Ai just smiled and held up her phone, proud. "He sent a heart back."
Rika rolled her eyes. "Shocking."
She didn't say the rest. That every heart he sent made her chest ache just a little more. That she wished she could be the one Ai looked at like that. But for now, she just stabbed at her rice and smiled like it didn't matter.
Rika watched as Ai tapped out another message with a soft hum, completely immersed in her little bubble of texting joy. The warmth in Ai's cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes—Rika knew that look. She'd seen it so many times, and it always hurt just a little more than the last.
"You two are something else," Rika muttered, poking at her food with her chopsticks. "Onii-san this, Onii-san that…"
Ai smiled dreamily. "Mmhmm. He's the best. I really do love him so much."
"I know." Rika gave a small, knowing sigh. "You always say that. It's kinda cute how open you are about it though."
Ai turned her head toward her, resting her chin on her hand with a teasing smirk. "You say that now, but what if I told you… we started lip kisses too?"
Rika froze mid-chew.
"Wait. What?"
Ai giggled, not even remotely shy. "Well, we always kissed on the cheek, right? And the forehead. But now we kiss… properly too."
Rika blinked. "Like—on the lips?"
Ai nodded like she'd just said something as casual as "I like pancakes."
"You're not even joking," Rika mumbled, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Ai. That's not normal."
Rika stared at her, her face a mask of calm while her thoughts buzzed wildly. "You're really casual about this."
Ai giggled. "Why wouldn't I be? Onii-chan and I love each other. It's not weird, right? I mean—if you think kissing is strange, then what about when he used his fingers on me before? Or when I… well, used my mouth to make him feel better?"
Rika nearly dropped her chopsticks. "Wait—what?! Ai—!"
Ai blinked innocently. "I already told you that, didn't I?"
Rika rubbed her temples. "I thought kissing was the line, but clearly that's normal for you two."
Ai shrugged. "Then kissing shouldn't be that shocking."
Rika muttered under her breath, "That's the opposite of how lines usually work…"
Rika pinched the bridge of her nose. "You two are such freaks. Like, adorable, affectionate freaks—but still."
Ai just smiled again and went back to texting, completely unbothered.
"Hey, Rika," Ai said suddenly, fingers still idly tapping her screen.
Rika grunted. "Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something… weird?"
Rika side-eyed her, deadpan. "Is that supposed to narrow anything down?"
Ai giggled and leaned closer, lowering her voice. "I mean… extra weird."
Rika blinked, then sat up a little straighter. "Okay. You've officially got my attention. What is it?"
Ai looked around the classroom first, making sure no one else was nearby. Then she cupped her hand around her mouth like she was telling a sacred secret.
"…How do I seduce Onii-chan?"
Rika choked. Hard.
She grabbed her juice box, wheezing. "I—I'm sorry, WHAT?"
Ai pouted. "Don't be dramatic. You heard me."
Rika stared at her, mouth open in sheer disbelief. "Ai. Do you hear yourself?"
"I'm serious!" Ai whispered, cheeks puffed slightly in frustration. "He won't do it with me. No matter what I try. He does other stuff. But not that. And I… I want him."
Rika buried her face in her hands.
"Oh my god."
Ai poked her. "Rikaaaa."
"Nope. Don't drag me into your forbidden-relationship-turned-hentai-fantasy lifestyle," Rika muttered, peeking through her fingers.
"But you're the only one I can talk to about this," Ai said with an exaggerated whine. "You know how I feel. He kisses me, touches me, tells me I'm his favorite girl. But when I try to go further, he just hugs me and says it's 'not right yet.'"
Rika frowned. "…'Yet?'"
Ai nodded. "He always says, 'Not yet.' Like someday, maybe, but not now."
That single word made Rika's stomach twist. Yet. Like there was a line, and Ai hadn't crossed it just yet. Like there was a future where even that line would blur.
"…Maybe that's a good thing," Rika muttered.
Ai tilted her head. "Why?"
"Because he's trying to be… what? Responsible? Ethical? Not in jail?" Rika groaned. "Ai, he's your brother."
Ai's gaze softened. "And I love him."
Rika didn't speak.
The silence stretched.
"I'm not trying to force him," Ai said finally, her voice quieter now. "I just want to know what I can do to… to make him want me. Like that."
Rika looked at her friend then, really looked at her. Ai's expression wasn't smug or teasing—it was vulnerable. Hopeful. Her hands were clasped in her lap, her legs drawn up slightly, and her eyes had that soft glimmer they always did when she talked about Shin—but there was a tremble beneath the sparkle this time.
Rika leaned her elbows on the desk and sighed deeply. "So let me get this straight. You want advice… on how to seduce your older brother… because he does literally everything else with you but refuses to sleep with you."
Ai nodded sincerely. "Exactly!"
"…I'm going to hell for just listening to this."
Ai grinned. "You love me too much to let me go alone."
Rika gave her a deadpan look, but she couldn't hold it. Her mouth twitched into a reluctant smile. "You're unbelievable."
"Flattery won't get you out of this."
Rika rubbed her temples again. "Okay, fine. Hypothetically—hypothetically—if I were going to help someone seduce a guy who already cuddles, kisses, and does… god knows what else… what exactly are we working with?"
Ai perked up like a student in cram school. "He likes it when I sit in his lap. He pets my head. Plays with my hair. Sometimes he kisses my neck, and last night he held me really tight while I was wearing my short."
Rika blinked. "…Define 'short.'"
Ai smirked. "The ones you said made me look like a lazy catgirl."
Rika groaned. "Of course. And what happened?"
"He did lot of things, but he didn't had sex with me." Ai replied.
"Well that's… actually kind of impressive. The man has willpower."
Ai pouted. "I don't want him to have willpower. I want him to want me the way I want him."
Rika's heart thumped at those words—so raw and sincere it made her chest ache.
"…So what do you want me to say?" Rika asked, voice soft now. "Wear something sluttier? Crawl into his bed and beg? Bite his neck until he snaps?"
Ai blinked. "Would that work?"
"No! That was sarcasm!" Rika hissed, then groaned. "God, I'm terrible at being a voice of reason."
Ai rested her chin on her knees, curling slightly in her seat. "But I've done almost everything. I've kissed him on the lips, touched him, even did that with my mouth…"
Rika flushed instantly. "Still not over that, by the way."
"…And he touches me too," Ai went on, blushing now. "He makes me feel really good. But he stops before… y'know. He always stops himself. Even when I tell him I'm ready."
Rika stared down at her tray. "Maybe he's afraid he'll hurt you."
Ai's voice turned quiet. "Or maybe he doesn't want me that way."
Rika's eyes shot up. "Ai—no. Don't think that."
"But what if I'm not sexy enough?" Ai murmured. "What if I'm just cute to him? Like a little sister he spoils?"
"…You are his little sister."
Ai bit her lip. "But I don't feel like just that anymore. Not when he touches me the way he does. Not when I fall asleep in his arms and wake up to him stroking my hair."
Rika swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I just want to be everything to him," Ai said quietly. "Not just his little sister. I want him to see me as a girl. As his girl."
Rika looked away, because her eyes were starting to sting.
"That's why I wanted to ask you," Ai continued. "You're cool and confident and pretty. If you liked someone, and he liked you back, but kept saying 'not yet'… what would you do?"
Rika didn't answer right away.
Then she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed loosely, and stared at the ceiling like it held the secrets of the universe.
"…Honestly? I'd probably lose my mind."
Ai blinked.
"Because wanting someone that much, knowing they want you too but are holding back? That's torture," Rika said, her voice low and serious. "And you start second-guessing everything. Wondering if you're not enough. If there's something wrong with you. If the things they say are just ways to delay the truth."
Ai's lips parted slightly. "That's exactly how I feel sometimes…"
Rika turned back to her, smiling faintly. "But the fact that he stops? That he waits? It means something too. Maybe it's love. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's both. But it means he cares enough to hold back."
Ai's shoulders sagged. "Then what should I do?"
Rika reached out and gently poked her forehead. "Be patient. But not passive. If you want him to see you as a woman… then show him. Not just through kisses and short pajamas—but through confidence."
"Confidence?"
"Yeah. Stop asking him to let you in, and show him you belong there already. That you're not a child asking permission. You're the girl he already adores, and now you're just letting him realize the rest."
Ai blinked.
"…That sounds really cool," she said after a beat.
"Damn right it does."
They both smiled.
Then Ai leaned in again, whispering conspiratorially, "But should I still try biting his neck, or…?"
"NO," Rika snapped.
"But you said—!"
"Sarcasm!"
Ai laughed so hard she nearly dropped her phone. "You're the best, Rika."
Rika rolled her eyes, but her heart fluttered. "Yeah, yeah."
Ai looked down at her phone, then typed something slowly.
Onii-chan… I'm not a little girl anymore.
Then, without hesitation, she added another message:
Tonight, let me show you how much I love you.
She hit send, then looked up at Rika, a mischievous spark in her eye.
"Guess we'll see if confidence works," she said with a grin.
Rika stared at her.
"…You're going to be the death of him."
Ai giggled.
"And maybe of you too," she teased.
Rika groaned. "God help me."
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END OF CHAPTER : 56 : CONSPIRACY!
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