The Friendship Token and the Onii-chan Curse

Feeling the shirt damp with tears, I felt myself drawing a step closer to the Class Monitor’s heart.

As had become customary over the past two days, I once again escorted Youli to the front of the girls’ dormitory.

“Well then… bye-bye, Little Qi.”

“…Hmph.”

I let out a sarcastic hmph.

Youli’s steps immediately stiffened, like a robot that had suddenly lost power.

“…What about it?”

“…Wh-… which one?”

“…The… token… of… friendship!”

Each word was enunciated slowly, delivered in a tone that, while undeniably sarcastic, possessed a “sweet and melodious” quality I was loath to admit. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

“I imagine Youli hasn’t had much experience making friends yet… Ehehehe… Have you even forgotten how to say goodbye to a friend?”

My salivary glands, stimulated by my pure (lustful) friendship (desire), began to secrete violently, with some unknown liquid nearly spilling from the corners of my lips.

“If Youli is too shy, then I’ll just have to take the initiative myself~ Sa~”

“Ah! Little Qi, don’t just suddenly rush over like that!”

“Mmph! Little Qi! You! Wait!”

Mwah~~~~

“Ugh… ugh…”

“Ah! St-stop! That tickles!”

At that moment, my heart felt truly ethereal.

“…Haa… haa…”

****

Afterward!!!!

“..”

“….Little Qi, I… I still feel like something isn’t quite right… After all… though I’m not sure… the girls at our school don’t… don’t do ‘that,’ do they? So… Little Qi, you must have made a mistake, right?”

Youli used her sleeve to wipe her slightly swollen, reddened lips.

[…]

“Gulp… That’s absolutely impossible!… Isn’t this just how girls interact~”

Stare…………….

“Uh, ‘I’ mean~ it’s where Father works, you see~ Perhaps the traditions are different there…”

Stare……………

“Hmph! Anyway… how should I put it… it’s just… to my knowledge!… All women in the country my father is currently in communicate their friendships this way! That’s an absolutely undeniable fact!”

‘If that were truly the case, your father would surely weep, wouldn’t he? And such a country would undoubtedly be heaven itself?!’

Gulp.

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

‘Damn it… I almost gave myself away…!’

‘…’

“Uh, well then, little Youli, I’ll see you tomorrow~”

‘…’

After bidding Youli farewell, I embarked on my journey home.

I moved with a “dragon’s gait and tiger’s steps,” yet each dainty “catwalk” step measured no more than a quarter-meter. I exuded a handsome, almost “masculine” aura.

‘If one considers tigers to be felines, then there’s nothing wrong with that statement… right?’

****

Moonlight Academy, main gate.

After casually exchanging greetings with a few acquaintances, I finally stepped out of the school, this place often dubbed the “Grave of Youth.”

A breath of air, named freedom, swept over me.

Yet, at that moment, I wasn’t particularly happy.

“Yo, Little Qi, this… interminably long day is finally over… Let’s go home together…”

Ahead, a gentle male voice spoke, using a sickeningly sweet tone I had never once employed in my previous life.

Yet, that voice now sounded incredibly weak and feeble, like a tragic male lead on the brink of death saying to his heroine, “Oh, let us meet in the next life~”

Before me stood Ye Sakaki, leaning against a utility pole, his school uniform a mess of wrinkles.

Then he flashed me a sunny smile, making his barely-above-average face appear like a flawless jade crown…

‘As if!’

‘Those purplish-blue swellings should probably recede first, shouldn’t they?’

“..”

“I refuse.”

As an intellectual ‘gentleman,’ I detested nothing more than someone talking to themselves.

Especially when the voice of the person before me was so eerily similar to the one I used for my own internal thoughts.

‘…’

“Little sister, I properly promised Mother I would take good care of you, so you can’t refuse~”

‘…So, this “myself” has already learned what it means to throw its weight around? Tsk… it’s evolving quite rapidly.’

“Tch, fine then…”

“Oh, right, I also have a few questions I want to ask you. Make sure you answer them properly! You know you absolutely can’t lie to me!”

Ye Sakaki seemed rather helpless at this moment.

“Uh, alright, but… little sister, could you please stop always calling me ‘you, you’? Could you occasionally call me ‘older brother’? Otherwise, it sounds rather unfamiliar…”

‘This is precisely why I detest this current “myself”!’

‘Just imagine: when you look in the mirror, and your reflection suddenly says to you, “Little sister~” or “You should call me older brother~” – would you truly be happy?!’

‘—Seriously… of course not?! That comparison just now was definitely haunted, wasn’t it?!’

Yet, I wasn’t particularly angry. Even though I utterly despised that ‘presumptuous’ tone that forced me to “appear” like a childish little girl, I still held back.

After all, over more than a decade, getting used to a few minor things wasn’t all that difficult.

…And so, I flashed what I believed to be an incredibly wicked smile.

Then I saw ‘myself’—Ye Sakaki—blush. This, no doubt, was because the terrifying aura in my smile, akin to that of a “demon lord from hell,” caused his vital energy to spiral out of control, terrifying him so much that even his blood seemed to riot.

Thus, I spoke in what I considered a gentle, crisp tone.

“Oh? Is that so? But why do I find the term ‘older brother’ still a bit… distant? Hehe, how about I make an exception and just call you ‘Onii-chan~’ instead~”

‘…’

The moment I finished speaking, cold sweat immediately streamed down Ye Sakaki’s body.

“Please, absolutely do not do that!!!”

‘Almost every single time… once the name ‘Onii-chan’ appears… I encounter a terrifying abyss where even my life is in peril! And today, I just finished experiencing a new round of that terrifying abyss, having just emerged from the infirmary!’

‘That’s what I call the “Onii-chan Curse,” an existence capable of summoning the God of Death!’