Blessings Upon This Shut-in!
"Ugh."
Yuki woke with a light, hungover headache. The moment her mind surfaced, her hand registered something impossibly soft.
"Mm?"
The feel of it was dangerously addictive. She didn't want to let go, so she gave a gentle squeeze.
"Eek?"
A tiny, cute yelp slipped out in answer.
"Huh?"
Yuki opened her eyes at the sound and found Mina asleep in her arms, face pinched like she was terrified.
"...Oh. Right."
Only then did yesterday come back in full. She'd been so happy hearing Mina say on stream that she liked her that she'd drunk far more than usual, and drunk as she was, she'd stumbled into Mina's room at dawn and made a scene. All of it.
"Haa."
Regret arrived late, and all at once. However little they talked now, however awkward things had gotten, to a very small Mina, Yuki had been the very image of a wonderful woman. Knowing that, Yuki had made herself even quieter than usual in front of her, and that silence had slowly pushed them apart. Even so, Yuki had never stopped being that symbol in Mina's heart, and Yuki knew it. In other words, she had shattered Mina's illusion with her own two hands.
"...Hm?"
The guilt didn't last. Does it even matter? The thought rose on its own. When she actually thought about it, the reason she'd drifted from Mina was all the effort she'd spent protecting that illusion. And if that effort was exactly what had made things awkward, then every bit of it had been a self-inflicted wound. Wouldn't it have been better for the illusion to break as soon as possible? And now that it had, didn't that mean she could stick a little closer again, the way she used to?
It didn't take long for those questions to harden into certainty.
"Then, just a little longer...."
Yuki smiled to herself, drew Mina in a bit tighter, and let her eyes fall shut—
"Hyehk?"
She loosened her arms and closed her eyes again.
When I opened my eyes, my sister was already up. I was alone in the bed.
"Mmm."
I stretched, rolled the stiffness out of my shoulders, and looked at the calendar. August 21. Ten days left until school started. Why was summer break only a month? They could stand to be a little generous. It was summer break, wasn't it? Shouldn't we get from the end of June all the way through September? Or not. Whatever.
"Hm."
Just in case, I lifted the collar of my pajamas and sniffed. If the alcohol had soaked into them, they'd have to go in the wash. Fortunately, that particular annoyance had not come to pass. Housework isn't hard, exactly. It's just such a pain.
"Haaahm."
I yawned and stretched one last time, but sleep refused to let go. So this was it—only ten days left when I could feel this deliciously limp.
"You're up?"
"...Yeah."
The second I stepped into the living room, something delicious hit my nose. My sister stood at the induction cooktop in an apron. I drifted over and saw a buttered pan holding egg-soaked bread, bacon, and a frying egg.
"French toast?"
"Mm. I figured breakfast ought to be light."
Fair. I kept breakfast extremely simple myself, and eggs were good for a hangover. Her choice was perfectly rational.
"Here. Let's eat."
"Okay."
She finished cooking, plated it without fuss, and set the dishes on the table.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Mm."
The moment I bit into the bread, sweet butter bloomed from my tongue all the way up into my nose. Crisp bacon and strawberry jam piled more flavor on top, and the faintly greasy finish was settled by the clean taste of the fried egg. Then, to close it out, a swallow of cold milk—!
God. This was a foodgasm. Not the supreme foodgasm of fried chicken and cola, but this was a damn fine one.
"Haa."
I set the cup down and snuck a look at her. The same face as always. Blank. Did she not remember making a drunken scene at dawn? If it were me, I'd be so embarrassed my face would be scarlet. Then again, I couldn't even picture her looking like that. She'd just been wasted last night. The usual her would never.
"Mina."
"Ah, yes."
"Do you have a stream scheduled today?"
"Uh, um. I think around three."
I still had to get through Legend of Ragnarok, the one I'd shut off halfway yesterday. Who knew that boss had a gimmick like that hidden in it? Now that I knew, I was invincible. The Iztomo were definitely going to see my incredible skill and lose their minds.
"Mom said she'll be home around seven, so keep that in mind."
I'd already gotten the text, but I nodded quietly anyway. Still, what was this? Maybe because of what happened at dawn, her usual chill felt a little softer than normal.
...No. I was imagining it. She didn't seem to remember.
"Okay, I'm done."
"Mina."
"Yes?"
"Hold still."
She stood as she said it and came quietly over to my side.
"Heh?"
"Mm. That's better."
She locked me into a tight hug, then let go, nodded with a satisfied little smile, and went into her room.
What? Was I dreaming? I stood alone in the living room for a while, unable to say a word.
"Why? Why? Whyyyy?!"
They said if I rolled forward into the turn-around pattern and stabbed, it would stun! I watched the video! So why isn't it stunning?! And they said I only had to save the dodge for the jump pattern that comes out three times total! The jump comes out five times!!!
"Uwaaah!"
I slammed the desk over and over, and the rage boiling in my gut still wouldn't die. Isn't the whole cliché of the TS Internet Broadcast genre that you wow everyone with godlike skill? You read movement down to the frame, slip through it all whoosh-whoosh, and wipe the floor with them. That's the law. So why was I...?
No. Honestly, it did feel like I'd gotten better. If I seriously no-lifed a single game, top one percent was probably comfortable. But I was the wide-and-shallow kind of otaku. I had to watch Nat-chan's stream, and anime, and I had to draw, and read light novels, and web novels, and check the forums.... Anyway, there was too much to do. Focusing on nothing but games was impossible. What I needed was the kind of talent that adapted to a game in a flash and hit the peak in a flash.
"This game is sh-shit. I'm not playing."
Reality was a gutter. The god of the TS genre had abandoned me....
"I-I'm ending today's stream here. Bye, everyone. S-see you next time...."
Running away wasn't something to be ashamed of, okay? Even that blue-haired useless goddess said running away doesn't mean you lose....
"Uuugh."
I finished the stream, worked the stiffness out of my body, and stepped out of my room to find Mom on the sofa, watching TV.
"Welcome home. You're early."
"Mm. Work wrapped up sooner than I thought, so I came straight up. I bought sata andagi—those Okinawan fried doughnuts—and put them in the fridge, so have some whenever you want."
"Okay."
I'd eat them in a bit while I watched Nat-chan. I dropped onto the sofa beside Mom, and only then caught a sizzle and a smell that made my mouth water. I looked over. Just like this morning, my sister stood at the induction cooktop in an apron, grilling something.
"What are you making?"
"Sirloin steak, she says. She really wanted to make it for me and you today."
Sirloin steak? Weird. I was pretty sure we'd talked about sirloin steak recently.
"Mom, Mina. It's ready."
At her call, Mom and I got up and moved to the table. A sirloin waited for us there, cooked medium-well to a tidy gray-brown.
"Thanks for the meal, Sis."
"Mina."
I was about to sit beside Mom as I thanked her when my sister called me out of nowhere.
"Yes?"
"Not there. Here."
The place she pointed to was the seat right beside her.
"Eh? Uh, um."
"Hurry."
She smacked the chair with her palm, clap, clap, like no other seat would be permitted. I couldn't withstand the pressure of that stare, and in the end I had no choice but to sit next to her. I-it wasn't that there was a problem. It was just kind of scary. Had I done something to her? No. Last night proved she treasured me, didn't it? No point getting scared for nothing. Bad habit.
"Thanks for the meal."
"I'll eat well, Jia."
"Mm."
We finished the little pre-meal ritual, and I quietly took up fork and knife and cut into the steak—
"Mina."
"Yes?"
"Ahh."
I looked to the side. There she was, a bite-sized piece of steak speared on her fork and aimed at me.
"U-um, Sis. What is this...?"
"Ahh."
The same look as before: objections would not be accepted. But this time I couldn't just take it. I mean, come on. Someone with the mental age of forty doing this was embarrassing.
"Uh, Sis. I can e-eat by my—"
"Ahhh~."
If the mood had at least been soft, I might have refused somehow. Her face was as cold as ever. So why did the words coming out of her mouth have to be that cute? The imbalance made it scarier.
"Hurry up and say ahh~."
"A-ahhh...."
In the end I squeezed my eyes shut and bit the steak off her fork. The fact that it was incredibly good while I chewed it was, for some reason, infuriating.
"Th-that's enough now, right?"
"Mm."
She nodded, apparently satisfied. Right. Maybe she'd just wanted to indulge herself for once. Work must have worn her out. I awarded myself that mental victory and went to put a piece of the steak I'd cut into my mouth.
"Mina."
She called me again. I turned, trembling, and this time her eyes were closed and her mouth was open.
"Ahh~."
"I, uh, Sis?"
"Ahhh~."
"A-ahhh...."
Experience had already taught me I couldn't break this stubbornness, so I quickly popped my steak into her mouth. She seemed pleased with that. Her eyes opened, and she smiled, bright as anything.
"Thanks."
I felt strange. Like I was committing a crime.
"Hehe. Somehow this feels like watching Jia and Mina when you were little."
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
"You don't remember? When Mina was small she said it every day. 'Someday I'm going to be Big Sister Jia's bride!' Your dad was so sad she wouldn't pick him."
"Mm. Mina's mine. I'm not giving her to anyone else."
"Ehp?"
She said it and pulled me into a hug, arms locked around me from the top of my head on down. She was soft, and she smelled really good, and I almost nodded without meaning to.
Whew. My male instincts nearly woke up....