Ayane is always here!
“Big sister, big sister! You can come down now!” Ayane whispered from backstage.
She had deliberately lowered her voice, not wanting to be overheard by the audience below.
However, given the small size of the classroom, Sakuya, seated in the front row, could clearly hear her.
Fortunately, Shion heard Ayane’s words.
Although Shion had remained dazed on stage for quite some time after the Kagura dance concluded, Ayane’s reminder eventually prompted her to descend from the stage.
“Big sister, you were amazing!” Ayane clapped vigorously backstage.
“You performed so wonderfully just now! I wanted to call you over, but it seemed you didn’t hear me and just started performing with the other students.
The Kagura dance at the end was actually in the original script, but I cut it because I couldn’t dance it.
I never expected you to perform it on the spot!”
Shion merely smiled, gazing at Ayane.
A faint sheen of tears still glistened in the corners of her eyes, shimmering subtly under the dim lights.
“Big sister, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Ayane, seeing the tears welling in Shion’s eyes, became flustered and utterly at a loss.
“I-I… It’s my fault.
I pushed you onto the stage at the last minute, but you performed so well, even managing to perfectly match your lines…
Um, how about we go out to eat tonight? You won’t have to cook, and you won’t have to attend the after-party or anything…”
Shion stepped forward and embraced Ayane tightly.
“Eh?! Big sister?!” Ayane’s panic intensified.
While the two sisters would occasionally hug each other when joking around, this was truly the first time Shion had embraced her so overtly, her emotions laid bare.
“I think I had a dream, a dream where a girl who looked just like you, Ayane, was surrounded… being attacked by a group of terrifying monsters, and I would never see you again…” Shion’s voice caught with a sob as she held Ayane.
“It was so scary! I was powerless, unable to do anything at all…”
“Ah, is that so?” Ayane, now calm, returned Shion’s embrace with an equally tight squeeze.
“Silly big sister, silly big sister, I’m right here.
I’ve always been here.
How could I be attacked by monsters?
If anyone were to be attacked, you’d surely be there to protect me.”
Ayane gently patted Shion’s back, saying, “Big sister must have had a nightmare.
It’s okay, it’s okay.
You have to make breakfast for me every morning, big sister.
I’m still waiting to eat your hamburger steak, so how could I possibly disappear!”
Shion remained silent, only large drops of tears splashing onto the floor.
She held Ayane tightly, unwilling to let go.
“Uh… Am I interrupting?” Sakuya, who had just entered, scratched her head, looking at the emotionally distraught Shion and Ayane who was comforting her.
“The performance is over, you know.
The audience has left, and the other students from Class E are celebrating outside.
Speaking of which, Shion-san, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know either.
Big sister was like this as soon as she came down,” Ayane said, stroking Shion’s head.
“She probably suddenly remembered the nightmare she had last night, a very scary nightmare.”
“A dream from last night, why cry about it now…
‘My soul trembled and my spirit stirred, as if startled awake to a long sigh’ (TL Note: A classical Chinese phrase from ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ by Cao Zhi, describing a sudden, profound emotional awakening or shock, often accompanied by a sense of loss or longing.), is that what it feels like?” Sakuya wondered aloud.
“Kujou-san, please stop saying things I don’t understand…” Shion said, wiping the corners of her eyes.
“Big sister, why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit?” Ayane tried to lead Shion to a chair.
Shion suddenly looked up at Ayane, her eyes still red from crying, the tears not yet completely dry.
“Ayane, I want to ask you…
Are you hiding something from me?
Or… do I have another sister?”
“Huh?
Big sister, are you confused?
I’m your only sister.
As for hiding something…
Does it count that I secretly took a piece of pork rib from your bowl this morning?” Ayane was also puzzled.
“You, you, you…
I knew it!
I wondered why there was a piece of pork rib missing from my bowl this morning!” Shion reached out, poised to give Ayane a light tap on the head.
Ayane swiftly dodged Shion’s swat with an agile leap, saying, “What else could I possibly hide from you, big sister?
Do you know I have a secret stash of money (TL Note: ‘Xiaojinku’ or ‘little golden vault,’ a slang term for a personal secret fund or savings.)?”
Shion wiped her tears.
“Yes, I do.”
“Then do you know how much money is left in my secret stash?” Ayane continued to ask.
Sakuya, listening nearby, was utterly bewildered.
This was such a private matter; how could Shion possibly…
Then she watched as Shion nodded.
“Yes, I know that too…”
Ayane nearly threw a prop in exasperation.
“See! I told you!
How could I ever hide anything from you, big sister!”
“Oh, speaking of your secret stash, Ayane…
That new outfit you bought, it really doesn’t look good…” Shion said to Ayane, still wiping tears from her eyes.
“What?! Big sister knows that too!
I didn’t even put *that purchase* in a secret stash!” This time, it was truly Ayane’s turn to panic.
“Big sister, you didn’t install some kind of monitoring software on my phone, did you?”
“How could I possibly do something like that…
Alright, fine, the watermelon-patterned one.
But I can only see your spending, Ayane.
I don’t see your chats, nor would I ever look.” Shion finally raised her hands in surrender.
Sakuya’s gaze towards Shion slowly began to change.
“Shion-san… I never realized you were so controlling…” Sakuya stammered slightly.
“It’s one thing if it’s a romantic partner, but to be like this with your own sister…”
“Kujou-san, let me explain!” Shion frantically tried to clarify.
“Silly big sister!
Explaining is just covering up!
And covering up means it’s true!” Ayane poked Shion’s nose.
“Hmph, good thing I’m so clever and discovered your silly big sister’s scheme, otherwise I might have lived under your tyrannical clutches my whole life…”
“If I didn’t control Ayane’s spending, our shrine would have to be sold off…” Shion helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Besides, didn’t you already find out?
You never deactivated the feature that sends me messages about your expenses.”
Ayane stuck out her tongue.
Just then, Shion’s phone rang.
Shion took out her phone and saw it was a call from Shigure.
– Shion-san? Um… it seems the shift change time has already arrived.
Class Monitor is looking everywhere for you, saying she wants to make one final push for sales…
And now so many people are asking for you specifically, and I… I’m a bit overwhelmed…
“Eh?!” Shion suddenly realized that because she had improvised a Kagura dance during the play, extending its duration considerably, it was already time for her shift to begin!
“Ah!” Ayane exclaimed happily, seeing the Class Monitor’s urgent message on Shion’s phone.
“You can go enjoy your big sister’s special head maid service now!”
“Shion-san, head maid?…” Sakuya hadn’t yet managed to connect those two terms.
“Hurry, hurry! I’ve been looking forward to this for ages!”